Who do you think has the best chance of being the next President? Could Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, or Chris Christie really be in the running? Next, we'll look at what causes wildfires to start and spread. Then, San Francisco banned firefighters from using helmet cameras. Do you think the cameras are an invasion of privacy? Next, we'll look at how the continued tensions in Egypt are dividing other Mid-East countries. Then, a new study shows college hook-ups are not as frequent as once believed, and what are the new changes for the LA Auto Show? Lastly, we'll remember novelist and screenwriter Elmore Leonard.
Cruz, Biden, Christie, Clinton - Presidential aspirations real or imagined?
Texas Senator Ted Cruz is renouncing his Canadian citizenship to affirm his allegiance to the United States. The rising star in the Republican party is rumored to have presidential aspirations. He was born a dual citizen in Calgary to an American mother and Cuban father. Does that qualify him as “natural born” American?
Still in the category of more imagined than real, is talk of Vice President Joe Biden making a run. History doesn’t favor VP runs, but perhaps columnist Jonah Goldberg can explain why Biden curries fervor.
And it’s even more unclear whether New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is viable for the Grand Old Party. Recent policy decisions on gay rights issue and medical marijuana may not be popular with the party base. If that isn’t enough 2016 talk, what’s the latest on Hillary Clinton, Marco Rubio, Scott Brown, Cory Booker? Who are we forgetting?
Guests:
Robin Abcarian, Columnist, Los Angeles Times
James Hohmann, Political Reporter, POLITICO
Bob Ingle, Senior Political Columnist for Gannett New Jersey newspapers and co-author of “Chris Christie: The Inside Story of His Rise to Power” (St Martin’s Press, 2012)
Are wildfire fights in California targeting the wrong culprit?
Are wildfire fights in California targeting the wrong culprit? This month’s Silver Fire devastated communities in Riverside County - destroying nearly 50 buildings, including homes, and injuring almost a dozen firefighters. The fire also seems to be challenging conventional wisdom about where wildfires start and what causes them to spread.
Cal Fire is focusing on clearing old vegetation, but the Silver Fire burned new growth. Should that alter California’s plans to fight wildfires?
Guest:
Richard Halsey, Director, The California Chaparral Institute - an organization dedicated to the preservation of native shrubland habitats, based in Escondido
Should firefighters be allowed to use helmet video cameras?
Over the weekend, San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White banned firefighters in the city from using of helmet cameras. The move came after footage taken by a firefighter’s helmet camera after the Asiana Airlines crash became public. The images showed a fire truck running over a Chinese girl at the scene of the crash in San Francisco. The San Francisco Chronicle published stills from the footage.
Yesterday, officials at the San Francisco Fire Department backtracked on the decree and said they will revisit the issue. Cities like Baltimore and Houston have a firefighter helmet cameras ban in place, as do the Los Angeles City Fire Department and the County of Los Angeles Fire Department. Proponents of the ban say the use of helmet cameras and dissemination of the images violate the privacy rights of victims and firefighters. But some firefighters contend that these cameras don’t just make an useful training tool, they save lives.
"The department seems more concerned with exposure and liability than training and improving efficiency," San Francisco Battalion Chief and president of the employee group, the Black Firefighters Association Kevin Smith, told the San Francisco Chronicle. "Helmet cams are the wave of the future - they can be used to improve communication at incidents between firefighters and commanders.”
Guests:
Kevin Smith, battalion chief of San Francisco fire department and president of the San Francisco Black Firefighters Association
Inspector Keith Mora, Public Information Officer for the Los Angeles County Fire Department
Egypt tensions rattle divides between Mid-East countries
Egypt remains in a state of emergency as violence rips a divided country. Tensions between supporters of the military and supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood will likely be further exacerbated after authorities arrested Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie. Meanwhile, the world stage is beginning to fracture in its positions on Egypt.
The White House has been pressured to suspend aid to the Egyptian military in light of its violent tactics against protesters, yet President Obama has not officially made any decision yet. On Monday Saudi Arabia announced that it would compensate the Egyptian military for any funds that are withdrawn by Western States, fueling a new Middle East standoff that pits Saudi Arabia against countries like Turkey and Qatar, who have denounced the actions of the military.
On top of all this, there are suggestions that former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak may be released from custody in coming days. Ironically, his potential release coincides with a growing sense that Egypt is returning to a state similar to the one under Mubarak, with strict authoritarian control.
What’s next for Egypt? What about the United States’ role? And will Mubarak be released, and what will that mean for the growing unrest in the country?
Guests:
Hussein Ibish, Senior Fellow at the American Task Force on Palestine, a think tank in Washington
Stephen Zunes, Professor of Politics and International Studies at University of San Francisco
College hook-up culture off the hook? Not so, new study says
Despite recent headlines claiming that sex among college students was on the rise, students are actually having less sex than two decades ago. This, according to new research presented Tuesday at the American Sociological Association. Martin Monto, a sociology professor from the University of Portland, found “no evidence of substantial changes in sexual behavior that would support the proposition that there is a new or pervasive ‘hookup culture’ among contemporary college students.”
But young adults do seem to be having sex with fewer strings attached to partners. The researchers looked at nationally representative data from the General Social Survey of 1,829 high school grads, ages 18-25, who had finished at least one year of college. They compared answers from 1988-1996 with those from 2002-2010 and found no major differences. These latest findings echo other, similar research.
So is the hook-up culture just a myth? What’s really going on behind closed campus doors?
Guests:
Laura Hamilton, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of California, Merced
Kathleen A. Bogle, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Sociology and Criminal Justice, La Salle University; author of Hooking Up: Sex, Dating, and Relationships on Campus (New York University Press)
How can the LA Auto Show bring new wheel appeal?
Though L.A. might be notorious for being one of the most car-obsessed cities in the country, the LA Auto Show has never quite shined so brightly in the international auto world.
Traditionally in the shadow of Detroit’s auto show, L.A. organizers in 2006 moved the show on the calendar to give it more of a spotlight, though in recent years the dates have conflicted with prestigious shows in Tokyo and Guangzhou, China.
There’s also just generally been a lack of firepower at the L.A. show, with fewer major debuts at the L.A. show and often a focus on consumers rather than spectacle. But that might change in upcoming years, as show organizers attempt to bring more flare to the schedule.
A new opening exhibition will feature classic cars from Oxnard’s Mullin Automotive Museum and local custom car designer George Barris.
The Peterson Automotive Museum will also take part in the action, and more of the main lobbies will be focused on design and concepts. The show’s new manager, Terri Toennies, has experience doing big event planning in Las Vegas and is aiming to bring more “eye candy” to the exhibition, giving it a bit more pop.
The aim is to expand the show from just reaching local consumers to becoming a bigger influence on the international stage. Will it work?
Guest:
Ed Hellwig, Senior Editor, Edmunds
Remembering crime novelist Elmore Leonard
Crime novelist Elmore Leonard died Tuesday morning at age 87 following complications from a stroke. In addition to his well-known novels, “Get Shorty,” “Freaky Deaky” and “Glitz,” Leonard was highly regarded for redefining and mastering his genre. He wrote more than 40 novels, and many of his writings have been turned into movies and TV series.
After the 1995 movie version of “Get Shorty” starring John Travolta, Leonard won the attention of many directors, including Quentin Tarantino. But Leonard never wanted to have any input into the film versions of his works.
"His feeling was, 'I write a novel and what happens after it is not my work and has noting to do with me,'" said "Get Shorty" filmmaker Barry Sonnenfeld. "In fact, he came to a recruited audience screening we had in Chicago before we released the movie and he came up to me in the end and he really loved the film."
Screenwriter Graham Yost worked on "Justified," which was based on Leonard's novella "Fire In The Hole." He says Leonard stayed out of the film and TV adaptations of his work for good reason.
"He had some bad experience in the '70s writing screenplays. That's one reason why he stuck with books," said Yosy. "He let us do what we did and, frankly, part of what we decided to do was let Elmore be Elmore."
Last fall Leonard became the first crime writer to receive the National Book Award, an honor shared with literary giants Philip Roth, Norman Mailer and Arthur Miller.
Guests:
Barry Sonnenfeld, filmmaker and director for "Get Shorty," "The Addams Family," and "Men in Black; also produced "Out of Sight"
Graham Yost, film and television screenwriter, best known for his film "Speed" and his work on the miniseries "Band of Brothers" and "The Pacific"; Yost is also the creator and executive producer of the TV series "Justified", which was based on Elmore Leonard’s short story “Fire in the Hole”