Ken Padgett

  In the past few years, the prominent use of flags by Trump fans has ranged from the “Don’t Tread On Me” Gadsden flag to the Confederate Battle flag to basic Trump or MAGA banners to “Blue Lives Matter” flags. Now they have a new flag to rally around. On October 13, 2021, at a rally held for Virginia GOP gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin that was organized by Steve Bannon, members of the crowd recited the Pledge of Allegiance to an American flag that they were told was present at the Capitol during the 1/6 insurrection.  The symbolism is obvious to any student of fascist political movements. In Germany in the 1920s and ‘30s, members of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party venerated the so-called blood flag, or blutfahne, that was said to have been carried in Hitler’s failed 1923 “beer hall putsch” in Munich and soaked with the blood of a party member who was killed in that failed coup attempt. The Blood Flag became a totemic relic for the Nazi party and Hitler used it to consecr...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/03/31/its-our-central-hub-for-clean-energy-science-trump-wants-to-cut-it-massively/?utm_term=.434a45acb93c Sounds bad, but I'm not sure these cuts are all that terrible. And despite the headline, the proof that they "helped make solar power affordable" is non-existent. American-made solar panels generally cost from 80¢ to $1 per watt (W) – about 10-30¢ more per watt than imported panels. And where do most of the panels installed in the US come from? China, of course. So, the prices on installed systems have come down because of innovations in manufacturing made by China and result ing competition from China. We are already way behind. Beyond that, any innovations that might arise from US government-sponsored research will go directly to US manufacturers. Will they ever pass the savings on to consumers without the competition from China forcing them to do so? Not likely. So, what have we be...

Today we mourn for the country we thought we were. Our illusions about the basic goodness of America have been shattered by the reality that Americans have elected a demagogue and a dictator as our president . Trump has made it quite clear that he will use the awesome powers of the presidency to silence his critics, bully our allies and abandon international agreements.  Americans have also returned to power a Republican Congress that has done everything it could to damage America so that they could blame it all on Democrats. After eight years of craven racism and obstruction, Republicans will now insist that “for the good of America” we should all come together and help them pursue their agenda of tax cuts for the rich, “law and order” in the inner cities and dismantling the safety net.  And when Americans finally realize that they made a mistake; that Trump isn’t a champion of the “common man” so much as a con man, will they learn from the experie...

  Republicans love wars but they don't like to pay the full cost of supporting the troops after they come home. Since taking control of the House, Republicans have tried to cut veterans’ benefits every year. In 2012, House Republicans tried to cut benefits while privatizing healthcare. In 2013, House Republicans tried to cut food assistance for 170,000 vets and their families. Meanwhile, 8,000 veterans a year are committing suicide because of a lack of services for their physical and emotional needs. The GOP-rejected Bills: H.R. 466 – Wounded Veteran Job Security Act became H. R. 2875. This bill would have provided job security for veterans who are receiving medical treatment for injuries suffered while fighting in defense of their country. It would prohibit employers from terminating employees who miss work while receiving treatment for a service-related disability. H.R. 1168 -- Veterans Retraining Act This bill would provide for assistance to help veterans who are currently unemp...

  Christie mentions Romney only six times in his 2600 word Keynote address. Phil Archuletta, New Mexico businessman, Blasts Government For Not Giving Him More Money Two RNC Attendees Call Black Camerawoman 'Animal,' Throw Nuts At Her Clint Eastwood ... "drifted wildly off-script, addressed an empty chair, put words in the mouth of an invisible “president” rambled for 11 minutes, drove event organizers to drink and in the process totally, irrevocably heisted the entire week."   Important Things Romney didn't mention : Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Financial Reform, Climate Change, Romneycare, Immigration, Social Security, Veterans GOP Fiction vs The Facts "... we’re not going to let our campaign be dictated by fact checkers”   Romney pollster Neil Newhouse GOP Fiction: President Obama believes business owners owe their success to government -- saying “if you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that.” -- Repeated endlessly by F...