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Over 250 Iraqi's have been killed in Iraq by bombings in just the last week. More is expected to come and the withdrawal of American troops from the cities by June 30 is being used by some as an explanation for the killings. There are those in America who still want the war to continue and are saying our troops should not be withdrawn by June 30. Our military leaders and Iraqi government officials say the agreement will be honored and that Iraq can handle the situation. Those in America who want to undermine the treaty forget there was much more killing in Iraq when our troops were in full combat mode. What is happening now does not compare to the horrific killings in the past. President Obama and our military should see that the treaty plays out as planned. It is past time for Iraq to handle their own security and affairs. Keeping U.S. troops in Iraq will not stop the killing. We have found that out already. The invasion and occupation of Iraq started a chain reaction and no one can say for sure how it will all end. The price of this unnecessary war has been steep, especially for our men and women in uniform and their families. Our troops have been in Iraq for over 6 years and most have seen multiple deployments. It will get worse for some because they will be going to Afghanistan, the forgotten war on terror. The picture of this unnecessary war could be seen long ago. The war will not go away quietly even after all our troops are long gone. The past has always been a mirror image of the future. The middle east is not America and too many of our leaders have not learned from the past.
Louisiana lost 3700 non-farm jobs in May and the unemployment rate jumped to 6.6% from 4.1% in May 2008. AT the same time gasoline prices are still rising at the pump despite an over supply and despite the fact that gasoline usage is still down. The Louisiana legislature closed its session the other day but not before providing millions of dollars of tax breaks to businesses as they have been doing on a regular basis for years. The people are told it is necessary to create jobs but unemployment is going up not down. The jobs are not being created when they are needed the most, in an economic downturn. Mr. Benson and his Saints made out like bandits again thanks to our elected officials. It pays to have money in this state. The Saints play in the dome no more than 11 days a year and for that Mr. Benson is paid millions of dollars in cash and other goodies. The Louisiana economy will turn around and create jobs when the national economy does so. Business welfare does not create and sustain jobs. Those industries who receive those hand outs prove that over and over. The people would do well to remember the Investment Tax Credit that congress passed over 20 years ago. It was done at the urging of CEO's of big business. They said it was necessary to buy new plant and equipment to make them more competitive and have the latest technology which would make them more efficient and more profitable and plow those profits back into their plants and keep them competitive. Well instead of plowing those profits back into their businesses they went to bonuses for their CEO's and executives. That's what a study by congress found out. With all of the tax breaks and corporate welfare given to American businesses for the past 50 years one would think we should have a lasting economy and job creation. Politicians who benefit from lobbyist campaign cash are just as bad ad the bosses of American businesses. Louisiana has a governor who is AWOL concerning those things that really matter and make a difference for the average citizen. Once again it was business who came out on top this session of the legislature and the governor led the way.
President Obama in Cairo, Egypt on June 4th in a speech to the world had some blunt words for Israel. He expressed sympathy for the Palestinians and what he called the "daily humiliations, large and small, that come with occupation." He also described the Palestinians plight as "intolerable" after 60 years of statelessness reported the New York Times and several T.V. stations. The President also said the United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. Obama's speech was a clear break from the previous administration and signaled he does not support or desire to continue the status quo on the subject. His speech was also a direct piece of diplomacy to let Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu know that the U.S. policy is no new and or expansion of settlements into Palestinians territory and that the two state solution is the only solution. Netanyahu has recently slipped away from those two conditions. It is about time an American President faces the real problem concerning Israel and the Palestinian problem. President Obama needs to hang tough and continue to be blunt in his pursuit of a lasting peace. It will take tough dialog between all parties concerned because there will be factions on both sides that will try and wreck the peace process. If President Obama follows through on his courageous speech it will make a difference and a lasting peace will have an opportunity to evolve.
The United States and a few allies have been in Afghanistan since late 2001, almost 8 years, yet the Taliban is as strong as ever, the Afghan government is still unstable, corruption still rampant according to the latest reports and their poppi trade still flourishing and still being used to support the Taliban. Meanwhile Americans are still being killed and our own military leaders tell us it will get worse. The border area's with Pakistan we are told are still a haven for Al Queda and the Taliban despite the million's of dollars given Pakistan to clean up those area's. Much of the Afghan population still support the Taliban. The Taliban also know how to fight an occupation thanks to their war with the Soviet Union and the help of the U.S. in that war. So what should the U.S. do different since there has been no real progress in almost 8 years of war and occupation. The U.S. and its allies must convince Pakistan to clean up the safe havens in border regions and deny Al Queda and the Taliban a base to operate from. Since Obama took office it seems that Pakistan is making a serious effort to do so. Time will tell. It is better if Pakistan assumes the responsibility to do this because that will send the real message to AlQueda and the Taliban. The U.S. should step up its use of unmanned drones which we are told is being very successful. The U.S. should also work to get a U.N. security force into Afghanistan to take over security. The U.S. presence could and should be lessoned if the border regions are cleaned up by Pakistan and Afghanistan. It is really their war and their countries that are being threatened. If the U.S. implements a foreign policy of sending more Americans into Afghanistan as the war in Iraq winds down that will only bring the same deployment problems to Afghanistan that he U.S. suffered from in Iraq and our troops will once again pay the price of those multiple deployments. If Afghanistan is handled like Iraq the U.S. will be in Afghanistan another 10 years and the problem will still not be solved. This writer still does not know what the U.S. game plan is for Afghanistan from what I have seen so far. Maybe there is some secret diplomacy going on between the parties that will end this sad situation. Our men and women in uniform deserve better and the American people need to know what the end game is and how the U.S. will accomplish it.
Bad news again for America and its men and women in uniform concerning Iraq. On a day when 3 more Americans were killed in Iraq the Associated Press reported the Pentagon is prepared to have U.S. troops stay in Iraq for a decade despite the agreement between the U.S. and Iraq to withdraw all U.S. troops from that country by 2012. General George Casey, the army chief of staff said "global trends are pushing in the wrong direction, and that the world remains dangerous and unpredictable." Not much information there to explain the U.S. presence in Iraq for another 10 years. It seems some in the military want another Viet Nam. President Obama should immediately announce no such thing will happen and that the U.S.-Iraq agreement will be honored in full. This unnecessary war has been a major recruitment tool for creating more terrorists. Our men and women in uniform do not need 10 more years of dying in Iraq or being rotated in and out of Iraq for seven or eight times. They have already been there and done that. Another 10 years in Iraq will guarantee the U.S. will be in a unnecessary perpetual war with terrorists. The world will always be dangerous and unpredictable like it was during the "cold war" and like it was on 9/11. It was dangerous when Iraq invaded Kuwait and President Bush 41 responded. Bush had the wisdom to withdraw from Iraq after the defeat of Saddam Hussein's military and ejection from Kuwait. Many of the people who supported the present war in Iraq was not happy with Bush's 41 decision not to occupy Iraq or go after Saddam. Some of them now want another 10 years to occupy Iraq. Those people care nothing about our men and women in uniform and would use any excuse to occupy middle east lands. The war in Iraq over WMD that did not exist is in its 7th year. It was never about terrorism, but it created people to join terrorists organizations and wage war against our men and women in uniform. If President Obama agrees to occupy Iraq for another 10 years the 21st century will be devastating to our country and to our men and women in uniform. President Obama should reject this thinking immediately.
The Louisiana senate on May 28 voted to expand Louisiana's smoking ban to include bars and casinos. The bill now goes to the house for action. It is an undisputed fact that second hand smoke is a danger to people's health and should have been banned in the 2006 legislation but the casino lobby prevailed at that time. There is also no question that casino smoke dangers more people because more people are exposed in a casino and are so tightly together. Four senators who represent the New Orleans metro area voted against the bill. Alario, Duplessis, Heitmeier and Murray. Alario attempted to exempt casinos from the ban but it was turned back. Their no vote fell in line with the casino lobby. It will be interested to see how those four senators vote on Jindal's plan to cut health care in the proposed budget. Members of the legislature continue to put the demands of the lobby industry ahead of the people's needs. On another vote that favors common sense, the house shot down a bill that would allow qualified college faculty and students 21 years or older to carry fire arms on campuses. The vote was overwhelming 86-18. The sponsor of the bill Ernest Wooton said he may bring it back next year. Mr. Wooton, a republican blamed the lost support for the bill on politics. Sadly, the bill was about republican politics and their support of everything the NRA wants. Lobbying in Louisiana should be given the cold shoulder to those that care nothing about the needs and safety of our citizens. Lets see if the full house and senate carry through with its vote to finally ban smoking in casinos. It should have been done a long time ago. The people of Louisiana will have an opportunity to see how the members of the legislature cast their final vote on the subject.
The country and the American people have recently witnessed the verbal exchange by Cheney and Powell concerning each ones position on certain issues. Their comments need not be repeated here because that is not the real story although you would never think that by the reporting of the news media, especially television. The real story is how two grown men both with political experience, one with actual military experience, both who held high government positions who could affect government policies failed their country and its people at critical times. That is the sad story the news media has failed to inform the people. Dick Cheney has served in congress, was chief of staff to President Gerald Ford, Secretary of Defense under Bush 41 and held that position during the 1991 Gulf War. He was Vice President under Bush 43 for 8 years, yet with all that experience, his lack of character and judgement concerning the war on terror, the war in Iraq, his obsession with secrecy, his lies on his position of torture, his lack of respect for our men and women in uniform and his attitude of using fear to scare the American people is a betrayal of everything America stands for. Colin Powell, a career military man and general, was chairman of the joint chiefs of staff during the Bush 41 administration, ran the Gulf War of 1991, secretary of state for 4 years under Bush 43. Yet Powell not only supported the unnecessary invasion of Iraq and the war, he gave false testimony to the American people and the world before the United Nations concerning Iraq's WMD and Iraq's military capabilities. He used the cover of the director of the CIA who was sitting behind him during his testimony as justification for his false statements. U.S. senator, Carl Levine put it bluntly when he said Powell was the one person in the Bush administration who could have stopped the war in Iraq and failed to speak up. Now Cheney and Powell are both at each other. That is a non story compared to the real story of their failure to serve the country and its people at a time of danger. How could two people with such vast experience and background betray their allegiance to the people and the country. Going with the flow is a prescription for disaster and the country and its people have the scars to prove it. This petty side show of Cheney and Powell and the news media's handling of the situation is indeed a very sad chapter of how experienced people have failed the test to truly recognize what really matters and makes a difference for our country and its people. That is the real story, their tirade against each other is an attempt to dodge the real issue of their failures.
The Bush administration tried to rewrite the history of why we went to war in Iraq when no WMD were found and now former V.P. Dick Cheney is in the forefront of trying to rewrite the history of torture that occurred on his and Bush's watch in connection with the war on terror. Republicans Mitch McConnell and John Boehner in congress along with former representative Newt Gingrich are joining the battle. They introduced a new twist. It is ok to torture as long as useful information is gathered from torture. It does not matter to them that the U.S. is party to the Geneva Convention and other treaties that forbid torture, period. Fox news and other cable news have also joined the battle and are trying to change the nature of the torture debate by accusing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as being involved because she was briefed by the CIA on the interrogation being used. She denied she was told waterboarding and torture were used. It should be noted that the republican party controlled congress when congress was briefed. I wrote in a post here when Karl Rove left the White House and went to work for Fox news he would be trying to rewrite the history of the Bush administration and the damage done to the country. He has been doing just that on Fox news and will soon publish a book to do the same thing. The torture flap is a continuation of how republicans operate. Why are they trying to rewrite the torture problem now. Well simply because information has been recently made public by the White House and the Justice Department. Also former administration officials who were connected with the torture memos are singing like birds on national T.V. The people who are responsible for torture and the use of torture are those who authorized the practice and those who knew it was torture and still carried it out. Republicans in Bush's administration have a history of lying to conceal the administrations illegal activities and their operating in secret. Nancy Pelosi is being used as a distraction from the real problem concerning torture. Republicans will be in the mode to rewrite the history that happened on their watch for a long time because more and more is being revealed little by little as time goes by of just how the Bush administration operated and the damage done to our country. Only cowards try to rewrite history and a lot of them are coming out of the wood work. They are really a sorry bunch.
Governor Bobby Jindal and his administration are trying to address a $1.3 billion short fall in the budget. Major cuts in spending has been proposed by Jindal to make up for the revenue shortage he and the legislature failed to anticipate. Governor Jindal inherited a $2 billion surplus from the previous administration. The reader will remember how Bush inherited budget surpluses from the Clinton administration and then failed to balance one budget in his 8 years in office. However, the state of Louisiana is required to balance its budget. Republicans seem to have a problem balancing budgets especially after they inherit surpluses from the previous administration. If one listens to what Jindal says, the fault lies in fallen oil and gas prices and the condition of the national economy. Not so says former Republican Governor Buddy Roemer. As reported in the Times Picayune of May 17, Roemer in a sit down with representative Dan Claitor said, Jindal can not separate himself from the budget shortfall. Roemer said Jindal was part of the problem and is a result of Jindal's miscalculation in the last budget. Jindal's spokesman, Kyle Platkin blamed it on the national economy and a decrease in oil and gas revenue. The usual disclaimer by republicans. Always passing the buck. The big problem is how and where Jindal wants to cut the budget and spending. Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu in a letter to the editors dated 5/19 to the Times Picayune pointed out how the $2 billion surplus Jindal and the legislature inherited from the previous administration and then decided to increase spending over $1.3 billion. Those decisions Landrieu said forced them into a position this year of cutting 87 academic programs at our colleges and universities. Plus budgets cuts to health care funding across the state. Landrieu also pointed out we should invest our money in education, health care, critical infrastructure and other programs that offer substantial return on taxpayers dollars. In other words every situation has a priority. You do not cut the budget programs that produce revenue. I recall what Bob Woodward, the Washington Post journalist wrote in one of his many books. He said that in Bill Clinton's first year in office he knew more about the federal budget than the members of congress did even though most of them had been in congress for many years and had to deal with the budget every year. The republicans were especially astonished by Clinton's knowledge about the federal budget. That explains why Clinton's fiscal and economical policies reversed the 12 years of deficit spending by the Reagan-Bush years. It also explains what is going on with the Louisiana budget. Jindal and the legislature are all over the place because they really don not understand how budgeting works and managing the peoples money. Mitch Landrieu's letter to the editors was right on target.
All of the above are being played out now in the Louisiana legislature and when all is said and done the average tax payer and middle class will be the ones who get screwed by our elected officials. Businesses will once again come out a winner and why not, that is where political campaign contributions come from. Jefferson Parish Assessor Lawrence Chehardy noted the homestead exemption of $75,000 has not been changed since 1982 and that 20 years ago 81% of homeowners was covered by the exemption. Today that amount is 46%. That is a great revelation but you do not hear the voices of LABI acknowledging that more home owners have been paying more taxes on their property. LABI and the business community they represent are opposed to raising the exemption on the grounds that business would have to be taxed to make up for the short fall. Of course to start with, most businesses do not pay their fair share in taxes, state or federal because of the tax loopholes that are created for them and the corporate welfare and other incentives they receive from the state or federal government. Lets take the Shaw Group who's headquarters are in Baton Rouge, La. They announced May 6, the company will decline $172.5 million in incentive payments from the state for a major manufacturing project or for the company's commitment to keep its headquarters in Baton Rouge as reported in the Times Picayune. Shaw's chairman was quoted in the article as saying the Shaw Group will continue with its plans but would rather see the government incentive money spent on higher education or other state needs. That was a noble decision by the Shaw Group. Evidently the project was needed since Shaw will continue with its plans. The article also pointed out Shaw was a global provider with $7 billion in revenue last year. Does a $7 billion company need incentives to stay in Louisiana and expand their business? Now for Tom Benson and the New Orleans Saints. The state has paid Mr. Benson more than $300 million in cash and improvements since 1985. Governor Jindal has recently agreed to commit $85 million of state money to upgrade the Superdome for the saints and would also require up to $6 million in payments a year to the saints if stated targets are not met. This new proposed contract which has to be approved by the legislature would replace the present on which expires in 2010. According to reports Mr. Benson paid approximately $75 million for the franchise and the NFL said the franchise is now worth approximately $800 million. That is a pretty good return on equity for Mr. Benson at the expense of the people of Louisiana. Under the new contract Mr. Benson's company would buy Dominion Tower and lease space back to the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans Center and parking garage is included. In the Times Picayune of May 10 this is what one local real estate expert said. "Benson and his various companies can apply for new market tax credits and that they might make enough money that they can take the credits themselves to offset their federal tax burden." That is a real sweet deal for a multimillionaire and his companies in any ones book. Where are the loopholes in the tax code for the average payer? Those who oppose the increase in the homestead exemption should tell the average citizen just how much money the state gives out yearly in corporate welfare and so called incentives to Louisiana businesses. The number would be staggering. Yet the budget before the legislature contains reductions in the millions of dollars for higher education, health care and other projects. As a result, the legislature has approved a proposal for public colleges and universities to raise tuition 5% for the 2009/2010 school year. The people get screwed again while the millionaires and their companies continue to make out like bandits. I have written many times how politicians try to gain favor with the voters by promising no new taxes or increase in taxes and then get into the pockets of ordinary citizens 100 different ways. State and federal taxes are written to help those that have the most and those that can afford to pay. It is special interest politics at its worse. There was a time when a company would locate to a certain state because of the normal advantages that state had to offer such as, transportation, (La. has water transportation, the cheapest way to move goods.), rail, truck, natural resources, location and a reasonable labor force. But then greed got in the way and companies started to use blackmail on the states for monetary concessions to locate their facilities. And Politicians jumped at the chance using taxpayer money to subsidize company operation when there was no need. The present economic conditions in the U.S. is a reminder just how greedy corporations have been and how eager politicians are willing to go along. By the way, unemployment in Louisiana in March of 2008 was 3.4%. In March of 2009 it was 5.3%. Where are all the new jobs that are supposed to be created by La. businesses that receive millions of dollars in incentives from the state to do so. Tax fairness, you will not find it in Louisiana.