Letters to the Editor

Wampanoag challenges Boston Globe Editorial

Wampanoag Tribes and Cape Wind

By Frank Haggerty

This letter is to address the editorial of a Boston newspaper on October 27.2009 which opposes the claim that the Wampanoag tribe should have Nantucket Sound placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Wampanoags say that their spiritual greetings of the sun require unobstructed views and turbines could disturb the ancestral burying grounds.

The editorial fails to help readers understand this complicated story of the North American Indians. The North American Indians have rights secured under Indian treaties and agreements with the United States. They have the right to ask for the divine blessing of the Creator. How would we all feel if the news poked fun of a religion that thought God was really three divine people? The Indians were the first people.They have a right to be heard.

We need to look outside Boston to the South. For example the town I live in is said to be an old Indian term meaning "a place of rest." The town seal has a larger than life bow-carrying Indian overlooking a ship being built on the shore. The SouthCoast, Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and the Islands have such names as Moshup Trail. These names were handed down over 400 years. here is an excerpt from a Wampanoag story about Moshup the Giant:

"One day Moshup told the Indians that a new breed of man, with fairer skin than they would soon be coming to their land. He warned the Indians not to let them on their shore, for if they did, the Indians would live no more.

Then Moshup quietly slipped away into the choppy waters off the bay. Soon after, the pale faced men came ashore, and landed near the place where Moshup once lay. The Indians greeted them with friendship and let them stay, and Moshup has not been seen since that day."

Frank Haggerty ,
126 Brandt Island Road, Mattapoisett, MA

44 comments »

Progress vs. rules

The oft cited rules of Cape Cod's many historical commissions always seem to rear their ugly head whenever progress appears inconvenient to some. The status quo ante becomes the standard, the baseline to which all new ideas have to conform. This approach to planning for our future flies in the face of everything this nation and this country has stood for and owes it greatness to. Far be it from me to advocate unbridled development of vast industrialized complexes on the Cape's sand dunes. But let's not kill every good idea for the next fifty years by subjecting it to the rules of the past fifty years.

What is the historical baseline to which Cape Cod must conform? What year in Cape Cod's history is year zero, the norm beyond which no one is permitted to transgress? Has it ever dawned on these commissioners that what they arbitrarily establish as the baseline for 2009 construction might have been considerred an abomination in 1809? The native American inhabitants of the Cape did not use Windmills, yet I am told that the Cape was full of them in the mid 1800's. It accompanied a population growth from a few thousand to 25,000. That technological progress was OK. Blacktopped highways were not exactly what I understood the Pilgrims to be traveling when they stopped here before settling in Plymouth. We have blacktopped every one of those cow paths of our ancestors here on the Cape for better or for worse. That too is technological progress not historical perversion. Meanwhile our population has grown from 25,000 to a quarter million and our living standards have multiplied by a similar ratio. And so, today's wind turbines are a bit taller than the old wind mills, and they generate 5000 HP not 3 or 5 Hp. But look at the telephone transmission towers which dot the landscape and seem to be quite acceptable replacements for the old forest department lookouts that we used to spot forest fires with in days of yore. Yes, we do like our cell phones to work wherever we go!

We have allowed our national technological progress to take care of our societal needs, population growth, energy, sanitation, communications, travel, largely without any hard and fast rules except for public safety. We have wisely excluded certain regions of the land from such development to preserve wild life and the ecology. But even in those regions we have not hesitated to permit non-destructive techology to take root. Meanwhile we have learned over the past hundred years how our environment is impacted by our technological advances and we are beginning to curb and rectrify some of the most glaring infractions that our past ignorance brought with it. That is why wind turbines and solar panels are becoming a necessity if we want to sanitize our air and curb our insatiable hunger for more fossil fuel energy.

That is why I salute both Mr. Jim Liedels and Mr. Matthew W. Keough's letters in Sundays's Cape Cod Times. That is till I re-read Mr.Keough's last sentence, his punch line, three or four times and concluded that your editorial or printing staff did its best to scuttle the whole message by omitting one little word "NOT": To whit: "CHANGE SHOULD NOT BE FEARED AND FOUGHT, BUT ENCOURAGED AND NUTURED". Thanks Mr. Keough, no thanks to the printers!

Hansjoerg Stern, PE, Brewster, MA 02631

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Let's fix Beacon Hill

Support Ballot Question to fix Beacon Hill

Representative Matthew C. Patrick, Falmouth, 3rd. Barnstable District

Today the Massachusetts legislature is not a democratic institution. The birth place of western democracy in the new world is governed by a legislature that is a dictatorship masquerading as a democratic institution. Through the centuries, the position of Massachusetts Speaker of the House has evolved into an imperial one, more akin to royalty than the leader of a democratic body. The Speaker of the House determines everything. He decides which bills are brought to the floor for a debate and which ones will never see the light of day. He determines the outcome of those bills before they are even debated.

If you cross the Speaker by not voting for him for example, he can hold up even the most minor of home rule petitions that are necessary for the municipalities in your district to function. If you have a bill that can solve a problem or benefit the commonwealth you had better convince the Speaker if you ever want it to pass. Because of this fact, bills don't often pass on their merit. Bills pass because it benefits the Speaker's agenda or there is an emergency in the Commonwealth.

Along with the legislative agenda, the Speaker controls everything in the House. He controls all appointments from powerful Ways and Means Chair and Majority Leader to all committee chairs and vice chairs some of which receive extra salary. He gives each member his committee assignments. He also controls all of the staff. He even determines who gets help with their re-election campaign.

When you are elected into the Massachusetts House, you are told over and over again that you always protect the institution. That tradition accounts for the reticence among members to speak any ill of what goes on in the House. However, that "speak no ill of the House" tradition only perpetuates the dictatorship, its human pecking order and our large dysfunctional family.

I don't want to leave you with the wrong impression. The people in the legislature are some of the best people I have ever met. In spite of the public perceptions, the vast majority are honest and considerate to a fault. They want to help people. They want to make the Commonwealth a better place to live, work and raise a family. But when you get into the House, you unknowingly become consumed in the fight for position

You gamble by promoting a likely Speaker candidate and you lick your wounds if you lose for many terms before you have a chance for another "Speaker's fight" where you can bet it all again on a candidate. If your candidate wins, everything is great. You rise to the top and get a juicy appointment, the nice office, more staff and the Speaker's ear. If you lose, well, you lose big time.

The present Speaker is a good man although abuses made possible by complete power are still occurring under his authority. Some members think that if you get a good Speaker who is fair, everything will work out. Under the present system, in the best of circumstances, you can have a benevolent dictator. A democratic institution should not rely on one man's benevolence. Passage of good legislation should not be solely determined by the sponsor's relationships with leadership.

How can we change it? It will take an engaged electorate to make it happen. We need voters to demand that their Representatives endorse this ballot question that will require a secret ballot for Speaker and give committee appointments back to the membership. You can help by learning more at www.fixbeaconhill.com downloading a petition and getting signatures from registered voters.

It's in your hands now, the electorate. Upon reading this, you will have the power to bring democracy back to the Massachusetts Legislature. Call or write your state legislators and ask them to support this proposed amendment to the Commonwealth's Constitution.

13 comments »

The Dishonoring of America

Dismay that our country seems to have lost its' way
The status quo in the healthcare system is clearly a recipe for disaster

This letter comes out of dismay that our country seems to have lost its' way. It is about what the healthcare issue is revealing about the state of our nation. As an idealistic young man I flew 35 missions against the Nazis. Our squadron took tremendous losses, but we were all convinced we were saving American democracy. Now, all these years later, I can only deplore what is happening to our nation's character.

Don't these extremists realize their behavior is similar to that of the Brown Shirts?

The status quo in the healthcare system is clearly a recipe for disaster. Refuting the misinformation that causes some to oppose correcting the inequities would be easy, but that would be a whole new letter. This one is about the tactics of opponents, the Limbaugh/Beck rabble.

Orchestrated shouters stifle true debate at town hall meetings. They have been furnished with "how-to" memos by the old SwiftBoaters. There are deliberate lies about Death Panels. False fears about choice of doctors and insurers are stoked by politicians who know better. Some opponents deliberately encourage hatred. Who but a fanatic would paint a Hitler mustache on a picture of President Obama? Appallingly, there have been death threats. Gun incidents have occurred in New Hampshire, Arizona, and Tennessee. Swastikas have been painted on offices of proponents. Don't these extremists realize their behavior is similar to that of the Brown Shirts who thought the excesses of Christalnatch were OK? November, 1938 Germany and 2009 America --- beyond belief! We once thought the Allied victory would relegate Nazism to the history books.

How could America descend to such depths? Why aren't we all concerned for the well-being of all our fellow citizens? Can't we work together to restore this nation's traditional glory?

Richard C. Bartlett, Cotuit.

25 comments »

The Dishonoring of America

Dismay that our country seems to have lost its' way
The status quo in the healthcare system is clearly a recipe for disaster

This letter comes out of dismay that our country seems to have lost its' way. It is about what the healthcare issue is revealing about the state of our nation. As an idealistic young man I flew 35 missions against the Nazis. Our squadron took tremendous losses, but we were all convinced we were saving American democracy. Now, all these years later, I can only deplore what is happening to our nation's character.

Don't these extremists realize their behavior is similar to that of the Brown Shirts?

The status quo in the healthcare system is clearly a recipe for disaster. Refuting the misinformation that causes some to oppose correcting the inequities would be easy, but that would be a whole new letter. This one is about the tactics of opponents, the Limbaugh/Beck rabble.

Orchestrated shouters stifle true debate at town hall meetings. They have been furnished with "how-to" memos by the old SwiftBoaters. There are deliberate lies about Death Panels. False fears about choice of doctors and insurers are stoked by politicians who know better. Some opponents deliberately encourage hatred. Who but a fanatic would paint a Hitler mustache on a picture of President Obama? Appallingly, there have been death threats. Gun incidents have occurred in New Hampshire, Arizona, and Tennessee. Swastikas have been painted on offices of proponents. Don't these extremists realize their behavior is similar to that of the Brown Shirts who thought the excesses of Christalnatch were OK? November, 1938 Germany and 2009 America --- beyond belief! We once thought the Allied victory would relegate Nazism to the history books.

How could America descend to such depths? Why aren't we all concerned for the well-being of all our fellow citizens? Can't we work together to restore this nation's traditional glory?

Richard C. Bartlett, Cotuit.

1 comment »

Legalize wagers on professional and amateur sports in Massachusetts

A better and easier way to raise one billion dollars for our cities and towns

By Christy Mihos

As fiscal conservative Is we recognize that we're fighting a two front war, these days. On one hand, we have an extremely tough economic situation; being made only worse by the mounting debt created by the polices of Barack Obama. Closer to home, we have Barack Obama's former campaign chairman, Governor Patrick, slamming working class citizens of Massachusetts with tax increases which will surpass the one billion dollar mark.

We need to stop them before they tax again.

There's a better and easier way to raise one billion dollars for the cities and towns of Massachusetts, which continue to suffer from Deval Patrick's local aid cuts.

By legalizing wagers on professional and amateur sports in Massachusetts we can bring up to $1 billion to our communities. All we need is some leadership, which is why I've called on Governor Deval Patrick to promptly join New Jersey and Maryland in their federal law suits to offer legalized sports betting.

We should all keep in mind that there has just been a major federal court ruling clearing the way for sports wagering in Delaware, beginning next month. We need to do the same thing here, in the Commonwealth.

Illegal betting is estimated to be a $400 billion underground economy in the U.S. Accordingly, we've estimated a new, annual revenue stream for Massachusetts of up to $1 billion dollars. As governor of Massachusetts, I will introduce legislation to legalize wagers on professional and amateur sports and then control betting at the Lottery for the benefit of the taxpayers in Massachusetts.

We know that there is up to $1 billion sitting out there for our cities and towns. Why Deval Patrick prefers taxing Massachusetts residents into the stone age when there are viable alternatives like this is just another mystery of the Chicago, political disposition.

I need your help to do this. Please activate the link below to list your friends so that we can invite them to join our campaign to change the political culture on Beacon Hill.

We need to stop them before they tax again.

Yours,

Christy Mihos
Yarmouth

Mr. Mihos in a candidate for the Republican nomination for Governor in 2010.

3 comments »

Historic Mission Ahead-Cape Codders among the many brave Americans fighting for freedom in Afghanistan

To the Editor:

We celebrated our freedom and observed our nation’s Independence Day as  hundreds of brave men and women from across Cape Cod who answered our President’s call are voluntarily serving in our Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps.

Like the thousands of brave Americans fighting for our freedom, Corporal Andrew Coville and Corporal Nicholas Xiarhos believe in our mission and are proud to serve and protect our country.  Andrew and Nicholas graduated from Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School in June 2006.  They spent that summer at Marine Corps Boot Camp at Parris Island, SC. By September, they had earned the title of United States Marine. They trained and fought together in Anbar, Iraq and are currently fighting a fierce battle in southern Afghanistan as part of an historic 10,000 member Marine Expeditionary Brigade ordered into action by President Obama to secure Afghanistan and free its people.  (Photo right: Nick and Andrew together at Surf City in North Carolina when they returned from combat operations in Iraq last fall.)

“Each American who has served in Iraq has their own story.  Each of you has your own story. And that story is now part of the history of the United States of America—a nation that exists only because free men and women have bled for it from the beaches of Normandy to the deserts of Anbar; from the mountains of Korea to the streets of Kandahar.  You teach us that the price of freedom is great.   Your sacrifice should challenge all of us—every single American—to ask what we can do to be better citizens”. - President Barack Obama

Southern Afghanistan is similar to the dangerous Anbar province in Iraq where American troops have fought bloody battles in cities like Fallujah and Ramadi. It is comprised of a massive, desolate desert dissected by a single river and surrounded by a strip of populated agricultural land.  Enemy forces are active throughout the country but the major stronghold is in Helmand which is home to the world’s largest opium-poppy growing region and borders Pakistan where the Taliban is reportedly supplying money and recruits.

In a speech given to Marines at Camp Lejeune, NC before they left for war in Afghanistan, President Obama said “Each American who has served in Iraq has their own story.  Each of you has your own story. And that story is now part of the history of the United States of America—a nation that exists only because free men and women have bled for it from the beaches of Normandy to the deserts of Anbar; from the mountains of Korea to the streets of Kandahar.  You teach us that the price of freedom is great.   Your sacrifice should challenge all of us—every single American—to ask what we can do to be better citizens”.

Take a moment to be proud to be an American, to reflect on our Commander in Chief’s words, and to honor our heroic troops who are spending their summer fighting for us—and each other—in the hottest, dirtiest, and most dangerous places in the world. 

Our enemy consists of adaptive and experienced fighters so the battles will not be easy.  But freedom will be won…and our troops—including Andrew and Nicholas—will eventually all come home.

Sincerely,

Steven, Lisa, Alexander, Elizabeth, and Ashlynne Xiarhos
Yarmouthport
Proud Marine Corps Family of 0351 Corporal Nicholas G. Xiarhos

P.S.    Our Troops love to hear from home. It helps them stay connected and know that we support them and know that they are in our thoughts.

Andrew and Nicholas’s Mailing Addresses in Afghanistan:

CPL Coville, Andrew
2D LAR BN DETA
Charlie Co, Wpns Plt
Unit 73526
FPO AE 09510-3526               

CPL Xiarhos, NG           
2/8 WPNS CO
Unit 73245
FPO AE 09510-3245

2 comments »

Avoid being duped out of your Cape Cod vacation rental deposit

Letter to the Editor:

The internet is a convenient place to do business. Unfortunately it is also susceptible to fraud and abuse.

Recent reports have unscrupulous people advertising vacation homes for rent on Cape Cod they do not own or legitimately represent. Craigslist.com, a kind of do-it-yourself marketplace for products and services, has vacation properties listed for rent in almost every Cape Cod town.

The best solution for any potential renter of vacation property is to call the local chamber of commerce in the first place.  We represent most rental agents in our community who represent most of our town’s rental properties.

Unfortunately, several potential renters have been duped out of their deposits for a vacation rental.

But others have sought additional sources of verification before they transact their business. Many of those call the local chamber of commerce for references that we cannot give. The best solution for any potential renter of vacation property is to call the local chamber of commerce in the first place.  We represent most rental agents in our community who represent most of our town’s rental properties. We even represent some individual property owners.  The local chambers like intermediary websites such as www.weneedavacation.com can verify the authenticity of the renter.

Please call us. But if you still prefer to use the internet, you can find all the local Cape Cod chambers of commerce listed at one convenient website, www.capecodcommerce.com.

Spyro Mitrokostas, Executive Director
Dennis Chamber of Commerce
238 Swan River Road
Post Office Box 1001
West Dennis, MA 02670
508.398.3568
www.dennischamber.com

1 comment »

Best wishes from across the pond

Sister City wants to freinds from Cape Codders

Most of the towns on Cape Cod bear the same names as those in England from whence our original settlers immigrated - Falmouth, Barnstaple (sp), Plymouth, Yarmouth, Truro, etc. Brewster is an exception. Henry David Thoreau wrote of it in his book Cape Cod, "We rode through Brewster, so named after Elder Brewster, for fear he would be forgotten else.'

Brewster's Sister City in the United Kingdom whats to hear from us

Budleigh Salterton is in East Devon on the west side of the Otter River about 15 miles from Exeter. Known locally as Salterton, it derives its name from the salters who once worked the salt pans on the river mouth. The town is mainly residential and the area is designated an 'Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty'.
   The pebbled beach drops off sharply into the bay with majestic red cliffs forming the start of the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site.
   The village has a few public houses, a couple restaurants and the usual cafes and take-out stands you would expect in a coastal town.

I'm keen to hear from Brewster residents who would like to read news and features about Budleigh Salterton, Devon (UK), their sister-town according to your local Brewster Chamber of Commerce website.

If you would like to know more I'll add you to my list of recipients of emailed news bulletins. No obligation! And you'll learn some interesting things. Just drop me a line.

Best wishes from across the pond,

Michael Downes,
Heather Cottage, 9 Exmouth Road, Budleigh Salterton, Devon EX9 6AF, UK
email: mr.downes@googlemail.com

6 comments »

9 out of 10 in Yarmouth want renewable energy systems installed

Yarmouth wants wind or solar as power source
2,500 households respond to questionnaire

The 7th Annual Land-Based Wind Workshop, titled "Putting Wind to Work in a Changing Climate" held April 17th (at the Cape Cod and Islands Association of Realtors Conference Room at 22 Mid-Tech Drive in West Yarmouth) was outstanding - the following eleven speakers all gave excellent presentations. Speakers were: Megan Amsler, ED of Cape and Islands Self Reliance; Chris Powicki, Principal, WEEInfo Services; Greg Watson, Sr. Advisor of Clean Energy Technology, MA Dept. of Energy Resources; Steven Clark (Director of Wind Development, MA Dept. of Energy Resources); Meg Lusardi, Deputy Director of Green Communities Division, MA Dept. of Energy Resources); Tyler Leeds, Project Manager, Mass. Renewable Energy Trust; Thomas McGarr, Area Director, USDA; Gerry Palano, Renewable Energy Coordinator, MA Dept. of Agricultural Resources; Diana Duffley, co-owner of Hyannis Country Garden; Bob Shatten, Principal, Boreal Renewable Energy Development; and Dan Webb, President, Notus Clean Energy, LLC.
My comments in the attached were approved by: John (Jack) Howard, Chairman of the Town of Yarmouth's Energy Committee; Diana Duffley; and Dan Webb. The Co-Sponsors of the Workshop were: Waquoit Bay Reserve Coastal Training Program, MA Dept. of Conservation and Recreation; Cape and Islands Self Reliance; and Cape and Islands Renewable Energy Collaborative.

Nine of ten Yarmouth households want wind and solar equipment installed to reduce town energy costs. 92 percent of the 2,500 households who responded to a written questionnaire believe Yarmouth should use renewable energy to produce its own electricity, per information provided by John Howard, Yarmouth Energy Committee's Chairman at the April 17th Land-Based Wind Workshop sponsored by Waquoit Bay NERR and Cape and Islands Self Reliance. Detailed questions also asked where to install town wind turbines, and about solar panels. Of five turbine locations the Energy Committee identified, the three most popular were Yarmouth's Septage Treatment facility (favored by 63%), Yarmouth's Water Division Headquarters, and town land behind Yarmouth's Police Headquarters and Mattacheese School.

The well-attended Workshop provided up-to-date wind developments and Grant opportunities from federal, state and regional speakers, and wind turbine project case studies - plus Q&A and networking time. The first case study was Hyannis Country Garden's 100 kilowatt wind turbine, which began generating power in early January. Co-owner Diana Duffley welcomed her recent "No Payment Needed" electric bill, and is proud their wind turbine offsets harmful annual emissions: Carbon Dioxide, 114 tons; Sulfur Dioxide, 986 pounds; and Nitrous Oxides, 354 pounds.

Dan Webb, Notus Clean Energy LLC's President described the second Cape Cod case study, Notus' 1.5 megawatt turbine in East Falmouth's Technology Park. Awaiting final approval, it will be similar to the turbine being installed soon at the Town of Falmouth's nearby Wastewater Treatment plant. Sited on a 180 foot hilltop remote from houses, Notus' turbine will be powered by strong winds off Buzzards Bay.

Separately, a recent news article said Cape Cod Community College's long-planned wind turbine could be in operation by late fall.

These and other wind turbines cut electricity costs, and improve our environment and health - all are urgently needed.

Jim Liedell
Yarmouth Port

10 comments »