Massive earthquakes have struck Japan, New Zealand, Sumatra, Chile and Haiti in recent years. Does this suggest the earth’s crust is getting more volatile or do the numbers largely suggest consistency? Is there or is there not a significant threat posed by tsunamis if they have to travel the entire length of the Pacific Ocean? Can this only happen along major fault lines? We discuss all this and much more with Professor Michael Wysession, seismologist at Washington University in St. Louis.
Greg Corombos and National Review’s Jim Geraghty are encouraged by the latest Republican rumblings on tackling America’s massive debt. They also cringe as Democrats want to put our nuclear energy agenda on hold again in the wake of Japan’s nuclear crisis. And we try to figure out why the treatment of one of our worst suspected spies is what pushed State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley over the edge and out the door.
This week, the Senate rejected the House plan for funding the government through the remainder of the fiscal year. It also spiked the plan offered by Democrats. So what happens next and why does Arizona Rep. David Schweikert describe the performance of President Obama and other Democrats as ‘pathetic’? Will we get nothing but short continuing resolutions for the rest of the fiscal year? Are conservatives OK with that? And what does Schweikert have to say about President Obama’s call for more drilling to ease energy prices until his clean energy agenda can fully come on line? We discuss it all with Rep. Schweikert.
In the past couple of days, Republicans in the Wisconsin legislature succeeded in passing legislation ending collective bargaining for public sector employees. Why did the GOP finally decide not to wait for the Democrats to return? How serious are the threats to recall some members of the state senate? What else is on the GOP agenda to reduce debt and grow the economy? We ask Wisconsin State Senator Glenn Grothman.
An 8.9-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Japan today, triggering a massive tsunami that has killed hundreds and rolled all the way to the west coast of the United States. What happened in the earth’s crust? Why did this quake trigger such a major tsunami? Was this along a major fault line? Is there a connection to the recent earthquake in New Zealand? We ask Linda Lastowka, geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Earthquake Information Center.
As Congress fails to find a long-term budget solution, the Capitol Steps have some fun with the Tea Party and its expectations of Republicans in the budget debate. Our guest is the Steps’ Elaina Newport.
Greg Corombos and National Review’s Jim Geraghty breate a sigh of relief that the GOP is not trying to get Joe Scarborough to run for Senate. We lament that the hearings on islamic radicalism turned into a media circus accusing the chairman of discrimination. And we wonder why President Obama thinks it would be easier to be the leader of China.
The House Homeland Security Committee finally held it’s much-debated hearings on the radicalization of Muslims and the link to terrorist plots. Why did the hearings generate so much protest? Why do the criticisms ring hollow? What did the committee learn today? And what is the best way to fight radicalization? We ask California Rep. Dan Lungren, a member of the Homeland Security Committee.
Earlier this week, President Obama quietly shifted course on his policy towards the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. Now he is in favor of indefinite detention of prisoners as well as the use of military tribunals. Louisiana Rep. John Fleming led a Congressional delegation to Gitmo earlier this week and tells us what is fact and fiction there. He also details pending legislation that would continue tribunals, current detention policies and forbidding the transfer of detainees to American soil. Listen here for our conversation with Rep. Fleming.
Illinois Rep. John Shimkus joins us to explain how the Obama administration is using financial sleight of hand when it comes to the budgeting for Medicare and the new health care plan. Specifically, he says Obama is trying to claim the same $500 billion for shoring up Medicare and for funding the new health care plan. So how did the administration get into this fiscal pinch? And what is the main GOP strategy for stopping the implementation of Obamacare? We discuss it all with Rep. Shimkus.
