Governor Brown’s “tough medicine” budget proposal. The "penis mom" controversy. FilmWeek: KPCC film critics Claudia Puig and Henry Sheehan join Larry to review the week’s new film releases, including Beneath the Darkness, Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow, 8 Murders a Day and It’s About You. TGI-FilmWeek! Attack of the sequels!
Governor Brown’s “tough medicine” budget proposal
California Governor Jerry Brown on Thursday once again rattled the saber of severe budget cuts in light of the state’s substantial revenue shortfall. The measures were announced in a hastily-called press conference after the details of his proposed budget were mistakenly released days before their intended premiere.
Brown’s 2012 state budget includes deep cuts to schools and social programs as the administration looks to trim fat from already lean state agencies. California’s public schools are facing $4.8 billion in cuts if voters reject tax increases the governor is trying to add to the ballot in November. Other social programs are facing significant cuts as well, with close to $1-billion in reductions to welfare, $842 million for Medi-Cal, $446-million in subsidized child care and additional cuts to education. Brown is at odds with his fellow Democrats when it comes to the timing of the cuts – party leaders have so far rejected the governor’s calls to enact the cuts by March, instead preferring to wait and see what spring tax revenues will look like.
Weigh in:
Should the budget cuts go into effect immediately? Does Jerry Brown’s budget represent the proper road out of the budget crisis?
Guests:
John Myers, Sacramento bureau chief for KQED's California Report
H.D. Palmer, Deputy Director of External Affairs, California Department of Finance
Dr. John Deasy, Superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD)
Robert Turnage, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Budget, California State University
Vanessa Aramayo, Director, California Partnership (A non-profit organization that advocates for policies and program that provide services, including healthcare, for the poor.)
Sen. Darrell Steinberg, Democrat representing CA's 6th District; State Senate President pro Tem
Don Wagner, (R) California Assemblyman, representing 70th district, including Irvine, Aliso Viejo, Laguna Beach and Newport Beach
The “penis mom” controversy
Karen Mangiacotti never wanted to be known as the “penis mom.” It all started back in November when her 13-year old son’s teacher sent an email to parents about a physics project the school was organizing.
The project, which involved kids launching pumpkins with a trebuchet, sounded very cool. But the email asked if there were any “strong dads” who’d be willing to help. Presumably, there’d be some heavy lifting involved, and the school thought men might be better suited for the task.
That’s what set Mangiacotti off. After giving it some thought, she fired back an email to the principal, teachers and parents that said, “Are you guys seriously only asking for Dads? Is lifting done with a penis?” Many of the recipients of that missive were horrified, and thus began the firestorm of controversy.
The principal responded with her own note, reminding Mangiacotti that school emails must be “all Disney all the time” and ended with “For the record I’m not a fan of lifting things though, and I don’t really like the mud.” Amusing response, perhaps. But Mangiacotti thought it further enforced the gender-biased point of view that prompted her rant. She resented the implication that all homes have dads and the message it sent to daughters that because of their gender, they were unwelcome to participate in physical tasks.
WEIGH IN:
Ok, so, did Mangiacotti overreact? Or was she right to rock the gender discrimination boat? Have we or haven’t we come a long way baby? Are schools doing enough to promote gender equality?
Guest:
Karen Mangiacotti, Writer, Comedian, Mom
FilmWeek: Beneath the Darkness, The Devil Inside, Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow, 8 Murders a Day and It’s About You
FilmWeek: KPCC film critics Claudia Puig and Henry Sheehan join Larry to review the week’s new film releases, including Beneath the Darkness, The Devil Inside, Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow, 8 Murders a Day and It’s About You. TGI-FilmWeek!
Guests:
Claudia Puig, film critic for KPCC and USA Today
Henry Sheehan, film critic for KPCC and henrysheehan.com
Attack of the sequels!
In 1916, early film director D.W. Griffith created a cinematic precedent by making a follow up to his wildly successful film, Birth of a Nation. Fall of a Nation became the first movie sequel of all time, setting the stage for countless films that would ride the coattails of a previous production.
Some sequels actually improved upon their predecessors – think Godfather II, The Empire Strikes Back, Aliens and the Toy Story movies – while others became cash cow “franchises” that allowed studios to reap titanic box office returns with films of dubious artistic merit. Moviegoers in 2011 were offered more sequels than any other year in history as the top ten grossing films of the year were all part of a movie franchise, although nearly all of them fared worse at the box office than its precursor. 2012 is shaping up to be its own sequel to 2011 at the Cineplex, with at least ten major sequels set for release.
WEIGH IN:
Is Hollywood short on ideas or is the temptation to sell familiar premises too great? What films represent the best and worst that a sequel has to offer? Does one good film deserve another… and another?
Guests:
Claudia Puig, film critic for KPCC and USA Today
Henry Sheehan, film critic for KPCC and henrysheehan.com