Today on AirTalk we ask who is policing hate groups, figure out the status of the 710 freeway expansion, remember Marvin Hamlisch, and take a look at David Wessel's new book 'Red Ink.'
Could better monitoring of hate groups have prevented the Sikh temple shooting?
As more information comes out about the hate-filled life of Wisconsin Sikh temple shooter Wade Michael Page, some are asking whether more effective monitoring of hate groups could have prevented the loss of six innocent lives.
"Hateful ideology in and of itself is not a crime, nor a basis to deprive someone of a right that is otherwise guaranteed by law," Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino said on AirTalk. "One thing though, the skinhead subculture does glorify violent acts. While most of these people are more or less benign, they are a more dangerous subculture of the extremist hate world."
40-year-old Page was a known white supremacist with financial troubles, an alcoholic past and a questionable military record. He played in skinhead metal bands and was active on Internet forums about white supremacy. According to the Associated Press, “[Page] described himself as a member of the 'Hammerskins Nation,' a skinhead group rooted in Texas that has branches in Australia and Canada.” His band's lyrics talked of genocide against Jews and other minorities.
But just espousing violent or hateful speech doesn't mean that a person will likely commit violent acts.
"For most of these folks particularly with the advent of social media… a lot of times these folks are actually acting out with low level aggression, that is verbally or rhetorically," said Levin. "The difficulty is that many of these folks will not act violently."
Page worked as a driver for a trucking company from 2006 to 2010, but he was fired for driving a personal vehicle “while subject to an impairing substance,” the company Barr-Nunn Transportation said in a statement Public records show his North Carolina home was foreclosed on in January.
In the 1990s, Page served in the U.S. Army. He had been disciplined for drinking on duty and going AWOL, leading to his discharge in 1998. Levin's colleague Pete Simi at the University of Nebraska, Omaha and other experts who monitor hate groups and white supremacists, had tracked and interviewed Wade Michael Page, but at the time didn't view him as a threat.
"Even in subcultures there are people we call chest-thumpers. I think he was someone who was kind of more of the soft-peddler of this stuff … it appeared that he became more into this movement and joined the Hammerskins," said Levin. "He was a quiet guy, socially isolated, drank a lot … he had turbulent experiences with women, had a turbulent job history. Pete [Simi] said he wasn't a chest thumper and he wasn't the kind of guy you would think would actually go out and commit violence."
However, Levin says that over time Page seems to have become more involved in the neo-nazi scene, especially after joining the army.
So should people who openly flaunt their violent, neo-nazi beliefs be allowed to own weapons? No says Levin, citing constitutionality.
"We have all these different subcultures of which we have a very small sliver of folks very well might be dangerous, but the vast majority are not," said Levin. "We just can't, as a matter of Constitutional law, ban people from exercising their rights, nor can we target them for criminal investigation merely because the express odious views."
Confessions of a Ex-Neo-Nazi
During the segment, Dan from Los Alamitos called in to tell us about his experience as a member of the Hammerskins in San Diego. He no longer subscribes to the neo-nazi beliefs of the Hammerskins group, but understands how dangerous they can be.
"I honestly believe that these guys should be tracked," said Dan on AirTalk. "They're just like any other gang member, ultimately. Thats how i got into it … I came from a broken home and these guys became my family. That's who these guys are, for the most part."
Dan was so deep into the group that he served at the state director for the Western Hammerskins. However he didn't know Page personally. He says that being a part of the group "was just constant hate," against all ethnicities other than whites. He also says he was attracted to this lifestyle growing up in Carson where he was one of four white kids at his school.
"We got beat up by the black kids and the Mexican kids and it spirals from there … I blamed them for who they presented themselves to be," he said.
So how can lives like Dan's be turned around before the hate groups inspire violence like that committed by Page?
"Catch them when they're young," said Dan. "The older cats that are in that movement, you're not going to get to them."
Weigh In
How much did authorities know about him? How did Page compare to others in the white power movement? What is the current state of white supremacist groups?
Guest:
Brian Levin, Director, Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino
Whatever happened to the 710 freeway extension project?
For over forty years, the plan to connect the 710 freeway to the 210 has been debated fiercely. After the project was on hold for decades, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) have presented 12 alternative concepts for construction.
Now, as Metro and Caltrans are in the process of narrowing the 12 alternatives down to a few and preparing to conduct an extensive Environmental Impact Report (EIR), various groups are still concerned, to say the least. Questions abound regarding where the route will travel, how much damage and pollution it will yield for nearby neighborhoods, and how much the project will ultimately cost taxpayers.
So what are the options? How soon will the project actually begin? Can any option satisfy all stakeholders and leave a minimal dent in taxpayers’ pockets?
Guests:
Doug Failing, Executive Officer of Metro’s highway program
Dr. Ron Paler, President, San Rafael Neighborhoods Association (SRNA); member of the No 710 Action Committee
Remembering Legendary Composer Marvin Hamlisch
He was a prolific composer who dazzled audiences with his unforgettable score of the Broadway musical, “A Chorus Line” and the scores to the films “The Way We Were,” “The Sting” and “Ordinary People.”
He also held the rare distinction of winning all top four entertainment prizes: the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony. Marvin Hamlisch’s unexpected death yesterday at the age of 68 has left the music world stunned. He had just recently signed a three-year contract with the Pasadena Symphony and, according to the L.A. Times, at the time of his death, was the principal pops conductor for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Pasadena Pops, Seattle Symphony and San Diego Symphony.
Hamlisch’s lifelong career started brilliantly at the age of 7 when he was accepted to The Julliard School, the youngest student ever to attend the prestigious arts school.
Larry Mantle spoke with Hamlisch several times, most recently just last June, and remembers him as a larger-than-life personality who never lost his passion for composing, conducting or telling a great story.
Guests:
Larry Mantle, host of KPCC’s Airtalk
Michael Giacchino, television and film composer, known for his work on Lost, Alias, Up, Ratatouille, and Cars 2
Paul Jan Zdunek, Chief Executive Officer, Pasadena Symphony and Pops
Breaking down the federal budget
In the 2011 fiscal year, the United States budget reached nearly $3.6 trillion dollars, and brought in $2.3 trillion in revenue. How did the U.S. budget and deficit balloon to such a massive figure? And where does all the money actually go?
David Wessel, in his book “Red Ink: Inside the High-Stakes Politics of the Federal Budget,“ breaks down the process of the national budget to explain to readers how the money gets spent. Nearly two-thirds of all annual federal spending is what Wessel calls “on autopilot.” That includes Social Security benefits, spending on Medicare and Medicaid, and interest payments on government bonds, which are all paid without any congressional approval, and already accounts for more money than the government brings in annually.
Through interviews with David Jack Lew, the White House Chief of Staff and former Office of Management and Budget director, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, and Paul Ryan, the Republican chairman of the House Budget Committee, Wessel dives into the nitty-gritty details of the national budget to explain how, and why, the federal budget needs to be fixed.
Guest:
David Wessel, Author of Red Ink: Inside the High-Stakes Politics of the Federal Budget (Crown Business); Economics Editor and writer of the Capital column for the Wall Street Journal