Patt Morrison for Monday, November 29, 2010

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Monday, November 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 – 1:39

Should undocumented students dare to DREAM? Controversial act gets a vote in lame-duck Congress

For a lame-duck session members of the outgoing 111^th Congress have a full and controversial plate:  tax cuts, debt ceilings and unemployment benefits are just some of the items on the agenda of Congress in the last few lame-duck weeks.  But perhaps the most politically charged issue is immigration, in the form of the DREAM Act that was first proposed in 2001 and has been hotly debated ever since.  The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act creates a path to citizenship for children who were under the age of 16 when they were illegally brought into the U.S. and who attend college or have joined the military.  Passing the act as been a promised priority of the Obama Administration and countless Democratic Congress members while Republicans have almost universally opposed the bill, characterizing it as a backdoor way to amnesty.  On their way out the door the Democratic majority is pushing for a decisive vote on the DREAM Act perhaps as soon as this week, which could set a nasty tone for the broader work on immigration reform that remains to be done.  Should undocumented students have a path to citizenship and is this move by the Democrats better politics than policy?

 

Guests:

UNCONFIRMED

Congressman Luis Gutierrez, D-4^th district, Illinois; Chair of the Democratic Caucus Immigration Task Force

 

Congressman Steve King, R-Iowa’s 5^th Congressional district

 

 

CONFIRMED:

Congressman Xavier Becerra, D-31st District, which includes the Los Angeles area.  He is Vice Chair of the House Democratic Caucus.

WILL CALL IN:

 

NOT CONFIRMED:

Pedro Ramirez, Student Body President at Cal State Fresno

WILL CALL IN

 

 

1:41 – 1:58:30

Cho Dependent

Margaret Cho is an actress, comedian, and… singer? That’s right! The hilarious Margaret decided to collaborate with some of music’s best like Andrew Bird, Jon Brion, Ani DiFranco, and Fiona Apple to bring you her new comedy music album, Cho Dependent. With tracks like “Intervention,” “Hey Big Dog,” and “Gimme Your Seed” (a song about searching for the perfect sperm donor), Cho Dependent is sure to give you at least a few laughs – and you might even be pleasantly surprised at Cho’s singing abilities. Margaret Cho stops by to talk about the making of the album.

 

Guests:

Margaret Cho, comedian

IN STUDIO

 

 

2:06 – 2:30

Does this make sense: unemployment stays high, corporations enjoy record profits

America is in the midst of a major recession, unemployment remains high, consumer spending is low, and the foreclosure crisis shows no sign of slowing down.  The average American worker is working more for less and having to take on more, or in some cases all, of their medical costs.  At a time when most Americans are tightening their belts, corporate profits are sky rocking.  They just had their best quarter in recorded history.  Since a low in 2008, corporate profits have increased at some of the fastest rates in history for seven consecutive quarters.  This is success story for American business, rebounding after the economic meltdown, but is this just another illustration of the growing gap between the rich and the poor?  Much of their success is due to increased productivity.  Should the American worker reap some of the reward?

 

Guests:

Sylvia A. Allegretto, PhD, Economist Institute for Research on Labor & Employment, University of California, Berkeley

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Mary Bottari, director of the Real Economy Project at the Center for Media and Democracy

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• The Center for Media and Democracy is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan, public interest organization that focuses on: Investigating and countering spin by corporations, industries, and government agencies; informing and assisting grassroots action that promotes public health, economic justice, ecological sustainability, human rights, and democratic principles; advancing transparency and media.

 

 

2:30 – 2:39

OPEN

 

 

2:41 – 2:58:30

Ah-choo

Americans come down with an estimated one billion colds each year - this means 40 million missed days of work and school, 100 million doctor visits, and who knows how many home and pharmaceutical remedies. In AH-CHOO, science journalist and author Jennifer Ackerman sifts through all the "miracle treatments" your mother and Big Pharma swear by, sorting myth from fact and following current scientific research and advances. So what helps? What doesn't? And which "cures" might even make your cold worse?

 

Guests:

Jennifer Ackerman, award-winning science writer & author of “Ah-choo!  The uncommon life of your common cold”

CALL HER:

 

 

Jonathan Serviss

Producer, Patt Morrison Program

Southern California Public Radio

NPR Affiliate for Los Angeles

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