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