Ken Padgett

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...

    America, it's time for a reality check: People who think that torture, 'is not who we are as Americans' and 'goes against the soul of our great country' are sadly mistaken. For at least the past 50 years, the U.S. has been violating international treaties and laws while engaging in wars and other aggression against both friends and enemies. All the dishonesty and despicable actions that America has engaged in IS what America really stands for. Prideful claims of American Exceptionalism based on the belief that we are morally superior, and a beacon of truth and justice are dishonest, delusional or ignorant. America is despised around the world, and for very good reason. Apparently the only folks who don't realize this are the vast majority of American citizens who actually believe the jingoistic tripe being fed to them, i.e. "they hate us for our freedom." If Americans would actually take some responsibility for the actions done in their name a...