Commentaries
June 3, 2010, page 2.....
Asset Mapping Survey and Len Britton Event

Have you completed the Asset Mapping Survey?
by Ruah Swennerfelt

Have you ever wondered who in Charlotte knows how to quilt, scythe, can food, or prune fruit trees? Have you ever needed to borrow a tractor, pickup truck, canning supplies or a tall ladder? Have you wanted to join a CSA, needed accounting services, or wanted a house painter and weren’t sure if there was that resource in Charlotte? Well, now there is an opportunity to learn what skills and resources we have in our town. The Asset Mapping Survey, available at Town Hall, Spear’s Corner Store, the Old Brick Store, or by e-mail or post from Nancy Severance (skea@aol.com or 425-2111) is an exciting tool to help us learn about each other.
It was created by the Transition Town Charlotte Initiative, an initiative to retool ourselves for the transition from cheap, abundant fossil fuels to the challenges of life beyond oil. (To learn more about this worldwide movement, see transitionculture.org.)  About a year ago we, some citizens of Charlotte, began meeting to create ways to strengthen our community in the face of oil decline, economic instability and climate change. Our vision is for Charlotte to create a positive, successful response to a future of energy descent. Our goal is to build self-reliance by learning new and old skills, sharing skills we already have, and basically “skilling up for power-down.”
One of our first steps toward this goal was creating an “asset map” of Charlotte human resources. What do we know, what do we do, and what can we offer to build a more deeply sustainable society? From town officials to farmers to entrepreneurs to schoolchildren, we need every willing head, heart and hand on board to form a network of neighborly cooperation, to develop hands-on skills and start enterprises such as local food production, renewable energy, innovative transportation and much more.
We invite you to fill out this survey and be part of this exciting endeavor. Transition Town Charlotte will also have a presence at the Town Party this summer, and the surveys will be available there too. Come and learn more about us. We also invite you to join the initiative. Give me a call and find out more.

Ruah Swennerfelt
425-3377
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U.S. Senate Candidate Len Britton will be in Charlotte June 16
by Bob Bloch

We invite citizens of all political persuasions to the Charlotte Grange on Wednesday evening, June 16, at 7 p.m. to meet Len Britton, a different kind of politician – an independent-minded Republican who is running for the U.S. Senate as a “citizen legislator.”
Like many Americans, Len has seen first hand the damage done by today’s “lifer” politicians, who are more concerned about raising millions in PAC money to pay for re-election and spending money we don’t have to buy the support of special interests; “lifer” politicians who leverage their seniority to spend even more borrowed money to pay for earmarks and “pork” projects, all to convince the people back home that they are doing some good.
Unlike his opponents, Len plans to take no PAC money, and, if elected, plans to serve no more than two terms (12 years).
The current “budget” put forth by Washington imagines our government borrowing about $.40 of every $1.00 it spends for the next ten years. This is not sustainable. Some European solutions, such as even higher income taxes and a national “sales tax” (VAT) of as much as 15-20%, are no panaceas. Europe is in worse shape than we are, with even more severe debt problems and “good times” unemployment rates around the current 9+% recession level that is so disturbing to all of us.
Len believes that to really change Washington, to make the tough decisions that will get spending under control and make the economy sustainable and growing, and to make these decisions fairly, you must change the players.
Len was not born in a log cabin and does not walk on water. Len Britton is a ninth-generation Vermont businessman who’s had a firsthand view of today’s hard times and believes in working for a brighter future.
As a youth he worked for the family lumber business, Britton’s Lumber, Landscape and Feed in Taftsville, learning the value of hard work and community. He earned degrees in history, political science and communications at the University of Vermont, and in film studies at Dartmouth College.
After a career as a writer, Len succeeded his father as owner-operator of Britton’s Lumber, serving a broad community of farmers, builders and landowners – Vermonters who testify every day to the need for change and a return to fiscal responsibility.
Len lives in Pomfret with his wife, Kathy, and their five children.
We hope to see you at the Grange on June 16 at 7 p.m. Other Republican candidates will be introduced, and refreshments will be served.

Bob Bloch, Chair of the Charlotte
Republican Committee