Progress in the Federal budget summit? AirTalk Exclusive – Hahn v Huey in CD36 debate. Pressure on Syrian regime intensifies. When you check in, do you like to check out?
Are budget talks for real or will brinksmanship win the day?
Today Republicans are heading to Capitol Hill to meet with President Barack Obama and try to come up with some solution to stalled negotiations over raising the country’s debt ceiling. The GOP insists that they’ll only sign off on raising the debt ceiling if Democrats agree to billions in cuts, while the Dems say they can’t agree to billions in cuts unless there are also some tax hikes in the form of closing tax loopholes. The two sides are getting a little closer, with the Republicans appearing to capitulate on closing tax loopholes. The sticking point? They want the money raised from ending certain tax breaks to be used to lower other taxes. Both sides are playing the blame game in the media, making it look like a deal is out of reach…but is that the case? Can Obama and Boehner come to an agreement that’s beneficial to both sides and keep the U.S from defaulting on its debts? Medicare, Social Security, defense spending…what’s on the table? And how will the negotiations affect the 2012 elections?
Guests:
John Avlon, Senior Political Columnist for The Daily Beast and author of Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America
Jeanne Cummings, Deputy Government Team Editor for Bloomberg News
Janice Hahn and Craig Huey square off in CD36 debate
To fill the congressional seat formerly held by Jane Harman in the 36th District, a crowded field of candidates was narrowed down to two by the election held on May 17. Under California’s new “jungle primaries” act, those two top vote-getters — Democrat Janice Hahn and Republican Craig Huey — are going mano-a-mano in a runoff election, to be held July 12.
The candidates clashed over tax cuts and government regulation in the AirTalk studio in what's expected to be their only debate before next week's election.
Huey accused Hahn of peddling "fantasy economics" while Hahn said her Republican rival would protect big business at the expense of middle-class workers.
The debate was marked by a few testy exchanges — Hahn said Huey is out of touch with the district, and Huey told Hahn at one point, "Just tell the truth."
Turnout at next week's election is expected to be light, and the campaigns have been struggling to get voters' attention.
Guests
Janice Hahn, Los Angeles City Councilwoman and Democratic candidate for 36th district congressional seat
Craig Huey, business consultant, political commentator and Republican candidate for 36th district congressional seat
Replay the live chat
Pressure on Syrian regime intensifies
Yesterday, Amnesty International charged that "crimes against humanity" are occurring in Syria. The detailed report focuses on the northern city of Talkalakh where it says the violence is "part of a widespread, as well as systematic, attack against the civilian population ... in an organized manner and pursuant to a state policy to commit such an attack." The protests and responding crackdown in Syria have been going for four months now. Sparked by the "Arab Spring" in neighboring countries, more than 1,400 Syrians have been killed in their efforts to force democratic reforms. President Bashar Al-Assad appears to have made some concessions to activists. Last week, he allowed a conference about transitioning to democracy to be held in Damascus. However, some opposition leaders are highly skeptical and angered by Assad's moves -- saying they can't negotiate with "tanks of the regime." What do we know about what's happening on the ground -- considering human rights observers and journalists are denied access? Should Assad be charged with war crimes? Is the regime capable of reform? What would be the consequences of the regime falling? Is status quo more likely?
Guests:
Borzou Daragahi, Middle East correspondent and Beirut bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times
Andrew Tabler, Fellow, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy & Author of the upcoming book In the Lion’s Den: An Eyewitness Account of Washington’s Battle with Syria
Samer Shehata, Assistant Professor of Arab Politics at the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University
When you check in, do you like to check out?
According to a survey by one credit card company, nearly 80 percent of travelers expect to remain “connected” all or some of the time during vacation. Of course, that means joined at the fingertip to our seemingly ubiquitous devices – iPhones, Blackberries, cell phones, laptops and screens. Now some hotels are offering “digital detox” packages which aim to reduce vacation stress by asking guests to trade in their electronic devices – leave them at home or in the hotel safe - for a discount on rates. Some travelers welcome the excuse to eliminate distractions and go unplugged. Others balk, saying it’s essential they stay in touch with friends, family and work via e-mail and social networking. And even those who’ve promised their families to put down the Blackberry while on vacation report sneaking away to log in. What about you – would you go cold turkey on your device – discount or not? Does vacation mean truly getting away from it all – technology included? Or does losing your connection to the world just make you more stressed out?