ASPIRING TO MEDIOCRITY

Humbling America, the Obama Way

It is stunning to review how an American President aspires to 'humbling' the country which he leads.  I cannot immediately recall any national leader of any country in the history of the world who wanted to REDUCE his country's economic power, its military power, its ability to defend itself, and its list of historical allies.

Obama took a country that was rolling comfortably along parallel to a distant economic cliff and turned it ninety degrees so that it will, if not quickly turned back to its former course, drive directly over that cliff. But turn is not in his plans; he wants to put the pedal to the metal.  He has stated that he wants to do to ALL businesses in America what he did to Government Motors and Chrysler.  What he did has resulted in Government Motors being owned by the taxpayer, who doesn't want it, to the tune of the better part of $100 billion.  Chrysler is scarcely better: it is now owned by that well-know quality conscious firm of Fiat Motors.  Not that Chrysler has been known for quality products for some time now, but ownership by Fiat is a step down even for them.

Wonderful.  Of the former Big 3 American automobile giants, only Ford remains as an American business enterprise with no taxpayer ownership or other obligations.  They make cars at their own expense, and they sell them at a profit.  Simple recipe that, combined with a minimum of Government oversight and an eye on quality, is working for them.  How long can Obama allow that to continue?

But enough about Ford and the other two.  Obama has asked the Pentagon to study reducing our nuclear inventory to 300.  That would be down from 31,225 in 1967 and 2,200 in 2010.  His goal is "a world without nuclear weapons" - which sounds laudable, but is in fact code for unilateral disarmament.

Humbling.  Prostrating America helpless in front of our enemies, as a show of good faith and trust.  We're good people, see?  No need to attack us, because we can't hurt you.  We'll do anything you say, because we can't back up our refusal . . .

You get the picture.  Moving America ever closer to third world status.

Our allies from BO (Before Obama) are now, at best, mere acquaintances.  Israel thinks they're alone in the world now, abandoned by America.  England ditto - Obama returned the bust of Churchill, remember?  Churchill, a bad example for FOOLs (Followers of Obama Logic.)  Canada wonders what in hell is going on, especially after the Keystone Pipeline fiasco.  Now our allies appear to be, at least in Obama's world view, the Muslim Brotherhood, Russia, and China.  I wonder how secure Taiwan feels these days?  Or Japan?

Do you think it's possible that our traditional enemies are seeing an historical opportunity in the Obama presidency?  Do you think they're likely to let it pass unexplored?

And we haven't even talked about driving up the cost of energy so much that the engines of commerce are starving.  People who commute to work are getting a double whammy: it costs them a lot more and their paychecks are lower than they were.  It costs industry more to power their lathes and tools, which they partly offset by reducing staff.  Can you spell 'lost jobs?'  But no drilling in the Gulf!  No, No!  And no new oil wells either.  No Keystone Pipeline.  No new nuke plants.  No new coal mining.  

What in hell do the Dems and Obama in particular think is supposed to power industries and homes?  Flower petals and choruses of Kumbya?  Or maybe (worse) endless verses of John Lennon whining out 'Imagine?'  Maybe the next Chevy model will the Chevy Fan, a car with a wind generator attached to the roof.  Or the Chevy Sail, with a mast - you get the idea.

Obama's view is that America needs to be humble, non-threatening, helpless, and no better and no worse than, say Greece or Kenya.  

He aspires to taking America from being the best in the world to being the average of the world.  He aspires to mediocrity.

If he succeeds, I wonder which country will then be the best in the world?

Your Ostrich Killer thinks he has made his points.  Thoughts?  Let me know.  Now, I need a third cup of coffee.

TODAY'S LEXICON ENTRIES

Another De-coding for Your Reading Pleasure

From time to time we all hear terms used and most times we just let them pass by, assuming we know what those terms mean.  But every once in awhile it's a good idea to take a look at how those terms are actually used, by whom, and why.

So here's a term or two to add to your growing lexicon of the evolving American ThinkSpeak language:

1.  Feminist (noun) Syn: Envious hater of femininity.  A term used by short, fat, ugly female liberals who are disproportionately lesbians to describe other equally repugnant liberal women.  There are no 'conservative' feminists.  A feminist, who has somehow found a blind male with no sense of smell, is far more likely to abort a baby than is a woman.

2.  Rich (adj) A term used by the Obama regime and the other America-hating Occupy dope-smoking welfare begging scumbags to describe another's financial comfort in relation to the person describing them as 'rich.'  A person or group is 'rich' if they have more than another party.  (noun) syn: Those who do not pay their fair share, as in 'The rich do not pay their fair share of taxes.'  (noun) syn: Cheats.  No one rich became rich legitimately, as in 'The rich steal from the poor.'  (noun) syn: Anyone who does not depend on government for regular fixes of money.  The political left hate the rich in part because the rich are not dependent on government for their day to day comfort, and see the rich as a threat to the political left because they help make other people rich too, and the fewer people who depend on the government for money, the fewer votes the left will get.  (adj) a pejorative term used exclusively by the left to fan the flames of class envy.  (adj) A term used by conservatives to express admiration for another's success.

3.  Fair Share (noun) syn: Anything a rich (def. above) party has that another does not.  Often used to describe the difference between minimal survival requirements and current comfort level for anyone not taking monthly government bribes in the form of money, food stamps, etc, as in 'The rich are not paying their fair share.'  If they did pay this 'fair share,' they would no longer be rich.  They would be just as poor as the typical welfare recipient, who would be worse off than ever because the rich can no longer hire or pay  workers.  The formerly rich would have to close factories and other businesses, because those would have been forfeited to the government at part of the 'fair share.'  The government would then give these businesses to political cronies and campaign donors.

4.  Social Justice (noun) syn: Taking the fruits of one's labors and giving them to those who do not labor.  A concept favored solely by those who hate America and lay about on their dope-smoking illiterate public schooled lazy asses and bitch about not having a summer home in the Hamptons.

It's too late in the day for coffee.  Your Ostrich Killer is now going to adjourn for a beer.  If you have suggestions for other words to add to this ever-expanding lexicon, please pass them along.  Thank you for stopping by.

SHAME ON THE BLACK COMMUNITY OR THE MEDIA

WHICHEVER IS THE GUILTY PARTY - OR BOTH

   There's a dead black street thug.  A non-black guy (Zimmerman) shot him to death.  The black community's self-appointed race-baiting 'leadership' (Sharpton, Farakeen, Jackson) pretty much call for lynching Zimmerman. Oh, they were careful to avoid using those exact words.  But go back to the news archives for a few days after the killing and read them for yourselves.  They were inciting and soliciting murder.  Read it for yourselves.
   Never read anything in the Mainstream Media (MSM) about other blacks in the public arena saying anything about how wrong that is.  According to the media it doesn't seem to matter who did what and why - it's only important that a black street thug is dead and a non-black guy did the killing.  The facts don't matter.  The truth doesn't matter.  Why he's dead doesn't matter.  No, what matters is that a common-variety street thug who was black is dead by the actions of a non-black
   So what are we to think about this?  Your Ostrich Killer suspects that the MSM is waiting breathlessly for the murder of Zimmerman, the non-black killer of that street thug - a murder they will have assisted in bringing about through their one-sided coverage of the sentiment and anger of the black community.  I have to believe that murder and lynching is not a commonly held approach to determining the facts of what is at the bottom line a criminal investigation and trial in the American sense.  A charged party is innocent in our legal system until proven guilty.  But was there coverage of this side of the black community, the side of 'let's see what the facts are, and then if a trial is needed we'll hold that trial'?
   Did you see any of that in the MSM?
   Either the black community or the media - or both - should be hanging their heads in shame over this lynch-mob rhetoric.  If it's just the media's fault, then the black community needs to find a way to let the rest of the country know their true majority thinking - and they shouldn't do it through those disgraceful race-baiters who claim to represent the black community.  Nobody appointed or elected them to speak for 36 million blacks.  So speak up!  Sound like Americans instead of a mob.


   I still haven't had my second cup of coffee.  Can you tell?

FLIGHT ATTENDANTS VICTIMIZED BY WORK RULES

Your friendly Ostrich Killer was SHOCKED - Shocked, you hear? - to learn recently that at least one major airline has flight attendant compensation rules that few sane Americans would tolerate.  Not sure what that says about flight attendants, but hey.  Let me paint just one picture of how the flight attendants get paid at this particular major airline:

They dress, make their way to the airport without getting paid.  So? you say.  You commute to work every day and you don't get paid for that either.  And that's true.

Next, they sit like everyone else and wait their turn to board the aircraft.  They have to do this because they're not sure if boarding will begin a few minutes early.  No pay.  But there they are in the airport.  Airline rules say: "That's not your place of work."  No pay.

The flight is delayed.  They still sit there, time ticking by.  No pay.  And they can't leave under pain of firing.  They're not on the job, they're not getting paid, but they can't leave?

Eventually the flight arrives, they get to board.  They stow their luggage and do a bunch of cabin prep work.  And here's where it gets interesting:  the airplane door hasn't closed, so they don't get paid.  Wait, you say.  They're doing their jobs but they don't get paid?  That's right.  The door is still open.  No pay.

Finally here come the passengers.  Throngs of them.  The flight attendants help board them, show them their seats, stow outsized luggage somewhere (they always seem to have space somewhere), lift bags to the overhead for the feeble lame or lazy, smile and be pleasant.  But of course the doors are still open.  So they don't get paid.  WHAT???? All that work but still no pay?  That's right.  They're on the job for free so far.

The passengers are seated and discover that there is a storm in the area and departure will be delayed.  They sit at the terminal.  Flight attendants scurry up and down the aisles passing out free drinks and twigs and condolences.  They take verbal abuse because they're the nearest airline-related target.  The doors haven't closed.  Nearly 3 hours later the storm has passed enough that departure prep can begin.  The doors close.  NOW they start getting paid.

Some of us - I'm one of them - would say that's fine, if that's the rules and the flight attendants agree to work that way, that's their choice.  But doesn't it seem logical that they should be getting paid from the time they get to the boarding gate not more than an hour ahead of their scheduled flight, until they deplane at the destination?  There they are, on the job.

Your Ostrich Killer thinks that a good place to recruit dedicated, work-ethic enriched talent with supreme people skills and demonstrated learning ability would be on board an airliner.  There they are - talent, charm and intelligence on the hoof.  Go get them.

Yes, you executives out there.  Hire these people away from this nonsense!  Most can be had starting, for a hard worker, for less than $30k.  Offer to train them whatever technical skills they need to move up in your organizations.  They're looking for a way out - show them a way up instead.  Give them your card.  Ask them to send you a resume and describe briefly the type of work they'd do.  Mention your 401K plan, the health maintenance plan, the locations of your offices, other simple stuff.  Be encouraging.  And if you have concerns about your aging workforce, many of these flight attendants are in their early to mid 20s.  A little basic selectivity as to who you give your card to could be part of a solution, don't you think?

Yes, you do.  You're welcome!

WHEN IS AN APP NOT AN APP?

Yes, this is another of the Ostrich Killer's tekky blather posts.  Every so often I get a bug up my behind about some aspect of technology, and just have to let others know what's what out there.  So - let's discuss what constitutes an "App."  You know - that thing a smart phone or tablet (such as iPad or many others) does when you touch one of those cute little icons on the screen.  You touch it, something happens.  They're called 'apps,' which is short for, I suppose, 'application.'

So when is an app not an app?  An application, to my admittedly curmudgeonish mind, is something a computer does when it is invoked / launched.  You're sitting at your PC right now, reading this.  You're running an app that is generically called a browser to do that.  The browser is resident on your PC.  You launch it on purpose.  

But what would happen if you weren't connected to the internet or a cell service?  The browser would launch, but it would return an error message saying, in effect, 'You dummy.  Hook up first.'  The application (browser) would run but show nothing else.

How to know if those cute little icons on your smart phone or tablet are apps?  Turn off the wifi.  Turn off the cell service.  Then try to launch the app.  If it still runs, it's a true application.  If it doesn't, it's just a hyperlink to a web page.

So when is an app not an app?  By now I hope you've come to the correct answer:  "When it's a hyperlink!"  Apps are resident, hyperlinked sites are not.  Put another way, an app that is nothing more than a hyperlink is no different than one of your browser's bookmarks.  But the gullible public has been sold the idea that they are somehow different, because they're cute and on the screen of the smart phone and / or tablet.  

Ah, marketing to the unwashed masses . . .  Your Ostrich Killer has done yet another public service.  You're welcome, and spread the word.    

PRICE OF LIGHT SKYROCKETS

MAYBE IT'S TIME TO GO BACK TO CANDLES AND BICYCLES

     Among the many attacks on low-cost energy waged by the Obama regime, probably none is more telling than the mandatory replacement of the 4-for-a-dollar incandescent lightbulbs you use in your home.  Yes, when they burn out you'll have to replace them with something a LOT more expensive.  How expensive?
     You know that your Ostrich Killer has the answer to that question, right?  So here it is: instead of 4 for $1, you can now expect to get 4 for $200.
     That should please the 'green' crowd almost as much as $6 a gallon gasoline.  Or killing the oil pipeline from Canada.
     Maybe the people who elected Obama last time will ask themselves, during the next election, if they can afford to drive to their local polling places.  Or, if they're using mail-in ballots, if they should make plans to fill them out during daytime so they won't have to use electricity to read them at night.  And hopefully that vast throng of stupid white people who voted for Obama last time because they thought that would prove they're not racists (it proved the exact opposite, of course) will now say to themselves something like 'Okay, I did something really stupid last election.  I voted skin color instead of qualifications' and vote more responsibly this time.
     Naaah.  As Ron White correctly points out, 'You can't fix stupid.'  So these delusional voters will find another excuse for not voting issues and qualifications.

FRENCH AND AMERICAN JOURNALISTS KILLED

JOURNALISTS KILLED IN SYRIA


  So?  What did they expect?
  Did they think the Syrian gov't would treat them differently than they treat their own citizens?
  Here's a thought for you journalists out there:  covering wars is a dangerous business, especially when one or more of the combatants doesn't want that coverage.  Duh.
  You news agencies would be doing the population as a whole a big favor by sending young journalists who haven't had time to reproduce yet.  Those stupid enough to go could be culled from the gene pool, thereby improving our species.
  And now, another cup of coffee . . . 

RETURN AFGHANISTAN TO THE 12TH CENTURY

As We Leave, Return Afghanistan to its Former Pristine State

Obama wants us out.  The Afghans want us out.  Your Ostrich Killer wants us out - not because I don't believe in freedom, but because I believe that freedom is for those who are willing to fight for it, not against it.  It cannot be imposed, it can only be captured.


So where are the Afghani police and security forces during these hyped-up 'koran burning' riots?  Where is the Afghani leadership?  Why, with the rioters of course.  On their side.  And why?  Because the trash left behind by Afghani prisoners was about to be burned.


Well, ok.  Enough is enough.  I propose that as part of the overall withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan, we return that country to its former pristine 12th century condition - you know, the condition it was in before American forces arrived.  


So we should start with roads, dams, power plants, rail lines, bridges and schools.  If we built them or even repaired them, take 'em all down.  Sewers?  Dynamite them.  These are people of the left hand, after all, and they didn't need sewers before we arrived.  You'll have to look that phrase up to truly understand, and your Ostrich Killer has too much class to describe it here.  Or you could drop me a note and ask, as my personal review of Google's search results don't return the proper descriptions.  Maybe Mr. Google is the polite sort.


Internet? Cell communications?  Factories?  Industrial facilities of any sort?  Motorized farm equipment?  Turn them to slag.  And then leave them to fight themselves as they have for millennia.  Drop incendaries on Opium poppy crops.  Wherever pockets of terrorism crop up, carpet-bomb them from 50,000 feet.  Don't waste smart bombs on dumb targets.  With a little luck and enough collateral damage, maybe the population will take steps to keep organized terror out of their communities.  If not, well - that's what Arclights and collateral damage are for.  Otherwise just leave them alone.


And good riddance.  

PEACE RECIPE FOR THE MIDDLE EAST

THE CAB DRIVER IN TEL AVIV


Your Ostrich Killer just returned from Tel Aviv.  First time ever to that part of the world.  An Israeli taxi cab driver passed along a couple interesting thoughts:


First, he said "All we (Israelis) want is to be left alone.  If we were left alone we could be another Switzerland."


A few moments later he said "If the arabs put their weapons down today, there'd be peace in the Middle East today.  If the Jews put their weapons down today, there'd be no Jews tomorrow."


I wonder if our State Department ought to put this fellow on retainer.

Whitney Dead. Darn!

SPARE US ANY MORE MEDIA MASTURBATION ABOUT WHITNEY HOUSTON

Okay, someone should just say it:  she probably offed herself.  Poor little rich girl.  While your Ostrich Killer is as saddened as anyone else by suicide, the act alone is enough to deprive her of any honors.


Suicide is an act of hate, and people should line up to piss on the graves of those who commit it - they should NOT honor them.  It's a mortal sin.  Ask any major religion.


I'm being unfair?  She had golden tonsils.  It's true.  Very good singer.  Lousy wife.  Lousy mother.  Crack and coke head.  Juicer.  Kid in rehab or needing to be.  So other than being a good singer, of what use was she to her family or society?


None.  So let's stop all this whining and hand-wringing and eulogizing.  Say "it's too bad rehab didn't work for her," and move on.  There are other singers.  Some of them are actually decent human beings.


Good thing your Ostrich Killer hasn't had his second cup of coffee yet.

WHAT EXACTLY IS 'INSTITUTIONAL RACISM?'

Your friendly Ostrich Killer only asks the above question so that he can answer it for all the people who SHOULD be reading this blog.  My regulars already know the answer, so my apologies to you.


To properly answer the question, we first have to agree that the word 'institution' means any structured system involving people, such as a university, or a government, or your local day care center.  All these institutions have policies or laws governing many things.  Including dealing with the race issue.


Okay, so now for the definition:  "Institutional Racism" is any enforceable policy or law that treats one group of people differently than another, based at least in part on their race.


End of definition.


What?  You have a question?  Oh - okay, it is true that Affirmative Action programs are institutional racism.  In fact, they're one of the very best examples of it.  Good point.  Oh, and yes, also the university preferential treatments of various races so that they can 'diversify and enrich' their student body population.  And so are so-called 'hiring preferences.'  And yes, Obama's recent address to black Americans, appealing for their support in the next election, was racist.  Can you imagine what the press would make of a white conservative appealing to white Americans? - - but the press is another topic, for another time.


Good points, all of them, o Gentle Reader.  As usual, you're spot on.  Now if we could only get the people who SHOULD be reading this blog to read it . . . And now, another cup of coffee.  You're welcome.  

TOM BRADY DOES NOT AN ENTIRE TEAM MAKE

A SAD SUPERBOWL


   First, let your Ostrich Killer make it clear that he didn't pull for one team or another.  He pulled for quality football.
We watched the team with probably the most talented quarterback in the history of the game lose to a lesser team - a team beaten by the Seattle Seaturkeys this season.  Why did New England lose?
   They lost because of a questionable franchise philosophy:  score a vast number of points, and it doesn't matter how many points the other team scores.  So it's offense, offense, offense - and just enough defense to slow down the other side.
But if you don't score a boatload of points - well, that's what happened.
   Many megabucks spent on offense, lip service to defense.  No interceptions by New England.  Few drive-stopping plays.  And just when New England couldn't afford it, three dropped passes in a row near the end of the game.
   A statistical certainty that happened at just the wrong time, despite Tom Brady setting the all-time consecutive pass completion record for a Super Bowl.
   This game is just another in a universe of examples of why balance is a necessity.  Mrs. Brady, Tom's wife, has it right.

ALARMING FEMALE VIOLENCE INCREASE IN LAST DECADE


No, we're not talking about guys beating up gals.  We're talking about gals whupping up (or trying to) on everyone.  News stories lately say 'experts' are puzzled by this strange phenomenon.


But not your friendly Ostrich Killer.  Nope, I've got it all figured out, just like you probably do too.  


So this post is for the other readers out there.  The ones who should be reading this blog, not you.  


Here it is, all nice and tidy: the increased violence is a result of all those TV shows and movies where the hot babe kicks the living crap out of some big-muscled bad guy.  You've seen them on all the cop shows on TV, all those thrill shows at the box office.  Hot babes, kicking big guy butt.  So it's no wonder that the airheads in the audiences think Hey, I bet I could do that too!


And then they try it and get totally trounced.  Why?


Because a male the same weight as a female is about twice as strong as and can take several times the punishment that a female can.  That ain't sexism, folks, it's physiology.  


Another myth of 'equality' shattered, courtesy of your Ostrich Killer.  You're welcome.

'OCCUPIERS' ARE NO MYSTERY

WHO ARE THESE 'OCCUPIERS' OF WALL STREET AND OTHER PLACES?

  First, my apologies to my reader(s). It's been a long time, and I'll be sure to post more often, because, like myself, you are getting fed up and want to read the thoughts of someone else who's getting fed up.

  So let's start with who the people are who are sitting in - 'occupying' - the various sites. You know instinctively who they are, don't you? When you were in grade school you stole their lunch money and beat them up. In high school they hid out behind the shop building and did dope. They dropped out during their junior years to pursue other opportunities, often wrecking their cars to gain insurance windfalls. They went from one job to another - burger flipping, counter sales at the Party City, auto detailing and car washing, rake manager for landscapers - but were most often drawing unemployment and welfare payments or, more likely, living at home with Mommy.

  Yes, these are the people who never got over having their mommies feed them and wipe their butts. There they are, sitting in parks and sidewalks, but instead of Mommy they have George Soros and ANSWER and other insurrectionists feeding them, and the city picking up their butt wipes. They have their hands out for your money - somehow, it should be theirs if there is 'economic justice.' Not that they earned it, of course. But they're entitled to it anyway because they need it. Otherwise they'd have to learn a useful trade and become productive.

  Even worse, they have our Instigator in Chief, Mr. Obama, smiling and winking at them and assuring them that 'we are with you.' Big surprise. Guess who led 'Occupy Chicago' in 1988? Look it up.         Now try to imagine a US President backing an attempt at national insurrection. Does that boggle your mind, or what? Isn't the President supposed to help PUT DOWN insurrection? But it should be no surprise. After all, he was a 'community organizer' in Chicago, which is another name for 'rabble rouser,' 'insurrectionist,' 'trouble maker,' and 'fomenter of civil disobedience.'

  We don't have a President, but what we do have is a bunch of whining, tantrum-throwing brats holding their hands out for free food, free housing, and your money. Your Ostrich Killer's suggestion on how to deal with them? Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow . . .

HOW TO TELL A LIB FROM A CONSERVATIVE

But first, a definition of terms: A 'lib' is a liberal, a democrat, a leftist, a socialist, a big government advocate. A 'conservative' is a Constitutionalist, promotes free trade and business-for-profit, a small government strong defense advocate, a 'rightist' politically.

So, how to tell the two apart, assuming at least a little observation?

A 'Lib' decides how he / she should 'feel' about an issue, and takes that position and will not change her / his mind in the face of facts, no matter how compelling or numerous.

A 'Conservative' looks at the facts, mentally models them, and comes up with a thought-out position on the issue. A conservative re-evaluates their position when new facts are brought to light.

To summarize: a 'Lib' feels and facts don't matter; a Conservative thinks and facts are what matters.

I know most of you already knew that. But maybe someone who isn't already a fan of this blog will happen along and learn something.

You're welcome. Now, another cup of coffee . . .

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!

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.

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.

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.

POLITICS? or PERSONAL ATTACKS?

I have a friend who runs a personal blog much like this one, but which deals with different subject matter. However, there is a Politics subsection. In the latest posting there, this friend commented on how nothing defines the GOP better than Trump and Palin getting together for pizza at what some natives to that area have described as the worst pizza parlor - and opened by some Polish immigrant, can you imagine?

Like most of you, I find this sort of thinking repulsive. First, where's the political connection? Surely a choice of restaurants can't rate up there with, say, their views on the American economy. Secondly, aren't we a melting pot? Don't we applaud any immigrant successes? Such as a Pole founding a successful pizza restaurant?

Yet all we hear, day in and day out, is how the left is tolerant and inclusive and reeking of the stench of diversity. So what could be more diverse than a female governor, a male entrepreneur, and a Polish immigrant's family getting together over pizza? But no. The left is inclusive, I guess, but even they have limits. Poles? Beyond the pale, it would appear, especially if they are purveyors of pizza. That sort of cross-cultural assimilation simply can't be tolerated.

In thinking further, and reflecting upon the rhetoric from the left about potential GOP candidates for office, or GOP ideas, we hear that these candidates and ideas are an uninspiring lot, and lack charm, or in other ways are not appealing. But politics is about none of those. Politics is about the value of ideas, and the election of people who will help carry out the ideas and agendae that the electorate most support. Charm and inspiration aren't there. Neither of those built this country, with the possible exception of the inspiration of the freedoms that the phrase "with liberty and justice for all" brought with it.

So expect the election to be mostly personal attacks from the left, and policy attacks from the right. As usual.