A Sign That I'm Asking the Right Questions: Rejection Letters and Hostile or Negative or Unhelpful Reply Letters and Legal Reply Letters I've Received In Recent Years

Some of the most memorable of the hostile reply letters and rejection letters to myself and reply letters of rebuke or disagreement with me, including letters of politely-stated disagreement, and unhelpful reply letters as well as legal reply letters that I've also received in the last 15 years, include:


---May 7, 2007, reply E-mail to me from Mr. Louis Hinojosa, the Director of Human Resources for the Souper Salad Inc. restaurant-chain headquarters in San Antonio, Texas:
"...You missed the point completely and failed to recognize that it is not your place to pass judgment or use 'hearsay conversation' to trash your coworkers and managers. This may cause you legal problems as it relates to slander or defamation of character. Unless there is imminent and present danger to you, your coworkers or guests, I am not interested in your opinions, point of view or hearsay commentary.

"Do not email, write or call me regarding this matter.

"...I simply asked you that if you (as a member of the waitstaff at the cited Souper Salad restaurant in Austin, Texas) were concerned about a missing guest (whose wallet was reportedly found on his dining table inside that Souper Salad restaurant in Austin after he suddenly and mysteriously vanished from the restaurant, according to his male adult dining companion that day), that the person (dining companion) with the guest would be the one needing to contact the police, if he suspected foul play. We, as Souper Salad do not have a role to play in this.

"...When we spoke this morning, you still seem to be intent on saying that 'I want you to call the police and make a report', this is not the case. If you as a private citizen want to make a citizen's report, you need to follow the proper procedures as a private citizen.

"I am beginning to question your 'state of mind' and your personal agenda as it relates to this matter. This morning you told me that you had not reported (to the Austin Police Department in Austin, Texas) last week's incident as yet. If you were so concerned about the missing guest, why have you failed to contact the appropriate authorities. Please do not answer my inquiry---it is too little too late.

"On a separate note, I visited with Mrs.(Cindy) Downs (of our Souper Salad corporate headquarters HR Department in San Antonio, Texas) and found that she has been very tolerant of your constant ranting, for quite some time. You are fortunate that she is a patient and very understanding professional, however, please do not take advantage of her generosity and kindness and assume that you are held in high esteem, simply because you have been emailing or calling on her for quite sometime.

"I have asked Mrs. Downs to forward (to me) all calls or emails that you might send her way in the future."

----May 4, 2007, reply E-mail letter to me from Mr. Louis Hinojosa, Director of Human Resources for the Souper Salad Inc. restaurant-chain headquarters in San Antonio, Texas:

"...I do not know anything about you and I do not believe I have spoken with you in the past, however, I am totally outraged that you took advantage in writing this email, to pass judgment and make comments about your (Souper Salad) coworkers and the management and allege (possible suspected) criminal behavior."

"If you have the facts to support your observations or commentary regarding your coworkers, I suggest that you forward them to me immediately, so that the matter can be promptly investigated. I do not know how it is that you seem to know private, confidential information about your coworker's background, but let me assure you, you are invading their privacy and treading on thin ice.

"Your commentary, personal opinions or observations are not appreciated and may serve as legal liability against you, to include defamation of character and slander.

"The fact that you have worked as a clerk in a law enforcement agency does not give you license to practice law or meddle in other people's business or personal lives."

----August 15, 2011, reply E-mail letter to me from Mr. Robert Rivard, Editor in Chief of the Hearst media company-owned "San Antonio Express-News" in San Antonio, Texas, with the Hearst corporation being headquartered in San Francisco, California:

"Pls remove my name from your list."

----November 4, 2004, reply E-mail letter to me from Ms. Helene Orr of the Department of Political Science at the University of Denver in Denver, Colorado:

"Take me off your damn list!"

----October 21, 2004, reply E-mail letter to me from Mr. Jeff Moseley of the Office of the Governor of Texas's Music-Industry Promotion Office of the State Government of Texas in Austin, Texas:

"Please remove me from your distribution list."

----February 3, 2005, E-mail reply letter to me from Mr. Carl Reynolds, an attorney member of the State Bar of Texas who at the time of his E-mail reply letter to me was himself General Counsel of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice state agency headquarters in Huntsville, Texas:

"I am routinely deleting your irrelevant emails without reviewing them, and I would appreciate it very much if you would cease copying me. I, for one, have no interest in your various opinions (and I am probably far from alone on this score). If you have some inquiry or business with this agency, you may send it to me. Otherwise, please desist from including me in your messages."

----September 10, 2007, reply E-mail letter to me from Mr. Ian D. Arnold, an attorney and General Counsel for EMMIS Communications Corporation headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana:

"....If you at any time become aware of any specific facts that indicate that any EMMIS portfolio company has, in fact, intruded or impinged upon your privacy rights, please let us know and we will make every effort to investigate and address those specific facts.

"Please do not contact either Mr. Michael Levy, Founder and Publisher of TEXAS MONTHLY, or Mr. Jeffrey Smulyan, Chairman of the Board of Directors, President and CEO of EMMIS Communications Corporation, directly...."

----June 5, 2007, reply E-mail letter to me from Mr. Michael Levy, Publisher of "Texas Monthly" magazine, in response to wholesome and idealistic E-mail correspondence from me that proposed the placement on year-round display of a "Vocabulary Word of the Day" sign inside each and every public primary and secondary school campus throughout Texas, including throughout the entire Austin Independent School District in Austin, Texas:

"While I appreciate that these issues are very important to you, they are not appropriate for my attention and consideration, so I would appreciate your not referencing or cc'ing me in any future correspondence on these matters."

---June 5, 2007, reply E-mail letter to me from Mr. Michael Levy, Publisher of the Austin-based and EMMIS-owned "Texas Monthly" magazine:

"Again, I do not believe that (it) is either necessary or appropriate for you to continue to send (me) any of your e-mails...."

----June 7, 2007, unsolicited follow-up E-mail letter to me, entitled "Just FYI" in its subject heading, from Mr. Michael Levy, Publisher of "Texas Monthly" magazine, who also happens to be, and was at that time, a private attorney member of the State Bar of Texas state agency:

"...Issues that we do focus on (at 'Texas Monthly' monthly magazine in Austin) are limited to a very, very few. That is why we strongly suggest that your energies would be much better directed elsewhere. This is not to say or imply that we do not have sympathy for your situation.

"I trust that you understand and respect where we are coming from, just as we respect you and your own impassioned efforts."

----April 5, 2007, reply E-mail letter to me from Ms. Patty Dontje, Secretary to Mr. Jay Smith, himself the President of the Atlanta, Georgia-based Cox Newspapers, Inc.:

"...I wish to relay that Jay Smith has every confidence that Mike Laosa and his folks (at the 'Austin American-Statesman' daily newspaper in Austin, Texas) have treated you (John Kevin McMillan of Austin) with respect and fairness. While we thank you for your interest in our company, we feel that any future conversations are not likely to be productive."

----September 17, 1997, signed and mailed reply letter to me on official 'Austin American-Statesman' stationery from Mr. Richard Oppel, Editor in Chief of that Cox-owned daily newspaper in Austin, Texas:

"Please, let's discontinue the correspondence....(and) there is no point in (our) meeting (in person)."

----November 29, 2006, reply E-mail letter to me from Mr. Arnold Garcia, Editor of the Editorial Page of the "Austin American-Statesman", who specifically in that context declined to publish a crime-deterrence-minded letter to the editor from me that deplored the apparent absence of an anti-drug community in Austin (Austin being a capital city of Texas with an illicit-drug crisis, I indicated in my letter to the editor):

"We are in frequent receipt of your letters and have thus far declined to print any of them. The same holds true for your latest submission. That answer is final and non-negotiable. Please do not harass my assistant as calling repeatedly will not do you any good...."

----November 30, 2006, reply E-mail letter to me from Mr. Arnold Garcia, Editor of the Editorial Page of the "Austin American-Statesman" daily newspaper in Austin, Texas:

"I'll make this short: Don't waste my time with any more of your whining. Clear enough?"

----November 4, 2004, all-capitalized reply E-mail letter to me from Ms. Denise Zuniga of KLRU Educational Television station, which is housed on the campus of the State of Texas-owned University of Texas at Austin:

"PLEASE REMOVE THIS AND ALL EMAIL ADDRESSES YOU HAVE FOR KLRU-TV IMMEDIATELY!"

----October 18, 1999, signed and mailed reply letter to me on official University of Texas at Austin stationery that was written and signed by "Lee Smith, Associate Vice President for Administration and Legal Affairs" at UT-Austin:

"Please be advised that The University of Texas at Austin is not responsible for the (harassment-related allegations and privacy-related criminal-law) concerns you present in your e-mails of September 13, 1999, to (UT-Austin) Vice President Patricia Ohlendorf.

"Accordingly, we consider this matter officially closed. If you desire to pursue these concerns further, you will need to do so in a different forum.

"Because our consideration of these matters has been concluded, please do not call, write e-mail or otherwise attempt to contact any University official or employee with regard to these matters in the future."

----December 6, 2000, reply E-mail letter to me from Austin Police Department (APD) Officer Mary Hesalroad, the designated Central West Austin District Representative for APD, with her designated geographical district having been situated near the campus of the University of Texas at Austin, and her 2000 reply E-mail letter to me politely disagreeing with a written statement from myself I'd E-mailed to Officer Hesalroad on November 30, 2000 (an E-mail letter from me in which I alleged in writing that I was myself a victim of violations of my own privacy rights by one or more Austin-area residents in a context "involving criminal conduct on their part" (exact wording), I politely emphasized to APD Officer Hesalroad):

"...Based on the information you've given me over the past few months, you should understand that no one has committed a criminal act against you (John Kevin McMillan of Austin).

"The situations you have told me about are all points of law for a CIVIL attorney to consider. I urge you, once again, to consider taking your issues to a civil attorney...."

----March 20, 2007, E-mail reply letter to me from "Ken Wiggins," a self-identified member of the Board of Directors for the non-profit Virginia-based legal-rights organization "A Matter of Justice," who in his reply letter to me also identified himself as "Wiley":

"...While I sympathize with your plight, we have no resources to help individuals with their own cases. Not to demean your difficulties, but your story is 'dime-a-dozen' in this country these days. And there are millions of these same kinds of stories---and many much worse (than your own case)...."

"...Sorry we can't help you."

----Unsigned and typed March of 2009 mailed reply letter to me (a letter I received in my March 14, 2009, mail delivery at my private residential address in Austin, Texas) from Professor Leo Katz, a nationally-renowned criminal-law researcher, a private attorney, and a distinguished professor of law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School in Philadelphia:

"...I would like to ask you to no longer try to contact me, either by email or by telephone, or by some other means, nor the law school (at University of Pennsylvania) or (any) other people connected with me....So please, no more emails, phone calls, letters or the like. This is a really serious matter to me."

----April 3, 2009, signed reply letter to me on official University of Pennsylvania stationery from Mr. Jeffrey Cooper, Vice President for Government and Community Affairs at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia:

"I am sympathetic to the fact that the correspondence you received (from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia) has caused you great distress. Unfortunately, neither the Office of Government and Community Affairs nor any office at Penn can help you resolve this personal matter. Please do not direct any more correspondence to University of Pennsylvania with regard to your personal affairs."

---May 1, 2006, reply E-mail letter to me from a representative for the Austin Area League of Women Voters non-profit orgnization in response to a letter I'd E-mailed to the group's official E-mail address, lwvaa@leaguewv.austin.tx.us, that contained several public-policy questions I wanted to pose to each of the Gubernatorial Candidates in Texas at that time:

"Please remove this email address from your distribution."

----January 17, 2009, reply E-mail letter to me from Mr. Tom Johnson, Executive Director of the Texas State Teachers Association, a statewide professional organization in which I was myself a dues-paying individual member at that time:

"Please take me off your list."

----November 12, 2009, reply E-mail letter to me from Mr. James S. Timmins, City Solicitor (City Attorney) for the City Government of Quincy in Quincy, Massachusetts:

"I am responding on behalf of (Quincy, Mass.) City Clerk Shea and (Quincy) Police Chief Keenan. The city (of Quincy, Mass.) appreciates that you took the time to provide us notice of your potential (legal) claims (against the City of Quincy, Mass., in a court of law). We wish you well in your attempts to resolve your medical/hearing (loss) issues. We do all we can in Quincy to insure the safety of workers and others who might be subject to excessive noise, and will continue to do so. Again, thank you for the courtesy of your e-mail notice."

----March 31, 2009, reply E-mail letter to me from Mr. James S. Timmins, City Solicitor (City Attorney) for the City Government of Quincy in Quincy, Massachsuetts:

"May I presume from the fact that you supplied personal information (about alleged violations of your own privacy rights that allegedly occurred when you lived in Quincy, Mass., in the latter 1980s) that I may provide it to the (Quincy, Mass.) Police Department for a follow-up inquiry???"

"If I may, I will do so, and report back. Please advise."

----February 22, 2011, reply E-mail letter to me from City Solicitor (City Attorney) James S. Timmins on behalf of the City Government of Quincy in Quincy, Massachusetts:

"The city of Quincy (in Massachusetts) recently passed a noise ordinance....So I understand the concerns (about local noise pollution) you raise in your question.

"....I know nothing about the particulars of Travis County (Texas, where you yourself reside), but I can tell you that in my experience, I can conceive of no conceivable scenario where a local government would 'knowingly permit or authorize noise pollution.'

"I believe that what you are encountering (locally observable incessant and continuous and year-round noise pollution, 24 hours a day, every day of the year) is a common problem across the country. How we manage noise pollution issues is something that communities continually struggle with. I would hope for you that, notwithstanding how difficult the problems in your community (Travis County, Texas) might be, you have confidence that your government is doing --- and will do --- what it can to help. And, I hope you can feel comfortable that your local government (Travis County Government, with Austin being the county seat of Travis County, Texas) is not part of the (noise pollution) problem."

"Wishing you the best,

"Jim."