Right-winger fakes burglary, blames Black Lives Matter

Here's another reason to ditch your right-wing "friends" and bring sheer horror to them this holiday season. They've done it to you. Fair is fair.

A couple weeks ago, the wife of a police officer in Millbury, Massachusetts, reported a burglary at her house in which money and jewelry were taken. She also claims to have found the letters "BLM" - as in Black Lives Matter - spraypainted on the house. She immediately took to social media to report on this incident.

Now it turns out the whole thing was a hoax. Police discovered there was no break-in - and that she had painted the graffiti herself. The police chief said, "Basically, we came to the conclusion that it was all fabricated. There was no intruder. There was no burglary."

Right-wingers don't have science and nature on their side, so they lie.

(Source: http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/latest-news/article111542367.html)

Have no fear, the November ish is here!

The November ish of The Last Word is pub, and it's a downright masterpiece!

The very titles of some of the articles make this edition an irresistable read...

• "A person chewed gum and thought it was funny"

• "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

• "Have a strabismus Christmas"

• "A person wosted mustard"

In addition to my history with schizophrenia and strabismus, and the hilarious story about a person's weak attempt at a Green Goblin costume, this ish also talks about people being afraid of Ronald McDonald, my former high school using a brothel as its return address, and the resurrection of a broken Speak & Spell.

So point your pooper here...

https://www.scribd.com/document/329368021/The-Last-Word-11-2016

Trump follower arrested for double voting

I've been trying to tell you since the days of big hair and parachute pants that the Republicans rig elections, but do people listen? Nooo.

A story out of Iowa proves once again that the GOP can't be trusted around elections. Terri Lynn Rote - a diehard Donald Trump supporter who has waved signs for the right-wing billionaire's struggling presidential campaign - has now been busted for felony voter fraud. During Iowa's early voting, Rote voted once at her county election office - and then later at another voting location.

Rote's ridiculous excuse for voting twice was that she was afraid someone would switch her first vote to Hillary Clinton. "The polls are rigged," Rote cried.

Yes, they are rigged - by Republicans. The Tea Party regularly transports voters to multiple locations, yet nothing is done about it.

(Source: http://people.com/politics/terri-lynn-rote-voter-fraud-donald-trump)

What's a mere mortal to do? Ink.

Yes, this is permanent.

Back in 2011, when Occupy was getting under way, I stuck a "WE ARE THE 99%" sticker on the Peace Bike. It's still there (and now has a "UNION YES" sticker, pro-library sticker, and Bernie Sanders pin to accompany it). One day, after I danced around chanting this slogan - and pointing my finger with the "YOU ARE THE 99%" part - a friend who supported Occupy's ideas but doubted its effectiveness came up with a bold suggestion: She said that if this idea lasts 5 years, I will be required to get a tattoo of this slogan.

Occupy hasn't done shit since 2014, but the slogan and the idea live on and are even more popular - 5 years after Occupy's founding. My friend comes around much more than she did 5 years ago, and she hadn't forgotten her daring diktat. It was only a matter of time before she took enforcement action.

I didn't have to spend hundreds of dollars at a professional tattoo shop. My friend did the real work herself. To prepare, I carefully lettered "WE ARE THE 99%" on the inside of my left elbow with a ballpoint pen. I wanted a personal touch, so I insisted on doing that part myself. Besides, after I took shop class in middle school, I figured I'm good at engineering lettering. Unfortunately, there was no chance to use my trademark backwards Y, but it had to do. Plus, a ballpoint pen - even a fresh one - doesn't write on skin as well as it used to, so the margins weren't going to be absolutely perfect.

The real work didn't take that long. And it barely even hurt. I've had shots that hurt much worse than this. Oh, but it's real. This amateur tattoo won't go away. This isn't something we found in a Cracker Jack box. Just because it didn't cost anything doesn't mean it's not real.

It's taken a couple weeks to heal, and still hasn't healed completely. For awhile, I was worried that my friend had botched it. I thought it was going to turn out as "WE ATE THE 99%." But now it looks decent, and it will look even better when it heals entirely. She's competent. She offered to pay for laser treatment if it was botched, but I declined the offer even if she had botched it.

But this tattoo is big - 3 inches by 1 inch. But even at the beach, it wouldn't be as noticeable as you might think, because of the angle. I'm trying to figure out how to hide it when I visit the bubble gum doctor on Monday to have my blood pressure checked - since I know they're going to throw an absolute skizzum when they see a do-it-yourself tattoo. If you think the tattoo isn't 100% perfect, blame Bic for not making pens that write on skin better. If it's any consolation, going to the beach isn't a common activity among landlocked Midwesterners who rarely see temperatures above 50° F.

I have no desperate plan to get a tattoo again - whether amateur or professional. This one is great. But who knows?

Because my friend required me to get this tattoo, she has promised to shave her head if my new thyroid drug makes my hair fall out. I told her that if that would annoy her too much, she could just shave off her eyebrows instead.

Of course there was a chance this tattoo would be botched or become infected. But if you don't take risks like this, life wouldn't be so uproariously exciting, would it? And cool people always like trying new things - even if it fails. It lets us savor life.

Now I can go eat the 1%.

New study says "right-to-work" slashed wages

After Indiana enacted a Ku Klux Klan-backed "right-to-work" law in 2012, supporters promised job growth and better wages. That was a lie, and we knew it. Now another study confirms it.

The report by the Economic Policy Institute says that nationwide, the 30-year-long trend of union-busting has depressed wages of nonunion workers. It says wages are higher in states without a misnamed "right-to-work" law. It also says workers in these states have better benefits. And it says males without college degrees would have earned 8% more money in 2013 if Indiana hadn't passed "right-to-work."

Government policies have real effects. This time the effect is clearly negative.

Maybe we'll be lucky and "right-to-work" will backfire in the faces of the 1% like other parts of their failed economic program.

(Source: https://www.prnewschannel.com/2016/10/27/study-finds-decrease-in-wages-following-passage-of-right-to-work-law)

Tea Party activist arrested for plotting mass shooting

Here's more of the newses the right-wing media seems to loses.

Mark Lucian Feigin, 40, is a Tea Party activist who fills his Twitter feed with messages supporting Donald Trump. Now he's been arrested in Los Angeles for plotting a mass shooting against the Islamic Center of Southern California. Police found 9 guns and 250 pounds of ammo at his home.

Feigin has also threatened to start a civil war in the likely event that Trump loses the election.

(Source: http://usuncut.com/news/trump-supporter-arrested-planning-mass-shooting-islamic-center)

Food stamp story probably a hoax

Since we're on the topic of alt-right loudmouths on YouTube making up stories about people abusing public assistance, I think I've found a story from a professional media outlet that can be completely discredited.

Not long ago, a TV station in another city reported that people were illegally selling their food stamps online. This story of course went viral on YouTube. It turns out, however, that the station that aired this story has been owned for years by the far-right Sinclair syndicate - and that this particular station has been particularly militant about preempting network programming with Sinclair propaganda.

So the entire story was probably a hoax. After Sinclair's Baltimore station barged into an Occupy tent without permission, I for one do not believe a word this story says.

If people illegally sell or buy food stamps online, how come I've never seen anyone doing this? I know plenty of people who need public assistance. Yet I don't know of any of them abusing the system like this.

I think the FCC might like to hear about this station distorting the news.

In the meantime, go pick on the 1% instead.

When Cincinnati Bell wasted your money (a blast from the past)

Art enriches lives.

I like listening to music, because it's a form of art that enriches my life. Others like tattoos, because it enriches their lives. Yesterday, I discussed how rich right-wingers on YouTube attacked a poor person because she has a tattoo. I suspected the tattoo is a do-it-yourselfer that didn't cost any more than the ink that was used to make it, and I defended the tattoo because it was art - and art makes life better. With the violent alt-right doing everything it can to make the lives of the poor rotten, the poor must do more and more to make their own lives bearable.

You owe it to yourself to enjoy your favorite forms of art. I've spent money on music, but if your life is inspired by visual art, literature, or other art, don't let the 1% try to richsplain how you don't deserve it - when they have everything. If we want life without art, why don't we make the whole country a prison?

If you want to assail any party for spending money on art, start with Cincinnati Bell - the local telephone giant known for terrible service and wiretapping Gerald Ford because they thought he was "communist." In the mid-'90s, The Last Word ran a piece about Cincinnati Bell charging exorbitant rates for inferior service and spending its revenues on ridiculous items. This was in the same era when Cincinnati Bellyache ran huge newspaper ads gloating in plain sight about yet another rate hike. Remember, this was before cellphones were popular, so Cincinnati Bell was a monopoly. Why do monopolies advertise? They already have a captive customer base.

One of Cincinnati Bell's dubious expenses was art for executives' offices. It's dubious because they spent customers' money on it, and it didn't improve Cincinnati Bell's product. It only enriched the executives' lives - as if their lives were so horrible.

The way the alt-right yells that they're for "lower taxes hawr hawr hawr!", you might think they'd have been at the forefront at blocking Cincinnati Bell's rate hikes and wastage. But it's naive to think that, because we've seen how they fall suspiciously silent when any utility company raises rates. In fact, the Far Right isn't even for lower taxes: The Tea Party explicitly endorsed the FairTax, a double-digit federal sales tax. So they lie.

Cincinnati Bell wonders why I don't use them for any services anymore.

YouTube armchair economists are pretty bad too

It was bad enough a few days ago when I talked about YouTube suggesting ads for cosmetic dental services I didn't want. But - objectively speaking - the right-wing armchair economists who people YouTube are even worse, if you can believe that. I'd rather have one of those YouTube dentists rip out my teeth and glue them back in all wrong (as Bob Dornan would say) than be subjected to any more classist and racist lies. (It's not like the dental ads appeal to anyone of average economic means, but that's another matter.)

In the past few days, when I log on to YouPube, the website has "recommended" videos that purport to show someone abusing government assistance or spread outright lies about this subject. I have no problem with going after someone who actually abuses these programs - but that's not really what's going on in these clips.

These videos are often posted by people who see someone at the supermarket using either a food benefits card or WIC to buy, you know, food. If the person receiving assistance is wearing a shirt that looks like it's less than 5 years old, the filmer jumps to the conclusion that they don't need benefits and that they're just someone gaming the system. In one of these videos, the filmer claims a woman using WIC is covered with tattoos - though the clip reveals no tattoos. "I've had it," the filmer whines.

I don't even click on most of these videos - because the folks who uploaded some of them include a racist caption. Why is YouTube "recommending" videos that are accompanied by a racist description?

And if someone has a tattoo, don't you think it's possible it could be an amateur tat? The cost of an amateur tattoo can be expressed in cents, not dollars. It's almost free. I know it's not a necessity for someone to get a tattoo, but at least it's art. Cosmetic dentistry is vanity, not art. If you're going to criticize someone for a tattoo that didn't cost anything and isn't even big enough to show up on video, it's only fair to also criticize some rich Trump follower who squanders $50,000 on cosmetic dentistry. I think I'm pretty safe from being accused of wasting any money on that. Maybe I'll loiter outside a cosmetic dental practice and film all the pampered yuppies walking in and out.

When we see classist or racist garbage on YouTube, it may be best to just report it under YouTube's terms of service. These videos contribute nothing positive.

Kentucky GOP lies in ad

Because this is a day when somebody somewhere farted, the Republican Party of Kentucky lied about something.

The GOP doesn't have a chance in hell of defeating Greg Stumbo, especially after Stumbo won the United Mine Workers endorsement. That's pretty clear. But they still run TV ads criticizing him. In the latest commersh, they blamed Stumbo for a 2005 law that lets legislators count their legislative service towards their pension if they accept higher-paying government positions.

Big problem with this ad: Stumbo wasn't in the legislature in 2005.

You lie, you lose, Repubs.

Kentucky GOPers caught trying to illegally fund Trump PAC

How many major scandals is the Republican Party of Kentucky up to now?

Jesse Benton and Eric Beach are assistants to Rand Paul (R-The Media). Now Britain's Telegraph newspaper reports that the pair tried to illegally funnel foreign money to a Donald Trump PAC.

Telegraph reporters posed as representatives for a Chinese businessman who planned to donate $2 million to Trump's Great America PAC. Benton and Beach were caught trying to find a way to use the money on Trump campaign ads. There's an Allowed Cloud against this: Federal law prohibits campaign donations by foreign citizens.

Benton has already been found guilty for his role in a bribery scandal - but a Rand Paul PAC continues to allow him to work for them anyway.

(Source: http://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article110238032.html)

War on Halloween plagues Connecticut school

Another public school has fallen to the pressures to appease right-wing dominionists who might get offended by Halloween.

Lillie B. Haynes Elementary School in Niantic, Connecticut, has banned Halloween because some Religious Right activists told it to.

The War on Halloween is a war on America. The Religious Right is on the wrong side in this war. They need to be held accountable.

YouTube armchair dentists still wrong

I needed to speak up against this rampant stupidity, because most people are afraid to.

What in the world has taken over YouTube lately? I know the Internet likes to try to shame people who have punk rocker teeth. For the life of me, I just don't understand why anyone thinks punk rocker teeth are a problem. Real people agree with me on this. I'm certainly not vain about having crooked teeth, and it's never created medical issues either.

Lately, however, this is all they talk about on YouTube. It's truly mind blowing! It used to be kind of amusing, but lately it's gotten way out of hand. It's gone from armchair dentistry to spam from licensed cosmetic dentists. Whenever I log on to YouPube, about 20% of the videos they "recommend" are either ads or TV news stories featuring cosmetic dentists. The latter is particularly tragic, because the stories appear to be planted by these dental practices, and because it steals time from stories that are actually important.

I'M NOT BUYING YOUR PRODUCT!!!!! UNDERSTAND?!?!?!

Twenty years ago, these sales pitches angered me. Ten years ago, they saddened me. Five years ago, they made me burst into laughter at their idiocy. Now they sadden me again.

Having punk rocker teeth is not that bad. Got that? People I know in person think it looks cool, and it's almost unanimous. It's mostly only the Internet that disagrees. Besides, I don't change just to conform to society. If a potential employer doesn't like my teeth, tough toilets. If I'm satisfied, what's the problem?

Today, yet another cosmetic dentistry video from a TV news show was "recommended" by YouTube. I got to the point where I had to leave a negative comment telling them what I think. I didn't mention this, but I know either it was a planted story or someone on the news crew has a bizarre fetish for dental treatments.

The only thing I have a fetish for is telling the truth.

This blog allows comments again!

Hey, where did this blog's comment feature go in early 2015?! In the toilet.

This blog had a feature for years that let folks comment on most entries. Almost 2 years ago, I removed this feature because of abuse. However, you may notice that recently, I brang it plumb-bob back - at the urging of a friend who has commented on my blogs and website since at least 2001.

Comments here are moderated - as they were at the time I removed commenting. I started moderating comments because of right-wing spam. But that didn't stop it completely! No sirree!

In early 2015, my patience finally wore thin. I am not going to tolerate comments that are posted to cause trouble. That was when someone (I have no idea who) tried posting a remark here blaming blacks and Hispanics for Social Security going broke. I didn't approve the comment. Then, when it wasn't approved, the commenter tried posting a comment accusing me of (you guessed it!) "censoring" them. I decided I didn't need to entertain racist hogwash and false accusations of censorship like that.

Why post racist comments about Social Security on a blog belonging to a man who believed he wasn't even going to live long enough to qualify for Social Security retirement? Is it just for lolz? And why the hell should I approve comments like this? Don't play the victim when you resort to bigoted canards that have already been debunked - again and again for years and years.

Are people really expected to believe that they lost their Social Security for the reasons the right-wing noise engine claims? Most folks need evidence before believing something. People aren't just going to accept some canard because they heard it from someone who heard it on talk radio. Folks believe what they see firsthand - and they see proof every day of Wall Street, Congress, and the war machine robbing their Social Security. The "Didn't you hear?" line doesn't work with most of us. I know what I've seen. I don't give a shit what some alt-right robot claims they saw.

Since then, the Trump campaign has given more cover for the violent racists and sore losers who populate the modern Republican Party. This also shows why we will not accept a Republican victory at any level of government. Accepting it would be encouraging racism.

NKU changes mascot because a person got scared

Can't blame "the liberals" for this story.

In recent years, Northern Kentucky University seems to have become either a jock school, a training ground for the alt-right, or both. It's not quite the venue for open exchange of ideas that we have a right to expect. I know this firsthand.

Now NKU has modified its sports mascot because it was "scaring children." Among other things, they removed the man's ferocious snarl and replaced it with a wimpy smile.

NKU wouldn't do anything about campus harassment - and removed the anti-harassment provision from its code of conduct because some pressure group told it to - yet it's worried about people getting scared by its mascot?

Why don't we just ban headless mannequins and TV Guide commercials with strange synth sounds? Does the Right even realize how hypocritical and ridiculous they're being?

Celebrity look-alike news

Nyews!

I heard a rumor that people who resemble famous people keep getting sighted out in the big, mean world. I've been told that an Elizabeth Warren look-alike was recently seen at Sharon Woods. I've also been told that at a Comfort Inn in Red Bluff, California, a guy who strongly resembled the character on Seinfeld who got in argument with George over a parking space was seen.

Burned GOP office held completed ballots

And boom goes the bubble gum.

As fate would have it, the Republican office in Hillsborough, North Carolina, that was mysteriously firebombed on Sunday just happened to contain completed absentee ballots for the upcoming election. The ballots were destroyed in the fire.

Why were the ballots being kept there in the first place? North Carolina law makes it a felony for unauthorized individuals to take completed ballots into their possession. What's really amazing is that GOP officials let it slip that there were ballots there - then tried to walk back this statement once someone pointed out they were breaking the law.

This is more proof that the Republican Party has become America's most powerful criminal gang.

(Source: http://occupydemocrats.com/2016/10/17/north-carolina-republicans-just-admitted-theyve-illegally-hiding-ballots)

Democratic office vandalized in North Carolina

The Media has made much noise about Sunday's firebombing of a Republican office in Hillsborough, North Carolina - but has ignored the fact that all signs point to it being a hoax.

Now it turns out that a Democratic office in nearby Carrboro was vandalized on the same morning.

What a coincidence.

It's pretty clear now that some Republican operative was behind both attacks - given the GOP's history of staged attacks.

What? I actually chose my own school once?

See, during my youth, I did get to make a few decisions about my life without my reasonable choices being vetoed out of hand. Maybe once or twice. Not often.

Yesterday, I discussed how the United States disrespects the medical autonomy of young people who are mature enough to make decisions. It does the same with educational autonomy - and on an increasing basis.

I don't understand why a 16-year-old - or someone a bit younger - doesn't have a legal right to choose to attend a public school in their district instead of a private school their parents force them to attend. It's not like it would cost their parents any more money, since the public school is already paid for by taxes. In some states, you can still quit school at 16 - so why can't you choose what school to attend at 16? Wouldn't attending a school of your choice be better than quitting altogether?

Texas is the worst state in this regard. Recently, Texas passed a law saying you can't quit school until you turn 19. I don't endorse quitting school just because you reach a certain age, but this law is unsound because of the common law principle that the age of majority can be set no higher than 18. Who wants to be stuck at Bishop Brossart when they're 19?

The one time in my youth when I was allowed to choose my own school, I was only 9. I repeat, 9. In 4th grade, I attended Guardian Angel School in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky - and I wanted out. I did relatively well there in previous years, but 4th grade was a disaster - an endless string of physical abuse by teachers, disciplinary run-ins, and meal denials. While the school year was still in progress, I told my parents I wanted to find a different school. They agreed. So for 5th grade, I went to a public school by default.

It didn't take a lot of prodding back then. I was being reasonable for being only 9. I didn't ask my folks to pull me out of school altogether and let me live out my days in paradise. Getting pulled from Guardian Angel wasn't too much to ask. And I won that battle. In later years, I wasn't so lucky. Even though I was older then, I wasn't allowed to attend schools I wanted. The oldsters' word was law. What high school was I to attend? I didn't get a choice. Ever. They picked Bishop Brossart, and that was the end of the discussion. They never said why even when I dared to ask. I was 14 - not 9 - but no input was allowed. They didn't ask, "Do you want to go to Brossart?" Brossart sucked almost from the giddy-up, and just when the oldsters acted like they were finally coming around - almost 3 years later - I was expelled. I'm sure my days at Brossart were numbered by then anyway - I can't possibly imagine going there another year - but it was way too late.

By the time I was kicked out of Brossart, I'd long since made my decision: I wanted out pronto. I knew I was more than ready. I stand by this stance even at age 43. I guess a lot of people didn't understand the words, "I want out." My life, my decision. Three years was plenty of time to think. I wanted out after 3 days, and it took 3 years to get out. It was never a hard decision, but it went completely unheeded.

I remember some kids at Brossart saying they chose to go to school there. I was floored. Someone was actually allowed to pick their own high school? The laws protecting me were so weak that I was stuck with the decisions of those who thought they were so much wiser.

What I'm really shocked at is that other bad choices about my schooling continued at 18. I don't know how the system pulled that off without me telling everyone to go pound sand. So many bad decisions had been made for me by then that I think I just resigned myself to my fate.

I can be appreciative of this: I complained about the school I attended in 4th grade, and people listened. Like the very few other times when I was allowed to make my own decisions, I don't regret it.

What? There's a country that respects medical autonomy?

You probably think I should have become a doctor, not a librarian.

It's nice to have friends who enjoy sharing health issues and can find the positive in minor medical conditions. Trust me, some conditions truly are not that bad. It seems like the Really Serious People think your whole life is ruined if you're not treated for them, but I think I've held up great after going untreated for some of them for decades.

Unfortunately, American politics has been dotted with little tinpot dictators who deny medical autonomy for no defensible reason. For me, the matter is moot, because I'm 43. The problem I'm talking about is forcing reasonably mature minors to undergo unnecessary "treatment" they don't want - though any standard of medical ethics would give them the right to refuse. I don't mean life-saving medicines. I'm talking about stupid shit.

Some folks on a website have been talking about this, and one person in an unspecified foreign country said it would be illegal in their country to force a 16-year-old to undergo "treatment" they don't want. In fact, it might apply to kids who are even younger.

What? There's actually a country somewhere out there where kids aren't treated as property? I would have loved it if the United States was like that when I was 16. I've heard that some Americans who are a few years older than me didn't have as many struggles in their day, so I assume most American laws that gutted medical autonomy were enacted under Reagan. Plus, another website says that in Britain you only have to be 16 to refuse.

I was very mature when I was 16. I had schoolmates who weren't. I remember being 16 and worrying about how fucked-up America was gonna be when they were 30 and they had more power. But people like that weren't in the majority, and - true to form - they were just as irresponsible when they were 30. Should they have been denied the right to refuse medical treatment at 30? (If it was life-saving treatment, I wish they would have refused.)

I find that I appreciate it a lot more when I wasn't "treated" for stupid crap. I know you're supposed to stop thinking this the day you turn 18, but it's very clear. I have not changed my mind on this. I'm very appreciative of the times when I was allowed to do what I wanted - which wasn't often. Believe me, I don't regret it.

Attack on GOP office probably a hoax

Before the right-wing media grabs the ball and runs with this story, we need to do a Wright brothers on their bubble and force them to dig themselves out of the gooey mess.

Officials reported today that a Republican Party office in Hillsborough, North Carolina, was firebombed. Explosives were thrown through the window of the building.

In all probability, the attack was a hoax. I can say with near-certainty it was carried out by Republicans in an attempt to generate sympathy. There's not a shadow of a doubt in my mind. I suspect this, because they have a history of hoaxes like this.

The attack was carried out at a time when nobody was at the office and in such a way to inflict minimal property damage there. If someone really wanted to do real damage, they wouldn't have done it like this. In addition, a neighboring building not connected to the GOP was vandalized. Donald Trump's opponents aren't desperate enough to bomb a party office, since Trump is already trailing in the polls by a wide margin.

Worse, a GOP official called the probable hoax a hate crime - which trivializes the suffering of victims of real hate crimes.

Lots of folks agree with me on this. So if the GOP doesn't want to be humiliated further, they need to cool their crappers.

Tea Party members busted for planning Kansas bombing

I don't like using CBS as a source, but they've actually covered this story when others haven't.

Yesterday, 3 Tea Party members were charged with plotting to bomb an apartment complex in Garden City, Kansas, where Somali immigrants live. This terrorist attack was scheduled to take place the day after the election. Curtis Wayne Allen, Patrick Eugene Stein, and Gavin Wayne Wright were all charged with conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction. They may face life in prison without parole.

The suspects are members of a Tea Party organization called the Crusaders that spew anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant crap. The men had performed surveillance of the apartment building they targeted.

But the Republican-industrial complex tries to make people think there's no such thing as right-wing domestic terrorism.

(Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/militia-members-arrested-mosque-attack-plot)

35 years of capitalist "medicine" just got debunked today

And boom goes the bubble gum.

What happens when a licensed professional says I'm right, and the quacks I visited in my youth were wrong?

I told you I was visiting a certified social worker for PTSD today. I had wanted to keep it private, but I mentioned it because Donald Trump shot his mouth off about PTSD.

I'm not going to go over everything that was discussed today, because I still want to keep some things private. One thing is for certain though: 35 years of ineffective "medicine" I'd been subjected to since the Reagan era was completely discredited - all in the course of only an hour.

I explained my situation to the social worker today, and he agreed with me about the miserableness of it all. For one thing, he said I'd been prescribed too much Ritalin in my youth. He was completely unambiguous about this. There's no wiggle room on that now. He also said Trilafon was vastly overprescribed - and that it's not such a great drug anyway. I told him about some of the particular therapists and psychiatrists I was forced to see as a youngster. He said he knew them years ago, and he knew back then they were terrible. He also agreed the school system was pretty much full of shit.

He said what needed to be said. From the 1980s until recently, very few professionals would dare say it. A lot of grief could have been saved if I'd been allowed to see a therapist like this when I was younger - instead of the quacks I used to see. Unfortunately, our junk insurance probably wouldn't have covered it.

The long and short of it is that everything I've been saying for years was just confirmed today. It's also another sign that the quality of healthcare has improved under the Affordable Care Act (even though one can still rightly criticize the insurance mandate).

I really wish I knew how to fight back when I was young, but 8th grade broke my spirit. I don't appreciate what the quacks I visited as a teenager did - at all. When you're a kid, adults always say you'll someday appreciate what they did. Not in this case.

Fashion at the 'Pail

Yes, I wore it in public.

You can get your own anti-Bevin gear by pointing your pooper here...

http://www.cafepress.com/amazingprogressivegear

Trump trails in Kentucky

Boom.

A new survey of likely voters by Google Consumer Surveys conducted from October 4 to 9 shows Hillary Clinton slightly leading Donald Trump in Kentucky - 35% to 34%. This same pollster had Trump leading by 16 points in August.

Welcome back to the world of swing states, my fellow Kentuckians.

Trump should have never opened his mouth about PTSD

USA Today sure knows how to downplay Donald Trump's venom. Last week, USA Today ran this headline: "Trump PTSD comments spark emotional debate."

What debate? PTSD is real. So zip your fucking lip, Donald.

I've suffered from PTSD for 26 years. I never served in the military or fought in any wars. I suffer from PTSD from being abused at school repeatedly.

And it isn't funny. Some things are funny, and some things aren't. My Sesame Street sore is funny. My acne scars are funny. My punk rocker teeth are funny. PTSD is never funny.

Ironically, Trump shot his mouth off on Monday of last week - the exact same day I went to the doctor and scheduled an appointment for this coming Thursday regarding PTSD. I didn't even tell a family member who drove me to the doctor that that's what the upcoming appointment is about.

Right from the giddy-up, until the Affordable Care Act passed, I had doctors and therapists who didn't take PTSD seriously. But the bubble gum doctor takes it seriously, thanks to Obamacare's improvements of our healthcare system.

By the way, the appointment Thursday is with a clinical social worker, not a psychiatrist, so I won't be drugged. Luckily, my battle with PTSD isn't nearly as bad as it used to be, but we didn't have anything like the ACA yet when it was at its worst, because the Republicans blocked healthcare reform so many times. For every day this logjam took off my life, that's more blood on the alt-right's hands.

Fighting bigotry against those you love

It grieves me greatly that I need to post this in public, but I don't think people will listen otherwise. I've held my tongue long enough and can stand it no longer.

Lately I've been subjected to a world of shame, hurt, and humiliation - all because of sheer bigotry. I will not stand for religious prejudice - especially against those I love.

People need to decide what's important to them. You have a couple choices here, but it's impossible to do both. One choice is to follow an individual, organization, or website unquestioningly - no matter how hateful and bigoted it is. The other choice is to show tolerance. I just can't believe it's at the point where I have to lecture people about which choice to make.

I'm mad because of what was said about a woman who has been a friend of mine for 15 years. And yes, she has been an occasional relationship partner. Plus, it so happens that she is not an adherent of Christianity, Judaism, or Islam. But she has never tried to push her religion on me.

When you knowingly follow intolerant websites or let individual bigots influence you, ultimately you have nobody except yourself to blame. I've kept quiet for a long time, but the straw that finally broke the camel's back was my discovery that the website in question made a deliberately false and malicious claim about my relationship partner's religion. The website is spreading hate propaganda. In recent years, Americans have lost enough jobs and child custody disputes because of religious bigotry like this. This follows a separate incident in which this organization spread religious intolerance.

I have to post this in public because I think people are too bullheaded to understand it if I keep it private. Besides, I've been humiliated enough in this growing crisis. I am literally ashamed of some of the things people have said in public.

Life is too short to be eaten away at by hate.

It's official: Obamacare improves healthcare quality

I was sorely disappointed when the Affordable Care Act passed, since it didn't even go as far as President Obama wanted. But now I'm fully prepared to have a big, goopy humble pie smashed in my face, because Obamacare has been an absolute godsend. I know single payer would be better. I'm not a fan of Obamacare's insurance mandate, and I can respect those who don't like the mandate. But there's no comparison between American healthcare today and the insufferable medical system of a decade or two ago.

The ACA has improved accessibility, cost, scope, and even quality of healthcare. I can attest firsthand to the improvement in quality.

As a teenager in the 1980s and 1990s, my family had junk insurance. It paid for quack "treatments" for nonexistent conditions, but I had to go for ages without seeing a doctor for a couple of almost unbearable health conditions I chronically suffered from, because insurance wouldn't cover it. Yet this insurance covered a psychiatrist who anybody could see was an absolute quack after 30 seconds with her. For years after, as an adult, I had to bite the bullet and accept whatever healthcare I could find. In the 1990s and 2000s, I was forced to visit a medical practice that was miles away and was incompetent. My main doctor there was very evasive at answering my medical questions and gave incomplete instructions. During one visit, one of the other doctors there performed only half of a medical procedure I needed - and it was the half I needed less.

Now, since Obamacare passed, I've been visiting a medical practice right down the street from me that has been very, very competent - so far. On my first visit several years ago, I explained my objections to psychotropic drugs. The doc was very understanding and agreed they would not resort to that "treatment." When I visited this same practice a few days ago, I had a different doctor, who said pretty much the same thing - and seemed understanding about my battle with post-traumatic stress disorder, which I've dealt with for 26 years. This medical practice has also successfully treated some physical ailments I'd suffered from for decades.

Throughout my life, most dentists I've had have been competent. Maybe that's because I very rarely even got to see a dentist when American healthcare was at its worst. I had to go 11 years between dental visits. The only bad dentist I ever remember seeing was one I saw only once when I was about 9 as part of a wider checkup and only vaguely remember. That was before Obamacare.

The long and short of it is that the quality of American healthcare today is absolutely incredible compared to what it was before the ACA. I'm utterly floored that it's gotten so good. It'll never be perfect, but it's amazing compared to what we were forced to tolerate earlier. If we had Obamacare in the '80s, it would have saved a lot of grief.

I hope this recent trend holds up. I have a couple more appointments coming up, so I'll find out. If we have to return to the earlier broken health system, I can't deal with it. I just can't.

Pence thinks 1995 was so horrible for poor Trump

I watched the debate. My jaw hit the floor when Mike Pence defended Donald Trump's tax evasion by talking about the rough economic times Trump had in 1995.

Seriously, he said that. Pence thinks a billionaire like Trump had it rough in 1995. I had absolutely nothing in 1995. Maybe my oversized "ATTACK!" shirt and a few Missing Persons 45's. Yet Mike Pence stood there and complained about how rough life was for the Donald.

Suck it up, you big baby.

Have no fear, the October ish is here!

The October ish of The Last Word is now pub-a-roo, and it's one of the best in a while. This edition talks about...

• Passing gas in customers' faces at Ruby Tuesday.

• Blowing bubbles with laxative gum.

• A North Dakota roadtrip.

• The destroyment of a prized Speak & Spell.

• A ridiculous film about dyslexia.

• A bratty kid defending himself with commercial slogans.

• Hilarious foot blisters.

• Our local Internet company's lies and greed.

So point your pooper here...

https://www.scribd.com/document/326257478/The-Last-Word-10-2016

Holy shit! 159/98!

Commenters here are right. This just became a lot less funny.

I just checked the paperwork I got from the bubble gum doctor today, and my blood pressure is much higher than I thought.

It's 159/98. If the first number is at least 140, it's way too high. If the second number is at least 90, it's way too high. I shatter both numbers. I must be a real superman.

You know, maybe if the Republican Party would finally destroy itself like I ordered it to, I could relax and lower my blood pressure. The GOP's refusal to follow my orders is more blood on their hands. They're the reason my blood pressure is so high.

Yay! High blood pressure! And TMJ disorder too!

Today I goed to the doctor, so do you wanna hear the postmortem? Yes.

I really don't have many new medical conditions that I didn't already know about. I know you're disappointed by that. But my paperwork listing current medical issues already listed a grand total of 10 different conditions - some of them disabling - so you should be pleased by that.

Today, the doc did say I have "very elevated" blood pressure, so I had to get a prescription for it. The doc also said I have TMJ disorder and recommended chewing bubble gum. Except she just called it gum, not bubble gum. This maxim directly contradicts many websites out there, and I see no need to increase my beegee intake. I have no desperate desire to walk around town blowing gigantic bubbles, and everyone knows gum is wasted unless you bubble with it.

For the record, TMJ disorder is not caused by punk rocker teeth. I've known that for as long I've known about TMJ disorder, and most credible websites agree on that.

Also, my regular body temperature is 97.8° F, which is unusual.

I have an appointment on October 13 for a different condition that is private, disabling, and not funny at all. But a dentist appointment looms on October 19, so be prepared for some laughs if I get more gnashers pulled.

Trump hasn't paid taxes in 20 years

And boom goes the bubble gum. All over Donald Trump's stupid face.

Even rich right-wingers who yell constantly about taxes need to pay taxes. Of course, those of us on the left who are poor pay more taxes, but that's a whole other matter.

Now it turns out Donald Trump reported a loss of almost $1 billion on his 1995 tax returns - allowing him to avoid paying federal income taxes for decades thereafter and canceling out later income.

Oops.

Of course, Trump blamed the whole thing on the "liberal" media.

You own this one, Repubs. That goes for the Kentucky GOP too.

(Source: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/donald-trump-tax-records-new-york-times-229012)

It's not for you...

I'm middle-aged, so sooner or later, we need to deal with an elephant in the room that I know you don't want to discuss.

In 5th grade, one of my classmates found the data disk for one of those computer games of the era like Oregon Trail. He asked the teacher, "What's the data disk?" The teacher replied, "It's not for you."

Those are words I wish I could utter even after I'm dead. The problem is this: What if I order something off Amazon or some other website and die before it arrives? There are some items (usually books) I wouldn't mind if family or friends opened - but it's not true of all items. I've gotten items off Amazon that were smart purchases, but I'd be thoroughly humiliated if most friends or family knew I purchased them. Plus, there's no way of knowing an item's embarrassment factor unless it's actually opened.

Therefore - after discussing it with a friend - I've come to a very important and solemn decision. If I order something from a website like Amazon and die before it arrives, the item is to be either returned to its sender or discarded without being opened. I'm very public about some things, but I can also be very private about other matters, and I'm entitled to my privacy even in death.

This shall be considered a binding directive - not just a suggestion. It's just like how my e-mails, computer files, boxed belongings, and other items are private.

I hope to have a long life ahead, but with the shockingly low life expectancy around here, I had to post this.

I'm an alt-leftist

I am an alt-leftist. There's no shame in saying it.

I never used this term until recently, but in fact, my political views have changed very little in my adult life. I've been an alt-leftist for at least 25 years. More specifically, my Facebook profile describes my views as alt-left populism.

The Tea Party, the Donald Trump campaign, and most of the modern Republican Party are alt-right. I never heard that term until this year, but it's only fair to respond in kind with alt-leftism.

With the help of friends lately, I'm continuing the lifelong process of discovering the essence of alt-leftism. Protection of the left is not only justified but also strategically necessary in light of all the persecution faced by us on the left.

We're actually heading into uncharted waters, reflected in political, social, cultural, and artistic activities. The alt-right has doubled down lately - so I am too. Fair is fair.

Portraits of all the Presidents with punk rocker teeth?

Pzt! Papp! Challenge!

I'm coming up with another new goal. Just for the sheer uproariousness of it, I'd like to find portraits of all the Presidents and add punk rocker teeth to them. This project would include Democrats, Republicans, Whigs, and Federalists alike. It will not discriminate on the basis of political affiliation.

Punk rocker teeth are defined as crooked teeth that look cool. Cool people are the most likely people to have 'em. Don't you want to see what the Presidents would have looked like if they were all cool?

Another reason to like Detroit

Late last year - after the Matt Bevin debacle - I seriously planned to move out of town, most likely to Detroit. But then everyone urged me not to, since I was doing all the activist work that nobody else around here felt like doing. If I moved out of town, everyone else would be left to their own devices. (One of the reasons they gave why I shouldn't move is that Halloween around here is just so exciting. Seriously, they said that.)

But if I had to relocate now, Detroit would be looking even better. A new poll by WDIV-TV shows that Donald Trump is receiving 0% of the vote in that fine city.

Not 1%. Not 10%. Zero.

I don't think it's much higher in any other urban area. I don't see any support for the poor ol' Donald on the ground here - with the exception of the Tea Party members who whined about the teenagers ripping down their Trump sign.