Walker's "revised" update: less math, more lies?

7 January 2012

Dear Scott Walker,

Thanks for taking my advice!  I see that you did, indeed, send a revised "E-Update" [below] to (some of) your constituents yesterday!  Not entirely sure why I didn't receive this update at the email address to which you sent the last one, but I hope that I remain on your mailing list.  If it is your policy to remove concerned constituents from this list, I fear we have a serious problem.  And if it is your policy to send different "versions" of your updates to different "lists," I fear we have even more serious problems.

I wanted to clarify, though, that when I recommended you send "a revised or redacted" version of the update, I didn't mean you should send one in which the same errors (or "lies," depending on your perspective), were just slightly more ambiguous and misleading.  In the original email, your figures were so blatantly off that a cursory glance made obvious that you seemed to be just making up the numbers you cited. This revised email is actually worse, as it just provides unverified generalizations that belie the facts of the damage you have done to our state.  Most glaring are the sections on job creation and property taxes. Property taxes are up significantly even as property values decrease all over the state, and your bad math on this issue has been repeatedly exposed over the past year, with experts assessing that the average Wisconsinite will continue to see property taxes increase over the next two years.  Wisconsin now leads the nation in job loss and lack of economic growth, as the chart below makes glaringly obvious. As the rest of the nation begins to see real economic growth under collaboration with President Obama's job plan, Wisconsin stands out like a sore thumb and continues to suffer under your all-tax-cuts, no-jobs, nothing-to-negotiate policy:

Source: http://img2.ymlp225.net/kroyster_philadelphiafed_1.jpg

I am also concerned, since it's obvious that you have launched your recall campaign full force, that these "updates" consitute a very thinly veiled attempt to use taxpayer funds to distribute campaign propaganda. Since it took a full year of being in office to start considering it "one of [your] most important duties...to provide [us] directly with updates" and this timing just happens to coincide with your recall campaign, I suspect a misuse of your office that violates campaign laws.  I hope that you will take seriously your responsibility in providing accurate information in the future and not use taxpayer funds to campaign for reelection through "free advertising" in the form of electronic "updates" that simply repeat worn talking points from your campaign ads.

I am also concerned that, having changed the law this year to allow the State to file in a district of your choosing, you now plan to misappropriate the funds you have raised during the recall period.  The letter of the law [SS 11.26 (13)(m)] is very clear on this issue: the whole reason you're allowed this period of unlimited fundraising is to finance the legal fees associated with the costs of signature verification for the recall petitions, which the recall Statutes make clear is the burden of the incumbent.   Given the Waukesha judge's ruling this week, this burden would be shifted to the taxpayer.  I trust that you intend to offer the funds you have raised for this purpose since November to the GAB, since you are so clearly concerned with not imposing unnecessary expenses on the taxpayers of Wisconsin.  I am also concerned that your decision to "change the rules midstream," as has been succinctly critiqued by law professor Edward Fallone, reflects an agenda that has, from the start, been about gaining access to these unlimited funds more than justice.  This would explain why you chose to change the law about where you can file a lawsuit rather than the Statute you found unfair, and also why a Republican false-start on the recall petition filing gave you an extended fundraising period.  Given the continuing John Doe investigation and your history of connections to campaign fraud and embezzlement charges (as evidenced most recently in the felony charges against three of your associates, including your long-time campaign aide and Milwaukee County GOP Treasurer Timothy Russell), I find this lack of transparency extremely troubling. I request that in your next update you disclose what you will do with the "unlimited" funds you've raised since Nov. 5, 2011, which the law demands be used for the purpose of legal challenges you've just claimed you should not be responsible for.  If you accept the judge's ruling, you should offer those funds to the State to be used for their intended purpose.

Sincerely,
Heather DuBois Bourenane
Sun Prairie

Date: 01/06/12 04:19 PM

From: GovWalkerNewsletter@wisconsin.gov

E-update from the Desk of Governor Scott Walker

One of the most important duties I have serving as your Governor is to provide you directly with updates related to the operation of our state government.  In an effort to improve communication, periodically I will be sending out an e-update to provide you with more information about what is going on in state government.  Please feel free to share this update with your family, friends, and others who may be interested in state government operations.

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Read for the Future

Making sure Wisconsin students know how to read by the fourth grade is critical to their education and success in the future.  We need to make sure we are not failing them.

There is no skill more important than reading.  Yet, over the past two decades, students in other states have been improving their reading achievement on national measures faster than students in Wisconsin.  The results from the 2011 NAEP reading assessment for 4^th grade students show that while Wisconsin once ranked among the very top states in the nation, we now rank somewhere in the middle of the pack.  The literacy skills a child acquires in the early years of life provide the foundation for all later learning, and research has demonstrated that a child who is reading on grade level by the end of third grade is far more likely to graduate from high school than a student who is not.

In an effort to dramatically improve reading outcomes in Wisconsin, I convened the Read to Lead Task Force in the Spring of 2011.  We reviewed the state of reading in Wisconsin and developed a plan for improvement.  The impressive team of teachers, legislators from both political parties, researchers, and advocates worked together to reach a consensus on ways to ensure all of Wisconsin's children learn to read before they reach fourth grade.  Specifically I was happy to partner with State Superintendent Dr. Tony Evers, State Senator Luther Olsen, and Representative Steve Kestell.

The recommendations of the Read to Lead Task Force focus on improvements and changes in teacher preparation and professional development; screening, assessment and intervention; early childhood; accountability; and family involvement.  They include:

• Implementing early literacy screening for all kindergarteners in Wisconsin to identify and intervene with struggling students as soon as they enter school;
• Implementing improvements to teacher preparation programs around early reading, including a new, more rigorous exam for reading educators;
• Requiring that the professional development plans for all new elementary educators explicitly focus on literacy, and require focused professional development educators whose students continually struggle to improve their performance;
• Providing new, aggressive professional development opportunities to enhance the skills of current reading educators, including a new online professional development portal at http://www.readwisconsin.net and an annual reading conference for elementary principals and district reading specialists; and
• Creating a new public/private partnership to engage Wisconsin philanthropic groups and businesses around the goal of ensuring every child can read by the end of third grade.  

The Task Force's recommendations also focus on how the state will hold our institutions accountable for improving reading results.  Specifically:

• Wisconsin's new educator effectiveness system, released in November 2011, will require a portion of every educator's evaluation to be based on growth in statewide reading scores;
• Wisconsin's new school and district accountability system, still under development, will place additional weight on third grade reading performance to underscore the importance of reading on grade level at that critical year; and
• Schools and districts underperforming in reading will be required to implement targeted improvements, including a science-based reading program.

I am proud of the work of this non-partisan Task Force.  Working together I believe we have developed an important plan to improve reading in Wisconsin, laying the foundation for our students to excel.

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One Year on the Job

Over the course of the first year serving as your Governor I made a number of promises aimed at improving our state.  Unlike many office holders who often make promises that they do not keep, I followed through on a number of important initiatives aimed at reforming government and leaving our kids and grandkids with a state better off than the one we received.  Below is a listing of the major promises I took action on during my first year on the job. 

• I promised to balance Wisconsin's $3.6 billion budget deficit without increasing taxes or requiring massive public employee layoffs. On June 26th signed into law the 2011-13 budget. This balanced budget makes tough choices while providing a path to recovery and prosperity for our state and our people. Through honest budgeting, we are providing an alternative to the reckless tricks and gimmicks of the past.  Just as any parent would dread leaving their kids in debt, it is the dream of every mother and father to leave their children a little better off, and that's what our budget will do.
  
• I promised to call the Legislature into Special Session to pass pro-growth legislation aimed at helping employers create jobs.  Earlier this year I signed legislation into law improving Wisconsin's litigation climate, improving the state's regulatory process, creating the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, creating a tax credit for employers that create jobs, and making health savings accounts tax deductible.  In these challenging economic times while Illinois is raising taxes, we are lowering them.  On my first day in office I called a Special Session of the legislature, not in order to raise taxes, but to open Wisconsin for business.  I am pleased to sign into law bills that provide tax relief to small businesses, create a job-friendly legal environment, lessen the regulations that stifle growth, and expand tax credits for companies that relocate here and grow here.
  
• I promised to help the private sector create 250,000 new jobs by 2015.  After 3 years of net private sector job losses totaling 150,000, in the first 11 months of 2011 Wisconsin had a net increase of thousands of new jobs.  Because of the hard work done so far to improve Wisconsin's business climate, employers are willing to grow and invest in our state.  That is good for middle class working families and it is good for Wisconsin.  We are on our way to creating 250,000 jobs by 2015, but there is more work to be done in order to meet and surpass that goal.
  
• I promised to pay off the debts and fund raids of the past.  Working with the Legislature we were able to pay off $800 million in unpaid bills, including $235 million to the Patient's Compensation Fund and $58 million owed to the state of Minnesota.  These are huge steps toward restoring confidence in our state's ability to manage its finances.  The era of illegal fund raids, job killing tax increases, one time money being used for ongoing operations, and massive budget deficits has ended.  Paying off outstanding bills, operating under a balanced budget, and working on bipartisan, pro-growth initiatives sends a clear message to job creators that Wisconsin is open for business.
  
• I promised to take politics out of the woods.  Last year I appointed a Whitetail Deer Trustee and held a roundtable to listen to the concerns of hunters.  The Deer Trustee will provide an independent evaluation, study Wisconsin's deer management practices, and make recommendations.  It is vitally important that hunters, sportsmen and women, and conservationists trust the state to be a partner in helping to effectively sustain our deer populations.  The Deer Trustee will help ensure they have confidence in Wisconsin's deer herd management practices.
  
• I promised to freeze property taxes.  The budget signed into law and reforms are saving taxpayers hundreds of dollars.  For the first time in six years the school portion of the property tax levy went down one percent on average across the whole state.  Our reforms are protecting taxpayers while keeping our schools great.  Taxpayers are seeing their levies go down for the first time in six years, while our schools continue to meet the needs of Wisconsin students.

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It has been a pleasure communicating with you.  It is an honor to serve as your Governor and represent the residents of Wisconsin.

 

Sincerely,

Governor Scott Walker

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Wisconsinites aren't buying Walker's "savings"

Last week, Governor Walker sent out an "E-Update" with some very shady math about how profitable his "reforms" have been in Wisconsin. As one of the many, many taxpayers suffering under his cuts and increases to local taxes, I had a lot to say about that.  Turns out I wasn't alone.

Isthmus published my own letter to Walker as a Citizen editorial on The Daily Page, and one reader shared her own response to Governor Walker's message:

Governor Walker sent me the very same letter! Here's my reply: 

Please post on www.reforms.wi.gov complete and accurate information about the impacts of Governor Walker's reforms on the Hudson School District and on homeowners in the Town of Hudson, both of which are located in St. Croix County.

As reported in the Hudson Star Observer on 7/13/11, 7/21/11, and 9/21/11

• The Hudson School District was unable to recoup the $2.6 million in state funding cuts it suffered-despite making budget adjustments by increasing staff contributions for retirement accounts and health insurance, getting competitive bids for staff health insurance, allowing no increases in staff salaries and benefits for union or nonunion employees, cutting forty (40) staff positions, recognizing savings from staff retirements and attrition, cutting operating costs, cutting transportation costs, and increasing student fees;
• Property owners in the Hudson School District will see at least an additional two-percent (2%) increase in the property tax levy for the Hudson School District under the 2011-13 state budget and budget repair bill; and as a result,
• Under the 2011-13 state budget and budget repair bill, the Hudson School District will be able to provide less to students in the next and future years, but will be able to do so at a higher cost to us local taxpayers.

As shown on our Town of Hudson residential property tax bill for 2011, the results of Governor Walker's reforms are that:

• Although the 2011 assessed value of our home did not increase over the 2010 assessed value, our 2011 property tax bill did increase by 6.9% over our 2010 property tax bill because state aids to St. Croix County, Town of Hudson, Hudson School District, and WITC were cut significantly in 2011 compared to 2010 dollar amounts;
• 2011 state aids declined from 2010 state aids by 7% for St. Croix County, by 7.3% for Town of Hudson, by 6.7% for Hudson School District, and by 30.6% for WITC;
• The state portion of our 2011 home property tax bill increased by 1.8%;
• The St. Croix County portion of our 2011 home property tax bill increased by 8.0%, even though the St. Croix County Board again reduced the annual County budget and the 2012 County budget is 24% lower than the 2008 County budget;
• The Town of Hudson portion of our 2011 home property tax bill increased by 0.1%;
• The Hudson School District portion of our 2011 home property tax bill increased by 7.5%, even though the Hudson School District took all possible steps to cut costs; and
• The WITC portion of our 2011 home property tax bill increased by 5.4%.

Currently, the information posted on www.reforms.wi.gov regarding the impacts of Governor Walker's reforms in St. Croix County appears to be an example of misleading, if not outright lying, through omission. Surely Governor Walker would not want anyone to be mislead about the actual effects of the 2011-13 state budget and budget repair bill.

- Posted by a reader from Hudson, WI on 01/05/12 (reposted here with her permission).

Walker's "update" doesn't add up

30 Dec. 2011

Dear Scott Walker,

Thanks for the E-update and the confirmation that you do, in fact, acknowledge that I exist! While I recognize that this went out to everyone who "contacted Governor Walker’s office directly at some point during 2011," I accept it as the long-awaited recognition that you do, indeed, have my email address. It's a start!

I wanted to let you know right away, though, that I won't be sending you the gift cards you requested, as there are a number of errors (or "lies" depending on how you look at it) in your message. I know you're in California right now (gotta raise those recall election funds somewhere, eh?!) and probably have no idea what the message "you" sent even says, but I think you're going to want to send out a revised or redacted version very soon. Because you wouldn't want people to think you're an idiot. Or a liar. 

First of all, you claim in your letter that you have lowered the school portion of the property tax levy by one percent across the state, putting $228 million "back in the pockets" of Wisconsin taxpayers, which you claim "amounts to $69 for every man, woman and child in the state" just for the school portion of the tax bill.  What kind of fuzzy math is this?  Every man, woman and child?  Given the current population of Wisconsin, a $228 million difference would amount to about $40 per person, not $69. The 2010 census puts the population of Wisconsin at 5,686,986. Multiply this by $69 and you get $392,402,034 (not the $228 million you claim you put back in our pockets).  As my Dad asked, where's the other $164,402,034? In your pocket? 

This question is rhetorical, of course, because these figures - like my question - are a joke. It just doesn't add up. According to data from the Wisconsin Taxpayers' Alliance, Wisconsin taxpayers actually saw an increase in the tax rate ($9.84 this year, compared to $9.76) despite an overall decrease in the tax levy. In 2010-11, the school district levies statewide totaled $4,692,935,468.  In 2011-12, the total is $4,645,873,099. That's a .98 percent decrease, true: a difference of $47,062,369.  Where you got the figure of $228 million is a mystery only the person who actually writes your emails can solve.

So let's do the real math. If we divide that $47,062,369 by the 5,686,986 Wisconsin men, women and children whose pockets you care so much about, each of them saves $8.28 compared to last year. Not the $69 you claim.  (Not that even $69 a year would do anything to compensate for how much less I now take home in my paycheck, incidentally).

Eight dollars and twenty-eight cents.  That's my "savings."  That's how much I get for going along with the union busting, the demoralizing and demonizing of our hard-working teachers, the $1.6 billion in cuts to public education (on top of the fortunately miniscule reductions in local levy spending). Eight dollars and twenty-eight cents.  For my family of four, that's about $33. All of which and more, I'm sure, will be spent in the additional contributions I'll be expected to make next year to cover the things my kids' school already can't afford - like tissues and markers and notebooks and rulers and cleaning supplies and backpacks for low-income kids and dry erase markers and the little notes I have to write to teachers to remind them that not everyone really thinks they're worthless.  I expect all of this to add up to significantly more than thirty-three dollars.

Further, you don't explain how it is that we should give you, personally, credit for this, even if it were true.  How, exactly, did you put this money in our pockets? Was it by gutting public ed to the tune of $1.6 billion or by stripping teachers of their collective bargaining rights? I thought you said there was no fiscal component to that, and therefore the collective bargaining bill was sneaked in sideways outside of the budget.  Something doesn't add up here, either. Either that was a lie or you're trying to take credit for something that has nothing to do with you, neither of which are very rosy alternatives.

And for what it's worth, my own property taxes did not go down. They went up, and significantly so, due in no small part to the handiwork of our conservative City Council and Mayor John Murray (you know, the guy with no justice experience that you just appointed to be head of the Office of Justice Assistance for close to $100,000 a year?).  And our school tax levy only changed by a few cents, even though citizens had turned out in force at the annual School Board Budget Meeting and voted to raise it more to safeguard against your cuts that would force us to drop some much-needed programming.

So you might want to let people know that they aren't actually saving $69 each this year (where did you even get that number from, anyway? Did you just make it up out of thin air?). You might also not want to beg them to send you the gift cards you find such an incredibly touching gesture. I think a lot of people are still pretty mad about you not really creating any jobs and whatnot, so you kind of come off a little, um, absurd, with that request.  I'd cut that part out of the letter altogether if I were you. Because I don't think people are really in the mood to send you gift cards at the moment.

Thank you for the wishes of a happy new year.  I have very high hopes for 2012 and wish you all the best, too, in finding your new job.

Sincerely (by which I mean I sincerely cannot wait to see you recalled),

Heather DuBois Bourenane

Sun Prairie

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Date: Friday, December 30, 2011 11:05:40 AM GMT-0600
Subject: E-Update from the Desk of Governor Scott Walker

E-update from the Desk of Governor Scott Walker

One of the most important duties I have serving as your Governor is to provide you directly with updates related to the operation of our state government.  In an effort to improve communication, periodically I will be sending out an e-update to provide you with more information about what is going on in state government.  Please feel free to share with this update with your family, friends and others who may be interested in state government operations.

 

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Protecting Property Taxpayers

Throughout December homeowners received their property tax bills.  The average property tax owner saw their tax bill stay the same or decrease for the first time in years. 

Just last week I received a special letter from a Fox Valley area family.  They said they were very thankful for our reforms, and they actually enclosed a gift card for the amount their family saved on property taxes this year.  Gestures like this mean the world to me.  Everything we’ve done is to lay the groundwork for a better future for the next generation, which is why I’ll be donating the cards to various charities throughout Wisconsin.

The school portion of the property tax levy was down one percent across the state.  It’s important to point out that school tax levies increased on average $162 million a year—each of the last five years.  By comparison, this year we put $228 million back into the pockets of property taxpayers in this area alone.  That amounts to $69 for every man, woman and child in the state. 

 

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Reforms and Results

Earlier this year long-term, structural changes were made to fill in Wisconsin’s $3.6 billion budget deficit and help local units of governments balance their budget without increasing taxes. 

Simple changes have saved taxpayers millions, such as allowing local units of government and school districts to take competitive bids for public employee health insurance plans and reforming overtime rules. 

I created a website (www.reforms.wi.gov) to track examples of the savings realized from these reforms.  This website has video testimonials from local government officials talking about balancing their budgets, a breakdown of the savings in each county and a categorization of how these savings were achieved.

Reforms.wi.gov goes beyond simply listing the savings from having public employee’s to pay a little bit more toward their pension and toward their health insurance premiums (which is still well below what federal government employees pay and well below the average Wisconsin citizen).  This website also shares examples of how the reforms have actually improved government services. 

I encourage you to visit this website, to learn about the savings realized in your county.

 

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Weekly Radio Address

One of the other ways I communicate each week is by partnering with the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association to produce and distribute a brief radio address once a week.  The audio files of these radio addresses may be accessed on http://www.wi-broadcasters.org and http://walker.wi.gov/section.asp?linkid=1761&locid=177. 

Previous topics of the radio address include, but are not limited to SeniorCare, encouraging educator effectiveness, property taxes, making government more efficient, and honoring Wisconsin’s veterans.

A new radio address is posted each week at 10 a.m. on Thursday.  I encourage you to check out the radio address website each week to learn more about your state government. 

 

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From my family to yours: Happy New Year

As we close out 2011 my wife Tonette, and our two sons would like to wish you and your family a happy, safe, and prosperous New Year. 

It has been a pleasure communicating with you. It is an honor to serve as your Governor and represent the residents of Wisconsin.

Sincerely, 

Governor Scott Walker

 

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How to Institutionalize Hate Speech: Part 2, An Open Letter to Chris Mertes

The Sun Prairie Recall Office, all aglow. Stop by and sign the petitions! 1571 Ivory Drive

In a recent editorial, Sun Prairie Star editor Chris Mertes makes a house-of-cards case for Democrats being responsible for the climate of political discourse, using a few examples of facebook pages and posts he doesn't like, and ignoring altogether actual incidents of local violence and hate speech (including the threatening call I myself received and he had reported in the Police Blotter column of The Star). He claimed he had no knowledge of any other incidents, which is, I suppose, possible, but if true, a very sobering reflection of the integrity of the hometown paper.  Jeff Simpson, who writes for Forward Lookout and Blogging Blue, took Mertes to task for this piece.  I very highly recommend it. You can read it here: "An Open Letter to Christopher Mertes."

I wrote my own letter to the editor, which he did not publish because it apparently exceeded the word limit on letters to the editor.  Interestingly, in his response to some resoundingly negative comments to the online post of that editorial, Mertes argues that allowing such comments is proof that he is open to alternative perspectives:

If we did not want other viewpoints to be aired, why would we have a website that allows commentary, albeit as misinformed and misguided as yours is, to be printed?

Misinformed? Misguided? Not exactly raising the bar on the sort of civil discourse he's appealing to in his editorial, is it? Note that the "you" he refers to here is Sun Prairie resident Barb Muse, a retired educator, grandmother and active recall volunteer who is as "informed" and "guided" a person as you may ever hope to meet. Insulting her in a public forum is hardly the display of decorum that encourages one to believe Mertes was sincere in his calls for civility.

I admit to having years ago cancelled my subscription, and I only occasionally follow the website. But The Star did not cover the local recall effort at all to my knowledge (beyond online publication of our two press releases) until this article came out on Dec. 21, 2011, less than three weeks before the end of the 60-day recall effort.  The article, by Rachel Wittrock, ironically makes clear that a priority concern for recall workers is to restore civility and a spirit of neighborly respect to the political climate that has vanished under the intolerant administration of Scott Walker.  The recall process began full-force on Nov. 15 and the Sun Prairie recall team has since collected about 7,000 signatures and its volunteers have been the subject of numerous other press engagements - including the Wisconsin State Journal, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, several local television and radio channels, and national outlets like The Ed Schultz Show (tv and radio) and The New Yorker magazine. News of the death threat I received got even broader coverage. We have regularly staffed two or more locations from 8am-8pm and held visible and publicized events throughout this time.  We have nearly 400 active volunteers - significantly more people, incidentally, than are "fans" of the The Star's facebook page. And yet The Star didn't find any of this newsworthy until late December.

I will repeat here the call I made in my own letter to Mr. Mertes: it's time for The Star to star inviting editorials from people with differing perspectives.  Not doing so damages the credibility of the paper and its value to a diverse community. And it actively promotes the very sort of discourse Mr. Mertes claims to oppose. We should expect nothing less from our local paper, and we shouldn't have to beg for it. If we want to promote civil dialogue, let's start by actually having one.

How to Institutionalize Hate Speech: Wisconsin Recall Edition

Senator Mark Miller with SPARC recall volunteers. Looks civil to me.

In Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, our hometown paper, The Star, is decidedly conservative, and while they did very kindly post our press releases online, coverage of the local recall effort has otherwise been limited to general discussion of the statewide recall effort in the form of a few demeaning editorials and a couple of angry letters from residents of nearby towns.  The paper did send a reporter to our office about a week ago to interview a few volunteers for an article on our efforts, but that article has not been printed yet. In my own interview with that reporter, I named several instances of harassment and intimidation to local recall workers, so I was surprised to see these facts ignored when I read the latest editorial online. In "Is hate speech being institutionalized?" , managing editor Chris Mertes takes on the topic of "hate speech" by refusing to acknowledge local recall violence and referring to a couple of anti-Walker facebook pages he doesn't like. He fails to mention that there have already been several calls on the Governor  to address the lack of civility being shown recall supporters - in the form of actual violence, threats of violence, harassment, and so on (including one from a Sun Prairie resident - me). While local legend and Mertes-Caller-Out Extraordinaire Eric Basile already soundly critiqued the editorial (see the article comments), I felt obliged to send my own letter, to add some balance by sharing some of the things we've seen at the local level in our recall efforts.  People tell me he's unlikely to publish the letter in the print edition, but maybe he'll surprise us. And who knows? Maybe he'll even take me up on my suggestion that he solicit more balance in the editorial department. It could happen. This world is ours for the changing, after all.

Letter to the editor. RE: "Is hate speech being institutionalized?"

I am a member of SPARC (Sun Prairie Action Resource Coalition), and also a United Wisconsin coordinator helping to organize the local recall movement here in Sun Prairie.  We have been collecting recall signatures here in town since November 15, and have been enormously impressed with the civility, respect and productive dialogue we've seen in the community. We thank all of the citizens of Sun Prairie for helping us collect signatures as peacefully and harmoniously as possible - we understand that this is a very charged political moment and many people have very strong feelings about what is happening in Wisconsin right now. We truly appreciate that our right to collect signatures and express our views has been respected by members of the community, and we also strive to be as respectful as possible of fellow citizens who disagree with our efforts.  To this effect, our group has been praised by the City Clerk, the Sun Prairie Police Department, the mayor, and the City Council president, all of whom expressed appreciation for our efforts to ensure that we collect signatures legally, transparently, and as amicably as possible. SPARC is about building community, and we believe that even in times of political turmoil we can still come together as friends and neighbors.

However, while the vast majority of responses we get are cordial and civil (mainly in the form of waves, honks, thumbs up and "thank yous!"), we have also had many instances of people expressing their displeasure with the recall effort.  While not all of these instances count as "hate speech," and people most certainly have the right to express their opinions about our work, we are regularly on the receiving end of negative comments and uncivil remarks. I have personally witnessed numerous instances of harassment, including the following: people shouting obscenities at recall workers from their cars; people giving the middle finger to signature collectors as they drive by; hate mail; threatening and hateful voicemail messages; harassing phone calls in the middle of the night; and threats of physical assault. We have had to call the police on more than one occasion. At a recent event, we even had a man drive by whose young son shouted at us, making obscene gestures, from the back seat while his father looked proudly on.  And while these instances are vastly outnumbered by the civil responses we see, they provide ample evidence that at the local level, it is people who stand in opposition to the recall movement - and not the local recall workers themselves - who have been openly demonstrating the sort of incivility Mr. Mertes bemoans in his disingenuous editorial.

I find it unconscionable that Mr. Mertes feels he can simply ignore the actual instances of political hate speech going on right here in Sun Prairie and yet still draw conclusions about the state of political affairs based on his selective reference to certain posts and facebook pages. For every anti-Walker page he mentions, there is a pro-Walker page that is equally malevolent. He brazenly ignores, for instance, several well-publicized facebook pages which actively collect personal information on recall workers and promote and encourage acts of violence against them, and which are even under police investigation.

Mr. Mertes asks if hate speech is being institutionalized, and I am ashamed and saddened to see that the answer to this question seems to be a resounding YES.  By blatantly ignoring local instances of the very sort of hate speech he claims to abhor, Mr. Mertes effectively condones that speech.  And as a Sun Prairie resident who has been a victim of that incivility, I find this to be shamefully irresponsible coverage of an issue that affects all of us, on both sides. We are neighbors. We are friends. Our children play together every day. Our voices deserve a place beside each other in the local paper.  If our shared goal is to avoid hate speech and come together for civil dialogue, then both sides should have equal time at the table. Perhaps now would be a good time for Mr. Mertes to solicit the occasional editorial from someone who does not share his views, so that we can get there faster.

Sincerely, 

Heather DuBois Bourenane 

                 Volunteers keep it civil (and fun) at the Sun Prairie Recall Office.    Are these grandmothers threatening our sense of security and civility? Or is there a more sinister subtext at work in editorials like the one posted in The Star this week?

How to Survive the Holidays Without Money Using Scott Walker's "Tools"

19 December 2011

Dear friends of justice and dissent,

As you know, I am an expert in surviving without money using Scott Walker's "tools," by which I mean I have survived so far and continue to live (without money) happily and functionally as he (allegedly) continues to "govern" this state.

However, with the holidays just around the corner, I thought perhaps we could use some new and more pointed tips on how to best survive the holidays under the Grinchish rule of Scott Kevin Walker.  Follow these tips, and I'm sure you'll get through the holidays just fine.

Whose house? "Our house."

1. Tell your kids that Santa won't be coming this year because the elves couldn't produce enough gifts for everyone after layoffs, and having their wages and hours reduced, but maybe next year if the outsourcing plans go well, they'll get some nice gifts from South Pole Santa.
2. Can't afford to travel home for the holidays? Send your greetings by mail, like this Wisconsin family (pictured) did.
3. Feeling bad about not being able to contribute to the local economy?  Let local businesses know you support them by collecting signatures to recall Walker on the public sidewalk in front of their stores.
4. Can't handle the insufferable politicking at your company Christmas party? Luckily for you, you don't have to lie this year to get out of it: just tell your boss you can't make it...because you'll be at your other job.
5. Can't buy the kids those pricey toys at the top of their wish-lists?  So sorry to hear that. Having no money can't solve that one. But good luck with that talk about "the true meaning of Christmas being giving" etc.  Should go over really well.  Maybe a tour of the Capitol Nativity scene would help (don't forget to wear your RECALL WALKER gear, to be extra festive. And don't bring the whole family, unless you have four or fewer people in your family, because you're going to need a permit for that. So if you have a big family, you might want to split up in groups of 3 and pretend you don't know each other if the Capitol Police start eying you. Although spending Christmas in jail might be an easy out in the no-presents-under-the-tree department).
6. Can't afford expensive tickets to The Nutcracker? Do something free, like tour the Holiday Fantasy in Lights display at Olin-Turville Park in Madison. Bonus: You can sign the recall petition on the way out if you haven't already!
7. Can't throw the annual holiday party you're so famous for on your new budget? Have a virtual party instead! Or join mine: RECALL WALKER HOLIDAY PHOTO CONTEST. Cost to enter: $0. Cost to vote: $0. Seeing all the creative ways Wisconsinites are channeling their holiday spirit into recall action: priceless.



Photo: Vin Vado

8. Homemade goodies mean so much more than store-bought crap anyway: who wouldn't appreciate some  of these delicious cookies (at right)?
9. Draw names so you only have to buy a gift for one person. I suggest a $30 limit, so you can get an autographed copy of Cut from Plain Cloth: The 2011 Wisconsin Workers' Protests.  Gender-neutral, collector's item...who wouldn't love it? (Note: that is not a rhetorical "who wouldn't love it?" It is direct request. This is at the top of my wish list.  If you all chip in...).
10. Need a free and fast last-minute gift idea? Nothing could be more tasteful and practical than a set of his and her petitions to recall Walker and Kleefisch, hand-rolled and wrapped in an elegant ribbon. The gift that keeps on giving.

See? With a little thrifty thinking, your holidays can still be as holly and jolly as ever.  And just think how happy your New Year is going to be once Walker is recalled!

Happy Holidays!

Heather

Can't fool Santa

Grinches never win.

Leading (and Listening) by Example: A lesson for Scott Walker

11 December 2011

Dear Scott Walker,

You know what's sad? People asking me to share their stories because they know you won't read them, and they know you don't care. Nancy Colford of Green Bay shared this touching story (below) and I was asked to post it.  I'm happy to oblige, as I think it's absolutely crucial that stories like this are told.  The story of Nancy and her neighbor is the story of so many families in Wisconsin who are forced to live with less and less and less, despite their best and most beautiful efforts.

What bothers me is the circuitous way the story has to be told, and how it came to be that an angry, bloggy mom from Sun Prairie has to share this sort of information because you have proven, over the course of this year, that you refuse to listen, and have nothing to say, to the citizens of Wisconsin (unless of course, they're all ready on file as your supporters). And so people just stopped trying to talk to you. You are officially nothing more than an eavesdropper on the Wisconsin experience. We are talking around you, not to you. And that's what you get for not listening. Oh, and you're also getting recalled.  Which is a positive consequence, I guess, if a tragic one.

The lives you are destroying are the lives of people who matter, people who make a difference, people with integrity and humility and pride. People who can't be ignored. People who are not disposable. People who didn't ask for any of this. I don't know how you can live with that.

Heather DuBois Bourenane
Wisconsin taxpayer, dissident, courier, etc

Here is Nancy's heartbreaking letter. I hope it keeps you up at night:

My single parent neighbor lives like we all should. I have lived across the street from her for 21 years, and in the past year I have discovered many things about her that I never knew. She and her 13 year old son go to several area nursing homes several times a year to play piano and sing to the residents. They don't go with a group. They go because since they are able to, they feel they should. They work monthly at a soup kitchen or a food pantry ... not because someone organized it and asked them. They go around asking who needs help because they feel they should. She has taken her son with her to canvass politically years before I knew such a thing existed. They only do it in nice weather as they both have inherited bronchial disease preventing them from being out in the cold, but she wants her son to be politically aware and know how to canvass.

What did her 13 year old son learn from this example? Last fall I fell down the stairs and dislocated my knee. I was outside trying to cut my grass with my reel lawn mower. Her son saw me and came across the street and told me he was going to finish it for me. He helped me get my yard settled for winter. He didn't do this because his mother asked him to; she didn't. He did it because he felt like he should. He refused to accept any payment because I was hurt.

This is just great, but what does it have to do with the current trickle-down? They live a very simple life in a tiny box of a house. Most of their entertainment is helping others. She has made a career for over 20 years of being a substitute (usually music) teacher, which pays very poorly and has no benefits, but she has her own health issues that make a regular teaching job unrealistic for her. They receive no government benefits even though they are eligible for some. They were happy with their simple life of mostly helping others. She will soon be out of work because of the current politics in Wisconsin and how they are affecting the schools. She is now retraining to do 2 minimum wage jobs, hoping she will find employment in one of them.

I am very worried about her. She has severe scoliosis, causing what is commonly known to some as "hunchback." She will probably be in a wheelchair before she is 60, as her mother was before her. She is now 53. She will probably not even be able to do one of the new jobs she is training for, but she is desperate. I held her when she cried. I wish Scott Walker could read what I just posted. I wish he would live his life as she does.

This is what integrity looks like: A letter from Erika Hotchkiss

Below is a copy of a letter that Erika Hotchkiss, the owner of Tuvalu, a cafe in Verona, WI, wrote to her local paper. I understand the paper didn't publish it, as she is running for Dane County Supervisor, 32nd district. I can only assume that anyone in the 32nd would be proud to vote for her after reading it. I know I personally look forward to service on the County Board, and thank her for taking a stance of integrity and character, and putting Wisconsin first.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR:
Since the beginning of the recall effort in I have received many messages and phone calls both in support and in opposition to Tuvalu’s participation in the recall effort. I would like to take a moment to clarify why I have made the decision to involve my local business in this issue.

Tuvalu Coffeehouse & Gallery has, since it's opening, been all about social justice. Everyt...hing I do I do with the thought of how it will affect our community, our children, and quite honestly our world. I have set out to make a place in Verona that educates consumers and offers a family friendly environment and a socially conscious choice within our community.

I feel strongly that what is happening to the people of our state and the divisiveness that we see at the Capitol is, at its core, a social justice issue. I have, therefore, provided the recall Walker organizers in Verona a place to collect signatures where they can sit out of the cold at a table in the corner and be safe, and the people who want to sign the recall petition can sign it knowing that they are signing in a place where they and their signatures are also safe. The recall group has been very respectful of our business and our customers. They sit quietly at a table with their petitions waiting for people to come to them if they so choose.

As a customer recently wrote to me “Some might think that putting politics into your business is risky… Sometimes, separating the two is the least authentic choice. We must all go to bed at night knowing we are measured by the positions we take on a daily basis. I applaud the transparency and I know you sleep well.”
No matter the outcome, I wouldn't change a thing.

As a longtime resident of Verona, a mother to three wonderful kids, and a small business owner I have to make the best choices I am able to every day. I love that we have a safe place in Verona for people to sign. I love that I am able to stand up for what's right with integrity and feel empowered and supported by this wonderful community! I have never been silent when I see injustice and misuse of power no matter the risk. I truly would walk away from anything where I was not able to be authentic to who I am and what I believe.
This is what Tuvalu is at its core... it’s more than just a place to get a cup of coffee.

Thank you all and Happy Holidays!
Erika Hotchkiss

You can support Erika Hotchkiss' campaign for Dane County Supervisor here.

Educators and Walker Collaborate Toward his Recall

5 Dec. 2011

Dear Scott Walker,


I'm sorry you chose to ignore my last letter. There's really no other way to interpret that than as an endorsement of the harassment, actual violence and threats of violence against recall workers.  Your handlers must be so proud. You really don't give an inch, do you?  It really makes me sick that your supporters see this as your strength when it is, in fact, your tragic flaw.

But that's not why I'm writing today, having not expected any response beyond your usual refusal to acknowledge dissent.  I'm writing about your latest radio address, on the topic of teacher merit pay and your grand "collaborations" with education experts.

I try, as a lover of truth and justice, to ignore your weekly propaganda session radio address. I assume you won't take it personally, as someone who makes a living ignoring people who are speaking directly to him.  But the one you made last Thursday (Dec. 1, 2011) was too hard to ignore, because you were talking about the issue that matters most to me, and the issue about which I most find grounds for your recall, and the issue about which you lie the most: education.  And even though you'd think I'd be used to it by now, I cannot believe you have the nerve to continue your campaign of lies, misrepresentations and misinformation even in the midst of a massive recall effort based at its root on these very manipulations and duplicities. Here's what you said:

As a parent with two sons in public schools, I want them to receive the very best education possible.  As governor, I want this same thing for all of Wisconsin’s children.  Ensuring that our kids receive a great education means making sure that our teachers receive the professional support they need and that parents and educators know how well our students are achieving.

That’s why we joined with the State Superintendent, school boards, school administrators, and the teachers unions to develop a better system to evaluate teachers.  It’s the kind of constructive collaboration that doesn’t always make it to the front page of your local paper but it is important work that I am proud to support.

First of all, we all know your office was one of many players in this business so stop trying (as usual) to take credit for other people's work. It's no secret that you don't think public sector jobs are "real jobs" because they don't earn people "real money" and that you think the business model is the only model for running anything.   The jackassery of applying this perspective to our heretofore excellent education system has been the subject of debate and discussion all year, and Uppity Wisconsin recently revealed how your attempt to revive former Governor Doyle's merit pay system and pass it off as your own is yet another embarrassing example of your customary hypocrisy.  I hate to always have to be the one to remind you of this, but (and I'm going to put this in caps so you know that I'm shouting at you) OUR SCHOOLS ARE NOT YOUR PERSONAL "BUSINESS" TO RUN and you are not, in fact, the CEO of anything, least not the State of Wisconsin, which is also not a business at all. I really wish, sometimes, that you'd finished college so that you could have learned more about things like business and the real world and the value of education and how to use dictionaries. It's so frustrating to always have to explain things to you.  But I digress. You continued:

We will move beyond traditional merit pay models that simply hand out bonuses for good standardized test scores.  Instead, it has the potential to better serve students by rewarding teachers who continually demonstrate excellence on a number of fair measures while working to support struggling teachers.  I believe teachers who continually excel should be given an opportunity to earn more pay while moving up a teacher career ladder that allows for peer mentoring and other leadership roles without having to leave the classroom entirely.

I don't think you could have said anything that better illustrates your complete lack of understanding of how education works and why we, as a civil society, are bound to value teachers based on the unquantifiable virtue of their profession rather than the "merit" of their "value" in pay than your use of the absurdly and disgustingly contemptuous and condescending expression "moving up a teacher career ladder."   What is wrong with you? Seriously.  Do you really think teachers care so little about themselves or their work that their only aspiration is to "advance" along the edu-corporate "ladder"? Your disrespect for education could not be more evident when you use expressions like this. Who writes your speeches anyway?  But I'm digressing again.

I’m pleased that the system we helped develop earned the praise of both the Wisconsin Education Association Council and the American Federation of Teachers-Wisconsin. Mary Bell, the president of WEAC, said that the educator evaluation system will improve teaching and student learning. It was also praised by School District Administrators and the School Boards Association.

While your speech is deliberately unclear in its vague description of the details of the merit pay plan, and an obvious attempt to rebrand forced collaboration as actual consensus (where, again, you seem to be just trying to take credit for other people's ideas - like you did when school districts were forced to deal with your budget cuts), the implication that these organizations either support or praise your education policy is just going too far for me to bear.  And Mary Bell is hardly gushing your praises. What she said was "Through consensus building, Wisconsin will be using an educator evaluation system that will improve teaching and student learning," which cannot, by any stretch of the imagination, be reconstrued as praise for your anti-education agenda.

So while these groups were, of course, obligated to "collaborate" with you on this issue, that hardly translates to evidence that you have the slightest idea what "consensus building" even means.  Here's what we do know:  We know that the "School District Accountability Design Team" you've organized is working in direct opposition to the efforts of WEAC and the DPI to favor private and charter schools over the interest of the majority of Wisconsin children in public schools.  We know that the unions don't support you, especially the part about imposing a two-year wage freeze on all state workers on top of all the cuts to their take-home pay (despite the fact that they haven't had a raise since 2009). And we know that teachers (obviously) don't support you (as most painfully evidenced by the horrific staging of the only pseudo-experts you could dredge up to pretend to support you in the pre-campaign ads you've been airing constantly). We know that State Superintendent Tony Evers doesn't support you. We know that the Association of School District Administrators doesn't support you.  And we know that WEAC doesn't support you.  In fact, the first thing you see when you click on the WEAC webpage is a giant picture of this:

When you click on it, it links to a members-only page for all things recall.  Hardly the "praise" you claim WEAC President Mary Bell is dishing your way, is it?

I don't entertain any hopes that any of this will stop your weekly propaganda sessions, but I do hope that this will remind you that your tired lies and doublespeak are not fooling everyone.  Whatever this group decides about refashioning the way teachers are recognized for their achievements, your plan to control the merit pay for public workers has already been discounted for what it is: more of the nepotism and cronyism we've come to expect and despise:

"Under the plan, Walker appointees at the Department of Administration will have the ability to hand-pick which state workers are rewarded with pay increases without any evaluation system," said Scott Spector, a spokesman for AFT-Wisconsin, which represents about 17,000 public workers. "There is no accountability and no transparency. It would appear that the only merit used to judge state workers is their loyalty to the governor." 

And now, at last, I may see a method to your madness: there may be an ounce of fiscal responsibility in you yet!  Your masterplan seems to be to remind all state workers - especially teachers - why they should never, ever demonstrate any loyalty to you, so that you, in turn, will never have to "reward" them with "merit pay." Pretty sneaky. And vile. And unconscionable.  But it does help explain why you try so hard to give teachers the impression you have no respect for them.  And the sum total of all this points toward one conclusion: the only thing all of these groups seem to be collaborating with you on is the effort to see you recalled.


Looking forward, as always, to seeing you recalled, as are all the teachers, students, and administrators in Wisconsin. Or at least all the ones you don't pay to pretend to support you.

Heather DuBois Bourenane
Taxpayer and recall enthusiast

What Superintendent Tony Evers, educators, students, parents and WASDA administrators really have to say about the impact of your budget, despite the lying spin you immediately tried to pass off, which actually just reveals the damage you've done to our schools.

--------------------
Update 12/7/2011.  Walker signed the Senate Bill 95 into law today - a bill that allows test scores to be one reason you can fire a teacher. And here's what Mary Bell really had to say about it:

“This is just another item to add to the growing list of attacks on educators and public education that Governor Walker and his allies have relentlessly pursued.”

WEAC, and Mary Bell, support the Framework for Educator Effectiveness initiative. But there's not much question here about whether or not they support Walker.

Thursday again today. Wonder what tonight's propaganda session has in store, and if I can bring myself to listen to it.