WYPR

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO TODAY Fifteen years ago today the first Marc Steiner Show aired.    Tuesday March 3rd, 1993.   It was a show on Norplant.    There was a huge controversy in 1993 on the use of Norplant as a contraceptive administered by the city health department to mostly inner city teenagers.   Some argued that the long-term effects of the drug were not known, others that the city had to do something to respond the rates of teen pregnancy in the city. So, there I was, bathed in fire on the air.    Four guests, all women, an hour and a half with no breaks.   We started the show with a short documentary that we produced on the subject.  We did that a lot in the first year of our show.    I miss that. Becoming a public radio host was total serendipity.    In 1990 after three years spent producing, directing and casting radio commercials for an ad agency I longed to get back to something with some substance. It was time to leave the world of selling white bread, beer, BMWs and the lottery. I had learned a lot about producing and mixing sound, music and voices for radio. I had this idea for a thirteen part series on the History of Jewish Music.  I knew it was an idea that could work.    So did David Creagh, the General Manager of WJHU who gave me office space to work on the idea.   Well about a year later with some promises in hand and great board of advisers, the project went belly up when the station ran into some financial difficulties.    It is still a great idea and I have the proposal waiting in my files. A couple of years later, in late 1992, I ran into Denis Kita at my dentist's office.   Dennis had been Assistant General Manager when I first met him.   He was now the new GM of WJHU.     We sat there in the waiting room of Dr. Charlie Stine, who at that time was producing and hosting a short program every week on the wonderful natural wonders and histories found in our back yards.   Charlie, besides being my and Dennis's dentist, had been my Dad's best friend and my natural history mentor since I was a young lad. At any rate, Dennis Kita and I were talking in the waiting room when he said to me "We are thinking about launching a public affairs program at WJHU.    You know this city so well from the street corners to the corporate board rooms, I thought you might have some ideas." Well for some reason the first thing that blurted out of my mouth was "You should let me be the host!"   Dennis said but you don't know anything about radio.   I said, " What do you have to know?   You read, you talk and ask people questions.  I do that at my dining room table all the time." Well, poor Dennis, he opened the door.   I would not let go.  I hocked him for months.   Finally, one day when I was at the station, after bugging him for months, he said "OK, here is your desk, here is your phone, no money, no producer, I will take off All Things Considered every Tuesday night from 7 to 8:30.    That will be your time slot. See what you can do."   I took it.   And the rest is history.   Well there is much more to that history, but we'll leave that for another day. TEXAS OHIO VERMONT AND RHODE ISLAND Tomorrow is a very critical primary day.  Not for John McCain, he has the Republican primary all sewn up.  Well, then again it might be important for him because what happens to Democrats internally, how they behave towards one another and how they do or do not support one another could have a profound effect on the November general election. If they split Texas and Ohio or if Hillary Clinton wins them (lets not forget Rhode Island and Vermont) then the race for the Democratic nomination is still on.   It could get quite volatile and nasty. Texas with its weird primary/caucus blend might well not be decided by tomorrow night.    Lawsuits could erupt.   The Democrats could commit fratricide.  You never know, it has happened before.    The Democratic front runners could easily decide it is not necessary for their party to win the White House when they can let their egos rule the day instead. If Barack Obama wins then the Democrats would hope that Clinton would not only bow out but also come out supporting Obama in a big way.   If she doesn't, then the wound could fester and hurt the Democrats in their quest to regain the White House.   If Barack wins, I hope she and Bill Clinton can bow out gracefully with class, putting their party and its beliefs ahead of personal animosity and ego. The New York Times over the weekend had some very interesting stories about the race.   On Saturday, Jeffrey Rosen wrote an op-ed on civil liberties and the Democratic candidates.   The article was making the point that Barack Obama was able to forge a working coalition in both the Illinois and US Senates between liberal civil liberties advocates and conservative libertarians on everything from police harassment actions to the far reaching aspects of the Patriot Act.   Rosen made the argument that the Clinton administration and Senator Clinton's record on civil liberties was, by comparison, questionable. While the article said only about 20% of American voters care deeply about civil liberties, it does not say how many care about their liberties, or how many conservatives care about libertarian values. I did not read how the question was asked in the polls but my sense is that Americans have a visceral response to the ill defined notion liberty.   Civil libertarians and libertarians have much common ground. ENERGY SUITS WHO? So, the state government beat Constellation Energy to the punch with a lawsuit.   The state says Constellation still has to reimburse citizens for the rate increase.    Constellation thinks that since the legislature did not approve its merger with Florida Power and Light then there is no deal to ameliorate the rise in rates. While the state and the Constellation battle this out in the courts there is a question that going unanswered by anyone.    Steve Larson does a great job.   He wants to protect the consumer, but neither he nor Constellation's representatives ever answered the question I think is the most critical when I posed it to them on my former show. Is it true that Constellation Energy sold its energy cheaply out of state then resold it back to BGE for a huge profit?     What are the inner workings and relationships of these two companies?    One is owned by the other yet we as citizens of this state reap no rewards from this alleged economy of scale.    There is a serious investigation both in public hearings and state investigations that must be had here.   Where is it?  Is it going on? LOCK EM UP AND THROW AWAY THE KEY It is unbelievable, but then again maybe not, that 1 in 100 adult Americans are in jail. This has its roots not just in Reagan and Bush the first but also in Bill Clinton's eight years.   Clinton's administration maxed out the time to be served for crack cocaine, but not powder, remember?    Who snorts it and who smokes it? That is not even the most important issue.    People like Governor Martin O'Malley have the power and the opportunity to do something about this.   We need to radically reform our juvenile and adult justice systems.    Put money at the front end, create a responsible system of community corrections for non violent offenders, stiffen sentences for violent offenders, create a prison system where non violent offenders and those addicted are separated from violent offenders into a system that offers job training, drug rehabilitation and hope America can become the leader in the new world green economy.    In the process we can transform our inner cities with work building the new green economy and our infrastructure. One in 100 is a frightening commentary on the future of America in the 21st century. Your thoughts? -Marc