Singer Shad "Bow Wow" Moss is the star of the new film "Allegiance," which premieres in movie theaters today, January 4, 2013. This photo was taken April 19, 2011 in Hollywood, California. Credit: Jason Merritt/Getty Images

Larry is joined by KPCC film critics Tim Cogshell from Box Office Magazine and Henry Sheehan from dearhenrysheehan.com to review the week’s new film releases including Allegiance, Only The Young, Texas Chainsaw 3D and more. TGI-FilmWeek!

Texas Chainsaw 3D

Allegience

Only the Young

All Superheroes Must Die

Tim Cogshell, film critic for KPCC and Box Office Magazine

Henry Sheehan, film critic for KPCC and dearhenrysheehan.com

(L-R) Kerry Washington, Jamie Foxx and Quentin Tarantino attend "Django Unchained" Press Conference in NY with Director/Screenwriter Quentin Tarantino, Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, Walton Goggins, Don Johnson, And Jonah Hill at Ritz Carlton Hotel on December 16, 2012 in New York City. Credit: Donald Bowers/Getty Images for The Weinstein C

Quentin Tarantino’s newest film “Django Unchained” has many of the elements fans and critics expect from Tarantino: a revenge plot Western heavy with bloodshed and a killer soundtrack.  The twist in this film, set just before the Civil War, is that the hero Django is a freed black man who takes his revenge against the entire institution of slavery.

For some audiences, the brutality of slavery, and its echoes in racial discrimination through the present, makes Django unwatchable. Director Spike Lee has refused to see it. Some black critics—even among those who enjoyed elements of the film—were troubled by it. Whether it was Tarantino as a white director making a movie that deployed the “n” word over 100 times, images of torturous violence perpetrated against enslaved characters or the gleeful revenge enacted upon white villains and bystanders alike, viewers might be disturbed by many moments in the film. Still others see nothing wrong, noting that plenty of directors have made films about slavery that dodge its gruesome reality.

If you’ve seen “Django Unchained,” were you offended by the violence? Or did it seem like an artistic treatment of a brutal time? Are you or any one you know boycotting the film?

Joe Hicks, Vice President of Community Advocates, Inc.; former Executive Director of the L.A. City Human Relations Commission

Tim Cogshell, film critic for KPCC and Box Office Magazine

Henry Sheehan, film critic for KPCC and dearhenrysheehan.com

The U.S. Supreme Court justices (first row, from left) Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, Chief Justice John Roberts, Anthony Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, (back row) Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer, Samuel Alito and Elena Kagan. Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Several Pennsylvania judges are suing the state over mandatory retirement. The judges argue forcing them to retire at age 70 is unconstitutional. Last week, the case moved up to federal court.

That's not the only state weighing the wisdom of losing seasoned judges too early. New York is considering legislation allowing judges to stay on until age 80. While dozens of states push judges out around age 70, California has no such rule, neither do federal courts.

The court bench isn't the only profession with mandatory retirement. Airline pilots, FBI agents,  firefighters, air traffic controllers and more are shown the door before their age can have negative effects on the job.

With an ever aging population, how can we guarantee the mental and physical fitness of workers in these important roles? Which mental and intellectual skills decline, or improve, into old age? What are other costs and benefits associated with mandatory retirement?

Dr. Gary Small, co-author of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Program and Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Science, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA

David DeLong, president, David DeLong & Associates, a workforce consulting firm, research fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s AgeLab and author of Lost Knowledge: Confronting the Threat of an Aging Workforce (Oxford University Press)

Los Angeles Superior Court Credit: Jordon Cooper/Flickr (Creative Commons-licensed)

A woman comes home from a party with her boyfriend. They fall asleep together, and she later wakes to find he’s having sex with her — she thinks. Turns out, it wasn’t her boyfriend, who had left, but another man pretending to be him. When she screamed and resisted, the man left. Is he guilty of rape?

This was the case before a Los Angeles appeals court, which unanimously – albeit reluctantly – overturned the rape conviction of Julio Morales this week.   The reason?  Morales’ attorney had invoked an obscure law from the 1870’s that determined that such an act would only be rape if the perpetrator were impersonating a woman’s husband – not her boyfriend.  In his ruling, Justice Thomas Willhite Jr. wrote, “We reluctantly hold that a person who accomplishes sexual intercourse by impersonating someone other than a married victim’s spouse is not guilty of the crime of rape of an unconscious person.”  

The justices urged the legislature to change the outdated law to correct the obvious incongruity.  But as it stands, their ruling is legally correct, however morally incomprehensible it may seem to 21st century sensibilities. Whether it was her boyfriend or someone else, some might argue, a sleeping woman cannot consent to sex, and therefore it was a rape.  But it was unclear to the appeals court whether the first jury had convicted Morales for tricking the woman into having sex or the “sleeping person” charge.

Do you think the court made the right decision?  How could such an archaic law remain on the books for so long? Does a sleeping person have the right to be protected from non-consensual sex, no matter who the perpetrator is?

Stanley Goldman, professor of law at Loyola Law School

A picture taken on October 23, 2012 shows the screen of a blackberry phone featuring a page with the adress of the micro-blogging site Twitter website. Credit: FRED TANNEAU/AFP/Getty Images

As social media and digital technology continue to spread, they are challenging some legal and journalistic principles. In a rape case last year, Savannah Dietrich was ordered by the court not to out her attackers by name or talk about what happened to her. When she went to Twitter and did just that, she faced legal charges.

Meanwhile, in Steubenville, OH, a rape case from last month involving one girl and two boys is becoming complicated as well. Traditionally, juveniles have their names protected, whether they are victims or attackers. However, in a CNN article, the reporters write, “Although the teenagers are juveniles, CNN is identifying them because they have been publicly named by a juvenile court judge, by defense attorneys and in media accounts. CNN is not identifying the girl, who also is a juvenile, in accordance with its policy not to release the names of alleged rape victims.” This story has been chewed over by bloggers and Twitter users who published the names of the alleged attackers, thus putting them on the public record and leading CNN to follow suit.

Furthermore, in this same case a sect of the hacker group Anonymous, Knight Sec, acquired and publicized video which was being kept private by law enforcement. The video shows football teammates and friends of the attacker making lewd jokes and references about rape and the victim.

As made evident by these situations, the landscape is changing. Does the law and the media need to adapt? Or is the horse out of the barn on this? How would courts and law enforcement even begin to keep such information private? And how could the publishing of names and information impact both the victims and the attackers, both after a trial and during one?   

Gregg Leslie, Legal Defense Director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

Dan Filler, Associate Dean of Drexel University School of Law  

A general view at the pre-party for the premiere of Focus Features' "ParaNorman" at Universal CityWalk on August 5, 2012 in Universal City, California. Credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

Production house Laika and Focus Features were responsible for 2009’s Coraline, the first-ever stop motion 3D movie.  They continued on the path of innovation this year with ParaNorman, a comedic horror film aimed at youthful audiences.  The story of a young boy who can communicate with the dead, ParaNorman is the second stop motion 3D feature ever made, and the first to use 3D color printers to make character faces.

Stop motion cinematography has come a long way since the days of Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer, but it’s still a painstaking practice, that relies on lifelike puppets, elaborate mini-sets and delicately crafted props. The movie attracted attention not only for the beautiful results of its groundbreaking animation technology, but also for story composition and script. One character has broken new ground with audiences and reviewers – Mitch, the older brother of the titular Norman’s friend, reveals at the end of the film that he has a boyfriend, making him the first openly gay character in a mainstream children’s animated film.

How did first-time screenwriter Butler craft the unusual story?  What did each director bring to the table? How did marrying stop motion techniques with the new technology of 3D printing bring the characters to life?

Chris Butler, director  and screenwriter of ParaNorman

Sam Fell, director of ParaNorman

"The World Until Yesterday," by Jared Diamond

The “yesterday” in the title of Jared Diamond’s new book refers to the period 11,000 years ago when hunter-gatherer groups evolved into modern human societies.  Despite the emergence of civilization, organized religion, industrialization and mass communication, have we really changed that much as humans?  Has ordered government supplanted or protected group harmony? Have our health, diet and family life suffered or improved thanks to modern innovations? Where do agrarian and industrialized societies intersect?

These are some of the questions Diamond attempts to answer by comparing human societies both ancient and modern, drawing on his extensive fieldwork among the traditional cultures of New Guinea, the Amazon and Kalahari which are still in existence.  

What remnants of human societies past still linger in our modern DNA?  Which have been lost to us, possibly forever? What do these changes mean to our collective future?

Jared Diamond, author of "The World Until Yesterday: What Can We Learn from Traditional Societies?" and a professor of geography at UCLA;  his previous books include "Why Is Sex Fun?," "The Third Chimpanzee," "Collapse," and "Guns, Germs, and Steel," winner of the Pulitzer Prize.

Barack Obama with Chuck Hagel, as they tour the Citadel in 2008. Credit: PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images

Today, President Barack Obama has nominated Chuck Hagel to serve in his cabinet as Secretary of Defense. Hagel, a Republican and former Senator from Nebraska, would be the first enlisted soldier and veteran from Vietnam if he secures the position.

While a Republican chosen by Obama seems on paper to be a sure confirmation for both sides of the aisle, the process could prove to be contentious. Republicans are suspect of Hagel’s support of Israel and his seemingly weak stance on Iran. Meanwhile, Democrats and Log Cabin Republicans take issue with Hagel’s past support of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, and a remark he made fourteen years ago when he questioned a man’s ability to serve as an ambassador because he was “openly, aggressively gay.”

But Obama seems dead set on seeing his choice secure the position, especially after Republican attacks on Susan Rice over Benghazi derailed her ascension to Secretary of State. What questions and issues are anticipated to play a key role in Hagel’s confirmation hearings? How would he serve as a Secretary of Defense? He’s always worn his commitment to stopping and preventing war on his sleeve, so how would he reconcile that with a job that includes overseeing American military relations with Afghanistan, Iran, Israel and elsewhere around the world? Why is Barack Obama convinced that Chuck Hagel is the right candidate for this job?  

Michael Cohen, Senior Fellow, Century Foundation; Columnist at the Guardian

Michael Rubin, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and former Pentagon official

Thousands of potholes are still marking up the roads in Los Angeles. Credit: KPCC / Sanden Totten

Two Southern California Councilmen have proposed a 20-year property tax increase to generate $3 billion dollars to repair city streets. The measure, billed as the “Los Angeles Emergency Local Street Safety and Traffic Empowerment Act,” will appear on the May 21 ballot and would need a two-thirds majority to pass.

If approved, this tax increase would would fund new construction and eliminate a 60-year backlog of street repairs. The cost to property owners?  Around $24 more for a $350,000 home during the first year, increasing to a peak of $120 more in 10 years. Councilman Mitchell Englander said the primary complaint from residents is that poor road conditions are causing damage to cars.

Angelenos may get a bad case of tax fatigue, however; another, separate, half-cent sales tax increase is already on the March 5th ballot, with the majority of those funds dedicated to police and fire services.

Have you ever encountered problems with potholes or other disrepair on city streets? Has your car ever been damaged because of the condition of the streets? Should property owners have to shoulder this burden? Do you think another tax increase is the best way to pay for repairs, or is there a better alternative?

Joe Buscaino, councilman for Los Angeles’ 15th District, which includes San Pedro, Wilmington, Harbor City, Harbor Gateway and Watts

Richard H. Close, president, Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association

A mother talks on her cell phone, ignoring her young son. Credit: iStockPhoto

If you asked people from a few decades ago about what they expected to see in the future, you’d hear some seemingly outlandish predictions. By now, we were supposed to all be riding around in driverless cars. Well, Google is on its way to take care of that. And the Internet was meant to revolutionize the way we present ourselves to the world and communicate. Facebook’s got that covered. And technology was going to advance in such a way that we’d all be able to work from the comfort of our own homes.

As many employees know, telecommuting is now a possible and accepted means of getting work done without having to make the weekday journey to an office. In fact, a recent Ipsos/Reuters poll shows that, across the globe, one in five workers telecommunicate. But what was intended to be a way of making life easier now seems to be backfiring.

A Freedom of Information request of a U.S. department which gave employees free reign in choosing when, where and how to do their work revealed that the output got worse, while employees and employers felt disconnected and uncertain of their performances. Even when telecommuting seems to work, as it does at Aetna, there are still problems. The insurance company’s telecommuters are heavier than those who go into work, and now Aetna offers online trainers to keep their employees healthy.

What other examples are out there of telecommuting gone wrong? What about in your own lives? Have you ever had the telecommuting job from Hell? What was so bad about it? Did you notice a physical problem or an emotional one? Was it harder to work at home with the kids than putting them in a daycare and trudging to work? Call in and give us your horror stories, from the comfort of your own home.

Mary C. Noonan, Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Iowa, co-author of the recent study “The Hard Truth About Telecommuting” which appeared in ‘Monthly Labor Review’

The Staples Center may be filled with hockey fans again soon -- the NHL and the players union have reached a tentative agreement. Credit: Photo by Noah Graham/NHLI via Getty Images

Hockey fans rejoice! After a nearly four-month long lockout the National Hockey League and the Players' Association have reached a labor deal. At first glance, it seems the owners came out on top. However, if fans don't return, it could be a lose-lose deal.

We'll find out quickly because the players are facing a compressed season. Teams have to go from a dead halt to break-neck speed this 2013 season. As the Stanley Cup holders, the Los Angeles Kings have the highest expectations, but may have the easiest time winning back fans.

Will you be eager for a return to center ice? Or has hockey lost your attention for good? What is in the new collective bargaining agreement and was it worth the wait? Are the Kings ready to defend the title?

Bob Miller, television play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles King, NHL team

Nicholas J. Cotsonika, NHL writer for Yahoo! Sports

A homeless person's belongings are kept in a pedestrian walkway in Downtown Los Angeles. Credit: Central City East Association

Legislation proposed by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano of San Francisco could protect California’s homeless population from discrimination. The Assembly Bill 5, better known as the “Homeless Bill of Rights” would give legal protection to homeless people who engage in life-sustaining activities on public property.

California has struggled with laws relating to its homeless population in the past: Sacramento’s “tent cities” have been a frequent point of contention, and both Los Angeles and San Francisco top the list of U.S. cities with laws criminalizing homelessness. Ammiano’s proposed bill would decriminalize behavior such as sleeping in public places, congregating, urinating, and panhandling. The bill would also give the homeless right to legal counsel in the event of citation, and to receive funds through public welfare programs. If Assembly Bill 5 passes, California communities would still have some say in the extent to which the law would apply in their area – communities could close parks and other public spaces at night for safety reasons.

Should homeless populations be protected under the law? Should life-sustaining activities in public places be criminalized? Is there an alternative to legalizing these activities in public spaces that could better serve all Californians – homeless or not?

Paul Boden, Director of the Western Regional Advocacy Project; Co-Sponsor of Homeless Person's Bill of Rights introduced by California Assemblymember Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco)

Estela Lopez, Executive Director of the City Central East Association, the principal advocate for property owners, businesses, employees and residents in the eastern half of Downtown Los Angeles.

Huell Howser amidst the poppies, California's Gold. Credit: Huell Howser

Viewers loved him for his genuine sense of wonder. Californians loved him because he shone a light on some of the state’s most beautiful, interesting and unique areas, businesses and events. To the sorrow of many, Huell Howser has died today.

RELATED: UPDATED: California television legend Huell Howser has died (video, map)

RELATED: Off-Ramp Producer Kevin Ferguson on Huell Howser's passing

RELATED: Huell Howser's golden moments: The lessons Huell taught Southern Californians

Larry Mantle and Off-ramp’s John Rabe take a moment to look back and remember the special host who touched so many by simply being himself. What will you remember most about Huell? What is your favorite memory of Huell Howser?

John Rabe, host of KPCC’s Off-ramp

Inmates at Chino State Prison walk the hallway on December 10, 2010 in Chino, California. Credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Five years ago, California’s state prisons were full to bursting – over 170,000 inmates housed in 33 facilities. Civil rights groups decried the overcrowded conditions, which included prisoners bunked three to a cell or in outdoor pens and inmates with severe medical and mental health issues that were going untreated, sometimes resulting in death. Things got so bad that a federal court in 2009 ordered the state to reduce its prison population by 40,000 within two years.  

Realignment practices have included transferring prisoners to county facilities or out of state (at a cost of over half a million dollars a day) and early release of lesser offenders, but the number of prisoners is still more than 9,000 above what the federal judges ordered.  But despite the fact that some state facilities are still well over capacity and prison rights groups continue to lobby for further reductions, Governor Jerry Brown announced today that California has sufficiently reduced its prison population and there’s no need to do more.  

Last night state lawyers filed papers last night to challenge the targets set by the U.S. Supreme Court, saying “the overcrowding and healthcare conditions cited by this court to support its population reduction order are now a distant memory.”  The state, they say, now provides adequate medical care to inmates. County facilities have struggled with the influx of state prisoners thanks to realignment, and communities have protested the early release of felons.  A previously convicted gang member who is suspected in a recent Pasadena homicide turns out to have been released from a two-year prison term a month early under realignment guidelines, leading to renewed objections to the practice.  

Should California be forced to comply with the federal ruling, even if they can show that conditions have improved sufficiently? How can the state balance its overcrowded prisons with the need for public safety?  Are the monetary and societal costs of realignment justified? If we do need more room, is the answer more prisons, or more lenient sentencing?

Governor Jerry Brown

Don Specter, director, Prison Law Office

Julie Small, KPCC reporter

Using a MagicBand wristband at Walt Disney World. Credit: Disney

Disney theme parks have come a long way since Disneyland opened in Anaheim in 1955, and Epcot showed us a vision of the future alongside Orlando’s Disneyworld in 1982. With fans young and old hoping to get the shortest possible lines to the most popular attractions, Disney is deploying more technology to boost your experience in the Magical Kingdom.

An app called MyMagic+ is being rolled out to create a more personalized visit, the company tells The New York Times. Taking advantage of massive WiFi networks and its thousands of visitors armed with smartphones, guests can choose how much information they’d like to share with the app, and whether to wear corresponding wristbands (called “MagicBands”). If you enter your name and other details, Snow White might greet you by name, and wish you a happy birthday. Moms in strollers could speed their way through turnstiles. And the band could even be used for purchases. The company in turn gets to speed up lines and transactions, learn more about consumers, and presumably boost purchases.

So far, it’s only heading to the Florida theme parks. A spokeswoman for Disneyland and California Adventure says, “For now we’re just focused on Orlando-based Walt Disney World,” but, “we always look to enhance guest experience.”

If you’re a Disney fan, or frequent theme park-goer, would you take advantage of this technology? Or is this a step too far into visitor privacy? And would you make a different choice for yourself than for young children?

Brooks Barnes, NY Times media reporter who covers Disney and theme parks

Connecticut Chief Medical Examiner H. Wayne Carver II talks to the media and answers questions about the elementary school shooting during a press conference at Treadwell Memorial Park on December 15, 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut. Credit: Jared Wickerham/Getty Images

Testimony began yesterday in the trial of the suspect in the July movie theater shooting in Aurora, CO. Coverage of the shooting and the trial add to a fast-spreading discussion about how the media should cover mass violence. Standard media practices have evolved throughout the years to accommodate other tragedies – new outlets don’t publish details of most rapes, and especially don’t publish details about the victim and their appearance.

Suicides are hardly ever covered unless the person is especially famous; details are kept under wraps to prevent “copycat” attempts and associations between the act of suicide and notoriety. Several news outlets have argued that mass murders may be spurred on by the idea of fame. Could new, self-imposed restrictions on reporting these crimes change the impact of the press? Some have suggested leaving names and details about the perpetrators out of coverage completely, or at least until they are on trial. Many many have called for less sensationalized reporting, criticizing reporters who interview traumatized victims and witnesses in the immediate aftermath of tragic events.

Could media sensitivity have an effect on the future of violent crime? Is re-focusing reporting away from perpetrators of violence a good media decision? Does the public have the right to know details of crimes like these, or could a degree of removal be beneficial?

Steve Buttry,  works in corporate editorial for the Journal Register Company, which owns daily and weekly newspapers across the United States

Ms. Kelly McBride, Senior Faculty for Ethics, Poynter Institute

Signs warn the public to stay out of the water in an area harboring high bacteria levels near a drain at Will Rogers State Beach on August 7, 2007 in Pacific Palisades, northwest of Los Angeles, California. Credit: David McNew/Getty Images

Local governments in Los Angeles scored a victory today over environmentalists in the Supreme Court. The issue at hand was runoff from L.A.’s storm water sewer system. Groups such as the Natural Resources Defense Council Inc. and Santa Monica Baykeeper were accusing Los Angeles County of violating the Clean Water Act.

The city’s runoff system carries storm water to the Pacific Ocean, and is often marked by the various materials and substances which find their way into the water due to storms and flooding. Thus, environmental groups stressed that the drainage system was allowing for the discharge of pollutants into the Pacific, as bacteria and feces were often far above normal levels. The Supreme Court, however, determined that water, and any pollutants in said water, flowing from a runoff system into the ocean wasn’t the same as actively polluting a waterway. While the legal aspects are settled for now, there is still a great deal of uncertainty surrounding this issue.

Namely, who is responsible for monitoring and cleaning this water? If not local governments, then does it go to the state or federal level? What groups should be overseeing this? What laws, regulations or permit policies should change to better deal with this problem?

Steve Fleischli, director, Natural Resources Defense Council’s water program

Mark Pestrella, assistant director, L.A. County Public Works Department

Promotional still from "Gangster Squad" (2013) in the hills of California. From left to right, actors Giovanni Ribisi, Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Anthony Mackie, Michael Pena and Robert Patrick.

A team of merciless cops go after a mob boss, by any means necessary. It’s the classic film noir premise, and in this time set in a moonlit 1949 Los Angeles. Director Ruben Fleischer’s biggest work until now was 2009’s Zombieland. But with a star-studded cast that includes Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone and Nick Nolte, "Gangster Squad" is poised to do very well at the box office. Angelenos will recognize many of the locations, with scenes shot in the Tower Theater on Broadway and Clifton’s Cafeteria in Downtown LA and heavy action at the Park Plaza Hotel in Westlake that spills out into MacArthur park.

Full of gunfights and stylized violence, the film’s release date was pushed back and a scene that involved a gunfight in a movie theater was significantly reshot after the after mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado. But come out it will, in theaters this Friday, January 11.

Ruben Fleischer, Director, “Gangster Squad”

US Vice President Joe Biden speaks alongside Attorney General Eric Holder (L) as he meets with representatives of victims’ groups and gun safety organizations at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building adjacent to the White House in Washington, DC, on January 9, 2013. The meeting comes as US President Barack Obama's administration works to develop gun policy proposals following last month's mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. Credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

Tasked with crafting new gun legislation in the wake of the horrific Sandy Hook shooting, Vice President Joe Biden has wasted no time in rolling up his sleeves and getting down to business.  He’s launched a series of meetings with gun safety advocates and victims’ groups, and is also giving a seat at the table to gun lobbies like the National Rifle Association and retailers, such as Walmart, who have a substantial stake in the approximately $8-10 million annual firearms business.  Representatives of mental health organizations and the entertainment and videogame industries are likely to be included as well. Will this all-embracing approach to the conversation lead to consensus, if not workable legislation, by the end of the month deadline? Hill watchers aren’t optimistic.

There are other pressing issues for Congress to address – a little something called the fiscal cliff, for instance – that are bound to take precedence. And if responses to Sandy Hook are any indication, it’s unlikely that common ground on gun control can be found between the White House and the NRA.  Biden is determined to take urgent action, however, and this round of meetings is just the first step.

When writing new gun laws, what should the focus be – banning military assault weapons? Tighter background checks? Limits on ammunition sales?  Or should the commission concentrate on addressing mental health issues or curbing Hollywood and videogame violence? Now that Obama has entered his second term, does he really have nothing to fear from the powerful NRA by cracking down on gun ownership?  Can effective change be enacted that ensures both the safety, and the personal liberty, of all citizens? How would you craft the next series of gun laws?

Doyle McManus, Washington columnist for the Los Angeles Times, covering national and international politics. Click here for his column.

SAN CLEMENTE, CA: Andy Irons during the Foster's ASP Men's World Surfing Tour on September 18, 2005 at Lower Trestles in San Clemente, California. Credit: Donald Miralle/Getty Images

Larry and our talented trio of Orange County journalists riff on the latest news from the O.C.: surfers want Trestles to be named a national historic site...a controversial ban on sex offenders in parks and beaches will get a high court review...the bill for the San Onofre nuclear power plant soars to $1 billion....and what’s up with the Great Park?

Norberto Santana, Editor-in-Chief of the Voice of OC, a non-profit investigative news agency that covers Orange County government and politics

Julie Gallego,  government & politics editor, Orange County Register

Ben Bergman, KPCC’s Orange County reporter