Former Governor Christine Todd Whitman of New Jersey

10/29/2015

Governor Christie Todd Whitman

Founder of The Whitman Group

P.O. Box 146

Oldwick, NJ  08858
USA

Dear Governor Whitman,

My name is Matthew Winick from Ann Arbor, Michigan with a strong interest in learning history and studying public policy. The main reasons I have a strong interest in these subjects to learn the need to advance on Civil Rights to reduce discrimination in order to protect people who are different, protect the environment from pollution, have health care reform to help people with pre-existing conditions or who can’t afford insurance get the care they need, and many others. Governor Whitman, I find your work as a moderate Republican 50^th Governor of New Jersey on different issues to be very inspiring to me.

When you served as 50^th Governor of New Jersey, I was very proud of you for your commitment to support including advance on Civil Rights to help protect women, minorities, people with disabilities, and people with different sexual orientation from being discriminated. Also on Civil Rights, I liked on how you supported affirmative action to help minorities, women, and people with disabilities on getting assistance with funding for education to reduce discrimination in education and fund businesses owned by them to help them compete in the business environment and being a supporter of gay’s rights. Your record in education including improving child safety like funding educational program to teach youth about the need to reduce hate crime to make learning environment including society better and funding special education to assist students with disabilities on getting educational accommodations including educational software to help improve their literacy, and pushing for a law to require school buses to have a crossing control arm, a device to help protect students from being hit by a bus including assisting bus drives to any pedestrians walking in front of them is common sense.  I like your work on reforming the criminal justice system by creating a juvenile court system including community service programs to work on finding ways to help non-violent youth offenders on rehabilitating instead of strict sentencing and expanding state’s bias crimes laws to help protect people who are harassed by law enforcement based on sex, minorities, people with a disability to reduce tension between community and police and end discrimination.  On the environment, I was amazed by your commitment to protect the environment by implementing Green Acres Bond Act to preserve state parks including clean watershed areas from pollution, supporting renewable energy as an energy source to reduce air pollution, and worked with governments including sewers authorities to improve wastewater treatment program to prevent pollution from contaminating watershed including drinking water. Also to improve healthcare, I was very proud of you for breaking your own party to push for legislation to require insurance companies to pay 48 hour maternity hospital stays for mothers who had babies including women who are pregnant to help reduce women from paying a high fees for a hospital stay, funding health care assistance to help families who have members with HIV or people with HIV get treatment to assist them, and increase funding research on reducing HIV or other transmitted diseases.

I have Autism with a learning disability and having a disability is hard because I have trouble comprehending on learning different subjects, sometimes I struggle with communication when speaking with other people, and other people tease me about having it.  Special education programs including the ADA helped me be protected from being discriminated in education including public places and help created accommodations like extra time on exams, having educational software to help me improve on comprehension, and have a T.A. or a tutor work with me on assignments in schools including Washtenaw Community College.  Even though these things helped me with my disability, I still struggle with it. Governor Whitman, your work on supporting Civil rights to reduce discrimination including protecting people with disabilities’ rights really inspires me to work hard on Autism and it helps me have the courage to work hard at learning different subjects.  I enjoyed reading your book It’s My Party Too: The Battle for the Heart of the GOP and the Future of America because it does a great job emphasizing the need for moderate GOPs to help protect women’s rights, support Civil Rights, and protect the environment from pollution instead of going too far right. Also I learn from your book about you being a moderate GOP Governor in New Jersey and what it was like distancing from extreme views.

Governor Whitman, I strongly believe that you made a great difference as Governor of New Jersey on improving public safety making education stronger, advancing on Civil Rights to reduce discrimination, funding healthcare to reduce diseases, and protecting the environment from pollution.  Your work inspires me to work hard on Autism and have an interest in learning history including public policy. Also your book makes a great example of the need for moderates to help stop people with extreme views from hurting our country and it helped me learn more about your work.  Thanks for taking the time to read my letter, working hard to make a difference, writing a book, and inspiring me. Please continue advocating for the need for more moderates, a strong need for renewable energy, and the need to protect the environment.

Sincerely,

Matthew B. Winick

Mr. Gene Luen Yang

7/6/2015

Mr. Gene Luen Yang

P.O. Box 32321

San Jose, CA  95152
USA

Dear Mr. Gene Luen Yang,

My name is Matt Winick, an Asian American with a strong interest in reading comic books and learning history. Comic books are my favorite because I really like reading different stories, seeing different graphics, and it is easy for me to comprehend on understanding the issue. Comic books also help me find humor, understand the message of symbolism, and helps inspire me to work hard in life with finding a balance of having fun.  The main reason I have a strong interest in history because I like to learn the need for diversity with culture to help people understand on how they play a big role in society, a strong need to advance on Civil Rights to help protect people who are different from discrimination, and many others. Mr. Yang, I plan on the future to use history as a goal to teach people about the need to improve society and have the courage to explore on how different parts make history. Mr. yang, your work as a comic book writer and explaining what it is like as an Asian American or an Asian going through struggles really inspires me.

Mr. Yang, I enjoyed reading about your life as being a son of Chinese immigrants born in the U.S., and later being interested in a career in comics.   Also I enjoyed learning on how you worked hard at overcoming your struggles like fitting in with other Asians with society and going from different jobs until you found your passion.  My favorite comic books that you worked on are Superman #41, Prime Baby, The Shadow Hero, Boxer & Saint, and American Born Chinese.  The reason I like these comic books is because I like enjoy learning about my favorite superhero Superman’s origins, having humor about math including other things, and learning more about Asian culture with history through comic books.  Mr. Yang, I have Autism with a learning disability and having a disability is hard for me because I have trouble comprehending on learning different subjects, have trouble with communication when speaking to other people, and I get teased about having it.  Another thing I face with having a disability and being an Asian American is being teased or rejected by some Asians including Asian Americans because they feel like I don’t fit well with them and they believe that I’m not smart or perfect like them or that I don’t belong in their race. When they do it hurts my feelings and makes me lose confidence about myself being an Asian American or being part of an Asian culture. However, your work on Asian culture, explaining what it is like for an Asian or Asian American working on overcoming struggles, and history really helped me have the confidence to work hard to overcome different struggles, to feel proud to be an Asian American, and have the courage to be interested in studying Asian including Asian American history and learn more about the culture.  In my history class, I struggled to comprehend on learning about the Boxer Rebellion because my textbook was difficult with vocabulary with mixed opinions instead of facts, but your book Boxer & Saint helped me understand what Boxer Rebellion was like, how the Chinese felt about the Europeans, and the graphics helped give me an image of what it was like.  I used your book as an assistance resource to help me studying more about the event. “American Born Chinese” helped me be inspired to work on overcoming my struggle and helped me feel confident about being an Asian American because it did a great job explaining what it is like going through struggles they face.  As a result, your work got me even motivated to have a passion for history and exploring Asian culture including history and it even helped me get interested in visiting Asian art museums, Asian American museum, try learning how to do calligraphy, have the courage to eat different Asian food, and visiting Chinatown, Koreatown, and many other Asian cities in the U.S.

Mr. Yang, I am proud to call you a true role model for me because your story about being an Asian American working to overcome your struggle by finding ways to find into society including working at many different jobs until you found a great passion helped get me inspired to work hard at Autism and being more motivated about being an Asian American. Your life with work helped me make a great difference for me to motivated to learn history, find ways to enjoy humor in comic books, have the courage to be proud of being an Asian American with having the courage to be interested in Asian including Asian American culture.  Your comic books on Asian culture with history helped me comprehend on understanding more about the background and helped me imagine what it is like during the time period or how they felt.  Also I strongly believe that you really made a great difference for me and other Asian Americans.  I wrote a story about my struggles with disability and my goals to make history a better place and I dedicate my story to you for making a great positive impact on me to be interested in history, being more confident about being an Asian American, and becoming more motivated to study history with culture. I hope you get a chance to read it. Thanks for taking the time to read my letter, inspiring me, and giving me a chance to send my letter with story to you. Mr. Yang, I want to wish you well for the future with your work as a comic book writer and please continue on inspiring many Asian including Asian Americans like me to continue working to overcome struggles. I am proud to call you one of my favorite comic book writer.

Sincerely,

Matt Winick

Former U.S. Senator Mark Begich of Alaska

9/10/2015

U.S. Senator Mark Begich

President and CEO of Northern Compass Group LLC

c/o Northern Compass Group LLC

310 K Street, Suite 401

Anchorage, AK  99501
USA

Dear U.S. Senator Begich

My name is Matthew Winick from Ann Arbor, Michigan with a strong interest in studying history and government.  The main reason I have a strong interest in studying these main subjects to learn the need to advance on Civil Rights to help protect people who are different from being discriminated, the need for health care reform to help people with pre-existing conditions or who can’t afford insurance get the care they need, protect the environment from pollution by supporting alternative energy with renewable energy, and many others. Senator Begich, I find your work as Mayor of Anchorage and as a U.S. Senator of Alaska to be very inspiring to me and how your work in the U.S. Senate helped benefit me.

When you were Mayor of Anchorage, Alaska I liked on how you worked with Native, Native American, and Asian American groups on assisting their communities by providing funds to help them do well in the economy with getting the services they need. Also to h=elp youth, I liked on how you were a strong supporter of youth programs to help them get assistance on learning different subjects, having job training programs to help the youth to improve on their job skills, and program called Making A Difference to help non-violent juvenile offenders including drug users get the treatment they need along with having them do community services instead of strict sentencing.  In the U.S. Senate, I liked on how you worked on supporting strengthening Civil Rights to help protect people who are different from being discriminated by repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell to help protect people with different sexual orientation who serve in the military from being discriminated based on their orientation, supporting Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Act Hate Crime Prevention Act to expand hate-crime laws with more protection for gender, race, sexual orientation, and people with disabilities from being targeted by a hate crime,  voting for Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 to help improve filing for equal pay discrimination lawsuit when being discriminated in pay based on gender, and being an advocate to help Natives, Native Americans, and Pacific Asian American groups get assistance from the federal government to help improve their communities.  I liked on how you worked with moderate Republicans Senators like Olympia Snowe, Richard Lugar, Lisa Murkowski, and George Voinovich and also work with moderate Democrats like Kay Hagan and Mark Udall on improving Civil Rights to help reduce discrimination while helping women including minorities and people with disabilities communities get the care they need.  On the economy, I was very proud of your commitment to work hard with both political parties including President Obama by supporting the American Recovery Act, a stimulus bill to help giving funding to states to create jobs along with implementing job training program to help people improve on their work skills voting in favor of Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act, and Dodd-Frank Bill to put regulations on Wall Street including financial institutions from committing fraud including abuse with enhancing law enforcement agencies with strengthening federal fraud laws  to combat  against different forms of frauds.  Also in the Senate, I liked on how you broke with both parties on Civil Liberties by voting against extending the Patriot Act which does illegal searches without a warrant, opposing free trade deals to help protect our country from losing jobs overseas with protecting worker’s rights, supporting renewable energy like wind, solar, biofuel, and energy efficient products while supporting conservation to help protect national parks from being polluted, and expressing the need for campaign finance reform to reduce corruption in elections including public officials.  To improve health care, I really liked on how you supported the ACA to help people with pre-existing conditions or who can’t afford health insurance get the care they need and supporting Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act to discourage minors from buying tobacco products with making tobacco products including cigarettes have warning labels to help improve public safety.

Senator Begich, I have Autism with a learning disability and your work on making Civil Rights stronger and being an advocate for people with disabilities helped expand better protections on me from being discriminated in education, job, and public places.  Also your work on helping Native Americans, Asian Americans, and other communities really inspired me to be motivated to be interested in learning Asian American including Asian history to help me be motivated as an Asian American to be proud of my heritage. The American Recovery Act helped me get into a job-training program called the B. Side of Arts in Michigan where I learned about business with how they work and worked on improving my job skills through classes including training and getting paid.  The American Recovery Act helped improve my job skill and it made me even more confident to work full time The ACA, health care reform helped me stay on my parent’s health insurance until I turn 26 due to being a 24 year old. Without the ACA, I would have trouble affording health insurance on my own without my parent’s assistance.

Even though you lost re-election for your Senate seat, I was very proud of your hard work on making a great difference on many different issues and how your work helped benefit me. Also I am proud of you for being bipartisan when there was gridlock, supporting Civil Rights to reduce discrimination, create job training programs to improve the economy, voting in favor of health care reform to help people get the care they need, work on improving minorities communities with getting funding to assist them especially Asian American including Native American, and being a true advocate for reform.  Senator Begich, I strongly believe that you made great history for our country.  Thanks for taking the time to read my letter, working hard making a great difference on different issues when both parties were not engaged, and making a great difference for me through your work. I wish you well for the future and to do well at Northern Compass Group LLC where you can continue making a difference to make a better society and a great future on many issues.

Sincerely,

Matthew B. Winick

Former Governor Mike Sullivan of Wyoming

9/1/2015

Governor Michael J. Sullivan

c/o LEWIS ROCA ROTHGERBER LLP

123 West First Street, Suite 200

Casper, Wyoming  82601
USA

Dear Governor Sullivan,

My name is Matthew Winick from Ann Arbor, Michigan and my main interest is studying history. History is one of my favorite subjects because I like to learn about the need to make Civil Rights stronger to reduce discrimination in order to protect people who are different from discrimination, have government reform to reduce corruption, protect the environment from pollution by supporting environmental protection along with renewable alternative energy, finding ways to reduce crime to improve public safety, and many others.  Governor Sullivan, I find your work as Governor of Wyoming and later as an Ambassador of Ireland to be very inspiring to me.

When you served as 29^th Governor of Wyoming, I liked on how you supported Civil Rights to help protect minorities, women, and people with disabilities from being discriminated with expressing the need for Equal Rights amendment to help reduce discrimination based on gender. Another thing I liked to make Civil rights stronger was your support with implementing Executive Order 1993-4 that was to make your state, public places, government administration, and jobs to be a safe environment from sexual discrimination, intimidation, harassment, and sexual harassment. Also in the executive order I liked on how you added for the need for Wyoming employees to go through training to learn more about how to reduce discrimination with harassment.  On the environment, I liked on how used environmental clean ups to help clean rivers, parks, national parks, and Native American reservations from toxic chemicals spills and to help conserve these areas from being damaged. I liked on how you worked with the EPA on cleaning up pollution which contaminated drinking water wells in Brookhurst to help protect citizens  and using the national guard to help provide clean water with food to help citizens get access to the supplies that they need. To make public safety a priority while reducing crime, I liked on how you worked with both parties Democrats and Republicans on creating a medium prison to put violent offenders in prison to reduce harm to the public.  When President Bill Clinton appointed for being the U.S. Ambassador to Ireland in 1998-2001, I liked on how you worked on finding ways to improve relations with the U.S. and Ireland on like trade with improving worker’s rights. Also in your role as Ambassador of Ireland I liked on how you worked hard to find ways to reduce tension between North Ireland and other Ireland political parties by decommissioning of weapons and making sure the Belfast Peace Agreement didn’t get weaken in order to have peace along with finding ways to improve relations between Ireland and Britain.

Governor Sullivan, your work really inspired me to be interested in studying history. At Washtenaw Community College, I took a 20^th century history class where I got to learn about how different events, people, and many others led different countries including the U.S. to change. In my class, my teacher gave a lecture about Ireland, explained about Ireland political parties conflict with one another, and explained about the Belfast Peace Agreement stopped the violence of Ireland political parties. After he gave that lecture I got very interested in learning more about your role as U.S. Ambassador to Ireland.  Also when I researched about you, I got very interested in learning about your work as a two-term Governor of Wyoming and I was very impressed with your record on being bipartisan by working with other political parties on finding ways to reduce crime, being a strong supporter for Civil Rights to help protect people who are different from discrimination, protecting the environment from pollution with cleaning up toxic chemicals to help improve public safety, and many others.  I’m really inspired by your work and how it makes a great difference and it even made me more motivated to become more interested in studying history to learn how these core values are important to society.  My future goal is to use what I learn in history along with learning different core values to teach people about the need to improve society and to continue exploring different ideas to make history a better place.  Your work on Civil Rights really inspires me to work hard my disability which is Autism, and to continue working hard to overcome my struggles.

I strongly believe that you really made a great difference as Governor of Wyoming on continuing your support of strengthening Civil Rights to help protect people who are different including implementing an executive order to protect workers from other forms of discrimination or harassment, forging a bipartisanship between both parties to find ways to make public safety a priority in order to reduce crime, using environmental clean ups to clean up toxic chemicals that polluted lands, national parks, Native American reservations. drinking water, and towns and do conservation on these areas to protect them from being disturbed. Another thing is I’m proud of your hard work on working to improve relations between U.S. and Ireland on trade and make sure that Ireland follows the Belfast Peace Agreement to reduce violence.  Thanks for taking the time to read my letter, inspiring me to be motivated to learn history with working hard on Autism, and making a great difference for our country and the world through your roles as Governor of Wyoming and U.S. Ambassador to Ireland.  I want to wish you well at LEWIS ROCA ROTHGERBER LLP where you can continue making a difference for society on your ideas

Sincerely,

Matthew B. Winick