RE: Patt Morrison for Tuesday, 11/8/2011

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Tuesday, November 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

 

1:06 –– 1:30 OPEN

 

1:30 – 2:00

Should voting be mandatory?

It’s a central part of our democracy and yet many Americans take their right to vote for granted.  In the 2008 presidential election, 61.6 percent of eligible showed up at the polls, and in L.A. County only 43.3 percent voted in the 2010 General Election. Australia adopted mandatory voting in 1924 and since its passage voter turnout soared from below 60 percent to around 95 percent. Could the same policy work here? One expert believes that adopting mandatory voting would even the playing field, as poorer Americans with lower levels of income are less likely to vote, and that it would decrease polarization because “hard-core partisans” are the voters most likely to show up at the polls.  Is it our civic obligation to vote? If we are required to appear for jury duty, shouldn’t the same rules apply for having a voice in our democracy, or is the right to abstain just as important as the right to punch the Chad?  Is just showing up enough, or should voters be required to understand the issues they are weighing-in on?

 

Guest:

UNCONFIRMED

William Galston, senior fellow, Governance Studies, The Ezra K. Zilkha Chair in Governance Studies, Brookings Institute

• A former policy advisor to President Clinton and presidential candidates, Bill Galston is an expert on domestic policy, political campaigns, and elections. His current research focuses on designing a new social contract and the implications of political polarization.

2:06 – 2:30

Worrying about worrying, more women turn to sleep aids

Superwoman by day, many mothers pull double shifts making mental lists that never end: cupcakes for the school fundraiser, chaperoning the zoo filed trip, walking the dog… It’s no wonder more than 15 million American women between 40 and 59 years of age use sleep aids just to get some shuteye. There are options, too, many of them: Ambien, Zolpidem, the Ambien generic, over-the-counter melatonin, Lunesta, even Xanax and Tylenol PM. For some reason, women are the most common patients of insomnia. Many say the sleepless nights occurred after their child was born; others say there’s just too much to think about. What keeps you up at night? Are you a mother who suffers from insomnia? Are sleep aids the best, or only, solution?

 

Guests:

UNCONFIRMED

Nancy A. Collop, MD is the director of the Emory Sleep Center and a nationally recognized expert in sleep medicine

Representative, National Sleep Foundation

 

2:30 – 2:39

Ethical intelligence: how to be the better, bigger person

We’ve heard of IQ intelligence and EQ, but what about ethical intelligence? According to ethicist Bruce Weinstein, ethical intelligence is what allows us to harness our emotional intelligence, or our self-awareness, and “do the right thing.” Tempted to make a move on the new office romance? Take a step back and rethink your situation. When you’re in a pickle, try abiding by Weinstein’s rules of thumbs, which he outlines in his new book “Ethical Intelligence: Five Principles for Untangling Your Toughest Problems at Work and Beyond”:

1.       Do no harm

2.       Make things better

3.       Respect others

4.       Be fair

5.       Be loving

He joins us to discuss how ethical intelligence helps us in our personal and professional lives. What do you ask yourself before making difficult decisions? How do you weigh your moral compass when it comes to risky decision-making? What are some factors you consider before making a decision?

 

Guests:

Bruce Weinstein, PhD, author of “Ethical Intelligence: Five Principles for Untangling Your Toughest Problems at Work and Beyond;” host and writer of “Ask the Ethics Guy!” Bloomberg Businessweek.

 

 

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