Patt Morrison for Monday, May 17, 2010

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Monday, May 17, 2010

1-3 p.m.

 

CALL-IN @ 866-893-5722, 866-893-KPCC; OR JOIN THE CONVERSATION ONLINE ON THE PATT MORRISON BLOG AT KPCC-DOT-ORG

 

 

1:06 – 1:19

OPEN

 

 

1:30 - 1:39

National and community service – the benefits flow many ways

President Obama’s United We Serve initiative is led by a man who thinks community service can make a significant dent in the needs of a region that are not being met by institutions because of severe budget cuts, help prevent high school students from dropping out, and help address the problem of homelessness.  Patrick Covington, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service brings his ideas to Los Angeles this week, where he’s meeting with community leaders and delivering the keynote speech at the City Year Summit.

 

Tomorrow at 1:30, Patrick Corvington will deliver the keynote address at City Year and the Entertainment Industry Foundation’s Education Summit at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Ballroom

 

Guest:

Patrick Corvington, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service

CALL HIM: 

 

Topics:

• Improving and expanding service opportunities in Los Angeles and throughout California, which is especially critical in a time of budget constraints.
• Using service learning as a way of preventing high school students from dropping out, a problem that is plaguing this country and will have a detrimental effect on our economy over time.
• Addressing homelessness through service, particularly engaging formerly homeless people in assisting those who are struggling with homelessness and addictions today.

 

 

 

1:41 – 1:58:30

Black hearts: one platoon’s descent into madness in Iraq’s triangle of death

As Americans, we are instilled with a sense that it’s unpatriotic to question the troops who put their lives on the line to defend our freedoms.  It’s accurate to say that unless you’ve served, you really can’t relate to the transformation that one goes through to be able perform their duty, or to rationalize the sum of their actions.  On March 12, 2006, after nearly 18 hours on-guard in the extreme dangers of Iraq’s “Triangle of Death,” with minuscule amounts of sleep, the members of the U.S. Army unit known as the “Black Hearts” were about to succumb to those pressures.  While drinking Iraqi whiskey mixed with energy drinks and playing cards, the men planned the rape of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and the murder of her and her family.  In a drunken, hate-fueled rage, the men committed one of the most heinous war crimes in recent history.  Patt talks with author Jim Frederick about the disturbing picture of life “outside the wire” in one of the most dangerous areas of Iraq.    

 

Guest:

Jim Frederick, contributing editor at Time magazine; he is also the coauthor, with former Army Sergeant Charles Robert Jenkins, of “The Reluctant Communist”. His latest book is “Black Hearths: One Platoon’s Descent into Madness in Iraq’s Triangle of Death”

CALL HIM @

 

 

2:06 – 2:30

Google’s been peeking into your home: “Street View” program picks up data through personal Wi-Fi

Google’s unofficial mantra is “Don’t Be Evil” and up to this point they’ve been largely viewed as a benevolent company—but as more charges are made about Google’s voracious appetite for personal information, to how your search the internet to what you write in your emails, their “evil” mantra might come into question.  The latest accusation, admitted by Google on Friday, is that the company sucked up 600 gigabytes of data off the Wi-Fi networks in more than 30 countries as Google vehicles cruised streets for its “Street View” mapping feature.  Google vehicles were armed with cameras and an antenna so they could crease a database with the names of Wi-Fi networks, and in the process picked up views of your emails, your bank statements and anything else you happened to be doing over a wireless network when Google cars drove through your neighborhoods.  Google says their destroying all personal information—can you trust them?

 

Guest:

ALL UNCONFIRMED

Barry Steinhardt, executive director, Electronic Frontier Foundation

Andrew Blumberg, co-author of Electronic Frontier Foundation’s “on Locational Privacy, and How to Avoid Losing it Forever”

Kevin Bankston, staff attorney, Electronic Frontier Foundation, he specializes in free speech and privacy law

 

Matt Furman, spokesperson, Google

 

 

 

2:30 – 2:58:30

Restructuring Fremont High, Part II: The parents

Patt continues her series looking at the restructuring of Fremont High. In December 2009, LAUSD superintendent Ramon Cortines invited all staff, with the exception of a newly appointed principal, to reapply for their jobs at the school—one of the lowest performing in the district, with less than 2% of its students testing proficiently in math last year. The decision is part of a process known as “restructuring,” an aggressive plan under the No Child Left Behind Act that allows districts to reconstitute a chronically underperforming school by hiring back no more than 50% of the current staff. District officials see it as the best remedy for a school culture grown complacent with underachievement. While not technically “fired,” teachers were outraged and felt they had no input in the decision—about 60% of Fremont’s teachers reapplied for their jobs by the March deadline. Today Patt picks up where she left off with Fremont teachers to hear the experiences of some of the parents whose children attend Fremont.

 

Guests:

TBA

 

 

 

Jonathan Serviss

Producer, Patt Morrison Program

Southern California Public Radio

NPR Affiliate for Los Angeles

89.3 KPCC-FM | 89.1 KUOR-FM | 90.3 KPCV-FM

626.583.5171, office

415.497.2131, mobile

jserviss@kpcc.org / jserviss@scpr.org

www.scpr.org