Beep that on your car horns. That is Madison these days.
The democratically elected Legislature has acted. (Those who did not shirk their duty.) Governor Walker will sign. The mob is angry. Death has been threatened.
I've got it figured out. State government has to carve out a portion of the city of Madison -- let's say both sides of the Square, the GEF buildings, 1 W. Wilson St., and Martin Luther King Blvd.
Carve it out in statute and create something approaching the District of Columbia, run by the State Government, separate from the City of Madison, separate from Dane County.
Because state government, as overwhelmingly elected November 2, resembles embattled West Berlin surrounded by Communist East Germany during the Berlin airlift. An elected governor, an elected Assembly majority, an elected Senate majority are under siege by hostile forces.
We will drink your blood
We have credible threats of violence against state legislators. We have mobs breaking into the State Capitol and breaking windows and busting doors. We have death threats, physical intimidation, illegal entry, property destruction.
"Seventeen Republican Senators in addition to Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald received the email threat that stated they should put their 'things in order because you will be killed and your families also will be killed.'"
The state Justice Department is investigating, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports.
The e-mail subject line said "Atten: Death threat!!!! Bomb!!!!" It was sent at 9:18 p.m. Wednesday, after the Senate, with Democrats absent, voted to eliminate most collective bargaining provisions for most public workers.
WisPolitics reports this text of an e-mail that Sen. Dan Kapanke's office said it received last night. A Kapanke aide said the office is not releasing any identifying information and has forwarded the e-mail to Capitol police.
WE WILL HUNT YOU DOWN.
WE WILL SLIT YOUR THROATS.
WE WILL DRINK YOUR BLOOD.
I WILL HAVE YOUR DECAPITATED HEAD ON A PIKE IN THE MADISON TOWN SQUARE.
THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING.
Throw them to the mob
We have the sheriff of Dane County refusing to act as "palace guard" and pulling his deputies back. We have a mob rocking that bus as it tries to exit - proof of malicious intent. The legality of a legislative action is, for the moment, at the discretion of a county district attorney appointed by a previous governor, appealable to judges elected in Wisconsin's most liberal county. (Here is the relevant law on the matter.)
We have city alders openly contesting the use of Metro buses to allow the only State Senate we have in Wisconsin anymore to escape with their lives. Larry Palm is a city alderman. Charles Kamp runs the Madison Metro bus system.
From: Palm, Larry
Sent: Thursday, March 10, 2011 8:28 AM
To: Kamp, Charles; ALL ALDERS; Cieslewicz, Dave; May, Michael
Subject: Metro Bus Use
Hi Chuck, Michael-
I'm inquiring about the use of a Metro Bus last night to transport state capitol workers from the Risser Office building to wherever they took them.
My understanding that we can't operate Camp Randall or Warner Park Fireworks shuttles based upon a federal ban on charter or special bus service, why is this any different.
Michael - if this is not illegal - I would like to introduce an ordinance to make it so. I would imagine it would limit Metro to operating routes that are fixed or follow a fixed route.
From: Kamp, Charles
Sent: Thursday, March 10, 2011 8:59 AM
To: Palm, Larry; ALL ALDERS; Cieslewicz, Dave; May, Michael
Subject: RE: Metro Bus Use
Hello all,
Metro Transit serves the community in a variety ways during ordinary and extraordinary times. In addition to the standard public transportation of passengers in revenue service, we are part of the community's public safety efforts in times of extraordinary circumstances, such as when we keep people warm in our buses when their apartment building has been on fire, or when we transport people stuck on the interstate to hotels during an extraordinary snow event. The federal charter rules, as I understand them, do not prevent public transit systems from providing public safety support in extraordinary circumstances.
Clearly we are experiencing extraordinary times in our community. Metro has been asked to help transport police to the State Capitol these past few weeks, and we have done that. Last night we were asked by the police in very extraordinary circumstances to transport the legislators away from the Square, and I strongly believe it was appropriate for us to provide that public safety support.
Like other support functions, we are keeping track of our extra cost and anticipate that we will be reimbursed.
If you have any other questions, I'd be happy to try to answer them, or to discuss this further if necessary.
Thank you.
From: Bidar-Sielaff, Shiva
Sent: Thursday, March 10, 2011 9:21 AM
To: Kamp, Charles; Palm, Larry; ALL ALDERS; Cieslewicz, Dave; May, Michael
Subject: RE: Metro Bus Use
Thank you Chuck for your response. I respectfully completely disagree with the conclusion you reached. The legislators have other means of transportation than Madison Metro. Attorney May: please provide us your legal opinion on what obligations we have and based on your opinion I am sure myself and other fellow alders will evaluate next steps based on your legal opinion. Thanks,
Shiva Bidar-Sielaff
Tell me this is 'non-violent'
'Third world junta?'
Democrat Rep. Mark Pocan says he is starting to feel as if he lives in a "third world junta."
State Sen. Bob Jauch, a senior Democrat, says that what he is witnessing feels like "a coup."
A coup? By a majority of state senators, all of whom were elected in free and open elections? Advised by non-partisan legislative service agency experts.
In the upside down world of The Capital Times, as exemplified by this perfervid editorial by the Capital Times, the elected leadership of state government are "rogue Republican operatives."
These people bear responsibility for the violence that I predicted three weeks ago. They have provided the intellectual cover for the thuggishness.
Storming the Capitol, banging plastic buckets all hours, blocking doorways is NOT free speech. Try that activity at Capital Newspapers Inc. Try those tactics on the Nancy Pelosi Congress. The liberal outrage would know no bounds.
Rushing this legislation through? After 61 hours of debate in the Assembly, 30+ hours of public testimony, and three weeks of public debate? I don't think that is "rushed."
Tell you what is rushed: Madison city government's scramble to give its city employee unions a sweetheart contract complete with pay raises and no givebacks on benefits a bare month before the Spring elections when the unions are sure to reward their friends. And screw the taxpayers.
Now it comes that one of the 14 Fugitives, Sen. Lena Taylor, applied from Illinois for an absentee ballot for the April 5 election.
I am so ready to see this on the Stately Manor's ancient Philco:
