GOP bill would raise Kentucky sales tax to 8%

The "low tax" Republicans strike again!

A bill in Kentucky by right-wing State Rep. Jason Petrie would increase the sales tax to 8% - one of the highest in the nation. The same bill would slash the corporate income tax. Thus, the bill overall is a tax increase that would give a handout to corporations.

But they're the "low tax" party. Just ask them.

Newport approves needle exchange

It was almost 2 years ago that Campbell County Fiscal Court unexpectedly defied the Tea Party by voting 3 to 1 to approve a needle exchange program to fight the heroin pandemic. But it couldn't be put into place until a city approved it, and now Newport City Commission has voted 5 to 0 to authorize it.

A survey by the city showed that 80% of city residents would support the program.

The program will be administered by the Northern Kentucky Health Department at St. Elizabeth Hospital. (The fact that Newport has the power to approve it there also settles the decades-old question of whether the hospital is in Newport or Fort Thomas.)

Meanwhile, the Trump regime has done nothing.

(Source: http://www.nkytribune.com/2018/02/newports-board-of-commissioners-authorizes-needle-exchange-program-to-help-battle-heroin-epidemic;
http://www.rcnky.com/articles/2018/02/27/approval-newport-two-needle-exchange-programs-can-open-nky)

Missouri governor arrested

Even before this scandal broke, it's hard to believe the Republicans were touting fascist Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens as a future presidential candidate. Then again, they thought Phil Gramm would be pretty damn swell too.

Today, a grand jury indicted Greitens for first-degree felony invasion of privacy - a charge that stems from an extramarital affair in which he reportedly blackmailed a woman by taking a nude photo of her. Greitens was arrested but then released on a personal recognizance bond so he could attend the National Governors Association meeting.

After his arrest, Greitens accused the prosecutor of being "a reckless liberal prosecutor who uses her office to score political points."

Now the Missouri legislature is launching its own investigation of Greitens - which may be a pre-bubbling to impeachment. Also, the FBI is investigating the right-wing governor for a separate campaign finance scandal.

Kentucky House gets a little less Republican

There was a special election for a Kentucky House seat in Bullitt County today to fill the vacancy caused by the suicide of far-right Rep. Dan Johnson. Shortly before his death, Johnson was accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl. This prompted former Gov. Steve Beshear to later write, "Racists, sexual predators, liars and criminals have no place serving in public office." The Republicans - in all their finite wisdom - picked Johnson's widow Rebecca Johnson to run for the special election. The Democrats selected former Rep. Linda Belcher, who Dan Johnson defeated in 2016.

Belcher was actually a very, very conservative Democrat during her time in the legislature. Then again, Donald Trump won the district 72% to 23%.

Today, Linda Belcher defeated Rebecca Johnson by a smashing 68% to 32% - chipping away at the Republican edge in the Kentucky House. This is a swing of 85 percentage points towards the Democrats - perhaps the biggest in a major election since Trump seized power.

Rebecca Johnson was tied to the legal woes of Dan Johnson's church and - like her late husband - made extremist Facebook posts. Already, Rebecca Johnson is crying "voter fraud!"

If the Republicans not only lose that seat but lose it by a 2-to-1 margin, how can they be expected to survive as a party?

It's a little too little, a little too late for this Pat Benatar cassette

Today I went Roads Scholaring up around Avondale and Golf Manor. On the way up there, at the Reading Road split just north of downtown, I found part of a smashed, destructoed Pat Benatar cassette laying on the sidewalk.

Basic gun regulation not too much to ask

I've given several recommendations on how to fight America's pandemic of mass shootings. My ideas include confiscating guns from hate groups as well as fighting against creeping suburbanism that isolates our young people and promotes violent behavior.

America is now in an era where this is no longer enough.

When innocent young people can't exercise their right to attend school in peace, stronger regulation of assault rifles is clearly justified. As long as our state won't even legalize electric bicycles, why is it legal to have assault rifles with no regulation whatsoever?

Why not at least require assault rifles to be registered and tracked very closely? Most countries allow some form of private gun ownership. But in some countries, even handgun owners are legally obligated to keep track of the exact whereabouts of their gun. If other places can regulate handguns like this, why can't the United States similarly regulate assault rifles that are much more powerful?

I know the government can't seize guns that are already in the hands of law-abiding people. But America has reached a point where I and millions of others wouldn't shed a tear if future sales of assault rifles are halted. If I felt I truly needed a weapon like that, America would already be beyond hope.

It's not a stretch to say our legislators have a constitutional obligation to produce basic gun safety regulations. People have a constitutional and natural right to peaceably assemble and be free of unreasonable searches. Mass shootings infringe on the first right, and using shootings as an excuse to invade basic privacy infringes on the other. It's hard to see how the freedom of millions to gather and move about is outweighed by the freedom of a few to use the deadliest weapons they can find. The Second Amendment should not be a cudgel to trample the rest of the Bill of Rights. A smart lawyer may be able to file a lawsuit to compel lawmakers to act.

Regulation is not prohibition. If my proposals are too much to ask, tough luck. If the NRA thinks bicycles are more of a threat to public safety than guns that kill dozens in only a few seconds, that should be the NRA's problem and nobody else's.

Pro-Trump student pulls knife on BAMN

On Tuesday, Wayne State University in Detroit was the site of a right-wing meltdown.

A student by the name of Corbin Steele - who was wearing a Trump/Pence 2020 shirt - approached a table where the civil rights group BAMN was handing out flyers about immigrant rights. He then pulled a switchblade and threatened the BAMN folks. Steele declared, "I think we should deport or kill all illegals that don't belong in our country."

Steele said his name is Earl Johnson and proceeded to argue with BAMN before stomping off with his Bert-like unibrow.

Much of the incident was caught on video.

As a result of the episode, Steele was suspended from school pending an investigation. Of course, we all know folks who have been expelled from college for much less - don't we?

This was the third time BAMN had an altercation with Steele.

(Source: https://www.metrotimes.com/news-hits/archives/2018/02/14/video-trump-shirt-wearing-wsu-student-suspended-after-pulling-knife-on-campus)

Florida school shooter had right-wing links

This story should surprise absolutely no one - except those who insist on listening to the right-wing talk radio droids who deny it and laugh about it.

According to Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel, Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz was a fan of right-wing websites. Cruz also posted racist messages and threatened to kill antifascist activists.

A white supremacist organization called the Republic of Florida even admits that Cruz trained with them!

But we can't ban hate groups from having guns because it might hurt their feelings.

Mass shooting survivors should receive benefits

Since lawmakers aren't doing a damn thing about the fact that the United States is one of very few countries that gives guns to members of hate groups, here's an idea to support those who are harmed by mass shootings.

I'm as antiwar as anyone, but I realize America's military personnel make grave sacrifices. Wounded soldiers and the families of those killed in war receive benefits - as they should. I believe they deserve these benefits because of their sacrifices. I also think similar benefits should be awarded to survivors of mass shootings and the families of those killed in such shootings.

Perpetrators of these mass killings are almost always found to have links to right-wing hate groups. If their victims must sacrifice their lives and well-being for the "freedom" for hate groups to carry guns, they and their families should be properly honored.

Another funny dream

I had a hilarious dream last night that Donald Trump shaved his head completely bald. I swear I'm not making this up.

Tim Nolan gets 20 years for human trafficking

Former Judge Tim Nolan - who in recent years has become a leader in the hated Campbell County Tea Party - has pleaded guilty to 21 charges dating back to 2004, including human trafficking. As a result, he will be sentenced to 20 years in prison and a $100,000 fine - but he'll be eligible for parole after 4 years.

As the trial concluded, Judge Kathleen Lape read the charges to the 71-year-old Nolan. The list of charges was so long that it took 10 minutes to read them. According to the charges, some of the victims lived on Nolan's property, and Nolan threatened to evict them unless they performed sex acts. Some victims were addicted to heroin, and Nolan paid for it. Nolan also threatened to have one victim arrested by the FBI. The charges also say Nolan asked a minor to engage in sexual activity for money.

I woke up to another government shutdown

This morning, the federal government experienced its second shutdown in only a month.

Once again, it was the fault of the Republicans. It was Rand Paul himself who held up an important Senate vote. But (thanks to the right-wing media) there were no political consequences for the other shutdowns the GOP caused, so do you really think this time will be any different?

Charlton Heston look-alike sighted again

Last night, I received another e-mail about the Charlton Heston look-alike. He was seen again at Kroger. He blocked access to merchandise in the freezer aisle as he argued with his wife on his cellphone about what to buy. A line formed as other shoppers tried accessing the product.

Cincinnati now has nation's second-highest housing costs

For decades, greater Cincinnati has had some of America's highest food prices, but at least we had cheaper housing than many larger cities.

Well, that's gone now too, and it's all because of developments full of expensive homes being rubber-stamped without requiring affordable housing to be included. This has driven up housing costs exponentially. I've warned people about this problem for 25 years and the crisis that would inevitably result. Did they listen? Haha, no. It's just like all the people who'd rather scream out "GODWIN'S LAW!!!" than find solutions to hate groups spreading on the Internet.

The real estate investment firm HomeUnion has a new study that ranks Cincinnati as America's second-most expensive rental market - behind only Oakland. Interestingly, Chicago was the least expensive.

This is a clarion call for local zoning authorities to make sure some housing space is set aside strictly for affordable housing.

(Source: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2018/01/31/cincinnati-rental-market-ranks-among-nation-s-most.html)

Haley Barbour tried bringing a gun on a plane and The Media tried covering it up

Remember Haley Barbour? He was the ugly cretin who used to be Republican National Committee chairman and Governor of Mississippi.

It was bad enough when Dan Quayle joked about bombs when boarding a plane, but now Barbour has been arrested for trying to bring a loaded revolver on a plane in his briefcase.

The arrest happened a month ago when Barbour tried to fly from Jackson to Washington, D.C. The right-wing media tried sweeping the incident under the rug, but now that Barbour has been fined thousands of dollars, bust goes that bubble.

Barbour led the party that treats everyone else like terrorists when they try to fly, but he tried bringing a gun on board.

(Source: https://apnews.com/c8d585cf3510404c918aedf27a1b5037)

Have no fear, the February ish is here!

The February issue of The Last Word is pub-a-roo, and man, it's a beaut!

This fanzine of freedom always regales you with the latest doings of the Bandit, and this ish is no exception! In this edition, you shall read about...

• My recent battles with whooping cough and a broken finger.

• The untimely destruction of a toy record player.

• When local high schools won free Richard Marx and Escape Club concerts.

• The historic stupidity of VH1.

• People not knowing what Bubble Tape is.

• The 'American Top 40' bubble gum blowing contest.

• More about Sea-Monkeys.

• And more!

So point your pooper here...

https://www.scribd.com/document/370358691/The-Last-Word-2-2018

If that doesn't work, peep this link instead...

http://bunkerblast.info/lastword/lw1802.pdf

Democrats have a candidate in every local seat

Maybe - just maybe - I actually misunderestimated (sic) the Democrats for once.

I just read that for the first time since 1994, the Democrats are running a candidate in every state legislative election in northern Kentucky.

Every. Single. One. Even 7-Cent Joe doesn't get a free pass this time.

Trump regime wants to monitor students' expenses

The Republicans are such champions of limited government whenever - well, never. They never are.

Trump's incompetent and unqualified Education Secretary Betsy DeVos - in addition to supporting withholding education funds from states that refuse to privatize their school systems - is planning a new pilot program that would effectively gut college loans and spy on students' expenses.

Student loan money is intended to cover all expenses related to a student's higher education. Now DeVos wants to put this money onto prepaid debit cards so the government can monitor all their expenses. Concerns have already been raised that the government may disapprove books purchased by students.

In addition, these prepaid cards may have fees to be paid to the bank. So this is yet another means of transferring tax money from the 99% to big corporations.

Nobody supports the nanny state quite like the modern-day Republican Party.

(Source: https://www.buzzfeed.com/mollyhensleyclancy/betsy-devos-student-financial-aid-debit-cards)

Woman fired by Bevin administration for reporting sexual harassment

Yet another scandal in the corrupt Matt Bevin autocracy.

The Kentucky Labor Cabinet fired a woman because she reported sexual harassment by a Bevin appointee. After the firing, she sent an e-mail to state officials accusing the agency of firing her "for doing what we could to protect ourselves and other co-workers from this harassment."

A male supervisor was also fired for reporting the allegations to his own supervisors.

This scandal torpedoes a bazooka hole through Bevin's claim that he won't tolerate sexual harassment in state government. The New Hampshire Forehead's grandstanding has fueled a civil war within the Kentucky GOP, and now it's all for naught.

(Source: https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2018/01/21/kentucky-labor-cabinet-denies-firing-woman-sexual-harrassment-report/1051826001)

All the right farts in all the right faces...

People have denied reality once too much!

For years, I've recalled that in my day, NAPA auto parts stores used a jingle that went, "All the right parts in all the right places...NAPA's puttin' smiles on American faces." This was memorable because every time I heard it, I'd sing, "All the right farts in all the right faces..."

Everybody said I was just making that up because NAPA couldn't possibly be dumb enough to use a jingle that had such an obvious parody.

But not for the first time, YouTube saves the day...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0zbXCCgQ7Y

Yes, friends, it's a Snuffleupagus moment.

Republicans cause government shutdown

It's happened again: another federal government shutdown.

Every shutdown in modern times has been 100% the fault of the Republicans. No exceptions. This one is different from the most recent ones though in that they can't try to pin it on a Democrat in the White House. The Republicans control both the presidency and Congress, so they have nobody to blame but themselves. Then again, they had no one else to blame anyway, since it was their incompetence that also caused it the other times.

How can a party be incompetent enough to shut down the government when they control not just Congress but the White House too?

Kentucky bill would ban firearms for hate criminals

It's about time!

A new bill by Kentucky State Rep. Attica Scott (D-Louisville) titled H.B. 209 would make it a class D felony for those convicted of hate crimes to possess a firearm.

It's the sort of bill you can't imagine anyone possibly opposing - which is why the Republicans oppose it.

Bevin threatens to end Medicaid expansion if courts strike down changes

Because it's illegal to enact a work requirement for Medicaid, health advocates plan to sue Kentucky over the requirements implemented by Matt Bevin.

But now Bevin has issued an executive order saying that if courts block the work requirements, Kentucky's Medicaid expansion will end altogether. This would strip health care coverage from as much as 20% of the state's population.

This is called fascism.

(Source: https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/2018/01/16/kentucky-medicaid-bevin-plan-courts-approve-lose-care/1036514001)

Tea Party former sheriff dies

Former Campbell County Sheriff Jeff Kidwell died Friday at the age of 53 at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Florence:

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/nky/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=187847902

Kidwell was the former head of the Campbell County Republican Party. The Tea Party-backed Kidwell also briefly served as sheriff before being defeated for reelection.

People bunkerooed some more

Last night, I goed to an important family gathering, and bunker blasts were detected.

Early in the evening, a person claimed to have detected the unmistakable audio of an LAP loominsky. They even said the couch shook. But I believe it was either the dog purring or a figment of their imagination.

When we were getting ready to leave, the fragrant bouquet of an SBD trouser sneeze wafted through the air. The day was complete!

What Bevin's gutting of Medicaid means for you

Possibly not much.

Kentucky under Matt Bevin just gained an unfortunate distinction (in addition to ranking dead last among all 50 states in economic development). Much as Wisconsin became the first state to drop out of AFDC for the poor, Kentucky is now the first to require some folks to work in order to receive Medicaid, after the Trump regime approved Bevin's demand to enact a work requirement. This despite the fact that Medicaid is not welfare, and federal law actually prohibits requiring people to work for it.

Since most of the changes in Kentucky apply only to people who wouldn't have received Medicaid but for the expansion under the Affordable Care Act, you might not be affected much. This isn't exactly an upmarket blog, so you're probably among those poor enough to get Medicaid even without the expansion. You probably won't be completely untouched though, but it's hard to say, because official accounts of the changes disagree with each other about exactly what will happen.

Personally, I have no problem with a $4 monthly premium - as long as it didn't go to handouts for billionaires, which it does. I'd have no problem if it went to, say, treating heroin addicts or some other medical purpose. But it doesn't. Plus, this isn't about me. Even if I can cough up $4 each month, many families with even less money cannot.

The ultimate plan though is to expand these rules to all Medicaid beneficiaries - and eventually abolish Medicaid altogether. On the other hand, as soon as either Trump or Bevin is replaced by an adult, Medicaid will probably be restored and Bevin's changes will be a footnote in history. We can't be 100% sure though, because when are Republican messes ever completely cleaned up? To be sure, however, Bevin just gave his 2019 opponents an opening to run on restoring Medicaid.

All this in the state that 25 years ago almost became the first to adopt single payer health care.

Instead of more limits, there should be a system like Medicaid or Medicare to cover all Americans. The success of the Bernie Sanders campaign highlights the public demand for healthcare coverage for all.

A person went Krogering in a 'Sesame Street' shirt

When adults wear a Sesame Street t-shirt in a public place, it's obligatory that I mention it here. It doesn't count if the shirt is dominated by just one character from the show. The shirt must concern the ol' Ses in general.

Only once before have I had to mention it. At a festival in 2016, I saw a woman wearing a green shirt that prominently displayed the Sesame Street sign. But yesterday, I goed to Kroger in Bellevue, and there was some woman shopping there who was about 50 years old who was wearing a green t-shirt that featured the Sesame Street sign along with drawings of numerous lovable Muppet characters.

She must be a real Sesamoid!

Shortly thereafter, some woman walked around the supermarket with her butt hanging out.

Rape solved after right-wing media called it a hoax

Any time there's a high-profile crime that might carry political or social implications, the right-wing thought police lapses into victim-blaming mode and accuses the victim of staging a hoax. The right-wingers often continue claiming it's a hoax even after it was proven to be real. One type of crime that almost always faces this treatment is hate crimes on college campuses, but sometimes it's other crimes too.

Back in 1994 - when New York City was kicking off an unprecedented wave of violent crime - a woman jogging in Prospect Park in Brooklyn was raped by a stranger in broad daylight. Almost immediately, the late Mike McAlary of the New York Daily News wrote that the victim made up her story because she thought it would boost a speech she was planning on giving at a rally protesting violence against lesbians. McAlary repeatedly wrote articles demanding the victim's arrest.

But now - 24 years after the crime - New York City detectives have been able to solve it using technology that didn't exist yet in 1994. Police officials say they have matched the DNA with that of serial rapist James Edward Webb.

The only newspaper I've seen report that the case has finally been solved is Britain's Guardian. The American media ignores this development because it doesn't fit their narrative.

The fact that the right-wing media unrelentingly attacks victims of crimes like this day after day is surely a factor in similar crimes going completely unreported. Who wants to be dragged through mud by the press after already being victimized?

This is why we need to look at legislation to protect crime victims from the media.

(Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/09/new-york-city-police-solve-1994-case-that-newspaper-called-a-hoax)

Reuters thinks Social Security is "welfare"

Aw, how cute, Reuters thinks Social Security and Medicaid are "welfare"!

In the Republicans' never-ending zest to slash not only welfare but also earned benefits for the elderly and disabled, Reuters is - like always - being good little followers of the Trump regime and repeating the myth that Social Security and Medicaid are "welfare." To pay for the multitrillion-dollar tax handout for corporations and the rich, Trump and congressional Republicans are planning on slashing services for the poor and working class. Reuters ran an article yesterday listing some of the "welfare" programs that might be targeted - except some of them aren't "welfare."

Reuters lists Medicaid as a "welfare" program. It's not. Reuters also lists Social Security Disability Insurance - a program paid into by workers in case they suffer a disability. It also lists the perennially embattled Supplemental Security Income program - another earned benefit. None of these programs are "welfare." Even if they were, Congress already spent its chance to gut welfare in 1996. They get one bite of the pear. If the 104th Reich's war on the poor didn't go far enough, too fucking bad.

Reuters fails to mention that it's illegal to institute a work requirement for Medicaid. Sorry, but that's the law. The Affordable Care Act helped establish that socialized healthcare is a constitutional right, and people are entitled to public healthcare at no more than a nominal cost. Plus, the success of the Bernie Sanders campaign proves people want socialism. Robust Social Security must be a part of that.

Other media outlets sure aren't helping - as long as they use Facebook and Disqus as commenting platforms so their right-wing followers can keep spreading the Nazi lie that disability benefits are "welfare." You know, if it's so hard being rich and able-bodied, you can always blow your brains out.

So the Plague of '17 is the Plague of '18 too!

This is a grim update about what I'd thought was merely bronchitis.

On Wednesday evening, I had a coughing spell that left me gasping for air, and I had to go to the emergency room. I'd been feeling this way since the day after Christmas, and it had generally gotten worse.

It turns out it's whooping cough - also known as pertussis.

The past 2 weeks have been flushed down the portable poopot by this ailment.

As it turns out, Highlands High School reported 7 cases of whooping cough in December alone. This is especially shocking because all the students afflicted had been vaccinated.

This entry is not the venue to argue about who's an antivaxxer and who isn't. Rather, this experience is just another example of the region's historic mismanagement of containing communicable diseases - and The Media's history of egging it on. Let's face it: The area has a shitty record on this. I've known it for 30 years.

For the record, the United States reported only about 1,000 cases of whooping cough in 1976. Wikipedia reports that "incidence rates have increased since 1980" - proving yet another Reagan failure. In 2015, there were about 20,000 cases.

I just got finished with all the prescriptions that I got, but I still have to be on bed rest until the bubble gum busts. I was constantly tired already from the effects of PTSD, and now this.