Louisiana's Gubernatorial Candidates Address The Louisiana Oil and Gas Association

Louisiana Republican candidates for Governor Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne, Public Service Commissioner Scott Anglee and U.S. Senator David Vitter along with Democratic Representative John Bel Edwards spoke at a breakfast forum sponsored by the Louisiana Oil and Gas Assoc. in Lake Charles, Louisiana as reported by the Associated Press in the Times Picayune of 3/14.

All three Republicans committed to (1)  work with the industry concerning changes to regulatory and civil law changes pushed by the industry.  (2)  Dardenne and Vitter oppose the local lawsuits filed against the companies for coastal wetlands damage.  Angelle was reported to say the blame game will not fix the coast. (No the oil companies should.  This writers thoughts)  (3)  All three said changes were needed to the "legacy lawsuits" pushed by the industry that were passed last year.

Democrat John Bell Edwards refused to embrace several of the lawsuit limitations and changes sought by the industry in (1) above, saying reasonable people can disagree on where to strike a balance.  On (2) above Edwards said the courts should decide whether the lawsuits have merit and did not believe the legislature was the proper place to tell local governments that they can't pursue action.  Edwards voted against those changes in (3) above saying he could not reach a compromise he could support.

All four candidates support the state's 50 year $50 billion coastal restoration plan.  Vitter told the industry the "litigation climate" is the biggest problem we have for our business environment and says more changes are needed to the state's civil court system.  (The usual republican rhetoric)

All three republicans told the industry group they or a family member worked in the industry or business related to the industry at one time or another.  Their comments represent the same republican positions, weaker laws and regulations and no accountability.  They said everything the industry wanted to hear and Vitter even went over the top with his civil law changes.

Democrat John Bel Edwards more than held his own with reasonable answers and did not attend the forum to tell the industry what they wanted to hear.  He seems to understand the industry is doing very well in Louisiana under the existing laws.  This writer can see that Mr. Edwards will campaign on the issues facing the state with sound policy ideas and that the republicans will continue to talk about easing business regulations and civil laws and try to tie that to job creation and a better economy.  Present governor Bobby Jindal has tried that and it failed.  And of course they are on record as opposing the lawsuits against the industry.  Yet they have no proposal to deal with the environmental damage they inflicted.  Mr. Edwards does, let the courts decide.

The coming election for governor will give the people a clear choice this writer believes and "PolitiDose" will be there with political commentary.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio

Lafourche Parish President Charlotte Randolph's Point of View Article

President Charlotte Randolph in her "point of view" article in the Times Picayune of 3/13/15 follows a typical pattern of public officials who are incapable of telling the truth when it comes to the oil and gas industry and President Obama.  Randolph's statement that "President Obama does not comprehend just how vital domestic oil and gas development is to heating his constituents home and etc." comes right out of the conservative's play book.

The author talks about how some areas are set aside to exclude drilling and that is holding back production.  She then goes on to say "we import 40% of our oil, a baffling number considering that we have plentiful resources to produce all the petroleum we need."  I'm sure Randolph is familiar with oil baron Boone Pickens since she knows so much about the oil and gas industry.  He's the fellow who in 2008 was on TV every week reminding the people that the U.S. is importing 70% of its oil.  Well by Randolph's number our situation has improved 30% and it happened on President Obama's watch.

When it comes to areas that exclude drilling the author has it all wrong.  The federal and state governments are still offering huge areas for lease to the industry.  Randolph was silent on the fact that the industry leases, owns or rents thousands of acres of land where they have not even drilled one well.  In fact the industry participated in a lease sale in Louisiana concerning federal lands in the past few weeks.

There is a sad point in the article where Randolph said the President gave little consideration as to how the moratorium  after the BP blow out would hurt Gulf Coast economies.  The President was concerned about the 11 rig workers who were killed and their family and the fact that BP and the industry had no answers.  The President made the right decision while Randolph was concerned with the economy, never mind about BP's negligence.

As pointed out in "PolitiDose" the oil industry will never make the U.S. independent of foreign oil (even though they have the capability to do so) as explained.  The industry has always had its best years under Democratic administrations and they are having their best years under President Obama's administration.

Charlotte Randol[ph, President of Lafourche Parish became another public servant who has volunteered to be a mouth piece for the oil and gas industry.  It was noticeable Randolph said nothing about the industry's destruction of Louisiana's environment that is subject of a lawsuit by the Levee Board and Jefferson Parish.
And that really says it all.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio

The Garland Robinette Show With Host Don Dubuc

Don Dubuc, the host of Garland's show on Friday March 13 in his opening remarks said he would be discussing the "Hillary email scandal" for his listeners to comment on and wanted to hear their opinion.  As soon as I heard the word scandal I knew he must be a ditto head following the Fox News spin of calling any thing related to Hillary or the President a scandal.

The opinions were nothing new from callers and offered nothing to rebut Hillary's public statement.  It was obvious by the tone set by Mr. Dubuc he wanted to hear negative comments and even lumped in contributions to the Clinton Foundation.  Local talk shows say a lot but offer very little that really matter and make a difference for people to understand the subject matter.

The former Secretary of State's emails will be made available to the public in a few short months says the State Department spokeperson.  Those emails concern government business, her personal emails were deleted and are not part of the public record.  Make no mistake, the anti Clinton people would not be satisfied even if she turned over her personal emails.

This writer will predict that if Hillary does run for the democratic nomination for President and wins she will disclose more of her personal records than the republican nominee.  Democrats always do that as a matter of principle.  Talk radio would be better off with less talk and more substance that affect the people.  Hillary handled her job well as Secretary of State and has been a serious public servant willing to serve her country.

The only scandal this writer heard Friday was Mr. Dubuc's calling Hillary's email issua a scandal.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio

Louisiana Association Of Business and Industry (LABI): A Point of View Article.

Stephen Waguespack, President of LABI in a "Point of View" article published in the Times Picayune of 3/11/15 said there are two states of Louisiana.  The private sector economy and state government.  Waguespack uses that theme to promote the business community in the private sector as during very well and state government as not doing well at all.

The article trys to do what business leaders do best, blow smoke and in this case at the people of Louisiana. The article says the state is on the verge of sustainable growth not seen in generations and that Louisiana is projected to average an increase of 75,000 jobs per year for the next decade.

The article then speaks about state government and its budget problems and what the author thinks should be done about same.  It is the usual b.s. business people always recommend.  Waguespack never touches on the $8 Billion of tax breaks that are giving to the business community.  That's $8 billion in lost state revenue giving to business which is unnecessary.  And LABI is right there in support of corporate welfare at a time of need in budget reform.


What elected officials and business leaders have done is sacrifice the many advantages Louisiana has to offer business in favor of tax breaks that are unwarranted.  As Warren Buffet said, taxes are no obstacle for business to survive or be profitable.  Mr. Waguespack "point of view" article is worthless when he offers advise how to address the states budget problem when he is unwilling to address the $8 billion tax give away.  Louisiana has a revenue problem caused by the $8 billion mentioned and because Louisiana's taxes are not collected on a basis where every one pays his fair share.  It has a spending problem because too much is spent on tax breaks for business.

When Mr. Waguespack talks about how well the private sector is doing he must be referring to its CEO's and executives because the unemployment rate in Louisiana has been going up while the national unemployment rate has been going down.  The Louisiana Workforce Commission has not given out the Louisiana unemployment rate for January or February as of this writing but in December it was 7.2% and had increased the previous 6 months.  This writer believes the success of the private sector should be judged by how its workers are doing and and if business is standing on its own two feet.  Predicting 75,000 jobs a year for the next decade is highly unlikely.  I hope the author is around in 2025 to bring the people up to date.

What LABI would like is for the private sector to continue receiving unnecessary tax breaks and be unregulated.  The people of Louisiana who are the states share holders and pay taxes deserve a better return on their investment.  The business community does not think so, if they did, they would pay their fair share of taxes and stop seeking favors they do not need from elected officials.

Mr. Waguespack says lets design a new approach to government that is more effective.  This writer agrees.  Lets start with the elimination of the $8 billion in corporate welfare.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio

U.S. Senator Tom Cotton R-Ark: The New Republican Leader Of The 47%.

During the Presidential election of 2012, republican nominee Mitt Romney was the author of the 47% remark that was filmed and recorded at one of his fund raising events.  Now, three years later freshman republican U.S. Senator Tom Cotton is the author of a letter signed by 47 republican U.S. Senators addressed to Iran's leaders in an effort to undermind on going talks between the United States and Iran

Those 47 republican senators represent 47% of the U.S. Senate which has 100 members.  Like Romney's comment, the public is not taking kindly to Cotton's letter and rhetoric  concerning the matter.  One exception is Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal who according to a Times Picayune article of 3/12 tweeted in reference to V.P. Joe Biden's statement the following.  "V.P. Biden owes Senator Tom Cotton an apology.  He wore the boots in Iraq.  He's earned our attention, not your insults."  Of course, the V.P. never insulted anyone.

Jindal's tweet is just another of many reasons why he will not even come close to being the republican nominee for President.  Jindal has no idea about the relationship between veterans and the Commander in Chief.  As a veteran, this writer was always taught to respect the President and Commander in Chief and the chain of command.  Evidently Senator Cotton never learned that especially at a time when the President and Commander in Chief's administration is in serious talks concerning serious issues with a foreign nation.

The conservative hate for President Obama has no bounds and Cotton being a freshman Senator, shows his lack of knowledge how government works and the responsibility of the President as Commander in Chief. Bobby Jindal is so far out of his league on a national and state level its getting to be a sad situation.  The 47% has not been a good number for the party.

More than one republican Senator that signed on to the letter served in congress during President Reagan's administration when he sold arms to Iran concerning American hostages.  At the time Iran was listed as a supporter of terrorism by the U.S. State Department.  That happened even though President Reagan said he would not negotiate with terrorists.  Those Senators were stone quiet and the matter was subject to an investigation.  Any one who follows our political system knows President George W. Bush had no plan in place to deal with Iran's nuclear program.  Like Iraq, the Iran problem was passed to President Obama's administration.

The real shame is that the republican party has no one of mature stature willing to stand up and say enough is enough and we need to work with the President and Commander in Chief.


This commentary was written by Joe Lorio.

Sabotage In The United States Senate

 Forty seven republicans in the U.S. Senate were signatory to a letter sent to Iran's leaders for the purpose of sabotaging on going negotiations between  the U.S. and Iran over that country's nuclear program.  The actions by those 47 U.S. senators indicate their allegiance is to Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu   rather than the United States and their President.  It is one more example of the unAmerican conservative ideology practiced by the leaders of today's republican party inside and out side of congress.

The republicans in congress continue to try and obstruct the President's every policy, foreign and domestic and are still trying to nullify the last two Presidential elections.  American history escapes their grasp when it comes to governing.  Seven republicans in the U.S. Senate refused to sign the letter and stood tall.  The 47 Senators who signed the letter brought shame to the halls of congress.

Both Louisiana Senators, Bill Cassidy and David Vitter signed the letter and Bobby Jindal said he supports the letter and that he may have been the author.  Cassidy was quoted in the Times Picayune of 3/11as saying, "If congeress and the American people had more confidence in the Obama administrations foreign policy the letter might not have been sent."  The usual self serving statement by an ignorant Senator who knows nothing about America and what its people think.  Those 3 stooges are chapped because the President's foreign policy has kept our nation safe.

Vice President Joe Biden put it bluntly when he said, "the authors of the letter must know, the vast majority of our international commitments take effect without congressional approval."  The recent U.S.- Russian framework to remove chemical weapons from Syria is a recent example.  Of course they know, they just want to wound the President because they can not ecompete with his success.

The conservative ideology of today's republicans is to keep America and our men and women in uniform in a perpetual war in the middle east and allow Israel to have a veto over the President and Commander in Chief's foreign policy.  The President is not going to let those silly childern run his foreign policy.

On a lighter note:  Bobby Jindal, Bill Cassidy and David Vitter deserve each other.  They are one and the same ditto heads and have no positive record of contribution.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio

Hillary Clinton's Personal E-Mails At The State Department

The news networks, their hosts and their guest are having a field day concerning the subject matter since it became public.  This writer has followed the coverage which borders on comedy.  The networks/hosts/guest, especially if the guest also represents the news media all follow the same pattern

(A)  They are put out that Mrs. Clinton has chosen her own time line to address the subject instead of the networks time line.  (B)  Her delayed answer will give republicans a reason to attack her.  (that is really comical)  (C)  She has damaged her campaign for President.  (D)  She may have violated the law.  (E)  Its typical of the Clintons.  (this writer does not remember President Clinton being Secretary of State.  (F)  She used private account email to conduct State business to avoid transparency.  (G)  And a host of other allegations.

The networks and their hosts are chapped because Mrs. Clinton has not yet formally announced she will be a candidate for the democratic Presidential nomination.  As a result she has been silent and out of the public's eye.  That has left the networks only the republican candidates to cover and they have been in the news frequently.  Its tough for the networks to report on them because the republican candidates are saying the same thing that Newt Gingrich was saying 30 years ago.  Some things never change.

The real reason the networks want Mrs. Clinton to speak on the emails is they have too much air time to fill up and once she speaks they will be talking about the matter until election day.  The networks and the republicans will keep this story alive no matter what.  Fox news has already named it a scandal when they have no idea what the word means.  If they did they would have called O'Reilly's repeated lies a scandal.

The bottom line on Mrs. Clinton's personal emails at State is as follows:  Did her personal emails violate any federal laws or regulations and if so to what extent.  Will she be able to articulate a sound reason for maintaining a personal email file instead of using State's email system   The American people will be the judge on whether this issue will affect Mrs. Clinton's chances of becoming President if she decides to run.  The networks would like to make that decision for the people.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio

The Iraq War, Al Queda In Iraq And ISIL

Twelve years ago this month in 2003 President George W. Bush ordered the invasion and occupation of Iraq over WMD that did not exist.  And today, Iraq and its people are worse off than they were prior to the invasion.  The Middle East, including Iraq has been destabilized, suicide bombings are still a regular occurance by terrorists and other groups entering the country.  Saddam never let that happen while he ruled.

The war created Al Queda in Iraq who inflicted most of the damage on U.S. troops.  They did what Saddam and his military could not do despite President Bush telling the world Saddam and his military was a danger to the security of the U.S. and its people.  The President announced "mission accomplished" 3 months after the invasion and 12 years later the mission has yet to be accomplished and the invasion and death of Saddam did not stabilize Iraq nor was the U.S. welcomed as liberators like V.P. Chaney said would happen.

ISIL is a part of Al Queda with the same goal Bin Laden wanted to achieve, that is to see the middle east as an Islamic state.  The growth of ISIL like the creation of Al Queda in Iraq would never have been possible in Iraq with Saddam in office.  The war gave both groups the opportunity to grow and spread their terror.  Yet we still have those in congress who want to see President Obama make the same mistake and have American troops once again have an active combat role in Iraq and else where in the middle east.

Our men and women in uniform and their family have paid a huge price with multiple deployments because there is no draft.  President Obama does not have to send them down that road again.  So far he has been steady on the issue.  The answer to a stable Iraq and middle east can only come from that part of the world where a united front comes together to destroy the threat and improve relations between all of its various factions.

The U.S. is a nation of values and should never again be so willing to commit our country to an unnecessary war where only our military is asked to make sacrifice.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio

Is ISIL Changing Their Strategy?

There has been very little military gains by ISIL in Iraq since the U.S. and its allies committed its air power to stop their advance.  In fact the Turks and different tribal forces in Iraq have rolled back ISIL at several locations and Jordan and Egypt have entered the battle against them.

ISIL now seems to be changing their tactics because they know militarily they can not win.  Christians are more and more their target along with foreign kidnapping and now recently are bent on destroying ancient historical monuments in Iraq.  The news media rarely reports on their military power any more.

The latest reports puts Iraq's largest offensive with Iraqi troops and shiite militiamen in advancing to oust ISIL's military who are holding the town of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's birth place.  Iraq and the Iranian backed shiite militia have about 30,000 men in their offensive to defeat ISIL at Tikrit.  There are fears among the U.S. and its allies that Iran is gaining more and more influence in Iraq and Iraqi decision making.  If Iraq can take back Tikrit, ISIL's military will pull back even more and try to find other means to make the middle east an Islamic state.  The next big military step for Iraq is to retake Mosul from ISIL control which will be launched in the near future according to reports.

Both operations will be a test of the Iraqi military and if they have what it takes to defend their own country.  As far as Iran gaining more influence in Iraq, this writer predicted several years ago in "PolitiDose" after the Iraq war started, that no matter how the war ended Iran would have more influence in Iraq and that the two nations would become allies.  When Saddam was alive both nations kept each other in check.  The Iraq war changed all that and not for the better.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio