Patt Morrison Tues, 3/23

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

1-3 p.m.

 

 

1:00 - 1:40

Like Borrowing Sugar From the Neighbors: Clinton Goes to Mexico Offering Help

Your next door neighbor has a greater impact on your life then you might realize, from the trash on his front lawn to having to watch him dance around naked in his house—with the curtains up!  In spite of two foreign wars and an international economic crisis, there is perhaps no greater foreign policy priority for the Obama Administration than Mexico, the troubled American neighbor that is literally fighting a civil war for its survival.  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton travels to Mexico tomorrow offering help for the Mexican fight against drug cartels, a fight which has threatened to spill over the U.S. border.  But without direct American military or police support, something which makes many Mexicans uneasy, how much can the U.S. do to build up our next-door-neighbor?

 

Guests:

Roberta Jacobson: Deputy Assistant Secretary for Canada, Mexico and NAFTA, U.S. Department of State

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Dudley Althaus: Mexico City Bureau Chief, Houston Chronicle

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1:40 – 2:00

The Mystic Art of Sunshine Cleaning

"It's a dirty job, but somebody's got to do it" goes an old adage, and lately, pop culture seems especially fascinated with the gritty detail and dark humor waiting to be mined from the lives of "trauma cleaners," who figured prominently in this season's offerings. We find out why.

 

Guests:

Meghan Holley, screenwriter of "Sunshine Cleaning'

 

Charlie Huston (pronounced like HOUSTON), author of The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death

IN-STUDIO

 

 

 

[NPR NEWS]

 

2:06 – 2:20

Geithner on Another Risky Tightrope

Treasury Secretary Geithner walked another tightrope today [Tues] as he testified before the House Financial Services Committee on the $165 million in bonus payments made last week to employees of AIG's Financial Products division. Congress is attempting to rein in compensation for companies that receive federal aid, and last week the House voted to set a 90 percent tax on bonuses for employees of firms that receive financial help, moves that have made some private investors wary of entering into a partnership with the federal government to buy into troubled bank assets. Two members of the committee voice their concerns about executive bonuses, President Obama's criticism of that 90 percent tax, and Mr. Geithner's explanation of both.

 

Guests:

Congressman Brad Sherman, Democrat from the San Fernando Valley's 27th congressional district and member of the House Financial Services Committee

Congressman John Campbell, Republican from Orange County's 48th District.  He is also a member of the House Financial Services Committee

 

 

 

2:20 – 2:30

OPEN

 

 

 

2:30 – 3:00

Joker One: A Marine Platoons’ Story of Courage, Leadership and Brotherhood

The marines of platoon Joker One spearheaded the “hearts and minds” strategy that would ultimately prove successful in Iraq in 2007.  But it wasn’t easy.  Three years earlier, these same Marines were on the front lines of the most violent battles of the Iraqi insurgency.  Faced with the toughest of circumstances, they could have given up.  But as decorated military officer Donovan Campbell shares stories of his men, you see how their courage and camaraderie was key to their survival. 

 

Guest:

Donovan Campbell, author of Joker One: A Marine Platoon's Story of Courage, Leadership, and Brotherhood. Campbell served three combat deployments—two in Iraq and one in Afghanistan; he was awarded the Combat Action Ribbon and a Bronze Star with Valor for his time in Iraq, and recently promoted to Captain. He is no longer active in the Marines.