This LA ALOUD event will take place in Los Angeles on Sept. 20 at 7:15 pm.
Moderated by Marty Kaplan, director, Norman Lear Center, USC Annenberg
Since the year 2000, Democrats and Republicans have become more divided than ever, finding little common ground on important issues, from taxes to war to human rights. On the cusp of a presidential election, this panel considers the escalation in political partisanship and whether we can and should take steps to move from red and blue states back to the United States.
Richard L. Hasen is Chancellor’s Professor of Law and Political Science, University of California, Irvine School of Law. He was founding co-editor of the peer-reviewed Election Law Journal and is a frequently quoted expert in the press on election laws. He is the author of the just-published book, The Voting Wars: From Florida 2000 to the Next Election Meltdown.
Connie Rice has received more than fifty major awards for her leadership and unorthodox approaches to challenging brutality and reversing the raw deal for kids struggling to survive in the thin soil of poverty. She is a graduate of Harvard-Radcliffe Colleges and New York University School of Law. At her organization, Advancement Project, she continues her crusade for basic rights with her Urban Peace team after the 2007 release of their seminal report on gang violence in Los Angeles—A Call To Action.
Leslie Berestein Rojas is the lead reporter for KPCC’s immigration blog, Multi-American, on which she reports on immigration and its influence – cultural, political and otherwise – on an evolving nation and region. She formerly covered immigration from the US-Mexico border for the San Diego Union-Tribune. In addition, Ms. Berestein Rojas has reported from throughout the Americas and has written for the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register, Time, People and People en Español.
Nicole Stygar made her political debut as a Deputy Field Director for the California Republican Party in 2006. She has since travelled all over the country working on campaigns for the RNC, NRCC, and as a Regional Government Affairs Representative for ACCCE (Clean Coal Initiative). She currently serves as the Secretary for California Young Republican Federation and Executive Director of Orange County Young Republicans.
Marty Kaplan holds the Norman Lear Chair in Entertainment, Media and Society at the USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism, where he was associate dean for ten years and is the founding director of the school’s Norman Lear Center. He has been a featured blogger on The Huffington Post since its inception, and his commentary appears frequently on radio, TV and in print.
Photo: LAPL Photo Collection
ALOUD is one of the many free programs the Library Foundation makes possible at the Los Angeles Public Library. Most ALOUD author programs are followed by book signings. To help sustain this valuable cultural exchange, at least one copy of the author’s featured book must be purchased from the Library Store if you wish to participate in the post-program book signing. Other non-featured books by the author may be eligible for the signing without having been purchased at the Library Store. Proceeds support the Los Angeles Public Library. Library Foundation members receive a 15% discount on all Library Store purchases.