South Korea announced that its President Moon Jay-in would meet with North Korea's President Kim Jong in summit on April 27. Both sides will examine working level discussions on the agenda. It will be the first meeting between the countries leaders since 2007. The tone of the summit this time should be different since South Korea's leader after being elected expressed a desire to have dialog with the North instead of confrontation.
Could the two leaders surprise the world at the summit and come to agreement that would bring the two countries closer together and away from future threats? Will they take on the issue of unification and a more active role in determining their own country's fate without external influence? Will they concern themselves with other issues previously written about in past PolitiDose commentary? Those were issues no one else even wanted to talk about.
The most significant question would be, could Moon and Kim come to a resolution dealing with the North's nuclear weapons that would make the proposed meeting with Trump moot? There are a lot of good things that can come out of the summit if both leaders are sincere and think the status quo has to change for the better.
The bottom line is North Korea is not going to attack anyone because it could not survive a war itself. Kim has received the attention he was seeking and now the only way left is to move his country and its people in another direction of progress and peace and join the world community.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
Saturday, March 31, 2018
Friday, March 30, 2018
European Leaders Lead The Explusion Of Soviet Diplomats And President Trump Follows.
The leaders of Europe took the lead in expelling Russian diplomats over the poisoning of a Soviet spy and his daughter. British Prime Minister May said Russia was responsible for the poisoning. President Trump followed those actions and expelled Russian diplomats from the United States. European leaders understood they could not let Putin run wild and acted swiftly in response and called out the Soviet leader.
It is a far cry from the way President Trump has responded to Russia's interference in the 2016 Presidential election. And in fact Trump the candidate gave Putin and Russia encouragement when he asked for their help to hack into Clinton's email in order to find dirt. We also know from Special Counsel Mueller's investigation that Trump's son and son in law were doing business with Russia during the campaign and after.
Trump has abandoned America's strength in leading the free world on matters of importance that really matter and make a difference. His negative comments concerning NATO has encouraged Russia's Putin to take a more aggressive role toward America's NATO allies. And although it is not in public view a new arms race between the U.S. and Russia is taking place.
With the Trump administration in so much trouble on so many fronts all it would take is a miscalculation to start another unnecessary war or farther unravel the fabric of our institutions where chaos becomes the norm. That must not happen.
Note: Russia has expelled both European and U.S. diplomats from its soil in retaliation. Its the tit for tat that goes on in the diplomatic world of politics in government.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
It is a far cry from the way President Trump has responded to Russia's interference in the 2016 Presidential election. And in fact Trump the candidate gave Putin and Russia encouragement when he asked for their help to hack into Clinton's email in order to find dirt. We also know from Special Counsel Mueller's investigation that Trump's son and son in law were doing business with Russia during the campaign and after.
Trump has abandoned America's strength in leading the free world on matters of importance that really matter and make a difference. His negative comments concerning NATO has encouraged Russia's Putin to take a more aggressive role toward America's NATO allies. And although it is not in public view a new arms race between the U.S. and Russia is taking place.
With the Trump administration in so much trouble on so many fronts all it would take is a miscalculation to start another unnecessary war or farther unravel the fabric of our institutions where chaos becomes the norm. That must not happen.
Note: Russia has expelled both European and U.S. diplomats from its soil in retaliation. Its the tit for tat that goes on in the diplomatic world of politics in government.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
Thursday, March 29, 2018
Are People Really Turned Off By Government?
The polls are saying so and in the news lately telling us that government does not work for the people. It was the subject on WWL talk radio just recently. But those polls do not tell the full story nor do the people who participate in those polls. The polls are also a contradiction because there is no government if there are no people, for governments are made up of people.
The people who find fault with government are the same ones who vote and reelect the same people over and over again who run government. Governments can be good or bad depending on the people who run government. But the polls and the people who participate in them never cross that bridge. To them, government is some kind of mythical organization that is just there and something to blame.
This writer believes we have the type of government we have because enough people are just not informed on the issues, really don't care to be and are willing to believe any thing they hear. They just know that government is to blame and that the same people they vote for over and over do not contribute to government's lack of accomplishments.
The news media plays a role in this myth buy allowing their polls to be sound bites. The poll questions never reflect the full story of the issue being polled. Do the people and the news media realize and understand when an elected official blames the government for not working and being broken he is actually speaking about his own failure to make government work.
Blaming the government is a cop out and excuse for not taking the time in the first place to be up to date on the issues before one votes. Knowing the facts and voting accordingly is the best chance for good government, success and accomplishments that are necessary for the country and its people.
Blame has never solved a problem.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
The people who find fault with government are the same ones who vote and reelect the same people over and over again who run government. Governments can be good or bad depending on the people who run government. But the polls and the people who participate in them never cross that bridge. To them, government is some kind of mythical organization that is just there and something to blame.
This writer believes we have the type of government we have because enough people are just not informed on the issues, really don't care to be and are willing to believe any thing they hear. They just know that government is to blame and that the same people they vote for over and over do not contribute to government's lack of accomplishments.
The news media plays a role in this myth buy allowing their polls to be sound bites. The poll questions never reflect the full story of the issue being polled. Do the people and the news media realize and understand when an elected official blames the government for not working and being broken he is actually speaking about his own failure to make government work.
Blaming the government is a cop out and excuse for not taking the time in the first place to be up to date on the issues before one votes. Knowing the facts and voting accordingly is the best chance for good government, success and accomplishments that are necessary for the country and its people.
Blame has never solved a problem.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
President Trump: In Another About Face, Wants The Military To Pay For His WALL.
The trumpet man stuck it to his supporters once again. After two years of promise that Mexico would pay for his border WALL, the President now says the military should do so because they are rich following the latest spending bill that gave the military a large spending increase. Mexico won the battle of truth telling when they told Trump Mexico would not pay for his WALL. It comes at a time when Trump's supporters said they support him because he keeps his campaign promises.
The WALL was never a real issue until Trump made it one during the campaign. He did so to obtain votes and tried to use it coupled with immigration reform. But we also know that immigration reform is not a Trump priority because he has no immigration reform plan before congress and cancelled DACA with out a plan to replace it, so their is no Presidential leadership on immigration reform or the WALL, only rhetoric for his base.
If the WALL was really important in Trump's plans he would have campaigned on it with the U.S. building and paying for the WALL like he campaigned on increasing military spending. It was a set up for his base and the anti-immigration movement. In other words, it was a sucker punch for voters. Like other republicans, Trump played their game, then left them hanging.
The same thing took place with Trump and the republicans health care schemes to replace the ACA with their plans which was going to be a better health care plan. The CBO said other wise and both health care schemes failed to pass. American continues to be leaderless even on the issues Trump promotes because of his corrupt attitude. And the trumpet man still can not do the one elementary act that all Presidents do, make his tax returns public for the people to see.
Food for thought: Trump says the WALL is a matter of national security. If that is so why would we leave our national security up to Mexico. Common sense tells this writer America has to take care of its own national security.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
The WALL was never a real issue until Trump made it one during the campaign. He did so to obtain votes and tried to use it coupled with immigration reform. But we also know that immigration reform is not a Trump priority because he has no immigration reform plan before congress and cancelled DACA with out a plan to replace it, so their is no Presidential leadership on immigration reform or the WALL, only rhetoric for his base.
If the WALL was really important in Trump's plans he would have campaigned on it with the U.S. building and paying for the WALL like he campaigned on increasing military spending. It was a set up for his base and the anti-immigration movement. In other words, it was a sucker punch for voters. Like other republicans, Trump played their game, then left them hanging.
The same thing took place with Trump and the republicans health care schemes to replace the ACA with their plans which was going to be a better health care plan. The CBO said other wise and both health care schemes failed to pass. American continues to be leaderless even on the issues Trump promotes because of his corrupt attitude. And the trumpet man still can not do the one elementary act that all Presidents do, make his tax returns public for the people to see.
Food for thought: Trump says the WALL is a matter of national security. If that is so why would we leave our national security up to Mexico. Common sense tells this writer America has to take care of its own national security.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Arming School Teachers: A Cowardly Act By Those Who Lack Courage.
Weeks after the mass shootings at a Parkland, Florida school we are still talking about arming teachers as a solution. The Louisiana legislature is talking about it and Louisiana's governor Edwards is opposed to the suggestion. High school students are letting their voices be heard around the country that there is a better solution. It takes very little courage to suggest arming teachers and a lack of courage to face the real problem of mass shootings.
The real problem is semi and automatic weapons that are manufactured to kill a lot of people in a short period of time. They are weapons of war and should be banned from the streets of America. But it takes courage to face up to the NRA, the gun lobby and those who want to change the subject. The teachers responsibility is to teach and educate and not pack a weapon with one eye on the books and the other eye looking for trouble.
It is the city and the states responsibility to make and keep our schools and places of education safe so teachers can do what they are trained to do. The city and states have to provide the resources necessary to do so and not hide behind budget cuts like a bunch of cowards.
The short supply of courage in facing up to the real problem after so many innocent school children have lost their lives is shameful. The demonstrations by those students who are willing to make their voices heard for real changes have more courage than the adults and hopefully will continue the dialog for real changes to our gun laws. They can be the movement that will finally break the link between the NRA and elected officials who do their bidding.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
The real problem is semi and automatic weapons that are manufactured to kill a lot of people in a short period of time. They are weapons of war and should be banned from the streets of America. But it takes courage to face up to the NRA, the gun lobby and those who want to change the subject. The teachers responsibility is to teach and educate and not pack a weapon with one eye on the books and the other eye looking for trouble.
It is the city and the states responsibility to make and keep our schools and places of education safe so teachers can do what they are trained to do. The city and states have to provide the resources necessary to do so and not hide behind budget cuts like a bunch of cowards.
The short supply of courage in facing up to the real problem after so many innocent school children have lost their lives is shameful. The demonstrations by those students who are willing to make their voices heard for real changes have more courage than the adults and hopefully will continue the dialog for real changes to our gun laws. They can be the movement that will finally break the link between the NRA and elected officials who do their bidding.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
Monday, March 26, 2018
Louisiana's Two Republican U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy Confirm What PolitiDose Has Been Saying For Years
In a Times Picayune article of 3/25 by Drew Broach concerning the $1.3 trillion spending bill passed by the republican controlled Senate last Friday, Cassidy and Kennedy confirmed what PolitiDose has been saying for years. That both of them like their party are hypocrites and that republicans do a poor job of governing and in the end, the country and its people pay a steep price.
The $1.3 trillion spending bill will take the federal government through the current fiscal year which ends 9/30/18. The bill passed on a bipartisan vote with both republicans and democrats able to obtain increases in both military and domestic spending. The bill had to be passed by last Friday to avoid another government shutdown. The bill was handled in a way that gave members of the senate little or no time to read the 2232 page bill.
Cassidy and Kennedy voted against the bill and were hypocritical in their comments about the bill increasing deficit spending and the national debt. They are right of course but they still voted for Trump's tax cut that will increase deficit spending and debt more than the $1.3 trillion spending bill they voted against. It is the same old republican rhetoric.
Both Cassidy and Kennedy also confirm that the republican party are poor at governing with the following comments: "Its easy to spend money but hard to set priorities." "The senate was given less than 24 hours to review the Bill." "Everyone who participated in this process ought to put a bag over their heads." "There was an easy solution to this mess. The senate could have been allowed to amend the budget bill in order to reduce wasteful spending. Instead we were kept in the dark. There was no communications and no collaboration."
The reader should keep in mind it was the republican controlled senate who managed the bill all the way and set the rules. Cassidy and Kennedy did not realize it but they confirmed with their own comments what PolitiDose has reported for many years. The republicans are THE hypocritical party and the WORST at governing. The reason they rushed through the spending bill with out the proper debate was to avoid another crisis shutdown which was unnecessary to begin with. The party has several different factions and all claim to be some type of conservatives, but the record confirms they are not.
Cassidy and Kennedy are no friends of Louisiana or its people. Mary Landrieu's past support for our state and its people are sadly missed. And so is the fact that the last administrations to balance the federal budget and leave office with a smaller deficit than when they took office was President's Clinton and Obama, both democrats. No republican has achieved either since President Eisenhower in 1960.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
The $1.3 trillion spending bill will take the federal government through the current fiscal year which ends 9/30/18. The bill passed on a bipartisan vote with both republicans and democrats able to obtain increases in both military and domestic spending. The bill had to be passed by last Friday to avoid another government shutdown. The bill was handled in a way that gave members of the senate little or no time to read the 2232 page bill.
Cassidy and Kennedy voted against the bill and were hypocritical in their comments about the bill increasing deficit spending and the national debt. They are right of course but they still voted for Trump's tax cut that will increase deficit spending and debt more than the $1.3 trillion spending bill they voted against. It is the same old republican rhetoric.
Both Cassidy and Kennedy also confirm that the republican party are poor at governing with the following comments: "Its easy to spend money but hard to set priorities." "The senate was given less than 24 hours to review the Bill." "Everyone who participated in this process ought to put a bag over their heads." "There was an easy solution to this mess. The senate could have been allowed to amend the budget bill in order to reduce wasteful spending. Instead we were kept in the dark. There was no communications and no collaboration."
The reader should keep in mind it was the republican controlled senate who managed the bill all the way and set the rules. Cassidy and Kennedy did not realize it but they confirmed with their own comments what PolitiDose has reported for many years. The republicans are THE hypocritical party and the WORST at governing. The reason they rushed through the spending bill with out the proper debate was to avoid another crisis shutdown which was unnecessary to begin with. The party has several different factions and all claim to be some type of conservatives, but the record confirms they are not.
Cassidy and Kennedy are no friends of Louisiana or its people. Mary Landrieu's past support for our state and its people are sadly missed. And so is the fact that the last administrations to balance the federal budget and leave office with a smaller deficit than when they took office was President's Clinton and Obama, both democrats. No republican has achieved either since President Eisenhower in 1960.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
Sunday, March 25, 2018
The War In Iraq: Fifteen Years of American Sacriface and We Are Still There
In March of 2003 President George W. Bush launched the war in Iraq over WMD that did not exist. It was described as a preemptive war against a dictator who would use those WMD against the United States. It was a fabrication and a lie and the story line by the Bush administration was swallowed by the news media and even promoted by them on many fronts. There was zero accountability concerning facts by Bush or the media even though the weapons inspectors in Iraq said over and over Iraq had no WMD. And those inspectors were on the ground in Iraq, the best place for intelligence.
So now in March 2018, fifteen years after the invasion we are still there, there are still no WMD and our men and women in uniform and their families are still paying the price for that lie. In fact 7 of our troops died there just this month while on a helicopter patrol. Bush and the neocons who clamored for that war and invasion still make the self serving statement that the war was justified even though Iraq had no WMD. The contradiction is so glaring no rebuttal is needed. Our country lost over 4000 good young men and women (and still counting) in the war and the war has been treated like just a footnote in history.
It is pretty sad to think the country has another President who lives and governs by lie after lie. The Trump administration is making sure that the present is repeating the same mistakes as the past, only this time lying about everything. Trump is also the very first Presidential candidate who ran a campaign willing to deal with a foreign country (Russia) to seek dirt on a political opponent. No other Presidential candidate has been willing to go down that dark in-American road and for good reason.
Nine years after the administration of President George W. Bush, we have a President who is willing to resort to lies to govern the country and do everything in his power to destabilize the various institutions that have made America a great country. America does not need a slogan "Make America Great Again." She just needs a great American to be President again.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
So now in March 2018, fifteen years after the invasion we are still there, there are still no WMD and our men and women in uniform and their families are still paying the price for that lie. In fact 7 of our troops died there just this month while on a helicopter patrol. Bush and the neocons who clamored for that war and invasion still make the self serving statement that the war was justified even though Iraq had no WMD. The contradiction is so glaring no rebuttal is needed. Our country lost over 4000 good young men and women (and still counting) in the war and the war has been treated like just a footnote in history.
It is pretty sad to think the country has another President who lives and governs by lie after lie. The Trump administration is making sure that the present is repeating the same mistakes as the past, only this time lying about everything. Trump is also the very first Presidential candidate who ran a campaign willing to deal with a foreign country (Russia) to seek dirt on a political opponent. No other Presidential candidate has been willing to go down that dark in-American road and for good reason.
Nine years after the administration of President George W. Bush, we have a President who is willing to resort to lies to govern the country and do everything in his power to destabilize the various institutions that have made America a great country. America does not need a slogan "Make America Great Again." She just needs a great American to be President again.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
Saturday, March 24, 2018
President Trump Fires Another Appointee, National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster
The trumpet man fired his second National Security Advisor in the last 14 months, this time Army General H.R. McMaster who replaced Trump's first National Security Advisor Michael Flynn who was also fired. Trump choose John Bolton to replace McMaster. Bolton is a well known extremist who likes to use the U.S military power with impunity. He previously served in the administrations of Reagan, Bush 41 and Bush 43.
President George W. Bush, using a recess appointment, made Bolton the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. But after his recess appointment expired, congress would not confirm Bolton to the regular position so he resigned. Bolton was a major supporter of the Iraq war and said over and over Iraq possessed WMD. He was part of Bush's neocons that were willing to start a war over a lie. PolitiDose, in a two part commentary titled, The Rosetta Stone To The Iraq War, dated December 8 and December 11, 2007 offers evidence why Bush and his neocon friends knew Iraq had no WMD.
Trump's appointment of Bolton is a huge contradiction for Trump as he commented on more than one occasion that Bush and those in his administration that promoted the war have no credibility on middle east matters. Bolton is also on record as a supporter of a military strike on North Korea and Iran. Bolton is as divisive as Trump so they will get along for a certain period of time.
The trumpet man continues to surround himself with people who play to his base and is thinking about the next Presidential election. He will never make it because Putin owns him and he will be impeached.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
President George W. Bush, using a recess appointment, made Bolton the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. But after his recess appointment expired, congress would not confirm Bolton to the regular position so he resigned. Bolton was a major supporter of the Iraq war and said over and over Iraq possessed WMD. He was part of Bush's neocons that were willing to start a war over a lie. PolitiDose, in a two part commentary titled, The Rosetta Stone To The Iraq War, dated December 8 and December 11, 2007 offers evidence why Bush and his neocon friends knew Iraq had no WMD.
Trump's appointment of Bolton is a huge contradiction for Trump as he commented on more than one occasion that Bush and those in his administration that promoted the war have no credibility on middle east matters. Bolton is also on record as a supporter of a military strike on North Korea and Iran. Bolton is as divisive as Trump so they will get along for a certain period of time.
The trumpet man continues to surround himself with people who play to his base and is thinking about the next Presidential election. He will never make it because Putin owns him and he will be impeached.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
President Trump: He Hires Them; He Praises Who He Hires and Then He Fires Them
Trump interviewed several people to be his Secretary of State and selected Exxon's CEO Rex Tillerson for the job. At the time he praised Tillerson and said he would be a great Secretary of State. But last week with less than 14 months on the job, Trump fired Tillerson in a "tweet" while Tillerson was returning from an official trip to Africa. CNN and MSNBC both reported more than 40 people had left the Trump White House, the most turn over of any Presidential administration in their first 14 months in office. And Trump said more changes would be made soon.
Trump also attacked special counsel Mueller in a tweet, trying his best to escalate the rhetoric towards Mueller's investigation in order to discredit his work But the trumpet man has a problem with credibility and some thing new is exposed every day. As a result there is no substance to Trump's rhetoric and no one with character really wants to work for him. So the people that Trump hires will continue to leave one way or another. And to top it off, Trump has his lap dog ditto heads like Louisiana's representative Steve Scalise who officially said he supports a special counsel to investigate the FBI. It is another way for republicans to support Trump under the lie being used by Trump to discredit the FBI's investigation into the Trump-Russian connection.
Trump has an ongoing problem of attacking the people he hires and who work for him using twitter. He did so to Tillerson more than once with a reminder that it is he, Trump who makes foreign policy and decisions. No one can be on the same page as Trump because Trump likes to remind people who is boss. Who ever becomes Trumps next Secretary of State won't be on the same page as Trump either because Trump wants to control everyone.
America has a leaderless President who still can not bring himself to make public his tax returns, the most elementary act of any President or Presidential candidate. The trumpet man does indeed have something to hide besides his chaotic White House and his inability to lead the people he hires or governs. And that really says it all.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
Trump also attacked special counsel Mueller in a tweet, trying his best to escalate the rhetoric towards Mueller's investigation in order to discredit his work But the trumpet man has a problem with credibility and some thing new is exposed every day. As a result there is no substance to Trump's rhetoric and no one with character really wants to work for him. So the people that Trump hires will continue to leave one way or another. And to top it off, Trump has his lap dog ditto heads like Louisiana's representative Steve Scalise who officially said he supports a special counsel to investigate the FBI. It is another way for republicans to support Trump under the lie being used by Trump to discredit the FBI's investigation into the Trump-Russian connection.
Trump has an ongoing problem of attacking the people he hires and who work for him using twitter. He did so to Tillerson more than once with a reminder that it is he, Trump who makes foreign policy and decisions. No one can be on the same page as Trump because Trump likes to remind people who is boss. Who ever becomes Trumps next Secretary of State won't be on the same page as Trump either because Trump wants to control everyone.
America has a leaderless President who still can not bring himself to make public his tax returns, the most elementary act of any President or Presidential candidate. The trumpet man does indeed have something to hide besides his chaotic White House and his inability to lead the people he hires or governs. And that really says it all.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
Saturday, March 17, 2018
How Important Was The Pennsylvania Election For A Seat In The U.S. House?
First time candidate, democrat Conor Lamb his republican rival Rick Saccone found themselves in a close race to represent the 18th district in the U.S. House of Representatives and Lamb led by a narrow margin after the vote was counted. There are fewer than 500 other ballots yet to be counted before a winner will be declared by the state. There is also talk of a recount effort since the vote is so close.
The news media and the pundits are claiming the election results was a defeat for Trump and his policies and the republican party and a indication that the democratic party would make large gains in the November elections. The media also pointed out how Trump won that same district in the November Presidential elections of 2016 by 20 points so Lamb's showing was a huge reversal for Trump and his policies.
This writer believes the November elections are too far away to draw a real conclusion how well either party will do in November but momentum is certainly on the democrat's side with several victories in other races against their republican opponents. And Trump and the republican party's failure to lead since the Presidential elections has been glaring and scandal after scandal has left the White House in chaos. And now, Trump and his party are on the verge of passing legislation to deregulate the banking industry that will cancel out the safe guards put in place by the Obama administration after the Wall Street Banks collapse and the great recession of 2008.
What the people should do is follow what goes on in Washington and congress between now and November and act accordingly. Forget about the fake news and all the speculation. The past 14 months have been the worst for progress than any past administration and only a democratic controlled congress can change that for the better for the country and its people. The democratic party has its problems from time to time but they are the party still best at governing because they govern with plans and policy and are a steady voice for progress and facing the issues so important to the well being of all.
There is a reason why Hillary Clinton won the popular vote in the 2016 Presidential election and that could play out in the November congressional elections and that is food for thought.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
The news media and the pundits are claiming the election results was a defeat for Trump and his policies and the republican party and a indication that the democratic party would make large gains in the November elections. The media also pointed out how Trump won that same district in the November Presidential elections of 2016 by 20 points so Lamb's showing was a huge reversal for Trump and his policies.
This writer believes the November elections are too far away to draw a real conclusion how well either party will do in November but momentum is certainly on the democrat's side with several victories in other races against their republican opponents. And Trump and the republican party's failure to lead since the Presidential elections has been glaring and scandal after scandal has left the White House in chaos. And now, Trump and his party are on the verge of passing legislation to deregulate the banking industry that will cancel out the safe guards put in place by the Obama administration after the Wall Street Banks collapse and the great recession of 2008.
What the people should do is follow what goes on in Washington and congress between now and November and act accordingly. Forget about the fake news and all the speculation. The past 14 months have been the worst for progress than any past administration and only a democratic controlled congress can change that for the better for the country and its people. The democratic party has its problems from time to time but they are the party still best at governing because they govern with plans and policy and are a steady voice for progress and facing the issues so important to the well being of all.
There is a reason why Hillary Clinton won the popular vote in the 2016 Presidential election and that could play out in the November congressional elections and that is food for thought.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
Will Our Nation's High School Students Turn Out To Vote In TheNovember Elections?
If they do and cast their votes against those candidates who support the NRA and the gun lobby their vote could make a difference in a close race and many of the races will be close. And if they keep up the pressure like they are doing now all the way to the election they will surely gather more support from the public at large.
We have already seen Trump and his party pull back on some of their comments on gun control made after the Parkland, Florida shootings and of course they do not want to even talk about a ban on assault type weapons which is the key to prevent mass killings. Elected officials responsibilities are to protect and to serve the people, especially those in school. They now promote the NRA's position of arming teachers. In other words, putting more guns in school. The NRA and the gun lobby loves that because more guns will be bought. All we need is an armed teacher to go berserk one day and kill every student in his class. Talk radio in New Orleans is asking its listeners to talk about the subject matter, just what the NRA wants. They want that seed to be planted, they already convinced Trump.
The NRA, the gun lobby and those elected officials who support their positions are not concerned with public safety. It would be a great accomplishment if the younger generation are able to use their commitment on the issue and vote to break up that axis of evil and allow common sense gun laws to be enacted along with safety measures to keep our country, our people and our students safe. If the status quo does not change, the future will look like the failed past to keep our children safe. Hopefully the younger generation will stay engaged. They really can make a difference that really matters.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
We have already seen Trump and his party pull back on some of their comments on gun control made after the Parkland, Florida shootings and of course they do not want to even talk about a ban on assault type weapons which is the key to prevent mass killings. Elected officials responsibilities are to protect and to serve the people, especially those in school. They now promote the NRA's position of arming teachers. In other words, putting more guns in school. The NRA and the gun lobby loves that because more guns will be bought. All we need is an armed teacher to go berserk one day and kill every student in his class. Talk radio in New Orleans is asking its listeners to talk about the subject matter, just what the NRA wants. They want that seed to be planted, they already convinced Trump.
The NRA, the gun lobby and those elected officials who support their positions are not concerned with public safety. It would be a great accomplishment if the younger generation are able to use their commitment on the issue and vote to break up that axis of evil and allow common sense gun laws to be enacted along with safety measures to keep our country, our people and our students safe. If the status quo does not change, the future will look like the failed past to keep our children safe. Hopefully the younger generation will stay engaged. They really can make a difference that really matters.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
Wednesday, March 14, 2018
Drew Brees Latest Contract Is An Insult
Drew Brees has led the New Orleans Saints to only two winning seasons in the last six years and for that was offered a two year contract worth $50 million. Franchise owners are making so much money the green backs have no value to them. Even during losing seasons, football revenue keeps rolling in. Its like taking candy from a baby.
Sports writers will now tell everyone that Brees is worth every penny and how he will lead the Saints to another Super Bowl. They will tick off all kinds of personal stats for Brees like they have been doing all year but the most important stat is lacking, and the stat that is lacking is a consistent winning record. Saint fans ae already being told how the team will be much improved over last years team. But don't drink the kool aid.
One sports writer for the Times Picayune wrote the following: THE TWO YEAR $50 MILLION CONTRACT WILL LET DREW BREES SET MORE PASSINGH RECORDS AS A NEW ORLEANS SAINT. It seems that the writer thinks it is all about personal records and not a team effort. In the sports section of the T.P. dated 3/14, is a list of the top five paid quarterbacks and Tom Brady did not make the list. Its obvious the New England Patriots are receiving more for their money than any of the teams those five quarterbacks are playing for and Drew Brees and the Saints are one of them.
Saint fans beware, the team may not even make the play offs this coming season. And when it happens, you read it here first in PolitiDose and Brees will not have earned his salary once again.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
Sports writers will now tell everyone that Brees is worth every penny and how he will lead the Saints to another Super Bowl. They will tick off all kinds of personal stats for Brees like they have been doing all year but the most important stat is lacking, and the stat that is lacking is a consistent winning record. Saint fans ae already being told how the team will be much improved over last years team. But don't drink the kool aid.
One sports writer for the Times Picayune wrote the following: THE TWO YEAR $50 MILLION CONTRACT WILL LET DREW BREES SET MORE PASSINGH RECORDS AS A NEW ORLEANS SAINT. It seems that the writer thinks it is all about personal records and not a team effort. In the sports section of the T.P. dated 3/14, is a list of the top five paid quarterbacks and Tom Brady did not make the list. Its obvious the New England Patriots are receiving more for their money than any of the teams those five quarterbacks are playing for and Drew Brees and the Saints are one of them.
Saint fans beware, the team may not even make the play offs this coming season. And when it happens, you read it here first in PolitiDose and Brees will not have earned his salary once again.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
Tuesday, March 13, 2018
President Donald Trump: The Betrayal ofAmerica and Its People Continue To Worsen, Especially For Our Young Children
Donald Trump, the President of the United States was comfortable once again to descend into the gutter when he called NBC's Chuck Todd a "SOB" at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. Trump, the traitor, excels at lacking respect for any one and his corrupting attitude is a threat to our young people who are being exposed to his immoral rhetoric and anti-American agenda.
Those ball players who refused Trump's invitation to the White House for a photo op with the trumpet man said it best. They declined the invitation and said the White House was once a place of Honor. That was so true in the past before Trump came upon the scene. Honor has no place in President Trump's life. He is a sick man who deserves to be impeached. The Presidency, America and its people should not be exposed one more day to the darkness and corruption this man lives in.
Fifty four percent of the people who voted against Trump in the November 2016 Presidential election could see what Trump was all about. They voted the way they did because they did not want to see a future that would turn out to be like the failed republican past. Trump has not only failed, he is a President incapable of offering any hope. And that really says it all.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
Those ball players who refused Trump's invitation to the White House for a photo op with the trumpet man said it best. They declined the invitation and said the White House was once a place of Honor. That was so true in the past before Trump came upon the scene. Honor has no place in President Trump's life. He is a sick man who deserves to be impeached. The Presidency, America and its people should not be exposed one more day to the darkness and corruption this man lives in.
Fifty four percent of the people who voted against Trump in the November 2016 Presidential election could see what Trump was all about. They voted the way they did because they did not want to see a future that would turn out to be like the failed republican past. Trump has not only failed, he is a President incapable of offering any hope. And that really says it all.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
Another Failure By The Louisiana State Legislature
Louisiana's governor John Bel Edwards call for a special session of the state's legislature to face the problem of a severe short fall for fiscal year beginning July 1 ended in failure. The republican controlled House could not agree on what measures to take to deal with the short fall and so another special session will have to be called at a later date to deal with the same problem.
The republican controlled legislature has been broken since Bobby Jindal took office in 2008. Their lack of a plan or policy lies in the conservative ideology of extremism which prevents them from dealing in facts with facts. And the present situation of do nothing is being influenced by the republicans desire to defeat Edwards in the next election. U.S. Senator John Kennedy who is said to be thinking about opposing Edwards has stuck his nose in the states business. Too bad as he has been a failure at representing Louisiana in the U.S. Congress.
Governor Edwards has laid out a plan to bring Louisiana's fiscal house in balance and to seek a long term solution where future budget dealings would become more productive, reliable and lack the emergency of the last nine years that resulted in budget cuts that did nothing to correct the states real fiscal problems.
The people of Louisiana need to elect more democrats to the state legislature as a way to bring balance that is badly needed to that body. That is one answer that would help in the future.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
The republican controlled legislature has been broken since Bobby Jindal took office in 2008. Their lack of a plan or policy lies in the conservative ideology of extremism which prevents them from dealing in facts with facts. And the present situation of do nothing is being influenced by the republicans desire to defeat Edwards in the next election. U.S. Senator John Kennedy who is said to be thinking about opposing Edwards has stuck his nose in the states business. Too bad as he has been a failure at representing Louisiana in the U.S. Congress.
Governor Edwards has laid out a plan to bring Louisiana's fiscal house in balance and to seek a long term solution where future budget dealings would become more productive, reliable and lack the emergency of the last nine years that resulted in budget cuts that did nothing to correct the states real fiscal problems.
The people of Louisiana need to elect more democrats to the state legislature as a way to bring balance that is badly needed to that body. That is one answer that would help in the future.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
Sunday, March 11, 2018
Times Picayune Journalists Mark Lorando and Tim Morris: Out Of Touch Big Time.
Mark Lorando, editor of nola.com, wrote an editorial in the T.P. dated 3/11 titled, WHY COMMENTS ARE TOO IMPORTANT TO KILL, AND HOW WE'RE MAKING THEM MORE CIVIL. Tim Morris editorial the same day titled, WHY DO SO MANY AMERICANS DISTRUST THE NEWS MEDIA? Both editorials took up a lot of space but never addressed the real problem and both related in some respect.
Lorando's opening statement asked the question: Is it time to kill the comments on nola.com? Lorando does not think so even though he states the problem is that not all commenters are interested in a civil, constructive conversation. Of course, he is right on target there. Nola.com is not "facebook" but is still a social media outlet.
The problem that Lorando does not address concerning uncivil comments is the fact that many commentaries written by journalists are uncivil to begin with and so invite uncivil comments in return by the reader. In many cases the readers know the facts ab out a subject matter that was reported on and the comment may not be in diplomatic language. There are also commentaries that journalists try to pass off opinions as facts that invite uncivil remarks. The larger problem that exist appears to be the type of articles written which do not represent the story of the moment but instead, the sound bite that is making the rounds.
This writer believes there would be more productive comments on social media if the articles were more productive and challenging than usual. An example is the news media continues to report the false claims about Hillary Clinton committing crimes concerning her email and Benghazi. Both were investigated by three federal committees controlled by republicans and no crimes were found to be committed. But the news media continue to run the story line every time the republicans open their mouth. And of course they still run with Trump's story line of "Crooked Hillary." I wonder if some one commented "Crooked Trump" would Lorando consider that to be uncivil? There are many more stories just like Clintons carried on social media.
As for Tim Morris' commentary, the answer is easy. Part of the answer is the same as above. The news media is out of touch with the real issues most of the time because they have too much idle time to fill and do so with stories that have no real bearing on what really matters and makes a difference for the country and its people.
Morris, a Trump supporter tried to put former Presidents Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton in the same class with President Trump as being liars because they told lies about the Viet Nam War, Watergate and an affair. Not even close because only Trump is a serial liar in both his short political life and his corrupt private life. Morris is one of several journalists who like to link other people to Trump when Trump finds himself in trouble. In fact they like to use the words "alternate facts, exaggerations and fake news" when talking about Trump's lies. Morris' opinion column appeared in the March 4 issue of the T.P.
How can people trust the media when the NRA and many in congress take the most liberal view of the 2nd amendment and say all should be able to buy a firearm and that gun control does not work. There is much evidence to the contrary that the media could respond with but they go with the flow of the NRA and many elected officials.
A good example is a commentary in the T.P. of 3/11 which was written by a reporter from Bloomberg news. He reports that the state of Massachusetts is a leading state in gun manufacturing but the state has strict gun control laws including an assault weapons ban and the lowest shooting death rate. The Times Picayune should have reported that type of information after the Florida school shooting to balance out the facts compared to the status quo answers of the NRA and the gun lobby at the time of the shooting.
The bottom line is there are just so many stories out there where the news media could offer rebuttal for the people to digest but just go with one side of the story and that is all the public hears. And the Louisiana news media is the worse. They are still trying to sell the public that the republican party is the best on fiscal matters, even after the 8 year fiscal mess Jindal left the state that is still taking a toll on the people and state services.
Trust will come to the news media when they earn it.
Note: This writer is a subscriber to the Times Picayune paper and has been so for over 30 years. The paper is smaller and smaller with less news than ever before thanks to their promotion of the paper on line. Online is what the company is promoting and the news via the paper has been lost. The Picayune should be devoting time to making the paper a better publication for the news that really matters and makes a difference.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
Lorando's opening statement asked the question: Is it time to kill the comments on nola.com? Lorando does not think so even though he states the problem is that not all commenters are interested in a civil, constructive conversation. Of course, he is right on target there. Nola.com is not "facebook" but is still a social media outlet.
The problem that Lorando does not address concerning uncivil comments is the fact that many commentaries written by journalists are uncivil to begin with and so invite uncivil comments in return by the reader. In many cases the readers know the facts ab out a subject matter that was reported on and the comment may not be in diplomatic language. There are also commentaries that journalists try to pass off opinions as facts that invite uncivil remarks. The larger problem that exist appears to be the type of articles written which do not represent the story of the moment but instead, the sound bite that is making the rounds.
This writer believes there would be more productive comments on social media if the articles were more productive and challenging than usual. An example is the news media continues to report the false claims about Hillary Clinton committing crimes concerning her email and Benghazi. Both were investigated by three federal committees controlled by republicans and no crimes were found to be committed. But the news media continue to run the story line every time the republicans open their mouth. And of course they still run with Trump's story line of "Crooked Hillary." I wonder if some one commented "Crooked Trump" would Lorando consider that to be uncivil? There are many more stories just like Clintons carried on social media.
As for Tim Morris' commentary, the answer is easy. Part of the answer is the same as above. The news media is out of touch with the real issues most of the time because they have too much idle time to fill and do so with stories that have no real bearing on what really matters and makes a difference for the country and its people.
Morris, a Trump supporter tried to put former Presidents Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton in the same class with President Trump as being liars because they told lies about the Viet Nam War, Watergate and an affair. Not even close because only Trump is a serial liar in both his short political life and his corrupt private life. Morris is one of several journalists who like to link other people to Trump when Trump finds himself in trouble. In fact they like to use the words "alternate facts, exaggerations and fake news" when talking about Trump's lies. Morris' opinion column appeared in the March 4 issue of the T.P.
How can people trust the media when the NRA and many in congress take the most liberal view of the 2nd amendment and say all should be able to buy a firearm and that gun control does not work. There is much evidence to the contrary that the media could respond with but they go with the flow of the NRA and many elected officials.
A good example is a commentary in the T.P. of 3/11 which was written by a reporter from Bloomberg news. He reports that the state of Massachusetts is a leading state in gun manufacturing but the state has strict gun control laws including an assault weapons ban and the lowest shooting death rate. The Times Picayune should have reported that type of information after the Florida school shooting to balance out the facts compared to the status quo answers of the NRA and the gun lobby at the time of the shooting.
The bottom line is there are just so many stories out there where the news media could offer rebuttal for the people to digest but just go with one side of the story and that is all the public hears. And the Louisiana news media is the worse. They are still trying to sell the public that the republican party is the best on fiscal matters, even after the 8 year fiscal mess Jindal left the state that is still taking a toll on the people and state services.
Trust will come to the news media when they earn it.
Note: This writer is a subscriber to the Times Picayune paper and has been so for over 30 years. The paper is smaller and smaller with less news than ever before thanks to their promotion of the paper on line. Online is what the company is promoting and the news via the paper has been lost. The Picayune should be devoting time to making the paper a better publication for the news that really matters and makes a difference.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
Friday, March 9, 2018
The Sanctions Have Nothing To Do With It.
North Korea's President Kim Jong better know as the "rocket man" to President Trump was able to gain the "trumpet man's" attention when he told the leaders of S. Korea he would be willing to meet with Trump and discuss North Korea's nuclear program. President Trump accepted the offer we are told and possibly the meeting could take pace some time in May. It was a turn around from Trump's so called tough talk who always said there had to be preconditions before any direct talks.
The Trump White House and some in the news media must have been delirious from a high fever and almost immediately proclaimed it was the sanctions that brought Kim Jong around. But North Korea's leader is set to obtain what he has been looking for all along, respect and the desire to be treated like other nuclear countries. Kim Jong has something to bargain and has leverage with and is using it. If and when the two countries meet, talk and negotiate, no matter the outcome, N. Korea will be the winner.
N. Korea may have a limited nuclear capacity but they are a small country that occupy half a peninsula. They are not going to attack anyone with nuclear weapons because they would be just a sitting duck for retaliation as they have no place to go and no foreign military operations. North Korea has abided by the Korean armistice since it was put in place 65 years ago which should be enough evidence that they will not attack any other country thousands of miles from their territory.
North Korea loses nothing if they give up their nuclear capacity and in exchange obtain economic and financial benefits from an agreement with the U.S. because Kim Jong is not going to use his nuclear weapons anyway, except if some one strikes first and his country needs economic and financial aid. Plus he will have used his leverage successfully and gained respect for negotiating with The U.S., the most powerful military nation on earth.
If there are talks and they produce nothing and the U.S. attacks North Korea, it will be shades of Iraq again, big, bad, powerful United States attacking a flea and then trillions of dollars in aid to rebuild the country. No, sanctions is not in play here and Reagan did not end the cold war with Russia. In the mean time this writer still believes the best out come would be a unified one Korea with one leader and one voice void of nuclear weapons and that the leaders of Korea accomplish that themselves.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
The Trump White House and some in the news media must have been delirious from a high fever and almost immediately proclaimed it was the sanctions that brought Kim Jong around. But North Korea's leader is set to obtain what he has been looking for all along, respect and the desire to be treated like other nuclear countries. Kim Jong has something to bargain and has leverage with and is using it. If and when the two countries meet, talk and negotiate, no matter the outcome, N. Korea will be the winner.
N. Korea may have a limited nuclear capacity but they are a small country that occupy half a peninsula. They are not going to attack anyone with nuclear weapons because they would be just a sitting duck for retaliation as they have no place to go and no foreign military operations. North Korea has abided by the Korean armistice since it was put in place 65 years ago which should be enough evidence that they will not attack any other country thousands of miles from their territory.
North Korea loses nothing if they give up their nuclear capacity and in exchange obtain economic and financial benefits from an agreement with the U.S. because Kim Jong is not going to use his nuclear weapons anyway, except if some one strikes first and his country needs economic and financial aid. Plus he will have used his leverage successfully and gained respect for negotiating with The U.S., the most powerful military nation on earth.
If there are talks and they produce nothing and the U.S. attacks North Korea, it will be shades of Iraq again, big, bad, powerful United States attacking a flea and then trillions of dollars in aid to rebuild the country. No, sanctions is not in play here and Reagan did not end the cold war with Russia. In the mean time this writer still believes the best out come would be a unified one Korea with one leader and one voice void of nuclear weapons and that the leaders of Korea accomplish that themselves.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
Wednesday, March 7, 2018
South Korea Leads The Way By Talking To North Korea
The Presidents of North and South Korea and their advisers are giving President Trump and his Vice President fits over their meetings and talks which began before the Olympics began in South Korea. Both Trump and Pence had to change their demands that North Korea had to meet before any talks could begin. The leaders of the two Koreas are pushing for a meeting with the U.S. in this writers opinion because both want to unify the country and separate themselves from foreign intervention.
This writer also believes that North and South Korea may make their own deal. North Korea will give up their nuclear program and weapons if South Korea ends its partnership with the U.S. and all U.S. military forces leave their territory. That would end the tension and war games between the two and the peninsula free of external and internal threats.
North Korea, an economically poor country by their own choosing by aligning themselves with China and a dictatorial rule find themselves in a situation where they cannot compete with South Korea much less on the world stage. Their conclusion was to develop a nuclear capacity and use that as a chip to negotiate with and be respected by their adversaries.
South Korea's President Moon Jae-in and his willingness to talk to North Korea with out conditions because he himself thought something had to be done about the status quo led to what seems to be a break through. Time will tell and the people will soon see just who represents a serious desire to see a peaceful solution to the problem. We will also see if the United States, China and Russia are really serious and acts responsible.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
This writer also believes that North and South Korea may make their own deal. North Korea will give up their nuclear program and weapons if South Korea ends its partnership with the U.S. and all U.S. military forces leave their territory. That would end the tension and war games between the two and the peninsula free of external and internal threats.
North Korea, an economically poor country by their own choosing by aligning themselves with China and a dictatorial rule find themselves in a situation where they cannot compete with South Korea much less on the world stage. Their conclusion was to develop a nuclear capacity and use that as a chip to negotiate with and be respected by their adversaries.
South Korea's President Moon Jae-in and his willingness to talk to North Korea with out conditions because he himself thought something had to be done about the status quo led to what seems to be a break through. Time will tell and the people will soon see just who represents a serious desire to see a peaceful solution to the problem. We will also see if the United States, China and Russia are really serious and acts responsible.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
Tuesday, March 6, 2018
Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton: A Conservative's Target
Times Picayune opinion writer, Tim Morris did his best in a column dated 2/28/18 to try and link the Lewinsky-Clinton relationship that took place 20 years ago to the MeToo movement of the present that started with the numerous accusations against Donald Trump by many women who said Trump forced himself on them and sexually harassed them. Some women said the encounter was physical with Trump pushing them up against a wall. And of course we have Trump's words on tape how a star can do what ever he wants to a woman, even grabbing them by the you know what.
The conservative strategy when republicans find themselves in trouble is to bring a democrat into the situation and try and change the subject. Morris who is a self proclaimed conservative tries to do just that with his article. He uses a commentary by Lewinsky recently published in Vanity Fair who wrote her situation takes on a new meaning in the wake of the MeToo movement and talks about her lack of support from women at the time She confirmed that her relationship with Clinton was consensual, the position she always claimed from the very beginning.
The article ends by saying:" Embracing the MeToo movement without condemning Clinton's behavior with Lewinsky has always represented a huge contradiction. Lewinsky has it right." Well no, both Lewinsky and Morris has it wrong. The only thing common between the Lewinsky-Clinton relationship and the MeToo movement against Trump lies in the fact that both served as President and Trump at the time of the accusations was a powerful business man. There was nothing consensual about the sexual harassment by Trump as alleged by the many women who made the charge and Trump's own words tell the real story Clinton's behavior was condemned at the time and the republican controlled U.S, House impeached him. President Clinton was tried by the U.S. Senate led by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and was acquitted,
President Trump has reached such a low level that conservative opinion writers are doing their best to try and cast Clinton, Obama and other democrats in the same mold as Trump.. Its good writing for the republican base but shows how low some journalists will stoop to support President Trump and his failure to lead. But the MeToo movement won't let them forget about the trumpet man's words.
Lewinsky never accused President Clinton of sexual assault or harassment and was not the one who broke the story. That distinction goes to Linda Tripp who Lewinsky confided in. Tripp became a traitor to her own friend when she went public. Unlike the women who accused Trump, Lewinsky defended her relationship with Clinton when she testified under oath before the grand jury and gave a deposition before congress
Lewinsky and Morris have it all wrong, there are no huge contradictions at all between the Lewinsky-Clinton relationship and the MeToo crowd. The reason there was no MeToo crowd to support Lewinsky was Lewinsky's admittance that the relationship was consensual. The MeToo complaint against Donald Trump is all together different and it comes from some 19 different women. And that really says it all.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
The conservative strategy when republicans find themselves in trouble is to bring a democrat into the situation and try and change the subject. Morris who is a self proclaimed conservative tries to do just that with his article. He uses a commentary by Lewinsky recently published in Vanity Fair who wrote her situation takes on a new meaning in the wake of the MeToo movement and talks about her lack of support from women at the time She confirmed that her relationship with Clinton was consensual, the position she always claimed from the very beginning.
The article ends by saying:" Embracing the MeToo movement without condemning Clinton's behavior with Lewinsky has always represented a huge contradiction. Lewinsky has it right." Well no, both Lewinsky and Morris has it wrong. The only thing common between the Lewinsky-Clinton relationship and the MeToo movement against Trump lies in the fact that both served as President and Trump at the time of the accusations was a powerful business man. There was nothing consensual about the sexual harassment by Trump as alleged by the many women who made the charge and Trump's own words tell the real story Clinton's behavior was condemned at the time and the republican controlled U.S, House impeached him. President Clinton was tried by the U.S. Senate led by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and was acquitted,
President Trump has reached such a low level that conservative opinion writers are doing their best to try and cast Clinton, Obama and other democrats in the same mold as Trump.. Its good writing for the republican base but shows how low some journalists will stoop to support President Trump and his failure to lead. But the MeToo movement won't let them forget about the trumpet man's words.
Lewinsky never accused President Clinton of sexual assault or harassment and was not the one who broke the story. That distinction goes to Linda Tripp who Lewinsky confided in. Tripp became a traitor to her own friend when she went public. Unlike the women who accused Trump, Lewinsky defended her relationship with Clinton when she testified under oath before the grand jury and gave a deposition before congress
Lewinsky and Morris have it all wrong, there are no huge contradictions at all between the Lewinsky-Clinton relationship and the MeToo crowd. The reason there was no MeToo crowd to support Lewinsky was Lewinsky's admittance that the relationship was consensual. The MeToo complaint against Donald Trump is all together different and it comes from some 19 different women. And that really says it all.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
Sunday, March 4, 2018
It Appears That Gun Control Legislation Will Take Place After Parkland, Florida School Shooting.
This writer believes that the hand writing is on the wall and that Trump and the Congress will support gun control measures as follows: (1) Raise the minimum age to 21 from the current 18 to purchase firearms. (2) Strengthen the laws concerning background checks and purchases. (3) Ban the sale and use of bump stocks. Trump, the republican party, the NRA and the gun lobby will all support those changes because banning assault style weapons will not be part of their plans.
Some democrats will support those three changes also but will also push for the ban on assault weapons because that is where the real problem needs to be addressed. A 21 year old is just as capable of buying and using an assault type weapon as a 18 year old so nothing changes there. Tightening gun laws will not stop the legal purchase of assault type weapons so there is no relief there and banning bump stocks which converts a rifle or gun into an automatic weapon was not used in the Florida mass school killings so it will not stop such future shootings. Bump stocks were used by the Las Vegas shooter according to police last year in the record killing of 58 people and Trump and the republican party were silent about it until now.
The NRA and gun lobby will fake their displeasure but make no mistake help write the changes congress makes like they always do. Their main interest is protecting their warped ideology that any type firearm should be allowed to be purchased and since Trump and the republican party receive the great majority of their campaign contributions, the NRA and gun lobby will be satisfied with the changes.
The best answer to the mass killings would be to ban the assault type automatic and semi-automatic weapons from the streets of America that are killing machines. That is why they were created, to inflict the greatest amount of damage in the shortest period of time. Any thing less than a ban is window dressing and the mass shootings and killings will continue.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
Some democrats will support those three changes also but will also push for the ban on assault weapons because that is where the real problem needs to be addressed. A 21 year old is just as capable of buying and using an assault type weapon as a 18 year old so nothing changes there. Tightening gun laws will not stop the legal purchase of assault type weapons so there is no relief there and banning bump stocks which converts a rifle or gun into an automatic weapon was not used in the Florida mass school killings so it will not stop such future shootings. Bump stocks were used by the Las Vegas shooter according to police last year in the record killing of 58 people and Trump and the republican party were silent about it until now.
The NRA and gun lobby will fake their displeasure but make no mistake help write the changes congress makes like they always do. Their main interest is protecting their warped ideology that any type firearm should be allowed to be purchased and since Trump and the republican party receive the great majority of their campaign contributions, the NRA and gun lobby will be satisfied with the changes.
The best answer to the mass killings would be to ban the assault type automatic and semi-automatic weapons from the streets of America that are killing machines. That is why they were created, to inflict the greatest amount of damage in the shortest period of time. Any thing less than a ban is window dressing and the mass shootings and killings will continue.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
Cal Thomas: A Journalist Who Should Hand Up His Writing Pen
The conservative journalist in a Times Picayune opinion column titled, "Boldly going like no President before" Thomas finally admits that the Reagan administration never cut spending, quite a statement since Reagan left office over 30 years ago and the fact that Thomas' party is still proclaiming Reagan did cut spending. The article makes no sense because Thomas proposes that congress does what he says they never do.
Conservative journalists follow the line of empty commentary because they can not find any thing positive to write about when republicans control the White House and the congress. After 13 months in office the Trump White House is a good example of a lack of accomplishments so the people are exposed to Thomas latest opinion which is full of holes on reducing spending. He also blames congress for Reagan's failure to cut spending using the words " congressional intransigence.
But you might know since the article was about reducing spending Thomas could not bring himself to inform his readers that the Clinton Administration that followed a republican administration and the Obama administration that followed a republican administration did reduce spending on a percentage basis and did a better job than the republican administrations before them. (covered in a recent commentary here in PolitiDose)
The reading public really deserve all the facts regardless of their political orientation.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
Conservative journalists follow the line of empty commentary because they can not find any thing positive to write about when republicans control the White House and the congress. After 13 months in office the Trump White House is a good example of a lack of accomplishments so the people are exposed to Thomas latest opinion which is full of holes on reducing spending. He also blames congress for Reagan's failure to cut spending using the words " congressional intransigence.
But you might know since the article was about reducing spending Thomas could not bring himself to inform his readers that the Clinton Administration that followed a republican administration and the Obama administration that followed a republican administration did reduce spending on a percentage basis and did a better job than the republican administrations before them. (covered in a recent commentary here in PolitiDose)
The reading public really deserve all the facts regardless of their political orientation.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
Saturday, March 3, 2018
Conservative Journalists: Still Playing The Ditto Head Role Of The Republican Party
Andrew Taylor and Martin Crutsinger wrote a commentary for the Associated Press in a Times Picayune article dated 2/14/18 titled, "Trump's High-Spending Budget Reverses Longtime GOP Dogma. Crutsinger, according to information on the web site of the AP says his expertise is the economy but one would never know that from the above article. The article is about Trump's latest budget which is a $4.4 trillion piece if debt and deficit spending.
The co-authors wrote that the open embrace of red ink is a remarkable public reversal for Trump and his party and the title of the article uses the words "longtime GOP dogma. But those who follow politics know that over spending and deficits by republican administrations goes back to 1960, which was the last time a republication administration balanced the federal budget under President Eisenhower. And no republican President since that time has left office with a smaller deficit than when he took office. In other words, the longtime GOP dogma was reversed a long time ago in 1960.
Both Taylor and Crutsinger like many other conservative journalists still try to pass the republican party off as fiscal conservative, but the record proves they do not exist and is pure myth. And the greatest myth is that the Reagan, Bush 43 and Trump tax cuts would pay for themselves and of course, journalists wrote commentary about those tax cuts in support of the rhetoric.
Understanding the failed past is still the key to a better future but ditto head conservative journalists will continue to slant their commentary concerning the republican party and conservatism.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
The co-authors wrote that the open embrace of red ink is a remarkable public reversal for Trump and his party and the title of the article uses the words "longtime GOP dogma. But those who follow politics know that over spending and deficits by republican administrations goes back to 1960, which was the last time a republication administration balanced the federal budget under President Eisenhower. And no republican President since that time has left office with a smaller deficit than when he took office. In other words, the longtime GOP dogma was reversed a long time ago in 1960.
Both Taylor and Crutsinger like many other conservative journalists still try to pass the republican party off as fiscal conservative, but the record proves they do not exist and is pure myth. And the greatest myth is that the Reagan, Bush 43 and Trump tax cuts would pay for themselves and of course, journalists wrote commentary about those tax cuts in support of the rhetoric.
Understanding the failed past is still the key to a better future but ditto head conservative journalists will continue to slant their commentary concerning the republican party and conservatism.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
Thursday, March 1, 2018
Bill Clinton: A President Who Cared About Public Safety and The People.
President Bill Clinton accomplished what Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush never made an effort to do. That is a ban on assault type weapons. Reagan had no inclination to go up against the NRA and neither did his successor George H.W. Bush who kicked the can down the road to the Clinton administration.
But President Clinton picked up the challenge to pass the assault weapons ban that was in effect for 10 years and was a success. And for those years the ban was in effect no American was denied his right to bear arms for his own protection like the NRA and the gun lobby was promoting. Clinton stood tall in face of fierce opposition from the NRA, the gun lobby and the personal attacks from republicans and others. The President's leadership and action demonstrated his knowledge about the gun issue and awareness of his responsibility to keep our people safe.
Clinton also did his best to help America's cities stay safe when he had congress pass legislation to put 100,000 new police officers on the streets of America to help the cities who could not afford to do so. Many cities used those officers to help with community policing. The federal government paid the cost of those extra officers and Clinton still balanced the federal budget. President George W.Bush let both the assault weapons ban expire and did not renew the 100,000 police officers for the cities.
President Clinton had the courage and leadership to keep a domestic agenda for the citizens at the top of his priorities along with our national security He knew the country could accomplish both and he reduced the deficit that made way to balanced budgets. And as noted in other posts in PolitiDose, federal spending on Clinton's watch had the smallest percentage increase than any other administration in the past 50 years.
Understanding the past is still the key to a better future. But, unfortunately, today America has no leader in the White House and the President's latest budget for the country contains serious cuts to domestic spending including schools. And the republican party's position on gun control is to move slowly and not rush to judgement after the school shootings in Florida. Its as if the country has not been there before. What a shame our political leaders have forgotten the past.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
But President Clinton picked up the challenge to pass the assault weapons ban that was in effect for 10 years and was a success. And for those years the ban was in effect no American was denied his right to bear arms for his own protection like the NRA and the gun lobby was promoting. Clinton stood tall in face of fierce opposition from the NRA, the gun lobby and the personal attacks from republicans and others. The President's leadership and action demonstrated his knowledge about the gun issue and awareness of his responsibility to keep our people safe.
Clinton also did his best to help America's cities stay safe when he had congress pass legislation to put 100,000 new police officers on the streets of America to help the cities who could not afford to do so. Many cities used those officers to help with community policing. The federal government paid the cost of those extra officers and Clinton still balanced the federal budget. President George W.Bush let both the assault weapons ban expire and did not renew the 100,000 police officers for the cities.
President Clinton had the courage and leadership to keep a domestic agenda for the citizens at the top of his priorities along with our national security He knew the country could accomplish both and he reduced the deficit that made way to balanced budgets. And as noted in other posts in PolitiDose, federal spending on Clinton's watch had the smallest percentage increase than any other administration in the past 50 years.
Understanding the past is still the key to a better future. But, unfortunately, today America has no leader in the White House and the President's latest budget for the country contains serious cuts to domestic spending including schools. And the republican party's position on gun control is to move slowly and not rush to judgement after the school shootings in Florida. Its as if the country has not been there before. What a shame our political leaders have forgotten the past.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
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