Today on AirTalk we'll take an in-depth look at the media's coverage of the presidential campaign and decide if there's an inherent bias or a sophisticated story-arc being played out, place our bets on this weekend's Carmageddon redux as hype or hysteria, break down the science of sleeping smarter if you can't sleep enough, dissect Proposition 36-- the revamping of the 'Three Strikes' law, and conversation about Hell and the filmmaker who documented our fascination with it. Plus, the latest news.
With his campaign on the downswing, will Romney get the benefit of the bounce?
If you believe what you read, watch or hear in the news, Mitt Romney’s campaign is sinking fast. After Romney’s ill-spoken remarks at a private fundraiser were made public last week, the media were quick to declare his campaign on life support.
This week, polls show Barack Obama ahead in several key swing states. But according to political experts, what goes down must come up – and vice versa. Presidential campaigns are driven by drama, and as any “Days of Our Lives” fan knows, no plot stays in one place for long – that’s why they call it a “story arc.”
A candidate is either on the way up or on the way down. Any slight misstep by Obama at this point could lead to the next feeding frenzy by the press, resulting in a rebound for Romney. And with each candidate under the media microscope, it doesn’t take much to turn a miss into a mile. With just 41 days to go until the election, the question is, whose bounce will matter most?
In those last crucial days, what story will the media be telling? Are they biased towards one side or another, as many have complained? Who will the voters believe - and how will it affect the final outcome?
Guest:
Thomas Patterson, Bradlee Professor of Government and the Press, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University and author of books on politics and the media, including The Vanishing Voter and Out of Order
‘Carmageddon 2’ is coming: Will it be hype or hysterics?
On a July weekend in 2011, the biggest story in Los Angeles was the closing of a freeway. Caltrans, the state agency responsible for California’s traffic infrastructure, had plans to rebuild a section of the 405 near the Sepulveda Pass on L.A.’s west side. But the 405 is one of the busiest freeways in the world – over 300,000 cars travel on the stretch of the 405 that connects the L.A. Basin with the San Fernando Valley each day.
‘Carmageddon’ was the name that stuck and Angelenos were sternly warned to stay away. After all the hype, work concluded early and the freeway was opened hours early on Sunday afternoon. But Hollywood loves a sequel, and this weekend Caltrans is at it again.
RELATED: Click here to see all of our coverage on Carmageddon 2
‘Carmageddon 2’ is scheduled to close the stretch of the 405 that connects the 10 and 101 freeways between roughly midnight on Friday night and 6 a.m. Monday morning to allow for the razing of what remains of the Mulholland Drive Bridge. Officials are once again warning Angelenos to avoid the area and cautioning about a traffic boondoggle.
"Stay out of the 5405 corridor, stay out of the I-10, the 101 freeways that feed into the 405 corridor. It's just not worth the risk of getting stuck in traffic ... that can cost you a couple hours or more," L.A. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky told AirTalk.
He expects that, with 30 percent more work due to at least one additional column that needs to be knocked down compared to last year, construction crews will be pressed to finish on time.
But according to Yaroslavsky, "failure is not an option. We've got to be done by dawn Monday morning or we're going to have a mess on our hands."
The county supervisor has been encouraging people to bolster local businesses by eating and shopping around their own neighborhoods.
Last year, "some businesses did better and some businesses got clobbered," he said, recalling a flyover west L.A. beaches during construction. "The beach businesses along the pacific coast highway just got creamed ... it looked like a scene from 'The Beach.' There was nobody there."
Some Angelenos left their cars to dine locally – on the 405. Yaroslavsky said troublemakers won't be as lucky this time.
"The California Highway Patrol made it abundantly clear that nobody's going to be allowed to trespass onto the freeway. it's dangerous for them, and it's dangerous for construction workers, and they made it clear they wll arrest anyone who comes onto the freeway," he said.
WEIGH IN:
So will Carmageddon 2 be a worthy sequel like Godfather: Part II or a more dubious follow up like Blues Brothers 2000? How are you preparing for another closing of L.A.’s most trafficked freeway?
Guest:
Zev Yaroslavsky, Los Angeles County Supervisor representing the Third District
Can sleeping smarter offset not sleeping enough?
Are you worried that you’re not sleeping enough? Or are you not sleeping enough because you’re worried? Regardless of causality Americans aren’t getting enough sleep; a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that nearly a third of all working adults get six hours or less of sleep per night.
Sleep deprivation can lead to a number of health problems and declines in things like productivity and sex drive and an increase in accidents, memory loss and weight gain. Sleep experts say there is only one cure: we need to sleep more, and sleep smarter. Remedies for getting more rest include things like nabbing 24 minute naps at work and sleeping with the shades open so you can wake up to natural light.
Other solutions to sleeping better suggest shutting down electronic devices at bedtime. Anything from a pulsing sleep light on your laptop to an e-mail notification on your cell phone on your nightstand can disrupt sleep patterns and lead to missing precious minutes of slumber.
How could you change your habits to allow for more and better sleep? What does a lack of sleep mean in your life?
Guest:
David K. Randall, senior reporter, Reuters; author of Dreamland: Adventures in the strange science of sleep
Prop 36 could change three strikes law come November
November’s ballot will feature the Three Strikes Reform Act which is a revised version of California’s Three Strikes Law. Proposition 36 would condense prison sentences for third strike offenders depending on the nature of the crime while giving felons with a single conviction of murder, rape, or child molestation a harsher punishment even if the third strike is a minor offense.
If Prop 36 passes, California could see a reduction in the number of inmates in its prisons as well as saving the state anywhere between 70 to 90 million dollars per year. Opponents of Prop 36 say it would allow thousands of potentially dangerous felons to be released early from their sentences.
Statistics show 65 percent of prisoners released go back to correctional facilities within three years while half of that number return to prison within six months. Those against Prop 36 also point to the concept of judicial discretion claiming judges already have some leeway in how they administer the law.
The final argument against the initiative is it will not reduce taxes and that government doesn’t spend enough on crime as it is.
Prop Breakdown
Official Title: Three Strikes Law InitiativeRevise the three strikes law to impose life sentence only when the new felony conviction is "serious or violent". Authorize re-sentencing for offenders currently serving life sentences if their third strike conviction was not serious or violent and if the judge determines that the re-sentence does not pose unreasonable risk to public safety. Continue to impose a life sentence penalty if the third strike conviction was for "certain non-serious, non-violent sex or drug offenses or involved firearm possession". Maintain the life sentence penalty for felons with "non-serious, non-violent third strike if prior convictions were for rape, murder, or child molestation."
WEIGH IN
With the California prison population hovering at around 180,000 inmates, could Prop 36 help or hurt our penal system? Are there any other options when it comes to our correctional facilities? Will you vote for it or against it?
Guests:
Jeffrey Robinson, lawyer, NAACP legal defense fund
Mike Reynolds, helped write the language for California’s “Three Strikes Law”; following the murder of daughter Kimber in 1992
Why are Christians so hot and bothered over hell?
How can a loving God send people to a place of eternal torment? That is one of the primary questions addressed in the new documentary “Hellbound?,” which examines how Christian beliefs about God, the Bible, and punishment affect and shape our culture.
Different denominations hold different views about God’s will and hell, which range from annihilationism, in which some people are never ‘saved,’ to a paradigm in which everyone can eventually be absolved. Regarding contradictory beliefs, filmmaker Kevin Miller said, “a growing number of people are increasingly uncomfortable with the notion of a God who calls us to love our enemies but who will one day vanquish his enemies to hell.”
Listen in as Larry gets the lowdown on eternal damnation from the film’s director Kevin Miller. What are your burning questions about fire and brimstone?
Guests:
Kevin Miller, Writer, Director of the documentary film HELLBOUND?, which opens in Pasadena September 28
Bill Wiese, Minister and author of several books including 23 Minutes in Hell
Frank Schaeffer, Author whose most recent book is Sex, Mom, and God: How the Bible’s Strange Take on Sex Led to Crazy Politics—and How I learned to Love Women (and Jesus) Anyway (Da Capo Press)
Trailer for Hellbound?