Michael Flynn is at the federal courthouse in Washington. Meanwhile, the White House appeared to inch away from forcing a partial government shutdown. We also discuss a bill that would allow the federal government to become a manufacturer of some generic drugs; examine the 'q' in ‘LGBTQ’; and more.
Should the federal government be in the business of manufacturing generic drugs? Elizabeth Warren thinks so
Potential presidential hopeful and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren introduced a bill today to bring drug prices down by allowing the federal government to become a manufacturer of some generic drugs.
The plan is detailed in an op-ed penned by the progressive lawmaker published in the Washington Post.
Warren’s bill would establish an agency within the federal government that would be mandated to make at least 15 different generic drugs.
The bill faces a difficult chance of passage in the Republican-led Senate.
Guests:
Kavita Patel, M.D., nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution; she’s also a practicing primary care physician at Johns Hopkins Medicine; she tweets
Avik Roy, president of The Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity, a non-profit think tank; the policy editor at Forbes and former policy advisor to Marco Rubio, Rick Perry and Mitt Romney
Working for the (three-day) weekend: As more companies experiment with four-day work weeks, could we ever see them in the US?
Could a four day work week ever take off here in the United States?
Studies of workers in other countries where four days weeks have been implemented on trial or permanent bases show promising results, but in a workaholic culture where how hard one works is often measured by the number of hours we put in at the office each week, is the idea of a three day weekend plausible?
We check in on the state of the American work week, look at the success or failure of four day work week trials in other countries, and explore the idea as it would apply to the American workforce, including which industries and job fields might be more conducive to a shortened week.
Guest:
Alec Levenson, senior research scientist with the Center for Effective Organizations at the Marshall School of Business at USC; he tweets
D.C. latest: What Michael Flynn’s sentence tells us about the Mueller probe, and why the government shutdown is looking less likely
Former national security adviser Michael Flynn is at the federal courthouse in Washington, awaiting his sentence for lying to the FBI about contacts with the Russian ambassador to the United States.
He'll be the first White House official punished in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia.
Prosecutors are not seeking any prison time for Flynn, citing extensive cooperation that has included 19 meetings with investigators.
Meanwhile, the White House on Tuesday appeared to inch away from forcing a partial government shutdown over funding for a southern border wall, with Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders saying there are "other ways" to secure the $5 billion in funding that President Donald Trump wants.
It was the first sign of a potential White House counter offer as the clock ticks down toward Friday's deadline to fund the government.
"At the end of the day, we don't want to shut down the government," Sanders said on Fox News. "We want to shut down the border from illegal immigration."
Trump's $5 billion is far more than the $1.3 billion Democrats have offered, which is not for Trump's promised wall along the southern border with Mexico, but fencing and other security measures.
With files from the Associated Press
Guests:
Darren Samuelsohn, senior White House reporter for POLITICO who was at the courthouse in Washington D.C. for Flynn’s sentencing; he tweets
Laurie Levenson, professor of law at Loyola Law School and former federal prosecutor
Gabby Orr, White House reporter for POLITICO; she tweets
New CA bill to limit gun ownership to those convicted of alcohol-related misdemeanors
California currently bans people who have been convicted of certain violent crimes from owning guns for at least 10 years.
And a new state bill wants to add alcohol-related crimes to the list.
State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) introduced a bill that week that seeks to do precisely that. Under SB 55, anyone who has committed alcohol-related crimes, including DUI manslaughter, from gun possession for 10 years.
We hear the pros and the cons.
Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson was unavailable to join us for an interview but provided this statement:
“The research demonstrates that people with certain alcohol-related convictions are at increased risk of committing a violent or firearm-related crime. With over 3,000 Californians killed by firearms each year, we should do everything we can to ensure those at risk of harming themselves or others do not have access to these deadly weapons.”
Guests:
Craig J. DeLuz, director of legislative & public affairs at the Sacramento-based gun rights organization, Firearms Policy Coalition
Amanda Wilcox, legislative advocate of the California Chapters of the Brady Campaign To Prevent Gun Violence
The case for just ‘q,’ the history of ‘LGBTQ’ and the preferred nomenclatures of LA’s gay community
Depending on when you grew up, you might remember when it was just “LGBT” -- before subsequent additions “LGBTQIA,” and finally the attempt at an all-encompassing “LGBTQ plus.”
In his new essay in The Atlantic, Jonathan Rauch makes the case for dropping what he describes as the “alphabet soup” of “LGBT” and going with one, clean, all-encompassing letter: q.
The history behind the terminology for the gay (for lack of a better word) community has many twists and terms. “Homosexual,” which may have sounded clinical and insulting, was replaced by “gay” and then there was the introduction of the gendered addition, “lesbian.” Plus, there are the pejorative terms, buried by history or by choice, and then there are terms that have been reclaimed, like “queer.”
If you identify as LGBTQ plus, what’s your preferred terminology? How do you feel about the term “q” -- is it simple and inclusive, as argued by Jonathan Rauch? Or is it confusing? Do you feel that an umbrella term is needed to describe sexual minorities?
Call us at 866-893-5722.
Guest:
Jonathan Rauch, contributing editor at The Atlantic, where his recent article is “It’s Time to Drop the ‘LGBT’ From ‘LGBTQ’;” he is also a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution; he tweets