Patt Morrison for Wednesday, June 1, 2011

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

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

OPEN

 

 

 

1:41:30 – 1:58:30

Flame retardants: the new asbestos? This time in baby products & furniture

In the 1970s, chemical flame retardants were banned from being used in children’s pajamas because of a connection found to cancer. New research now finds that the same chemical, Tris, is in furniture and baby products, such as nursing pillows, car seats, and highchairs. Critics of the chemical point to studies finding relation between the chemical and reduced IQ in children, reduced fertility, thyroid problems, endocrine disruption, and cancer. Defendants of the fire retardant chemical say that the retardants have dramatically lessened deaths caused by upholstered furniture and that it is not clear that the flame retardant actually comes out of the product. In direct opposition, Tris critics claim the retardant has not actually increased fire safety. About a month ago, state Sen. Mark Leno’s Consumer Choice Fire Safety Act, which would create an alternative furniture standard that maintains fire safety without the chemical retardant, was voted down 8 to 1 in committee—critics say because of the powerful fire retardant chemical industry lobby. The Act will be up for a vote again within the year. How will California legislators—whose strict flammability rule has become a de facto national standard—juggle their efforts to protect Californians and their babies from being burned as well as from getting cancer?

 

Guests:

Thinks flame retardants should be banned:

Arlene Blum, Ph.D., biophysical chemist and executive director, Green Science Policy Institute, a nonprofit that brings scientific data about toxic chemicals to policy makers; contributed to the elimination of Tris flame retardants in children’s pajamas in the 1970s

CALL HER:

 

Thinks flame retardants aren’t proven harmful:

UNCONFIRMED
Gordon Nelson, vice president for academic affairs and professor of chemistry, Florida Institute of Technology

 

 

 

2:06 – 2:30

Donor Unknown: Adventures in the Sperm Trade

When JoEllen was 7, her two mothers showed her the donor profile of her anonymous biological father: age 28, Caucasian, 6”, blue eyes, light brown hair. A year ago, at age 20, JoEllen used the online Donor Sibling Registry to connect with more than a dozen of her half-siblings. The New York Times picked up the story, and Jeffrey Harrison, living alone with four dogs and a pigeon in a broken-down RV in a Venice Beach car park, got a hold of the story. Jeffrey donated sperm three or four times a week, totaling 500 times, during the 1980s and 1990s to help pay the rent—and JoEllen and her half-siblings were the result. The documentary Donor Unknown tells the story of the new kind of ‘family’ that evolves when Jeffrey decides to give up anonymity and meet his children. As several countries start to ban donor anonymity, there is a booming industry in the U.S. of reproductive tourism and shipping eggs and sperm abroad. Should the U.S. put children’s rights over adults’, as critics argue, and ban donor anonymity? Given the fear of half-siblings meeting romantically, should there be a limit to the number of times a person can donate egg or sperm? Should parents be obligated to tell their children if they have a donor parent?

 

Guests:

JoEllen Marsh, the protagonist of the documentary Donor Unknown

CALL HER:

 

Vardit Ravitsky, assistant professor of bioethics, University of Montreal

CALL HER:

 

Dr. Cappy M. Rothman, co-founder and medical director, California Cryobank, largest sperm bank in the U.S.

HE CALLS US:

 

 

 

2:30 – 2:39

OPEN

 

 

 

2:41:30 – 2:58:30

Should cheerleading become an NCAA sport?

Should cheerleading be a sport? The question has vexed universities, sports enthusiasts and feminists for decades, but now two groups have submitted competing proposals to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to recognize cheerleading as an emerging sport for women. Opponents have traditionally said it sends the wrong message to women, that it literally and figuratively puts them on the sidelines of male-dominated sports and offers universities an easy path to skirt Title IX obligations to provide equal athletic opportunities to male and female students. But competitive cheerleaders say that’s an image from the past; today’s cheering is much more sophisticated and deeply rooted in stunts and gymnastics.  To the casual observer, the competing proposals differ only in details—how the competition should be scored, how to structure the season and whether the sport will ultimately look more like stunts or gymnastics. But both aim to make it an NCAA-recognized sport that would ban cheerleaders from cheering for other athletic games. What could that mean for athletic scholarships and even the iconic image of cheerleaders on the sidelines?

 

Guests:

NOT CONFIRMED:

Karen Morrison, directs the emerging sports process for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)

 

Barbara Osbourne, a scholarship basketball player who graduated from the University of Wisconsin and who now advises universities on gender-equity issues

 

Bill Seely, executive director of USA Cheer

 

Renee Baumgartner, spokesperson with the National Collegiate Athletics and Tumbling Association

 

Jonathan Serviss
Senior Producer, Patt Morrison
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

 

Patt Morrison for Tuesday, May 31, 2011

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

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

OPEN

 

 

 

1:41:30 – 1:58:30

The rights of the mentally ill - who’s to say you need help?

If you felt a sharp pain in your abdomen or broke your leg, you very probably would see a doctor or go to an emergency room. But many people diagnosed with psychotic illness resist treatment, saying they are not mentally ill. One in 17 Americans live with a serious psychosis such as schizophrenia, major depression or bipolar disorder and about one in 10 children live with a serious mental or emotional disorder. The Lanterman-Perris-Short Act, passed in California in 1967, protects the rights of people with mental illness by making treatment available on a voluntary basis and barring involuntary treatment, except in cases of violence. But many patients end up on the street unable to cope and are arrested for a violent act or taken to an emergency room. Is there a better way? What’s the appropriate threshold for intervention? What point do you let a life go to waste over ideology around personal rights?

 

Guests:

Mark Gale, second vice-president of the California Board of Directors for the National Alliance on Mental Illness. NAMI is a volunteer advocacy organization working to help families to deal with mental illness.

CALL HIM:

 

Dan Brzovic, associate managing attorney at Disability Rights California, an organization that works to advance the rights of Californians with disabilities.

CALL HIM:

 

 

 

2:06 – 2:30

The inevitability of ethnic politics in congressional redistricting: competing visions of California’s new districts

It’s been called a “political blood sport”—drawing a new map of Congressional & state districts, long the jurisdiction of the elected representatives (and their corresponding parties) in Sacramento, is now in the hands of an unprecedented citizen’s commission but the competition to establish potential political dominance in California is no less intense.  At public hearings last week in front of the California Citizens Redistricting Commission interest groups presented their visions of what new congressional districts should look like, and not surprisingly minority groups were eager to take advantage of their growing numbers and political power in the state.  Proposals for “like minded communities” being bandied together in one district were put forward; districts that would “respect the Latino voter” were presented by the Mexican American Legal Defense & Education Fund; old disagreements over the division of the San Fernando Valley surfaced.  Beneath it all ethic politics reared up, and the California Republican Party, in particular, is not happy about the possibility of creating so many safe Democratic districts.  We wade into the redistricting fight and look at the hard work ahead for the citizen commissioners.

 

Guests:

Jeanne Raya, Commissioner on the California Citizens Redistricting Commission

SHE CALLS US:

 

UNCONFIRMED

Tom Del Beccaro, Chairman of the California Republican Party

 

Thomas Saenz, president & general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense & Education Fund (MALDEF)

 

 

 

2:30 – 2:39

OPEN

 

 

 

2:41:30 – 2:58:30

Virtually You: The Dangerous Powers of the E-Personality

In recent years, scientists have looked at how the internet affects our brains, but how is it affecting our personalities? In his new book, Stanford University psychiatrist Elias Aboujaoude documents the disturbing phenomena that few medical professionals have written about, or understand, but that any casual observer has noticed. Whether it’s obsessive-compulsively checking e-mail or worrying to the point of paranoia about identity theft, the internet has spawned new forms of behavior. It also emphasizes equally hard-to-control character traits, like narcissism and grandiosity, which, whether in rekindled romances facilitated by Facebook friendships or “flaming” rage on a blog, take on new meanings in one’s digital life. As video poker and one-click shopping elevate impulsive tendencies and avatars in cyber-universes allow for the creation of alternate personalities, Aboujaoude explains how the way an individual functions in cyberspace impacts his or her behavior in the real world.

 

Guest:

Dr. Elias Aboujaoude (KEVIN – NEED A PRONOUNCER), psychiatrist and Director of the Impulse Control Disorders Clinic and the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Clinic at Stanford University. His latest book is Virtually You: The Dangerous Powers of the E-Personality

 

Jonathan Serviss
Senior Producer, Patt Morrison
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

 

Patt Morrison for Memorial Day, Monday May 30, 2011

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Monday, May 30, 2011

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

Military families and their private front lines

Can I earn enough to pay the bills?

How can I take care of the kids and work at the same time?

Can I keep the household running without my wife?

He always fixes the car, but now that he’s gone…

He’s so changed.

She needs help.

We miss him.

We miss her.

I feel so alone. 

 

Military families face so many challenges, many amplified by the unknown: finding and keeping a good job, caring for children, staying connected while separated by thousands of miles, helping a loved one who has returned from the war with wounds to the body or brain. Every family has a story; we would like to hear yours.

 

Guests:

Tom Tarantino, senior legislative associate of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America; retired Army Captain and veteran of tours in Iraq & Bosnia

CALL HIM:

• 27% veterans aged 20-24 are unemployed
• According to the National Institute of mental Health, suicide has surpassed combat death as a cause of mortality in the military.
• Per Pentagon statistics, 7.9% of women in the armed forces got a divorce in  2010 versus 3% of their male counterparts

 

Tim Kahlor (KAY-lor), father of Ryan Kahlor, an Army sergeant who served two deployments - 26 months, in Anbar province, Iraq, working with both the Army and the Marines. He left for basic training on March 18, 2003, the first day of the Iraqi invasion. He was 19 years old at the time. Ryan returned with traumatic brain injury, PTSD, hearing loss, nerve damage in both arms, a detached retina, and back and neck injuries. 

IN STUDIO

 

Ryan’s deployment:

• In Iraq, his Bradley (armored tank) was hit 6 or 7 times by IEDs. 
• Ryan also fell off a 2nd story building while on patrol.  
• When Tim and his wife learned of an attack in the same area where there son was deployed, they would often have to wait 24 to 48 hours to see if their son was among those killed. [This happened over and over.]
• Tim: “In April of 2004, eight men with the1st Armored Division based out of Germany were killed. My son was with this division and I didn't tell my wife; and I remember every time I heard a car coming down the street. I couldn't look, for fear it was the military coming to tell us Ryan was dead.  We got a call from Ryan telling us he was alright, and when I got off the phone I realized 8 families didn't get a call from their loved one.  I just started crying for those families.
• It was hell… and then when we got him home, we had to continue trying to keep him alive and from hurting himself

 

Ryan’s return home:

• Ryan returned with traumatic brain injury, PTSD, hearing loss, nerve damage in both arms, a detached retina, and back and neck injuries. 
• When Ryan came back, was sent to Fort Irwin (near Barstow), where there were no specialized medical facilities.  All care was contracted out to civilian doctors.
• Was violent and went into rages, isolated himself, abused alcohol (self-medicating).
• He was on 12 - 15 medications during this time and continues to be on all kinds of medications to control both physical and mental injuries. 
• Tim has been very pro-active and got Ryan into a Wounded Warrior program and also Ryan has been through two PTSD programs.
• Ryan is now 27 years old but like a 70 year old man – emotionally and physically.

Since coming home, Ryan has purchased his own home and takes in other veterans who need help.

 

 

 

1:41:30 – 1:58:30

Ah Memorial Day….surf, sand, sun and cholera bacteria?  Making SoCal beaches & water safer

 

Guest:

Molly Peterson, KPCC Environment reporter

IN STUDIO

 

 

 

 

2:06 – 2:58:30

Comedy Congress live from the Crawford Family Forum!

The only true medicine for the pain of politics is laughter—after all, if we weren’t laughing at the (mostly) unintentional humor emanating from Washington D.C. and state capitols, chances are we’d be crying. Budget pandemonium is in full effect as Republicans race to slash social services, leaving poor, sick & helpless grandmothers in their wake, while Democrats do a lot of hand wringing and crying and not much else. And it's always fun to laugh at a gloriously uninspiring field of GOP presidential candidates. Tomorrow we’ll probably cry about our lost jobs, but today join us in laughing at the madness of it all—the truth hurts far less when it’s told by comedians.

 

Guest:

Aisha Tyler, touring stand-up comic; staring in the new TV series “XIII”; voice actor on the FX series “Archer”; and star in former TV shows, “Friends,” “24,” “CSI,” and the “Ghost Whisperer”; and former host of the E! Channel “Talk Soup”

ON TAPE

 

Alonzo Bodden, winner of season 3 of NBC’s Last Comic Standing and regular performer and field correspondent for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno; guest star on several TV shows and movies, and his new DVD “Who’s Paying Attention” is available at Amazon

ON TAPE

• Alonzo is performing at the Long Beach Laugh Factor at 10pm on Friday night and the Hollywood Laugh Factory at midnight Friday

 

Ben Gleib, touring stand up comic, regular panelist on the E! Network’s Chelsea Lately, regular performer on the CBS The Late Late Show and on NBC’s Last Call with Carson Daly; host of Yahoo.com’s “Behind Enemy Lines” and the face of MySpace News; named one of "Six Comedians who Could be Comedy’s Next Big Thing" in Esquire

ON TAPE

 

 

Jonathan Serviss
Senior Producer, Patt Morrison
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

 

Patt Morrison for Friday, May 27, 2011

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Friday, May 27, 2011

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

OPEN

 

 

 

1:41:30 – 1:58:30

California puts the brakes on solo hybrids in the carpool lane

They only cost eight dollars but they saved a million bucks’ worth of time. Now, California is hitting the brakes on carpool lane privileges for hybrids. Starting July 1^st, gas-electric hybrid vehicles will be banned from driving solo in California’s carpool lanes. The program, started 6 years ago, issued 85,000 stickers and undoubtedly pushed up hybrid car sales. It also sparked a black market and a demand for used cars with the stickers, which were nontransferable. After the expiration date, the only cars allowed solo in the carpool lane will be the white-stickered cars (all-electric or natural gas-powered) until the green sticker program rolls out sometime next year. How will that work and how will this affect your car buying decisions?

 

Guests:

TBD, California Air Resources Board

 

OR

 

Jaime Garza, spokesperson with the Department of Motor Vehicles

CALL HIM @

 

Mike Omotoso, senior manager of automotive forecasting, J.D. Power and Associates, an independent market research firm

CALL HIM:

 

 

 

2:06 – 2:19

OPEN

 

 

2:21:30 – 2:39

Texas vs. the TSA: less gropin’, more ropin’ as the Lone Star State takes on full body searches

It was a classic Texas showdown—after a bill that would charge agents of the Transportation Security Administration with a misdemeanor if they knowingly touched a person in private areas without probably cause made it through the Texas State House, the TSA decided to fight back.  The TSA and the Department of Justice lobbied several members of the Texas state government, arguing that the passage of a measure that violates federal law would cause problems.  The TSA said they would have to request an emergency stay of the new law and, until that was resolved, all flights in and out of Texas would be cancelled.  In the end the bill died in the state senate, bowing to the pressure of the Feds.  The fight in Texas is just the beginning of a multi-state effort to push back against what’s seen as invasive security measures at the country’s airports, setting the stage for a serious confrontation over the way searches and security is conducted.  Could a full blown constitutional crisis break out over pat downs?

 

Guests:

Texas State Rep. David Simpson, R-7^th District (Longview); author of HR 1937, which would outlaw hand searches at airport security checkpoints without probable cause

CALL HIM:

 

UNCONFIRMED

Alaska State Rep. Sharon Cissna, D- 22^nd District (Anchorage); co-chair of the United State for Travel Freedom caucus

 

Representative from the TSA

 

 

 

2:41:30 – 2:58:30

When being rude is fashionable: manners in the age of texting

We’ve all either done it or been a victim of it:  having a conversation with a person who is fully engaged with their phone, whether they are texting or checking sports scores on the web.  People walk with their heads down, staring at their phones; parents talk to their kids while answering emails; much more dangerously, motorists drive with one eye on the road and the other on their phones.  Whipping out one’s phone to check for texts or emails, whether it’s in the middle of an intimate conversation, in the middle of a business meeting or the in the middle of the family dinner, has become not only common but acceptable behavior.  Have manners completely evaporated or have they merely adjusted to the realities of the digital age, when nobody feels that they can ever miss any piece of new information?  Is it tacky to live-Tweet or update your Facebook account after every seemingly minor interaction?  Is the familiar glow of your smart phone simply too strong to resist?  We ask whether texting and manners have to be mutually exclusive.

 

Guests:

TBD

 

 

Jonathan Serviss
Senior Producer, Patt Morrison
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

 

Patt Morrison for Thursday, May 26, 2011

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Thursday, May 26, 2011

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

 

 

1:21:30 – 1:39

Crime is dropping everywhere, but why?

By most anyone’s estimation, a recession would be the perfect recipe for a crime spike. But in the last several years, and in fact consistently over the last 20 years, crime rates have been falling in cities nationwide. A new report from the Brookings Institution provides a snapshot of 100 metropolitan areas, which have become increasingly safer; when communities become more diverse, economically and demographically, crime rates tend to fall.  In California, where the economy has been depressed for going on five years, the rate of violent crime has fallen to a 44-year-low.  What happened to the old conventional wisdom that in bad economic times, crime increases?  That’s not the only thinking that was turned upside down in the crime statistics:  the gap between suburban and city crime rates declined dramatically; the social characteristics associated with crime, like immigration or ethnic diversity, had limited connection to crime rates since 1990.  Has the U.S. simply become a safer place in which to live?

 

Guest:

Steven Raphael, Professor of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley and one of the report authors

CALL HIM @

 

 

 

1:41:30 – 1:58:30

Happy Meal wars continue:  Ronald McDonald & cheap kids toys in the crosshairs

There is perhaps no greater symbol for American cuisine, and all of the good and bad that goes along with it, than the Golden Arches of McDonalds.  The Happy Meal wars started years ago, when health and nutrition advocates targeted McDonalds for their aggressive marketing to kids and the connection between childhood obesity and the cheeseburger, fries and cheap toys that come in each friendly-looking child’s meal.  San Francisco and Santa Clara counties banned the sale of Happy Meals, New York City and even Nebraska considered bans.  McDonalds and other fast food chains fought back, pushing legislation that would restrict how local governments could regulate restaurant food.  The latest shot comes from public health advocates who are pressuring McDonalds to stop using Ronald McDonald as their mascot.  Who should exercise the ultimate control over whether you or your child can eat a Happy Meal?

 

Guests:

Deborah Lapidus, Value [the] Meal campaign director, Corporate Accountability International

CALL HER @

 

TBD Representative of the California Restaurant Association or The Center for Consumer Freedom

 

 

 

2:06 – 2:30

Study shows fluffy majors beget fluffy earnings

You know the old joke about education—the engineering major says, “how does it work?” the English major says, “do you want fries with that?” Now, the first study ever to try and quantify lifetime earnings of different majors shows that that joke may be funny because it’s true. According to previously unreported census data definitively linking college majors to career earnings, those who majored in engineering, computer science or business earn as much as 50% more over a lifetime than those who major in the humanities, arts, education and psychology. Overall, the study conducted by the Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce found a college degree was still worth it: workers with a bachelor’s degree can still expect to make 84% more in a lifetime than a colleague with only a high school diploma. But as the recession and increasing college costs renew the age-old debate of the value of a college education, are those “critical thinking skills” promised to dance majors really worth it?

 

Guests:

NOT CONFIRMED:

Anthony Carnevale, director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce and a researcher on the study

CALL HIM @

 

 

2:30 – 2:39

OPEN

 

 

2:41:30 – 2:58:30

Alan Arkin’s “Improvised Life”

The Academy-Award winner Alan Arkin has always been a supremely gifted role-player on screen, delivering deadpan comedy and harrowing realities to his audiences. Now he emerges as a charismatic storyteller, revealing in his memoir, An Improvised Life, his childhood epiphany that ever since the age of five he had wanted to be an actor. However, it wasn’t until many years later, while on a location shoot overlooking the Hudson Valley, that he discovered during an intimate conversation with one of his co-stars what he had really been doing throughout his life, in pursuit of his artistic dream. “With that one statement I realized that what she’d said about herself was the impulse behind all of my own interests, all of my needs, all of my studying, compulsions, and passions,” Arkin writes in the beginning pages of his book. “This is dedicated to everyone who wants to be the music.”

 

Guests:

Alan Arkin, Academy Award-winning actor, director, musician & singer; author of “An Improvised Life: A Memoir”

He calls us:

 

Jonathan Serviss
Senior Producer, Patt Morrison
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

 

Patt Morrison for Wednesday, May 25, 2011

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

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

OPEN

 

 

1:41:30 – 1:58:30

Paying for the sins of the road: how much should your insurance jump after one ticket?

Car insurance rates jump for drivers by almost 20% after just one moving violation ticket and soar over 50% after a second ticket. That’s according to a new report from insurance.com that looked at 397,000 insurance quotes in 2010. Those rate increases were even higher for drivers age 65 and older who were ticketed for moving violations such as speeding. At an average annual auto insurance premium of $1,119 for a driver with no violations, that can be up to $1,713 after three tickets. That cost is also in addition to the cost of the ticket itself, which for a moving violation in California can now exceed $200. How do insurance companies determine these increased rates for higher risk drivers and do they fairly account for insuring that higher risk?

 

Guests:

TBD

 

 

2:06 – 2:30

More money, more problems. What's going on with campaign finance rules?

Since the Supreme Court gave the green light to allow unlimited sums of money to flow into political campaigns, the rules on what is and is not allowed in terms of money and disclosure has become increasingly unclear.  Most projections indicate that the candidates in the 2012 presidential race will raise unprecented amounts of money--President Obama is expected raise close to a billion.  So who's keeping a watchful eye to ensure regulations are being followed?  We've seen the creation of Super Pacs and non profit political organizations with the sole purpose of acquiring large sums of money for specific candidates raising some eyebrows. We've also seen the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) allow shareholders the opportunity to weigh-in on the political contributions made by corporations, a lawsuit against the FEC (Federal Election Commission) that aims to open the political process up to foreign nationals, and even the IRS has jumped into the fray.  The agency recently sent letters to some large non-profit political groups suggesting that they declare large political donations they "gift" to political campaigns.  But with the Supreme Court decision and campaign finance laws seemingly at odds, and no new direction coming from Congress, what's a candidate to do and how much trouble can he get in for doing it? 

 

Guests:

IS FOR NO CAMPAIGN FINANCE LIMITS - HE CAN DISCUSS SUPER PACS

Jim Bopp Jr, General Counsel, James Madison Center for Free Speech; founder of the Republican Super PAC

CALL HIM @

• Bopp served as a legal adviser for Citizens United in its successful 2010 Supreme Court case.
• The James Madison Center for Free Speech was founded to protect the First Amendment right of all citizens to free political expression in our democratic Republic. Its purpose is to support litigation and public education activities in order to defend the rights of political expression and association by citizens and citizen groups as guaranteed by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

Lisa Graves, executive director of the Center for Media & Democracy
CALL HER:

• 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.
• Graves was the chief counsel for nominations for the Senate Judiciary Committee during the Clinton Administration
• Graves was the former Deputy Assist Attorney General in the office of legal policy for the Clinton Administration.

Yaakov Roth, associate at Jones Day and Counsel for Plaintiffs in Bluman v. FEC

CALL HIM @

 

 

 

2:30 – 2:39

OPEN

 

 

2:41:30 – 2:58:30

Boneheads: My Search for T. Rex

Besides devising better methods for putting things up their noses: what could occupy the minds of children more than dinosaurs? There’s a child in us all and although we may grow out of our more primitive aspirations -- dinosaurs have continually been a source of curiosity for children and adults alike. Boneheads: My Search for T. Rex is Richard Polsky’s story of joining up with a ragtag group of unlikely “bone hunters” on their quest to find the full skeleton of a T-Rex. Meet up with Richard on his journey and be prepared to sate some of that childhood wonder.

 

Guest:

Richard Polsky, author of “Boneheads:  my search for T. Rex” and two acclaimed books on the art world, I Bought Andy Warhol and the sequel I Sold Andy Warhol (too soon). 

VIA ISDN

 

 

 

Jonathan Serviss
Senior Producer, Patt Morrison
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

 

Patt Morrison for Tuesday, May 24, 2011

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

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

 

 

LA OPINION POLITICAL REPORTER PILAR MARRERO FILLS FOR PATT MORRISON

 

 

1:06 – 1:19

OPEN

 

 

 

1:21:30 – 1:39

Secure Communities up for review: is the program deporting the right people?

It was a big part of the enforcement side of President Obama’s immigration policy that was intended to target hardened criminals amongst the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in this country.  Secure Communities is designed to identify and deport illegal immigrants who have been convicted of crimes—the fingerprints of people booked into a jail are sent to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and if they are found to be undocumented, they face deportation.  The problem is that, according to figures from the Department of Homeland Security itself, over half of those deporting under Secure Communities had minor or no criminal convictions.  The program was further muddled when there was confusion about whether it was voluntary or mandatory for states and local law enforcement agencies to participate.  States across the country, including California, are moving to opt-out of the program and last week DHS agreed to conduct an internal review.  Is this the right way to go about deporting illegal immigrants?

 

Guests:

TBD

 

 

 

1:41:30 – 1:58:30

Rating California (for the first time). Are we special, or just adequate?  

Have you ever speculated about whether the quality of life is better in San Francisco or Los Angeles?  Well now we have some empirical evidence (not based solely on who won the World Series) that gives Northern California bragging rights. A first-ever study called A Portrait of California conducted by the American Human Development Project took a close look at well-being and access to opportunity in the Golden State and ranked cities based on issues like health, education and standard of living.  The results? San Francisco scored a 6.97, Los Angeles a 5.52 and the Silicon Valley was the big winner earning a 9.35.  The study notes that some residents in California are so far ahead of the other states in the nation that they won't catch up until 2060, while others are experiencing "health, education and earnings levels that characterized the U.S. in the 1960s."  California's can expect to live a longer life than those living in other states in the nation, but "100 of California's  nearly 2,500 high schools account for nearly half of the state's dropouts" and "men earn more than women in every racial and ethnic group." What does the evidence show about your city?

 

Guests:
Sarah Burd-Sharps, co-director of the American Human Development Project and co-author of A Portrait of California 2011
CALL HER:

 

Elise Buik, president and CEO of The United Way of Greater Los Angeles.
CALL HER:

 

 

 

2:06 – 2:30

Genetically test your kids for “sports gene?”

As parents feel more and more pressure to give their children as many competitive advantages as possible, a couple companies are now offering, for just $200 a genetic test to determine which sports your child will be best at. Coming in the form of an online order and mail-in cheek swab, these tests tell you which percentile your child is in with regard to his or her potential for endurance training versus for speed and strength training. The results also reveal whether or not your child is genetically predisposed to be at risk for concussions and cardiac failure. However, geneticists are skeptical of just how accurate these readings are. Are genetic tests such as this sports gene test ready to be on the market? As mail-order and Internet DNA scans become more in demand, is it possible that more damage than good is being done with hard-to-read and possibly misleading test results? Could these sports gene tests help kids move towards success in sports more quickly and safely? Or will they mislead, mislabel, and possibly discourage kids who have athletic aspirations or who just want to have fun?

 

Guests:

Bill Miller, chief executive of American International Biotechnology Services in Virginia, which began selling genetic testing for sports genes two weeks ago

CALL HIM:

Vishy Iyer, assistant professor, molecular genetics University of Texas at Austin

CALL HIM:

 

 

2:30 – 2:39

OPEN

 

 

 

2:41:30 – 2:58:30

Forget the blood-type diet; bring on the bacteria-type diet!

A new Nature study looking at bacteria systems growing in the gut divides people into three groups. Similar to the way blood types divide people into four groups, the new research finds there are three distinct bacteria ecosystems that transcend sex, weight, health, age and race. It’s not clear yet whether these bacteria types are hereditary or whether they randomly colonize our guts as infants and stick around for the rest of our lives, but they could hold some big keys to personalized medicine. Understanding our bacteria type could aid in more precisely predicting a patient’s disease susceptibility and drug efficacy, to more accurately tailoring our diets.

 

Guest:

Rob Knight, associate professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry and Computer Science at the University of Colorado, Boulder and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute early career scientist

CALL HIM @

 

 

Jonathan Serviss
Senior Producer, Patt Morrison
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