Hosted by Abe Proctor.

Driven by the economic crisis, states all across the country are re-thinking their tough-on-crime policies.  Last year Oregon’s Governor Kitzhaber formed a Commission on Public Safety to take a strategic look at Oregon’s sentencing laws and to find a more cost effective way to ensure the public’s safety.

 Laurie Mercier talks with Margaret Butler, director and co-founder of the Portland-area labor coalition, Jobs with Justice, which just turned 20 years old. Butler talks a little about what JwJ does in general and recent actions, advocacy and campaigns they've done.

Bill Resnick talks with writer and Portland-area teacher, Bill Bigelow, about how his book "Rethinking Columbus" was removed from Tuscon-area schools because it violates Arizona Law concerning teaching ethnic studies in Public Schools.

Joe Clement hosts this Old Mole, which because of membership drive breaks shows up as being about30% shorter than normal. We hear about the crack-down on ethnic studies in Arizona, about what's going on in Jobs with Justice, and a review of The Intuitionist. In the middle of the show, we heard Pete Seeger's rendition of Ralph Chaplin's "Commonwealth of Toil" from the Wobbly Little Red Songbook.

Gary Okhiro is professor of international and public affairs at Columbia University, and receipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Studies Association. He is known for his writing, teaching, and institution building in Asian American Studies.  In this interview with APA Compass' Andrew Yeh, Professor Okihiro speaks about the post September 11th environment, the bullying of APAs, and the unexpected influence of Hawaiians on the mainland.