Breaking News: Scott Walker accidentally says something true (again!)

“I believe if given the facts they’re going to make good decisions. 

Sometimes they’re going to be decisions that side with me, 

sometimes they’re going to be with others, 

but I’m going to respect their decision."

- Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker on the upcoming recall elections, in a rare moment of truth, 

after being publicly shamed by his constituents at the opening of the Wisconsin State Fair

5 August 2011

Dear Scott Walker,

I could not be more thrilled to learn that, for the second time in your career as most hated governor in America, you have said something true!  Congratulations!  And THANK YOU for acknowledging that now that people are informed, they will do the right thing and recall of the Republicans who betrayed their constituents by voting along with your education and job-killing budget and taking away the rights of the people they represent. It must feel so liberating to be honest, after all that lying and pandering and misleading and betrayal and deceit!  I'll never forget the first time you said something true, and now that it's happened again, I feel like anything is possible.

I like your new look. Human. It suits you. Source

I'd also like to congratulate you in staying in character for so long, which must be really hard to do. I was surprised to learn from your second accidental truth that the word "respect" is actually in your lexicon after all, which makes it all the more remarkable to me that you are able to maintain your public persona and walk through your days as if you are not - literally - being followed at every step by the taxpayers with whom you refuse to communicate. How do you ignore us so well? How can you pretend that people are not shouting "SHAME! SHAME! SHAME!" at you every time you speak beyond closed doors or invite-only events? How do you smile and wave and pretend we do not exist?  I tried pretending you don't exist, too, for a while, but it only lasted one pay period, because when I got my check I couldn't help but remember that, alas, you do exist, as evidenced in your palpable presence in the hole that was once the money I need to survive and support my family.  So I congratulate you, and sincerely, on being able to pull off your act in the face of such resistance. Shy of Cheney and Rumsfeld, I can't think of any greater political instance of public douchebaggery. Your critics (*myself included) can say what they want, but we've got to hand it to you on this one: you are consistent and you pull off your public smuggery better than almost anyone. In fact, this photo is the first I've ever seen of you where you actually look concerned, or worried, or capable of sincere emotional response to external stimuli. I like it! You should act human more often!

Your lack of public displays of humanity aside, though, I like to think that your recent accidental truth is evidence that maybe you are hearing us. And maybe you are waking up to the reality that the recall elections are looking pretty good for those who have been "given the facts" about how seriously your "business model" is failing this state.  Because it sounds to me like you're getting ready to deal with the very likely prospect of not owning the Senate anymore. Who knows? Maybe it's all talk.  Or maybe one day I'll even hear you say you're ready to start a dialogue with your constituents, too. Or maybe the time for that has come and gone. It does seem kind of a waste, what with your own recall so close at hand. Maybe next time, if you ever say anything true again. My guess it that day will be at your farewell ceremony: "It was an honor to serve the people who paid for me to hijack this state and I have no regrets..."   I plan to be there in person. And I promise not to interrupt, so everyone can hear your speech. Look for me! Maybe we can chat after, assuming you'll lift your moratorium on communicating with dissidents once you're no longer an elected official.

In closing, I'd like to quote you - yes you - and your brave words the first time you said something true:

"People are ready to move on."

Yes, we are. We're already moving on. Forward! Toward retrieving democracy from your partisan stronghold and getting the people their voice back. Toward your recall, or your resignation, whichever comes first. Because here's something else that's true about these recalls: they're all about you. They're about your abuse of power, your bullying and your strong-arming of your own party into cheating the people of Wisconsin out of its proud tradition of bipartisan collaboration and its ability to maintain essential social programs and excellent schools while balancing its budget and ensuring workers' rights. You can't just hijack that history and try to make it your own. Like soon-to-be-ex Senator Alberta Darling prophetically said this week, "elections have consequences."  I hope you'll enjoy them. I know I will, once we clean up the mess you've made of our state.

Thanks again for the refreshing departure from your usual lies!

Yours sincerely,

Heather DuBois Bourenane
Wisconsin taxpayer, parent, and impatient demander of your resignation

Scenes from the opening of the Wisconsin State Fair, in which Walker is shouted down in protest of his refusal to communicate with his constituents. Video by Shit Scott Walker Is Doing To My State.

Stop Scott Walker. Save Wisconsin. Save America.

The Gall of the Wisconsin State Journal (Part 2: Letter from Grant Petty)

Followers of Monologues of Dissent may have already read my own letter to the editor on the gall of the Wisconsin State Journal and the ensuing email exchange with opinion editor Scott Milfred. I'm happy to report that the paper has confirmed it will run a revised-down-to-200-words version of my letter (god forbid I include all my reasons for objecting to their editorializing - they only have so much room for dissent, you know). I'll also acknowledge that despite his glaring editorial weaknesses, Scott Milfred is a very polite person, and at least he writes back, unlike some governors I know.

I want to share however, this much more lucid and compelling letter to the the WSJ editors, which puts my own correspondence to shame and is a must-read for anyone who cares about what's going on in Wisconsin, or who is interested more generally in the depressing topic of how local news coverage betrays the local citizenry.  Grant Petty is treasurer of the local activist organization, South Central Wisconsin Move to Amend, and a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I thank him for giving permission to share his letter here. Please read, and pass on, his letter, which has been making the virtual rounds all week and has now been picked up on The Daily page of local alternative news weekly, the Isthmus.

Why I am dropping the Wisconsin State Journal

by Grant Petty

Dear Wisconsin State Journal,

As non-union public sector workers (yes, we exist) who are about to be hit with an 8% take-home pay cut as a result of Gov. Scott Walker's budget repair bill, my wife and I have to decide what luxuries we're going to cut out of our lives. She has been arguing for weeks that we should let our subscription to your newspaper expire.

Despite my recurring annoyance with your hit-and-miss political news coverage and editorializing since moving to Madison, I had halfheartedly defended renewing it. My excuse was that there was local news in your paper that I still wanted to be able to get from my breakfast reading rather than having to go online to look for it.

My resistance to dropping your paper finally collapsed Sunday morning when I read your jaw-dropping editorial "Rampant recalls wrong".

It was not simply that I disagreed with your position. I disagree with other publications' positions all the time without necessarily feeling insulted by them. The straw that broke the camel's back for me was that you had once again ignored or grossly oversimplified deep and important issues affecting Wisconsin while basing your position on superficial ones.

There were of course other straws:

You habitually oversimplified the motivations of the countless thousands of citizens -- many of whom previously had no union ties whatsoever -- present at or supporting the protests at the Capitol.

You inexplicably neglected to report on the remarkable, and nationally significant, outcome of the April 5 Dane County and Madison referendums on corporate money and speech, leaving it to out-of-state blogs and a local reader to do your reporting for you.

You confidently touted the "narrow yet conclusive" victory of Prosser over Kloppenburg without ever acknowledging, let alone countering, widely publicized anomalies and procedural violations (see also here and especially this testimony before an Assembly committee) that severely tested voter confidence in the provable validity of that outcome -- at least among those voters who had news sources other than the Wisconsin State Journal. And despite your own earlier pious lip service to "making sure all votes have been properly counted and tallied."

You mentioned the mess of the Prosser/Kloppenburg election in your advocacy for merit-based appointment of judges (which I do strongly agree with) while utterly failing to address the obvious and disturbing implications of the same mess for all elections held in Wisconsin.

You praised the bottom line of the "balanced budget" while failing to offer more than token criticism of just a few of the very controversial provisions of Walker's "budget repair" bill. (Hint: there are certainly less destructive and divisive ways to balance the budget and "not raise taxes" even if that is truly your sole overriding objective. And there are analysts who argue persuasively that Walker hasn't even done that.)

And the list goes on.

You are writing for one of the most informed, educated and civic-minded readerships in the country, encompassing both a top-tier university and the state capital, and yet you often write pabulum. You ignore, rather than confronting and testing, information that is widely available through other sources. You routinely insult the intelligence of a large fraction of the readership you depend on for your livelihood.

Worst of all, you fail to confront the myriad signs that democracy itself is under assault in the state of Wisconsin.

Do you really believe that the recall efforts against the GOP senators would have gained the remarkable momentum they did if they were solely about disliking one specific vote those senators cast, independent of the way in which it was done? Your simplistic and superficial editorial makes it sound like a few whiners and sore losers were behind the recalls, failing to note that they collected record numbers of signature in record time. Just from union members?

Since you're apparently posting your editorials from another planet, or at least another state, let me be clear: the spreading flame of opposition to the Walkers, Fitzgeralds and Prossers of this government, and all of their enablers, may have been ignited by opposition to specific policies, but it has been fanned to white heat by the following:

• Arrogant contempt for transparency in government, for the rule of law and for the constitutional authority of our courts by our elected officials.
• The shameless appointing of unqualified cronies to important state functions.
• Appalling power politics as manifested in successful efforts to create unusual obstacles to voting by traditionally Democratic-leaning constituents, such as students and poor people. (Note: the myth of rampant voter fraud has been thoroughly debunked. We should be much more concerned about election fraud.)
• Blatant pay-to-play favors to major campaign donors.
• A rubber-stamp Supreme Court bought and paid for (PDF) by the WMC.
• Mean-spirited scapegoating of public sector workers for partisan political purposes.
• Politically motivated exemptions from collective bargaining restrictions for public sector workers who helped Walker's campaign.
• Partisan harassment of prominent critics like UW-Madison professor Bill Cronon (which, by the way, numerous major out-of-town papers saw as newsworthy but the Wisconsin State Journal, apparently conflating the roles of "public employee" and "public official," did not.)
• Troubling evidence of incompetence and possible malfeasance in the conduct of the Waukesha vote count by a partisan, legally-tainted clerk with questionable explanations for a two-day-late decisive swing in the vote total.

In other words, all of the ugly things that we used to associate with banana republics, not with Wisconsin, of all places.

Corruption of political processes and abuses of power are not unique to any one party; indeed, they are the rule rather than the exception in human history. In our democracy, we depend on constitutional safeguards enforced by impartial courts, an uncompromised ballot box, and a vigilant press to keep them in check.

Once those barriers are breached, they are not easily restored.

Passion for the recalls was inflamed by events -- starting with the open meetings violations and concluding with the compromised Wisconsin Supreme Court's blessing of those violations -- that give us good reason to fear that the Wisconsin traditions of clean government and rule of law will be as dead as Monty Python's parrot unless all Wisconsinites, not just union members, fight for it with every tool at our disposal.

By failing to do what real journalists are supposed to do, which is to hold the powerful accountable and to challenge your readers to have a more nuanced understanding of the issues and hazards confronting us, the Wisconsin State Journal, our newspaper of record, has become one of the enablers of our spiral into political corruption, and for that reason we will not support it any longer.

It's a luxury we literally can no longer afford.

   Sincerely,

   Grant Petty

   Fitchurg, WI

 PS:  And just this morning, we have this:  http://www.fightingbob.com/article.cfm?articleID=1334 .  When will YOU start defending Wisconsin?

Thank you, Grant, for sharing your powerful letter. Let's hope the Wisconsin State Journal  - and its readers - take it seriously. Because you're right: we can't afford not to. The people fighting these corruptions of democracy and decorum are not just isolated fanatics screaming into the void. Maybe if we put all our "monologues" together, people will start listening, and we'll get to some real dialogue. 

"If you are neutral in situations of injustice, 

you have chosen the side of the oppressor."

- Archbishop Desmond Tutu

 

Breaking News: Scott Walker accidentally says something true

22 June 2011

Dear Scott Walker,

I was absolutely shocked this week to read, in an article whose very title ("Walker says most voters aren't interested in recall elections and want to 'move on'") makes clear that there's going to be some serious lying going on, that you actually, if accidentally, said something true.

http://www.loleconomy.com/images/inconvenient_truth.jpg

Before we get to your accidental truths, though, I just have to say first that I find unconscionable your audacity in making claims about what voters are "interested in," considering your absolute refusal to engage in any sort of dialogue or discussion with, respond to, or even make eye contact with as far as I can tell, any citizens of Wisconsin who do not blindly support you.  I, for instance, have been telling you for months exactly what I'm interested in, and it's generally a tie between your recall and your resignation, and you keep telling me how you're going to keep those specific comments in mind. Your phony, tired claims about the "majority" become increasingly ingratiating the longer you refuse to connect with your constituents. The very idea of  of you having any idea what people are "interested" in is an absurdity of the highest order. You claim, in this  interview, that you're not really a divisive or "polarizing" force, that the unions are the ones dividing the people of Wisconsin. But the fact that you continue to refuse to acknowledge or communicate with us, coupled with your audacity in claiming to speak for us, proves otherwise. You are the most divisive governor in the United States. And I cannot wait to see you recalled.

That aside, though, I think it's a rare enough occasion for you to say something true that we should take a minute to discuss it.  To rule out any confusion, I should probably make clear that I am not talking about the most glaring lie in this article, in which you pretend (as usual) that unions - and not you, personally, are responsible for the outrage over your attempt to both revoke teachers' rights AND cut education so drastically that districts have no choice but to balance their budgets in cuts to staff and wage freezes. You said: “The union is purposely ginning up this mindset that (teachers) are under attack, they’re under siege --  I think unfortunately creating great fear and division among teachers and other public employees, with the whole idea (to) use this as an issue to try to leverage a change in the political leadership.”  Unbelievable. You could not have gotten this more wrong. Nothing true here.

The truth, ironically, comes in the bit where you babble on about how people "aren't interested" in the upcoming and inevitable recall elections, including your own. Here's what you said, in case you forgot:

“People are ready to move on,” Walker said in an interview after an appearance in Washington, D.C. “And I don’t just mean one party or another. I think just in general. The average citizen in Wisconsin I talk to, it’s like they’ve had it … They want us to be talking about jobs. They want us to be focused on that … And so having another political campaign -- it’s going to happen, it’s not like they can avoid it. But it’s not something they’re particularly interested in.”
Walker said that “when I talk to people, if that issue comes up, they’re like, ‘Can’t that just be over?'”

Crazy, I know, right? Where to start with this?  Well, why don't we start by addressing the lies, since they are the elephants in the room:

• You don't talk to "average citizens." You only talk to those you count among the faithful. The rest of us you ignore and/or insult.
• People don't want to hear you talking about jobs. They want you to create jobs instead of destroying the ones we already have, which you are not doing.
• People aren't just "interested" in the recalls. They are invested in them. They are passionate about them. And not just because we want to see "our own party" in office, as you imply. But because we have been shocked back to life by the egregious abuses of power that we have seen in your administration and we could not possibly be more interested in seeing you out of office.  It's the #1 thing we're interested in, actually. 
• The majority of people in Wisconsin want you out of office. Period.  You would lose in an election held today and you know it. You are deliberately and intentionally lying to promote the impression that the "silent majority" supports you despite the fact that you know full well this is untrue. You should be ashamed of yourself for never once giving serious, respectful attention to the outrage, fears and concerns of over half of the people in Wisconsin. Shame.

But in spite of the usual, shameful lies, not much is news here; we've heard all this before. There's a great analysis of your lies here, in a very nice article titled "Disingenuous Walker Lies Disingenuously" (the only way you know how).  We're used to your lies. But the surprise was in the truth.  Here's what you said that is true:

• People are ready to move on.  

That is so true! We are ready to move on (dot org!). We are ready to move on to the recalls. We are ready to move on to undoing the damage that has been done to our economy, our schools and our government (which, thanks to you and your cohort the people now have shockingly little faith in). We are ready to move on to getting real work done that brings people together to move Wisconsin forward. We are ready to tighten our belts and do our share, but we are ready to stop the tax cuts to the wealthy and corporate power-launderers who have purchased control of our government. We are ready. We are energized (thanks to you!). And we will move on. Without you.

I am ready to move on. Are you?  

Resign.

And soon,
Heather DuBois Bourenane
Taxpayer, future recall election voter, and average Wisconsin citizen who is extremely interested in seeing you out of office

PS: Remember how YOU were elected County Executive in Milwaukee in a recall election yourself and you praised people for "standing up and taking their government back?"  Turns out you accidentally said something true then, too:  "Too much is at stake not to get involved in the game." As true today as when you said it then. You might want to keep that in mind as your henchman Fitzgerald the Elder fights to take away this right to ensure a government of, for and by the people.

Keep your brown bag full of tools away from our schools

31 May 2011/1 June 2011

Dear Scott Walker,

Sorry I haven't written to you in few days. It took me some time to calm down enough to send you a letter that didn't have so much swearing. And I warn you that I'm not going to make any promises in that department, on account of you being such an insufferable ass and everything. But I'll do my best.

Why, you ask, am I too angry to write to you?  After all, I've been mad this whole time, and that hasn't stopped me, even if I have, on occasion, made reference to your assholery or the fact that you are a duplicitous jackass.  But why am I so mad that I can't write without degenerating into a rage-fueled barrage of foul language?  It's so unlike me not to be able to rant away! What's so special about this week?

Well, it's partly because the poll tax bill went through this week, effectively legalizing the disenfranchisement of tens of thousands of Wisconsin voters and - adding insult to a deep, deep injury - stealing money from our state's exemplary Election Campaign Fund in order fund this $7.5 million piece of totally unwarranted legislation.

And it's partly because Kloppenburg conceded the Supreme Court race after an unsuccessful recount, despite the fact that there were enough irregularities to warrant a federal investigation of election fraud, forcing me to wonder once again how I came to live in a state in which so many people would willingly vote for a man who openly called a colleague a bitch in a fit of workplace rage, then justified it by claiming she goaded him into, like "they" do.

And it's partly because of the absurd slap in the face which is the authorizing of unprecedented budget cuts to public education, and then trying to pacify the masses by calling a paltry $116 million adjustment to your proposed cuts a "roll back" (hey! worked for Wal-Mart! These idiots will buy anything!) as if we won't notice the $800 MILLION CUTS to public ed, or that they just moved " $160 million from the state's main account into roads and bridges - money that otherwise could have gone toward schools or other priorities." Seeing your proposals go through the Republican legislation essentially unchallenged isn't just infuriating; it's scary. It shows that our elected officials very clearly are not listening to public or expert testimony and that they are driven solely by party politics, a case which could not be more clear in any instance than the negligent partisanship of Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, who is as disinterested in the rule of law as he is in justice.

And it's partly because I'm terrified of the obscene conceal-carry law, and how no one seems to care about your plan to steal the pensions of public workers, and how now it's legal for municipalities in Wisconsin not to test their water.

But mainly it's because you've really amped up your efforts to disparage, disrepect, defund and destroy public schools in recent weeks. Powered, one imagines, by the residual ego-inflation of your moment of hobnobbery with the rich and dangerous in Washington, you returned to Wisconsin ready to launch a whirlwind tour of school visits and school hating, and you're doing so with an arrogance and level of contempt that is shocking even for you.

How dare you? How dare you force your way into the schools you're trying to destroy and make those poor teachers suffer through a "brown bag" (tm) lunch with you? How dare you "read" to the children whose futures you are doing everything in your seemingly unlimited power to restrict? (I put "read" in quotes because I still have no firm proof that this is a skill you actually possess). How dare you speak to the press - FROM  A PUBLIC SCHOOL! - and say that it doesn't matter to you in the least that a judge has declared your union-busting legislation illegal; you'll push it through some other way, no matter what it takes. Paul Fanlund got it exactly right:

"GOP operatives have been able to create and foster resentment toward teachers by other members of the middle class. Of all Republican hypocrisies, top prize must go to the complaint that it is Democrats who promote "class warfare" by proposing tax increases on the wealthy. All the while, the GOP relentlessly tries to split the middle class, pitting those who work for private employers against public employees. "

You think that you can keep visiting public schools, day after day, and continue to ignore the protesters, and their protests. And it seems to be working. You've broken me down to the point where it seems so utterly pointless to write to you that I can barely control my rage.

But guess, what, Scott Walker? A cute little baby who hates you as much as I do has inspired me to remember that solidarity doesn't end at the rally. And I'm not alone in not giving up. You can visit as many schools as you want, but that's not going to fool me for a minute into thinking you support education. This abuse of power will not stand. And we will not stand down.

12:11 am. So it's officially June now. Which means you have about seven more months to go around making a fool of yourself at schools and subjecting teachers to the humiliation of having to share physical space with you as you mock them. Meanwhile, we'll keep keeping you honest, by which I mean making public your lies and abuses of power. And we'll keep reminding you of this cute little baby, who hates you so much, since we know how you like to keep our "specific comments in mind":

Stop wasting taxpayer dollars to jet around the state visiting schools that don't want you anywhere near them. I hope you have the nerve to visit my son's school, so that I can launch a major letter-writing campaign and make sure my son does not attend school that day.  And so you could see how beautiful it is when all the teachers wear red in solidarity against your attacks on them, and our children. And also so we can make sure the media gets some good footage of the staff parking lot, where car after car sends the same message: RECALL WALKER.

Or you could just resign.

With all due respect (which, in your case, is none),

Heather DuBois Bourenane
Wisconsin taxpayer, parent, advocate of justice, and person capable of hardly swearing at all while addressing you

P.S. Remember your hokey "brown bag" campaign? It's been ironically repurposed. Enjoy:

This is what a school parking lot looks like.

Advice to Scott Walker from the World's Greatest Mom

8 May 2011

Dear Scott Walker,

I had no intention of letting you ruin my Mothers' Day, but somehow, you did.  I was going to go to the Mother's Day Picnic at the Capitol, and spend the day just relaxing with my kids. I was going to take a day off. But I couldn't. Because of you.

For starters, I couldn't get the image out of my mind of you in that hideous camouflage jacket, pretending you like going fishing during your annual gubernatorial publicity event, event though the protest had been planned for ages. And I couldn't stop thinking of the interview in which you, of course, insulted the protesters (and by extension, me personally) by saying "most people in this state go fishing to get away from politics, from business..." Which made me immediately feel exactly the same way I felt when I heard you were out bowling and the rest of us were raging against the preposterous gall with which you continue to "govern" this state.  (I put "govern" in quotes to make it clear that I don't think you're a very good governor - in fact, I refuse even to acknowledge you with the title of "governor" until you begin to show that office the respect it deserves by engaging in actual dialogue with your consituents.  So now you have a goal to work toward!)

Anyway, your callous remarks - while intended, of course, to be yet another subtle yet direct insult to anyone opposed to your illegal and dictatorial abuse of office, really got me thinking about how impossible it's been, ever since you took office (and even before, really, when the threat of your reign of terror prevented our TAA union contract from going through last fall). Because you really, truly believe you can leave your conscience at the office and chill out on the lake while the rest of us agonize over what the hell we're going to do with our lives if you are successful in your irrepressible efforts to ruin them. 

So even though it's Mothers' Day, and even though I just so happen to be the world's greatest mother (as evidenced below), I wasn't able to leave this business in the Capitol. I wasn't able to "get away" from politics. Because the people of Wisconsin, Scott Walker, cannot just "get away" from the consequences of your actions, as much as you like to try to convince yourself that these consequences are entirely noble and - in the long run - the best for us.  Because, in the long run, people are going to be jobless, and homeless and without insurance.  People like me. And then, while you are sitting on a boat with some people you barely know, you'll be forced, I hope, to have a terrible time. Because you'll be thinking about how you ruined the life of the world's greatest mom, and how she'll never, ever forgive you for that.  And you should never forgive yourself for it, either.

Luckily for you, though, I give out complimentary advice on almost any topic and have the perfect, and perfectly simple, solution to our problem: just resign.  It's that easy.  Do it.

Until then, thanks for ruining my Mothers' Day, and I wish you the absolute worst in your visit to Washington, D.C. to impress your benefactors (the DeVos Foundation for the Destruction of Public Education) by spreading the outrageous lie of how "successful" Milwaukee charter schools are, despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary. I have a feeling I'll be sharing more on this later this week. For now, just know I fully oppose your measures to take national your attempts to defund and destroy public schools while you use tax payer money to support private education and I will not be silent as you continue to mislead the public into thinking you support education while you work constantly to undermine it.  I hope you make as humiliating an impression as you did when you testified before Congress recently, if not worse.  And I hope there are tons of people there to give you the same "welcome" you got on your I-don't-give-a-crap-about-the-consequences-of-my-actions fishing trip.

Again, resign.

Heather DuBois Bourenane

World's Greatest Mother and Outraged Wisconsin Citizen

See that? "Best mom ever." That's me. So take my advice, and resign. Unless you hate mothers, which wouldn't really surprise me.

WHEREAS; Scott Walker does not appreciate public servants in the least

7 May 2011 

Dear Scott Walker,

I just wanted to take a moment to voice my rage and disgust over your insulting initiative to celebrate your "victory" in squashing the rights of state workers by declaring May 4th "State Employee Recognition Day" and calling for nominations of "outstanding" state employees.  Of all the things you've done to infuriate me, this is perhaps the worst, since it's the most transparently mean-spirited and duplicitous.

For starters, let's talk about your arrogance and idiocy in declaring "State Employee Recognition Day" in the middle of Teacher Appreciation Week without even mentioning teachers - nice job undermining some of the most important state workers we have! Nothing says "I don't appreciate teachers" like stealing their one week of appreciation out from under them. And a week before Mothers' Day, too, just in case any state worker moms forgot how you're trying to revoke our child-care options and force insurance companies to stop funding birth control. Keepin' it classy as always - at least you're consistent.

Worse, though, is how, after months of insulting us and claiming we don't pay taxes or otherwise contribute to our own earnings, and doing everything you can to abuse your power by taking away our rights, you dare to suggest that we nominate "outstanding" public servants who work above and beyond the call of duty (i.e. for free) - "the unsung heroes, the people who go the extra mile, the people who put in the extra work and dedication, the people who are selfless in their dedication." 

Did you really think we wouldn't recognize the blatant irony in this - that you're actually telling us, after attempting to illegally destroy our right to collective bargaining, that not only do you not want us to have any say in our own lives (since, as you keep reminding us, "there's nothing to negotiate"), but you also fully expect us to work without pay?!    I have to say, that really doesn't make me feel very "appreciated." It makes me feel mocked, and humiliated, and furious.  And it fortifies my resolve to make public my hatred for you more than ever.  

You said: "We can't say thank you enough..." But that's not really true. You could thank me a LOT more. How about instead of issuing a mocking proclamation, for instance, thanking me by showing that you appreciate my rights, and my dignity and my contributions to both the economy and the welfare of this state.  Because, amongst other things, I'm not a leech, or a thug, or an out-of-state protester. And there's no Certificate of Appreciation I can download and print large enough to cover the wounds you've already inflicted.  

So, thanks - but no thanks, on your phony Proclamation of Appreciation.  You can throw it in the garbage, next to the Constitution (I know it's in the garbage, since you don't recycle).

 While you're doing that, I'll get to work building my list of Outstanding State Employees to nominate for your "award" - starting, of course with the 14 state employees who made the ultimate sacrifice for the good of the state - working from Illinois, and at the threat of losing their pay - and all the civic and union leaders who have worked tirelessly on and off the clock to protect and defend the rights of Wisconsin workers.  I'd also like to nominate every public worker who dared stand up to you - through active dialogue, protest and sharing information, even in the face of your bullying and refusal to communicate with us or respond to our concerns. My list is pretty long.  This is going to be a very competitive award!

Until you resign,

Heather DuBois Bourenane
One of countless hardworking "unsung heroes" of Wisconsin and caller-out of your bullshit


P.S. If you ever get around to actually caring about public servants, you might take note of an existing - and sincere - way to show your appreciation for their hard work: http://www.welovepublicservice.org/ 

 

In contrast:

 

WHEREAS; Scott Walker is the most arrogant and duplicitous Governor in America (the official Proclamation)

Don't forget to go to YouTube and DISLIKE this video. Let's make sure it maintains the record-breaking "like" to "dislike" ratio it deserves.

 

An Open Letter to My Cats, and Scott Walker

19 March 2011

cc: Scott Walker

Dear Luna and Sitta,

I'm pretty sure you can't read this, given your tiny cat brains, but considering my latest passtime is writing letters to people who won't read them, I thought I'd take a few minutes to share some concerns I have that directly concern you.

First, what the hell is wrong with you guys? I mean, don't get me wrong, I love having you around, but sometimes you act like such jerks. I don't know what happened to you before you wound up at the Humane Society, but you've lived here almost a year now, and I think it's high time you get used to the two basic facts of your existence: (1) I will always feed you. Twice a day. So you don't have to pretend you haven't eaten in six weeks every morning when I wake up. I will get you your morning food as soon as I make my coffee, just like I did the other 300-some days in a row.  Get used to it. And please stop that incessant whining, because maybe if you weren't making that terrible noise it wouldn't be so important that I had my coffee first, and you might get your breakfast right away. Let's try that and see how it goes for a few weeks. (2) I am the person who cleans your litter box, and I'm never going to take it away from you, or fill it with poison litter, or pee or poop in there myself.  So you can stop running in and taking a crap right in front of my face every night like we all don't know whose "territory" that is. It's disgusting, and it's really not helping me at all in the "be a better cat person" department.  Those are the first two things.

Second, can you believe that Scott Walker? What a dog! I hold him personally responsible for the way I've been neglecting you guys lately, what with having to spend so much extra time online at night reading all the news and writing angry letters. I know you've grown accustomed to a little attention after the kids go to bed, but since Scott Walker refuses to respond to my messages, or talk honestly to anyone who disagrees with him, I'm forced to fret over it all night long. So I guess we can add DOESN'T CARE ABOUT THE HAPPINESS OR WELFARE OF CATS to our list of reasons to hate Scott Walker.  But seriously, can you cats believe that guy? He still plans to sell state-owned power plants to no-bid, won't-name, private buyers (Kochs). I wonder if he'll still try to make provisions so that it's legal for them to discriminate based on sexual orientation (have fun trying that one out). Worse, though, he's already frozen enrollment in BadgerCare, leaving the working, uninsured poor who are willing to pay for insurance totally screwed once again. Meanwhile, Scott Fitzgerald wants me to be taxed without representation, and JB Van Hollen  breaks his month-long silence on all these broken laws by saying he plans to appeal the temporary restraining order issued to halt the bill's publication while its legality is assessed. I'm starting to think all of these guys hate kittens, I really am. I hope you two don't think all humans are like that.

I left you home alone again today to go downtown and do some shouting. Things seemed pretty tame after getting used to the huge crowds for a while, but there were still thousands of people out there.  I was almost glad we were here this week instead of last week at the big rally - they needed us more today.  But as long as Walker gives us a new reason to be furious everyday, I don't think our movement will lose momentum. He sure hasn't disapponted so far.  Thanks for not tearing the place up while we were gone.  It's good to know I can trust you. Wish I could say that about our governor.

Much love,

Heather

PS I will feed you first thing in the morning. Please don't come sharpen your claws on my back in the night, ok?