GOP plan would raise Medicare age, gut Medicaid, and slash Social Security and vets' benefits

How reactionary is the Republicans' new budget?

Some details of the budget were released today, and it's everything you've dreamed of - if you like punishment.

The budget would raise the Medicare age to 67. It would cap Medicaid spending - and institute an illegal work requirement for Medicaid beneficiaries. It would also prohibit those who get Social Security disability from collecting unemployment insurance.

The budget would even slash veterans' benefits and student loans.

At the same time, the budget would of course increase already-bloated defense spending.

The budget is so extreme that it might not pass. Republicans would have to be mighty stupid to cut Social Security right before a midterm. Maybe congressional Republicans got tired of Donald Trump ruining their party's brand, so they decided to do it themselves. But there were no negative consequences for them in 2010, when they endorsed raising the retirement age to 70, so why do they think anyone will stop them now?

(Source: http://www.heraldcourier.com/news/national/house-budget-would-direct-billion-in--year-spending-cuts/article_df356fe5-e3a6-5999-aa5a-91bef2c2d8d1.html)

Drugstores grandstanded while America burned

Remember a few years ago when major pharmacy chains stopped selling over-the-counter allergy drugs because the drug warriors told them to stop?

While these stores ceased selling products that were effective, they also took actions that contributed to the ballooning pandemic of opioid abuse - proving once again the rank hypocrisy of the failed War on Drugs.

I don't recall if Walgreens was one of the stores that dropped allergy drugs, but the drugstore chain is now being sued by Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear for its contributions to the opioid crisis. The lawsuit alleges Walgreens engaged in deceptive business practices by not reporting suspiciously large orders the store received for prescription opioids. Delaware has sued both Walgreens and CVS, and Walgreens has already agreed to a settlement in Massachusetts.

In short, pharmacies denied legitimate product sales to innocent customers, while they allowed Big Pharma drug pushers to get an untold number of people hooked on opioids.

I dismembered January too

My Roads Scholaring photos have been piling up like logs all year long, and now a batch of 13 photos and videos from January is ready.

So peep, weep, and oggle-beep...

http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/newp18.html

Bo Duke got mad because he spent 5 hours in jail

I've always enjoyed The Dukes Of Hazzard, but John Schneider - who played Bo Duke - thinks spending 5 hours in jail is the biggest injustice in the history of the universe.

Recently, Schneider was taken to court for not paying alimony - because that's just a little bit more than the law will allow. He was ordered to spend 3 days in jail because he couldn't come up with $150,000 he owed. Apparently, Schneider has very little money because he spent a lot rebuilding his Louisiana movie studio after it flooded. It's a shame he was jailed for a debt he couldn't pay - it sounds like something that would happen to the Dukes - but the punishment was nothing compared to what most folks would face.

After being released, Schneider told the media he didn't receive any preferential treatment - then proceeded to list the ways in which he did receive it. Key among them is that he only had to serve 5 hours of a 3-day sentence.

That's nothing. What about my bogus "trespassing" arrest at NKU that kicked off a months-long legal battle? What about the false imprisonment at CPH? What about all the unarmed people killed by police?

John Schneider thinks he's fightin' the system like a modern-day Robin Hood, but all he's doing is grumbling about a punishment that's milder than what most people would suffer.

Bernie Sanders look-alike sighted at Kroger

Bernie Sanders is cool.

But today at Kroger, I saw a Bernie Sanders look-alike! I couldn't help but snicker after I walked past him, and I'm pretty sure the guy working at the store knew that's what I was laughing about.

So what bad things are happening this week?

• The Kenton County Planning Commission rubber-stamped yet another luxury housing development, because of course it did. The massively unpopular subdivision must now be approved by Covington and Park Hills, and is expected to drive up housing costs further and worsen water runoff that has already flooded Covington residents' homes.

• The Tea Party is backing a right-wing campaign against a popular new tax in Seattle that would charge big corporations making at least $20 million in gross revenue about $275 per full-time employee per year. This tax was supposed to help fund affordable housing programs. The Tea Party joins Amazon and Starbucks to be among the few to oppose the measure. Despite overwhelming public support for the tax, City Council plans to appease its corporate masters by repealing the tax.

• The Trump/Kim summit in Singapore (which was held there probably because Singapore outlaws chewing gum, and Trump probably doesn't know how to blow a bubble) was a disaster. What a surprise!

• Fascism is on the march in the Trump regime. When was the last time there was a Republican administration when it wasn't? Trump's Justice Department is arguing in a court case that the University of Michigan's policy against harassment is unconstitutional. The Trump regime's stance is that people have a First Amendment right to commit harassment on a university campus. Yep, that's been the cry of fascists everywhere for decades. Welcome to 1986, Donald.

A December to dismember in the Wolverine State!

An important Christmas family gathering in Port Huron, Michigan, doubled as a Roads Scholaring, and it yielded many a roadly exhibit.

This outing predated my whooping cough battle and broken finger, and you're gonna peep the whole thing until your face flies off in public...

http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/ph17a.html
http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/ph17b.html

Yep, you guessed it! Another Kentucky GOP scandal!

The party that The Media considers constitutionally entitled to hold every public office in the state strikes again!

The latest scandal in the Republican Party of Kentucky involves longtime Scott County Coroner John Goble. Together with some state police officials, Goble was indicted today on charges surrounding the alleged theft of $40,000 worth of weapons and ammo. The indictment for receiving stolen property accuses Goble of acquiring stolen police ammo.

Authorities say the ammunition was stolen from a Kentucky State Police facility and delivered to Goble. Goble also allegedly received numerous guns stolen from state police.

Goble was also indicted for allegedly authorizing payments to a deputy coroner who did not perform any services. Other counts accuse Goble of unlawful possession of a controlled substance and transporting moonshine.

(Source: http://www.kentucky.com/news/local/counties/scott-county/article212744224.html)

A person has an Oscar the Grouch tattoo

I've just been informed that a guy with an Oscar the Grouch tattoo on his arm was sighted at Donatos today.

The man must be a real Sesamoid!

"That's a pee stain!"

I had another funny dream last night.

In this dream, I was at a "discount" store like a Kmart or a Target. Some woman raised a stink about some service she received at the store. She then placed the invoice for the service on the floor.

Apparently, when nobody was looking, someone urinated all over the invoice. Later, the woman picked the invoice up off the floor and talked to the manager about the service she got, not knowing the invoice had been peed on. As the woman was showing the manager the invoice, drops of urine dripped off of it.

"That's a pee stain!" the woman exclaimed in surprise.

No truer words were ever spoken.

Trump appoints Gary Bauer to religious freedom commission

How stupid is this?

Gary Bauer is a longtime right-wing activist from Newport, Kentucky, who made a brief presidential run some years back. The Newport school system required students to attend one of his rallies.

Bauer has a history of saying bigoted things - particularly about gays, Muslims, and the poor.

Guess what? Dictator Trump has just appointed Bauer to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

Let this sink in for a moment. A man who wants to deny religious freedom has just been appointed to a religious freedom committee.

This is like appointing a member of the Campbell County Tea Party as drug czar.

Baste of Newport isn't all that interesting

Today, I goed to Taste of Newport - or as I call it, Baste of Newport. I'd forgotten just how dead the event usually is.

I remember going to Taste of Cincinnati once growing up back around 1983. It was a very uninteresting affair, and I think it poured down rain. I didn't go back for decades.

Taste of Newport is no better. If the region wasn't such a recreational black hole, nobody would even notice it.

Despite this, I saw a young woman today who was in a festive enough mood that she bubbled. Because that's what cool people do. They bubble. You do it every day, because you're a cool person.

A November to dismember!

To fight the forces of loom and doom, I've finally posted my Roads Scholaring photos from this past November.

Peep, weep, and oggle-beep...

http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/ft17.html

Another study ranks Kentucky last in economics

A new ranking is at least the second in recent months that places Kentucky dead last among all 50 states in economic development.

A new WalletHub study says Kentucky under Matt Bevin is the third-worst state to find a job - even as the national unemployment rate soars too. This study compares the states on 29 key economic indicators.

Reading the study further, we see that Kentucky ranks last in economic environment on the basis of average income, starting salaries, poverty rate, and other factors. Kentucky was also among the 10 worst states in unemployment and job opportunities.

Is the Courier-Journal still gonna say Matt Bevin should run for President?

Sandy Hook suit should send chills through right-wing media empire

Families of victims of the 2012 school shooting at Connecticut's Sandy Hook Elementary School are suing Alex Jones - and I hope the suit succeeds.

In a ghoulish attempt to discredit the families, Jones - a radio host known for his right-wing conspiracy theories - has claimed that the shooting was a hoax. Now the families are suing Jones for defamation in Connecticut and in Texas, where Jones's media machine is based.

Jones's attack has been sustained and malicious, and he has incited followers to harass the families.

I hope the lawsuit succeeds because that would send a strong signal that the Far Right's fake news machine must be reined in. I'd go a step further and support new legislation to punish what can be termed gross defamation. When people are shouted down based on fake news, it has a chilling effect on society and the public's general welfare. For right-wing media figures to be punished for their lies would be only fair.

Have no fear, the June ish is here!

June wouldn't be June if it didn't have the June issue of The Last Word to fart in your face throughout the totality of that month.

This ish is a beaut as usual, and it talks about numerous nifty things like these...

• Right-wingers' made-up complaints about everyone else buying big-screen TV's.

• A certain high school wasting over $5 million on a stadium.

• Sesame Place getting bad reviews.

• Gentrification greed.

• A funny body art question.

• The misery of Pac-Man cereal.

• And a whole lot more!

So point your pooper here...

https://www.scribd.com/document/380083063/The-Last-Word-6-2018

If that doesn't work, point it here...

http://bunkerblast.info/lastword/lw1806.pdf

Tea Party misses parade

This is the first time in years that the Northern Kentucky Tea Party didn't show up in the Bellevue-Dayton Memorial Day Parade in an attempt to ruin it.

There were political parties and candidates, but the Tea Party itself was nowhere in sight - unless its float was so quiet that I missed it, which it never is. Last year, the Tea Party's presence received such an overwhelmingly negative reception that they probably realized they should lay low.

Also, I saw 2 - count 'em, 2 - people who bubbled.

Andy Barr trails by 15%

Andy Barr is the longtime far-right congressman in Kentucky's 6th District - who never should have won in the first place, because of his actions when he was in the administration of Gov. Ernie "Hey Bert" Fletcher.

Now - in the wake of Amy McGrath's stunning win in yesterday's Democratic primary - a new DCCC poll has McGrath demolishing Barr 52% to 37%.

I'll remember this when I'm watching the general election returns in November.

Wesley Morgan loses primary in upset

The Republicans actually lucked out yesterday in Kentucky.

Embattled far-right State Rep. C. Wesley Morgan - an ally of the late Dan Johnson - was defeated in the Republican primary for his Richmond-area seat. This at least gives the GOP a fighting chance in November - but not much.

At the same time, House Republican Leader Jonathan Shell - considered a rising GOP star - lost his primary to a high school teacher, after Shell helped pushed through legislation to rob teachers of their pensions.

Oh, and Lloyd Rogers lost his primary too.

Bubbling season is upon us!

Bubbling season coincides with Scholaring season. With the warmer weather, a wad of bubble gum becomes more pliable and easier to blow bubbles with.

Today, when I was on the way to Kroger, some woman walking down the street bubbled. I saw her tilting her head backwards, and I knew just what was next!

At Kroger, I saw 2 - count 'em, 2 - customers who were in such a Krogery mood that they also bubbled.

196 photos from my Big Bend trip!

In America, you visit national parks. In Soviet Russia, national parks visit you!

Back in October, I visited Big Bend National Park, because it's a park that belongs to the people, and I have every right to do so. This trip yielded 196 Roads Scholaring photos, and you're gonna peep 'em all...

http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/tx17a.html
http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/tx17b.html
http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/tx17c.html
http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/tx17d.html
http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/tx17e.html
http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/tx17f.html
http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/tx17g.html
http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/tx17h.html

Everyday I write the book...about celebrity look-alikes!

Earlier, an Elvis Costello look-alike breezed through the alley next to my apartment on a bicycle.

Yep, the GOP is screwed

Tough toilets, Repubs.

Barring another Moscow midterm like 2014, the Republicans are utterly out of luck this November, and even West Virginia is an indicator of that.

If we were talking about the West Virginia of 20 years ago, it would be different, but today's GOP is a rural rump party, so West Virginia is their best bet now - and still they're coming up short. In Tuesday's primary, Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin faced a longshot challenge from Paula Jean Swearengin - who is described as well to Manchin's left. But both Democrats got more votes in their primary than far-right Republican nominee Patrick Morrisey got in his.

Yes, even a Democrat who lost her primary got more votes than the Republican who won his! Many more voters voted in the Democratic primary than in the Republican primary - even though the GOP side was much more competitive and widely publicized. There's now real speculation that all 3 of West Virginia's U.S. House seats - currently held by Republicans - will flip to the Democrats in November.

It's not just West Virginia. It's Cincinnati too! Although Hamilton County now votes Democratic at the presidential level, Tuesday's primary in Ohio was the first time in decades that the Democrats got more votes than the Republicans in Hamilton County. This is especially stunning because GOP turnout is usually much higher in midterms.

When we're this late in the election cycle, and we're seeing results like this, you can safely say the Republicans have to cheat to win. Don't worry. They'll cheat. They've got Putin to help them.

Trump regime wants to end cost-of-living increases for federal retirees

The Far Right's bottomless war on workers continues.

Officials in the Trump thugocracy are urging Congress to slash retirement benefits for federal workers.

Among the changes would be eliminating the cost-of-living increase for both future and current retirees. This comes as Donald Trump is demanding a pay freeze for current workers - despite inflation.

Supporters of the changes say it would "bring federal benefits more in line with the private sector." Are we talking about the same Big Business sector that's fueled America's chronic recession? Instead of this, how about if we bring benefits for private sector workers in line with those in the public sector? The Far Right boasts that their plan reflects the move in the private sector from pensions to programs like a 401(k) that lets rich investors gamble with workers' hard-earned money.

This evil proposal has already been blasted by the American Federation of Government Employees.

(Source: https://www.govexec.com/pay-benefits/2018/05/opm-proposes-legislation-cut-benefits-current-and-former-feds/148022)

People got mad because churches aren't right-wing enough

Don't be fooled by the proliferation of right-wing checkbook clergy. America still does have some cool churches.

I can't link to the article, because I saw it on an MSN page, but the Wall Street Journal just ran a piece about how people are losing their cool at mainline Protestant churches whose leaders are supporting more liberal causes. They say the churches are becoming less interested in spiritual renewal and too concerned with activism.

If they're so angry at churches engaging in liberal activism, why isn't a similar amount of ire being directed at churches that engage in conservative activism and even endorse right-wing candidates? Whether Protestant, Catholic, or anything else, America is littered with checkbook clergy who preach right-wing garbledygoop. Rather than offering spiritual renewal, these right-wing churches control people's lives, shame the poor, and honor only wealth as proof of God's favor.

Some churches strongly disfavor people of different backgrounds - whether it's on economics, sexuality, or some other reason. They idolize the rich and preach that those of less favorable economic circumstances must not have been worthy of salvation. According to these churches, if you're rich, you must have been good. It's only fair that we get to have cool churches to balance out this nonsense.

At least the Wall Street Journal was the right place for right-wingers to complain to about churches being too liberal. Everyone else is sick of their babblings.

Another Kroger bubbling

Today at Kroger, some guy bubbled.

GOP lawmakers leaked intelligence to Trump

Department of Justice officials now say that Republican members of Congress have leaked intelligence about Robert Mueller's investigation to so-called President Trump.

This explains why Trump seems to know so much about the probe. But it should have been obvious all along that lawmakers were feeding him intelligence.

This is obstruction of justice. A wimpy voice off in the distance says, "No, it isn't," because comgressmorons have "congressional immunity." Wrong again! They don't have immunity, because leaking intelligence like this isn't part of their job.

This isn't a problem we can just bubble away (try as though you might). There needs to be some prosecutions. But don't count on that happening, after the Republican wire fraud scandal during the Moscow midterm of 2014 was swept under the rug by the right-wing media.

(Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/02/us/politics/trump-justice-department-house-republicans.html)

Far Right politicizes Alfie Evans case

Some of the most hateful, arrogant people around are those who politicize the Alfie Evans case by citing it as a failure of public healthcare.

Nobody can possibly be dumb enough to think public healthcare killed Alfie Evans. So when they politicize it, it's malice - not ignorance that they can't help.

The right-wing thought police says the boy died because he was being treated by a hospital governed by Britain's National Health Service. They say his parents should have been allowed to take him to Italy, and that he wouldn't have been taken off life support there.

However, Italy - like Britain - also has national healthcare. If he had been taken there and not taken off life support, would they say this was a sign of public healthcare's success? Plus, it was British courts - not just the hospital - that ordered him off life support.

The Terri Schiavo case occurred in the United States at a time when corporate health care was at its nadir. Why isn't this case being used as a basis for criticizing capitalist healthcare, since public healthcare is criticized for the same thing?

National healthcare didn't kill Alfie Evans. He already had a fatal neurodegenerative disorder, and could not recover.

The Far Right doesn't care at all about him. All they care about is exploiting his death for political gain. It's just like how they swoop into every American city or town that suffers a major tragedy - and exploit it.

More folks would catch on to this right-wing demagoguery if the media would engage in more journalism and less preening hackery. The Republican Party is sinking into the peat bog - but our political media has been dragged along with it.

Pence attends racist fundraiser

Mike Pence is attending a fundraiser today for a pro-Trump "nonprofit" called America First Policies. As it turns out, the director of advocacy of this organization is one Carl Higbie, who has a rather, uh, interesting history himself.

Higbie - a Republican former congressional candidate in Connecticut - hosts a radio show with a history of bigoted remarks. He once claimed on his show that black women "think that breeding is a form of employment." Higbie has also claimed that PTSD was made up by veterans as a way to collect benefits.

Pence can't claim he doesn't know about Higbie's views - because Higbie had already been forced to resign a government post because of these revelations. Yet the Trump regime continues to embrace him.

Because, after all, this is the Republican Party we're talking about.

(Source: https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/01/politics/kfile-carl-higbie-says-comments-out-of-context)

Illinois school district abolishes uniforms

A victory for the forces of good!

The Proviso Township school district in Illinois is abolishing its right-wing mandatory uniform policy. Students complained that the uniforms promoted "racism, classism, and sexism." Because of the community's almost universal opposition to uniforms, the school board unanimously voted to do away with the requirement.

The right-wing website comments supporting uniforms are already approaching a howl.

(Source: http://www.forestparkreview.com/News/Articles/5-1-2018/After-students-rise-up,-D209-ditches-uniforms)