Because this is a month ending in 'bip', a new Last Word is now pub!
The August ish talks about more ruined vacations, my cartoon reviews, sitting on a wad of bubble gum at an Occupy march, a person farting at Bush's inauguration, censorship of DVD's, and more!
So point your pooper here...
https://www.scribd.com/document/662189050/The-Last-Word-8-2023
If that doesn't work, scoot on over here...
The Licking Valley Girl Scouts Bridge is the highway bridge that replaced the Shortway Bridge between Covington and Newport. When it opened in 2001, I immediately noticed the span had a major drawback: Despite the 4 wide lanes of road traffic, it had a sidewalk on only one side and no bike lane whatsoever.
I repeat, this was 2001 - hardly ancient history. By 2001, highway planners should have known to include better pedestrian and bike access, especially since the roadway invited vrooming cars and SUV's. I complained about this bitterly in the years after the bridge opened. I warned point-blank that this was a dangerous - possibly deadly - situation. I pleaded for years for this setup to be corrected.
These warnings were not heeded by highway officials. Last year, a woman was hit by a car and killed while riding a bicycle on this bridge. It was a hit-and-run. A few days ago, a motorist pleaded guilty to a series of charges stemming from the tragedy.
Some local residents pointed out that this was preventable but that nobody tries to remedy things like this until after someone is killed. With the stark decline of our cities in this decade, it's also been noted that Boone County is now vastly outpacing Covington and Newport in adding new bike amenities.
Since officials were warned that the bridge was dangerous and refused to fix it, we should look into criminal or civil penalties against our officials.
This entry is about the twisted mess American radio is these days - and how the FCC lets it go on.
There's an article in the Detroit Free Press about a small high school radio station in Ontonagon, Michigan, that's been around for 45 years. It even managed to stay on the air during the height of the pandemic, when school was closed. But now an out-of-town religious broadcaster has applied to start a station in the same area on the same frequency.
Outrageously, the FCC rubber-stamped that request, even though that frequency already had a station. The high school station is now being forced to either find a different frequency or go off the air for good.
Managers of the school station learned of this when the religious station sent them an e-mail about it. This e-mail included a list of other frequencies they could move to. Then why didn't the religious station apply for one of those frequencies instead? Is it because it bips?
Even if knocking another station off the air or forcing it to accept interference is allowed under the FCC's rules, part of the FCC's job is to look at each application to see if it serves the public interest. But it never does, and hasn't in years.
Celebrate the Fourth on the first with a fifth by poppin' open a keg or three and relaxing with the July issue of The Last Word!
This ish talks about rich people complaining about storefront flowers ruining their vacation, Trump ruining summer camp, my history of broken calculators, Soviet bubble gum, the loss of the original 'Star Wars', and cheese getting wasted at Kroger.
So point your pooper here...
https://www.scribd.com/document/656412439/The-Last-Word-7-2023
If that doesn't work, scoot on over here...
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