TheWiseOldFart

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart Failing to read and understand history always results in ignorance and the inability to move forward, choosing to live in the past. Every individual must learn and grow every day they remain alive. Not learning this fact produces lives without purpose, without a reason to be remembered. COUNTRIES ARE NO DIFFERENT THAN PEOPLE The United States is a very young country. When compared to the nations of Europe, Asia, and Africa, America is still a “toddler.” If you don’t like that comparison, take a little time to read the history of our nation from its birth in 1776 until today. The freedoms and rights guaranteed by the Constitution are both the reasons America was once on a path to become the “greatest nation in the world,” and why in 2026, it is the most feared and distrusted nation on the planet. I blame voters for the demise of the once most-respected country on earth.  Over the last 249 years, mostly old, white men have failed to lead our nation bravely in...

The annual budget for the Pentagon is nearing one trillion dollars. The first time I wrote this number, I was appalled. $1,000,000,000,000. That is 1,000 billion dollars. No working man could possibly imagine how much money that is. The truth is one-half of their annual budget is wasted, according to a non-profit watchdog organization. A couple examples of our military’s fiscal failures. I researched the F-35 fighter a number of years ago. The project was approved in 1995. Testing was completed in 2021. It was approved for mass production, although I cannot find any information about where or if it is in full production in 2025. [The average flyaway cost of an F-35A (the conventional takeoff and landing variant) is around $82.5 million. The F-35B (vertical takeoff and landing) has an average flyaway cost of $109 million, and the F-35C (carrier-launched) is priced at $102.1 million. These prices are for production lots 15-17, which were delivered in 2023, 2024, and 2025.] The F-35 is th...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart   Watchdog groups claim that fifty cents out of every dollar receiv ed by the Pentagon annually is waste d. It was clear during the George W. Bu sh Administration that the illegal wars in Afghanistan and Iraq helped the Bush family, Dick Cheney, and Deputy Secretary of Defense, Paul Wolfowitz become multi-billionaires.    “War is good business .” Investing in the military industrial complex makes billionaires out of millionaires.     THE UNITED STATES MILITARY IS POWERFUL, AND FUNDED FIVE-TIMES MORE THAN ALL OTHER NAITONS COMBINED   The annual budget of our nation’s military is nearing one-trillion dollars per year. This, combined with the fact that this amoun t is five-times more than all other nation’s combined should guarantee victory in any military conflict, large or small. So, let’s look a t history.   The Korean Conflict occurred between Jun 25, 1950 – Jul 27, 1953 . When the conflict ended, there was no winn er. T...