TheWiseOldFart

  Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart “BT.” That is what I call America “Before Trump.” It was undoubtedly a different, kinder, and more intelligent country. I live in Northern Nevada. I was watching television when a Republican ad was broadcast. It accused Democratic Senatorial candidate, Jacky Rosen, of many things, not one of which was based on fact. Lies, lies, and more lies. It made me angry, because nothing upsets me more than being lied to, especially because I am an educated and informed voter. HONESTY, THE EXCHANGE OF IDEAS, AND A WILLINGNESS TO WORK TOGETHER FOR COMPROMISE ARE LONG GONE Why are the tactics which worked so well in a Democratic Republic no longer used in Washington? The truth is so simple, it may surprise you. After eight years of the Reagan administration, which included the beginnings of wars on the working class, women, minorities, the LGBTQ community, and all religions not labeled “Christian,” the American people sought a more progressive path for our nation.

  Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart I begin with a very disturbing but real fact that I and my wife are patriotic Americans who are on a fixed income and struggle to survive in 2024. Trump, who is a traitor, a convicted felon, an admitted sexual predator, and suggests that he would be the first fascist dictator in our nation’s history, is allowed to run for the presidency and is living the life of a billionaire. This is not the America I remember in my youth. Presidential Historians rate Donald Trump the worst president in history. Let’s take a look at a few of the actions which occurred early in the Trump administration, and how he is solely responsible for the lessening of the average American’s quality of life. It is an irrefutable fact that if the orange buffoon should win the 2024 election, he will bring our nation to the brink of oblivion. TRUMP WASTED NO TIME IN DESTROYING HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS GUARANTEED BY THE BILL OF RIGHTS. I will not be discussing Trump’s many criminal vi

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart [All governments are bad, some are just worse than others.] This was a line I heard about seventy years ago, and remains accurate to this day. I was born in the United States, and therefore I can only attest to my own country and how it treats or mistreats its people. However, people around the world are virtually the same and want the same things for themselves and their loved ones. I can tell you one thing without reservation: the quality and competence of America’s government has declined throughout my lifetime. Professional politicians have become focused on greed for great power and great wealth, and less interested in serving the people of our nation. Over the last nine years, the quality of those leading our nation has diminished to a level impossible to describe. A major cause for our government’s demise is clearly on the shoulders of the electorate. Voting for a party, and rejecting the most qualified candidates has given us men and women who are not on

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart Let’s talk about tax revenue, and how our government wastes more than 50 cents of every dollar. Let’s talk about the fact that our nation’s richest citizens and largest corporations pay little or no taxes thanks to a tax code which is 6,871 pages long. 99 percent of those pages are ways in which the super-rich can avoid paying their fair share. The national debt in 2024 is estimated to be $34.59 trillion dollars. However, Trump and his party of cowards and hypocrites continue to propose additional tax cuts for less than one percent of the American people, who just happen to donate to their campaigns. I ADD ONE ISSUE WHICH CLEARLY DISPLAYS THE INCOMPETENCE OF OUR GOVERNMENT Each year our government passes a budget for the upcoming fiscal year. However, there exists a situation unique to our failed system. America has a “debt ceiling.” It is of no concern that the amount of money to be spent in the upcoming year was agreed to, this is a separate situation, and eac

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart Let’s look at the facts. Between 2017 and 2021, Trump nearly created a second Great Depression. In just four years he added more than 3.5 trillion dollars to the national debt. Over his first three years President Biden’s economic policy energized our economy to a level not seen since Bill Clinton’s administration. Inflation, caused by greedy corporations, Trump’s friends and supporters, is in decline. And yet some Americans trust Trump. It’s not okay to choose ignorance over the truth. NO ONE HAS BEEN ABLE TO PRODUCE ONE FACT ABOUT ONE ACCOMPLISHMENT MADE BY TRUMP IN FOUR YEARS Trump bragged about the accomplishments President Obama put into place during his eight years. The facts prove that his only “accomplishment” between 2017 and 2021 was in the form of permanent tax cuts for the super-rich and the large corporations they own. His policy of “do nothing” other than golf, party at Mar-a-Lago, hold hate rallies, and watch television added trillions of dollars

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart Every time Trump speaks to his cult, he proves that his mental ability is in sharp decline. Although Trump never was and never will be an orator, over the last two years his inability to put words together in a clear sentence has become extremely frequent. Look at this small sample of his ramblings during a hate rally held in New Jersey. ["The late, great Hannibal Lecter. He's a wonderful man," Trump said about the serial killer protagonist from The Silence of the Lambs. "Congratulations, the late, great Hannibal Lecter. We have people that are being released into our country that we don't want in our country," Trump said, randomly segueing into speaking about immigration. At another point in the rally, Trump appeared to confuse Beijing with Taiwan, the self-governing island that China says it will eventually reunify with the mainland. Trump said: "If you take a look at President Xi of China, talking about Beijing—now they've

  Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart After reading comments made by several politicians this week, including the gibberish from Trump, I am convinced that one of the prime attributes needed to become a professional politician is abject stupidity. Much has been made of South Dakota,s big mistake, Kristi Noem, and it is definitely justified. Bragging about killing a puppy, a goat, and three horses is ludicrous. Just as brazen and dishonest is claiming to have met a world leader you never came in contact with. However, since 2015 I have read many moronic statements than I ever believed possible. Take a look at these quotes. All of them took place in the month of December, 2015. Each of them came from a man or woman calling themselves a “Republican.” LIKE THEIR FUHRER, THEY MAKE NO SENSE "When a physician removes a child from a woman, that is the largest organ in a body. That's a big thing. That's a big surgery. You don't have any other organs in your body that are bigger t

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart “For reasons of national security,” is bullshit. In October of 2016, leaders of America’s security services informed the leaders of our government that Vladimir Putin was interfering in our election, attempting to secure the presidency for Donald Trump. However, our corrupt leaders refused to inform the American people about this fact. After the election, in which Trump was gifted the Electoral College vote, our leaders in Washington claimed that Putin’s efforts had no effect on the outcome. This was another huge lie. An abundance of evidence since that day proved that the election was rigged. This huge failure by our government is why our nation failed to move forward into the 21 st century. Trump and his fake Republican Party moved our country backwards into the dark days of the mid-twentieth century. One by one our basic rights, guaranteed by the Bill of Rights, began to disappear. These efforts by Trump and his fascist party continued after Trump was evicte

  Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart Republicans are incapable of leading America. This was proven most recently by Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump. They caused enormous damage to our economy and are responsible for the increase in our national debt and income inequality thanks to their use of “trickle-down economics.” Let’s focus on how important accomplishments are not possible without Democratic leadership. HELP FROM AMERICA’S GREATEST PRESIDENT I would be happy to debate two issues with anyone: in our nation’s history, who were the greatest and the worst presidents? Although it didn’t require a group of presidential historians to decide that Donald John Trump will forever be the worst president in American history, I’m glad they confirmed what we already knew. Not only did he fail to accomplish one thing in four years, he attempted to overthrow our government before being evicted from the White House. He brags about many things, none of them true,

 I Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart Here are two headlines on the front page of Google today, 4/30/2024. [AR-15 rifle recovered from scene where 4 law enforcement officers killed in Charlotte: Police] ABC News [Hush money trial judge raises threat of jail as he finds Trump violated gag order, fines him $9K] AP News These stories confirm two of my assessments of life in America in the 21 st century. FIRST: PROOF THAT OUR GOVERNMENT IS THE MOST CORRUPT IN THE WORLD, OWNED BY CORPORATE AMERICA Several years ago, FBI Director, Christopher Wray, confirmed that investigations by our country’s preeminent law enforcement agency learned that Domestic Terrorism is the greatest danger to human life in America. Since 2017, there have been more mass shootings in the United States every year than the number of days on the calendar. As of March 31, 2024, In the first 91 days of the current year, America experienced 125 mass shootings. The result: 208 deaths, and 419 more injured. Many of thes

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart “All governments are bad, some are worse than others.” I heard this when I was a young man. Over my nearly 78 years I have learned that it was and is completely true. The only thing I didn’t consider was that my government would become the most corrupt and incompetent of them all. My interest in politics began in 1956, when I was 10 years old. I turned on our television when I arrived home from school, and on the TV was Dwight Eisenhower’s second convention. I was fascinated. Now that I am an old man, I look back on the 13 presidents I have watched, listened to, and read about. Only one of the 13 was a great president; JFK: and three are on the list of the worst in history: Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, and at the bottom, Donald Trump. Of the nine remaining, three were admirable for their accomplishments; Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton and Joe Biden; three were somewhat competent and had good intentions; Dwight Eisenhower, George H.W. Bush, and Barack Obama. The f

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart   I was recently diagnosed with high blood pressure. All that is needed is for me to take a single five-milligram pill every morning.   My wife and I cannot afford Medicare part “B” and belong to a group wh ich finds medical services for people without insurance at a reduced cost when we pay for services rendered in full.     A Perfect Example of how F**ked Up our Healthcare System has Become   I picked up my prescription at a loca l, large, chain, pharmacy. I paid $25 for a one-month supply. We are also Costco members. We called their pharmacy and inquired about their prices. The y do not have an agreement with our medical services company. However, a three - month supply of the same medication would cost me only $8.99 if we did not have insurance . We picked up my new prescription on Friday.   The Moral of this Story is “ Don’t Trust Government Sponsored Programs”   There is some hope in America that some of our corporate retailers might do the right t