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

Forty Four Days After The Presidential Election and The Media Is Still Just A Side Show.

The Presidential campaign of 2024 actually began after Joe Biden took office in January of 2021.  It began with the media's obsession of Trump running for re-election in 2024 and their willingness to allow Trump to dominate their news cycle.  After the election on November 5, that same media with help from the negative voices attempted to force on America the notion that the democratic party was blaming each other, that their agenda was rejected and their party was without leadership and would take years to recover.

That same media began telling the people about Trump's mandate, especially with the GOP controlling both houses of congress beginning in the new year.  Newsweek even named Trump it's "person of the year" award. (Hardly an honor for a convicted criminal).  The media then ran offense for the President elect by giving him coverage for claiming all the prosecutions against him should be reversed because of the Supreme Court's immunity ruling.  

The true story forty four days later reveals Trump ran for President three times and never achieved or received 50% of the popular vote so there is no mandate, the democratic party is alive, well, sane and their agenda has not been dismissed.  As of this writing, the popular vote in the last three Presidential elections, Donad Trump received 214 million votes while the democratic candidates received 221 million votes, a margin of 7 million popular votes for the democrats.

In that forty four day period we also saw President elect Trump pick billionaires and millionaires for his cabinet and other high positions to run government instead of qualified people with experience.  It is in line with Trump's dictator mentality to destroy government, the same institutions he blames for his own self made corruption.  These are the types of people who would like to shut the government down.  As usual, the media has little or no response.  

In those 44 days the media still allows Trump to dominate their news cycle with his trash talk, personal attacks and the chaotic conditions that exist around this unstable person that are fed this negative news 24/7.   Trump's mental behavior is now a part of the media's make up.  When one can not find anything positive to say their mental attitude speaks load and clear.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio 

  

The 2024 Season For SEC Football Comes To An End.

 On Saturday afternoon the Georgia Bulldogs and the Texas Longhorns played in the very first playoff game for the SEC Championship in the expanded version.  And the Georgia Bulldogs defeated Texas 22-19.  Texas completed the regular season on top of the SEC, but lost twice to Georgia including once during the regular season.  

In the previous 10 years, Alabama and Georgia were the dominate teams in the SEC winning multiple SEC championships and National Championships.  Georgia's defeat of Texas Saturday keeps them the dominate team in the SEC and time will tell who the next challenger will be.  This writer had a kick out of a recently written sports story concerning Georgia not having the top recruiting class this year as if to say that makes Georgia's future look suspect.  

The writer forgot to mention that Georgia's coach Kirby Smart is probably the best coach in college football and that will make the difference.  In fact only the teams with the best coaches will survive, especially with the Portal, NIL, the money and free agency.  Quality coaches is the only answer with the new headaches, courtesy of the NCAA.  

This commentary written by Joe Lorio

The U.S. Economy, Job Creation and the Unemployment Rate for November 2024.

 The U.S. Labor Department announced that the economy created 227,000 jobs in November and that the unemployment rate came in at 4.2%.  It was the 46th straight month of positive job growth.  The job numbers surprised the negative voices who predicted after October's job report, the jobs market was in a slowdown.  They dismissed the fact that the Labor Department contributed October's job numbers were due to the Boeing strike and two hurricanes that hit the east coast.  

The Department also reported that wages were up 0.4% from October and that year to year wages were up 4.0%.  With only 33 days left in office, President Biden will leave office with the best job creation record of any Presidential 4 year term.  His administration will have created more jobs in 4 years than Bush 41, Bush 43 and Trump created in the 16 years they served.  After the job numbers for November were announced, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the following:  The U.S. economy is in REMARKABLY good shape.  

PolitiDose commentary has told that success story since Biden took office, but the media has been more interested in publishing the negative voices of doom, gloom and recession and has paid little to no attention to the positive economic story of the past 4 years.  How sad.

Trump will be taking over a working economy with increase wages, more jobs than Trump ever thought creating in his first term and a strong America.  On the other hand when Trump left office, he bequeathed an economic disaster to Biden.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio  

LSU Football 2024 Regular Season Comes To and End On A Winning Note Defeating Vanderbilt 37-17.

 It is always good to end the regular season at home with a win but it does not indicate the direction the team will take in the future, nor is it a portend of what next season's team will look like.  LSU started the season ranked in the top 10 of the preseason poll and many local sports writers thought the team had a chance to make the playoffs with the new expansion of 12 teams.  But the regular season ended with LSU being shut out of the playoffs and the top 20 poll teams.

And along the way, LSU fans experienced the ups and downs of a team where the coaches appeared to lose control.  LSU played eight SEC opponents and had a record of 5-3.  Along the way they defeated only two SEC teams with a winning record within the SEC, South Carolina and Ole Miss.  They completed the regular season by beating only two teams with a winning record also, those same two teams.  They completed the regular season with a 8-4 winning record.

How do those numbers along with the fact that the season saw LSU's won-loss record regress from last season and how no progress has been made on the issue in the last three seasons.  This writer believes coaching along with the Portal, NIL and compensation for players are the big reasons.  LSU has never recovered from the 2019 season when they went undefeated and won it all.  At the beginning of the season, local sports writers thought LSU would make the expanded playoffs, but lost sight of the fact that the Tigers have fallen behind several other SEC teams since 2019.  Because of factors expressed in previous commentary, this writer predicted LSU should be rated as a "wait and see team" for the season and that is the way it turned out.  

No one in  sports seems to want to talk about it, but college football, thanks to the Portal, NIL and the influence of money out in the open, college football now has "Free Agency" just like the NFL and that is a HUGE MISTAKE.  Players no longer have  any commitment to their school or team.  What a shame for college sports.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio

Opinion Writer Quin Hillyer Continues The GOP's Propaganda on Federal Spending and the Federal Budget.

 The GOP are well known how in writing and verbally, they like to take credit for the good things that take place on the Democratic watch.  Now comes an article in the Times Picayune of November 17 by Quin Hillyer who gives credit to the GOP for President Clinton's balanced budgets and reducing federal spending.  He cites in particular the former Louisiana U.S. House rep. Bob Livingston (who resigned in disgrace) and his so called role in balancing the budget.

President Clinton and his party controlled both bouses of congress in the first two years of his administration.  The House was controlled by the GOP in Clinton's last 6 years in office.  The Clinton administration allowed the GOP to submit their own budget to congress and it failed to pass.  Then the democrats presented Clinton's budget and it passed congress.  That democratic budget set the stage and produced the greatest economy, greatest job creation, reduced the deficit every year in Clinton's first term and a balanced budget every year in his second term with surpluses.  It also produced the lowest increase in federal spending in the past 70 years.  That budget also raised taxes on corporations and the wealthy that increased needed federal revenue; it propelled the new dot.com economy to new heights; and there were many more progressive parts of the budget that assisted the nation's economic growth.

Presidents Reagan, Bush 43 and Trump cut taxes for corporations and the wealthy and all three administrations gave the country an economic recession.  All three completed their last fiscal year with a larger federal budget deficit than they inherited from those before them.  None of the three, balanced the federal budget in the 20 years they served and the last GOP President to balance the budget was Eisenhower in fiscal 1960.  (How many more years do the GOP need to balance a budget???  And it should be noted, Every GOP administration in the last 100 years has given the country and its people an economic recession.  Does anyone really think than is a coincidence???

When it comes to increases in federal spending, GOP administrations are the CHAMPS.  Federal spending during the following Presidential administrations are as follows:  During Reagan's 8 fiscal years, up 75%, during Bush 41 four fiscal years, up 28%, during Clinton's 8 fiscal years, up 28%, during Bush 43 eight fiscal years, up 61%, during Obama's eight fiscal years, up 25% and during Trump's 4 fiscal years, up 43%.  In the 12 year period before Reagan, the largest percentage increase in federal spending took place on the Nixon/Ford watch when spending increased 92% in their 8 fiscal years.

The national debt increased 187% on Reagan's watch in his 8 fiscal years,  in Bush 41 four fiscal years increased 54%, in Clinton's 8 fiscal years it increased 31%,  in Bush 43 eight fiscal years it increased 106%,  in Obama's eight fiscal years it increased 70% and in Trump's 4 fiscal years it increased 41%.  

When it comes to managing the federal government's fiscal house, the democratic administrations do a better job all around and have a history of doing so.  The GOP are the big spenders and have led with the largest increases for the past 70 plus years.  Fiscally, the Democratic party has proven to be more conservative than the GOP.  As a result, the Democratic party can walk the fiscal talk, the GOP cannot, all they have left are the lies and mis-information which defines their party.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio

 Note:  Numbers above taken from the official records of the CBO, OMB and the Treasury Department.

The Good News On President Biden's Economy Just Keeps Coming.

 With only two months left in office, the U.S. economy continues to produce for the country and it's people.  The U.S. Commerce Department reported November 16 that retail sales for October were up 0.4% from September and that consumer spending is driving the economy's steady growth.

The Department also reported Americans' take home pay on average has surpassed inflation for about 18 months.  That statement is an astounding testament to the strength of the economy.  The Department ends it's report with this statement:  "Trump inherits an economy in which spending is strong, growth is solid and unemployment is low."  Another astounding statement, but not to those who follow the facts and read PolitiDose commentary.

The sad news is that the media allowed the lies of Trump and the negative voices on the economy dominate the news and never gave the proper time to the positive position of the economy and the factual numbers in the last 46 months.  And those numbers took place despite inflation.  The public was exposed to the negative voices and the lies carried by the media.  They especially never tired of pushing the negative voices of recession.

PolitiDose commentary had it right how the economy would do well under the Biden administration and that prediction was made even before he took office.  The shame of America's media has never been greater.

This commentary written by Joe  Lorio

Federal Judge Strikes Down Governor Jeff Landry's Ten Commandments.

 U.S. District Judge John deGravelles ruled Louisiana's recently passed Ten Commandments legislation was unconstitutional and cannot be enforced.  Louisiana cannot enforce the law known as House Bill 71 which was set to take place on January 1.  The legislation, if enforced would have had public K-12 schools and colleges post the Ten Commandments in every classroom.  The issue now moves to the U.S. Court of Appeals and will end up in the U.S. Supreme Court for a final decision.

Republican governor Jeff Landry said he could not wait to be sued when the legislature passed the measure and his wish was granted.  Donald Trump supported the legislation.  Governor Landry is a Trump ditto head and like he and his GOP CULT use religion to divide the country as they use it to discriminate against those whose lifestyle they oppose.  It is part of their extreme agenda.

Common sense tells us the ten commandments is used as a phony issue by the GOP.  If one violates the Commandments it will not be school children, it will be elected officials and common sense supports that.  Trump is a good example:  Adultry, fraud, which is the same as stealing.  And then there are others that the people of Louisiana are aware of.  There are many religions in the United States and the separation of church and state displayed the wisdom of our forefathers who realized that.  This writer has always believed that political and religious dogma are the greatest threat to progress and humankind.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio

Alabama 42 LSU 13

 Now that the dust has settled and sports writers, the media, fans and others had their say, as to what went wrong, there is nothing left to offer but observation.  Local and State sports reporters (media or otherwise) have a tendency to over rate the strength of teams they cover so the fans objectivity seem to be lost in the excitement of the new season.

Many reporters before the season even began, thought the Tigers had a good chance to make the play offs because of the expanded playoff system.  But winning is still the controlling factor.  Some tried to suggest how Kelly would do in his 3rd. season at LSU, by what took place in Kelly's 3rd. season at other schools he coached.  This writer believes that is a failed judgement, especially when your team now has to face 6 or 7 SEC teams each season.  

LSU's running game by the RUNNING BACKS have not done well under Kelly.  LSU's leading rusher the first two years was quarterback Daniels who also in Kelly's second season broke LSU's rushing and passing records.  But that success did not improve LSU's won-loss record of the previous year.  There was no good reason not to develop a running game with the RUNNING BACKS even with Daniels being there.  So, LSU began this season without Daniels and a proven running game.

Coach Kelly has had two offensive coordinators and two defensive coordinators and other new coaches in his first three years.  How could LSU be expected to be better this year with that situation?  Who knows the quality of those coaches, how can there be consistency with those changes in such a short period of time?  After 9 games no one knows the capabilities of those new coaches or what the future will look like.  In this writer's judgement, LSU at the start of the season should have been rated as a "wait and see team" and said so in a PolitiDose commentary dated September 5, 2024 and that is the way this LSU team is shaking out so far.

Now the Tigers are off to Florida for another SEC game and we will soon find out if any progress has been made from the Alabama game.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio