I’m filling in for Dave Ross this morning (and through March 6) on News/Talk 710-KIRO. Here’s the show as it’s shaping up so far:
9AM: Are our elected officials hanging on too long?
In this morning’s Seattle Times, editorial columnist Joni Balter complains about the “stacked up” skies and crowded runways of our local political landscape, where our elected officials keep running for reelection, leaving little opportunity for younger leaders to move on up. We’ll debate the pros and cons of seniority and experience versus new blood, after a brief political roundup.
10AM: Are you predictably irrational?
Why do we splurge on a fancy restaurant yet cut coupons for a can of soup? Why do we go back for seconds (or thirds) at an all-you-can-eat buffet, even though we’re uncomfortably full? And why on earth do folks pay $4.15 for a cup of coffee when a few years ago they used to pay about a buck? (I don’t lump myself into that category.) Author Dan Ariely joins us for the hour to talk about his book, Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions.
11AM: How do you motivate kids to do well in school?
All the money in the world and all the latest education reforms won’t amount to hill of beans toward educating our kids, if our kids simply aren’t motivated to learn. In Brooklyn, 2,500 middle school students are receiving free cell phones with 130 free minutes, and additional minutes awarded based on good behavior, homework, test scores and grades… this in a district that bans cell phones in school. Are free minutes or monetary rewards the key to inspiring students these days… or is good old fashioned fear of a crappy job and a crappier life more than enough motivation. I’ll be asking you how you motivate your kids to succeed to school, but first we’ll take a brief look at the so-called “Colbert Bounce.”
Tune in this morning (or listen to the live stream) and give me a call: 1-877-710-KIRO (5476).
SHAMELESS ASK:
The national blogs are still kicking our ass. We need 20 more local donors to hold up our end of the bargain in support of our candidate, Darcy Burner. Just $5 or $10 is enough to send the message that Dave Reichert won’t be rewarded for his loyalty to the Bush administration, so if you haven’t already given, please give today.
Goldy–
Why don’t you get fellow Lefty Howard Schultz on your show to explain the $4.15 coffee thing?
How many of the fools that buy a couple of these drinks per day are also screaming about not being able to afford health care…or they are struggling with their mrtgages?
A couple that buys 2 Starbucks per day spends about $17/day or $500/month.
There are plenty of addicts who do it.
Many (about 1/3) of the health care uninsured make over $50,000/yr. They would rather buy Starbucks and other luxuries playing craps with their health insurance.
It’s about choices Goldy.
Wow. What can I get for being addicted to green tea? With lemon, yet?
@1
Hey I’m one of those uninsured. And no I hardly ever drink coffee — it’s the worst drug for me since it causes me to sweat and have the shakes all day; plus it sometimes hurts my stomach. The only time I can drink it without it having ill effects is of a night! And when I do get a coffee it’s usually at a 7-11 while driving long distance.
So I just started my own small business a little less than a year ago. I’m still learning the ropes but I am getting better and making more money every month. I made about $23,000 last year. I would love to make $50,000 — then I would feel rich! I am not materialistic at all. All of my earnings go towards paying down credit card debt (mostly used while in school), school loans, business expenses and paying for rent. I hope to afford health care in the next year or so. Hopefully nothing happends to me in the meantime. Otherwise — ???
As you say, it’s all about choices. Health care vs rent; health care vs school loans; health care vs food.
Goldy-
Darcy is reporting your PR work for her as a political donation, right? Gifts-in-kind and all that…
Ouch. On Radio Goldy this morning…
Goldy to Seattle Times editorial columnist Joni Balter: “Don’t take any of my posts about you personally.”
Joni Balter: “I don’t even read them.”
PJ@3–
I didn’t say everyone was unable to afford it because of choices. I applaud you for starting your own business. Trust me, I know the sacrifices you are making.
Do you have all the appropriate licenses & permits for your business?
Are you paying the B&O taxes State & Local?
Are you working out of your home?
If so, are you Legally working out of your home?
Do you have any employees?
PJ, what type of business did you start?
If you are legit….you will soon be a Republican my friend.
Sounds like a loving relationship to me.
@1
“A couple that buys 2 Starbucks per day spends about $17/day”
Hmm… I’ve got a couple of Starbucks receipts in my wallet for $2.06. by my reckoning that’s $4.12 for 2.
@6
He said he was poor and struggling, not that was a moron.
“9AM: Are our elected officials hanging on too long?”
Yep!
Predictably Irrational:
Add to that, and why on earth do people vote Democrat, when we are already going bankrupt from Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid?
Goldy shows intelligence by not being dumb enough to pay $4 for a cup of coffee, but then turns right around and helps the government extort money to pay for other foolish and overpriced products as well. Union Labor is a $4 cup of coffee. It’s OK as long as it advances Progressives, right?
Holy crap this boring, monotone french guy on Goldy’s show is BAD RADIO!
Good interview with Hutch Hutcherson the other day, Goldy. You hung in there with him and were not intimidated by his obtuseness. If it had been me in your position, I’m sure that I would not have been able to stay on subject the way you did. He was tuggin’ an’ pullin’ (tryin’ to interview you, for example) to turn the interview into his show, but you resisted.
The second half of the hour was vital due to the one excellent caller who reminded us all (of only a few) of Hutch Hutcherson’s links and relationships with extreme reich wingers and various assorted wackos (Scott Lively).
In sum, I went away from the hour with the impression that Hutch Hutcherson has stored up more than a lifetime of hate, probably from growing up black in Alabama in the 1950s and 60s. He claims that Jesus stopped his hating life. Any reasonable person can look at his current antics and see that he is “keeping the hate on”.
Ironically, the person he seems to hate the most is himself. His misanthropy is so vile that it reaches out to touch us all. I see nothing of God in his bullying rampage.
Pretty low move of Drudge to “out” Prince Harry’s involvement in Afghanistan. This puts Harry’s closest comrades at extra risk. And we just didn’t need to know about it. I can’t think of a single way that my or anyone else’s life is better for knowing.
@6
Actually-
yes I have all the appropriate paperwork filed. Thanks for being so concerned!
No, I don’t pay B&O taxes yet — I don’t yet make enough money. If it were up to Republicans I would have to pay them since they believe in a flat tax, not a progressive tax. I LOOK forward to paying B&O taxes. It means that I will be making a good living. (the state B&O tax starts at around $30,000, the Seattle B&O tax starts at $80,000.
I work out of my home part of the time.
I have no employees.
I am an LMP.
I will never become a Republican.
My great-grandfather and my grandfather were union workers, working in the factories of Chicago. My father was an air traffic controller. He was fired by Reagan and rehired by Clinton. I have worked for union candidates across the country. Union manufacturing jobs made this country the most powerful and richest nation on the planet. So did government work’s projects like the TVA and Eisenhower’s interstate system.
I’m estimating, but I would say that I believe in the positions of the Democratic Party about 75% of the time, the Libertarians about 50% of the time and the Republicans about 15% of the time.
I’m spiritual but not religious. I grew up in a very fundamentalist-Christian Republican area and saw the worst of the Republican far right, including book banning (“Catcher in the Rye”, “Harry Potter”-type books). I believe strongly in the seperation of church and state.
So again I don’t see myself ever becoming a Republican.
#3: Hey PassionateJus, you rock. Small business owners carry the weight of the world on their shoulders and are the main engine of this great economony and are American heroes. Truly. I hope you get to that $50k goal sooner than you even thought possible. Not having someone else buy your health insurance is one of the things a sm.business owner has to choose, but you can buy your own by going for a super high-deductible policy right now. All small-business owners have to find a way to buy it. As you grow, you may find you don’t want to change that super-high deductible.
As for getting out of debt, I strongly recommend you start listening to the Dave Ramsey show 3-7 on AM630 M-F. He’ll teach you a cool way to make a plan for getting out of debt and you’ll be thanking me for this suggestion. Guaranteed. Nothing tricky or illegal, etc. Just plain ‘ol common sense. Get listening now and be debt-free. Take care and have fun getting out of debt and succeeding as a small business. The rewards can be so worth it.
@5: Joni Balter read….I doubt it.
@6: If you are legit – you will NOT be a republican. They are only concerned with big oil and big pharma. the republicans don’t ccare about your health care or student loans. they don’t care about the safety of your food or water.
Mr. cynical – go back under the hole of corrupt republicans you crawled out of.
Reading between the lines, when Goldy was talking about how on the local level perhaps long-entrenched politicians should step aside for up-and-coming candidates, was he also talking about his situation at KIRO? Is he saying that Dave Ross has been a host long enough, and should step aside for him?
Nah, the REAL problem are evil Rethuglicans. They just ruin the whole world and cause every single problem. Even bad breath.
“#3: Hey PassionateJus, you rock”
Absolutely! Per aspera ad astra.
PJ@15-
Good for you.
It is interesting how our backgrounds influence our beliefs today.
My family background is also Blue Collar Union who happen to be Republicans because my great, great grandfather was a Captain in the Civil War and saw a Lincoln Debate.
Republicans ever since….although it is tough to be in love with either party.
Jumping into the 11:00 discussion:
A lot of students aren’t motivated at school because they really don’t see the connection between good grades and success later in life.
A lot of high-school students in the Seattle area point to college graduates who are working the same jobs as they are (as high-school age part-time workers), earning the same rate of pay.
And yet, you have students from families with obviously a lot more money who quickly get into high-paying jobs or businesses financed by family or family connections. Since I work in Bellevue, I see this disparity on a regular basis – it’s quite an abrupt difference between Bellevue and Everett, where I live.
I don’t agree that any of this is an excuse for not trying to do well in school. But I have to agree that the environment today is far different from when I was in school. A college education, by itself, is no longer an automatic ticket into the white-collar professional and management world. From my own experience, I have seen that the most valuable career asset is the ability to sell, and the ability to raise investment capital – both of which are assisted substantially if you come from a family with money and connections. Sure, the occassional hard-working, talented, and lucky person can rise above his or her circumstances, but it is becoming increasingly more difficult to do so, as the disparity between rich and poor increases.
I just got a phone call with a great idea—
Starbucks should REQUIRE a Proof of Medical Insurance card before each sale and refuse to sell $4 coffee to folks without Medical Insurance.
That could also be extended to Automobile Sales (no car over $10,000 without proof of Medical Insurance), Hi-Def TV’s, Stereo’s IPODS, Jet Ski’s….
And especially BIRKENSTOCK’S!!
and PassionateJus I say with all sincerity, when you get to that $50K a year (and I bet you will), please explain to your fellow democrats that you got there by sacrificing, taking measured risk and taking on a lot of responsibility. and that you definitely did not get there by exploiting other people. We hear this too much from the left about business owners and you know it just isn’t true. Just need to let them know you are proof that isn’t what’s going on. What’s really going on is a lot of admirable effort and attempt to service or make a product in a way that somebody needs.
Shameless ask? One more shameless Darcy donation given.
Regarding seniority in office:
Remember the 1992 Republicans saying that too many Congressmen had been in office too long, and they espoused term limits? Of course, since Democrates held the majority at the time, any such change benefited the Republicans. It was interesting how many of those Republicans who won office promising to serve only two terms went on to find excuses to stay in office indefinately – normally citing a strong need to “…finish the vital public agenda which we started in (insert year here)…” or some other similar drivel. A few Republicans did indeed stand by their pledge and leave office on schedule, local football hero Steve Largent being one of those who come easily to mind.
So whenever I hear someone talking about how the old folks need to step aside for the younger generation, I am immediatly suspicious. Which party is most likely to benefit from such a transfer of power?
Similarly, I get a kick out of Republicans suddently adopting “change” as part of their platform. They have read the polls, they see the trend, and voters want change. They want an end to the war in Iraq. They want a health care system that makes sense. They want an end to the administration’s politicization of the justice department, CIA, FBI, etc. But he Republicans candidates are trying to hijack the word so it is meaninless, referring to “change” being a “return to Republican control of Congress” after only one year of a Democratic majority in which Republicans obstructed every change.
New poll out today showing Clinton leading Obama in Texas, and continuing to lead Obama in Pennsylvania.
Texas Public Strategies Clinton 46% Obama 43%
Pennsylvania Quinnipiac U. Clinton 49% Obama 43%
I gotta tell you, I love seeing Starbucks stock drop this past year from a high of $32.45 down to $17.66 (today it is at $18.81). I also love to see McDonald’s compete with them as it will:
A) Drive down the exhorbitant cost of fancy coffee drinks
B) Force Starbucks to improve quality….which has dropped due to a lack of aggressive competition.
So who is the winner??
Consumers.
Is that bad?
Yeah, for Starbucks!…and no one else.
Isn’t capitalism great?!!
New poll out today: 99% of democrats think Clinton has blown it and the presidential primary is over.
How could someone with name recognition, money, poll advantages and media recognition drop so far so fast – and is this the person we want in November representing the Democratic party?
Desperation: Def.: The kitchen sink accusations of the Clinton campaign, Alt. def.: they got nothin’ but they are throwin’ everything they have at Obama in a last, losing desperate attempt.
clinton has gone from double digit leads to even or behind in most states – Texas included. The more people get to know the two candidates – the more Clinton and the politics of attack lose.
Explain why Hillary skipped out on the crucial amendment vote on telecom immunity? Triangualtion – once again. She can’t be trusted to do the right thing – just the politically expedient thing. That, in a nutshell (along with the Iraq vote) is why she does not deserve to be president.
@27: rhp – Nice analysis. I agree that the “change” the republicans want is simply to be back in power and keep the corruption going.
Goldy could you ask Howard if he knows Bush? Because then maybe we could ask Bush why we’re paying Dick Cheney’s Halliburton $8 a gallon for gas that costs Iraq’s citizens 40 cents.
Dustin – Was this the poll that you saw?
Obama up by 4 points in Texas?
http://tpmelectioncentral.talk.....points.php
@28: I believe Quinnipiac is in Connecticut….not Pennsylvania – or is that the Penn. poll by Quinnipiac?
How about Gallup, Pew or Rasmussen? Te main polls? Margin of error in those other polls? Selective viewing of the polls?
Nationwide polls now show Obama ahead consistently and Obama doing better against McCain than Clinton.
re 14: You are so right. There are car accidents, fires, and vicious dogs that we all need to know about — and here’s Drudge (in his stupid 1940’s gumshoe outfit) feeding us this Prince Harry garbage.
For shame, Matthew Herman Drudge!
re 32: SSSHHHHHHHH!! That’s sensitive, secret stuff that WingNutz™ can’t know about.
The cognitive dissonnance would freeze them in their tracks and no one knows how to start them again.
@34 This is interesting. From the Los Angeles Times:
If the November election were held today, McCain would beat Clinton by 46% to 40%, while eking out a 2 point advantage over Obama (44% to 42%), although well within the poll’s margin of error. About one in 10 in both match-ups were undecided and 5% would vote for someone else. McCain and Obama split the independent voters, while McCain takes that group away from Clinton.
http://www.calendarlive.com/me.....107716.pdf
Good times, eh?
Hey Bagdad Bush: Where is the URL for the $8 gas?
Damn it ain’t around
Your search – “Halliburton $8 Gas” – did not match any documents.
Of course headless lucy follows any lefty’s stink cuz, he is by definition, headless.
Puddy
You should know by now that the bubbleheaded LEFTIST PINHEADED KLOWNS just make stuff up and spew it with nothing to back it up but conspiracy theories and excessive pot-smoking wetdreams.
They are funny folks them Seattle New Age Secular Progressives!
Don’t they have laws for noise pollution?