Patt Morrison for Wednesday, June 13, 2012

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Wednesday, June 13, 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

 

 

1:06 – 1:39 OPEN

 

1:41:30 – 1:58:30

The Department of Justice threatens legal action against Florida for its voter purge

The state of Florida has drawn a line in the sand about its right to purge its voter rolls, but the Department of Justice appears to have no qualms about crossing it. On Monday, Gov. Rick Scott (R) went on record with Fox News, defending Florida’s controversial new program of citizenship verification. “We found individuals that are registered to vote that don’t have a right to vote, noncitizens, and they voted. I have a job to do to defend the right of legitimate voters,” said Scott. Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez begs to differ; on May 31^st the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division sent Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner a warning letter: the purge was taking place too close to Florida’s primary, in contradiction to federal law. When Florida refused to back down, the Civil Rights Division sent a second letter (dated June 11, 2012) informing the Detzner of the Department’s plans to initiate “an enforcement action” against Florida in federal court. “One of Congress’s concerns in enacting the provisions of the [Voting Rights Act] and [National Voter Registration Act], and one of the Department’s concerns in enforcing federal law as enacted by Congress, is ensuring that state efforts to find and purge ineligible persons from voter registration lists do not endanger the ability of eligible U.S. citizens to register to vote and maintain their voter registration status,” wrote Perez. “The federal statutes that the Department has called to Florida’s attention here are longstanding requirements of which the State is certainly aware.”

Both sides argue they are protecting voters’ rights – which case do you think has the stronger argument?

 

Guests:

TBD

 

2:21:30 – 2:39

Singing the blues with inmates of Louisiana’s Angola maximum security prison
Canadian blues singer Rita Chiarelli had been making pilgrimages to the cradle of the blues in the Mississippi when she learned about the Louisiana State Penitentiary – commonly known as Angola prison. Angola is legendary for harsh conditions… blues and folk legend known as Leadbelly did time in Angola, and he wasn’t the only blues musician to do so. Chiarelli was preparing for a concert at Angola when she was struck by the quality and gravitas of the musicians spending time behind bars at the facility. After a set of concerts at Angola she decided that rather than simply entertain the inmates, she would lead a concert during which she would play with musicians who were serving time. Country legend Johnny Cash performed many concerts at prisons like Folsom and San Quentin during his storied career, but never played with the convicts. How did Chiarelli manage to step over that line and convince prison authorities that this would be beneficial for inmates? What kind of rehabilitation can music provide to people who wind up behind bars? Is blues music still the music of the oppressed?

Guest:
Rita Chiarelli “cha-REH-lee”, Canada’s “Goddess of the Blues” has released eight albums since 1992; the focus of the new documentary “Music From the Big House”
IN STUDIO

 

2:41:30 – 2:58:30

A lesson on what it means to be a feminist, from someone born after 1990

What does the word feminism mean to a thirteen year old?? One might guess that today’s teenagers hold a lot of misconceptions about the definition, including that feminism equates with “hairy armpits” or “man-haters,” but the reality is that the both the word and the movement lack a tangible presence for the 11 – 18 year old set. High schooler Julie Zeilinger, who grew up in Pepper Pike, Ohio, felt this lack. After completing a research project on women who choose to abort their female children, Zeilinger took on the label “feminist” and went looking for support from schoolmates. She found very little. Worse, as she began to reach out to places like the National Organization of Women or to read blogs like Feministing, she felt equally alone and underrepresented. So Zeilinger started her own site, TheFBomb.org, especially for teenagers. Zeilinger was recently named one of the “Eight Most Influential Bloggers under 21” by Women’s Day, as well as one of the “40 Bloggers Who Really Count,” by the Times of London. Zeilinger joins Patt today to talk about her experiences, as well as her new book, “A Little F’d Up: Why Feminism In Not A Dirty Word.” Do you consider yourself a feminist? What does the word mean to you? If you have a son or daughter, how do you explain it to him or her?

 

Guests:

Julie Zeilinger, founder of the blog The F Bomb  and author of “A Little F'd Up: Why Feminism is Not a Dirty Word” (2012)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lauren Osen

Southern California Public Radio - 89.3 KPCC

626-583-5173 / 626-483-5278

losen@scpr.org @Patt_Morrison