June 2000

Parole Hearings -- Commentator Frederic Reamer reflects on his nearly nine years of service on the Rhode Island Parole Board. He says he's struck by the number of cases that involve drug or alcohol, and how many cases might have been avoided by early treatment and counseling of the offender's substance abuse problem.

June Weddings -- Commentator Carol Wasserman lives in Wareham, Massachusetts, where she says many households take foster children because it brings in extra income from the state. Most of the kids eventually move on. But Wasserman takes pride in this sector of the town's economy when she sees the children grow up, and gets to attend their weddings.

Harry Potter Ban -- Commentator Lenore Skenazy reports that the series of Harry Potter books is the most controversial literature around the US these days. Some group advocate banning it; others simply advise careful parental screening of libraries. Critics say the series promotes the occult. Skenazy finds grounds to ban Little Women, Winnie and Pooh, and Goodnight Moon for a variety of trumped-up reasons, tongue planted in cheek.

Gay Scouts -- Commentator Rebecca Flowers sarcastically regards yesterday's US Supreme Court ruling on the right to exclude gays from leadership roles in the Boy Scouts. The ruling doesn't describe a mechanism whereby Scouts can tell whose gay or not. But Flowers offers a series of tests for gayness versus straightness, all involving stereotypical gay/straight behavior (i.e. - you're a straight male if you leave your underwear on the floor).

Identity -- One of the effects of globalization is the psychological change that comes from shifting national identities. Commentator Andrew Lam found a spot that combines the place of his birth -- Vietnam -- with his existence today as an American journalist living in San Francisco.

Strategic Planting -- Commentator Carol Wasserman says this year, she's being very strategic about where she plants her flowers. Wasserman is a writer in Massachusetts.

Putin and Chechnya -- NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr says that the confusion surrounding Russia's actions in Chechnya is cause for concern.

Gas And Credit -- Commentator Andrei Codrescu on the interconnectedness of gasoline, money, and credit cards.

House Painting -- Commentator Bill Harley hired a house painter so he can get his own work done. But his male hormones took sway and he got himself hired to work for the man he's hired to paint.

Insignificant Specks -- Commentator Mario Livio says since the 16th century, human beings have learned much about the universe, helping us realize our own insignificance. But at the same time, says Livio, it is those very discoveries that have given the Earth importance.

School Prayer Fallout -- Commentator Joe Loconte says yesterday's Supreme Court ruling against student led prayer at Texas public school football game leaves some important questions unanswered. He suggests the case was the result of misguided efforts by activists on both sides of the school prayer debate.

Political Security -- NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr wonders if it is just too tempting in an election year to politicize the national security issues at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Shaft Commentary -- Playwright Thom Jones remembers being a 13-year- old, sitting in the dark, grooving to the rhythms of a new hero, a Black hero -- Shaft. Riding atop a thumping baseline, speeding away in a long black caddy, Shaft was bad, and that means good. After a childhood spent watching Roy Rogers and John Wayne, Jones reveled in the marvels of this urban street hero. Now Shaft is back, in a new movie, and Jones, like many of his contemporaries, anticipates his return.

Digital Blues -- Commentator Douglas Rushkoff considers whether the headache he gets from watching movies such as The Phantom Menace and Gladiator is due to his aging brain -- he's not yet 40 -- or to the onslaught of computer-rendered scenes that make his brain work too hard. He thinks the latter is more likely, and he requests a warning label for digitized movies.

Smoking -- Commentator Carol Wasserman has been asked if she is a smoker, according to how she sounds on the radio. She calls herself a cigarette widow because her husband died from smoking. She, herself, is a devout non-smoker.

Global Warming - NY -- Commentator Richard Goldstein offers some humorous reflection on a government report that indicates at the current rate of global warming, New York City could become an average of 10-degrees hotter over the next century than it is now.

Paschal's Cafeteria -- Commentator Scott Brunner discovers a bit of southern comfort at Atlanta's airport that brings him back to his childhood. Paschal's is a homestyle cafeteria serving food that smells and tastes as delicious as his grandmother's, and has traditional southern sweet tea to drink.

Death Penalty -- NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr notes the criticism surrounding capital punishment and the likelihood that the death penalty will become a campaign issue.

Rich Folks -- Commentator Andrei Codrescu sits in a well-to-do hotel lobby in Seattle watching people and suddenly has a detailed, novelistic fantasy about all the people and what they are doing. It is a tale based on the wealth, beauty and power of the people he views.

Microsoft - Consumers -- Commentator Richard Schmalensee argues that any losses for Microsoft's shareholders after a breakup may be insignificant compared with the cost to consumers. He says consumers will see higher prices, slower innovation, and greater computing complexity.

Napster -- Commentator Douglas Rushkoff looks at the lightning-quick popularity of Napster, a controversial software that allows users to swap files of copyrighted and non-copyrighted music for free. He acknowledges the software has enabled a revolt against the big record labels. But, he says, it's less about the music and more about getting stuff for the sake of getting it.

Scripture and the Courts -- Commentator Lis Wiehl says there is a double standard being applied to how scripture may be used in the court room. On the one hand, courts have decided lawyers may not quote scripture to juries. On the other, a court ruled it was proper for a judge to invoke scripture at sentencing. Wiehl warns that the outcome of a case should never depend on the religious prejudice of a jury OR a judge.

Passion Vine -- Commentator Bailey White relates a story about a gift she received of a passion vine root from near Hank Williams home in Alabama. It defied transplantation, much to White's disappointment. She had fallen in love with it.

BBQ Veggies -- Commentator Marion Winik is a vegetarian and for years she's been bringing her tofu dogs to barbeques -- much to the chagrin of others. She says she's know comfortable with her vegan barbeque choice --because it's really all about the sauce.

Puente Commentary -- Recollections of bandleader, composer and arranger Tito Puente by vibrophonist Dave Samuels. Samuels played many times with Puente and his band -- remembers those times with Puente fondly. Tito Puente died Wednesday of complications after open heart surgery. He was 77. David Samuels is the founding member of the Caribbean Jazz Project.


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