AirTalk sits down with Jim McDonnell to hear the latest from the LA County Sherrif's Department as the summer comes to a close. We also dive into how disaster relief funds move through the government as Harvey victims wait for aid and Hurricane Irma approaches Florida; should the left leave behind identity politics?; and more.
In the wake of Harvey and Irma, how money moves through government and into disaster aid relief
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed a $7.85 billion aid package for Harvey, with money for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Small Business Administration.
As the package heads to the Senate, we’re taking a look at the Federal mechanisms in place that provide aid after disasters. Agencies like FEMA and the Small Business Administration play a big role, as well the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). There’s also the National Flood Insurance Program, which was nearly $25 billion in debt prior to Harvey. And in the case of disaster like Harvey and now Irma, there are also special appropriations that can be passed by Congress.
So what are the agencies involved in disaster relief and how are the funded? How was disaster relief distributed in the cases of Sandy and Katrina? And what can we expect going forward, as the Federal government works to provide aid, and funds for the aid, for the communities affected by Irma and Harvey?
Guests:
Gavin Smith, director of the Department of Homeland Security’s Coastal Resilience Center of Excellence and a Professor of City and Regional Planning at the University of North Carolina; he has been working with the state of North Carolina on Hurricane Matthew recovery, a Category 5 storm that hit the Carolinas and devastated Haiti and Cuba
Chad Berginnis, executive director of The Association of State Floodplain Managers based in Wisconsin; the organization focuses on flood management issues all across America and works with the federal government and agencies like HUD, The United States Army Corps of Engineers and FEMA
LA County Sheriff on body cam plan, use of drones, preparing for protests in LA and more
LA County Sheriff Jim McDonnell drops by the AirTalk studio today for his quarterly interview to discuss the latest as summer winds down.
A California bill that would’ve given the public access to body cam footage in CA has been nixed, but this week the LASD head of technology told KPCC of a plan to equip nearly 6,000 deputies with body cameras and permit the release of some footage.
In July the LASD put out a call for public input on drone use. Later that month, the majority of the LA County Sheriff Civilian Oversight commission said they disapprove of drone use. Community activists had been protesting law enforcement drone use earlier, citing the fear of mission creep and invasion of privacy.
Some of the CA State Sheriff’s Association has been in talks with Brown on amending a “sanctuary state” Senate Bill, that would keep local law enforcement from acting on federal immigration laws.
In the middle of the summer, a Los Angeles appeals court ruled that the Sheriff cannot give the names of problematic deputies to prosecutors, even if they’re involved in pending criminal cases and are on the list of potential witnesses. Sheriff McDonnell is appealing the decision.
The Office of the Inspector General released a report calling into question the LASD’s method of collecting data on violence in county jails, after the department had said that it couldn’t verify inmate assault statistics that had previously cited to the general’s office. The Sheriff put out a statement, saying before the report he had ordered a review of the custody data systems.
After the violence at a Berkeley rally over the weekend and with potential Charlottesville-related protests planned in LA, how is the department preparing for the challenges of crowd control? Plus, the LASD’s push for recruitment and more.
Guest:
Jim McDonnell, sheriff of Los Angeles County; he tweets from
The latest on Facebook ads, Trump Jr.’s testimony and the Russia investigation
The investigation into President Trump’s Administration’s ties to Russia isn’t losing traction.
As reported by NPR, Donald Trump Jr. is scheduled for a closed-door meeting with the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday to discuss his father’s campaign contacts during the 2016 presidential race. The conversation will likely revolve around Trump Jr.’s meeting last year with a Russian lawyer who claimed to have dirt on Hillary Clinton.
In other news, The New York Times reported that Facebook ran $100,000 worth of divisive political ads during the presidential campaign which came from fake accounts connected to the Kremlin. The ads didn’t mention candidates in the race. Instead, they focused on issues such as race, gun control and immigration. Facebook disclosed the findings to Senate and White House intelligence committees. The news points to larger implications of how Russia interfered with the 2016 presidential campaign.
Libby Denkmann speaks to NPR’s Phil Ewing for the latest on a roundup of Trump-Russia investigation news.
Guest:
Phil Ewing, national security editor for NPR; he tweets @philewing
The surprising paradox of political leanings in Silicon Valley
A new Stanford study reveals a unique mix of political philosophies held by Silicon Valley power brokers.
The study, “Wealthy Elites’ Policy Preferences and Economic Inequality: The Case of Technology Entrepreneurs,” was presented last week at the American Political Science Association’s annual meeting. Despite the popular belief, the study showed that millionaire and billionaire tech elites are not typically libertarians. They overwhelmingly favor tax increases on the wealthy and programs to redistribute income to the poor.
The one place where they hew to conservative beliefs: regulation, and the influence of labor unions. As Farhad Manjoo writes in the New York Times, it's difficult to think of any politician who shares that mix of principles. Silicon Valley may represent a new direction for existing parties or fertile ground for an independent party to tap this mindset.
So what does this mean for politics and the future of tech? How much influence will big tech company leaders have in the future? And what drives certain political leanings in Silicon Valley and not others?
Guests:
Neil Malhotra, professor of political economy at Stanford University; he co-authored the recent study “Wealthy Elites’ Policy Preferences and Economic Inequality: The Case of Technology Entrepreneurs”
Farhad Manjoo, “State of the Art” columnist for the New York Times’ Business Day; he authored the recent article, “Silicon Valley’s Politics: Liberal, With One Big Exception”
Should the left leave behind identity politics?
In “The Once and Future Liberal,” Columbia professor Mark Lilla argues that, in recent years, the Democratic Party has fallen under the trappings of identity politics.
The political left, wishing to protect a vulnerable group of Americans, has divided its base. Democrats focus on marginalized social movements instead of the grander vision of national development, costing them constituents and votes. But despite these setbacks, Lilla sees an opportunity for the party to re-group, reset and rebuild its political conversation.
Should Democrats move away from identity politics? And at what cost?
Guest:
Mark Lilla, professor of humanities at Columbia University and author of “The Once and Future Liberal: After Identity Politics” (Harper, 2017)