AirTalk analyzes the Republican response to the Washington Post’s interview with a woman who said Alabama senate candidate Roy Moore initiated a sexual encounter when she was 14 and he was 32. We also check in on California standardized testing after last year’s scores flatlined; review this weekend's movie releases on FilmWeek; and more.
The Roy Moore allegations and the GOP response
Four women have said Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore pursued sexual relationships with them when they were teenagers, according to a story in the Washington Post.
Moore has denied all of the allegations.
The scandal has split lawmakers. Some are calling for Moore to withdraw from the race (though his name will remain on the ballot, no matter what), whether the allegations are true or not. Others have come to his defense. The big question is how the base in Alabama will react to this news about Moore, who has campaigned on evangelical Christian values.
Moore is on the ballot in the special election to fill the Alabama senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions, when he became Attorney General. In the September primary election, Moore beat Lester Strange, who was appointed to the seat in February and embraced by establishment Republicans, with an especially strong backing from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. President Trump also favored Strange, though many voters saw Moore as the more “Trumpian” candidate. For the run-off, Moore’s Democratic opponent is Doug Jones.
Before the Washington Post’s story was published, Jones was trailing Moore by 6 points (some context to consider: Donald Trump won Alabama by 28 points.)
Election Day is Dec. 12.
Guest:
John Hammontree, managing producer of Reckon Alabama, the investigative and in-depth reporting unit at AL.com, the news site that covers the state of Alabama; he tweets
The Senate drops its version of the tax bill. How it’ll complicate negotiations
On Thursday, one week after House GOP released their draft of the tax proposal, Senate Republicans unveiled their version of the tax-cut plan.
The Senate version preserves seven individual tax brackets, which the House version cut down to four. The Senate bill also delays the corporate tax-rate break by one year and gets rid of state and local tax income as well as property deductions, which will have significant implications for California.
What are the differences between the tax bills? What would each version mean for Californians? And how do these bills move forward?
Guest:
Eric Wasson, congressional reporter at Bloomberg News; he’s been following this story; he tweets
In honor of Veterans Day, what’s behind the military/civilian cultural divide?
Veterans Day arrives Saturday, and for many people, it’s a day to honor friends and family who’ve served in the military.
But tomorrow may not strike a chord for those who aren’t connected to veterans. According to Pew Research Center, 2015 marked the lowest number of active-duty members since 2001, and less than 1 percent of the population serves in the military.
The lack of understanding between the military and civilians has become more apparent in recent years. In national news headlines, there was the controversy over President Trump’s allegedly botched condolence phone call to Sgt. La David Johnson’s wife. Johnson was one of three American soldiers who were killed in Niger last month.
The phone call led to a speech by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, whose son recently died serving in Afghanistan made a speech in St. Louis and addressed the disconnect between civilians and people in the military. The Washington Post reported that Kelly discusses his son to shed light on the burden of military families.
Do you feel the civilian/military gap? If so, what would help you better understand the other side?
Guests:
Libby Denkmann, KPCC veterans and military reporter
Morten G. Ender, sociology professor the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in New York where his focus includes armed forces and society
Amidst flatlining scores, we check in on standardized testing in CA
California implemented new standardized tests in 2015, so it was expected that scores would dip before rising once students acclimated to the new format.
But three years later, scores in English and math have plateaued.
Testing expert Gregory Cizek, who advised the company that created the new exams, told the Los Angeles Times that scores haven’t improved because the necessary classroom changes haven’t occurred. According to Cizek, a fundamental shift in teaching methods is needed.
So what makes these exams different? What kind of teaching shifts do they require? And what do you or your kids think about the new standardized tests?
Guest:
Kyle Stokes, KPCC’s K-12 education reporter; he tweets
FilmWeek: ‘Daddy’s Home 2,’ ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ and more
Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Christy Lemire, Wade Major and Andy Klein review this weekend’s new movie releases.
"Murder on the Orient Express" in wide release
"Daddy's Home 2" in wide release
"Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" at ArcLight Hollywood & The Landmark
"Bill Nye: Science Guy" at Nuart Theatre
"Intent to Destroy: Death, Denial & Depiction" at Laemmle's Playhouse & Pacific Glendale
"Destination Unknown" at Laemmle's Music Hall
"Mayhem" at Laemmle's Monica Film Center
"Heart Blackened" at CGV Cinemas
"A Bride for Rip van Winkle" at Laemmle's Royal
"Félicité" at Laemmle's Royal
Critics' Hits
Christy: "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jit3YhGx5pU
Andy: "Bill Nye: Science Guy" & "Intent to Destroy: Death, Denial & Depiction"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQC2xqUXQb4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vc73GLfy3MA
Wade: "Murder on the Orient Express"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z68frP9Q7XA
Mixed Feelings
Andy: "Destination Unknown"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7GWcN2tHSQ
Wade: "A Bride for Rip van Winkle"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ya6Rn2OKxc
Misses
Christy: "Mayhem"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhTDq2t6UpM
Wade: "Daddy's Home 2"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyW_EX7iRW0
Guests:
Christy Lemire, film critic for KPCC, RogerEbert.com and co-host of YouTube’s “What the Flick?”; she tweets
Wade Major, film critic for KPCC and CineGods.com
Andy Klein, KPCC film critic
As Louis CK confirms allegations, Hollywood rushes its damage control
News broke Thursday with more sexual misconduct allegations in the entertainment industry, this time against comedian Louis C.K.
As the New York Times reported, C.K. had allegedly masturbated or asked to masturbate in front of five different women. Before the article emerged, C.K.'s representatives announced that his film premiere for “I Love You, Daddy” this week would be cancelled, causing the press to hypothesize that the move was done in anticipation of the Times' story. After the article broke, the film's distributor pulled out and said it would no longer release the film as planned.
Today, Louis C.K. released a statement in response to the allegations:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DOSnGoTX4AEPdDz.jpg
The entertainment industry’s response to C.K.’s allegations are following the path that pushed Kevin Spacey off his lucrative career course. First with the halt of the landmark Netflix series, “House of Cards,” then completely cutting Spacey out of the Ridley Scott Film, “All the Money in the World,” which is still scheduled to release in late December. Spacey was accused last month of sexually harassing actor Anthony Rapp when Rapp was age 14.
But these allegations, along with others, which have come to light in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, are being described as “open secrets” in the industry. Now that abrupt backlash against sexual misconduct is becoming a pattern, how is Hollywood managing its damage control? If you're a C.K. fan, how will this affect your perspective of his comedy and past career?
Guests:
Scaachi Koul, culture writer for BuzzFeed News; she has been following the story
Christy Lemire, film critic for KPCC, RogerEbert.com and co-host of YouTube’s “What the Flick?”;she tweets
Wade Major, film critic for KPCC and CineGods.com
Andy Klein, KPCC film critic