Patt Morrison for Tuesday, February 21, 2012

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

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

 

1:00 – 2:00

OPEN

 

2:00 – 2:40

Does the Pledge of Allegiance discriminate against atheists?

When it comes to the Pledge of Allegiance chanted by children daily in schools across America, the critical phrase “one nation under God” is up for debate. In Acton, Mass., anonymous parents of three kids are suing the school district over the Pledge of Allegiance. They claim “one nation under God” discriminates against atheists. The parents, filing their lawsuit as John and Jane Doe, say the phrase “under God” is unfair to their kids, who they’re raising as atheists, and that it suggests people who don’t believe in God are less patriotic than others. The phrase “under God” wasn’t added until 1954 to the pledge, which was first written in 1892. On the flip side of the issue, Utah Republican Sen. Aaron Osmond has introduced a bill that would require a student to lead the Pledge of Allegiance each morning in class rather than have it broadcast over a loudspeaker. Sen. Osmond says his bill would foster a deeper respect for the pledge and make the experience more “intimate.” Do you think the Pledge of Allegiance discriminates against atheists? Should it be recited in classrooms daily?

 

Guest:

BOTH UNCONFIRMED – DO NOT PROMOTE

David Niose, managing attorney, Law Offices of David Niose (nee-OH-see); he is the attorney representing the parents of three atheist school children

CALL HIM

 

Aaron Osmond, Utah State Senator (R-Salt Lake); he has introduced a bill that would require a student to lead the Pledge of Allegiance each morning in class

CALL HIM@

 

2:40 – 3:00

A year without cash – could you do it?

How does money work – cash money, that is? David Wolman realized he didn’t know the answer to this deceptively simple question, so he decided to live one year without cash and set out across the globe to better understand the history of currency and what its future might be. Along the way he met a counterfeiter in Honolulu, ran into an anti-counterfeiter in Tokyo, landed in the Digital Money Forum in London, and witnessed firsthand how new mobile payment technology is affecting the poor in Delhi. Wolman returned from his travels convinced that services allowing you to pay from your phone, such as Google Wallet, could lead to a better, cash-free future. He looked at the ways cash can affect our health, environment, and our psychology to better understand our relationship with hard currency. Could you do as Wolman did and live a year without using cash? Should we be moving toward a future without cash? Do you think a cashless society is inevitable? What problems do you see with a transition to digital-only payments?

 

Guests:

David Wolman, contributing editor at Wired and author of “The End of Money: Counterfeiters, Preachers, Techies, Dreamers—and the Coming Cashless Society”

CALL HIM on the Patt Morrison page at KPCC-dot-org and you can follow us on Twitter. You’re listening to 89.3 KPCC – Southern California Public Radio.