Thursday, August 25, 2011

GM SHAFTS BUYERS AGAIN

Hey, guess what? GM says that engineering or mechanical defects on automobiles built before their bankruptcy will not be corrected even if they are under warranty, because '. . . under the terms of the bankruptcy agreement, we don't have to. That was a different company. We're post-bankruptcy, and a different more enlightened and not responsible company."

Or similar words. Hard to believe? Read about it here.

So, if you're one of the 400,000 or so 2007 - 2008 Chevy Impala owners with defective spindle shafts, you - well, you're shafted. This is the official GM position. Oh, and the resale or trade-in value of your "old" GM vehicle? Tanked. In short, you are - I'll say it again - shafted. Who in their right mind would buy an unsupported used car that needs a factory recall that the factory refuses to recall? Who in their right mind would buy a product from any company, if they know in advance that the company has a history of not standing behind their products?

My take on the current typical GM buyer IQ is that it must be well below 100. If you're thinking of buying anything GM makes, and you're a regular reader of this blog, you're probably already thinking about what happens after the next round of Government Motors bankruptcies, coming soon to a dealership near you. If you aren't thinking about that, you probably don't read this blog very often. Welcome!

Thursday, August 18, 2011

HOW TO KNOW IF AN ATTACK IS TERRORISM

The recent attacks in Israel, of military buses and vehicles, has been labeled 'terrorism.' Read the story here. Yes, it appears there may have also been civilian casualties.

Attacking a military target is not terrorism, folks. It is an act of warfare, a military strike. It does a disservice to public opinion to label every bombing, strafing, or shooting 'terrorism' when in fact what has taken place is a fairly conventional military operation.

Terrorists target helpless and vulnerable non-military people, preferably women and children and shoppers and tourists. Blowing up a busload of soldiers, especially those that shoot back as in the above cited story, is decidedly not terrorism.

So, media: call it what it is, and spare us the inflammatory headlines.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

NUTRITION FREE FOOD - STOP THE INSANITY!

The typical American knowingly buys 'foods' that have no nutritional value. Examples: zero-calorie sodas (news flash: sugar is an essential nutrient), light beer (more news: wheat, barley, rice, water, hops are all foods), sugar-free candies, fat-free this or that, meat-free burgers, etc. And then we go out and buy gallon jugs of 'protein supplement' powders, energy drinks, and so on.

Why does our personal budget contain money for foods that lack discernible nutrition? Because we enjoy putting stuff into our mouths. Why are there fat people? You know, those who have 'glandular' or 'metabolic' problems. Another news flash: everything in that spare tire around our flabby waists first passed through our mouths. So is the answer buying nutrition-free foods? No. The answer is to save the money we'd spend on those foods, and instead eat good food, but only as much as our bodies actually need.

How do we know how much we need, you ask? It's simple thermodynamics. Running a body's machinery for an average day requires a certain amount of fuel, measured in calories. Any good calorie calculator will tell us how much we need. Then all we'll need is some way to count calories as we eat, so we'll know when to stop eating every day. So now we have the tools and the knowledge. What else do we need?

Will power. There's no web page for that. We either have it and can exercise it, or we don't. Our friends, neighbors, families, and anyone who sees us knows whether we have it or not. And so do we.

Remember: we can't pack on what doesn't go into our mouths. Forget excuses like genetics, glands, metabolism, blah blah blah. If it doesn't go into our mouths, it won't show up on our thighs. Simple as that.

And that's your Ostrich Killer's public service blog for the day. Hope you found it boring and unneeded.

Monday, August 08, 2011

THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

Read it here first, folks. Since raising income taxes even to 100% on every dollar made by "those who can afford to pay a little more" (Obama's words) will not generate even a half trillion dollars - much less revenue than needed - it's clear what's been waiting on Obama's back burner for the right time to serve it up.

Ready?

Asset taxes.

Sounds harmless, doesn't it? We already pay income taxes, why not 'Asset' Taxes?

Many of you know of states that already do that. They tax every sofa, every refrigerator, every this or that you own. Every year. It goes by a variety of names, sometimes called 'property taxes,' with property being defined as anything you have. In those states, you don't own anything. You have something, you have to pay what amounts to annual rent to the state in order to keep it.

Now try to imagine this on a federal basis. Taxes on everything you think you own. You'll pay sales taxes to the state to buy anything, in some states you'll continue to pay taxes every year on those things, and now - you'll pay a similar tax to the Federal government.

Imagine your 401K, your IRA, your Keogh plan, your corporate-funded vested retirement plan all being taxed over and above the income tax you'll pay as you start having to rely on them for your retirement. And keep in mind that anything they can tax, they can confiscate. They can 'Federalize.'

How to counter this threat? - - buy now, with cash or trade (any check / credit / debit transaction can be traced), items that will always be of value in a barter society, because that's where this country is headed; the 'alternative' economy is about to become the 'mainstream' economy. Think essentials useful for barter, not baubles. What items are essentials?

I propose to get an idea what those essentials might be, your Ostrich Killer recommends reading a best-selling novel titled 'One Second After.' Here are some of those essentials: First, some sort of skill valuable to a small community's survival. Next, and I make no apologies for this - standard caliber guns and ammo. By 'standard caliber' your Ostrich Killer means .22, .30-06, .223 (5.56 mm), 7.62 Nato, and high-base 12-gauge shotgun ammo. This will be very sought-after barter material, especially because sales of ammo and guns will be encumbered with massive new 'limits' and Federal paperwork / approval required.

Non-perishable food and health items will be valuable. Tools, especially garden implements. Power generation equipment. Let your imagination run, and read 'One Second After.'

Your Ostrich Killer hopes even more than you do that this prediction is wrong. But your Ostrich Killer has a very unfortunate record of making accurate predictions. Read this that I put together more than 10 years ago, and see for yourself.