King Politics

Polls That Interst Me

kingpolitics@gmail.com (Marvin King) — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 18:00:00 +0000

46% of Americans say airport security procedures are too lenient.

Obama's monthly approval ratings. For Obama supporters, it's not good; not totally surprising, but not good.

Women And Work

kingpolitics@gmail.com (Marvin King) — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 14:00:00 +0000

Says here that women are poised to become more than 50% of the American workforce. It's somewhat a pyrrhic victory. Many women now in the workforce would rather not be there. But, the ravages of the recession on male employment has compelled many to join the paid labor force when they'd rather stay home with the kids. What would be this a real victory and not one of the pyrrhic sort would be if government invested more in mothers and families or gave business more incentives to be nice (i.e. paid maternity leave) to its' female workforce.

Borrowed Blogging

kingpolitics@gmail.com (Marvin King) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 22:00:00 +0000

Filibustering the government and Everybody Love Everybody.

Jim DeMint, Unions And Airline Safety

kingpolitics@gmail.com (Marvin King) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 18:00:00 +0000

South Carolina Republican Senator Jim DeMint has single-handedly held up the nomination of TSA chief over unionization concerns. Should we hold DeMint responsible for jeapordizing Americans' security? In other words, is denying Americans the potential to organize worth your life? DeMint thinks so.

What The Closing Of American And British Embassies In Yemen Really Means

kingpolitics@gmail.com (Marvin King) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 14:00:00 +0000

The decision by the United States and Britain to close their Yemeni embassies has generated considerable smart chatter among the national security classes, and plenty of, ahem, talk among conservatives. Criticism is unfounded. It is not a sign of weaknesses; instead, both countries well remember the 1983 Beirut attacks in which 200+ U.S. Marines were needlessly killed. After the attacks, Reagan responded by removing troops, when it was quite obvious beforehand that threats against them should have been taken more seriously.

Not wanting a repeat, Obama and Brown decided it was better to play safe than sorry. Critics might claim Obama is acting weak in the face of terror, but it seems smarter to play it safe and save American lives than act tough and senselessly risk American lives.

The Decade In Photos

kingpolitics@gmail.com (Marvin King) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 05:05:00 +0000

I'm the sentimental type and so it was with great glee that I reviewed "Documenting the Decade," the NY Times fascinating reader-submitted pictorial essay documenting this century's first decade. Check it out. It will bring back memories, happy and sad.

That's Tall

kingpolitics@gmail.com (Marvin King) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 14:00:00 +0000

In Dubai, the Burj Khalifa is now the world's tallest building - by far. It's 160+ stories tall. The Economist claims it's a bit of a folly, pointing out that the construction of tall buildings often precedes economic contraction. The Economist neglects to mention any causal link, so it's a pretty useless read. To me the bigger problem is that the building is essentially the world's tallest warehouse. The real estate collapse in Dubai doesn't help either.

Smedley on Racial And Ethnic Health And Health Care Inequities

kingpolitics@gmail.com (Marvin King) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 03:55:00 +0000

Check out Dr. Smedley's assessments here.

Polls Could Be Better For Obama, Courtesty of Pollster.com

kingpolitics@gmail.com (Marvin King) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 03:43:00 +0000

College Football In The Education of Black Athletes

kingpolitics@gmail.com (Marvin King) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:40:00 +0000

I am huge sports fan, especially of football. This week my beloved Texas Longhorns travel to Pasadena to play Alabama for the national title. Notwithstanding my love for the game, I keep a wary eye on the physical and mental sacrifice made by the players. They sacrifice plenty too.

Certainly, they receive compensation through scholarship money. However, I have met plenty of players and trust me, most barely get by. The NCAA has strict limits and despite whatever story you hear about paying players with a car or a non-existent job (see stories on Joe McKnight or Rhett Bomar), most players barely have enough money to get home on the holidays.

Most of the players will not live their dream. They will not make it to the NFL. Each year, there are roughly 2,550 seniors in the 120 major college FBS programs, but the NFL drafts just 224 each year. Knowing this, most play to get a chance at an education they otherwise would not be able to afford. Now, I am a realist here. I have seen plenty a student-athlete fritter away perfectly good opportunities because they get caught up in the, "Look at me, I'm a star athlete," lifestyle, and then they fall back to Earth - hard, when they go undrafted and no one cares about them anymore. Their name is not in the paper anymore - last year's news. Those are sad stories, but not the entire story.

Read the rest at The Loop.

Shelby Steele Is Wrong About Barack Obama

kingpolitics@gmail.com (Marvin King) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 13:24:00 +0000

Go here to see Shelby Steele's deconstruction of Barack Obama and his presidency. I disagree with him on several points.

First, Steele likens Obama to an emperor with no clothes. It's an inappropriate parable. After a campaign that lasted 1.5 years, the American people had ample time to learn about all the candidates. Obama campaigned on reforming health care. He did so. Throughout the campaign, Obama said Afghanistan is where we should have focused our resources all along. We are now doing so.

Second, Steele claims "Obama's economic thinking (or lack thereof) adds up to a kind of rudderless cowboyism combined with wishful thinking." Obama has assembled one of the more remarkable economic teams of this generation or any other. That they come to different conclusions than Professor Steele would like is not an indication of a lack of economic thinking. Obama's first economic priority was to stabilize the economy. People would not be investing in the stock market (from a low of 6,500 to 10,500 today) the way they currently are if the economy were not a more solid footing. Certainly, more has to be done to address unemployment, recession was ever cured immediately. Steele must have forgotten the recession of 1979-1982. Reagan didn't cure his recession his first year in office either, yet Reagan is so often held up as the lodestar for conservative activists like Steele. Selective memory does not beget good arguments.

Third, Steele claims that Obama has an "inner emptiness." Apparently, Reagan "individuated." Again, he cites Reagan as the exemplar of such behavior because "he took principled positions throughout his long career that jeopardized his popularity." I'm not sure how this doesn't apply to Obama too. Defending health care reform in the teeth of unified Republican opposition and selective logrolled Democratic opposition definitely decreased Obama's political capital and increased the chances that the GOP can recapture the House.

Obama didn't have to tackle health care. He could have ignored the issue, which would only make things worse in the long-term. Or, like Bush, he could have worsened the problem by adding an unfunded prescription drug benefit on to Medicare. Principled is doing things that aren't always popular. None of the following are (were) popular: accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, arguing on behalf of climate change legislation, health care legislation, the troop surge to Afghanistan, yet Obama pushes(d) because they are right.

Fourth, the comparisons to Tiger Woods and Bill Cosby are inappropriate. Their misdeeds are personal. Any that Obama would commit would be national and permanent. It's an insult to the president to draw comparisons down and instead of in a lateral manner to other presidents.

Finally, Steele can make good points, witness his earlier article on why the GOP can't win with minority.

New Podcast Series: Both Sides Of The Loop

kingpolitics@gmail.com (Marvin King) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 15:41:00 +0000

Lenny McAllister and I have begun a weekly podcast series called Both Sides of the Loop. Posts will appear on Monday. He's a Republican, I'm not. We agree, we disagree.

We Love Him, Warts And All

kingpolitics@gmail.com (Marvin King) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 15:40:00 +0000

Despite some mistakes (one of which is that Blacks and Hispanics aren't automatic winners in health care reform), Obama remains very, very popular with African Americans.

Top Ten Political Mistakes of 2009

kingpolitics@gmail.com (Marvin King) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 15:35:00 +0000

Devona Walker has Parts 1 and 2 of the Top Ten Political Mistakes of 2009.

New Year's Resolutions

kingpolitics@gmail.com (Marvin King) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 15:25:00 +0000

Year 2009 was an amazing political year: Barack Obama's inauguration, the stimulus package, Tea Party activists, Town Hall meetings, the Rose Garden Beer Summit with Professor Gates and Officer Crowley, the Nobel Peace Prize, Afghanistan, health care reform, H1N1, rising unemployment tempered by a resurgent stock market. It reminds me of Billy Joel's We Didn’t Start the Fire.

This leads me to my political New Year's resolution.

There was one thing missing from politics this year. Me but not as a candidate. No one wants that. I am too truthful and no one would elect me. I would say things like, "You need to get on a treadmill and ditch the cigarettes. The government should not have to pay for you when you get sick because of your diet of Twinkies and Marlboros." Yep. I would lose.

Read the rest at The Loop.

The Limits Of Soft Power

kingpolitics@gmail.com (Marvin King) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 14:00:00 +0000

China is learning the limits of it's "Woe is me attitude." Many of China's neighbors are none too happy with Beijing's devaluation of its currency. In that respect, if it wants to challenge America's place as the world's hegemon, it will have to learn to play nice sometimes.

How Do We Balance The Budget?

kingpolitics@gmail.com (Marvin King) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 17:02:00 +0000

First, you only have to balance the budget if you believe it needs to be balanced.

Second, once you agree to balance the budget you have 2.5 options. Option A is to raise taxes. Option B is to lower spending. The next half option is to do both. Wait...what's that you say? There's another option. Okay, let's hear it.

You can wait (and hope and pray) that the economy does so well that rising tax receipts make up the balance of annual government spending. Sure, that's an option, but also incredibly unrealistic given our current economy.

So, I can understand why Obama says tax hikes and spending cuts aren't an option, but I would say that his options won't balance the budget.

George Bush And Civil Rights: A Short Story

kingpolitics@gmail.com (Marvin King) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 14:00:00 +0000

Ellis Cose makes the argument that the Bush Administration watered down civil rights enforcement. It's a familiar refrain and one that get straight to the heart of why the GOP has such a tough time attracting African American voters.

Mexican Drug Violence Will Not Stop

kingpolitics@gmail.com (Marvin King) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 17:02:00 +0000

By now, you're all familiar with the out-of-control drug violence in Mexico. Even more worrisome to American law enforcement officials is how much of the violence is staged in the U.S. You may also be familiar with the story of the Marine who died from injuries suffered during the brutal take down of cartel leader Arturo Beltran Leyva. In response, assassins affiliated with his cartel killed the mother, brother, sister and aunt of the marine.

Predictably, Newsweek asks if America is somehow responsible for the violence in Mexico. Um, no shit Sherlock. You think America's insatiable appetite for drugs could have any relationship to the drug-related violence? No wonder I don't subscribe to Newsweek. Next week's cover will be "Is the sun hot?"

News Flash: Small Business Upset With Big Government

kingpolitics@gmail.com (Marvin King) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 14:00:00 +0000

Surprise, surprise, small business has found something to complain about. Taxes are too high! Gasp! Taxes are always too high until you need something from the government, then it's "Why won't the government do something?"

Playing Hot Potato With The Debt

kingpolitics@gmail.com (Marvin King) — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 14:00:00 +0000

I meant to post this awhile back but work and holiday travels interfered. It was interesting to see a politically assertive Obama call out Republicans for their mismanagement of the economy while they were running DC. Essentially, Obama agreed that we must get our fiscal house in order, but blaming all this on the Democrats is folly. There is plenty of blame to go around to both Democrats and Republicans.

Taxing Tuition? Pittsburgh Mulls Its Options

kingpolitics@gmail.com (Marvin King) — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 14:00:00 +0000

In order to fix a budget shortfall financing public sector pensions, the City of Pittsburgh wants to tax tuition. The amount of 1% isn't all that much, the question is should students, and only students, pay this new tax.

Analysis
This is a mischevious tax because it will fall disproportionately on out-of-state and out-of-city residents. Thus, Pittsburgh gets more revenue but most locals won't have to pay. However, I find the argument that this new tax will "drive away" students. Students won't leave a school for an additional $100 or $200. One or two thousand dollars? That might make a difference, but this amount won't.

Also, to be considered is how much revenue the presence of the universities brings to Pittsburgh. There's an entire rental market based on students, not to mention the increased sales every Pittsburgh business sees due to the presence of the universities and colleges.

Finally, any public administration scholar will tell you that the best, fairest and most efficient tax systems are those that are broad-based. Meaning, Pittsburgh would be better off taxing everyone a tiny, tiny amount than picking on a handful of college kids.

kingpolitics@gmail.com (Marvin King) — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 14:00:00 +0000

Geoffrey Stone makes the argument that congressional Republicans' plan to retake Congress rests solely on ascending through a campaign of obstructionism. Sounds about right. Can you name one alternative proposal to health care that Republicans legitimately endorsed and pushed, as opposed to merely tearing down Democratic plans?

NPR And Fox Have Different Viewpoints. Do-What?

kingpolitics@gmail.com (Marvin King) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 17:02:00 +0000

Mara Liasson has upset NPR officials due to her frequent appearances on Fox News. NPR officials claim it's because they do not like Fox's political bias. They are afraid it makes Liasson an accomplice to Fox's political shenanigans.

Analysis
While that seems reasonable, might it be because NPR does not like the direction of Fox's political bias.

Racial Stereotypes And The Media

kingpolitics@gmail.com (Marvin King) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 14:00:00 +0000

John Muhammad discusses the media double standard of Black athletes. Think about it this way. Is Tiger Woods the only golfer to cheat on his wife? Probably not. But, he's the only one I've heard of.