Patt Morrison for Thursday, July 29, 2010

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Thursday, July 29, 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

 

 

1:21 – 1:39

Mandatory minimums on crack cocaine to be shortened

One of the most criticized laws in America is about to get reformed. Congress passed a bill Wednesday that would reduce the disparities between mandatory minimum sentences for crack and powdered cocaine violations, a law some have considered blatantly racist and unfairly harsh punishments imposed, mainly on blacks. Even the Obama administration has called the disparity “fundamentally unfair,” and who could argue with that? The law, which was adopted in 1986, states that someone convicted of possession of 5 grams of crack must be sentenced to 5 years in prison, compared to powdered cocaine, the amount for those mandatory sentences are as 100 times as high. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that under the new law the federal prison system would save about $42 million over the next five years. So if this is a positive financially and in terms of race relations, why would anyone be against it?    

 

Guests:

TBD

 

 

1:41 – 1:58:30

If you want to “save” marriage, should you outlaw divorce?

“If marriage is so sacred, why do half of them end in divorce?” and “How is my gay marriage affecting the health of your heterosexual one?” are common refrains from those in the anti-Prop 8 camp.  John Marcotte is gearing up to put an end to that argument.  The founder of rescuemarriage.org is collecting signatures to get a new initiative on the November ballot—one that would amend the California constitution to ban divorces throughout the state.  According to the proposed ballot language, the initiative “changes the California Constitution to eliminate the ability of married couples to get divorced in California” and while doing so, “preserves the ability of married couples to seek an annulment.” A Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance’s summary both predict it will result in “savings to the state of up to hundreds of millions of dollars annually for support of the court system due to the elimination of divorce proceedings.” Marcotte’s point might be tongue-in-cheek, but his efforts are sincere.  How will it frame the next wave of gay marriage arguments and what does it say about the current state of political discourse in the golden state?

 

Guest:

John Marcotte, author of the “California Marriage Protection Act” & founder of RescueMarriage.org

CALL HIM:

 

-         must collect signatures of 694,354 registered voters – the number equal to eight percent of the total votes cast for governor in the 2006 gubernatorial election – in order to qualify it for the ballot.  The proponent has 150 days to circulate petitions for this measure, meaning the signatures must be collected by December 9, 2010.

 

 

 

2:06 – 2:30

Financial overhaul bill packs a hidden punch at a glass ceiling, is it out of line?

Should the federal government lend women and minorities some muscle to break Wall Street’s glass ceiling? That’s what a section of last week’s financial overhaul bill aims to do, by granting the federal government authority to end contracts with financial firms that fail to ensure “fair inclusion” of women and minorities.  Opponents say the provision’s vague language make it tantamount to quotas, while proponents see it as an overdue wake-up call to a heavily white and male industry with a reputation for elitism.  The section sets not quotas, or even goals, but it does establish at least 20 new Offices of Minority and Women Inclusion across the Treasury Department, which already has three such offices.  Advocates of the provision say the current offices have no teeth and that minority and women-owned businesses didn’t receive an adequate share of the contracts awarded through the $700 billion bank bailout, while the collapse of the sub prime mortgage market disproportionately hit African-American and Latino homeowners.  Should the federal government take means to correct for this and if so, does this measure go far enough?

 

Guests:

AGAINST THE PROVISION:

Gail Heriot (Harriet), Senate appointee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and professor of law at University of San Diego Law School

CALL HER @

-         she signed a letter of opposition against the provision

 

FOR THE PROVISION:

NOT CONFIRMED:

Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League, which pressed for the bill language

-         says the existing efforts (Civil Rights Center at Department of Labor, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance at Labor, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) to ensure that women- and minority-owned firms receive contracts have “no visibility, no teeth.”

 

NOT CONFIRMED:

Gary Acosta, co-founder of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate (NAHREP) Professionals, which lobbied for the section

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NOT CONFIRMED:

Ann O’Leary, executive director of the Berkeley Center for Health, Economic & Family Security at the UC Berkeley School of Law; senior fellow at the Center for American Progress; and co-author of “The Shriver Report”

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2:30 – 2:58:30

OPEN

 

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