There is a lot of chatter about how the Republican Party can recapture the White House in 2016. Is one solution to marginalize the tea party? Then, we continue our water series by looking at the Bay Area conservation plan. Next, in the case of a tragic accident or terminal illness how soon should someone be able to choose to end their life? Then, is our society too reliant on machines? What impact does this have on our performances? Lastly, we talk with author Daniel Stern about life as a swinger.
Reconceiving the GOP without the Tea Party
A lot of ink has been spilled on how the Republican Party can take back the hearts and minds of Americans and recapture the White House in 2016. Some say that the party has to be able to win the Latino vote, others say it leads to appeal to younger voters.
David Frum, former speechwriter for George W. Bush and well-known political observer, forwards another option. He wants to see Tea Party members purged from the Republican Party so it can become more centrist.
What would the Republican Party look like without the Tea Party? Is it even possible? Would marginalizing the Tea Party lead to further fragmentation within the Republican Party?
Guests:
Ron Elving, NPR News’ Senior Washington Editor
Sean Sullivan, Political Reporter, Washington Post; today’s piece “How the tea party lost on Tuesday night”
Sal Russo, Co-founder and Chief Strategist, Tea Party Express
A Thirsty Land: Water Wars in Southern California, Part 2: The Bay Area Conservation Plan
In a state in which water is truly a precious resource, millions of Californians rely on the water of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.
“The Delta, where the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers join just south of Sacramento, provides nearly one-fifth of California’s water supply,” wrote deputy secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency Jerry Meral in a recent Sacramento Bee op-ed. “It is more than 40 percent of the water supply for Silicon Valley, 100 percent for the industries of northern Contra Costa County, 25 to 80 percent of the water for much of the agricultural heartland of the San Joaquin Valley, and one-third of the water for urban Southern California.”
The reliability and security of such a vital resource are crucial to the continued prosperity of the most populous state in the union, though both environmental concerns and vulnerability to an act of nature have made the Delta a concern for everyone from lawmakers to businessmen to average folks.
Governor Jerry Brown’s Bay Delta Conservation Plan is the state’s proposal to stabilize water deliveries while simultaneously solving ecological and environment issues in the Delta. The main feature of the plan is two massive tunnels that would channel water under the Delta with a price tag in the tens of billions of dollars. Proponents say it will solve problems and increase reliability.
Opponents argue that instead of enabling Californians to waste a precious resource, why not promote better conservation methods instead? Which side do you fall on? Should we increase the flow or decrease the need?
Guests:
Jerry Meral, deputy secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency
Bruce Reznik, Executive Director, Planning & Conservation League (PCL)
Paralyzed man’s end-of-life decision raises ethical questions (poll)
Over the weekend, an Indianapolis man fell 16 feet from a tree while he was out deer hunting. Tim Bowers had suffered a spinal injury that paralyzed him from the shoulders down and doctors said he would likely never breathe on his own again. His family requested that he be taken out of sedation and asked whether he wanted to live on after hearing his diagnosis.
When the doctors did so, Bowers shook his head no, indicating that he wanted his breathing tube removed. His doctors complied and Bowers died some hours later. Often, families face the difficult decision of whether to keep a family member on life support or pull the plug.
In this case, it was the patient who made that decision. Medical ethicists say it’s quite rare for a patient to decide to end life support so soon after an injury, but that patients who suffer from physically rather than mentally debilitating illnesses are especially granted autonomy when it comes to making end-of-life decisions.
Was Bowers in a place to make such a crucial decision? Should the doctors have let more time pass before allowing Bowers to make his decision? What role does the family play in the case of a loved one wanting to end their life support?
KPCC's online polls are not scientific surveys of local or national opinion. Rather, they are designed as a way for our audience members to engage with each other and share their views. Let us know what you think on our Facebook page, facebook.com/kpcc, or in the comments below.
Guests:
Gregory Stock, founding director of the UCLA program on Medicine, Technology and Society and the author of the book, “The Book of Questions” (Workman, 2013), which has just been re-released.
Alex Capron, Professor of Law and Medicine at USC and he specializes in bioethics
The curse of automation
Technology is supposed to be an enabling force, the thing that makes us freer, more organized, less stressed out. But it is also making us forget about how to do a lot of things we used to know how to do by heart. When was the last time you consulted a map, for example?
Or be able to recall a phone number at the drop of a dime? While this so-called "great forgetting," which technology Nicolas Carr wrote about in this month's Atlantic Magazine, doesn't seem to have dire consequences in our personal lives, the same can't be said when it comes to the workplace.
Carr wrote in the piece about the crash of a Continental flight in 2009 that could have been avoided easily if not for the fact that the pilot had relied so much on automation that he had simply forgotten what to do when the plane was suddenly taken off autopilot. Automation is meant to relieve the tedium of certain tasks, allowing us to focus on the more challenging aspects of work.
But are we over-relying on automation, to the point where our performance and expertise suffers for it?
Guest:
Nicholas Carr, a technology writer who wrote about “The Great Forgetting” in this month’s Atlantic Magazine. He is also the author of several books including “The Shallows: How the Internet Is Changing the Way We Think, Read and Remember” (Atlantic, 2011) and the forthcoming “The Glass Cage: Automation and Us” (2014)
'Swingland' offers an inside look at the life of a swinger
In his latest book, "Swingland," author Daniel Stern gives readers an insight into the lifestyle of swingers, pushing back the curtain of one of the most secretive communities.
Stern reveals his own journey into the lifestyle, and exposes the truth amidst all the rumors about it. For those who are interested in being a part of it, he gives tips on safety, and how to meet potential couples or partners.
With millions of readers becoming interested in erotic fiction like, “Fifty Shades of Grey,” Stern offers a real life version of excitement into the world of erotica. Stern touches upon wild sex parties, and explains why being selfish will only hinder the experience.
He also makes it clear that this lifestyle isn’t for everyone, and uses the book to shed misconceptions about the often misrepresented subculture.
Guest:
Daniel Stern, Screenwriter, and author of, “Swingland: Between the Sheets of the Secretive Sometimes Messy, but Always Adventurous Swinging Lifestyle.”