The New Orleans Saints End The Season On a Winning Note But Fail To Make The Playoffs Once Again.

The Saints defeated the Atlanta Falcons to give head coach Dennis Allen his very first winning season as a head coach.  Beating Atlanta is nothing new for the Saints as they seem to have the Facons number over the years.  The win gave the Saints a winning season at 9-8 and was a big disappointment to those who fail to be objective in their evaluation of the team.  And the worse offenders are the local sports media and their reporters.  

In a New Orleans Advocate article of 8/19/23 twenty eight local sports media people predicted the fate of the Saints for the 2023 season and as usual most were off the money.  Most predicted a 10-7 or 11-6 won loss record.  Bobby Hebert who heads up a local sports radio show called "sports talk" said the Saints would go 11-6.  His show misses the mark often like the New Orleans Advocate sports writers.  It is a show business thing for the media and not really an honest evaluation.  

The bottom line did not change one bit for this year's team.  (1)  It was the third straight year that the Saints started the season with a quarterback that had not completed one full season as a Saints starting quarterback.  (2)  Saint's head coach Dennis Allen had never achieved a winning record as a head coach.  (3)  The Saints defense has not been a consistent defense for several years now.  They play great some times and some times they play poorly.  They can play great for 3 quarters and then fall apart at the most critical moment.  Picking a team to go 10-7 or 11-6 and not knowing, or having any idea how those above 3 issues will be improved, how can one pick those kind of numbers?

Being aware of those 3 problems, does not give this writer the confidence that the Saints are ready to turn things around any time soon. Sean Payton left because he could see what was unfolding, and he and the front office was responsible for allowing the quarterback situation to get out of hand before Brees retired and not having a capable replacement.  The situation is even worse now because the Saints are an aged team and no one yet knows if Carr is the answer at quarterback.  This is a franchise that has never fully recovered from "bounty gate" and the media has ignored the issue.  

With the right coaching staff and players there is hope for the future, mainly because the NFL has so many poor teams coached by many poor coaches.  It can hardly get any worse when a 9-8 team can win their division and or qualify for the playoffs.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio 

Note:  For the record, the Saints beat only two teams with a winning record this football season. 

New Gun Legislation Is In Working Order.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland reported that new gun legislation passed by congress in June of 2022 is working and so far has blocked over 500 firearms from being bought.  That's 500 plus less guns on the streets of America.  The new gun legislation was part of President Biden's ongoing attempt to tighten the rules and loopholes when purchasing a firearm.  

The legislation that was passed in 2022 was passed by the democratic controlled congress with support from the GOP and was the most sweeping gun legislation in decades and requires extra checks for any gun purchase by people under 21 years of age.  Other safety provisions were also added.  President Biden noted after the announcement that the legislation was working and that he will continue to consider other methods to keep America and its people safe from gun violence.

And once again, it is a democratic President and a democratic controlled congress with GOP assistance who led the fight for common sense gun legislation.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio 

Note: The Bill passed the House 234-193 and in the Senate 65-35.  All democrats voted for the legislation and totaled 274 votes for, while a total of 228 republicans voted no on the legislation. 14 republican members in the House voted with the democratic majority, while in the senate 15 republicans voted with the democratic majority.  All Louisiana republican house members voted against the bill, while Louisiana senator Bill Cassidy voted for the bill.  Senator John Kennedy voted against the bill.  Democratic representative in the House Troy Carter voted for the bill.  The vote tells the story of a GOP where their own majority is on the wrong side of a basis solution to reduce the violence of gun deaths. 

The U.S. Economy, Job Creation and The Unemployment Rate for December 2023.

 The U.S. Labor Department reported the economy added 216,000 jobs in December and that the unemployment rate came in at 3.7%, same as in November.  It was the 35th straight month of positive job growth (Feb. 2021 - Dec. 2023) and the unemployment rate has stayed in the 3% range for the past 25 months, the longest string since the 1960's.  Hourly wages were up 4.1% from a year earlier and the hourly wage has outpaced inflation over the past year.  October and November's job numbers were lowered by 71,000 total as adjustments are nothing new and are revised up or down through the year.

The year 2023 ends on a good economic note for the country and its people.  Thirty five steady months of economic progress, an economy that has proved the negative voices wrong over and over again, the American people still willing to spend because they have jobs with higher wages, a SANE President in the White House confident his policies will continue to work for the nation and its people and at the same time protect our democratic way of life.  On the other side is just the opposite, a GOP party that is not a real party, just a bunch of Trump ditto heads who share his corruptive and traitorous acts against the United States, its people, the constitution, our legal system and democracy itself.  They, along with a media that enables them are the greatest threat to democracy internally.

The United States now turns to a new year with high economic expectations to start it off.  The future looks bright with a democrat still in the White House.  The negative voices and the crazies are just that and have nothing else to offer.  And that really says it all.  

This commentary written by Joe Lorio  

LSU Defeats Wisconsin In The ReliaQuest Bowl 35 - 31.

The LSU Tigers closed out its season on New Year's day and ended its season again on a winning note.  It was a season that duplicated last year with another 9-3 winning regular season record and a bowl win.  LSU fans and sports reporters will have much thoughts to express about the season over the next few months and this writer has some thoughts on the subject.

For the past 10 years the play off bowls have been of consequence because it is the road to the national championship.  All other bowl are of no consequence including the ReliaQuest bowl that LSU played in.  The proof of that is demonstrated by the fact that so many players opted not to play in their team's bowl game.  After all, why play in a game of no consequence and take a chance on being injured and affect their chances to play in the NFL?  What about those players responsibility to their team and university? (That will be the subject of another commentary)

The LSU defense dropped off dramatically from last year's team and no one knows what will take place next year.  There will be a new defensive coordinator but no one knows who or how the change will work out.  It was obvious Coach Kelly had no clue that LSU's defense would perform so bad and the team was not able to make the proper adjustments.  

The Offensive stats this year were better than last year's stats and the team had the Heisman Trophy winner, but completed the regular season at 9-3, the same record as last year's team.  LSU lost to Ole Miss and Alabama, two teams they defeated last year and failed to defend their SEC West title.  Daniels will not return next year so LSU will start the season with a quarterback that has not completed one full season as a starting quarterback.  That is a question mark that will be unknown until next season ends even though Nussmeier has performed well when he has played.  

In the 2022 season LSU completed its regular season with a winning record of 9-3.  That was the 4th best won-lost record in the SEC.  Georgia's won-loss record was 12-0, Tennessee was 10-2 and Alabama was 10-2.  In 2023 LSU's record was 9-3, the 5th best won-loss record in the SEC.  Georgia was 12-0, Alabama was 11-1, Missouri was 10-2 and Ole Miss was 10-2.  So Missouri and Ole Miss jumped ahead of LSU in the won-loss column this past season.  Will next season be the season LSU makes the jump, or will it be someone else that pushes LSU farther down?  How will the new comers, Texas and Oklahoma rank?  

The SEC expansion will cause a lot of headaches and so will the new playoff format of 12 teams.  No one knows where it will all end but this writer thinks neither one is a positive for college sports and especially college football.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio  

   

The New Orleans Murder Rate On A Downward Trend In 2023.

 That was the good news reported in The New Orleans Advocate of Jan. 1 and 3rd.  It reported a 27% decrease in the murder rate compared to 2022.  There were 193 murders in 2023 compared to 265 in 2022.  The article's chart that list the historical murder rates in New Orleans shows the highest total took place in 1994 when there were 424 murders.

And as usual no one really has a reason for the reduction in the numbers.  Certainly most people know that the Mayor was blamed for the increase in the rates early on but don't look  for those same people to give the Mayor some credit for the fallen rates.  The numbers have been so far on a steady decline for months and if the proper steps continue to be taken, the good reports should continue into 2024.

This writer believes one of the major factors in the decline results from the City and NOPD working with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, plus the FBI that helped remove the dangerous elements off the streets and also hundreds of guns off the street, especially those felons who never turned their weapons in as required by law.  It is very elementary to understand if you remove the guns off the streets there will be less crime and less murders.

The City also has a new Police Chief who has the support of the Mayor and the City Council who have committed to support the Chief's and the City needs to get the job done and keep it going.  Recent reforms have already been in effect and the new Chief promises more to come to address the situation.  Hopefully, the people of the city will remember that the crime rates started to come down long before Governor elect Jeff Landry was elected and took office and before his appointed New Orleans Crime Commission ever took any action.  I say this because the Republicans have a history of trying to take credit for the good things that take place on the democratic watch.  PolitiDose will be watching.

Food for thought:  President Kennedy said in one of his many speeches that "our problems are man made, therefore they can be solved by man."  President Kennedy knew politics plays a role in everyday life but this writer believes Kennedy knew that man himself had the ability to solve problems and that problems were never solved by a political ideology which is why the GOP is a failed party.  All one has to do is to look at the party now.  

This commentary written by Joe Lorio   

Comprehensive Immigration Reform Legislation (CIRL): The Story That Never Ends.

 The democratic party by its own actions favor such legislation.  The republican party by its own inaction are opposed to it and the media has failed to report on it properly.  Yet, CIRL is the only answer to the problem because immigration has so many different issues it can only be addressed by CIRL.  More than one President over the years have issued executive orders on the issues but the problem is still there because of the many immigration issues not addressed.

In the year 2013 the democratic controlled U.S. Senate during the Obama administration passed CIRL with republican support.  It was a good overall bill that would have gone a long way to address the many problems of the subject.  The Senate vote was 68-32 and fourteen republicans joined the majority democratic vote.  The George W. Bush Institute sad the legislation was bullish on the U.S. economy.  The bill was sent to the republican controlled U.S. House for their action and they just let it die without even introducing the bill for debate or a vote.  

During the 2016 Presidential campaign every GOP candidate in their own debates said the number one issue if elected President would be immigration reform.  Well, Trump won the Presidency and the GOP controlled both houses of congress the first two years yet CIRL was never introduced or debated.  The GOP also controlled the Senate all 4 of Trump's years in office and they too did nothing on CIRL.  Trump built a partial wall and separated children from their mothers at the border and did nothing for immigration reform.  In fact a U.S. Judge ordered the U.S. to reunite those children with their mothers and that fell to the Biden administration to do since Trump was long gone.  And of course, Trump said Mexico would pay for his wall and Mexico told Trump what he could do with his wall.  

Today the U.S. still has an immigration problem that has yet to be answered because the full congress has not acted on the total immigration problem.  This writer is of the opinion that President Biden will address the issue in 2024 and make CIRL a legislative fact.  The GOP can no longer deny the problem and their lack of responsible actions.  They are doing their best to make immigration  a democratic issue and are trying to cover up their failed past of addressing the situation.  The time is ripe to come together and it will take place on the democratic watch.

The democratic party actually have a record of supporting CIRL with legislation and a actual vote, the GOP does not.  Instead the GOP try to use a government shutdown concerning only one part of immigration that they failed to do under Trump's administration.  The President will hold them accountable and CIRL will become a fact.  

Note:  John Boehner was Speaker of the U.S. House when the House refused to take up CIRL that the U.S. Senate passed in 2013.  A few years after he retired he said the GOP never did want to pass comprehensive Immigration Reform Legislation.  And that really says it all.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio  

President Biden's QUIET Administration Is A Holiday Gift Among The Toxic Rhetoric And A Enabling Media.

Sanity in politics is the best gift a politician has to offer, especially during an election being pushed too early by the negative voices and a enabling media.  President Biden understands the situation and will not prematurely entertain the negative voices and their toxic rhetoric.  And as of this writing there is no GOP nominee for him to campaign against.  It should be noted that the negative voices with their toxic rhetoric on the President's policies were predicted in PolitiDose commentary before the President took office and also soon after he took office.   

The year 2024 will be another story when the President lays out his agenda for the new year.  It will be with policy that continues the economic progress of the past 3 years and policies that will answer the issues to continue to move the country and its people forward to future progress.  Sadly the people will hear the negative voices throughout the new year and the media will be there to enable their negative voices.  

The year 2023 will come to a close like the year 2022.  The economy is strong, creating jobs, unemployment is at historical low levels, consumers are still spending and the President is still a strong leader at home and abroad while promoting democracy.  Those negative voices who were predicting recession for 2022 and then 2023 and now 2024 were and are still wrong about the economy.  The inflation rate never came close to what it was in 1980 when it came in at 13.5%.  And in 1981,1982 and 1983 the 30 year home mortgage rate averaged 15.2% for those 3 years.  Yet, the negative voices called the recent inflation and mortgage rates for the last 2 years whooping increases with the media's blessings.  The year 2024 will also see more infrastructure legislation kick in to assist the economy in its progress.

The SANITY and QUIETNESS of the present administration is a welcome relief from the negative voices who have no record of accomplishments.  And to top it off, the administration has moved the country in the right direction under our democratic system and the rule of law that our founders would be proud of.  

This commentary written by Joe Lorio 

Oil Industry Firms Settle Law Suit With the State of Louisiana and Cameron Parish.

 According to a report in the New Orleans Advocate of 12/12 several firms settled the law suit brought against them concerning the state and Cameron Parish for environmental damage caused by the firm's operations.  Jury selection for the trial was going to begin the following week.  The bottom line to this issue is very elementary to everyone concerned.

The issue was a state issue and not a federal government issue as the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed when they refused to hear the case.  (2)  The suit was narrowed to state issues which means that the state of Louisiana could have moved against the oil industry years ago for the destruction they caused to the environment.  (3)  State regulators failed to do their jobs and enforce the provisions violated by the oil industry.  (4)  The oil industry paid no attention to the state regulations that governed their responsibilities and continued to violate the state's environment with their operations and also failed to restore the land.  (5)  Louisiana's elected officials who backed the oil industry just because they created jobs cared nothing about the state, it's people or the environment.

Louisiana's voters should never forget the oil industry's environmental damage and their daily denial of doing so.  The voters should also never forget the state's failure to enforce its regulations and hold the industry accountable long ago.  The 50 plus years of environmental damage supports the notion that the industry has not been a friend to the state, the people or the environment.  The settlement also proves a failed political system without checks and balances and a failed government-business partnership that resemble the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico when many elected officials in La. and the industry opposed President Obama's actions to hold BP responsible for its own actions.  

Will this settlement and future settlements bring change to the status quo of the last 50 plus years?  The people need to make their voices known and let the state and industry know the failed past will not be tolerated in the future.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio

Another First For PolitiDose Commentary Concerning The Administration Of Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards.

Now comes a New Orleans Advocate commentary by Tyler Bridges dated 12/24 concerning the accomplishments of Governor JBE's administration as he prepares to leave office next month.  It is a well written article and a highly deserved one of the Governor's performance and especially the progress made on fiscal matters, health care, jobs and lower unemployment.  

PolitiDose commentary predicted the positive changes would take place even before JBE took office and several times early after he took office.  It could be predicted because democratic administrations govern with plans and policies to address the issues and problems while the GOP administrations govern with an extreme ideology and therefore never address the real issues or problems.  

PolitiDose commentary did the same thing on the national level how President's Obama and Biden would reverse the carnage left by the George W. Bush administration and the Donald Trump administration.  Those commentaries were also written before they took office and early after they took  office because of precedent.

The general media lacks the character and will to report on precedent during election campaigns to give the people insight to what might be.  They are more interested in the every day sound bites of the campaign that misinforms instead of informing.  It's a tit for tat of each candidate's rhetoric when there exist an actual record of what is likely to take place.

A good example can be found in the media's love for the negative voices who have been preaching doom and gloom for the economy with a recession since early last year.  That story is at the top of their agenda while the good economic news is seldom told.  PolitiDose commentary has told the true story according to facts, so tune out the misinformation media and stay tuned to PolitiDose, your daily dose of political commentary.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio   

What Will The New Year Bring For The Country and It's People?

 The only thing that separates us from the time we are born until the time we no longer exist is TIME.   No one can see TIME but we know how to measure it on Earth.  The 24 hour clock, the week, the month and the year.  The passage of TIME exposes the facts, the truths, the lies and the misinformation.  When the year 2023 ends, will the TIME'S that passed portend what the TIMES of 2024 and the future will look like?

Will the media in general continue to enable the Trump/GOP and the negative voices lies of doom and gloom on the economy, recession, massive layoffs and high unemployment continue their toxic rhetoric.  Will they still promote an economic recession that they have been predicting for the past 20 months spill over to the new year.  Will Trump and the GOP's anti-American and anti-democratic attacks on the constitution, the DOJ, law enforcement, the democratic process and etc., etc. be the leading story once again in 2024.  

The media has already made it clear, Donald Trump will be the GOP Presidential nominee because of the garbage polls they report on.  And they have also made it clear they will be reporting in a negative way the economy just like they have been doing this year despite the good economic numbers the economy has posted, low unemployment, a reduction in federal spending and smaller deficits.  And despite their doom and gloom reports about a slow holiday season, the reports are already positive about retail sales for this holiday season.  PolitiDose commentary predicted early on when President Biden was elected President how the GOP would keep up their negative barrage about the President beginning day one and never let up.  And that is exactly what has taken place and unfortunately the media has been their enablers afraid of correcting the GOP's lies and misinformation.

TIME has a way of exposing the lies and the truths and this writer does not believe Trump is a shoo in for the GOP nomination.  The odds are he will be convicted and serving time in prison before the election.  The future of 2024 looks good for the economy, the country, the people and so does our national security because the country has a sane President in the White House.  Progress will continue and comprehensive immigration reform legislation will begin to take place.  Do not expect any change from the Trump/GOP and their ally negative voices nor from the media that enables them.  

Consumer spending represents 70% of the U.S. economy and the people are still spending.  That indicates confidence and a understanding that the economy is doing well.  Something all Americans should be proud of.  But a corrupted Trump/GOP alliance hates a successful democratic administration that has managed to be above it all with policies that have worked for the people and the country.  And that really says it all.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio