I don’t know what’s worse in the Westerly Sun's May 4 “There are two sides to every story” letter by Donna Chambers – that she revealed that I have
superpowers, or that she uncovered my secret identity.
At least she didn't tell the world I was born on the planet
Krypton.
But she did tell our corner of the world that I use my superpowers to persuade and control a legion of minions, inspire a revolt against the enlightened leadership ofCharlestown ,
manipulate the Westerly Sun and commit all manner of foul deeds.
But she did tell our corner of the world that I use my superpowers to persuade and control a legion of minions, inspire a revolt against the enlightened leadership of
In today’s political world, there are all sorts of
supervillains. In Donna Chambers’ Bizarro world, the most evil supervillains
are those who disagree with her, using facts, documents, meticulous analysis
and persuasive arguments to point out that many of her cherished Charlestown
Citizens Alliance campaigns are based on a tissue of lies and self-serving
propaganda.
Yes, Ms. Chambers is upset at me. I did, after all,
challenge her work on the Charter review committee which produced proposals
that were roundly criticized by most of the town department and town commission
heads.
I did challenge her hero, Council member Dan Slattery for his vicious campaign of character assassination ("Kill Bill") against our former Town Administrator and Slattery’s campaign to overturn the town’s long-standing plan for managing Ninigret Park.
I did challenge her hero, Council member Dan Slattery for his vicious campaign of character assassination ("Kill Bill") against our former Town Administrator and Slattery’s campaign to overturn the town’s long-standing plan for managing Ninigret Park.
I also used research and rationality to challenge Ms.
Chambers’s other tenet of faith – that all wind energy is evil. Certainly the
Whalerock industrial wind-farm project that stirred Ms. Chambers to become a
town fixture was a bad project. However, her leap of faith from being a NIMBY opponent
of a bad local project to becoming an anti-wind fanatic deserves to be examined
on its merits.
Yes, yes, I know. That’s not playing fair. In Charlestown , challenging a
person’s political beliefs, especially if it’s belief in the infallibility of
the CCA, is treated like an insult to their religion. Mea culpa.
Finally, I have this to say to all those persons – my
minions – whom Ms. Chambers thinks I hold in sway: I release you. Please, go
forth and speak your own minds. Don’t pay any attention to what I write in
Progressive Charlestown. Don’t read any documents that challenge the CCA
orthodoxy.
Follow Ms. Chambers’s example and make up your own facts.
And of course, write them all down – all of them – and send them to the editors
of the Sun. You’ll be glad you did.