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October 6, 2006     Barnstable Patriot
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October 6, 2006
 
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I FTTFRs LE11 Lixo CONTINUED FROM PAGE A:7 Compact officials implied that state law prevents such a practice. This is untrue, as is their claim of complete compliance with applicable rules. In fact, the Compact has never provided Cape and Vineyard consumers with state-mandated information on pricing, contract terms, power sources, air emissions, and adverse impacts as speci- fied under DTE Order 00-47. Third,I asked the Compact to reaffirm its commitment to protect consumer interests. Compact officials instead defended the practice of us- ingresidential and businesses consumers to subsidize lower rate's'for municipal accounts, implying authority to do so under the Massachusetts Electricity RestructuringAct of 1997. In reality, this act re- quires benefit s to be shared equitably across all classes of consumers, as does the intergovernmentalagreement under which the Town of Barnstable participatesinthe Compact. Compact officials concluded theirop-ed by denying"politi- cal activity"amongmunicipal appointees. Recent meetings undermine this claim, as sev- eral appointees - including Barnstable'sformer represen- tative -have advocated politi- calpositionsinconsistent with broad consumer interests. Last month , I asked Barnstable officials to con- duct a hearing focused on is- sueslikethese.The Compact's initial published response underscores the need for a rigorous public review of its performance of behalf of lo- cal consumers - including residents, property owners, renters, businesses, and non- profits , aswellasthe town and other municipal accounts. Chris Powicki Cummaquid Albert Hall says thanks Onbehalf of myself,mywife and members of mybandThe Albert Hall Show Band, we would like to thank everyone who jnade our visit very spe- cial. Our thank-yous go out to the high school,who lent us a drum kit and amp. We could not have done it without your help, HyannisTravel Inn,who looked after us and moved our instruments to the different venu~es. Thanks to the Hyannis Rotary Club for the lunch on the green, the town council, the people who organized the boat trips and, last of all, Mr. Louis Cataldo, who did so much work to make this happen. We hope you can print this as there were so many loverly people we met and we don't know all the addresses and this was the only way we can say thank you. Albert Hall Musical director Bickington Barnstaple, North Devon England Two nations, united Allow me to introduce my- self, my name is Kenny Da- vis, having recently returned from an eight-day visit to Barnstable County and sur- rounding area. On behalf of my wife and I, and the Albert Hall Show Band, I should like to take this opportunity in thanking all concerned for making our stay in the former colonies most pleasurable. A special thanks from me to that spirit of America, his- torian extraordinaire, former sheriff,whosenobleoffice goes back to that of Nottingham andwhocouldrankamongthe heroes of its Revolution, "but just as well for the Redcoats he didn't!"-one Lou Cataldo, who by setting aside the Atlantic made the "Bonding Together"possible,though be it "Under the careful stare of Revolutionary War firebrand James Otis,"once the British had landed! I don't know how many of the readers are familiar with the Southern counties ofEng- land from which the Pilgrim Fathers bade farewell, its market towns, fishing coves, rollinghills and pastures,not to mention tea and cricket on the village green beneath the flag of St. George. Although having to endure warm pints of English beer, sights and sounds not unfamiliar to the friendly patter of the G.I.'s feet,whenfromthat dayinin- famy,our two nations walked in majesty, sadly today we sit in sorrow at the apocalyptic plaque that in recent times has been a visitor on both hour our houses. One could not express enough the full horror sur- rounding 9/11, to which I made it my business, to the delight ofthe villagefolk,with the help of the local vicar, fly at half mast the Stars and Stripesfrom the churchtower at Appledore. Right, wrong or indiffer- ent, our two nations are at war with the forces of evil. I am proud of the fact that our island race had the guts to stand foursquare with our closest ally when Britain's nearest neighbors turned a blind eye. More often that not I hear the cry, "Why should we help the Yanks?" "What are they to us?" To which I say, "Have a look at the war cemetery above Omaha Beach," plus the fact we can still speak English. Sadlyallisnot too wellinthe old country.Thewindofpoliti- cal correctness blows gently through rural communities, towns and shires. There are those who would immure us into a monolithic hegemony we saved our selves from in 1805 and 1815. There are others who will not rest from theirlabours till they have established Islam in this green and pleasant land, as all cultures seem to be embraced at the expense of our own. Our tea party, to some of us is long overdue. I can only hope (we) do not embrace what our two nations fought againstatthetimeofthe great European Tyrant. Thank you, and good night, America. Kenny Davis Appledore, North Devon England Censorship and book banning Patriotreaders shouldknow there's more to open govern- ment than water pipes,MEPA mumbojumbos, Commission anagrams, or judgemental jurists. There'sopenuniversi- ties: our public libraries with their hard or soft copies. There 's drama in those libraries. Some have been censored. Someburned down like Alexandria. Some looted likemodern Baghdad's. Some just fullof materialespousing only one point of view, like certain newspapers. The freedom to read is protected bytheFirstAmend- ment, which prohibits Con- gress abridging the press or free speech. Of course, some people always seek to control thought.Every dayin Americathere arebooksbeing thrown out by our libraries and schools. Since 1990, 8,700 such attempts have been made. Why? Here are some reasons: Jane and Tarzanlive insin;ArthurMiller'sCrucible is just junk; West Side Story denigratesPuertoRicans. And yes, Catcher in the Rye still threatens adults. Idea censorship and book banninghashappenedonCape Cod andinBarnstable. Corm- ier's Chocolate War erupted in Orleans. Merriam's Hal- loween ABC got booed in Sandwich. Oak Bluffs didn't like the count for Newman's Heather Has TwoMommies. In Provincetown, a broadcaster was fired for opinions regard- ing touristas. A Barnstable artist was chased out of Towne even though a local restaurant still displays his works. The Centerville Li- brary sold off pieces of Walter Lippmann's important per- sonallibrary.Another library rejected celebrating poet Robert Lowell's birthday in a public reading. LastweekendinWoodsHole the Fun'd Raising Players' presented a one-act drama onthe runningbattle libraries havewithbad guyswhocensor or destroy books. The mes- sage: We can't live by bread or dough alone. Admission was free (see, the best things in life still are). Tom Jefferson was there, so was George Orwell, Jesse Helms and his family eating breakfast , J.F.K., Woodrow Wilson, etc., and Ray Brad- bury of Fahrenheit 451 fame played by yours truly. If we don't or can't freely read, we help keep govern- ment and society closed. The freedom to read is a dangerous way of life. "There are worse crimes than burn- ingbooks: not readingthem," said poet Joseph Brodsky. If we don't use it, we'lllose it. Peter Doiron Barnstable village Morality play... CONTINUED FROM PAGE A:7 spending have focused the spotlight more intensely upon our moral standing. Unwillingnesstojoin multi- lateral agreements, accusa- tions unsupported by facts, and apenchantfor unilateral actionhave eroded ourinter- national status. Military escapades have raised additional moral questions. Civilian casu- alties, faulty intelligence, and inability to provide securityhavejoined graphic examples of prisoner abuse, rape, and murder to sully the reputation of our valiant troops.Violationof homesin ignorance of local customs and religion has helped to reduce the impact of our considerablecommitmentto the improvement inpeople's lives. Our corporations have not escaped moral scrutiny unscathed. Massive fraud at companies like Enron, WorldCom, and Tyco has af- fected shareholders.Hewlett Packard isbeing confronted with allegations that it em- ployed invasive investiga- tive techniques to spy on its own board of directors. Backdating of stock op- tions, enormous executive compensationpackages,and cancellationofpensionplans reflect poorly on acorporate sector already reeling from accusations that it exploits its workers. Isit anywonderthat avast majority of the world'spopu- « lation considers thiscountry hypocritical, unscrupulous, and dangerous? Compound- ing the damage from this position is the impression that many of the principles wehavelong advocated, and still loudly proclaim, have beenseriouslycompromised, thereby causing our place on the moral high ground to deteriorate. Our ultimate safety de- pends upon our ability to slowthe migrationof would- be moderates towards ex- tremism. This effort in turn depends upon ourprojection of credibility. The spread of democracy, the vibrancy; of free market capitalism, and our own national unity depend upon creating faith in our governmentalinstitu- , tions. Ourglobalhonor andlead- ership rely upon absolute trust in our rule of law. For; the health and safety of the , civilizationthat we embody,, our moral image has to be , pristine. Making it so is a matter of the utmost ur-. gency. )d The writer lives in Cotuit. CONTINUED FROM PAGE A:7 ing pumps, repair comput- ers, install wood floors, paint interior and exte- rior and touch things that haz-mat teams would feel squeamish about. That is of immeasurable importance on the home front on the matter of time. Havingthe ability to do something is a lot different than actually doing it. It's not that I'm averse to phys- , ical labor or hard work, it's just that I'm more inclined to find somethingelse to do, and I've already done 3fl the calculation on what the , latest acceptable time to get something done is. iC\ It's all an illusion (I ;,* haven't quite reached the ,0 level of self-acceptance to „•; call it delusion), but we're , usually good for an apology ,. and ultimatelythe work. Still Life... "WTi^B^ " "f UaaaaL..jVtt 1 aaaaaV\ aaaaWJS' i -aPaaaa T1 *P?- -il BUtJaB \W A~il ^a^ V £J 1 iyK^ In Celebration of a fTpN Century of Service ^ f f lf ^ ^K H ' ,^ f -^m\M^'^^W^ ,JtS a comPany that 's been in the insurance m&& ff c%-!'''JM^ "^"7 ! r j business for more than 130 years , Zurich TS*| S ZURICH ..aaaaaaaa * ' ~* """"¦ S ^W .tfjfaS afcta^a * ~ **' #"»• INSl,|,AN ' f ' IMPlnYll HW -~*4* > l-800-553-1801.vvww.RogersGray.com ! ^ ^ ^ ^E j b & Q r * _lf ' ^.^MHaaaaaaaaH Falmouth * Hyannis • Orleans • Plymouth * Sandwich • So. Dennis * Wareham ^^^^^mWmmwmmm , * * mmJmmw% Computers for Seniors, Inc. mmmmmmmmmmmmm Serving Cape Cod's Computing Community A non-profit , all volunteer social and educational organization, in partnership with Cap e Cod Community College. We offer computer-related Courses, Workshops, Monthly Meetings, Special Interest Groups, and much, much more Computers for Seniors in partnership with the Academy ofLifelong Learningwill sponsorfour hands- on Interactive sessions in Hyannis. Each session is 3 hours long. The sessions are given on Thursdays starting in September. ' ¦ ¦ , - - ' * 101 Way s to Simplify life by Using the Internet. Playing Games and Having Fun On-Line. Own a Digital Camera.Now What? Tender and Loving Care of Your Computer. Individual classes are $15.00for members. Sign up for all four and receive a discount. Call for details and to register today! Computers ForSeniors also hasGeneral Meetings the f irst Thursday of each month at 1:00 P.M., Dennis Senior Center - each meeting has a Guest Speaker, Cameo, a Swap Table, Raffle , etc.