Islam and Its Place in American Society

"Lawful Islamists."

Interesting phrase, isn't it? It's a term being used by people like Daniel Pipes, who leads the conservative Middle East Forum, to describe attempts by Muslim Americans to assume a great role in the life of the country. In Pipes' eyes, that means nothing but trouble -- basically, anything in American society that seeks to accommodate Islam within its structure: banks that offer financial products that are compliant with sharia; swimming pools that offer female-only hours to accommodate Muslim-women; candidates for political office who in Pipes' opinion are a little too cozy with political Islam.

Pipes has written in the past few years of his support for the constant surveillance of Muslims and their organizations in American society, and he has defended the internment of Japanese Americans during World War Two.

On the other side are people like Debbie Almontaser, who was offered the chance to start a public school in New York City that would teach bring together Arabic and non-Arabic children to teach them Arabic. But the Khalil Gibran International Academy has been beset with problems ever since the idea for its creation was first put forward. In particular, Almontaser found herself the target of attacks, often lead by Pipes, as The New York Times reported in April.

Ms. Almontaser, a teacher by training and an activist who had carefully built ties with Christians and Jews, said she was forced to resign by the mayor's office following a campaign that pitted her against a chorus of critics who claimed she had a militant Islamic agenda.

In newspaper articles and Internet postings, on television and talk radio, Ms. Almontaser was branded a "radical," a "jihadist" and a "9/11 denier." She stood accused of harboring unpatriotic leanings and of secretly planning to proselytize her students. Despite Ms. Almontaser's longstanding reputation as a Muslim moderate, her critics quickly succeeded in recasting her image.

Today, the show will feature the two main antagonists talking about their parts in this drama, Pipes and Almontaser, as well as Andrea Elliot, The New York Times reporter who wrote the piece quoted above.

Tom Regan

1:59 PM ET | 05-15-2008 | permalink | comments (59) | e-mail post

Putting An Ankle Bracelet On Ferris Bueller

For many Wire junkies -- the fourth season is the apex of the series. It focuses on the problems of a fictional (read: thinly disguised) Baltimore school system. I confess, when I read this article about electronic monitoring in Dallas public schools, I thought of Randy, Michael, Dukie and Naimond -- and all their classmates -- especially the ones not in school. The system seems to work for a lot of kids -- especially those who are most at risk -- but people have complained that there's a touch of Big Brother to the program. We'll talk to a principal in East Dallas about the program -- and why he believes it's working.

Barrie Hardymon

1:58 PM ET | 05-15-2008 | permalink | comments (14) | e-mail post

Life On Board a Nuclear Carrier

It's hard to forget your first trip to an aircraft carrier. They are so big -- other ships docked anywhere near a carrier seem to shrink in size. They often bristle with military power. The flight decks always feel enormous. And so many people. An aircraft carrier is like a small floating town. I come from Windsor, Nova Scotia, population 3500 people -- a carrier has almost twice as many people.

One of my earliest memories from childhood was visiting the HMCS Bonaventure, at the time the only aircraft carrier in the Canadian armed forces. The Bonnie was a British carrier, bought by the Canadian government. My dad was friends with its captain and we got a tour. I still remember the exhilarating sensation of standing on one of the "elevators" in the ship's hanger as it shot up towards the flight deck.

But compared to the USS Nimitz, the Bonnie was a pipsqueak. Life on the Nimitz is the subject of a new PBS documentary, Carrier. We'll be talking to two of the young sailors featured in the 10-hour series on Thursday's show. You can get a sneak peek about life on the Nimitz here.

Tom Regan

1:57 PM ET | 05-15-2008 | permalink | comments (6) | e-mail post

Same-Sex Marriages

Just a few minutes ago, the California Supreme Court overturned a ban on same-sex marriages. (You can find a link to the court's decision here.) It's an important decision: California could become the second state to allow gay marriages.

We'll talk with a reporter from KQED, our member station in San Francisco, who has been covering the six cases, consolidated into one (Marriage Cases, S147999), and we'll hear from California's former attorney general and Vince Chhabria, a deputy attorney for the city of San Francisco.

If you have a question about the decision, leave it here. If you are part of a same-sex couple, living in California, what does this decision mean to you?

David Gura

1:56 PM ET | 05-15-2008 | permalink | comments (12) | e-mail post

Ron Paul

The Political Junkie, The Political Maverick.

Andy Carvin/NPR

 

I'll confess I was a bit worried about Ron Paul as a guest. The Congressman and Republican Presidential candidate's campaign may be the most interesting of this year's also-rans. Once the presidential nominee of the Libertarian Party, Rep. Paul's long-shot candidacy never found much traction with voters, but caught fire on the Internet, where he generated astonishing financial support from many thousands of donors. We had him on the show a couple of times by phone from the campaign trail in relatively short interviews, but I was concerned that lengthy explanations of monetary policy might sound just a little bit, well, wonky.

If you heard his appearance yesterday with NPR's political editor Ken Rudin, on our Political Junkie Segment, Rep. Paul was charming, self-deprecating, and, at times, quite funny. It's easier for a politician with little at stake to be forthright, but it's refreshing, nevertheless. And extending the time gave listeners a chance to hear more depth - and, when he spoke about bringing troops back home, deconstructing the "American Empire, " and the difficulties of third party candidates, the depth of passion. I regret that we still don't know what Ron Paul plans to do with all that money he raised - his may be the best financed uncontested congressional campaign in history.

Neal Conan

11:49 AM ET | 05-15-2008 | permalink | comments (6) | e-mail post

Political Junkie: GOP Nervous After 3rd House Loss

There's trouble in River City. After the third straight loss of what was considered a safe seat -- in illinois, Lousianna, Illinois and last night in Mississippi -- the Republican Party is extremely worried about the fall campaign. Tuesday night, Democrat Travis Childers defeated Republican Greg Davis by eight points in the latest special election. The seat had long been considered safe GOP .(As far as a comparison of just how big a loss this was, Marc Ambinder of theAtlantic.com compared it to the Republicans winning in Los Angeles County.)

In an e-mail to party members earlier today, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, Rep. Tom Cole wrote, "Republicans must undertake bold efforts to define a forward looking agenda that offers the kind of positive change voters are looking for. This is something we can do in cooperation with our Presidential nominee, but time is short."

Our own political junkie, Ken Rudin, look at how special elections in the past have often been harbingers of the results of the general election. Ken writes that "the mind drifts back to 1974 early 1974." In early February, 41-year-old Democratic state legislator John Murtha eked out a 230-vote victory in a special election to replace Republican Rep. John Saylor, who had died the previous October. The Democrats went on to win three more "safe" GOP seats in special elections.

For many of us who followed politics in that fascinating year, those special elections still stand out. Watching one after another longtime GOP seat fall, we knew the Democratic Party was on the precipice of a significant election blowout in the fall. The Democrats picked up an additional 43 seats that November.

In today's segment, Ken will also talk about last night's Democratic primary results in West Virginia, a look forward to the next primaries in Kentucky and Oregon , and the rapid political tumble of Republican Rep. Vito Fossella, who was first arrested on a DUI and then admitted to fathering a child out of wedlock.

Tom Regan

1:59 PM ET | 05-14-2008 | permalink | comments (7) | e-mail post

Nothing Out of the Ordinary

A month ago, I saw Errol Morris' film about Abu Ghraib, Standard Operating Procedure. It's really a stunner -- the interviews with the notorious Lynndie England alone are worth the price of the ticket (see above clip). The companion book of the same name -- by Philip Gourevitch (excerpted here) -- has the same kind of gut wrenching morality check. Gourevitch was nice enough to come chat with us about it today at the Newseum. I admit -- and I hope we'll ask him about this -- a real feeling of sympathy for the situation these young men were put into. Humans are an odd breed -- isn't it ironic the ways in which we can put ourselves in the shoes of others -- and the ways in which we can't.

Barrie Hardymon

1:58 PM ET | 05-14-2008 | permalink | comments (15) | e-mail post

How I Got that Story

Every so often, TOTN will feature a segment called "How I Got that Story." Essentially, it's our excuse to talk to seasoned, rockstar reporters about how they snagged their most recent policy changing, talk-of-the-town news story.

Today, we take you to the border of the country, where haphazard medical care is being given at immigration detention centers. It's the latest investigative piece from The Washington Post's Dana Priest, and her colleague, Amy Goldstein.

Post reporters Dana Priest, the Pulitzer Prize-winner, famous for exposing the CIA's secret prisons (aka "black sites"), and the degrading conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and Amy Goldstein, who covers national social policy and was part of a team of reporters that won a Pulitzer for their reporting of 9/11, join us today in the Newseum to talk about how they got their story. If you have questions, leave them here.

Ashley Grashaw

1:56 PM ET | 05-14-2008 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Those Silly Graduates

Graduation season is fast upon us. The kiddies are growing up! In the final months and weeks of collegiate life, graduates have a lot on their plates. There's navigating the unsteady job market, pulling all nighters for exams and dissertations, figuring out grad school potential, and, if you're lucky, planning that graduation trip to Europe with your friends. But the single most important task in the lead up to commencement is the consideration of graduation attire. There's the standard Hawaiian leis, the creative "will work for food" slogan taped on the top of graduation caps, and, of course, that one craaazy art major who streaks across the stage in nothing but his robe and flip flops. The coolest ensemble I saw when I graduated was a guy who wore clown shoes and shaved "Cal" (go bears!) into the side of his head. If you're graduating this year, what fashion statement do you plan to make? And, if you've already graduated, what's the zaniest outfit you've seen at a graduation?

Ashley Grashaw

10:14 AM ET | 05-14-2008 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Countering the Sex Slave Industry

Stella Rotaru is a counter-trafficker. She has dedicated her life to rescuing women caught up in the global sex trade. Today, she joins us on the show to talk about how women unwittingly get trapped in the industry, and what they're forced to do to escape. But, first, these words from fellow producer, Susannah George:

When Sue, our executive producer, pitched today's show on sex slavery she added as an aside, "Do you think we could find a studio in Moldova?" Then she chuckled.

I ran a few Google searches and came across a UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) youth radio program that operates (or operated, I still have no idea) out of Moldova (oh, and btw, for those of you who haven't run your own Google searches yet, Moldova is located here). I figured that someone at UNICEF in Moldova would know which radio stations have the oh-so-very-desirable yet oh-so-elusive ISDN line connection.

And let me pause here. Because if you listen to the radio (at all) you have an appreciation for ISDN-line quality, just listen to an ender that I booked last week about loyalty oaths and then listen to our interview yesterday with David Breasheras. David sounds like he's sitting right next to Neal, and Marianne sounds like she's on the moon. Enough said.

Somehow, after talking to a night guard at UNICEF who passed the phone off to an aid worker, Judith, who happened to be walking by, I got the number of Radio Free Europe in Moldova. Then, late Sunday night (I watched an entire DVD-worth of Twin Peaks episodes while I waited for 7am Moldova time to roll around), I finally got in touch with a Radio Free Europe engineer: Sergio.

Me: "Hi I'm calling from NPR in the US, do you have an ISDN line?"

Sergio: "Can you speak slower?"

Me: "Do-you-have-an-I-S-D-N-line?"

Sergio: "Yes."

And that was that.

If you want to find out more about how the sex slave industry works, how women are abducted and held, and what happens when they get back home, leave your comments here.

Ashley Grashaw

1:59 PM ET | 05-13-2008 | permalink | comments (12) | e-mail post

Recusals, Quorums, and Apartheid

For a while now I've been thinking about becoming a doctor. People give you a tremendous amount of respect, and you get to say cool things like, "Give me 400 cc's of nitroglycerin -- stat!" and "Everyone move back. It's gonna be OK. Hand me the defibrillator!"

But now, I'm thinking about becoming a lawyer. They get to talk about neat things like recusals and quorums. (Huh?) Exactly. That's the current talk among the SCOTUS community, anyway. It has to do with an apartheid appeal the Supreme Court was considering. Law professor Jeffrey Rosen joins us today in studio 3A to explain what it all means, and make lawyers out of us all. He'll also give us a look ahead at the Court's upcoming decisions.

Ashley Grashaw

1:58 PM ET | 05-13-2008 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

The Real Mr. Big

Nothin' better than a nicely shaped head.

Source: Mark Mainz/Getty Images

If I were to rank the Sex and the City girls, here's the list. (I love them all, but I'm a Miranda fan.)
1) Miranda
2) Samantha
3) Carrie
4) Charlotte
But the boys are a different matter. Here's the list.
1) Harry
2) Harry
3) Harry
4) Steve and the rest of 'em.
I LOVE Harry. Love him. Knew instantly that Charlotte would get her shiksa together and make it work -- and adored him from the start. Hair in all the wrong places, and yet -- Harry was the one for me, and Charlotte apparently. Good news, Harry fans, it turns out actor Evan Handler is actually much cooler than the character he plays -- and a really great writer. He might give actors a good name.

His second memoir It's Only Temporary: The Good News and the Bad News of Being Alive, picks up where the first one left off. Get this -- when he was twenty three, he was told he had six months to live. After intensive chemotherapy, a long shot bone marrow transplant, and a fifty percent chance of remission -- he survived. His first memoir was about his illness... This one is about his survival. It's really worth reading, Harry fan or not. And it's definitely worth tuning in today.

Barrie Hardymon

1:57 PM ET | 05-13-2008 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

Giving Living Short Shrift?

Last week we told you about a new plan by New York City officials to launch a special ambulance service in about a month that would help preserve the organs of the "newly deceased" -- the Rapid Organ Recovery Ambulance service. The idea is to keep the organs "fresh" until the relatives of the dead individual can be contacted to see if they would be willing to donate their loved ones organs. The officials hope this would help more of the patients who are the long waiting list for organ transplants.

But some ethicists and emergency medicine experts are worried that the new service could create a tension for EMTs as they respond to an emergency, and who, as ABC News reports, "may be charged both to save lives and to preserve organs for reuse."

Tough call, eh? This angle will no doubt be one of the ones we'll examine today on the show when we talk about the Rapid Organ Recovery Ambulance service with two guests: Arthur L. Caplan, of the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Bioethics, and Dr. Richard O'Brien, a spokesman for the American College of Emergency Physicians.

Tom Regan

1:56 PM ET | 05-13-2008 | permalink | comments (9) | e-mail post

Sex in the Wrong City and I'm a Cliche

Yes, they're adorable, but why is that hat in London?!.

Dave Hogan/Getty Images

 

Yes, I'm a cliche. I love Sex and the City. I quote the series liberally, watch certain episodes repeatedly, and crash through various fashion disasters loosely based on Carrie et al (exposed bra straps, faux flowers, randomly tied scarves). It's really irritating, I'm sure. Whatever. I'm not going to apologize for certain loves -- like the delicious raw quail eggs on top of my tobiko (not a weird euphemism) or SATC. Moving on. Why on earth did the movie -- the preview to which I've watched so many times, so closely, I'm surprised I haven't had a &^%$ fashion seizure -- premiere in London!? The fifth gal in that series is NYC (speaking of cliches -- sue me), and though I've got nothing against London or Brits en masse, it seems a betrayal that the world premiere would happen in the shadow of Big Ben, and not the Chrysler building. It's like we caught the girls drinking Pimms instead of cosmos. Sigh. Back to trying to figure out the entire plot from this one little preview.

Barrie Hardymon

10:42 AM ET | 05-13-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Getting Aid to Myanmar

There is now a trickle of aid flowing into a devastated Myanmar (we say Myanmar -- BBC says Burma -- see this excellent explainer for more) -- but that trickle doesn't match the flood of refugees in need of food, medicine, shelter, and more. The government there has restricted relief efforts -- while complicated arguments about how to help are raging on op-ed pages.

We'll talk with Romesh Ratnesar, the deputy managing editor of Time magazine. In a new, provocative article, he asks, "Is It Time to Invade Burma?" We'll also hear from Bettina Luescher, chief spokeswoman for the World Food Program, and Ko Pyi, a political activist from Myanmar, who fled to the United States seven years ago.

What do you think? Should Myanmar be forced to accept aid -- by airdrop, or at gunpoint?

David Gura

1:59 PM ET | 05-12-2008 | permalink | comments (18) | e-mail post

Don't Go to College

Here's a new one for you -- conventional wisdom insists that college is the place to pull yourself upwards and onwards. Better jobs -- and more mobility -- are the dividends. But career coach Marty Nemko disagrees. In his op-ed he writes:

Among my saddest moments as a career counselor is when I hear a story like this: "I wasn't a good student in high school, but I wanted to prove that I can get a college diploma. I'd be the first one in my family to do it. But it's been five years and $80,000, and I still have 45 credits to go."... Most college dropouts leave campus having learned little of value, and with a mountain of debt and devastated self-esteem. Perhaps worst of all, even those who do manage to graduate too rarely end up in careers that require a college education. So when you hop in a cab or walk into a restaurant, you're likely to meet workers who spent years and their family's life savings on college, only to end up with a job they could have done as a high school dropout.

It's not your run-of-the-mill advice, and plenty of people would disagree with him. Which makes him good, provocative fodder for our Opinion Page... Let the debate begin!

Barrie Hardymon

1:58 PM ET | 05-12-2008 | permalink | comments (108) | e-mail post

Seismic Activity in Sichuan

Residents fled buildings for the sidewalks in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province.

Andrea Hsu/NPR

 

For the past few months, our colleagues at All Things Considered have been planning a week-long series of broadcasts from China. In advance of their trip there, hosts and producers have kept a blog, called Chengdu Diary.

They had intended to focus on "how the ever-widening generational divide affects people and society." My, how things can change.

Earlier today, an earthquake, registering 7.8 on the Richter scale, devastated Sichuan province. Melissa Block was there, in the middle of an interview, when it hit. The ground "undulated," she said. The Chinese government has estimated that at least 9,000 people have died.

We'll talk to William C. Kirby, the Edith and Benjamin Geisinger Professor of History at Harvard University. Just a few weeks ago, he was in Sichuan.

Kirby will tell us about the region and its two largest cities, and he'll compare today's earthquake to one in Tangshan, back in 1976.

If you have friends or family in Sichuan, have you spoken to them today? How are they? If you've visited the region, tell us what it's like.

David Gura

1:57 PM ET | 05-12-2008 | permalink | comments (4) | e-mail post

Flashback: Tragedy Strikes Mount Everest

A view of Mount Everest from the summit of Gokyo Ri.

markyatd

 

On May 10, 1996, an unexpected and violent storm hit Mount Everest. It trapped three climbing teams near the top of the peak, and resulted in the deaths of five climbers on the south side of the mountain. It's known as the mountain's worst tragedy to date, and many attempts have been made to retell the story. Mountaineer and filmmaker David Breashears was at base camp that day. In a new documentary called Storm Over Everest, he pays tribute to those who died, and interviews some of the climbers who survived, who, with frostbitten hands and noses, try to make sense of that fateful day.

If you've traveled to, or climbed, Mount Everest, tell us your story. And if you have a question about the 1996 tragedy, leave it here.

Ashley Grashaw

1:56 PM ET | 05-12-2008 | permalink | comments (7) | e-mail post

Ron Paul

"Dr. No."

Source: FX in the City

Without fail, we receive several phone calls from supporters of Rep. Ron Paul, urging us to devote more time to his campaign for the Republican nomination, to talk about his platform, to invite the
man himself to be on the show.

On this blog, readers have also asked us to give more time to "Dr. No." In February, Brandon, one of our listeners, wrote this:

I'm a bit bewildered, amongst all the discussion of the Republican field and the supposed lack of anyone with real conservative appeal, that NPR has had zero discussion of Ron Paul. He has the most conservative credentials out of any of the remaining candidates. I feel the only reason that the conservative base is not flocking to his campaign is that he is consistently marginalized or left out of the discussion, as he has been from this program. I'm really disappointed that his name hasn't even come up.

For the record, Rep. Paul has been a guest on our show. And we'll have him on air again, come Wednesday. He'll join us from the Newseum, here in Washington, to talk about his campaign and his new book, The Revolution: A Manifesto.

To the Ron Paul supporters reading this, if you're going to be in our neck of the woods, there are a few seats still available for the show on Wednesday. If you'd like to attend the broadcast, drop us a line.

David Gura

12:07 PM ET | 05-12-2008 | permalink | comments (45) | e-mail post

Tough Questions. Honest Answers.

Several months ago, Dawn Turner Trice, a columnist for the Chicago Tribune, started a new blog, called Exploring Race. She wants it to be an open forum, where readers write frank comments, where they can pose any question.

"We have a moment in history to have a national discussion about race," she writes. "We should seize it and try to mine it for what it's worth. I want this to be a safe place where people of all races can explore their views and biases, openly and honestly."

Do you agree with her? Is this the time for a real, honest dialogue about race?

In the first hour of our show today, we'll talk with Trice about her blog. Does she think that Exploring Race is working? What has she learned? We'll also hear from Gregory Rodriguez, a columnist for the Los Angeles Times, and Kathy Cramer Walsh, who teaches at the University of Wisconsin. Her most-recent book is called Talking about Race: Community Dialogues and the Politics of Difference. (You can read the first chapter from it here.)

When do you and your friends talk about race? What exactly do you talk about? How honest are the conversations? Do you hold back, why? What makes it such a hard subject for you? Do forums like Exploring Race make it easier?

David Gura

1:59 PM ET | 05- 8-2008 | permalink | comments (88) | e-mail post

Mommy MySpace

Your mom, online -- a good thing?

Source: ukdenners

Mother's Day is fast approaching, which means every teenager and adult with a computer is getting ready to send that cheery e-card of love and appreciation. The only concern is, what will happen when it reaches its destination? Qwerty keyboards and fast-paced texting may still furrow a few brows; but increasingly, moms are becoming more and more technologically savvy... and they're indulging in a whole new form of communication with their children online -- through emails, texts, blogs, and social networking sites.

If you're a Generation Xer or Yer, you may be familiar with one or all of the following:

The frantic technical support calls from mom at 8 o'clock in the morning because she doesn't know how to send an email, and it needs to get to her book club before noon; or

The random text messages that look like hieroglyphics because she hasn't mastered the T9Word keypad on her phone; or, worse,

The mom that reads your emails or "friends" your friends on Facebook because she has a little too much technological know-how.

But no matter what the online situation is, younger generations are taking this new style of communication in stride, and some have even managed to grow closer to their moms because of it.

Linda Lowen, a mom of two teens and a writer on women's issues for about.com, will join us to talk about the nuances and politics of moms interacting with their kids online. And we'll also hear from Doree Shafrir and Jessica Grose who co-founded Postcards from Yo Momma, a website that runs user-submitted e-mails and chat transcripts from real moms.

How have you experienced this trend of communicating with your mom online? What's the latest email or text you received from her? And, moms, how do you communicate with your kids online?

Ashley Grashaw

1:57 PM ET | 05- 8-2008 | permalink | comments (18) | e-mail post

I'm Not Gonna Lie To You...

See!?! She reads!

Source: BarrieJH

...except, I probably am! I'm a shameless exaggerator. Shameless. (In fact, my level of exaggeration is the one thing I don't exaggerate about, so you can trust me on this one point.) For instance, in our meetings I've been known to wave my hands around like I'm landing a plane -- all the while insisting that "the price of manure has skyrocketed and we've absolutely got to cover this s#$t!!!" (For the record -- the price is at a record high, but skyrocketed is a -- wait for it -- exaggeration.) I regularly used to inflate my age -- even when I wasn't in bars -- and now I regularly (sigh) deflate it. I'm 5'8" feet tall.* My cat can read. I failed geometry three times.** I took the trash out -- and I paid that bill in full! (It's a nuance, but I'm pro'ly a bit of a fibber, too, I realize.) Well, a small study in the journal Emotion says that this kind of exaggeration isn't really about deceiving other people -- it's simply a reflection of our hopes and dreams. (I hope and dream my cat will read -- and talk someday!) We're talking to one of the authors of the study, but we really want to to hear from you. So, 'fess up, y'all. What truth have you stretched -- and what have you simply snapped?

*5'3"
**Only twice.

Barrie Hardymon

1:56 PM ET | 05- 8-2008 | permalink | comments (7) | e-mail post

May 8th Show

For our entire first hour today, we'll continue talking about how we talk about race....inside and outside the political arena. Is it possible to really get down and dirty and HONESTLY talk about race? And what do we hope to accomplish and possibly resolve in those discussions? Our guests will be Dawn Turner Trice, a Chicago Tribune columnist and mediator of a blog called "Exploring Race," Gregory Rodriguez, a columnist for the Los Angeles Times and director of the California Fellows Program at the New America Foundation, and Kathy Kramer Walsh, an associate professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. And as always we want to hear your story. Has talking about race helped you understand other people?

In our 2ND HR 2DAY...AFAIK and FWIW*... Okay, if you are the mother of a teen or tween and can understand what those symbols mean, our second hour is about you. Have you become an online mother...IMing your child and showing up on their Facebook page? You're not alone. In our second hour, we'll talk an online mom of 14 and 16 year olds, and the co-founders of Postcards from Yo Momma, a website that collects those lovely emails mothers send out when all she really wants is for you to call her!! At the end of the hour, a Harvard professor will tell us if there really is a difference between a bold-face lie and a mere exaggeration. It will probably be our best ender segment yet!

CUL8R

*As Far As I Know, and For What It's Worth

Gwen Outen

11:58 AM ET | 05- 8-2008 | permalink | e-mail post

Keeping the Newly Dead Ready for Organ Donation

I've been an organ donor for a long time. I've always been of the belief that once I'm finished using my heart, lungs or whatever, if they can be of use to someone else, please, be my guest. But even I find this idea a little, well, unsettling.

It's pretty well-known that there just aren't enough donated organs to go around to all the people who need them. And until we learn how to grow them -- which is, realistically, not as far off as we might think -- the shortage will continue. So New York City officials have come up with an idea of how to work the odds in their favor a bit. USA Today reports that, within months, they plan to "dispatch the nation's first ambulance equipped to preserve bodies of the newly dead so that families have time to consider organ donation."

The controversial twist: Crews would swoop in and perform procedures on a corpse without consent in order to preserve the organs until the family had time to give consent for organ donation. No organs would be taken without consent.

The idea of this ambulance roaring through the streets of New York on this particular mission seems like something out of a graphic novel.

Apparently, city officials are hoping that grieving people will be rational enough to give consent for their very recently deceased loved ones' organs to be donated. It's not a totally wild theory. Any reporter who has ever covered a story involving a sudden fatality will tell you that many times the family wants to do whatever it can to preserve the memory of their loved one in a meaningful way.

But does this idea of an ambulance dispatched to keep a victim, well, "fresh," take the desire to harvest organs a step too far? Does it create an unnecessary tension between families of the deceased and the family of those needing an organ donation? Or it this a smart and useful way to take a tragic situation and turn in into something that can be life affirming?

Tom Regan

10:26 AM ET | 05- 8-2008 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post

Homestretch Strategies

The results from yesterday's primaries are in: Senator Obama won North Carolina, and Senator Clinton won Indiana. But Obama increased his lead in pledged delegates, and former Clinton supporter Senator George McGovern has called for her to drop out of the race. So was yesterday a critical turn in the race, or just one more bend along the path to nomination?

Clinton is expected to perform well in the upcoming primaries in West Virginia, Kentucky and Puerto Rico, and Obama is predicted to win Oregon, Montana and South Dakota. So where do their campaigns go from here? NPR political Junkie Ken Rudin joins us to give us his insight. We'll also hear from Donna Brazile, campaign manager for Gore-Lieberman in 2000, and Glen Bolger, co-founder of Public Opinion Strategies.

Pretend you're an undecided superdelegate -- what do you need to hear from the candidates at this point?

Ashley Grashaw

1:59 PM ET | 05- 7-2008 | permalink | comments (14) | e-mail post

NPR's Ombudsman

Sometimes while screening calls during our show, I have to let a caller go because their phone has shoddy reception or we're running up against the wall and don't have enough time to put them on the air. To me, it makes sense, and seems justified at the time. But then I think about what it would be like to be that caller on the other end of my hang-up. Here you are, listening to a segment on NPR that got you excited enough to call in and offer your $0.02 live on the air, and you're greeted by a screener like me telling you, "Sorry, we won't be able to take your call. [Insert reason here.] But thanks for calling in and listening!" I can see how it could be infuriating at the most, and a little disappointing at the least.

NPR's Ombudsman, Lisa Shepard, is the one responsible for following up on listener complaints and questions. In other words, she keeps us honest, helps keep the peace. And she will join TOTN every so often to talk about some of the phone calls and emails she receives from listeners, and the ethical issues they raise. NPR received complaints that the description of what police found at the site of Deborah Jean Palfry's suicide was too graphic. What do you think?

When there is a death, be it a suicide, murder, car accident, or an act of war, how much do you want to know? How much should you know?

Ashley Grashaw

1:56 PM ET | 05- 7-2008 | permalink | comments (18) | e-mail post

How to Help Vets in Trouble with the Law

For many years, it was a staple of movies and TV shows; the vet -- almost always from Vietnam, but sometimes from the first Gulf War -- who hadn't never been quite able to handle the return to their everyday lives after military service. Sometimes it would only take a slight nudge to send them over the edge into trouble with the law, like in the novel "First Blood" which was later turned into the first of many Rambo films. Sometimes the story featured a vet who seemed normal -- they might even work in law enforcement -- but could fall into a rage-filled anger at a moment's notice, like James Lee Burke's Cajun detective Dave Robicheaux.

The reality of the situation is that a certain percentage of vets do get into trouble with the law, often linked to experiences during their time in the military. And that number has increased as more veterans have returned from Iraq or Afghanistan. (But not as many as you might think. A study by the Justice Department in 2000, showed that the incarceration of vets is about 60 percent of non-veterans. There is one difference among incarcerated veterans than non-veterans. White males comprise a much larger percentage of vets in jail than white males do in the other category.)

So how to help those vets who do find themselves in legal trouble? One answer is might be what is happening in Buffalo. NPR's Libby Lewis reports on a special veterans court -- working in conjunction with the Veterans Affairs Department -- that tries to help veterans in trouble with the law. The court appoints mentors, often other veterans or active-duty soldiers, to help those in trouble get their lives back on track. The men in trouble with the law have to check in regularly with the court and prove that they are making the effort to get out of trouble in order to avoid jail time.

Do vet courts sound like a good idea? Is this something that you think should be used in the rest of the country?

Tom Regan

10:44 AM ET | 05- 7-2008 | permalink | comments (8) | e-mail post

A Tribute to Comedians Past

Chris Farley's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Source: bsoist

John Belushi, Chris Farley, and John Candy. All Second City vets. All on the SNL stage at one point or another. And all died earlier than their time -- drugs, drugs, and heart disease, respectively. But, in a way, they live on in the comedy they left behind.

In a new biography about Chris Farley called, The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts, his brother Tom put it this way:

For every hilarious thing he did on camera, there were twenty things he did off-screen that just blew it away. He lived to make others laugh, and he was fearless about it. In the years since Chris passed away, there have been countless times when Chris's buddies would find themselves huddled together, sharing these crazy stories.

What do you miss most about these comedic actors? And what was your favorite skit or movie they did?

Ashley Grashaw

10:42 AM ET | 05- 7-2008 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Insane or Just Plain Nuts

It is by far one of the most unpleasant stories out there. A man in Austria commits the worst kind of child abuse -- and then takes it into another stratosphere of evil by keeping his children and grandchildren (all of whom he fathered) in a basement for years. It's a horrible, horrible story -- and my informal survey of friends and compatriots has found either people can't read about it at all -- or they just want to know what breach of hell created this man's particular brand of evil. Austrian courts however, have a different set of questions -- namely, is Josef Fritzl legally insane? One argument says he wouldn't have kept the kids hidden away if he didn't know what he was doing was wrong. Insane is legal term -- not a medical one. (And meshuggeneh is merely a descriptor, if you're curious.) The insanity defense is invoked in Law and Order and CSI a lot -- but it differs from state to state, country to country, and court to court. Insanity Famous defendants that have pleaded insanity range from Zacarias Moussaoui to D.C. sniper Lee Boyd Malvo. Even Reagan's would-be assassin, John Hinckley Jr., used the insanity defense -- and the court found him not guilty back in 1982. Today -- we're talking about Insane vs. Crazy: questions? Post 'em here.

Barrie Hardymon

1:59 PM ET | 05- 6-2008 | permalink | comments (18) | e-mail post

When an Oath Clashes with Personal Convictions

I come from a part of the world where the taking of an oath has a rather unpleasant history.

I grew up in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia in Canada. I lived literally a block from the spot where, in 1755, the British commander told a group of Acadian farmers -- who had grown estranged from France during their almost 150 years in the area and had no interest in the latest British-French blowup -- that they would have to swear allegiance to the King of England or else their lands would be forfeited to the crown and they would be shipped away.

And as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow chronicled in his poem, Evangeline, this is exactly what happened when the proud Acadians refused to take the oath.

For most people, taking an oath is not a problem. But for some their personal convictions -- particularly their personal religious convictions -- can create a troubling situation. Take the case of Marianne Kearney-Brown, a Quaker and graduate student who was fired from her teaching job at California State University East Bay this week because she refused to sign an 87-word Oath of Allegiance to the Constitution that the state requires of elected officials and public employees.

It wasn't so much that she didn't want to swear allegiance to the state's Constitution. As the San Francisco Chronicle reports, "A veteran public school math teacher who specializes in helping struggling students, Kearney-Brown, 50, had signed the oath before - but had modified it each time."

Each time, when asked to "swear (or affirm)" that she would "support and defend" the U.S. and state Constitutions "against all enemies, foreign and domestic," Kearney-Brown inserted revisions: She wrote "nonviolently" in front of the word "support," crossed out "swear," and circled "affirm." All were to conform with her Quaker beliefs, she said.

Kearney-Brown did this several times over her career teaching in California and it was never rejected. But this time she got a letter that said the university's counsel said she couldn't alter the oath (which may or may not be true, as it turns out) and she had to sign it or be fired. She refused to sign and was axed.

Kearney-Brown will be on Talk of the Nation today to talk about what happened to her and why she did what she did.

Should a person be able to change the wording of an oath to suit their religious situation? Atheists are not required to say "under God" while reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, nor are they required to swear on a Bible in court. They can affirm their promise to tell the truth. Should the same consideration be extended to other strong religious beliefs?

Tom Regan

1:58 PM ET | 05- 6-2008 | permalink | comments (15) | e-mail post

Film School at Home

David and Jesse Gilmour had a unique arrangement.

From the witty repartee of Annie Hall and va-va-voom of Lolita, to Tony Montana's "little friend" in Scarface, Jesse Gilmour didn't receive your ordinary high school education. After almost flunking out of school, without remorse, his dad, David, decided to make a deal with him: he could drop out, live at home job- and rent-free, and all he had to do, in exchange, was watch three movies a week with his old man. Every teenager's dream, right? What resulted was a unique exchange between father and son -- film critic and novice. In watching the films, they found ways to talk about girls and relationships, drugs and alcohol, and how to approach life's big decisions -- at a time when most teenage boys pull away from their fathers.

Former film critic and Canadian talk show host David Gilmour wrote about the experience in a new book called The Film Club, and he and his son, Jesse, join us today to share their stories.

Have you ever learned something important from a movie, or a scene from a movie? Tell us about it! And what would your film school curriculum be?

Ashley Grashaw

1:57 PM ET | 05- 6-2008 | permalink | comments (22) | e-mail post

RIP: Yearbooks

My yearbooks, from middle school and high school, are tucked away somewhere in my childhood bedroom. Some day, five or ten years from now, I'll crack them open, to look at awkward studio portraits, to read benedictions and valedictions, to search for an embarrassing photo of a now-famous classmate.

I was sad to read that future classes, in colleges and universities especially, might not have yearbooks to look at, to laugh at. Free social networks, like Facebook and MySpace, and online photo websites, like Flickr and Picasa, have eroded yearbook sales.

Ye Domesday Booke, the yearbook at Georgetown University, is poorly funded and understaffed. The yearbook office at Virginia Wesleyan College is filled with old books. (Many students who ordered copies didn't pick them up.) And The Debris, from Purdue University? There will be no 2009 edition.

Do you mourn the dying yearbook? What does it give you that an website can't? Do you have your old yearbooks? Do you look at them with any frequency?

David Gura

1:56 PM ET | 05- 6-2008 | permalink | comments (14) | e-mail post

May 6th Show

In our first hour, we'll talk about shocking news that filled newspapers last week: Josef Fritzl, a 73-year-old Austrian man, held his daughter captive in the basement of his home and fathered seven children with her. He is now under investigation for rape, incest, coercion and the death of one child. Fritzl's lawyer is preparing an insanity defense, arguing Fritzl has a serious mental disorder and did not "choose" to do what police allege he did.

Where is the line drawn that divides responsibility and insanity?

In our first hour, we will look at who and what determines "legal insanity". At the end of the hour, we'll talk with Marianne Kearney Brown, a graduate student at Cal State East Bay about why she declined to sign the loyalty oath required to teach mathematics at the university.

When author David Gilmour's son, Jesse, dropped out of high school, he offered his son a deal. Jesse could drop out, live at home job and rent free, BUT it was required that they watch three movies a week together. In the second hour, David Gilmour and Jesse tell their story of how "film home schooling" effected their father-son relationship. At the end of the hour, we'll talk how Facebook could lead to the demise of the beloved school yearbook.

Gwen Outen

12:00 PM ET | 05- 6-2008 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Veteran Court In Buffalo -- YOUR Turn

The Newseum.

Source: ktylerconk

Tomorrow, we're back at the Newseum, and we've got two shows for you -- half special coverage, half TOTN regular style. First show is all about the world's longest homestretch in the Democratic nominating contest, but the second show is where we need your help.

This past January, Buffalo started a specialized veterans court -- a court meant to address problems specific to veterans: like substance abuse, mental health, even traffic issues caused by PTSD or the simple lack of civilian driving skills. NPR's Libby Lewis has done the reporting on this, so we've invited her to the Newseum tomorrow to tell us about it -- along with the project director for Buffalo's vet courts. Here's where you come in: if you're a vet and have been involved with the legal system, tell us your story. We want to hear about your experience -- we're looking for personal stories, and we'd like to hear from you about what you (or a loved one) would want in a specialized court for veterans. And if you've participated in Buffalo's project, by all means, let us know that too.

AND: if you're in the Washington area (that means you, Baltimore, Falls Church, Richmond, etc!!), let us know if you want to attend the live broadcast for either hour. It's at the Newseum, which is gorgeous, and worth the trip even with out added TOTN bonus. It's free, fun, and you can see Neal and Ken live (both red-heads, btw) if you want to come for the two o'clock broadcast, and Libby Lewis at the three o'clock show (not a red-head, but super smart). Here's what to do.

To reserve your complimentary tickets, send an email to tickets@npr.org or call 202. 513. 3959. When reserving tickets, please indicate which show you would like to attend, 2-3, 3-4 or both. A post-show Q&A with our host, Neal Conan, can be arranged for school groups.

Barrie Hardymon

11:00 AM ET | 05- 6-2008 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Observing the Anniversary with the Army

The experience of serving in any military is character building. In Israel, it's compulsory -- and somewhat more dangerous than other parts of the world. This week is the anniversary of Israel the country, and Israel's army -- the Israeli Defense Forces -- and we're marking both by talking about that particular military service.

Jeffrey Goldberg is a correspondent for The Atlantic -- and he had the unique experience of being an American Jew serving in the IDF. (Please read his coverage of Israel here, and here -- it's comprehensive and thought-provoking. Also, he loves The Wire, so read this too.) I saw a documentary about female Israeli soldiers at the Full Frame documentary festival last month -- we're lucky to have the director -- a veteran herself -- on today's show as well. Please post your thoughts -- and your experience, if you've served in the IDF.

Barrie Hardymon

1:59 PM ET | 05- 5-2008 | permalink | comments (10) | e-mail post

A Harder Line

Last September, the Israeli Air Force bombed a site in Syria. The mission was veiled in secrecy. Was it retaliatory? A strike on Hezbollah? Israeli and American officials were silent. At press conferences, members of the Bush administration refused to answer questions about the attack, even as speculation grew that the jets had destroyed a clandestine nuclear facility. (You may remember that, in February, Seymour Hersh, of The New Yorker magazine, appeared on our program, to talk about his article, "A Strike in the Dark: What did Israel bomb in Syria?")

Just over a week ago, American officials announced that the IAF had bombed a nuclear site, built with North Korean assistance. They provided photographs, taken by the Central Intelligence Agency.

This weekend, the Los Angeles Times published an opinion piece by Leonard Spector and Avner Cohen, called "Cloak and stagger." Evidence that Iran and Syria have nuclear programs is there, they said, but we're not drawing obvious inferences, calling spades spades.

Do you think that the United States has taken, or is taking, a hard-enough line against Iran, Syria, and North Korea? Now that we've seen evidence, should we do more?

David Gura

1:58 PM ET | 05- 5-2008 | permalink | comments (7) | e-mail post

Horse Racing Has Big Highs, Big Lows

I am the father of three horse-crazy little girls. My eight-year-old has stripped her bedroom of everything that isn't connected with horses. My six-year-old asks me at least once a day to draw a picture of a horse so that she can color it. My 10-year-old wants a collector's-edition toy horse model for her upcoming birthday.

Since we moved to the Virginia countryside, the girls have made friends with a neighbor who runs a pony farm. It's like they moved to paradise. They are continually asking our neighbor for a chance to ride the ponies, but she told me recently that before they ride, they'll need to learn how to muck out a stable, clean the saddle, brush and groom the horse, etc.

"I want them to learn that horses aren't toys but living creatures that require care and attention," she told me recently.

I thought of her remarks after the Kentucky Derby on Saturday. Eight Belles wasn't just a "horse," she was a real living creature. Perhaps that's why stories like the deaths of Eight Belles or Barbaro two years ago hit us the way that they do. That so much beauty and power can be so fragile seems unnatural.

Here track vet Dr. Larry Bramlage talks about what happened to Eight Belles:

The excitement over the Triple Crown chances of Big Brown seems out of place. As Pat Forde wrote for ESPN, "But that's horse racing, a sport in which the good news never seems able to outrun the bad news. For every new fan turned on to the game by Big Brown's fluidity and immense talent, two might be lost because of Eight Belles' awful ending."

We're going to look at why these tragedies seem to happen so often in the "sport of kings." Andy Beyer, sports columnist for the Washington Post, Jule Rover, NPR's health policy correspondent will be on the show, along with horse veterinarian Dr. Rick Arthur, to discuss what happened to Eight Belles and how it affects the future of horse racing with the American public.

Tom Regan

1:57 PM ET | 05- 5-2008 | permalink | comments (23) | e-mail post

Iron Man's Suit - Realistic, or Wishful Thinking?

Iron Man