New Gas Tax Proposed To Fight Global Warming; Anthony Pellicano; Auto-Immune Disease: At War With Our Own Bodies; Iraq Update; Birding At The End Of Nature
New Gas Tax Proposed To Fight Global Warming
California State Assemblyman Mike Feuer is proposing a new gas tax to help fight global warming. If passed by voters, the extra fee would cost drivers in Los Angeles County an extra 9 cents per gallon, or an extra $90 on their vehicle registration. The funds would go towards improvements to mass transit and programs to ease traffic, but critics say there are already too many taxes at the pump. Larry talks with Assemblyman Mike Feuer, who authored the legislation, and takes listener calls.
Anthony Pellicano
Larry gets an update on the trial of Anthony Pellicano, the former private eye to the stars, who faces 110 counts of racketeering, wiretapping, conspiracy, and other federal charges. Larry talks with Carla Hall, staff writer for the Los Angeles Times.
Auto-Immune Disease: At War With Our Own Bodies
Fifty or 100 years ago, infectious diseases such as polio, small pox and tuberculosis killed, disabled, and disfigured millions of Americans. But antibiotics, vaccines, and better hygiene have lead to a healthier nation. The problem: now autoimmune diseases and allergies are on the rise. Asthma, food allergies, and diseases such as lupus cause discomfort, pain and death. All are on the rise. Is this because our immune systems, deprived of outside attackers, are turning on our own bodies? Larry talks with Dr. Haig Tcheurekdjian, Assistant Clinical Professor at the Department of Medicine and Pediatrics at Case Western Reserve University, and an Associate at Allergy Immunology Associates, Incorporated, and Dr. Stanley Fineman, Asthma and Allergy specialist, at Atlanta Allergy Clinic about this disturbing trend.
Iraq Update
Larry gets an update about the latest news out of Iraq with Sudarsan Raghavan, Baghdad Bureau Chief for The Washington Post, and Larry Kaplow, Newsweek correspondent in Iraq.
Birding At The End Of Nature
Today, forty-six million Americans are bird-watchers. In his new book, "The Life of the Skies," author Jonathan Rosen sets out on a quest not merely to see birds but to understand their centrality-historically, spiritually and scientifically-to a culture torn between the desire to conquer and to conserve. Rosen argues that bird-watching is nothing less than the real national pastime and his book, part birding history, part birding travelogue also considers the spiritual yearning of the birder. Rosen joins Larry Mantle about the intimate connection between the birder and the bird.