Congress has passed a deal to end the government shutdown and raise the debt ceiling. Since this is a temporary deal, what happens next? Then, a coalition of California mayors are pushing for a public pension measure. Is such a ballot legal? Next, how can an early warning system inform residents of an earthquake? Do such systems really work? Then, President Obama wants Congress to tackle issues such as the farm bill and immigration reform. Is this the right timing to push for new laws? Next, we'll talk with the director of the film, "God Loves Uganda," and we'll talk with author Kevin Smith about our biology determining our political party.
Budget and debt ceiling deal reached… for now
Congress has passed a deal to reopen the partially shut-down government and raise the debt ceiling until mid-January, ending a two week-long impasse in the Capitol. The deal, hammered out by Republican Senator Mitch McConnell and Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, was quickly passed yesterday by the chamber. Before the end of the night, House members had voted the bill in 285 to 144. President Obama signed it just after midnight Thursday.
Furloughed workers are beginning to return to work this morning. And national parks and various government agencies are reopening following the agreement. The deal is a major blow to tea party groups and the more conservative faction of the GOP, which wanted to leverage budget talks to defund Obamacare.
With a temporary deal in place, what happens next?
Guests:
Carrie Budoff Brown, Senior White House Reporter for POLITICO
Doyle McManus, Washington Columnist, covering national and international politics, Los Angeles Times. He tweets at
Bipartisan coalition of CA mayors pushes for controversial public pension measure
Leading a coalition of mayors from San Bernardino, Santa Ana, Anaheim, and Pacific Grove, San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed filed papers on Tuesday with the Attorney General’s office seeking to put a public pension measure on next year’s statewide ballot. If approved, the Pension Reform Act of 2014 would give state and local governments the power to lower current employees’ pension and retiree health benefits by changing the California constitution, even though they were determined through collective bargaining agreements.
Currently, pensions promised to workers cannot be altered under California’s constitution without adequate compensation. Big Labor is expectedly fuming. Dave Low, chairman of labor coalition Californians for Retirement Security, issued a statement and called Reed’s plan an “extreme proposal, advanced by a career politician.”
Is it fair for state and local governments to have that authority to strip down benefits already promised to workers? Even if it’s passed, is such a ballot legal?
Guests:
Chuck Reed, Democratic Mayor of San Jose, who’s spearheading the “Pension Reform Act of 2014”
Terry Brennand, Vice Chair, Californians for Retirement Security; State Council Senior Governmental Advocate, Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
Knowing what’s coming: the future with an earthquake early warning system in California
In case of an earthquake we know the the drill: Drop.Cover.Hold On. But that’s only once we feel the earth start to tremble. What if we had a warning system that allows us to be ready to respond and find a safe place to hold on? California will be the first state to have an earthquake early warning system thanks to a bill signed by Governor Brown in late September.
The bill directs the state’s Office of Emergency Services to identify sources of funding by 2016. The statewide system would cost $80 million to build. Scientists have been running successful test versions of the system for two years.
So how would the early warning system inform residents there is an earthquake? How much of the California system is based on earthquake early warning systems we see in other countries?
Guests:
Elizabeth Cochran, Geophysicist at the US Geological Survey, one of the prime scientists working on the Early Warning System algorithms and implementations
James Dolan, Professor of Earth Sciences at USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences USC
Immigration reform, farm bill await Congress as government reopens
President Obama is calling on Congress to tackle major legislations such as the farm bill and immigration reform now that the shutdown is over for now. An aide to House Agriculture Committee chairman Frank Lucas told Reuters that Congress could renew talks on the $500 billion farm bill as soon as next week. The bill is more than a year past due and could cut funding for conservation programs in exchange for boosting the federally subsidized crop insurance program.
The bill had stalled in the House; Republicans had wanted to drastically cut food stamps in exchange for passage. As to immigration reform, President Obama wants to see it passed by the end of the year. The bill passed the Senate but is stuck in the House.
Is the timing right for President Obama to push for the passages of these two major pieces of law right now? Is there enough momentum in the climate of post-shutdown bipartisan coming together to make that happen? Or is there just too much residual ill-will on the Hill? What happened to the president's other priorities including gun control, universal pre-Kindergarten, closing Guantanamo, and new environmental policies?
Guests:
Lisa Lerer, White House Correspondent, Bloomberg News
David Hawkings, Senior Editor, Roll Call and he writes the Hawkings Here blog
'God Loves Uganda' goes inside the evangelical campaign in Africa
The documentary, God Loves Uganda, explores the American evangelical movement in Uganda that is focused on fundamental biblical teaching. Many of the evangelicals have been instrumental in providing schools, and hospitals in needed areas of the country.
At the same time the movement has been noted to promote religious bigotry especially against homosexuals.
At the forefront of the tension is a proposed death penalty for homosexuality in the country that is supported by many of these American evangelists. The movement is both well financed with gregarious religious leaders.
God Loves Uganda (Official Trailer)
The film follows several religious leaders, along with their young missionaries, on their journey, revealing culture clashes, conflicting motives, and how religion plays a role in the lives of the Ugandan people.
Guest:
Roger Ross Williams, director, “God Loves Uganda”
God Loves Uganda is opening at Laemmle Royal theater in Santa Monica Friday October 18
Does our biology determine our political party affiliation?
Is it possible that people are actually predisposed to their political party affiliation? Social scientists John Hibbing, Kevin Smith, and John Alford in their book, “Predisposed: Liberals, Conservatives, and the Biology of Political Differences” present evidence that political affiliation is impacted by biological influence. Their evidence suggests it is more than just culture or where people grow up that impact their party affiliation, but how people identity has a more physical component.
The authors found that liberals and conservatives had different patterns of processing thought, memory, and attention spans. Their research showed that liberals are innately more comfortable with things that are unfamiliar, while conservatives pay more attention to potential threats. How large of a part do genetics play in shaping our political attitudes?
Guest:
Kevin Smith, coauthor of “Predisposed: Liberals, Conservatives, and the Biology of Political Differences"; Political Science professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln