GOP bill would establish 10% bike tire tax

Shame on us bicycle commuters. We act like we own the road or something.

A new right-wing bill in Congress would impose a heavy federal tax on some bicycling items. This legislation by Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pennsylvania) would slap a 10% federal tax on bike tires and electric bike batteries.

Why? No particular reason. Just because.

The bill would also end the long-running fuel tax exemption that public transit agencies enjoy.

This tax-raising bill is courtesy of the self-proclaimed party of lower taxes.

(Source: https://usa.streetsblog.org/2018/07/30/house-gop-transportation-bill-would-raise-taxes-on-transit-and-bikes)

Have no fear, the August ish is here!

Good afternoon, comrades!

The August edition of The Last Word is now pub, and - not unlike usual - it talks about some important things. This ish discusses an exciting neighborhood dumpster fire, bubble gum in a tube, the continuing decline of Honeycomb, Strawberry Shortcake cereal tasting funny, YouTube flagging a video because a person chewed bubble gum, and more!

So point your pooper here like the superhero you aspire to be...

https://www.scribd.com/document/384949090/The-Last-Word-8-2018

If that doesn't work, go here...

http://bunkerblast.info/lastword/lw1808.pdf

New York revokes Charter merger

If you live anywhere other than the state of New York, don't uncork the celebratory vodka, since this latest development applies only to the Empire State. Still, it should set an example for other states.

Like other states, New York rubber-stamped Charter's 2016 takeover of Time Warner. The company provides Internet under the Spectrum brand, and quality of service has declined since the merger while the price has soared. I recently caught them illegally throttling my Internet traffic. But now, the New York State Public Service Commission has revoked its approval of this merger, because the company didn't live up to its agreement to expand service to rural areas.

After the company also broke its pledge not to raise rates, Kentucky needs to follow New York's lead.

(Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-timewarnercable-m-a-charter-commns/new-york-state-revokes-approval-of-charter-time-warner-cable-deal-idUSKBN1KH2EJ)

Right-wing treason not new

So Donald Trump committed treason in Helsinki, and the Republican establishment supports it. And we all act shocked.

But in fact, treason is not new among America's Far Right - and much of it is motivated by their greed and meanness. Despite their bogus claims to be superpatriots, these extremists don't love America.

I remember when they bragged that they wouldn't build their factories in America, claiming Americans were "lazy."

I remember when they let foreign dictatorships police the private behavior of America's fighting men and women.

I remember when they let foreign dictatorships censor American news organizations.

I remember when they sent mail to news outlets praising foreign dictatorships' draconian criminal laws that would be unconstitutional in the U.S. - and were ineffective at fighting crime.

I remember when they let other countries defy American laws by letting them overfish in American waters.

I remember when they backed a bill to repeal country of origin labeling requirements for food - laughably claiming these requirements "discriminated" against other countries.

I remember when they let foreign dictatorships build farms in America to drain our groundwater so they could support their own agribusiness operations back home - polluting local water and leaving some folks with no water at all.

I remember when they sold missiles to Khomeini.

And nobody dared to call these acts what they were: treason. But treasonous they were.

Even Richard Marx thinks Trump is an idiot

Remember singer, songwriter, and musician Richard Marx? In the late '80s, he was known for a string of hits including "Don't Mean Nothing" and "Right Here Waiting."

A few days ago, Donald Trump conceded that he "misspoke" about something. Nobody gave a shit about what, because everyone knew all along Trump had been lying about whatever it was.

So yesterday, Marx posted this on his own Twitter feed...

"I misspoke. I meant to say I 'wouldn't' be right here waiting for you."

What's next for the poor ol' Donald? Hate mail from Mr. Big?

April's Scholaring photos are finally up!

The Roads Scholaring photos have been stacking up like logs for a while now, and now we have April's batch up!

This set covers northern Campbell County and consists of 12 photos and 3 videos! So read 'em and peep...

http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/bfd18.html

Covington rejects luxury development, but appeal to county looms

Covington City Commission came to its senses this week when it voted unanimously to reject a luxury townhouse project on Pershing Avenue. The development would have demolished historic buildings and artificially driven up housing costs.

This came after the city's urban design review board also rejected the proposal. Local residents also staunchly opposed the plan - especially after the developer told a local media outlet, "If I had my way, I would tear down the whole street."

But don't uncork the celebratory beer just yet. The developer may appeal to the county - as if the city shouldn't be allowed to govern what happens within its own boundaries. (Time for Kentucky to have independent cities?)

(Source: http://www.rcnky.com/articles/2018/07/17/covington-upholds-boards-rejection-proposed-townhomes)

Right-wing think tank whimpers and cries

Stop complaining, you big crybabies.

A new study by the far-right American Enterprise Institute says that the share of low-income students at America's top 200 colleges has actually increased a bit since the 1999-2000 school year.

And the AEI can't stand it.

They can't stand it that more low-income students seem to be able to go to college now. I've heard elsewhere that this isn't really true, but if it is true, shouldn't it be considered a good thing? But, even so - at 15.1% - low-income students would still be underrepresented at these schools. If anyone should be complaining, it should be the poor, not the royalists at the AEI.

The AEI's Jason Delisle sniffed, "It will be interesting to see if people keep pumping out stories and articles saying low-income students are being crowded out. I hope this report gives them some pause before they do that."

One, two, three. Aaaaawwwwwwwwww!

If being rich is so rough, you can always try being poor, you know.

13 more Scholaring photos to terrify the Far Right!

March wouldn't have been March if I didn't do a Roads Scholaring like I do every month. And March's Scholaring was the last before the big April blizzard (which occurred on the same day someone mentioned Dubble Bubble at Kroger).

March's Scholaring took me as far as West Covington, and it yielded 13 bippus-bustin' new photos. You're gonna peep 'em all, so point your pooper here...

http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/cov18.html

Trump pardons serial arsonists

Remember the Hammonds? The Hammonds are a ranching family in Oregon that became heroes to the Far Right after family members were convicted of intentionally starting wildfires. The Hammonds were supported by extremists who launched a 5-week-long standoff at Malheur Wildlife Refuge in 2016.

Dwight Hammond Jr. and Steven Hammond had been convicted of arson back in 2012 and sentenced to 5 years in federal prison and $400,000 in restitution in 2015. One of the fires they started almost killed Bureau of Land Management firefighters.

Now Donald Trump has given each of them a full pardon. Trump's White House issued a statement saying the arsonists are "respected in the community." The statement goes on to whine about how unfair the world has been to the Hammonds.

What message does this send? It shows Trump has the backs of right-wing extremists who might get violent when he faces criminal charges himself.

Once again, in the upside-down world of the Tea Party, crime pays.

Kind of like when the Tea Party sells heroin.

People used to wipe boogers on stuff

It's always a barrel of guffaws when a person wipes mucus on stuff or when a column of snot dangles out of their nose.

To salute the time-honored sport of booging, we've made a little video. I couldn't just write it down or draw a picture. I had to parlay it into a comedy routine to give you the full effect...

Alvarado verdict tossed!

Far-right Kentucky State Sen. Ralph Alvarado (R-Winchester) was first "elected" concurrently with the Moscow midterm of 2014. And he sues anyone who disagrees with him.

He even sued his Democratic predecessor over a campaign ad - and won $200,000 just for the asking.

But now the Kentucky Court of Appeals has thrown out the verdict - as there was no defamation involved. The court said the ad "is an accurate representation" of the facts.

Naturally, Alvarado plans to waste taxpayer money by appealing this decision to the Kentucky Supreme Court.

(Source: https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article214064544.html)