Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, The Times Picayune and Their Alternate Reality To Facts.

 A Times Picayune article of January 12 titled, "A New Era" by staff writer Tyller Bridges represents a continuation of the Trump-GOP plan of an alternate reality to mask the failures of their own party.  Bridges long article highlights a picture of Landry next to a statement Landry made concerning the country which dovetails with Louisiana in other parts of the article.  The statement reads as follows and I quote:

A VEIN OF POPULIST CONSERVATISM HAS BEEN RUNNING THROUGH THE COUNTRY FOR THE PAST DECADE NOW.  THAT REALLY SUITS THE POLITICS OF LOUISIANA AS WELL.  IT'S WORKING FOR THE CITIZENS OF THE STATE AND THE POLICIES WE HAVE BEEN WORKING TO PUT INTO PLACE.   LOUISIANA IS TURNING THE PAGE ON A NEW CHAPTER THAT'S GOING TO DAWN, A NEW ERA.

That decade that Landry speaks of for the country takes in the last two years of President Obama's administration, four years of the Trump administration and four years of the Biden administration. That is the decade of 10 years Landry talks about.  And those 10 years which covers three Presidential elections, the republican Presidential candidate never received 50% of the popular vote.  So that decade was not a vein of populist conservatism by any means.  The 2024 Presidential election was not even a vein of populist conservatism because Trump, once again never achieved receiving 50% of the popular vote.  

The last decade on the state level covered the last two years of the Jindal administration and eight years of the John B. Edwards administration.  Jindal left office in disgrace, never really balanced one state budget and left a $2 billion deficit for Edwards to deal with.  Edwards balanced the budget for eight years and left the Landry administration a surplus.  Jindal was no fiscal conservative and Edwards was a fiscal responsible Governor.  The idea that the last decade was a populist conservatism time on the state and federal level is a fairy tale and alternate reality pushed by Trump and the GOP.

As of this writing, Governor Landry has not even completed his first fiscal year yet that ends June 30, 2025 and Trump has yet to take office so no one yet knows if there will be "A New Era" and if there is one, what will it be???  The GOP use terms like populist conservatism, woke, personal attacks and plain old lies and misinformation to create their alternate reality.  It is their way to normalize their support for a convicted criminal like Donald Trump and the corruption of their own party.  

A New Era in Louisiana began with the Edwards administration:  Balanced budgets, a record of low unemployment, stable government and sanity in governing with no scandals.  Today's GOP are no conservative party, they gave that up long ago.  There will come a time when the people can make a judgement on Landry and Trump's time in office and compare that time to their rhetoric.

PolitiDose has already answered the question in recent commentary/

This commentary written by Joe Lorio  

The U.S. Economy, Job Creation and The Unemployment for December 2024.

 The month of December 2024 was President Biden's last full month in office that shaped a good economy which has a significant effect on the future of the U.S. economy going into the new year.  The end of December also discredited the negative voices who first called for the start of an economic recession to begin in the 2nd quarter of 2022 and every quarter thereafter.  But there will be no economic recession on the watch of President Biden.

The U.S. Labor Department reported the economy created 256,000 jobs in December and the unemployment rate came in at 4.1%, it was 4.2% in November.  Unemployment has been in the 3-4% range for the past 35 consecutive months, the best showing since the 1960's.  The unemployment rate when Trump left office was 6.3%, so unemployment was down 2.2% on President Biden's watch.  It was up 1.6% on Trump's watch (first term) when the economy lost 2.7 million jobs.  The Department also reported the economy has created 16.1 million jobs on Biden's watch for an annual average of 335,416 jobs.  A record of any Presidential term.  The unemployment rate when President Obama left office was 4.7%

And additionally, the Department also reported, "the economy and hiring were able to grow at a solid pace even with interest rates much higher than they were before the pandemic.  Overall, the solid jobs figures suggest the economy is entering a period of steady growth."

With President Biden having only 8 more days in office, the negative voices of doom and gloom will die in their own BS.  So, as of this writing, the only bar to a continuation of a good economy is Donald Trump and his party's failed economic record of the past.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio

Note:  The negative voices are Trump, the GOP, Maga and those who want to see President Biden fail.

Felony, Felon and Criminal.

 Webster's dictionary defines a Felon as, "A person guilty of a major crime."  "Criminal."  It defines a Felony as, "A major crime."  It defines a Criminal as, "being a crime involving or related to crime."  "guilty of a crime." "a person guilty of a major crime or convicted of a crime."  "having the nature of crime."  So, President-elect Donald Trump is a convicted criminal as a result of being found guilty on 34 felony counts by a jury of his peers.  When one is found guilty of a felony, one is found guilty of a crime.

Yet, the media has failed to call Trump for what he is, a convicted criminal.  They do not even refer to him as a convicted felon.  But they are happy to report Trump's nasty personal attacks against everyone using foul language and even calling V.P. Harris garbage and attacking the court system with lies and misinformation.  The facts are clear, Trump is a convicted criminal, but the media dislikes the facts in favor of Trump's lies.  

It is much past time for the media to shut down Trump's personal attacks, lies and misinformation, and talk about Trump, the President-elect as the convicted criminal that he is.  The chaos that the media helped create should end immediately.  The country has already waited 9 long years.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio

Fate, Destiny and Wisdom: The Key To Understanding a Better Life and Progress.

 Webster's dictionary describes fate and destiny as interchangeable, but the very first civilization on Earth, that of the Sumerians that began circa 3800 b.c. said they were taught that destiny, which they called NAM was preordained and un-alterable.  That fate was a preordained course of events that could be altered. They called fate NAM-TAR, TAR meaning to cut, break, disturb or change.

The Sumerians believed man's destiny was only to die, could not be changed or altered.  That man could choose and then alter his fate.  Example:  Man is not fated to be a plumber, electrician, salesman, etc, etc. and can change his fate when he wishes to do so.  The Sumerians applied that to their own philosophy in life.  It went along side their teaching that "the key to a better future is to understand the mistakes of the failed past."  Other wise, the future will be like the failed past.

We in America use the words fate and destiny like Webster describes in the dictionary, but the Sumerians knew better.  Our political leaders do not understand the word fate, and that by an act of fate can change the course of the world for the better.  Their failure to do so has fated man to repeat the same failed mistakes of the past.  Man's destiny will surely take place no matter what we do, so man has to have the wisdom to use his fate in the proper manner.

Donald Trump entered political life 9 years ago and choose a political fate for himself and the country never seen before.  He fated himself, the country, its people and the system to an alternate reality of lies, misinformation, propaganda, personal attacks and corruption.  The media responded with their own fated decision of enabling Trump's alternate reality and allowing Trump to dominate the news cycle.  The media had the opportunity to choose another fate of handling Trump, but instead played into his hand.

Trump's first term in office was fated to fail and it did so.  He will now take office once again on January 20 with a promise of more of the same fate and there is no reason to believe that the media will change its fate as to how to cover Trump in a second term.  Trump and the media's fate will be one and the same again, therefore the future will be like the failed past.  Man's fate will once again be compromised by man himself.    

This commentary written by Joe  Lorio

Donald Trump, The GOP, Terror and Domestic Safety.

 As President and now President elect, Trump still talks tough which represents the GOP's failure to address terror and domestic violence.  Trump's so called tough talk on social media soon after the terrorist attack in New Orleans on New Years morning calling the attacker an immigrant was a big lie and therefor did not address the issue.  

The attacker was born in the U.S., raised in the U.S. schooled in the U.S. worked in the U.S. and served in the U.S. military.  Trump's rage and big lie trying to link the terrorist with immigration, once again demonstrates how Trump is mentally unfit to serve in the White House as President of the U.S.  America needs to be reminded what took place on the GOP's watch concerning terror attacks and domestic violence.

During Trump's first term in office two separate terror attacks took place in New York a month apart early on that killed multiple people.  There was also a terror attack in Florida that took the lives of two military Americans on base led by a Saudi operative.  All toll there were several more terror attacks that took place.  The worst mass shooting and killing took place in Las Vegas in 2017 killing 58 people.  Another mass shooting and killing took place in Southerland Springs, Tex in 2017 killing 26 people; another one in in Parkland, Florida that killed 17 people in 2018 and another one in El Paso, Tex. in 2019 that killed 23 people for a total of 124 people killed in mass shootings, all on Trump's watch.  

Then there was Trump's January 6 mob attack on the national capitol that took the lives of several people, destroyed property that ended in prison time for over 100 of the rioters who Trump says he will pardon.  Domestic crime was up on Trump's watch his last three years in office and culminated with a record murder rate in 2020.  And over the past number of years, 7 or 8 of the top ten states with the highest gun violence death rates were governed by the GOP.  

The worst foreign terror attack against Americans on foreign soil took place in Beirut in 1983 on President Reagan's watch while he was trying to talk tough.  Terrorist blew up the U.S. Marine compound that killed 241 Marines and wounded many others.  Reagan never brought any of the planners of that attack to justice.  Reagan's decision to send the Marines to Beirut were opposed by his Department of Defense.  

The worst foreign terror attack against Americans on America soil took place on the watch of President George W. Bush on 9/11 when over 3,000 Americans were killed.  Bush came into the office also talking tough against terrorists but it did not work.  Bush had 7 years and three months to bring Bin Laden to justice for planning the attack but failed to do so.  President Obama did bring Bin Laden to justice because he made it his top priority.  After Bush ordered the invasion of Iraq over WMD that did not exist, it was terrorists who came to Iraq and were responsible for killing and wounding American troops.  Iraqi's army was already destroyed early in the war.

Terror attacks can take place during any administration mainly because America is an open country with freedom.  The best guard against terrorism is a good intelligence policy and plans with a top priority commitment.  So called tough talk does not scare nor is it a policy to stop a terrorist from attacking when the terrorist is willing to kill his own self in the attack.  The big problem for the GOP and the country relates to their ideology of governing.  When you govern by ideology, there are no plans or policy, therefore no real effort on the issues.  Democratic administrations govern with policy and plans to address the issue at hand and therefor do a better job at governing and protecting America and its people.

On January 20, Trump's second term will begin and a mentally unfit for office President will be running the country once again.  Will the future be like the failed past?

This commentary written by Joe Lorio

Note:  All numbers related to terror attacks and domestic violence taken from FBI records, Historical terror records by the Federal Government, from Statista and The Gun Violence Archives.  

Fifty six Days After The November 5 Election, The Democratic Party Are still The SANE Party In Washington.

 America, pay no attention to the media's lies, BS and propaganda about the democratic party being leaderless and at each other's throats.  They are still the SANE and steady party that put the country and its people first.  And it played out in congress after the election during legislation to avoid a government shutdown.  

The chaotic GOP controlled U.S. House could not get its own majority vote together to pass legislation that would prevent a government shutdown and fund the government through the new year.  At the same time the darkness of Trump and Musk were urging the GOP more chaos by supporting a government shutdown if they did not get their way and if their demands were not met.  The minority democrats in the House remained SANE, calm and would not give in to a government shutdown.  As a result, the GOP speaker of the House Johnson dropped the chaotic demands of Trump, Musk and the extreme GOP house members and the democratic party furnished the majority vote that passed and prevented a government shutdown.  

The democratic party stood tall once again for the country and its people and by doing so, demonstrated why history tells us the democratic party are the best at governing.  Trump and the GOP controlled congress will be running government on January 20, 2025 but the democratic party will still be the SANE party in Washington for the country and its people that will shine through the chaotic darkness of Trump and his GOP ditto heads.

Commentary written by Joe Lorio

President elect Donald Trump's Billionaire Cabinet and Other Billionaire Appointments.

 President elect Trump left no doubt who he will depend on to govern the U.S. and its people.  Billionaires who represent the wealth gap in America who supported the huge tax cuts of Reagan, Bush 43 and Trump that benefited them over America's working class.  Trump and those billionaires share the same extreme ideology of dismantling the federal government and it's programs that support the people and their needs.

By destroying government as we know it, relates to their desire to blame government for everything, especially their own corruption.  It is their way to cover the lies, misinformation and election fraud claims of the past four years.  It also represents the way dictators and authoritarian rule to destroy democracy, institutions of stability and the rule of law.  It is those that have so much that want so much more who are now bragging about more huge tax cuts for themselves and corporations.

The same tax cut fever that reduces federal revenue for the need of government operations, an excuse to reduce or even eliminate Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the ACA and other needed programs that have helped the people and the country and have been successful.  The billionaire Foxes will be running the White House and government.  The people's house will no longer matter.  The Americans for Tax Fairness and Institute for Policy Studies reported:  Between March 18, 2020 and April 15, 2021 combined wealth of U.S. billionaires increased $1.6 trillion or 55%.  That was during the height of the COVID pandemic.  

In other words, they had the financial ability to bring the nation's supply chain up to date during the pandemic, failed to do so which started the inflation cycle of goods and service.  The billionaires made their money, that is all that concerned them.  They are the same ones who oppose unions and increases in the minimum wage.  President Biden and the democratic party has always been a supporter of both.  

So when Trump takes office on January 20, 2025 and his billionaires go to work, the people know what to expect from the most unfit President and the most unfit billionaire team of anti Americans. 

This commentary written by Joe Lorio

What Will The New Year Bring Politically For The United States and It's People?

When President elect Donad Trump takes office on January 20, 2025 a triple history will take place.  Trump will be the very first convicted criminal to be elected President along with a rap sheet that includes sexual abuse, fraud and a former President who tried to overturn a democratic Presidential election in 2020 with a mob and lies that resulted in a traitorous act by a sitting President.  Trump will be the first President to nominate unqualified billionaires and millionaires to serve in his administration for the purpose of discrediting the federal government to justify his numerous personal attacks against government.   Trump will be the only one to run for President three times and never receiving 50% of the popular vote  

There is a way to fairly judge what the new year will bring politically under the new Trump administration.  It is called precedent, the past history that has taken place during past GOP administrations, including Mr. Trump's first term.  And that history represents failure more than progress as outlined in previous PolitiDose commentary in the past 12 years.  Examples are as follows:

The National Bureau of Economic Research, the nation's recession arbiter for the U.S. for the past 50 plus years reported the nation entered an economic recession in February 2020 that ended 10 straight years of economic expansion that began in 2010 on President Obama's watch.  The recession began two months before COVID took its toll and added to the problems of the economy.  No GOP President has balanced the federal budget since "IKE" in 1960 or recorded a smaller deficit at the end of his last fiscal year compared to what it was when his first fiscal year began.  Every GOP President in the last 100 years has given the nation an economic recession; Reagan was the only GOP President in the last 72 years to leave office with a lower unemployment rate than when he took office;  The largest increases in federal spending in the last 60 years took place on the GOP watch Nixon/Ford 92% increase, Reagan 75% increase and Bush 43, 61% increase;  The largest percentage increases in the National Debt in the last 60 years took place on the GOP watch of Reagan 187%, Nixon/Ford 98% and Bush 43, 105%;  The largest single year fiscal deficits in the last 70 years took place on Trump's watch, $3.1 trillion in fiscal 2020, and $2.7 trillion in fiscal 2021;  The largest single year federal spending took  place on Trump's watch for fiscal 2021 at $6.8 trillion;  The worst bank failures in the last 100 years took place on the GOP watch.  The banking collapse during the great depression under GOP Herbert Hoover, The failure of the Savings and loan Industry during the administration of Reagan and the Wall Street Banks failure during the administration of Bush 43; The longest consecutive stretch of unemployment in the last 72 years took place on Reagan's watch when it stood at over 10% for 10 straight months from September 1982 to June 1983.

During Trump's first term, federal spending increased 43%, total deficit spending was $7.3 trillion and the national debt increased $8.2 trillion or 41%.  The unemployment rate was up 1.6% and the economy lost 2.7 million jobs.  It was the first time any administration lost jobs since GOP President Herbert Hoover during the great depression when the economy lost 6 million jobs.  Trump's economy also suffered the largest single year spending spree in fiscal 2021 when spending hit $6.8 trillion.and also hit the largest single year deficit when it hit $3.1 trillion.  Unemployment was down 3.1% on President Obama's watch, federal spending increased 25% and the deficit at the end of Obama's last fiscal year was $666 billion.  The economy created 11.3 million jobs on Obama's watch.  The federal deficit at the end of Trump's last fiscal year was $2.7 trillion.  Trump joined the long list of past GOP administrations that left the country in worse shape politically and fiscally than when they took office.  If anyone thinks those numbers herein are a coincidence over such an extended period of time, they are living in the alternate universe that Trump and the GOP are trying to sell.

Over 6000 years ago, the first civilization, that of the Sumerians said they were taught that the key to a better future was to learn from the mistakes of the past.  Past GOP administrations, including Trump, never understood that wisdom, so for them the future has been like their failed past.  That, coupled by the present GOP led by Trump the autocrat, is so negative in his thoughts and actions to undo the democratic process, the future looks darker than the past because Trump represents chaos, darkness and negativity.  

On January 20, when Trump takes office officially, there is precedent that tells us what the future will look like in his second term in office.   

This commentary written by Joe Lorio

Note:  Numbers in this commentary taken from the official reports of the CBO, Office of Management and Budget, The U.S. Labor Department and the Treasury Department 

   

The U.S. Economy Continues To Surprise The Negative Voices. (the ignorant).

 The U.S. Government reported retail sales for November were up 0.7% from October, the third quarter GDP was revised up to 3.1% and the Federal Reserve reported the Personal Compensation Expenditures Price inflation index was up only 2.4% in November year to year.  It was 2.3% in October.  

In the 46th month of the Biden administration, retail sales continue to be bullish, the consumers are still spending, the GDP is healthy and the unemployment rate is still at historically low levels at 4.2%.  During the same period of time during the Trump administration in November 2020 the unemployment rate was 6.7%, the GDP for all of 2020 was a minus 2.8% and job creation was still in the losing column. Yet, the negative voices of doom and gloom, the sky is falling on the economy are still pushing their propaganda and BS about the Biden economy.  

The U.S. economy under the Biden administration has performed better than it did during the inflationary period of the early 1980's in every category and consumer spending, job creation, lower unemployment have remained strong for the past 46 months.  The administration has been able to keep the economy strong despite the massive record deficits left by Trump, 2.7 million jobs lost, COVID, which Trump only winked at, record federal spending and an economic recession that the National Bureau of Economic Research, the arbiter of U.S. recessions, reported took place in February 2020, two months before COVID shut down the nation.  

The real reason for the negative voices reflects the attitude of Trump, the GOP and a willing media to divide the country, its people and blur the facts.  An alternate world to deal with the ignorant.  The final results of Biden's full term in office when he leaves in January will provide evidence just how well the economy performed on the President's watch and PolitiDose commentary will be there reporting the facts

This commentary written by Joe  Lorio 

Judge Juan Merchan Rules No One Is Above The Law, Not Even Donald Trump.

 New York's Manhattan Judge Juan Merchan who presided over the "hush money" trial of Donald Trump refused Trump and his attorneys attempt to overturn his criminal conviction.  The Judge noted Trump and his attorneys failed to offer any real evidence beyond their assertion that the charges should be overturned because of the election and the immunity issue.  The Judge noted neither applied to the case decided by a New York jury of Trump's peers.  

As usual, that night Trump took to his Truth Social to personally attack the Judge over his ruling.  Personal attacks are one of Trump's tactics when he cannot have his way.  It is a deficiency in Trump's mental thinking that he will take to the oval office in the new year to govern by.  It is the same mental deficiency that makes him unfit for office.  

Judge Merchan's decision to hold Trump responsible for his own criminal acts is directly related to the fair administration of justice that no one is above the law.  The conservative Supreme Court failed it's responsibilities when it handed down it's immunity ruling which exempted Trump from the long standing rule of, no one is above the law.  

Judge Merchan's decision balances the scales of justice, the conservative Supreme Court's decision was a disgrace.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio