ISIL Suffers Another Defeat

Prior to the November congressional elections there was a lot of negative news aimed at President Obama and his administration concening a lot of fabricated issues pushed by the news media, especially the conservative news media and republicans in congress.  Most are just a faded memory now because they lacked substance.

The one that comes to mind now is the story that the POWERFUL ISIL was about to over run and take over the city of Kobani that sits on the Syrian and Turkish border.  The importance of taking Kobani would have given the Islamic State control of a border crossing with Turkey.  But U.S. and ally air strikes along with Kurdish ground forces routed and defeated ISIL last week and the ISIL forces have fled the area.  ISIL leaders confirmed the defeat and said U.S. air power was the difference.  The news media said Kobani would fall to ISIL back in September of last year.

This writer questioned in a commentary some time ago the strength of ISIL which was being flaunted by the news media.  Now the media says very little about ISIL.  "PolitiDose" had a commentary a few years ago also pointing out the U.S. had the Air capability to take care of problems in the middle east without committing American combat forces to fight a ground war over there.

President Obama's position that American air power along with Iraqi and other middle eastern ground troops would be able to accomplish the objective against ISIL and his policy position is working.  ISIL's advances have been stopped in many areas and towns have been retaken by Iraqi and Kurdish forces.  The President needs to stay on top of his policies and this writer has confidence he will do so because of his past performance.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio

A Turn Around For Republican Governor John Kasich

Ohio governor John Kasich served in the U.S. House of Congress during the Clinton administration and was one of Clinton's biggest critic of the President's policies.  He also voted against Clinton's economic and deficit reduction plan which passed the democratic controlled congress in 1993.  He was also one of the republicans who predicted doom and gloom for the country.  Kasich also voted to impeach President Clinton.

As governor of Ohio, Kasich is now defending his position of accepting medicaid coverage offered under the ACA to provide insurance for the working poor.  Republican legislators in Montana questioned his position at a meeting.  The legislators opposed the medicaid expansion to the ACA.  Kasich said what they do with the medicaid expansion is treat the metally ill, treat the drug addicted and we help the working poor stop going to the emergency rooms and forcing me to pay for their medical bills because they have to go there sicker.

That is a great endorcement of how the ACA is working for those it was designed to help.  The problem with Kasich and his republican party is that they lack the courage to embrace democratic proposals until they  get into situations where they have to raise taxes to take care of a problem in their state.  Health care was a problem when Kasich served in congress but congress kicked the can.

Too bad it took a challenge by Kasich's own party to respond to the benefits of the ACA.  But he still deserves to be congratulated on thinking about his own people.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio