On the Wind Issue - The Local Election Hoopla Is Irrelevant - The Art. X System Is "Fair And Impartial" So The State Will Decide It For You!

It makes it simpler on election day because you gave your home rule to the State so the wind issue will be decided by them.  One less thing to confuse you on election day!!!

Sometimes I think about this Art. X thing and the up coming elections and much of what people say doesn’t add up. It’s funny how sometimes we simply accept the hoopla without much critical thought. There is some logic here that is running around in circles!

For example, it is basically said that if the Dems. and Citizens for Fair Govt. ( CFG) get elected we will be in serious trouble in Cape Vincent.  Why?  Because the thought goes that  CFG will convince the and the Art. X board  to let BP walk away with our town and destroy it with their wind plant.   If I don’t have that right, then what is the thought process?   And  the current town board and its supporters are telling us the current govt. is our only hope to save the community from CFG convincing the Art. X board from destroying our town.  That would mean the Art. X board would suddenly have to completely  ignore any studies and science the town experts and lawyers have provided to defend our law and community’s health, safety, and welfare.  But is  it really that simplistic?

So tell me…which way is it?  Is the Art X process fair, impartial, even handed and balanced ( our town board’s words) so it is trustworthy and credible enough to participate in?  Or is it so run amuck, reckless, and irresponsible that the second the Hirschey board lost its majority the Art. X siting board would just fold  up, ignore the environmental issues and science and just give it all to BP so they could destroy our town simply because CFG and VFW were in power and said so? Seriously!

Now wait a minute!  Bob Brown the CV zoning committee chairman said with confidence on NPR radio that Art. X will not preempt our law because THEY  will understand  the reasoning and science behind protecting the health, safety, and welfare of our community. But if that is the case and the Art X board does understand that…then a change of govt should not matter to them...I mean if they truly understand what Brown is saying as he is convinced they are, they should still understand how the health, safety and welfare should protect our community no matter who is in our govt.

   Or are you telling me that  if the current board lost their majority the Art. X board would suddenly NOT comprehend or agree with the current  town board and Mr. Brown  that the health, safety, and welfare in our law  should protect our community? Seems to me if the Art X approach and the siting board is credible enough for Brown to be convinced they will not preempt our law based on our health, safety, and welfare, then if the board  and the process is credible as Brown and the Hirschey govt and their supporters believe, then  a change in govt should not change what the siting board  thinks about health safety and welfare in our law .  Or would they do as the Republicans imply and with a political change of wind would they suddenly accept the CFG and BP version of health safety and welfare or scrap that argument altogether for CFG and BP??? Does the Art. X board’s comprehension of health, safety, and welfare on the wind issue and the science that backs it actually depend on who is in power in CV govt????  If so that would not make them or the process very credible, nor fair, impartial, or balanced, now would it!!!  Again…which way is it???

OK so are you  telling  me  all these state agencies that are supposed to be protecting our community and  region and the state are simply going to let BP run amuck in the 1000 Islands just because  the Hirschey Republicans are not  re-elected??? You mean that all these state agencies will feel absolutely no responsibility to protect our region environmentally with the necessary studies and environmental scrutiny and  science and will just do whatever CFG and BP want if elected unless the CV Republicans are  there to stop them or convince them otherwise?  Wow…that certainly does not say very much for the credibility of Art. X system the Hirschey govt. has obediently bought into thinking it will protect our town!!!

But wait…our town board IS going along with Art. X and being obedient to the process, and they and their supporters are saying we should engage in the process and trust it because it is fair and impartial, even handed and balanced, yet in the same election breath are suggesting if CFG gets in power, that the next second  that will entirely change the Art. X board’s mind and they will just give it to BP.

So which way is it?   Is the Art. X process trust worthy and credible and fair and impartial, even handed and balanced, or would they recklessly fold up with CFG in power???.  Because if they truly are as the town believes then, the Art. X process should be just that… fair, impartial, and even handed, on the issue regardless of which govt is in power… right?  Or is it???

If in fact the State agencies in control of the Art. X process, like the NYPSC DEC would be so reckless and irresponsible to just give it all to BP and CFG as we are led to believe by the Hirschey govt. and their supporters the minute the Hirschey board was not there, then how is it we could trust  Art. X anyhow with ANY decision or expect them to take any of our expert’s  inputs and science to defend our law and community? It doesn’t add up!

If in fact the Art. X process is that tenuous reckless and  run amuck that they would give it all to CFG and BP when the local political wind changes and not make efforts to protect our community and region anyhow…then it further makes my case we should not  be involved in such a corrupted flaky process at all!!!

In fact, at least on the wind issue if the Art. X process IS fair, impartial, even handed, and balanced, and you believe in it as the town seems to,  then it really should not matter WHO is in power in CV.  If Art. X  is all that the town has said it is, then no matter WHO is in power in local govt, we should all as parties in the process still be able to go before the siting board and make our case, and they should still understand the relevance and overwhelming logic of our science and studies and not preempt our law.

That is the sneaky little problem with sitting by and calling the State system that removed your home rule fair and impartial.  Now on the wind issue you are agreeing to  trust the State to be fair and  to make the final decision and hope they agree with you, and if it’s a fair system as the town believes it should not matter who is in power locally on the wind issue, because it is not a local decision any longer and the State will fairly and impartially sort it all out for you. Or is the Art.X system only fair as long as they are in local power?

In essence on this wind  issue by accepting the removal of your home rule without objection, and branding the process that did that as “fair and impartial” you have also made local elections on the wind issue effectively irrelevant and all the election hoopla over wind development at least, is pointless! It’s not a local issue any longer and you accept that.  So  not only did the Sate take your home rule, they have also taken your basic democratic voting power and process with it.

As the new local saying goes…Had enough yet!!!