Wednesday, November 1, 2006 · Page 4 The Essex Free Press is an independent weekly newspaper, locally owned and operated by The Essex Free Press Limited The Essex Free Press is published every Wednesday from 16 Centre Street, Essex, ON N8M 1N9 Tel.: (519) 776-4268 Fax: (519) 776-4014 Email: essexfreepress@on.aibn.com Website: http://essexfreepress.reinvented.net Publisher: Laurie A. Brett The opinions expressed on this page are those of their original authors and do not necessarily represent the opinion of The Essex Free Press, its Editor or Publisher. The politics of fear ince the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the world is changed. Few can argue with that statement. If you've taken a commercial flight in the U.S. lately, you'll know that air travel has become quite complicated. Not only do they make you take off your shoes and walk barefoot through the metal detector, but they also prohibit a long list of items from your carry-on luggage, including free press seemingly innocuous things like toothpaste and nail clippers. The rules are variable the perlaurie brett depending onof the ceived threat day and where you're travelling. Critics of the Bush administration's "war on terror" recognize the politics of fear at play. Political strategists have always known that fear can be used effectively as a means of social control and the Bush administration appears to be well aware of its benefits. Strategic advantages on the world stage can be achieved, it would seem, provided the American people continue to fear the consequences of non-action in the face of a perceived threat. Without clearly defining the problem and offering effective solutions, the Bush administration can continue to defend their continued military presence in Iraq using fear-based rhetoric as a tool. The "war on terror" is an obvious example of the politics of fear at work. Closer to home, municipal election campaigning appears to be feeding off the politics of fear as well. In several municipalities, political rhetoric would have us believe that the incumbents mismanaged municipal coffers, abused credit cards, saddled us with enormous debt and stymied new development despite fact-based evidence to the contrary. Voters who can be convinced that political rhetoric is hard-and-fast fact can be used to swing the vote. The nature of an effective response to this type of political campaigning has been the topic of discussion at many political strategy tables over the past weeks. Any politician worth voting for has considered at length the damage that the current tide of political rhetoric is doing. More than simply considering it, most of them are attempting to address the rhetoric head-on by educating and re-educating the electorate one voter at a time. Unfortunately time is running out. Few municipal politicians can visit every doorstep within their jurisdiction to speak face-to-face with potential supporters. With barely two weeks to go before the election, Essex voters who are in doubt are urged to attend the all-candidates meeting Nov. 2. Hear for yourself what each candidate has to say, and if you leave the meeting afraid for our future, stop and ask yourself why. S editorial ssex is a community of builders. Sometimes this means bricks and mortar, but not always. Ken Brett was a builder in the use he made of his weekly paper to enlighten us, entertain us, and bring the community together. Mr. Brett was a very colourful individual. He was kind, extremely well informed, could be stubborn, and was a good person to have for a friend. He died in 1979 at the age of 80, but had a remarkable life. He was the clerk for the Town of Essex from 1933 in the depths of the Great Depression to 1965, a time of growth and prosperity in the town. He began his career in town politics when he attended council meetings to record expenditures for his father, R.R. Brett, thenpublisher of the Free Press and a town councillor at the time. Ken Brett was the rations officer during the Second World War for Essex and Belle River E opinion and the townships of Colchester North, Gosfield North and Maidstone. (In those days they were more adept at combining jurisdictions according to a sensible common interest scale than the political bosses of 1998 were). His newspaper career at the Essex Fress Press extended 47 years. Mr. Brett was awarded the Queen's Silver Jubilee medal in 1977 in recognition of his service to the community and the esteem in which he was held. Staff at the Deluxe Restaurant in the sixties and seventies will tell you Ken was one of their very favourite cus- bill gay tomers. They were always glad to see him walk through the door. Then, as now, the Deluxe is a gathering place for the town's movers and shakers. Ted Richardson, another builder of Essex, had a table at the back of the restaurant he regarded as his own! For myself, I will always remember the political discussions I had with Mr. Brett, especially in regards to his father's failed political try for the Liberal party in the early part of the century, losing to Tory candidate Dr. Anderson, only after the military vote was counted. In his spare time, Mr. Brett enjoyed his lifelong interest in horse racing and considered himself an excellent turf prognosticator, although many doubted his skills in this area. K. E. Brett, publisher, political craftsman, and friend. Through good times and bad, he was a builder of Essex. Laurie Brett Publisher & Editor Daniel Schwab Staff Reporter Karen Callies Advertising Sales Cathy Campbell Accounts & Circulation Sarah Krauter Office Tom Warwick, Lana Garant Graphic Design Gary Ramsay, Wilber Brett, Judy Brett, Randy Chedour, Pam Sovran Production Subscriptions Canada: $37.10 U.S.: $80.00 (Prices include GST) Payable in advance to The Essex Free Press Limited. Advertising Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of an error, the portion of the ad occupied by the error, will not be charged for, but the balance will be paid at the usual rate. It is the responsibility of the advertiser to check their ads on first publication, and the publisher accepts no responsibility for errors in multiple insertions. The Essex Free Press reserves the right to reject or edit any advertisement likely to offend community standards and/or the laws of the land. Display Advertising Deadline: Friday at 4:30 pm Copyright All layout composition, artwork, news copy, editorial copy and photographs produced or owned by the Essex Free Press are the exclusive property of the Free Press and are protected by copyright law. These materials may not be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Share your LETTERS POLICY The Essex Free Press welcomes letters to the editor that are of interest to our community. Letters should be typed or neatly written and present the issues as clearly as possible in 300 words or less. All letters much contain the name, address, and daytime phone number of the writer. Anonymous letters will not be published. We reserve the right to edit for length, clarity or reject letters over matters of libel, legality, taste or style. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada, through the Publications Assistance Program (PAP), towards our mailing costs. Second Class Mail Registration No. 1495.