8 O'Clock Buzz

Judah Friedlander has performed as a stand-up comedian for over thirty years.  His television and movie credits include: Frank Rossitano in the NBC sitcom “Thirty Rock,” as well as parts in “American Splendor,” “The Wrestler,” and “Meet the Parents.” In 2017, he wrote, produced and starred in the Netflix comedy special, “America is the Greatest Country in the United States.”  Friedlander brings his latest show, “Future President” to Madison’s Majestic Theater on Sunday, December 8th. Judah Friedlander joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing on December 2, 2019.

Among the many bills former Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed in his first term, the state’s 2011 Voter ID law continues to cast a large shadow over Wisconsin elections.  Wisconsin’s Voter ID law is one of the strictest in the nation when it comes to student ID’s, requiring a two-year expiration date window, a signature line, and further requires additional proof of enrollment.  Student advocates have argued that such measures are a partisan attempt to stifle the student vote in left-leaning cities like Madison. Now, a Washington, D.C. advocacy group, the Andrew Goodman Foundation has taken up that line of attack in a lawsuit filed in the Wisconsin Federal District Court.  The suit claims that Wisconsin’s Voter ID Law violates the the 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.  The 26th Amendment states, “The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.”  Maxim Thorne, Managing Director of the Andrew Goodman Foundation, joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing on December 2, 2019.

Jerome Dillard talks with James Morgan and Rachel Kincade from MOSES Madison, Madison Organizing in Strength, Equity, and Solidarity. MOSES is about building community relations, and in this episode of the 8 o’clock Buzz, the discussion topics are Closing the Green Bay Correction Campaign, prison reform in Wisconsin, and legal and social barriers to those returning to the community.

Born out of protest and controversy, the Occupy Madison Tiny Home Village has settled down to become a fixture on Madison’s east side.  So, too, has the OM Village’s annual holiday fair, featuring handcrafted works by the Village’s residents. Occupy Madison Incorporated co-president Brenda Konkel and Amanda McKaig, Secretary of the Board of Directors joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing on November 25, 2019.

With a board of directors that includes the CEOs of J.P. Morgan, IBM, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Cisco and AT&T, among others, the free-enterprise think tank Business Roundtable wields a considerable amount of influence on Capitol Hill and elsewhere.  In August of 2019, the Business Roundtable did a curious thing: they issued a new statement of purpose for corporations. The new purpose statement strayed from the longheld maxim that corporations owe only profits to their shareholders, it adds customers, employees, suppliers and community to the list of corporate stakeholders and talks about things like equity, diversity and environmental sustainability.  David O’Keefe is a senior at the University of Wisconsin Business School, and the President of the University of Wisconsin Social and Environmental Business Advocates. He recently published an opinion piece in the Daily Cardinal saying that it’s high time the UW School of Business changed it’s thinking. O’Keefe joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing on November 25th.

In 1051, Benedictine Monk Peter Damian wrote “Liber Gommorihanus,” a screed against many practices of Catholic priests at the time.  Damian was particularly incensed at priests who made it a habit of having sexual relations with adolescent boys. Pope Leo IX praised Damian for his efforts, expressed dismay at the priests’ behavior, but did little to address the problem.  This will sound sadly familiar to more recent accusers of Catholic priests, as the church hierarchy’s pattern of public hand-wringing, but little substantial action continues to this day. The Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism brings the Catholic sex abuse scandal home with its new series, “Catholic Clergy Abuse.”  WCIJ managing editor Dee Hall joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing on November 25, 2019.

The bill “Nuclear Powers America Act”, estimated to bolster the aging nuclear industry with a 30% tax credit — a $33 Billion bailout, was recently defeated. But this subsidy proposal is expected to rise again in the next month, according to Lukas Ross, Senior Policy Analyst for the Friends of the Earth. Excelon, the leading nuclear industry player, has made multi-million dollar donations to politicians to make it so.

Kacy Zander, founder of ReCreate, and Krystal Bauman from Talent Jack Search stopped in to talk with Jan about an upcoming open mic & talent search event of Light-Sound-Vibration happening Friday from 7-11PM at the Social Justice Center. With a broad artistic range from painting to visual arts to music and more, this promises to be a judgement-free zone for all to enjoy.

Nearing their 30th anniversary, the Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger (CSWAB) remains active and vigilant to potential chemical contaminants in water surrounding the long shuttered munitions plant. Laura talks about what it’s been like to negotiate the red tape and legal processes to “Find the Truth” and make it public.

In 2018, a prototype autonomous vehicle owned by Uber killed a bicyclist. If a human being had done such a thing, we would have had no problem assigning moral responsibility for that action. We would ask was the driver was negligent, speeding, or drunk? Or did the bicyclist dart out in front of the car giving the driver insufficient time to stop?  The answers to these questions would help us decide whether the driver was responsible for the bicyclist’s death. But guilt, morality, or ethics don’t really apply to machines. Alan Rubel is an Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin who works both in the School of Information Technology and the Law School. Alan joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing on November 18, 2019.