TheWiseOldFart

  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 gre

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart   Social media and the internet in general changed everything in our world, and none of it for the better. There are far more lies and conspiracy theories contained in on-line media than facts. This is the primary reason America’s government has become the worst in the world. In 1996 Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes created the first 24-hour propaganda machine for right-wing extremists calling it “Fox News.” This added to the creation of misinformation. Today there are several “Fox wannabes,” each of them supporting the worst illegitimate president in history. The last time our nation had a government which did the right thing for our people most of the time was in the 1970’s. Legislators from both parties were forced to vote according to the wishes of the people or face defeat in their bids for reelection. Today, the men and women calling themselves “Republicans” ignore the needs and wishes of the people and vote in support of special interests whose lobbyists co

  Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart   Over the last two decades studies prove that the United States is far behind other developed nations in quality of life, including education. History proves that the opportunity to receive a college degree opens doors which remain closed to less educated Americans. I am not claiming that every young American should attend a college or university. However, anyone who wants to extend their and education, their knowledge, should have the ability, the right to attend an institute of higher learning. One of the primary reasons America is falling behind other nations in several areas of economic development lies in the fact that the prohibitive cost of higher education prevents some of our most gifted young men and women from continuing their education after high school. Everything in America is about money. If America is to survive the 21 st century, our government must reverse its present course and end its obsession with corporate profits. It’s past