Marc’s Blog

I'm a huge Ravens fan, so I could go on and on about all of the trivial things that only another Ravens fan would care about.  I had a bad feeling after we lost the first game of the season to The Bengals.  We should have won that game, right?  We were right there on the goal line....

That scenario repeated itself, in more and less similar ways, many times throughout the season, and it turned out to be a trainwreck of a season.  What went wrong?

Now Billick is gone, and fans seem to have divided opinions, with many not being sure whether it was a good decision to fire him, or not.  The questions we can ask now, as all we can do is look forward to next season, are endless, starting with who will be head coach.  And the whole coaching staff was fired, so what about the other coaches?  Who will start as quarterback?  Will we ever have a strong offense?

Lots of questions, and we'll welcome your thoughts from noon to 1pm today on the air, or right here at any time.

-Justin

Emily Martin, professor of anthropology and author of the book above joins us at 1pm today.  She has a lot of insight to share on mania and depression, and we hope you'll join us with questions, and to share your own experiences with these common parts of our lives, as well.

-Justin

I went down to southern Maryland last August and took this picture standing in the Chesapeake Bay at Calvert Cliffs, although maybe that wasn't such a good idea.  Beautiful place, but the water didn't quite look as clean as it might have.

This hour we'll be talking about what really would need to be done to clean up the Bay.  Is it realistic at all to see a cleaner Bay?  Efforts have been made for decades, but results are less than hoped for so far.. What do you think?

-Justin

..we go on the air.  Just time for a quick post today. In the first hour, we'll be looking at the role religion is playing in the '08 presidential campaigns, so far, and more broadly at the role religion plays and has played in American political life.  What does it say about our society that a candidate's religious beliefs have become a central part of political campaigning?  Are Democrats trying to out-biblethump the Republicans?  What did you think of Romney's speech last week?  When will we elect our first openly atheist president?  More at noon... In the second hour, we'll have what has now become an annual show commemorating Homeless Memorial Day, which is actually next Friday, December 21st.  We were talking here recently and I asked if anyone else had noticed a more visible, larger homeless presence in certain parts of downtown (Guilford Ave under the JFX, St. Vincent's Church...) We all had noticed, but didn't know what to attribute it to, so I called Jeff Singer at Healthcare for the Homeless and got the scoop from him.  He'll be here at 1pm to discuss with us further on the air, but basically he said, yes, the homeless population is growing in Baltimore and has been for years.  He attributed it to factors including homeless shelters closing, some shelters that are still open have become transitional, rather than emergency, shelters and offer less beds, the rising cost of housing, the decrease of available public housing units, and the increasing difficulty of obtaining public assistance for single adults.  On top of all that, for those that do get public assistance, it hasn't been adjusted for inflation in about five years.  More at 1pm... -Justin

Here's a picture from earlier this year of Governor O'Malley swearing Brenda Donald in as the new Secretary for Maryland's Department of Human Resources.  With her job, comes the responsibility of running the state's foster care system.

About a month ago, we had a show looking at the foster care system, which I described at the time like this:

We’re starting off the hour with a look at Baltimore’s foster care system, which, no one would argue, is in need of some huge reforms.  A class action suit was brought on behalf of 2,500 foster children in 1984.  In 1988, the court entered a comprehensive consent decree requiring reforms, and nearly 20 years later we’re still waiting for those reforms.  Change doesn’t happen overnight, but two decades is a long time by anyone’s standards.  If you’re unfamiliar with this lawsuit, or the foster care situation here in general, a good place to start would be this article from Tuesday’s Sun.

Where are things now, another month later?  Brenda Donald will be here at 1pm to let us know, and take your questions, as well.

-Justin

Does anyone remember this book, "Owl At Home?"  I remember a lot of great books from my childhood, but this one has really stuck with me for some reason.  I picked it up again a few years ago, and was struck by how emotionally evocative it was.  Arnold Lobel, also the creator of the Frog and Toad books, is a genius.

What are your favorite kid's books?  We had great response from our kid's books show a year ago, so we're bringing back the same guests today at 1pm for another round.

-Justin

Useful links:

Enoch Pratt Free Library

Children's Bookstore in Roland Park

Red Canoe Bookstore and Cafe

Marion Nestle will be here at 1pm today, and looking at the cover of her most recent book above, you can see the some of the questions we'll be discussing.  She's got a great blog - check it out here.  And don't forget to let us know what you think as you listen to her on the air with us today.  Continue the discussion with your comments here!

-Justin

Dixon at yesterday's inauguration.. who's the guy in the suit?

Sheila Dixon was sworn in as Mayor of Baltiomore yesteday, after being Mayor for about a year already, since the guy in the suit left this small town for a nice position in Annapolis.  Can't blame him, being Mayor is not an easy job.

Today we'll welcome two of the people Dixon has chosen to help her run the city:

Andrew Frank - Deputy Mayor for Neighborhood and Economic Development

Salima Marriott - Deputy Mayor for Community and Human Development

What would you like to ask, or tell, the people running this city?  Call us between noon and one pm today, 410-662-8780, while we're on the air with Baltimore's Deputy Mayors.

-Justin

When someone broke into Sean Taylor's home in the middle of the night and killed him earlier this week, was it a case of some trouble from Sean's past catching up with him, or a random crime?  We don't know, yet, but if I had to guess, I would guess that he was targeted, given the past, public incidences of violence in his life.  And not everyday violence, but things like an assault charge for threatening people with a gun, and being on the receiving end of a hail of bullets in his SUV.

There's lots of other incidents around the NFL, and sportsworld in general, of players who've been dragged down by connections to their sometimes turbulent past.  Look at Michael Vick, Darrent Williams (Bronco's player killed in a drive-by last New Years Day,) or the jail time Jamal Lewis served while playing for The Ravens, and, of course, Ray Lewis, who was charged, along with 2 of his friends, with a double murder.  Lewis accepted a plea bargain, pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of obstruction of justice, and his friends were acquitted.

The thing is, this isn't particular to proffesional athletes by any means.  Michael Wilbon said it better than I could in his column earlier this week.  Here's an excerpt:

The issue of separating yourself from a harmful environment is a recurring theme in the life of black men. It has nothing to do with football, or Sean Taylor or even sports. To frame it as a sports issue is as insulting as it is naive. Most of us, perhaps even the great majority of us who grew up in big urban communities, have to make a decision at some point to hang out or get out.

The kid who becomes a pharmaceutical rep has the same call to make as the lawyer or delivery guy or accountant or sportswriter or football player: Cut off anybody who might do harm, even those who have been friends from the sandbox, or go along to get along.

Mainstream folks -- and, yes, this is a code word for white folks -- see high-profile athletes dealing with this dilemma and think it's specific to them, while black folks know it's everyday stuff for everybody, for kids with aspirations of all kinds -- even for a middle-class kid with a police-chief father, such as Taylor -- from South Central to Southeast to the South Side. Some do, some don't. Some will, some won't. Some can, some cannot. Often it's gut-wrenching. Usually, it's necessary. For some, it takes a little bit too long.

That's a lot to think about.. join us at 1pm today, and leave your thoughts here, as well.

Also, check out the Sports Illustrated article that helped get us thinking about all of these things today.  It's called "The Road to Bad Newz" and written by one of today's guests, Farrell Evans, and George Dohrmann.

-Justin

First, a disclosure.  Having become vegetarian and then learned to cook, in that order, I've never cooked a turkey.  Still, Thanksgiving is 3 days away, and at 1pm today we'll be talking about cooking all sorts of things, including turkey, I'm sure.  What are your favorite holiday recipes and family traditions, when it comes to eating?  Share them here and on the air today, and have a great holiday!

-Justin

It's not the usual group of workers you'd expect to go on strike, not the auto workers, or municipal workers in some far off part of South America or Europe.  Members of the Writers Guild of America, tv and film writers, walked out over a new contract dispute.  They want to update their residuals payments to reflect the increasingly popularity of tv shows being streamed online, often free of charge to the viewer. Interesting, the intersection of technology, media, labor...... So, will the next season of your favorite show be on as expected?  How much longer will the strike last?  Will our tv's be sitting in the basement next to our old vcr's soon, as we watch everything on our computers?  Joining us to answer all of your questions will be Baltimore Sun tv critic David Zurawick, at 1pm. -Justin

Baltimore's premier practictioner of the art of the human beatbox, Shodekeh, will be here at 1:30pm today.  If you're wondering what I'm talking about, check out www.beatboxing.com for some background on beatboxing.  Shodekeh has a page on there here that will tell you more about him.  And check out his myspace page, as well, for some live videos, including one performing with KRS-1, and a piece on Shodekeh done by WYPR's own Aaron Henkin for The Signal.

-Justin

Snoop is possibly the most terrifying character on The Wire.  She looks like she's about 12 years old, she's completely androgynous, she's got the strangest, almost alien-sounding voice, and she kills people in a completely matter of fact way like it's nothing.

Felicia Pearson drew on her own experiences, which she documents in her new memoir, Grace After Midnight, to create the character she plays.  Just how much of her own experiences?  Well, she grew up with a foster family in East Baltimore, got involved in the drug game, and wound up in prison for murder.  Her book is full of some real-life terrifying stories, like the first time she visited her real mom's house after being put into foster care.  Her mom screamed at her, maybe 8 years old, to take off all of her clothes and then locked her in a closet.  She cried until she passed out, and woke up to find out that her mom had taken her clothes and sold them for crack.

I'll leave the rest of the stories for her to tell today.  She'll be here for an hour at 1pm.. do not miss..

-Justin

What would you do if you realized your brother was the Unabomber?  Not a question most people have had to answer, but you can find out what it was like from someone who has at 12:30pm today.  After we check in on the goings on in Annapolis, as the special session heads toward a close as early as the end of the week, we'll be joined by David Kaczynski.

After the Unabomber's Manifesto was published in the NY Times and Washington Post, David recognized his brother's writing style and was faced with an agonizing decision, which would change the course of his life completely.  Join us to find out what happened, and about the work that David is currently doing as executive director of New Yorkers Against the Death Penalty.

-Justin

 

What does it mean to go to war?  How does a society decide to go to war?  Is there such thing as a good war?  How about a necessary war?  What is the cost of war to those who fight it, and those who survive it?  Is an end to war a realistic thing to hope for?

What have we learned from struggles to wage war, and struggles to wage peace, in the past?  What can we learn from today’s conflicts?

We'll be reflecting on these questions, and maybe a few others, with veterans of war and veterans of the peace movement, and at least one person who is both of those things. -Justin

As has been the case the first three days of the week, we have a show with many different parts to it.  Any thoughts on that - have you noticed?  do you like it? - are welcome. We're starting off the hour with a look at Baltimore's foster care system, which, no one would argue, is in need of some huge reforms.  A class action suit was brought on behalf of 2,500 foster children in 1984.  In 1988, the court entered a comprehensive consent decree requiring reforms, and nearly 20 years later we're still waiting for those reforms.  Change doesn't happen overnight, but two decades is a long time by anyone's standards.  If you're unfamiliar with this lawsuit, or the foster care situation here in general, a good place to start would be this article from Tuesday's Sun. Then we'll hear from House Speaker Mike Busch, live from Annapolis, for an update on the special session.  Following that, we'll leave some time for our listeners' thoughts on the special session, so get your thoughts and questions ready by 1pm. Lastly, we'll be joined by Elbridge James.  He's the director of the Maryland Black Family Alliance, a new group of black politicians, ministers, and activists seeking to promote "fairness, justice, and equality for all families" aka legalization of same-sex marriage. -Justin

A couple weeks back, I was reading this article in The Sun, "Towson scraps gender effort," and came upon a statistic that really surprised me.  Apparently, 42% of US college students are male, 58% female.  I had no idea there was such a big gender gap.  We're going to be looking at the reasons behind that in the first part of today's show. The education theme will continue as we debate possible education funding cuts in the proposed state budget, and also host a teachers' roundtable to continue the conversations from earlier in the show from a teacher's perspective, as well as look at other issues that are important to teachers.  A new contract, maybe? -Justin

This picture was taken in a refugee camp in Kenya in 2003, where Sudanese refugees wound up after fleeing first their own country, and then refugee camps where they had settled in Ethiopia.  For more on their story, see this article.

It's written by Charles London, who'll be joining us from 1-2pm today.  Charles left Baltimore, where he grew up, to work for Refugees International.  His experiences led him to write a book called One Day the Soldiers Came, in which he tells the stories of children displaced by war who he met over the past few years.

He was in Burma during the recent unrest there.  He recorded his observations in a piece for the NY Times magazines; that piece is here.

One more thing to check out.. Charles was interviewed on All Things Considered recently; that interview is here. 

-Justin

...to hear two more interesting conversations that, like yesterday's show, if you missed the first time, you won't want to miss again.  A couple of months ago we had a show about the digital divide, with a focus on how it plays out in Baltimore's economy.  We'll be airing that for a second time at noon today.  See the original blog post, and comments, here. A couple weeks ago Garrison Keillor came and spent most of the the day at WYPR during a trip to Baltimore.  For a genuinely touching piece Keillor wrote about his recent visit here, check out this column on salon.com.  At one, we'll rebroadcast his appearance on The Marc Steiner Show.  You can see the original blog post for that show here. -Justin

Last month MICA and the Maryland ACLU teamed up to put together a rather unusual celebration for Constitution Day, a holiday that not many people bother to celebrate in the first place.  They put together an event devoted to the First Amendment, and the right of free speech.  Who better to speak on this topic than the trio of John Waters, Ralph Nader, and Helen Thomas?  That's what someone thought, at least, and they were all brought together for a couple hours.  It turned out great; the auditorium at MICA couldn't even fit everyone who tried to get in.  So, for those of you that missed it the first time, we'll be playing it as a two hour special, from noon-2, on The Marc Steiner Show today.  To hear the complete version, because we had to cut a little bit for time and edit a few words here and there, ironically enough, just go to www.wypr.org and download the podcast anytime in the next month.

-Justin

Assuming each of these Democrat nominees wins the general election next month, there will be four newly elected City Council members in Baltimore.  Today at 1pm you'll have a chance to find out more about three of them, and the ideas they will be bringing to the City Council.  Sharon Middleton is already serving on the Council, having been appointed to fill a seat left vacant last January.  She'll be here along with newbies Bill Cole and Bill Henry. As for the fourth, Warren Branch, he'll remain a bit of a mystery to our listeners, but not for lack of an invitation.  You can read an article here in The Sun about the city public works inspector's primary victory over incumbent Vernon Crider by a mere 51 votes.  If you're googling him, don't confuse him with bodybuilder Branch Warren. -Justin

 Some interesting stats on vacant houses and property in Baltimore:

• 13% of the total property in the city is abandoned

• there are about 30,ooo abandoned buildings and lots in Baltimore

• the city owns about 1/3 of the abandoned property

• the city owns about 4,000 abandoned buildings and 6,000 abandoned lots

• the city owns about 25% of vacant buildings

All of these figures are taken from here, the Housing Authority's "A Plan to Create The Baltimore City Land Bank."  Basically, the city is planning to sell many of its vacant properties cheaply as soon as next July.  The city is also planning to acquire more vacant properties, with the intention of selling them, as well.

If you're wondering if and how you'll be able to buy a cheap house to fix up, tune in at noon today, when the author of the Land Bank Plan and the head of Baltimore Housing, as well as housing activist Michael Sarbanes, will be here to help us figure out how this is all going to work.

And for a look at a land bank program that has already been implemented in Flint, Michigan, another town full of abandoned properties, take a listen to this story from Morning Edition today.

-Justin