A War Run by Incompetence is Scary

Of all the actions by President Trump which have aggravated or scared me, and there have been some that have not, the attack on Iran is a monumental scare in comparison to any of his others.  It is obvious that there was no basic understanding of the consequences of such action.  Now, simply because of their proximity to Iran, countries that had nothing to do with the attack are suffering both infrastructural and human loses because of U.S. actions.  Consequentially, they have been forced to protect themselves and been drawn into a retaliatory conflict which they had no decision in.

The reasons for the Iran attack are also unclear. First, it was to free its people from the oppression of the Iranian regime, next it switched to destroying Iran’s nuclear capability, then to the excuse that Trump, and I quote, “had a feeling” that Iran was on verge of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching the U.S. (Weapons of Mass Destruction?), and finally to the reason that Israel was about to attack Iran on its own and we knew that the U.S. would also be blamed for this attack and retaliated against by Iran..  So, we had to strike first for protection.

However, because the person in charge is a former businessman, surrounding himself with individuals whose major qualification for their jobs is unconditional loyalty as opposed to competence and prior experience, there existed a complete vacuum of the understanding of the political and religious intertwining which exist among the nations of the Middle East and the havoc that would result if not expertly understood and considered.

Simply put, there was no strategy. One clear example was the fact that just like the Biden withdrawal fiasco from Afghanistan, there was no plan to deal with those Americans and foreigners in Iran at the time of the attack. They were stuck there with a no plan to get them out.  Consequently, their lives were placed at risk.

Additionally, anyone with an understanding of Middle East geography would have secured the Strait of Hormuz located next to Iran before the attack to ensure that the 20% of the world’s oil supply that ships through there would not be disrupted.  Iran has virtually closed that waterway.  But than again why would we expect that strategy to occur since our Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, is a former Fox News celebrity who has surrounded himself with loyalists verses experts.

Furthermore, regarding the nuclear threat of Iran, according to U.S. Intelligence Agency info there was no indication that Iran was planning to attack the U.S. or had the capability to do so.  But then again Trump had “a feeling” about it, so I guess that’s reason enough to attack.  Also let’s not forget that last June the U.S. bombed Iran’s nuclear facilities and according to President Trump "completely and totally obliterated" Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities, describing the operation as a "spectacular military success.” 

However, the sadist part about this entire fiasco is the notion that this U.S intervention will eventually lead to the overthrow of  the present Iran oligarchy and free its people from oppression.  Realistically this isn’t going to pan out the way the Iranian people think because after Israel, the U.S., and the other nations drawn into this conflict/war are finished bombing Iran there will be nothing left of its infrastructure or habitable land. It will be just like what Gaza is now, complete devastation and rubble.

And those U.S. citizens of Iranian descent who celebrated the U.S. attack aren’t the ones living daily in a country now being destroyed by bombs and having to face the reality about how they will survive once the bombing stops and they are now trapped in the rubble of a completely decimated country. 

So, in the U.S., while we complain about the increase in the price of gasoline as a consequence of this ill-conceived aggressive act (war), that pales in comparison to the suffering of the Iranian people watching their infrastructures, cities, towns, villages and loved ones wiped off the face of the earth, and those in other counties suffering the destructions of a war they were drawn into. One they didn’t want or start.

But then again, as our president said, those are “the realities of war.”  And while President Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, will eventually be able to brag about their tremendous success in winning this war, in reality, there will be no winners at all.

Trump Cares Little About Our Health-It's All About the Money

As some of you may have gleaned, I am not a big fan of our current president. However, while I do like some of President Trump’s policies, for the most part I find his environmental policies which include relaxing the pollution standards for waterways and air along with the cancellation of one of the largest federal court cases against the Denka Performance Elastomer Company in Louisiana's "Cancer Alley" over chloroprene emissions, bordering on insane.  Additionally, adding to this insanity was his recent executive order relaxing the amount of mercury and other toxins emitted from coal burning power plants which are known to harm brain development in young children and lead to heart attacks and lung diseases in adults.

However, last week Trump even out did himself in failing to protect the health of U.S. citizens when by executive order he prioritized the U.S. production of the herbicide glyphosate and reduced the liabilities for companies producing this product.

In case you don’t know what glyphosate is it is the main ingredient in Roundup, and there are numerous studies supporting its link to cancer. The company, Monsanto, originally sold Roundup but was bought and merge with the German chemical producer Bayer in 2018 for $63 billion.

Despite the acquisition Bayer has struggled with thousands of lawsuits alleging Roundup's main ingredient, glyphosate, causes non-Hodgkin lymphoma.  In addition to previous settlements, in 2025, a Georgia jury awarded $2.1 billion in a case highlighting the continued risks. And, in fact, as recently as February, 2026, a new proposed class action settlement of $7.25 billion will address some 65,000 pending lawsuits with the funds to be paid over 21 years.  This latest settlement has led Bayer to consider taking Roundup off the public market completely.

However, what further underscores President Trump’s ill-conceived dangerous decision is the fact that as early as 2018, Germany, the home of Bayer, banned the use of glyphosate in public spaces, and implemented a total ban of its use at the beginning of 2019.

Sadly, in spite of all these factual warning signs, President Trump saw fit to use the Defense Production Act to justify this latest move, claiming it is in the interest of national security.  The justification is, and I quote, it allows U.S. farmers to "efficiently and cost effectively produce food and livestock feed."

Ironically, it seems to me that the biggest threat to our national security is the herbicide itself since it is presently killing U.S. citizens.

Sometimes with the present folks in charge, it is the stuff that flies under the radar and doesn’t make headline news that are the biggest threats to ‘Making American Great Again.’  And if some of these executive orders seem counter-productive to what is best for the U.S., just follow the money trail, because that's always the bottom line with these folks.

N. O. Catholic Church Leaders are Joyful

I am sure the Archdiocese of New Orleans is extremely happy with the settlement terms of the child abuse case.  While monetary awards will never compensate these individuals for the suffering they endured from these church predators, the monetary amount these victims will receive, after attorney fees are deducted, pales in comparison to the horrific acts they endured.

But the real tragedy of the settlement is that no higher ups in the Catholic Church were prosecuted or sent to jail, including New Orleans Archbishop Aymond.  These higher ups knew about these church pedophiles and simply ignored the complaints, or just repeatedly transferred these individuals to different locations.  They all served as an accessory to the crimes by covering them by whatever means deemed necessary.

All these priests reported to a supervisor and these folks were ultimately responsible for their actions and needed to deal with them.

While I am sure it is important for these abused individuals to finally find some closure to this long, drawn-out case, in reality, it is the Catholic Church who got a sweet deal.

The Bugs Know It All

Well hurricane season is over and we escaped without even one entering the gulf from the Atlantic Ocean.  To many this came as an unexpected surprise given the number of hurricanes predicted to form by national forecast organizations.  However, I was not worried as the season progressed because I relied on an old New Orleans’ wives tail to predict the chances of a serious hurricane forming in the gulf, namely, lovebugs.

Years ago, when I first moved to New Orleans, I was told by an elderly New Orleans native that the amount of lovebugs, those small nasty black bugs that collect all over the front of your car from mid-August through September, indicted the number of storms that would enter the gulf and turn into hurricanes.

And guess what, these creatures seem to be more accurate than our local weather forecasters.  For example, last year many lovebugs, and 8 storms in the gulf, and this year very, very few lovebugs and no hurricanes actually entered the gulf.  This was noteworthy because it was the first time since 2015 that no hurricanes made landfall in the U.S., and the first time since 2019 that no major hurricanes impacted Florida.

So, there you have it.  Apparently those messy lovebugs know all about hurricanes and could teach a thing or two to our local weather gurus

Ignorance celebrated, expertise mocked

One of my favorite parts of the newspaper has always been the comics.  However, I have recently discovered another source of laughter; some of the actions of high ranking officials in our federal government.  My latest one is the actions of Kristi Noem, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.  One of her duties as secretary involves the oversite of the round up of all those illegal immigrants in our country.  In order to facilitate even faster deportation of these folks, she and Corey Lewandowski, the guy who managed Donald Trump’s first presidential campaign, prepared a proposal to buy, using taxpayers’ money, ten Boeing 737 airplanes from Spirit Airlines.  Additionally, one of these planes was going to be outfitted for personal use.

But wait for it, here comes the laugh!  Turns out Spirit Airlines had filed for bankruptcy for a second time and no longer even owned the planes, and the planes had no engines; yep, no engines.  Consequently, Secretary Noem would have had to spend even more of our tax dollars to buy engines and have them installed.  Somebody with some sense blew the whistle on the proposed deal and it was quietly squelched in hopes that it would never come to light.

Maybe, if the present administration would put competency and experience above simply blind allegiance to the current president as a requirement for a job, real problems could be addressed and solved.  But sadly we are stuck with people like Kristi Noem, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, a notable snake oil salesman, masquerading as the head of the Department of Health and Human Services,  Linda E Mahon, former president and CEO of WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment), now leading the U. S. Education Department,  and Pete Hegseth, former Fox News TV personality on the show 'Fox and Friends Weekend', now serving as the Secretary of Defense, and the list goes on and on.

With other unqualified folks like these running the show it is doubtful that Americans will see any time soon affordable healthcare, a reduction in the national debt, and a lowering of the cost of living; all of which have ballooned since January.  But, then again, we might miss out on all the laugh ability. So, if you really enjoy those newspaper comics just follow the actions of some of the leaders in the present Trump administration for even more giggles.

Sadly, we are now living during a time where 'ignorance' is celebrated, and 'expertise' mocked.

Priorities Out of Control

Two stories last week seem to show where our priorities are focused not only as Louisianans, but the nation as a whole.  On the one hand we have learned that the city of New Orleans doesn’t have enough cash to meet its operating costs for the reminder of the year.  On the other hand, we have learned that LSU alumni will pony up about $53.3 million to fire, after just 8 weeks, its head football coach, Brian Kelly, who had been granted a ten year contract, a longer contract than that even offered to the president of LSU.

We were told that the New Orleans’ fiscal woes relate to the fact that they have incurred over $40 million in overtime costs and only budgeted $45,000 to cover such costs. Unexpected expenditures such as the New Year’s Day tragedy coupled with additional planned events including Mardi Gras, the Super Bowl, and the Taylor Swift concert pushed the overtime costs to new heights.  And the blatant incompetent budgeting error just further fueled the problem.

However, to put the LSU buyout in perspective, the money that LSU is paying, $53.3 million, without the blink of an eye, to further their quest for a football championship, would more than cover the fiscal problems of New Orleans for the remainder of the year.  And this payout by LSU was of such paramount importance that they even involved the governor of our state in their decision.  Additionally, I am sure we will never fully know the total cost of this buyout because some assistant coaches will also be owed money for early termination.

Sadly, this misplaced fiscal mentality is not just unique to LSU. They are joined this season by an elite group of college football teams, which in total, are on the hook for over $169 million.   These include the following:

•          LSU, $53.3 million
•          Penn State, $49.7 million
•          Florida, $21.2 million
•          OSU, $15 million
•          Arkansas, $9.8 million
•          UCLA, $6.43 million
•          VT, $6 million
•          Oregon State, $4 million
•          UAB, $2.4 million
•          Colorado State, $1.5 million

Again, to put all these buyouts into perspective, more than enough money to cover the projected New Orleans’ budget deficit of $160 million for the entire next year.   And just think how many people that money could feed who can’t afford 3 meals a day for their family.

So, there we have it, America’s love for a winning college football team, no matter what the cost.

It’s Time to ‘Pay the Piper’

 

The residents of New Orleans continually brag about the ‘unique culture’ of their city with its wonderful cafes and restaurants, it second line parades, Mardi Gras celebration, and its myriad of music and food festivals.  However, what many fail to acknowledge is that New Orleans has always been a ward of the federal government.  Most of the development and improvement projects that occur in the city are totally dependent upon such funds, and unfortunately, when these funds expire, these projects fall into disrepair because the city can’t afford to maintain them.  So they wait until they get more federal funds to redo these projects again, and this cycle has been repeated over and over throughout the years.  Just look at how many times Louis Armstrong Park has been restored.

Sadly, New Orleans residents have never paid their fair share to live there, and now it is time to “pay the piper.”  For various reasons the Federal Funds are no longer flowing as they use to. Some involve limiting new funding based upon the lack of accountability about how these funds were utilized in the past, and others involve a drastic change by the present administration’s desire to not fund projects in cities that are considered running counter to their MAGA agenda.

Whatever the reasons, one thing is clear, New Orleans has run out of money to pay city operational costs for the remainder of this year and is facing a $160 million deficit for next year.  And the reality is clear, either New Orleans residents assume the actual operational costs of their city, or, if they can’t afford that, they will have to leave. 

The ‘city that care forgot’ is at a reality crossroads and it is up to its residents to decide if they are willing to finally pay for the future of that ‘unique culture.’