In the year 1801, Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court, John Marshall, established the principle of judicial review which made the Court the official arbiter of what laws and regulations were constitutional.  As one Justice later remarked, “the Constitution is what we say it is.”  This power was never officially granted to the judicial branch of government but has been periodically used to invalidate laws and executive orders made by Congress and the President.

With the Supreme Court’s decision to grant immunity to the President for any official act, it would seem the Court is once again flaunting its usurped power to establish an all-powerful executive, the very notion that the Constitution was designed to prevent with the concept of checks and balances.  Norm Stockwell, editor of The Progressive Magazine, joins the 8 O’Clock Buzz to discuss the implications of this new ruling with host Tony Castañeda.  All Hail the Court!

Photo by Payton Tuttle on Unsplash

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Under EPA’s “bubble policy,” determined in 1979, a plant complex with several facilities can decrease pollution from some facilities while increasing it from others, so long as total results are equal to or better than previous limits.  However, determination when this policy could be used was left to the discretion of the EPA in a 1984 ruling involving the oil giant, Chevron.  Last week the US Supreme Court overruled that earlier decision in a victory for conservatives and unbridled free enterprise.  UW Law School Professor Steph Tie joins the 8 O’Clock Buzz to discuss the implications of this decision on the environment.

Photo by Letizia Bordoni on Unsplash

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Did you know that Kewaunee County has five times more cows that people? A recent article by Molly Armus, Agriculture Policy Program Manager with Friends of the Earth entitled “Dramatic Growth of Manure Digesters on Wisconsin Mega Dairies Brings More Cows, More Pollution” demonstrates that mega-farms in the state are growing — but not for more milk but instead for rebates and incentives of collecting the methane from the manure.

The post Incentives of Methane from Manure Brings Huge Influx of Cows appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

In his recent article “Lessons from Europe: The Left Can’t Win by Running to the Right“, Chris Mills Rodrigo discusses the losses of the Left in Europe’s recent elections, and warns that the U. S. progressives need to hold to their principles and not adopt conservative policies in an effort to gain some middle-ground voters.

The post Mills Rodrigo: U. S. Left Needs to Learn from Elections in Europe appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

Despite passing the U. S. Senate by a bipartisan vote, and in the face of support from both sides in the House, Mike Johnson has refused to bring the “Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Update” up for a vote, according to Tina Cordova from the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium. This Act would expand the compensation to the generations of families affected by radiation spread following the Trinity atomic bomb test in New Mexico.

The post Johnson: No Vote for Radiation Exposure Compensation Act in the House appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

On July 1, Madison’s Mystery to Me bookstore will host an online panel discussion entitled The Lineup from Soho Crime: Queer International Crime Fiction.  The discussion features the authors Kwei Quartey and Sam Bett and will be moderated by author Katharine Beutner. Quartey and Beutner called in to WORT studios to talk Monday Buzz host Brian Standing about their work and the genre of Queer International Crime Fiction.

Katharine Beutner teaches English at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and is the author of the award-winning Killingly, a fictional account of a student who disappeared from Mount Holyoke College in 1897. (Images courtesy of Katharine Beutner)

Kwei Quartey was born in Ghana, worked as a physician and now lives in Pasadena, California.  His latest book, The Whitewashed Tombs, takes place in the Ghanaian capital of Accra, and follows Emma Djan’s investigation into anti-gay hate crimes. (Image of book cover courtesy Mystery to Me Bookstore. Author portrait courtesy of Kwei Quartay.)

Featured photo from Mystery to Me Bookstore website.

Web posting by Monday Buzz producer, Nicholas Wootton.

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The City of Madison does not have a Maxwell Street, but once a year, State Street does its best impersonation of Chicago’s 150-year old Maxwell Street Market. Striving for the multicultural eclecticism of its Windy City forbear, Madison’s Maxwell Street Days provides small vendors an opportunity to showcase their wares in an outdoor setting.

Among the businesses pitching a tent from July 19th through the 31st is Four Star Video Cooperative, one of the longest running businesses on State Street.

Four Star Video’s Lewis Peterson joined 8 O’Clock Buzz host Brian Standing to talk about Maxwell Street Days and the brick and mortar video store in the streaming age.

Photos Courtesy Lewis Peterson

Web posting by Nicholas Wootton

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If you are wondering how green your legislator is, Wisconsin Conservation Voters has you covered.  Each year, the advocacy organization ranks all state legislators and the governor based on how they voted on key pieces of environmentally friendly and unfriendly legislation.

Heroic champions of the natural world get named to a conservation Honor Roll, while public officials who oppose legislation and policies meant to preserve the natural environment may find themselves on the Dishonor Roll.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters Deputy Director Seth Hoffmeister joined the Monday 8 o’Clock Buzz to comment on how his organization grades the 2023-2024 legislative session.

Photos courtesy of Wisconsin Conservation Voters

Web posting by Nicholas Wootton

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Elections in Wisconsin are conducted by more than 1,800 local clerks at the town, village, city, and county levels, some of whom only work a minimum number of hours a week and don’t have the resources to respond to frivolous lawsuits.  Scott McDonell, Dane County Clerk, joins the 8 O’Clock Buzz to talk about the recent attempt by a 2020 election-denialist to make it much more difficult to vote by absentee ballot in the State of Wisconsin.  Josh Kaul, Wisconsin’t Attorney General, has issued a letter clarifying the clerk’s responsibilities.  Scott is also in contact with many of the clerks to address their concerns and make sure they are informed to what they are able to do to ensure free and fair elections in their districts.

Photo by Vincent van Zalinge on Unsplash

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There’s an adage, “making the billy goat the gardener” that may apply to a member of the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC), the organization entrusted with making sure the State’s elections are fairly run.  Bob Spindell, a Republican-Party appointment to the Commission, and one of the fake electors who attempted to overturn the 2020 Presidential election, remains a member of the Commission even after his involvement in throwing out the popular vote of the people of Wisconsin.  Nicholas Ramos, executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign joins the Thursday edition of the 8 O’Clock Buzz, to talk about a rally at the State Capitol in conjunction with the first in-person meeting of the WEC.    Nicholas would like to see Bob removed from the commission and the rally will focus on saving democracy for the voters of Wisconsin.  Seems like the billy goat wants to stick around for the next harvest.

Photo by Constant Loubier on Unsplash

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