The Great Obstructionist Party

The Grand Old Party lost its real "Grand" a long time ago when it turned to Newt Gingrich as its leader in congress.  That was a turn for the demise of the real GOP that in the past worked across party lines in congress to move the country and its people forward.  The "Newt" finally had to resign his position as Speaker of the House in disgrace.

The torch in congress for the Great Obstructionist Party has passed to John Boehner, Speaker of the U.S. House and Mitch McConnell, minority leader in the U.S. Senate.  Both men decided to take the party to a new low after Obama was elected President by promising to obstruct the President's agenda that would bring the country back from the second great republican depression and oppose the President's policies just to make him a one term President.  That was an act of Treason against the country and its people and a violation of the public trust by elected officials.

As of this writing the Treason continues by those two republican leaders and the party it controls in congress.  Their obstruction prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the republican party today practices and promote a conservative ideology that is anti-American in nature.  The obstruction in congress by the republican party is a creditable reason why President Obama should be reelected in November. The President does have a positive record to run on and the people will be hearing about that record in the coming months. 

The Great Obstructionist Party is a good reason also why the voters should put the democrats back in charge of both houses of congress in the November elections.  Ditto for giving the democrats 60 votes in the Senate to stop the republican filibuster. The President needs another four years to complete the job and put the second great depression to bed.

Governor Scott Walkers Recall Election

Democrats should have no fear of the republican talking point that what happened in Wisconsin would spread through out America like republican senator Rand Paul proclaimed after the election was decided.  The people of Wisconsin made it clear they did not like or believe in recall elections and it was not about union rights or Walkers agenda. 

The democratic party did turn out their party's vote at the polls and voted for Walker in double digits but support Obama in the November election over Mitt Romney.  Some republicans are still upset over that prospect.  The right wing news media tried to make a story out of President Obama not campaigning in Wisconsin before the elections and conveniently forgot to mention that President Obama has several reelection headquarters in Wisconsin that are active there while Romney has none.

It appears that the democratic party will take control of the senate in Wisconsin if the lead stands up.  If that happens the democrats will be able to block any future attempts by Walker to eliminate workers rights.  If that happens the recall election will take a new twist.  Time will tell.

After all the hype and cliches are forgotten about this election, President Obama will win the state in November.  Have heart democrats, as Yogi Berra always said, "It aint over till its over."  And you know in your heart, Yogi is always right.

Wisdom, Knowledge, Leadership, Courage And Character: A Lacking In America

Yes, America and its people did possess those virtues at one time that led to the founding and greatness of our nation and its people.  Those virtues were the hallmark of past great leaders of America.  Today and for the past 30 years those virtues have been eroded by our political system that has succumbed to the demands of Corporate America and their lobby, the so called super PAC's funded by the wealthy, a news media not interested  in facts and an electorate who has been led around by the nose and who have chosen to believe lies and fairy tales instead of seeking out the truth and the facts on their own.

Our elected officials on the state and federal level have taken the low road of accepting campaign contributions that amount to legal bribes from the wealthy special interest groups who's only concern is to seek concessions for their own benefit at the expense of the many.  Elected officials have partnershiped with those special interest groups which has resulted in the greatest transfer of wealth from the middle class to the wealthy.  They are no longer public officials who represent the best interest of the people or the country.  They have even gone so far as to allow some special interest groups such as the NRA to write legislation that affect the public good.

Those special interest groups have seduced elected officials to reduce their taxes that are at the lowest level in over 50 years and in many instances loopholes that allow those special interest to pay no tax at all.  Corporate America and the special interest have turned their backs on America and its people by their ego demands of creating more wealth while ignoring their own responsibility to country in paying their fair share.  Seven Wall Street banks control more than 60% of the economy thanks to their partnership with congress who regulate them and who are suppossed to break up monopolies.  The wealth that the special interest groups pass around to elected officials take front and center stage while the public good is ignored.  The most recent example is the second great depression that occured during the Bush 43 administration.

The major news media to a certain extent are owned by Corporate America and as a result are not in the business of being objective in their reporting.  Some are not above using lies as a tool to influence the public.  The news media, special interest groups and elected officials are a tight circle of wealth to influence an electorate that is uninformed on many issues.  Take for instance the official republican talking point of the democratic party being the big spenders in Washington.  The news media promotes that talking point of the republicans as fact but according to the CBO's own records it is the republican party that are the biggest spenders and have been so for the past 30 years.  This has been previously reported and documented in my past commentaries published in politidose.  The news media has access to the CBO records and the facts but they could care less. 

Elected officials can easily end this partnership by refusing to take campaign contributions from Corporate America, their lobby, PAC's and all special interest groups and use innovation to come up with a new way to finance their campaigns where the people are in control.  That would not cost the government one penny for campaign finance reform and no court in the land could change that.  That action would be the first step in returning Wisdom, Knowledge, Leadership, Courage and Character to our political system.  And that says it all.

LSU's Upcoming Football Season

This writer does not look for the Tigers to end the 2012 season with a won/loss record as good as last season.  There are simply too many unanswered questions, the larger being does the team have confidence in coach Les Miles after the fiasco in the national championship game against Alabama.

The problem is not talent but how that talent is used by the coaching staff.  The talents of too many LSU players have been wasted by Miles over and over again over several seasons.  It was noticable that Miles was determined to make Jefferson the starting quarterback  even after he got into trouble regardless how well Lee was playing. 

LSU's players, fan base and students deserve better.  When a team goes 13-0 and than looses in a rematch because the coach did not do his job it is hard to see how a so called experienced coach can recapture the confidence in his players.  Time will tell.

The Peyton Manning And Drew Brees Saga

The up coming NFL season for Denver and New Orleans could leave their fans shaking their heads in disbelief at the conclusion of the regular season.  This writer has never witnessed a news conference like the one held by Denver to announce Manning's signing.  It was too long with too many questions and answers and unfortunately void of the important answers that can not possibly be answered until the end of the season.  What is ahead for Manning and Denver is as follows.

Will Manning be gun shy because of his neck injury and bail out and let the ball fly too soon?  Will Manning be able to keep his cool and not think about his injury or being reinjured?  Will Manning's timing, agility and athletic ability still be there after missing a full season?  Will his desire to play be at the high level necessary to compete once the season gets underway?  How much help will the team give Manning?  That long news conference was a boon to the news media and hype but was clueless as for how Manning and Denver will end the season.  That will tell the real story.

Drew Brees is still waiting to sign a contract with the Saints as of this writing.  Some local sports journalists and many fans are on record thinking the Saints should give Brees whatever he is asking for salary wise.  In fact one journalist said if Manning signed with Denver for $19 million than Brees is worth $25 million.  That kind of logic or lack there of is one reason professional sports has so many problems.  Brees has led the Saints to 4 winning seasons out of 6 years, no where near the number of winning seasons Manning led his team.  Manning has also won more playoff games than Brees. 

Fans and sports journalists should not be surprised if Brees and the Saints end up with a break even or 9-7 record at the end of the season.  Their losses in the playoff the last two seasons were ugly to say the least and neither Brees or Sean Payton really had an answer.  The coaches and players suspensions will have an affect on the team and its record despite the pep talk going on by journalists and the Saints orginazation.  I am not a mind reader or have a crystal ball but I think I see the hand writing on the wall.  Only time will tell.

The Falling Price For A Gallon Of Gasoline

A few months ago the American people were told by the experts to expect the price of gasoline to hit record levels and continue to increase through the summer months.  As of this writing the price of a gallon of gasoline has not hit record levels, that distinction belongs to the G.W. Bush administration.

Then just a week of so ago President Obama and the Justice Departmnt announced an investigation has started to seek out how the price of oil (which affects the price of gasoline) has been manipulated by those dealing with oil futures who buy and sell oil on the open market and set prices.  And what should have been to no ones surprise, the price of a barrel of oil and gallon of gasoline has been going down ever since and now the experts say the price will continue to go down during the summer months.

A legal investigation will get peoples attention every time, especially when the price of oil and gasoline are manipulated by those who benefit the most.  Keep in mind production in the oil industry has been up, there has been no shortage and really no threat to drilling and or production world wide.  Profits in the industry continue to increase and contrary to what oil industry executives say, federal and state regulations do not hinder the industry's drilling and production.

The President and Justice Department needs to follow through on their investigations and hold those accountable for their manipulation and speculation on the price of a barrel of oil.  Those elected officials who are mouth pieces for the industry were just as wrong as the so called experts and are a pittiful bunch.  It is way past time for congress to eliminate the billions of dollars of tax breaks for the industry.

April's Unemployment And Job Creation Numbers

The U.S. Labor Department announced the U.S. economy created 115,000 new net jobs in April and that unemployment fell to 8.1%, a decrease from the previous month.  The state governments continue to lose jobs with cuts mainly becuse of state revenue decline.

April's new job numbers was the 26th straight month of job growth for the economy and a positive sign of a continued recovery from the second great economic depression and record job losses of the previous administration.  Unemployment is getting close to the 7% range this writer predicted over a year ago while the so called experts were predicting a 9% unemployment rate through 2012.  Those so called experts who were predicting a 9% unemployment rate through 2012 thought there would be no job growth.  They were wrong on both counts.

Republican reaction to April's numbers were the usual negative sound bites that reflect their anti American ideology of wanting to see the President and the country fail.  They have no economic record to run on just ask George W. Bush.  President Obama needs to continue to do what ever is necessary to see that the economy continues to grow and create more jobs.  He understands the republicans will do nothing to help move the country and its people forward.

Once Upon A Time In The National Football League

There was a time in the NFL when coaches were gentlemen, especially head coaches.  Vince Lombardi, Tom Landry and Don Shula were three.  All won two or more world championships and they acted and coached like gentlemen.  They demanded much from their players and had a long record of winning seasons and play off participation.

They were also gentlemen off the field and gave much to professional football.  They did not play favorite with their players and were a credit to the game.  They also played the game themselves and would never be part of any bounty to hurt another player and put him out of the game.

Saints coach Sean Payton's arrogance and attitude to the game merited a years suspension and rightly so.  He lacked the character and courage to be a gentlemen in his coaching and failed to look after his teams best interest in allowing bounty gate to take place.  When a team looses its head coach because of improper actions that is a sad commentary of what is taking place in pro football.  The leadership of the NFL is not with out blame.  They have presided over the demise of sportsmanship in the NFL in favor of wealth for the NFL, the owners and players by their demands of Corporate Welfare using tax payers money.

Is there any wonder why arrogance has raised its ugly head?  Yes, there was a time when the NFL had gentlemen coaches who had character, courage and respect for the game.  That says is all.

A Very Common Sense "Point of View"

Mr. James Farwell in a "point of view" editorial in the Times Picayune dated 4/4/12 concerning the Saints bounty-gate was right on target and reflected a most common sense understanding just how damaging the story is to the City, the people, the Saints and the NFL.

Mr. Farwell's suggestion of what the Saints and NFL should do with part of the "fine money" is a great American sports idea and a worthy one. That would be putting the money to good use in the hands of the New Orleans Recreation Development Commission that is under funded and Mr. Farwell explains what that money would do for our youth. Every one knows that the NFL, its owners, coaches and players are surely not under funded.

This writer has written several commentaries concerning the Saints situation and I would say that Mr. Farwell's editorial and politidose's commentaries share the same basic understanding of what has happened with this situation. It is well past time for those in professional sports to grow up and take responsibility for their un professional behavior. I recommend Mr. Farwell's editorial be read by every one.

March 2012: Another Good Month For Job Creation And The Unemployment Number

The economy created 120,000 new jobs in March and the unemployment rate fell to 8.2% from 8.3% in February. Job creation has been in positive territory for 25 straight months and manufacturing in the U.S. is leading the way. Unemployment is getting closer every month to the 7% range, a far cry from 9% unemployment the pundits predicted for all of 2012.

The negative voices have tried to portray the 120,000 new jobs as weak compared to recovery of previous recessions. They are full of it because the George W. Bush recession can only be compared to the great depression and not any previous recessions. Can any one really remember another recession when the economy was loosing an average of 500,000 jobs a month? An economy in negative territory most of 2008 and some of 2009? A financial meltdown that Bush recommended to congress to pass a $700 billion bail out? Of course not, but it does not matter to those negative voices because their interest is only to see the President and the country fail.

The President needs to continue to do those things that will continue the forward movement of the economy and job creation. He has to stand fast against extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy and continue working to see that Corporate America and the wealthy pay their fair share in taxes. The President should also insist that government expenditures should be matched with government revenue. And never again if war comes to our country should only our men and women in uniform and their families be asked to sacrifice for our country. It should be a shared sacrifice like in WWII.