Trump’s tape instigated a wave of GOP defections – what this means for down ballot races; amidst a divisive political season, how to settle (or set aside) political arguments with loved ones; Samsung was found guilty of infringing on Apple’s intellectual property – now the SCOTUS will decide how much Samsung has to pay; and should schools teach students in their native language? We look at the pros and cons of Prop 58.
The state of the Republican Party (meltdown) and its impact on down ballot races
Despite the RNC’s commitment to stay loyal to Donald Trump — even after his most recent scandal involving recordings of him discussing groping women without invitation — the Republican Party's division over Trump is getting deeper.
Yesterday, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) told his Congressional colleagues that he won't campaign for Trump.
Ryan said all his energy will go into trying to keep the GOP majority in the House.
Many in the Party are deeply worried that Trump's "Access Hollywood" recording, and possible outtakes from "The Apprentice", could doom his candidacy and badly hurt GOP Congressional prospects. The latest polls show Trump's national support dropping below 40-percent. What could that mean for Republicans and Democrats battling for Congressional seats? How likely is a major power shift in the Senate and the House?
Guests:
Lisa Mascaro, LA Times reporter covering Congress and the 2016 election; she tweets
Nathan Gonzales, editor and publisher of The Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report and elections editor for Roll Call; he tweets
Mending 2016’s political rifts between loved ones
Politics and religion have long been conversation red flags.
But this election year, the former may be unavoidable, especially after this past weekend’s revelations. And discussions around Trump and Clinton are filled with a plenty of ammunition to create friction between loved ones.
Trump has his “locker room talk” and Clinton has her email debacles. And let’s not forget third-party candidate and Bernie supporters.
Maybe you’ve had a fight with a parent, child, sibling or cousin over a candidate, or you just want to try and understand their point of view, or be understood. With an outpouring of negativity in the final weeks of the presidential campaign, how do you have a civil conversation with family members who’ve chosen the enemy?
Larry speaks to professor of social work, Geoffrey Greif, on ways to mend the rift with family members despite political differences.
Guest:
Geoffrey L. Greif, Ph.D., Professor of Social Work, University of Maryland; Co-author, “Adult Sibling Relationships” (Columbia University Press; Dec. 2015)
Apple v. Samsung: SCOTUS to hear mother of all tech patent case
The country’s high court hears arguably the biggest tech patent case in modern history today, involving two of the biggest names in consumer technology.
The “Samsung Electronics Co. v. Apple” case stems from a long-running lawsuit between the two tech giants in which Apple sued Samsung for copying the design of the iPhone. That case had already been decided, and Samsung was found guilty for infringing on Apple’s intellectual property.
What the Supreme Court is going to determine is the monetary punishment of such a violation -- how much should Samsung pay for plagiarizing the design of a tech product. If the Supreme Court sides with Apple, then it gets to keep the $400 million it has collected on the judgement.
The case deals with a very specific piece of intellectual property law that applies to the design -- the artistic rendition and conception -- of a tech product, and has far-reaching ramifications for the tech world.
Guests:
Shara Tibken, CNET reporter who’s been following the story
Mark S Davies, lawyer with Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe who wrote an amicus brief on behalf of a group of industrial design professionals and educators in support of Apple
Mark A Lemley, Stanford law professor who wrote an amicus brief on behalf of a group of intellectual property professors in support of Samsung
Prop 58 sparks the debate over English-only learning in schools
The battle over whether English-only immersion in schools has reignited with Prop 58, which would allow schools to teach students in their native language as they are acclimated to English.
Supporters of Prop. 58 say that bilingual education gives students a chance to learn in the best way that meets their individual needs. Another argument for the measure has focused on how mastering two languages is in demand in the job market and could help boost the economy. There are currently more than 1 million English learners that would be affected by the measure, most of which are Spanish speaking, though the number of Vietnamese and Tagalog speaking students is growing.
Prop. 58 would repeal Prop. 227, the ballot measure passed in 1998 which put existing bilingual education limits into play. Prop 227’s original champion, Silicon Valley entrepreneur Ron Unz, has argued that students who don’t learn English properly will have trouble in their transition to English-only classes.
What do you think of bilingual education in classrooms? Do you have personal experiences learning in an English-only environment? If so, do you think you would have benefited from a bilingual education?
Guests:
Ricardo Lara, State Senator representing California’s 33rd district, which covers the Los Angeles County’s Southeast cities including Bell, Lynwood, South Gate and most of Long Beach; he authored Prop 58
Ron Unz, Chairman of English for the Children, the organization that originally sponsored Prop. 227, which requires Limited English Proficient, or LEP, students to be taught nearly all in English; the measure was approved in 1998
Do you have your voter game plan? Use our Voter's Edge election guide to find your personalized ballot.
Privacy & surveillance concerns over voice-recognition devices, Google Home & Amazon Echo
Recently, when Google announced its own version of Amazon's voice-recognition digital home assistant, the company did not spend a moment addressing any privacy safeguards nor concerns.
As Wall Street Journal tech reporter Geoffrey Fowler tweeted: "So just to review, Google says it wants to install microphones all over your house. And didn't talk about privacy."
In addition to Google's Home device (with the assisting software named "Assistant") and Amazon's Echo (with software named "Alexa"), Apple is trying to broaden Siri's capabilities and Sony is developing its Xperia Agent, each with the initial aim of controlling a smart-home universe including music stereos, lighting, temperature, sprinklers, even security. The hands-free devices work by being programmed to recognize the voices of their owners. One privacy safeguard with the Echo is that the device is engineered to light up when it's listening, plus users can delete voice command history. Americans have been buying the Echo so quickly that market researchers call it a sleeper hit, with an estimated 3 million sold in the last two years.
The products are not just hands-free remote controls, their artificial intelligence personas tell jokes and learn from their interactions with users.
On AirTalk, we'll discuss and debate whether the technologies are worth any privacy trade-offs, or whether Americans should be wary of inviting the potential of Big Brother in their homes.
Guests:
Aleecia McDonald, Non-resident fellow, Center for Internet and Society, Stanford Law School
Douglas Rushkoff, writer, documentarian, and lecturer whose work focuses on human autonomy in a digital age; His latest book is titled “Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus: How Growth Became the Enemy of Prosperity”