TheWiseOldFart

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart When Trump declared his intention to win the Republican Party’s presidential nomination in 2015, I decided that I needed to know more about the New York businessman. Although most of his biography was public record, I wanted to know more about the man other than what I saw on television and read about in various publications. I knew that after he received his diploma from Wharton in 1968, he joined his father’s real estate business. Digging deeper, I discovered that what later became the “Trump Organization” was extremely racist. When Black men and women filled out rental applications for one of Fred Trump’s properties, the agent reviewing their applications was instructed to put a large, red “C” at the top of the application. Digging even deeper, it was Donald Trump who left a successful business outside of Manhattan and moved into the more glamorous and lucrative world he always dreamed about. I learned that he married first wife, Ivana, in 1977. They were div...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart !3 men: only one of them was not an ‘old white man.’ That’s the number of presidents I remember. It would be 14, but I was too young to know what happened in my life when Truman was still in office. I was 10 years old and turned on the television when I came home from 4 th grade and saw lots of people waving signs with slogans “I Like Ike,” and “Four More Years,” among many others. I didn’t know what I was seeing, but I was fascinated. As I listened to one of the men broadcasting the event, I learned it was Dwight D. Eisenhower’s second convention. That day began my interest in politics. It was minimal then, but today, July 7, 2025, I feel it is my obligation to keep those who care about our country’s future informed. The truth is mostly hidden from the people by the mainstream media in collusion with Washington politicians on both sides of the aisle. By the time I was in high school, my interest in how presidents affected our nation’s future had grown. 1960 wa...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart Republicans are idiots, cowards, and traitors to the American people. As I knew they would, Trump’s senators passed Trump’s big bill, which will lessen the quality of life for our nation’s most needy and reduce taxes for his 813 oligarchs. America is mirroring Germany in the 1930’s. But why should Trump care? He is not an American. Trump is loyal to Vladimir Putin and continues to praise his idol, Adolf Hitler. He cares about Donald Trump, exclusively, and the power and wealth his position as America’s illegitimate president offers him. Red state voters, who blindly vote in support of right-wing candidates, live in the poorest states in the Union, and Trump’s policies will result in enormous harm to their future. Let’s call it what it is. In 1981, the once Grand Old Party began to separate itself from their democratic counterparts. Reagan demanded loyalty without dissention, or the audacity to question their leader’s actions. By 2000, the necessary tools to allo...

The Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of our federal government are completely dysfunctional and the situation is irreparable. Our military is useless. It is the largest and most expensive in the world, but hasn’t won a war since WWII. It was unwilling to protect our legislative branch from a violent insurrection, organized, planned, and executed by your illegitimate president. All of these complete failures continue to allow Trump to violate the Constitution every day, and commit the most egregious crimes in American history. In addition to violating the Emoluments Clause, he is holding America’s institutions of higher learning, the Department of Justice, and agencies whose only purpose is to expose government fraud hostage until they comply with his demands. Only in the story of America does a schoolyard bully win against all odds. Our “leaders” are cowards, frauds, and hypocrites. Next Sunday, June 15 th , and although he has no authority to demand their cooperation, Tru...

From 1789 until today, our government promised its citizens “free and fair elections.” For the most part, it was a promise kept until 2000. Beginning in 1981, the ugliest profession became increasingly vile and destructive. The ambitions of professional politicians drove our two political parties into a frenzy, placing reelection ahead of the public interest. The desire for power replaced any intent to “do the right thing” for the people of their country. Before I continue, let me repeat myself. The two reasons our legislative branch is dysfunctional are supported by fact, and are undeniable. Our Founding Fathers admitted to the imperfection of their efforts at the Constitutional Convention. Letters after its completion written by Jefferson, Madison, Adams, and others confirmed their naivete. They believed that their successors would improve upon what they had begun, and the results would become the creation of the greatest country in the world. Unfortunately, that never happened. I ha...

I don’t know where to begin, but that’s not unusual when I write about the orange buffoon defiling our White House. Trump is not an American president, but that is just the beginning, He is not worthy of living in the United States of America. He is our nation’s biggest traitor, and his loyalty is to tyrannical dictators, not to the American people. The latest scandal from Dictator Trump is a ‘doosey.’ It involves another rules violation, an obvious bribe, extreme ignorance, ultimate hypocrisy, and a slap in the face to the people of Israel. The ruling family of Qatar is presenting the malignant narcissist with a gift worth more than $400,000,000. The 747-8 is the ultimate luxury aircraft. Trump claims that it will be used as Air Force One, and after he is once again evicted from the White House, it will become his personal property. Here’s where Trump offers irrefutable proof that he is an ignorant, obese, old man. It’s bad enough that Trump uses the current Air Force One for personal...

Trump’s primary effort in 2017 and for the next four years was to divide our nation’s people. The plan, co-created by his puppeteer, Vladimir Putin, worked very well. “Divide and conquer” was their motto, and because most Americans learn everything they know from television, it was a major success. During the 2024 campaign, empty seats dominated the stories about Trump’s hate rallies. That was just the beginning. Kamala Harris received massive amounts of campaign donations, far surpassing those of the old man. After another election, which I am convinced was once again rigged by Putin, Trump is extremely unpopular with the two most important groups: Democrats and Independents. Once again, I believe our corrupt government is hiding the truth, hiding their incompetence. There are signs at every protest calling Trump what he is, a fascist, and demanding his removal from the White House. The right wing’s fascist manifesto, Project 2025, is being checked off plan by plan. The 922-page docum...

I have long been aware that the first meeting between Trump and Vladimir Putin was in Moscow in 1987. The 41-year-old business failure was desperate to save his future. When he received an invitation from the KGB to come to Moscow, he and his first wife, Ivana, eagerly accepted the invitation. As you would expect, there are no records of the time they spent in the Russian capital. However, we do know that in the late 1980’s Putin was a high-ranking member of the spy agency, and a rising star in Russian politics. Between 1987 and 2013, there is no proof that the two men met again in person. However, when Trump’s real estate business began to fail during the time he was in Moscow, and continued into the 1990’s, Russian oligarchs began to invest in his New York and Florida properties and he was rescued from a bankruptcy and the likely demise of his “empire.” Then, in 2013, under the guise of taking the Miss Universe Pageant to Moscow, Trump once again traveled to the Russian capital. A fo...

I don’t know how many articles I have written about America’s most embarrassing and mostly preventable shame, and I don’t want to know the number. Our nation continues to suffer from domestic terrorism with more mass shootings than days on the calendar. It is an undeniable fact that our corrupt and incompetent government is not interested in this unnecessary loss of life. This situation happens so frequently only the most sensational of these unnecessary events are reported on the nightly “news.” The shootings occur at every venue imaginable: in places I could have never imagined 40 years ago. I will never forget the hours I spent on December 14, 2012 during the unimaginable tragedy which was taking place at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Parents who had dropped off their small children at school that morning learned that 20 of them would never come home. Six educators were murdered attempting to protect the most innocent victims imaginable. In October of 2017, 58 Americans were slaught...

The rich don’t need help. White, middle-class people don’t need help. Men and women in positions of power don’t need help. The vast majority: the working class, families living in the low-income bracket, the poor, the homeless, the disenfranchised, all need help. Someone please tell Trump and Musk that these statements are facts. Also inform them that first and foremost it is the responsibility of the president, congress and the Supreme Court to serve the majority. Their first priority should be improving the quality of life for all Americans. Over the last 24 days these two old white men intentionally destroyed much of the progress made for all Americans over the last 60-70 years. This is a lifetime pattern for Donald John Trump. This is why he never has and never will accomplish anything which produces positive results. Between 2017 and 2021 Trump did nothing but increase the division between our country’s people, give tax breaks to those who do not need or deserve them, and support ...

  Okay, when Trump announced his choice of Little Marco Rubio to be his Secretary of State, I chuckled. Rubio is known as “the laziest senator in Washington.” He was expected not run for reelection in 2016. However, Moscow Mitch McConnel was desperate to retain Republican numbers in the senate and convinced him to remain on the ballot. When I read that Trump planned to nominate Rubio for Secretary of State, I assumed the orange buffoon had found a sense of humor, so I laughed a little. These two hate each other, and have since the 2016 campaign. As Trump began to announce other choices for his White House staff, I thought he was planning a modern version of the 1933 Marx Brothers movie, “Duck Soup.” I laughed even harder when I heard that Elise Stefanik would be his choice for U.N. Ambassador. When I read that a Fox personality was his choice for Secretary of Defense, I laughed so hard tears began to fall. Pete Hegseth has no experience in government and his views are harsh, ...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart Patriotism is not limited to those who served in our military. However, for most of our women and men who wore the uniform of any branch of our military forces they experienced something unique. After serving their time, they retained a special quality and what they learned during a significant part of their lives. Although Trump calls members of our armed forces “fools and suckers” who gave their lives in service to their country, current and former members of our military experience deep and sometimes undefinable emotion when they visit the hallowed ground where deceased members of our armed forces are resting for eternity. For Trump to use Arlington National Cemetery, or any other location dedicated to our fallen heroes as a background for a political stunt, and a photo op, is an insult to every man and woman who ever wore the uniform. Each of these men and women did so knowing that they were members of a very long list of others who believed that serving the...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart “I’m devoted to Donald Trump.” “Donald Trump is unfit for office.” “Let me make it clear, I support Donald Trump 100 percent.” All of these comments were made by Niki Haley. The first was when she was the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, during the time when Trump was pretending to be your president. The second was just one of many negative remarks made by Haley in 2023 and early in 2024 when she was hoping to win the Republican Party’s presidential nomination. The third was at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. To call Haley a hypocrite is much too kind. During her effort to win the nomination, it was well-known that Haley was an alternative to Trump. Republicans who did not choose ignorance over reality were glad to offer their support to the former governor of South Carolina. Today Haley threatened to seek a “cease and desist order” against those same supporters. REPUBLICANS SAY “NO” TO TRUMP, AND “YES” TO KAMALA HARRIS...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart It must be a disease which only affects red states. Extreme stupidity. I call it “chronic conservatism,” which removes both the ability to think clearly, and any concern for the people of their states. In February of 2021, while the people of Texas were suffering from a devastating cold front, and many thousands were without power to heat their homes, Senator Ted Cruz displayed a level of incompetence combined with complete apathy for the men, women, and children he represented by leaving the state, and flying to Cancun, Mexico. This earned him the justifiable nickname of “Cancun Cruz.” Last Friday, Governor Greg Abbott left the United States. He flew to Asia to participate in a discussion about increasing tourism. He was aware that it was likely that Hurricane Beryl would devastate towns and cities close to the Gulf of Mexico, but there was a big party to attend in Tokyo. He left his Lieutenant Governor in charge. As of yesterday, more than 500,000 Texans in th...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart If you love your religion, and are serious about its teachings, I am not only happy for you, I would fight for your right to practice that religion. However, I cherish the First Amendment which guarantees my right to reject all organized religions, and forbids the influence of religion into our government. It is clearly written, and I demand that my rights are of equal importance to those who claim to be religious. America never was a religious nation, and never should be. Our Founding Fathers left England when King George III removed freedom of or from religion. This is why the first line in the Bill of Rights says, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” RIGHT WING POLITICIANS, DESPERATE FOR VOTES, SEEK THE REPEAL OF THE FIRST AMENDMENT There is no doubt that the party on the right side of the aisle is owned by special interests. Their votes are bought and paid for by lobbies, with the use...

  Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart If I look at the 2024 election objectively, I would swear that Republicans don’t want to win the presidency. Looking at politicians, and voters who claim to compose the GOP, if Trump is the best they have to offer, this tells us a lot about the lack of ability and intelligence coming from the right side of the aisle. Not that I would have voted for her in November, but when Nikki Haley declared her candidacy last year, I believed Republicans had a very good chance of taking back the presidency in 2024. ARROGANCE AND IGNORANCE CREATE LOSERS First, we look at the entire Republican Party. Insiders claim that most Republican politicians despise Trump. However, without the support of his cult, winning elections is nearly impossible. Hillary called them “a basket of deplorables,” and she was 100 percent accurate. Most of them support Trump for one reason: he is the leader of the white supremacist movement in America. Racism is a far more severe problem t...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart There are always stories I don’t read because I simply don’t care about the subject. There is one subject which is frequently on the pages of every news publication which is of zero interest to me. Who Trump chooses as his VP will have no effect on the election. Mike Pence was not a Vice-President, his only function was to kiss Trump’s humongous derriere as often as possible. Although that is all he did for four years, Trump ordered his murder on January 6. IT’S ALL ABOUT THE WORST MAN IN THE WORLD Let’s go back to the 2020 election. Republicans once offered us two old, white, racist, and bigoted men. Neither had any experience in governing 330+ million Americans. Although Trump and Pence had completed nearly four years in office, they accomplished nothing because they never tried. They had no idea what the hell they were doing. They pretended to be your leaders, but never learned how to perform their jobs. What they did accomplish was to divide our nation, undo...