The Hiring and Firing of LSU Head Coach Brian Kelly.

The firing represents another failure on the part of LSU Athletic Directors to hire a head coach with the capabilities to produce a consistent winning football program.  The same thing took place when they hired and then fired head coach Ed Orgeron after winning a national championship in 2019 when the team played only 500 ball the next two seasons.  Then it came to be Kelly's time to be fired three and half years later.  This writer believes Kelly should have been allowed to complete the season as it would have no adverse effect on hiring a new coach or recruitment.  It is all part of the hype cast upon sports today.

LSU's sad and pathetic performance on Saturday night in Tiger stadium in the second half was the worse this writer has ever witnessed in the 60 plus years of following the team.  And the fault lies with both the players and the coaching staff.  Think about the conditions why it should never have taken place.  (1)  LSU needed the win to  remain in the playoff hunt. (2)  They were playing at their own home stadium and fans.  (3)  They were playing another SEC opponent.  (4)  They were leading at half time 18-14 going into the locker room.  They had all the reasons to come out in the second half ready to finish the game, but failed big time.

Baton Rouge sport writers and other sports reporting organizations did a poor job of evaluating LSU's progress under coach Kelly, especially in their predictions for this year's team when most predicted that LSU would complete the regular season with an 11-1 or 10-2 won loss record and would make the CFP.  What did they base that on when last year's team went 8-4. a regression from the previous two seasons when the team went 9-3.  Under Kelly, LSU has been an "off and on" team in every phase of the game and especially to last year's team so how could they be expected to do so well.  And when you consider the changes at offensive and defensive coordinators, that just adds to the problem.

For the past few seasons, LSU football has not kept pace with the progress made by other SEC teams who have leaped ahead of LSU.  College sports is now in a different era, a different time, a different world and here are the challenges Athletic Departments are facing.  They have to have the knowledge and wisdom to be able to select the right head coach who has the wisdom and experience to hire the best qualified assistant coaches to run the program.  Those schools who do not have the qualified AD's will be the schools who are just pissing in the wind.

All is not well in Tiger town.  Time will tell if LSU is capable of turning it around.  Keep in mind, Nick Saban did not leave LSU because he wanted to return to the NFL as the saying goes.  He had been there and done that.  He wanted out and bid his time and one day Alabama called.  There may be more trouble in Tiger town than any one thinks.

This commentary  written by Joe Lorio  

 

Louisiana's Representatives In The U.S. Congress Betrays the Country, It's People and The State.

 Everyone knows who is responsible for running the U.S. Government, Donald Trump and the Republican controlled U.S. Congress.  Trump in his first administration had a history of shutting down the federal government, three times in 4 years.  And before the present government shutdown said he had no problem with shutting down the government again.  Louisiana's representative Mike Johnson is Speaker of the U.S. House and Steve Scalise is the number two representative in the House.  Both are charged with the responsibility to more legislation thru the House for Trump's priorities.  

Johnson and Scalise rammed thru Trump's big UGLY bill in the House because they controlled the majority vote and had no reason to allow the democratic party to add any of their priorities.  The bill then passed the Senate with only the 51% majority needed.  That took place months ago.  The GOP knew the outcome before hand because they controlled the votes.

So after wasting months doing nothing the House finally voted on Trump's shutdown legislation, passed it with GOP's controlling vote and did something they never would have done before, they sent it to the GOP controlled senate that they knew did not have the votes to pass the shutdown legislation and therefore, a government shutdown would take place just like Trump and the GOP wanted.  

Johnson and Scalise would never send a piece of their own party's legislation passed by the House to the Senate if they knew they did not have the votes to pass it.  But they sent it anyway knowing it would  never pass.  And bingo, Trump and his ditto heads party accomplished the government shutdown they wanted all along.  

The majority of people in Louisiana voted for Trump, Johnson and Scalise and gave the opportunity to shutdown the federal government.  It was all predictable because of Trump and the GOP's failed record of the past.  So for them, the future is like the failed past. And that really says it all.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio

President Biden's Last Fiscal Year Comes To An End.

 President Biden's last fiscal year budget ended 9/30/25 and like every last fiscal year of every President, it overlaps the new incoming administration whose first fiscal year budget begins on 10/1/25.  So now we have the necessary fiscal information to compare how Biden's four fiscal years to Trump's four fiscal years during his first term in office.  

Total federal spending for Trump's first term (4 fiscal years) was $21.8 trillion and deficit spending was $7.5 trillion.  Federal spending was up 43% from President Obama's last four fiscal years.  Total federal spending for Biden's four fiscal years was $26 trillion and deficit spending was $6.48 trillion.  So federal spending was up only 19% on President Biden's watch compared to Trump's 43% and deficit spending was down $1.02 trillion from Trump's deficit spending.  

So the Biden administration continues to do what democratic administrations have done for the past 96 years and that is, federal spending increases are much smaller on the democratic watch by a large margin.  It is GOP administrations who are the big spenders in Washington despite their lies and mis-information.   And the sad part is the media who continue to run with the GOP's lies instead of reporting the facts.  Below is a list of Presidents who served from 1980 - 2024 a period of 44 years that show how federal spending grew on their watch.

President Reagan,  8 fiscal years,  federal spending up 75%

George H.W. Bush  4 fiscal years, federal spending up 28%

President Clinton, 8 fiscal years  federal spending up 28%

President George W. Bush, 8 fiscal years federal spending up 61%

President Obama, 8 fiscal years,  federal spending up 25%

President Trump, 4 fiscal years, federal spending up 43%

President Biden, 4 fiscal years,  federal spending up 19%

The years between the great depression and 1980 follow the same pattern of democratic administration controlling federal spending much better than the GOP.  The GOP myth lives on only because of an enabling media who has given up on the public's right to know.  Ten months into Trump's second term tells us that so far his second term will be worse than his first term.  And it was all predicted in past PolitiDose commentry.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio

Note:  All numbers shown above taken from the records of the CBO, The Treasury Department and the Office of Management and Budget.

The Weakness of a Convicted Criminal President Donald Trump, Becomes More Apparent Every Day.

 The signs of a weak President Trump raises it's ugly head every day with more frequency.  His latest weakness being the federal shutdown using excuses and blaming others.  He even stooped to the low of blaming the shutdown on the Labor Department not being able to report the latest job numbers for September.  The job market is so weak, he is afraid to reveal the numbers.  

America has not seen a President so weak as President Trump after only 9 months in office.  Everything related to the economy is in shambles and chaotic, no end to his trade tariff war that has hurt America and its people, mass shootings and gun violence deaths are on the rise, unemployment is up, the use of our military domestically for political purposes displays a weakness never seen before, chaotic relationship with America's long standing allies, a stooge of Putin and everything Trump touches becomes toxic.  His weakness in allowing ICE federal agents wear face covering to hide their identity is so un-American and so un-Democratic and against everything a free country thrives on.

Just recently, New York's representative in congress, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez explained how Trump's power is one of perception fanned by personal attacks, threats and intimidation.  Everything related to the federal government is in disorder and chaotic because of Trump' weakness as a leader.  

Convicted criminals like Trump display their weakness and corruption and it was all there to see before the election, and so was his lack of mental acuity.  It is past time for the media to recognize Trump's weakness as a leader and how he and his party are just a bunch of Clowns who lack any evidence of leadership.  

This commentary written by Joe Lorio 

A "Guest Columnist" Informs the People of New Orleans On An Important Matter.

 Jeff Asher, in his "guest column" published in the New Orleans Advocate dated 10/3/25 titled, "Data shows National Guard not needed in our city" explains why, better than anything offered on the subject matter by the paper's editorial board.  Jeff's article also reported how crime in New Orleans has dramatically improved since the city was the murder capital of the country in 2022 and that we should appreciate just how far this city has progressed in the last few years.

Murder is down more than 60% since the 2022 peak, carjackings down more than 80%, car theft and car burglary down 70% and explains what has contributed to the improvements in the way of people and organizations that have responded so well to the problems. 

Jeff continues, deploying the National Guard with no training in law enforcement, potentially against the will of the people does none of this by lowering the morale of the men and women trying to serve their country.  The violent crime trend in D.C. is virtually unchanged in the aftermath of the federal intervention.  Violent crime was falling before the deployment and is falling at a similar rate now.  The data from D.C. does show the possibility of very real costs to New Orleans should the Guard be deployed here.  There is growing evidence that fewer people are out and about in D.C. and this change in mobility is hurting local business.

New Orleans has seen vast progress against many of the city's very worse problems over the last few years.  These problems are by no means solved and denying this progress and trying to solve them by deploying armed soldiers for a poorly defined mission for which they are trained, is by no means the solution.

Jeff's article is one of facts and data assembled which gives the clearest picture yet on the subject matter.  Those who are doing their best to use the subject as their political tool will pay the price for their ignorance and only do more harm to our men and women in uniform who serve their country proudly.  Our armed forces deserve better and Democracy is still why America is a great country.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio

Trump and The Republican Party's Government Shutdown.

 The Trump administration and the Republican Controlled U.S. Congress run the federal government and therefore own and are responsible for the latest government shutdown.  It was actually predictable because in the very first Trump administration, they shutdown the government 3 times.  Twice in 2018 and once in the latter part of 2018 which carried over until the early part of 2019.  That shutdown lasted 35 days and is still a record.  

The present shutdown in Trump's second term could be predicted also because Trump said a shutdown may be needed.  He wants one to destroy the federal government as we know it so he can satisfy his thirst to be a dictator and rule over everyone and everything.  That is why he is threatening to lay off government workers to try and scare the people.  Dictators thrive on fear.  Trump and his party also need someone or something to blame for his failing economy, a stand still job market, higher unemployment and higher inflation than when Biden left office.  The President is also showing his lack of mental acuity and becoming more violent in his rhetoric.

Trump's enabling media still see no evil, hear no evil or report no evil concerning his pathetic actions as President.  They were aware the shutdown was coming but would rather play the blame game like Trump and his party and the conservatives negative voices to justify Trump's ego.  Nine months in office and there is still no sanity in the Trump White House or the GOP controlled congress. 

And that really says it all.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio