Congress Returns

Congress has a full agenda beyond health care reform, which is still unfinished. Jobs and the environment are likely to come to the fore in the next few weeks. We speak with Gail Chaddock of the Christian Science Monitor.

Lives in North Korea

A U.S. envoy calls North Korea’s human rights record “appalling.” We take a step back from the headlines to understand what it’s like to live there with Barbara Demick, who tells North Korea’s modern story through the eyes of six defectors. Her new book is “Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea.”

Late Night Musical Chairs

It’s official — NBC has pulled the plug on Jay Leno’s prime time show because of low ratings. The network wants Leno back at his old time, but that means moving around Conan O’Brien and Jimmy Fallon. Meanwhile other networks have been sniffing around to see if they want to jump ship. Washington Post Style Reporter Paul Farhi is our guest.

Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill

We speak with Don Schmierer who traveled to Uganda last year as a member of the board of Exodus International, which says it is devoted to helping gays leave homosexuality. Schmierer, who is no longer with Exodus, says he is outraged by the proposed bill which would imprison, even execute gay people in Uganda. He’s author of An Ounce of Prevention: Preventing the Homosexual Condition in Today’s Youth.

Accordion beyond the Polka

[Youtube.com]

Cory Pesaturo wants to prove that the accordion has a lot more to offer than just polka tunes. He’s world champion of the digital accordion, which blends the traditional bellows and keyboard of the acoustic accordion with the computer technology of the synthesizer. As he demonstrates to us, Cory can play jazz and rock as well as more traditional fare.

Music from the show

Ahmad Jamal, “Patterns”
Art Blakey, “C.O.R.E.”
Film School, “P.S.”
Christian McBride, “Brother Mister”
Clint Mansell, “Here Comes Summertime”
Thelonius Monk, “Well, You Needn’t”
Jaromir Vejvoda, “Beer Barrel Polka”
Salvatore d’Esposito, “Anema e Core”
Dick Haynes and Johnny Mercer, “Laura”
Michael Jackson, “Billie Jean”
Astor Piazzolla, “Libertango”

http://wvpe.com Tony Garascia

Listening to Don Schmierer on your show where he states he never met a healthy family of gay children. Ridiculous! Maybe you should contact Fortunate Families, which is an organization of parents who actively support their gay children.

Tony Garascia
c meritt

I loved the program on accordion music and will be looking for where Coy Pesaturo will be playing in the are. I never realized the diversity of music that can be played on the accordion. Yeah. CM
http://www.buddhaspillow.blogspot.com Paul Creeden

Don Schmierer smears the humanity of GLBT people in the most reprehensible way. Adopting a tone of moral superiority, while smugly admitting to being an intentional scientific ignoramus, is getting very, very tired. Casting stones at universally unhappy (in his opinion) gay families, while being quite duplicitous and no sunbeam himself, is typical of this form of hypocrisy. The ‘I didn’t no nothing about the Uganda meeting agenda’ defense goes up on the board next to the Twinkie Defense. I appreciated the interview. I believe it exposed Schmierer and Exodus as unhealthy anachronisms in a progressive world.
terry

Don Schmierer and Exodus operate out of fear & ignorance, the fact that his appearance in Uganda has sparked an agenda of hatred towards the homosexual community, bears the fruit of their misguided efforts.
Michael Doll

Well – tough issue for many of us. Although I don’t support something as severe as that being proposed in Uganda, I can understand where Don Schmierer is coming from and agree that many gay people have a history of a personal experience that is unhealthy in their past. I for one do not support gay rights but believe we must have laws that protect EVERYONE from the violent response of others for a lifestyle choice. I also believe that the gay community is WAY overbearing trying to drive there lifestyle CHOICE down the throats of the general populous. I believe that a man/women relationship is critical to a healthy family environment and that the family structure is critical to a stable society. I can clearly understand that same sex people can love one another, but the actions that they perform on one another to this man are disgusting, repulsive and very unhealthy. My apologies to all you gay folks that I have had a positive exchange with, but this is what I believe.
Gene Bramlett

Don Schmierer is a blithering idiot who’s fundamentalist “Christian” crusade against homosexuality has fanned the coals of hate and persecution in at least one foreign government to raise homosexuality to the level of a capital crime punishable by death or life imprisonment. Good intentions notwithstanding, his participation in the “conference” in Uganda provides yet more proof that the fundamentalist agenda is anything but Christian. It has more to do with preventing people from thinking and deciding for themselves whether God should be allowed to be the judge, or whether that should be left up to self-described and often self-appointed bigots who claim, falsely, to be disciples of Christ. If homosexuality is morally wrong in God’s estimation, I have no doubt God will make that perfectly plain to the affected individuals in God’s own time. I don’t know how many homosexuals he has interviewed, but those I have spoken with have advised that their orientation was not a matter of choice, a matter of rebellion or the result of some psychological aberration, but was something that they had felt from earliest memory. As such, it appears to me not to be a matter of choice, but a matter of genetics, which means it was something ingrained in the development of the individual. It would also seem to me that if that were true, Schmierer and the rest are attacking God indirectly for something that was part of God’s creation. Schmierer and others who take God’s name in vain should look after their own failures.
Etaoin Shrdlu

Let’s get something (you should pardon the expression) straight: whether sexual orientation (or “affectional preference”) is a choice or not is IRRELEVANT. I am a Jew, that is clearly a choice (since I can “change”), does that mean I should be discriminated against, denied employment opportunities, forbidden to live where I wish, or forbidden to marry who I wish. Don’t laugh, at one time being Jewish meant just that (and this was touted as an example of “Christian love”, the motive being to compel us to “change our erring ways”, or that it was necessary to protect society from our pernicious influence). Happily, today we recognize this was wrong, and that the truly immoral people were those who supported such actions in the name of “traditional values”. I trust posterity will condemn Mr. Schmierer, Mr. Doll, and others of their self-righteous ilk, just as we now condemn their equally arrogant spiritual ancestors!
Wylie Roth

I was listening with great interest to the spot with accordion player Cory Pesaturo.
I believe it was Stanley Crouch who said that if one considers oneself to be a Jazz Fan and doesn’t have Miles’ “Kind of Blue” in their collection that they have “a hole in their bucket”. The same may also be said in any conversation about contemporary accordion players where the name of Guy Klucevsek is not mentioned.
I would like to direct listeners to Guy’s work on Bill Frissell’s recording “Have a Little Faith”. Or, perhaps, Guy Klucevsek’s Bantam Orchestra, or the recording of “Accordion Tribe” where one can here Guy play the Giulietti Super Continental V piano accordion with 5-row chromatic free base. Not to mention his work with (and influence of) the great John Zorn!
Please, don’t get me wrong. I’m not being critical. I just think this man’s work needs to be recognized in any conversation about accordion players. Also keep in mind that it has been said that I have too much time on my hands.

Thanks for the space!
Wylie Roth
Livingston, Montana
Peter Quesnel

Has Mr. Schmierer ever come across hetersexual persons who have been damaged in the past, who have had bad relations with their parents, who suffer from addiction or other self-destructive behavior? I wonder if he recommends that these individuals be converted from their hetersexuality?
http://none Elizabeth Moore

I very much enjoyed he music made by Cory Pescaturo, on Here& Now January 11,
2010. He is a very accomplished musician. I thought I heard the name of new album (CD) mentioned by Robin Young. I have only been able to locate two: “Change
in the Weather,” and “Crosswinds.” If there is anything newer I would appreciate
knowing about it. I also appreciated the comments of Wylie Roth. No I don’t think you have too much time on your hands, Wylie. Too often we do not hear of these
musicians, and this is how we do! Right on Wylie. Keep up the good work! Elizabeth, in Phoenix Posted: January 12, 2010 at 8:35 PM ( Arizona time)
brad

200,000+ websites dedicated to Jeffrey Dahmer proves all chidren need to be warned of the sexual predators. Nobody knows what percentage of homosexuals are predators. Homosexual femmes seem to not cause trouble,
Macho homosexuals are the violent ones, usually murdering with poison. Homosexual femmes usually advertise their homosexuality while the homosexual machos usually deceive everybody, that includes having a wife to avoid suspicion. I lived and worked in S.F. for a while, later I learned my boss was a homosexual
his lovely wife was just to keep him free of suspicion,
I feel sorry for somebody who lives such deceit.
Etaoin Shrdlu

Dear Brad:

If you were truly “sorry”, you wouldn’t be spreading such mindless stereotypes as were contained in your post. They are the standard excuses for anti-gay bigotry, which is why some gay men engage in the deception you “feel sorry” for.

Learn the facts. For every Jeffrey Dahmer I can give you 100 Ted Bundy’s (or Jack the Rippers, if you prefer), husbands who’ve murdered their wives, serial rapists of women, etc. More cases of child molesting are committed by heterosexuals than by homosexuals.
Cory

Definitely agree about Guy – We never went into a conversation where I could have slipped Guy in, but he is Certainly a Legend in the Accordion World, and he NEVER gets mentioned in the core “accordion world”, only the underground part of it. He’s incredible no doubt.

Concerning new CD’s, I should finally be able to get some done this year, maybe a solo CD and one with my Violinist, and also a band I’m putting together.