Following Tim Cook's opinion piece published today on his sexuality, are we moving to a point where sexuality won't have to be disclosed publicly? Also, a viral video showing street harassment begs the question: What's the best way to respond to "cat calls?" Then, a new study shows milk doesn't do a body good.
Tim Cook: Is there an obligation for successful Gay Americans to speak to the world about their sexuality?
In an essay published this morning, Apple CEO Tim Cook publicly announced he's gay. Cook's sexuality wasn't a secret - he wasn't in the closet. However, he hadn't publicly referenced it before today. Cook writes his desire for personal privacy was overridden by a sense of responsibility to other gay people. In a BusinessWeek essay he wrote, "While I've never denied my sexuality, I haven't publicly acknowledged it either, until now. So let me be clear: I'm proud to be gay and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me."
But Cook also is very clear that, in an ideal world, he'd prefer not to comment on his sexuality. It's as he considered the potential benefit to someone struggling with self-acceptance or discrimination that he decided giving up his privacy was a worthy trade-off. He referred to how much he'd benefitted from the sacrifice of others.
Is there a moral obligation for successful Gay Americans to speak to the world about their sexuality? Are we moving to a point at which successful gay men and women won’t feel the need to come out about their sexuality? How, if at all, do you think Cook’s announcement will affect Apple’s image and sales?
Guest:
Joshua Johnson, Morning Newscaster at KQED Radio, covers Silicon Valley
What’s the best way to respond to street harassment?
Picture this: You're walking down the street, minding your own business, when a complete stranger yells to you from the other sidewalk. Maybe the person tells you you're beautiful, maybe the person asks you out, or maybe the person just tells you to have a nice day. "Catcalling," as it is known colloquially, is an issue that women probably deal with more often than men, but it doesn't make it any less annoying when it happens.
This week, a video went viral on the web and social media that called attention to the issue. Viral video creator Rob Bliss teamed up with actress Shoshana B. Roberts to find out just how many "catcalls" a woman would get while walking around the streets of New York City. Bliss strapped a hidden camera to his back and walked around the Big Apple with Roberts following him, dressed in jeans and a crew neck t-shirt, as the original video explains. Roberts and Bliss walked around for 10 hours, which resulted in Roberts receiving over 100 "catcalls," according to the video. It also encourages viewers to donate to a campaign called "Hollaback," which hopes to end street harassment.
How often does this happen to you? When it happens, do you say something back to the person or do you just ignore him or her? Is there a line between a friendly greeting in passing and a "catcall?"
Alex Padilla interview: How would he repair and modernize the Secretary of State role?
State Senator Alex Padilla is campaigning to be California’s next Secretary of State, the favorite since winning the blanket primary with over 30 percent of the vote. The former Los Angeles City Council member and almost termed-out state senator from California’s 20th Senate district has been in elected office since 1999, and he has had a big legislative impact on both the city of LA and the state of California. As city council president, he served as Acting Mayor after the 9/11 attacks, and 80 of his bills in the state senate have been signed by Governors Schwarzenegger and Brown.
During his last election, he won as a Democrat by 70 percent in a district with 54 percent Democratic registration. Padilla is facing significant competition from his moderate Republican opponent, Pete Peterson, who has racked up endorsements from newspapers across the state, including the Los Angeles Times and the San Francisco Chronicle. Still, Padilla holds a nearly 10-1 fundraising lead over his competitor, making it highly unlikely that Peterson will be able to flood the airwaves with last minute advertising.
Does Padilla’s experience qualify him to be an effective Secretary of State? Will Padilla’s supporters come out again to elect him? Is this election Padilla’s to lose?
Guest:
Alex Padilla, Democratic candidate for California Secretary of State; currently California State Senator (D-Pacoima); former Los Angeles City Councilmember
Debating Proposition 45: Power over health-insurance rates
Next week, California voters will decide whether the state insurance commissioner should have the power to regulate health insurance rates, with the exception of employers' large group plans. It was 1988, when voters passed a similar initiative regulating power over automobile and homeowner policy rates. The ballot's author, Jamie Court of Consumer Watchdog, argues: "The public wants accountability and transparency for the skyrocketing rates being charged." Opponents say it is risky to place all the power with one government agency, adding more bureaucracy and costs to health care.
What do cost analyses show? How has the California Insurance Commissioner handled rates for cars and homes?
Prop 45 FAQ: What it will do, who's funding it and more
Guests:
Jamie Court, Author of Proposition 45; President, Consumer Watchdog
Dario Frommer, Former California Assembly Majority Leader and Assembly Health Committee Chair
GASP! New study disclaims milk’s benefits
A new study published in the medical journal BMJ wants people to rethink how much milk they should consume daily. Swedish researchers tracked over 100,000 Swedish men and women for over two decades and found that women who consumed three or more glasses of milk everyday significantly increased the risk of death and heart disease, versus those who drank less than a glass a day. As for men, drinking three or more glasses of milk increased their chances of death by 10 percent.
Furthermore, the study disputes the generally accepted belief that milk consumption can lead to overall bone health for women. The study found that the over-consumption of milk actually increased the likelihood of hip fractures by 16 percent.
Federal dietary guidelines recommend that everyone over the age of 8 to consume three cups of milk a day.
How is the study being received by the medical community? Would you change your milk consumption because of this study? Would the study have any impact on US milk consumption guidelines?
Guest:
Faye Flam, science writer who has written for the New York Times, Washington Post, and Forbes. She reported on the milk study published recently in the medical journal, BMJ for Forbes.
What happens to your voter registration after you're gone?
Ever wonder what happens to a voter's registration when he or she moves out of the district or passes away? Typically, nothing. In some districts, tens of thousand voter registrations can be inaccurate as a voter has moved to a different home, left the district, passed away, or even become ineligible to vote. As vote-by-mail has exploded in popularity among California voters, inaccurate voter registrations can cost a significant amount of resources, especially time.
This is not the case in Orange County. The OC Registrar of Voters and the President of the Election Official Association, Neal Kelley, has undergone substantial efforts to address inaccurate voter registrations. With over three million residents and 1.6 million voters, Orange County has much to gain from keeping up-to-date voter registrations. Kelley understands that changing voter registrations are the least of people's priorities as they move, and he is pushing for new technology to help deal the thousands of people who move out of Orange County every year so that they can focus on registering new voters.
How do we find "Mr. or Mrs. Voter" in our fast-paced, transient society? Can technology solve the problem of out-dated voter registrations? Where is the balance between dealing with old registrations and signing up new voters?
Guests:
Neal Kelley, Registrar of Voters, County of Orange
Dean Logan, Registrar of Voters, County of Los Angeles
T. Jefferson Parker takes on Afghanistan veterans, economic bust in new novel
Novelist and California native son T. Jefferson Parker is known for a slate of popular crime novels from Laguna Heat to The Famous and the Dead. His latest outing is a department from a genre he’s best known for, and could be his most mainstream. At the center of Parker’s latest, Full Measure, are the Norris brothers.
Patrick Norris is a vet returning from Afghanistan, marred by his war experience but optimistic that he could pick up his life back home, where his parents and troubled older brother, Ted, live. But things don’t turn out quite the way he had hoped: his parents’ avocado farm is in ruins after a devastating fire, and Ted’s reckless behaviors threatens to push him toward the point of no return.
Parker interviewed a number of returning soldier from Afghanistan for the novel, which is set against the Southern California landscape he has returned to time and time again.
T. Jefferson Parker will discuss and sign copies of the book at Vroman in November.
Guest:
T. Jefferson Parker, novelist of many books, including “Laguna Heat” and “The Famous and the Dead”. His latest is “Full Measure” (St. Martin’s Press, 2014).