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May 21 - 25, 2007
Monday, May 21
Landis on Trial
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The arbitration hearing for Floyd Landis continues at Pepperdine University in Malibu today. The reigning Tour de France champion is accused of using performance-enhancing drugs, is set to take the witness stand for what promises to be a hostile cross examination by the prosecution. Last week, three-time Tour de France winner Greg LeMond shocked, with testimony revealing sexual abuse and alleged blackmail. Patt gets the latest on the doping controversy that's roiling the sports world.
The Struggle for Women's Rights in Iraq
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Americans are accustomed to hearing stories about the plight of women under the Taliban in Afghanistan, but they have not heard much about the status of women in Iraq. A certain number of seats in the National Assembly are supposed to be assigned to women, but women ministers have been assassinated and threatened. Last month, a 17 year old girl was stoned to death because she loved a teenage boy of the wrong religion. Video of the grisly beating has brought new attention to the rise of so-called honor killings. Patt gets the latest from Baghdad and talks with one woman who is standing up for women's rights in Iraq. Yanar Mohammed was honored last week by the Feminist Majority Foundation with its global women's rights award.
Frank Luntz and the Art of Selling Ideals
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Frank Luntz is a pollster and political consultant to Republicans. He's known as one of the most effective communicators in today's political realm--his specialty is finding words that turn public opinion. He's best known for the phrase "death tax" as a replacement for "estate tax." Patt talks to Luntz about the search for persuasive phrasing.
George Lakoff and the Politics of Language
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How does one define freedom - and why does it matter? Cognitive scientist George Lakoff argues that the strategic use of language by conservatives and liberals is crucial to their political success, and that the definitions of some of America's core ideals are at the center of the battle. He argues that the words "freedom" and "liberty" have become the maxims of the Republican Party, and have helped them win elections in the past decades. Lakoff's ideas have been embraced by Democratic Party leaders such as Nancy Pelosi and Howard Dean, who hope that changing the way progressives speak about issues can bring about changes in the polls.
Tuesday, May 22
Jack Weiss Recall?
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Another political recall movement's in play. This time it's Jack Weiss who could potentially lose his LA City Council seat. Weiss serves District 5, which encompasses several quaint Westside neighborhoods, as well as highly developed areas such as Century City. Vocal constituents are growing dissatisfied with his support of development projects in their district that they believe will bring more traffic and overcrowding. They accuse him of taking contributions from developers and doing their bidding, while ignoring the interests of neighborhood residents.
Presidential Politics in California
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Democrat Bill Richardson officially entered the presidential race Monday - announcing here in California. Why did the Governor of New Mexico choose the golden state to launch his bid? Guest host Frank Stoltze talks with guests about California's place in the political sun.
The Canon
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Pulitzer Prize winning science writer for the New York Times, Natalie Angier, is taking the world on "a whirligig tour of the beautiful basics of science" in her latest book, The Canon. She used her experience and conversations with hundreds of top scientists to write a guide to the basics of science, including physics, biology and astronomy. She joins guest host Frank Stoltze to discuss her latest work.
- Natalie Angier, Author, The Canon: A Whirligig Tour through the Beautiful Basics of Science (Houghton Mifflin)
Wednesday, May 23
Justice Aide Monica Goodling Testifies
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Monica Goodling, who served as the Justice Department's liaison with the White House as decisions were made to dismiss eight U.S. attorneys, testified today before the House Judiciary Committee. Goodling denied that she played a major role in last year's firings and blamed Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty for misleading Congress. Patt gets the latest in this ongoing scandal.
California Faces off Feds on Tailpipe Emissions
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Dissatisfied with federal regulations on automobile emissions, top California officials are imploring the Environmental Protection Agency to grant a waiver that would permit stricter state regulations to take effect. These regulations would cut tailpipe pollution by 30 percent. The auto makers are crying foul, but Gov. Schwarzenegger last month said the state will sue the EPA if it does not grant the request by October 25. Meanwhile, President Bush last week signed an order giving federal agencies until the end of 2008 to study the threat of greenhouse gases, which seems to mean the feds will miss Schwarzenegger's deadline. Patt talks with state officials and federal regulators about this pending legal conflict over what comes out of your car's tailpipe.
Hal Hartley and Fay Grim
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Best known for his independent films like The Unbelievable Truth, Hal Hartley took a new direction in his latest movie, Fay Grim. In this sequel to his 1997 film, Henry Fool, Parker Posey stars as a single mom thrown into spying for the CIA, as she travels from New York to Istanbul in search of her fugitive ex-husband's journals. Hartley joins Patt to talk about his new film and how it compares to his cult classics. Fay Grim opened on May 18.
Thursday, May 24
MTA to Transit Riders: Take a Hike
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200 angry demonstrators showed up at MTA headquarters in downtown Los Angeles to protest a proposed fare increase that could more than double some bus and train fares by 2009. Under the plan, the cash fare for both rail and bus would increase to $2 per ride from $1.25 and the monthly pass to $120 from $52 over the next 19 months. The MTA has a $4.7 billion bill to pay from debt accrued from building rail lines and other capital projects. It's also falling behind on operating costs for running additional buses. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who sits on the MTA board, says the MTA is pushing for too sharp an increase, and is calling for a 5 percent hike during each of the next five years. In jeopardy are rail projects such as the Expo line to Culver City and the Gold Line extension to Boyle Heights. Without the hike, MTA may also have to cut back on bus service.
LAUSD Charter Schools Get Windfall
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Eli Broad announced today that his Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation is donating $10 million to open 13 new charter schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District. The money is going to the Alliance for College-Ready Public Schools, a nonprofit charter management organization that already runs seven charter schools in the district. Broad joins Patt to talk about his donation, education and the growing charter school movement.
- Eli Broad, businessman and philanthropist, founder of The Broad Foundation
- Adolfo Guzman Lopez KPCC Reporter
- Greg McNair, LAUSD's chief administrator for charter schools
APHC Winner
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Patt announces the winner of the Prairie Home Companion Ticket Giveaway.
Elmore Leonard, Up in Honey's Room
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With over 40 published novels and many of them made into feature films such as Get Shorty and Jackie Brown, Elmore Leonard knows a thing or two about writing a suspenseful noir novel. His latest work, Up in Honey's Room (William Morrow), is set in Detroit in the 1940's and follows the adventures of a tough-talking blonde named Honey Deal and US Marshall Carl Webster as he chases after Nazi war criminals.
Friday, May 25
American Dream Fading?
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A new study from the Economic Mobility Project, a research initiative headed up by the Pew Charitable Trusts, indicates that men in their 30s are worse off than their father's generation. Median incomes are 12 percent less for men today than in the 1970s. This is a reversal from just a decade ago, and may be an indication of a decline in the health of the U.S. economy as a whole. Patt talks to a study author and asks listeners to weigh in.
The "Duke" Centennial
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John Wayne, famous for his distinctive voice and walk, is an icon of American film epitomizing rugged masculinity and individualism. Known as the "Duke," he played the lead in 142 films, many of them Westerns and World War II epics. We mark the centennial of his birth in May 1907.
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