Category Archives: Progress

As a group, black Americans have made the greatest gains - over some of the highest hurdles and in a very short span of time - of any racial group in mankinds history. Whats the evidence?

If one totaled up the earnings of black Americans and considered us as a separate nation with our own gross domestic product, we would rank among the 20 richest nations. It was a black American, Gen. Colin Powell, who once headed the worlds mightiest military. Black Americans are among the worlds most famous personalities, and a few are among the worlds richest people.

The significance of these and other achievements is that at the end of the Civil War, neither a slave nor a slave owner would have believed such progress would be possible in a little over a century - if ever. As such, it speaks to the intestinal fortitude of a people.

Just as importantly, it speaks to the greatness of a nation in which such gains were possible. Nowhere else on the face of the earth would such progress be possible except in the United States of America. The big and thorny issue that confronts our nation is how these gains can be extended to the one-third or more of the black population for whom they have proved elusive.

A major part of the solution should be the elimination of public and private policy that rewards inferiority and irresponsibility. Chief among the policies that reward inferiority and irresponsibility is the welfare state. When some people know that they can have children out of wedlock, drop out of school and refuse employment and suffer little consequence, one should not be surprised to see the growth of such behavior.

The poverty rate among blacks is about 30 percent. Its seen as politically correct to blame todays poverty on racial discrimination, but thats nonsense. Why? The poverty rate among black intact husband-and-wife families has been in the single digits for more than two decades. Does one want to argue that racists discriminate against female-headed families but not husband-and-wife families?

Education is one of the ways out of poverty, but stupid political correctness stands in the way for many blacks. For example, a few years ago, a white Charleston, South Carolina, teacher frequently complained of black students calling her a white b, white m-f-, white c- and white ho. School officials told her that racially charged profanity was simply part of the students culture and that if she couldnt handle it, she was in the wrong school. The teacher brought a harassment suit, and the school district settled out of court for $200,000.

To suggest that such disrespectful and violent behavior, though its observed in many predominantly black schools, is part of black culture is an insulting lie. Worse than that is the fact that such destructive behavior and lack of respect for authority is rewarded. We can see some of the results by visiting some city public schools where violence, disorder and disrespect is the order of the day.

Many whites are ashamed and saddened by our history of slavery, Jim Crow and gross racial discrimination. As a result, they often hold blacks accountable to standards and conduct they would never accept from whites.

A recent example is black students at colleges such as NYU, UC Berkeley, UCLA and Oberlin demanding racially segregated housing. Spineless college administrators have caved to their demands. These administrators would never even listen to a group of white students demanding white-only housing accommodations. These administrators and other guilt-ridden whites have one standard of conduct for whites and a lower standard for blacks.

Black people can be thankful that racist forms of double standards and public and private policies rewarding inferiority and irresponsibility were not broadly accepted during the 1920s, 30s, 40s and 50s. There would not have been the kind of intellectual excellence and spiritual courage that created the worlds most successful civil rights movement.

Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University.

Read more:

Williams: Black progress overlooked for political correctness ... - Amarillo.com

ESPN FC's Steve Nicol looks back at Manchester City's win over Southampton.

Manchester City's 3-0 win at Southampton perhaps flattered the away side a little. Right up until the latter stages, the hosts were well in the game and there wasn't much between the teams -- even if Pep Guardiola's men had dominated possession to that point.

City stepped on the gas in the second half and slowly pulled away from their opponents. However, the match demonstrated in a nutshell just how the club is beginning to progress under the Catalan manager.

Few will argue this has been a successful season for Guardiola. Expectations were high -- perhaps too high -- to begin with and that he's not been able to put up more of a title challenge in his debut campaign in England is disappointing many.

His list of unwanted records is growing too. At City, he's endured his longest winless run as the club went six without victory between September and October. He's also been knocked out of the Champions League earlier than ever before, lost home and away to a single team for the first time in the same season and lost more matches in this one campaign than in any of his others.

It's Guardiola's worst season as a manager, but that has to come with the caveat that he's not managing a team that falls into the same bracket as his previous clubs, Barcelona and Bayern Munich. He's not a miracle worker; City were never going to solve all of their problems in one managerial appointment and transform from the team that won the League Cup and scraped fourth place last season into quadruple winners overnight.

Yet, with the win at St Mary's, there are clear signs that Guardiola's changes are working. City's style became more obvious and imposing as the match worse on. Fans may shudder to think of Claudio Bravo knocking the ball coolly to Gael Clichy or Nicolas Otamendi when they're under pressure, but it's something they're going to have to get used to. As Southampton pushed up to try and steal possession high up the field, the away side knocked a couple of quick forward passes through the press and twice scored by finding themselves on the counterattack.

It's a way of setting up a breakaway without letting the opposition have the ball, enticing them forward by offering them a sniff at an error or a mistake -- and punishing them by exposing their defence. The only trouble for City this season has been that their own backline has been rather too generous in giving the other team chances and their goalkeeper has been far too porous at times.

The foundations are in place for City to become one of the best teams to watch in the next few seasons. The attacking side has developed over the last eight months and while it's still proving hit-and-miss as it can fail to break down some teams happy to concede possession and sit deep, Southampton are the latest to be stung on the counter.

There was little danger when Kevin De Bruyne challenged for the ball midway into his own half with just under 15 minutes to play. They had defensive cover and two men pressing the Belgian -- but a cute flick and two decisive runs, one from him and one from Leroy Sane beat nine of the home players.

In two more passes -- Sergio Aguero to David Silva and Silva back to De Bruyne -- City had created a two-on-one on the edge of the Saints' box.

The third goal was similar. From the point Otamendi won the ball in his own half, City took just four passes to find the net, with each of Yaya Toure, Silva, Jesus Navas and De Bruyne taking only two or three touches before it was put on a plate for Aguero to head home.

Of course, City's problems at the back have undermined their season and have left some scratching their head as to why Guardiola would replace a fantastic shot-stopper like Joe Hart and make his team more vulnerable to facing opposition chances. Some have consistently questioned the manager's persistence with getting the ball down and playing it to feet, even under pressure.

But the victory over Southampton is another in a growing list demonstrating just what he's trying to achieve by doing it. In truth, the Saints never looked like scoring -- even if their fans might have felt the opportunity to steal the ball and create a chance was there, as City passed it under pressure.

The style isn't perfect and it still needs a lot of work. The quality of players in the back four needs to be improved, too. But overall there are very clear signs of progression, even if 2016-17 hasn't lived up to the hopes and expectations that many had back in August.

David Mooney is ESPN FC's Manchester City blogger. Twitter: @DavidMooney

More:

City slowly building under Guardiola - ESPN FC (blog)

A couple hours before the Nationals and Phillies played the final game of their three-game set at Nationals Park, Trea Turner was in shallow right field running sprints. Then he was in the batters box taking batting practice. Then he was at shortstop taking groundballs. Hes still on the 10-day disabled list with a strained right hamstring, so he did it all in a T-shirt and shorts, but they were all positive events for the Nationals. Turner is eligible to come off the disabled list on Wednesday and all signs point to him returning immediately in Atlanta.

Hamstring injuries are tricky, but the Nationals always insisted Turners strain was not serious. Dusty Baker has repeated that they caught it before it couldve really been a problem and Turner couldve returned in a few days, but they elected precaution for their star shortstop.

With Stephen Drew also out because of a right hamstring strain, Wilmer Difo will get the start at shortstop again on Sunday and bat eighth. Ryan Zimmerman will get his second day off of the season. Adam Lind will start in his place. The first time Zimmerman didnt start, he pinch hit in the ninth inning and smacked a game-tying three-run home run off Phillies right-hander Jeanmar Gomez. That was Gomezs last outing as Philadelphias closer.

This is the rubber game of the teams second three-game series in as many weekends. When its over, the Nationals will travel to Atlanta to begin a three-city, 10-game road trip against the Braves at new SunTrust Park.

Below are todays lineups.

PHILLIES Cesar Hernandez SS Daniel Nava RF Maikel Franco 3B Tommy Joseph 1B Cameron Rupp C Aaron Altherr CF Brock Stassi LF Freddy Galvis SS Jerad Eickhoff RHP

NATIONALS Adam Eaton CF Anthony Rendon Bryce Harper RF Daniel Murphy 2B Adam Lind 1B Jayson Werth LF Matt Wieters C Wilmer Difo SS Gio Gonzalez LHP

Read the original post:

Trea Turner continues making progress, aiming to return from hamstring injury - Washington Post

April 17, 2017 WashingtonHow often do students miss school? Are they ready for college? Are they physically fit? Is their school a welcoming place?

States are beginning to outline new ways to evaluate their schools, rather than relying just on traditional measures such as test scores.

The plans are required under a federal education law, the Every Student Succeeds Act, which was signed by former President Barack Obama in 2015 and takes effect in the coming school year.

Under the new law, states are focusing more on academic growth, meaning not just whether students have achieved a certain academic level in reading and math, but whether they have improved over time.

Mike Petrilli, president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, said that's a big change from the No Child Left Behind Act, the previous version of the education law. "Schools and educators should feel good about that; that will be a fairer way to measure school quality," he said.

But while most experts praised the flexibility and innovation offered by the new law, some think that in the absence of federal guidelines some states may overlook groups of students who need additional support, such as minorities, students with disabilities, and English-language learners. The Republican-controlled Congress moved swiftly this year to rescind key federal accountability guidelines passed by the Obama administration to help states implement the new law.

So far, nine states and the District of Columbia have submitted their accountability plans to the Education Department for review, and seven states are completing their blueprints. The remaining states will submit their plans in September. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos will decide whether to accept or reject them. She has said her goal is state and local flexibility in education and indicated that she might use the process to advance school choice.

When evaluating school quality, states are experimenting with new indicators. Almost all of the first-round states have adopted chronic absenteeism, or how many students miss more than 10 percent of the school year, as a key metric.

Connecticut and Delaware, among others, also will be tracking college readiness, or whether high school students are taking advanced classes and how successful they are on college admission tests like the SAT.

Tennessee wants to give every public school in the state a grade from A to F, which state Education Commissioner Candice McQueen says would give parents better information about schools. The grade will take into account such things as how well English language learners are doing and whether disabled students are being served. The schools will also be graded on chronic absenteeism rates, and if students are ready for college or the military and whether traditionally underserved students are performing well. Graduation rates also will count.

Nevada outlined a system that focuses on student growth measures, including test scores, English language proficiency, and graduation rates. Massachusetts will be paying attention to academic results in ninth grade.

In New Mexico, the state will begin tracking the need for additional tutoring in college and linking those back to high schools where the students studied. The state also will look at how students do in science in ranking schools.

Some states are getting creative. Vermont and Connecticut want to make physical fitness another sign of school quality, while Connecticut also believes access to arts education should be another measure. Illinois wants to conduct "climate surveys" asking whether children feel they are in a safe and welcoming environment.

"There is a lot more than just tests that matter for student success," said Natasha Ushomirsky with the Education Trust. "Tests are important and looking at progress is important, but states are getting a better picture of how schools are serving students."

Another common thread that has emerged from the first round: States are doing a better job of involving parents, teachers and community activists in the process. "They've been very proactive to engage anybody who has an interest in the plans," said Kirsten Carr with the Council of Chief State School Officers.

But Marc Magee, chief executive officer of 50Can, an education nonprofit, expressed concern that "if everybody doesn't hold up their end of the bargain, we could go back to that era where certain populations of students become invisible inside schools even if they are struggling mightily and not getting the opportunity that they deserve."

And Lindsey Tepe, senior education policy analyst at New America, said there is so much variation in how states want to evaluate their schools that national comparisons could be difficult. "Without the guidance, there isn't really a recipe to follow," said Ms. Tepe.

More:

Under new framework for student progress, states try new ways to grade schools - Christian Science Monitor

Facts and wisdom to contemplate:

Reviewing Americas development reveals significant changes. The founding principles were unique in that liberty was the primary objective. (See Fact No. 1 above). The Constitution was criticized by some as a negative document because it empowered the federal government to only perform 17enumerated functions and restricted all other functions to sovereignty of the states. The obvious belief being that government closer to the people is better. Amendments were applied as needed. The document remains valid because it recognized unchanging human nature.

The founders rejected the democratic concept in favor of the republic concept as explained in Federalist Papers No. 10. (Wisdom No. 2 above). America prospered for 150 years and became world famous for its liberties and growth. Progressive deviations from those original concepts of maximum liberty began legally in 1913 with the 17th Amendment to the Constitution, whichchanged election of senators from individual state legislatures to popular voting, thus nullifying the intent to protect states sovereignty.

The opening of Pandoras Box to progressive programs occurred in 1937 when the Supreme Court validated the first Social Security law by reversing interpretation of the general welfare clause. Until then all social programs were assumed responsibilities of the states. Since the new definition, the overwhelming amount of federal expenditures and congressional time are spent on welfare programs.

Lets review some results.

Social Security: This program was initially actuarially sound and justified because the court ruled contributors still owned their taxed input. Since then Congress has increased entitlements but refused corrections to avoid future insolvency. (See Wisdom No. 3)

War on poverty: Between 1965 and 2013, the federal government spent $22 trillion and accomplished nothing except after 2009 poverty increased from 11 percent to 13 percent.

Immigration: Immigration was obviously uncontrolled in early American history but controls were thereafter applied for economic and labor needs until 1965 when progressive concepts removed both quantity and quality controls. President Donald Trumps attempts to restore those controls used prior to 1965 have been temporarily denied by court decisions. When will political judges learn lives and liberty are more valuable than politics?

Business regulation: Government regulation on business had a total annual cost in 2014 of 21 percent of all company payroll. Many regulations are obviously superfluous, e.g., 1,500 hours of formal paid training or 3,000 hours of apprenticeship to be a barber in Solano County!

Gun control: Why do most cities with extreme murder rates (more than 30 per 100,000 population) usually have the most strict laws? Those cities usually have restrictive laws; cities sometimes experience reduced murders after loosening gun control.

Election controls: Why do progressives oppose election control laws? Now we know! The Veritas DVD identified a subcontractor of the Democratic Party explaining how he induces fraud and bragging of doing it for 50 years.

Californias decline: The formerly golden state has declined from the top to 41st in education, 45th in roads after50 years of progressive leadership and has driven more than9,000 businesses (remember Copart?) to other states in the past seven years.

So why, after 100 years of failures, do progressives promote their destructive theories? (See Wisdom No. 4). Can you name a progressive success? Unsustainable national debt?

Earl Heal is a Vacaville resident and member of The Right Stuff Committee, a committee of the Solano County Republican Party. Reach him at [emailprotected].

Read the rest here:

Progressive progress? - Fairfield Daily Republic

The Texas House is lagging behind the Senate on some key legislation, said state Rep. Matt Schaefer. And with only seven weeks to go in the session, hopes are dimming that some conservative objectives will be accomplished in this biennium.

From the Senates perspective, the states budget is close in final numbers - but not in just how the states priorities will be funded,said state Sen. Robert Nichols. Working out a final budget with the House will be a major priority.

In other words, its a typical session of the Texas Legislature, a body that was never designed to function very well.

GOALS

I think the major observation at this point is the Senate has passed multiple, major pieces of conservative priority legislation and the House has not moved on any of those yet, said Schaefer, R-Tyler. And that is a source of frustration for conservatives in the House.

Those goals include school choice legislation, outlawing sanctuary cities, banning certain types of abortion, property tax relief and some ethics bills, according to Schaefer.

I think many, many Republicans are really frustrated with just how much time has been wasted, when we could have been moving major pieces of legislation, he said. Most wont say that publicly, but theres a lot of frustration out there on bills that flew out of the Senate. And all the second- and third-tier bills - things important to members home districts - arent moving in the House, either.

School choice legislation - which could include vouchers or education savings accounts - is an example, he said.

School choice is dead in the House, according to the chairman of the House Education Committee, Schaefer said. So although the Senate made it a priority, theres apparently no path forward in the House.

The House is apparently moving forward on sanctuary cities, though. On Wednesday, a tough bill that could put county sheriffs and small-town constables in jail if they refuse to help enforce federal immigration law passed out of committee, setting it up for a floor debate soon.

But a bill regarding abortion - banning dilation and evacuation abortions, in which a fetus is dismembered and removed - seems to be going nowhere in the House. The bill would require doctors to be sure the fetus is no longer alive before the procedure takes place.

The ban on dismemberment abortion is very important to conservatives, said Schaefer. Its one of the most heinous practices imaginable. We believe we can end this in Texas, and we believe it will present a unique question to the U.S. Supreme Court. Even Justice Ginsburg says its a barbaric practice. When youre looking at the body of abortion jurisprudence before the Supreme Court, this would bring an important challenge to the Roe v. Wade framework.

The House also is making little progress on the so-called bathroom bill, which would require transgender people to use public bathrooms that correspond with the sex on their birth certificate.

BUDGET

From the Senate side, its all about the budget now.

If you look at the overall spending levels, were not that far apart, said Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville. But then you look at the methods of how we obtain those funds, and its very different.

The House version of the budget takes money from the states Rainy Day Fund, while the Senate version does not.

Here, Schaefer is in agreement with Nichols and the Senate.

I, along with 15 Republicans in the House, voted against, because it takes money out of the savings account, when there is no revenue shortfall, Schaefer said. Theres no compelling reason to dip into that savings account when we have more overall revenue to spend. Theres no budget crisis.

Nichols, however, is confident a compromise will be reached.

Youd have to go back to the 1960s or so to find a Legislature that wasnt able to get a budget passed, he said. Well get there.

One of Nichols priorities this session was funding for mental health.

Theres a critical shortage of resources out there for the mentally ill, Nichols said. And in Northeast Texas, we have the highest suicide rate in Texas, and the lowest number of mental health professionals per capita. Those are not unrelated.

Hundreds of people are in jail because of mental health issues, he added.

Many havent even broken any laws, he said. Theres just nowhere else to put them. We have to address that.

Nichols helped to amend the Senates budget to add millions for mental health facilities and services.

CPS

But the Senate and the House have made substantial progress on reforming the states foster care program.

Both the House and the Senate are in agreement that we need to fix this, said Nichols.

Added Schaefer, CPS legislation is a very a positive note. Were not finished, but there have been some good things happen. Theres a pay raise for CPS workers who work directly with children. And some significant changes in how the agency is run have been made. But one of the big pieces left to be addressed is the biggest problem - the shortage of child care providers. Faith-based organizations could be a big help here, but they have kept their distance because of the states regulations.

All in all, its an average session. The Texas Legislature - a body of citizen lawmakers who only meet every other year - was never designed to be efficient.

Every so often, a member will put forth a bill to increase the amount of time the Legislature spends in session - by mandating sessions each year, or extending the time limit of a regular session.

In 2013, Rep. Richard Pena Raymond, D-Laredo, offered just such a bill.

As big a budget as we have, as big a state as we are, as diverse of an economy as we have, we really should be looking at annual budgets, Raymond told The New York Times. Theres no business in the private sector that does two-year budgets. Its a very outdated idea.

That bill died ignominiously in committee.

The governor believes we need to limit government in peoples lives, not expand it, said Lucy Nashed, a spokeswoman for then-Gov. Rick Perry. A part-time Legislature allows lawmakers to come in and complete the business of Texans and then go out and live under the laws that theyve passed.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Twitter: @tmt_roy

Read the rest here:

East Texas legislators give progress report on session with seven weeks remaining - Tyler Morning Telegraph

Charles Duell, the United States commissioner of patents from 1898-1901, said whatever inventions followed the 1800s would make 19th century innovations appear "totally insignificant" compared to what was yet to come.

Duell could not have been more correct.

The world would become an entirely different place. Without the advances of the 20th and early 21st centuries, there would be no computers, air conditioners, televisions, assembly lines, calculators, mobile telephones, Band-Aids, antibiotics, vitamin supplements or chemotherapy.

Don Daake, keynote speaker at the Daily Journal's 2017 Progress Awards, referenced Duell's observations to emphasize how innovation drives the economy and always will drive it. The fourth annual event was held Thursday at the Hilton Garden Inn Riverstone Conference Center, and a record crowd in excess of 250 attended.

Daake, a former longtime business professor at Olivet Nazarene University and a Daily Journal business columnist, said Kankakee County is a hot spot for innovation.

"We live in a stunning world of progress," he said, noting so many people are involved even though they might not even be aware of it.

"The small daily improvements we make in our jobs.Those make more of an impact than those once-in-a-lifetime inventions," he said.

Daake said there is a simple rule everyone should follow.

"Some do," he said, "and will grow and prosper. Some don't and they decline and fade away. You have to have the ability to innovate. The Kankakee region has a long history of cultural innovation."

Daake's point was driven home after he spoke. The Daily Journal bestowed 10 awards on groups and individuals who have brought innovation here (see adjacent list). Here were some of the highlights:

The largest crowd to assemble on stage to accept an award represented the "Innovator in Healthcare'' honorees, Riverside Healthcare Healthy Heroes. The program was established after the untimely death of Kankakee County Sheriff's Deputy Zeb Pfeiffer, who suffered a fatal heart attack that resulted from a previously undiagnosed medical condition. Riverside launched the program to provide health screenings for area public safety providers, and it has helped these men and women identify and address their own health risks. About a dozen representatives of Riverside and the Kankakee County sheriff's police were on stage, including Jenny Pfeiffer, Zeb's widow.

The "Innovator in Social Services'' award went to noted local outdoors enthusiast Mike Norman, who has spearheaded the Pheasants Forever "No Child Left Indoors Program,'' which strives to introduce youth to all the outdoors has to offer. In his acceptance speech, he gave Riverside a plug: "I had a stoke a year ago, and my right side was paralyzed. But I went to Riverside for therapy and now look.'' At that point, Norman waved his right arm briskly in the air.

A touching story also was conveyed when Cinderella Shoes owner Matt Nanos accepted the award for "Small Business of the Year.'' His father, Alan, the previous owner, died a year ago. The younger Nanos openly shed tears in the video that preceded his acceptance speech, and he continued to grapple with his emotions as he spoke, expressing how he wished his father could witness what was occurring.

Go here to read the rest:

Progress Awards puts spotlight on local innovation - Kankakee Daily Journal

At the very least, coach Kyle Whittingham felt walking off the field that he has a much clearer sense of his personnel, his new offense and where his team is trending.

"It's challenging, but we feel we've recruited the right way, and we have some pretty good players coming up through the system," he said. "I think we'll end up being a pretty good football team. How soon that is, we'll find that out."

There were limitations to reaching conclusions in the game: The quarterbacks weren't live, and both offenses often had a rough go of moving behind a thin offensive line that had to play for both teams. Between Troy Williams and Tyler Huntley, who played only the first half, they completed a combined 17 for 27 attempts for 138 yards. Neither had a touchdown pass, though Huntley threw an interception.

Huntley, however, had an easier time moving the ball, in part because of who was in his backfield: Henry-Cole.

The sophomore back helped spur two touchdown drives in the first half, getting six touches on the opening drive of the game for 42 of the 65 yards gained. He plunged through the fray on a two-yard touchdown run, then managed another on a second-quarter drive.

In total, Henry-Cole had 44 yards rushing and 23 yards receiving on 15 total touches, wrapping up a spring where he showed coaches he can be a good fit in an offense suited to a multifaceted back.

"I wanted to show that I'm capable of playing in the Pac-12," he said. "I like this offense. It's a speed offense, so that's good for me that's good for my size and everything."

His top counterpart, Zack Moss, had an unfortunate turn when he injured his right arm during a run in the second quarter. He was later spotted walking off the field with his arm wrapped and hanging in a sling. Whittingham said he wasn't yet sure what the injury was, but hoped for a maximum recovery time of six weeks well before fall camp begins.

Receivers mostly had a tough day: On the winning Red team, the top two receivers were running backs. Troy McCormick, a converted running back-turned-receiver, led the White team with five catches for 61 yards.

That meant a productive day for both defenses, which exploited an overmatched offensive line for eight combined sacks. Chris Hart led the Red team with three, and forced one of the three fumbles on the day.

While the second half was played with a running clock, the passing game picked up slightly in the second half albeit against the bottom of the depth chart. Bateman's highlight pass was a 30-yard rope to Jameson Field against absent coverage, but walk-on Drew Lisk managed a longer one to McCormick, who cut inside the marker for the 43-yard score.

The Utes were without 22 players in total, accounting for injuries as well as players the team did not wish to risk.

kgoon@sltrib.com

Twitter: @kylegoon

More:

Utah football: Utes see progress despite inconclusive spring game - Salt Lake Tribune

U.S. Rep. Steve King answers reporters' questions following a taping of "Iowa Press" on Thursday.(Photo: Jason Noble/The Register)Buy Photo

The voters who propelled Donald Trump into the White House are starting to get uneasy over slow progress onkey elements of the presidents agenda, U.S. Rep. Steve King said Thursday.

King, a Republican from Iowas 4th District, said Trumps mandate for enacting change is slightly wounded by the botched rollout of a health care reform package and particularly by his inaction thus far on limiting immigration.

King, an immigration hardliner who represents a district that voted heavily for Trump, made the comments Thursday during a taping of Iowa Press, Iowa Public Televisions weekly public affairs show. The full interview will air statewide at 7 p.m. on Friday and again at noon on Sunday.

Regarding immigration enforcement, King called on the president to rescind Obama administration executive orders allowing some undocumented workers to remain in the country and said the administration must make progress on constructing a wall along the southern border.

His base is starting to get uneasy because they havent seen movement yet on DACA and DAPA, and theyre not confident yet on the wall, he said.

When asked about others areas in which the president has markedly shifted his rhetoric since the campaign including on confronting the Syrian regime, the value of NATO alliances, Chinas status as a currency manipulator and on health care reform King acknowledged that Trump may be risking his standing with the voters who elected him.

The list of campaign promises that Donald Trump promised he was going to take care of, he marched through those pretty good in the first three or more weeks, he said in a follow-up interview. Now it seems to have bogged down.

King, an eight-term Congressman representing Iowas most conservative district, declined to answer a question on whether he would seek re-election in 2018, but said he enjoys the job and has gotten better at it every year.

When asked about his accomplishments over 15 years in office, King said his role has been to oppose his political opponents agenda rather than advance one of his own.

His top three successes, he said, were opposing a cap-and-trade regulatory system for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, working against a comprehensive immigration reform package that passed the Senate but failed in the House in 2013 and agitating for years on the repeal of the health care law known as Obamacare.

The most important thing anyone can be doing, especially when theres a bad agenda coming at you, is to kill bad ideas, he said.

King was also asked about the perception that he is a racist. The accusation has been leveled against him numerous times following inflammatory comments hes made over the years regarding race, immigration and culture including last month after a tweet that drew rebukes from the White House and the Republican Party of Iowa.

King said there is no evidence that supports that assertion that he is racist.

Ive never responded to that charge because theres never been a basis for it, King said. The most dog-eared, worn-out card in the entire lexicon deck is the race card. There are some people who only have one card in their deck, and theyre 51 cards short.

Read or Share this story: http://dmreg.co/2pbZ2VW

See the rest here:

Steve King says Trump's voters are 'uneasy' over administration's lack of progress - DesMoinesRegister.com

LONDON -- The IAAF says Russia is making "little progress" cleaning up its doping culture to secure its reinstatement into international athletics.

In a report on Thursday, track and field's world governing body criticized Russia's decision to make pole vault great Yelena Isinbayeva the head of the country's scandalized anti-doping agency.

IAAF Russia task force chairman Rune Andersen said of Isinbayeva being named RUSADA chairwoman that "it is difficult to see how this helps to achieve the desired change in culture in Russia track and field, or how it helps to promote an open environment for Russian whitsleblowers."

Isinbayeva repeatedly criticized the World Anti-Doping Agency, framed doping investigations as an anti-Russian plot and called for a leading whistleblower to be banned for life.

Isinbayeva missed the Rio de Janeiro Olympics because of a ban on Russia's athletics team.

Go here to read the rest:

IAAF: Russia making 'little progress' in cleaning up doping culture - ESPN