TheWiseOldFart

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart The government of the United States of America places zero value on our nation’s elderly residents. More than 44 percent of all seniors, 24.6 million seniors rely on Social Security for 100 percent of their income, including yours truly. It is a crime that although food prices, the prices of gasoline, and prescription drugs have increased by about 60 percent, 35 percent, and 25 percent, in 2027, our COLA will be just 3.6 percent. Although my wife and I paid for Medicare and Social Security for more than 45 years, we are still required to large copays for Medicare and a monthly payment averaging $203.00. When I die, my wife will receive a one-time payment of $255.00. The average cost of a burial is $8,300.00. Cremation, without any additional services, costs more than $2,200.00. WHAT OTHER NATION’S SENIORS PAY FOR HEALTHCARE [Elderly people in other nations do pay for healthcare, though the costs are typically lower, more predictable, and heavily subsidized compa...

  Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart I live in Northern Nevada. On November 3 rd , our state’s people will choose the man who will lead our state for the next four years. The governor’s race is between Republican Incumbent Joe Lombardo, and current Attorney General, Aaron Ford, a Democrat. Lombardo revealed himself as a tool for our state’s super-rich over the last four years. His campaign tactics involve lies, paid for by his wealthy supporters. Expensive and professionally constructed ads claim that his efforts have improved our educational system, made healthcare more efficient and less expensive, and reduced housing costs for one of the west’s poorest states.. Meanwhile, Lombardo continues to make false allegations about his opponent, Mr. Ford. If this sounds familiar, it is. Lombardo is another Trump sycophant. THE TRUTH IS LOMBARDO’S GREATEST FEAR AND HIS ONLY ENEMY A little about my home. Nevada is our nation’s fifth largest state, geographically. However, its entire popu...

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Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart Nevada Governor, Joe Lombardo, is a Trump Lacky. He is also, like his handler, a tool of the super-rich. If you live in Nevada, you have likely watched his expensive and professionally produced commercials. In them, professional actors claim that Lombardo has improved our state’s healthcare, schools, and made housing affordable. Here are the irrefutable facts. FOUR YEARS LATER, NEVADA IS IN A HEALTHCARE CRISIS Joe Lombardo became Nevada’s governor in 2022. Like his hero, Donald Trump, he has accomplished nothing. The truth reveals that the Silver State is in crisis when the subject is healthcare. MY ADVIDE: DON’T GET SICK IN NEVADA [In 2026, Nevada consistently ranks near the bottom for overall healthcare and health system performance. Key indexes place the state as 31st, 42nd, and 50th nationally. Nevada struggles with a severe shortage of primary care providers and frequently ranks second in the U.S. for residents avoiding care due to high costs.] I can attest...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart I know the title and question is asinine and I admit that I’m being sarcastic. The person who has been in front of television cameras the most over the last 10+ years is Donald Trump. He has chosen to tell lies and avoid the truth for nearly 80 years. It works for him, and many politicians use his success as a guideline. GOVERNOR JOE LOMBARDO AND THE BILLIONAIRES WHO SUPPORT HIM If you live in Nevada, it is highly probable that you have seen Joe Lombardo’s costly campaign ads on television. He is up for reelection in November. Paid for by his billionaire supporters, they want you to believe that his efforts over the last four years have improved our state’s three greatest problems: affordable housing, a failing school system, and healthcare which is subpar and too expensive for most of our state’s families. I know the truth. I don’t watch television news. Unlike Trump, I can read. I offer you the facts, which offer proof that Lombardo is just another Trump sycop...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart Joe Lombardo is the current Governor of Nevada. He is unfit for office and another Trump sycophant. He is up for reelection in November and has been placing expensive and fallacious ads on television, paid for by Trump’s oligarchs. He lied about his “accomplishments” in healthcare and reducing the cost of single family homes and apartment rentals. He is now doing the same about education in the Silver State. NEVADA HAS SOME OF THE WORST SCHOOLS IN THE NATION Fact: “Nevada ranks as the second least educated state in America.” Most jobs in Nevada are minimum wage or slightly higher, and those jobs do not require more than a high school diploma. Education has seldom been a priority for most of our state’s leaders. It is no secret that Las Vegas is our most populated city. It is also no secret that the University of Nevada at Las Vegas is one of the most poorly rated institutions of higher learning in the nation. The University of Nevada-Reno is a more respected ins...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart The Super-rich, professional politicians, fake Christians, the Pentagon, corrupt members of the Supreme Court, the Department of Justice, and, all law enforcement. If you are a hard-working, patriotic American, the groups previously listed are your enemies. They serve an old, fat, mentally damaged traitor, not their country, and definitely not you and me. It is a widely known fact that Trump’s only loyalty is to Donald Trump, and not to anyone else. Over the last 10+ years we have watched Trump demand complete loyalty to him, but has not offered the same to others. WHY WOULD THE ABOVE NAMED GROUPS SUPPORT TRUMP? Donald John Trump is a traitor, a sexual predator, and the leader of America’s Neo-Nazi movement. So, if you love your country, how could you possibly support the worst man in the world? The answer is clear and undeniable. America is no longer a capitalistic society, it is a plutocracy, also known as an oligarchy. A plutocracy cannot be sustained in a na...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart Between 2017 and 2021, Trump nearly placed our nation in another Great Depression. Over one million Americans lost their lives from the effects of Covid-19 while Trump told us, “it will just go away.” However not a single positive accomplishment can be found over those four, long years. In 2025, your illegitimate president is once again ignoring the needs and wishes of America’s majority while he pretends to be the leader of 340 million people. In just nine days, the orange buffoon will have completed the first year of his four-year term. I know it seems much longer because the damage he has caused to our nation is 100 times worse than the first. Trump began his attack on America with the creation of DOGE, Department of Government Efficiency. To lead this new and unnecessary department, he chose a billionaire with no experience in government but had donated more than 350 million dollars to his campaign; Elon Musk. In Nine Days, Trump Will Have Been Your Illegiti...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart “I will end inflation on day one.” “I will negotiate peace in Ukraine on day one.” “I have a better healthcare plan than Obamacare.” “Tariffs with grow our economy.” These are just a few of Trump’s campaign promises in 2024. He never intended to keep any of those promises: they were nothing more than blatant lies. He would never end “Greedflation.” That would upset his 902 oligarchs. Only Putin can end the invasion of Ukraine, and that will only happen when his ambitions become reality. Trump and his party claimed to have a healthcare plan 10 years ago. It does not exist today. On this day, the American people are beginning to experience higher prices on nearly every necessity and discretionary commodity they purchase. Tariffs were a very bad idea in 1930, making the depression worse, and they are a destructive policy today. Free trade always increases the quality of life for everyone in the world. Trump’s only idea of a great economy is how much he can steal fr...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart Anyone who is honest with themself knows that Trump’s history is filled with tales of extreme racism, sexual depravity, and white-collar crime. After he declared his intention to win the Republican Party’s presidential nomination in June of 2015 he exposed the “real Donald Trump.” We learned that he has no concern, no compassion, for anyone other than himself. As more information was released in 2017, his lifelong mental affliction of malignant narcissism was revealed. He actually enjoys his ability to make the lives of others more difficult. As your illegitimate president, he is following his own fascist manifesto, Project 2025, word for word. His ultimate goal is to become our nation’s dictator for the remainder of his disgusting and pitiful life. Democrats refused to agree to plans ending the recent government shutdown until millions of Americans covered by the Affordable Care Act, and receive subsidies, were protected. However, eight cowards, including both ...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart There’s always a discussion in process related to eliminating government waste and reducing America’s escalating national debt. The truth is, every member of our government is aware of changes which could be made today and save hundreds of billions of dollars every year. They simply don’t want to do the right thing. Most of the talk is nothing more than a smoke screen to hide the truth about the most corrupt, inefficient and expensive government in the world. The same is true about the Pentagon. Estimates are unforgivable. Watchdog groups claim that 50 cents out of every dollar received annually goes to waste. Let’s begin with issues familiar to every American. First, healthcare. Every man and woman sitting on the right side of the aisle opposes universal healthcare. America remains the only developed nation in the world refusing to offer free medical care for all of its 340 million people. Let’s eliminate healthcare benefits for all elected officials. Our legis...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart Trump is THE Schoolyard Bully. He threatens anyone who doesn’t agree with him and then, in typical cowardly fashion,  instructs his minions to fight for him. Trump’s lackies include his Nazi Party, and six corrupt members of the Supreme Court. Yesterday, the Senate met once again to find a way to end what should never have happened in the first place, the longest partial government shutdown in history. Until yesterday, Democrats refused to negotiate until millions of Americans would have their healthcare protected and not experience a huge increase. However, yesterday, eight Democrats surrendered to the Nazis in Washington and ignored the needs and wishes of the American people. I have not and never will be member of any political party. In general, politicians all too often ignore what is right and place future elections ahead of all 340 million people. I am ashamed to say that two of the gang of eight are Senators from my state: Nevada. Catherine Cortez Ma...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart Another member of Trump’s corrupt and incompetent “family” who will be remembered as the worst in history: Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Kennedy’s father was a great man who would have become our nation’s 37 th President if he had not been murdered on June 6, 1968. However, his son is a science denier and a practitioner of witchcraft. His policies are opposed to the realities and practices of every medical professional in the United States. Kennedy is anti-vax. If the vaccine preventing Covid-19 had not been developed quickly, America would surely have lost many more lives than the one million caused by Donald Trump’s incompetence and apathy. [More than 1,000 current and former Health and Human Services employees penned a letter demanding Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s resignation. [The anonymous signees, who provided their names to Congress, say that Kennedy’s anti-vaccine agenda and removal of top scientists has continued to “endan...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart You may not think that the subjects of America’s prisons and our nation’s hospitals have anything in common. You would be mostly correct. However, the one thing they share is how they affect our nation’s economy. I begin with one of our country’s biggest problems: incarceration. Currently, there are about two million men and women in our prisons and jails. The statistics, which are of far greater importance, are very disturbing. America has a little more than 4% of the world’s population, and 20-25 percent of all men and women incarcerated in the world. Even more disturbing is the recidivism rate, which is far greater than any other nation in the world. The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) reports that 66% of released state prisoners were rearrested within three years, and a staggering 82% were arrested at least once during a ten-year follow-up. There is only one reason for this tragic fact. Our nation’s prisons are designed to punish convicted criminals, not ...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart In private, Trump refers to his most loyal supporters as “basement dwellers.” As I, and many others predicted, his “people” are suffering from their choice on November 5, 2024. The latest to be harmed for their mistakes are the people of Nebraska. [Farmers’ grievances were exactly what you’d expect: Their farms were short-staffed thanks to immigration raids, tariffs raised costs and shrank export markets, and pricing controls made it harder to sell crops.] The margin of profit is already down six percent, an extreme for an industry whose profit margin is already minimal by U.S. standards. What we will soon learn is how many people from Nebraska and other red states discover that they have no health insurance, and no access to Medicaid. I won’t say, “I told you so.” Fuck it: yes I will. Op-ed by James Turnage Follow my blog and be informed Source: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/8/16/2338197/-Nebraska-is-getting-what-it-voted-for?pm_campaign=front_page&...

In 2024, Kamala Harris said: “Donald Trump would deliver tax cuts to his donors. I will deliver tax cuts to working people and the middle class.” Millions of Americans chose to believe another lie, and ignore Ms. Harris’ warning. Trump made another promise he failed to keep: “I will end inflation on day one.” He offered voters the same lie about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Here’s what Trump’s “Big Beautiful Tax Plan” will do to America. While giving huge tax cuts to the people who need it least, 813 billionaires/oligarchs, it will add more than three-and-one-half TRILLION dollars to the national debt. To offset the nearly four trillion dollars allowing the super-rich to become even richer, nearly six million Americans will lose their healthcare immediately. Millions more will see a decrease in, or the end of Medicaid programs. And SNAP, the former food stamp program, will likely disappear entirely. This is Trump’s plan: give all of the money to his rich friends and fuck the American...

A short list of reasons why America will never be a great country.   In the general election, your vote may not count. As long as the Electoral College exists, states will choose our presidents. The popular vote means nothing. Therefore, if your candidate does not win the majority of votes in most states, your opinion does not count. I believe this is a violation of the intent of the First Amendment. The United States is the only developed nation which fails to provide universal healthcare. At least one-half of all elected officials in Washington do not believe that you should have the same access to healthcare as they do. In support of billionaires/oligarchs, they consistently vote against any measure which would provide the best healthcare available for all Americans. Most developed nations provide free or low-cost higher education for all of their people. Not America. Only the wealthy can afford to attend a college or university in 2025. Each year we lose thousands of our nation...

America is 15 th out of the group of 15 developed nations. Our country is near the bottom in healthcare, and education, but in the most important category, quality of life, our nation is at the very bottom. Most American workers struggle to maintain an acceptable quality of life for themselves and their families. Hanging over their heads is fear: fear that a health emergency will destroy the lifestyle they have worked so hard and long for their family. After United Healthcare CEO, Brian Thompson was murdered, a poll taken of young voters, age 30 and under, described his killing as “acceptable” by a whopping 41 percent. If you’re surprised, you are old and out of touch with most of our country’s people. A large percentage of all Americans have been forced to battle with an insurance company which denied a claim, directly, or indirectly. Even a larger percentage experienced a lower level of care than expected, depending upon the insurance agency which represents them. A few facts: the U...

There are two sides to the story about the murder of an insurance company executive. I am not condoning violence. In fact, it would be fair to label me a ‘pacifist.’ However, most Americans find themselves in a battle with an insurance company when a healthcare emergency becomes a reality. I am 78 years old. During a discussion at a party in my 20’s, I proclaimed that if I were to commit a crime, it would be against an insurance company. They charge outrageous premiums and when a situation arises and they are required to pay for a claim, they fight to deny that claim. They are the most corrupt businesses in America. Millions of Americans continue to survive without any healthcare insurance today. They simply cannot afford it. America’s current “healthcare system” is primarily dependent upon the profits of one industry: the insurance companies. The reason healthcare in our country is the most expensive in the world, and the primary reason for that situation is the greed of the entire ...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart I began working in 1962, at the age of 16. The owner of a gas station across the street from my church hired me for one dollar an hour. I was scheduled to work 13 hours on Saturdays. No such thing as overtime. I pumped gas, checked the oil level, made sure the batteries were filled with fluid, washed windows, and made our customers feel welcome. Inside the bay I changed oil, lubricated the undercarriage of cars and trucks, and repaired tires. I was never without a job after that first day at the gas station, with the exception of time spent in the U.S. Air Force until I was let go in 2008 from my job in a warehouse as America experienced the “great recession.” I looked for work for a while, but at the age of 62, no one offered me a position. Then, early in 2009 I saw an ad seeking individuals to work in the 2010 decennial census. I won’t bore you with the details, but my time in the working world ended before the last two months of 2010 became history. I had wor...