Letter to the editor: State ethics commissioner resigns

By DON FOY | La Farge

You have to admit, Gov. Walker and Republicans in the state legislature are consistent. As Robert Kinney, a commissioner resigning from the state Ethics Commission, charges, the newly formed commission (taking the place of the scrapped award-winning Government Accountability Board) is inappropriately secretive and not enforcing ethics rules for lobbyists and public officials.

It fits right in with the Walker and legislature Republicans’ agenda. In a recent Wisconsin State Journal article, Kinney says that three of the commissioners voted to strike the words “furthering Wisconsin’s tradition of clean and open government” from their mission statement. That’s honest enough, eh? Openly refusing to commit to “clean and open government”? That’s not ambiguous.

We learn in the same article that the commission blocked Kinney from saying that commissioners couldn’t donate to partisan political campaigns. How is this not a conflict of interest?  But it is consistent: It fits right in with the attempt to delete the phrase “the search for truth” from the University of Wisconsin’s mission statement; and the whacks at the open records laws (stay tuned for more whacks); and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation’s conveniently confused loans to companies that export jobs; and all of the midnight surprise attack legislation; and the state overrides of local municipal ordinances.

The Republicans want to build a wall, all right, and they want to build it around the very swamp Mr. T. said he’d drain. To me, this pattern of underhanded blows to the democratic process is now the hallmark of the Republican Party. Robin Hood was right. We need to send these robber barons back to the castle in their underwear. And if you think billionaire Mr. T. is Robin Hood, you need to adjust your glasses.

Comments are closed.

  • Letter to the editor: Is Big Brother already listening?

    March 14th, 2024
    by

    By DANI SULIK | Kendall When George Orwell’s novel 1984 was published in 1949, it was seen as a fictional cautionary […]


    Letter to the editor: Vote no on constitutional amendments

    March 14th, 2024
    by

    By JOAN KENT | La Farge Some things are not what they appear. Like the two constitutional amendments on Wisconsin’s April […]


    Letter to the editor: Oath/pledge

    March 14th, 2024
    by

    By LEE D. VAN LANDUYT | Hillsboro An oath is a solemn promise regarding one’s future action or behavior. Our Pledge […]


    Letter to the editor: Questions remain about Vernon County Landfill

    March 11th, 2024
    by

    By CATHY LUND | Viroqua I appreciated the well-articulated article Gail Frie wrote in the paper regarding the landfill. It is […]


    Letter to the editor: Vernon County and Wisconsin are national leaders in landfill safety

    February 8th, 2024
    by

    Recently I became aware of information being circulated in the county through social media and emails that questions the safety of the Vernon County landfill.


  • Your Right to Know: Don’t charge records requesters for redactions

    February 6th, 2024
    by

    You’ve already paid for them. They’re yours. But if you want to see the public records that show what your government is doing, some state lawmakers want you to pay again — this time, for redactions.


    Letter to the editor: Transgender lunacy: Let’s just call it nuts!

    February 5th, 2024
    by

    By BOB BREIDENSTEIN | rural Ontario Nuts! That the latest U.S. Supreme Court justice, at her confirmation hearing, with a bewildered […]


    Letter to the editor: The clock is ticking

    February 5th, 2024
    by

    You’re thinking, “She’s complaining about the Republicans again.” And you’d be right.


    Letter to the editor: Democracy vs. dictatorship

    February 5th, 2024
    by

    Otto von Bismarck once said: “Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others.” 


    Letter to the editor: Warm memories and perspectives 

    February 5th, 2024
    by

    Winter meant skating, ice and roller skating. The new pavilion in Ontario has taken the place of the old Ontario Community Hall for skating.


    Letter to the editor: In defense of grammar

    January 4th, 2024
    by

    By DANI SULIK | Kendall Who doesn’t love grammar? Okay, so you may not love it, but you know when it’s […]


  • Archives