A letter from a friend of my sister who used to live in Madison

[sce56]

Dear Friends and Family,
The following was sent to me by my good friend Donna V in Madison. Please share anyway you can to let as many know what is happening there on behalf of working people everywhere.
Thanks,
Maria

a vignette:
my friend Sue and I went over to the Capitol last night
to take food to the folks staying over, we left it with our former union, the TAA, which has a hearing room up on the 3rd floor as its command center (with an impressive and organized impromptu
food pantry in the hall outside)

Walked around the Capitol for a few hours, ran into some
people we know (including several of my students and .... Medea Benjamin!, in town for the peace and justice conference), sleeping bags everywhere, some had airbeds (for the hard marble floors, as one young woman said) ... lots of people doing their homework!

Two guys were on their hands and knees, cleaning the floor ... ("It's our house", one said, "so we want to keep it clean")

the state patrol and other cops are there, building was locked at about 11pm, people could leave but not come back,
though one group of students with a ton of food and extra blankets
managed to charm their way in ...

Ian's pizza (right down the street) has halted regular business and
is feeding the people inside the Capitol around the clock ... people
are donating money online to pay for the pizza and they have been
flooded with calls, including a $1000 donation from Egypt!

as we headed out a little after midnight, we asked one of the state
patrol guys which door was unlocked to leave from ... we ended up talking to him for 15 minutes ... "this is just unbelievable," he said, "they sent me down from Eau Claire last night, and I gotta say, I was nervous ...you know, Madison? People taking over the Capitol? What was I walking into? But this has been the nicest crowd I've ever seen ... People are serious, they are really well organized, they take care of problems--you know, a lot of young guys, it could get bad -- and have kept it calm...I have never been thanked so many times for doing my work in my whole career as I have these last two days ..." He shook our hands, and wished us luck. "If you win", he said, "we all win".

[Justitia]

1. Thank you - I love hearing these personal accounts! -eom

[sce56]

14. Well like the letter stated share as wide as possible!

[Dappleganger]

2. Oh my...

that last phrase made my eyes blink wet.

:fistbump:

[elleng]

6. DITTO!

:fistbump:

[Matariki]

3. "If you win", he said, "we all win

Nice. Thanks for posting this.

[jtrockville]

17. ^ That pretty much sums it up.

[valerief]

20. Absolutely. That's the whole shebang. nt

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. Thanks this is the fight for our lives.

[patrice]

5. .

:cry:

[midnight]

7. Wisconsin is the nicest crowd and they deserve to be treat better....

Scott Walker has to put on his listening ears....

[murielm99]

8. There is another place there that is feeding a lot of

people. It is a pastry shop, right near the capitol. I think my daughter said is is called Pasties (pronounced pah - as in hand -sties). I will ask her tomorrow.

[Poboy]

9. recommend

[sabrina 1]

10. $1,000 dollars from Egypt for pizza for the people of Madison!

That is incredible. The world really is watching Madison and on their side.

Great OP.

Rec'd and :kick:

[nilram]

11. Wow. Tears in my eyes. We gotta win this one.

[dixiegrrrrl]

12. thank you for posting this information.

It would be interesting to have more info. like this from people actually on the scene,

K&R

[Lucinda]

13. Thank you!

:toast:

[Rhiannon12866]

15. Wow. K&R!

Great view from behind the lines! Thanks for posting! :applause:

[klook]

16. "It's our house"

"...so we want to keep it clean"

Very cool post. Thanks.

[Historic NY]

18. K&R

[beac]

19. K&R! n/t

[mckara]

21. I Hate Illinois Nazis and Wisconsin Republicans!!!

[sce56]

22. WOW! Not only did my post make it to the Greatest Thread but

I got three hearts out of it also thanks <3