Patt Morrison for Thursday, September 8, 2011

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Thursday, September 8, 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

 

 

HR 1 BILLBOARD

 

FROM THE MOHN BROADCAST CENTER, I’M PATT MORRISON

 

1:00 – 1:40

OPEN

 

1:40 – 2:00

Vocabulary of disaster: How 9/11 did or didn’t change the way we talk

How did 9/11 forever change Americans’ language? Linguist Geoffry Nunberg argues not much. He’s been making a list of words since 2001 that were connected to 9/11 and its repercussions. “They're a jumble: axis of evil and "the army you have," cakewalk, coalition of the willing and "connect the dots," "dead or alive" and "don't touch my junk," evildoers and enhanced interrogation.” There was also that one phrase: “the terrorists win,” which was employed so often that it quickly became a parody of itself, appearing in a November 2001 New Yorker cartoon that showed a man in a bar saying, "I figure if I don't have that third martini, then the terrorists win." Most of those words and sayings have already disappeared, and other than “9/11” itself, few others will probably be around in another decade. Buzzwords come and go, but it's significant that 9/11 has left almost no traces on our everyday language. Nunberg believes the ephemeral nature of the words born out of 9/11 is a testament to the relatively narrow impact 9/11 had on Americans’ lives. As proof, he points to when the American Dialect Society voted on the word of the decade in 2010, and “9/11” came in third, behind “Google” and “blog,” showing perhaps that, over the last decade, the Internet has gotten a lot more of our attention than 9/11, and it has given us a lot more new words. According to Nunberg, “If there's any difference between the new normal and the old, you couldn't tell it from the way we talk.” Do you agree? Call Patt with the 9/11 words that you’ve noticed or use in everyday language.

 

Guest:

Geoffry Nunberg, a linguist who teaches at the UC Berkeley School of Information

 

 

 

2:00 – 3:00

Inside today’s U.S. military: the challenge and reward of service

In the first of KPCC’s series on military service and veterans, Patt Morrison learns what it’s like to serve in today’s U.S. military, and listens to the stories of those who are fighting for their country. Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force recruiters have kept busy since 2001, handling more enlistments and younger soldiers—on average only 20 or 21 years old—as the economy worsens and violence in the Middle East continues. In the process, these recruiters have presided over an interesting demographic trend—an increase in military enlistment by ethnic minorities, most notably Hispanics. Better outreach - including the use of advertising, Twitter and Facebook - could be behind the increase, but there are benefits to serving the nation as well: proof of one’s patriotism, pride in one’s work, steady military pay, education subsidies through the G.I. Bill, enlistment and re-enlistment bonuses, and perhaps a way to escape the poverty and joblessness that plague countless communities. Some even hope that service will lead to an expedited consideration for U.S. citizenship. These advantages likely appeal to soldiers of any heritage when they join the war effort, but unfortunately the costs of conflict have been felt universally as well. Men and women deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq all face the problems that can arise from prolonged familial separation, debilitating physical injury, psychological trauma, and the strange procedure of readjusting to civilian life. The intensity of the fighting in Middle Eastern regions has deterred many soldiers from reenlisting, and the longer their deployment—typically 47.9 months for Army personnel—the less likely they are to volunteer for another tour. Those who are redeployed multiple times face even higher risks of death and harm. What it is like to live every moment as if it could be our last? And why do our brave men and women risk so much for their country?

 

PATT: Continuing our series on military service and issues that veterans’ face as they return to civilian life, KPCC is hosting two in-depth conversations in our Crawford Family Forum. On Sunday, September 25^th, the discussion will focus on veterans’ housing & employment; on Sunday, October 16^th, the topic will be the emotional and physical health and well-being veterans and their families.

Details will be available soon at KPCC – DOT – ORG.

 

Guests:

WHO’S IN THE MILITARY AND WHY

Beth Asch, associate director, Forces and Resources Policy Center at the RAND National Defense Research Institute

VIA ISDN

 

Commander Michele Carter, executive officer, Navy Recruiting District Los Angeles, which also covers Bakersfield, Orange County, Hawaii, Guam and Japan

CALL HER:

 

Captain Ricky Hernandez, executive officer, Marine Corps Recruiting Station L.A.

CALL HIM:

 

 

STORIES OF SERVICE MEN AND WOMEN

Guests:

Rossana and Arturo Cambron, whose son is currently deployed with the Army in Iraq

CALL THEM:

 

Jewell Faamaligi, whose brother Torice has served in the Marines since 1991 and was deployed to Afghanistan

CALL HER:

 

Marcelle Sloan, whose niece (whom we are calling “V”) was deployed twice to Iraq, and is now in the inactive reserve working there as an independent contractor for KBR, attached to a unit of the Army. During her first deployment, she was raped.

CALL HER

 

Teresa Bullock, national 3rd vice president, Blue Star Mothers of America, Inc, an organization of women whose children are currently serving in the military; 1st vice president, Inland Empire Gold Star Mothers, an organization of mothers who have lost a child in military service. Her oldest son was killed in Iraq on March 7, 2007; her youngest son completed five years in the Army and was discharged in March of 2010.
CALL HER: