8 O'Clock Buzz

Currently based in D.C. but born and raised in Madison, David Goodfriend is the chairman and founder of the Sports Fan Coalition whose goal is to “to give you a seat at the table whenever laws or public policy impacting sports are being made.” David is bringing his new live TV streaming app, Locast, to Madison just in time for the Packers’ Divisional Playoff.

Photo by Phillip Goldsberry on Unsplash

A recent article in Wisconsin Watch— “We’re not going to be quiet; disability community in Wisconsin demands better access to voting” by Nora Eckert, published earlier this week, shows just how difficult voting can be for disabled people, and casts some light on why Wisconsin is ranked 44th of all the states in the disability gap—the turnout of people without disabilities compared to those with disabilities. The article in Wisconsin Watch spotlights interviews with a number of experts and disabled voters. Representative Jimmy Anderson, a member of the Wisconsin Assembly, representing the 47th district, is featured in the article. He joins us on the line to discuss disability and voting rights.

Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash

Many were pleased when President Trump’s Twitter and Facebook and other social media accounts were locked, due to his inflammatory rhetoric. But others are concerned about the power of these large monopolies to regulate “free speech” with little or no oversight. Thomas Hanna, Director of Research at the Democracy Collaborative and author of the book “Our Common Wealth: The Return of Public Ownership in the United States”, has written about this issue and thinks that public “democratic ownership” of these companies may be the answer.

Patrick Rosentiel favors a presidential election where every vote is valued and every voter feels valued. Do you?

The current Electoral College process is a state-by-state “winner take all” process, where solid “red states” and solid “blue states” are largely ignored by candidates, favoring campaigns focusing on swing states where the votes are close enough to be affected. The “National Vote Interstate Compact” is working toward making the Electoral College candidate numbers reflect the popular vote.

Clarence Lusane, Professor of Political Science and International Relations at Howard University speaks with Jan Miasaki about the recent government take-over attempt at the Capitol building, escalating random attacks of African Americans in Washington, D.C., and the increasing boldness of white nationalist groups since Trump’s election and fiery rhetoric to his base supporters.

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

UW-Madison’s Dr. Christy Clark-Pujara, Associate Professor of History in the Department of Afro-American Studies joins for the whole hour to talk about Slavery and it’s legacy, her book, “Dark Work: The Business of Slavery” and her current work, a new book, “Slavery to Suffrage: Black on the Wisconsin Frontier” examining slavery and black settlement in Wisconsin.

Photo from UW-Madison

On Friday, January 6th, the newly sworn-in 117th U.S. Congress undertook the normally ceremonial task of certifying the votes of the Electoral College for the 2020 Presidential Election. This year, however, was anything but normal.  Hundreds of Republican representatives and senators were prepared to object to the certification. Earlier in the day, President Trump spoke to thousands assembled for a “Save America” rally, where the lame-duck President insisted he “would never concede,” and urged his followers to “fight like hell,” and “march on the Capitol.”  Many did exactly that, overwhelming Capitol Police and stormed into the Capitol building, carrying firearms, zip-tie handcuffs, flags and spears.  Many in the crowd tweeted that they were out to kill. At least 5 people died in the chaos, including 4 rioters and 1 police officer.  A second police officer committed suicide the day after.  In the aftermath of the insurrection, the call has been raised to bring to immediate justice not only the rioters, but also those who aided and abetted them, including President Trump.  Joining us now to discuss the legal options available to Congress and others is Howard Schweber, Professor of Political Science and Law at the University of Wisconsin.

Capitol riot photo by TapTheForwardAssist

Canadian mining company Aquila Resources has proposed an 80-acre open pit copper, zinc, gold and silver mine, near the Wisconsin / Michigan Upper Peninsula border.  Dubbed the “Back Forty Mine,” the extraction pit would operate immediately adjacent to the Menominee River, home to the Menominee Tribe.  The Menominee Tribe challenged environmental permits issued for the site by the State of Michigan. On January 4th, Michigan Administrative Law Judge Daniel Pulter denied the wetland permits for the Back Forty Mine, ruling that the project is not in the public interest.  Allison Werner is the Policy & Advocacy Director at River Alliance of Wisconsin.

On his way out the door, President Trump has handed fossil fuel industries and other polluters an enormous gift.  After years of wrangling, the EPA’s so-called “secret science” rule went into effect on January 6, 2021.  The rule mandates that scientists make public all data used for studies that become the basis for environmental regulations.  Sounds innocuous enough.  But the impact of the rule may make it impossible to do serious epidemiological research and could severely hamper the EPA’s ability to regulate pollutants.  Gabriel Filippelli is the Director of the Center for Urban Health and Professor of Earth Sciences at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

Dan Shafer is a Milwaukee journalist who has worked at the Milwaukee Business Journal, Milwaukee Magazine, and BizTimes Milwaukee. He’s also written for The Daily Beast, WisPolitics, and Milwaukee Record. Now he writes and publishes The Recombobulation Area online. Yesterday’s column was entitled Ron Johnson, Conspiracy-Driven Wisconsin Republicans Bear Responsibility For the Pro-Trump Insurrection at the Capitol. We’ve got him on the phone to talk about how Wisconsin Republicans have been involved in recent efforts to de-legitimize the November election (just the Biden/Harris part, actually) and their connections to the insurrection at the Capitol.