AirTalk discusses what changes we can anticipate from Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court. We also debate Proposition 2; examine Los Angeles’ role in the future of human space travel; and more.
Post-confirmation, we look at Kavanaugh’s judicial philosophy and where it sits within the SCOTUS conservative bloc
The moment conservatives have dreamed about for decades has arrived with Brett Kavanaugh joining the Supreme Court.
But with it comes the shadow of a bitter confirmation fight that is likely to hang over the court as it takes on divisive issues, especially those dealing with politics and women’s rights.
With Kavanaugh taking the place of the more moderate Anthony Kennedy, conservatives should have a working majority of five justices to restrict abortion rights, limit the use of race in college admissions and rein in federal regulators. The newly constituted court also might broaden gun rights, further relax campaign finance laws and halt the expansion of the rights of LGBT people, who three years ago won the right to marry nationwide with Kennedy in the majority.
Kavanaugh’s arrival on the court after the most tumultuous confirmation battle since Clarence Thomas faced allegations of sexual harassment by Anita Hill in 1991 hardens the alignment of party and ideology: five conservatives appointed by Republican presidents and four liberals by Democrats. That was true with Kennedy on the bench, but he voted with the liberals in cases that preserved abortion rights and affirmative action, expanded LGBT rights and limited capital punishment.
So what is Kavanaugh’s judicial philosophy and how does it compare with that of the other Justices? Where will he sit within SCOTUS’ conservative voting bloc? And what changes can we anticipate from Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court.
With files from the Associated Press.
Guests:
Eugene Volokh, professor of law at UCLA; he tweets
Kimberly West-Faulcon, law professor at Loyola Law School, her focus includes constitutional law; she tweets
Barry McDonald, professor of law at Pepperdine University, his focus includes constitutional law and First Amendment law
AirTalk debates 2018 ballot initiatives: Proposition 2 -- use millionaire’s tax revenue for homelessness prevention housing bonds
In 2004, California voters approved Proposition 63, the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA). This legislation sets up a one percent income tax on anyone who makes more than $1 million a year, with the revenue from the tax going towards funding mental health services across the state.
On this year’s ballot, voters will have a chance to cast their vote on Proposition 2, which would amend the MHSA to allow the state to use of the millionaire tax revenue (instead of the wider revenue stream that affects all taxpayers) on $2 billion in revenue bonds for housing for people in need of mental health services.
Normally, revenue bonds don’t require voter approval. However, because Prop 2 would spend money collected under a ballot measure that’s already on the books, voters must cast a ‘yea’ or ‘nay’ vote.
Prop 2 supporters, which include the California Police Chiefs Association and the non-profit Mental Health American of California, say a ‘yes’ vote would mean that 20,000 permanent supportive housing units would be constructed under the “No Place Like Home” program, providing not only housing stability but also coordinated mental health services and medical care for the vulnerable population of Californians experiencing homelessness complicated by mental illness but are unable or unwilling to seek treatment.
The Contra Costa County affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness is the only official opposition to Prop 2. They say their members are “mostly family members with ‘skin in the game’” and that while they support funding for housing, this proposition would just give money to developers and spend billions earmarked by Prop 63 for treatment of the severely mentally ill. They feel the money would be better spend on direct treatment of severe mental illness.
Today on AirTalk, we’ll debate the pros and cons of Proposition 2.
Ready for Election Day? Get up to speed on what you need to know with our Voter Game Plan at elections.laist.com. Read up on the candidates and ballot measures, find out about registration deadlines or ask us your questions.
Guests:
Darrell Steinberg, mayor of Sacramento and founder of the Steinberg Institute, a Sacramento-based nonprofit organization seeking to increase awareness on issues of brain health and which sponsored California’s No Place Like Home program, which Prop 2 seeks to put in motion; he tweets
Douglas Dunn, chair of the legislative committee for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) -- Contra Costa County affiliate, which officially opposes Prop 2 and wrote the official argument against it in the state voter guide
Rocket scientist, astronaut weigh in on Los Angeles’ role in the future of human space travel
Space is the final frontier, and for years, NASA was at the forefront of human spaceflight.
From the Apollo program to the Skylab space station and eventually the Space Shuttle program and International Space Station, NASA set milestones for humanity, like putting the first manned spacecraft in orbit of a celestial body (the Moon) in 1968. But after years of the U.S. government leading the way in sending people into space, the future of human spaceflight seems decidedly private. Companies like SpaceX, Virgin Galactic and Amazon’s Blue Origin are already deep into the process of exploring the next steps -- terraforming the Moon and sending humans to Mars and beyond, and whether you know it or not, Los Angeles is positioned to figure directly into the future of human spaceflight.
A city that was once an aerospace hub during the 20th century, Los Angeles saw the industry slowly disappear after the Space Race ended and the Cold War thawed out quickly. But in recent years, the industry has started to resurface, perhaps most notably with Elon Musk’s company SpaceX based out of Hawthorne near LAX in the old Northrop Grumman factory. Head about 90 miles north of L.A. and you’ll find the Mojave Air and Space Port, an FAA-certified spaceport and is also home to Richard Branson’s Virgin. And that’s not to mention the many firms that are popping up across Southern California but don’t have quite the name recognition or financial backing of others.
With NASA celebrating its 60th anniversary last week, and the highly-anticipated film “First Man” about Neil Armstrong’s famous 1969 moonwalk coming to theatres this Friday, Larry Mantle with an astronaut and rocket scientist about the future and challenges of space exploration and human spaceflight, and the major role that Los Angeles figures to play in it all.
Guests:
Anita Sengupta, senior vice president of systems engineering at Virgin Hyperloop One, the L.A.-based tech company that built the first operational Hyperloop in Las Vegas, and an adjunct research associate professor of astronautics at USC; she tweets
Garrett Reisman, former NASA astronaut and former director of space operations for SpaceX, where he is still a consultant, and professor of astronautics practice at USC ; he tweets
How to move past the climate of ultra partisan bitterness after Kavanaugh’s confirmation
We’ve just come through one of the most divisive periods in American politics in the last several decades.
Unlike most previous disagreements, say over war, this one was super-concentrated into just a few weeks and it centered on the confirmation process for Brett Kavanaugh as Supreme Court justice.
The sexual assault allegations against the now-justice made what was already a highly partisan process into something even more emotionally fraught. Layered on top of disagreements over judge Kavanaugh’s ideological views and judicial record were public disagreements over whether he should be rejected over the allegation. Or over allegations of heavy drinking in his youth and how he characterized it. Or over how he expressed his anger in defending himself against the allegations.
We’d like to know how you’re now dealing with the intense emotions of the process. Are you limiting political comments on social media? Avoiding the topic in conversation with family or friends? Are you in a zone where everyone around you sees the process just as you do? Is that more or less stressful? Call us at 866-893-5722.
AirTalk Midterm Elections Interviews: CA 39th Congressional district candidate Gil Cisneros
Longtime Orange County congressman Ed Royce is not seeking re-election, leaving the 39th District an open race between Republican Young Kim and Democrat Gil Cisneros.
If elected, Young Kim would be the first Korean American woman to be elected to Congress. She formerly served in the California State Assembly as a representative of the 65th Assembly District. You can read about her platform here.
Gil Cisneros is a veteran of the Navy, a former Frito-Lay shipping manager and an active philanthropist in the Latino community. You can read about his platform here.
Today, we sit down with Democratic candidate Gil Cisneros to learn about why he’s running and what he hopes to accomplish if he wins.
We reached out to Republican candidate Young Kim. She declined our request for an interview.
Ready for Election Day? Get up to speed on what you need to know with our Voter Game Plan at elections.laist.com. Read up on the candidates and ballot measures, find out about registration deadlines or ask us your questions.
Guest:
Gil Cisneros, democratic candidate running for the U.S. House of Representatives to represent California’s 39th Congressional district, which includes Fullerton, La Habra, La Habra Heights, Brea, Buena Park, Anaheim Hills, Placentia, Yorba Linda, Diamond Bar, Chino Hills, Hacienda Heights and Rowland Heights
Sorry, Fido’s just not that smart: New study compares intelligence of dogs to other animals
To the potential dismay of Team Dog, a new study has found that dogs are really no smarter than other animals.
The authors of the study compare the cognition of dogs to animals like wolves, cats, chimpanzees, dolphins, horses and pigeons -- animals from groups that are categorized under “carnivores”, “social hunters” or “domestic animals”. And what researchers found is that dogs do not display superior intelligence compared with animals in these other groups.
Stephen Lea, one of the authors of the study, joins Larry to discuss the findings.
Guest:
Stephen Lea, emeritus professor of psychology at University of Exeter in Britain; co-author of the study, “In what sense are dogs special? Canine cognition in comparative context,” recently published in the journal, “Learning & Behavior”