Shooting in Kandahar. We’re saving daylight, people…but why? Players, politics and preview of SCOTUS battle over health care. LAUSD to crack down on sexual abuse. Neuroscientist turned guitarist learns new licks late in life.
Deadly shooting in Kandahar by U.S. soldier
In the early hours of Sunday an American soldier left his base in the southern province of Kandahar, walked into several houses, and apparently shot and killed 16 people, mostly women and children. After returning to the base the U.S. soldier, who has not yet been named, turned himself in to military authorities.
No explanation for the incident has been given but some reports suggest the soldier suffered a nervous breakdown or might have been drunk. US officials are saying that he acted alone. The incident will undoubtedly put more strain on relations between Afghans and foreign forces already troubled by last month’s inadvertent burning of Korans by the US military personnel in Afghanistan. An investigation into Sunday's shooting rampage is underway.
Does this event demonstrate a need for change in U.S. policy toward Afghanistan? Will this incident undermine efforts to establish stability in Afghanistan and how can the U.S. restore Afghanis’ faith in its military?
Guest:
Qasim Tarin, Interim Chapter President, Afghan-American Chamber of Commerce Northern California Chapter; Chairman, Afghan Business Network
We’re saving daylight, people…but why?
Today is the second day of Daylight Savings Time (DST), a process in which we all turn our clocks forward an hour and wake up with less time than we had yesterday. DST in the United States goes back more than a century when Benjamin Franklin advocated early to bed and early to rise as a way of saving candle wax.
Later, in 1918, the U.S created a federal law giving an official start and end date to DST and in WW II the government made it mandatory for the entire country. In the 1970s DST was extended to save oil during the Arab oil embargo.
At all of those times the point of DST was to conserve resources, whether it’s coal, candles or oil, but now a global economy have made experts question whether there’s still a point to DST. Studies have even shown that more energy is consumed during DST, especially in areas of the country that use a lot of air conditioning.
So, has Daylight Savings Time outlived its usefulness? Is it time to do away with it altogether or does it still have some merit in today’s world?
Guest:
David Prerau, Author of "Seize the Daylight: The Curious and Contentious Story of Daylight Savings Time"
Players, politics and preview of SCOTUS battle over health care
We are two weeks away from one of the most significant Supreme Court hearings in American history. Arguments will center on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act – and whether or not individuals can be forced to carry health insurance as mandated.
The courtroom won't be the only action scene. Activists will take to the streets of Washington as hearings get underway. As “The New York Times” reported, officials in the Obama administration corralled activist groups last week to help organize and coordinate news conferences, rallies, even a prayer vigil. Opponents to the mandate will stage their own demonstrations. On March 27, the second day of the hearing, they plan to rally on the grounds of Capitol Hill.
Stakeholders and the chattering classes have also been busy debating the law for months. The legal and political wrangling over the Act has inspired mock trials, blog fights and numerous amicus briefs. One prominent Supreme Court scholar, Orin Kerr of George Washington University, also offered his prediction for the case: "Putting the numbers together, I expect 6 votes for the mandate, 1 against, and 2 uncertain. If my numbers are right, the mandate will be upheld by a vote of anywhere from 6-3 to 8-1.”
Is it really an uphill battle for the plaintiffs in this challenge? Who are the most influential players inside and outside the court? How will the arguments, the decision, and the time in-between factor into the 2012 political campaigns? Who stands to gain and lose the most politically when this case comes to the fore?
Guests:
David Savage, covers the Supreme Court for the Los Angeles Times
David Nather, health care editor, Politico
LAUSD proposals aim to protect students from sexual abuse in schools
In the wake of the Miramonte Elementary School scandal, LAUSD board members unveiled two resolutions today aimed at protecting children from sexual predators in schools.
The first proposal, authored by board member Tamar Galatzan, would change the state’s Education Code to streamline employee dismissals.
"LAUSD fires teachers, but after that is really when this whole process kicks in, with appeals that take two to seven years and cost millions of dollars to force the district just to settle," she explained. "Changes to state law would streamline this process, would make it less costly while still giving employees the right to appeal."
Galatzan wants districts to be able to stop paying terminated employees during the administrative appeals process, which can last up to a year and to take away pension and health benefits for employees convicted of sex abuse. Pensions would go back into the districts to pay for legal costs, and the surplus would go to charity.
"We’re talking about people who have breached the most important trust that we can give them — who have abused our children — and they’re profiting off of it,” she said.
According to Galatzan, the education code currently addresses immoral conduct, not unprofessional conduct. She hopes that with the additional category, teachers who behave inappropriately but do not get criminally charged can be fired.
"The district has employees that we’re basically just permanently housing because we don’t feel comfortable ever returning this person to a classroom or a school, but we don’t have enough to fire them because of the very limited rules in the state education code about what you need to fire someone," she said.
The second resolution is authored by Nury Martinez, and is focused on improving the ability of districts to identify, remove and prosecute employees who sexually or physically abuse children. In an attempt to control the spread of rumors and misinformation, this resolution calls for a uniform procedure for informing students and teachers about any misconduct cases that occur at the school.
President of United Teachers Los Angeles Warren Fletcher said he's concerned that LAUSD have their sights on finding solutions for the wrong issues.
"As teachers, we understand that the safety of students has to come first. But LAUSD has over the years done a very poor job of actually discharging those duties," he said.
According to Fletcher, the Miramonte scandal is an example of LAUSD's failure to prevent potential future problems. He said despite former teacher Mark Berndt's arrest, only one principal was supervising Miramonte, the second largest elementary school in the district.
"No matter how good that principal was, he would have had to be in track shoes to be able to effectively monitor the school. Monitoring instruction and making sure that children are safe isn’t just about procedures and maximizing the number of firings. It’s about getting it right in advance so students are protected in advance," Fletcher said.
The resolutions are likely to be approved at a board meeting in April. Galatzan said she anticipates support from other board members.
Will these measures make kids safer? Do they go far enough? Might there be unintended consequences whereby good teachers could be negatively affected? As a parent, what do you want the district to do about this situation? As a teacher, how do these proposals look to you?
Guests:
Tamar Galatzan, LAUSD Board Member, District 3
Warren Fletcher, President, United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA)
Neuroscientist turned guitarist learns new licks late in life
Can you teach an old dog new tricks? Most adults who are already steeped in their lives and careers might argue that it’s unlikely. Perhaps people feel set in their ways, or that they can’t pick up on ideas and skills as easily and quickly as they did in their younger years.
But for those optimists who dream of developing a new talent or trying for a new job, New York University professor and author Gary Marcus has some good news.
In “GUITAR ZERO: The New Musician and the Science of Learning,” 38-year-old Marcus attempts to learn the guitar. Part memoir and part scientific knowledge, Marcus discovers that the brain goes through the same processes whether you’re a child or nearing 40.
In fact, Marcus, who never played the guitar, enrolled in a music camp where he was the only adult student and was pleasantly surprised to find that he was not put to shame by the younger musicians. Not only that, he eventually went on to become a performing musician.
What research did Marcus compile while documenting his efforts? Is it possible for everyone to have the same success that he does? If people can do new things, then why don’t they? How does the brain accommodate such new information?
Guest:
Gary Marcus , author of “GUITAR ZERO: The New Musician and the Science of Learning,” Professor of Psychology at New York University, director of the NYU Center for Child Language, editor of “The Norton Psychology Reader”