The New Orleans Pelicans Basketball Team

In the past several weeks some Pelican officials spoke concerning how the general public has accepted the name change with gusto and how the city has related well with the name change and that it was a natural.  This writer is prepared to take issue with the name change.

As a teen ager and young boy who loved baseball, I was part of a generation (young and old) who spent many a day and night at Pelican stadium watching the "Pels" play baseball.  There were no major league teams to watch on TV because there was no TV.  But major league teams did come to Pelican stadium to play the Pels an exhibition game so we were able to see in person some major league teams.  I had an opportunity to see the Yankees when they had Joe DiMaggio when they came to Pelican stadium.  It is a game I will never forget.

I lived on the West Bank and it was a thrill to be able to see a professional team play a game I loved.  I can still recall the magic atmosphere as I entered the stadium and I still remember many of the players name.  Sixty five years later and I still have magic thoughts when I think about the Pels, as we fondly called them.  Mr. Bensen owns the right to the Pelican name and had the authority to change his teams name.  I happen to think it was a bad decision.

There is no way I can relate to the basketball team being called the "Pels."  The "Pels" will always be ingrained in my mind as the New Orleans Pelicans baseball team.  I have reasons to believe a good part of my generation feel the same way.


This commentary written by John Lucia.

The Affordable Care Act: Six Million And Still Counting.

It has been announced that over 6 million people have signed up for the Affordable Care Act, (ACA) prior to the dead line of March 31th.  President Obama said the dead line would be extended past that date to allow those applications that are in progress to be completed.  This writer believes the extension is reasonable and that reasonable people would understand.

The 6 million people who choose to join the ACA indicates that the program is much needed and will go a long way for those who have been uninsured to enjoy the health benefits that will accrue to them.  Regular check ups can now be a part of their routine and their employers will have a healthier work force.

The reaction to the dead line extension from the republican leadership in congress and others was the usual noise of opposition.  They also once again for the record will try to repeal the ACA for the umteenth time.  They realized from the very beginning that the ACA would be successful and that once understood, the uninsured would embrace it.  They also knew that the need for health insurance was there but did nothing during the 8 years of the G.W. Bush administration and so far for the 5 years under Obama.

The republican opposition to every program that the President seeks is in line with their stated objective from day one, and that is for the President to have a failed administration. The President has said that he will not let the republicans repeal the ACA on his watch.  President George W. Bush understood when the democrats in congress told him they would not support his wish to privatize social security and he wisely backed off.  The republican leadership in congress needs to back off. 

President George H.W. Bush was quoted as saying after he lost his reelection bid, "he could not understand how he could have lost the election to Bill Clinton."  His wife Barbara was quoted that she told him "to get over it."  After loosing two elections to President Obama, it is time for today's republicans "to get over it", grow up and help the President move the country and its people forward.


This commentry written by John Lucia.

The NFL Must Be Reading PolitiDose.

Dean Blandino, the NFL's head of officiating guy, said it will now be a penalty if a player dunks the football over the goalpost.  That rule change will affect Saints player Jimmy Graham more than any other NFL player.  Graham seems to like the show off move.

This writer in a previous "PolitiDose" commentary mentioned that the sport was better and more enjoyable when a player just laid the football down or gave it to the official after scoring a touchdown.  The players back then made less money and were more team oriented than the players today.  They also recognized it takes a team effort to score a touchdown. 

No one should be surprised if Graham makes a dunk and pays the fine anyway.  It is typical of some players to do those kinds of things because of the "idol" status given to them by the news media.  On the other hand, no rule change would have been necessary if all of the Saints opponets knew how to play defense like Seattle and New England.  And that really says it all.


This commentary written by John Lucia.

The Role Of Women In Civilization.

The Bible tells us that civilization began in the land of Shinar (called Sumer by scholars).  That fact has been verified by archaeologists who have excavated the land and discovered thousands of tablets containing written records of their civilization.  The people called themselves Sumerians and called their land Shumer.  It was located in southern Mesopotamia (land between the two rivers) which can be identified as todays Iraq. 

The Sumerians civilization blossomed in 3800 b.c., almost 6000 years ago and attained a high civilization that included laws and regulations and every first in civilization that we enjoy today.  Scholars can not find any part of civilization today that did not have its roots in Sumer.  The land attained great heights and women played a major role in every part of everyday life, in government and in commerce.  Zecharia Sitchin in his book "When Time Began" explains the role women played in Sumer's civilization as follows.

The gathered evidence shows that in Sumer and Akkad women engaged not only in household chores like spinning, weaving, milking or tending to the family and the home, but also were working professionals as doctors, midwives, nurses, governesses, teachers, beauticians, hairdressers, singers musicians, dancers and banquet masters.

Women were also prominent in business and property management.  Records have been found of women managing the family lands and overseeing their cultivation, and then supervising the trade in the resulting products.  This was especially true of the ruling families of the royal court.  Royal wives administered temples and vast estates, royal daughters served not only as priestesses but even as the High Priestess.

Sumerian kings had promulgated codes of social justice, their laws protecting the widow, the orphan, the weak and decreeing that you shal not take away the donkey of a widow or you shall not delay the wages of a day laborer.  The Sumerian concept of laws intended to direct human conduct rather than punish its faults.  All of that came to an end after two thousand years of Sumerians greatness with the rise of Babylon. 

Now, lets us fast forward to the year 2014 almost 6000 years after Sumer.  Women are being marginalized over the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade which took place over 30 years ago.  They are denied equal pay for equal work, they are denied advancement in the workplace, they are a minority in our two party system, they continue to be harassed physically and mentally in many areas of life.  The list can go on and on but the people know what is happening. 

Ideology has taken the spotlight and leading the charge against women and the American way of life.  It is an ideology of ignorance, lies, elitism and a drive to convert the life of freedom into a life of fear.  It is a ideology of division, divide and conquer.  Void of ideas and compassion and a lack of courage to debate the issues.  What happened in Sumer thousands of years ago should matter to all who seek a better life for all its people, its children and generations to come.  The Sumerians said they were taught that understanding the past is the key to a better future.  A failure to do so will doom the future to be like the past.

Ideology in governing has no place in American life.  The record of the past three decades has proven that.  Is ideology as practiced today a prelude to what happened to the great Sumerian civilization.  That is a question we should all ponder.


This commentary written by John Lucia.

Unemployment In Louisiana Under Governor Bobby Jindal.

Renita Young in a Times Picayune article dated 3/19/14 reported the unemployment rate in Louisiana for January was 4.9%.  The lowest it has been since September 2008.  That was good news for Louisiana and its people.  The national unemployment rate for January was 6.6%.  Lets look at some facts between the two numbers.

In January 2008 when Jindal took office the Louisiana unemployment rate was 3.8%.  In the six years he has been governor unemployment in Louisiana has increased 1.1%  When Obama took office in January of 2009 the national unemployment rate was 7.8% and in January of 2014 it was 6.6%.  In Obama's first five years in office the national unemployment rate decreased 1.2%.

Despite the bad mouth Jindal has put on the President, Obama has done a better job controlling the national unemployment than Jindal has done controlling state unemployment.  We also know that the federal budget deficit has been coming down on Obama's watch and that just the opposite happened on the previous President's watch while Jindal served in congress.  In previous commentary this writer explained how Jindal has never really balanced one state budget since he was elected governor. 

When a governor can not be positive in his comments, he is not a serious public servant.


Thie commentary written by John Lucia.

Former Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards: Another Race To Run.

Edwin Edwards, four time governor of Louisiana and former member of Congress announced at the Baton Rouge Press Luncheon Monday he would be a candidate for the U.S. House sixth congressional district.  The reaction from the news media and others was swift with no surprises.

James Varney and Robert Mann on the editorial page of the Times Picayune of 3/19/14 in writing about Edward's decision to enter the race used the words, farce, crook, gambler, have you no shame, ex con, corrupt and washed up former governor, Tongsun Park and many other words that were unnecessary.  Mann talks about the national news media flocking to Baton Rouge to cover Edwards and the campaign.  So what did Varney and Mann do?  Well they were one of the first to lead the parade with their editorials. 

Edwards was a popular elected official with the voters of Louisiana.  The sixth congressional district is republican territory we are told so the people in that district will have an opportunity to respond this November at the polls.  Although out of office a number of years, Edwin Edwards knows politics and he knows government better than any politician in Louisiana today. He also knows the issues and will be able to articulate his position during the campaign. 

What really chaps the Times Picayune and some of their writers is that Edwards has never been convicted of any wrong doing while in office.  They and other news media outlets have never been able to scoop him.  He admits he likes to gamble and that he has lost and won a lot of money doing so, has never denied being a womanizer, said he has appointed friends to state jobs (why appoint his enemies) and so many other things that he has openly admitted.  Those in the news media would rather catch him in a lie.

If Edwards stays in the race it will benefit the people because a democrat is challenging a republican district.  That would give other democrats the will to do the same in other parts of Louisiana that is republican territory.  The former governor is smart enough to know the state of Louisiana can once again become democratic in the future. 

The people in the sixth district should pay attention to what all the candidates say and whether they speak to the issues.  There is no doubt in this writers mind that Edwards will.  This story will unfold and play out in the next eight months.  The people will once again have an opportunity to look at Edwards and decide if any of their opinions changed concerning the former governor.  One can be sure the news media is loving every minute of it.


This commentary written by John Lucia.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal And "America Next."

According to a recent Times Picayune article by Lauren McGaughy dated 3/14/14 Governor Jindal has launched "America Next" a conservative non profit that will focus on articulating a national conservative strategy a la Margaret Thatcher. 

Jindal was reported to have said on the America Next website, (1)  "a rebellion is brewing outside the Washington beltway against what he called the Obama experiment."  It gets to be a little crazy concerning the fairy tale about the President.  What Jindal must be talking about is the Bush experiment in Iraq.

The governor was also quoted as saying, "that the republican party has not properly expressed its purpose or goals to voters.  He said it is not enough to be against something."  That describes Jindal's position ever since he became governor.  Is he now having a change of heart because he has future political ambitions?  Will the people now find out what he stands for and will he be able to articulate that message.  After all, twice in the previous two weeks he engaged in personal attacks against the President instead of letting the people know what he stands for.

In his announcement he said he stands behind repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act.  Just think, Jinday has been governor for over 5 years and the latest reports indicate Louisiana has about 700,000 people who are uninsured.  Jindal has had more than enough time in office to come up with a state health plan that would insure those people but he has done nothing.  And like the national republican party who had 8 years to do something on the matter under the Bush administration they also failed.

The difference between Jindal's announcement and the position of democrats should be easy to understand.  Democrats offer an AMERICAN strategy for the nation that take in our national ideals and committment and is based on what is good for America and its people.  Jindal and the conservative strategy is base on a CONSERVATIVE IDEOLOGY.  In other words they put conservatism first and then America some where down the line.

Prior to the election of President Obama republicans controlled the nation 20 of the previous 28 years.  They had more than enough time to correct the problems they say exist and are still talking about and they failed to do so.  President Obama's administration is moving the country and its people forward after the second great republican depression and that chaps the republicans and Jindal.  That is why they would do any thing to see the President fail.  That includes shutting down the government and doing all they can to obstruct the success of the Affordable Care Act.

Jindal's America Next is an indictment of himself and his party.  The idea that Jindal's conservatism should mimic Margaret Thatcher is a little boy gone wild.  I can remember a time when republicans put America first instead of conservatism.  That was a time of progress for the country and its people.  The republicans have allowed a conservative ideology that is unAmerican in nature hijack their party and hold the federal government hostage. 

For a party to be successful, it has to put America first.  Ideology has no place in politics.


This commentary was written by John Lucia.

   

Trans-Canada's Pipeline: Another Polarizing Issue.

The proposed Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to Gulf Coast Refineries which is reported to be a $5.4 billion project is another example of a divisive issue where facts and sound judgement are disregarded by rhetoric.  :Politics and wealth are the key players and we know where they stand.  So for a moment lets forget the political affilations of the parties because that is not the issue that should decide the pipeline's fate.  The proponets of the pipe line say it will (1)  create jobs and (2)  help America become energy independent.  Every thing else positive about the pipeline can be grouped under those two headings so lets examine both.

JOB CREATION:   The best guess by studies from congressional sources and others is that the pipeline will create approximately 21,000 jobs and may be a little more.  Well if one is serious about job creation pressure should be put on the U.S. House to pass President Obama's jobs bill they have been sitting on for over two years that was passed by the U.S. Senate and was fully paid for.  Congressional sources said that jobs bill to repair and rebuild America's infrastructure would create over a million jobs and would start to do so immediately.  President Clinton's administration created over 27 million jobs at a time the U.S. imported a large percentage of its energy.  Every American industry helped create those jobs because the economy was broad based and not centered on any one industry.  A healthy job creation that is lasting will not happen by building the Keystone XL pipeline. 

MAKE AMERICA ENERGY INDEPENDENT:   America is more independent in energy now than it was when George W. Bush left office five years ago.  That energy independence is expected to grow.  The Keystone XL pipeline would mean we would have to depend on Canadian crude for our energy needs but guess what?  Canada's officials have testified before congress and said they could not tell congress how much of that crude refined at Gulf Refineries would stay in America.  That prompted U.S. Senator Ed Markey to say he would introduce a bill to bar oil carried by the pipeline from being exported.

There are reports that China has an investment in the Canadian's production from the tar sands that will be shipped by the pipeline.  It stands to reason that much of that crude refined at Gulf Refineries would be exported to China for their own energy needs. 

America can not become energy independent by relying on outside sources that could cut those energy supplies off at any time like OPEC did in the early 1970's.  The reason for the pipeline is not job creation or to make America energy independent like the people are told.  It is for creating wealth and using American soil to ship and sell a product that one has to believe will be exported to other countries since Canada can not tell congress how much of their product will stay in the United States.  Surely they have a committment or they would not be proposing such a expensive project. 

There is another reason that refined crude would not remain in the United States.  If that would happen a glut of oil and gasoline would be on the U.S. market and that would reduce the price of oil and gasoline and no oil company wants that to happen.  The oil and pipeline industry has proven over and over again they can not be trusted.  That is why they are being sued in Louisiana's court system.  The Keystone XL pipeline project should be rejected.


This commentary written by John Lucia.

Former President Bill Clinton: Approval Rating Still Sky High

President Clinton left office with an approval rating of 65%.  The highest of any President in the past 50 years and just the other day his approval rating was reported to be over 60% even though he has been out of office over 13 years.  No other living President even comes close.

The passage of time has not diminished Clinton with the people although that is what the republicans tried to do with their personal attacks and impeachment of the President.  Clinton's success can be related to his ability to communicate with the public, his knowledge of government and how it works, knowledge of the federal budget and his ability to understand the economy.  He also was and still maintains his statue as being able to explain the issues to the people and what it takes to solve issues.  Clinton also stands tall as a "serious" public servant. 

No one can imitate another man, but those in politics have failed to grasp the meaning of public service and the need to understand government and its relationship with the public.  The political failure to acquire such knowledge of what it takes to run government and understand the issues has taken a huge toll on our country and its people.  The knowledge is available to all politicians to prepare them to serve, but politics has become a game for them at the expense of the common good.

The congressional elections for congress will be coming up in November.  Hopefully the voters will ask themselves this question.  "What party has been the "serious party" for the country and its people to move forward since President Clinton left office?"  I hope the voters play that out in their minds before they cast their vote.  Understanding the past is still the key to a better future.  Without that understanding, the future will be like the failed past.

I have used the theme "understanding the past etc, etc., in several past commentaries.  My initial commentary on the subject matter can be logged on at PolitiDose and was published on 12/31/08 titled, The United States:  Past, Present and Future.


This commentary written by John Lucia

Bobby Jindal: Still The Leader Of Louisiana's Stupid Party.

Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal said his party had to stop being "stupid" after President Obama won reelection over his party's candidate Mitt Romney.  Jindal, his party, acted "stupid" during the 2012 campaign and continues to act "stupid" today and not follow their own advise.

Jindal showed how "stupid" he really is when he spoke before "The Conservative Political Action Conference" this week in Washington.  Times Picayune staff writer Bruce Alpert in a column dated 3/7/14 carried his comments.  The little boy governor went into a tirade against the President with personal attacks.  That is Jindal's M.O. because like other politicians in the "stupid" party Jindal is incapable of telling the people what he stands for and what he has to offer.  His personal attacks tell this writer he has no respect for his own party and the people at the conference.  If he did he would have offered constructive comments concerning problems facing the country and its people. 

Jindal also showed he had no courage recently when state governors met with the President at the White House and had a bipartsan discussion of national issues.  Jindal criticized the President after the meeting was over outside the White House.  He did not have the character to do his talking face to face with the President. 

It is no accident that the country and its people do better under democratic administrations.  And it is no accident that Louisiana and its people were better off during the democratic administration of Kathleen Blanco.  Real leaders with a record of accomplishments do not feel they have to use personal attacks against their opponents.  They have the confidence in their own leadership to stand up and be counted.  A good example is New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu.

Governor Jindal has a lot to learn about common courtesy and after five years in office running the state he is still not a serious public servant.  That really says it all.


This commentary written by John Lucia. 

The Rachel Maddow Show: WHY WE DID IT.

Eleven years ago this month President Bush ordered the war and occupation of Iraq over WMD that did not exist.  MSNBC's Rachel Maddow on her show of 3/6/14 reported "why we did it" and said it was because of IRAQI OIL.  Maddow's show did a good job presenting the facts but like that time during the run up to war, the news media failed the country and its people by not challenging the administration's rhetoric concerning Iraq's so called WMD.  There was very little investigation by the news media because they let themselves be intimated by the President and Dick Cheney. 

There was a disconnect with the story when Maddow reported correctly that past Presidents said they would use our military to keep the shipping lanes open if nations of the middle east tried to cut off the supply of oil.  Maddow failed to point out there was no threat present to cut off the shipping lanes of oil by Saddam.  There was no shortage of oil in the market at the time either so Bush could not hide behind those previous statements by our former Presidents. 

The Gulf War of 1991 proved Saddam was no threat to the U.S.  I wrote a two part commentary titled, THE ROSETTA STONE TO THE IRAQ WAR dated 12/8 and 12/11/07 where I wrote that President Bush knew Iraq had no WMD and I listed the reasons why he knew.  I also wrote a commentary titled, THE REPUBLICANS TRADE MARK:  HIGH OIL AND GAS PRICES dated 5/16/08 that pointed out that under the George W. Bush administration the price of a barrel of oil increased on a steady basis through out his administration at the highest sustained cost than in the previous 20 years and that continues today.  Bush and Cheney were OIL MEN.  Oil is a precious commodity for the economy and who ever controls the reserves and production, also controls the price, even by manipulation.

The real story of the Iraq war over WMD that did not exist has never been told by the news media.  The real story is that over 4400 Americans who wore the uniform of their country loss their lives in an unnecessary war and occupation and over 30,000 wounded, many who will never walk again with out assistance paid the ultimate price.  Our men and women in uniform go where they are told to go by the Commander in Chief.  They go with out complaint, do their jobs well and serve their country proudly.  They deserve better. 

And to think that President Bush and those in his administration who clamored for war in Iraq are still in denial with the self serving statement that they did the right thing.  What a shame.


This commentary written by John Lucia.

The U.S. House Passes Flood Insurance Rate Protection.

The House voted to block what some called "a death sentence" if FEMA's proposed rate increases would take place.  The vote for passage was 306-91.  The number of Democrats voting yes was 180, the number of Republicans voting yes was 126.  Voting against the measure were 5 Democrats and 86 Republicans.  So once again in the past few months a majority of Democrats in the U.S. House provided the winning vote margin (even though the Republicans controls the U.S. House) for a important piece of legislation.

The house bill now goes to the U.S. Senate who passed their flood bill on January 30th.  The Senate can accept the House bill or vote to take it to a committee of house and senate members to resolve the issue.  The senate bill delays most of the increases for 4 years while the house bill allows increases on flood premiums up to 15%  a year.  This writer believes the senate bill is the better bill. 

The maximum increase of 15% a year that the house bill calls for has a compounding effect and you could reach a 50% increase in rates in just a few years because of the compounding effect.  Since congress is scheduled to take another look at this in 2017, the senate bill is better and there would be more time to come up with even a better answer to this problem before 2017. 

All of Louisiana's delegation in the house voted for the house bill.  It should be noted that Steve Scalise and the rest of the Louisiana delegation could not produce the winning majority even though their party controls the house.  It took Cedric Richmond and the Democrats to produce the winning majority.

This writer also thinks solving the flood insurance problem is a long way off if it is congress's intention to make the program solvent like they are talking about.  The latest report is the program is $24 billion in debt.  The people of Louisiana are still paying high premiums for their home owners policies ever since Katrina and flood insurance premiums is just a different side of the same coin.  Neither the house or senate bill addresses the real problem. 

The Biggert-Waters Act that was passed in 2012 created the flood insurance problem and there is still much division in congress as to how to come up with a long term solution that would produce flood premiums that would be affordable.  This issue is just another of many reasons why we need serious public servants in congress. 


This commentary written by John Lucia.


Note:  The Democrats in the House also produced the winning majority votes when the House voted to put the country back to work after the Republican majority voted to shut the government down.  The Democrats in the House also produced the winning majority votes when the House voted to extend the debt ceiling.  The Democrats were aware that the federal deficit has been reduced dramatically by the Obama Administration.  The Republicans were aware also but their vow not to lift a finger to help the President over road their responsibility to move the country and its people forward.