Patt Morrison for Tuesday, November 15, 2011

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

1-3 p.m.

 

CALL-IN @ 866-893-5722, 866-893-KPCC; OR JOIN THE CONVERSATION ONLINE ON THE PATT MORRISON PAGE AT KPCC-DOT-ORG

 

1:00 – 1:30

OPEN

 

 

1:30 – 2:00

Lancaster’s new “spy plane”—the idea of constant city surveillance at 1000 feet brings praise and concern.

Google Earth, cameras in dressing rooms and at traffic intersections, our own posts on YouTube. . . just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to modern surveillance. In May, the city of Lancaster adds yet another technique to its roster. According to Ann Simmons at the Los Angeles Times, for $1.3 million, Lancaster has outfitted a Cessna 172 with “high-tech optical equipment that will record the movements of people on the ground.” The plane is slated to be in-air ten hours a day, at an elevation of 1000 to 3000 feet, and—if you live in Antelope Valley—its eye will be on you. Proponents point to an estimate by the sheriff’s department that the new program will result in a 40% drop in crime; opponents argue that our right to privacy is more important. Which side do you come down on? Are you willing to be observed at close quarters by law enforcement if it means you might eventually be living in “the safest city in America”?

 

Guests:

R. Rex Parris, Mayor of Lancaster

 

Peter Bibring, senior staff attorney for the ACLU of Southern California

CALL HIM

 

2:00 – 2:40

Beginning of a progressive era

Economist Jeffrey Sachs recently wrote an op-ed in the New York Times predicting a new era of progressive politics in America which we are now seeing the beginnings of in the Occupy movement.  He writes the new movement will need a public policy platform: “tax the rich, end the wars and restore honest and effective government for all.”  In the article he draws parallels between the progressive movements after the Gilded Age and the Roaring Twenties with those reacting to today’s current economic and political climate. Both parties are at fault for the crippling government due to their reliance on wealthy campaign contributors in Sachs opinion.  The movement will need its candidates to win elections through social media in order to drive down campaign costs and reliance on corporate contributions writes Sachs.  What do you think? Are we witnessing a new political era? Do you think candidates can win campaigns by using social media?

 

Guests:
Jeffrey Sachs, director at the Earth Institute; professor of Sustainable Development and Health Policy and Management at Columbia University

CALL HIM

 

2:40 - 3:00

NOT CONFIRMED – DO NOT PROMOTE THIS SEGMENT

Pop culture throw down: Interview with a Vampire vs. Twilight

Anne Rice, author of Interview with a Vampire—arguably the early genesis of popular culture’s obsession with vampires—has sunk her teeth into a new controversy over author Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series. Poking fun at the franchise and the opening of its fourth film (in wide release on Nov. 18), Rice lamented the lack of “gravitas” about Meyer’s vampires in a Facebook post. Rice wrote that her vampires "would never hurt immortals who choose to spend eternity going to high school over and over again in a small town — anymore than they would hurt the physically disabled or the mentally challenged.” The quibble brings us back to the question: what is it with these vampires that they seem to possess marketing immortality? Are the different vampires geared towards different audiences (children vs. adult) and do they symbolize different things? Are you team Rice or team Twilight?

 

NOT CONFIRMED – DO NOT PROMOTE:

Anne Rice, best-selling American author of gothic, erotic, and religious-themed books such as “Interview with the Vampire”