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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide for Reeves County, Trans Pecos, Big Bend of West Texas

OPINION

Greg Harman

Wednesday, February 4, 1998

LOOSE FISH


By Greg Harman

Looking back at slavery

It starts when others from within your community grab you.
Sometimes it's the strangers themselves who do it. They tie
your arms and feet. You are dragged away from friends and
family, or (worse yet) with your friends and family and sold
to strangers who possess a seemingly nonsensical language.

These strangers put you in iron shackles and force you into
the darkness of their vessel's hold. There is much crying
around you, and the stench of sickness. During the long
month, sailing from your native shores to a new, faraway
place where you will become the undisputed property of a man
you have never seen, several that are chained in the
darkness alongside you die of disease or hunger. Their
bodies are not removed. They are left there beside you to
swell and stink.

Some lose their senses, hollering night and day. One even
breaks free somehow and throws himself to the sharks, which
have trailing the ship for weeks to get at the scraps thrown
overboard each night, rather than submit to the misery
within the death-craft.

You can hear your family - fastened somewhere on the other
side of the dark - calling your name but your throat is too
dry to answer back.

Once you arrive in the new land, you are quickly shown off
to a large crowd of men. You and several others, who do not
speak your language, are taken in wagons to work the fields
on some man's farm. You are taught to call this man "Master."

You are not allowed to speak your mother tongue and are
forced to learn the rudimentaries of this new harsh-sounding
language. You cannot wear your native clothes or worship
your God. All offenses are punished by severe beatings. Some
die while being beaten. You are forced to work and live, and
eventually die, like a dog.

Just a reminder of what used to be.

I often argue with myself when I think of the slavery years
in this nation. An unwelcome voice within me, as it is in a
lot of Anglos, I think, will try to down-play the injustice
of the time. It may say, `It wasn't that bad,' or `That's
just the way things were.'

A lot of people don't even like to hear about it. They say
that it was a long time ago; they say things are different
now. And of course, they'll be partly right: things are
different now.

Remember, it wasn't until the 1960's that most of Africa
became independent, self-governing nations, freed from their
colonizing, Western rulers. Also, it wasn't very long ago
that African-Americans were legally allowed to own property
and to vote. Ours was the last country to outlaw
institutionalized slavery, and, as we're learning now, the
fires of racism and prejudice take a long time to burn out.

I realize I will never know what the experience of slavery
was really like, but Black History Month is a welcome time
to re-educate myself on the subject. I truly hope the school
system takes this opportunity to educate their pupils not
just about the facts of slavery but about the acheivements
of black Americans and the richness of the many African
cultures.

Editor's Note: Greg Harman is an Enterprise reporter whose column appears each Wednesday. He can be e-mailed at: greg@pecos.net.

Our View

Clinton's popularity rises

President Bill Clinton is riding a crest of popularity in
spite of or possibly because of allegations against him for
sexual misconduct and alleged cover-up.

His strong appearance in making the State of the Union
speech, plus conducting the nation's business in the face of
personal attacks has led many people to point out that while
"he isn't much of a man, he's a pretty good president."

The "jury" on both counts is still out and unlike many
members of the media, we have attempted not to make a big
deal of these latest allegations of his misconduct. And only
history will tell if he was a good president of simply a
beneficiary of circumstances around him.

There are theories that the public is tired of the
relentless media bashing that Clinton has endured and want
the media off his back, although television carrying the
stories are getting their highest ratings and newspapers
with big headlines on the issue are selling more papers.

We don't believe Hillary Clinton's theory that all this is a
right wing conspiracy to discredit her husband. At least we
hope our nation and the so-called "right-wingers" have not
succumbed to this type of behaviour.

Her strong defense and belief in her husband as well as
Clinton's getting on with the work at hand in spite of the
pressures are some of the reasons for the President's
approval rating in polls.

As with all people, Clinton should be considered innocent
until proven guilty and if guilty, just what is he guilty
of. Let's withhold judgement until all the facts are in.

Other Views

Help extend the wind energy tax credit

Subject: Wind Tax Incentive
Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 15:56:11 -0800 (PST)
From: Tom Gray <tomgray@igc.org>
To: greg@pecos.net (OPS Pecos Enterprise)
Apologies for any duplications - we have assembled names from
several sources.

AMERICAN WIND ENERGY ASSOCIATION
122 C Street, NW, Fourth Floor
Washington, D.C. 20001
(202) 383-2500 / Fax (202) 383-2505

Memorandum
TO: AWEA Members and Interested Parties
FROM: Jaime Steve, Legislative Director (202-383-2506)
Melissa I. Santoro, Asst. Director Legislative Affairs
(202-383-2507)
RE: Wind Energy Production Tax Credit (PTC)
DATE: January 21, 1998
____________________________________________________________
__________

HELP EXTEND THE WIND ENERGY PRODUCTION TAX CREDIT!

Write Your Members of Congress
Two Sample Letters Attached)
You can help the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA)
gain a
five-year extension of the wind energy Production Tax Credit
(PTC) --
by sending a personalized version of the attached sample
letters to
your member of Congress and your two Senators. As you know,
the 1.5
cent per kilowatt-hour PTC is critical for continuing to grow
America's reliance on wind energy.

WHAT:
* Sample letter #1 asks your member of Congress to become a
"co-sponsor" of H.R. 1401 -- the House PTC bill.
* Sample letter #2 asks your Senator to become a
"co-sponsor" of S. 1459 -- the Senate PTC bill. (We ask you
to send this letter to each of your Senators.)

WHEN:
As early as February, Congress will begin considering
whether to extend the PTC. We urge you to send a letter
before the end of this week.

HOW:
Use the two sample letters below. Just add the address and
sign the bottom.
To supply you with additional background information we have
attached a one-page summary on the tax credit, listing all
current co-sponsors of H.R. 1401 and S. 1459.

LASTLY:
Please fax (202-383-2505) or mail a copy of your letters to
AWEA at:
American Wind Energy Association
122 C Street, N.W., 4th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20001
Attn: Jaime Steve, Legislative Director
If you have any questions about the PTC -- or to which
congressional office you should direct your letter -- please
call Jaime Steve or Melissa Santoro of the AWEA legislative
staff at (202) 383-2500.
Thank you for helping us make your voice heard in Washington.

SAMPLE LETTER #1
RE: SOLICITING HOUSE SUPPORT FOR PTC BILL

January 30, 1998

Congressman X _______
House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Congressman X:
I write today to voice my strong support for H.R. 1401 --
the wind energy Production Tax Credit (PTC) extension bill.
The PTC was originally enacted as part of the Energy Policy
Act of 1992. To qualify for the credit, which amounts to 1.5
cents/kWh (adjusted for inflation), the wind plant must be
built before June 30, 1999. By extending this deadline for
five years (to June 30, 2004) the legislation will provide
an opportunity to continue growing the U.S. wind industry,
which has seen very slow growth over the last five years due
to the impact of electric industry restructuring. Extending
the PTC is clearly one of the most important mechanisms
needed to spur further development of clean, renewable wind
energy at cost-competitive rates.
I hope you will consider supporting efforts to encourage the
development of wind energy throughout the United States by
sponsoring H.R. 1401.

Sincerely,
_______________________________

SAMPLE LETTER #2
RE: SOLICITING SENATE SUPPORT FOR PTC BILL

January 30, 1998

Senator X _______
Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Senator X:
I write today to voice my strong support for S. 1459 -- the
wind energy Production Tax Credit (PTC) extension bill.
The PTC was originally enacted as part of the Energy Policy
Act of 1992. To qualify for the credit, which amounts to 1.5
cents/kWh (adjusted for inflation), the wind plant must be
built before June 30, 1999. By extending this deadline for
five years (to June 30, 2004) the legislation will provide
an opportunity to continue growing the U.S. wind industry,
which has seen very slow growth over the last five years due
to the impact of electric industry restructuring. Extending
the PTC is clearly one of the most important mechanisms
needed to spur further development of clean, renewable wind
energy at cost-competitive rates.
I hope you will consider supporting efforts to encourage the
development of wind energy throughout the United States by
sponsoring S. 1459.

Sincerely,
_______________________________

Wind Energy
Production Tax Credit (PTC)

Current Sponsors
Senate: (S. 1459) Charles Grassley (R-IA), James Jeffords
(R-VT), Frank Murkowski (R-AK), Kent Conrad (D-ND), Bob
Kerrey (D-NE), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA),
Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Tim Johnson (D-SD).
House: (H.R. 1401) Bill Thomas (R-CA), Roscoe Bartlett
(R-MD), Jennifer Dunn (R-WA), Vern Ehlers (R-MI), Vic Fazio
(D-CA), Scott Klug (R-WI), John Lewis (D-GA), Robert Matsui
(D-CA), Jim McDermott (D-WA), David Minge (D-MN), Jim
Nussle (R-IA), Lynn Rivers (D-MI), Dan Schaefer (R-CO),
David Skaggs (D-CO), Ellen Tauscher (D-CA), Karen Thurman
(D-FL), Lynn Woolsey (D-CA).

Summary
A straight 5-year extension (through July 1, 2004) of this
existing provision providing a 1.5 cent per kilowatt-hour
tax credit (adjusted for inflation) for electricity produced
using wind resources. (Current PTC expires July 1, 1999.)

Background
The PTC, enacted as part of the Energy Policy Act of 1992
(EPAct), is a sound, low-cost investment in an emerging
sector of the energy industry. Yet, because of factors not
envisioned when the credit was first created, the domestic
wind energy industry has not been able to make full use of
this credit in recent years. The credit is now scheduled to
expire just as it is needed most to allow the domestic wind
energy industry to install new capacity to make the
transition to the anticipated deregulated marketplace.
The PTC currently provides a 1.5 cent per kilowatt-hour
credit for energy produced from a new facility brought
on-line after December 31, 1993 and before July 1, 1999 for
the first ten years of the facility's existence. Despite the
availability of the credit, relatively little new capacity
has been built to make use of this production incentive.
Price fluctuations in the energy market combined with
anticipated electric restructuring have generated
considerable market uncertainty which has hampered the
efforts of wind energy producers to enter the commercial
marketplace in the U.S.

PROBLEM:
Although the PTC is a production tax credit available only
for energy actually produced from new facilities, the credit
is inextricably linked to financing and developing continued
wind energy production capacity. The financing and
permitting requirements for a typical wind energy
installation require two to three years of lead time at a
minimum. Yet the PTC is now scheduled to expire in less than
two years. This situation is already drying up investments
and halting future project planning just as wind stands to
assume a new and competitive role in the domestic energy
market.
Costs A 5-year extension of the "placed in service date"
would cost $12 million over the next 5-years (1998-2002) or
$156 million over the next ten years (1998-2007). (Source:
Senate Finance Committee report, Sen. Rpt. 105-33). [1/21/98]



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