Yesterday, December 2nd, 2011, several things happened that were quite unusual. Keep in mind, I have a pretty good sense of usual at the Capitol as I have been there every day (with few exceptions) since February 14th. First, the Governor made a public appearance in the Capitol (extremely unusual). Second, the rotunda was filled with veterans at eight in the morning (not as unusual as an appearance by Scott Walker, but different nonetheless). Third, Children boarded a bus at four a.m. to come sing at the Capitol (again not nearly as unusual as an appearance by the Governor, I would assume, but unusual nonetheless). And fourth, the Department of Administration, headed by Secretary Mike Huebsch, and under control of Scott Walker himself, further restricted First Amendment rights and potentially violated their own policy. To those who are weary of the recall. I ask you to ask yourselves if a man like Scott Walker will do all of what you are about to read in the middle of a recall, what comes if we don’t manage to recall him? How much worse will he act without a recall looming over his head? For the sake of all my brothers and sisters in this great state and nationwide (it effects everyone), these questions can never be allowed to be answered.
I started my day expecting to be disgusted. After all Scott Walker was lighting the holiday tree in the Wisconsin State Capitol and throwing a ceremony for the veterans. Now take note, I support our veterans and service members. I have a long line of veteran ancestors. What disgusts me is that Scott Walker would think that he could change tradition and that he was even worthy of uttering the words that he supports our veterans after all he has done to hurt them. But nonetheless he did. When I say he changed tradition, it is customary for the tree lighting service to be held at noon, as has been done in years prior. Scott Walker, in all of his paranoia, refused to show up unless the service was at 8:15 am instead of noon, drawing far fewer people than previous years. This alone is disrespectful to our veterans. He further went on to blow off the children and not allow a school choir to sing.
Scott Walker managed to keep one custom alive, it had seemed, and let a school from the area in which the tree had come sing a song. For many of these kids this is a crowning moment. They get to sing in front of a bunch of people at a special ceremony to light the tree. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for these children. This year the tree was from the northern area of the State. It takes hours to get from that area to the Capitol in Madison. The teachers and school kindly asked that Scott Walker have the ceremony at noon, as is customary, so the children didn’t have to leave real early. Scott Walker refused even that, stating that the protesters (in this case Solidarity Singers) would overpower the event if it is at noon and take it over. This is a complete lie. I have been to probably over 200 sing alongs this year. Yes, it is true they hold the event every weekday (and literally every weekday even holidays) in the Rotunda of the Capitol at noon. But what is also true is that every single time (and literally every single time) there is a planned and permitted event (as this one was said to be), they have moved the sing along outside out of simple respect for the function of the building, even if they have just same day notice of the event. So Scott Walker’s point is completely moot as the sing along has a long history of moving outside when other events take place and no history of not doing so. But it gets worse.
The time had finally arrived for the ceremony to start but there was one problem. There were no school singers. Instead, when they were over 3/4 of the way to the Capitol they found out that the tree had already been lit. Without them. In fact, the teachers attempted to reach Scott Walker but he had no intention of figuring out why they weren’t there. Instead, he blew them off completely, commencing the ceremony and pretending he cares about the veteran’s without them. Fortunately, the Senator that represents the kids did the right thing. Senator Bob Jauch, a Democrat, unplugged the tree after the ceremony and asked a group of protesters to stay so the choir had an audience. I had already left, having taken part in an action where we silently turned our backs to Scott Walker, I had to post a video so that people could see what really happened and the media couldn’t lie about it like they did with the Special Olympics event (here is me on Fox Business News actually explaining it). I hadn’t caught the word but was glad to hear some of my fellow brothers and sisters in solidarity did and stayed back so the children got to sing to an audience and see the tree light up.
By the time I got home I started to work on my video. I haven’t been able to post many articles online lately or really make it online much at all as my only source of internet at the moment is through tethering my phone and that is so slow and choppy. The six-minute video took four hours to upload. But as I was creating it I came to the realization that not everyone can see what I mean when I say that Scott Walker cares about our veterans in words, but his actions say nothing but the opposite. So please, sit with me a moment while I explain why I say that and truly believe it. It is no secret our veterans get nowhere near the care they deserve. It is a bipartisan failure and part of the problem with putting money over people. The FACT is that the government loves our service members when they are serving, but would prefer them dead once they are done. The reason our veterans get such horrible health care, the reason so many are homeless, is that once they are done serving the Government looks at them as an expense. Paying for their health care and retirement is expensive so the system is set up to pay as little as possible for those who risked their lives. The system is set up so they DO die faster than the general population. They cannot get adequate mental care because it is cheaper to let a certain number kill themselves from the traumatic experiences they endured at OUR EXPENSE than to provide the care. It goes on and on, but the fact is, on a federal level the government prefers our active service members alive and our veterans dead, this is just reality.
But on a state level they have been brutally attacked even further by Scott Walker. I’ll start with some more obvious ways and work my way to the less obvious ways Scott Walker has hurt our veterans. One of the most obvious ways he spit on our veterans and all of our citizens was by giving the holiday gift of dropped insurance. That is right, he is pushing to cut Badgercare, partially funded by Medicaid, for over 67,000 Wisconsinites, over 29,000 of them children. Like I said earlier, it is sickening, but many of our veterans come home and fall in the lowest economic classes. Many of them utilize state services like Badgercare to help at least get a little help with their medical care. Many now won’t have that. He has also lost this state thousands of jobs, even while the majority of the country sees drops in unemployment. Part of this is because a lot of jobs that could be given to people, and even our veterans, are done by prison labor because that is usually less than $1/hour. Legalized slavery is picking up as more bills get introduced to keep people imprisoned longer so the private prisons can profit. But his tax breaks and union busting just haven’t created jobs. This is FACT. The last four months we have lost jobs by the thousands. The months before, any job gains were likely due to companies from just across the border relocating just across the border for cheaper taxes as they continue to hire thousands of out-of-state residents who live just miles away. So he’s cut health care for our veterans and taken jobs so they have none to come home to. He has also cut their children’s education and their overall economy in their home state. His most recent state budget also included massive cuts to Veterans Trust Fund services said to effect 56% of homeless veterans (here is an article from former Wisconsin Veterans Affairs Director, Kenneth Black, which some say is the reason Walker passed a law declaring him the person to appoint the next VA head). Scott Walker doing a ceremony to support our veterans when he has attacked them is not just shameful but utterly hypocritical.
Unfortunately, I cannot get into all of the ways Scott Walker has hurt the veterans, but I will share one last one. To me, Scott Walker has spit on the graves and in the faces of anyone who has ever served by further denying the very rights they fight/fought for. I am talking about the First Amendment. No I’m not talking about signs or camera’s in the galleries, although this will likely be an issue still when the legislature gets back in session, I am talking about the Wisconsin State Capitol itself. On December 1st, new polices were put into place for the Wisconsin State Capitol by the Department of Administration (under the Governor of course).These guidelines set rules and standards for free speech. Now keep in mind the Department of Administration and Capitol Police are already under one lawsuit alleging the setting up of free speech zones in the Rotunda in the past was illegal (I cannot talk much about it as I am a named plaintiff but here is the case on records search). Our attorney has also indicated on record that more First Amendment lawsuits are on the way. The last thing most people want to do when there is pending First Amendment lawsuits is further restrict the First Amendment one would think. But this certainly wasn’t the case.
You see Scott Walker is doing the same thing here he did in Milwaukee County. He is issuing several power grabs exposing the taxpayers to legal liability. In fact this legal liability in Milwaukee County alone has crippled the economy. He enables a slash and burn policy where he gets into power, cuts everything whether legally or illegally, and lets the taxpayers pay for it. So it’s no surprise after months of peaceful protesting, Scott Walker wants us gone and is willing to restrict rights even further in an attempt to do it. This came in the form of a new policy book outlying rules for anyone who wished to enter the Capitol. It came out on December 1st but most didn’t hear about it until the 2nd, the same day Walker pretended to care about those who have fought for the rights he just slashed. The rules include policies that groups of four or more require a permit to protest. They would allow “spontaneous permits” but even those require 72 hour notice and it has to be an issue discussed that week. But here’s where it gets even more unconstitutional. They will only allow the ground and first floor rotundas as “Free Speech Zones,” even the second floor rotunda is not allowed. Then, in all permitted protests, the person or organization on the permit or otherwise determined the leader will have to pay for police if needed (determined by them) at $50.00 an hour. They will also have to pay whatever cleanup costs or maintenance the department decides. And this is just some of it. The Department of Administration has shown time and time again they cannot adequately determine what requires police and what doesn’t. Many of the Capitol regulars can attest to the fact that my mere entry (or that of other “regulars”) into a gallery (as the “most arrested” person in the Capitol) seems to necessitate seven police even though I have never shown any violence. CJ Terrell on the other hand, probably the second most arrested person, makes it very clear due to his weight he needs six cops as a minimum to carry him safely if he gets illegally carried out. He only ever gets four. Meanwhile I get seven. So in essence, my mere presence at the Capitol, which could reasonably be considered protesting, if ever with three or more other people could end up costing me $350/hour (7 police which is not uncommon with me for some reason at $50 an hour). That’s if I’m determined the leader. If CJ is determined the leader he would have to pay $200/hour for the four cops required to unsafely carry him out of the gallery. This is reality under this new policy (further reading here). The policies are in place now, however they are offering two weeks for an “educational period”. One would think they would ease up, maybe allow a little protected political speech for a little bit, right? Wrong. In fact it was everything but.
As I was waiting four hours for my video to load I got a phone call. The phone call said that Jason had some trouble with the Capitol Police. I may have misunderstood or I may have been called after but it seemed like everything was fine so I continued to upload my video. The Jason I am referring to is Jason Huberty. He has been very active in constitutional compliance, especially during the recent “jobs” session and in making sure they continue to allow free speech in the Rotunda. I believe he has accumulated over 10 unconstitutional tickets/arrests in the past few months. He is also the creator of many of the wonderful large banners we have seen throughout the protests. Apparently things escalated later in the day when Jason and a group of “regulars” decided to unfurl a giant recall banner, as seen towards the end of this video. The problem is they let the banner off on the second floor, which is not a free speech zone according to the new rules, and so 10 police officers ($500 an hour) removed Jason’s sign. They later gave it back, in all the free speech scuffle would have cost Jason a reported $2000 as it took four hours. Here is a video of part of the scuffle. Who would have thought petitioning your government would be so hard.
I guess what I am getting to is that it does not matter which side of the aisle you are on. Red, blue, green, purple, or anything else, if you believe the people should have control you will not agree with this. If you believe that human lives come before money, you would then be against raiding the Veterans Trust Fund and for giving our veterans everything possible, which is nothing short of what they deserve. If you believe school children are more important than one man being scared of some singers who have never shown violence even in the face of GOP legislators walking through their song circle (we invite them to join just ask Senator Grothman or Representative Kleefisch, they deny though), then you are against what he did to those poor kids from up north. If you believe that people should be able to peacefully assemble and petition their government, then you cannot stand behind these policies. This is a bipartisan effort as is the recall. I have taken signatures from many people who voted for Scott Walker. This is a civil war, it is a peaceful one at the moment, but it is a war nonetheless. It is a war between people and the political system oppressing them. It is a war where one side uses chemical agents and beats the crap out of people, to near death in some instances, and the other chants of peace and a world where they have a voice as they should. It is a war to see whether the people or the corporations can control the media. All I can say in this ten months is that anyone with a heart should be thankful there’s a recall. SOLIDARITY!
Jeremy Ryan
Executive Director
Defending Wisconsin PAC
jryan@defendingwisconsin.org
P.S. Since Mike Huebsch, Secretary of the Department of Administration, wants to release policies that restrict free speech for everyone and since he doesn’t have a phone number where you can address grievances to him, I will release his state issued cell phone number for grievances. It is 608-397-7301, just note I do not condone using this for harassment purposes nor do I condone threats just for legitimate grievances about the policy above. Text messages work great too if the voice mailbox is full. Huebsch is Scott Walker’s go to guy. I highly believe everyone should be able to contact those who violate their rights, the people are supposed to control the government not the other way around. But again, I do not condone harassment or threats. One call and/or text with a legitimate complaint about his job performance would not be harassment on his state issued cell phone (in other words WE pay for it).
[Editor's Note: Donations made through this post go to the author, not the website]
Note: Segway Jeremy Ryan has become a full-time member of the protests at the Wisconsin State Capitol. Formerly a businessman, he gave up his business to join the fight for the middle class in the State of Wisconsin. Through videos and writings he has informed hundreds of thousands of people about what was going on at the Wisconsin State Capitol once the mainstream media had mostly abandoned the protests. His full-time activism is completely funded by the people. If you would like to help out please click here.
I cannot sit here without speaking out about your uninformed hysterical rant about how the VA treats veterans. It is WAY off base.
Not only speaking from personal experience but also from those who I know of that received treatment at the same facility I did, the hard working care givers literally saved my life, more than once. I can now return that gift by volunteering my time to help other vets. The Minneapolis VA Health Care for Homeless Vets program has tripled the number of treatment personnel and HUD/VASH housing vouchers it has given out in the last 2 years alone. In May they will open a downtown Veterans Resource and Outreach Center. Although it is geared toward homeless vets it will serve all veterans. There is also a newly funded grant program aimed mainly toward female veterans, this is a national program. Alot of this effort can be credited to Secretary Shinseki, the best director the VA has ever had. So before you go off at the mouth, educate yourself about that which you would comment on or STFU.
I hope the good people of Wisconsin have the sense to put this fool out of their misery.