Another Russian Invastion

Another Czechoslovakia?

Hungary, 1956.  Czechoslovakia, 1968.  Afghanistan, 1979.

And now, in 2014, Ukraine.

What are the lessons?

1.  The Soviet Union is dead, but Russia is still Russia.

2.  Russia can invade and the west will wring their hands and sit on their asses.

3.  It doesn't matter what the nations bordering Russia WANT as their government; it only matters what Russia wants for them to have.

4.  The west can no longer be trusted help any struggle for freedom.

5.  The Russians know this, and are going to take advantage of our Anointed One's foreign policy illiteracy to attempt to rebuild the Soviet empire.  Ukraine is the breadbasket of Europe - so where better to start?

6.  Our Charismatic Ruler and his Alfred E. Neuman-like lickspittle enablers will continue to disarm America unilaterally, without regard to global threats, to below pre-WW2 levels so that even if we'd like to help, we won't be able to.  Even the defense of our shores and cities may not be feasible soon.

I'm beginning to believe our founding fathers fatally over-estimated the intelligence of the American electorate.  The evidence is overwhelming.

I need another cup of coffee.

Late Night Talk Shows Suck

JIMMY FALLON OUT OF HIS DEPTH

Now that your Ostrich Killer has watched Jay Leno's replacement for a few nights, I can save you the trouble of tuning in.  The show is just another far left drug and homo-friendly Obama-fawning propaganda-thru-humor platform for the extreme left.  Don't waste your time.

You will never hear deprecatory jokes about anything left now.  Jay Leno, at least, was balanced in this regard - he joked about everyone.  But NBC is a body and soul slave to Obama, and Leno was known to take some well-place shots at Obama through humor.  So Leno had to go.  You can't poke fun at the Glorious Leader.

Don't expect that that sort of humor from Fallon.

So no more late night talk shows for me.  I'm sick of having what I believe being misrepresented and joked about.  

I guess it's what we all should have expected.  People who grow up at the bosom of the entertainment industry come out the way Fallon and Letterman have.  Brain dead.

Coffee time.  Then nap so that I can be ready for late night re-runs of Duck Dynasty and Blue Bloods.

BENGHAZI AGAIN

Where Are the Survivors?

Has anyone heard from a single one of the people who survived the attack on Benghazi?

Does anyone know where even one of these survivors is?

Has there been testimony from a single one of them before a Congressional committee of any sort?

Does anyone even know the names of a single one of the survivors?

Doesn't it seem logical that some of these survivors should have said SOMETHING to SOMEONE?

If you are a relative or friend of any of these people, do you know where they are?  And have you been contacted by any federal entity about them?  Drop me a line if you know.

I heard the other day, from one of those frothing-at-the-mouth wild-eyed right wing radical radio hosts, that FEMA is building 'camps' complete with guard towers and barbed wire.

DHS (Department of Homeland Security) has ordered about 2 billion rounds of ammunition and 2,700 mine-resistant personnel carriers.

Neither DHS nor FEMA is constrained by Posse Comitatus laws.

Two and two results in an uncomfortable sum.

Finally, ask yourself the basic question of who benefits from silencing the survivors.  Remember that His Imperial Majesty has not accounted for his whereabouts nor his decisions, if any, during that situation, and that Hillary was his Secretary of State and involved up to her eyebrows.  Then vote accordingly at the next election.

JUST SAY NO

Executive Orders and You

His Imperial Majesty, the Anointed One, Barack Hussein Obama has announced that since the Congress is proving to be obstinate, he will rule the country via executive orders.  This is despite being advised that the power of his orders is questionable, especially when they amount to legislation - in effect, he is assuming the role of both executive and legislator.  A clear violation of the separation of powers specified in the Constitution.  

He and Eric Holder (his pet attorney general) have announced that some laws - they get to decide which ones - will not be enforced.

Huh?  They can pick and choose which laws have the power of law?

Okay.  They've set the precedent, so here is a logical extension of that sort of thinking:  they can decide which laws to enforce, I can decide which laws to obey.  Seems fair, doesn't it?  Of course it does.

And since Obama cannot constitutionally legislate, I can safely ignore his executive orders.  They lack legal authority.

So if you don't like a law or two, ignore them.  Ditto executive orders.  Just say no.

What's wrong with this logic?  You decide and let me know.

Another cup of coffee now.

DOING THE MATH

Parsing that Botox Commercial

There I was, recumbent in my lounger watching some forgotten TV show last night, when this Botox commercial pops up.  Should I have post-menopausal headaches, I am told, maybe Botox injections can help.

Leaving aside the obvious, the legal / scientific caveat pops up on the screen.  Let me write it down here, as close to word for word as I can remember:

"Botox prevents up to 9 headache days per month, versus up to 7 for placebo."

Just to make sure we're on the same page, a placebo is a medication that has no pharmacological value - is inert and harmless and the same as taking nothing at all.  Except for one thing - the person taking it THINKS they're taking medication and expects it to help.  If it helps, that is called the "placebo effect."  It helps because the person thinks it's helping.  In reality it is doing nothing at all.

At first that just bounced off my GAS (Give a S--t) filters, then it hit me:  Placebo 7, Botox 9.  That means that the up to 9 headache days per month prevented by Botox includes 7 days prevented by the placebo effect.  So the person buying the injections is paying for an additional 2 days.  Looked at another way, the Botox is statistically providing 22% of the relief-days the customer is experiencing, while the placebo effect is providing the other 78%. 

What does all this say about post-menopausal headaches?  Yes, your Ostrich Killer will tell you, passing along the wisdom of my mother whenever I complained of some non-injurious, non-feverish malaise:  "It's all in your head, Sweetheart.  Go out and play."

Good advice.

Of course you're going to point out that one cannot go out and buy a placebo, because doing so would subvert the value of a placebo.  One would know it is a placebo and would therefore NOT expect it to work - so of course it wouldn't.  That's the sort of thing that Joseph Heller would appreciate: if you don't know what you're buying it works, but if you do know it doesn't.

Truth in advertising.  Ain't it wonderful?  Now go out and play.

MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACKING

What The Seahawks Knew about Denver

This should have been obvious to us all, but for some reason that borders on the athletic equivalent of Political Correctness no one has said out loud.

So let your Ostrich Killer say it here:  the Seahawks knew that the entire Denver offensive scheme was built from the ground up to protect - literally - Payton Manning's neck.

Yes, his neck.  Remember that he had 4 neck surgeries after an injury a few years back.  He missed an entire playing season to have that injury surgically corrected.  He sat out an entire playing season to have these surgeries and give his neck time to heal.

Enter the Denver Broncos looking for a 'franchise' type quarterback.  With his doctor sternly warning him that he must protect himself, and must gain medical approval periodically to continue playing, he offers his help to the Broncos.

The Broncos want to protect his neck too, so they designed an offensive scheme to help do that.  They came up with some pretty good solutions:  very quick pass releases after the snap, for example.  Staying in the pocket - no scrambling - and making quick target decisions, for another.  Strong offensive line that nearly eliminated quarterback hits and sacks.

That worked during the regular season.  No one talked about it, other than occasionally remarking that he'd had 4 neck operations.  No one said that the Denver offensive scheme is "protect Manning's neck."

Along come the irreverent Seahawks, taking advantage of Manning's unwillingness to risk his neck by scrambling.  Manning is limited in what he can do: if his receivers are covered he has to take unfamiliar risks.  That means turnovers.

It didn't work.

How good would Denver be if they had a scrambling quarterback like Kapernick or Luck?  These guys can hit receivers too.  And they can protect their own necks with their legs.    

In the end, an offense lacking a running game and built to protect a fragile neck proved to be just too limited to survive a determined pass rush and smothering defensive secondary.  The pass rush in particular understood that if a quarterback is not going to scramble, then they can tighten the focus of their rushes.

On an unrelated note, let your Ostrich Killer be the first to suggest that the citizens of East Rutherford, New Jersey be awarded Honorary 12th Man status.  From all the noise and weather, the Seahawks can be forgiven for wondering if they were playing a home game.  Ditto for the Broncos, who might have wondered if they were in Seattle.  Bravo to you!