June 5, 2007
-Jessica Phillips
June 5, 2007
-Jessica Phillips
June 4, 2007
-Jessica Phillips
June 4, 2007
Congressman Parren J. Mitchell
April 29, 1922 – May 28, 2007
Today we will be remembering the incomparable Congressman Parren J. Mitchell with some of his friends. What are your memories of Congressman Parren? Were you his constituent? What will you remember about him?
-Jessica Phillips
May 30, 2007
-Jessica Phillips
May 30, 2007
Image borrowed from www.theamericas.org
Tomorrow we'll be discussing the thousands upon thousands of vacant homes that plaque our city, and ideas for saving them. I realized today that as Baltimore is only the second city I have ever lived in, I have never really thought about the vacant homes. I never really questioned what they were doing there. I thought it was sad, sure, and unfortunate, but I guess I sort of accepted it as a "city thing". But it's not, is it? It's a Baltimore thing, I guess. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. What other cities have you lived in and what was the vacant home situation there? What are your ideas for how to fill those homes? Hope you enjoy the show. Marc will be talking with Michael Mazepink of the People's Homesteading Group,Alan Chantker from the Mid-Atlantic Real Estate Investor's Association,and Michael Bainum, Baltimore's Assistant Commissioner for Land Resources.-Jessica Phillips
May 30, 2007
We've got a huge two hour special on immigration for you today.
We begin with a look at the history of social attitudes towards immigration in America. We'll be joined by Daniel Tichenor, professor of political science at Rutgers and the author of two books on immigration. He'll talk about how this current ruckus over immigration is nothing new-that the American collective freaks out about immigration every few decades or so.
Then, a good ole fashioned debate with Matthew Spaulding of The Heritage Foundation and Flavia Jimenez of the National Council of La Raza. We'll talk about the immigration reform legislation currently being considered by Congress. Does this bill make anyone happy?
In the second hour, we are going to take a look at the epicenter of illegal immigration-the Arizona-Mexican border. I was shocked to learn while researching this show that an average of 300 bodies are found in southern Arizona alone each year. The bodies of course are of border crossers who set out on foot and were killed by exposure to the elements, or who were abandoned by their "coyotes". We'll hear from Mike Wilson, a member of the Tohono O'odham Indian Nation who operates water stations for border crossers on the land of his reservation, and Reverend Robin Hoover, the founder and director of Humane Borders, who operates 86 water stations on public land. They see this whole debate in terms of a humanitarian crisis.
We'll also be joined by Ignacio Barraza, the mayor of Nogales, Arizona. Nogales is Arizona's largest border town. The image below is the warning map for border crossers that Humane Borders created for Nogales. Border towns have a lot of challenges to deal with beyond just dealingwith a constant influx of people, many of whom need medical attention. There are other things that come across the border-drugs and arms to name a few. Those things bring with them a criminal element that those border towns have to deal with. It's not easy. You could argue that these border towns offer a hint of how towns hundreds of miles away from the border, all across the country, will be affected if we don't figure something out.
Also joining us will be Joseph Mathew. He is the director of a documentary called Crossing Arizonathat explores the reality of life along the Arizona-Mexico border. His film profiles politicians, activists, and militia leaders all struggling with their own ideas about what to do regarding illegal border crossers.
I hope you enjoy it!
-Jessica Phillips
The red dots indicate recovered bodies. The blue flags indicate water stations operated by Humane Borders.
May 29, 2007
-Jessica Phillips
May 29, 2007
In the first part of the second hour of today's show, we welcome former Attorney General Steve Sachs, ACLU-MD Director Susan Goering, and ACLU-MD Archivest Suzanne Smith to look back at the extraordinary history of the ACLU here in Maryland.
Whether or not you agree with the politics of the ACLU, their history is fascinating. Some of their cases in the past 75 years have included:
- Filing a wrongful termination case on behalf of Maryland Bethlehem Steel workers who were fired after invoking the 5th Amendment during House Un-American Activities Committee hearings.
- Representing a man who was refused the public office of Notary Seal because he would not express a belief in God.
- Defense of John Waters against a charge of violating abobscenity law while filming.
- Defense of the Klu Klux Klan when officials in Thurmont and Elkton refused them a permit to march down Main Street.
-Jessica Phillips
May 29, 2007
Coming up during the first hour of today's show, we are going to discuss the upcoming rate increase in your BGE bill.
Here is an article in the Baltimore Sun about it.
Could former public service commissioners have done more to prevent this? Is this rate increase unfair? The same PSC order that okayed the rate increase also lay out a "long-term strategy of examining the wholesale energy market and studying all facets of the state's deregulation plan in hopes of advocating reforms leading to lower rates." What does that mean? And were the promises that lawmakers would find a way to avoid this just empty election year promises?
We'll discuss all that and more this afternoon with Skip Trimble, an energy expert with South River Consulting, Chairman of the Public Service Commission Steve Larsen, and Johanna Newmann, an advocate with MaryPIRG.
-Jessica Phillips
May 25, 2007
This Memorial Day, the Steiner Show crew won't be here, but our show will be! We are bringing you two archived shows that are appropriate to the occasion.
At noon, we'll revisit a show from December 4th, 2006. You'll hear Andrew Carroll discussing his book Operation Homecoming: Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Home Front, in the words of U.S. Troops and their Families. At one, we'll continue along those lines with a show from February 15th, 2006. You'll hear Kristin Henderson, author of While They're at War. Both books take a look at the stresses that soldiers and their families undergo when Dad or Mom is in a war zone. No matter where your politics lie on the war, being under a stressful situation and missing your family is universally understood.
I'll be listening to these shows to see if I can catch a hit of optimism about the final outcome of the Iraq War that doesn't exist today. Did we speak differently a year ago, six months ago?
Best wishes from us to you for a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!
-Jessica Phillips
May 24, 2007
Today at Noon we had Ray Cook on. He is the founder and organizer of On Our Shoulders, an organization that he runs to keep city kids from lives of violence and crime. He comes on the show often. We like his work and his frankness.
He spoke today about a rally he is organizing for this weekend. Several people have emailed about it asking for more information.
The Let's Stop the Madness rally will be held on Saturday, May 26th from 11am to 1pm at Evergreen Park at Edmondsom and Braddish Avenues. That is the same location where Keonya Christian Cannon was shot on April 20th.
For more information, call Ray Cook at (410) 261-9911.
The Baltimore Sun wrote an article on Keonya after she was shot. Access it here.
We're happy to let you know that Keonya finally left Shock Trauma today, after more than a month. She's still connected to more machines than you could imagine, but she's glad to be going home.
--Jessica Phillips