8 O'Clock Buzz

On this month’s Ex-PO edition of the 8 O’Clock Buzz, Jerome Dillard talks with prison reform activists Ramiah Whiteside and Kevin Cook about a number of topics, first and foremost being COVID in Wisconsin prisons and a proposed Assembly to vaccinate inmates no sooner than 21 days after the vaccine is available to the general public — in spite of a history of 50% infection rate of incarcerated persons in the state.

They also discuss the issues of parole in the state, which the Walker administration put a “screeching halt” and the failure of the legislature to approve Evers’ parole commissioner appointee has kept parole at a standstill.

Whiteside and Cook are also organizing a “run” from Milwaukee to Madison starting Feburary 8th to bring attention to issues of incarcerated persons.

Today on the Tuesday 8:00 Buzz with Sikowis (in exile)…

Mysti Babineau, Climate Justice Organizer from Minnesota 350 and Red Lake Nation activist joins to talk about opposing the Line 3 Pipeline in the occupied Dakota and Anishinaabe territory (also known as Minnesota).

More about Mysti and Minnesota 350: https://mn350.org/about-us/

More about Minnesota 350’s work opposing Line 3: https://mn350.org/campaigns/stop-line-3-pipeline/

Taysha Martineau, co-founder of Gitchigumi Scouts, and Two Spirit Indigenous Anarchist from Fond Du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewaa joins to talk about opposing Line 3 and working to combat the epidemic of missing and murdered indigenous in Northern Minnesota.

Connect with Taysha on Twitter: https://twitter.com/tayshamartinea2

More about Gichigumi Scouts: https://www.facebook.com/gitchigumiscouts/

Mysti Babineau, Climate Justice Organizer from Minnesota 350, joins us again to talk about her new project focusing on combating the epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in Minnesota.

More about Mysti and Minnesota 350: https://mn350.org/about-us/

More about Minnesota 350’s Missing and Murdered project: https://mn350.org/campaigns/mmir/

Photo by Fibonacci Blue on Flickr: https://flic.kr/p/2hoMCKc

If you look at an aerial photograph of Madison’s east side, you’ll see it right away: a large, irregular rhombus-shaped island of green between Highway 30 and Milwaukee Street, surrounded by dense residential neighborhoods.  That 65-acre plot of land has been owned by the Voit family for 175 years, and has been the site of a farm, a concrete plant and even a carnival over the years.  The Voit family had stubbornly resisted selling for development, even as the value of the property soared and developers came knocking.  As of January 20, the property went on the market, making it one of the largest — and most valuable — pieces of undeveloped real estate in the city.  One community group, Save the Farm, is hoping to buy the Voit Farm site, and to use it as a prototype for sustainable urban cooperative living.  Colleen Robinson is an environmental educator who sits on Save the Farm’s board of directors.

The slippery season is in full swing, and many roads, sidewalks and parking lots are getting a heavy dose of salt to speed ice melt.  All that salt has to go somewhere, however, and much of it ends up in our rivers and lakes.  University of Wisconsin Limnologist Hillary Dugan studies salt’s impact on the delicate chemistry of lake ecosystems. Dugan joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing on January 25, 2021.

On January 8th, Twitter announced that it was “permanently suspending” Donald J. Trump’s Twitter account, due to the risk of “further incitement of violence.”  The decision by the private corporation was notable, first because Trump was the sitting President of the United States at the time, but also because @realDonaldTrump was the sixth most followed account on Twitter, with over 88 million followers.  Many celebrated Twitter’s ban on the former President, but civil liberties advocates have warned that the precedent might be used to silence other voices as well.  Paul Levinson is a professor of media and communication studies at Fordham University, who has written in opposition to government regulation of big tech companies. Levinson joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing on January 25, 2021.

Emily Mills is a longtime Madison resident and writer. She’s a lifelong queer person and the former editor of Our Lives Magazine. Her article “Sticking it to transphobes in Tenney Park and beyond,” featured in Tone Madison this week, reveals a malicious push against Madison’s trans community with stickers including hateful content being put up around town. The community has pushed back by donating $1 for every sticker removed to SHEBA (Sisters Helping Each Other Battle Adversity), a support group for Black transgender women in Milwaukee. Thanks to this effort and some matching donations, $1,600 has been raised and donated so far.

Photo by Dave Hoefler on Unsplash

Elizabeth Goitein, Co-Director of Liberty and National Security at the Brennan Center for Justice, reflects on issues surrounding the January 6th insurrection, domestic terrorism, and lessons learned by the Trump presidency with regard to increasing constitutional limits on Executive Power (Trump broke all the “norms” for his own self-interest), expected knee-jerk calls for increased surveillance (such as the Patriot Act following 9/11), and talk of increasing laws regarding domestic terrorism (there are enough now to cover).

By bringing together law makers, conservation groups, and conservation-minded people across the state, Wisconsin Conservation Voices works to maintain and improve Wisconsin’s natural beauty and purity. Ryan Billingham, Communications Director, talks about his and their Indigenous People voter registration program, Wisconsin Native Vote, which this year increased voting by as much as 24% in some Wisconsin tribes.

Today on the Tuesday 8:00 Buzz with Damita Brown (in exile)…

Karl Locher and Dan Fitch from Madison Area Democratic Socialists of America join to talk about the insurrection at the US Capitol and what it means to be a co-conspirator and how allies can help the Movement for Black Lives.

Join DSA at Freeze out Fascism in Olin Park at noon on January 24th.

Sikowis joins to talk about water protection and the assault on the environment and Native rights by the Line 3 pipeline from Alberta to Wisconsin, all while putting workers and locals at increased risk from COVID-19.

More information on stopping Line 3 from Honor the Earth: https://www.stopline3.org/

Take action and sign the statement of opposition: https://www.stopline3.org/take-action

On December 2nd, the Wisconsin Legislative Black Caucus elected Assembly District 77 Representative Shelia Stubbs as caucus chair.  Stubbs, who represents Madison’s south side, now becomes the first chair from Dane County since the Caucus began in 1955.