TheWiseOldFart

In the 1950’s and 60’s my family watched the evening news. It was only a one-half hour broadcast, but men like Walter Cronkite managed to offer viewers nearly everything which happened during the day without offering personal opinions with words, facial expressions, or body language. When billionaire Ted Turner launched CNN in 1980, some people were excited. I was not. I was 34 years old and had no idea how the news could be offered over a 24-hour period which would be of interest to those of us who looked forward to the daily report from our local station. After the first week, it was clear that I was right. Real news took an hour or less. This was repeated about a dozen times over the 24-hour period. The rest of the time was devoted to “entertainment,” which was anything but entertaining. Today’s “news” is even worse. The network personalities either repeat the same stories over and over, and in between allow “experts” to offer their opinions, or they offer nothing but “entertainment...

To understand our nation’s up and down economy, we must look at the fiscal policies of every president since 1981. It was 43 years ago when Ronald Reagan became our country’s 40 th president. He revealed his fiscal policy which he called “supply side economics.” This misleading term led to a more accurate description known as “trickle-down economics.” Reagan originated the Republican Party’s current policy of focusing on the success of the super-rich. He claimed that if their huge corporations were profitable, in turn they would create jobs and the foundation of a capitalistic society, consumerism, would grow exponentially. Of course his policy failed miserably. Billionaires care about no one and nothing else other than increasing their already ludicrous personal wealth. When Reagan left office in 1989, unemployment was at 10 percent and rising, and the national debt reached an unfathomable one-trillion dollars. His successor, Republican George H.W. Bush continued Reagan’s policy of g...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart Here’s the headline that inspired me to write this article: [ Driven by Republicans, most Americans are concerned about fraud in the 2024 election ] Let me offer you a statistic which is also an undeniable fact. The percentage of voter fraud in modern elections is .012. In the 2016 and 2020 election, the few situations when voter fraud was suspected and confirmed were committed by Donald Trump supporters. When the 2020 election was complete, Trump’s own Election Czar told reporters: “this election was the safest and most secure in history.” Just yesterday information hidden from the American people since 2021 confirmed that on November 23, 2020, Trump was aware that there was no proof that massive fraud in any form had been discovered and he would lose any court case he filed to change the results. What happened later were criminal actions attempting to illegally overturn the results. One more fact. Mail-in voting is the most secure option available. Many Americ...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart Led by the dark red state of Texas, other right-wing-leaning states are following their example and requiring documents proving anyone who does not appear to be white is a citizen of the United States to receive rights guaranteed by the Constitution. Now the extremists known as “the Freedom Caucus” in the House of Representatives want to inflict another fascist law upon all Americans. Suppressing voter turnout remains a priority. PREPARING THE WAY FOR THEIR FUHRER It is no secret that Trump hates anyone who is not pure white. He has shown that he is the leaders of all white supremacists in America time and time again. One of his greatest fears is a large voter turnout. He has been defeated twice in the popular vote, winning the 2016 Electoral College vote by a slim margin with the assistance of Vladimir Putin.  Trump was crushed in both the popular vote and the Electoral College vote in 2020. In 2020 the largest turnout in voting history guaranteed a Biden v...

  Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart Another first for the worst man in the world. Not one of Trump’s predecessors or successors has ever been charged with a felony before, during, or after he was removed from the White House. Trump’s list of accomplishments continues to grow. After his illegitimate election in 2016, he was investigated for collusion with Vladimir Putin to rig the election. Although our government denies the effectiveness of this allegation, years of statements, controversial actions, and cover-up have proven every accusation a reality. NUMBER ONE ON AMERICA’S MOST WANTED LIST Trump’s lifelong history is filled with fraud, bribery of government officials, and illegal business ventures with the aid of foreign agents. He was impeached twice in four years for cause, but failed to receive a fair trial in the senate. He planned and organized a failed coup which took place on January 6, 2021. When he was evicted from the White House on January 20, 2021, he stole national se...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart If the former Fourth Estate was performing as intended, President Biden’s approval rating would be in the 60’s or higher. Our nation’s economy is better than it has been since 2001. The United States once again has the strongest economy in the world as it did prior to the George W. Bush administration. Three Democratic Presidents, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden, rescued our nation from the fiscal incompetence of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump. Over the last 43 years Republicans offered irrefutable facts that they are incapable of governing 330 million people. They continue to serve special interests while ignoring the needs and wishes of 95 percent of our nation’s people. The Best of the Best Clinton left office in 2001. For the first time in decades our nation’s treasury registered a surplus; completely out of debt. Obama left office in 2017. He repaired the damage caused by Bush 43’s failed fiscal policy of “trickl...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart   At least 133 dead, the venue virtually destroyed, ISIS claimed responsibility, but Putin blames Ukraine. Sound familiar? “Passing the buck” and ignoring reality is not an exclusive tactic by Donald Trump.   This weekend there was a concert at a Moscow theater. When the dust settled from a bomb, at least 133 people were pronounced dead, and dozens more injured. Almost immediately a group of ISIS terrorists claimed responsibility. 19 hours later Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his denial that a terrorist group other than his adversaries in Ukraine committed the heinous crime.   His comments were reminiscent of Adolf Hitler in 1930’s Germany.   On February 27, 1933, a threat against Hitler’s Nazi regime was recorded. Within hours the Parliament Building was burned to the ground. It was a well-known fact that a Dutch terrorist had issued the threat, but Hitler refused to tell the German people the truth.   “You are now witnessin...

  Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart The word is “corruption.” If you enjoyed the CBS television series, “The Good Fight,” you might remember stories about “Memo 618.” In the show it was intended to reveal government corruption related to our federal court system. It was a metaphor. MEMO 618 BASED ON REALITY On February 19, 1942, FDR signed executive order 9066. It established Japanese interment camps within the United States. In 2002 George W. Bush created an internment camp for “suspected terrorists” in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. It remains open today. Thousands of American citizens, with Japanese heritage, were placed in internment camps without legal process. Sites included Tule Lake, California; Minidoka, Idaho; Manzanar, California; Topaz, Utah; Jerome, Arkansas; Heart Mountain, Wyoming; Poston, Arizona; Granada, Colorado; and Rohwer, Arkansas. Young, male family members were frequently removed from the camps to work in other parts of our country. This remains one of our nation’s...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart   Our government continues to fail its primary responsibility: to improve the lives of all Americans. Although the mainstream media continues to lie about the fact, Greedflation continues to be a serious problem for most Americans.   One half of all Americans live in the low-income level or below the poverty line. This guarantees one fact: housing and the cost of food are their greatest necessities, and both have escalated dramatically. GREEDFLATION REMAINS A BIG AND GROWING PROBLEM  Just months ago, our grocery bill averaged about 120 dollars each week. This has risen to an average of more than 180 dollars per week. Fortunately, my wife and I purchased our home in 1998. Our house payment is about two hundred dollars less than the average one-bedroom apartment in the Reno/Sparks area.   Another area which proves Greedflation continues to exist is our monthly utility bill. Over the last several months our gas and electric bill has risen mor...