Congress has reached its last day to end the stalemate that could result in a possible government shutdown. If this happens, what will the impact be? Then, competing Obamacare ads battle for people's attention. How effective are these ads? Next, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit the White House today to discuss nuclear weapons. Do you think the meeting will be successful? Then, a London based atheist church announced it was going on a global missionary tour. Does this church go against what atheism stands for? Next, LAUSD deals with iPad and truancy problems. Lastly, we talk with humorist Mo Rocca about his cooking show.
The 11th hour approaches in government shutdown debate
In the likely event that Republicans and Democrats don’t agree on a spending bill to keep the government running by midnight, all non essential government services will stop tomorrow. The Senate is scheduled to vote on a bill this morning passed by House Republicans that would continue to fund the government, but delay the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has said any bill that defunds Obamacare would stand no chance of passing through the Senate. Both sides insist they don’t want a shutdown, but seem no closer to a compromise that would avert the first one since 1995.
A shutdown would keep police services, border patrol, air traffic control and other services deemed "essential" running, but national parks, federally run museums and regulatory agencies would close and an estimated 800,000 federal workers would be furloughed until an agreement is reached.
The two shutdowns 17 years ago lasted for six and 21 days and were the longest ever. How long might this potential shutdown last and what effect would it have on the economy? How would a shutdown and the fight over Obamacare impact later discussions over raising the debt ceiling?
Guests:
Jonathan Wilcox, Republican Strategist; former speech writer for Governor Pete Wilson
Darry Sragow, Attorney and long-time Democractic strategist
Competing Obamacare commercials battle for hearts & heads, shoulders, knees and toes
The marketing blitz about the Affordable Care Act is in heavy rotation ahead of tomorrow's launch of the health exchanges. State-run exchanges in California, Minnesota and Washington, to name a few, have tried ads that are upbeat, folksy, and funny to win insurance shoppers. And in a fight that isn't exactly Pepsi vs. Coke, there are negative ads slamming Obamacare in hopes young Americans won't sign up and choose to live with fines instead.
The now-viral ads by a group called Generation Forward feature a self-described creepy Uncle Sam as gynecologist and proctologist creeping toward a millenial in medical gown. Media outlet Buzzfeed called it "one of the creepiest ads of all time."
How effective are these campaigns?
Guest:
Tom Hollihan, Professor of Communications; USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
In White House meeting, Netanyahu to warn Obama about Iran
A week after President Obama declared in an United Nations meeting that the U.S. will pursue a diplomatic path with Iran to keep it from creating nuclear weapons, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to visit the White House today to dissuade the administration from doing such a thing.
"I will tell the truth in the face of the sweet talk and the onslaught of smiles. ... Telling the truth today is vital for the security and peace of the world and, of course, it is vital for the security of the State of Israel," Netanyahu said before flying to the U.S. on Saturday night, a day after Obama held a phone conversation with Iranian President Hasan Rouhani. It was the first interaction between the U.S. and Iran in three decades.
Netanyahu is concerned that warming relations between the U.S. and Iran will post further threats to Israel. Rouhani has said that Iran is not developing nuclear weapons but is using its nuclear program for energy purposes only. But Israel wants nothing short of the complete dismantling of Iran’s nuclear program. Iran has called for the destruction of Israel.
After meeting with President Obama today, Netanyahu will speak at the U.N. tomorrow.
Guest:
Reid Epstein, White House Reporter for POLITICO
‘Atheist churches’ filling their pews, but is atheism a religion?
An increasingly popular London-based atheist church announced recently that it will be going on a “global missionary tour” over the next couple months as cities across the nation have apparently been requesting information on how they can set up their own branches.
The founders of “The Sunday Assembly”--Pippa Evans and Sanderson Jones--are two comedians who say there’s more to church than just believing in God, including bettering your life and feeling a sense of community.
There’s been some negative feedback from atheists who say atheism shouldn’t be portrayed as a religion in any way.
Does this church go against what atheism stands for or is it reasonable for people to want the sense of community church can offer without it having ties to God? What do people who do believe in God think of atheist churches? Does having a community like this and calling it a church take away some of the negativity some associate with being atheist?
Guests:
Sanderson Jones, co-founder of Sunday Assembly; London-based comedian
Ryan T. Cragun, Ph.D., associate professor of Sociology at the University of Tampa, FL who specializes in religious studies; research associate at The Center for Atheist Research
The Sunday Assembly is going on tour and will be in Los Angeles on November 10th. For more information, click here.
LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy on the iPad program fiasco
Since it began the first phase of its roll out, the LAUSD’s $1-billion iPad program has been plagued with issues. First, some 300 students figured out how to unlock the security feature on the devices so they could use them to surf prohibited websites, which led the district to ban kids from taking their iPads home. A couple days later, school district officials said that about 70 iPads – out of about 14,000 issued so far – had gone missing.
The LAUSD program aims to put an iPad the hands of every student in the Los Angeles school district within a year. Thirteen schools are participating in the first phase of the program, which began about two weeks ago. Even before its inception, the iPad program has been dogged by criticism; many think the money should be spent on restoring some of the cuts schools and teachers have faced over the years.
Guest:
John Deasy, Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent
California elementary school truancy at “crisis” point
A report released today by California Attorney Kamala D. Harris finds that nearly 1 million California elementary school students are truant each year – that’s one out of every four pupils. School districts receive education dollars based on student attendance. Between 2010-2011, Los Angeles County lost $340 million, the report said, because of kids skipping school.
"The California Constitution guarantees every child the right to an education, yet we are failing our youngest children, as early as kindergarten," Harris said in a statement. "This crisis is not only crippling for our economy, it is a basic threat to public safety."
Los Angeles Unified's truancy rates went up during the recession to 43% last year from 28% in 2009-10. This is the first annual report on the CA Attorney General has released on truancy.
Guests:
Lydia Bodin , deputy in charge, LA County’s Abolish Chronic Truancy program
Ashley Franklin, Lead Organizer with the Community Rights Campaign
Wait, Wait…Mo Rocca has a cooking show?!
Mo Rocca is discovering classic family recipes from grandparents across the country in a new Cooking Channel Series, “My Grandmother’s Ravioli.” Growing up, Rocca cherished Sunday dinner at his grandmother’s house and her special meals like ravioli. But Rocca never learned the recipes. Now, he will travel across the country to different grandparents ‘home to learn a variety of dishes from different cultures including Portuguese, Japanese, and Greek.
In the process he will hear their stories from their lives and personal tales that can be both inspiring and funny. What began as a tribute to his grandmother has turned into a tribute to good food and traditions that many families enjoy.
What are some of your favorite family recipes?
Guest:
Mo Rocca, host of My Grandmother’s Ravioli on the Cooking Channel; journalist and humorist well known for his regular appearances on NPR’s Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me!; and correspondent for CBS Sunday Morning.
The new (second) season of Mo Rocca’s My Grandmother’s Ravioli premieres Wed 10/2, 8pm ET/ 5pm PT on the Cooking Channel.