Saturday, June 23, 2018

Trump and The Republicans Fail To Govern Again: And This Time On Immigration

The republican cowards who control the U.S. House failed Thursday to pass their own so called conservative immigration bill.  Coward Trump supported the bill and the republicans have enough votes to pass legislation without democratic input but enough republicans revolted and voted against the bill to insure failure.  Trump and the republicans refused to seek democratic input and have bi-partisan legislation.

The republicans called the bill a conservative version of immigration keeping with their un-American ideology which is why they fail at governing.  The answer to the immigration problem is not conservative and can not be solved by ideology.  It can only be solved by the American spirit of understanding the problem and then acting accordingly with true American solutions.  That is why democrats are better at governing and solving problems.

To show how out of touch the republican party stands on immigration, they have a second bill which they call a compromise immigration bill because so many of  the republican factions in the House had to be mollified.  This bill will be voted on next week according to their leadership.  And like the version that went down to defeat Thursday, democratic input was not allowed.

After Thursday's defeat, coward Trump told his party they should forget about immigration reform until after the November congressional elections and stop wasting time.  That will undermine next weeks vote and weaken the chance of passing.  This is the President who said he supported both versions of the bill.  Yeah, right.  And this President and the republican controlled congress continues to say immigration is their priority.  The lies roll out of their mouths like water.

The answer to real comprehensive immigration reform is to seek democratic support and even use the immigration bill passed by the democratic controlled U.S. Senate in 2013 as a model and guide.  If the cowards do that a good bill could pass where immigration and border security would be an every day part of our governing process.  No longer would we have to put up with peace meal decisions like separating children from parents and other decisions that do not address the long term problem.

So called conservative immigration or compromise immigration only with one party has failure written all over it.  Facts is what dictates solutions and not ideology.  In the 17 months that Trump and his party has run the country, their only success was a 14% decrease in corporate income tax rates and soaring deficit spending.  The rhetoric continues loud and strong along with the personal attacks, but governing is absent.

One should remember the republican Presidential candidates during their debates of the 2016 campaign, including Trump, said immigration reform should not be taken up before the 2016 Presidential election.  At the time, the republican party controlled both houses of congress.  And now, they still do plus the Presidency and Trump now says stop wasting time and wait until the November elections are over before addressing the immigration issue.  The cowards are a party to lies, fake news, dishonesty and fraud on the immigration issue.

And that really says it all.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio

Friday, June 22, 2018

The News Media and Comprehensive Immigration Reform: A Failure To Speak The Truth Of The Real Problem

There is a difference between blame, lies and facts.  And when it comes to Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR) the news media has done a poor job.  President Trump uses the tactic of blame when it concerns the issue of CIR but unlike others, uses lies and untruths to support his position of blame.

On the other hand, facts and truths are non political and the case can be made that the republican party does not want CIR and that they have had more of an opportunity to do something about immigration than the democratic party.  The case can also be made that the news media has failed to keep the American people informed of the republican party's true obstruction and how they have never been engaged on the immigration issue.

The news media has failed to be consistent in reporting the following:  Former republican President George W. Bush wanted CIR but could not obtain his party's support in congress to move legislation.  President Obama wanted CIR but could never obtain republican support.  His administration did do several things on immigration including the democratic controlled senate that did pass CIR only to be rejected by the republican controlled U.S. House without even bringing the bill up for debate, they just let it die.  It should be noted that the republican party controlled the House six of the eight years that Obama was President and did not lift a finger on immigration.

The news media should also be reminding the people that the republican party has controlled both houses of congress for the past three and half years and have never introduced a CIR legislation for debate or a vote.  And for the past 17 months they also controlled the Presidency and still have no plans for CIR despite Trump's rhetoric.  All they have is Trump's present children separation order.  And of course Trump cancelled DACA without having a plan to replace it much like he and the republicans had no real plans to repeal and replace the ACA.

If the news media paid as much attention to those facts as they do to Trump and the republican lies and Trump's child separation policy, Trump  and the republican party would have to move on CIR.  The facts would put the blame where it belongs, squarely on Trump and his party.  The blame would be non-partisan, just facts.  Trump's rhetoric on the subject would die a natural death.

Peace meal legislation is not the answer, CIR is.  The news media has to report the facts for an informed public and needs to tell the immigration story and they need to keep asking the republican party why, after all their years of control, have they not introduced and debated CIR.  After all, when you are in control, its your party who sets the agenda.

Trumps latest action of separating children from parents at the border and then backtracking is one more example that the President really has no original thought on  immigration or a plan to address the total problem.  And his flip flops leave the country void of leadership on the issue.  If immigration is a security issue like Trump professes it to be, he is left only with his rhetoric which is no deterrent at all.  And with Trump in charge, the immigration problem is worse today than it was when he took office.  Tough talk?  But who is listening?


This commentary written by Joe Lorio

Thursday, June 21, 2018

WWL Talk Radio: The Comedy Continues

The station brags about speaking "truth to power" which turns out to be a comedy of emptiness.  Those who call in and comment have their opinions heard but unfortunately, the shows hosts usually controls the issue to be discussed and is poorly informed on the issue.  As a result, there is an emptiness of facts and the issue ends up to be divisive.

Two recent discussions concerning the Inspector General's report on the FBI and the separation of children from their parents at the border boil down to the opinion of the hosts, the guest and those who call in to register their opinion.  Facts are lacking on the subject matter and comments are added that are unrelated but get caught up in the conversation and the Topic is lost.

Some found bias all through the Inspector General's report and then gave their own bias comments about what they thought the report said.  The conversation concerning the parent-children separation failed to see and talk about the real problems associated with immigration.  And of course, the blame game is always there depending on ones political views and not the facts.

And to top it off, several weeks ago, the topic was "fake news and how can the average person know when it is fake news."  The answer is so simple WWL talk radio  will never understand.  To understand the news is to understand the questions the news media never ask.  And that will be the subject of a future PolitiDose commentary.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio

Tuesday, June 19, 2018

The Republican Cowards In The White House and The U.S. Congress Are Worse Than Those Who Take A Knee

Cowards never take the responsibility for their own actions and therefore have to lie and blame others when the truth becomes known.  That is the latest story about Trump and some republicans in congress concerning the separating of migrant children from their parents when they cross the border and enter the U.S. illegally.

Under Trump's zero-tolerance policy on immigration attorney general Jeff Sessions announced that parents who enter the U.S. illegally with their children will be separated from them and held for farther disposition.  Sessions added that if parents do not want to be separated from their children they should not try to enter the U.S.  As a result of Trump's policy over 2000 children have been separated from their parents at the border.  The result has been a moral outcry against Trump's policy.

How did the cowards in the White House and congress react to the outcry?  Well first they cited the bible and religious grounds to justify the policy and when that failed and caught flak from religious leaders the cowards lied and blamed it on the democrats and then on a court decision and both were big lies as no such democratic actions or court decisions existed.  Those lies are a cowards way of trying to escape blame for their own failure and immoral acts.

Those who take a knee do it in public and all know where they stand and don't lie about their positions.  Their actions are opposed by most Americans but they are not cowards. Cowards lie because they have no respect for anyone, especially the truth, American values and they also have no balls.  That's why they are liars and cowards.

And for those who are scratching their heads, after 17 months in office and a lot of huffing and puffing about immigration the cowards have yet to enact immigration reform as of this date.  And that really says it all, especially for the big coward in the White House.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio




Monday, June 18, 2018

New York's Attorney General Files Suit Against President Trump Once Again

This time its against President Trump, his Charitable Foundation, his two sons, Eric and Trump Jr. and his daughter Ivanka.  The suit seeks $2.8 million in restitution, additional unspecified penalties and the dissolution of the foundation, all according to the Associated Press.  The suit accuses Trump of illegally using the charity's money to settle disputes involving his business empire and to boost his political fortunes during his run for the White House.

The suit also accused the charitable foundation of: improper and extensive political activity, repeated and willful self-dealing transactions, and failure to follow basic fiduciary obligations.  The attorney general's office also referred the findings to the IRS and FEC for possible further action.  In light of this suit the people should be reminded that Trump as President settled another civil law suit brought against him and Trump University.  That suit was settled in March of 2017 while Trump was President, even all along he said he would never settle the law suit.  The trumpet man is also on record as saying when someone settles out of court that means they are guilty.  The Trump University lawsuit and settlement applied to 3 separate law suits, two class-actions and a fraud case.

President Donald Trump is in deep trouble because of his corrupt attitude and now has another suit to contend with.  And this one is civil where he has no pardon powers.  He and his attack dog Rudy Giuliani will continue their rhetoric against the special prosecutor's investigation and the new suit by New York attorney general in their ongoing effort to destroy the rule of law.

Seventeen months in office and the White House is still seeking a President who can return honor, dignity and respect to a place that has been a beacon to the United States and the world.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio

Saturday, June 16, 2018

Thoughts On The United States and North Korea Summit

This weeks summit between North Korea's President Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump was not the usual summit of past American Presidents nd foreign leaders where decisions were actually made on a number of issues.  This summit was more of a meeting and a short one at that and ended with a joint statement that both sides would meet in the future to decide on several issues made public in the statement.

President Trump did tell Kim Jong that the U.S. and South Korea would no longer participate in joint military exercises that North Korea and China both opposed for many years as being provocative.  It was one subject both North and South Korea had talked about in their earlier meetings.  The other subject both Korea's leaders talked about was the removal of all U.S. troops now stationed in South Korea.

It was a strange summit to begin with.  Trump cancelled it and when he did so Kim's reply was low key and very simple.  NORTH KOREA WOULD BE READY TO MEET WHEN THE U.S. WAS READY.   The ball was back in Trump's court and just a day or two later said the summit was back on and in the same place, date and time.

And it even became more strange when Trump announced after the summit that N.Korea was no longer a threat to the U.S. even though no agreements were made except to keep talking.  That statement by Trump speaks volumes because he knew before the summit what PolitiDose has long ago said, that N. Korea was not a threat to launch an attack against the U.S. and the reasons why.

According to all reports, the summit lasted five and half hours.  A very short time as summits of the past.  It was also reported that Trump wanted his team to start the summit before the agreed time because both leaders arrived early and Trump was bored.

Kim Jong was able to put himself on the same stage as an American President because his country possessed an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM)  capable of reaching the United States and had the capability to weaponize the ICBM with a nuclear warhead according to reports.  North Korea not only tested several ICBMs on Trump's watch, but also tested a hydrogen bomb on Trump's watch.  Of course people should remember Trump pledged it would not happen on his watch.

The failure of the world's nuclear powers to develop a workable plan to control the spread of WMD is the greatest threat to survival and their attitude of "we can have our WMD, but other can not" has been a disaster.

The one thing the U.S. has lost control of in all of this concerning North Korea is the fact that both North and South Korea's leaders are coming together and are setting the agenda.  The summit was only a few days ago, but there is little to remember since the decision making was given to the future.
Its as if the summit never even took place.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio

Tuesday, June 12, 2018

What We KInow About President Trump and Canada

We know the President likes to dish out criticism and personal attacks on other people and then acts like a little baby when the attacks are flung back at him.  That's what is going on between the trumpet man and Canada's prime minister Trudeau in their latest exchange of  words when Trudeau said he would not be intimidated by Trump.

The words have escalated because Trump's talks with Canada and Mexico concerning NAFTA are going no where fast and both are not rolling over and paying dead for the trumpet man.  In fact, the talks are going so badly, Trump is now talking about meeting with each country separately, a far departure for the tri-party NAFTA agreement.

And to top it all off, Trump allows his ditto heads to pile on Trudeau with their verbal attacks and then one has to apologize and one has a heart attack and ends up in the hospital.  As this writer said in the past, there is no bottom to the gutter that the trumpet man and his ditto heads wallow in.

But there are two pieces of good news for our country that has remained steady.  Robert Mueller's handling of his special investigation and Hillary Clinton's character and courage.  The republicans three year investigation of Clinton's email turned out to be the fake news of he decade and they controlled the investigations.

And that really says it all.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio


Monday, June 11, 2018

FOOTBALL: The New Orleans Saints and The LSU Tigers: What Will The 2018 Season Bring?

When it comes to the Saints, New Orleans sports writers have been talking about them since the end of last season.  It seems like they did not take a break and one would think from their writings, the Saints are Super Bowl material.  After only two winning seasons in the last six years this writer won't jump the gun.  In fact, it would not be a surprise if the Saints do not improve on last years record.

Forget about what Kamara and Ingram accomplished in rushing last year.  This is a new season and Saints opponents will be ready.  Besides Ingram has been suspended for four games and it took him five seasons to live up to his potential.  So what Ingram will show up this year?  Brees has slipped the last few years despite individual accomplishments and it will show even more this year.  The larger question will be the Saints defense, despite all the good things said about them.  They are simply over rated.  I would advise Saints fans to lower their expectations.

The LSU Tigers face the same situation as last year.  Coaching, quarterback and a lack of consistent offense play and play calling.  And this writer believes all those are critical.  No one knows yet if Orgeron can be a winning coach at LSU and bring the Tigers back to being competitive every week.

We know the coaches are high on LSU's three quarterbacks and they have a good resume but how will that work out once the season starts?  No one knows the answer to that either at the present time.  Will LSU have a consistent offense that can move the ball and score points?  We also do not know the answer to that despite the fact that LSU has a hosts of good offensive players.  Will LSU's new offensive co-ordinator really change things up from the past?

Die hard LSU fans should be realistic when trying to evaluate the Tigers and not go off the deep end and listen to the hype and clichés.  This writer has been a follower of LSU for over 50 years and because of the Tigers performance the past several years I am not excited yet.  And the big question mark is LSU's head coach, Ed Orgeron, the man that has to set the tone.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio

Sunday, June 10, 2018

President Donald Trump: Russia's Favorite Puppet.

The G7 summit began this week in Canada and once again President Trump came to Russia's defense and said that they should be invited back to join the G7 group.  Russia was booted out the G7 group after they illegally annexed Crimea four years ago.  It is another stark reminder how President Trump is so wed to Putin and Russian wishes.  Coupled with Trumps recent action on Tariffs against America's long time allies, Trump is splitting America's relationship with its allies.  That is a split Putin has wanted for a long time.

And when one realizes that Donald Trump is the only Presidential candidate to ever seek the support and help from a foreign government to dig up dirt on an opponent and use the social media to spread falsehoods in support of Trump, every American should be outraged.  And as President, Trump has kept up his cozy relationship with Putin and still has not implemented all the sanctions against Russia.

Trump will be leaving the summit early and skip the portion of the summit that has to do with environmental issues.  He may not participate in the final report when the summit closes and the report is issued.  The bottom line is President Trump is doing his best to destroy every thing good America has always stood for in favor of a partnership with America's largest threat and adversary, Russia.  French President Macron remarked that Trump's isolationist and attitude toward the G7 could push the summit to be a G6 and reminded Trump G6 countries were larger than America.  In other words, Trump's threats would not work.

Hillary Clinton did her best to warn the people during the 2016 campaign and 54% of those who voted in the 2016 election voted for some one other that Donald Trump.  The majority of those who cast their votes understood what was at stake.  And the President still believes that is fake news.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio


Another Special Session Failure By The Republican Controlled State Legislature.

Worthless, that is the best but not the only word that describes the republican controlled state legislature.  They have had two special sessions and one regular session and still no agreement to answer the fiscal short fall for next fiscal year which begins on July 1.  Their first priority is the republican ideology that wants to see the Edwards administration fail so they can regain the governorship of Louisiana.  And because they have no answer to the fiscal problems facing the state and its people, the governor has called for another special session towards the last of the month.

The ideology of Louisiana's republicans mirror that of the republicans in congress.  They are against everything and for nothing and call themselves conservatives.  They are actually radical extremist with an UnAmerican attitude.  And what have Louisiana's republicans accomplished?  Well, they never balanced one state budget under former governor Jindal and they are kicking the fiscal can down the road on Edwards watch.

The people of Louisiana knew what they were doing when they elected John B Edwards, a democrat to be governor and he will hold the republicans in the legislature accountable for their failure to be a responsible party.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio