Sssshhhh! Please, Please, Don't Tell King George I Signed the Declaration of Independence...He Might Send Troops To Find Me!!!!

The people who signed this little document, that had a great deal to do with the very rights and freedoms we enjoy today didn't give a damn who saw their names or what the consequences might be to them personally.  Particularly John Hancock.  As radicals they had a little hobby...you know like forming what would  become the most power nation on the planet!  When you run around in panic and fear of what your neighbor might think, or some pro wind nut might think in the CV wind battle, consider these people for a minute. 

When people put their name on a letter to a public official, essentially like a petition, or actually sign a petition, it is not a secret, they know  it is  PUBLIC, that is the whole POINT to make a PUBLIC statement with your name. And if they didn’t know that I made it real clear who the letter was going to and why.  They made an adult choice to stand up, and make a PUBLIC statement, that is how strongly some people feel about this issue. In case you haven’t notice that is how this works!!!  So you are really trying to tell me that if I choose to sign a public petition or letter and somebody assaults me as a result, that I am going to blame the person circulating the petition?  That is ridiculous.  Seems to me you would go after the person who assaulted you. 

You want to see how ridiculous and hysterical these claims are about revealing names?  People think I am hysterical and my thinking is convoluted…consider this.

How many of you registered to vote in the last election?

 How many of you voted Republican to support the Cape Vincent candidates that the media called “anti wind”.  Well by this logic your life is now on the line and in extreme danger!!!

How many of you were seasonals who changed your residence to vote here and where new on that list? 

Well I hate to tell you this but your name is on a VERY PUBLIC LIST.  You made an adult choice to put your name on a VERY PUBLIC list that can be looked at by ANYONE at any time!  WAKE UP.  How do think Gary King and Harold Wiley are able to send letters to the assessors of seasonal people who changed their voting status to try to screw up their STAR tax exemption status. By the screwed up logic in some comments here, you are saying that the County should be sued?  Or the person from WPEG that registered you to vote should be sued for King and Wiley’s actions because you gave them your name and they gave it to the County.  You are going to blame somebody else for the fact YOU knowingly put your name on a list that is PUBLIC.  Have you ever gone to the motor vehicle dept and signed anything???? 

How about we start taking a little personal responsibility for our actions instead of trying to find a scapegoat.  And some of these comments are people both pro and anti wind trying frantically make a case that I am some how aiding and abetting the pro wind side. That us unadulterated horse poop and any intelligent thinker can see right through it.

Now let’s say some pro wind nut gets that  PUBLIC voter list from Jefferson County.  They then decide to find some people on that list that are probably anti wind or voted against their candidate and assault them.  Again by your logic the people at fault would be the County for giving out the list…something they HAD TO DO BY LAW!!! Or you would sue the WPEG candidate or person who came to your house and registered you to vote.  That is NUTS!  You people are so desperate you can’t even think straight.

And about the AG situation etc.  What if  one of us who has the documentation or has been involved are asked to testify in a public hearing or trial.  Those names could be ALL OVER the media. So if those people chose to get involved they had better have figured out way ahead of time that it could be NO secret. And what about all the people who HAVE been public on the blogs and in the paper and at public meetings and hearings.  If I go to a public hearing and sign a PUBLIC list to speak against wind power, and then my name shows up in the PUBLIC minutes, and what I said is in the record, possibly including where I live , would it be the Town’s fault if somebody FOILS that info and later assaults me for my views?  Get real! My suggestion is if you are that paranoid don’t go to any more town meetings. And if you do be very very careful who you associate with or sit next to, it might reveal how you feel about wind power and you could be assaulted later after the meeting. It could on Steve Weed’s video who you sat next to or what you said in the privilege of the floor…so are you going to sue Steve Weed when somebody views the video and it is a public record? 

And what about all the people who HAVE been public on the blogs and in the paper and at public meetings and hearings.

If somebody says something on the other CV blogs and signs their name, is it Rick’s or K’s fault if they get assault ?  We better shut down the blogs immediately then. There are a handful of people who sign their names to the blogs because they are committed to their beliefs, and I highly applaud them whether I agree of disagree with their views.  If they get assaulted is that now Wiley’s or K’s fault. And what about a lot of the really nasty public things those blogs have said about former town officers? Maybe some were not accurate or not true.  What about that????    If that is the case then we all better go hide in a cave in some remote mountains and live in perpetual fear, and stay off all social media sites, and don’t register to vote, and never again sign a petition, or speak your mind on anything.  Just become a complete non person or a vegetable. What about public officers who take a stand and put their names on all kinds of things like LAWS?  In case you haven’t noticed our names and information are EVERYWHERE.

And in FACT, after the first meeting with the AG’s investigators, several of us specifically asked if it should be kept secret. Their exact words were.

 “ No, It doesn’t have to be a secret at all that we were here.”  I had the distinct feeling they may have wanted it to be public knowledge.

And finally we are in this CV wind mess today and it has lasted so long in part because people are so afraid to speak up and take a stand.  And that is what gives the wind companies a HUGE advantage.  It was exactly secrecy that gave them a huge advantage when they slithered into town with secret leases with non disclosure clauses. FEAR is what has ruled us throughout this fight, and we are running in FEAR again of Article X. A few people have had some real guts and taken a beating repeatedly and they still get up and take it.  In fact it’s funny that we tremble in fear and the pro wind side stands right up and says very publicly what they believe and what they want.  They don't give a damn what they say or who it bothers...they are committed.  Somebody even asked if I was going to reveal the secret WPEG member list.  Well I don’t think there is even such a thing…we never had membership cards and secret decoder rings.  But the point is why would WPEG people get on board with that group and then want it all hush hush.  That doesn’t say much for the strength of their beliefs.

When somebody puts their name on the line of an obviously public document, once they do that, I nor anybody can protect them from that choice. It was their choice!

 The founding fathers of our country were radicals and outcasts.  They didn’t sign the Declaration of Independence ANONYMOUSLY, or then slink away and say…. ssshhhhh, don’t tell King George I signed  it!!!!  As the saying goes , they decided to run with the big dogs and not sit on the porch!

ART PUNDT