Wednesday, Mar 25, 2009

TTT MAR 25: LOCAL GREEN-JOB POVERTY-KILLERS

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LOCAL GREEN-JOB POVERTY-KILLERS Part of KFAI'S STRIVE TO THRIVE SERIES on POVERTY in MINNESOTA Poverty's ugly head continues to pester a culture claiming to be equal in all respects. Many Minnesotans believe "we're not as bad as other places." But thousands of Minnesota's children and families wallow in unnecessary poverty, hundreds homeless, unable to find work, to eat properly and to learn; Poverty's effects have been and can be even more devastating for all of us...if we look back and down and not ahead. But huge coalitions are forming nationally and locally toward lifting whole communities out of the mire and create sustainable and livable communities at the same time. TTT's ANDY DRISCOLL and LYNNELL MICKELSEN talk with one national and several Twin City movers and inspirations for building and rebuilding poverty-stricken communities with jobs and foresight. GUESTS: • ALEX TITTLE – Education Director, Summit Academy OIC, H.I.R.E. (Healthcare, Infrastructure, and Renewable Energy ) Minnesota Green Jobs Initiative • KAREN MONAHAN – Community Organizer, EJAM (Environmental Justice Advocates of MN) • JOHN HOTTINGER – former State Senate Majority Leader; Sierra Club and Blue/Green Alliance; Author, Legislative Commission to Eliminate Poverty in MN by 2020 Can't get us on the radio? Stream TTT live from KFAI's Home Page

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Wednesday, Mar 18, 2009

TTT MARCH 18: ENCORE: CHOOSING OUR JUDGES: Elect or Select?

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MARCH 18: ENCORE: CHOOSING OUR JUDGES: Elect or Select? SINCE AIRING THIS PROGRAM A YEAR AGO, a bill to place a Constitutional amendment before Minnesota voters in 2010 is being heard at the Legislature. The arguments for and against judicial appointments versus election remain before that body. Our program remains relevant to the current discussion. A 2002 US Supreme Court ruling had opened the door to a practice previously prohibited by Minnesota’s Canon of Judicial Ethics. Judicial candidates therefore may no longer be prevented from expressing opinions on issues that may come before the bench, perhaps in the process revealing a bias in favor of one side or another well before the facts are in and a ruling issued. Many legal types see this as turning the entire judicial branch of government into an expensive, nasty politically driven court system. Others insist that traditional elections open debate to reveal bias and make the judiciary more accountable. Former GOVERNOR AL QUIE is spearheading a drive to create a state Constitutional amendment advocates believe addresses both impartiality and electoral accountability – retention elections. TTT’s Andy Driscoll and Lynnell Mickelsen talk with Governor Quie and others about the pluses and minuses of a system that would place only previously incumbent judges before voters, but not directly elect newcomers. GUESTS: • FORMER GOVERNOR AL QUIE, Co-Chair, Minnesotans for Impartial Courts • STATE SEN. ANN REST, Chair, State and Local Government Operations and Oversight Committee; Chief Author, Retention Elections bill • PETER NICKITAS, Attorney and member, National Lawyers Guild-MN • MARK CHRONISTER, Director, Minnesotans for Impartial Courts

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Wednesday, Mar 11, 2009

TTT MARCH 11: ELECTION REFORMS: More and Better Voting?

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MARCH 11: ELECTION REFORMS: More and Better Voting? Minnesota's protracted US Senate contest has brought into sharp relief both the strengths – and some glaring weaknesses – in the state's electoral process, some of which discourage voter participation. What can we do to both streamline the system and enable maximum voter engagement and confidence? Furthermore, starting with this year's election, Minneapolis will implement an Instant Run-off Voting (Ranked Choice Voting) system that recently survived a court challenge and opened the door to placing a St. Paul version on that city's ballot this Fall. Is a state version more politically viable now – especially after at least three major elections were decided not by a majority of votes, but a plurality? TTT's ANDY DRISCOLL and LYNNELL MICKELSEN talk with advocates, watchdogs and policymakers about reform of election laws and procedures which may well have been designed to depress voter participation rather than encourage it and what makes sense if we truly seek a fully participatory democracy. GUESTS: • JEANNE MASSEY, Executive Director, FairVote Minnesota, prime movers behind IRV/RCV • KEESHA GASKINS, Executive Director, Minnesota League of Women Voters • MIKE DEAN, Executive Director, Minnesota Common Cause COMING APRIL 1: People's Historian HOWARD ZINN Can't get us on the radio? Stream TTT live from KFAI's Home Page

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Wednesday, Mar 04, 2009

TTT MARCH 4: ONLINE JOURNALISTS–They Get No Respect!

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MARCH 4: ONLINE JOURNALISTS–They Get No Respect! Minnesota House. Majority Leader Tony Sertich continues to fight equal access for all media to the floor and in committee meetings/hearings. TTT's ANDY DRISCOLL and LYNNELL MICKELSEN discuss the role and importance of New Media (online journalism) in providing professional, informed journalism, but also to challenge the Majority Leader's assertion that allowing online journalists onto the House floor opens a Pandora's box of bloggers and cameras into an already chaotic arena. We discuss the practical flaws in Rep. Sertich's reasoning, given the reality of applications for floor access, etc. This is not a question of practicality, but of principle. The principle is embedded in the First Amendment, in the Rule itself (stating flatly that ALL accredited media MUST be allowed in), and based on the ethics of equal treatment under laws and rules governing access to public institutions. The dispute may narrow to the meaning and definition of "accredited," but who does the accrediting? In this day and age, "accredited" can apply to an ever-widening range of media resources. GUESTS: • REP. JEFF HAYDEN, Vice Chair Minnesota House Rules and Legislative Administration Committee • PAUL SCHMELZER, Editor, Minnesota Independent • SHAWN TOWLE, Editor/Publisher, Checks&Balances.com • MARY TURCK, Editor, Twin Cities Daily Planet • ART HUGHES, Board Member, Society of Professional Journalists Minnesota • MARTY OWINGS, TruthToTell Correspondent and Editor, (My)RadioFreeNation.com Can't get us on the radio? Stream TTT live from KFAI's Home Page

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