State Democrats passed a bill that would change recall election rules, angering Republican lawmakers and many political observers in the state - we dive into the implications. We also discuss the latest on the GOP's replacement of Obamacare; new prototypes for a border wall with Mexico; the use of video games in combat training; and more.
Big takeaways from the Senate’s ACA replacement, the Better Care Reconciliation Act
After weeks of speculation about what Senate Republicans might be putting into their version of an Affordable Care Act replacement bill, the public is finally getting a look at the nitty-gritty of the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA).
The 142 page bill was unveiled Thursday on Capitol Hill and does not stray terribly far from the House’s version that passed last month, a bill that President Trump called “mean.” It’s still a major overhaul of the system, eliminating the individual mandate that required most people to buy insurance or face a penalty, slashes federal funding for Medicaid expansion, and keeps the ACA requirement that insurance companies accept people with pre-existing conditions. It also offers more in terms of federal subsidies for individual insurance buyers than the House version did. You can read more about those differences here.
The question now becomes whether or not Senate Republican will be able to pass the bill successfully. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wants a vote next week, but there are still questions about the support of several Republican Senators, and they can only afford to have two Republican ‘no’ votes if they want the bill to pass
What else is in this bill that the average American should be aware of? Just how drastically does it differ from the House version? What will be the politics of getting the bill passed?
Read the full text of the BCRA here.
Guest host Libby Denkmann in for Larry Mantle
Guests:
Adriel Bettelheim, health care editor at POLITICO; he tweets
Lisa Mascaro, L.A. Times congressional reporter; she tweets
What if the Mexican border wall was made of tech, plus checking in on the prototypes and legal pushback
The Department of Homeland Security schedule calls for the construction of border wall prototypes to be completed by July 22, and Congress has already allocated $20 million to the endeavor.
Those prototypes must be 30 feet tall, unclimbable and must prevent digging for at least 6 feet under the wall. But what if tech is a smarter solution than concrete?
That’s the thrust of a recent New York Times article “On the Mexican Border, a Case for Technology Over Concrete,” which lays out an array of technology – from sensors to helicopters to drones – that could create a virtual wall. One aspect of this solution is that it would accommodate for the geographic regions that aren’t suited for a physical wall. Additionally, if there’s a specific area that needs focus, such as a drug trafficking trail, resources can be shifted flexibly to that location.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration is facing potential legal pushback in California, with two key pieces of legislation introduced that aim to divest from the wall: SB 30 which would prohibit the state from doing business with a person or company that works on the wall and AB 946, which would make California drop pension investments in border-involved companies.
What’s the case for a figurative wall of technology rather than 30 feet of concrete, and is it a realistic option? What’s the current state of the legal challenges to the border wall? What do we know about the prototypes thus far?
Guest host Libby Denkmann in for Larry Mantle
Guests:
Ron Nixon, homeland security correspondent for the New York Times; his latest article is “On the Mexican Border, a Case for Technology Over Concrete;” he tweets
Phillip Molnar, business reporter for the San Diego Tribune; he tweets
War and tech: Could video games change the face of combat?
It’s no secret that video games have long been used to recruit and train the military.
With first-person shooter games, soldiers have endless access to new information to train them on the latest fighting techniques. And gaming companies benefit too. With veterans’ help in development, games are becoming more realistic. But the relationship between gaming and the military has one more step to take--actual combat. Will Roper is the director of the Defense Department’s Strategic Capabilities Office. His job is to think outside the box in terms of what comes next in U.S. military capabilities.
As reported by Wired, Roper is looking into gaming technology’s use in the future of war. And hypothetically, this could mean tasking gaming developers with ways to give soldiers technological advantages in combat. For example, making a headset with the ability to show what’s behind you, where your fellow soldiers are and new information from your commander, just like in a first-person shooter game. And what about the role of gaming companies? What ethical considerations would they have to take?
Guest host Libby Denkmann in for Larry Mantle
Guests:
Nicholas Thompson, editor-in-chief of WIRED Magazine; he wrote the WIRED article, “The Pentagon looks to videogames for the future of war”; he tweets @nxthompson
Corey Mead, associate professor of English at Baruch College CUNY and author of the book “War Play: Video Games and the Future of Armed Conflict”
How changes to recall elections that benefit Democrats were passed with last week’s CA budget
A bill that changes California’s recall election rules were passed last week along with the state budget, to the anger of Republican lawmakers and many political observers in the state.
The maneuver was used by the state’s Democratic lawmakers to essentially bail out a freshman Senator in danger of being recalled. The lawmaker in question, Senator Josh Newman (D-Fullerton) has been a target of a recall effort because of Gov. Jerry Brown’s $52-billion transportation package.
Newman was one of many Democrats who voted in support of the so-called gas tax, but he has been singled out for a recall because of his narrow upset victory in the November election.
Critics say that the real intention of the recall is to strip Democrats of its supermajority in the legislature.
AirTalk invited Senator Newman as well as Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de Leon to participate in our conversation, but both declined our requests for comment.
Guest host Libby Denkmann in for Larry Mantle
Guests:
Katy Murphy, Sacramento-based reporter for the Mercury News and East Bay Times who covers state government; she was at the vote for the recall election rule change last week; she tweets
Carl DeMaio, a former San Diego city councilman and current radio talk show host who’s leading the effort to recall Senator Josh Newman
AirTalk asks: what experiences shaped your view of law enforcement?
Last week, Minnesota police officer Jeronimo Yanez was acquitted of all charges in the fatal shooting of black motorist Philando Castile.
Castile’s girlfriend had Facebook livestreamed the immediate events after the shooting in 2016. But on Tuesday, dashboard cam video was released showing the events leading up to the shooting, as well as footage from a squad car that shows Castile’s girlfriend Diamond Reynolds and her four-year-old daughter during the aftermath.
In light of this footage, we want to hear from you about your reactions, as well as what experiences have shaped your view of law enforcement. Did you have a positive or negative view of police officers growing up and why? What experiences shaped your perspective, and has it changed over the years?
Guest host Libby Denkmann in for Larry Mantle
Guest:
Jody Armour, professor of Law at the University of Southern California