TheWiseOldFart

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart   For America the Covid-19 debacle was a disaster created by our illegitimate president’s administration. Tens of thousands of American lives could have been saved if Trump and his failed cronies would have done anything to avert the dangers forecast by healthcare experts as the pandemic approached America. Instead, they followed Trump’s policy of doing nothing, lying to the American people claiming that “it will just go away.” The Center for Disease Control issued a warning that Covid-19 could return and threaten additional lives. There is a booster available. Whether or not you decide to accept the warning, you must accept the concerns of the CDC as credible. However, “Republican” leaders are encouraging a renewal of Trump’s disastrous policies in 2020. The Governor of Florida is suggesting a boycott of the booster, and a refusal to wear masks if the CDC recommends them. Ron DeSantis and his wife appear to be kicking off new anti-mask efforts this week, with t

  Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart   More good news. In fact, it’s a bit surprising, but it is raising my hopes for America’s future. Federal judges, appointed by a conservative president, struck down districting efforts in both Alabama and Florida. Both of these efforts by right-wing extremist state legislators were clearly efforts to suppress votes from Black Americans. On Tuesday a federal judge struck down a redistricting plan written by the right-wing extremist Alabama legislature which violated a prior agreement and an order from the SCOTUS requiring two mostly Black districts based on the demographics. [In another victory for voters, a Florida judge struck down the state’s congressional map over the weekend, ruling that the map — which was pushed through by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) — violates the state constitution by diminishing the voting power of Black Floridians.] If you have ever lived in the Deep South for even a short period of time, you know that the Civil War never ended.

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart   I have no doubt that anyone reading this article knows someone who is or was required to suffer through the procedure known as “dialysis.” It continues to save the lives of thousands of Americans whose kidneys have failed, and without a transplant would surely lose their lives. The University of California in San Francisco produced an implantable device that mimics the organ’s daily functions. [More than 500,000 people in the U.S. require dialysis several times a week, whereby their blood is filtered by a machine. Many seek kidney transplants, but there are not enough donors, and only about 20,000 people receive them each year. An implantable artificial kidney would be a boon.] The device is called a “bioreactor.” Early tests are promising. It works quietly without the threat of rejection when transplants are available. The device is currently being tested on pigs. The next step is to increase the length of the tests, and if successful, testing on humans will

  Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart   (I know I promised to write more positive stories, and I will, but you need to know “the real Elon Musk.) Like his idol, Donald Trump, Elon Musk made a mistake. When he bought Twitter, he exposed his real self to the world. He may be a talented mechanical engineer, but as a man he is a fool who lacks common sense. In the news today is a story which proves an assumption I made months ago. Like Trump, he is undoubtedly a Russian agent. Included in part of a biography of Musk, CNN is reporting a plan by Ukraine to execute a drone attack on the Russian navy based in Crimea. When the traitor to democracy learned this information, Musk ordered his engineers to shut down his “Starlink” satellite network over Crimea. Musk eventually released a response, and, like Trump, claims he did nothing wrong. “Starlink was not meant to be involved in wars. It was so people can watch Netflix and chill and get online for school and do good peaceful things, not dron

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart     The most critical problem facing the people of Africa is something we all take for granted: water. Millions of people across the continent struggle to find fresh water for drinking and bathing. Most of the water available is so polluted, it is unfit to use in agricultural endeavors. A new idea may alleviate the problem.   A process called “direct potable reuse” has been successful. It turns sewage into safe drinking water.   The first nation to use this process effectively is Namibia. [ Namibia is the driest country in Sub-Saharan Africa, and home to two of the world’s most ancient deserts, the Kalahari and the Namib. The capital, Windhoek, is sandwiched between them, 400 miles away from the nearest perennial river and more than 300 miles away from the coast. Water is in short supply.]   In America we have fallen in love with our wireless phones, cars which literally drive themselves, and the future of AI. The people of Namibia savor the basics of clean wat

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart   Throughout the four years of Trump’s reign of terror we constantly heard negative rants about “Jina.” I am not unaware, and there are many issues which disgust me about the government of the most populous nation in the world. However, a great leader finds the ability to make our enemies our allies. Not Trump. The United States and China are the two richest nations, but also the greatest polluters in the world. Both nations are guilty of poisoning our atmosphere with carbon emissions. The American press is quick to blame China for the its part in this very important issue, but never criticize our own failure to take serious action and lessen or end climate change. We must take responsibility for our failures and stop blaming others. So it should be of no surprise to you that the mainstream media fails to report positive efforts from China to lower their part in carbon emissions. I am a believer in two things above all else which identify men and women and their

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart   Everyone asks themselves several questions during their lifetime. One of the most frequent is “what is my purpose in life?” For most of us that question is never answered directly. Some refuse to recognize the answer when it comes to them. And others find their own answer, whether or not it is legitimate. The reality is that each of us must seek our own answer, it is within all of us. If we listen closely to our own thoughts, we can solve the question for ourselves. Anastasiya Veli is Ukrainian and Orhan Veli is half Russian, and they have one thing in common: they have found their purpose. They decided to make a difference. As I write this, the couple has saved 11 refugees from Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Although Orhan is not from Ukraine, he is a refugee. His family fled from Azerbaijan when he was just 11 years old, and the Soviet union was breaking apart. "I was a kid without anything. My parents had nothing. And little by little we were able to kin

  Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart   I have been writing about events in our nation for 10 years. Most of it is related to politics, and therefore is mostly negative and disturbing because it’s true. Today, September 6, 2023, I am hoping to write stories about the good in our world, especially in America. Here’s to new beginnings and better sleep. The fires in Maui were more devastating than the pictures on television. I have a niece living there and the truth is many lives are changed forever. Some relief to residents of one of the most beautiful places in the world has been offered by Oprah Winfrey and Dwayne Johnson. Immediately after the devastating fires were controlled, donations from people around the world began pouring in. Now the most famous woman in the world, Oprah Winfrey, and one of the most popular actors in the world, Dwayne Johnson, are offering assistance for every resident on the island. Together they have created a fund for anyone who was injured or lost their prop

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart   Proud Boy Chairman Enrique Tarrio Gets 22 Years For Orchestrating The January 6th Insurrection. What does this mean for Trump? If the allegation that he organized and executed the failed coup, his sentence could be much longer, and by observation of his physical and mental decline, this would mean life in prison. I am sick and tired of anyone referring to the darkest day in America’s history as a “protest.” My wife and I watched all three hours of an American tragedy, and this was nothing less than an attempted coup: the end of American democracy. I don’t give a damn if you support those on the right side of the aisle or the left, it was an insurrection, organized, planned, and executed by America’s 45 th president. No punishment is too serious. This is the only thing I never imagined in my lifetime. In my 77 years I have met a number of individuals who are not entirely loyal to their country. A nation as diverse as ours is required to entertain thousands of

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart   Ron DeSantis and his government are the most incompetent, and most hypocritical government in America. Florida has become America’s greatest disgrace over the last few years. Bowing to DeSantis’ fascist policies, the Sunshine State’s legislature continues to cost their residents millions of dollars to promote a ludicrous and hypocritical agenda. The most recent idiocy involves guns, domestic terrorism, and an obvious effort to protect themselves from the increase in gun violence expected from recent legislation. On July 1 st , DeSantis signed a bill allowing the carry of concealed weapons without a permit, adding further danger to the state’s already moronic “stand your ground law.” Immediately after signing the bill, DeSantis ordered the windows replaced on the State Capitol building at the cost to taxpayers of $61.6 million. The reason? The new windows are bulletproof. Dumb, ignorant, hypocritical, and moronic are not words capable of describing Florida’s le

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart   At the ripe old age of 77, I feel lucky to have witnessed a few great leaders in America. In 1956 I watched “Ike’s” second nomination at the Republican National Convention. Although I do not consider Eisenhower a “great president,” he did have some impressive accomplishments, including the interstate highway system. He was a loyal American who loved his country. I was just beginning high school when John Fitzgerald Kennedy was elected as our 35 th president. He was murdered on November 22, 1963 when I was a senior. He was the last great leader in my lifetime. My generation was devastated when he was taken from us too soon. My senior class dedicated a bust of President Kennedy to our Senior Court when we graduated. There were other men and women who were impressive and accomplished great things, including Richard Nixon, the former Governor of Texas, Ann Richards, Senators Ted Kennedy and John McCain, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama. This is the primary problem

  Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart   Between 2017 and 2021 our nation moved backwards. During the same time period, the rest of developed nations moved forward in areas of social responsibility and quality of life. A recent survey revealed hope for our nation’s future, revealed by the values of millennials and generation ’Z,’ ages 18-38. The average age for all Americans is 38.2 and I trust that our nation’s youth will move America forward and force the changes we desperately need. [The values that Americans view as important have shifted over the last two decades, as younger Americans place less significance on patriotism, religion and having children.] This according to the Voice of America News. The truth is that old, white men, who have led our country for 247 years, have failed miserably. Even some of our founding fathers were incompetent as our nation’s leaders. The United States remains a young nation, and giving control of its future to old men who amassed enormous power without

  Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart   Trump is wrong about everything. His ignorance is exposed every time he opens his pie hole. If he has a brain, it is either very small or infected with a terminal disease. The Trump Klan has one god and that god is money. Sadly, Fred Trump’s descendants were failures. Fred Trump gifted his son, Donald, with more than 400 million dollars, paid for deferments from the war in Vietnam, and likely bought his diploma from Wharton. It took less than two years for him to lose everything. His real estate “empire” only existed because the Saudi Royal family bailed him out, and Russian Oligarchs laundered billions of dollars buying properties whose values were inflated by the Trump organization. Think about this irrefutable fact. Somehow millions of voters gifted Trump with the Electoral College in 2016 and this lifelong failure became our nation’s 45 th president. There had never been a greater disaster in American history. For four years he did nothing wit