Lockdowns likened to post-9/11 assaults on freedom

Last week, a rather well-written op-ed by Samuel Miller McDonald appeared in Britain's Guardian newspaper...

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/23/coronavirus-civil-liberties-authoritarian-measures

I can't find this op-ed in any American paper. Few American media outlets or websites would dare print anything that criticizes the lockdowns.

The author talks about how 9/11 was followed by the Patriot Act and deadly wars. He talks about how the late 2000s recession led to taxpayer dollars being transferred to wasteful Wall Street execs and companies. He mentions that environmental ruin has helped fuel conservavirus.

The authoritarian response to the virus is likened to actions taken after 9/11 and the recession. The Trump regime is launching a bailout of Big Oil, and lockdowns endanger basic civil liberties. "Emergency" measures that infringe on freedom are rarely reversed. In fact, they often expand.

"Seeing self-avowed leftists and liberals praising such draconian reactions is frightening," the author writes. Don't worry. Nobody on this blog supports lockdowns. I don't know any "leftists and liberals" who do. Then again, I can't ask them, because I haven't been able to see them, as they're bullied into not leaving their home. The author goes on to say, "We must reject such authoritarian measures wholly."

The writer suggests ways to fight the conservavirus crisis. One way is for the government to provide a universal basic income to every person in America to remedy job losses. Another is to enact universal healthcare - not just for during the crisis, but after. Another is to nationalize utilities, and another is to limit actions like foreclosures. Still another is to reform the criminal justice system, and another is to loosen intellectual property laws to allow distribution of the drugs to fight this virus.

Do we want a right-wing police state, or do we want forward-thinking ideas that work?

Church blasted for not halting services

Here's another #1 smash from the album Lockdowns For Thee, Not For Me.

Solid Rock Church is a megachurch along I-75 north of Cincinnati known for its giant Jesus statue. A similar statue caught on fire there a few years ago, and the church spent a huge sum of money replacing it.

Now the church is refusing to stop holding services despite the risk of conservavirus. Many congregations have suspended services. But Solid Rock refuses to quit, which enables hundreds to sit elbow to elbow with potentially infected fellow worshipers.

The Butler County Health Department and a religious group called Faithful America are highly displeased at the church's actions.

And get this. Ohio recently imposed martial law against gatherings - but made an exemption for religious services. Why??? Why does religious privilege get to rule?

And how does any private group of a few people pose a health risk if a packed church full of hundreds doesn't? This is more proof that the official response to conservavirus often has nothing to do with science. If it did, we'd have our tests we were promised over a month ago.

Conservavirus expert says lockdowns aren't all that great

CNBC usually isn't worth the electricity it takes to run the TV, but with the media blackout, it was the only place I could find this story...

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/31/countries-in-lockdown-should-try-what-singapore-is-doing-coronavirus-expert.html

Dale Fisher, an expert on conservavirus and other infectious diseases who heads the WHO's Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, said lockdowns are largely ineffective in the long run. Instead, Fisher said countries should implement the policies of Singapore, which have generally shown more regard for civil liberties.

Let this sink in for a moment.

Singapore is now one of the world's civil liberties giants. I repeat, Singapore. It's the Western countries that have seen the most instances of martial law and incompetent leadership.

Fisher said the lockdowns may buy response time for officials to react to the pandemic - but some have been going on for weeks. That should be plenty of time. Fisher said lockdowns do not solve conservavirus.

Singapore has so far not had a full lockdown throughout this crisis. But it has had far fewer cases per capita than countries that have locked down. The numbers aren't even close: Singapore has had 137 per million, versus 1,529 in Italy.

Singapore does quarantine those who are ill. Singapore does practice social distancing. Most places did before they opted to lapse into martial law. And opt they did. Nobody forced other countries or states to enact martial law. The media has long been invested in authoritarian "solutions" to problems, but when public officials listen to it, these officials have nobody to blame but themselves.

If you really believed in Western exceptionalism, that ended this month.

Smooth move, Martial Grover

More proof that full lockdowns are ineffective? California was the first U.S. state to issue this form of martial law, and now it's one of the few where new cases of conservavirus are still rising significantly.

Maybe if Gov. Gruesome would make himself useful instead of praising Trump all the time, California could start to finally bend the graph of new cases.

Incidentally, it is martial law. Newsom even admitted it was martial law in a bizarre speech.

If a public official is so incompetent that they can't fight conservavirus without issuing a complete lockdown that lasts as long as it has, they should resign. This may well be past the point of mere incompetence.

Another Bellevue bubbling!

Just a few minutes ago, some woman walking through the alley next to my apartment bubbled.

A bunch of right-wingers are purposely spreading germs

Before anyone gets mad at me because I won't obey an 18-month lockdown, they should read this article about right-wingers who engage in recreational activities just to spread germs and make a political point...

https://www.alternet.org/2020/03/some-trump-supporters-delight-in-defying-pandemic-protocols-to-own-the-liberals-report

There's a big difference between being holed up at home for 18 months and just skipping a country club outing. And no, it's not class warfare on my part. It's science - physical and social.

Also, wasn't right-wing demigod Donald Trump pushing a bill to use conservavirus as an excuse to gut habeas corpus just a week or two ago? If everyone else has to be locked up, why not right-wingers too?

Anybip, according to the above report, right-wingers are defying every sort of recommendations and restrictions just to try to stick it to everyone else. One Georgia resident says right-wing members of his country club defied rules just to be defying them. They even said conservavirus is a "stupid hoax."

Well, if it's a hoax, they don't get to use it as an excuse to take away habeas corpus or ban constitutionally protected activity. It's that simple. Make up your minds, conservos. Is it a hoax, or is it an apocalypse? You can't jump between alarmism and denial just to suit the purpose at hand. Of course, Trump does anyway.

Some other people have also been careless about spreading germs, but at least they didn't do it for spiteful political reasons.

Nothing I've encouraged actually spreads conservavirus. Chewing bubble gum at parks isn't exactly a germ spreader. Squeezing 10 people into a golf cart is.

"Safer at home"? Maybe compared to country clubs where privileged right-wingers make a sport of spreading conservavirus.

Horrible Hephzibah House closes!

A few of you may recall that Hephzibah House was a far-right so-called Christian residential program for "troubled" teenage girls in Warsaw, Indiana. After hearing about some of the abuse there, I participated in a public protest against Hephzibah House back in 2009.

According to more recent reports, some who lived at Hephzibah House say the program was full of sexual abuse and bad nutrition, and that the health department had gotten on the program's case for a series of violations.

It deserved to be closed. It's not the only facility like this that needed to be shut down.

And now it has. Media reports say Hephzibah House has just permanently closed after 49 years.

Good riddance!

(Source: https://timesuniononline.com/Content/Local-News/Local-News/Article/Hephzibah-House-Permanently-Closed-When-And-Why-Not-Answered/2/453/125742)

Domestic violence soars under conservavirus lockdowns

The media's nonstop demands for lockdowns to fight conservavirus - even after cases of the virus have zoomed under Italy's lockdown - are indicative of bottomless ignorance of medicine, ethics, and social science. The ignorance may well be intentional, because it should be obvious to anyone with even a single brain cell they're wrong.

It's clear that lockdowns would destroy society by gutting its institutions. But this article discusses how this form of martial law has also led to a spike in domestic violence:

https://socialistresurgence.org/2020/03/26/covid-19-and-domestic-violence

Domestic violence increases when it's harder for victims to get away from abusers. Plus, under these lockdowns, victims have less access to services, and may be afraid to use a shelter because the virus may spread.

Under restrictions imposed in Wuhan, police reported that the rate of domestic violence doubled. In a nearby province, domestic violence tripled. In another, a victim had to walk for hours to reach her family after she was severely battered. Another woman committed suicide by jumping out her apartment window.

French police report that domestic violence is up 32% since France copied Italy's failed lockdown. It's a problem in the United States too. In Cleveland - where this martial law has only been in force for a few days - domestic violence is already up 30%.

I don't expect the pro-batterer media to digest these facts any more than it does with any other facts. I'm sure they know, but they just don't care, because protecting their money and political agenda is more important to them. They consider domestic violence victims' lives less important.

People ought to post videos of themselves bubbling in public

What better way to prove we're ready to beat a crisis than to post photos or videos of yourself bubbling in public?

Bubbling is our term for blowing bubbles with bubble gum. This activity is not only hilarious, but harmless. There may be no better way to fight a serious crisis than with harmless humor.

What people should do is chomp a huge pile of bubble gum, go to a park or other public outdoor place, blow some biggies, and make a photo or video that they post on sites like YouTube and Facebook.

It's not as if public bubbling has become any less common in recent weeks. After all, I did see a person bubble right in the middle of downtown Cincinnati just last week.

If that doesn't make sense, it's because it's not supposed to! Does it make sense that our government leaders at every level have failed so miserably at fighting a crisis that could have been largely stamped out by now? If they try arresting people for bubbling, I'd like to see what statute covers that. If authorities are so eager to mimic Singapore's law against bubble gum, they should also mimic Singapore's success against the pandemic - instead of providing excuse after excuse about why we can't test people.

Trump regime kills Walmart opioid probe

Did you know that Walmart almost faced criminal charges for improperly dispensing opioids, which fueled America's outbreak of heroin addiction?

A federal prosecuting attorney in Texas thought the evidence against Walmart was so incriminating that criminal charges were a slam-dunk. There was a 2-year-long federal investigation against the retail giant because the company forced its pharmacies to dispense opioids prescribed by pill mills. This fueled the addictions of many customers - killing many.

Walmart's insistence on filling these improper prescriptions plagued many states. One Florida doctor sent patients from Kentucky to Walmart pharmacies in over 30 states.

Prosecutors planned to indict Walmart under the Controlled Substances Act. But Walmart cried to Trump appointees in the so-called Department of Justice. In 2018, the Trump regime informed Walmart that it would not be prosecuted.

The prosecutors didn't give up. They met with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and other regime officials to plead their case. They said a fine wouldn't be enough of a punishment for Walmart, because the company "has more money than it knows what to do with."

"Not that there's anything wrong with that," Rosenstein smugly replied. "We are all capitalists here."

Because Trump's pals failed to go after Walmart itself, the prosecutors then tried going after mid-level Walmart managers who went along with the company's decision. This effort also failed.

So prosecutors tried to build a civil claim. Again, the Trump thugocracy stood in the way.

Then Walmart complained to the Trump regime about the prosecutors, claiming that they committed official misconduct just by going after them.

Why is all of this so bad? It's because the heroin crisis has caused the direct deaths of countless Americans and has exacted a toll on anyone who knows someone who was addicted. That toll is not just financial but also medical because of the untold amount of stress it has caused. If this crisis has had any impact on you whatsoever, Walmart deserves a great deal of blame.

Tower Hill! KY 8! Game day bucket go boom!

With the Cincinnati roadmeet looming on May 30, I've been scouting out sites and hoarding photos from these events. I plan to wait until just before the meet to release most of them - to protect these sites for the meet. But I have a small batch from November that I think is pretty safe. These are not meet highlights, but it's a little pre-bubbling of the big event...

http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/scoutft19.html

Abusive "treatment" centers stay open despite conservavirus

Let's face it. Rules don't apply to some people and agencies.

Throughout the latest crisis caused by right-wing incompetence - the latest of many - I've been careful to follow commonsense standards of sanitation. I will not allow my constitutional rights to be trampled by martial law, but nobody has been cleaner than I am. But "treatment" centers for "troubled teens" - the type of programs I've fought against for years - refuse to close even though other businesses have.

This entire industry is abusive. All these programs should close - pandemic or not.

If any place is likely to spread viruses - especially this virus - it's these facilities. Many states have ordered elective medical procedures to be delayed. Well, these programs are elective. Plus, they're not even medical. Abusive psychiatric "hospitals" claim to be medical, but they're still elective. Other programs don't even claim to be medical.

So why are they allowed?

The people who would scream at us for daring to oppose martial law are the same ones who would defend these abusive programs as being life-saving necessities. Bank on it.

Louisville schools force kids to see shrink

Even the Courier-Journal has had its fill of the abuse going on in Louisville schools:

https://www.courier-journal.com/in-depth/news/education/2020/03/24/jcps-pulls-troubled-kids-schools-outraging-parents/4643838002

According to a major story by the Courier-Journal, the Jefferson County Public Schools have forced at least 1,500 students in the past year to undergo psychiatric evaluations and have threatened parents who don't comply. Some were as young as 8.

In some cases, the school district had kids locked up in a psychiatric facility without parents' permission. School officials reported parents to child protective services if they resisted.

CPS is supposed to only be used for real cases of abuse and neglect. It's not supposed to be used by vindictive school officials or anyone else who has an ax to grind.

Also, the psychiatrists that the school sends the students to work for the same institutions that warehouse these students - a major conflict.

Kentucky school officials have connived with abusive psychiatric institutions for a very long time. Will anything be done about it? It never has, so why would it be now?

Google News stupidity

I don't rely on Google News, because it's full of old, stale "news" instead of anything up-to-date. Its top stories are usually hours - even days - old. That's not to mention that half the stories are from sites that are almost universally recognized as right-wing, not real news outlets.

But I went on Google News this morning to try to peep some real news to relax with, and this was one of their top stories...

"Michael Jackson's Daughter Paris Flaunts Fantastic Legs In A Hot Mini Outfit"

Seriously. That's a top news story today.

Trump says America "not built to be closed" but won't do a damn thing about it

Donald, you idiot, if you want America to reopen its businesses, put on your "I'm a big kid now pants" and do something about it.

Today, the embattled national manbaby gave a speech about the conservavirus closures. He declared, "Our country was not built to be closed. It is not a country that was built for it."

Then reopen it.

Just a few days ago, he wanted a bill to revoke habeas corpus under the pretext of an emergency. And his appointees kept demanding martial law lasting at least months. So obviously he must think it's "built for it."

And are there any countries that are "built for it"? It's not like they haven't tried - and predictably failed to accomplish anything positive. That's because they're run by Trump's friends.

All it takes is the stroke of a pen, and at least parts of our society can reopen. But Trump doesn't want it reopened. This is his 9/11.

The Kos Kids aren't alright

My peeps all agree that Daily Kos used to be one of the best news sites around. Its founder Markos Moulitsas used to post a lot of content there. But in the past few months, Daily Kos has been just a jumble of stuff.

A vast majority of the content there today is not from Kos himself. I'm not even sure who's really running the site now. Daily Kos is no longer even recognizable as a progressive site. The first sign of trouble that I can recall was the invasion by "Meow Mix Mike" Bloomberg supporters.

Bloomberg's Trump-like cult kept shouting down everyone else, improperly flagging posts, and generally making nuisances of themselves. They actually used the argument that Bloomberg should be nominated precisely because he's a billionaire.

When Bloomberg's campaign faltered, they moved on to spreading Red-baiting propaganda against Bernie Sanders and making classist comments about his supporters.

Then - when the conservavirus pandemic grew - they in essence began supporting Trump's unconstitutional martial law proposal. But they only supported it when a Democrat or a Republican other than Trump supported it. Democrats who supported it were lauded as presidential material. Democrats who did not support it were bashed.

They supported Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine's unconstitutional martial law order that state officials used to try to restrict abortion rights. They supported Trump appointee Steven Mnuchin's proposal for a 3-month period of nationwide martial law. This was even after new cases of the pandemic soared in Italy under its martial law regime.

When someone rightly expressed opposition to "stay at home" orders but supported people who didn't want wealthy owners of second homes coming into their town to evade their own state's order, the new generation of Kos Kids suddenly started singing a new tune to suit the purpose at hand. After supporting these orders, they said owners of second homes shouldn't have to obey them, because they have to pay taxes all year on these homes. Yeah, it must be rough to be rich.

They repeatedly clogged Daily Kos by posting a link to a website backed by wealthy donors that used discredited data to endorse a months-long reign of national martial law.

All of that occurred after lockdowns were proven to be ineffective - and after most experts agreed that the lockdowns were unethical under any standard.

All of the above stances - supporting a billionaire candidate just because of his money, Red-baiting, classism, unconstitutional trampling of civil liberties (except for the rich), limiting abortion rights - filled a supposedly progressive website. Of course, there's still some dissenting voices. But some of the key elements of progressivism are maximizing civil liberties and minimizing influence of money. Trumpian martial law shouldn't even be seriously entertained on any website - let alone on Daily Kos. In addition, the martial law now being imposed in America has already led to at least one racially motivated hate crime.

Almost completely missing from the debate is the fact that many of the orders issued by government officials in the U.S. lately are not only ineffective but are also unconstitutional limits of freedom of assembly. What's the point of the Constitution even listing our rights if they can just be violated arbitrarily?

With the Bloomberg bots and Republican apologists bombarding Daily Kos lately, it's their way or the highway.

The past month or two hasn't just dragged the name of Daily Kos and the media through mud. It's also reflected poorly on most of Western civilization. A lot of people seem to think Western countries are freer and more democratic than other countries. But with the recent rise of right-wing demagogues in the West, the West has had by far the most instances of martial law during this pandemic. This completely torpedoes the myth of Western exceptionalism.

The leadership of not just one country but most of the Western world has now been shown to be incompetent, authoritarian, unethical, and anti-science. These include many of the same conditions that the pirates of the 18th century rebelled against. When people become pirates again, these countries' governments won't be able to do shit about it. I'd love to see them try.

Trump regime begs Congress to allow martial law

The Far Right 3 weeks ago: "Coronavirus is a hoax!"

Two weeks ago: "I need to hoard toilet paper!"

Five days ago: "The numbers from Italy are fake news put out by libs just because they don't want lockdowns."

Today: "We need martial law!"

Trump's so-called Justice Department is seeking a proposal that would expand martial law by allowing emergencies like pandemics to be used to detain people indefinitely without charges or trial. The plan would revoke the right to habeas corpus.

Needless to say, this proposal is unconstitutional for several reasons.

The Trump regime is urging Congress to pass this proposal - but it's actually unlikely to pass the House.

Presidents already have emergency powers such as ordering factories to produce items needed during a crisis. But Trump won't use these powers - saying it would defy conservative principles. Instead, he wants detention powers that are explicitly unconstitutional.

The excuse from the Far Right for violating the Constitution will be the same as it always is: "It's an emergency." But the Constitution isn't worth the parchment it's printed on if elected officials can violate it every time there's an emergency.

Have no fear, the April ish is here!

Spring is in the air, and as April looms on the horizon, the April issue of The Last Word is ready! This ish talks about rich investors whining about coronavirus ruining their stocks, the destroyment of a Time magazine record, a scooter being thrown in a river, the difficulty of blowing bubbles while wearing a mask, a greedy speculator ruining a historic house by leaving it vacant, a gumball machine being sold on 'Hardcore Pawn', and more!

So point your pooper here...

https://www.scribd.com/document/452590531/The-Last-Word-4-2020

If that doesn't work, bip on over here...

http://bunkerblast.info/lastword/lw2004.pdf

USA Today flat-out lies about stimulus checks

Our couldn't-give-a-shit media continues to not give a shit.

As Treasury officials and Congress mull what they describe as an economic stimulus to be paid to the public, USA Today has run an article that flat-out lies about the last stimulus. The piece falsely claims the last stimulus was enacted by George W. Bush in 2008. The article actually says this with a straight face.

Wrong. And this is typical of USA Today cheering Republicans lately (like when it supported Trump's illegal and malicious plan to slash SSDI). President Obama sent out stimulus checks in 2009. The Bush regime did send out checks to folks once, but this program specifically excluded low-income workers. When this was going on, the media claimed repeatedly that everyone got a check. But they didn't. So that too was a lie. It was as if the media was waving the stimulus checks in everyone's faces: "Ha-ha, we got a check and you didn't!" The entire sorry endeavor was to make it appear as if Bush was doing something constructive - when really it was just another handout that went mostly to those who didn't need it.

When the dust settles, a special effort needs to be made to expose our fake news media, which has hit many new lows in the past month.

Cuomo blasts New York lockdown plan

One elected official who so far has had some realistic ideas on how to fight the conservavirus outbreak is Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York.

The Empire State has more cases than any other state in the U.S. (though not per capita). But Cuomo, a Democrat, has so far put a lid on the idea of instituting a full lockdown. He says New York City - or any other city in the state - will not be locked down any time soon.

"It cannot happen legally," he said. That's because America isn't supposed to have martial law.

D.C. restaurant group planned to defy conservavirus rules

My message for restaurants that want to defy reasonable emergency limits resulting from conservavirus: Don't.

The city of Washington, D.C., has ordered restaurants to do things like limit table seating to 6 people or less and make sure customers are at least 6 feet apart. These rules are much more lenient than in many states, which are limiting restaurants to only carryout orders.

Assuming these are the only limits D.C. has, these rules are well within the scope of the city's emergency powers. Martial law endorsed by many pundits would not be acceptable or constitutional - and in fact would be very harmful. But D.C.'s limits on restaurants are not martial law.

But a group that owns several D.C. eateries has announced it plans to disobey the rules outright. The group encouraged other restaurants to do the same.

The mayor then warned the group it must comply. That's why we call them rules. Not mere suggestions.

The media and self-appointed "experts" expect everyone to lock themselves at home around the clock for the rest of the year - which would bring society to a standstill and possibly a permanent end. But a restaurant group thinks it can defy even the most lenient rules.

After warnings by the mayor, the restaurant group finally decided to comply. The group worried that it would go out of business, but if so, the Trump regime needs to be tapped to reimburse it - as it was Trump's unchecked incompetence that fanned this pandemic.

I'm reminded of all the people who used to spam the Internet with personal attacks, and how their provider refused to pull their accounts. Yet administrators at providers who let them go would report posts that were not spam at all. Under our constitutional system, we would have no basis to comply with martial law. But I have no patience with businesses that won't follow mild rules that are perfectly permissible.

Cincinnati mayor orders people to stay 6 feet apart

Today, Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley ordered people to stay 6 feet apart from each other in outdoor public places in an effort to help stamp out the conservavirus pandemic.

No worries, because I did this today - before I even knew of the order. I've tried to do it every day since long before anyone even heard of this virus. Before anyone who read my other recent posts accuses me of being defiant of pandemic protocols, this is one that I've followed all along. I thought it was common sense. It's just not as obvious as not sitting down on someone's pillow after your ass has picked up germs from a seat at a diner.

Meanwhile, some crew of crackpots has issued a report demanding a total lockdown lasting 18 months. I'd love to see them try. They can't keep me locked down for 18 minutes, let alone 18 months.

Bubbling season is upon us!

Today I went out to scout out sites for the upcoming Cincinnati roadmeet, and while I was heading home on 7th Street, a young woman walking down the street bubbled.

Italy reports biggest conservavirus increase yet

I don't want to gunk up this blog with conservavirus stories, but this is mostly a serious blog, and serious stories are what this blog is intended for.

Italy has just reported another 3,590 new cases of conservavirus - the country's biggest one-day increase since the pandemic began.

This ought to knock the wind out of the sails of the media that keeps encouraging the U.S. to copy Italy's complete lockdown. This story shows that a full lockdown is completely ineffective. Completely. And that's not to mention the constitutional violations that would arise if it was imposed in the U.S.

Italy also set a record for deaths. The country's new record for most deaths from this virus in a single day is 398 - absolutely smashing the old record of 250.

In addition to proving the ineffectiveness of the lockdown, this story shows how out of step with the facts the media's unceasing advocacy is. While they keep saying a total lockdown will reduce the spread of conservavirus, that claim has clearly been debunked. But trust me, they're going to keep saying it anyway. All they do is yap, and won't listen to facts.

Conservavirus patented in 2003

While an Ebola drug appears to have the most potential for fighting conservavirus - several critically ill patients have recovered quickly after using this drug - drugs for this virus might have been already available but for the backwards priorities of the media, Big Pharma, and the government.

Conservavirus itself received a U.S. patent back in 2003. That means there's been 17 years to find a drug. Seventeen years. And not even a hint of progress until now.

Why? We all know why. Medical research funds are used to fight spindromes instead of deadly diseases. Full disclosure: I was diagnosed with ADHD as a child. But ADHD is a spindrome. The idea that ADHD is a fatal condition would be laughable if it didn't drain resources from fighting fatal illnesses. But that's where our money has been spent. An untold amount of resources were squandered trying to keep me from yelling out, "Toilet training!" in 4th grade - and because of it, people have died from conservavirus.

All the right-wing pundits who bumped their gums about how ADHD was "America's #1 health crisis" are looking like complete dumbasses right about now. Blood is on their hands - along with Donald Trump's.

People seem to be forgetting we have a Constitution

It's sad to see what's become of America now that civics is no longer taught in our schools. Locking down the whole country is an idea that shouldn't even be seriously entertained, but it is.

Since the conservavirus pandemic began ravaging the U.S., cities and states have taken strong but temporary actions to prevent its spread. It was a hard lesson learned, but they had to learn it. I've known for a long time that some facilities are breeding grounds for germs, and nobody cared until now.

But there aren't many more restrictive measures that can be taken without violating the Constitution. Restrictions on assembly can be only very limited. You can't just lock down the whole country - or even a city. That would violate freedom of assembly. (Not that I trust the Trump regime to follow the Constitution.) Private gatherings and individual travel cannot be heavily restricted without violating the Constitution.

The lockdown sure isn't helping in Italy, where cases of the virus continue to explode. In South Korea, there have been far fewer limits on individual liberties since the pandemic began, and cases there are already declining - even though South Korea had perhaps the highest infection rate in the world.

If current measures in the U.S. end up being ineffective, it's because the pandemic is past the point where strong restrictions work. Why expand policies that don't work? Finding an effective drug to treat the virus would work. We'd have it by now if not for austerity and misdirected research funds. Pandemics do die down once enough people have been exposed, but the death toll would only grow in the process. This makes finding new treatments all the more urgent.

I know of one country that hasn't reported any cases of this virus: North Korea. Living under a totalitarian system is not a price we should be paying to fight a pandemic.

I will follow what the Constitution says. In my America, we're supposed to have freedom to move about and gather - not be locked in our homes 24/7 in a failed attempt to stem a virus spread by government incompetence in the first place.

Oh, and for anyone wondering, the Cincinnati roadmeet that I am hosting on May 30 is still on. As it is a small gathering - not a large convention or festival - I and other attendees have decided it will not be canceled, no matter what. Barring my own illness, death, or incarceration, I will be in attendance, lockdown or not. I am a free person. Blind compliance is not patriotism.

Junk mail should be banned during conservavirus pandemic

As long as public events like the Reds' Opening Day parade are canceled, junk mail should be banned too.

Junk mail is no less a carrier of viruses than anything else is. Postal customers have long been forced to subsidize junk mail, even as it clogs the postal system and creates fire hazards. Conservavirus may be able to stay on items for a long time. Junk mail is often hoarded because it might contain a 5-cent Rax coupon that expired in 1987. So halting junk mail can certainly reduce the spread of the latest virus.

This is another common sense step that will be ignored.

Tea Party continues meetings despite conservavirus

The Trump regime's incompetence at controlling coronavirus - or as I call it, conservavirus - is already legendary. Trump's deliberate inaction has allowed the virus to spread so rapidly that any gathering of at least 3 people for the next 6 months has been threatened with cancellation. The famous South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, was already canceled. There have even been threats to cancel the Kentucky Derby and the Indy 500.

Despite bans on gatherings, the Northern Kentucky Tea Party just keeps on meeting. You never hear about the Tea Party elsewhere anymore. We only hear about our local chapter, which is being fueled primarily by Boone County. It's like that region in Moldova that still builds monuments to old Soviet figures.

But they keep on meeting. They're even promoting a fundraising gathering for racist congressman Thomas Massie.

If I had any plans to cancel or skip any events over conservavirus, those plans to cancel are now out the window. If the Tea Party can keep on meeting, I'll do what I damn well please. You don't get to lock down the whole country while the Tea Party is out there spreading germs because they think rules don't apply to them. I'm very careful about germs in the first place, and I don't need to be lectured by anyone allied with the Tea Party on how to stop viruses from spreading, especially after some of the messes they've made.

Shenandoah! Monticello! Game day bucket go boom!

Back in September, I went on a fact-finding mission to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. This trip yielded 87 Roads Scholaring photos, and you're gonna peep them until a giant magazine falls on your head...

http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/shen19a.html
http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/shen19b.html
http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/shen19c.html
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Reaction video for an old Care-Free gum ad (Bubble Gum Weekend)

The past few weeks have been physically very tiring, and I don't have a shred of energy left. But I was able to churn out this hilarious reaction video for an old Care-Free gum commercial. But don't worry, unlike one of my other videos, there's nobody in the background loudly chomping gum, snickering, and kicking the tripod...

Rich suburbanites wreck our elections...again!

Know anyone who isn't for Bernie Sanders? Didn't think so.

Sanders trails in the Super Tuesday vote because of Republicans voting in the Democratic primary. For example, he lost historically right-wing Loudoun County, Virginia, by more than a 2-to-1 margin. Loudoun is a rich suburban county - not a workers' refuge.

I am not here for wealthy suburbanites who don't share my views or even my interests. In fact, they hate us. I am poor, and I am fucking proud of it! If you're poor, and you want to vote for Joe Biden instead of Bernie Sanders, be my guest. But I am not going to mollycoddle zillionaires who actively fight against Sanders and throw a toddler tantrum every time his name is mentioned.

The poor and working class are key. Privileged suburban "moderates" aren't worth compromising with. Upscale voters who are invested in stalling progress already have their own party. It's called the Republicans.

Meanwhile, I saw an interesting headline today: "Wall Street jumps after Biden's Super Tuesday surge." That's precisely the problem with Biden. I'm not here for Wall Street and big investors. And we all know damn well they'll vote for Trump in November anyway.

MSNBC runs entire Bloomberg speech because he won American Samoa

Before ending his miserable campaign today like the big loser he is, "Meow Mix Mike" Bloomberg won precisely one primary yesterday - in the territory of American Samoa. (Tulsi Gabbard came in second.)

All because Gloomberg won exactly one primary that has only a handful of delegates, the Red-baiting MSNBC ran his entire speech gloating about this win.

I don't have cable, so I haven't been force-fed MSNBC's constant cheering of Bloomberg throughout his campaign. But normal websites are reporting on MSNBC's stupidity.

I think it's time for cities and counties to start putting demands on cable TV companies that if they want to have 3 major right-wing "news" channels (in addition to over-the-air stations that are usually just as right-wing), they should at least carry an alternate channel for balance.

DNC and media destroy Super Tuesday

Joe Biden's quite a character. I bet the guy knows how to party! But I just think the DNC shouldn't be playing favorites - let alone interfering outright in the election process. Is it a crime to think that?

How complicit were the DNC and the media in rigging Super Tuesday?

In North Carolina, a poll had Bernie Sanders up by 13%. Biden won by 19%.

Virginia: Poll had Sanders up 9%. Biden won by 30%.

Massachusetts: Poll had Sanders up 9%. Biden won by 7%.

Minnesota: Poll had Sanders up 6%. Biden won by 9%.

What exactly is the takeaway from this? The corrupt DNC not only has members who work on the Mike Bloomberg campaign, but the DNC has also actively worked against Sanders. After Sanders won Nevada, the DNC lined up its establishment hacks as if to yell out, "STOP!!!"

When all is said and done, Sanders still trails Biden by only about 80 delegates. But what does the past week of 1996-style DNC corruption prove? It proves that if the DNC can put the brakes on an insurgent Sanders that quickly, it can do just the same with Trump. Will it? No. The DNC has spent more effort bashing Sanders than going after Trump. They'd rather have more Trump. That way, if a Democrat loses, they can say it was because they were too liberal.

It's not as if Biden probably won't beat Trump. But he sure as shit won't beat him by as much as Sanders would. One poll said 20% of Americans actually think Sanders is too conservative, so where does that leave Biden? Someone said Biden and Sanders actually wouldn't be that much different from each other as President. Of course they would.

On the bright side, Bloomberg's chances appear to be in shambles, which kind of dashes the media's dream of a Mike Bloomberg/Evan Bayh ticket. I don't think Bloomberg's few supporters flocked to Biden, because they're actually Republicans - including the ones in the DNC. Sadly for the party hacks, they can't win 'em all, no matter how hard they try.

Biden's political acrobatics on Mideast wars

Although Bernie Sanders is surging in Super Tuesday polling, I have almost no faith in the voting machines, and we have to work harder and harder to make sure Sanders prevails. Putin doesn't want Trump to have to run against Sanders. (The irony is that Super Tuesday was designed to shut out progressive candidates.)

I was so thrilled when Barack Obama picked Joe Biden as his running mate, because Biden was about the best the Democats could do after the DLC disfigured the party. But in 2020, we can do so much better, as the likeable Biden seems stale when you put him up against a consistent leader like Sanders.

What about Biden's record on Republican-led Mideast wars? As a senator, Biden quite rightly voted against the illegal 1991 Persian Gulf War. Historians now believe the war was an abject failure, so Biden got that one right at least.

This good vote though is negated by his vote for the unlawful Iraq invasion of 2003. That war had less public support than the '91 war, but it won more support from the media and from Democratic lawmakers. This shows that Democrats' policy stances generally got worse in that timeframe.

Biden later admitted the Iraq War of the 2000s was a mistake. But it was too late for all those who were killed or wounded fighting it.

Similarly, he voted for George W. Bush's idiotic No Child Left Behind law - but later called that a mistake too.

I know Biden has done good things that he's never wavered on, such as authoring the Violence Against Women Act. Biden also quite properly voted against confirming disastrous Republican nominees to the Supreme Court, and Biden opposes oil drilling in the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Another plus is that he cosponsored the Employee Free Choice Act.

But given his less reliable record on many issues, it's hard to see how Biden can expect to gain much enthusiasm from progressive voters. In fact, polls show Sanders performs best out of all Democratic candidates in a matchup against Trump. I'm sure Biden is a nice guy, but policy matters. A satisfying Sanders/Warren ticket is staring us in the face, but the media has done nothing but bash, bash, bash the Sanders campaign - nonstop.

A candidate's Iraq War stance ought to be a litmus test for whether they receive the Democratic nomination. Even though he admitted the war was an error, Biden never should have voted for it in the first place. It was obvious to anyone outside the halls of Congress or America's elite newsrooms that there was no justification for that war. Why was it so hard for congressional leaders to digest all the facts before rushing into war? Not only does policy matter, but judgment matters too.

Biden isn't out of the running yet. But I believe Sanders is truly America's last hope. In the coming years, new progressive leaders may gain experience, as the youngest voters trend leftward. But by then, it may be too late.

If not now, when?

Celebrity look-alike season begins anew

I just received an e-mail declaring that a Karl Rove look-alike was sighted strolling along a walking path in southwestern Ohio.

From Red-baiting to race-baiting, you'll find it all in the right-wing media!

I always thought of the media's nonstop bashing of Michael Dukakis in the 1988 campaign as the mold standard of right-wing media bias. But I think the past week has been even worse.

After Bernie Sanders won the Nevada caucus convincingly, the media's ridiculous claims against the presidential frontrunner have been approaching a howl. First, they misrepresented a statement he made on 60 Minutes about Fidel Castro's Cuba. While Sanders acknowledged that Castro created literacy programs, he also criticized the regime for its authoritarian character. Sanders's criticism of Castro was interpreted as praise by the media.

How is that praise? I guess the media thinks it's praise because they have a positive view of authoritarianism. That's all I can think of. Judging by the media's longtime support of authoritarian policies (and not just in the days of all the "Ban it" editorials in the Kentucky Post), my assessment seems to be correct.

It's also a bit hypocritical that some celebrities attacking Sanders performed at Sun City during the era of South African apartheid.

Now the media is assailing Sanders as weak on racial equality. What??? Sanders actually has the receipts to prove his strong record on race. He marched with civil rights activists in the 1960s and still has photos of himself being arrested for marching. As a senator, he has led investigations into civil rights violations.

Bernie Sanders has one of the strongest records on race of any major American elected official. What have his media critics ever done to advance racial equality?

Sanders has been unfairly criticized on other issues too, but those have been the main ones the past week.

Maybe the media will come back 5 years from now and accuse his supporters of cheering during a debate or something.

No, Mitch, that isn't how this works

Somebody needs to tell Mr. Elbow Care how elections work.

Today, I saw a Twitter blast from Bluegrass Politics about Mitch McConnell's future plans. It says the useless senator plans one more Senate term and then plans to "hand his seat" to Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron in 2026.

"Hand his seat"? What happened to having to win an election for it? Since when do we go around "handing" seats to hand-picked successors?

Someone replied, "What would be cool is if the voters could make that choice. What a concept." It doesn't help Daniel Cameron that he's ruined several important investigations by Andy Beshear.

The only reason Mitch the Glitch's effort is taken seriously is that the Kentucky GOP represents machine politics at its worst. It isn't just that they rig elections with the help of Putin. It isn't just that voters in many jurisdictions find Republican candidates running unopposed - like in some totalitarian regime. It's that they can hand-pick elected officials and have it normalized by the media. Even when a Democrat is running, the media behaves as if the Republican primary also picks the winner of the general election - despite the GOP's low ceiling for public support. (A Democrat won last week's special election 64% to 36%.) The corruption of the Republican Party of Kentucky is allowed to operate with no limits whatsoever.

This is so stupid you just can't make it up.

People bunkerooed some more

Last night at an important family gathering, the aroma of a silent-but-deadly bunker blast was briefly detected.