Who Speaks For America's Foreign Policy?

We know that is the responsibility of the President and Commander in Chief but the Trump administration seems to enjoy speaking with multiple voices on Iran in order to mislead the American people who need to hear one voice.  Last week the Pentagon issued its report on Iran and said the country was living up to its nuclear agreement with the U.S. and its allies and were in compliance.

Soon after the Pentagon report President Trump said Iran was not living up to the spirit of the agreement and soon after that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the State department would begin a comprehensive study of the agreement because the agreement does not stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.  The U.S. allies who are party to the agreement agree with the Pentagon and so does Israel's intelligence service.

Trump was one of several republicans who said if elected would void the Iran agreement so now the Trump administration through several voices are trying to create a new chapter and a possible unnecessary confrontation with Iran.  President George W. Bush called Iraq, Iran and North Korea an axis of evil but those three countries never did match the definition of being an axis.

The United States will be in Afghanistan 16 years come October, our country's longest war and just recently General John Nicholson, commander of U.S. forces in that country called for thousands of additional troops to help prop up the Afghan military to help the fight against the Taliban and other militant groups who occupy a number of strong holds.  The question needs to be answered as to why Afghanistan can not secure their own country after 16 years of American assistance, both military and financial?

And now we are in a stage of so called tough talk from the President concerning North Korea and Iran.  Our men and women in uniform have been in that dangerous part of the world now for over 16 years and they have been in South Korea for 65 years and are still in both places.  Our men and women deserve better.  Our country and its people need a President and Commander in Chief who speaks with one voice on foreign policy with wisdom who understands the folly of loose talk when it comes to war.  Its easy to go to war but much harder to withdraw from one, especially if it is an unnecessary one that destabilizes.

The answer to the Korean problem is to unify the country where there is only one Korea.  A divided country and people will always be trouble.  I wrote a commentary on this subject several years ago and it is relevant more so today.  The unification of Viet Nam is a good example, so is the unification of Germany and Berlin which were once divided and split and caused nothing but trouble.  But one Germany and one Berlin is now peaceful.

World leaders need to find a way and urge North and South Korea to unify themselves with out outside interference.  One country, one people and one voice.  And the effort should be led by the leader of the free world, the President of the United States.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio

Make The Presidency Great Again

It is the most pressing issue at the moment because the country has a "Wolf" in the White House.  A predator who has cast aside a political tenet and the integrity of the office that make the Presidency above it all.  The Presidency, the most respected office in the land that represents a people and not special interests has been in jeopardy since January 20, 2017.

The Presidency, occupied by Donald Trump has aligned his office with his business enterprise.  So are his daughter and son in law who are appointed advisers but still maintain control of their business enterprise.  Trump and his family still entertain business people at his Mar-a-laga resort in Palm Beach, Fla. and will not make public the visitors log of those who have been entertained there.

Trump's collusion with Russia during the primary and his kid glove treatment of them as President needs answers and so does his refusal to take a stand about Russia's interference in America's Presidential election.  Trump is not just being Trump.  There is more to it than that because our country and its people are the ones being affected.  The predator in Trump thinks he can do as he pleases and congress needs to put an end to the flagrant disregard Trump has for the Presidency.

Trump continues to show his arrogance and disrespect for the Presidency and the people by refusing to make public his tax returns because it would reveal his conflicts of interest which he is covering up.  Past Presidential candidates and Presidents made their tax returns public because they believed the people had a right to know their financial matter and believed the Presidency is not a place to enhance themselves or their business financially.  It is a place to take care of the people's business.

Contrary to his trumped up slogan, "make America great again" congress needs to make the Presidency great again.  They have the authority and power to do so.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio

The President's Latest Fake News: Tax Reduction, Buy American and Made In America

Trump's most recent on tax reform is to reduce the corporate income tax rate from 35% to 15%, a 20% reduction.  That will explode the federal deficit once again and add trillions of dollars to the deficit and national debt just as the Reagan and George W. Bush tax cuts did.  And Trump is trying to sell the plan as a revenue maker when in fact it will reduce federal revenues dramatically.  Reagan and Bush's trickle down economics did not balance one federal budget in the sixteen years they served and in fact neither Presidents sent one balanced budget to congress after telling the people how trickle down economics was going to expand the economy, create jobs and balance the budget.  It was a sham from the very beginning.

President Trump's "made in America and buy American" follows the same fake news and rings hollow.  Trump still operates some manufacturing plants outside the U.S. and of course his company still buys foreign products and supplies.  His latest completed adventure, the Trump tower in Washington, D.C. was built with foreign steel.  That is the hotel where he has a conflict of interest as President.  Trump's son applied through the VISA system to hire foreign workers to work in his Kentucky winery just in the last few months.  It would be nice if Trump would set the example and bring his manufacturing back to the U.S. and buy American.  But don't hold your breath.

It appears that the only examples this President sets are the bad ones.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio

Bill O'Reilly and "The Factor" Are No More

The Fox News Network, cable news number one network of spin parted ways with its host Bill O'Reilly and his spin zone over allegations of sexual harassment that was reported settled out of court to the tune of several million dollars.  The allegations was reported that more than one woman were involved.  O'Reilly denied the allegations and said the truth will be made known at a later date.

It is not the first time Fox has settled out of court concerning sexual harassment by one of its employees.  The network is known for its female employees to show a lot of legs while on the air.  O'Reilly had the number one rated show that was full of spin and the "FACTOR' was used by O'Reilly to pass off his opinion as facts.  A separate report indicated O'Reilly was paid approximately $25 million in his separating from Fox.

O'Reilly reminds this writer of Trump.  Both are highly paid, successful in their own right and both think they can do what ever they please.  They were ditto heads during the Presidential campaign and O'Reilly often had Trump on his shows.  It was always spin time to promote Trump.  Television with out O'Reilly is the best thing that could happen to cable TV.  The next best thing would be for the Fox News Network to just go away.

O'Reilly will be forgotten because his kind of reporting did not make a positive difference in people's lives and like Trump is thin skinned because he feels inadequate.  That is where his bluster comes from.  The number one spin zone is no more.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio

The Hypocrites In The White House

President Trump, his budget director and chief of staff want the democrats in congress to pass his agenda concerning a spending bill before congress to prevent a government shutdown that looms Saturday April 29.  Those are the same people who supported the congressional republicans stand of doing nothing to help President Obama's agenda when he first took office in 2009.  And their position was the same when President Obama nominated his pick for Supreme Court Justice.

Trump and his friends are having a hard time accomplishing any meaningful legislation in his first 100 days as he promised, so now he wants his funding agenda passed that includes the Wall and the repeal and replacement of the ACA.  He can not be sure of his republican votes and needs democrats to avoid a shutdown of government.  All of this speaks loud and clear of the lies Trump and the republicans are living.

Despite the lies that the ACA will self destruct, the lies really tell a story that the ACA is alive, well and working.  If it were not, repealing and replacement of the ACA would have been easy after seven years of empty promises.  The Wall is the BIG Lie of the Trump campaign and now wants the tax payers to pay for the lie and the WALL.  Like the republican's stand on the ACA, Trump can't even tell congress how he will make Mexico pay for the WALL and he has had over a year to do so.  If he was serious it would be spelled out in the spending bill just how Mexico would pay for the WALL.

The democrats in congress need to stay steady and refuse to allow the tax payers to pay for the WALL and should vote against any repeal and replacement of the ACA.  President Trump and the republicans made their own bed so let them sleep in it.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio

Miscalculation and A Failure To Live Up To Campaign Promises and The Drum Beat of War With North Korea

President Trump has been in office 87 days and his campaign promise of legislation in his first 100 days in office is in peril.  His only real accomplishments have taken place with his executive orders that rolled back progress made under the administration of President Obama.  The President and his party's lies about having a plan to repeal and replace the ACA came crashing down in congress, his budget contains $2 billion to build a border wall he said Mexico would pay for that is in limbo, tax reform, immigration reform, the highway bill and other pronouncements have been delayed.  China, who Trump told the people was a currency manipulator is no longer one because he wants China's help with North Korea.

The President not only failed in his legislative pursuits he miscalculated what was going on in Syria and was caught flat footed with the chemical attack in Syria a little over a week ago.  The missile strike on Syria was born out of that miscalculation and the President's failures.  Now we are hearing the drum beat of war with North Korea.  And it is coming from Trump and his VP Mike Pence, the secretary of state and the secretary of defense.

The administration is speaking with one voice using the same statements:  North Korea's missile test are provocative, ditto if they test another nuclear devise, their show of military power, their provocative talk against South Korea and America.  North Korea is doing what every other nuclear power did, including the U.S. before they became a nuclear power.  They tested their missiles and still do and they tested their nuclear weapons.  Does that mean the U.S. and the other nuclear nations were provocative at the time?  Is it provocative for the present nuclear powers to say we can have and keep our nuclear weapons but North Korea, Iran and others can not acquire their own?  This writer feels sure that North Korea feels that is provocative towards their country.

Unintentional wars caused by miscalculation cost lives like it did in Iraq which is still playing out 14 years and counting.  Who is the greater military threat to America and its allies?  North Korea and Iran or Russia and China?  Russia and China still test their missiles and other advanced weapons.  And of course the U.S. holds joint military exercises with its allies in South Korea and off their coast and China's coast.  We do the same thing in Russia's part of the world.

It seems like every country is doing something that could be questioned as being provocative to some one else.  One small miscalculation could start a war of no return.  North Korean leaders like to talk tough like republicans but the armistice that ended the Korean war in 1953 has been in effect for 64 years.  North Korea is not going to start a war with South Korea or the U.S.  It would be a war of a giant (the U.S.) against a flea (N. Korea)  China would not allow N. Korea's leader to act so foolish even though their leader is a loud mouth like Trump.

President Kennedy was well aware how a miscalculation could have killed thousands in America and Russia during the Cuban missile crisis.  That situation was 1000 times worse than what is taking place in North Korea because Russia had those missiles with nuclear warheads planted 90 miles from our shore.  President Kennedy knew what war was all about being a veteran of WWII and had the wisdom that ended the Russian threat to this hemisphere.  That wisdom needs to be found today for a better future.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio

President Trump and His Failure To Make His Tax Returns Public.

Lawrence O'Donnell, host of "The Last Word" on MSNBC publically stated long before Donald Trump announced he would run for President, that Trump would never make his tax returns public.  O'Donnell knew Trump was the type of person who had something to hide from the public.  O'Donnell also pointed out many of Trump's lies and "fake news" before he became a Presidential candidate.

Trump's excuse for not releasing his tax returns has run in circles.  First it was because he was under audit, but then said he would release them after the audit was complete and then he said he would not release them at all.  Well, this past week end people showed up in protest and demanded Trump release his tax returns and the President answered by saying the "election was over."

Hillary Clinton has released over 40 years of tax returns and has been the most transparent Presidential nominee in all the history of Presidential elections.  This is the same woman Trump called crooked Hillary.  But it has become obvious who the crooked one really is and the question of what Trump has to hide needs to be answered.  Now he is hiding behind his statement "the election is over."  But that is not good enough for a President who continues to make lying a major factor in his administration.

The Presidency is much larger than Donald Trump and the people have a right to know what he is trying to hide.  And yes, every day Trump's actions confirm that Hillary Clinton is a better woman than Trump is a man.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio

The Republican's Failure To Live Up To Their So Called Tough Talk

President Reagan came to office talking tough and said terrorists could run but could not hide from America. Then terrorists struck the U.S. Marine compound in Beirut killing 241 Marines.  That attack was and still is the worst terror attack against Americans on foreign soil.  The planners of that attack were never brought to justice by the Reagan administration.  The President also said he would never negotiate with terrorists and then sold arms to Iran in what became know as the Iran-Contra scandal.

President George W. Bush came to office talking tough then the tragic events of 9-11 took place in New York and killed over 2000.  That attack was and still is the worst foreign terror attack on U.S. soil.  The Planner of that attack, Bin Laden was never brought to justice by the Bush administration.  But President Obama did bring Bin Laden to justice because he made it the governments top priority.  Then came tough talk about Iraq, an invasion and occupation over WMD that did not exist and Bush would not end that war or occupation before he left office.  Saddam Hussein was no longer around and terrorists who entered Iraq because of the invasion were responsible for most of the U.S. casualties in Iraq.

President Trump came to office talking tough about fighting terror and sent mixed signals to our adversaries.  Because of his hatred for President Obama he played the blame game.  Trump said the killing of police officials would stop and not happen on his watch but several have already been killed.  When North Korea test fired several missiles before President Obama left office, Trump said it would not happen on his watch, but North Korea test fired several since Trump took office.  Trump said all along the U.S. has no interest in being in Syria and then Syria launched an alleged chemical attack on his own people.

There is an important story here folks.  Tough talk don't make a man or a President.  It is the President's responsibility to prevent attacks and not brag how tough you are and then have to react after the fact that usually cost lives.  The attacks against Iraq and Syria were against two countries that did not have the military capacity to respond.  The New York Times reported according to a story in the Huffington Post that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was told at his most recent visit with the Russians not to strike Syria again.  That story receive very little publicity by the news media and the Trump administration.

It would be a good thing for the tough talkers to keep in mind miscalculations have already cost too many American lives.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio

 

Pictures Can Be Deceiving, Especially On Facebook and The Social Media

They say a picture is worth more than words but this writer can recall a picture posted on facebook during the campaign by a Trump supporter that was trivial at the time and now just plain sour grapes.  It was a picture of President Obama on the golf course where he was vacationing and the writer took the President to task because the trip cost the tax payers a lot of dollars.

Now we have a new President by the name of Donald Trump and according to a story in the Huffington Post, Trump's trips to his resort at Mar-a-lago in Palm Beach Florida has cost the tax payers over $21 million and at that price will exceed in one year what it cost the tax payers for President Obama's eight years in office.  Now that is staggering.  But the larger problem is how Trump's supporters fell for Trump's fraud talk and how they were so jealous of President Obama would resort to some thing trivial.  Maybe the Trump supporter will post a picture of Trump playing golf at his resort and tell the readers how much Trump's trips are costing the tax payers.

The supporter needs to also read up on spending tax payers money because in the past 37 years the largest percentage increase in federal spending took place on the watch of President's Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush and the smallest took place on the watch of President's Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.  Fake news about federal spending comes from the Republican Party.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio

Will The Louisiana Legislature Act Responsible This Session?

Governor John Bel Edwards called two special sessions last year to deal with the state's fiscal problems that were recurring on the watch of former Governor Bobby Jindal.  However, last years budget was not balanced and we are told this years budget is about $300 million out of balance.  So the problem still exist.  The republican controlled legislature last year rejected many of the bills of Governor Edwards.

So now that same republican controlled body is back in session to deal with the same worn out fiscal problems.  They have had more than enough time and chances to put Louisiana's fiscal house in order both for the short and long term and have failed for the past 9 years.  So what should they do now?  Well, this writer thinks they should approve the Governor's plans and proposals for a change and lets see what happens.  The Governor should be given that opportunity and the republicans should step back.

The republicans plans have not worked and the state and its people have paid the price.  The unemployment rate in Louisiana is still higher than the national average, the state lost jobs last year and Louisiana is still near or at the bottom on the economic ladder.  The people voted for change over a year ago when they elected Edwards so let him enact his agenda.  There are too many republicans like the state's Attorney General who are willing to do any thing to see the Governor fail.

That thinking is anti-Louisiana and anti-people.  Come election time the people will have a say if the Governor's policies fail and he should be given the opportunity by the legislature to carry out his plan for the state.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio

Part III: United States Launches an Air Strike On Syria: President Trump's Major Miscalculation.

The President's policy toward Syria and Russia prior to the recent alleged Syrian chemical attack gave those two countries confidence that any misbehavior by them would provoke only a tiny prick from the Trump administration.  Trump's policy toward Russia was one of accepting Russia's military involvement in Syria because as he said, "they will help Syria fight ISIS and that is good."  However, they also helped Syria fight the anti Syrian rebels who have been fighting a civil war against Assad and Syria for several years and Trump Knew the Russians were doing that.

Trump's position was also that he could deal with Putin and Russia even though he knew the history of Putin and Russia and was receiving intelligence briefings after becoming the nominee.  Trump also enlisted Putin to spy on America"s email, especially Hillary's email.

And of course, Trump told America, the world and even Putin that Putin was a better leader than President Obama and even had a higher approval rating than President Obama.  Pretty strange words for an American to compare a dictator and country that lacks any democratic process to the leaders of the free world and America who is governed by the democratic process.  Yes, what Trump said as a Presidential candidate, a Presidential nominee, a President elect and a President really does matter and have consequences and should be unacceptable.

As President, Trump's policy toward Syria prior to the chemical attack was one of disengagement and did not object to Syria's Assad staying in power or taking advantage of Putin's military involvement in Syria.  It was the same Trump that was well aware that Syria's chemical attack in 2013 killed 20 times more people than the one on Trump's watch, including children.  But President Trump's policy was one of accepting the status quo in Syria.  Syria and Assad were well aware of Trump's tweet in 2013 indicating that President Obama should not launch an attack against Syria for their actions.

President Trump's own words and positions on Syria and Russia make it plausible that Trump's action to launch a strike against Syria was motivated by his low poll numbers, his lack of any legislation accomplishments in his first 80 days in office, the three investigations concerning he and his campaign ties to Russia and the chaos within his own administration.  An additional fact to be considered is Trump's repeated lies about President Obama and others that indicate a man who loves the spot light regardless who gets hurt or the fall out.  The President of the United States needs to be a stable leader who knows how to choose his words.  President Trump has failed the test.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio

Job Creation for March 2017

The Labor Department announced that the economy created 98,000 jobs in March and the unemployment rate was at 4.5%.  Job Creation was almost 200,000 jobs less than the previous month of February.  The Trump administration was mostly silent on the numbers after celebrating the job numbers for February.  

Time will be the judge if the Trump administration can live up to the pronouncements of creating 20,000,000 new jobs.  History tells us that number has been reached only once, when the Clinton administration created 22.7 million new jobs.  The real question is will the Trump administration really be a job creating administration. Talk is cheap and Trump is already behind his own predictions of what his administration would accomplish in his first 100 days in office.  And the latest information on his tax reform plan is that the plan is being changed big time and will not look at all like the plan he proposed during the campaign and after he was elected.

This writer thinks Trump will have to look more and more to the democrats in congress to really accomplish any thing meaningful.  The hand writing is on the wall.  And I am not talking about a border wall that some of his republican friends are saying never will be built.  It is known that Trump's budget request to pay for the wall will be paid by the American people, if built at all.  

This commentary written by Joe Lorio

Part II: The United States Launches Air Strike On Syria

The news media was swift in its laudatory comments for the President's decision to strike Syria over its alleged chemical attack in Khan Sheikhoun, Syria.  One report said Trump became President that day, one said Trump's action was Presidential.  A long New York Times story praised Trump for his swift action and that his unpredictable actions was a new chapter in American foreign policy that would keep our adversaries guessing what a President Trump would do.  It was also reported the strike put North Korea and Iran on notice, and etc., etc., and etc.

If all that sounds familiar its because you heard and read it all before 14 years ago from the same news media when President George W. Bush launched his attack and occupation of Iraq over WMD that did not exist.  Elements of the news media announced that Bush and Cheney planned to take out 5 countries in the region starting with Iraq but the so called "cake walk" in Iraq pushed all that aside.  "Fake news" was alive 14 years ago courtesy of the Bush administration and the news media.  And the most silly part of the "fake news" was that Iraq was a threat to the national security of the United States which Bush and Cheney said over and over again.

As of this writing there is no official report of the intelligence community that has positively identified Assad and or Syria as the entity who carried out the chemical attack.  The anti Syrian rebels, ISIS and Al Queda have all operated in the area of the chemical attack according to reports and all three have the capabilities of putting together chemical weapons and using them.  All three also would like to see Assad removed from power.  That would be a powerful motive to try and suck the U.S. into removing Assad by blaming him for the chemical attack.

A legitimate question to ask would be did the President order the strike against Syria because of his low poll ratings and other problems he and his administration are having.  After all, Trump tweeted this in 2012 concerning President Obama, Lybia and Iran:  NOW THAT OBAMA'S POLL NUMBERS ARE IN A TAILSPIN - WATCH FOR HIM TO LAUNCH A STRIKE IN LYBIA OR IRAN.  HE IS DESPERATE.  So that kind of thinking was on Donald Trumps mind.  Was he himself a desperate President when he made the decision to launch?  Another question to be asked:  Did President Trump try to act tough by striking Syria, an ally of Russia to derail the FBI and congressional investigations of the possible collusion of Trump and his campaign with Russia?

The news media failed its obligation to search for the truth in the run up to war with Iraq 14 years ago.  And today their early reports on the Syria attack are repeating the mistakes of the past.  Trump said our decisions will be guided by our values.  That statement contradicts every thing Trump said during the campaign and his tweets which have been a major part of his "fake news."  What he does value is placing blame on every one but himself.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Moscow has failed to live up to its obligations under a 2013 agreement to strip Syria of its chemical weapons and if you fail to live up to commitments, if you become a threat to others, at some point a response is likely to be undertaken.  Will the Trump administration live up to those words and take action against Russia?  Don't hold your breath for a military response.

Stay tuned for Part III


This commentary written by Joe Lorio

Part I: The United States Launches Air Strike on Syria

President Trump announced the air strike against the Syrian military air field on Thursday night April 6 in response to the alleged chemical attack by Syria that reportedly killed 70 plus people, including children.  This commentary will be a three part series to explore with its readers the possibility of understanding what really took place here, what was said by the President and others in his administration, members of congress and the news media.  Facts have to be separated from fiction and similar events of the past will be explored that should help the reader to stay focused on how this operation turns out.

The attack was said to have destroyed elements of Syria's air field, the runway, Syrian Jets and other war making capabilities of the Syrian military.  One would think that is what 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles are capable of doing so there is no surprise there.  The administration and our military said the attack was a success.  The real questions that needs to be answered are ones that only time can confirm.  That is, will the military strike change what is going on in Syria to any degree.  Will it bring about the exit of Syria's brutal President Assad?  Will it have any bearing on the civil war that has been going on in Syria?  Will it bring about a real settlement?  If nothing changes and the U.S. has to increase its involvement, will the attack still be looked upon as a success story?

Trump blamed President Obama for last weeks chemical attack but the fact of the matter tells us the attack happened on President Trump's watch.  And like other false stories the administration is trying to spin President Obama did seek congressional authority to use force after Syria's chemical attack in 2013 and congress failed to act.  In fact this is what Trump tweeted on August 29, 2013.  WHAT WILL WE GET FOR BOMBING SYRIA BESIDES MORE DEBT AND A POSSIBLE LONG TERM CONFLICT/  OBAMA NEEDS CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL. (End of tweet)

Civilian Trump, candidate Trump and President Trump has been all over the place with his pronouncements on Syria and changed again just this week after Syria's use of chemical weapons.  As a civilian, Trump said President Obama needed congressional approval to strike Syria.  As President,Trump said he did not need congress approval to strike Syria.  Maybe it was Trump's many different positions on Syria that prompted Syria to do what it did.  Syria never used chemical weapons again onPresident Obama's watch after the attack in 2013.  It should be noted that 1400 people were killed in the chemical attack in 2013 including children.  That is 20 times as many that were killed last week in Syria, but that did not change Trump's opinion of Syria and Assad in 2013.

A very note worthy story unfolded several hours before Trump made the announcement that the U.S. launched an attack against Syria.  Hillary Clinton speaking at the "Women In The World Summit" in New York told her audience the U.S. should attack Syria's military airfield in answer to Syria's chemical attack.  She also said a no fly zone should be established in Syria to keep Syrian aircraft on the ground.  That was her position in the debates and during the campaign.  I wonder if Trumped obtained a copy of Hillary's speech or tapped into her phone before he ordered the attack hours later.  A Clinton Presidency may have made a difference because she had a plan and knew what she wanted to do concerning Syria.

Stay tuned for part II.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio

President Donald Trump and Bill O'Reilly Deserve Each Other

Well, Bill O'Reilly of the Fox news network is in the headlines again and for the same reason, sexual harassment.  In a report this week it was reported that Fox news or O'Reilly settled several sexual harassment lawsuits against O'Reilly out of court.  The article also stated that because of the suit Fox's show the O'Reilly Factor lost 10 advertising sponsors.  The settlement was reported to be in the millions of dollars.

President Trump came to O'Reilly's defense and said he was a good person and believed that O'Reilly was innocent and that he, Trump would not have settled out of court.  Trump also said he would not settle out of court the fraud law suit brought against him and Trump University and did just the opposite and settled the fraud law suit out of court for $25 million.  Trump and O'Reilly  are good buddies who try and spin their lies and are right there with the conservative ditto heads.  A sexual harassment suit has been filed against President Trump who is claiming immunity because he is President.  We shall see what happens.

Trump and O'Reilly have a history of being accused of sexual harassment.  They feel they can do any thing they want to do and not be held accountable for their actions.  Trump bragged about that in the tape that was made public during the campaign.  Trump also said those that seek immunity have something to hide.  That is possibly what motivated Trump and O'Reilly to settle out of court.

The bottom line is why would a President Donald Trump even want to comment on O'Reilly's problem?  I guess he feels he owes something to Fox news and O'Reilly for those glowing reports during the campaign.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio

President Trump Continues To Play The Blame Game

The alleged chemical attack by Syria that reportedly killed more than 100 people, including children, once again brought out the worst in President Trump.  He immediately blamed former President Obama at a press conference and also once again told everyone that Obama left him a mess in every category you can think of.

Both statements are self serving and describes a man who is President and unwilling to stop the busk at his desk because he is such a small person who lacks character and has no respect for anyone.  He then went on to say the chemical attack changed his attitude on Syria and its leader Assad.  A person would have to be incompetent if it took a chemical attack to recognize just how ruthless Assad rules.

Trump's statements are a shell game to distract from his own failure to govern.  In fact both Trump and his Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's policy toward Syria and Russia was conciliatory and did not support the notion that Assad had to go.  Nikki Haley, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. faulted Russia for objecting to a resolution condemning the attack.  And only recently Tillerson visited Russia and its leaders.  Apparently he did not talk about Russia's relationship with Syria and what they are doing there.

Weak leaders with loud voices who brag play the blame game.  The Bush administration tried to do so concerning the attack on 9/11 and blamed President Clinton.  Republicans like to play the blame game when they get caught in their own lies and misinformation.  Trump has taken it to the next level and continues to taint every thing he touches.

After 76 days in office, it is still Trump, the business man and his corrupt agenda.  President Trump is no where to be found and the Presidency, the country and its people will be paying a heavy price for a long time.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio

The Sad Case Of Editorial Writer Tim Morris

Conservative Times Picayune editorial writer Tim Morris in Sunday's reflection section dated 4/2 continues to make a fool of himself and exposes his jealously towards former President Obama and the democratic party.  His editorial concerning a study by two Princeton university economist looking at why middle aged white Americans are dying disproportionately from what the researchers call "deaths of despair - suicides, drug overdoses and alcohol related diseases."  The researchers Anne Case and Angus Denton concluded that the tragedy is driven by the loss of steady middle income jobs for those with only a high school diploma or less.  Denton said the labor market very much turned against them.

Morris lets his conservative ideology show and uses the study to suggest that is what propelled Donald Trump to victory.  Then he makes the usual self serving statement that many of those voters believed they had been abandoned by the democratic party and largely forgotten in the eight years of President Obama.  Morris just loves fake news and that is what his editorial is all about concerning democrats and President Obama.  It was actually the administration of George W. Bush and the republicans great recession of 2008 that left the voters largely forgotten as Bush left office with the worst job creation record since the great depression.

The loss of steady middle class income jobs has been taking place for decades in America due to a number of reasons including the transfer of wealth from the middle class to the wealthy that resulted from the Reagan and Bush 43 tax cuts.  Automation, technology, Union job losses are also some of the causes.  What Morris failed to point out was most of the loss in middle income jobs happened on the watch of President Bush 43.  In fact Presidents Obama and Clinton created more jobs in the 16 years they served than Reagan, Bush 41 and Bush 43 created in the 20 years they served.  (see previous commentary on the matter)

President Obama was elected twice for good reasons and was the better candidate.  And when it comes to creating jobs for America, the democratic party performs best by a wide margin.  Morris, the republican party and other conservatives will continue to talk about Obama and the democrats because Trump and the republican party have no record of accomplishments to talk about.  Their commitment is still division.  Morris tried to get political with a study that was non political.  He has been writing a regular editorial now for several months which turns out to be a waste of time, paper and ink.  What a shame.


This commentary was written by Joe Lorio

The Electorate and The Donald Trump Factor

Part of the electorate who voted for Trump are becoming ditto heads just like the republican party in general.  First it was Trump that aped the party by casting blame on everyone else.  During the campaign part of the electorate who backed Trump let their feelings be known on facebook, twitter and other social networks available and tried so hard to predict that Trump would make a great President.

After the election Trump backers were almost silent on the social scene until just recently when it became clear for all to see Trump's failure to run the country and do the things he said he would do.  But in the last week or so they are back on the social networks blaming everyone but Trump for his own failures on health care, immigration, his campaign's collusion with Russia and the FBI investigation  on the matter, his children's involvement and conflict of interest with being a Presidential adviser while still running Trump's business, the President's lies that President Obama wiretapped his phones at Trump tower which has set off a full scale demand for an independent investigation into what Trump really knew.

Part of Trump's voting electorate have now blamed the news media, democrats, some republicans and even "fake news" for Trump's failures. And of course we all know Trump is the author of "fake news."  They can not cope with the fact they helped elect a man who was a tainted candidate in the first place and as President continues to taint every thing he touches.  And that really says it all.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio