Blegging for Records
I have only blegged for money once before, but at I would like to pay for the first batch of emails requested from the Office of Governor Perry.
This CDROM of data will cost me $568. The cost is for the 31.5 hours of staff time needed to locate the requested email records on the email server and transfer them to the CDROM. My Response to this charge is here.
If are so inclined to help on this project, a donation would be most welcome.
As of 2007-12-02 17:25 CST: Your generous donation total $130.00. Thank you.
This CDROM of data will cost me $568. The cost is for the 31.5 hours of staff time needed to locate the requested email records on the email server and transfer them to the CDROM. My Response to this charge is here.
If are so inclined to help on this project, a donation would be most welcome.
As of 2007-12-02 17:25 CST: Your generous donation total $130.00. Thank you.
posted by John Washburn | 3:52 PM
28 Comments:
Why do you need these emails?
I don't need them.
I want them in the performance my citizenly duties.
It is the solemn duty of citizens to eternally and vigilantly watch elected officials. It is the duty of the Governed to seek out, restrain, and resist the usurpations of those temporarily granted the power of Government.
Governor Perry so badly wants to hide these emails, he breaks Texas state law to do it.
That makes the emails interesting and worth pursuing.
I just read about you in the Austin paper and have made a donation. Keep Messing with Texas. They need it.
I read an article in the Austin-American Statesman today and I would like to comment on it.
Please stop wasting taxpayers time and money in a state you don't even live in.
Please pay the bill that you have ran up on the citizens here in Texas looking for e-mails that do not even concern you.
Why are you wasting our time and money?
If you want to waste your time and money then worry about Wisconsin and mind your own business and stay out of what happens in our state and other states around the country.
If you don't have anything better to do please let me help you find a hobby that will not involve wasting taxpayers money in places you do not even live in. Would you like that?
Thanks for wasting our money here in Texas. money that could go toward other important things and if you insist on wasting our state employees time looking for stupid e-mails that do not concern you THEN PAY THE BILL and shut up!!! If you don't intend to pay the bill then stop requseting these
e-mails and leave Texas alone.
First, I HAVE paid the bill. That is the nub of the dispute with me and Governor Perry. All I owe according to Texas State statute is $1 for the CD-ROM.
The other $567 being assessed, state law expressly forbids the Governor to charge me for. This is because I am asking for electonic copies of electronic. This creates a request for zero printed pages, thus a search charge CANNOT be assessed.
This is not common sense, but common sense and interpreting statute do not overlap much. If common sense were part of the legal reasoning then growing wheat on your own property to feed to your own chickens and to make your own bread would not be ruled "interstate commerce".
In defiance of common sense Texas state law says the Governor may only charge for media (e.g. CDROM, DVD-ROM, etch.) and "programming". The $567 is not for programming, but for searching.
You are "the" defination of an idiot.
I just hope that you stay far away from Texas and waste the time and money of your own state if you want to do that. If you think that you are performing a civic duty by wasting taxpayers money looking for e-mails that you have no use for you are kidding yourself.
What you are doing makes no sense and is one of the stupidist things I have heard of. I think you should pay the state $567 and I hope that you have to pay the court cost as well if this goes to court.
I was talking to a few people who read the article in the paper today as well and they all agreed that you are not in your right mind and need to find some other thing to do with your free time.
Again would you like some help in finding a hobby that will occupy your time and putting it to better use?
Wait I think I have some old emails I can send you. I saved them and have no other use for them anymore would you like?
I shoot trap and play go for hobbies.
Is the main problem that I am from out of state? True, it would be simpler if some Austin-based computer guy set his server to request the emails, but by a fluke of circumstance that is not what happened.
There is some irony that an out-of-stater is more bothered by Governor Perry shredding records after seven days than many Texans.
As for crazy, I have gotten that from many election officials here in the state. Apparently asking that election records make sense and tie out is just crazy-talk. I prefer the rationalization passionate though over the characterization crazy. :)
Apparently it is Crazy-talk to ask a Texas Governor to obey the records retention rules of his state.
Here are just three TX retention rules the Governor is violating[emphasis mine].
1.1.007. CORRESPONDENCE - ADMINISTRATIVE - Incoming/outgoing and internal correspondence pertaining to the formulation, planning, implementation, interpretation, modification, or redefinition of the programs, services, or projects of an agency and the administrative regulations, policies, and procedures that govern them. Retention: 3 years.
1.1.008. CORRESPONDENCE - GENERAL - Non-administrative
incoming/outgoing and internal correspondence, in any media, pertaining to or arising from the routine operations of the policies, programs, services, or projects of an agency. Retention: 1 year.
1.1.013. CALENDARS, APPOINTMENT and ITINERARY RECORDS -
Calendars, appointment books or programs and scheduling, or itinerary records, purchased with state funds or maintained by staff during business hours that document appointments, itineraries, and other activities of agency officials or employees. Retention: Calendar Year End + 1year.
The problem is you are wasting our goverments time and money over stupid e-mails.
You claim to be doing a service but you are just as bad as some government officials. You are holding up the system with all your red tape, and all the time and money you are spending is doing the citizens of Texas an injustice.
Don't you realze that? If you are that interseted in our system and what goes on down here why don't you move down to Texas and run for public office yourself?
If you do not want to move to Texas then we hope that you would repect our wishes and stop wasting our time and money for some stupid e-mails that do not even concern you.
I think you should know, that I have talked to a number of people and have been unable to find one person who thinks that this is something that you should be worried about and something you should be wasting our tax dollars and state government time on.
Hey nosaints1 ...
Tell you what, I bet we can get enough money together up here to send him down there. I'm sure he can help you all quite a bit. He has done so much for us LOL. The value (waste)of his miss guided rants is uncalulatable! His reputation as a "joke" is gaining everyday and he is certainly helping his cause by publishing new crap every week. i.e. the SS number BS blog a couple of weeks ago. I love his response early in this blog,too, "I don't need them (emails)" but please send me money so I can store them. Anyone sending money to this "joker" should be ashamed of themself. Send it (money) as a xmas gift to the Childrens Cancer Fund in his name instead and maybe the good Lord will send John some of the common sense that he obvious gave to someone else. Good citizen activists are hard to come by, misguided losers are a dime a dozen and it is up to us to call them on it. Keep up the vigil against stupidity nosaints1!!!!
Hey Anonymous,
Oh no we really don't want him downn here. I was just trying to make a point. That if he is so interested in the system then run for public office. But the more I think about it please stay an run up in your own state.
I am very intrested in politics and follow it nationally and locally but I have no desire to poke my nose into other states political issues and business and would not expect to cause problems for another state I do not even live in and I think he should do the same.
I guess he thinks he is doing a service for us down in Texas but he is really not. All he is doing is taking up government time and spending government money unwisely.
Good Day All,
I was asked by a friend, a Civics teacher, to review the happens on this web site and to offer any comments to him. I'm doing research into the bahavior sciences and this roughly falls into my zone of interest. This is paraphrasing what I related to my friend.
There people that are paranoid, people that have large egos, and some are ego addicts. Ego Addiction is when a person becomes addicted to the feeling of self importance. To quote a peer, "we in profession call it ego addiction because having too much ego becomes a bad habit and a person who has an ego addiction will sacrifice reality for an inflated sense of self importance." Better way of saying it is a unheathly "need to be needed."
Up until the jump to the Texas deal, John was but a just a pain in the side of his relatively smallish world. Texas was an oppuntuity, no matter how he discovered it, in his mind he is one step closer to glory. What that is only he knows. Internet success like Drudge, perhaps an interview on the Today show. But the bottom line is the topics he has choosen to address up to now including the Texas deal, will ultimately be unfilling and are uninteresting to the masses. He is capible of nothing more, he can not see the forrest thru trees.
Now to specific examples. The "I don't NEED the emails," statements, I found two of them, address his us vs. them mentality and how he attempts and quotes the the written statues to aid in his quest for his personal victory. Quoting obscure statues attempts to make him look educated. Never mind that it is so frivious of topics to everyone but him. His little back and forth with the Wisconsin County Clerks and DAs and his responses remind me of the recent commercial showing a a son telling his Dad to grow up when the Dad is holding his breath until he gets what he wants, I believe a sandwich? I've interviewed many DAs and believe me that this wouldn't even found the desk of most. But again John feels in his mind the importantance of his claim should be at equal with prosecuting rapists. The need to feel important again. I know in theroy he should be given equal time, but that is not the reality of these days. But some DAs will try to accomadate these requests and all other tasks will suffer and I believe this happened in this case. The differance between reality and some folks reality is what can make things difficult for everyone.
One last comment, although I may return later as I 'm considering referencing this blog in my research. Although there realy isn't anything new in this particluar case. There are Johns all over the country and internet so this has been one of the easier topics I have had to research in as much as data collection.
NOW - to ask for money over the net for the weak arguments I have reviewed, is indeed crossing the line. Ego addicts generally live in a world where there are people that can somewhat keep them in check. Examples would include some church leaders and local politians. The wars they create in thier minds are but little battles in reality. The realities to the people that are effected around can however can be burdensome and unfortunetly sometimes counter-productive. Most of what I see here is counter-productive. Money should not be awarded to this type of behavior. I agree with a previus entry. People, take a GOOD look at what you are contributing to. Would it not be better spent anywhere else???
Ya,
He should go after the lack of voter I.D. required in Wisconsin if he really wants to make a statement regarding actual fraud. Where does he come up with this #$%^? Sounds alittle parinoid too me.
Well there you go again.
Please show me that that the Gov "so badly wants to hide" emails.
You said: "It is the solemn duty of citizens to eternally and vigilantly watch elected officials."
Well it is also the duty of citizens to watch for and callout wasteful spending of time and tax money.
Please send me a copy of "How to be an Obnoxious Citizen."
I'm sure you have a copy or two along with "How to Waste the Countries Time and Taxes" with a forward on "How to Raise taxes" or my personal favorite "How to Share Non Value Added Brain Farts with the Public."
This guy is wasting tax payers time and government money. If he wants the e-mails so badly then pay for them.
Then he has the nerve to ask people to send him money so he can pay the state of Texas. All because he wants to play like some kind of hero.
His header states .....
"My take on the world. My wife often refers to this as the WWW (Weird World of Washburn)" I've heard it stated (Wasburn's World of Waste)
Here is a cut and pasted segment from a letter I found from Washburn to the Texas Governor.
"I wantem, I want'em,I want'em,I want'em,I want'em,I want'em,I want'em,I want'em,I want'em,I want'em,I want'em,I want'em."
It actual goes on for a little bit but then there is a picture of him holding his breath :-)
RE: Well it is also the duty of citizens to watch for and callout wasteful spending of time and tax money.
Yes, it is. More power to you. It is a free country and this blog is all part of the animating contest of Liberty.
I have no problem with you repeating the Governor's statement that I am wasting his staff'time.
I think both you and the Governor are incorrect, but that is life in a free society.
I hope you won't take offense though if refuse to accept your counsel and insist on persisting by paying the "bill".
Yes it is a free country but you are no better then some of the pork barrel government leaders we have in Congress who waste governmet time and money. So can you tell me what you are really getting out of this?
I think I can tell you what you are getting out of this. It is because all you think you are some hero and crusader of political justice.
What does not make any sense is why you sre so interested in these e-mails and why you think it is so important for you to get your hands on them? Accept you want to make yourself feel better and feel important. I think you have a problem and need to seek help because your orginal reason really does not make sense.
Congratulations and keep at it! Austin has proven on numerous occasions that honesty is not part of the Texas political ethic and Perry absolutely fears something in those emails will backfire on him.
I'll work on this end to see how many more demands for that information we can come up with. Sounds like fun!
Your Governor (Texas) has nothing as compared to Wisconsin's Doyle!!!!
And does Wahburn say anything about that crap going on in his own states capital ??? I can see where this is all coming from.
Fragment Four.
Go ahead and do that and if you do please do not beg for money like this guy does when you can't afford to pay the bill.
You sound like another Austin Liberal who doesn't have a clue. Do you live in Austin?
Ahh yes, my morning CRAPuccino.
First, John,,,,,
1) Can you please show us the malicious intent from the Gov in regards to the current policy and why you asked for the emails?
3) Can you demenstarte one real instance where the current sytem has hurt someone?
2) Can you share with us the letter you wrote (to the Gov)describing the problem with thier system, your concerns and thier response that lead you to asking for emails you didn't neccessarily need.
Second, fragmentfour,,,,
"I'll work on this end to see how many more demands for that information we can come up with. Sounds like fun!"
SOUNDS LIKE FUN!! YOU IDIOT!!!!
This is real time and money (That would mean taxes if I need to explain it) and I agree with John :-( actually serious. I don't agree with his approach however. Even one frivolous request taxes the system. There are better ways to get things fixed but then again you guys won't be having FUN at everyone else expense.
Mr. Washburn:
Thank you for taking time to find out what in the hell Rick Perry is doing. I recently saw an article that even his staff don't know when he leaves the state for these political fund raising trips.
The reason that the gonernor's office is balking is because they do not want to make Perry's activities public. As a life-long Republican who recently elected Tricky Ricky, I would like to know what he is doing about illegal immigration in Texas. He publicly opposes the "Fence" when he speaks in Mexico but is taking money from homeland security for doing what? Perry and pals have a lot to hide. As a "Perry Watcher", there are too many things that don't add up. The reason it is taking so long to get your e-mails is that they have to be "purged" before they can be released.
If you and Joe Larson keep digging, you will hit "pay dirt".
Go for it!
What is your defination of "paydirt" ????
Still waiting for answers from previous posted questions too???
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