Democrats are outraged over an open letter sent yesterday by 47 Senate Republicans to the government of Iran. Also,despite bad press, a UCLA study shows that incoming college students’ interest in joining a fraternity or sorority is the highest it’s been in 15 years. Then, are helicopters an effective tool for the police to be deploying in Los Angeles?
Bombastic debate sparked by GOP Senators' letter to Iran
Democrats are outraged over an open letter sent yesterday by 47 Senate Republicans to the government of Iran.
The letter warns that Congress would have to ratify any nuclear treaty, and that a mere agreement with President Obama could be tossed aside by his successor. Vice President Joe Biden released a statement in reaction: "In thirty-six years in the United States Senate, I cannot recall another instance in which senators wrote directly to advise another country - much less a longtime foreign adversary - that the president does not have the constitutional authority to reach a meaningful understanding with them."
The Republican letter was written by freshman Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas. He defended the action this morning on MSNBC saying, "We're making sure that Iran's leaders understand that if Congress doesn't approve a deal, Congress won't accept a deal."
Did the 47 Senate Republicans go too far in expressing their opposition to a nuclear deal with Iran, or was this a principled stand against a potentially dangerous deal? How risky is the letter diplomatically? Is the letter in violation of the presidency's constitutional authority?
Guests:
Michael Warren, Staff Writer, The Weekly Standard
Jim Walsh, expert in international security and a Research Associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Security Studies Program
Impact of racist fraternity video on the image of the Greek movement
Despite the bad press fraternities have been getting, a new study from UCLA shows that incoming college students’ interest in joining a fraternity or sorority is the highest it’s been in 15 years.
The study surveyed 100,000 incoming college students on their attitudes on a variety of topics. On the subject of whether they’ll join a Greek organization, over 15 percent of women respondents answered in the affirmative, and over 11 percent of men said the same thing.
Incidents of binge drinking, hazing and the exhibition of questionable behavior have cast a negative spotlight on the fraternity movement. The latest example: A recently-surfaced short video showing members of Sigma Alpha Epsilon at the University of Oklahoma chanting to a racist song.
Does episode like this hurt the image of the Greek system in the long run?
Guests:
Katelyn Griffith, Print Editor at The Oklahoma Daily, campus newspaper for the University of Oklahoma, which first published the video
Mark Koepsell, Executive Director of Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors, which represents the campus personnel working at fraternal organizations. He’s also Executive Director of Association of Fraternal Leadership & Values, which works with student members at fraternities and sororities across North America
Fast-tracking the Trans-Pacific Partnership: Good or bad for business?
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was signed more than twenty years ago. As for how successful it’s been? Well, that depends on who you ask.
Fast forward to 2015, where Republican leadership in Congress and the White House are hoping to use the same procedure that was used to pass NAFTA to pass the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP. The rule, called “fast-track” would allow the deal to be forced through without any amendments or real debate. If the Obama Administration were to receive fast-track authority, Congress could be given a finished deal which would have to be voted on, yes or no, within 90 days and without debate or amendments.
The TPP would be the largest trade deal in history, involving about 40 percent of the world’s economy and countries stretching from Japan to Chile. Opponents of the agreement say it would drive up unemployment numbers and lock in a rigid set of economic rules that could last forever, and that fast-tracking the deal would put it into law before anyone has a chance to understand it. Supporters say the deal would be a vast improvement to American trade, because it addresses certain issues that weren’t covered by NAFTA.
Do you think the TPP should be fast-tracked? What are the pros and cons of doing so? What would the TPP’s impact on the U.S. and global economy be if it were passed?
Guests:
Derek Scissors, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington D.C., where he studies trade as well as Asian economic issues and trends.
Peter Navarro, professor of business at the University of California, Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business. He’s also the director of the Netflix documentary, Death By China.
Criminologists debate LAPD’s predictive policing by helicopter surveillance
Helicopters are playing a bigger role in the LAPD’s predictive policing efforts and not everyone is happy about it.
Supporters of the policy say the department’s 17 helicopters offer a powerful expansion of the Broken Windows theory, a deterrent when they fly over hotspots identified through data-driven crime fighting. The data backs them up.
But critics say that statistical drop in crime is temporary and not worth the concern the practice raises over police militarization and the nuisance it creates for neighbors.
Are helicopters an effective tool for the police to be deploying in Los Angeles? Or should these resources be used differently?
Guests:
Craig Uchida, president of Justice & Security Strategies, a consulting firm that works with law enforcement agencies (including LAPD) to analyze data and provide crime prevention strategies.
Andrew Ferguson, associate professor of law at the University of the District of Columbia whose research focuses on criminal law, criminal procedure, and evidence
Hillary Clinton breaks email silence, press and public react
Hillary Clinton just held a press conference to address the controversy surrounding her use of a personal email account during her time as the Secretary of State.
Following growing calls from both Republicans and Democrats, Clinton has come under pressure to address the matter. She said “I opted for convenience to use my personal email account, which was allowed by the State Department...at the time, it didn’t seem like an issue.” In addition, Clinton stated that she provided all of her emails that were work-related, and that the over 50,000 pages of submitted emails came through a vigorous vetting process that excluded those relating to her daughter’s wedding and her mother’s funeral arrangements. During the question and answer session following her prepared comments, she responded to a reporter’s question about the security of her personal email account by saying, “I did not send classified material over email.”
Will Clinton’s response put the debate over her emails to rest? Is this a debate about more than the documentation of public records? Could this controversy or others that come from it affect her chances in 2016?
Guests:
Emily Schultheis, political correspondent for National Journal. She joins us from the UN
Tarini Parti, political reporter for POLITICO