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| September 22, 2006 Barnstable Patriot |  |
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AARP
is peddling baloney sandwiches
when it comes to homeowners insur-
ance a.id for that, the giant organiza-
tion should be made to sit in the corner for
misleading its own members.
Perhaps it is downright impertinent for
fading seniors to question the workings of
this self-anointed paternal lobbying agency
turned questionable business wheeler-deal-
er, but at the risk of seeming as petty as the
arguments in a 50-year marriage, here goes.
AARP has, like AAA, gone off on a num-
ber of business tangents masquerading
as better deals for members only.These
unsolicited "offerings" give members that
cozy feeling of the fetus with little to do but
eat by osmosis, wiggle fingers and toes and
sleep in the assurance somebody is watch-
ing over them.
Case in point: One of AARP's advertise-
mentsjointly with Hartford Insurance Co.
enticing people 55 and older to join the orga-
nization offers homeowners' insurance with
these hopeful words for Cape Codders:"Get
better protection. Get low rates and value."
What elderly Barnstable resident who
has been bounced around mercilessly by
insurers in the last few years doesn't want
what AARP seems to be offering in its list
of membership perks? Regular insurance
companies "serving" Barnstable have taken
the goldmine of decades of premiums and
given their consumers the shaft.
One elderly Yarmouthwoman who had
signed on with Hartford through AARPmore
than a year ago as insurers were abandoning
the Cape market was covered for the first
year for $700. She renewed recently for $900
-a far cry from the $1,500 to $2,000 offered by
FAIR, the state'sinsurer of last resort, and
remaining private insurers.
The Yarmouth woman told a Hyannis
friend who was paying $1,500 to FAIR about
her good fortune. The friend, aware in her
sunset years on fixed income that every
penny counts, plunked down the mem-
bership fee for AARP, then signed on for
home insurance from Hartford , which she
received last June for $700. It covers her
neat Cape Cod cottage just north of Route
28 in Hyannis and her peace of mind. It also
dropped her premiums by $800.
In so doing, she also escaped FAIR'S an-
ticipated and already approved 25 percent in-
crease that Attorney General (and defeated
gubernatorial candidate) Thomas Reilly is,
like the bells of St. Mary's, appealing.
Good news travels fast, even when it
turns out to be a dud. The Hyannis woman
told another friend, we'll call her "Patsy" in
deference to double entendre, who prompt-
ly joined AARP with her mate for $29.50
and subsequently, believing she had met
the requirement of membership as adver-
tised, applied to Hartford for a homeowner
policy.
After several vague e-mails from Hartford
and AARP the agency said it had gotten
in touch with Hartford and the decision on
the application was this: "For the program
to maintain competitive prices and to offer
quality protection (bull dung) we've (AARP
and Hartford?) established eligibility re-
quirements (other than membership?). At
this time, we are unable to provide cover-
age for your property because your home is
located in an area (Cape Cod?) exposed to
the hazards of wind storms."
Kansas and Texas with their violent
tornadoes aren't exposed to wind storms?
Is not Chicago "The Windy City?" Does
not an ill-mannered Mother Nature cough
and sneeze and exhale volumes where she
pleases -in Denver, or Worcester?
Patsy was disturbed at being misled
and made a victim of discrimination - an
outcast from other members - at the hands
of AARP-Hartford, not by color of skin, or
religious choice or ethnic origin, but simply
by where she lives.
One expects the corporate modus
operandi to be cold-hearted, but not an
agency that describes itself as the sentinel
of seniors.
Rather than side with its member, AARP
has become an apologist for Hartford , ex-
plaining the giant insurer's viewpoint rath-
er than fighting for inclusion of its member
in Hartford's advertised offer of access.
As a matter of principle - one small
step for elderlykind - Patsy asked that her
membership fee be returned. AARP has
responded that it will -rather than lock
horns with Hartford on this issue.
AARP should demand that Hartford
service all of its members -even if it means
charging a little more for premiums - or
sever its ties with the insurer for discrimi-
nating against AARP's members.
pgauvin@bamstablepatriot.com
AARP, Hartford mislead on
home insurance offer
LETTERS
Twoforms of forgetting
"Will I ever walk again, Doc?"
"Son, you'll not only walk, you'll run!"
"Really! And what about my head?"
"What about it?"
"Half my skull was shot away."
"Sorry about that, but we'll fix you up
with a titanium skull. It's better than
bone."
"Can you fix up my brain, too?"
"What's the trouble there?"
"When I got bombed in Baghdad, my
brain got concussed."
"Tough."
"Yeah,can't remember things...myname
... my girl ... my country ...."
"There, there. How about me?"
"Oh! You're the Doc."
"Right! We'll give you therapies , like
staring for hours at your girlfriend' s
picture. Of course,you won't be allowed to
see her yet. Got to make you whole again,
before ...."
"You mean...."
"You'll be as good as, well almost, as
new; not really that either. But, mobility
will be yours ... imagine running in bionic
races."
"Awesome. And my brain will think
again and Iwon't have these weird feelings
about who I am."
"Son, there's an Iraq War vet who went
CONTINUED ON PAGE A:8
Cape Light Compact
has made a difference
By Audrey Loughnane and Bob Mahoney
www.capelightcompact.org
We
write in response to Mr. Chris
Powicki's commentary (or opin-
ion) on the Cape Light Compact
published on Sept. 8 in The Barnstable
Patriot.
While Mr. Powicki'sinterest in the Com-
pact iswelcome,wemust respond to several
incorrect or misleading statements made
in his commentary.
The Compact was not alone in experi-
encingthe price spike for this year'spower
supply due to Hurricane Katrina, as all
energy commoditiesrose to unprecedented
levels. As promised in November 2005 and
discussed at Compact board meetings,
which are open to the public,wehave taken
steps to avoid arecurrence by altering our
purchasing strategy from a single point of
purchase to portfolio management.
Another factor greatly impacts pricing.
The Default Service Adjustment (DSA)
enables NSTAR and other distribution
companies to intentionally or unintention-
ally establish their power supply prices at
an artificial (lower) market price. NSTAR
is able to do this because it is allowed to
"true up"its supply price in the following
calendaryear and collectthe difference be-
tween its price andthe real (higher) market
price from all customers, including those
on the Compact's competitive service! In
other words, customers on competitive
service are subsidizing NSTAR customers.
CONTINUED ON PAGE A:8
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BANKING RETURNS TO HYANNIS'S EAST
END - Just a stone's throw away from the
' location of the newly-opened Bank of Cape
Cod on Main Street Hyannis was the office
of the First NationalBank of Hyannis,which
wouldmorphandmergeintoCapeCodBank
and Trust. The building was torn down in
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ACROSS TIME 6 PLACE
RETROSPECTIVES FROM THE ARCHIVES
A citizen views the
U.S. Constitution
By Hillard Welch
1776@netscape.com
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.
***
"The Congress , whenever two-thirds of both
Houses shall deem it necessary, shall p ropose
Amendments to this Constitution ... "
(Art. V).
***
There has been a lot of talk in recent
times of a "Living Constitution." Quite
honestly, I had no idea that the present
one was "dead" or out of date.
I've always kept the Constitution in the
same reverence as the Bible, the former pro-
viding a lasting foundation for a government
structure based on the "consent of the gov-
erned" while the latter provided an enduring
foundation for an individual to lead a full and
productive life.
However, let's take a look at what is really
involved in this discussion.
From what I read, those who espouse a
"Living Constitution" are generally interested
in doing things that might otherwise be pro-
hibited under the Constitution. For example,
consider the Presidential Executive Orders
or the Signing Statements attached to Con-
gressional Bills. Nowhere in the Constitution
is there authorization for either action. Yet.
ignoring their Oath of Office innumerable
times, many presidents have simply issued
such Executive Orders or, more recently, at-
tached Signing Statements to achieve their
personal desires.
Or, what about the judicial decrees we
have seen from our federal courts, including
the Supreme Court? "Legislating from the
bench" is the accepted term for this, but is
that the function of a court or a judge?
Our Congress has seen fit to transfer the
power to declare war to the President . He
alone can determine if US forces should be
sent into an armed conflict whether in Korea,
Vietnam or Iraq. Yet, only Congress has the
constitutional power to "declare war" (Art. I,
Sec. 8 [11].
Is that their definition of a "Living Con-
stitution?" Perhaps it should be relabeled ,
"Ignoring the Constitution. "
Was Thomas Jefferson trying to warn us
of such transgressions when he said, "Let us
hear no more of confidence in men, but bind
them down with chains of the Constitution."
What does this do to the integrity of our
government's foundation or the "checks
and balances" that the founders so carefully
crafted and enshrined in the Constitution?
Does this make it a "living" constitution?
To create an analogy, the Founding Fa-
thers designed a government that resembles
a three-legged stool with each leg represent-
ing one of the three branches. Having each
leg (or branch) equal in terms of length
(power) creates a stable structure (checks
and balances) with the top (or seat) being
the Constitution itself. Even a school child
knows that if one of the legs is longer or
shorter than the others, the stool is "tipsy "
or not very stable. So it is with the US gov-
ernment. If one of the branches (legs) of the
stool usurps or is given power from either of
the other two, or encroaches on the domain
CONTINUED ON PAGE A:8
A living document
or historical relic?
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SEPTEMBER 22, 2006
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