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Props 20 and 27: Who's Behind the Political Battle Lines?
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Props 20 and 27: Who's Behind the Political Battle Lines?

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Propositions 20 and 27 are a recipe for confusion, two measures with different answers to the same question: should an independent panel draw the lines for legislative and congressional districts, or should it be the politicians themselves?  Voters can decide to expand what they did two years ago or reverse themselves, with important consequences for the distribution of political power. Also, community colleges and California's economic future. A study of failure shows the key to success. On our rebroadcast of today's To the Point, German Chancellor Angela Merkel says "multiculturalism" is a failure and that it's time for a change. Have Turkish immigrants refused to assimilate, or are they unwelcome? Is the question an unwelcome of Germany's dark past?

Banner image: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger addresses guests at his election night party on November 8, 2005. As the results of the special election came in it appeared that Schwarzenegger failed in his push to rein in the Democrat-controlled Assembly with ballot measures that would remove legislators' redistricting powers. Photo: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images
      


Making News

Community Colleges Failing Students, Study Says ()

California's community colleges have granted access to more and more students, but they're not helping students succeed when they get there. Those findings come from a study by the Institute for Higher Education Leadership and Policy at Cal State Sacramento, which followed 250,000 students for six years. What's at stake? Professor Nancy Shulock, who directed the study, says it's the future of California.

Guests:
  • Nancy Shulock: Director, Cal State Sacramento's Institute for Higher Education Leadership & Policy
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Main Topic

Props 20 and 27, a Recipe for Confusion ()

Two years ago, California voters decided to set up an independent commission to draw the boundaries for legislative districts, a job now done every ten years by the lawmakers themselves. Governor Schwarzenegger and others claimed that was the source of legislative gridlock in Sacramento and more than 50 percent of the voters agreed. Proposition 20 on this year's ballot would extend the panel's authority to Congressional district boundaries. Prop 27 would abolish the panel before it's even created.

Guests:
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Main Topic

Germany Ignites Debate on Multiculturalism, Integration ()

Memories of the Holocaust made Germany sensitive to ethnic discrimination after the Second World War. But the demand for labor has led to the immigration of two million Turks who are now living in ethnic ghettos. A new book saying immigrants of inferior intelligence are changing the nation has become a best seller, and this week, Chancellor Angela Merkel told a political meeting that "multiculturalism has failed, totally."

Guests:
  • David Crawford: Berlin Correspondent, Wall Street Journal
  • Christian Hoffman: Director of an international scholarship program for Muslim students
  • Josef Joffe: Publisher and Editor, Die Zeit
  • Matti Bunzl: Professor of Anthropology and History, University of Illinois
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Underwriters

Which Way L.A.? is made possible in part by the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, the Nathan Cummings Foundation, and the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation, which supports study and research into policy issues of the Los Angeles region.

 

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