8 O'Clock Buzz

Karen Dolan, Director of the Criminalization of Race and Poverty Project at the Institute for Policy Studies, highlights her recent report “Parsing Biden’s 2024 State of the Union Address“, in which which she says “President Biden credited progressive economics with a strong post-COVID recovery. But on Gaza and immigration, he failed to draw much distinction with his conservative opponents.” She gives a breakdown in her talk with Jan Miyasaki.

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Jan talks with Oscar Mireles, past poet laurate of Madison, from Latinos Organizing for Understanding and Development (LOUD) about the groups activities and upcoming May Latino Arts Fair, which will feature both music and visual arts on May 3rd and 4th, 2024.

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Today on the Tuesday 8:00 Buzz with Antoine McNeail and RR Moore, Antoine Jackson, founder and owner of Jackson’s Yard Care joins us to tell us about his story, his business, giving back to the community, and their new training program to build better skills in the workforce and train new employees.

More on the training program from Madison 365: https://madison365.com/madison-yard-care-company-launches-workforce-training-program-applications-open-now/

Contact Jackson’s Yard Care for information on the program or service at 608-338-4908 or [email protected]

More about the company at: https://jacksonsyardcare.com/ 

Playlist for today’s show: https://spinitron.com/WORT/pl/18676376/Tuesday-8-O-Clock-Buzz 

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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When we invite guests who’ve never been here before to the WORT studios at 118 South Bedford Street, we always say, “It’s a multicolored building with the WORT painted on the side – you can’t miss it.”  The 1980s-era mural adorning our humble studio is so distinctive that it was recently replicated in a model train exhibit at the Alliant Energy Center.

Well, thirty-five years of Wisconsin weather have left our beloved outdoor painting much the worse for wear. WORT needs to replace this historic landmark with a new historic landmark. And now local artists have the opportunity to submit their vision for a new design and perhaps get the commission.

Phil Rhein sits on the WORT Board of Directors and is the chair of WORT’s Mural Project Committee, and he told us how the process will work.

Photos: Nicholas Wootton, WORT-FM

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If you’ve ever had to add or multiply two measurements in the imperial or english system together, like ⅝ + ⅓ of an inch, you may have sworn a curse and wondered why the U.S. hasn’t gone metric yet. The metric system has the singular advantage of using decimals, which are easier to use in calculations than are fractions.

Decimals seem like they’ve been around forever, but someone had to invent them.  For years, historians credited German mathematician Christopher Clavius with the invention of the decimal point in 1593.  Recently, though, new evidence suggests that an Italian merchant named Giovanni Bianchini had used decimal points as far back as 1441, a 150 years earlier.

This evidence was discovered by Canadian mathematician Glenn Van Brummelen, Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences and a Professor of Mathematical Science at Trinity Western University in British Columbia. Dr. Van Brummelen called in the Monday 8 o’Clock Buzz to tell us about his discovery.

Photo courtesy of Trinity Western University website

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As Wisconsin gears up to vote in local, state and federal elections, a raft of bipartisan election and campaign reform bills are under consideration by the Wisconsin legislature.

While many bills continue to languish and are unlikely to pass, one bill did emerge from the process.  Senate Bill 822 would centralize and standardize campaign finance reporting with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission.  On February 23, the Wisconsin Senate concurred with Assembly amendments and adopted the final bill, which now heads to the Governor’s desk.

Wisconsin Watch reporter Jacob Resneck tracks this bill and other Wisconsin legislative activity, and called in to our studios to tell us more.

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Even if you don’t own a dog, you’ll like this interview. It has it all – chocolate, physics, ingenuity, dogs, chocolate, research, chemistry, chocolate … and two dog-owning, dog-loving entrepreneurial types based in Madison who’ve come up with a product that seems way overdue, given our national obsession with chocolate, and our national obsession with dogs. It’s a fact that the digestive system of canines lacks the ability to process certain toxins found in chocolate, namely caffeine and theobromine. Who says it’s a dog’s life? This toxicity can, in fact, be fatal, and information about safe levels of ingestion is scant. So, what’s a panicking dog owner to do, upon discovering a cache of foil wrappers on the floor and in the teeth of their beloved hound? Thursday 8 O’Clock Buzz guests Amadeus Benitez and Arek Schmocker talk with Buzz hosts Tony Castańeda and Eli Wilz about their new life-saving antidote for dogs who ingest chocolate called, simply, Chocolate Rescue for Dogs. In the works are also products that work to counteract the toxic effects that grapes and raisins have on dogs, as well as help for the lily-loving feline in your life. Given that the number one reason people call their vets is to seek guidance when their dog Snickers inhales a Snickers bar, these two local guys seem well on their way to a PayDay that will bring them much Almond Joy and maybe even 100 Grand.

Photo courtesy of Counselling on Pixabay.

 

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In a 9-0 ruling, the Supreme Court overruled the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision to remove Donald Trump from the state’s presidental ballot on the grounds that he violated Section 3 of the 14th Amendment for his role in the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol. The Court also agreed to hear Trump’s presidential immunity case, with oral arguments to begin on April 25. Thursday 8 O’Clock Buzz hosts Tony Castańeda and Eli Wilz are joined this morning by Paul Collins, Jr., Professor of Legal Studies and Political Science at UMass-Amherst, who explains what the court’s decision to further delay Trump’s federal trials means for the 2024 presidential election.

“Justice Delayed is Justice Denied”, a legal maxim attributed to everyone from Martin Luther King, Jr., to Jethro in Exodus 18:22, captures the sentiment felt by many who are perplexed and angry about the possibility of Trump evading accountability for his actions while president. Never thought I’d be dropping the term “writ of certiorari” in casual conversation, but here we are.

Photo courtesy of Alexas_Fotos on Pixabay.

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The recent self-immolation by serviceman Aaron Bushnell to protest U. S. support of the Israeli killings in Palestine brings to light past military service member protests on the U. S. involvement in wars. Mike Ferner, National Director of Veterans for Peace, talks about his change to conscientious objector status following his experiences in Vietnam. Ferner discusses the “madmen arsonists who are running the country” and how the weapon manufacturers are pushing the country to light the fires of war around the world.

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Jerome Dillard, Executive Director of Ex-Incarcerated Persons Organizing (ExPO) talks about that organization and their upcoming showing of “The 50”, a full-length film about 50 inmates in a California prison using their experience to create the first in-prison inmate organized drug counseling program. The film, with discussion after, will be shown on Friday, March 8, from 6-9pm at Urban League Black Business Hub, 2352 S. Park Street.

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