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)

Idiot pulls gun on protester

I went to the Families Belong Together rally in Cincinnati today, and it drew thousands of people. There were similar rallies all over the country today, even in much smaller cities and towns.

A few drew counterprotesters. A group of 3 thugs in Trump hats shoved participants at the rally in Petoskey, Michigan. And in Huntsville, Alabama, a counterprotester started a fight with a demonstrator. As the confrontation escalated, he pulled a gun.

He was then arrested for menacing and reckless endangerment.

What a beezweezer.

(Source: https://whnt.com/2018/06/30/man-in-custody-after-pulling-out-a-gun-at-immigration-policy-protest-in-huntsville;
https://www.al.com/news/huntsville/index.ssf/2018/06/man_brandishes_gun_at_families.html)

Have no fear, the July ish is here!

No July would be complete without the July issue of The Last Word, your road atlas to freedom!

This ish talks about tonsil stones, psychiatry protecting dominionism, putting pepper in Super Bubble to thwart gum thieves, watching TV shows just for the poo humor, people fighting over Bubble Tape, an art pen offer in a cereal box, and more!

So I beseech thee, point your pooper here...

https://www.scribd.com/document/382825776/The-Last-Word-7-2018

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

http://bunkerblast.info/lastword/lw1807.pdf

Court blocks Bevin's gutting of Medicaid!

Not all of the federal judiciary has been swallowed by Tea Party extremism. Today, a federal judge blocked Matt Bevin from instituting a work requirement to receive Medicaid.

The reason for the ruling seems pretty simple: It's because such a requirement doesn't advance Medicaid's legally stated objectives. Plus, Medicaid is not welfare.

There's no doubt that Bevin will appeal this ruling as far as he dares. But as far as I'm concerned, this ruling is and will always be binding law, for the statute itself is very clear.

Maryland newspaper gunman is Tea Party activist

So tired of this.

The man who gunned down 5 people at a Maryland newspaper today is a Tea Party activist who once sent out a Twitter message criticizing the paper because of what he saw as negative coverage of Donald Trump.

In 2015, he posted that referring to Trump as "unqualified" is something that "could end badly" for the newspaper.

Not for the first time, a mass shooter has been found to be a right-wing activist.

Fascism on the march in the Supreme Court

In a blow to organized labor, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that unions representing public employees must subsidize nonunion workers.

But in a blow to the Supreme Court, the Constitution says otherwise. The Abood ruling of 1977 was settled law. Period. That's it. If you get union benefits, you pay the fees.

So, next time we get adults in the presidency and Congress - and given the Republicans' approval numbers, it won't be long - expect them to remedy today's ruling.

15 more Scholaring photos!

I just posted 15 more Roads Scholaring photos, this time from the bubble gum bustin' month of February!

Ahoy and enjoy...

http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/cinnorth18.html

Kentucky pension law thrown out!

Not many details yet, but a judge has just ruled that Kentucky's recent far-right law to gut pensions is invalid under the Kentucky Constitution.

Apparently, lawmakers didn't give the bill 3 separate readings on 3 separate days in each house of the legislature. Plus, since it's an appropriations bill, the bill fell short of the margin it needed to pass.

Trump regime forcibly drugs immigrant children

Is it fascism yet? Yes. America has been face-deep in fascism for 30 years, and Donald Trump's scandal involving abuse of immigrant children makes it even clearer.

Now a lawsuit says undocumented immigrant children held at Shiloh Treatment Center, a government contractor in Texas, are being violently held down and forcibly injected with psychiatric drugs.

The children were told they wouldn't be released to relatives unless they submitted. The children were also lied to about the contents of the drugs. Effects of the drugs included rendering the children unable to walk.

The practice is being compared to that found in the former Soviet Union. Or northern Kentucky in 1990.

(Source: https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/lawsuit-alleges-immigrant-children-were-forcibly-injected-psychiatric-drugs)

Godwin repeals Godwin's Law

Anyone familiar with the broken, heavily censored Usenet knows that Godwin's Law is about the only thing Usenetters care about. Anyone who accurately compares modern right-wing policies with those of Nazi Germany is shouted down by 100 posts bellowing, "G0DW1N'S LAW!!!!!!!!!!"

Godwin's Law was devised in 1990 by one Mike Godwin, and it seems to have been originally designed as sort of a meme - not a rigid fiat. The adage claims that as an Internet discussion grows, the probability of a comparison to Hitler or Nazis approaches 100%. It was only later that Usenet began using harassment to enforce it as a policy.

Of course, Godwin's Law wasn't invoked when Jim Bunning laughably compared a political opponent to Hitler, but that's another story entirely.

Now, the bottomless extremism of the Trump regime and the alt-right have resulted in Godwin's Law being officially repealed by none other than Mike Godwin himself. Godwin reportedly said on Twitter: "By all means, compare these shitheads to Nazis. Again and again. I'm with you."

Interestingly, Godwin - an attorney from Texas - helped challenge the far-right Communications Decency Act, which was part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The reactionary Telecommunications Act helped enable those who invoked Godwin's Law to censor everyone else. The legislation itself was full of provisions borrowed from Nazi Germany.

GOP plan would raise Medicare age, gut Medicaid, and slash Social Security and vets' benefits

How reactionary is the Republicans' new budget?

Some details of the budget were released today, and it's everything you've dreamed of - if you like punishment.

The budget would raise the Medicare age to 67. It would cap Medicaid spending - and institute an illegal work requirement for Medicaid beneficiaries. It would also prohibit those who get Social Security disability from collecting unemployment insurance.

The budget would even slash veterans' benefits and student loans.

At the same time, the budget would of course increase already-bloated defense spending.

The budget is so extreme that it might not pass. Republicans would have to be mighty stupid to cut Social Security right before a midterm. Maybe congressional Republicans got tired of Donald Trump ruining their party's brand, so they decided to do it themselves. But there were no negative consequences for them in 2010, when they endorsed raising the retirement age to 70, so why do they think anyone will stop them now?

(Source: http://www.heraldcourier.com/news/national/house-budget-would-direct-billion-in--year-spending-cuts/article_df356fe5-e3a6-5999-aa5a-91bef2c2d8d1.html)

Drugstores grandstanded while America burned

Remember a few years ago when major pharmacy chains stopped selling over-the-counter allergy drugs because the drug warriors told them to stop?

While these stores ceased selling products that were effective, they also took actions that contributed to the ballooning pandemic of opioid abuse - proving once again the rank hypocrisy of the failed War on Drugs.

I don't recall if Walgreens was one of the stores that dropped allergy drugs, but the drugstore chain is now being sued by Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear for its contributions to the opioid crisis. The lawsuit alleges Walgreens engaged in deceptive business practices by not reporting suspiciously large orders the store received for prescription opioids. Delaware has sued both Walgreens and CVS, and Walgreens has already agreed to a settlement in Massachusetts.

In short, pharmacies denied legitimate product sales to innocent customers, while they allowed Big Pharma drug pushers to get an untold number of people hooked on opioids.

I dismembered January too

My Roads Scholaring photos have been piling up like logs all year long, and now a batch of 13 photos and videos from January is ready.

So peep, weep, and oggle-beep...

http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/newp18.html

Bo Duke got mad because he spent 5 hours in jail

I've always enjoyed The Dukes Of Hazzard, but John Schneider - who played Bo Duke - thinks spending 5 hours in jail is the biggest injustice in the history of the universe.

Recently, Schneider was taken to court for not paying alimony - because that's just a little bit more than the law will allow. He was ordered to spend 3 days in jail because he couldn't come up with $150,000 he owed. Apparently, Schneider has very little money because he spent a lot rebuilding his Louisiana movie studio after it flooded. It's a shame he was jailed for a debt he couldn't pay - it sounds like something that would happen to the Dukes - but the punishment was nothing compared to what most folks would face.

After being released, Schneider told the media he didn't receive any preferential treatment - then proceeded to list the ways in which he did receive it. Key among them is that he only had to serve 5 hours of a 3-day sentence.

That's nothing. What about my bogus "trespassing" arrest at NKU that kicked off a months-long legal battle? What about the false imprisonment at CPH? What about all the unarmed people killed by police?

John Schneider thinks he's fightin' the system like a modern-day Robin Hood, but all he's doing is grumbling about a punishment that's milder than what most people would suffer.

Bernie Sanders look-alike sighted at Kroger

Bernie Sanders is cool.

But today at Kroger, I saw a Bernie Sanders look-alike! I couldn't help but snicker after I walked past him, and I'm pretty sure the guy working at the store knew that's what I was laughing about.

So what bad things are happening this week?

• The Kenton County Planning Commission rubber-stamped yet another luxury housing development, because of course it did. The massively unpopular subdivision must now be approved by Covington and Park Hills, and is expected to drive up housing costs further and worsen water runoff that has already flooded Covington residents' homes.

• The Tea Party is backing a right-wing campaign against a popular new tax in Seattle that would charge big corporations making at least $20 million in gross revenue about $275 per full-time employee per year. This tax was supposed to help fund affordable housing programs. The Tea Party joins Amazon and Starbucks to be among the few to oppose the measure. Despite overwhelming public support for the tax, City Council plans to appease its corporate masters by repealing the tax.

• The Trump/Kim summit in Singapore (which was held there probably because Singapore outlaws chewing gum, and Trump probably doesn't know how to blow a bubble) was a disaster. What a surprise!

• Fascism is on the march in the Trump regime. When was the last time there was a Republican administration when it wasn't? Trump's Justice Department is arguing in a court case that the University of Michigan's policy against harassment is unconstitutional. The Trump regime's stance is that people have a First Amendment right to commit harassment on a university campus. Yep, that's been the cry of fascists everywhere for decades. Welcome to 1986, Donald.

A December to dismember in the Wolverine State!

An important Christmas family gathering in Port Huron, Michigan, doubled as a Roads Scholaring, and it yielded many a roadly exhibit.

This outing predated my whooping cough battle and broken finger, and you're gonna peep the whole thing until your face flies off in public...

http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/ph17a.html
http://bunkerblast.info/roadpics/ph17b.html

Yep, you guessed it! Another Kentucky GOP scandal!

The party that The Media considers constitutionally entitled to hold every public office in the state strikes again!

The latest scandal in the Republican Party of Kentucky involves longtime Scott County Coroner John Goble. Together with some state police officials, Goble was indicted today on charges surrounding the alleged theft of $40,000 worth of weapons and ammo. The indictment for receiving stolen property accuses Goble of acquiring stolen police ammo.

Authorities say the ammunition was stolen from a Kentucky State Police facility and delivered to Goble. Goble also allegedly received numerous guns stolen from state police.

Goble was also indicted for allegedly authorizing payments to a deputy coroner who did not perform any services. Other counts accuse Goble of unlawful possession of a controlled substance and transporting moonshine.

(Source: http://www.kentucky.com/news/local/counties/scott-county/article212744224.html)

A person has an Oscar the Grouch tattoo

I've just been informed that a guy with an Oscar the Grouch tattoo on his arm was sighted at Donatos today.

The man must be a real Sesamoid!