Water bottles, beer cans, Pepsi, oh my!

Folks, it's finally happened...



Today, I went to Oktoberfest in Cincinnati, and - in response to years of people putting things in toilets - that sign had been posted in at least one of the portable restrooms.

Not like it stopped the fun! In fact, Ploptoberfest was a total bore except for the fact that the sign was ignored.

The first restroom I used didn't have this sign, but I noticed 5 - count 'em, 5 - ploppings in the same toilet bowl. The toilet contained a water bottle, a Pepsi bottle, 2 beer bottles, and a beer can. When I used a different portable outhouse later, it did have the sign - but somebody had plopped a big plastic bag.

Other than people putting things in toilets, the festival was dead. Crowded (because they packed it into a smaller space), but dead. Ploptoberfest was killed off when the city moved it away from 5th Street to appease 3CDC's incessant crying.

When you return, it's the same old place...

Today, I returned home from a brief fact-finding mission to Shenandoah National Park. After reading that the Bevin dictatorship has appointed Tea Party favorite Charlie Coleman to the board of directors of Gateway Community & Technical College, now I know I shouldn't have returned.

This proves once again that the whole Kentucky higher education system isn't worth shit.

If you want to read about all the celebrity look-alikes and instances of flatulence I detected on my Shenandoah trip, the next issue of The Last Word isn't far off. Wilford Brimley, Jim Hightower, Don Imus, Paula Abdul, and Terry Bradshaw look-alikes were seen.

Elizabeth Warren wants bold plan for expanded Social Security

Of the entire field of Democratic presidential candidates, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are wiping the floor with the others in terms of policy and effectiveness. I know the right-wing media will cry and whine if they form the national ticket, because they think the President and Vice-President can't be from adjacent states (even though they were just fine with George W. Bush and Dick Cheney both residing in the same state). As far as I'm concerned, that's too damn bad.

Notice that the Republicans' response to every situation is always the same: cut Social Security. A gnat gets in your house? Cut Social Security. Your TV acts up during your favorite show? Cut Social Security.

For years and years, it's always been cut, cut, cut Social Security. They've done it too, and it's still not enough for them. It sure would be nice to have legislators who do their fucking jobs. Plus, many recipients rely on Social Security as their only source of retirement income, and the situation is only going to get worse because of stagnating wages for today's workforce.

But polls show a vast majority of Americans support increasing Social Security. This includes not just for retired seniors but also disability payments like SSI and SSDI. Now Elizabeth Warren wants to expand Social Security payments to fight rising costs of basics like healthcare, food, and housing.

Warren's plan would immediately increase Social Security benefits by $200 a month. It would allow even more increases for low-income workers and the disabled. It would have a fairer method of computing cost-of-living increases. It would ease the backlog that prevents applicants from receiving the benefits they've paid for. And it would reverse Trump's illegal order that turns administrative law judges into political appointees. It would accomplish the increased payments by making the richest 2% pay their fair share into the program.

In the long term, Warren's plan would reduce the federal budget deficit by over $1 trillion in 10 years.

With a media and ruling party that have done nothing but cut this vital program for 30 years, it would be mighty refreshing if a plan like Warren's was enacted. Hopefully, whoever defeats Trump next year will enact something like it.

Comcast files frivolous suit over Maine cable law

Comcast - the hated cable TV giant that has a monopoly on service in many regions - has teamed up with network muckety-mucks to file a federal lawsuit against the state of Maine because of a new state law regulating cable.

This law requires cable companies to offer a la carte access to channels. This saves viewers from having to pay for garbage like Fox News Channel. When a cable company claims you get 500 channels when all but 10 of them are home shopping and right-wing propaganda channels, it's price-gouging.

Comcast and the cable industry are laughably arguing that the law violates the First Amendment. That's like saying newsstands have a First Amendment right to collude and not let you buy the New York Times unless you buy the Washington Times too. The suit also argues that federal law preempts state laws like this. No, it cannot, as that would be unconstitutional under the Tenth Amendment.

It's not surprising that Comcast would cry that the law violates the First Amendment. Any time the Far Right can't cause as much grief as possible, they always claim it's a First Amendment issue.

Comcast thinks Baskin-Robbins should be required to sell Neapolitan ice cream to customers who only want strawberry and force them to throw away the chocolate and vanilla layers they're allergic to.

The FCC appears to be on Maine's side. The FCC once issued a statement that says there's no federal law prohibiting a la carte cable pricing. That doesn't mean some right-wing activist judge won't make up their own law and gut Maine's regulations. The Supreme Court makes up its own laws all the time.

(Source: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/09/comcast-tv-networks-sue-maine-to-stop-law-requiring-a-la-carte-channels)

New York City caves to right-wing hate group

The Alliance Defending Freedom is classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. That didn't stop the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod from teaming up with it to write a legal guide for its congregations. But a right-wing hate group the ADF is.

Now City Council in New York City plans to repeal its ban on harmful conversion therapy - all because the ADF told it to. The ADF is suing the city over the ban - though the ADF has no case.

By repealing the ban, New York City Council is now officially on record as being antigay. If City Council had any guts, they'd tell the ADF to fuck off. Would they cave to the Ku Klux Klan too? New York has a state law against conversion therapy - but it's not as broad as city law.

It's mind-boggling that hate groups are allowed to commandeer public policy. It's as mind-boggling as hate groups teaming up with churches to write legal guides - though given the growing hatred by the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod's leaders, I'm not surprised by that. The ADF commits legal terrorism. The group has also been responsible for legal cases forcing public tax dollars to fund religious activities and gutting Obamacare's birth control coverage. The ADF even sued Arnold Schwarzenegger!

A leading ADF attorney in New Hampshire was convicted of federal charges for talking her own 14-year-old daughter to Canada to have sex with an adult man.

It's time to say, "Hasta la vista, baby," to the ADF's hate.

(Source: https://www.politico.com/newsletters/new-york-playbook/2019/09/12/nycs-conversion-therapy-ban-to-be-repealed-mold-cleanup-lags-citywide-assaults-against-mta-workers-soared-476799)

Theater may be ruined by luxury condos

There goes the neighborhood!

The Marianne Theater is an old movie theater that has served as a Bellevue landmark for almost 80 years. As recently as the late '90s, it was still showing movies, though by that time it was mostly just Spice World and the like. It certainly did not show first-run movies by then.

The city purchased the building some years back and solicited proposals from developers for a new use for it. Now a developer has stepped forward and is threatening to fill it with - are you ready for it? - yet more luxury condos.

City officials are expressing disappointment, because they wanted the Marianne used as a public space. Then don't approve the condos. It's that simple.

But do you really expect the city to not rubber-stamp this project? Nah, Bellevue would never rubber-stamp a useless development that serves only developers and the 1%. That's just a myth. Just joking! They would.

Why is this plan so bad? There's several reasons. This plan is yet another element of gentrification - a process that not only directly steals affordable housing but drives up housing costs. The condos would also generate traffic on already strained roads. And, by changing the city's character, it would weaken the political voice of the poorest residents. That's not to mention the fact that there's not even an actual need for more luxury housing. There is however a need for more public space.

Bellevue needs to welcome the 99% - not continue to roll out the red carpet for developers.

(Source: https://www.rcnky.com/articles/2019/09/10/proposal-marianne-theater-calls-condos)

Someone put a Kroger bag in the toilet

We don't call it Ploptoberfest for nothing!

Today, I went to the Covington Oktoberfest. We call it Ploptoberfest, because of the long-running tradition of people clogging toilets in the portable outhouses with various household items. I don't think it'll ever match the greatness of Cincinnati's Ploptoberfest of perhaps a decade ago, when people used to put pants and phone books in the toilets. But I did notice today that someone put a plastic grocery bag from Kroger and a Reese cup wrapper in the toilet. The Kroger logo bobbed up and down in the abysmal depths of the dumper.

That plastic bag is gonna do a number (like 5) on the toilet cleaning equipment. Toilets are designed to accept pee and poo - not plastic bags. It's no different for a portable outhouse than it is for a latrine at a fixed location.

I left Ploptoberfest early because it was boring. But some woman was in a festive enough mood that she bubbled. Also, A Person Chewed Gum And Thought It Was Funny. But that's Last Word material, not really 'Pail material.

Dayton approves climate crisis resolution

Dayton, Kentucky, is utterly thumping other local communities lately - but it's not much more than empty words unless the city truly clamps down on the long-running Manhattan Harbour disaster.

In a 5 to 1 vote, Dayton City Council has just approved a resolution supporting policies to fight the deadly climate crisis. The resolution noted that Dayton was at special risk from climate change because of its proximity to the Ohio River.

During discussion of the measure, it was noted that Manhattan Fubar's construction trucks continue to drag mud and dust through the city and damage its streets. This comes after the discovery that the construction was polluting the city's water.

But this resolution doesn't do much good unless Dayton holds the developers and contractors accountable for the project's ongoing environmental damage. If that means canceling the rest of the project, so be it.

(Source: https://www.rcnky.com/articles/2019/09/04/dayton-council-approves-resolution-supporting-climate-change-policies)

Pepsi smuggling, blocked cellphone networks, fights, oh my!

For years, Riverfest has had a rule prohibiting people from bringing beverages (no matter how G-rated) into this outdoor street festival. A few years ago, I saw them hassling someone about it. This is a stupid rule, so I violate it year after year. This year, I smuggled in Pepsi.

I've been breaking this rule for years, but as late as last year, everyone acted shocked that I'd do this. I think now it's finally sunken in that I'm serious about it.

This year's Rip-off-fest had other notable events too! Once when I was growing up, around 1980, we went to see the fireworks, and there was a group of teenagers or young adults right behind us arguing the whole time. It was hilarious! This year, something just like that happened. But instead of arguing about the blankets and pillows like the other time, they argued about what appeared to be a broken smartphone - for hours on end! Best all, unlike the incident some 40 years ago, there was a lot of cussing!

Remember about a year ago when some kid threw a profanity-filled tantrum at Kroger? Think what that kid will be like when he's 20, and that's what this argument was like.

It turns out though that the smartphone wasn't broken. The entire cellphone network had been shut down for the event. Cellphone networks were never shut down back when the only people with cellphones were yuppies who used them to show off, but now that normal people have cellphones, they shut down the network. Because it was shut down, an important text blast I sent out was delayed.

When I was walking home, a fistfight ensued! A luxury SUV almost hit a group of people, and the people in the SUV jumped out and began fighting them. It was brutal!

Also, during the fireworks, some woman was in such a festive mood that she bubbled.

Have no fear, the September ish is here!

Ba-de-ya! The Septermber issue of The Last Word is now pub, and it's pooping a hole plumb through your panatloons!

This ish talks about my public takedown of a local right-wing politician, airlines thinking they own everything, Mister Rogers swearing, Wikipedia fake news, people intentionally ruining comic books and baseball cards, prank 911 calls, bubble gum ruining a pair of mittens, and more!

So point your pooper here...

https://www.scribd.com/document/423827128/The-Last-Word-9-2019

If that doesn't work, bip your way over here...

http://bunkerblast.info/lastword/lw1909.pdf

A person bubbled at the bike shop

Today at the bike shop, some man bubbled.

A bunch of people bubbled in a commersh (Bubble Gum Weekend)

There is hope for the world yet!

You never see commercials for gum anymore, but Bazooka - which never advertised in my day - actually has a new ad. Best all, it has a slogan that uses "bubble" as a verb...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGIa-rvs7iM

That new commersh features a catchy jingle and evokes the feel of an '80s advertising campaign. It touts the size of bubbles you can blow with this brand of bubble gum - much like the gum ads of old. And people bubble in the ad to demonstrate Bazooka's bubble kerpowin' capabilities. Several teenagers take selfies of themselves bubbling and send them to their friends.

Most noteworthy though is the slogan: "Share, bubble, have fun!" Sort of like, "Think. Do. Be." At least that's better than, "Hoard, don't bubble, be miserable!"

Bevin now trails by 15%

"Asked if the election were held today, 51% said they would vote for Beshear and 36% for Bevin."

Bye, Matt.

Sean Hannity runs his big Nazi mouth

The "right" of a very few people to openly carry a military-style assault rifle and fire it indiscriminately isn't supposed to outweigh the rights of millions to gather peacefully and be free of warrantless searches.

But far-right commentator Sean Hannity thinks it is. And he wants a fascist police state to remind us of it.

The Second Amendment is the law of the land, and Americans have a right to own and possess weapons of defense. But nobody has a right to hoard weapons of offense and use them in an unreasonable way. However, the Bill of Rights does protect the right to peaceful assembly and freedom from unreasonable searches. Now Hannity wants to gut those rights just to please the few who worry about their assault rifles being taken away.

Hannity proposes filling America's schools and shopping malls with armed guards - as in a police state. The perimeter of each school would be surrounded by guards, and each school would be full of metal detectors.

Does this also mean guards would also be posted outside all food festivals and places of worship? These venues have also seen recent mass shootings. Then there's the important issue of how zealous guards might react to situations that pose no threat at all. Someone pointed out that they might mistake a balloon popping for gunfire and start shooting.

I don't want to live in a police state. If we must restrict high-powered assault rifles from the very few people who want one, that's the price of protecting the right of all to move about freely and be secure from warrantless searches and heavy-handed policing. In no way, shape, or form am I advocating taking defensive weapons from those who have them to protect themselves and their families.

Much more helpful than an assault weapon ban though would be using the anti-gang laws to go after hate groups, and banning hate group members from having any kind of gun.

(Source: https://www.alternet.org/2019/08/hannity-mercilessly-mocked-for-proposing-armed-guards-in-us-schools-and-shopping-malls-after-shootings)

Dayton passes anti-discrimination law

Until tonight, there were only 11 cities in Kentucky that had their own fairness ordinance - a law specifically prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation for things like employment and housing. Covington and Maysville were the only cities in northern Kentucky with such a law.

But now Dayton has rightly joined these other cities. Tonight, city council members in this working-class Campbell County city voted 5 to 0 to enact this ordinance.

Unlike when Sarah Palin claimed to be able to see Russia out the window of her home, it's actually true that I can see Dayton out my window. I'm right next to the window of my home office and can see houses in Dayton just hundreds of feet away. The more important point is that - once again - a working-class city like Dayton is more forward-thinking than rich suburbs that refuse to pass progressive laws like this. It isn't only on economic issues, but also social issues like this.

Wealthy suburbs need to get with the program and learn something from the working-class cities and towns that have approved progressive ordinances.

CNN lies about Antifa and Ohio massacre

CNN has become the latest fake news outlet to be blackballed as a source by this blog.

Dayton, Ohio, gunman Connor Betts not only made pro-Trump Twitter posts, but some of his former high school classmates said he had extreme right-wing views. After this was revealed, Heavy.com - a so-called news aggregator that accepts submissions from unvetted sources - claimed Betts had actually supported progressive causes and candidates on his Twitter feed. But there is no real evidence of it. All Heavy.com provided was what it claimed were screenshots of the feed.

Heavy.com is not a reliable source. Think of what one of those checkout lane tabloids would be like if it didn't have its own writers practicing yellow journalism and blindly accepted items from outside writers instead.

Later, the website of a certain cable channel had an article with a headline blaring, "The Dayton shooter had an extreme left Twitter feed." The article also referred to what it called "the violent protest group Antifa." It cited the debunked Heavy.com piece as its only source.

What right-wing cable channel ran this discredited garbage? Fox News? CNBC? Nope! It was CNN. CNN actually ran a made-up story that not only claimed that a right-wing mass shooter was actually a leftist but also that Antifa is a "violent protest group." This despite the fact that Antifa has never initiated any violent confrontations. They ran this story even after people who knew the shooter provided information that completely contradicted it.

However, CNN's article goes on to say of Betts's Twitter feed, "The account is no longer active." Gee, ya think? Weird how nobody can verify what's on an account that no longer exists.

CNN used to have much higher standards than this, but I never placed all my faith in CNN anyway. Even in the 1991 Gulf War, when CNN was widely praised for its coverage, the channel scrutinized its coverage to appease political leaders who bullied the media into suppressing negative information about the war. Hiding negative stories isn't what journalism is supposed to stand for, but a lot of media outlets were guilty of it.

Plus, I don't know any leftists who make lists of classmates they want to rape, or kill family members because they associate with people of another race.

This is like how the media claimed the Unabomber was a progressive activist - even though his rambling manifesto repeatedly attacked "liberals."

The media lying about Antifa and various news events shouldn't be a big focus of this blog - but it is, because the media keeps lying. Nobody else calls them out, because they're the media, dammit. Yep, the same media that claims Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction in 2003 and that we have the best economy in 50 years. That media.

Now other media outlets are actually claiming that El Paso shooter Patrick Crusius is a leftist. This claim is even easier to debunk than the media's idiotic claims about Betts, because it can be verified that Crusius posted a manifesto expressing white supremacist views and echoing Donald Trump's stances against immigration. Plus, it turns out that the gunman in the recent shooting in Gilroy, California, promoted a favorite far-right book - a fact that has been almost completely ignored by the media.

Mass shootings are a right-wing phenomenon. End of story.

Fuck off, CNN.

Ohio gunman made right-wing Twitter posts

There's been some coverage of the El Paso shooter's right-wing motives, but Connor Betts - the gunman responsible for the mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio - appears to have had similar motives.

It's been revealed that Betts was an admirer of Donald Trump who made right-wing Twitter posts.

Meanwhile - because some of the El Paso victims were Mexican citizens - the Mexican government is quite rightly proposing that the El Paso gunman should be extradited to Mexico to face terrorism charges. This is certainly fair, because the U.S. refuses to charge him with terrorism.

Trumpthug throws punches outside Cincinnati rally

Donald Trump held one of his KKK rallies in Cincinnati last night, and - to the surprise of nobody - one of his thugs started a fight with a counterprotester. This is even less surprising than the fact that Trump made a racist comment at the rally.

Dallas Frazier, 29, of Georgetown, Kentucky, is being charged with assault after he jumped out of his pickup truck and repeatedly punched a 61-year-old man who was protesting against Trump. The incident was caught on video. The victim of the assault had to be taken to the hospital.

Trumpthugs reportedly started another fight inside the coliseum where Trump was speaking.

According to witnesses, Frazier drove around the block about 5 times in about 20 minutes and kept yelling at the protesters before he got out of his truck and punched the man.

(Source: https://www.kentucky.com/news/state/kentucky/article233433342.html)

Have no fear, the August ish is here!

August! It turns me upside-down! And we all know that August wouldn't be August if the August ish of The Last Word didn't fall from the sky and slime you!

This issue discusses a contractor being let off easy for violating local ordinances, the return of bubble gum to Kroger, a Magic: The Gathering card getting ruined, the wastage of bananas and milk, lost hits, credit score fail, and more! It's not sold in any store!

So point your pooper here...

https://www.scribd.com/document/420390636/The-Last-Word-8-2019

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

http://bunkerblast.info/lastword/lw1908.pdf

LG&E launches illegal land grab in Bullitt County

Get off our land, LG&E!

Only in a corporatist police state can a big corporation seize private individuals' land to be used for their own projects. Sadly, these days, that's become the norm. Louisville Gas & Electric - which has a monopoly on electric and gas service in the Louisville area - is suing folks in Bullitt County, Kentucky, to take their land to build a natural gas pipeline.

It's not only individuals who are being targeted. Bernheim Forest is being sued too, threatening a conservation project there. The utility recently filed at least 9 condemnation suits in Bullitt County. LG&E is going ahead with the project even though it hasn't even secured an important permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Meanwhile, a natural gas pipeline owned by energy giant Enbridge in Lincoln County has exploded - killing one person and seriously injuring at least 5 others. Flames shot 300 feet into the sky and could be seen all over the county and even showed up on weather radar.

There is no legal basis to allow utilities or any other private corporation to condemn land. People across the political spectrum should be able to agree that this is one of the most basic facts of a free society. The Constitution requires just compensation if public entities take land. Where does it permit private companies to take land at all?

(Source: https://www.wdrb.com/in-depth/lg-e-sues-to-condemn-bernheim-other-bullitt-county-land)

Hate group posts stickers in Fort Thomas

A right-wing hate group has been posting stickers in Fort Thomas - but it might be folly to say enough is being done to investigate this group.

In recent days, stickers promoting an organization called the Patriot Front have been appearing on lampposts in that local suburb. The Southern Poverty Law Center reports that the misnamed Patriot Front is a "neo-Nazi hate group." Even Wikipedia calls it a white supremacist organization.

Patriot Front stickers have also been found around the Cincinnati Reds stadium. The group has spread flyers in other cities.

The city of Fort Thomas is reportedly taking action. It's not clear exactly what action they're taking, and considering local governments' past record, we can't just assume it's enough. Kenton County Fiscal Court, for example, approved a resolution supporting white supremacy early this year. Many local officials support the Tea Party - also a hate group.

Would we tolerate Al-Qaeda posting stickers on lampposts? What about a gang like MS-13? Domestic hate groups like Patriot Front should be treated like terrorist groups or criminal gangs.

(Source: https://www.fox19.com/2019/07/31/stickers-with-hate-messages-found-light-poles-nky)

Ohio probes psychiatric facility for abuse

Anyone who still thinks psychiatric prisons for teenagers are free of abuse is to zip their lip now. I've tried to expose the abuse at CPH for a long time, and the right-wing media continues to sweep it under the rug. A similar facility in Ohio, however, is finally facing some media exposure.

Sequel Pomegranate is a privately run psychiatric lockup for teens in Columbus, Ohio. This is where Columbus area teenagers are sent if they dare to disagree with their school about anything. WBNS-TV in Columbus now reports that this facility is being investigated by the state for reports of violence and sexual assaults.

WBNS found that there have been substantiated cases of sexual assault at Sequel Pomegranate. There have also been reports of other violence, which was committed by staff - and even by some of the teens. Former detainees and their parents have also come forward.

Now the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services has been directed to tour the facility as part of the state probe.

There's no guarantee that anything will be done about it. Remember when Ohio refused to shut down Kids Helping Kids? It only closed because public protests put it out of business. But a Sequel facility in Utah recently closed because of violence and sexual abuse there. And that's Utah - a state known for harboring a glut of abusive teen programs.

Plus, a former employee of a Sequel facility in New Jersey says staffers offered detainees "incentives to corroborate false narratives about reportable incidents." A Sequel "academy" in Iowa faced complaints about illegal restraints.

(Source: https://www.10tv.com/article/dewine-orders-tour-columbus-psychiatric-facility-teens-after-reports-violence-sexual)

Massie opposes animal cruelty bill

How out of touch is our right-wing congresscritter Thomas Massie?

The U.S. House has just approved a bill titled the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act. This commonsense bill passed by a smashing 333 to 96.

I can't possibly figure out why anyone would oppose this bill, and in fact, Democratic members voted 233 to 0 in favor. This bill would fight against the cruel and indefensible practice of soring horses. Soring often involves applying caustic chemicals like kerosene or sticking sharp objects in horses' hooves to produce an unusual gait. This ghastly practice has plagued horse shows for years. It creates severe pain and permanent injury for horses.

Yet Massie opposed this bill. So did all other Kentucky Republicans in the House - as well as a few Tea Party extremists from other states.

The bill has a Senate companion that already has 40 sponsors. The PAST Act may pass by a veto-proof margin.

Kentucky launches court-ordered voter suppression

If Matt Bevin manages to survive the election even though he's trailing by 10%, now we'll know why.

Kentucky is being forced to remove 250,000 "inactive" voters from its rolls. This is in response to a settlement resulting from a frivolous lawsuit filed by Judicial Watch, a far-right group that has sued climate scientists and has made numerous false claims that have been picked up as media talking points.

Judicial Watch falsely claimed that Kentucky had more voters on its rolls than citizens who were at least 18. This is untrue. The group also claimed that failure to remove voters violates the National Voter Registration Act of 1993. That too is a lie, for this law actually limits voters from being removed.

California must remove 5 million voters from its rolls.

It's unclear how these states are being forced to remove all these voters, for Judicial Watch doesn't have an army. This sounds like yet another case where public officials are caving to irrational right-wing bullies who have a megaphone.

(Source: https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/2019-07-16/kentucky-to-remove-up-to-250-000-inactive-voters)

Zion National Park! Arches National Park! Great Sand Dunes! It's a great place to start!

Last October, I visited Zion National Park and other national parks in Utah and Colorado. I get to do this, because national parks are a public resource. I amassed 369 Roads Scholaring photos that include roads and other bippus-bustin' geographic landmarks.

So point your pooper here...

http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/zion18a.html
http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/zion18b.html
http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/zion18c.html
http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/zion18d.html
http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/zion18e.html
http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/zion18f.html
http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/zion18g.html
http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/zion18h.html
http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/zion18i.html
http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/zion18j.html
http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/zion18k.html
http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/zion18l.html
http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/zion18m.html
http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/zion18n.html
http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/zion18o.html

Bubbling season is upon us!

Summer is bubbling season! That doesn't mean bubbling is any less hilarious at any other time of the year. But the warm weather does make it easier.

Today, I went to the pool at Ziegler Park, because I knew it would be one of approximately 3 days this year I'd be able to use it. While I was there, some woman bubbled.

Ohio GOP strips PTSD coverage from first responders

The unchecked evil of the modern Republican Party is endless.

Republicans are stripping PTSD coverage from Ohio's budget for worker's comp for first responders - such as police, firefighters, and paramedics. The GOP claims to be such big supporters of police, but now they've let the mask slip. It's not like we should be surprised, as some of America's biggest criminal enterprises are aligned with the Republicans. After all, it wasn't the Green Party that led that standoff in Oregon a couple years ago.

The official position of Republicans in recent years seems to be that PTSD is a hoax made up by military and civilians to game the system. This stance goes at least as far back as Sally Satel's right-wing attacks against war veterans who sought benefits for PTSD. Donald Trump made similar attacks during the 2016 campaign.

It's a fact that Republican leaders at the state and federal levels don't love their country. They have a history of praising anti-American foreign dictatorships. They also do not love humanity. Many of those in leadership positions within the party are simply bad people.

(Source: https://www.dispatch.com/news/20190627/ohio-senate-strips-ptsd-coverage-for-first-responders-from-workers-comp-budget)

Far Right spreads bunk about bunk bed price-gouging

We all know there's a sucker born every minute, and that's why corporations can charge confiscatory costs for housing. And of course the right-wing media cheers it on.

Someone shared a story from CNN on a local Facebook page about how people are now spending $1,200/month for not an apartment or even a room - but just a bunk bed inside a cubicle. CNN laughably claimed this was affordable housing. And you know what? People are going to lap up this claim like toilet water. I pay only about one-third of that for a whole efficiency apartment, but CNN is trying to manipulate public opinion by making people think $1,200/month for just a bed is a big bargain.

It gets sillier. Some right-wing extremist responded to the post, saying, "Those who are looking for the charity of others really should not have a say as to what form the charity takes. All subsidized housing should be dormitory-type housing. If a person wants a place of their own, they should earn it through education and hard work."

What an idiot! He thinks someone who spends $1,200/month for just a bunk bed is receiving charity!

I checked his profile, and I assume he's a paid right-wing troll because of the lack of activity. He's probably paid by either the Putin regime or a right-wing church, since so many online trolls are. Then I blocked him so I wouldn't have to read his classist defenses of price-gouging.

Another person correctly pointed this out: Everyone always used to talk about how communism was bad because people would have to share their homes. Well, how is this bunk bed squalor any different? The "sharing economy" gets endless praise from the media as long as it's under capitalist auspices. And it truly is squalor. And it's statist.

Kentucky GOPer accused of selling drugs

Because this is a day ending in y, there's yet another scandal in the Republican Party of Kentucky.

Jerry Cox was a Republican magistrate in Knox County. Now he's been indicted on 6 charges of selling pain pills while the 2018 primary campaign was going on. Cox won the Republican primary but lost the general election.

What? A Republican in Kentucky selling drugs? Naaaaawww!

Earlier, Cox had faced a federal charge of misappropriating county property.

(Source: https://www.kentucky.com/news/state/kentucky/article232138372.html)

Republican bill would make Daylight Wasting Time year-round in Kentucky

As if Kentucky doesn't have enough problems these days, a new bill by Republicans would put the state on Daylight Saving Time year-round.

Bowing to pressure by Big Business, State Reps. Bart Rowland and Brandon Reed have introduced a bill that would extend this time change throughout the year as soon as the federal government green-lights it. The Trump regime has already announced support for year-round Daylight Saving Time.

This bill would actually be harmful to most of Kentucky, which is near the western edge of the Eastern Time Zone. It's also unlikely to produce gains for the part of the state on Central Time. If it passes, you'd think it would hasten our move to Central Time, but don't count on it. Big Business wants us on Eastern Time because it aligns with the New York Stock Exchange. But for that, we'd already be on Central Time. There's simply no good reason for us to be on Eastern Time - especially with Daylight Wasting Time added to it.

Florida and Tennessee have already enacted similar Republican bills. A bill to change the whole country to Daylight Saving Time year-round has been introduced by far-right Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida). The good thing about that though is that at least it gets Rubio's mind off his bills to slash Social Security.

(Source: https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article232160652.html)