Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Several Letters to Several People We Must Hold Responsible

To: govgeneral@wisconsin.gov
Subject: veto request
Date: Thu,
3 Feb 2011

Dear Gov. Walker,

You were elected to represent the people of the State of Wisconsin - not a few special interests. And to represent us fairly - not favor your contributors.

As your constituent, I ask that you uphold the law and our rights and veto SS-SB-10/SS-AB-10, the Special Favors Bill.

Government should not be for sale. No special interest should be allowed to avoid the law.

To: sen.ellis@legis.wisconsin.gov
Subject: pending Union legislation
Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2011

Dear Senator Ellis,

I'm not a union member. I’m not a democrat. I’m not a republican. I’m a Wisconsite and this is the first time in over 50 years when I am ashamed to say so.

I just read your comments about the pending bill to remove most collective bargaining rights from government workers and have to wonder: what part don’t you understand?

Why do you think that the deficit is the fault of government workers? And that this bill is the only way to solve it? You said that you “wished there was an alternative that didn't go as far.” Well – did you (or anyone) approach the unions and ask for concessions? Explain that the only other options were layoffs or to repeal their rights? Wasn’t this an alternative?

Or how about this: all our high paid government leaders (like the newly appointed crony head of the State Patrol - and why is this one of the groups who keep their rights?) take a pay and benefit cut? Wasn’t this an alternative?

Or how about stop giving big tax breaks to businesses? Wasn’t this an alternative?

You said: "We didn't set this menu, the governor did."

Really? You mean the governor writes the laws and passes the laws? Then why don’t you and the rest of our legislature go home – and let your salaries and benefits and the salaries and benefits of all your staff members and your office budgets be applied toward the deficit. Isn’t this an alternative?

You are supposed to represent the best interests of the people of this state – NOT special interests.

I ask you to do so - to start looking at the alternatives and to stop taking away our rights.

Subject: budget bill
Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2011

Dear Senator Darling,


I'm not a union member. I’m not a democrat. I’m not a republican. I’m a Wisconsite and this is the first time in over 50 years when I am ashamed to say so.

I just read about the pending bill to remove most collective bargaining rights from government workers and have to wonder: what part don’t you understand?

This is like killing a gnat with a nuclear weapon.

Why do you think that the deficit is the fault of government workers? And that this bill is the only way to solve it?

Did you (or anyone) approach the unions and ask for concessions first?

This bill is not the answer – it only makes the state look foolish and its leaders appear to be shortsighted tyrants. And public workers aren’t the only victims.

(If you really want to save money, how about all our high-paid government leaders (including the newly appointed crony head of the State Patrol) take a pay and benefit cut?

You are supposed to represent the interests of the people of this state – NOT special interests.

I ask you to do so. You have better, more reasoned options. Kill this bill and taker the time to consider them.

Subject: budget bill
Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2011

Dear Senator,

You claimed you have no alternatives, but what about this:

In its Jan. 31 memo to legislators on the condition of the state’s budget, the Fiscal Bureau determined that the state will end the year with a balance of $121.4 million.

To the extent that there is an imbalance -- Walker claims there is a $137 million deficit -- it is not because of a drop in revenues or increases in the cost of state employee contracts, benefits or pensions. It is because Walker and his allies pushed through $140 million in new spending for special-interest groups in January. If the Legislature were simply to rescind Walker’s new spending schemes -- or delay their implementation until they are offset by fresh revenues -- the “crisis” would not exist.

The Fiscal Bureau memo -- which readers can access at http://legis.wisconsin.gov/lfb/Misc/2011_01_31Vos&Darling.pdf -- makes it clear that Walker did not inherit a budget that required a repair bill.

So why not have the guts to do your job right:

What's your excuse not to rescind Walker's new spending schemes?

What's your excuse not to cut pay, pensions and and benefits to the governor, all appointed positions, and all members of the legislature?

What's your excuse not to sell the governor's mansion/eliminate his leased car and make him pay for his own housing and transportation like the rest of us?

To: [All Republican Senators]
Subject: pending bill
Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2011

Dear Senator,

You claimed your strong arm tactics (a bill which includes dozens of provisions that have nothing to do with solving an alleged budget crisis) are necessary, but what about this:

In its Jan. 31 memo to legislators on the condition of the state’s budget, the Fiscal Bureau determined that the state will end the year with a balance of $121.4 million.

To the extent that there is an imbalance -- Walker claims there is a $137 million deficit -- it is not because of a drop in revenues or increases in the cost of state employee contracts, benefits or pensions. It is because Walker and his allies pushed through $140 million in new spending for special-interest groups in January. If the Legislature were simply to rescind Walker’s new spending schemes -- or delay their implementation until they are offset by fresh revenues -- the “crisis” would not exist.

The Fiscal Bureau memo -- which readers can access at http://legis.wisconsin.gov/lfb/Misc/2011_01_31Vos&Darling.pdf -- makes it clear that Walker did not inherit a budget that required a repair bill.

So why not have the guts to do your job right:

What's your excuse not to rescind Walker's new spending schemes?

What's your excuse not to cut pay, pensions and benefits to the governor, all appointed positions, and all members of the legislature before penalizing the people of this state?

What's your excuse not to sell the governor's mansion/eliminate his leased car and make him pay for his own housing and transportation like the rest of us?

Subject: kill the bill
Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2011

I am a Wisconsin voter and I oppose your pending budget bill.

It's not the answer. Kill the bill.

Subject: kill the bill
Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2011

Dear Representative Rivard,

My family has lived in Chetek for more than 150 years - ever since my great-grandmother homesteaded there. I own the family cottage in Chetek that my cousin built over 100 years ago.

This is the first time I've been ashamed of my government.

Scott Walker's budget bill goes far beyond fiscal issues, and, as has been well-documented, is not the answer:



Koch Industries Slashed WI Jobs, Helped Elect Scott Walker, Now Orchestrating Pro-Walker Protest http://thinkprogress.org/2011/02/18/business-teaparty-wisconsin/

Gov. Walker’s Pretext www.nytimes.com/2011/02/18/opinion/18fri1.html February 17, 2011

Interesting that he created the deficit he now insists can only be solved with his bill, a bill which goes far beyond finances in scope.

And that other reasons he offered for key legislation have proven false:

In trying to tie the lawsuit reforms to job creation, Walker asserted the issue is "one of the most important factors" when businesses are deciding to expand or invest in Wisconsin. That’s a major overreach.


Walker said that if his proposal for state employees to pay more for their benefits is not adopted, alternatives such as removing nearly 200,000 children from Medicaid would have to be considered. But that’s a phony alternative. Legally, the state does not have the option to remove kids from Medicaid; Walker acknowledged he did not check before making the statement.


We need a solution that helps us - not hurts us while advancing the interests of special interest groups.

I ask you to kill the bill.

To: rep.wynn@legis.wi.gov
Subject: pending budget bill
Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2011

Dear Representative Wynn,

I'm not a union member. I am a Wisconsinite - and this is the first time in over 50 years that I've been ashamed of my government.

Scott Walker's budget bill goes far beyond fiscal issues, and, as has been well-documented, should be questioned:

legis.wisconsin.gov/lfb/Misc/2011_01_31Vos&Darling.pdf

host.madison.com/ct/news/opinion/editorial/article_61064e9a-27b0-5f28-b6d1-a57c8b2aaaf6.html
Koch Industries Slashed WI Jobs, Helped Elect Scott Walker, Now Orchestrating Pro-Walker Protest http://thinkprogress.org/2011/02/18/business-teaparty-wisconsin/

Gov. Walker’s Pretext www.nytimes.com/2011/02/18/opinion/18fri1.html February 17, 2011
Interesting that he created the deficit he now insists can only be solved with his bill, a bill which goes far beyond finances in scope.
And that other reasons he offered for key legislation have proven false:
In trying to tie the lawsuit reforms to job creation, Walker asserted the issue is "one of the most important factors" when businesses are deciding to expand or invest in Wisconsin. That’s a major overreach.


Walker said that if his proposal for state employees to pay more for their benefits is not adopted, alternatives such as removing nearly 200,000 children from Medicaid would have to be considered. But that’s a phony alternative. Legally, the state does not have the option to remove kids from Medicaid; Walker acknowledged he did not check before making the statement.


We need a solution that helps us - not hurts us while advancing the interests of special interest groups. The unions have no problem with concessions, so that's not the issue.
Why not rescind Walker's new spending schemes?
Why not repeal the special sessions bills that reduced revenue,  a major source of the deficit problems (including Special Session Senate Bill 2, Assembly Bill 3, and Assembly Bill 7) that were mentioned in the report by the Legislative Fiscal Bureau? (see legis.wisconsin.gov/lfb/Misc/2011_01_31Vos&Darling.pdf)
Why not cut pay, pensions and and benefits to the governor, all appointed positions, and all members of the legislature?

Why not sell the governor's mansion/eliminate his leased car and make him pay for his own housing and transportation like the rest of us?

I ask you to explore other options and to kill the bill.


Subject: kill the bill
Date: Sat, 19 Feb 2011

Dear Gov. Walker,

I read with interest your comment that an air traffic controller "supports" you.

Well, I was an air traffic controller hired after Reagan busted the union so I can say with authority that Reagan was wrong as are you. I do not support you. And no - I am not and never have been a union member. I just know wrongdoing when I see it.

You need to kill the bill.

Subject: budget repair bill
Date: Sun, 20 Feb 2011

Dear Gov. Walker,

Even leaders of the revolt in Egypt think you are wrong and support the people who oppose your bill:

February 20th, 2011
'We Stand With You as You Stood With Us': Statement to Workers of Wisconsin by Kamal Abbas of Egypt's Centre for Trade Unions and Workers Services
KAMAL ABBAS: I am speaking to you from a place very close to Tahrir Square in Cairo, "Liberation Square", which was the heart of the Revolution in Egypt. This is the place were many of our youth paid with their lives and blood in the struggle for our just rights.

From this place, I want you to know that we stand with you as you stood with us.

I want you to know that no power can challenge the will of the people when they believe in their rights. When they raise their voices loud and clear and struggle against exploitation.

No one believed that our revolution could succeed against the strongest dictatorship in the region. But in 18 days the revolution achieved the victory of the people. When the working class of Egypt joined the revolution on 9 and 10 February, the dictatorship was doomed and the victory of the people became inevitable.

We want you to know that we stand on your side. Stand firm and don't waiver. Don't give up on your rights. Victory always belongs to the people who stand firm and demand their just rights.

We and all the people of the world stand on your side and give you our full support.

As our just struggle for freedom, democracy and justice succeeded, your struggle will succeed. Victory belongs to you when you stand firm and remain steadfast in demanding your just rights.

We support you. we support the struggle of the peoples of Libya, Bahrain and Algeria, who are fighting for their just rights and falling martyrs in the face of the autocratic regimes. The peoples are determined to succeed no matter the sacrifices and they will be victorious.

Today is the day of the American workers. We salute you American workers! You will be victorious. Victory belongs to all the people of the world, who are fighting against exploitation, and for their just rights.


About Kamal Abbas and the Centre for Trade Unions and Workers Services:

Kamal Abbas is General Coordinator of the CTUWS, an umbrella advocacy organization for independent unions in Egypt. The CTUWS, which was awarded the 1999 French Republic's Human Rights Prize, suffered repeated harassment and attack by the Mubarak regime, and played a leading role in its overthrow. Abbas, who witnessed friends killed by the regime during the 1989 Helwan steel strike and was himself arrested and threatened numerous times, has received extensive international recognition for his union and civil society leadership.

As your constituent (unlike the "supporters" your benefactors bussed in from out of state), I ask you to kill the bill.

Subject: budget repair
Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2011

Dear Senator:

You've said you have no alternative to adopting the "budget repair bill."

I previously submitted several other alternatives to you but you have not responded.

Other options are also available. From Andrew Reschovsky, a professor of public affairs and applied economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a visiting fellow at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy in Cambridge, Massachusetts:

The benefit reductions in the so-called budget repair bill save only $30 million, and stripping state and local government employees of their bargaining rights will contribute nothing to closing this year's budget gap.

The state has a wide range of options available for closing this year's relatively small fiscal year 2011 budget gap. Additional revenue could be raised by eliminating any of a large number of exemptions, deductions or exclusions from the Wisconsin tax system. Fees, underused in Wisconsin, could be raised. Funds could be transferred into the general fund. Funds that have been appropriated, but not yet spent this fiscal year, could be recaptured.


Have you contacted any of these authorities for their ideas?

And are you considering any of the suggestions I previously made?


Subject: kill the bill
Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2011

Dear Governor,

Here is another article showing how bad your budget bill is for Wisconsin.

Please kill the bill.

Even If You Hate Unions You Should Oppose Gov. Scott Walker: Budget Puts Wisconsin at Risk of Major Economic Decline

Monday, February 21, 2011


Even if you hate unions, there are many reasons that you should oppose the radical budget plans of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker--which appears to be a test case for the national GOP agenda. Out-of-state billionaires, including the infamous Koch Brothers, are whispering in Walker's ear from the close access tens of thousands of dollars in contributions has bought them. These folks have no stake in the future of this state, and appear intent on destroying unions as a counter-balancing national political force. But what will their agenda do to quality of life in this state? What does their agenda do to the future of our economy?

1.) Wisconsin public schools rank high on many important measures, including the rate of graduating kids and preparing them for college. That has long been at the heart of our economic success.

We wrote here about Walkers' planned cutbacks to school aids. There is no doubt that these enormous cuts will lead to lay-offs and and a decline in public education in Wisconsin. The cuts are too big to be absorbed by even the drastic decline in teacher benefits contemplated in Walker's bill. Further, poor school districts will take by far the biggest hits--leading to the wider gaps between thr rich and poor that seem to be the driving force and goal of all Republican economic policies.

From the MSJO article: Butler pointed out that teachers in the Sparta School District pay 20% of their health premiums, limiting the district's ability to achieve savings through health insurance benefit reductions. In addition, the effect of the budget will be felt differently based on how much a school district's budget relies on aid from the state, an equation affected by property wealth. In that respect, MPS has more to lose than a district such as Fox Point. In 2008-'09, $7,237 of MPS' per pupil revenue of $14,211 came from the state. In Fox Point, per pupil revenue of $14,240 included just $747 from the state.

2.) Wisconsin currently ranks very high in the percentage of state residents who have health insurance, with 91.5% of residents having Health Insurance coverage. This contributes to keeping health insurance costs down for all. Oh, and it just happens to save some lives, as we wrote here.

"BadgerCare is Wisconsin’s award-winning Medicaid program that provides health care coverage for more than 750,000 men and women—and their children—from across the state. Established in 1997 as a bipartisan effort to encourage work and improve health care in Wisconsin, BadgerCare has proven to be a highly effective—and cost-effective—program, successful in both rural and urban communities, in good economies and bad."

At Saturday's Madison protest, we spoke to this young man who was protesting Walker's proposed cuts and sweeping power grab in the operation of Badger Care. Five years ago, he was given a 30 percent chance of living five years from a diagnosis of bone cancer--if he could afford promising treatments. The Badger Care program stepped up to get him the state-of-the art treatment, and he is now doing very well.

Walker's bill will likely gut both Badger Care and Medicaid programs in Wisconsin.

3.) Unlike other states, Wisconsin's state pension system, which includes many local workers as well, is fully funded and contributes billions of dollars to the state economy. Will local municipalities continue to fully pension obligations as they face Gov. Walkers' massive reduction of local aid?

Wisconsin's state pension fund was recently ranked at the Top of the pension class by both a Minneapolis Federal Reserve publication and two national studies. As Pew Center Report writes: In 2000, just over half the states had fully funded pension systems. By 2006, that number had shrunk to six states. By 2008, only four—Florida, New York, Washington and Wisconsin—could make that claim.

Subject: kill the bill
Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2011



My husband and I Wisconsin taxpayers and we oppose your pending budget bill.

It's not the answer. Kill the bill.

Subject: constituent comments
Date: Wed, 2 Mar 2011

Dear Mr. Wynn,

I emailed you before but you did not have the courtesy to respond.

I am a constituent and I am opposed to the budget repair bill and the proposed new budget.

These bills are a poison that will destroy our state.

There are better ways. Fix the budget by taxing the rich!

I also want you to know that the bullying of the 14 (and their staff)  by your colleagues is despicable - as is closing the capitol to the public. You should be ashamed.

Such tactics can never be acceptable in a free society. I ask you to do whatever is possible to make sure they reverse their actions - actions which only reflect negatively on anyone associated with them

Please know that everyone I know shares my feelings. I haven't met a single person who supports Walker or his bills.

Subject: citizen concerns
Date: Wed, 2 Mar 2011

Dear Rep. Rivard,

I emailed you before but you did not have the courtesy to respond.

My family has lived in Chetek since my great-grandmother homesteaded there in the 1850's. My mother is buried there along with all those who passed before her. Many of my family still live in your district. I own the family cottage on Lake Chetek, a cottage which a cousin built more than 100 years ago.

I am writing to tell you that I am opposed to the budget repair bill and the proposed new budget.

These bills are a poison that will destroy our state.

There are better ways. Stop giving tax breaks to the wealthy. Fix the budget by taxing the rich:

"As a study by the Institute for Wisconsin's Future documented, Wisconsin corporations underpay state and local taxes by more than $1.3 billion annually: This is the difference between what businesses actually pay in state and local taxes and what they would be contributing if paying at the average national rate." http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/116955013.html

I want to know why you aren't pursuing this option instead of destroying the framework of our state.

I also want you to know that the bullying of the 14 (and their staff) by your colleagues is despicable - as is closing the capitol to the public. You should be ashamed.

Such tactics can never be acceptable in a free society. I ask you to do whatever is possible to make sure they reverse their actions - actions which only reflect negatively on anyone associated with them

Please know that everyone I know shares my feelings. I haven't met a single person who supports Walker or his bills.

I look forward to your response.

Subject: citizen comment
Date: Wed, 2 Mar 2011

Dear Sen. Luther:

I am writing to tell you that I am opposed to the budget repair bill and the proposed new budget. I am not a union member and I am not a democrat.

These bills are a poison that will destroy our state.

There are better ways. Stop giving tax breaks to the wealthy. Fix the budget by taxing the rich:

"As a study by the Institute for Wisconsin's Future documented, Wisconsin corporations underpay state and local taxes by more than $1.3 billion annually: This is the difference between what businesses actually pay in state and local taxes and what they would be contributing if paying at the average national rate." http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/116955013.html

I want to know why you aren't pursuing this option instead of destroying the framework of our state. Even the Wall Street Journal agrees the situation is not as dire as you pretend:

Even Without Muni Bond Sale, Wisconsin Not in Fiscal Peril - WSJ.com

I also want you to know that the bullying of the 14 (and their staff) by you and/or your colleagues is despicable - as is closing the capitol to the public. You should be ashamed.

Such tactics can never be acceptable in a free society. I ask you to do whatever is possible to make sure these actions are reversed.

Please know that everyone I know shares my feelings. I haven't met a single person who supports Walker or his bills.

I look forward to your response.

PS additional information about how to end a budget problem:

US Uncut calls for an end to corporate tax avoidance instead of cuts to valuable public services. Anger is rising as Americans are being forced to endure brutal budget cuts at both the federal and state-level. Recent events in Wisconsin have inspired hard-working Americans to make their voices heard, and this populist message is spreading like wildfire across the country.

"If Bank of America alone paid their taxes, we could 'uncut' $1.7 billion in early childhood education," said Ryan Clayton, a DC-based media analyst, "Big corporations dodge up to $100 billion every year, and if they paid their taxes this year like the rest of us do, we could stop the $100 billion in cuts to college loans too."


Subject: public input
Date: Wed, 2 Mar 2011

Dear Mike,

I am a Wisconsin resident who is not a union member and not a democrat.

Your conduct is reprehensible and shows that you do not deserve to be an employee of the State of Wisconsin. You should not get another penny of our tax dollars. How dare you close the state capitol to the public - and close it you have no matter what you say to the contrary. When doors are locked and  law enforcement officers guard each entrance to keep out the public and permit only limited entrance then the building is closed.

You are an embarrassment to the people of this great state. How do you live with yourself? Especially when you are wasting our tax dollars on those officers?

You should be ashamed - and you should resign for engaging in such unethical conduct.

Subject: constituent concerns
Date: Thu, 3 Mar 2011

Dear Mr. Wynn,

I emailed you before but you did not have the courtesy to respond.

I am a constituent and I am opposed to the budget repair bill and the proposed new budget.

These bills are a poison that will destroy our state.

I want to know why you don't fix the budget by taxing the rich instead. It's easy and simple to do and doesn't require hurting anyone.

I also want you to know that the bullying of the 14 (and their staff)  by your colleagues is despicable - as is closing the capitol to the public. You should be ashamed.

Such tactics can never be acceptable in a free society. I ask you to do whatever is possible to make sure they reverse their actions - actions which only reflect negatively on anyone associated with them

Please know that everyone I know shares my feelings. I haven't met a single person who supports Walker or his bills.

When are you going to stop trampling the rights of the people and start representing them instead as you were elected to do?

Subject: constituent request
Date: Mon, 7 Mar 2011

Dear Scott,

I noticed on your facebook page that you post editorials and stories relating to your Budget repair bill and proposed budget.

Since you represent all of us, I ask that you post editorials and stories telling both sides of the story, including the one below.

I you won't do so please let me know why not.

Editorial: State governments should support teachers (from the Oregon Daily Emerald)

Like many states in the union, Wisconsin is facing budget issues as a result of the economic recession. To mitigate the budget crisis within his state, Gov. Scott Walker is attempting to pass a budget bill that would effectively remove the collective-bargaining rights of public employees. It should be noted that before the bill's proposal, Wisconsin teachers agreed to take pay cuts in light of the state's poor economy as long as they were able to negotiate the cuts as a group.

Public school teachers play a crucial role in American society. Performing noble work for mediocre compensation, they help shape the future. Despite curriculum requirements and a lack of public resources, they still manage to empower and enrich the minds of students. They educate those who cannot afford a private education, and they pave the road for students toward new opportunities to better themselves and their communities. Some of teachers work in dangerous inner-city neighborhoods, and others deal with special needs students who require a large amount of time and effort. They preserve democracy and prevent our country from becoming a plutocracy. To deny their importance would be unpatriotic in every sense of the word.

Apparently Walker does not agree.

Walker has a stark agenda influenced by private donor David Koch, whose advertising campaign centers around the current highest salary of a Wisconsin school teacher — more than $80,000 — and the economic impacts on the state. The campaign puts a connotation of "sinful" on teachers' nine-month work year, and it depicts their lifestyle as one of luxury on the tax-payer's dime. In addition to the campaign, Wisconsin's capital has been accused of blocking a pro-union website. What's more, members of union movement American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations continue to be labeled as "cop-haters" by conservative pundits.

Though the bill would cut teachers' salaries and their right to negotiate, it would simultaneously allot new funds for transportation services that are outsourced to private companies. Since the bill's proposal, 14 Democratic senators have left the state in an effort to protest and keep the bill from being passed in the state legislature.

Walker said he would not talk to anyone from the press, but the editor of the online Buffalo Beast made a prank this week that led to new developments in the story.

Pretending to be David Koch and making up a phony story about losing his phone, the editor was granted access to Walker. During the conversation, Walker said he was threatening the 14 senators with direct deposit halts, arrest warrants and worker layoffs. He referred to the one approachable democrat as "not one of us," and openly responded to one of the editor's statements with, "You're not talking to any of these democrat bastards, are you?"

Since the online fiasco, more and more protests have emerged throughout the state of Wisconsin. The Wisconsin police are standing in solidarity with the workers, refusing to obey Walker's order to guard the Capitol building. As a state, they are demonstrating the importance of unions and collective bargaining rights.

If the protestors' demands are ignored and the 14 missing senators are blackmailed into returning to the state, the bill will likely pass within the Wisconsin Senate, given the Republican majority. This could cause a domino effect of similar legislation throughout the country.

Public schools have faced continuous budget cuts since the turn of the millennium — from elementary schools to universities. If Walker's bill is passed, it will not only hurt Wisconsin teachers, but it will also discourage working for public schools nationwide. While places like India are investing in education, Wisconsin is demonstrating that America has other priorities. For the well-being of the public sector, all measures should be taken to prevent Walker's bill from being passed.


Subject: your illegal actions
Date: Tue, 15 Mar 2011

Dear Sen. Fitzgerald,

I am writing to ask you to explain why you think you can unilaterally disenfranchise almost half the voters in this state, myself included. Tim Cullen is my senator and I am glad he allowed me and the rest of the public the opportunity we deserved to learn the facts about the bill. You were shameful in your actions to try to keep the public in the dark.

I ask you to explain the legal basis for your actions in declaring the 14 in contempt and refusing to count their votes.

I've read the constitution and applicable laws and neither seems to gives you the authority to do what you've been doing.

First, none of the 14 has done anything that qualifies as contempt. Second, you can't just wave your gavel and pronounce them in contempt. Even if they had done anything that might be considered contempt, the constitution first requires notice and an opportunity to be heard, which involves a public hearing process. A pronouncement in absentia does not pass muster.

Third, I found no legal authority allowing you to impose the sanctions you have imposed.

Shame on you.

I have a right granted by law to have my senator represent me and vote on my behalf. You, however, have no right to do what you are doing and I hope that your illegal actions will  result in your removal from public office.

In the meantime, explain the legal authority for your actions.

Subject: taxpayer question
Date: Tue, 15 Mar 2011

I would like to know:

1. How much does Governor Scott Walker contribute to his pension every month?

2. What benefits (pension and any other) will he receive after he ceases being the governor?

3. How much does Governor Scott Walker contribute to his health insurance every month?

4. How do I obtain information about the pension benefits he receives or will receive from his position as Milwaukee County Executive and his years in the state assembly?

5. How do I obtain information about all the benefits he receives as the governor?

6. What is the governor's annual salary?

Thank you.

Subject: constituent concerns
Date: Tue, 22 Mar 2011

Dear Scott,

I have written you several times but you haven't had the courtesy to respond.

I want to know:

Why do you take credit for new jobs that you did nothing to create? When will you give credit to the correct people?

Why are you eliminating the Dept. Of Commerce which was a huge part of the recent job successes for which you are taking the credit. I oppose eliminating the department and ask that you reverse that decision.

Why are you spending our tax dollars to travel around the state avoiding your constituents? How much has your travel cost us since January 1st?

Since Wisconsin is broke, why are you giving tax breaks to big businesses and the rich?

Since Wisconsin is broke, why don't you sell the mansion and the state paid car and pay for your own house and car like the rest of us?

Since Wisconsin is broke, why don't you slash your pay and benefits (including pension), and the pay and benefits (including pension) of legislators and all appointed positions?

Since Wisconsin is broke - why did it hire Randy Hopper's girlfriend? And why did it give her a 35% increase in pay over her predecessor?

I look forward to your detailed response.

Subject: question
Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2011

Dear Scott,
Last month your cabinet member added Randy Hopper's girlfriend, Valerie Cass, to the state payroll. Ms. Cass is being paid $12,000 more than the person she replaced. Is this why you say other public workers need to contribute more of their pay?

And if Wisconsin is broker, how could it afford to hire her? And also to give her a 35% raise?

I look forward to your response.

Subject: question
Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2011

Dear Scott,

Last month your cabinet member added Randy Hopper's girlfriend, Valerie Cass, to the state payroll. Ms. Cass is being paid $12,000 more than the person she replaced. Is this why you say other public workers need to contribute more of their pay?

And if Wisconsin is broke, how could it afford to hire her? And also to give her a 35% raise?

I look forward to your response.


Subject: wasted
Date: Mon, 28 Mar 2011

Dear Scott:

Your promises to stop spending should begin with you:  STOP SPENDING OUR TAX DOLLARS ON TRAVEL. You are wasting our tax dollars on trips to hold press conferences and to drum up support for your ill-fated budget bills.

Stop it! That money is better spent on essential services. You should be ashamed.

And when are you going to sell the state-paid car and pay for your own transportation?

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