Lisa started her show today on a sad note, discussing the death of her brother-in-law Bobby Zarin's mother, Miriam Zarin, who was 89 years old. She said the funeral service was beautiful, which she calls a juxtaposition to the story on the front page of today's New York Times involving the Brooke Astor case. Brooke Astor lived to be 104 years old, and in her later years her son grew anxious. He had his mother sign a new will, despite her likely incompetent state at the time. Her grandson, Philip Marshall, felt his own father was taking advantage of Brooke Astor, and so he petitioned the court to have a new guardian in place. That action led to a whole host of inquiry, and criminal charges followed. The district attorney made an example of this case, because in reality, it's not so rare.

Lisa described Miriam Zarin's funeral, and said that her family expressed how devoted to family she was. The maintenance and well-being of her family was Miriam's priority -- family above everything. People joined together at the funeral, committed to the values that she had transmitted to them. Her financial rewards were irrelevant, because the thing of value for Miriam Zarin was not money, but was family and love.

Lisa returned from a news break, again expressing her condolences for the loss of Miriam Zarin, the mother of Lisa's brother-in-law.

Lisa explained that as an attorney, she finds this aspect of the Astor case rather unique. She explained that this was different from the usual jury tampering situation,which involved outside influence. In case this, one of the people on the Astor jury claimed she she was threatened by another member of the jury. The juror said she was afraid for her own life, and submitted a note to the judge. Surprisingly, though, the judge did not proceed to question the jury on this matter. The juror felt that the judge would not have protected her, so she voted to convict. Lisa believes that this new fact should not be let go, because it could have had an impact on the turn out of the case. After seeing the affidavit, Lisa thinks that it should be ruled a mistrial.

On today's show, Lisa welcomes guests Cathleen Schine, author of The Three Weissmanns of Westport, as well as Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States. Lisa called Pacelle because of an article she read about California having an animal cruelty registry similar to that which exists for sex offenders. Lisa expressed that she does not agree with animal cruelty and things like declawing cats to save furniture, or debarking dogs.

Before the break, Lisa asked listeners Alan how much money he thought the top four earners in the US earned in 2007, and he quickly responded, "$20 million." Alan was off by millions, the actual number was $345 million each. This, Lisa said, is just one reason why we experience a "class warfare." Not to mention, they were only taxed an average of 16.6 percent on that money.

After resolving a bit of technical difficulty, Lisa introduced her first guest, Cathleen Schine, whose newest book, "The Three Weissmanns of Westport", is about two sisters and their mother who end up living in Westport, CT. Lisa has lived in Westport for over 20 years and was naturally drawn to this title. Cathleen said she grew up in Westport and visits frequently, so she has a real connection with the area.

Cathleen talks about the book, saying it's about three women who "fall off of a financial cliff." Lisa applauds Cathleen on how she sets up the stage of her book. Cathleen explained how she found interest in a person's choice of evaluating his own moral code, and how many people justify that because they're mostly good people, all of their actions are good, which is not always the case. She explains that she drew inspiration from Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility". Lisa and Cathleen agree that the capacity for self-delusion never wanes.

Lisa connects the concepts she and Cathleen were discussing to her sister Jill's show, "The Real Housewives of New York City". Lisa says that this show is a certifiable hit because people enjoy looking at the self-delusion of other people on-screen, and they enjoy criticizing, making fun, or relating to those experiences. Cathleen thinks that's also the reason people enjoy reality programs like "American Idol." Lisa believes that through these things, though, society has elevated narcissism. She says this is not limited to reality stars, but extends to politicians and other public figures.

Cathleen brought up the concept of self-esteem and how it almost wrongly asserts that criticism should never happen. She shared a comical anecdote of telling her children to clean up, and their joking response was, "you're destroying my self esteem!" These trends, she says, go back and forth.

Lisa calls Cathleen's book both deep and fun. Cathleen says she doesn't really think about the reader when writing, she really just wants to explore the characters she creates. After writing her books, she looks at them, hoping readers take away something about the way people behave and think, that they might not have thought of or understood well before. None of the characters were really based on Cathleen, but she says she became most fascinated with the mother, Betty, in the novel.

Cathleen says she loves the beaches in Westport, especially in the early morning and evening, avoiding the hot sun. She says she avoids the "new" Westport because it spoils the fantasy of the Westport she grew up in. She calls it a very beautiful town, with a tremendous amount of traffic, which is much different from when she was growing up in the area.

Judging from the demographic of the area, Cathleen says that Westport is a much wealthier town now than it was when she was growing up. Cathleen will be at the Westport Public Library on Wednesday at noon, and at the Westport Playhouse on March 4.

After returning from a short news break, Lisa focuses on the national sphere, with President Obama. Obama wants to revisit the healthcare by getting around the initial problem by reconciliation. It's an administrative way, a sneaky procedural way, to tinker with 1/6th of the nation's economy. Lisa thinks he is making a terrible mistake that will backfire on him. Lisa discussed the public hope that Obama would come as a constitutional scholar, and that he is not exactly filling those shoes.

Lisa sifts through the day's headlines: Obama unveils a healthcare reform plan, posted in Politico, which lacks a public option. Lisa references the Brian Lehrer show, and how it is the best 2 hours, besides her show of course, of talk radio. She jokes that he's not as sing-songy as she is. Lisa heard on Brian's show that there is now a lawsuit coming out of Virginia attacking the idea of a mandatory health insurance plan. Their basis for this comes from the 10th Amendment to the Constitution. Virginia makes the argument that the government does not have the specific right to make people buy healthcare. Although healthcare insurance is often compared to auto insurance, it is different because there is no "right" to have a driver's license. Consequently, if you opt to get a license, you must have auto insurance. If you do not have a car, you do not need the insurance. With health care, because you exist, you will be required to get health insurance.

Lisa returned from another news break to talk more about health care, focusing on melanoma, and announcing that doctors believe that they are close to finding a cure for the potentially fatal skin cancer (The New York Times). The drug, referred to as PLX4032, is used because, as Dr. Keith Flaherty says, "it is based on what makes cancer tick."

Tracking back to the health care reform debate, Lisa questions if Obama is tone deaf in trying to put together this reconciliation effort. There is some confusing language about medicare, the price tag is $900 billion, but Lisa thinks it will be far more by the time it is actually implemented.

The language has been changed by Obama's team for rhetoric's sake from "change" to "reform," which is ironic because they mean essentially the same thing.

Health care reform advocates were happy with Obama's endorsement of the reconciliation efforts. Since the house passed its bill, Nancy Pelosi is starting with a bare majority of 217 votes in the 433-member house. Lisa thinks that Obama is using this as a ploy to get Republicans to the table to do something.

Switching gears, Lisa talks about latest calamity to impact our country's youth. There is a call to place a warning label on hotdogs by the American Association of Pediatrics, not because of the nutritional value of the food, but the form. They want to place a warning label because of the choking hazard to youth and babies. Lisa is sarcastic, wondering essentially how much more coddling we are going to enforce on our nation's youth.

Lisa came back from a news break to reflect on her day, and how going to the funeral just really takes something out of you. She feels that at a funeral many people are probably wondering what would be said about them at their own funerals and how many people would attend the service for them. That's what she thinks about, to be sure.

Lisa's final guest for tonight's show was Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Human Society of the United States. Lisa asked Wayne to come on the show today to discuss the subject of animal rights. California, as Lisa discussed, is on the forefront of all kinds of trends, and in this case, it's with the animal abuse registry. Wayne said that The Humane Society put out a rating of policies by state for animal welfare, and California came out on top as number 1.

The animal abuse registry so that people in the community can understand that there is someone who has been convicted of felony animal abuse, all in an effort to protect the community. Animal cruelty, as Wayne explained, is a serious crime and is a sign of a deeper pathology.

Lisa asked Wayne about the obvious, and perhaps not so obvious forms of animal cruelty. The registry would really involve only felony-level penalties that involve the most malicious cruelties. Animal abuse is an antecedent to violence against people, he explained, and so these people are also dangers to the community if they remain unpunished.

In terms of community action, Wayne explained that the principal is the same as other registries. Basically, he said, you're making this person known for their crime, and it is a discouraging element to them being in a community. Broadly, however, it sends a message that people cannot get away with animal cruelty and being on said registry would be like wearing a scarlet letter.

People who are involved in these crimes need to receive counseling and treatment, Wayne explained, because by simply flagging them on a registry, the problem has not be solved.

Wayne will be in Connecticut on Tuesday at Yale for a debate at the Yale Political Union. The discussion will be about not sacrificing animal welfare for human convenience. When it comes to fur, Lisa admits to not feeling as guilty when she wears a 30-year-old fur, but she does feel guilty.

Wayne believes that factory farming is a big problem, because they use a small number of breeds in factories, and he believes that preserving these breeds of livestock is very important. Wayne says his mission and thought is that all animals, no matter their purpose, should be treated humanely.

The biggest category of animal cruelty that The Humane Society is involved in is illegal dog and cock fighting. This is the more seriously treated animal cruelty crime in the country.

Lisa thanked Wayne, and he suggested that they go to www.humanesociety.org for more information.

Tune into The Lisa Wexler Show tomorrow from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. for more on breaking news and intriguing interviews!

Written by: Alexandra Kirsch (kirscha2@msu.edu)