Don't Know Much About Public Policy; Microstamping - A New Gun Debate in the Legislature; The "Law and Order" Candidate?; Hollywood's Celebrity Gangster
Don't Know Much About Public Policy
California voters admit to knowing little or nothing about many of the policy issues they be making decisions about in next year's elections. A new survey by the Public Policy Institute of California finds that most California voters view bonds as a way to invest in the future without raising taxes, however many don't understand that bonds are debt that must be repaid with interest. The report also indicates that most California voters are complacent about legislative term limits, conflicted about the purpose of prison, can't identify the state's top spending and revenue sources, and are most concerned by rising gas prices and immigration. Larry and political analyst, Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, discuss the report's key findings.
Microstamping - A New Gun Debate in the Legislature
A bullet can't really have someone's name on it...or can it? It's now possible to manufacture guns that stamp an ID on every bullet casing, as it is fired. This would make it possible to link casings found at a crime scene to a specific gun and, via computer database, the gun's last known owner. Law enforcement favors the idea and Assemblyman Mike Feuer has written legislation that is now on its way to the State Senate. But opponents, including Assemblyman Anthony Adams, argue that the technology is too easy for criminals to defeat or they will use older guns that aren't equipped with microstamping. Larry talks to both legislators as well as Congressman Xavier Becerra about the pros and cons of this intriguing technology.
The "Law and Order" Candidate?
Fred Thompson has given up his role as D. A. Arthur Branch on the NBC TV series Law and Order. Does this mean Thompson is preparing for a run at the White House? Though Thompson, a former Senator from Tennessee, has yet to announce that he's seeking higher office, GOP officials say he'll make his first formal campaign move soon and is expected to establish an exploratory committee in the coming days. Larry discusses Thompson's possible bid for the Republican Presidential nomination with Janet Hook of the L.A. Times, Sherry Bebitch Jeffe of KNBC, and with former chairman of the California Republican party Shawn Steele.
Hollywood's Celebrity Gangster
Hollywood Gangster, Mickey Cohen, knew, and worked with, all the major underworld players, from Bugsy Siegel to Lucky Luciano to Meyer Lansky. He also crossed paths with Jack Ruby and was involved peripherally in the JFK assassination investigation through his close connection to Carlos Marcello. Larry talks with Bradley Lewis about his new biography of Cohen Hollywood's Celebrity Gangster: The Incredible Life and Times of Mickey Cohen (Enigma Books) that tells the story of one of the toughest gangsters America ever produced.