peter kobs's definitions
1. The agonizing mental process of accepting that football season is finally over.
This serious mental disorder afflicts millions of Americans every year, usually in the second week of February. Effective therapy is not available until the following August, at the earliest.
2. A crisis in the national spirit that is mitigated (only slightly) by the arrival of March Madness -- the NCAA basketball tournament.
3. The realization that life as we know it has ended, at least for six torturously long months.
4. Proof that Arena Football will never take the place of the real thing.
This serious mental disorder afflicts millions of Americans every year, usually in the second week of February. Effective therapy is not available until the following August, at the earliest.
2. A crisis in the national spirit that is mitigated (only slightly) by the arrival of March Madness -- the NCAA basketball tournament.
3. The realization that life as we know it has ended, at least for six torturously long months.
4. Proof that Arena Football will never take the place of the real thing.
Hank was hospitalized on February 12 with severe anxiety and chest pain. Following a series of CAT scans at the Mayo Clinic, he was diagnozed with Football Withdrawal Syndrome (FWS). May God have mercy on his soul.
by Peter Kobs January 1, 2010
Get the Football Withdrawal Syndromemug. 1. A conservative Republican with libertarian views, Rand Paul is running for the U.S. Senate in 2010 to replace outgoing KY Senator Jim Bunning. Rand is the son of Texas Congressman Ron Paul. According to Rand himself, he was NOT named after author Ayn Rand.
Paul helped found the Kentucky Taxpayers United, an anti-tax group, in 1994. He favors eliminating the Federal Reserve system, the U.S. Dept. of Education, the IRS, the federal income tax, the Fair Housing Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act and other government programs. Paul also opposes abortion under any circumstances, even in cases of rape and incest. He has publicly criticized the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Born in Pennsylvania, Rand Paul attended Baylor University in Waco, TX, and Duke University in NC. He works as an ophthalmologist in Bowling Green, KY.
2. A favorite candidate of the U.S. Tea Party movement, Paul won the Republican Senate nomination in May 2010, defeating KY Sec. of State Trey Grayson. He has been endorsed by Gun Owners of America, Steve Forbes, FreedomWorks and Sarah Palin, among others.
3. Rand Paul has made several explosive remarks on the campaign trail and in his writings. In late May 2010, he called President Obama "un-American" for criticizing BP regarding the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. He has also explicitly criticized government laws banning discrimination, reversing himself partially when his spoken and written statements were broadcast nationally.
Paul helped found the Kentucky Taxpayers United, an anti-tax group, in 1994. He favors eliminating the Federal Reserve system, the U.S. Dept. of Education, the IRS, the federal income tax, the Fair Housing Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act and other government programs. Paul also opposes abortion under any circumstances, even in cases of rape and incest. He has publicly criticized the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Born in Pennsylvania, Rand Paul attended Baylor University in Waco, TX, and Duke University in NC. He works as an ophthalmologist in Bowling Green, KY.
2. A favorite candidate of the U.S. Tea Party movement, Paul won the Republican Senate nomination in May 2010, defeating KY Sec. of State Trey Grayson. He has been endorsed by Gun Owners of America, Steve Forbes, FreedomWorks and Sarah Palin, among others.
3. Rand Paul has made several explosive remarks on the campaign trail and in his writings. In late May 2010, he called President Obama "un-American" for criticizing BP regarding the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. He has also explicitly criticized government laws banning discrimination, reversing himself partially when his spoken and written statements were broadcast nationally.
by Peter Kobs May 21, 2010
Get the Rand Paulmug. 1. A scenic route around Michigan's Upper Peninsula, which is also known as the "U.P." or "Yoop." Motorcyclists are especially fond of this semi-wilderness experience.
2. An alternative route from Wisconsin to lower Michigan. Instead of slogging through the heavy traffic of metro Chicago, adventurous drivers can take the "Yoop Loop" over the top of Lake Michigan and then across the Mackinac Bridge to lower Michigan. Longer, yes, but way more beautiful.
3. A generic term for any trip that takes the traveler through Michigan's Upper Peninsula en route to somewhere else -- one of the great undiscovered pleasures of the North Country.
2. An alternative route from Wisconsin to lower Michigan. Instead of slogging through the heavy traffic of metro Chicago, adventurous drivers can take the "Yoop Loop" over the top of Lake Michigan and then across the Mackinac Bridge to lower Michigan. Longer, yes, but way more beautiful.
3. A generic term for any trip that takes the traveler through Michigan's Upper Peninsula en route to somewhere else -- one of the great undiscovered pleasures of the North Country.
"Don't drive through that traffic mess in Chicago. Let's take the Yoop Loop instead."
"What if our car breaks down and we're attacked by bears?"
"It's better than being attacked by gang bangers on the Dan Ryan Expressway!"
"What if our car breaks down and we're attacked by bears?"
"It's better than being attacked by gang bangers on the Dan Ryan Expressway!"
by Peter Kobs September 9, 2009
Get the Yoop Loopmug. 1. A scientific way to calculate the true costs of massive oil spills, such as the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.
Spillonomics was conceived shortly after the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Sadly, it has become a major growth industry in the last 21 years.
Unlike other methods favored by the petroleum industry, Spillonomics takes into account both short-term clean-up costs AND long-term costs related to marine ecosystems, tourism, fishing, coastal employment, real estate values and water quality.
2. Dick Cheney's latest nightmare.
Spillonomics was conceived shortly after the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Sadly, it has become a major growth industry in the last 21 years.
Unlike other methods favored by the petroleum industry, Spillonomics takes into account both short-term clean-up costs AND long-term costs related to marine ecosystems, tourism, fishing, coastal employment, real estate values and water quality.
2. Dick Cheney's latest nightmare.
by Peter Kobs June 1, 2010
Get the Spillonomicsmug. 1. A political theory invented by arch-conservative Joseph Overton, VP of the anti-tax Mackinac Center for Public Policy in Midland, Michigan. (Overton died in 2003 when his ultra-light airplane crashed.)
2. The name of a poorly-written novel by right-wing talk show host Glen Beck. Published in early 2010, the book is a cautionary tale about leftist radicals taking over the government through incremental change.
In theory, the Overton Window represents the boundaries of "acceptable" public policy and discourse -- what a politician can support without seeming too "extreme." Opposing forces try to broaden this window (or shift it to one side) to make formerly "radical" ideas seem more "mainstream."
Overton's theory has a decidedly pro-business, anti-regulation slant. Something is either "more free" or "less free" in his view. He never mentions "more just" or "more fair" or "more practical." In fact, the entire theory tailor made for paranoid people and right-wing lunatics who think Obama is a totalitarian Marxist dictator bent on world domination.
2. The name of a poorly-written novel by right-wing talk show host Glen Beck. Published in early 2010, the book is a cautionary tale about leftist radicals taking over the government through incremental change.
In theory, the Overton Window represents the boundaries of "acceptable" public policy and discourse -- what a politician can support without seeming too "extreme." Opposing forces try to broaden this window (or shift it to one side) to make formerly "radical" ideas seem more "mainstream."
Overton's theory has a decidedly pro-business, anti-regulation slant. Something is either "more free" or "less free" in his view. He never mentions "more just" or "more fair" or "more practical." In fact, the entire theory tailor made for paranoid people and right-wing lunatics who think Obama is a totalitarian Marxist dictator bent on world domination.
The Overton Window is yet another idiotic theory masquerading as a "breakthrough" in political understanding. Its leading proponent is Glen Beck of Fox News...'nuf said.
by Peter Kobs July 20, 2010
Get the Overton Windowmug. 1. A new name for the American middle class as people try to survive the current economic crisis by "muddling through" with less money and less security.
2. The growing spirit of economic fatalism in mainstream America.
2. The growing spirit of economic fatalism in mainstream America.
by Peter Kobs April 1, 2009
Get the Muddle Classmug. 1. The act of re-employing someone (who was previously laid off) as a temp worker, usually at a lower wage scale.
2. What happens to many people who have lost their permanent jobs following the crash of 2008.
3. Another sign of the harsh economic times in which we live.
2. What happens to many people who have lost their permanent jobs following the crash of 2008.
3. Another sign of the harsh economic times in which we live.
Acme Industries is having a Reployment Fair at the hotel downtown. They'll re-hire you as a temp at about half of what you were earning last year.
by Peter Kobs December 7, 2009
Get the Reploymentmug.