Tom Ridge, the first-ever US Secretary of Homeland Security, joins Patt to talk about his work in the Bush White House—as he tells it—his frustrations over being blocked from National Security Council meetings; “blindsided” by the FBI in morning Oval Office meetings; ignored when he urged against hiring Michael Brown to run FEMA before Hurricane Katrina; and pressured to raise the security alert on the eve of President Bush's re-election, something he saw as politically motivated and worth resigning over.
Three of the Patriot Act’s original provisions, which expanded the power of the F.B.I. to seize records and to eavesdrop on phone calls in the course of a counterterrorism investigation, are set to expire by the end of the year. The Obama administration is pushing for an extension of these provisions under the new name, the “Justice Act,” and today the Supreme Court accepted review of one of those key provisions. Some say the provisions violate civil liberties but others maintain they’re a necessary evil—what changes could be in store?
Bill Bratton is still the Los Angeles police chief, for one more month, and he's here with us. So you have the opportunity to ask him your questions about the recent Avenues gang raid, the LAPD's new high-tech crime analysis center, his views on predictive policing, and his recent honor from Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth.
Author Nicholson Baker examines emotional pain and suffering as a means to a brilliantly penned end in his new book,"The Anthologist." His protagonist's life was tough; he was down-and-out but he soon discovered his personal hell wasn’t in the same league as the tortured artists who came before him. Out of the depths of his inner turmoil, he found a deep appreciation and unconventional understanding of the art and passion of poetry.
Patt Morrison is known for its innovative discussions of local politics and culture, as well as its presentation of the effects of national and world news on Southern California.
