No matter where you land on whether or not the World Naked Bike Ride is a good idea, it’s easy to agree that spending time crafting and voting on bills to criminalize it seems like a poor use of time by our state’s elected officials. According to Thursday 8 O’Clock Buzz guest Peter Keating, organizer of Madison’s annual ride, Dane County Supervisor Jeff Weigand’s objection to being “assaulted by nudity” led him to file a police report after Madison’s 2023 ride, while U.S. Representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Fitzgerald asked the Federal Department of Justice to investigate a young girl’s participation in the Madison event. Planning for the 2024 World Naked Bike Ride in Madison continues afoot; this year’s ride will be held on June 15*, 2024 (*correction from original post which said June 14.)

Photo courtesy of Melissa Griffin on Unsplash.

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Alan Robinson, a local purveyor of Delta 8 THC, joins the Thursday 8 O’Clock Buzz to educate hosts Tony Castañeda and Eli Wilz and our listeners on the intricacies of cannabinoids, their legal sale in Wisconsin and how the products he sells differ from those in nearby states which have legalized the sale of non-medical marijuana. Robinson, who owns Herbal Aspects along with two partners, also discusses the recently stalled Republican-sponsored bill to legalize the sale of medical marijuana, and his attempt to start a dialogue about the often overzealous policing of black people in Monona, where he hopes to establish his fourth location.

Photo courtesy of Erin Hinterland on Pixabay.

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January 11th marked the twenty-second anniversary of the opening of the U.S. black site prison of Guantánamo. Afreen Minai, Program Assistant for the Friends Committee on National Legislation, marked this occasion of the prison which held 730 men for interrogation, torture, and abuse — and still holds 30 prisoners today, with her report “22 Years Later, Guantánamo and Its Dark Legacy Endure“.

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Starting with her mother’s efforts to pass the first abortion rights law in New York State to the current day, Professor or History at the University of Vermont and author Felicia Kornbluh‘s book “A Woman’s Life is a Human Life” chronicles efforts to decriminalize abortion, reverse forced sterilization abuses to women (particularly women of color), and the pending Women’s Health Protection Act in Congress.

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Katie Beilfuss, Outreach Programs Director at the Wisconsin Wetlands Association, talks about the organization’s goals to the protection, restoration, and enjoyment of wetlands and associated ecosystems through science-based programs, education, and advocacy. Wisconsin has already lost one-half of its original wetlands areas due to development, and decisions by courts are whittling away at what protections remain. Check out their Wetlands Coffee Breaks, live or pre-recorded Zoom conferences on their website.

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Today on the Tuesday 8:00 Buzz with Tara Wilhelmi and Antoine McNeail, joined by Lolo Lature and Alan Robinson talk about civil engagement, policing, police culture, and law enforcement relationships with the Black community, particularly in Monona in the wake of the tragic loss of three lives on New Year’s Day in a high speed pursuit.

Video of the City of Monona Council meeting discussing police policy (starts about 20 minutes in, if the link doesn’t jump to it): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrU1zG_5GtU&t=1210s agenda is and minutes will be available at https://www.mymonona.com/agendacenter (January 16 meeting).

More information on Alan’s business, Herbal Aspect, at https://www.herbalaspect.com/ 

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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WORT 89.9FM Madison · Solace Friends To Provide Hospice Care To Homeless

Solace Friends is a new nonprofit organization seeking to provide hospice care to the homeless, to give them a safe, comfortable place as they reach the end of their life. Solace Friends Executive Director Kendra Deja and Board of Directors president Dr. Ann Catlett joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing on January 15, 2024.

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WORT 89.9FM Madison · What Went Wrong In Nicaragua?

Four and a half decades ago, Daniel Ortega was the standard bearer for the Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional, or FSLN, the socialist guerrilla army that seized power in Nicaragua in 1979.  In contrast to the autocracy and corruption of deposed dictator Anastasio Somosa, the Sandinista government was, at first, a breath of fresh air: the new revolutionary government embarked on a series of land reforms, a highly successful literacy campaigns and economic reforms. Ortega became the poster child for socialist revolution in Central America.  After rewinning the presidency in 2006, however, Ortega has betrayed his revolutionary roots,  becoming more and more authoritarian.  Last year, this became strikingly clear with the Nicaraguan government’s bizarre crackdown on Sheyniss Palacios, a Nicaraguan beauty queen who won the Miss Universe Pageant.  Donna Vukelich-Selva is an Associate Professor of Education at Edgewood College, who studied Latin American, Caribbean and Iberian issues and formerly taught at a bilingual school in Managua.  Donna Vukelich-Selva joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing on January 15, 2024.

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Republicans in the Texas State government are targeting tenure protections of the State universities similar to the situation a few years ago in Wisconsin.  Conservative politicians want to relax these protections to give politicians or their appointees the right to remove professors that they feel are espousing political and moral positions with which they don’t agree.  Karma Chavez, chair of the Mexican American and Latina/o Studies department at the University of Texas – Austin, joins the Thursday edition of the 8 O’Clock Buzz to discuss the importance of providing professors the opportunity to sift and winnow data wherever the truth leads them without the fear of political retribution.

Photo by Dan Dennis on Unsplash

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Fitchburg, WI is recognized as one of the fastest growing communities in the State and also one of the most diverse in Dane County.  To meet the needs of an expanding population Fitchburg is faced with new staffing and infrastructure demands.  Joe Maldonado, Fitchburg City Council member, is interviewed on the Thursday edition of the 8 O’Clock Buzz to discuss some of these issues, and specifically to talk about plans for a new police department facility that is one of the hot topics on the Council’s agenda.  The price tag has gone up on this project by about 30% which is straining the City’s budget, and questions are being asked about fast tracking an expensive project like this for the mid-size community.

Photo by Daniel McCullough on Unsplash

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