Ken Padgett

Since the 1950s conservatives have been successfully redefining Socialism from "state ownership of the means of production" to be anything that helps average people cope with the excesses of capitalism. Millions of people are angry because the political and economic system is not working for them, which is how Trump got elected. But Trump's economic policies are no different than what the GOP has done before; cut taxes for corporations and the rich, more money for the military-industrial complex, while also cutting "entitlements" and privatizing government services for the benefit of private corporations.  The amazing thing is that so many fail to understand what's really going on while being easily manipulated by bigotry and trigger words like "socialism." The question is, what to do about it? How to reach people who are so totally enveloped in the conservative/Fox News bubble? They automatically reject any factual informati...

I used to love Miguel's, but today was my last visit? Why? Because they have added a notice to the menu that there is an additional 4% surcharge to cover having to pay for mandated increases in minimum wages and benefits. A 4% surcharge will be added to all guest checks to help cover increasing costs and support recent increases to minimum wage and benefits for our dedicated team.   The California Restaurant Association has always been one of the most outspoken and active opponents of minimum wage increases. Now they are advising restaurant owners on how to implement a surcharge while avoiding lawsuits. You'll note the inclusion of "increasing costs" in addition to the real reasons for the surcharge. That way they can spend this excess money any way they want and can't be sued for not actually sharing the money they collect with their employees. I support increasing the minimum wage and benefits, and I don't mind if a restaurant has to raise p...

  The War on Drugs is a ravenous, destructive machine that is laying waste to freedom, justice and fairness in America.  Our government shows advanced symptoms of being addicted to its own War on Drugs. Like hopeless addicts, our leaders refuse to admit the destructive consequences of their behavior and they habitually increase their drug war dosage with copious injections of cash. They are always looking for a stronger fix, but they can't pay for it so they run-up the nation's debt. Drug enforcement agents often act as judge, jury and executioner, and the media reinforces their negative behavior while they live in ...

As a freelance writer with quite a few web sites, I often receive emails from people asking questions about something I've written. The following email regarding my Kachina.us web site is insane, and what's even more astonishing is that this person is able to hold down a full-time job as an executive with a major corporation. They used their company email account to contact me, so this is probably not a joke or a troll. For context, this is what a Hopi Scorpion Kachina "Puchkofmoktaka" looks like. From: [REDACTED] Sent: Wednesday, August 15, 2018 8:11 AM To: [REDACTED] - Protected from spam bots and scrapers Subject: Re: Scorpion Kachina Ken, I found you via Google searches about Kachinas. Have you ever heard or seen a completely black scorpion Kachina? I was journeying and in the stars came across a group of black scorpion Kachinas – not the dolls, but the beings themselves. They stood on two legs though not human legs. The lar...

The media and gun control advocates have worked themselves up into a frenzy over 3D printed plastic guns and most of the arguments they make are deeply flawed. 1. This allows people to make their own guns Making guns for personal use is already legal . A license is not required. This is nothing new. Zip guns -- improvised 'homemade' firearms have a very long history with hobbyists as well as gangs and other criminals, and are constructed with readily available, very inexpensive materials .   2. This will make it easier and cheaper to acquire guns Nope. It’s much cheaper to simply buy a gun. You can't reliably print guns that won't blow up in your hand with an $800 printer.  And 3D printing isn't easy or fast. You can't print an entire gun in one pass and even if you could it would take a very long time. Instead, each part has to be printed separately and then assembled. Then, since it's all plastic, it won't last very long -- especially i ...

  While I was in the Army in the early 70s, I was stationed in a little picturesque town Southeast of Frankfurt, Germany called Büdingen that grew up in and around a castle built in the 1200s.    It was a great place to be stationed, but there wasn't a lot of action there, so we usually went to Frankfurt for that. But most evenings we hung out in the local gasthaus (bar), drinking beer, shooting pool and playing fooseball. One quiet night, I was hanging out with some friends in the gasthaus, when the door opened and much to my surprise a stream of girls started coming in. It turned out to be a group of 17 year old high school girls on a field trip. I couldn't believe my good luck! It wasn't long before I hooked up with a ...

  “Do something about your dad’s immigration practices, you feckless cunt” -- Samantha Bee Though the White House had nothing to say about Roseanne Barr's racist remarks about Valerie Jarrett, they didn't hesitate to demand that Samantha Bee should be fired. “The language used by Samantha Bee last night is vile and vicious. The collective silence by the left and its media allies is appalling. Her disgusting comments and show are not fit for broadcast, and executives at Time Warner and TBS must demonstrate that such explicit profanity about female members of this administration will not be condoned on its network.” -- White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders These statements are a government assault on free speech and the hypocrisy of Trump condemning anyone else for using the word "cunt" is truly breathtaking. "I remember you. You were that cunt from the airplane." -- Trump to Jessica Leeds, one of the first women to publicly ac...