TheWiseOldFart

  Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart Most people don’t want to talk about it. What was once a personal matter has become a major issue in American politics, mostly the result of right-wing politicians close association with the Christian Religious Right: a major violation of the First Amendment. Abortions did not begin in the latter half of the 20 th century, women had been performing them in hazardous manner long before I was born in 1946. Sometimes they received the assistance of a friend, and on rare occasions a nurse. Death from infections or exsanguination occurred frequently. Before the sexual revolution in the 1960’s, a single woman who enjoyed sexual relations equal to those of men were looked down upon. The only easily accessible form of birth control were condoms. These clumsy devices were uncomfortable for both the male and female partners. ONE LITTLE PILL CHANGED MILLIONS OF LIVES FOREVER. In May of 1960, before I began high school in September, the FDA approved the “or...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart The greatest weakness in humans is the reason why America has never been a great nation. It is the most common evil inherent to every culture, every race, and every man and woman claiming to be religious. Prejudice in its many forms reveals ignorance and the need to feel superior to others. Prejudices including racism, bigotry, misogyny, and religious extremism prevent the most important promise in the first line of the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence: equality for everyone. A PREVIOUSLY INCOMPETENT GOVERNMENT IS NOW THE MOST CORRUPT IN THE WORLD Our government has failed its people in many ways. A massive increase in gun violence began in 2017, could be ended with a single vote, and would in no way violate the Second Amendment. Our country has never demanded fair taxation. 95 percent of the 6,871 page tax code includes measures which allow the wealthy to avoid paying their fair share of taxes. As long as our nation’s big businesses continue ...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart Women continue their fight for equality. Whenever a Republican is in the Oval Office, women’s rights take two steps backwards for every step they gained during a Democratic administration. Before I move deeper into my article, I feel that I must vent my frustration. This begins with one, simple fact: old, white men have no right to make decisions for women when the issue has any relationship to their ability to reproduce. The situation is unrelatable for men who continue to believe that women have a single purpose: to serve the needs of men. That said, let’s take a realistic look at an issue which should not be included in the many reasons we choose one candidate over another when we vote: abortion. WOMEN CONTINUE TO BE SECOND AND EVEN THIRD-CLASS CITIZENS In America, white women were not allowed to vote until 1920. Black women were forced to wait for their Constitutional right until 1965. For 49 years, women were protected by federal law when they decided to te...

  Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart I read an article today revealing that most women in America are unhappy. I don’t believe this is news. I was a  hairstylist  for 20 years. Most of my clients were women of all ages. As we became more than ‘patron and service provider,’ they talked to me about things which were uncomfortable within their families and even among most of their closest friends. First of all, no, I am not gay. However, most of the men who worked for me in my salon were. What I did share with my gay friends was a genuine concern for my customers in both their desires for a more appealing hairstyle, but also as people who needed to be heard. The last four words are more important than you might think. Most of the women I became close to had the same complaint: “no one really listens to me. They want to ‘fix my problem,’ when all I really wanted was to be heard.” In  1619 , the first African slaves stepped onto American...

First, two facts which cannot be denied by any person with common sense who faces reality. All religions are cults, and all governments are bad: some worse than others. I have long made the claim that at least one half of all Americans are ignorant; not because they lack basic intelligence, but because they choose ignorance. It is too difficult for them to look at facts and make intelligent decisions based on the truth. This is why religions exist. Most people are sheep in need of a sheppard. The only time professional politicians pretend to listen to the voting public is during an election year. They will say and do anything to remain in office. Washington politicians live lives of power and privilege incomparable to any other profession in our country. Their aides do all the work. They are far too busy campaigning and begging for contributions for their next election to perform the jobs for which they were elected. When religious zealots and ambitious politicians unite, they intentio...

A short list of reasons why America will never be a great country.   In the general election, your vote may not count. As long as the Electoral College exists, states will choose our presidents. The popular vote means nothing. Therefore, if your candidate does not win the majority of votes in most states, your opinion does not count. I believe this is a violation of the intent of the First Amendment. The United States is the only developed nation which fails to provide universal healthcare. At least one-half of all elected officials in Washington do not believe that you should have the same access to healthcare as they do. In support of billionaires/oligarchs, they consistently vote against any measure which would provide the best healthcare available for all Americans. Most developed nations provide free or low-cost higher education for all of their people. Not America. Only the wealthy can afford to attend a college or university in 2025. Each year we lose thousands of our nation...

I remember Republicans. As a 78-year-old lifelong Independent voter, I was offered a choice when I went to the polls. I admit that most of the time the Democratic candidate received my vote. The policies of most Republicans were too regressive, and my beliefs are more progressive. Change is always necessary, but sometimes change moves an entire nation in the wrong direction. Sadly, the once Grand Old Party took its final breath on the morning of January 20, 2017. It is an undeniable fact that between 2017 and 2021, the backwards policies of the Trump administration destroyed many of the accomplishments made over the previous 60-70 years. Hate crimes rose by 800 percent as Blacks, Hispanics, non-Christians, the LGBTQ community, and women in general were verbally and physically assaulted as your president continued to use rhetoric focused on fear, anger, and hatred. He encouraged violence in his name and his supporters eagerly responded. Domestic terrorism became the greatest threat to t...

Our recent election proved three things. America is the most racist and bigoted nation in the free world, and it is also a nation which continues to celebrate its misogyny. Exit polls, unreported by the mainstream media, revealed an additional component for Trump’s controversial victory. A large percentage of voters claimed that they were doubtful that a woman could lead our nation. This once again proves that in the world of developed nations, the United States is the most regressive country in the world. Trump is the leader of the American Neo-Nazi movement. He is a convicted felon and a confirmed sexual predator. His organization, planning, and execution of the January 6, 2021 insurrection proves that he is America’s greatest traitor. For some reason Trump was not arrested immediately for his theft of national secrets, violating the Espionage Act, a law which applied to the Rosenbergs, who were executed in 1953. In Hitler’s Germany, women played a secondary role. In America they are...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart The current Supreme Court is corrupt and useless to the American people. Five men and one woman are unfit to sit on our nation’s highest Court. They spend every minute overturning decisions by previous and legitimate Supreme Courts and lower courts which failed to serve the wishes of right-wing politicians. They proved their bias in support of fascist presidential candidate, Donald Trump when they granted him absolute immunity. They ignored the fact that the men who wrote the Constitution took great effort to prevent a monarch or dictator from ruling the New Nation. Our next “president” could be our last. Considering these irrefutable facts, do we need a Supreme Court? FACT: CONSIDERING THE BIAS OF THIS COURT, OUR NATION WOULD BE BETTER WITHOUT IT It is clear that many of the decisions from lower appeals courts protect the intent of the Constitution, while six members of the highest Court in the land continue to remake laws in favor or the American Fascist Party...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart From January 21, 2017, until today, I have witnessed at least one incident each day when a right-wing politician displays his or her preference for the end of democracy in America, and the institution of a fascist regime, with Trump as their Fuhrer. The latest happened last week when a split decision by the Kansas Supreme Court declared that the state’s Constitution does not guarantee the right to vote. [Justice Melissa Taylor Standridge called the decision troubling, with far-reaching implications, and that the ruling “defies history, law, and logic and is just plain wrong.”] [“For over 60 years, this interpretation of section 2 has been our precedent,” she wrote. “Without even a hint that it’s doing so, the majority overturns this precedent today.”] FROM THE HIGHEST COURT IN THE LAND TO THE FIRST TERM LOCAL POLITICIAN, THE CONSTITUTION IS UNDER ATTACK The right-wing is loyal to Donald Trump. It rejects the foundation for the existence if the United States, the...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart First, let me inform you that I feel fortunate to have been an original “baby boomer.” What I have experienced in my life will never be repeated by any other generation. Everything from the growth of commercial air travel, to how we communicate in 2024 began in my lifetime. I cannot say that all of the changes are positive: human beings are far from perfect. However, as a septuagenarian, I will tell you that I was forced to learn about new inventions and how to use them many times during every decade. My education existed beyond what I learned in school. Every day life offered me more information than I could possibly learn in the few hours I attended classes. By the way, we read newspapers daily to learn what was happening in our country and around the world. Television news was in its infancy. Today, television “news” is more concerned about selling advertising than informing our nation’s people. ONE MAN CHANGED THE WAY YOUNG AMERICA USED FREE THOUGHT I began ...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart I must begin with an apology to the state of Arizona. No matter how hard you try, you can never be a part of the deep South. You can be as regressive as they are, but you didn’t exist as part of our nation until February 14, 1912. You have no idea what the Civil War was all about. As far as states go, you are a juvenile although you have an aging population. TRUMP WILL BE REMEMBERED AS THE REGRESSIVE AND ILLEGITIMATE PRESIDENT Trump attempted to destroy all the advances made in America over the last 80 years in four years. He had some success because he has a large number of supporters who choose ignorance over reality. Looking at every social issue, he is opposed to any effort to improve the lives of most Americans. Recently he revealed his position on one of the most important issues in 2024; well sort of. He said it should be left to the states. A presidential candidate must take a stand and be pro-life or pro-choice. However, the only right answer from anyon...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart   I must admit here that this story is more about the status of women in America than how corrupt our Supreme Court has become thanks to Moscow Mitch McConnell and the Federalist Society. However, they are forever intertwined , a nd will likely be so for years to come.   Mistakes Were Made   I have watched multiple Supreme Court hearings held for the purpose of confirming or denying confirmation for Justices nominated by our president. I firmly believe that five of the current justices should never have been confirmed by the Senate. These justices were allowed to receive lifetime appointments because of the political affiliation, not for their judicial expertise .   The hearings I remember most happened in 1991 and 2018. Unfortunately, I remain more disappointed with the mostly white, old senators who entirely discounted the testimony of two courageous women in support of the male nominees.   Anita Hill vs Clarence Thomas   In ...