Green: Our MONEY, AND MOTHER NATURE Congressman Jim McGovern on WASHINGTON D.C.

State Senator Dan Wolf On GREEN JOBS

‘BORO City councilors on ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

THOUGHTS ON THE OCCUPY MOVEMENT, And More… _____________________________________________________________________

Winter2011-2012 Environmental Edition

Attleboro Democracy, Winter 2011-2012 2 | P a g e

Attleboro Democracy, Winter 2011-2012 3 | P a g e

Contents of the Attleboro Democracy

Featured Articles………………………..

A Victory by the People: Vs. Ze-gen.…4

Jonathan Weydt

Silos for Energy Independence……….5

Jeremy Denlea & Henry G. Theodore

Solyndra: A Bad Apple from a Very

Good Tree…..………………………6 Andrew Meehan

Neighbor Column: Economic Incentives

for a Green Massachusetts……………7 Maxwell Morrongiello

Guest Column…………………..............

The Big Three: The Environment,

Employment, and Education………….8 State Senator Dan Wolf from the Cape and Islands

Political Persuasion……………………...

Why I’m Proud to be a Democrat…….9 Charles Adler

The View From Washington…………….

Corporations Aren’t People. Period…..10 Congressman Jim McGovern

Humor & Satire………………………....

Kryptonite: It Can Replace Oil!…....11 “John Finley”

Letter to the Editor……………….........12

Fact Check…………………………….13

Democracy Bulletin...............................14

Addendum: The Occupy Movement

The Importance of Occupy…………15 Timothy O’Neill

From the Editor

Pledge to Our Readers –

Although this magazine is in most cases Democratic in

viewpoint, we aspire that anyone of any political

affiliation can read and enjoy what we have written.

Welcome –

Welcome to the second and latest edition of the

Attleboro Democracy Magazine. Inside you will again

find regular features and selected guest columns about

politics and government that impact the citizens of

Attleboro.

Every season we will focus on a political topic that

impacts the citizens of Attleboro. Our latest edition

focuses on “Environmental Issues.” In this edition of the

Democracy, we tackle the effects of certain environmental

issues have had economically and politically. A host of

issues are herein described and included.

In this issue, our contributors discuss environmentally

friendly ways of creating “green jobs” that will help get

our economy back on track. We discuss the topic of

energy, and weigh the merits of energy sources that will

have the best effects on the common good. A healthy

environment is important to our collective well-being as a

nation, and is desirable not only to maintain our posterity

but also to take advantage of the prosperous opportunities

mother nature creates.

In an addendum to our “Environmental Issues” edition,

we devote some time to a new but relevant movement that

has spread across the nation: the Occupy Movement.

As always, we hope you enjoy this edition of the

Democracy and that you find the content thought-

provoking and informative. Here at the Attleboro

Democracy, we hope to strive for a better public debate,

and hope that our thoughts and words will be useful as

well as pleasing to read.

Andrew Meehan, Editor

December 2011

Attleboro Democracy, Winter 2011-2012 4 | P a g e

ATTLEBORO DEMOCRACY

Striving for a Better Public Debate

An example of a Ze-gen gasification plant above.

A Victory by the People: The Case of Ze-gen

Jonathan Weydt

As we close out 2011 and ready ourselves for the

holidays and the ringing in of a new year, I would like to

take a moment to reflect on the issues that our city has

encountered over the past year. This missive is specifically

regarding Ze-Gen, a waste-to-energy gasification company

that wanted to move into our city.

When we first heard of Ze-Gen wanting to set up in

Attleboro it was met with mixed reviews from our citizens. It

posed many questions. Is this a business that would generate

great revenue for the city? Will this company add jobs for

the residents of Attleboro? Is the gasification process

environmentally safe? Attleboro’s Residents With Important

Safety Concerns (RISC) rightfully wanted answers to the

aforementioned questions and to gain as much knowledge as

possible about this business and its technology.

We found that the revenue the city would benefit from

was very minimal due to incentives Ze-gen would receive

from locating here. It would only create about 20 low-level

jobs and there was no guarantee that these proposed jobs

would be filled with Attleboro residents. More importantly,

the technology, its potential and its downside included too

many environmentally related unknowns.

The original specific proposal by Ze-Gen Inc. of Boston

fell in the category of alternative energy. Ze-Gen would

incinerate waste products to produce an alternative fuel

which would then be burned to produce electricity and

steam heat for several operations at the Attleboro

Corporate Campus.

Ze-Gen argued that the gasification process would

have to meet all environmental regulations standards and

that its operation would actually be a net gain because

burning waste like telephone poles and railroad ties would

be better for the environment than burying it in landfills.

Charlie Adler and his group, Attleboro’s RISC,

countered with questions regarding emissions in the air

and water, the safety of waste products produced by the

plant and their disposal, as well as the traffic impact of

trucks hauling old telephone poles, railroad ties and

plastics termed as “feedstock” that would be vaporized in

a 2,200-degree bath of molten copper to create the

synthetic gas called syngas. He said the plant "represents

a lot of potential toxins that could threaten people in the

area."

As we know, Ze-Gen finally caved into the pressure

that was applied by the great citizens of Attleboro who

realized that enough is enough when it comes to possible

pollutant companies trying to set up shop in our city.

After all, and without naming names, we have had our

share of these types of businesses in which we are still

cleaning up.

Had Ze-Gen provided a proven safe model somewhere

else with the same scale, things may have turned out

differently. However, it was never tested on the scale that

they proposed and Attleboro will be better off than

becoming a proving ground for such projects in the future.

In closing, and as we move into the new year, I would

like to point out and remind everyone that this type of

lobbying proves that we the people do have a voice.

Getting involved is what a democracy is all about. This

was a victory by the people, for the people and possibly

for the environmental future of Attleboro.

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Attleboro Democracy, Winter 2011-2012 5 | P a g e

Energy Independence by Silo?

Why we can use grain silos for alternative energy.

Jeremy Micah Denlea

& with the assistance

Of Harry G. Theodore

Agricultural silos are a rather inexpensive structure

used for storing different types of grains. Silos allow

countries, such as the United States, to waste less food

by allowing different grains to be safely stored for long

periods of time. The question presented here is whether

the United States should invest in the production of

agriculture silos as a means towards energy

independence.

There are many benefits presented by the creation of

additional agricultural silos. Most fundamentally are

the many different ways to utilize excess grain

production to supplement the energy supply. The

United States use long existing technology to help

reduce the need for energy imports. One example of

this is the production of the fuel supplement Ethanol,

which is made with corn and used at most gas stations

to supplement gasoline. If the United States were to

utilize all excess corn production for this purpose, we

could decrease our dependence on crude oil and other

sources of energy imported from foreign nations. An

additional benefit is the low carbon footprint of silos,

which use less energy than other methods of food

storage.

Not to be overlooked is the creation of jobs and

profit and the ability to help increase access to the

food supply. The United States could help feed

individuals in need and do so with the opportunity

for profit by selling excess stored grains.

An example of a grain silo.

In the final analysis, is additional creation of

agricultural silos the absolute solution to the world

energy crisis or the key to energy independence?

Probably not. But is it a start? Most definitely.

How important do you

believe energy independence is?

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Solyndra: A Bad Apple from a Very Good Tree

Why we should reach for the sun – in the form of solar energy.

Andrew Meehan

Thomas Edison once allegedly said after many failures at

trying to make the light bulb, “I have not failed 1,000 times.

I have successfully discovered 1,000 ways to NOT make a

light bulb." In America today, we’ve moved beyond making

light bulbs to attempting to tap the power of something

literally beyond our reach: the sun.

Solar power, in theory, would be an incredibly amazing

asset to mankind. Energy of the sun absorbed by solar panels

(or a similar technology) and turned into useable power for

ordinary people. The sun, unlike oil, is limitless. Or at least,

if the sun ever goes out, it’s not like we’d spend much time

worrying about what we use to fill our cars with.

However, there are some glitches when it comes to

building solar panels and other similar technologies. Firstly

is the issue of energy storage in solar panels. They can only

hold so much energy. Otherwise they could continuously

gather energy from the ever-shining sun. Furthermore – the

sun does not always shine brightly. If it’s cloudy or if it’s

nighttime, the solar panels will be hard-pressed to capture

the sun’s rays. An even bigger difficulty is that it’s

expensive to produce solar panels. That’s why there’s no

huge profitable company that’s selling solar panels like

Home Depot sells light bulbs.

Unprofitability has recently caused a company, backed by

the federal government (and all the politics that went with

it), to file for bankruptcy: Solyndra.

A Fremont, California solar company started in 2005,

Solyndra applied for a loan guaranteed by the Energy

Department. As Andrew Restruccia of The Hill’s Energy

and Environment Blog noted, “The Energy Department’s

loan guarantee program was established under a 2005

energy law. The law authorized the department to issue

federally backed loans for innovative projects that helped

limit air pollution. The 2009 stimulus law established a

separate DOE loan guarantee program, known as Section

1705, for renewable, electric transmission and advanced

biofuels projects.”

The review for Solyndra’s loan began during the Bush

administration, and was subsequently finished during the

Obama administration. Before its collapse, it was

highlighted as an example of a company that could be

both green and profitable.

Except it didn’t make profit. Solyndra, despite the

efforts of the Obama administration, declared bankruptcy.

Some argue that the President’s administration pursued a

loan for Solyndra due to having rich and influential

donors having invested in Solyndra. Congress will go

about finding if those sketchy allegations are true, but I

think the reason for the loan had merit: a working solar

panel company is a good idea.

I’d like everyone to consider this: Solyndra may be a

bad apple, but it comes from a very good tree.

Solar energy technology is already paying dividends to

many homes that use solar energy. Once methods are

discovered for making the production of solar panels more

efficient (and hence more profitable), we will find

ourselves more able to use solar energy to power our

homes and lives. The benefits of such a power source are

undeniable.

So let’s not allow one negative example to prevent us

from tapping into the power of the sun. Think of Solyndra

the same way Edison thought of his light bulbs. We didn’t

fail. We just successfully discovered one way to not make

a solar company.

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Attleboro Democracy, Winter 2011-2012 7 | P a g e

NEIGHBOR COLUMN:

The “Neighbor Column” features voices from citizens

of towns and cities that neighbor Attleboro.

Economic Incentives for a Green Massachusetts

What can make Massachusetts go green?

Maxwell Morrongiellio

Across the world, the climate has been changing. There

has been extreme weather across the globe causing famine in

Somalia, droughts in Texas, and massive floods across the

Midwest. Several years ago above-average rainfall caused

crops to rot across Massachusetts. According to the

Washington Post, “Bats have been nearly wiped out in states

including Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York

and Vermont by white-nose syndrome,” a fungus aided by

climate change. Tornado's and tropical storms have even

taken a swipe at the region. Acidification of the Ocean due to

CO2 emissions have weakened marine life endangering

Massachusetts vibrant fishing industry. The effects of

climate change will be felt not just for our generation, but for

thousands of years to come. Clearly climate change is not

just an environmental problem, but an economical one as

well.

Carbon Pollution is fundamentally an economic problem

called a negative externality. When you drive your car you

buy fossil fuel in an exchange between yourself and a gas

dealer. However the economic cost of releasing burned CO2

and releasing it into the atmosphere does not directly

burden you or the gas companies, but comes back to bite

us as a society in the form of climate change. If the cost of

gas were to reflect the economic cost passed on to society,

people would be less likely to pollute. By creating

economic incentives to not pollute, we can avert future

economic costs from climate change. In addition, we can

also generate revenue for the state.

One example of this is the gas tax. Raising taxes on

gasoline will encourage people to buy more fuel

efficient cars, car pool, and take public transportation.

This has the added effect of relieving our roads of

congestion. Increasing funding for public transportation

also has the same effect because buses and trains use less

energy per person than cars. Furthermore, the revenue

gained from a gas tax can be used to rebuild our

crumbling roads and bridges.

Another option is taxing energy intensive appliances

such as refrigerators, air conditioners, and computers that

don’t meet Energy Star certification. This will incentivize

industries to make their products more energy efficient.

Otherwise, their products will be more expensive and less

attractive to consumers. The money from such a tax

could be used to weatherize homes or subsidize other

energy saving appliances to make them more attractive to

consumers. The same can be done for cars and trucks.

Cars that are less fuel efficient will be made slightly more

expensive than their fuel efficient brethren.

By promoting use of energy efficient technology

through tax incentives we can reduce the economic

consequences of climate change tomorrow, today. Climate

Change isn’t going away, but we can lessen the economic

and environmental impact by making important policy

decisions today to reduce the amount of CO2 spewing in

the atmosphere. Our economic decisions need to reflect

the significant cost of climate change. In doing so we can

ensure that this planet we call Earth will remain a vibrant,

prosperous planet for centuries to come.

What do you think of Mr. Morrongiello’s

views on green incentives for our state?

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Attleboro Democracy, Winter 2011-2012 8 | P a g e

GUEST COLUMN:

The Big Three: Environment, Employment, and

Education

Cape and Islands State Senator Dan Wolf

Here are my three favorite “e” words -- and you’ll notice

that “email” is not one of them!

Environment

Employment

Education

The more I learn and legislate, the more I realize that

these three words define the future we want to build for

Massachusetts. Our challenge now is to understand how they

can work together, create win-win opportunities, and get

everyone past the old notion that environmental protection

and strong job creation are in conflict.

Here’s just one example of what I’m aiming for:

Perhaps you, or a friend or neighbor, is in the building

trades. It’s been tough times, we all know that, but we also

know that many of our homes and businesses need

renovation, and our environment could benefit from reducing

our use of oil and gas with better insulation, tighter windows,

maybe even some solar panels on a southern-facing roof.

Many times, the money invested in this kind of work gets

repaid in full (and then some!) from lower utility bills as

the years roll out. But the problem, of course, is that

the money to pay for the work often isn’t available

upfront. A smart program would allow people to borrow that

money as a low-interest, long-term loan placed beside a

mortgage.

Right off, that would put lots of tradespeople back to

work, help our environment, and maybe even save many

of us money over the long haul. Meanwhile, contractors

who need training to be certified for new technology like

solar installations and green building practices would

have a market to justify courses at our community

colleges and vocational schools.

Environmentalists, economists, and educators all come

together to support this. And Massachusetts, along with

many other states, has a program along these lines ready

to roll out, sometimes referred to as Energy Financing

Districts.

Here’s the hold-up: The big federal mortgage backers,

known as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, have told local

lenders not to allow these kinds of loans to be added to

existing mortgages, even if there’s plenty of value in the

property and most if not all of the loan will be paid back

in saved utility costs. They aren’t allowing each case to be

taken on its merits; they’re saying, knee-jerk, that any

new borrowing might jeopardize the loans they already

hold.

I’m hoping we can break through this federal impasse,

and so I’m asking for your help. Talk up this idea among

lenders and legislators, and let’s see if we can get this

done.

By the way, my experience in the private sector proves

to me that environmental initiatives and job growth can go

hand in hand: Cape Air, the airline I started almost 25

years ago, now has one of the largest solar panel

installations in Southeastern Massachusetts, mounted atop

the company’s hangar and headquarters in Hyannis. Those

panels produce as much electricity as the building uses

every year – the equivalent of more than 45 homes worth

of electricity! – and there was good work created in their

installation and maintenance. What’s more, the building

has been rehabbed and improved to use less energy, once

again providing local contractors solid work.

There are many more ways we can rebuild our econ-

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Attleboro Democracy, Winter 2011-2012 9 | P a g e

-omy and protect our environment. We can trade smart

redevelopment and growth in our town centers for open

space beyond, we can preserve fragile and beautiful areas

that encourage tourism, we can encourage farmers and

shellfishermen to grow local and remain stewards of our land

and waters.

But most important is making the crucial link, to

understand that with environmental health comes economic

health -- and that always, the third “e,” education, is key to

our future.

Political Persuasion:

Why I’m Proud to be a Democrat

Charles Adler

The gulf between our nation's two political parties grows

ever wider, as liberals try to hold their ground, a radical,

well-funded fringe pulls the Republican Party to the right,

and there is a gaping hole where the political center ought to

be. What are the values that seem to be dividing us?

My image of traditional conservative values is a

farmhouse in an earlier age, at the frontier's edge--the farmer

and his wife eking out a living from the land--with a rifle

close at hand to defend against roving bandits.

Some of the positive values that this image holds for me are

independence, courage, self-reliance, and tolerance for risk.

My image of liberal values is a town meeting in an

early New England village, with its members deliberating

on whether to raise taxes to hire a school teacher to

educate their children and what to do about a recently-

widowed old woman with dementia and no living

relatives to care for her. The values this image calls forth

are social responsibility, cooperation, and the importance

of investing for the future in things like education.

In my ideal society, the two sets of values I have

described would co-exist and complement each other. I

think we need both. I believe President Obama has been

trying to balance these two sets of values over the past

three years.

With the healthcare bill, he started out by meeting the

other side halfway, putting forward a plan similar to the

one we created here in Massachusetts under a Republican

governor. But Obama got no cooperation in return for this

bipartisan gesture.

If President Obama made a political mistake, it was

promising that he would keep the unemployment rate

under 8%. With all the uncertainties surrounding the

economy, I don't think anyone believes that it is possible

to make that kind of a prediction. The general displeasure

of Americans with the economy is certainly

understandable, because the real income of most

American wage earners has been declining for the past 30

years. Household incomes have risen only because there

are now typically two wage earners per household rather

than one.

President Obama made a visionary attempt to improve

our economy over the long term by reforming our health

care system and by pressing for renewable energy

legislation, reforms that take years to return dividends. He

was also among the first to raise concerns about the

deficit--setting up a bipartisan commission to address this

issue. Unfortunately, Republican leaders in Congress are

content to let the country drift toward default, rather than

make any serious attempt to arrive at a bipartisan solution

to our economic woes.

Although the economy seems like the most important

issue right now, there are other equally momentous

concerns: terrorism, climate change, nuclear proliferation,

and illegal immigration, to name a few. The world is

changing rapidly, driven by scientific and technological

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Attleboro Democracy, Winter 2011-2012 10 | P a g e

advances, instantaneous communication, and the yearning of

all people to better their lot in life, no matter what situation

they might be born into.

Although the economy seems like the most important

issue right now, there are other equally momentous

concerns: terrorism, climate change, nuclear proliferation,

and illegal immigration, to name a few. The world is

changing rapidly, driven by scientific and technological

advances, instantaneous communication, and the yearning of

all people to better their lot in life, no matter what situation

they might be born into.

If today's Republican Party was truly dedicated to

conservative values, it would act as a worthy adversary to

the Democratic Party in an honest debate over how to best

solve the problems that beset our nation and our planet.

However, Republican leaders seem more interested in

protecting the economic interests of the super-rich, the devil

take the other 99%.

The Democratic Party may not be perfect, but it is still

firmly rooted in the liberal values of cooperation, social

responsibility, and investing today for a better future. And

those values translate into support for small businesses and a

living wage for all workers. The Democratic Party embodies

my values and looks out for my interests. That's why I am

proud to be a Democrat.

The View From

WASHINGTON:

Corporations Aren’t People. Period.

Congressman Jim McGovern

As we all know, money plays far too great a role in our

politics today. Grassroots organizing and debate about

the issues has been replaced with multi-million dollar

advertising campaigns financed by big corporate interests.

Instead of simply lamenting the problem, I've decided

to try to do something about it.

I have introduced a Constitutional amendment to

overturn the Supreme Court's disastrous Citizens United

ruling that gave corporations the right to free speech - and

thus nearly unlimited power to influence our elections.

As any high school civics student knows, the first

three words of the preamble to the Constitution are 'We

the People."

Not "We the Corporations."

Not "We the Special Interests."

"We the People."

Corporations are not people. They do not breathe.

They do not have children. They do not die in war. They

are artificial entities which we the people create and, as

such, we govern them, not the other way around.

The Citizens United ruling effectively reversed

decades of precedent recognizing the authority of the

people to regulate corporate spending in our elections.

But Citizens United is not a fluke. It's just the most

extreme example of the so-called "corporate rights

movement," which is aimed at giving corporations the

same rights as people -- in any situation.

Recently, a federal judge blocked the Food and Drug

Administration from requiring tobacco companies to place

graphic warning labels on cigarette packages, arguing that

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Attleboro Democracy, Winter 2011-2012 11 | P a g e

cigarette makers had the right to free speech.

We must put a stop to this "corporate right movement"

that's quickly gaining traction. It threatens the Founding

Fathers' basic principle of "We the People."

Now is the time for a "People's Rights Amendment" that

lifts up the promise of American self-government --

government of, by, and for the people.

We need to have a serious, thoughtful debate in this

country about this important issue. I hope that my

amendment will begin to spur that debate.

And I hope you take a look at my bill, HJ Res 88, and let

me know what you think. You can find more information

and sign a petition in support of this effort at

www.jimmcgovern.com.

On another note, I approach this holiday season with a bit

of sadness. As you know, the state legislature has passed -

and the governor has signed - a new map that redraws the

congressional boundary lines. This means that after next

year's elections I will no longer be representing Attleboro

and the many wonderful friends I have there.

But those friendships will last a lifetime, and I want to

thank you for your support and hard work over the last 15

years. I will never forget Election Night in 1996 - when the

results came in and I realized I had won Attleboro, I knew

that our campaign was a success.

Barney Frank's recent announcement that he will not be

running for re-election means that the Attleboro area will

have an 'open seat' for the first time in memory. This is an

exciting time for Attleboro, and I hope you will continue to

work hard and be involved in the effort to elect good people

to elected office.

Lisa, Patrick and I wish you a happy and healthy holiday

season and a wonderful 2012.

Humor and Satire:

SAY WHAT?!!

Presidential Candidate Herman Cain, in his speech

announcing the suspension of his Presidential campaign,

quoted the song played during the closing credits of the

Pokémon Movie of 2000. We ask

ourselves, “Say what?”

_______________________________________

Kryptonite – The Answer to Our Energy Problems!

“John Finley”

Hi everyone. It’s John Finley again here. Since my last

story was published in this magazine via the Editor, Mr.

Meehan, I’ve seen and done a lot of things that have

affected our great country.

For instance, for a short stretch of time, I was an

advisor to the Rick Perry for President campaign. Perry, a

Texan, needed a Northerner on his campaign to advise

him in our ways, so he picked me out while I ate breakfast

at a Denny’s to work for him.

After that adventure, I joined the Occupy Movement.

This is a movement where the common people protest the

actions of corporations by standing in the middle of city

squares. I decided to do this here by standing in the

middle of the Friendly’s on Pleasant Street and holding a

sign yelling. I just hope this didn’t contribute to that

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Attleboro Democracy, Winter 2011-2012 12 | P a g e

particular Friendly’s being closed down when Friendly’s

declared Bankruptcy.

So I’ve seen and done a great deal. I’m no hero, of

course, I’m just an ordinary American.

Anyway, in this issue of the Pastry Monthly [Editor’s

Note: John Finley has a great deal of trouble remembering

the name of the magazine], I understand that we are

discussing environmental issues. I’ve got an environmental

issue that’s greatly pressing: our country is dependent on

fossil fuels that are dangerous for a plethora of reasons.

1) They cause pollution and potentially climate change

2) They are used in cars, which due to accidents, kill or

injure many innocent people

3) Oil money often goes to terrorist-sponsoring states, and

terrorism is dangerous

4) If we ever run out of oil without enough time to change to

alternative sources, that’d be bad

It just so happens, that I, John Finley, have figured out

the solution to our alternative energy needs.

There are many potential solutions (but not enacted by

our elected leaders). We could build more solar panels and

windmills. We could develop clean coal technology. We

could (with great precautions) further expand nuclear power

in our great country. Heck, I’m sure there’s something that’s

of use that we haven’t even thought of. After all, using oil to

power cars wasn’t an expected occurrence; oil was originally

used to power kerosene lamps. Then there was a way

discovered to make it work in automobiles. Someone

someday might make a similar discovery.

But my dear friends and fellow citizens, I’ve discovered

an even easier solution. Here’s how it happened.

I’m a bit of a comic book reader. Last weekend I read the

original Superman comic. And then it hit me. Kryptonite!

That’s what we could use as an alternative energy source!

Something with enough power to be Superman’s weakness

could surely power a car!

To double-check my theory, I called my uncle Carlton

Finley, a Nobel Prize winning physicist. (Don’t worry, I’ll

get my Nobel Prize someday).

I asked my uncle, “Could kryptonite be used as an

alternative energy source?”

My uncle responded by saying this, “Kryptonite? For

Pete’s sake Johnny! That’s a fictitious substance used by

the most unrealistic superhero in American cultural

history! It doesn’t exist!”

My friends, when faced with a challenge, I don’t give

in to naysayers. I only persevere. “Uncle, that can’t be

true,” I said. “Where do think they got the basis for using

it in the series then?”

“Well…” began my uncle, “The element krypton

exists. But really-”

I hung up the phone and raised my arms in triumph.

I’m sure that you can all gauge the obvious. If we can turn

krypton in kryptonite, we can then use kryptonite to

power our cars, and use it to light and fuel our homes.

That may seem like a hard process, but we’re America.

We’ve done it before. We’ve put men on the moon.

We’ve kept a fiscal house in complete disorder for years

without completely collapsing. We’ve developed reality

television (although yes, American Idol was produced by

a Brit, Simon Cowell). We can save ourselves from the

dangers of oil, and worse, the dangers of running out of

oil!

So yes, listen and nod politely when a friend argues

that we could make more windmills and solar panels.

Smile when someone suggests we create clean coal and

make safe nuclear plants.

We can wean ourselves off of oil. We can accomplish

this great task. That’s what we’ve done so many times in

our history. It’s the American Way.

___________________________________________

John Finley (along with his uncle) is a fictitious

character created by Andrew Meehan. This was a

work of satire. In the eyes of the actual author,

alternatives noted in the piece, like windmills and

solar panels, are the real alternatives we as a

country should pursue.

___________________________________________

Letter to the EDITOR:

Our previous edition of the Attleboro Democracy

focused on “Jobs and the Economy.” In response to

discussions in regards to tax policy, a civic-minded

Attleboroian writes his views regarding taxation:

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Attleboro Democracy, Winter 2011-2012 13 | P a g e

The taxing of a citizen’s income, both on the federal and

state level, is an immoral practice that needs to be abolished

immediately. Congressman and Presidential candidate Ron

Paul states correctly, “An income tax is the most degrading

and totalitarian of all possible taxes. Its implementation

wrongly suggests that the government owns the lives and

labor of the citizens it is supposed to represent.” What right

does the government have to the fruits my labor? Claiming a

quarter of my income against my will is equivalent to my

working 3 months every year for free so that the government

can use the spoils of my hard work in whatever manner it

sees fit, all while I have no say in the matter whatsoever.

This is tantamount to slavery and very much un-American.

The country needs money to run, and the income

required to do so can be raised by tariffs, excise tax, and

property tax. The federal government does not require tax

on income to operate; it ran fine without one until 1913

with an exception during the civil war.

Ending the income tax would have a multi-faceted

benefit to the hard working citizen of the United States; it

would unshackle him/her from the unjust theft of the

fruits of his industry, it would restrain governmental

spending and expansion, and it would usher in a period of

real and sustained economic growth not seen in

generations.

-Aaron Chauncey, Attleboro MA

Using such helpful guides as the Pulitzer prize-winning “Politifact”, we at the Attleboro Democracy hope to

distinguish between and fiction. Here are a few things of note for our environmental issue:

In a campaign stop in New Hampshire, Republican Presidential candidate Rick Perry, said

that more and more scientists are questioning global warming. According to Politifact, this is

FALSE. As they note in one of many examples, “A 2010 study published in the Proceedings

of the National Academy of Sciences -- the official publication of the United States Nation-

al Academy of Sciences -- found that out of 1,372 climate researchers under review, approximate-

ly 97 to 98 percent of those actively publishing in the field said they believe human beings

are causing climate change, which they term anthropogenic (i.e., man-made) climate change.”

See: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2011/aug/22/rick-perry/rick-perry-says-more-and-

more-scientists-are-quest/

In an attempt to persuade contsituents that a new nuclear power plant

was safe, Senator John Isakson of Georgia stated, “There has never been a

death caused by a reactor in the United States, even when Three Mile Island

failed in the 1970’s.” According to Polifact, this is TRUE. Polifact followed

the testimony of Greg Jaczko, the chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, at a Senate committee hearing: “When a senator asked Jaczko

whether a fatality had ever occurred ‘as a result of an accident at a

commercial nuclear reactor in the United States,’ Jaczko replied with this:

‘There has not as a result of plant operation, not at a commercial power plant.

There have been other nuclear facilities where there have been fatalities, but not in a nuclear power plant."

See: http://www.politifact.com/georgia/statements/2011/apr/01/johnny-isakson/isakson-claims-no-deaths-us-nuke-plant-operations/

Fact Check

"Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his

own facts. – Daniel Patrick Moynihan

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Attleboro Democracy, Winter 2011-2012 14 | P a g e

Democracy Bulletin:

To LET YOU KNOW A FEW THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON IN

THE COMMUNITY, WE BRING FOR YOU, THE DEMOCRACY

BULLETIN.

WANT SOMETHING ON THE BULLENTIN? SEND US AN EMAIL!

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK!

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Attleboro Democracy, Winter 2011-2012 15 | P a g e

ADDENDUM ON the Occupy MOVEMENT

This issue of the Attleboro Democracy focuses on environmental issues.

However, we did want to devote some time to a movement that has had

the attention of many civic-minded people for months: The Occupy Movement.

The Importance of Occupy

Why Occupy is important to everyday America.

Three children at Lakeland Occupy.

Timothy O’Neill

The man in the yellow sweat suit was standing on a park

bench. One foot he had planted on the seat and the other

rested lightly on the backrest. His hands were clasped

behind his back in the manner in which one might be taking

a stroll. He wore a baseball cap with some military insignia

on it and his glasses were thick and of a time past. As he

surveyed his city-park-dominion he proclaimed in a loud,

clear voice “We will create Starfleet and the first planet we

save will be THIS ONE!”

This was not my first experience at the park among the

Occupy Protesters but it was typical of my previous visits.

The bearded and dreaded students were there. The aging

hippies were there. And the disenfranchised homeless were

there. Boy, were the homeless there, as they are in Occupy

sites across the country. The Occupy Movement sets up

camp in the most logical of places; the places the homeless

already ‘occupy’. Of course there were the people “like

me”, a few of us, at the park bringing donations of supplies,

donations of support. We came and went. These other

people stayed. These people were not like me and I was

uncomfortable.

I was uncomfortable because people “like me” are happy

to have what we have, tenuous as it may be. We are fortune-

ate we have full-time work, or part time work, most likely

making the same thing we made ten or twenty years ago. Our

savings are gone but we have that job! Somehow we manage

to pay that health insurance bill and that gasoline bill,

vaguely aware that we are providing capital for other smaller,

richer economies we will probably never glimpse. Most of

the folks “like me” fear we will upset the apple cart by

making a peep of dissent. With the deterioration of social

safety nets in favor of bottom line thinking most people in

America, people “like me” don’t realize that we are a lengthy

illness or a lost job away from losing everything.

Upon reflection I came to realize that it made sense that

these students and marginalized homeless were Occupying.

While the status quo has kept the people “like me” in an

uncomfortable stasis these protestors are the people that

society has really left behind. These are the young people

who see no future for themselves in the laissez-faire Wild

West America has become. These are the unemployed and

foreclosed on. They are the war-damaged, addicted and

mentally unwell humans-without-homes that America has

utterly abandoned. They are also the people who now stand

on the front lines, sometimes passively toe to toe with an

increasingly militant and apparently federally sanctioned

opposition. But they are not the people who had the most to

lose. The people with the most to lose would be the people

“like me.”

I ran into the gentleman in the yellow sweat suit during

another visit to the park, now dressed in more conservative

clothes. He was conversing quietly with a small group of

people. He was factual and obviously well informed.

Attending an off-site ‘teach-in’ at Providence College I

found the students who were the core of the local Occupy

organization to be passionate and knowledgeable as to the

challenges that we all face today. The question is; when will

we recognize that we all do, in fact, face these challenges?

With a national approval rating of 47% among citizens

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Attleboro Democracy, Winter 2011-2012 16 | P a g e

who are familiar with the Occupy Movement and an

astounding 67% among Manhattanites the more pressing

question is how long will these people stand alone?

It is easy for a corporate owned media, agenized toward

maintaining the status quo, to marginalize The Occupy

Movement; Young people are naïve to the world, homeless

people just need to “pull themselves up by their bootstraps”,

the protesters are not “like me”. It is also becoming obvious

that a corporate owned national legislature, agenized toward

reelection and personal gain, is shirking its responsibility to

assume a leadership role in addressing the legitimate and

popular concerns of its citizens; those citizens don’t have a

“government issued ID card” or clear residency in their

adopted college towns to vote. And it is clearly much too

easy for police forces under the guise of enforcing

municipal ordinances to beat and drag away citizens who

are non-violently exercising their constitutional freedoms!

It would not, however, be so easy to explain “peace”

officers jack-booting their way down a line of seated 40 and

50 year old carpenters and nurses, truck drivers and

accountants indiscriminately spraying them with pepper

spray. After all, those are the people “like me” who buy

televisions and antacids, all-inclusive trips to Tampa and

new cars. They are the over-worked (or under-worked),

stressed out, broke and frightened 99% of the 99% and we,

the people “like me”, need to understand that our republic is

in danger of sinking, awash in a storm of corporate money

that is succeeding in changing for the worse the American

Way of Life. By usurping our voting and legislative

processes, government “of the people” may be no longer.

WE need to find a way out of our exhaustion induced

stupor and help the Occupy Movement point that out.

Photo Credits

All photos not listed were the product of Microsoft Clip Art

or designed by the Editor.

-Cover Photo of President Obama courtesy of Boston Globe

-Gasification Plant Photo courtesy of spectrum.ieee.org

-Grain Silo pictures courtesy of Wikipedia

-Senator Wolf Photo courtesy of his office

-Congressman McGovern Photo courtesy of Twitter

-Herman Cain photo courtesy of Reason.com

-Pokémon logo courtesy of CherryLeaf.com

-Photo of Rick Perry courtesy of the Governor of State of

Texas website

-Homer Simpson photo courtesy of Heatingoil.com

-Lakeland Occupy Photo courtesy of Sodahead.com

Look out for our Spring issue on: Education.

Have a good winter!

ATTLEBORO DEMOCRACY

Striving for a Better Public Debate

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