The Israel-Hamas war now enters its seventh month, with forty thousand dead, eighty thousand wounded and 2.4 million people displaced from their homes.  Much of Gaza lies in rubble and the destruction of healthcare infrastructure, ongoing embargoes and attacks on aid workers have left millions of Palestinians facing famine and disease.

 

In the United States, which supplies 66% of Israel’s military budget, activists distressed at the Biden Administration’s continued support for the Israeli war effort have encouraged voters to cast protest votes in state Democratic presidential primaries.

 

In Wisconsin, the Listen to Wisconsin campaign urged voters to vote for “uninstructed” in the April 2nd state presidential preference primary.  The group hoped to get at least 20,000 votes in protest to send a message to the Biden campaign. They got more than twice that number. When all the ballots were counted, “uninstructed” received over forty-seven thousand votes, nearly nine percent of the total votes cast.

 

Listen to Wisconsin campaign manager Reema Ahmad called in to the Monday 8 o’Clock Buzz to tell host Brian Standing about the campaign’s success and what their plans are for the future.

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The Wisconsin Historical Society (WHS) is hosting the exhibit and programs, Waging Peace in Vietnam, from April 1 through April 22, which will include panel discussions, book talks and films.  Film producer Glenn Silber joins the Thursday edition of the 8 O’Clock Buzz to talk about his documentary film, The War at Home, which will be shown at the WHS and via livestream on Tuesday evening, April 9, at 7:00 pm, which provides insight into the anti-war movement on the UW-Madison campus during the time of the Vietnam War.  Other films and presentations will highlight the little publicized dissent and resistance protests within the armed forces at that time, which involved thousands of military personnel. 

Image by Welcome to all and thank you for your visit! from Pixabay

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Political intrigue is being cultivated in Columbus, Wi with a fight to save the historically significant Dingee Farm from demolition and redevelopment.  Last year the City Council met in a series of closed sessions to purchase the property after two local residents were in the process of negotiating its purchase and preservation.  The funding for the City’s purchase reportedly came from ARPA funds that were intended to stimulate the economy during the pandemic.  Now the City is faced with the decision on how best to proceed with development of the property.  The former City Council narrowly voted to proceed with a housing development plan over a plan to preserve the farm despite widespread opposition from the community.  But with new elections for City Council, it seems possible that a new vote on development plans could change that decision.  Jesse Pycha-Holst, a Madison based realtor, joins the 8 O’Clock Buzz in the studio to talk about efforts to preserve the farm.  Stay tuned.

Photo by Tomasz Filipek on Unsplash

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In an effort to give both sides of the story, mainstream media gives too much weight to anti-vaccine stories, which may be anecdotal or supported by weak, “predatory journals” with low standards, according to Dr. Tara C. Smith, who leads the Smith Emerging Infections Laboratory at Kent State University, in her recent article “The Status of the Anti-Vaccine Movement“. With measles on the rise and “leaders” of anti-vax movements, such as Robert F. Kennedy, Jr luring individuals with questions about vaccines into becoming “doubters”, the heath of the population is at risk.

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Michael Omer-Man, Director of Research for Israel-Palestine of DAWN (Democracy for the Arab World Now), talks about Biden’s recent Executive Order on West Bank Extremism, which could be used to enact sanctions to financial institutions aiding violent Israeli settlers grabbing Palestinian land in Gaza.

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Today on the Too Turnt Up Tuesday 8:00 Buzz with Tara Wilhelmi, Antoine McNeail featuring RR Moore, Linda Ketcham, Executive Director of Just Dane, and Father Greg Boyle, Founder and Leader of Homeboy Industries, join us to talk about the dedicated work their organizations perform, as well as the 50th anniversary of Just Dane!

More on Just Dane’s and their 50th Anniversary coming up April 11th at MATC: https://justdane.org/stec_event/justdane-50th-anniversary-celebration/

And Homeboy Industries: https://homeboyindustries.org/ 

Listen in Madison at 89.9FM or online anywhere at wortfm.org.  Support your community radio with a donation online at wortfm.org!

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Three Masters of Fine Arts graduate students now have their thesis exhibits on display at The Center for Design and Material Culture at the University of Wisconsin’s School of Human Ecology. 

Veronica Pham, photo by Bryce Richter / UW–Madison

In The Line Along the Knot, Veronica Pham employs traditional Vietnamese paper making and Chinese knotting to explore migration, cyclical histories, and multi-cultural identity.

Heather Kohlmeier, photo courtesy the artist

Heather Kohlmeier’s exhibit, Inside Out, uses handmade and hand-dyed paper to evoke viewers contemplation of their relationship with their bodies and the spaces they inhabit.

Esther Cho, photo courtesy UW Dept. of Human Ecology

Esther Cho’s combines mulberry paper and secrets written on the walls of public bathrooms in her exhibit Tangible Secrets. These are woven together using the traditional Korean paper-weaving craft jiseung.

These works of art can be seen now at the Ruth Davis Design Gallery, Veronica and Heather came to WORT, joined by Esther on the phone, to tell us about their work.

Photo by Nicholas Wootton, WORT-FM.

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In January, the 8 O’Clock Buzz brought you the story of Governor Evers’ surprise sidestep around the obstructionist GOP-controlled Wisconsin Legislature by using federal funds to acquire conservation easements along the Pelican River. The Governor’s action brought to an end a years-long battle to protect 55,000 acres of forest, recreation and conservation land in Oneida County. 

 

Now, a recent investigatory report from the Wisconsin Examiner reveals that a Texas-based anti-conservation group spearheaded much of the ostensibly local opposition to the land purchase. 

 

Charles Carlin is the strategic initiatives director of Gathering Waters, a statewide consortium of Wisconsin Land Trusts, and he joined the Monday Buzz in the studio to tell us more.

 

Photo of Charles Carlin courtesy of Gathering Waters.

Nature photos copyright Jay Brittain, used with permission.

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Operation Fresh Start began in Madison in 1970 as the brainchild of juvenile counselor Jack Osteraas. The program sought to provide Madison-area youth with practical job experience and skills, while rehabbing older houses in the community.

Fifty-four years later, Operation Fresh Start has expanded to provide construction and conservation teams throughout Dane County and has inspired similar programs across the country.

Brian McMahon (wearing the hat) leading a work crew in his early days with Operation Fresh Start.

In February, Operation Fresh Start announced the hiring of Brian McMahon as their new Executive Director after the retirement of thirteen-year veteran director Greg Markle. Brian’s tenure with OFS goes back many years, when he started out supervising a small construction crew. Brian came by the WORT studio to pay a visit to the 8 o’Clock Buzz.

Photos courtesy of Operation Fresh Start

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Congressional Republicans are confirming the party’s support for Trump’s Social Security cuts — and proposing $1.5 trillion in cuts to recipients. 80% of Republican representatives have signed on as a part of the “Republican Study Committee” which is laser focused on slashing benefits to Social Security and Medicare, rather than finding ways to have the wealthy pay their share to maintain the program, says Linda Benesch, Communications Director of Social Security Works

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