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LETTERS
Time for civil disobedience
Editor 's note: The ivriter participated in
what has been called a "sit-in " at U.S. Rep. Bill
Delahunt' s office in Hyannis.
Thank you for all the messages of support. I
am feeling good about it and have received very
positive feedback from the general community.
Because of my business I know a large amount
of people and I don't think I have had a negative
comment at all. We were trying to push (U.S.
Rep. Bill) Delahunt to be more forceful in his
position and stop voting to fund war.
The arrest was easy.Mark Forest of Delahunt's
office was sympathetic and Delahunt is after all
an "anti-war" (notwithgreat strengt h mind you
but still anti-war) and t he police were consider-
ate and maybe even sympathetic aswere the jail
personnel and the court.
It was also good that we made the paper. It
raised the issue of the importance of moving
things a step forward , that it's not enough just
being anti-war, not enough to just to be against
the continued aggression deat h and dest ruction.
It isimportant nowto put more energyinto acting
at whatever level people feel comfortable, yes,
but also at levels that stretch that comfortable
area out. If talking to a friend has been the limit,
then writing or calling a congressman might be
a new way to act.
For me, standing on a vigil for four years has
been an important part of my resistance. Now I
feel called to commit acts of civil disobedience.
What they do is point out contradictions , up the
resistancelevel, useup resources ofthe policeand
government , call people to question authority.
If it becomes significant numbers of people, it
affects the government's ability to function.
While I was in jail I reflected on the story of
Thoreau who was injail in resistance to a war of
the times. He was visited by Emerson. Emerson
asked him, "What are you doing in there?" And
Thoreau responded, "What are you doing out
there?"
While Iwasinjail, ayoung man from Oklahoma
lost both his legs to a mine. Nine bodies of Iraqis
were dumped in the streets bound and shot in
the head, a captain died in a roadside bombing...
the list goes on.
So commit yourself to one act, one little thing
that you can do that is a step beyond what you
have been doing. They are planning awidening of
the war into Iran and we need to stop these mad-
men who have seized control of our country.
In peace.
John Hopkins
Provincetown
Shameful 'scurvy1 tactics on
wind farm
Hans Blix was the U.N.'s chief authority in
negotiating with some of the world's most
villainous leaders over a couple of decades ,
which we all remember, of course. He was deal-
ing with the nuclear issues that have made so
many of our years anxious ones. He has been
"off the screen" for a while , so it was stunning
to see - on www.cleanpowernow.org -a recent
quotation by this expert on weapons of mass
hysteria that have made life so disturbing.
"To me the question of the environment is
more ominous than that of peace and war. I'm
more worried about global warming than I am
of any major military conflict " Hans Blix
When a figure of such stature worries that
much about global warming, along with the
nearly unanimous consensus of the world'scli-
mate scientist s, doesn't it give one pause11How-
can people worrv about a view? Whv couldn 't
they feel elated as they sail between widely
spaced turbines? Why are sleek windmillsseen
as less attractive than belching smokestacks 0
What is the true motivation of a fossil fuel
billionaire to hire lobbyists to kill our chance
for pollution-free electricity? What motivated
distant senators to do a sneak attack. I doubt
it was for altruistic reasons.
And why aren 't the Alliance members of-
fended by their leadership 's scurvy tactics?
Newspaper edit orials all across America have
denounced the tactic and the amendment , but
I haven't heard any apologies from any of the
many decent folk who belong t o t he organiza-
tion. Are their consciences dysfunctional ?
Nantucket Sound has not been sold - yet.
But the wealthy yacht smen have placed a huge
"offer to buy " They want public waters to be
their private playground instead of benefiting
us all economically, ecologically, and health-
wise. They, and the politicians who seem to be
in t heir t hrall .disgrace t he American ideals so
many of us risked our lives to preserve.
Richard C. Bartlett
Cotuit
Immigration and Integration?
A Citizen Views the U.S
Constitution
By Hid Welch
This series is written by a private citizen with an abiding interest
in U.S. history and particularly its founding documents: The
Declaration of Independence and The Constitution
Art. 1, Sec. 8 [4] states: "The Congress shall
have the Power ... To establish an uniform
Rule of Naturalization ... "
For nearly 200 years, the United States was
largely one people united (E Pluribus Unum).
Yet they came from a wide and diverse set of
nations, customs and characters. Neverthe-
less, one by one they became Americanized
to the extent that it would have been difficult
to say what was a "foreign" name since the
US embraced them all. These citizens were
Americans first. They were not hyphenated
Americans, just Americans.
Most never lost their origins in the transfor-
mation. They retained many of their customs
and life styles at the same time bringing new
tastes, desires and strengths to their adopted
homeland. Very few ever went back. Many
continued to use their original language in
their homes while speaking and understand-
ing English in the outside and business world.
They adapted , learned the language and
integrated into the whole. They became an
important part of the United States helping
to make it the greatest country the world has
ever known.
So what has happened to bring us to the
present sad state of affairs? Take a moment
to reflect on a few movements that occurred
since World War II.
The Cold War. Extinguished during the
Reagan administration.
Multiculturalism and diversity. This ap-
proach appears to have produced an ethnocen-
tric, fragmented population whose allegiance
remains with their fatherland. It has produced
a politically polarized state in which demands
are made for bi-lingual education , bi-lingual
public signs, bi-lingual drivers licensing and
bi-lingual voting ballots. Without attempting
to pass judgment , one must ask the purpose
of such actions, for at least on the surface , it
appears more politically oriented toward vote
getting than to integrating the population.
The entire process reads like Caesar 's ancient
dictum , "Divide and Conquer. "
The rise of feminism. Ostensibly to "free"the
fair sex from male domination. To equate male
and female in all aspects , including gender.
It is questionable as to whether it has done
CONTINUED ON PAGE A:11
U.S. is Biggest Nuclear
Threat
By Richard Elrick
r.elrick@venzon.net
Rather than Iran or North Korea, it is
the U.S. nuclear arms policies that pres-
ent the biggest threat to world peace and
security. Some 60 years after W.W.II, and
a decade after the end of the Cold War,
the U.S. remains the only country to have
ever used a nuclear- weapon in war.
In the decades since that first atomic
bomb was dropped on Hiroshima,
thousands of nuclear weapons have been
produced , and the nuclear club now in-
cludes at least eight countries; additional
countries such as Iran and North Korea
are anywhere between five to ten years
away from havingtheir own deliverable
nuclear weapons.
While the immediate likelihood of a
U.S.-Russia nuclear war and its threat
of mutual assured destruction (MAD)
would appear behind us, the ongoing
probability of a cataclysmic nuclear con-
flict -either by "accident" or as part of
some country or terrorist's strategic goal
-remains ominously present.
According to the Disarmament and
Peace Education website, the number
of nuclear weapons in the world, with
the U.S. and Russia possessing over 95
percent of them, stands at approximately
30,000. Of that number, over 4,500 war-
heads remain on hair-trigger alert. To put
that number in some context , only 200 of
these weapons would completely devas-
tate either country.
In Russia today, there exists 2,360,000
pounds of weapons-grade fissile material
(much of it vulnerable to theft or diver-
sion by terrorists). With only 8-10 pounds
of that plutonium necessary to build
a crude bomb, it doesn't take much to
imagination to visualize how much dam-
age a few crazed terrorists could cause.
While visions of mushroom clouds and
nuclear Armageddon may seem abstract
and distant to some, it remains supreme-
ly important to remind ourselves how
complete and indiscriminate the destruc-
tion from a nuclear bomb actually would
be. According to an article published in
the New England Journal of Medicine, a
single 20-megaton bomb (the Hiroshima
bomb was between 10 and 15 megatons),
exploding a mile above Boston would
cause the following:
• Within 1/1000 of a second, a fireball
would envelop the downtown and extend
for two miles in every direction: tempera-
tures would rise to 20 million degrees
Fahrenheit, and everything would be
vaporized
• At a distance of four miles, winds
exceeding 650 miles would level all struc-
tures, and the heat would vaporize metal
and glass
• At a distance of 16 miles, all flamma-
ble material would be ignited; a firestorm
would envelop more than 800 square
miles, and the death rate would approach
100%
• The total toll from this one bomb,
including those killed outright and those
who died of their wounds within the first
month would be greater than 2,500,000.
Since that first A-bomb dropped on
Hiroshima, the U.S. and the rest of the
world have argued for the need to control
the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
Sadly, to a large extent, we have not
been successful. The dangers posed by
CONTINUED ON PAGE A:12
From tin \W\
A Weak Field
By Steve Tefft
stevetefft@yahoo.com
It may be a bit early to think about the
race for governor, but this year's contest
bears watching because it very likely will
signal a dramatic shift in the direction of
Massachusetts politics (not to mention the
state 's economy).
So here 's a look at the major gubernato-
rial candidates , each of whom possesses the
potential to make state residents pine for the
good old days of the Romney administration:
Attorney General Tom Reilly still must be
considered the favorite for the Democratic
nomination. That's a commentary on the
quality of his opposition , not on Reilly's
political acumen. His campaign got off to a
memorably awful - yet comical-- start with
the disastrous choice of state representa-
tive/tax loan delinquent Marie St. Fleur
as his running mate. Give Reilly credit for
learning a lesson , though. He hasn't made
another running mate pick, which is super-
fluous anyway because running mates are
elected separately from the top of the ticket.
Reilly may be the most boring office holder
in Massachusetts (or even New England),
and he projects the charm of Michael Duka-
kis. He's not a natural politician , but his dull
earnestness will probably be enough to drag
him over the September primary line in first
place.
Reilly 's main rival for the Democrat
nomination is Deval Patrick , a lawyer and
former Clinton Justice Department opera-
tive. Patrick is the most liberal candidate
in the field. His politics reflect his career:
Harvard and Harvard law, a stint with the
United Nations , president of the Legal Aid
bureau , staff attorney for the NAACP While
at Justice . Patrick earned the label of "race
warrior " by. in the words of The New Repub-
lic, "...committiing ) the Administration to
a vision of racial preference that fulfills the
most extravagant fantasies of a conservative
attack ad." Somehow, amid all that liberal-
ism. Patrick learned to love capitalism and
became a very rich corporate lawyer who
apparently believes the way to more riches
is taking on mountains of personal debt (the
Globe reports he and his wife currently carry
mortgages of nearly $6 million). Patrick is
likeable and obviously intelligent , but he may
be too liberal - even for Massachusetts. The
first thing he has to do is get people to stop
referring to him as "Duval".
Venture capitalist Chris Gabrieli recently,
and belatedly , joined the Democrat field.
Gabrieli , who previously lost campaigns for
Congress and Lieutenant Governor , could
have presented an appealing alternative to
the Left (Patrick ) and the Languid ( Reilly).
His business background could have at-
tracted moderate Democrats and unenrolled
voters. But Gabrieli blew it the day he an-
nounced his candidacy by going out of his
way to cast himself as a pro-abortion , soft-
on-crime , doctrinaire pile of left-wing mush.
It 's a sh^me , because state Democrats need
a moderate face or two. Chris, you could have
been a condcntah.
Massachusetts Republicans - all 14 of them
- have but one candidate to rally around.
Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey is the
anointed successor to Romney, but despite
his efforts to give Healey face time at various
government events over the past couple of
years, it' s somewhat difficult to take her seri-
ously. When Healey speaks, the word "gover-
nor " does not leap to mind ( unlike the word
"preppie. " which does). Her best chance is
history : the Bay State hasn't elected a Demo-
crat covernor in 20 years, and maybe voters
CONTINUED ON PAGE A:12
RIGHT
C-T3
CORNER
u
— By Paul Gauvin
pgauvin@barnstablepatnot.com
Imaginehow the American electorate might
have reacted if President Bush had delegated
to Andrew Card , his chief of staff , the serious
task of delivering the State of the Union ad-
dress earlier this year.
There would have been a hired hand
untested by public choice and not directly
accountable to the electorate delivering a
blueprint for the future.
"Such impudence ,"the country might have
sighed.
And if Mr. Card dispensed kudos to bureau-
crats who are well paid to perform certain
duties , would it not appear to elevate his
own station and lead the audience to unwit-
tingly perceive him as more powerful than
the elected president - who h answerable to
the people?
In similar fashion , Barnstable 's current
town manager, a former selectman and state
representative and therefore a seasoned poli-
tician turned bureaucrat , is a subordinate of
the town council and not empowered by the
electorate to dictate policy or make law.
Yet the public perception left when such a
person delivers a state of the town address is
that the buck stops at the orator as though
he were the mayor - a misconception in this
case.
How much more meaningful it would be if t he
person delivering the address were empowered
to do so by the electorate, in Barnstable 'scase,
an elected mayor, a chief administrator who
knows his tenure is based on the electorate 's
satisfaction with his performance.
In the current scenario , a state of the town
address would have more impact were it de-
livered by the president of the town council ,
who » empowered , as are his colleagues , to
make the law and chart policy directions.
For example, the current manager called
for establishment of a first class performing
arts center in downtown Hyannis , setting a
goal and a tone that not all will agree with.
The presumption is that such a facility will
attract shoppers and diners to downtown area
retailers and restaurants , albeit for how long
and to what degree is unknown.
Rome 's Coliseum, after all, was such a "first
class" facility with 80 entrances dispersing
the 50,000 citizens it was designed to ac-
commodate (despite inadequate parking).
Today, one may say with tongue in cheek , it
lies in ruins.
A performance-based facility wedged into
the downtown isjust a vision, as is the place-
ment of a "convention center " in downtown
Hyannis that was in vogue a few years ago.
Whether Main Street "needs " a performing
arts center to intensify its sophistication
and assure its economic future is debatable ,
particularly if it is to be publicly financed and
operated in any way.
Residents in general aren't clamoring for
it according to the town's own survey. Has
anyone said the lack of a performing arts
center downtown is a problem? Contrarily, 33
percent of 401 respondents said they saw over-
development , growth and population as the
town'smost serious problems. In other words ,
this minority is for less and not more , a hint
that they prefer to take better care of existing
infrastructure rather than add to it.
Some 85 percent joined the chorus -a clear
majority - rating quality of life as excellent or
good as it is. Why change it?
And is it any surprise that Osterville - where
affordable housing is next to non-existent
-rated quality of life at 96 percent and Hyannis
- the retail, biz center and home to most af-
fordable housing - at only 70 percent?
Excess traffic and under-performing roads ,
not a performing arts center to generate more
traffic , are major problems , the survey found .
problems the town plans to address by devot-
ing more energy and resources to them.
Indeed , the survey reports that of 271
respondents , 25 percent said roads needed
improvement while recreation came in at only
6.9 percent. It is comforting to note that the
proposed budget takes in more road improve-
ments , a direct response to the public will.
So why performing arts 0 What do town
councilors think of a performing art s center?
Is that a direction of their unanimous consent
or is it merely setting a snare hoping to catch
the residual leftovers of the proposed Boch
performing arts center in Mashpee?
Despite appearances , councilors , lest we
forget , are "the boss." And when it come?
to the state of union or town , what is said is
judged as much by who says it.
'Elected
1
presenter would
lift state of town address