LA election results. Busting gun traffickers – does it make more sense to go after the small buyers or the top players? Is it necessary to hold hearings on the radicalization of American Muslims? NPR CEO Vivian Schiller steps down after sting video controversy.
Los Angeles election results are in
Los Angeles voters – approximately 12% of them – decided yesterday the fate of several city elections and ballot measures. Incumbents held onto their seats across the board, including the passionately fought campaign between Councilman Bernard Parks and former DWP Commissioner Forescee Hogan-Rowles. Parks eked out a victory over Hogan-Rowles with more than 50% of the vote, thereby avoiding a runoff election. Retiring member Greig Smith’s seat was the lone council race without an incumbent, and it went to Smith’s chief of staff, Mitch Englander. Nine of the ten ballot measures were approved. But Measure O, which would have added a new tax on oil producers, was narrowly rejected. What policy changes will be the result of this election? What impact will this have on the future of LA’s economic well-being?
Guest:
Bob Stern, President, Center for Governmental Studies
Busting gun traffickers – does it make more sense to go after the small buyers or the top players?
Anyone who’s ever watched “The Wire” knows that when it comes to taking down drug cartels, it sometimes pays to let the small-time dealers go, in order to bust the top players. But what if we’re talking about gun dealers and the crime is playing out on our streets, not our televisions? CBS News reports that the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) led an operation that allowed weapons to cross into Mexico, in hopes that they could then be traced to the higher echelons of gun purchasers. The strategy, known as Operation Fast and Furious, has now come under fire because ATF reportedly lost track of hundreds of guns, many of which have been linked to crimes, including the fatal shooting of a Border Patrol agent in December. John Dodson, an agent with ATF, has been speaking out against this policy. In an interview with the Center for Public Integrity Dodson said, “With the number of guns we let walk, we’ll never know how many people were killed, raped, robbed. There is nothing we can do to round up those guns. They are gone.” But Michael Bouchard, a former ATF agent who implemented a similar strategy nationally in 2004, says agents are facing increasingly sophisticated trafficking organizations, and busting the little guys – who are always quickly replaced – doesn’t make a dent in the problem. Does it sometimes make sense to let guns walk? What are the pros and cons of this strategy? How should authorities crack down on major gun trafficking operations?
Guests:
Bob Creighton, Retired Special Agent in Charge of Florida, Caribbean and New York Field Divisions for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
Michael Bouchard is a security consultant in Washington D.C. and a former Assistant Director for Field Operations for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
Is it necessary to hold hearings on the radicalization of American Muslims?
The House Homeland Security Committee begins hearings Thursday to assess the terrorist threat from American Muslims. Peter King, chairman of the committee, says affiliates of al-Qaida are radicalizing some American Muslims and he plans to hold hearings on the threat they pose to the U.S. Yet as demonstrations against the hearings in New York and Virginia last weekend suggest, there are serious concerns that the proceedings will do more damage than good by sending the wrong message to Muslims in America. In response to King’s concerns, Muslim groups say their community has helped overturn terrorist plots by providing crucial tips in a significant number of cases. Speaking at a mosque, Deputy National Security Adviser Denis McDonough said “we will not stigmatize or demonize entire communities because of the actions of a few…” McDonough added that the motivation for the hearings is to assess how the government can better work with the Muslim community to stop the spread of radical Islam. Minnesota Democrat, Congressman Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to the House, pointed out that while it's proper to investigate radicalization, he thinks it is wrong to single out a religious minority. Is it possible to conduct a meaningful discussion about a real security threat without alienating an entire community? Or will these hearing only serve to further stigmatize Muslim Americans?
Guests:
Alejandro Beutel, Government & Policy Analyst for the Muslim Public Affairs Council
John Eastman, Law Professor and Former Dean of Chapman Law School
NPR chief resigns amid new controversy
A hidden-camera video of an NPR executive calling the tea party racist and saying the network would be better off without federal money has led to that executive's immediate resignation. National Public Radio said in a statement that it was “appalled'' by the comments from Ron Schiller, the president of NPR's fundraising arm and a senior vice president for development. The video was posted Tuesday by James O'Keefe, the same activist whose undercover videos have targeted other groups opposed by conservatives, like the community organizing group ACORN and Planned Parenthood. Schiller had planned to resign from his position before the video was shot and was expected to depart in May. In a statement Tuesday night, however, he said his resignation would be effective immediately.
Guest:
Karen Everhart, Senior Editor of Current Newspaper, she covers the public radio beat