Steven called very connected with a whole new generation. That David Letterman you know the outer reaches of David Letterman's appeal which was profound and extensive but I think that compare appeals to much younger people I know he when my daughter graduated from college Stephen Colbert was the speaker and he was absolutely connected to the students they totally got him and you know he gave the and you know that instead of the normal commencement speech but go out there and make the most of yourself and do everything that you can to be everything that you want to be he came in and he gave the office his pieces you know don't change don't worry don't don't don't don't really make an effort just enjoy your life and he was obviously intentionally giving the exact opposite of the predicted speech obvious to everyone see that's that's my one can Stern with Stephen Colbert or I Stephen Colbert would have been my 2nd choice to replace Who would have been your 1st Jon Stewart and the verse similar and they sort of parallel women other the differences when Jon Stewart does his parody or a sack talker or as you know but whatever you want to call it as he as the farther it gets into it it becomes very obvious by the end I'm just kidding I'm just kidding I'm just making fun of the my opposition cold beer doesn't do that cold there stays serious all the way through and even as he gives his punch line there are those and I don't know what the percentages are but it scares me who don't get the fact that he's just kidding and I'm guessing that someone in that audience didn't you know that probably left there instead Ok I'm going to follow that advice not realizing just like the right wing could easily listen to Stephen Colbert and go yes he's on our side well you know they in during the occupation of France terrible war to the French resistance now. Bure's had a motto which was think of it always speak of it never and what in a way that's what call various doing it covariance is for the people that are knowledgeable and understand him you know he's directly communicating with them and for the ones that don't understand him and are not necessarily knowledgeable about what he's about he's placating them he's in other words he's getting his message out. Without really he's making fun but he's making fun of the way that the people who be made fun of can't recognize that in a way that's maybe the best way to do it because he's drawing the least amount of fire you know when they went during the communists the cycle economies of let's call totalitarian. Domination of Eastern Europe. The the media the newspaper writers in particular they would cover the state propaganda but they would take it to the next level they would make it sound when they when they would talk about how great the agricultural distribution was and how productive it was they would say you know we're celebrating the fact that everyone is rising up and celebrating the fact that they're giving up eating on Saturdays and they're all joyous about it and they would report you know ridiculous facts to the extreme yelling and so the but the point was they were communicating by by making absurd what was happening but it was a dual message the people that thought it was good communists who were dominating thought you know that's that's what I want to hear everyone else knew that it was ridiculous Yeah well you're saying there's 2 groups I'm saying there's a 3rd there's those who agree with us there's those that and get it there are those on the other side who don't get it you know the human life and pick up on it but there's the middle group the on the edge and I'm afraid some of those might fall full of the wrong side I mean you know when when Charlie Chaplin does. A parody on made off Hitler or when Molly Python you know there's a parody on any number of professions Unfortunately with satire it's a very powerful tool Oh that not everybody gets it in somehow at the end there has to be I don't care whether you hold up a sign that says hey we're just kidding Some people don't get it and they get the wrong message and that's my only problem with Steve called their I think he's brilliant I think is absolutely creativity is brilliant he's a great entertainer I my understanding is they're not going to have to play that role when he plays the you know the host right of the show but I don't I mean. Points a good man in the sense that you know there was a parody of Hitler that Jack Benny had made a movie with with your wife who was a beautiful woman that was married to Clark Gable and Pat had died in the plane crash the net of dynamite so she was a very famous actress and it caused quite a store because they they they made fun of and ridiculed Hitler. You know in a I think in a stream of the effective way but it wasn't as harsh as people wanted you know if you you know you you know your spouse you know sort of understandably so you know meat and potato kind of satire and I think that what cold there the genius of cold there was he figured out how to thread the needle of a certain type of commonality and you know I have to tell you this it is subtle though and I agree with you Ok you know it very much that I understand I think the best satire is where as it moves on it becomes increasingly obvious I try to do that if I'm doing something satiric I start out with something maybe maybe someone might even call it sarcastic and then at some point you see this big grin this Cheshire cat grin on my face to let you know just kidding you know and sometimes it fools people nor people who when they're talking to me don't realize I'm kidding that gets a bit scary but there's you know my letter but I'm saying Jon Stewart when he does the very same thing that cold beer does it gets the obviousness of it gets increasingly apparent right there was with cold there from start to finish he maintains that same straight face and I'm my my fear I mean this is not a indorsement of the intellect of the American people and my fear is some people won't get it and go oh I had Steve Caldera said this that's what I'm going to do that's my fear my brother tone. He was the best Sacha's I ever have seen and one time he was we were in elevator and there was a kind of a conservative older guy in the elevator and we were talking and. Nixon came up and and the guy said my boss off Nixon I can't stand Nixon he's the guy that got us out of Vietnam that is ridiculous No I just I'm a subset of that you know. I think I was going to wait a bit well wait a 2nd Ok that's different the for that person you know your audience is and you're going to figure it out you know if you want to leave he made the point is he could yes he could he could figure it out. And Kara Lombardi's who I was trying to think of the beautiful woman that was married to Clark Gable that starred with Jack Benny and that satire and Adolf Hitler was really going to report for me to know that you know so but the point was that it was sarcastic yes but the point is is that is that the fellow he didn't pick up on the fact that my brother of course was just you know having some fun with him but he was but he was making him think about the inconsistency is because everyone's thinking oh Nixon was so pro-war but yet he got us out of there so I think that that type of humor to the extent that you can where you can show the irrationalities you know this is where it's going to be an important listeners such and such importance to be a good listener Oh please understand are you not in any way discounting the power of parody and satire I'm the biggest fan to I mean I hang on the words of a Joe mink and way back in the twenty's and thirty's who. I mean he said look at everybody else complains about a high taxes are I never complain that that time I think daily taxes average like $2.00 a day so I never complain about that because for that 2 dollars again $930.00 s. Time I get the most humorous the funniest show the anybody could ever pay for the American government at work. And this is really finished is this quote by saying so funny that only a person who was born with it and I'm quoting him a petrified God or friend could fail to laugh invoke to sleep every single moment well you know he was a Jamaican am glad you brought him up because of course he wrote the The Great multi-volume treatise on the American language and he was from the American point of view and as and it's really fun to read that but one of the things that he was a great satirist he was feared he was so sure capable with his pen and his such a connoisseur of words and he was really tough on f.d.r. Very very tough on f.d.r. You know and he gave a speech one time at one of these you know reporter type of dinners where the president's there and he gave a speech and f.d.r. Was kind of really cutting and then f.d.r. Took the mike and if you're you know you want to you know want to mix with f.d.r. You know he if you had the nice guy image but he was he was a fighter and he took the mike was this a roast this was kind of a gross Yeah it was kind of a roast and and f.d.r. Took the mike and he started describing a certain personality based on the mistakes they had made and he did it in a very subtle way but each one became more biting and clear and by the time they were done Make it was like the only red phase the 3rd out of the room but you know that's what that was like it when f.d.r. Said you know these Republican leaders are not content with attacks on me or my wife or my son no not content with that they now attack my little dog Falla Ok And he used satire and that destroyed literally destroyed Thomas Dewey campaign in 1904 and that's what the Greek the Greeks taught us Aristotle taught us that the greatest way to discredit the ethos of your opponent. The the integrity of the standing with the with the audience of your opponent is ridicule it's hard to get there the ridicule is hard you can't start off with ridicule right out of the chute Now one of the point I do want to say though about time about sort of the reason I don't like people like. Rush Limbaugh Is it because of what he stands for it's because he reinforces a certain type of feeling and point of view or I will put it this way he reinforces the neural passageways of people that have hardening of the intellectual arteries or I love the friend and and he reinforces that because you know there's a risk that they might not remember to be narrow minded one day they might wake up and forget they're supposed to be narrow minded and have ill will towards their fellow you know people that are different than them and I think that to the extent that we do that. To the extent that we you know do as what can move would say you know don't be an executioner I mean don't be a victim but don't become an executioner you know some say in the middle to the extent that those of us who believe in redemptive goodwill who believe in progress who believe in the evolution of and the perfectibility of men and women to the extent that you embrace a certain type of of you know just tell me what I want to hear tell me the other guy's bad and reinforce how I feel could I may I may not feel that way tomorrow I think that that makes in sense you are you are actually undermining your position as someone who believes in and lighten it and actually strengthen the other side's position that those types of tactics are acceptable and I think what Co bear does is he keeps he gives everyone guessing but he's an enormously energy Oh yeah he does he just by the way for those of you who are just joining us on Douglas Holbrook and this is Michael Carey and we're trying to this is our marathon to keep you from succumbing to what Michael Carey calls the hardening of the cerebral hardening of the intellectual intellectual arteries that's why if I get it George Lakoff says George they don't like us is the reason that conservatives are conservatives is because they're they're narrow passageways have become frozen and they're not flexible anymore and of course you can say the same thing about a lot of different perspectives but you know so that's why I always try to when I'm trying to convince someone who is close minded I always tell them that it's not their fault they have a neural passageway problem that we have to work with you k. They I say that it's gibberish that's almost it's almost poetic it's and of course they look at me and say you've got a narrow passageway problem and that's the reason why you have a completely different level of discussion the power of humor and of course the true humility is really there are some true geniuses the float around them among us but but the power of humor to make a. Point is so profound. And cold beer and Jon Stewart are the 2 that I would sort of Submit have the capability Frankly Michael I think they have the capability of turning an election I think David Letterman and his ilk could have done to your combination of Jay Leno and they they were on the verge of it. But they just never take that final step Well that's it may not be appropriate for them to do that but I can remember it's just part of the problem probably get through so I think it will take it I think that they have the capability of doing even something more profound than that and that is changing people's values and getting them to become more value oriented I want to say that about humor I know that for me personally when I was involved in the mayor's race in the last year I went before the Democratic Central Committee people the audience was filled with people that tested me for you know because of the unions and all my battles and and all and I went into them and I thought well if I could They're just fire and brimstone but then I thought you know I got in there for a while and I started looking around and one of my opponents you know had you know had his sheets had every endorsement I mean the pope all the way down to the you know street cleaners and so when I get up and I said you know I I love the Democratic Party I'll always be a Democrat and you know believe it's an honor to be even so seated with the Democratic Party and you know one thing I want to say is that I really need your endorsement I you know my opponents they all you know already have all the endorsements I don't really have any endorsements and I need your endorsement and the reason I'm a member the Democratic Party is because the Democrats always help people in need well and they and they remember everyone everyone well they've ever had burst out laughing because you know they and even though they didn't like me. They like the humor they appreciate the humor and it's hard to do that because we all get so defensive but I think it's a mindset and the average person can't do that and Ronald Reagan could do that yes when he said Oh I'm not going to hold your you're gay did you hear age in your is this inexperience against you he turned that whole thing around in Mondale is just flat footed he didn't know what to say you know I I'm I've never been a fan of Ronald Reagan but a couple of his responses are ones that I remember and I remember once when he was governor of California and he was in front of a group of students from San Francisco State who were there yelling and screaming in his advisor says don't go out there don't go out there Governor No I want to go and confront them and they're out and so he goes out there and then they're yelling you're old you know you're all you're beyond your times you don't understand you weren't even born when you were born we didn't have telephones we didn't have televisions we didn't have the computers we didn't have all these things and the rattling off the things that that he that he was sort of. Unaware of because when he was born they just didn't have them new inventions and so he he looked at them and he and he finally took the mike and said You're right you're right we didn't the truth is when I was born we didn't have televisions and telephones and then he paused and said which is why we invented them for you. It was a good line we don't it was you know that it was an amazing like you know I mean his good is a big it was the No it is it is I mean his but. His diary right now and you know all presidents have a certain life force no president is no matter how you slice it. If you read the story anyone's story they're pathway to the presidency. Even George Bush Jr who is probably the weakest president amongst the weakest Harding George Bush to junior but when you but when you read about Ronald Reagan it's sad to me how how he had he not succumbed to the pressures of corporate America how do you know he had he found within himself what f.d.r. Found which was a deeper sense of justice which he kind of got there towards the end of his life nobody earlier I mean he was a president of the Screen Actors Guild he was you know but he no but he was he was also though he went along with the communist Chinese stuff though he he went along with the f.b.i. He did a lot of questionable things and it was because he was a discerning enough and what a loss what it what he could have been had he not embraced the corporate way of looking at things now I think towards the end of his life when he became much more open to determined and to trying to work things out with the Russians I think to his credit he got there but you know the other side was he this led a really happy life he like to play golf he bought his wife on the red averse received by expensive bottles of wine they had fun all the time they they enjoyed themselves and they were you know he did things like when when when the Park Service said the Beach Boys couldn't play at the at the Washington Monument He said Of course you can play the watch because he was a part of Hollywood sure you know so so you know and you can't be totally closed minded to be part of Hollywood but you see people like Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Stewart all that crazy stuff he did with the Air Force and the NORAD and all that you know and you just think gosh the Jimmy Stewart of. Because we're talking about Co bear people that are involved in politics you know the Great was over the over the life and I think that you see the ones that have all this talent. You know during World War 2 Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney were extremely effective at raising money for war bonds and very effective it at you know you know supporting what President Roosevelt was trying to do imagine having someone who really light in the White House and Hollywood behind them because they're all trying to raise America up to to its greatness and I think that's really what you're saying is that these these people that have the gift of communication like John Stewart and Colbert you know it's not just it's not just communication but it's more than that it's the ability to and I think you. Are is a form of genius just like music or sports I mean John Gardner in his book talked about the various kinds of genius more than just mathematical verbal and he expands at the 7 I would I would go beyond Garner and I would include humor I would say Robin Williams or Jonathan Winters There's a genius there where they look at the logical world and then tweak it a little bit and you have to have that genius in your d.n.a. To do that Jon Stewart can do it Stephen Colbert can do it what about an Ace Ventura. No I don't well possibly I tell you what I won't name the genius is all just say there's a category amongst genius and humor is one of them it's a powerful tool I mean I've used it I've used in the courtroom sometimes it scares the dickens out of my clients all I'll just I'll share one little anecdote and it was it was my 1st year of practice you know it was like 3033 years ago when front of a judge. Who was having a bad day and most of his days were bad days anyhow and every attorney in there was just kind of terrified and each of the attorneys were going in the chambers with the d.a. And the judge and the d.a. And the judge were just you know tight and so my case came in and I had a I had a case that had some real problems with it and the Da started he made a sort of a snide comment oh this is the one that thus and such and rather than strictly I just said Ok he asked for it so I shot something back at the d.a. That put him in his place and it was humorous and this judge who was grumpy all the sudden left in left at the d.a. With the Da to defend himself responded back you know you have and and so I thought Ok you asked for it so I hit him a 2nd time with and it was just put him in his place in the judge laughed even harder and it was taking him out of his bad mood and so the d.a. Starts coming back back at me a 3rd time of the judge said you don't want to mess with this guy. That's a great point and then he said let me hear about the case in the distorted tones and I want to hear it from you know counsel. The judge literally gave my client something he clearly wasn't entitled to and so when we would back into the courtroom our case came up it was something the judge said you know he takes he was from sneering turns with a smile everybody thought he was like just buddy never met him before we walk out of the courtroom and my client says I got to ask you something Mr Holbrook and I said Ok because of the legal fees that I paid you for you know what culminated today how much of it was for your legal skill and how much of it was for sense of humor and I said oh who you could ask that than I If you ask I'll be honest with you truth is one percent legal skill 99 percent humor and my clients that I already knew that before you answer that my point is you know logic in communication and knowledge of the law or knowledge of whatever your subject matter is important humor adds a dimension that is really tough to fight off Kennedy had it he really had you know one of the best Reagan had a case you know like he had of the of the Kennedy was self-deprecating he would love that and that's part of that about him that he part of it but you can come in any approach you want him or isn't of very effective tool in my question for us today is what rule will Stephen Colbert are and maybe if Jon Stewart replaces someone else that leaves what role could they play in molding in shaping and helping us find our way back home I thought I'd find a way to stick the title of your book in there from if you're Ok with that the potential power there is amazing and I mean I think one thing what will Steve call book low you know I think that you know and by the way for those of you're just joining us I'm Douglas Holbrook and this is Michael Gurian or point is well I think that it was Steven Kull very you know he's going to be looking at what's going to get people to turn on the. His show and to the extent that. He can develop. A a more meaningful relationship with the audience along the lines of what you're talking about where he can get them to think things that they hadn't thought about and enjoy thinking what they had had thought about just like you did with that judge because people want to be entertained but they want to be reminded you know humorists is you know. You know we were at the beach a while back and Segal snatched up the meat that was on the grill and carried it for a while they couldn't carry it and drop it into the sand and at the time everyone was so disappointed because everyone was like oh my gosh I can't we just have on the brink of a challenge into the good meal and just you know and then we try to eat it was standing I mean you know they just didn't work and so it was kind of upset a week later we were all howling about it telling our friends about it and so I think that part of part of getting us to you know live in a serious world but be able to see the humor of it but also to discern out of that humor greater wisdom that's a kind of relationship that I think Steve called bear just like he was able to write his satire. You know. Appearing opposite of what he was to success I think that he'll do something like that with his show well and that's in fact with humor is if there's something mathematical about it it follows a certain pattern then it it tweaks it or a change is that and the individual who can look at reality and then make that change the average person can't do it and I don't think you can go to humor college or clown college and learn how to be funny it's something in your d.n.a. Cold beer How's that you know all I'm saying is they're not just being funny they're making common they're making social commentary and whether you're a h.l. Mencken or Ambrose Bierce. I like I love the quote you gave of from. George Lakoff preventing the hardening of the intellectual artery you know who else number that for a long you know who else had it and has it big time is Woody Allen you know he is like Gosh so funny so funny when he talks about his Jewish faith you know they ask of you know and he says what religion he goes I love the Jewish persuasion. I mean if we could go through what he owns lines we could go the lines of of so many of them and realize I'm just saying there's a lot of power there and as we close the show. I you know I look forward to seeing what coal there does and I look forward with time when maybe our schools introduce you could be educated in the entertained to be enlightened all the same time I know in the years that when I was in the classroom that was my objective I'm Douglas Holbrook and this is Michael Carey and I am hoping hoping that we hope to prevent news like refer to it as Harding hardening of the intellectual arteries hope each of you out there got something from this if you did then you're just a little bit smarter than maybe you thought you were and we thank you for joining us and we look forward to being with you the next time we put this stuff on the air thank you for joining us on Talk of the town with former San Diego city attorney Michael Carey and attorney and former political science professor Douglas Holbrook here on k. And s j Descanso 89 point one f.m. Serving San Diego serving San Diego from high atop monument peak and the logo to mountains this is k n s j where you can hear talk of the town with Micah Geary Monday through Friday from 8 to 9 am and 4 to 5 pm our legacy shows occasionally feature the late Douglas Holbrook talk of the town is an insightful program about what our community and our country need to be going to get back on track That's Micah Gary's talk of the town here on k. Illustrate Descanso 89 point one f.m. And streaming live online a k a that's Jay daughter. Org. Direct This is Michael Kurian welcome to Talk of the town and. We're going to get to the bottom of Thanksgiving Why do we celebrate it how did we come to celebrate it and. What is the history of the celebration and we're going to get right to it what most people may not know is that we began to celebrate as a national holiday Thanksgiving as a result of the work of a female writer a female journalist and her name was Sarah Joseph Hale. And on September 28th 1963 she wrote a letter after having written several articles in national publications asking President Lincoln. To recognize that saying Thanksgiving should be held on the same day in all states that it was important to recognize Thanksgiving as a national holiday and a national unifying day and she said that Thanksgiving held on the same day in all states it now needs national recognition and authoritative fixation only to become permanently an American custom and tradition and. President Lincoln responded and he did so out of the celebration that had taken place. Because of the victory in July 18th $63.00 at Gettysburg and so what we're going to do is we're going to we're going to start off our celebration today by remembering what President Lincoln said. A week before just a week before or so the celebration of Thanksgiving in 1963 when he gave his famous Gettysburg Address Let's go to President Lincoln as Gettysburg in Gettysburg in November 8634 score and 7 years ago our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure we are met on a great battlefield of that war we have come to dedicate a portion of it as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives so that nation might live . It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But in a larger sense we cannot dedicate we cannot consecrate we cannot hello this ground the brave men living and dead who struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract the world will little note nor long remember what we say here but it can never forget what they did here it is for us the living rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they have thus far so noble he carried on it is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great tennis remaining before us that from these honored to dent we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom and that this government of the people by the people for the people shall not perish from the earth Thanksgiving grew out of the sacrifices that were made and celebrated to stop slavery and to keep the union from disbanding and in his proclamation in 1903 President Lincoln said needful diversions of wealth then of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the National Defense have not arrested the plough the shuttle or the ship. The acts as enlarge the borders of our settlements and the minds as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore the population has steadily increased notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp and the sea in the battlefield and the country rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. And in his proclamation he went on to celebrate the fact that this country had much to be thankful for even though it was in the middle of this more in what we're trying to get at today it's getting that the real meaning behind Thanksgiving is is to continue the effort to to restore and to help restore from our small vantage point and from the small voice that we have. The values that made this country great the non-materialistic values the fighting for what was right and what was just and we're now going to turn to a little happier time a different kind of celebration but still. A reminder that when this nation had a stock market that was that 150 not 18000 like it is today in 1988 we're going to go now to Warm Springs Georgia and hear from President Franklin d. Roosevelt for more on Springs Georgia where he had recuperated after the years of suffering from polio and let's go now to Warm Springs Georgia and hear what President Roosevelt had to say at that time. And I invite you to run by radio. Then I presided over by the president of the United. And I will be here to take it right at the head of the table and. We want you to hear the reception. And then you will hear the president. Now the. Man who was meant to resign over the head of. F.e.m.a. I don't think that get that. Out Thank you. That's does arrive and the president. The. President. From 100 members of the warm. Old Anjana gathered here again annual Thanksgiving dinner but. I want to say a few words not only to you but the money on the people in the grip of the country . Of national thanksgiving. A political. A completely. Ramshackle old buildings of 12 years ago about a been completely modernized. By a new. One I got. I was delighted to see the new. And the new Medical Center rising above the ground. I'm going to I'm going to have a schoolhouse because we know that it will look. To have the education of the mind. With the reeducation of the model. And then. In addition. We have also the same continuing. 100 patients. 100. Warm Springs. Money on the care of our own. Generosity. Financial. Last. Stab raising the national. 99 we hope to have. An all of the more. United States at the time of the birthday celebration. Of the trap. And the other. Again. This Thanksgiving Day We have much. I wish that all over here my boys could be with us and say you're gathering about old and young in the big dining room. We are thinking not about how old hello but up 10 love poems about love children and grown ups and wishing but ma'am look they may be having an equally happy Thanksgiving. And a lot. I haven't had many a telegram today Thanksgiving kind of Graham's one note I want to read to you from an old friend who helped warm. Very greatly at a camera the comedian the actor. And he gave me I. Think we can all thank you. May your want your arms have a have a happy Thanksgiving I am thankful that I can live in a country oh and let you know that down on Thanksgiving Day caught up. In case you're just tuning in that was President Roosevelt in November of 1938 coming to us from Warm Springs Georgia celebrating Thanksgiving and again the theme of our show today is that America has been a nation for known for its values a nation that celebrated its values and in years past gave much Thanksgiving. For the winning of a key battle at Gettysburg during the Civil War that. It prompted President Lincoln at the at the behest and at the suggestion after 15 years of work of Joseph Hale to declare. The 4th week in force Thursday in November as a day a national day of thanksgiving for the nation to be able to move ahead. True stopping the spread of slavery and saving the Union and then we just heard from President Roosevelt at a time in which the stock market was at 150 not 17000 or 800000 like it is today giving celebration to. Patients that were recovering from polio and the symbolism of the nation recovering from polio of a different type of economic polio that was it was stifling the nation in was putting us in through the years the depression but yet the country had resilience and what President Roosevelt had said in his inauguration is that the most important thing were the non-material values Robert Kennedy gave a speech many years later in which he talked about the gross national product as measuring everything except what was really important in our country 4 years later . We were celebrating Thanksgiving 4 years after 938 we were celebrating Thanksgiving. And. During the war and we have a little bit of a program a radio program that was played in 1902 remember the war started in December 7th 1901 and a year later this nation was flat on its back. It was facing war in Europe it was facing war in Japan let's go to what are citizens of the United States in a go around the world and at home heard in 1902 during the celebration of Thanksgiving on national radio. From my heart sank. On the cavalcade of America sponsored by the maker of that things are better living through chemistry. Programs and I ladies and gentlemen. Present Louis Bromfield both as author and a storyteller. From the harvest is a story of the lacks in Mr Bromfield words a story of the earth with its a pound a can of everything Bromfield as author I'm sorry pallor of from the heart of dawn like cavalcade of America. This is the story of a family and the balance of a piece of land somewhere in the wide with these United States. Has no one hero no heroine it's a song about people. About the American people with the past and in the future must be everything this country has and can be. Going happens on Thanksgiving not for the people of the palace young or old and middle aged are gathered together with them to the rooms of the valleys to celebrate the richness of the harvest that is to feed us all. Our allies and perhaps a little later in this god thing women and children of our enemies it is imperative the land that fertility without That's all else even civilization itself labor sickens and beyond that is the filling of the earth which is the foundation of everything. Rap. Rap rap. Now. With. The reverend since you've got it what. Thanksgiving is all the plenty we've got in the valley when they like nobody else and there's a. Monitor on the platform they haven't. That's . We thank. You we have here now that day. Comes with the rich. And. The boys who are leaving the valley. This is. The way I was and him. And. Regulate to my. Grandmother was. A blessing. I mean that was my to sign the good thanks. All right now Mark. This is Talk of the town and we are so happy. Thanksgiving little bit of a different look at. We are looking at something deeper and something more enduring in our culture in our background and reminding us where Thanksgiving came from Thanksgiving was born as a national holiday out of the civil war following the celebration of the victory in Gettysburg and as a result of 15 years of hard work. By the mother of the godmother Thanksgiving Joseph who prevailed upon President Lincoln in September of 863 to declare the 4th Thursday in November a national holiday and President Lincoln obliged and what we were reflecting on is the fact that in the weather was 863 when we were giving thanks for what we had or during World War 2 with president even before World War 2 when during the Depression when we heard from President Roosevelt from Warm Springs in November 38 or. If it was what we heard from the play that we just listened to that was broadcast over the radio in 1902 to the troops and to the rest of the nation. With the harvest in the in the festival in the celebration everyone coming together and putting on to the table what they had so that when they could have a Thanksgiving dinner celebrating the fact that they had much to be thankful for and yet. Materially they were they were they did have an $18000.00. Point stock market the stock market wasn't 18000 and in 38 it was 100. Not a whole lot higher and in 42 the point they were trying to make is that Thanksgiving really has a meaning and it's not just about going out and buying buying more things and spending more and more money and going further and further in debt it's about remembering who we are we want so hard and so much it came yesterday to restore the values that this nation has celebrated whether those values that Dr King celebrated in bringing about change in it with civil civil rights movement whether it was getting ourselves out of the Depression or putting the getting the word to behind us and we seem to have lost our way we you know the country seems to not be clearly in contact with what its values are and materialism has in many ways worked against us and there's so much division and one of the things that we're so happy about is that we're here with all the presidents and their next show will be sitting down for our Thanksgiving not precincts giving dinner with the president but I have President Reagan here now. And I wanted to just have him reflect. On on what he thought about the show so far and what he heard from all of the wonderful voices that we've been listening to celebrating the non-material values of America and its history Well thank you very much Mike. As a former president I'm honored to be joined with those wonderful man. Well and did you have you do you remember anything that you might have said in prior in prior Thanksgivings that where you tried to celebrate Yes you know Ok I remember saying My Fellow Americans this coming Thursday we will celebrate a holiday that belongs uniquely to our nation Thanksgiving Day Millions of us will travel from all parts of the country together in family homes observing the holiday according to longstanding tradition turkey with all the fixings pumpkin pie laughter the warmth of family love and yes a moment of prayer to give thanks and you know those are very noble thoughts and it's strikes that the spirit of Thanksgiving and you know it would be great if we could get our good friends in Congress that seem to be so aggressive and so resistant to what our president is trying to do whether it's you know getting assistance to the or bringing about change in immigration whether it's about helping to restore some health care protection for the public would it be great if they would work with our president you know if you look at the economy today I think you'd have to acknowledge saying to me are you asking me that it's time to carve that turkey No I'm saying that what it's what I'm saying to you is that it's time to to remember the spirit of cooperation that's made it possible for this country to be great and if you look at the economy you know by all measures the Republicans should be in the business community should be very happy because the president's pretty much adopted a Republican economic set of policies that rely on stimulating the economy on a continuous basis that has. Raised the stock market to 17000 and other which you know those of us that are on the left you know we're disappointed in that we'd like to see Main Street more of a focus so we're very confused about why the Republicans are still complaining about the president who seems to be advancing really if you think you're confused I've been confused for 20 years well that's that's that's sure that you're just being generous but you know what we're talking about today is a wonderful celebration and there was one other part of this is we start to come to the end of our program there was another day of sorrow great sorrow yet when this nation. Had to go through a very difficult. Problem with with the assassination of President Kennedy and those days following that those events were very sad and again the country pulled together and that's what we're seeing is that Thanksgiving is a celebration of the unity of the nation yes it's about the colonists and it's about the establishment of the colonies but in a much never forgetting way where we came from but in a much more fundamental way it's Thanksgiving a rose out of the struggle to achieve the values of the nation that rose out of the Civil War and rose out of stopping slavery and it was celebrated over the years whether after during World War one where great sacrifices were made by Americans cutting back on their food cutting back on their consumption or World War 2 with again the same and then periods like when President Kennedy died and so as we think about Thanksgiving this year as we think about the fact that it was the efforts of several Joseph Hale who wanted a national day of consecration to celebrate the fact that the Union armies were 6. And the union was successful and in their battle in their fight in their efforts to stop slavery and to save the Union let's remember that and let's let's whether you're a Democrat or Republican or whatever your points of view are lighten up a little bit and open up your heart and embrace your fellow Americans and let's really make Thanksgiving. 2014 a time in which the nation comes together the community comes together and we start working together on these massive difficult challenges that we have with global warming immigration problems the economy problems the problems that we have in the banking and all the other things. No one knows as much as all of us together so let's keep each other in for. President Reagan we really appreciate. This is. We are celebrating Thanksgiving we're celebrating the fact that. Was able to get President Lincoln to dedicate the 4th Thursday in November is a day of celebration a national. Thanksgiving for all the wonderful blessings and thank you for tuning in to talk. With former. Serving San Diego from high atop monument peak in the lagoon and mountains this is k. And s j you've probably noticed that we are commercial free but as you can well imagine we have expenses that's where you come in where listener funded and making a donation is quick and easy please visit our website and follow the prompts after clicking on the Donate tab at the top of the Page thank you in advance for helping to fund our operations here on k n astray Descanso 89 point one f.m. And streaming live online and it's great or. This is a women's radio on. Coming in from the City Heights forecast center. And not everybody happy Wednesday where you're going to have a couple of different people on our radio show today we'll start with Center for Biological Diversity and then we're going to go later on into the moxy theater have . The director of our new play Come on we're just waiting a minute or 2 for our 1st guest to call in which could be any 2nd now. And. I want to see if you've managed to go through the rain Ok if you're Ok that's good if you have any questions or comments and would like to go on the air with us the number to call is 6152883836195 to 88383 and so we'll be 1st talking about there's an event going on in San Diego with this organization and I think we're going to have our guests come up right as men alone I say Hi there you want to introduce yourself. And I'm. Kind of ordinator already Center for Biological Diversity Yes and I was just telling my viewers that we are going having an event this week and event throughout the month sponsored by your organization. Yeah so let's talk about what is this organization where did it come from and how long has it been around. Where the Center for Biological Diversity is a nationwide environmental nonprofit and been around for over 25 years now and our name goal is protecting. While the base of the animal that lives there so it's actually protecting the environment that the animals live in so that they have a home. Exactly yes and that's really important is there a particular group you work were or is it more like ecological systems. You know protect certain animal species like mammals or reptiles or things like that. Oh yeah we're focused on all. Your not species specificity. Yet we're not. Yeah. You know protect everybody including insects including plants including whatever is necessary to maintain the ecosystem Absolutely and what kind of efforts has your organization done in the past. Primarily work.