President Obama And The BP Moratorium

BP's guilty plea in the explosion of its Macondo well in 2010 that killed 11 workers and injured others proved that the President's decision was correct and that those elected officials from Louisiana in congress were wrong in opposing the moratorium.  Those elected officials put the guilty party and the oil industry in general first and disregarded those who were killed or injured. 

According to an article published in the Times Picayune of 1/30/13, BP's plea agreement was accepted by U.S. District Judge Sarah Vance along with BP's offer to plead guilty to 11 counts of felony manslaughter, one count of felony obstruction of Congress and a variety of environmental crimes.  If it were up to those Louisiana officials in congress they would have let offshore drilling proceed before any investigation to find the cause of the explosion.  The tragedy of this accident which took 11 lives would have taken a back seat because of those elected officials relationship with the oil industry.  BP's plea agreement that was accepted was $4 billion.

President Obama stood tall dispite the personal attacks by those opposed to the moratorium and did the right thing for the people who suffered from the disaster.  This writer wrote several commentaries after the explosion how the Times Picayune, the news media in general and elected officials never told the real story of what happened in April of 2010.  This sad chapter in offshore drilling, BP's plea and the influence of the oil and gas industry has over elected officials should be a wake up call to the people who think they can trust those who are willing to lie and put peoples life and property at risks in favor of profit.

And to think, this is the industry who receives billions of dollars in corporate welfare in the form of tax breaks and loop holes thanks to our elected officials in congress who write the tax codes and grant these breaks. The people should also never forget the harm that the oil industry has done to Louisiana's environment with their onshore drilling which is controlled by the state of Louisiana.  The damage done to Louisiana's wet lands, marshes and salt water invasion caused by the dredging of canals for oil industry operations have been overlooked by the state's regulators for the past 40 plus years and the industry has not been held accountable.

How long will the people of Louisiana tolerate this environmental carnage?


This commentary written by John Lucia.

Paul Ryan's Mental Problem On Cutting The Federal Budget

It is time for Congressman Paul Ryan to resign and go back to civilian life.  His mental faculty concerning budget cuts leaves a lot to be desired and his hypocrisy on the subject matter is matched by the Sunday news shows, CNN's economic reports, most cable news networks, especially Fox news and CNBC's Larry Kudlow, the worst of them all.

This writer will fill in Ryan's problem when he talks about federal spending and budget cuts and how the news media entertains his fairy tale rhetoric and misleads the American people.  Myth is alive and well when republicans get together with the Sunday media programs.  Lets examine the facts and put the myths to bed, its getting tiresome.

When it comes to controlling and cutting federal spending democratic administrations have the best record since 1980, thats a 33 year period and the administrations of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama did a much better job by far controlling and cutting federal spending than Reagan, Bush 41 and Bush 43.  Those three republican Presidents did a good job of saying they would reduce federal spending and balance the budget but they hold the distinction of having the largest increase in federal spending in that 33 year period.  (See notes below.)  President Obama's administration has the smallest increase in federal spending in his first three fiscal years in office and President Clinton has the second smallest increase in that 33 year period.  Federal spending under Reagan, Bush 41 and Bush 43 increased dramatically and by a wide margin over Clinton and Obama.  I use this 33 year period because that is the time frame republicans use to talk about federal spending.  It should also be noted that Reagan, Bush 41 and Bush 43 never balanced one federal budget in the 20 years they ran the country. 

Ryan's problem mentally is his lies about federal spending increases under the Obama administration and the fact that Ryan and the republicans who controlled both houses of congress the first 6 years Bush 43 was President was silent while they over spent and turned Clinton's surpluses and balanced budgets into deficit spending the very first year of Bush's fiscal budget and for all of Bush's 8 years in office.  Not once did they reduce federal spending or object to raising the debt ceiling.  And at the end of Bush's last fiscal year the national debt had increased 105% on Bush's watch and he was the first President ever to have a single year deficit to top one trillion dollars and still holds the single year record of $1.4 trillion deficit.

Ryan and his party had a great opportunity to cut and reduce federal spending and balance the federal budget on their watch with Bush 43 at the helm and failed to keep the federal government's fiscal house in order as President Clinton did.  Deficit spending, balanced budgets, the national debt and a small increase in federal spending was not a problem when Clinton left office.  George W. Bush and the republicans in congress turned that into a national tragedy in just 8 short years and the American people are still feeling the effects.

So how did Ryan and the republicans deal with the disaster they left Obama and the people with.  They vowed not to work with the President because they wanted him to be a one term President and did not want to see America do well again on the watch of a democratic President.  Listening to Ryan and the republicans one would never know that no republican President has balanced the federal budget since "Ike" in 1960 but two democratic Presidents have balanced 5 federal budgets since that time. 

Mr. Ryan and his party are not only the champs at unbalanced federal budgets but take the gold star for increased federal spending.  And try this on for size:  Reagan presided over the very first trillion dollar budget.  Bush 43 presided over the first two and three trillion dollar budgets.  It took the country 15 years to go from a one trillion dollar budget to a two trillion dollar budget, but it only took Bush 43 seven years to go from a two trillion dollar budget to a three trillion dollar budget.  Is it any worder why Ryan and the republicans try to lie about the so called big spending democrats.  When you are a phony, you are a phony, as simple as that.

Note:  See the below past commentaries by this writer.

          The National Debt:  Betryal and Devastation   dated 12/6/09

          Federal Spending:  Facts vs. Myths    dated 10/31/09

          President Obama's First Term in Office Has Been Positive  dated 10/27/12

This commentary was written by John Lucia

Sports Writer Mike Triplett: Saint Fairytales Are Alive And Well

Here is how Triplett started off his article in the Times Picayune of 1/25/13.  "Sean Payton made a bold move on his second day back on the  job.  And he made the right move.  Firing Steve Spagnuolo etc. etc."  Triplett forgot to remind his readers that it was the same Sean Payton that hired Spagnuolo.  How bold is bold.  A really bold move would have been not letting bountygate take place.

Triplett seems to think a new coordinator who uses a 3-4 defense is the answer but hedges his bet a little by saying there is no guarantee.  It is going to be fun to see what Triplett writes after a new coordinator is hired and his predictions for next season with Payton back on the field. 

It is this writers opinion that the Saints football team lost more than a head coach this past season that will be reflected in their future record. 


This commentary was written by John Lucia

The Phoniness Of Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal And The National Republican Party

Jindal and republican leaders met in Charlotte, N.C., recently to try and figure out why their candidate Mitt Romney lost the 2012 presidential election.  They acknowledged the urgent need to make their party more welcoming to a broader cross section of America according to an article published in the Times Picayune dated Jan. 25, 2013.

Governor Jindal said it was time to recalibrate the compass of conservatism.  Now that is what I call a brilliant observation from the little boy governor.  Not only is he the leader of the "stupid party" in Louisiana, he is a co sponsor of the republican party's attempt to put lipstick on a pig by changing the brand name of their unAmerican conservative ideology.

The republican party and Jindal's position during the 2012 election was to personally attack President Obama, his policies and his job performance which is their basic s.o.p. and talking points.  When the voters rejected their phoniness, their feeling of being elite was deflated.  The reelection of Obama prompted the little boy governor to say "republicans had to stop being the stupid party."  Now everyone knows that Jindal was part of that "stupid party" during the campaign with his stupid comments.

Jindal thinks of himself as a national candidate but as this writer expressed here in an earlier comment, he does not have the qualifications and will not be on any national ticket.  A close examination of Jindal's record as governor of Louisiana will reveal just how much harm he has done to the state.  Jindal and the republican party by their unAmerican ideology have exposed how phony they really are.

This commentary was posted by John Lucia.

Understanding The Presidential Election Of 2012

It is this writers judgement that the American people turned a corner when they reelected President Obama in the November elections.  They realized Romney's and the republicans tricklde down economic of tax cuts that benefit the wealthy was and is not an economic policy that moves the country and its people forward nor does it create jobs.  The voters should have realized that because of the ideology of the past administration that gave the country the second great republican depression.

It only started to sink in I believe, (1) when former President Clinton spoke at the Democratic National Convention and spoke three simple words that were easy to understand: "Its called arithmatic."  And (2) It was understood more during the V.P. debate between Joe Biden and Paul Ryan when V.P. Biden answered Ryan's promotion of the republic tax plans with two simple words: "Mathmatically Impossible."  That was devastating.  (3) Then President Obama sealed the deal during the debates and on the campign trail with two simple words: "Tax Fairness."

Those simple expressions really brought to light for the people that Romney and Ryan were offering the same thing George W. Bush did.  The failure of trickle down economics did not register with the voters when they elected and reelected Bush and still did not register with them until Clinton's speech started the chain of events that ended with the reelection of President Obama.

This writer also pointed out before the November elections that the republicans in congress would continue their opposition to Obama's policies even if he was reelected and that has proven to be true.  The people stood tall in November and they should now let their voices be heard and hold the republican party in congress responsible for their obstruction to the President's agenda that will continue to move the country forward.

The November election also proved a precedent; that the country and its people always do better under democratic administrations.  That says it all.

Thie commentary was written by John Lucia.

Finish Strong: Yea, Right, Only In Saints Dreamland

The Saint's loosing season is finally over and the Saint's organization, the team, the players, the fans and the sports journalists are still in denial.  They all denied and failed to understand the real story prior to the start of the season and are still in denial at the end.

Sean Payton's irresponsible action of allowing bounty gate to happen which resulted in the Saints not having a head coach was and is the sad story of the 7-9 season record.  Drew Brees spent more time ranting against the NFL when his rants should have been directed against Payton for putting the Saints in the position they were in.  And of course Benson rewarded Payton with a big raise and a new contract despite Payton's irresponsible act when he should have fired him for allowing bounty gate to happen and the harm done to the team and the fans. 

But money is what the NFL is all about, not sports, not leadership, not responsibility or accountability.  Players, coaches and owners feel they are above it all because they are given idol status and wealth beyond what they deserve.

As reported in a previous commentary the city's sports journalists and players played fairy tale games prior to the start of the season.  They said every thing was fine because they were professionals, they knew what had to be done, they have been there and done that, they were focused and all they had to do was do their jobs.  In the end the players did not do their jobs and did not earn their salary.  Especially Brees.

Now sports journalists and the players are saying every thing will be ok now for next year because Payton will be back and they learned some things along the way.  I also wrote a previous commentary dated May 17, four months before the season started concerning Brees and Peyton Manning.  I pointed out that no one could predict what kind of season Manning and Denver would have until the season was over since he missed the previous year with a neck injury.  Well Manning did a much better job for his team even after sitting out over a year than Brees did for his team and also beat the Saints and Brees in their regular season game this year.

In that same commentary I wrote that no one should be surprised if the Saints had a break even record or would finish 9-7.  My predictions were much closer than the city's sports journalists who are incapable of being objective in their reporting.  That includes those journalists in radio, TV and the print media.  Their comments were typical after the Saints beat Tampa Bay a few weeks ago when they said the Saints were back on their game and playing like champions.  They even talked about how the defense played great.  Some where along the way they forgot that Tampa Bay was a team with a loosing record and played with just an average quarterback. 

Hype, spin and con games describe the Saints this season.  Benson, Brees, Payton and Saints players are laughing all the way to the bank.  The fans are still loyal and sports journalists are still trying to protect their jobs by fairy tale reporting on the Saints.  Objectivity is not a requirement when you live in dreamland.

Note:  This commentary was written by John Lucia

The Fiscal Cliff Debacle: What Everyone Should Have Known

Does any one remember the republican party's vow not to work with President Obama after he was elected President four years ago?  Does any one remember the republicans refusal to act on the debt ceiling even though they rubber stamped Bush's many debt ceiling increases while he and the republican party who controlled both houses of congress turned Clinton's balanced budgets and surpluses into record deficit spending and debt for 8 straight years.

No one seems to understand the republican party;s real political goal, it has two faces.  Bankrupt the federal government so programs such as social security and medicare will be no more and sabotage democratic administrations so they will fail.You see, for the record, republican administrations can not compete with democratic administrations in creating a sound economy, job creation, low unemployment, good wages for the middle class and progress for the people and the country.  That is why they impeached President Clinton and vowed not to lift a finger to work with Obama.

Republicans knew Obama would bring the nation and its people back from Bush's second great republican depression and reverse the record job losses and a failed economy.  The leaders who control the republican party today not only have no character or courage they have no shame and practice a conservative ideology that is unAmerican in nature.  They are traitors to their own country and the people who elect them.

And if anyone thinks the republicans will work with Obama during the next 4 years they need to get a life.


Note:  This commentary was written by John Lucia

President Obama's First Term In Office Has Been Positive For The Country and Its People

Not often in American history do we find our newly elected Presidents assuming office facing a economic calamity, massive job losses and a financial meltdown along with record budget deficits and debt.  In fact it has happened only twice in the last 83 years.  The great depression of 1929 and the second great depression of 2008, and both happened on the republican watch.

We know how democratic President Franklin Roosevelt rallied the people with his policies and brought the country back to economic health and put the country back to work.  That story has already been written in history.  Now we have another democratic President, Barack Obama who has been dealing with the second great republican depression of 2008.  The job of returning our country and its people to economic health is not yet complete but we do know how much has been accomplished by the Obama administration so far in his first term in office. 

The President's policies, including the stimulus, opposed by the republicans in congress reversed the massive job losses that hit 700,000 a month in 2008.  That was the first step in new job creation that has added over 5.2 million jobs in the past 30 straight months.  Unemployment that reached 10% for one month and was predicted by economist to stay above 9% for all of 2011 and 2012 was at 7.8% at the end of September 2012. 

The federal budget deficit hit a yearly record of $1.42 trillion at the end of Bush's last fiscal year and still stands as a record today.  Obama's first three fiscal year budgets ended in deficits of $1.29, $1.2 and $1.1 trillion, still high but less than Bush's record and Bush inherited the greatest economy, greatest job creation and greatest balanced budgets and surpluses.  President Obama's fourth fiscal year budget that will end 9/30/13 is projected to come in with a deficit of less than a trillion dollars.  Progress has indeed been made on cutting the federal budget deficit on Obama's watch.

Total federal spending during Bush's first three fiscal years increased a total of 21% over the previous three fiscal year budgets.  At the end of Obama's first three fiscal year budgets total spending was down 1.7% in his first year, up 4% in his second year and down 1.7% in his third year for a total increase in federal spending for Obama's first three years of 6/10th of a percent.  No republican President has cut federal spending in over 52 years.  So much for republicans being fiscal conservatives.

All economic indicators are positive along with job creation.  The country and its people have come a long way since the second great republican depression.  We still have much room for improvement and the President's policies will continue to move the country in the right direction.  Republicans in congress still fefuse to do any thing that helps the President and the country.  They are traitors to the people who elected them to do their job and are traitors to their country for their unAmerican behavior. 

I wrote a commentary early in Obama's administration that it would be a democratic President that turned things around for the country and its people and President Obama has lived up to the challenge.  Presidents Roosevelt, Clinton and Obama have all lived up to the democratic party's pledge to govern according to the needs of the country and its people and have not succumbed to an ideology that preaches division, religious intolerance and greed.  And that says it all.

All budget numbers above taken from the CBO records and or Treasury Department reports.

James Varney, The New Conservative Journalist On The Times Picayune Editorial Page

It matters not the name of so called conservative journalists, they all have so many things in common.  The first words out of their mouth is, "I am a conservative" which implies they think they are elite and they and only they have the answers to everything.  They all promote republican talking points like a bunch of robots and have a record of promoting misleading information.  Conservative republicans today inside and out side of congress in leadership roles preach a conservative republican ideology that is unAmerican. 

Mr. Varney's editorial published in the Times Picayune of October12 is so childish.  He does not understand when a lie is a lie.  Conservatives will take anything to the extreme.  He talks about the growth in government workers but fails to mention how many jobs have been created in the private sector. 

Varney talks about unemployment being over 8% for 43 months and glides over the second great republican depression under the George W. Bush administration that made that possible.  Of course Varney had little good to say about unemployment dropping to 7.8%.  And never would he mention that unemployment under Reagan stood above 10% for ten straight months and Reagan was not handed a depression.

Varney's editorial of October 19 was even more childish.  He claims that Obama did not seek republican support and just ignored what the republican leaders in the U.S. House and Senate said soon after Obama took office.  That is they would not work with the President and their goal was to make Obama a one term President.  He then went on to rewrite the Clinton Presidency by saying his great success was signing on to republican initiatives.  The fact of the matter is that the democratic controlled congress in 1993 passed President Clinton's deficit reduction and economic plans with out the vote of any republicans in the House or Senate.  They all predicted doom and gloom and all voted no.  The President's initiatives were his own. 

I would much rather be an American first and foremost and have knowledge of the facts where ever that leads.  As President Clinton articulated so many times, "when you operate on an ideology you have to come to a conclusion before you have the facts".  Remember those WMD in Iraq that did not exist except inside Bush and Chaney's ideological mind.

This writer will take Americanism over conservative ideology any day.  Thank goodness the Times Picayune carries E.J. Dionne's editorials to set the record straight.

The Second Presidential Debate: Romney's Big Lies Concerning The Federal Budget Deficit

Make no mistake, Mitt Romney lied when he said President Obama presided over four straight budget deficits of over $1 trillion.  The President has had only three fiscal budget years since he was elected President and his fourth fiscal budget year began October 1, 2012 and will end September 30, 2013.  Obama's first fiscal budget year began October 1, 2009.

It was George W. Bush's record single year budget deficit of $1.42 trillion that ended September 30, 2009 that Romney is trying to pass onto Obama and was the first ever single year fiscal budget deficit over a trillion dollars. The President's record for his first three fiscal year budgets came in with the following deficits:  First fiscal year ending September 30, 2010 $1.29 trillion.  The second year fiscal budget ending September 30, 2011 $1.2 trillion.  The third fiscal year budget ending September 30, 2012 $1.1 trillion.  See Note 1 below.

The numbers show that even though Bush inherited a record economy and balanced budgets from the Clinton administration, Obama did a better job at controlling deficit spending than Bush even though Bush bequeathed to Obama the second great republican depression and the first ever single year trillion dollar budget deficit.  Bush, like his father and Reagan never balanced one one federal budget on his watch.

Romney also lied when he said Obama doubled the federal deficit.  The numbers above show that was a blatant lie.  Romney has become a serial liar concerning many issues though out this campaign, most of which has already been exposed.  Romney is a man that can not be trusted with the truth or run the nations business.  He has had more than enough time to tell the American people what he would cut to pay for his $5 trillion tax cut and refused to do so until after the election.  This is a man who is afraid of the truth.

The way to stop the blatant lies of Romney and other republicans is to turn them off at the ballot box.  Hopefully, the people will get the message.

Note 1:    The deficit number shown above for Obama's third fiscal year budget that ended 9/30/12 was taken from a report from the Treasury Department to the Associated Press.  The CBO will publish the final number in its official reports when ready.