The Obama Administration Continues To Follow Through On Its Priorities To Bring Terrorists Leaders To Justice.

A Pentagon press secretary announced that the mastermind of the 2014 terror attack on a Pakistani school that killed 150 people including 130 children was killed by a U.S. drone strike near Afghanistan's border with Pakistan.  The mastermind terrorist Umar Khalifa was killed along with four other terrorists who were members of an Islamic State affiliate.

President Obama has stayed on focus with his priority to bring terrorists to justice and often reminds them that the U.S. has a long reach and will hunt them down.  And the President has not tried to show off and talk tough.  He continues to take action that bring results.  The news media gave scant coverage to this latest positive event against terror and the republicans and Trump are silent once again.  Their tough talk and lack of accomplishments are wearing thin.

The President understands America's role in fighting terrorists and to do what is necessary to end the threat.  Our intelligence agency worked closely with Pakistan and Afghanistan's government intelligence to find and bring Umar to justice.  He and his terror group were responsible for other attacks along the border and to undermine the Afghanistan government.  Yes, America really has a long reach that the terrorists are feeling and America's leader is President Obama.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio

The Positive News Continues For The Economy, Job Creation and Unemployment While The News Media, The Republicans and Trump Are Stuck In Their Negative Little World Of Spin.

The U.S. Labor Department announced that the economy created 287,000 jobs in June and the unemployment rate stood at 4.9%.  It was the 76th straight month of positive job growth.  The June job numbers erased the hype that went along with May's job numbers that came in some what lower than expected.  The June numbers now confirm the economy is still growing and in a broad range.

As usual the news media paid little attention because it was positive news.  Ditto the republicans and Trump because they are still preaching doom and gloom and are incapable of talking anything positive that happens on the President's watch.  Trump says he will create all kinds of jobs.  Yeah, right, tell me another Trump fairy tale.  He actually has a history of laying off people.

The U.S. economy continues to be the envy of the civilized world and is the engine that gives others hope.  Even our opponents respect the U.S's ability to bring stability to a world not always on terms with each other.  They know America is great and Trump is wrong.  The silence of the news media, the republicans and Trump concerning the progress made under the Obama administration since the great republican recession speaks loud and clear.  They are the losers of the 21st century and lack the character and courage to stand up and be counted.

President Obama continues to stand tall over them and the American people are better off today than they were under the previous republican administration.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio

Investigations Have A Way That Identify How Sorry Republicans In Congress Really Are

The republicans in congress controlled two hearings concerning Benghazi and the emails of Hillary Clinton while she was Secretary of State.  Their intelligence committee also investigated Benghazi and issued a separate report and the FBI investigated Hillary's email issue and also issued their report.  That is a total of 4 investigations and the republicans still can not accept their own findings or that of their intelligence committee or the FBI.

So now the republicans want to open up an investigation of perjury charges against Clinton and speaker of the House Paul Ryan sent a letter to President Obama urging him not to give Clinton foreign policy intelligence briefings like the democratic and republican nominees are normally given that dates back many years.  It is the same ditto head of the republicans in the House that led to the impeachment of President Clinton that the U.S. Senate rightfully rejected.  The chief justice of the U.S. Supreme court presided over that debate and decision that cleared the President.

There is no scandal of classified information being hacked on Clinton's watch as Secretary of State.  And the republicans still don't understand it is the President who makes foreign policy decisions and not the Secretary of State or other cabinet departments.  Before Hillary Clinton's service, the prior two Secretaries of State were caught up in the lies of Iraq"s WMD that did not exist and a war that proved to be unnecessary.

It is also good to remember when talking about a private server or a so called government secured server, both the Department of Defense and Social Security announced some months ago that their secured system was hacked and the names of thousands of employees of the Defense Department were stolen.  Also the names of thousands of people on Social Security was stolen along with their social security numbers.  The FBI said that Clinton's email server could have been hacked but there is no evidence that it was.  If any one thinks the FBI or our intelligence community don't know about those things, think again.

Republicans have always been extreme in attacking the Clintons in particular and democrats in general.  They started their extreme agenda against President Obama when he was first elected when Mitch McConnell said his party would not work with the President because they wanted him to be a one term President.  They kept up the extreme agenda with the birther issue, calling the President a muslim, saying he hated America, he was a racist and so many other extreme comments.  And now it is Donald Trump who has taken up the extreme rhetoric.

And yes, the republicans are still chapped because the country has remained safe on Clinton's watch as Secretary of State and Obama's watch as President and Commander in Chief.  The party's scare tactics have backfired.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio

Tragedy In Dallas

Five Dallas Police officers were killed, seven other officers were wounded and so was two civilians by sniper fire Thursday evening in downtown Dallas, Texas.  It happened while a protest march was taken place in conjunction with the death of two men by police in Louisiana and Minnesota.  The downtown area where the carnage took place is an area this writer is familiar with having traveled there for 25 years doing sales work.  It is also near Dealy Plaza where President Kennedy was killed, also an area I am familiar with.

Police chief David Brown said the alleged sniper, Micah Johnson was killed in a parking lot when talks between the Dallas police and Johnson broke down.  But contrary to the talking points of the NRA and their ditto heads he was not killed by a good man with a gun, he was killed by a good man with a robot that had an attached explosive devise.  Dallas police to their credit would not risk their people's lives in a shoot out with sniper fire when at the time did not know if there were more than one sniper.

The tragedy is an example how sick the NRA and their ditto heads are on the "macho" statement about a good man with a gun.  The good men with guns that day in Dallas could not prevent their fellow officers deaths and injuries.  All gun deaths can not be prevented because there are a lot of people out there who are sick and show no outward motives.  But when 40% of all guns that are sold are done through private sales that are unregulated and not registered a lot of those guns turn up in the wrong hands.

Dallas has been known for years as having a lot of extreme groups.  They were out in force on that day when President Kennedy visited the city.  They took out ads and had posters made up calling the President a traitor and that he was Wanted for Treason.  That type of talk can set an unstable person off to do bad things.  Having said that, as I wrote some time ago it was not Lee Harvey Oswald who killed the President.

There are a lot of people who say they support the police, but the great majority of police chiefs and police support the assault weapons ban and also common sense gun laws in keeping semi-automatic and automatic weapons off the streets and out of the hand of civilians.  Lip service does not make the job easier or safer for the police force.  And the statements by the NRA and their ditto heads are not helpful to the Dallas police officers who lost their lives or wounded nor their family who now bear the burden and the pain.

It now becomes more clear.  Congress and many local governments have done nothing after the mass killings at schools and etc., and now its police officers, those who volunteer to serve and protect.  Will what happened in Dallas Thursday night be enough for action to be taken or will the future be like the failed past.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio

Is It Really Important That Senator Bernie Sanders Has Not Endorse Hillary Clinton Yet?

MSNBC's Steve Kornacki seems to be hung up on the issue.  This past Wednesday on the Rachel Maddow show which he hosted, devoted a segment of the program on the subject matter.  He wondered why the endorsement has not come yet like there is some kind of mandate out there as to a time schedule.  He then asked will the endorsement have a lesser affect coming later rather than earlier.  Then he noted the endorsement may come next week when Sanders campaigns with Hillary.

Kornacki is one of the young Journalists at MSNBC and has good potential but has the same problem as the more experienced host at MSNBC.  They have too much air time to fill and instead of talking about those issues that really matter and make a difference they inject non issues like Sanders endorsement.  The reality is that if Sanders endorsed Clinton next week or the week after it will have the same affect as an earlier endorsement.

The reason being the voters won't get excited until after the convention.  That is when the voters get into the swing of things.  That is also when Sanders supporters will have to put up or shut up because Hillary has already made some concessions to Sanders both in the Democratic platform and by meshing some of Sanders ideas on policy with her own.

Filling up air time with quality issues that help the public understand is an opportunity lost by the cable networks.  There are so many positive issues taking place in our great nation that is being neglected in favor of the extreme voices who seem to be everywhere on the cable networks.  President Kennedy once said, civility is not a sign of weakness and those words of wisdom have been proven time and time again and have accomplished much.

Yes my fellow Americans, understanding the past is still the key to a better future.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio

The FBI's Report On Hillary Clinton's Email Issue Matters Not To The Republicans and the Clinton Haters

Director of the FBI James Comey issued his agency's investigation report concerning Clinton's use of a private email server and found "no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case" and that the FBI will not recommend criminal charges against her to the Justice Department.  Loretta Lynch, the U.S. Attorney General was on record some time ago in saying she would accept the FBI's report.  The report also stated that there were clear shortcomings in security protocols for the emails, that there is evidence that they were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information but that Clinton nor her colleagues intended to violate laws governing the handling of classified information.

The reaction from the republican party, conservatives and Trump were the usual disbelief just like it was two years ago when the House Intelligence Committee found no wrong doing by President Obama or then Secretary of State Clinton concerning Benghazi.  The final House Committee version report came out just last week on Benghazi and came to the same conclusion as the Intelligence Committee.  But like the Benghazi issue the email issue will not go away for them because it is an election year and their intent is to cripple Clinton.  They will never be satisfied because it is political for them and they will still be talking about Benghazi and the email issue even after the November elections.  The republican controlled House said their committee will call FBI director Comey and Attorney General Lynch to testify before their committee.

Prior to the FBI report the meeting between former President Bill Clinton and Loretta Lynch sent the crazies off on the deep end, even some in the news media.  The fact of the matter is Bill Clinton is a people person that was reported on many times by the news media while he was President.  He and Lynch are friends so they met, so what?  Bill Clinton and his wife do not hold any government job and as such have no leverage with the FBI nor the Justice Department and neither Comey or Lynch is going to allow outside influence to shape their findings on a lawful investigation.

Bill Clinton knows there are people in government who can not keep secrets so it is safe to say he would not do anything to harm his wife's chance of becoming President by injecting himself into the investigation.  The halls of Washington D.C. have ears and sooner or later some one is bound to talk and Bill Clinton knows that.  The Clintons would have more to lose than to gain by trying to interfere.

FBI director Comey said it best when he said unequivocally, "we are expressing our view to Justice that no charges are appropriate in this case."  And that really says it all.


This Commentary written by Joe Lorio

The Cable News Networks: Reporting The Negatives While Ignoring The Positives

Terror attacks abroad have become huge stories for the Cable News Networks consuming many hours of prime time while positive stories in the United States are under reported or buried.  In the last several months we have seen it on the networks concerning France, Belgium, Turkey and other countries far from our shores.  The tone of many reports by the networks and some of its guests one would think the United States was attacked.  Regardless what terror group is responsible for the attack it always comes back to ISIS being the ringleader and the question, "is the President doing what is necessary to keep America safe with the silly hint of why did he not keep those other countries safe."

Not once has the networks acknowledge that the President has indeed kept our homeland safe from foreign planned terror attacks for the past seven years and six months.  Nor do they spend time talking about the gains the Iraqi and U.S. led coalition have made in taking back most of the territory ISIS occupied in Iraq.  Nor do they say much about the many senior ISIS leaders who have been brought to justice by U.S. air strikes, the latest being two senior ISIS leaders who were killed in Mosul on June 25, one being the deputy minister of War and the other a military commander.

How much time have the networks spent on the economic progress made since the great republican recession or the millions of jobs created since the worst job loses of the previous administration.  May's unemployment rate was 4.7%, down from 7.8% when the President took office in 2009.  The President has reduced deficit spending and deficit spending has gone down four straight years.  Only one other President accomplished that in the past 50 years and it was President Clinton.

The President has redirected our efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan and both countries now enjoy much progress and unity.  Our men and women in uniform are not exposed unnecessary in the middle east to the IED's and suicide bombers like they were in Iraq in previous years that killed or wounded so many Americans.  And it was the U.S. led coalition air strikes and leadership that assisted Iraqi forces that retook Fallujah from ISIS just in the last week.

In Ronald Reagan's 8 fiscal years the national debt increased 186% and in George W. Bush's 8 fiscal years the national debt increased 105%.  When President Obama's 8 fiscal years are up the national debt will have increased much less than it did under Reagan or Bush.  But the news media, Trump and the republicans are always talking about the present national debt but never point out what happened on Reagan and Bush's watch or the fact that the national debt would not be a problem today if Reagan and Bush had balanced the federal budget as Clinton did.  President Obama also did George W. Bush's job and brought Bin Laden to justice.

The above positive accomplishments of President Obama and many more have not been given due coverage by the Cable News Networks.  It is only reported as a footnote while the negative news of the day is front and center for hours at a time.  Is it any wonder why the average viewer is so ill informed.  The networks love affair with Trump and their attempt to undermine Hillary Clinton's campaign is a disgrace to the news media who claim to be the watchdog for the benefit of the people.

The networks are not fit for prime time and contribute to the disdain people have for government.  America will continue to be a great country because of its people.  Cable news will continue to be the ugly and negative America because its belief in being elite.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio

The Louisiana Legislature Passes A Budget

The republican controlled legislature passed a budget for Louisiana's fiscal year that begins July 1.  It took three legislative sessions to handle the new budget and the one ending June 30.  The regular session was squeezed between the two special sessions.  The latest word out of Baton Rouge is we will find out if the budget that ended on June 30 is really balanced  but not until around September when the state pays all its bills.

Will the present fiscal year budget that begins July 1 be balanced?  We should have a good idea in about six months.  But there are some things we know now.  (1)  The republican controlled senate worked with governor Edwards on many of the issues the governor wanted while the republican controlled house did not and in fact rejected the governor's call to reduce or change tax breaks for business.  (2)  TOPS will be funded at only 70%.  (3)  Taxes were raised and the K-12 school budget, prisons and sheriff's housing and juvenile detention and rehabilitation were all cut millions of dollars. (4)  Corporate tax collections will be less than the tax breaks corporations receive from the state.  (5) The republican controlled house used another budget gimmick when they insisted that TOPS be fully funded for the fall semester at 100% but then only at 40% for the spring semester.  Which means they are really not serious about the TOPS program.

The bottom line question on the budget and the states fiscal affairs and how serious the legislators were in the three sessions are:  (1)  Will the fiscal year that ended June 30 and the current fiscal year that begins July 1 be balanced.  (2)  Did the legislators really find and or raise revenue that is recurring that can be counted on to fund present and future needs of the state and its people.  (3)  Budget cuts alone have never balanced a state budget so has the legislature found that out yet?

From all indications, governor Edwards is on top of what is needed to balance the budget and is well aware gimmicks should no longer be tolerated.  This writer believes the governor will continue to push the legislature in the right direction to eliminate the unnecessary  tax breaks given to business.  The latest unemployment rate for Louisiana in May was 6.2%, much higher than the national average so where are the jobs the tax breaks are supposed to create that business always talks about?


This commentary written by Joe Lorio

Another Slap Down For The Republicans in Congress and The Fox News Network

The U.S. House Select Committee issued and released its final report on Benghazi and we now know it was not a Hillary Clinton scandal like the republicans and the Fox News Network claimed  over and over since day one.  It was the longest and most expensive congressional investigation ever by congress.  The readers of "PolitiDose" knew it was no scandal and read it here first in "PolitiDose" long ago.  It should be noted that Donald Trump after announcing he would run for President started using the republicans talking point of blaming Hillary for the terror attack on Benghazi.

Clinton herself testified before the committee in person for over 8 hours many months ago and the committee came up empty handed because she was such a credible witness.  The report found no new evidence of culpability or wrongdoing by Clinton in the Benghazi attack. The so called scandal was a continuation of the negative attacks against Clinton by the republicans and the Fox network that has been going on for many years.  Republican house majority leader Kevin McCarthy told Fox news in September of last year that the committee's work had put a dent in Clinton's poll numbers.  McCarthy and Fox were not concerned about the truth of Benghazi, they just wanted to damage Clinton.

One can be accurate in saying a high percentage of Clinton's negative poll numbers can be traced to the personal attacks against her.  Republicans and conservatives knew they could not articulate any accomplishments they themselves have made or debate the issues the country faces so negative attacks are the only answers they have.

Clinton is a serious public servant who will not allow personal attacks to stop her from serving her country and its people.  Her character over shadows her opponents hostility and lies.  And that really says it all.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio

Conservative Journalist And The NRA

Erick Erickson, the conservative opinion writer in a column published by the Times Picayune of 6/26/16 in reference to the Orlando shooting revealed his ditto head failure when he stated we need more guns in America in the hands of law abiding citizens to solve the gun violence problem.  That is the standard NRA talking point which Donald Trump also invoked after the Orlando shooting.  Police chiefs all across America disagreed with that statement a long time ago.

Erickson goes on in the column and makes more than one statement that is not true to the facts.  His statement that the Democrats proposals would only stop long barrel rifles is absurd.  The democrats are on record that they want all gun sales to go through the same check as guns sold at regulated gun shows as evidence indicate private gun sales account for up to 40% of all gun sales and are not subject to regulatory checks.

Erickson statement that law abiding citizens have difficulty obtaining guns is blatantly not true and he knows it.  The NRA is probable laughing at that statement and telling each other Erickson is right where we want him, doing our work.  His next statement that democrats wish to deny Americans their right to gun ownership without due process is an outright lie.

Erickson also goes off the stupid end with a Trump like remark when he tried to compare democrats wanting to ban guns to people on the no fly list to republicans wanting to ban women on the no fly list for having an abortion.  Can anyone believe any thing this guy says.  He also goes ff the deep end when he said terrorists want to kill us and the government cannot keep us safe.  He then contradicts his own self by saying, "Americans should realize the government cannot be anywhere and everywhere immediately and that we must rely on ourselves to defend ourselves."

The fact of the matter is government can keep the people safer if they have the proper tools to do so.  Erickson's fairy tale statement was when he said, "it is no coincidence that the states with the most restrictive gun laws have the worse gun crimes."  That statement is a lie that is embraced by the NRA.  According to an article by More Magazine of October 2014 by Nanette Varian, "Mayors Against Illegal Guns" analysis produced the following results.

Approximately 6.6 million guns were sold at private gun sales took place in 2012 where federal law does not apply.  Disturbed by that disconnect 16 states took actions themselves and enacted tougher gun laws on their own and here is how their gun stats compare with those states that haven't closed the private sale loop hole.

a)    38% fewer women shot and killed by their intimate partners.

b)   49% fewer firearms suicides.

c)   17% fewer aggravated assaults committed with firearms.

d)   64% fewer gun trafficked to other states.

e)   39% fewer law enforcement officers killed by hand guns.

Yes, there are steps government can take to reduce gun violence that has nothing to do with a persons right to self defense.  Conservatives and the NRA do not have the answer, never had and never will because of ideology.  It is too bad conservative writers and the NRA feel they have to actually lie to the public when it comes to gun violence and the second amendment.


Note:  The 16 states who enacted their gun laws are California, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Iowa, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Washington, D.C.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio