Amidst the Trump press conference yesterday, you may have missed Tillerson’s confirmation hearing – we do a recap; we debate Buzzfeed’s decision to publish the unverified Trump-Russia dossier; a new study shows that police feel their jobs have gotten tougher; and more.
After Trump presser, recapping what we missed from Tillerson confirmation hearing
As the Senate Foreign Relations Committee grilled Secretary of State nominee and former Exxon-Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson yesterday on Capitol Hill, much of the political world’s attention turned northward to New York City, where President-elect Donald Trump’s first press conference since being elected was chock full of highlights to unpack.
But amid the din kicked up by viral moments like Mr. Trump’s refusal to answer a question from CNN’s Jim Acosta and calling Buzzfeed News a “failing pile of garbage,” what was a times a very contentious confirmation hearing took a backseat to the spectacle in New York.
Tillerson faced a battery in questions ranging in topic from Russia to his time as CEO of Exxon-Mobil to defeating ISIS and more. He also distanced himself from the President-elect on some issues, taking a more moderate tone when discussing things climate change and Mr. Trump’s past proposal that Muslims be banned from entering the U.S. Florida Senator Marco Rubio went after Tillerson particularly hard after he backed away from using the term “war criminal” to describe Vladimir Putin. Rubio has since said he’s not coming out in support or opposition of Tillerson yet.
What were the major takeaways from yesterday’s confirmation hearing for Rex Tillerson? Has your opinion of him as possible secretary of state changed after hearing him be questioned?
Guests:
Burgess Everett, POLITICO congressional reporter; he was in Tillerson’s hearing Wednesday
Liam Denning, energy columnist for Bloomberg Gadfly
Debating BuzzFeed’s decision to publish the Trump-Russia dossier
BuzzFeed's decision to publish an unverified dossier purporting to detail Russia's compromising material on Donald Trump has fired up a vigorous debate about 21st Century journalism.
Jane Kirtley, a media ethicist with the University of Minnesota, defends the move saying "These days when the public is expecting to have access to the source material on which journalists rely, it's harder to justify not publishing the documents." Kirtley thinks BuzzFeed put the dossier in the appropriate context, plus that the intelligence community had presented the material to Trump made it a legitimately newsworthy document. While Kirtley's opinion is not an outlier on this controversy, media ethicist Kelly McBride, of the Poynter Institute, believes BuzzFeed's decision has dire consequences.
Writing in The New York Times, McBride argues, "By publishing an unverified report alleging the Russians have compromising information on President-elect Donald J. Trump, BuzzFeed made it less likely that truth will be journalists' only goal and less likely that when the truth surfaces, the public will believe it." She adds the fact that average citizens don't have the tools to sort through the dossier's allegations.
Why do you either support or oppose BuzzFeed's choice?
Guests:
Jane Kirtley, professor of media ethics and law at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota
Judy Muller, an Emmy and Peabody Award-winning television correspondent and a professor of journalism at USC
How the Chargers will fit in to LA’s already crowded nation of NFL fans
After more than two decades without NFL football, Angelenos now officially have two hometown teams.
In
A letter from Dean Spanos pic.twitter.com/rTNIvrsN1A
— Los Angeles Chargers (@Chargers) January 12, 2017
to fans, Chargers owner Dean Spanos announced that the team is moving from San Diego to Los Angeles, just one year after the now-Los Angeles Rams relocated to the Southland. The team will begin play in Los Angeles in 2017, and already what appeared to be a
was posted to the team's Twitter feed early morning West Coast time on Thursday. It appears, however, that this logo will only be used for marketing purposes.
The
told me this is NOT their new logo- you won't see it on helmets or uniforms... it was for marketing purposes today.
— Liz Habib (@LizHabib)
The @Chargers told me this is NOT their new logo- you won't see it on helmets or uniforms... it was for marketing purposes today. pic.twitter.com/xZaucUmYgT
— Liz Habib (@LizHabib) January 12, 2017
Already, forlorn Chargers fans in San Diego have started to pay their respects to their now former team, gathering outside the Chargers team offices to drop off their gear in memoriam. The team's departure leaves San Diego with just one professional team, the Padres, in the big four U.S. sports.
Former fans are dropping off their gear at
HQ's in
in protest of team's move to
— KPBS News (@KPBSnews)
Former fans are dropping off their gear at #Chargers HQ's in #SD in protest of team's move to #LA https://t.co/M41xEcqGSD #ChargersToLA pic.twitter.com/LVuKAj2Ows
— KPBS News (@KPBSnews) January 12, 2017
More Chargers fans very, very upset outside of Chargers Park.
— Ashley Brewer (@abc7ashley)More Chargers fans very, very upset outside of Chargers Park. @ABC7 pic.twitter.com/AdrvqZcERH
— Ashley Brewer (@ESPNAshley) January 12, 2017
The Chargers will play the StubHub Center in Carson until the new stadium in Inglewood is completed. While it’s a much smaller venue that can only seat about 30,000 (the average NFL stadium has capacity for 60,000-90,000), it could play well for the team if the Chargers decide to play off of the “big market team with a small market feel and intimate venue” narrative. There is also the question of whether football fans who decided to support the Rams last year will continue to do so after their subpar season and with two teams between whom to choose. While the Chargers boast fan strongholds in parts of Orange and South L.A. County, the Rams and even the Raiders may still be the more beloved and entrenched teams among fans. Some, like L.A. Times columnist Bill Plaschke, argue for that reason it should have been the Raiders and not the Chargers to come to L.A.
How would the Chargers be received in L.A.? How do they fit in with the already crowded base of NFL fans in Los Angeles? Will L.A. transplants who brought their allegiances from their home states be interested in becoming Charger fans? Will Rams fans want to become Charger fans after the Rams had a lackluster first season?
Guest:
Jason Cole, NFL writer for the Bleacher Report
CA Congressman Darrell Issa introduces bill to reform the H1B visa
With the topic of U.S. jobs filled by foreign workers fanning the heat of the presidential campaign, there's a new House bill that would restrict a controversial visa program for highly skilled overseas employees.
The H-1B program is widely used by the technology industry and many large U.S. companies to annually bring in tens of thousands of foreigners, many from South Asia. But the program has its detractors.
U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, a Republican representing parts of Orange County and San Diego County, is proposing to change certain exemptions that allow companies to hire more foreign workers when qualified U.S. candidates are not available.
“First and foremost, this bill is about protecting American jobs," Issa said in a statement.
Read the full story here.
Guests:
Michael Hayes, Government Affairs Manager for the Consumer Technology Association, an advocacy organization for the consumer tech industry
Ron Hira, an associate professor of public policy at Howard University, whose recent book, “Outsourcing America” (AMACOM, 2005), examines the economic and policy implications of the offshoring of high-skilled jobs
Vish Mishra, a venture capitalist and member of the Silicon Valley-based nonprofit organization, The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), which supports professionals and entrepreneurs with South Asian roots
Are police jobs getting tougher?
A new study by Pew Research Center has cast light on how police view their jobs.
And while policing has always been considered a tough career, officers are considering their positions to be even harder than before.
This comes in a post Ferguson era, when officer involved shootings of black citizens have brought more scrutiny to police. According to the study, officers said their jobs are riskier and they have more tension with people of color. Participants also said they’re more reluctant to to do their duties as officers.
To explain the details of the survey is it’s lead author, Kim Parker of the Pew Research Center. If you’re in law enforcement, do you feel like your job has gotten tougher? How has this affected the way you police? If you’re a civilian, how do you think this affects you?
Guest:
Kim Parker, director of social trends research at Pew Research Center and lead author on the Pew study, “Behind the Badge”