Ken Padgett

Why do people continue to support Trump no matter what he does? Simple. T hey don't care what he does. They support Trump because he hates the same people they hate. He can do pretty much anything and they'll explain it away. Or they will just laugh it off because they truly don't care what Trump does or they chalk it up to "fake news." How liberals see Trump supporters - it's not that simple   The one core value that Trumpsters celebrate above all others is hatred for weakness. Refusing to wear masks to protect oneself and others from COVID has been turned into "freedom" but it's really about exposing fear. They're playing chicken with nature, and whoever flinches is a "weakling." Their passionate hatred for weakness is what proves to them that they are strong.  Kindness = weakness.  Honesty = weakness. Compromise = weakness. They believe themselves superior in every way to anyone who doesn't hate weakness as much as they...

    In 2008, conservative media went nuts when a video surfaced showing two New Black Panthers at a polling location in Philadelphia. One individual was carrying a billy club and was asked to leave. The other was actually licensed as a poll watcher and had a right to be there. They were both sued by Obama's Department of Justice on claims of voter intimidation . Much later, and after a lot more drama from the Right, all the charges were dropped. Republicans weren't satisfied with that and conducted an investigation into why the charges were dropped. Nothing more materialized and eventually it was forgotten. And now in 2020 we have Trump telling his supporters to "patrol" the polls looking for fraud. He has them stirred up and charged with righteous indignation. It's freakin' scary already, and Trump is just getting started. Trump is not the real problem. It's important to remember that Trump's enablers are the ones making all of this possible. And it...

  “Voting is a meaningless exercise. I’m not going to waste my time with it. These parties, these politicians are given to us as a way of making us feel we have freedom of choice. But we don’t.” — George Carlin After 2020, I won't be voting again for any candidates for President, House, or Senate. Why should I bother, when my vote really doesn't matter? Don't try to tell me "every vote counts." Maybe in some swing states they do, but not in California. I live in a solidly Democratic district in a solidly Democratic state. Gerrymandering has made my vote for representative meaningless, while the Electoral College makes my vote for president meaningless, because California is a "winner take all" state. California will have two Democratic Senators for the foreseeable future, and so my voting for Senator certainly won't ever change the outcome. The System is Broken The ideal of one person, one vote completely disappears in the Electoral College and t...

  There are numerous questionable ways to defend looting; "The media won't pay attention unless there is violence or looting" "Looting rejects the legitimacy of ownership rights and property" "Boston Tea Party" etc. Author Vicky Osterweil mines them all in her new book, In Defense of Looting. But no major change is possible in America without the support of the people who reject violence and looting. Greater violence during protests only leads to repression and marginalization. Non-violent protests will attract media coverage and foster change in America, but only if they are very large, consistent and sustained.   Vicky Osterweil revealed her Marxist frame of reference in an August 27, 2020 interview published by NPR: "It also attacks the very way in which food and things are distributed. It attacks the idea of property, and it attacks the idea that in order for someone to have a roof over their head or have a meal ticket, they have to work for a...

On May 25, 2020 George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died in Minneapolis, Minnesota after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, knelt on Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes while Floyd was handcuffed face down in the street. The murder of George Floyd triggered massive protests in the US and around the world. T he police response to the unrest has been very aggressive. T here have been so many examples of wanton police violence against mostly peaceful protesters and the media covering them in so many different cities that it's clear the problem is a lot bigger than rogue cops killing unarmed black men without consequence -- as if that weren't bad enough. The shocking brutality meted out by cops when charging at innocent protestors of all ages is being captured on video.        Respect the Police...or Else? Too many Americans are authoritarians who love it when cops bust a few heads in response to a protest. Even during normal times, i f you are ...

  If you want to read a paper that covers business news and economic issues, then the Wall Street Journal is worth the effort. But subscribing to The Wall Street Journal is very expensive. The Wall Street Journal's paywall makes it next to impossible to read the online version without a paid subscription, but I have found one way to read the paper that (as far as I can tell) no one else has written about. 1. Register for a free account at https://register.wsj.com/register 2. Login and go to https://customercenter.wsj.com/home 3. On the left side of your screen, go to MyWSJ and then click on "Today's Print Edition"  3. A PDF version of that day's WSJ will open for you to read and download. Enjoy!     🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻 Buy a No Soliciting Sign That Really Works!

  Many business owners believe Yelp is a protection racket masquerading as a review site. They say Yelp has full control over which reviews are counted and that Yelp manipulates the ratings based on whether or not a business buys advertising from them. They say Yelp salespeople are relentless and very aggressive. Business owners who pay for advertising are promised some control over their reviews. Yelp has a market capitalization of $3.2 billion. More than 42 million reviews have been posted to Yelp and the site averages 108 million visitors per month. Yelp Reviews Yelp's business model pits the consumer against the business. Yelp's product is advertising and their customers are business owners, not consumers. Yelp's content, other than advertising is provided free of charge by their users, but any time there is a conflict between a consumer and an advertiser, Yelp sides with the advertiser. Yelp salespeople are coached to offer advertisers assistance in getti...

Our enemies in Iran are watching. We should all question the justifications for the drone strike on terrorist leaders in Baghdad. We deserve some answers. But all the hand wringing in the media about Trump starting World War 3 and us being on the brink of war is only giving aid and comfort to our enemies. They want us to be afraid, divided and fearing what they might do next. And when the retaliation from Iran finally happens, the media will go all "Chicken Little" again. Yes, it may cost some American lives and that's unfortunate, but we run that risk every time we deploy troops. It's a dangerous world out there. We can hide under our beds or "Keep Calm and Carry On" while we wa it for some answers. Knowing Trump as we do, it's likely that this will turn out to be a monumental blunder that will be justified by a pack of lies. But it's done now and we have to live with the consequences. We need a healthy debate on the facts, but exaggerating...