Xenia! Springfield! Urbana! Game day bucket go boom!

Last July, we took a little day trip to Springfield, Ohio. After all, that's what cool people do. In keeping with my lifelong tradition of Roads Scholaring, this event yielded an assortment of road photos. How many? Fifty-two in a bottle of poo!

So beep your bunker here...

http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/sproh20a.html
http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/sproh20b.html
http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/sproh20c.html

Biden lifts Trump disability rule; propellerheads furious!

Well, I gotta give credit where credit is due.

In late 2019, the Trump regime proposed a right-wing rule that would have robbed people who received disability benefits by subjecting them to more frequent reviews. Make no mistake, this effort was malicious. But it was only the latest in a decades-long series of assaults on America's disability programs. These assaults had been largely whipped up by the media, and a USA Today editorial praised the Trump regime's proposal.

It appears that this change was quietly approved late last year - when nobody was paying attention, because of the bipartisan incompetence at fighting the coronavirus outbreak.

But on Thursday, President Biden withdrew Trump's rule. Lifting the rule is the sort of thing real Democrats used to do, before they caved to the "government by Gannett" gaslighting that's become the norm these days. Lately, when you see some editorial that was previously unprintable outside Nazi Germany, the editorial usually manages to become government policy within days.

This time, however, the propellerheads got blindsided by Biden reversing the Trump regime's rule. Elitists don't give a shit about anyone on disability - or Social Security in general. They shame people for leaving their house during a pandemic, saying it might "kill Grandma", yet they squeal with laughter over the elderly having to eat Mighty Dog because Social Security got slashed. Propellerheads now want Biden's head on a platter all because he hasn't yet issued a nationwide lockdown. Social media totalitarians are churning out repugnant articles demanding a months-long stay-at-home order and praising China's draconian pandemic response.

The story of the scuttled disability rule echoes a similar event that Ronald Reagan instigated. The Reagan dictatorship illegally removed 200,000 Americans from the disability rolls. Many suicides resulted. But that rule was reversed because of a public outcry.

Have no fear, the February ish is here!

Hey bipfaces!

The February issue of The Last Word is published, and it's gonna make your ears poop!

This ish talks about spilling wine on good carpeting, skipping school, finding my old 'Dukes Of Hazzard' toy cars, whiny store customers who attack clerks, blowing bubbles with bubble gum through a straw, people wasting paper at school by printing out the Def Leppard fan site, the diarrhea song, pushing a wheeled TV stand down the street, and more!

Read it now before it reads you...

https://www.scribd.com/document/492356503/The-Last-Word-2-2021

If you can't read it on Scribd, you can find it here...

http://bunkerblast.info/lastword/lw2102.pdf

CBS execs suspended over toxic work culture

Racism and misogyny in the American media? Imagine that!

Following a Los Angeles Times report, CBS has suspended 2 top TV executives for allegedly cultivating a hostile work environment. The execs include Peter Dunn, longtime president of the right-wing network's TV stations, and David Friend, senior vice-president of news for the stations.

The report claims both of these men disparaged women and Black people who worked at the network. Back in 2018, chief executive Les Moonves left CBS after becoming the subject of numerous allegations of sexual misconduct.

The National Association of Black Journalists said of the new report, "It is clear that there is a massive problem among CBS owned-and-operated stations, and in order for the company's culture to be transformed, it must begin with the firing of Dunn and Friend."

Peter Dunn and David Friend were the guys who were deciding what got broadcast as news, and now both men appear to be a discredited disgrace.

Enquirer attorney blasts anti-censorship bill

Freaking gosh, I can't even believe I have to say this! Our side should be the ones fighting for the free flow of ideas, not idly sitting by as Big Tech monopolies impede it - even in the rare event that they screw up and block those we oppose.

I found a column on the Cincinnati Enquirer website titled "Trump's hurt feelings not a reason to introduce a law that violates the Constitution." Ninety-nine percent of the time, I would agree. The outgoing Commander-in-Chief has hurt my feelings too - and hurt me economically - but I wouldn't violate the Constitution over it.

But it turns out the bill in question is hardly unconstitutional. The column was written by Jack Greiner, a lawyer who - ironically enough - represents the Enquirer in First Amendment cases. Let this sink in: A First Amendment attorney completely misses the mark on First Amendment legislation.

The bill is Kentucky's S.B. 111, introduced by 2 Republican legislators. The Kentucky GOP has a record for right-wing hackery, but this is a bill that Democrats and progressives need to get behind. In fact, if it passes, the bill would be of greater benefit to the left. Were I a legislator, I'd be happy to introduce a bill like this. The bill - titled the Stop Social Media Censorship Act - would make major social media platforms liable for civil damages if they censor protected speech.

Trust me, legislation like this is sorely needed. I posted here on Sunday that I've learned the hard way over the past 25 years how badly the left has been targeted by online muzzling. Social media platforms have become monopolies on par with telephone giants. The effort to fight social media censorship is like the 'Net neutrality fight.

One of Greiner's main arguments is that the Kentucky bill would violate the all-important Communications Decency Act. I swear I'm not making this up. The clause cited by Greiner goes on about "lewd" and "filthy" material, as if that clause was written by the PMRC.

S.B. 111 should not be an automatic windfall for everyone who feels wronged by Twitter or Facebook. But social media monopolies should be governed by the same guidelines we should expect the phone company to follow.

That the Democrats have thus far failed to support commonsense measures like this is an Achilles' heel for a party that lately has become almost all Achilles' heel. But it's mind-blowing that someone from a newspaper opposes a bill that strengthens First Amendment protections, when newspapers are supposed to be champions of a free press.

A pre-bubbling to bubbling season!

Bubbling season may be starting early in the Belv!

Today, I was walking down the street, and some woman in a car bubbled.

North Dakota bill would rein in Big Tech censorship

Yes! There's a bill in North Dakota to help fight Big Tech censorship! And the Democrats sadly are missing in action - as they've so often been lately.

I know firsthand that political progressives have been the main targets of Big Tech censorship. I don't mean from some small-time local con artist who kicked some kids off a BBS in 1987, but from the growing tide of censorship in the more modern Internet era. I've been subjected to it on Usenet and from Facebook, AdSense, and probably other companies. I've even written about how Google's search feature unfairly favors established media outlets - which are hardly voices of left-wing populism.

Until very recently, I would have expected that if there was a bill to combat this electronic book burning, it would be from a Democrat. But in North Dakota, it was a Republican who introduced the bill. Where are the Democrats? Defending Republicans caught up in sexting scandals? Or is it only the Ohio Democrats who defend them?

The bill was drafted last month and would enable North Dakota residents to sue Big Tech giants over censorship. Why is this so important? It's because these platforms are similar in some ways to utilities like the phone company. Should Cincinnati Bell or AT&T be allowed to yank service from political dissidents? (Given Cincinnati Bellyache's wiretap scandal, I'm sure they've tried.)

One of the dangers of Big Tech censorship is that it allows tech giants to manipulate and distort information - even defame innocent parties.

Some observers say that if the bill becomes law, it would likely be challenged in court. It's not entirely clear why a bill that strengthens free speech would be challenged as unconstitutional. Some attack the bill, saying it would violate the Communications Decency Act.

The Communications Decency Act??? Really??? What century is this again??? I almost expected to find the complaints coming from some right-wing preacher out of 1981.

There are politicians of both major parties who want to repeal the hated Section 230 of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, which gives legal cover to irresponsible Internet firms, but the North Dakota bill would not violate Section 230.

The problem of techies with an out-of-touch, elitist agenda filtering the flow of ideas isn't entirely new. But in the past dozen years, the rise of social media has taken it to new heights. It might be packaged differently now, but it's the same old bag of shit as before.

Ah! Some roadmeet photos! Ew!

After the Cincinnati roadmeet last May, the pandemic caused a delay in posting the photos. But now there's 60 photos and videos just waiting to bite your face off in public!

So bip your beeper here...

http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/cin20a.html
http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/cin20b.html
http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/cin20c.html

Notes about Trump's second impeachment

As the Poo Coup by Trump supporters has already resulted in Trump's second impeachment, a few notes are in order.

Make no mistake, Trump's conduct was impeachable. I might have deliberated longer this time than on his first impeachment, because the scandal that caused the first one wasn't limited to just the United States in its scope. But in the end, I would have impeached. In addition, Trump's crimes do not excuse recent high crimes by governors and mayors of both major parties.

However, as justified as Trump's impeachment is, it does have a risk of setting a dangerous precedent. Will peaceful protests by supporters of other parties be unfairly compared to the violent Poo Coup and be used as a basis to impeach these parties' leaders? If a real people's party emerges from the ashes of the existing parties, I wouldn't be surprised if the media paints its peaceful rallies as violent uprisings. What I've always called the right-wing media is not purely right-wing by some measures but is rather up-wing. Perhaps the Republican right has become so thoroughly discredited that the media has begun ascribing all dissenting viewpoints to it, even if doing so is laughable on its face. This is in essence a McCarthyist tactic.

The media is portraying a recall effort against failed Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California as a coup, even though the recall is a peaceful and legally permissible process. You may know of Gruesome Newsom for his draconian COVID-19 response, and Republicans and Democrats alike are supporting the recall effort. Even Justine Bateman humiliated Newsom.

A year or two from now, if a new party holds peaceful rallies on courthouse lawns demanding single payer healthcare, police reform, and restoration of civil liberties, I'm sure CNN and the right-wing Gannett syndicate will call them violent right-wing Trump supporters who should be arrested.

The Poo Coup!

The enemy of your enemy is not always your friend.

I used to think it was just a myth that there were any Bernie Sanders/Donald Trump voters, but after seeing the unliberal assaults and online harassment by Democratic activists over the past year, now I see exactly how it happened. That's on you, Dems. That doesn't excuse Trump's history of incitement and incompetence - or those who act on Trump's words.

Wednesday's storming of the Capitol was one of the most bizarre events in modern American political history. It turns out it was even more ridiculous than was reported. Staffers for Sen. Chuck Schumer say that members of this pro-Trump cabal smeared feces throughout the Capitol and "tracked brown footprints" in the hallways.

It's poo.

Back in 2017, I was invited to a human rights conference in Washington, D.C., and had to use the men's room in the Senate office building. I noticed some senator had placed toilet paper all over the toilet seat and peed all over it. But the poo this past Wednesday was spread all over the halls of the Capitol!

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office was also vandalized by the Trumpers. Papers were strewn all over the floor. There's no word on whether they shredded them by walking on them in that dance that looks like the moonwalk.

But the poo means that we now call it the Poo Coup! It's the poo that makes it a coup! But we can also call it the Shit Fit.

It's got the taste to pop in your face! (Bubble Gum Weekend)

You know how people buy bubble gum and they blow big bubbles with it that burst and stick to their face?

Bubblicious had a slogan that capitalized on this process...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACOa7V4r1GI

That's a set of commercials that aired in 1990 on Channel 19 in Cincinnati. The first ad in that set is for Bubblicious. It features what appear to be clay or foam animated figures dancing to a hip-hop theme, as bubs expand from a Bubblicious billboard. One of the figures sings, "I've got the taste to pop in your face!"

Other than that, most of the commercial is just a glitzy mishmash. I'm not even sure if any of the flavors advertised still exist.

But it's bubble gum, the mere existence of which is funny.

Propellerhead support of Patriot Act gets even stupider

The Democrats today sound like Republican "values voters" circa 2004.

After a Democratic cultist on Facebook told me to "get sober" because I oppose the far-right Patriot Act, he's been doubling down. He wrote that the bill to repeal the Idiot Act "is sponsored by two people who would love too [sic] see the United States lose important tools to fight espionage and terrorism."

After the Chinese spy scandal broke a few weeks ago, I don't think the Democrats are quite in the position to be lecturing us about espionage.