Violence continues during Libya protests. The Republican budget takes aim at CPB and EPA. Teachers – are you happy with your union? Grading the institutions that teach teachers. Tensions increase in Libya. Howard Thurston versus Harry Houdini - who is history's greatest magician?
Violence continues during Libya protests
In the capital city of Tripoli crowds of protesters are surging as snipers open fire and supporters of leader Moammar Gadhafi are reportedly running them over in vehicles. Reports are also coming in that suggest as many as 200 deaths in the last 24 hours. There are also reports that the justice minister just resigned to protest the ``excessive use of force against unarmed protesters.'' Meanwhile Gadhafi’s son Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, went on state TV and declared that civil war was a real possibility and that security forces would fight “to the last bullet.” He managed to blame everyone from drug addicts to the press for the unrest. Libya is a member of OPEC and fears that chaos there would affect oil production were reflected this morning with oil prices rising sharply. What exactly are the protesters demanding? Is civil war next? Will unrest in Libya have a real effect on our wallets?
Guest:
Reed Brody, Counsel and Spokesperson for Human Rights Watch in Brussels
Budget cuts approved by the House
Early Saturday morning the House approved more than $60 billion in spending cuts that would hit every area of government, setting up a showdown with Senate Democrats and the White House. Emboldened by last year’s elections, Republicans are aggressively cutting government spending and taking on public unions. From cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to efforts to keep the Environmental Protection Agency from enforcing greenhouse gas emissions. Are Republicans looking in right places to cut? How can we fix the current budget situation?
Guest:
Alice Rivlin, Senior Fellow, the Brookings Institution
Tad Dehaven, budget analyst, The Cato Institute
Teachers – are you happy with your union?
United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) is the second largest teachers union in the country. At the top – until he’s termed out this summer – is UTLA’s President A.J. Duffy. The union is in the midst of a district-wide election, which will determine who will fill the 50 most elevated positions of leadership. A big shakeup of union direction and policy is unlikely. But some critics argue it’s long overdue. Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa has called the union “one unwavering roadblock to reform.” And now a movement of dissident L.A. teachers tired of the status quo have banded together under the name NewTLA. Their members say that too often, UTLA is “off-topic, off-task, and out of touch.” NewTLA’s goal is to move UTLA into a progressive era by getting more teachers involved and by being open to tackling controversial reforms like elimination of seniority-based layoffs. Today, Larry talks with Jordan Henry, co-founder of NewTLA and invites teachers to call in and talk about what they want from their union. Are you a teacher who is frustrated with your union? Do you think UTLA helps or hinders education progress? What reforms would you like to see?
Call AirTalk @ 10:30am today: 866-893-5722. Or share your comments below.
Guests:
Jordan Henry, member of NewTLA; English teacher at Santee Education Complex
Melisa Lauer, member of NewTLA; kindergarten teacher at Westminster Avenue Elementary School
Grading the institutions that teach teachers
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan wants teacher-training programs to be held accountable – too many, he says, are mediocre. Kate Walsh, the president of the National Council on Teacher Quality, has complained that the level of teachers coming out of these programs is deeply dissatisfying. Enter U.S. News & World Report. They’ve undertaken the assignment of grading more than 1,000 teachers’ colleges throughout the country, including Columbia, Harvard and Northwestern, using a rating system familiar to those in academia. Exceptional colleges will get an A and poorer performing schools will receive an F. The project, which is being underwritten by Carnegie Corporation and the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, is expected to cost $3.6 million and will be completed next year. Critics, including several prominent deans, have pushed back, arguing that the methodology being used to assess and rate their program's performance is flawed. The researchers dismiss the critiques as a "bit of a red herring" and stand by their methods. How should we assess the way teachers are taught? Is an objective and meaningful standard possible?
Guests:
Kate Walsh, president, National Council on Teacher Quality
Ada Beth Cutler, dean of the education college of Montclair State University
Mary Brabeck, dean on New York University’s school of education.
Brock Cohen, 11th grade Humanities teacher at Grant High School (a Title 1 School) in North Hollywood. He is a blogger for Huffington Post
Tensions increase in Libya as reports of violence leak out
The U.S. government is ordering non-essential staff to exit Libya due to increased violence spurned by the continuing unrest in the region. Despite the difficulty of getting information directly from Libya, Geneva-based Libyan News Network is reporting that phones are cut in Tripoli and that there is a “massacre” in Green Square in Tripoli’s city center. Al Jazeera is confirming that Libyans pilots landed two fighter jets in Malta after refusing to bomb protesters and that the Libyan Ambassador to the EU has resigned. Larry talks with a local Libyan who has direct contact with Libyan officials and protesters.
Guest:
Omar Turbi, Southern California CEO and Libya expert. Omar Turbi has held posts of Chairmanship of the Arab American Republican Club, a member of the board of Trustees with the World Affairs Council, a member of the National Advisory Committee with American-Arab Anti discrimination Committee (AADC), the largest American Arab grass roots organization in the USA. Mr. Turbi had the honor testifying before the United States Congress- Committee on Foreign Relations on U.S Libya Relations and 2001, he was nominated by several senior members of Congress to be an Adviser to the White House on Libyan affairs. He wrote the instructions for the UN Amnesty for Libya.
Howard Thurston vs. Harry Houdini - who is history's greatest magician?
Few remember now that at the dawn of the 20th century when magic was still mystery, and a sleight of hand could very well have been the work of the devil as much as a flick of a wrist, two magicians battled it out for the right to be called king. While Harry Houdini thrilled audiences with his death-defying escapes, Howard Thurston captivated the attention of a nation with his grandiose, spectacular shows. At a Howard Thurston show floating princesses, astonishing disappearing acts, illusion, humor, and fast-paced non-stop magic turned what could have been just another early century night into a world of calamity and color. In his new book "The Last Great Magician In The World," equal parts history and biography, Author Jim Steinmeyer uses the rivalry between two great magicians to explore an America caught between a past filled with intimate shows in small dusty towns and an inevitable future where explosive displays of showmanship would serve to light up the dark hearts of towering industrial cities.
Guest:
Jim Steinmeyer, author of The Last Great Magician in the World: Howard Thurston versus Houdini & the Battles of the American Wizards (Tarcher)