ANOTHER toxic chemical spill near Charleston, WV.

These poor folks cannot get a break. This time, it’s coal slurry laced with even more toxic chemicals than the MCHM of the infamous licorice smell (it is not at all good, but there is plenty of it). The local water company said that this spill shouldn’t harm drinking water-but they said that about the last event, too.

Up yours, John Boehner, and Freedom Industries, and Patriot Coal. Shove your fake “American” names. We need regulations, because it is obvious that industry can not and will not take the required steps to protect their customers, employees, or the general public.

Let’s regulate them, and then jail them. And let them drink and brush their teeth in the polluted water they have befouled.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

How the media covers a Teapublican rally:

Yesterday, we talked about how liberal demonstrations are ignored by the media, even if tens of thousands are present and protesting. Here is a picture of one small part of that crowd, which was NOT covered on major US “news” outlets:

Now we bring you a few photos of Right-Wingnut “events” that WERE covered by that same media. See if you can spot the difference:

Yep, if you are a Teabagger, Birtherbot, Right Wingnut or a “Republican” of any sort, then the media will show up and cover your “rally”, never mind how small or ridiculous it is. But if you are anybody else, sorry, but Bubba’s having gotten a blowjob back in the 90’s or a “celebrity” sighting is far more newsworthy than you are.

Since the right-wingnuts and Teapubs own the media, this may not be surprising. But it remains infuriating.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

There is no more “News” media: 100,000 people protested on Saturday, and we never heard about it.

That is a picture of around one hundred-thousand people marching through Raleigh this past Saturday, protesting a whole raft of screw-everybody-but-rich-white-male-Repub laws that are being foisted upon the populace by North Carolina’s 100% Teapublican government. And here is a link to more such pictures. Oh, and here is another link to a local report.

And did you hear about this on the national “news” programs, Gentle Reader? No, you did not. You heard about the Olympics, various celebrity peccadillos, a politician’s 1990’s sex life, and lots of finger-pointing tripe from Congress.

It is apparently too much to expect our Infotainment industry to cover a huge grass-roots march by ordinary people, asking for ordinary things, in an ordinary way. You see, the “news” media is no longer about news, and hasn’t been since the 1970’s. The Reaganistas deregulated the media , making truth play second fiddle to profits. Second fiddle, Hell, they made truth a friggin’ understudy. Ratings and ad revenue determine what gets played on TeeVee “news” programs these days.

The only way for a citizen’s protest to get shown on national media would be to add a professional celebrity: have a Kardashian get a divorce during the march, or perhaps have Miley Cyrus twerking on a wrecking ball at the head of the march. Something shallow and meaningless to attract the “journalists”, and once they have taken the bait, the marchers force them to listen to, and then report on, something substantial, something that people actually need to know.

Because as of now, the lives and concerns of ordinary Americans are guaranteed not to be broadcast on the “news”.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

Any West Virginian who votes Repub after this week is a complete idiot.

Yeah, that’s harsh. But after the deregulation the Libertarian Repubs enacted caused an enormous chemical spill there, and after the Teabagging Repubs cut the budgets for enforcing what paltry regulations remain, it seems pretty accurate. Note this simple fact: “Republicans” are to blame for the toxic chemical leak that afflicts Charleston and surrounding areas. They are to blame because they deregulated the industries involved.

Yes, a very few “Democrats” voted for such stupid deregulatory bills: including one that was passed even as the chemicals were contaminating the Elk River. This particular law would pretty much make the taxpayer pay for cleanup of messes caused by private businesses. Jesus Christ on a moonshine still, really?

But it is a 95% “Republican” policy, passed by 98% “Republican” votes, and so it is a Repub policy. And when you vote for a Repub, you are telling them that you support the poisoning of our water supplies. So if you vote for an Elephant, you are cheering on the destruction of your infrastructure and any resulting illnesses or deaths.
You are also approving of the way they kicked you in the nuts while you were down, by passing that recent bill which further deregulated the chemical industry even as you could not wash your hair or brush your teeth because of a chemical spill.

And if you vote to have yourself sickened or murdered, you are an idiot, plain and simple. Remember this come Election Day, and PLEASE don’t be stupid. Your life and health depend on a smart vote.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

John Boehner, Stop Your Lyin’.

Even for Speaker Boehner, this is epic lying: yesterday, he blamed the Prexy for the West Virginia chemical spill, by claiming that there are plenty of regulations already, so it must be Obama’s fault. In reality, there are loads of unregulated chemicals in our drinking water, including the batch that screwed the pooch for West Virginians recently.

As it chances, people in WV are still reporting health problems from using the supposedly “safe” water. And no one can help them, because regulations do not require the chemical manufacturer to know or provide information on possible side-effects. And so, since there’s no regulations (Boehner is truly telling some really big lies) requiring such information, nobody knows anything about this chemical.

It’s now heading down the Ohio River, and eventually will proceed through the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean. And no one knows what will happen.

Because, contrary to what comes out of Boehner’s lying mouth, there are no regulations requiring such knowledge. Since there are no regulations, the manufacturer spent no money on creating such knowledge. So we do not know what’s coming at us. Libertarians and Republicans may like this situation, but the rest of us would prefer to know if we can drink the water or wash our hands in it.

John Boehner is lying as usual. Also as usual, most of the media aren’t calling him on his lies. But now, Gentle Reader, you at least know he’s lying to you.

So what are you going to do about it?

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

Job-Killing LACK of Regulation

It has become an article of faith amongst many politicos that regulations kill jobs. In fact, this mantra shows up on talk radio, pundit blather sessions, and even in the official names of legislation, among other places. However, we should remember that “faith” is defined as believing something for which there is no (or insufficient) proof.

While Mr. Blunt and Cranky possesses a strong Libertarian streak, he knows that data supports a certain amount of regulation as a positive influence on the marketplace. And he humbly submits that any few jobs that might be lost due to a new regulation are not as big of a deal compared with the huge number of jobs lost due to the consequences of de-regulation.

Remember the huge financial crisis of a few years ago? That was caused by insufficient regulation and lax enforcement of existing regulations, and has resulted in the toss of tens of millions of jobs around the globe. In fact, the job losses aren’t over yet. These are tangible job losses caused by a tangible cause.

So against the hypothetical, faith-based loss of potential jobs maybe someday somewhere that might possibly be caused by future regulations, this writer presents the worldwide loss of actual jobs caused by inadequate regulations. Facts beat faith, as they so often do. 

Mr. B & C

HONEST Sack of S*** of The Week

Yes, you read it right, Mr. Blunt and Cranky is changing it up a wee bit this week. Still the same Crown O’ Polished Turds to anoint the skull of the week’s worthy victor, but instead of bestowing it upon a liar, we are handing it to someone whose actions well and truly match his rhetoric: Willard Mitt Romney.

Willie Boy, you may know, campaigns ofttimes against those nasty rules and regulations that so inconvenience the financial industry. He rails against Dodd-Frank and such at the drop of a campaign check. One might call this empty rhetoric, but one would be wrong.

And how does your humble correspondent know this? How can he discern the flame of truth burning beneath the amazingly odd hairdo of Mr. Mitt? Two things:

Number A: His offshore accounts and refusal to disclose information about his finances. He truly IS opposed to disclosure, transparency, and rules and regulations, and proves it by living those “values”.

Letter 2: He is holding fund-raisers in London with the poor, downtrodden victims of law and order at Barclays et.al. For a mere $75,000.00 apiece, they might crave to enter the room and hear his soothing, healing words; and see for themselves his determination to cast off the rule of law that weighs so heavily upon the multimillionaires who are so victimized by the social order.

Yessireebob, Mitt is being 100% honest when he says he wants to get rid of those pesky laws that get in the way of anyone trying to earn a few billion bucks. The first Honest Sack of S*** of The Week. Wear that crown on your European trip, Mr. Romney, the better to fit in with anyone you might happen to meet who sports similar headgear.

Mr. B & C