GOP effort to steal Kentucky House seat fails

Ever since a Republican incumbent lost by one vote in the November election, Republicans had been trying to steal that Kentucky House seat. But after lawmakers seated Democratic Rep. Jim Glenn, the only people still trying to overturn the election were those whose brains were irretrievably broken.

Today - in a surprise move - the defeated incumbent Rep. D.J. Johnson finally realized he had no case and withdrew his challenge to the election result. But only after he ruined an incalculable amount of taxpayer money on this ill-fated challenge.

Johnson had faced the humiliating prospect of the election being decided by a coin toss.

Today's development keeps Republican losses in the Kentucky House at a hilarious level instead of merely a funny level.

Virginia GOPer was editor of racist yearbook

It's all crashing down for Republicans in Virginia.

Tommy Norment - a Republican - is the Majority Leader of the Virginia Senate. Now it turns out that when he attended Virginia Military Institute, Torment was the editor of a yearbook filled to the brim with racist photos and ethnic slurs.

The photos include students in blackface, and the words include slurs against blacks, Asians, and Jews.

People are right to criticize Virginia's Democratic leaders if they appeared in photos like this even 40 years ago. But Republicans have no leg to stand on, because their record of racism is unending. In 40 years, the GOP hasn't progressed.

(Source: https://pilotonline.com/news/government/politics/virginia/article_d4ce7700-2ae3-11e9-ace9-ff7814740140.html)

GOP on verge of stealing Kentucky House election

What do you do when you lose a Kentucky House election by one vote? What if the county recounts the votes and the result doesn't change? What if the state certifies the result as final? What if the House seats the winning candidate and assigns him to committees?

Well, if you're a Republican, you throw a big temper tantrum about the result and leave it to a panel full of Republicans to decide what to do about it.

That's exactly what happened in an Owensboro-based House seat, where Democrat Jim Glenn upset Republican incumbent D.J. Johnson.

After Glenn was seated, a GOP-led House panel ordered the seizure of ballots in that election and had them transported to the Republican House Clerk's office in Frankfort. State law requires the ballots to be kept in a box with 3 locks, but they were transported unsecured - with no box. An Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer photo showed the ballots sitting on a desk in the open. Glenn's lawyer filed a motion claiming the ballots were "spoiled evidence."

After House Republicans tampered with these ballots, what do you think happened? They ordered the ballots sent back to Owensboro - again unsecured - for yet another recount, which took place yesterday. According to yesterday's tally, the race ended in a tie. Glenn actually was ahead at first, but Johnson personally hounded vote counters into counting rejected ballots. These included one for Johnson on which the voter signatures did not match, and another on which the voter had originally filled in a circle for a straight Republican ticket but then came to their senses at the last minute and crossed it out.

State law says tied elections shall be decided by drawing lots. In this case, regardless of how that turns out, it will still be up to the Republican-led Kentucky House to decide what to do after that. But they have one big problem. Glenn has already been seated, and the only legal way to remove him would be impeachment. They can't impeach him unless he breaks the law. Glenn has promised to sue if they try this.

So Republicans are out of luck, right? Voopvoopavoop wrong! Certainly, they have no legal basis for removing a seated House member from office without evidence of wrongdoing. But they also had no basis for the Citizens United ruling. They just make up their legal theories as they go along.

I don't understand how the Kentucky GOP is any different from an overseas dictator who just ignores election results and declares themselves the winner. This wouldn't even be the first time in recent years that Kentucky Republicans have done this very thing, for it has happened at least once in a county race.

Lexington bishop threatened with lawsuit for criticizing CovCath students

The Covington Catholic scandal shows the litigious nature of spoiled bullies and those who blindly side with them.

Bishop John Stowe of the Diocese of Lexington wrote an op-ed criticizing the students' racially and politically charged actions - though he didn't mention the students by name. Now a lawyer representing a student is threatening to sue the bishop for defamation.

This proves that the lawsuit threats stemming from this incident are about silencing critics.

A school in Stowe's diocese - Lexington Catholic High School - recently began a campaign of inclusiveness, after that school was sued in 2016 for sexual harassment and racial discrimination. Somehow, I don't expect any school in the Diocese of Covington to take any steps towards improving its ways.

(Source: https://www.kentucky.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/tom-eblen/article225381150.html)

People chewed gum outside Aladdin's Castle (Bubble Gum Weekend)

Usually, a Bubble Gum Weekend - a time-honored feature of this blog - talks about a hilarious old gum commercial. But this time, the clip is not an ad - just some gum nostalgia!

Aladdin's Castle was a chain of video game arcades found in shopping malls. We famously got kicked out of an Aladdin's Castle once in my day. Aladdin's Castle also figures prominently in a clip about bubble gum that appears to have been filmed in the early '80s...



That video features several teenagers talking about bubble gum and appears to have been made for a cable TV access channel. Of course, people bubbled - as distorted music plays.

The Izod-shirted teenage host stands in a mall corridor just outside Aladdin's Castle and interviews several young people about beegee. He also samples a couple brands of gum but chews each for only a few seconds - thereby wosting them. The best part is that he discards them by simply setting them on the right-hand side of the screen - making it appear as if they stay suspended in midair instead of going into a trash can.

I don't know what city or locale this clip was filmed in, but I swear I know the last interviewee, who is about 50 now.

Campbell County GOP's Tumblr blog gone

For about a year, the Campbell County Republican Party appeared to run a blog on Tumblr that periodically flaunted the party's growing extremism. At first, I was skeptical that the blog was even real, but let's not kid ourselves. The Campbell County GOP really is that extreme.

I know the blog was real, because local GOP leaders aren't alone among Republican brass in their extremism. The Facebook page of the Republican Party of Kent County, Delaware, is one of the leading sources of similar material. And the GOP in Harris County, Texas, recently observed Holocaust Remembrance Day by posting on Facebook, "Leftism kills."

After the Campbell County GOP's Tumblr blog groaned that "liberals" took over county government in November, I had planned on discussing the blog in detail. But now I've noticed it's been taken down. What a shame, because it was pretty damn funny.

For one thing, when they claim "liberals" took over the county, nothing can be further from the truth. They're just angry because they hoped the Democrat would be relegated to third place in the judge-executive race - which would threaten the Democrats' ballot access. But that didn't happen - despite the hype by the River City News.

How madcap was this blog? The first entry included the party's usual complaints about the "liberal media", and it was all downhill from there. The blog claimed America is a "Christian nation" and endorsed electing county officials who would outlaw same-sex marriage. That's not the only time the blog thought Campbell County government bodies could overrule the U.S. Supreme Court. It also said the school board should "immediately reinstate" compulsory school prayer.

The blog listed instituting a property requirement for voting as a top Republican priority. It also echoed the cries of right-wing talking heads who laughably claim 'Net neutrality violates the property rights of telcoms. Plus, this blog said phone companies should have a right to eavesdrop on customers because the phone company owns the phone lines. It argued that if customers don't want to be wiretapped, they can just find another phone company - even though phone companies have a monopoly on landline service.

The blog boasted that Donald Trump got more votes than Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders - which is false. Clinton won the popular vote handily, and Sanders was not on the general election ballot.

This erupting fount of stupidity endorsed the government selling titles of nobility to pay off the national debt - which it repeatedly claimed was run up by "liberals." Although it's unconstitutional for the government to grant noble titles, the blog said it would be permissible in this case, arguing that the Constitution only forbids granting these titles for free - not selling them.

The blog gloated that a Republican tax bill in Kentucky would institute "Biblical taxation" and claimed that regressive taxes like the expanded sales tax are supported by the Bible. A later post said the Bible "bans" progressive taxation.

I'd love to see what local Republican politicians would say if they were asked about their membership in a party that supports the above nonsense. How would, say, Wil Schroder respond if it's pointed out to him how idiotic his party is being?

But with the right-wing media's Republican protection agenda, would it even have an impact?

Have no fear, the February ish is here!

The February issue of The Last Word is published, and it's a biggie - perhaps the meatiest in a couple years!

This ish talks about the ruination of National Geographic magazines, our hilariously bad student media, my scuttled plans to return to college, my bungling of a standardized test, people spitting out bananas, the inevitable disposal of a 'Sesame Street' calendar, and more!

So point your pooper here...

https://www.scribd.com/document/398432096/The-Last-Word-2-2019

If that doesn't work, you can find the latest Last Word here...

http://bunkerblast.info/lastword/lw1902.pdf

Nazi apologist strings words together on Facebook

I received this classic earlier on Facebook...

"Tim Brown and more stupidity from your mouth"

That's not even a complete sentence, idiot.

Nazi threatens violence against Antifa

Carter Braxton is on Facebook threatening to beat up Antifa supporters at an upcoming event in my area. Chris Levi is encouraging him.

CovCath students taunt Indigenous Peoples March

I guess this means Brossart isn't the only racist high school in the Diocese of Covington.

New videos have surfaced showing students from Covington Catholic High School - wearing pro-Trump hats - taunting a drummer at the Indigenous Peoples March in Washington, D.C. The videos have already created a nationwide outcry - and yet another black eye for local Catholic schools.

But hey, let's pretend we're surprised, since it's only about the millionth time something like this has happened in this diocese.

West Virginia GOP wants to waste state money on Trump's wall

It doesn't take a genius to see how impractical Donald Trump's border wall is, but modern Republicans' penchant for wastage bastage isn't limited to the national party.

Republicans in West Virginia are proposing spending $10 million of state money on this border wall. Three lawmakers will be introducing this bill in the West Virginia legislature in the coming days.

What does the border wall have to do with West Virginia - a state that is hundreds of miles from the border?

(Source: https://www.wdtv.com/content/news/WV-delegates-introducing-bill-to-donate-state-funds-to-border-wall-504376101.html)

Massie opposes back pay for workers during shutdown

How useless is our congressmoron Thomas Massie?

The House just voted 411 to 7 to make sure federal employees receive back pay for work that the Trump shutdown forced them to miss. Guess who one of the 7 who voted against it was?

What a big tyrant.

Ba-de-ya!

September! Or as I call it...ba-de-ya!

I performed 2 - count 'em, 2 - Roads Scholarings in September involving the Peace Bike! They yielded a few photos, and they must be pept with extreme dispatch!

The first was in Dayton, Kentucky, where I investigated the KY 8 rerouting...

http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/dayky18.html

The second was in Covington, where I took a look at Pershing Avenue, which is threatened by gentrification...

http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/newcov18.html

Peep these photos now before they peep you!

As de Blasio enacts healthcare plan, media silence stuns

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced the city is enacting a new program to guarantee healthcare to every resident. This is the first program of its kind anywhere in America.

So New York finally has a mayor with a major positive accomplishment - and the media falls silent. New York of 20 years ago was saddled by right-wing Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who racked up one negative achievement after another - and the media constantly fell over itself to praise him.

Let's sum this up. Giuliani was known for growing law enforcement misconduct and other tyranny, and the media made him a national star. But de Blasio is known for making sure people get healthcare, and the media largely ignores him. How often do you hear about de Blasio compared to Giuliani?

Meanwhile, I posted a link to an article from another website about New York's healthcare upgrades on Facebook, and some right-wingers complained about it until it was taken down. I didn't even add any of my own commentary to it. But at the same time, Facebook has made it harder to report posts that actually violate its stated policies.

A person bubbled at Kroger

Today at Kroger, some woman bubbled repeatedly.

Right-wing amendment would make Kentucky judicial elections partisan

Very few states have partisan judicial elections. But right-wing Kentucky State Rep. Myron Dossett wants to gut Kentucky's tradition of an impartial and independent judiciary. He has proposed an amendment to the Kentucky Constitution that would eliminate nonpartisan judicial elections and have candidates for judgeships run on a partisan ballot.

All this after the Republicans kept complaining that "liberal" judges were "politicizing" Kentucky's judiciary.

This would seem to violate judicial codes relating to impartiality. The real purpose of the proposed amendment is to expand Republicans' power over Kentucky politics by letting judicial candidates appeal to right-wing activists' partisanship and rake in money from partisan special interest groups.

Alexander Hamilton opposed selecting judges based on partisan labels, because partisanship worsened cronyism. In fact, the long-term trend in other states has been towards nonpartisan judicial elections - for precisely that reason. But don't tell that to the Kentucky GOP - for they support cronyism. The amendment is a naked power grab.

If this amendment passes, can it backfire right in the Republicans' faces? If poo. GOP voters are aging, and the youngest voters are overpoweringly Democratic. But by the time this trend sways more rural counties, it may be too late.

Like all right-wing power grabs, this proposal must be fought with gusto.

Covington! Piner! Independence! It's a great place to start!

Countin' down the 40 hottest Roads Scholaring photos!

Back in August, I embarked (arf-arf!) on a small automotive Scholaring to southern Kenton County. This event yielded 40 Scholaring photos, and you're gonna peep 'em until a giant robot arm comes down from the sky and pulverizes us all...

http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/ken18a.html
http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/ken18b.html

Bellevue! Wilder! Newport! It's a great place to start!

My proud tradition of Roads Scholaring continued throughout 2018, and my July expedition - the one in which the Road Ruiner's motor blew - yielded several photos and videos. As an added bonus, this photo shoot contains a couple miscellaneous items from May!

So point your pooper here...

http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/wilnew18.html

Trump regime guts vets' PTSD treatment

If you're a chickenhawk like Donald Trump, you're to shut your mouth about this topic, because you don't know a fucking thing about it.

Under Trump, the Department of Veterans Affairs is gutting group therapy programs for combat vets who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. Trump's VA is closing these programs or ordering them to move to bad locations where participants receive no privacy.

The VA is also retaliating against employees who criticize these changes by demoting them.

The department is also trying to replace these treatments with medications that participants find ineffective.

Robert Wilkie - the Jesse Helms and Trent Lott protege who Trump appointed to head the VA - lied and said the group therapy sessions were ineffective. Its participants say that's nonsense. Wilkie had also helped cover up the Bush regime's lies that led to the Iraq War - and he has praised the Confederate cause as "honorable" and has said abolitionists were "enemies of liberty."

This comes at the same time that the VA is privatizing some of its mental health services. Knowing the atrocious record of America's private healthcare industry, that's like turning over our school system to Brossart.

The Trump thugocracy certainly is not patriotic, as it does not care about veterans.

Have no fear, the January ish is here!

The January issue of The Last Word is pub-a-dub-dub, and it talks about all sorts of nifty things!

This edition talks about discarding a broken radio, the 1980s computer game Eastern Front, the POP command in Atari BASIC, my desire to become a pirate, a person breaking an antique beer bottle, and other cool topics!

So point your pooper here...

https://www.scribd.com/document/396459293/The-Last-Word-1-2019

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

http://bunkerblast.info/lastword/lw1901.pdf

It's beginning to smell a lot like Christmas

Yesterday, I went to an important Christmas Day family gathering. Predictably, a bunkeroo wafted.

We detected the unmistakable audio of a loud-and-proud bunker blast. It was universally agreed that this air biscuit had a canine source.

People waved their hands to dissipate the inevitable aroma.

Government shuts down. Again.

In case you haven't heard, the federal government has shut down. Again.

Now let's spend the duration of this shutdown arguing about which party is to blame - even though only one party has controlled the government for the past 2 years.

A person bunkerooed in front of Charlie Luken

Today, I goed to Kroger and something funny happened. (Imagine that!)

As I was standing in the checkout lane, I detected the unmistakable bouquet of a silent-but-deadly bunker blast. It was as hilarious as you might imagine.

At the same time, I noticed Charlie Luken was buying groceries just a couple lanes away! That means a person released an air biscuit in the presence of a former Cincinnati mayor and congresscritter!

Mr. Luken pretended not to notice the hovering wafto.

Bevin trails badly in new poll

A quick note before I get on with my day.

A new poll by Mason-Dixon - a pollster that usually leans Republican - says Republican so-called Gov. Matt Bevin is badly trailing Kentucky's Democratic Attorney General Andy Beshear in a head-to-head match-up for next year's gubernatorial race. Bevin is behind by a stunning 48% to 40%. Beshear is one of at least 2 Democrats vying for the governorship.

Only 40% for an incumbent governor? Oof!

Trump is called "speed freak" who invited teen beauty queens to suite

Stand-up comic Noel Casler once worked with Donald Trump on his idiotic "reality" show The Apprentice and on some of Trump's beauty pageants. Now Casler says Trump was a "speed freak" who crushed up Adderall and snorted it because he was illiterate and unable to read cue cards.

Remember those debates with Hillary Clinton where Trump kept making a snorting sound the whole time?

Casler also says Trump invited teenage beauty pageant contestants to his penthouse suite. Casler says Trump stuck his fingers in contestants' mouths to inspect their teeth before inviting them.

You built that, Repubs.

(Source: https://www.mediaite.com/donald-trump/former-apprentice-staffer-claims-trump-was-speed-freak-invited-teen-beauty-queens-to-his-suite)

Far Right arguing with Kiplinger's now?

I'm sick of hearing the Far Right whine about disabled workers receiving government benefits that these workers paid for. If the right-wingers think it's so easy being disabled, why don't they try it themselves?

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is a benefit for workers who are disabled or suffer a chronic medical condition. It's an earned benefit - not welfare. In all cases, these workers paid into the system to receive this benefit. I'm not criticizing welfare, because welfare does serve a need for Americans who qualify. But SSDI is not welfare.

Despite this, Republicans in Congress have introduced bill after bill to slash SSDI or kick people off the rolls. One bill would cut SSDI payments down to poverty levels. Its supporters argue that this is because SSDI is intended to be just a subsistence program - not income replacement insurance. But if that's the case, why do workers pay into it? Why don't they instead just get SSI, which pays far less?

Now a new article about SSDI for part-time workers should kablammo the Far Right's mating call plumb-bob into the troposphere. And it's in Kiplinger's Personal Finance, of all places. The piece says, "SSDI is an income replacement insurance for former workers with disabilities, provided through the Social Security Administration."

Well, how ya like that, right-wingers? Gonna argue with Kiplinger's about SSDI?

I repeat, Kiplinger's says it's "income replacement insurance." That's a direct quote.

Then again, by attempting to slash SSDI payments to the poverty level, the GOP has accidentally admitted that SSI doesn't pay enough - for SSI pays even less than the poverty level. Instead of reducing SSDI to a poverty sum, they should raise SSI to that level. Like SSDI, SSI is an earned benefit.

It's also fair to say that the government defines the poverty level as much lower than it should be. While the official poverty line may be almost enough for an individual who lives in a medium-sized, slow-growing city, what about families who live in one of America's huge, booming cities, where housing costs are soaring faster than anywhere? Instead of tax cuts for the 1% and big corporations, why not stronger benefits for the 99%?

Independence! Florence! Big Bone! It's a great place to start!

Back in June, I had an automotive Roads Scholaring that surrounded a trip to Big Bone Lick State Park. The event yielded 26 Scholaring photos.

Know what you're gonna do? Peep 'em...

http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/kenboo18a.html
http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/kenboo18b.html

Vincennes! Columbus! Madison! It's a great place to start!

Back in May, I went Roads Scholaring in Indiana, paying special attention to Vincennes and other cities and towns. I also examined the new stretch of I-69. And guess how many photos this outing yielded? That's right, 69!

So point your pooper here...

http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/in18a.html
http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/in18b.html
http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/in18c.html

Have no fear, the December ish is here!

This is a December to dismember, as yet another issue of The Last Word is published, thus making your face fly off in public!

This ish talks about all sorts of cool things, among them...

• A kid throwing a tantrum at Kroger.

• My new money-making e-book.

• A person chewing gum at an Abraham Lincoln historic site.

• Shipping companies losing beer shipments.

• A feather fetishist who shoplifted.

• Mister Rogers displaying his middle finger.

• Bad reviews for a My Little Pony toy.

• Cassette singles!

So point your pooper here...

https://www.scribd.com/document/394628924/The-Last-Word-12-2018

Lest you can't read it on Scribd, you can find the latest ish here...

http://bunkerblast.info/lastword/lw1812.pdf

Kentucky GOPer wants do-over because he lost

The grapes, they are sour.

In last month's election, Kentucky State Rep. DJ Johnson, a Republican, was defeated by one vote by Democratic former State Rep. Jim Glenn.

County officials conducted a recount and confirmed the margin was one vote. Kentucky's Board of Elections later certified the results. Now - like the sore loser he is - Johnson is contesting the results by taking it to the Kentucky House, which is still controlled by Republicans despite their rather unmistakable net loss. Plus, Johnson apparently expects the Democrats to pay for it.

Of course, there's no basis for contesting it, because it's been shown multiple times now that Johnson lost. But don't expect that to stop the Kentucky GOP. Some years back, Republican Dana Seum Stephenson was elected to the Kentucky Senate, but a court disqualified her because she didn't meet the residency requirement. Then the Republican-led Kentucky Senate defied the judge's ruling and seated her anyway. Later, however, the Kentucky Supreme Court finally forced her to resign.

You lost, DJ, you big crybaby. Last month confirmed that America has a permanent mandate to reject Republican extremism, and the GOP can count on us to enforce this mandate.

Cope.