Debating what we now know - the long-awaited text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership has been released; Democrats push the CDC to resume gun studies blocked by Congress in the '90s; & the AP investigates Gov. Brown's use of state workers to research oil on his family ranch.
Parsing the ginormous Trans-Pacific Partnership pact deal
The long-awaited text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership has been released.
The proposed trade deal would join the US with 11 other Pacific Rim countries, which collectively represent 40-percent of world GDP. It's been a priority for President Obama, but is being criticized by many of his own party, including Hillary Clinton.
Supporters say it'll help level the playing field between all sizes of US companies and their counterparts abroad. They also say it'll increase worker and environmental protections in the member countries.
But critics claim the TPP primarily benefits multinational corporations at the expense of working class Americans and the deal will lead to job losses in this country, as well as open up the floodgate for unsafe products to enter the US.
Guests:
Caroline Freund, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. One of her specialities is global trade policy
Peter Navarro, a professor of economics and public policy at UC Irvine. He is the author of the new book, “Crouching Tiger: What China’s Militarism Means for the World” (Prometheus Books, 2015)
Gun rights, control advocates debate bill urging CDC to collect data on gun violence
Silicon Valley Congressman Mike Honda has a new bill directing the CDC to resume gun studies that were blocked by Congress back in the '90s.
Republicans claim CDC gun studies morphed into advocacy work for gun control. After the Sandy Hook mass shootings three years ago, President Obama ordered the Centers for Disease Control to resume research into gun violence. Congress blocked funding for that research 20 years ago. Republicans claimed that the CDC's methodology for its studies was so biased it amounted to gun control advocacy.
There still isn't funding for such studies, despite the President's executive order that they resume.
That's not deterring Democratic Congressman Mike Honda from Silicon Valley. He introduced a bill today that would direct the CDC to research and quantify gun violence. It would also encourage doctors to ask their patients if they have guns and to talk with them about gun safety.
The bill's prospects are bleak, with a GOP House majority. Nonetheless, we'll debate whether it would be good policy or not.
Guests:
Laura Cutilletta, senior staff attorney, Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence based in San Francisco
Dr.Timothy Wheeler (MD), Director of Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership, a Project of the Second Amendment Foundation; he testified before Congress in 1996 against the CDC’s collection of gun violence data
City vs. country: What the urban-rural divide means for America
The divide between urbanites and country-dwellers is growing.
It’s not just about agriculture or gun control. Our surroundings influence our ideologies heavily, but what is the price for this opposition and how did it all begin?
In his recent op-ed piece for the Los Angeles Times, “How the widening urban-rural divide threatens America," Victor Davis Hanson dissects the urban-rural divide. As someone who spends half his time on his farm and half as a fellow at Stanford University, Hanson has an affinity for both worlds. Today, he speaks with Larry Mantle on how the divide happened, and how this opposition is affecting our country.
Guest:
Victor Davis Hanson, contributing editor of City Journal and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University; Read his piece: "How the widening urban-rural divide threatens America"
AP investigation: Gov. Brown had state workers research oil on ranch
(AP) Gov. Jerry Brown last year directed state oil and gas regulators to research, map and report back on any mining and oil drilling potential and history at the Brown family's private land in Northern California.
After a phone call from the governor and follow-up requests from his aides, senior staffers in the state's oil and gas regulatory agency over at least two days produced a 51-page historical report and geological assessment, plus a personalized satellite-imaged geological and oil and gas drilling map for the area around Brown's family ranchland near the town of Williams.
Guest:
Ellen Knickmeyer, AP reporter who wrote the piece Gov. Brown had state workers research oil on ranch
Jessica Levinson, professor at Loyola Law School and president of the L.A. Ethics Commission
Debating new weed tax scholarship created in a Colorado county
In Pueblo County, Colorado - described as being bullish on burgeoning marijuana ventures - voters approved a new weed tax on Tuesday that will create a marijuana-funded college scholarship.
New taxes are usually opposed by industry, but Pueblo's booming pot players didn't oppose the measure, which brings their tax rate from 15 percent to 20 percent, phased in over five years.
Is this measure anything like a traditional "sin tax" on tobacco or alcohol? Or is it reminiscent of tobacco sponsorship of community events that was effectively banned by the Food and Drug Administration?
Guests:
Sal Pace, a Commissioner of Pueblo County, Colorado; Pace authored the “weed scholarship” taxation policy passed by voters on Tuesday
Rachel Barry, Policy Researcher, Policy Researcher, UCSF’s Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education; Commissioner, (Regulatory & Tax Structure Working Group), Blue Ribbon Commission on Marijuana Policy (created by Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom)
New book on comedy zooms in on the funny people behind the jokes
Comedy has been a significant part of American pop culture for years.
Now, readers can finally enjoy a comprehensive history of the art form.
Kliph Nesteroff’s newest book, “The Comedians: Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels and the History of American Comedy,” explains the history and the trials and tribulations of standup comics.
The former stand-up comic turned professional writer takes readers on a journey throughout the last century of comedy to experience the art form from past to present.
In addition to the history of comedy, Nesteroff has included more than 200 original interviews from many household names, like Steve Martin, to numerous unforgotten comic geniuses.
Guest:
Kliph Nesteroff, author of “The Comedians: Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels and the History of American Comedy” (Grove Press, 2015). He is a former standup comedian