The Weakness Of Louisiana's Mike Johnson, Steve Scalise and The New Orleans Advocate Writer Mark Ballard.

 It was all laid out in an article published in the New Orleans Advocate by Mark Ballard dated July 5, 2026 concerning several primary wins in New York and a few other states by Democratic candidates Johnson and Scalise call socialist.  They used the word communism to describe those candidates, a word the GOP has used for years to try and divide the public to win elections and influence the vote.  So, that certainly was not any new news for the GOP.  It only affirms why their party is in trouble today with the American people.

The GOP in general and the conservative media, including conservative opinion writers are trying their best to sell their lies about "socialists" taking over the democratic party when they know they are and will be only a very small numbet of the party if and when they are elected in the general election.  They will represent only a hand full compared to 250 plus democrats now serving in congress.  What the GOP really fear is facing the "socialists" in the general election with the GOP's very low approval ratings.

As for Mark Ballard, there is nothing to learn about political reality in his offering.  Here we have a GOP who not only nominated a convicted criminal to be President, voted for him and gave up their own responsibility to the people by being Trump's ditto heads.  So, now we have a GOP in power supporting a President's every move to destroy democracy, the constitution and the rule of law to the point of the people's right to vote and being a citizen of the U.S.  And before they voted for him they knew Trump was also a sexual abuser, fraudster and a former President who tried to overturn a legal and lawful Presidential election in 2020 with a mob and violence. The democratic party does not have that problem and does not nominate and or vote for such a person with a rap sheet.

The GOP willfully became Trump's CULT and are no longer a political party or alternate party to reside in congress.  The media will never tell their followers that because long ago they made a decision it is better not to inform than have an informed public,

The U.S. Economy, Job Creation and the Unemployment Rate for June 2026.

The U.S. Labor Department reported the economy added 57,000 jobs in June and that the unemployment rate came in at 4.2%.  Also reported that job creation in May was actually 129,000 instead of the 172,000 reported earlier.  In the first 6 months of 2026 the economy added a total of 570,000 jobs.

By comparison, in the same period of time during Biden's second year in office in 2022, the economy added a total of 398,000 jobs in June of 2022 and the unemployment rate came in at 3.6%.  In Biden's first six months of 2022 the economy added 2,235,000 jobs.

In a separate report, the labor force participation rate which measures the working age participation of those employed or looking for a job fell to 61.5%, the lowest level since June of 1996, not counting COVID.  All of the numbers continue to show that the Trump administration, like most GOP administrations are poor at creating jobs and Trump is following his own precedent of his first term when the economy lost 2.7 million jobs.

After 66 months serving as President, Trump's job creation record is still in negative territory to the tune of 2 million jobs lost.  The facts tell the real story of a poorly managed economy that follows the GOP.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio 

The Democratic Party: Still The Only Sane Political Party In Washington, D.C.

 Eighteen months in office governing America, Trump and his Cult GOP are still toxic to America the Beautiful in everything they touch or do.  There is no policy to move America or it's people forward because they govern with lies, misinformation and corruption not seen in American politics.  It is all part of an anti-American ideology and a rejection of the constitutional process.

America does have a Sane democratic political party in Congress and in Washington, although they are the minority party in the U.S. Congress.  They also are fighting to preserve the democratic process, the constitution and the rule of law.  They will continue to do so even in the courts if necessary.  The democratic party has its faults, but Trump and his Cult GOP party are no substitute.  The democratic party has never nominated and or elected a convicted criminal to be the President of the U.S.  Nor has a democratic controlled congress ever turned coward to be a President's Cult.  That recently was the case during Biden's administration when the democrats controlled the Senate and failed to pass some of Biden's agenda.  

With 5 months remaining until the November congressional elections and the polls showing the possibility of the GOP losing control of one part of congress, some in the conservative media and the regular media are already trying to divide the democrats by trying to define "progressive" candidates in a certain way.  They would rather see convicted criminals in elected office.  

The United States is a great country because of the progress it has made over the years.  Without progress, there is stagnation and the status quo.  The democratic party has a history of governing with progressive restraint which is necessary to move the country and its people forward.  The party represents many different opinions because America is a diverse country.  As a result, there are more checks and balances when democrats govern.  

Every day Trump and his Cult GOP display why they are no longer an alternate or party of option to govern America the Beautiful.  The country has experienced the results of electing a convicted criminal with a rap sheet as President and a GOP Cult party of cowards where the people will pay the price for years to come.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio  

So, Who Were The Losers of The 2024 Presidential Election !!!

Without a doubt, it was those who supported and voted for the re-election of Donald J. Trump.  They were warned by a Trump first term, what would likely take place in a Trump second term.  They even knew during the 2024 campaign he was a convicted criminal (34 felony counts), knew he was held liable in a court of law for sexual abuse of a woman and then convicted twice for defaming the same woman and fined over $80 million.  They also knew he was convicted in a court of law on multiple fraud charges and in addition settled several other fraud law suits out of court to the tune of several million dollars.  They also knew as President on January 6, 2020 he sent his riot mob to the nation's capital to overturn a legal and lawful Presidential election that President elect Joe Biden won.  That was a betrayal of his oath of office and the constitution.  

Trump's supporters and voters were also warned during the 2024 Presidential campaign by the democratic party about what Trump would do in a second administration.  All the good things America the Beautiful represents is under assault as we speak and the political atmosphere is toxic.  The constitution, the rule of law and the federal government are being dismantled by a President who lacks the mental ability to govern.  Making matters worse stands a media willingly being a part of the problem of supporting his toxic rhetoric.  

With the congressional elections only 5 months away, those same supporters and voters are now trying to mislead the public to believe that the present status quo is a model for the future.  In fact, like Trump, the negative voices are still playing the con game on the people and believe they can fool them once again in the November elections and leave the GOP still in power.  

America cannot continue with a GOP controlled congress after the November elections and the reasons are obvious why.  The new year has to begin with the democratic party controlling congress to reverse the status quo of corrupting government and to restore America the Beautiful to constitutional democratic governing.  

When America goes to vote in the November elections, keep in mind that it was the GOP who became the very first major political party to support and nominate a convicted criminal to be their Presidential nominee.  The GOP, Trump and their supporters were the very first to open the door and welcome convicted criminals as Norm as part of America's politics.

And that my friends really say's it all.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio 

The U.S. Economy, Job Creation and the Unemployment Rate for May 2026.

 The U. S. Labor Department announced the economy added 172,000 jobs in May and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.3%.  The department also reported that the economy added 93,000 more jobs than reported for March and April.  For the first 5 months of 2026, the economy has added 469,000 jobs, an average of 93,800 jobs per month.  All in all, in the 65 months Trump has been President, the economy has loss a little over 2 million jobs.

Using the same time period during the Biden administration we find that in May of 2022, 390,000 jobs were created, and the unemployment rate was 3.6%.  For the first 5 months of Biden's second year in office, 2,415,000 jobs were created for a monthly average of 483,000 jobs per month.  Biden went on and completed his term in office creating over 14,000,000 jobs.  

In the past 97 years only two administrations lost jobs, both republican, Herbert Hoover and Donald Trump.  Democratic administrations did not have that problem.  But we know the media never reports that kind of information, they would rather report the lies and misinformation of Trump, the GOP and others who support that type of politics.

So, stay tuned to PolitiDose, your daily dose of political commentary and take the news media reports with a grain of salt when it comes to the U.S. economy.  

This commentary written by Joe Lorio

The True Meaning of the Word "Age" and How It Relates To Life on Planet Earth.

 Mention the word "age" and some people react in different ways.  Some do not use the word, some do not talk about it, and some even make themselves sick over it.  The word is used to describe one's birthday number, but a person's "age" is really how we measure and count time on planet earth.  Birthdays are celebrated on earth every 365 days because that is the time it takes for planet earth to make one complete orbit of the sun which we call one year or 12 months.   In essence, your birthday number describes how many times one has traveled in orbit around the sun.  The Scientific community has always used the word "age" to describe long periods of time such as the Ice Age that lasted thousands of years.

Instead of thinking our birthday number as related to "age" let us explore how that number is related to the planet we live on and how it is all related in harmony.  The first people on earth looked to the horizon where heaven and earth meet and the sun rose to start a new day.  They then looked to the horizon again to see the day give way to the night.  As civilization progressed, man learned about the ways of planet earth and the heavens.  It set the stage as to how we measure time on planet earth today and how we define our birthday number.

In earth's orbit around the sun, it also spins on it's axis which takes 24 hours to complete one revolution and represents the source of our 12 double hour clock we call AM and PM.  The 12 month year represents the length of days (365) for earth to orbit the sun.  The 12 month year is broken down to 7 weekly days.  The hourly clock is broken down to 60 minutes in the hour and 60 seconds in a minute.  The numbers 12, 24 and 60 are of significance because they can be divided into 360 evenly.  Why is that important?  Well 360 is the number of degrees in a circle and although earth's orbit around the sun is more oval shape it still contains 360 degrees.

The numbers 7 and 12 have cultural, religious, historical and mathmatical significance.  The number 7:  There are the 7 deadly sins, 7 virtues, 7 sacraments, 7 heavens in Islam, 7 colors in the rainbow, 7 days in the week and on  the 7th day the Lord rested.  The number 12:  There were 12 Apostles, 12 tribes of Israel, 12 houses of the Zodiac, 12 months in the year, 12 Olympian Gods 12 in a dozen and the 12 double hour clock.  The number 12 also represents harmony, balance, completion of a cycle, cosmic balance and completeness.  Everything is in harmony in measuring time on planet earth and it plays an orderly role in our every day life.  We can not see it and some times it is not even in our thoughts.  But time is the only thing that separates us from the moment we are born to the moment we no longer exist.

Earthly time began in 3760 B.C. with the calendar and at one time man used the motion of earth in another way to celebrate certain events.  Temples were built on foundations that were oriented to the four corners of earth when on equinox day the sun would strike an object on the temple located in a certain place which would be the start of their celebration.   It was another way of using the motion of planet earth to tell when the time was ready to start their celebration.  And as of this day, we here on planet earth still use the spring equinox to determine what day we celebrate Easter Sunday.  We celebrate Easter on the first Sunday, after the first full Moon, after the spring equinox.  As a result, Easter is always on a Sunday, but on a different date.  The spring equinox takes place on March 21 and the autumn equinox takes place on September 22.  The day of the equinox is the only time the sun rises directly on an eastern line.  

Why not take a look at what our birthday number would look like if we lived on another planet.  If we lived on the planet Mercury, the nearest planet to the sun.  It takes Mercury 88 earth days to complete one orbit around the sun, so if we lived on that planet our birthday number would be much greater.  If we lived on the planet Jupiter, we would celebrate our birthday number every 4400 earth days because that is the time it takes for Jupiter to orbit the sun, so, our birthday number would be much, much smaller.  How that fits in with life as we know it is unknown. 

There is still much we have to learn about planet earth and the cosmos and something new is discovered almost every day.  Alien life on other worlds are actively being talked about.  So, let us explore another way to think of our birthday number and not use the word "age."  Think about the true meaning of our birthday number as the way we measure earthly time and how it affects our life and everyday living.  Perhaps one day someone will discover that the important numbers noted herein contain a secret code that unlocks the secrets of how best to take care of the planet we live on. extend life and find the true meaning of life itself.

President John F. Kennedy in a speech given at the American University in Washington, D.C in 1963 said as part of his address:  We all inhabit this small planet, We all breathe the same air, We all cherish our children's future, and we are all mortal.  The speech became known as Kennedy's "peace speech."  It was a political speech but his above statement was above politics and referred to the human race that lives on planet earth.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio  

    

The Baton Rouge Sport's Media: Three Strikes and You Are Out.

 It started with the LSU football season of 2025 during coach Brian Kelly's fourth and last season, continued through the LSU lady's basketball season of 2026 and continued through the men's baseball season of 2026.  The media displayed their lack of being objective in analyzing what those seasons might bring.

Most of the media predicted LSU would end the regular football season of 2025 with an 11-1 or 10-2 won loss record.  They actually finished the regular season at 7-5, the worst of Kelly's time at LSU.  Those in the media knew that Kelly's teams never improved on their won-loss record while he was there and that there was nothing there that would support their conclusions of such a turnaround.  LSU also failed to make the CFP which they were predicting also.  In fact LSU has only made the CFP one time in the past 11 years and that took place when they won it all in the 2019 season.  

Next came LSU's women basketball season of 2026 with high hopes of returning to the NCAA playoff and on to the final four.  Everyone knows of coach Mulkey's success in coaching and what she brought to LSU and the media reminder fans of her accomplishments many times.  But the media let things fall a little off script when LSU qualified for the NCAA playoffs and reached the final 16.  The reporting turned to how prolific the team was at scoring points and averaging over 100 points a game and used that as a sign the Tigers would be heading for the final four.  Well, LSU lost the game, never scored 100 points and went home.  Of course, they played a high seeded team which knew,  when you advance in the playoffs that is who you have to play.   And everyone who follows basketball knows you are not going to continue to score 100 points per game as you progress to the higher brackets. 

Last up was LSU's men baseball season of 2026.  The defending national champions started the season with high hopes of returning to the NCAA playoffs and another run for another championship.  But the year turned out to be a disaster with a won-loss record of 30-28 overall and 9-21 in SEC play.  It was the worst number of losses in SEC play since 1983 according to reports.  But the sport's media handled the end of last year's team and started the beginning of this year's team with superlatives about coach Jay Johnson.  After winning last year's championship it did not take long for the media to exclaim that Johnson could win as many national championships as Skip Bertman.  Then early this season said Johnson was major league material.  Comparing Johnson to Bertman at this stage of his career is a stretch and what does major league baseball have to do with college coaching since Johnson has already won two national championships and most of the top college coaches have never coached in the majors.

With all the changes taking place in college sports, sport's media should spend their time being more objective in their reporting.  Everything is changing and just in the last two weeks the SEC said they would like to see the CFP adopt a 16 team format and days later the Big 10 said it should be a 24 team playoff.  Last year it went to a 12 team playoff for the first time.  There are no more lines that separates college from the pros, coaches are having a hard time dealing with the situation and the only sure thing that will take place in the future are uncertainty and a less competitive college sports.  Expansion in sports has never improved competition.  The sport's media should leave it to history to write the final judgement on coaches and be more objective in their reporting.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio

 

Thanks To The People of Minnesota, The Millions of Americans Who Marched in Nationwide Protest and The U.S. Courts, Trump's Immigration Round Ups by ICE's Masked Agents Has Abated.

For how long we do not yet know, but we do know the democratic process worked to curb Trump's behavior.  When people use their constitutional rights to address a wrong and the court finds that many of ICE's immigration operations were unlawful and illegal, the democratic and legal way are the best way to address the issue.  The millions of people who stood up for law and order, the legal minds that were willing to bring the matter to the courts and the courts decisions was a powerful force that believed in the democratic process.

Some speculate that after the mid-term elections in November, Trump will once again turn his ICE masked agents loose and also call up the National Guard once again.  If so, one can be assured that dog won't hunt a second time.  The immigration issue has to be solved by congress because it is an issue that has too many parts that can only be addressed by legislation.  If the democratic party gain control of both houses of congress in the November elections, they will plan to pass a comprehensive immigration package that address the real issues so that a real immigration policy can be enforced properly and fairly. 

It is now up to the American people to stay ready and continue to use their right to protest, protect and preserve the right of an immigration policy that protects the right of all Americans to due process under the law.

This commentary written by Joe lorio  

The U.S. Economy, Job Creation and the Unemployment Rate for April 2026.

 The Labor Department reported the economy added 115,000 jobs in April and that the unemployment rate came in at 4.3%.  In Trump's first 4 months of his second term a total of 297,000 jobs has been added for an average of 72, 450 per month.  In Trump's 64 months as President his job creation stands at a negative 2. 2 million jobs lost.  

President Biden's record over that same period of time in his Presidency was as follows:  In  April 2022 428,000 jobs were created and the unemployment rate came in at 3.6%.  For his first 4 months in 2022 a total of 1.4 million jobs were created and the average for those 4 months were 358,000 jobs per month.  

Trump and his GOP cult continue the precedent they have set for the past 80 plus years and is predictable as ever.  The media in general are aware of that fact, won't tell the story and instead continue to run with Trump and the GOP lies and misinformation concerning economic matters.  The media's goal at the present is to misrepresent how inflation has increased on Trump's watch and like his lies are accepting it as the new norm.

The bottom line on the economy never change,  Democratic administrations are best for the country, its people and for supporting democracy.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio  

Quin Hillyer Opinion Column in the Times Picayune/New Orleans Advocate dated 4/30/26 and Titled, "For Wetlands, Stop lawsuits; Adopt A Coastal Fee Instead" Comes 40 Years Late.

Hillyer wants to stop the lawsuits against the Oil and Gas Industry for the damage they caused to Louisiana's environment over the past half century.  In place he would like to see former Governor David Treen's long ago plan to address the situation which Treen called CWEL  (Coastal Wetlands Environmental Levy)  Never mind that was over 40 years ago when the Louisiana legislature failed to pass the plan because of the objection of the Oil and Gas Industry and the same political mind set that opposes the ongoing suits against the industry taking place today.

  Why is Hillyer bringing up CWEL now?  Is it because the industry is suggesting or pushing that to use as just another delaying tactic.  A state court has already found Chevron liable for damages and fined them $700 million.   The recent Supreme Court decision does not change that finding and the attorney representing those who brought the suit against Chevron said he would continue the fight in court.  

Past Politidose commentary was way ahead of Hillyer and the media on the matter of CWEL with several commentaries long ago and especially two major ones titled, It is time for the Louisiana legislature to act on CWEL dated 5/10/2010 and, "The Wisdom of former Governor Treen" dated 4/22/2014 which included a letter Treen wrote to the Times Picayune and explained the purpose of CWEL.  Politidose commentary filled the void the media failed to act on concerning CWEL and the legislature failed to enact the plan which would have started collecting revenues over 40 years ago.  That was a crushing blow to Louisiana's environment because the legislature chose to support the industry over the health of the state and its people.

Governor Treen was a conservative, but not like today's so called republicans.  Treen did not govern by ideology like today's GOP and Trump.  He had the wisdom to see the real problem and come up with a sane and fair plan that addressed the situation.  When one governs by ideology, failure follows.  The people of Louisiana were fortunate that Barrack Obama was President when the BP explosion took place, caused so much damage to life and the environment and the President answered the call and held BP accountable.  

Nice try Mr. Hillyer, but politidose commentary was there for CWEL long before your recent empty commentary.  If the media in Louisiana would have paid more attention to CWEL and its benefits the past 40 years, maybe they could have been a force to put pressure on the subject and accomplish something special.  The do nothing attitude of the state and the media was the trigger for the lawsuits now pending.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio