Voices from the Edge

About the program …

Community dialogue is important. At 8am every Thursday Voices from the Edge lends a KBOO microphone to informed guests you might not hear anywhere else. With an hour to invest, the call-in format engages listeners in meaningful conversations about crucial issues like racial disparity, government accountability, environmental justice and politics on local, state and national levels. Join lively discussions about concerns that are important to you and our community. Together we’ll make Oregon and our nation a better place for a larger number of those living here.

About the host

Jo Ann Hardesty is Principal Partner at Consult Hardesty. She serves as a subject matter expert on a myriad of issues and is available as a speaker, facilitator and campaign planner. A long-time voice for Portland's under-represented communities and a leader in the struggle against racial and economic injustice, Jo Ann was three times elected to the Oregon legislature and for many years Executive Director of Oregon Action. She’s been called on by the City of Portland to help re-write the City Charter and organizes those on the downside of power to pursue their interests from the local to the federal level. She is particularly committed to leadership development and in holding those in power accountable.

Join the conversation …

Join the conversation every Thursday morning from 8-9 a.m. by calling 503-231-8187. Keep the conversation going after the program at our blog at kboo.fm/voicesfromtheedge.

Engineering: Steve Nassar 

Hosted by

Episode Archive

Voices from the Edge on 03/05/09

Air date: 
Thu, 03/05/2009 - 8:00am - 9:00am
Short Description: 
Soccer Fields or Social Services? The Real Cost of Urban Renewal Districts.

Next week the Portland City Council consider an $85 million proposal by Merritt Paulson to bring major league soccer to Portland. Paulson wants the city to contribute $20-$40 million of urban renewal money - funds intended to combat "urban blight" - to close the deal. Paulson and his supporters ay sthose dollars will create jobs and enhance the community. Critics not only say that soccer doesn't qualify but that its diverting funds from essential county services.

Voices from the Edge on 02/26/09

Air date: 
Thu, 02/26/2009 - 8:00am - 9:00am
Short Description: 
Health Disparity and the County Budget Crisis; Testing for Anti-Black Bias

African Americans in Multnomah County are twice as likely to die from diabetes or stroke than white county residents. Hispanic mothers are two times less likely to have early prenatal care white mothers. Native Americans in the county die from HIV at three times the rate of whites.

Voices from the Edge

Air date: 
Thu, 02/19/2009 - 8:00am - 9:00am

Hosts Jo Ann Bowman and Dave Mazza discuss the recent report on racial profiling put out by the Portland Police Bureau. Later they speak with Oregon State representative Chip Shields about his racial impact bill that would require lawmakers to consider the potential racial or ethnic impact of proposed criminal justice legislation.

Voices from the Edge on 02/12/09

Air date: 
Thu, 02/12/2009 - 8:00am - 9:00am

Host Jo Ann Bowman talks about winners & losers in the final Economic Stimulus Package.

 

Voices from the Edge on 02/05/09

Air date: 
Thu, 02/05/2009 - 8:00am - 9:00am
Short Description: 
Breaking down the poverty barriers: An interview with Dr. Donna Beegle

Poverty is more than a lack of resources. It creates barriers that isolate the poor from the rest of the community and from opportunities to break free from its grip. That isolation also extends to having a voice in research and program development for breakding down poverty's barriers.

Voices from the Edge on 01/29/09

Air date: 
Thu, 01/29/2009 - 8:00am - 9:00am
Short Description: 
Livability or Big Brother: Portland Police's Secret List

The Portland Police Bureau is keeping a list of people arrested most often downtown. The police say that the list, which has grown from 35 to nearly 400, is part of a coordinated strategy to improve livability in Old Town and surrounding neighborhoods by arresting chronic offenders and holding them in jail where they can receive drug, acohol and other treatments to end their criminal behavior. Defense attorneys say that people are being labeled as chronic offenders based on arrests rather than convictions. They also say these people have no way of appealing their placement on the list, are being prosecuted more harshly than other offenders, and may represent another form of racial profiling by the police. Dan Saltzman, the city's new police commissioner, has endorsed the program and suggested it may be expanded to other areas of the city to cover other issues like prostitution.

Jo Ann and Dave talk with David Fidanque, executive director of the Oregon chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union about the secret list. Earlier this month the ACLU filed a legal challenge over the constitutionality of the list.

New Feature!

The conversation doesn't end when the program does. You can join in additional discussion of the week's issue on our blog at kboo.fm/voicesfromtheedge (click on the "blog" tab). You'll find additional information, important links, comments from other listeners and commentary from Jo Ann and Dave. Have a question for our guests, but can't call in during the program? Post your questions on line so we can make them a part of the Voices discussion.

Voices from the Edge on 01/22/09

Air date: 
Thu, 01/22/2009 - 8:00am - 9:00am
Short Description: 
Doees Portland Have a Real Solution for its Gang Problem?

Portland has seen 11 gang-related shootings since the Dec. 12 murder of a gang member inside the New Hope Missionary Baptist Church. City leaders are calling it a "gang war crisis" and the Portland police want a new coordinated strategy to combat the violence. But the call for action comes when many outreach programs are struggling for funding. Will the city's new effort address the causes or just the symptoms of gang violence? Will the rush to take action create bigger problems like innocent youth getting profiled for gang involvement?

Voices from the Edge

Categories:
Air date: 
Thu, 01/15/2009 - 8:00am - 9:00am
Short Description: 
The New Congress and the Economy

Next week the new U.S. Congress will begin working with a new administration in the White House. Behind the smiles and calls for cooperation, there's already signs of differences between both sides of the congressional aisles and the president elect. How will this play out as Congress and the new president face the challenge of turning the economy around?

This week on Voices from the Edge, Jo Ann and Dave look at what we can expect from the new Congress, its relationship with the new president and what that means in terms of fixing the economy.

Voices from the Edge

Categories:
Air date: 
Thu, 01/08/2009 - 8:00am - 9:00am
Short Description: 
Winners and Losers in the 2009 Oregon Budget

Next week the new Oregon legislature will face the challenge of crafting a budget in the midst of a deep economic crisis. Governor Kulongoski wants to spend shrinking state revenues to spur the growth of green industries, even if it means cutting services to seniors, the disabled and the poor. Will Oregon lawmakers follow the governor's lead or develop a different strategy to keep Oregon open for business in these hard times? Who will be the winners and who will be the losers in the upcoming budget fight? Join Jo Ann and Dave this Thursday as they take a look at proposals for the 2009 Oregon budget. 

Voices from the Edge

Categories:
Air date: 
Thu, 01/01/2009 - 8:00am - 9:00am

Scott Forrester guest hosts today. Be the first to call in this year at 503 231-8187!

Audio

Live from Occupy Portland Encampment: Where do we go from here?

program date: 
Thu, 10/20/2011

Hosted by Jo Ann Hardesty and Dave MazzaLive from Occupy Portland Encampment!!!

Occupy Portland enters it second week of sustained action in downtown Portland this Thursday. What started as a 10,000-participant protest in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street protests has turned into fourteen days of demonstrations, speak-outs, teach-ins and community outreach. Where does Occupy Portland go from here?

This week, in a special live broadcast from the Occupy Portland Encampment Jo Ann and Dave will talk with Occupy Portland participants about their experiences, their hopes and where they see the protest going in the coming weeks. Will the nature of the protest be changing? Can this energy be sustained as weather and city hall turns colder? Join us as we discuss these and other questions this week on Voices from the Edge.

Mark your calendar! If you enjoyed Jo Ann's conversation with Greg Palast last week, don't miss hearing him in person at a special KBOO fundraising event on Nov. 13 at the Bagdad Theater. Greg will be launching the kick-off of the Vultures' Picnic book tour - and net proceeds from the event go to support KBOO 90.7 FM and the Portland Alliance. Tickets are on sale now!

Jo Ann Hardesty is a former state legislator, former executive director of Oregon Action and past board president of Portland Community Media as well as a long-time leader in the struggle for racial and economic justice. Dave Mazza is a freelance journalist and former editor of The Portland Alliance who has covered and been involved in Portland's civil rights, environmental, labor and peace movements for over 20 years

Join Jo Ann and Dave every Thursday as they bring you guests and conversations on the issues that are important to you. Support Voices from the Edge by becoming a member of KBOO today (just click the "tip jar" in the upper right corner of the KBOO website to find out how).

Co-Hosts: Jo Ann Hardesty and Dave Mazza

Producers: Dave Mazza and Jo Ann Hardesty

Program Engineer: Steve Nassar

Audio Editor: Alicia Olson

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  • Title: Voices 20111020
  • Length: 49:50 minutes (45.63 MB)
  • Format: MP3 Stereo 44kHz 128Kbps (CBR)
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Pursuing Petroleum Pigs, Power Pirates and High Finance Carnivores: A conversation with Greg Palast

program date: 
Mon, 10/17/2011

 Award-winning investigative journalist Greg Palast blew the lid off voter fraud in 2000 and 2004 that threw the presidential elections into doubt. Greg has picked up the money trail again, following it to a corrupt link between Big Oil and High Finance that has produced record corporate profits whilecreating environmental disasters like the recent Gulf oil spill. This new story, captured in his latest book,Vulture's Picnic: In Pursuit of Petroleum Pigs, Power Pirates, and High Finance Carnivores, reads like a pulp thriller as the Palast investigative team travels from Baku to the Arctic Circle in pursuit of this story.

This week, Jo Ann has a special conversation with Greg about this latest effort at exposing corporate wrongdoing, his coming plans for tracking voter fraud in all 50 states in 2012, and the challenges of being an independent journalist in a corporate-dominated media. They'll also talk about Greg's special Portland kickoff of his book tour on Nov. 13 at the Bagdad Theater, an event whose net proceeds will go to support KBOO 90.7 FM and other local community media. And don't forget to support programming like this by becoming a member during the KBOO membership drive!

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Voices from the Edge on 10-06-11 Where vision meets on-the-ground action: A conversation with Eric Mann

program date: 
Thu, 10/06/2011

Where vision meets on-the-ground action: A conversation with Eric Mann

How does the vision of creating social justice get translated into concrete action for change? What are the roles and responsibilities of the organizer in making change happen? This week on Voices from the Edge, Jo Ann and Dave kick-off the fall membership drive with a special conversation with Eric Mann, whose recent book, Playbook for Progressives: 16 Qualities of the Successful Organizer, taps into the author's 40 years of experience working with labor, community, environmental and social justice movements. Mann is the director of the Los Angeles-based Labor/Community Strategy Center and cofounder of the Bus Riders Union.

Join us in the conversation and support community radio by becoming a member of KBOO or renewing your KBOO membership during this fall membership drive (or any time, for that matter). And keep up with the conversation by becoming a friend of Voices from the Edge on facebook!

  • Title: VFE 0-6-11
  • Genre: Other
  • Year: 2011
  • Length: 55:03 minutes (50.4 MB)
  • Format: MP3 Mono 44kHz 128Kbps (CBR)
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Voices from the Edge on 09-29-11 The Fraying of Oregon's Middle Class

program date: 
Thu, 09/29/2011

The Fraying of Oregon's Middle Class

Good wages, benefits and a better life for your children were what most Americans expected in return for their hard day's work. But these pieces of the American dream are fast disappearing as living wage jobs disappear, hard-won benefits are lost and earnings remain flat. When Oregon's middle class starts to unravel, what happens to the rest of the economy?

This week on Voices from the Edge, Jo Ann and Dave speak with Jason Gettel, a policy analyst with Oregon Center for Public Policy that recently co-authored the report "The Fraying of Oregon's Middle Class" with Demos, a New York City-based research and advocacy institute. After years of economic pressure, has the middle class reached a tipping point from which it can't recover? Join us in the conversation.

Coming up: On Oct. 6, Voices from the Edge speaks with long-time organizer Eric Mann about his new book, Playbook for Progressives. On Oct. 20, award-winning investigative journalist Greg Palast throw a light on the corrupt links between big oil and high finance that led to tragedies like the recent Gulf oil spill. And to hear from Palast about high-level wrongdoing, come to a special evening with Greg on Nov. 13, a benefit for KBOO and other community media (more about that to come).

Don't forget to follow Voices from the Edge on Facebook!

  • Title: VFE 09-29-11
  • Genre: Other
  • Year: 2011
  • Length: 56:40 minutes (51.88 MB)
  • Format: MP3 Mono 44kHz 128Kbps (CBR)
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Voices from the Edge on 09-22-11 What does it mean to be connected?

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program date: 
Thu, 09/22/2011

What does it mean to be connected? A conversation with filmmaker Tiffany Shlain

Are you unable to go more than an hour without checking your email? Are you and your laptop or smartphone inseparable? Or are you so overwhelmed by technology to the point of shunning it all? We continue to have a love-hate relationship with technology as it makes us more connected and more interdependent each day. Connected, a new documentary/memoir by Tiffany Shlain, explores what it means to be connected in the 21st century and what that interdependence means for the human species. This week on Voices from the Edge, Jo Ann and Dave talk with Shlain about her new film and the personal experiences that prompted her to examine connectedness and interdependence.

Next week on Voices from the Edge, Jo Ann and Dave will examine the fraying of the middle class and how that is impacting Oregonians.

Join the conversation on KBOO 90.7 FM and stay a part of the conversation by becoming a friend of Voices from the Edge on facebook.

Next month is the start of the Fall membership drive, your opportunity to support community-based programming like Voices from the Edge by becoming a KBOO member or renewing your membership (consider at a higher level). Click the "tip jar" on this website to join the ranks of community radio supporters.

Co-Hosts: Jo Ann Hardesty and Dave Mazza
Producers: Dave Mazza and Jo Ann Hardesty
Program Engineer: Steve Nassar
Audio Editor: Alicia Olson
 

  • Title: VFE 09-22-11
  • Genre: Other
  • Year: 2011
  • Length: 53:14 minutes (48.73 MB)
  • Format: MP3 Mono 44kHz 128Kbps (CBR)
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Voices from the Edge on 09/15/11

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program date: 
Thu, 09/15/2011

What draws youth to gang life and how we draw them out of the life?

Continuing last week's conversation on acts of community violence like the shooting of six Jefferson High School students, Jo Ann and Dave look at what draws youth into the gang life and keeps them there despite the risks and consequences? How do we keep youth from entering gang life or draw them out of it once they're in? Joining Dave and Jo Ann in this conversation will be former gang member and current gang outreach worker Pernell Brown and Dr. Clayborn Collins, executive director of Emmanuel Community Services.


Jo Ann Hardesty is a former state legislator, former executive director of Oregon Action and past board presidentof Portland Community Media as well as a long-time leader in the struggle for racial and economic justice. Dave Mazza is a freelance journalist and former editor of The Portland Alliance who has covered and been involved in Portland's civil rights, environmental, labor and peace movements for over 20 years
 
Join Jo Ann and Dave every Thursday as they bring you guests and conversations on the issues that are important to you. Support Voices from the Edge by becoming a member of KBOO today (just click the "tip jar" on our website to find out how).
 
Co-Hosts: Jo Ann Hardesty and Dave Mazza
Producers: Dave Mazza and Jo Ann Hardesty
Program Engineer: Steve Nassar
Audio Editor: Alicia Olson
 
  • Title: VFE 09-15-11
  • Genre: Other
  • Year: 2011
  • Length: 54:27 minutes (49.85 MB)
  • Format: MP3 Mono 44kHz 128Kbps (CBR)
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Voices from the Edge 09-08-11

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program date: 
Thu, 09/08/2011
How should we respond to the Jefferson student shootings?

Last Friday night, two young men opened fire on a group of Jefferson High School students, wounding six of them. Mayor Sam Adams authorized increased police presence in the area and extended the assignment of additional officers to the bureau's gang intervention unit. The mayor called the shootings an "everybody in Portland problem," but will everybody be part of the solution or will the city follow past practices in addressing these problems? How do you think our city government should respond?

Jo Ann Hardesty is a former state legislator, former executive director of Oregon Action and past board presidentof Portland Community Media as well as a long-time leader in the struggle for racial and economic justice. Dave Mazza is a freelance journalist and former editor of The Portland Alliance who has covered and been involved in Portland's civil rights, environmental, labor and peace movements for over 20 years
 
Join Jo Ann and Dave every Thursday as they bring you guests and conversations on the issues that are important to you. Support Voices from the Edge by becoming a member of KBOO today (just click the "tip jar" on our website to find out how).
 
Co-Hosts: Jo Ann Hardesty and Dave Mazza
Producers: Dave Mazza and Jo Ann Hardesty
Program Engineer: Steve Nassar
Audio Editor: Alicia Olson
 
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Voices from the Edge 09-01-11 Growing up black in white suburbia

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program date: 
Thu, 09/01/2011

Growing up black in white suburbia

Black Girl in SuburbiaWhat does it mean growing up where your classmates and neighbors don't look like you? How does that shape your sense of self-identity? These questions go directly to the experience of a rising number of African American girls growing up in Portland's white suburbs. Can their experience help all of us better understand perceptions of ourselves, others and the community?

This week on Voices from the Edge, we explore these questions with local filmmaker Melissa Lowery, whose documentary "Black Girl in Suburbia" examines the stories of young African American women dealing with race and identity in a predominantly white environment.

Jo Ann Bowman is a former state legislator, former executive director of Oregon Action and past board president of Portland Community Media as well as a long-time leader in the struggle for racial and economic justice. Dave Mazza is a freelance journalist and former editor of The Portland Alliance who has covered and been involved in Portland's civil rights, environmental, labor and peace movements for over 20 years

Join Jo Ann and Dave every Thursday as they bring you guests and conversations on the issues that are important to you. Support Voices from the Edge by becoming a member of KBOO today (just click the "tip jar" on our website to find out how).


Co-Hosts: Jo Ann Bowman and Dave Mazza
Producers: Dave Mazza and Jo Ann Bowman
Program Engineer: Steve Nassar
Audio Editor: Alicia Olson
  • Title: VFE 09-01-11
  • Genre: Other
  • Year: 2011
  • Length: 56:35 minutes (51.81 MB)
  • Format: MP3 Mono 44kHz 128Kbps (CBR)
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Voices from the Edge 08-25-11 Getting on board with a fair transit policy

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program date: 
Thu, 08/25/2011

Getting on board with a fair transit policy

As TriMet begins considering fares for a new fiscal year, some community members are calling on the transit authority to address inequities between MAX and bus transfer policies that hurt working class families relying on bus service. While MAX transfers are valid two hours from purchase, bus transfer policy is based on destination point, a confusing formula that some bus riders claim results in arbitrary and sometimes discriminatory assignment of transfer times. Coupled with rising fares and service cuts, this results in transit-dependent communities like East Portland experience more missed connections, higher commuting costs and for TriMet, declining ridership as people are forced to rely on their automobiles.

This week on Voices from the Edge, we talk with Crystal Wabnum, community organizer with OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon about that organization's Campaign for Fair Transfer and how an unfair transfer policy affects more than just bus riders. Joining in the conversation will be Cameron Johnson, a Bus Rider leader with OPAL. The Campaign for Fair Transfer is mobilizing for a Sept. 28 TriMet Board meeting with the goal of winning support for their demands.

Jo Ann Bowman is a former state legislator, former executive director of Oregon Action and past board president of Portland Community Media as well as a long-time leader in the struggle for racial and economic justice. Dave Mazza is a freelance journalist and former editor of The Portland Alliance who has covered and been involved in Portland's civil rights, environmental, labor and peace movements for over 20 years.

Join Jo Ann and Dave every Thursday as they bring you guests and conversations on the issues that are important to you. Support Voices from the Edge by becoming a member of KBOO today (just click the "tip jar" on our website to find out how).

Co-Hosts: Jo Ann Bowman and Dave Mazza
Producers: Dave Mazza and Jo Ann Bowman
Program Engineer: Steve Nassar
Audio Editor: Alicia Olson

  • Title: VFE 08-25-11
  • Genre: Other
  • Year: 2011
  • Length: 55:32 minutes (50.84 MB)
  • Format: MP3 Mono 44kHz 128Kbps (CBR)
Your rating: None Average: 5 (1 vote)

Voices from the Edge 08-18-11 The Case for Nonviolent Resistance

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program date: 
Thu, 08/18/2011

The case for nonviolent resistance: an interview with Erica Chenoweth

At a time when our government, with the support of many Americans, increasingly turns to drones and other long-range violence to "keep America safe", making the case for nonviolent alternatives becomes difficult if not impossible. But Erica Chenoweth, Assistant Professor of Government at Wesleyan University says the facts are with the doves not the hawks. In reviewing over a century of campaigns of resistance, Chenoweth found that nonviolent campaigns were more than twice as effective as their violent counterparts. Nonviolence proved far more able to build broad-based support necessary to end oppressive regimes.

This week on Voices from the Edge, we talk with Chenoweth about these and other findings found in her new book Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict, co-authored with Maria J. Stephan. We'll look at how this findings apply to the Arab Spring, the Obama administration's foreign policy and to building social justice movements at home. 

Also joining this conversation is Tom Hastings, PSU Faculty, Department of Conflict Resolution.

Jo Ann Bowman is a former state legislator, former executive director of Oregon Action and past board president of Portland Community Media as well as a long-time leader in the struggle for racial and economic justice. Dave Mazza is a freelance journalist and former editor of The Portland Alliance who has covered and been involved in Portland's civil rights, environmental, labor and peace movements for over 20 years

Join Jo Ann and Dave every Thursday as they bring you guests and conversations on the issues that are important to you. Support Voices from the Edge by becoming a member of KBOO today (just click the "tip jar" on our website to find out how).

Co-Hosts: Jo Ann Bowman and Dave Mazza
Producers: Dave Mazza and Jo Ann Bowman
Program Engineer: Steve Nassar
Audio Editor: Alicia Olson
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Comments

Please give 12 minutes of your life to this link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQglhA4FK8I

show of 12/8

I appreciate your show more than I can say...however I have some criticism. Your comments about 911 show that you have trusted the mainstream media and have not had the courage to look into documented facts since the event. I am not going to talk here about the mountain of evidence to the contrary, but as a source of so called "independent media" I am disappointed in your rote line of naivete'. Please try the documentary of architects and engineers as a starting place.


.

VRTE-Greg Palast

From a friend in Vancouver Canada, thanks for all your good work joann and Dave.

I enjoyed the interview you had with Greg and spent time searching for more of his investigative journalism.

I am now retired and have had direct experience with pipeline inspection, specifically what is called "pipeline integrity".

Greg spoke of pipeline "pigs" that are inserted inside of a 'live' pipeline (product flowing inside) to detect discontinuities which may include cracks and/or corrosion etc.  The "pig" is not sensitive enough to determine the discontinuity.  The pig records information along its path and if it detects a discontinuity it records the position or location of the possible defect.

The areas in which the pig has detected a discontinuity is dug up and inspection crews report on the specfics of what they discover.

That information is communicated to the inspection company's client and it is the client to determine whether or not the discontinuity requires attention, such as replacement of a section of the pipeline.

The pig may indeed by programmed to distinguish between what the pipeline company determines are non-relevant discontinuities.

When I was working on existing pipeline inspections the client's engineers would have sections of a pipe that had some external corrosion (that we had quantified in terms of depth of the corrosion and remaining pipe wall thickness) removed and delivered to their lab where they conducted "burst tests".  These tests are actually hydrostatic tests which produce high pressures in the pipe until the pipe bursts.  From this information a pipeline company determines whether or not a discontinuity is relevant or not. 

I would imagine that if the pig that Greg Palast was talking about in Alaska was indeed programmed to exclude discontinuities that pipeline engineers had determined through testing were non-relevant.  As Greg pointed out, this practice does appear to be suspicious and probably he has a case in terms of how the pig's program can be tampered with.

Almost all of the pipeline leaks lately are due to pipelines that were fabricated and buried 30-50 years ago when knowledge of coatings, metals and soil science (cathodic anodic interactions) were not fully understood.

I am not sure if governing bodies have required pipeline companies to conduct their pig inspections on a more frequent basis.  I do know that one can send a pig down a line and 6 months later a spill can occur.  This may be due to rapid corrosion caused by a multiple of causes.  Once coating fails on the external surface of a buried pipeline, moisture, soil chemicals and inherent electrical currents can accellerate corrosion causing a failure even in areas of the pipe that had no relevant discontinuities.

In Canada, and I believe in the US, our governments have slashed the direct public oversight component of regulation relying on "corporate responsibility".  Most public oversight consists of reviewing corporate paperwork.  The review usually does not consist of a full reading of that paperwork.  If the public is to be assured of pipeline safety it must ask for more inspections and more government inspectors who oversee some of the "digs" to determine severity of pipeline discontinuities.

Again, thanks for your hard work!

Phil

 

Which Party To Blame

Joann & Dave,

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0

I enjoy your show, but you said this morning that it was the Republicans that got us into this mess. Both of you are too intelligent to give the Democratic party a pass on their equal responsibility in destroying our economy, in perpetuating a decade of war and the associated war crimes, torture, and erosion of the civil liberties of this nation.  Both the Democrats and Republicans have fleeced, degraded, and tried their best to destroy the working class for the profit of their corporate benefactors. After all, wasn't it Clinton who signed the bill repealing Glass Steagall. Wasn't it under Clinton that Brooksley Born, his own Commodity Futures Trading Commission chair, was stripped of her power and credibility when she rightly warned of the pending doom associated with derivatives? Wasn't it Clinton that signed the bill allowing further consolidation of our media. In my opinion, one of your callers today struck on our only deliverance. We need to create a strong party of and for the people to compete with these two dominant parties, both of which are only working for the corporate elites. I would like to see a labor party - a party that is dedicated to enhancing the lives of anyone receiving a W-2. I would like to see liberal people of influence, like Michael Moore, Arianna Huffington, Bill Maher, Bill Moyers, Amy Goodman, Chris Hedges, Robert Scheer, and the like to join forces and implement this desperately needed option for working people. A strong workers' party is the only viable solution for this country. Until such time, I will vote for any party other than the dominant two, or I'll vote for an independent or I will write in Bernie Sanders, or either of you. But I will not reward the criminal class that has, and continues to destroy working class America with impunity.

 

 

Foreclosure Mills

I just wanted to post a link to an article about the foreclosure mills that make money off of the forsclosure mess.  http://motherjones.com/politics/2010/07/david-stern-djsp-foreclosure-fannie-freddie?page=1

taxing "gross" income?

can you clarify?

don't the measures increase rates on taxable income, not gross income, as the first caller mentioned? 

Still waiting for my apology from Joann

Dear Ms. Bowman,

I did not hear an apology for you making a blatant distortion of my comment.  I do not appreciate being lied about and especially by a campaign which you obviously are supporting which hypocritically poses as the moral arbitrator of the Universe regarding truth telling.

Again, let me clarify:

First off, I did not say, as was falsely stated by you and your guest, that politicians have a right to lie.  I stated that everyone has a right to lie about their love life.  That is a vastly different point and I bitterly resent being lied about on this.

This distortion (lie) by your guest and you is sadly emblematic of the hyperbolic nature of this entire pesudo-moralistic campaign.

I will receive your apology before I ever again associate with you or this program.

Sinverely,

Will Ware

It

Lying about lying on the Edge

I don't know how to get an email to the disc jockey.

Will again and please correct your slander of me and misstatement of my comment.

First off, I did not say, as was falsely stated by JoAnn and your caller, that politicians have a right to lie.  I stated that everyone has a right to lie about their love life.  That is a vastly different point and I bitterly resent being lied about on this.

This distortion (lie) by your guest and JoAnn is emblematic of the hyperbolic nature of this entire pesudo-moralistic campaign.

It is a fact that Republicans involved in this are using this as an organizing tool.  It is a fact that this campaign is making common-cause with anti-progressive forces.

It is this campaign that is the divisive force in our community.

This signature campaign is the darling of the right wing.  This campaign is the best thing that has happened to the Multnomah Co. Republican Party since Theodore Roosevelt.

If this is about negative campaigning- WHY IS THIS SUCH A THOROUGLY NEGATIVE CAMPGAIGN.  IT REDUCES POLITICAL DIALOG TO THE LEVEL OF A GRAMMER SCHOOL PLAYGROUND.

 

Cops and Race

Very interesting program today (8/6/09). Here's a germane link to an article by Kevin Alexander Gray in The Progressive "Citizens have the right to talk back to the police":

http://www.progressive.org/mpgray080409.html

In my view, a well trained cop could have and should have defused the situation far short of arrest.

Too frequently, cops escalate situations, especially when dealing with people of color.

As Mr. Alexander sums up in the final sentence of his article: "We should never have to fear when we stand up for our rights." And that goes for people of all hues.

Citizens have the right to talk back ...

I agree, Peter. This article is germane: One outcome of Professor Gate’s arrest should be an understanding that “What lends legitimacy (to our legal system) is our belief that the police are dutiful servants of the people — not their arbitrary oppressors.”

The Declaration of Independence promptly asserts “… Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the consent of the governed.”

'Know Your Rights' training is imperative, as a 'check and balance' against unwarranted interference with the intent of the U.S. Constitution. An informed citizenry is a Public Good. Vigilance against abuse of power is actually a civic responsibility.

I know first-hand a tendency by Portland police to escalate situations that might be otherwise resolved. I have only an inkling of the mental pressures involved in policing, and but a dim suspicion as to the social handicaps that come with wielding weapons, spending so much time in the milieu of antisocial behavior, of having a community grant your uniformed subgroup status as The Enforcers. I would suspect such pressure, status and lethal equipment make it difficult to appreciate a role of Servant of the People.

Do you know what the common ground may be?

Law enforcement.

How can we change our dialogue so that a person of color, being thrown up against chain link fence – sometimes even without a pretext of wrongdoing – has standing when there is no probable cause that a crime is being committed?

By advocating that police actions adhere to Constitutional provisions for freedom from unwarranted search, to be secure in their possessions; would not this citizen also be involved in law enforcement?

One really ironic point I failed to make on the program is that, from the time of Chief Kroeker onward, it has likely been in the consciousness of Portland Police Bureau command that racial profiling actually inhibits criminal detection and prosecution. Simply the perception of police misconduct reduces the quality of public cooperation. One of the results of racial bias is that it is more difficult to secure leads and eventual witness testimony from a disenfranchised, victimized population of law-abiding citizens.

I suggest there will be a real reduction in crime (due to citizen cooperation) when and if policing is seen to be done lawfully. If it were a shared perception that people who oppose the immoral, unethical and illegal practice of racial profiling had merit as Constitutional law enforcers, I would think this a positive dynamic … and not just for people of color, but other negatively affected groups like the mentally ill, for whom self-advocacy is a supreme challenge.

Let us fuse training and dialogue. You mention the ‘well-trained cop.’ Perhaps ‘Know Your Rights’ training (and Oregon Action training includes de-escalation strategies) might dovetail with Portland Police Bureau training. What would be achieved if police training alerted officers that a segment of the population - fatigued by unconstitutional behavior - will be advocating for just and equitable treatment?

If that segment of the population included Police Commissioner Saltzman, Human Rights Commissioner Fritz, City Auditor Griffin-Valade and Mayor Adams, I think the Police union would find impetus to engage in negotiations for a means to weed out officers refusing to enforce the Constitution, state law, or bureau regulations.

To take up your point about police as public servants, the Auditor’s Independent Police Review Board is poised to actually adopt that frame of reference. Currently specializing in facts and figures, there is a component of their reporting primed and ready for public pressure to make this a prime frame of reference for assessing the Police Bureau’s functionality.

Perhaps better left for another blog, I just want you to know that civilian oversight of armed government activity is imperative as the nation pursues a War on Terror. If the City of Portland were to weigh in on fundamental human rights during the nation’s general expansion of police powers, it stands likely to do a Public Good that cannot now be calculated.

Environment: global warming

On this morning's (June 18) program Joann mentioned a man (I think she said "young" and "minority" )who is becomming active in environmental matters, I would like to talk with him about joining the planning and implementation of an event that is scheduled to take place on October 24th.

I am a member ot the Peace and Social Concerns Committee of the Multnomah Monthly Meeting of Friends (Quakers), and the organizer of a sub-group called "Global Coolers". We meet monthly and have taken the responsibility of informing the Meeting about global warming and involving them in efforts to lessen our individual and collective destructive impact on the planet.We have also hosted a couple of community events over the past several years.
Yesterday I learned that Bill McKibben, who is a leading activist in the environmental protection movement, is organizing a world-wide demonstration to take place on October 24: it is described on 350.org.
I want to make sure that Portland participates in this event.
I have not talked yet to other environmental activists about involvement (there may already be plans afoot) but I will do so in the next couple of days. In any case I will welcome all participants in the planning and execution of the event. My telephone number is 503-292-1817.
Thank you for your attention.
Peace, Jim

Measure 53

I was disturbed to hear this morning information that leads me to think I did not check out the ballot measures carefully enough. As an intelligent conservative, I find it both important and difficult to listen to KBOO and other left-of-center sources regularly, and the comments this morning made it clear that I should invest more energy into that effort.

On the other hand, I was a bit amused (and relieved of my nascent guilt) when I heard you adamantly insist that Measure 53 passed by a 76-24 margin because a day-old paper said so. It is possible that the Oregonian was that far off the mark - if so, I would assume that it was an early edition which showed very preliminary results. I went to three sources this morning of which two gave vote tallies. KATU.com indicates that as of 8am today the vote on 53 was YES 475,838 and NO 473,912 which is a margin of less than 2000 votes out of nearly 1 million. Rounded to the nearest percent, the vote is 50-50. KOIN.com had very similar (probably identical) numbers.

So I figure that if you let your personal opinions cloud such simple and easily ascertained facts, if you are so closed-minded that you will not double-check this when it is disputed, I need not concern myself with your judgment on the more complex issue of Measure 53 itself.

- Gordon

Very Disappointed Today

I’m a newer fan to KBOO. I listen every morning now and Voices From the Edge (VFE) is definitely one of my favorite morning program. I’m usually quite a fan but today I was really disappointed by Joann and the President of NAACP. A man called up and asked “Why aren’t all black men supporting Obama?” He was trying to be controversial and disruptive. He tossed a lure of disconcert to the radio hosts and what did they do . . . they bit. Joann dominated the conversation, provided a flippant/emotional/short rebuttal and pushed the guy off the air. Worse yet, the President of the NAACP said NOTHING! What on earth is a leader of the NAACP supposed to do but say something in these situations? That was the caller that VFE/NAACP should pray for, wish for, hell invite. HE WAS THE PERSON YOU ARE TRYING TO REACH AND YOU PUSHED HIM AWAY INSTEAD OF INVITING THE CONVERSATION AND PROMOTING GROWTH. We don’t make progress if those who disagree don’t discuss and debate. VFE too often discusses topics with people that share the same liberal view and all you are doing is reinforcing existing beliefs. It’s pointless if you want to effect change. You missed a tremendous opportunity today to change this guy and affect all those who share the same beliefs. He actually made a few valid points—Why wouldn’t black men support Obama? It would do wonders for equality. What has Obama ever done?—but with limited scope. You had a chance to discuss, inform, and enlighten those who wondered the same things. You said nothing constructive and you let ignorance prevail. Joann you should be more prepared the next time. The President of the NAACP should be mad as hell at herself. “Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” “Let no man pull you low enough to hate him.” -MLKjr

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