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Back Cap Cap-and-dividend advocates, who believe the Boxer proposal does notgo far enough, argue that a well-designed system could become aspopular a federal program, and as sacrosanct, as Social Security.The idea, spelled out in a working paper last fall by economists at the University of MassachusettsPolitical Economy Research Institute, is to force the oilcompanies, coal companies, and other "first sellers" offossil fuel to buy federal permits for the right to sellcarbon-emitting fuel each year. The revenue from those permit saleswould go into a fund that would be distributed as dividends toevery U.S. citizen—perhaps in monthly payments directly intotheir bank accounts. It would be similar to the dividend thatAlaska residents receive to share in the revenue of oil explorationin that state. Under cap-and-dividend, gasoline and coal-fired-electricity pricesnationwide would go up, but consumers would be getting cash to helpthem cope with those rising costs. Former Labor Secretary RobertReich calls it a "win win" idea that voters will buy.Republican Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, a member of the SenateEnergy Committee, has said he might support climate legislation ifit returns money directly to citizens. No one, though, has beenpushing cap-and-dividend harder than socially responsibleinvestment pioneer Peter Barnes, who was cofounder and formerpresident of Working Assets Long Distance, a telephone service thatdonates to nonprofit organizations. In recent years, he has beenwriting on climate and trying to come up with ideas to help a freemarket system deal with protecting the nation's "commonwealth," like the atmosphere. Barnes spoke to U.S. News on why giving citizens a dividend—which, based on theMassachusetts research, would be somewhere between $1,200 and$6,000 a year for a family of four—is the best answer so far.Excerpts: Why don't you like the Warner-Lieberman "cap" on carbonemissions? Carbon is everywhere. To administer an emissions cap on carbonwould be an administrative nightmare, not just for government butbusinesses and everyone who had to comply with it. If you require the companies that are the first sellers of fossilfuels—there are only a few hundred of those, likeExxon—to buy permits equal to the carbon content of theirfuel, that is relatively easy to calculate. You don't have tomonitor any smokestacks or have tens of thousands of businessesfiling reports. You simplify the whole thing, and you capture 100percent of the carbon, and you just crank that valve down, yearafter year, until you get down to wherever we need to go. Whichultimately may be zero, I believe. So the government collects money from the oil industry and the coalindustry. What happens next? You divvy it up. One person, one share. Equal dividends wiredmonthly like Social Security straight into your bank account. Iwould not make it part of the tax code. [Former Vice President Al]Gore has talked about a payroll tax rebate, and there are otherproposals out there. That could work, but you'd only get it once ayear, which, for many people who have monthly bills to pay, is notgood enough. And also it tends to get lost. For political reasons,if nothing else, you want people to notice the fact that they'regetting money back, because they're going to be mad as hell. Theyalready are mad as hell with gas prices and everything going up. Soif we're going to raise energy prices even more through a carbonpolicy, which we have to do, we need to remind people that we'realso giving them back some of that money. The only way you canpolitically sustain higher energy prices is to recycle some of thatrevenue back to consumers. Would people still be motivated to use less energy? It would be a virtuous incentive system. In other words, if youdrive a Hummer, you're going to pay a lot more in higher prices, asyou should. If you ride the bus, you won't pay so much more.Everybody gets back the same amount. If you're a conserver, youcould come out ahead. If you're a guzzler, you lose. Which isappropriate. So you have kind of an income recycling system wherethe guzzlers are paying the conservers in effect, which is exactlythe way it ought to be. You need to keep the incentive to conserveat the same time you need to sustain consumer buying power. Theother thing is, we are in a recession now, and people don't haveextra money lying around. If we are raising energy prices and notgiving any money back, there goes the economy, too.

Festival ClothingAnnual West Tennessee Collectors Club Coin Show You don't have to shell out a dime to visit the 49th Annual WestTennessee Collectors Club Coin Show, scheduled Sept. 6-7 at theMadison County Extension Service Auditorium, 309 N. Parkway inJackson. Admission is free. The show will feature U.S. and foreign coins, ancient coins, goldand silver, paper money, Confederate money, collectors' supplies,books, Civil War and other historic documents and more. Hours are 9a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Door prizes will be awarded tochildren and adults, and children who attend will receive a freecoin. For more information, call (731) 394-3972 or e-mail trime1865@yahoo.com . Darryl Worley's Tennessee River Run September brings the annual Darryl Worley's Tennessee River Run, aweek-long event to benefit the Darryl Worley Foundation, started bycountry music artist Worley, a Hardin County native. This year's events, running Sept. 6-14, will include a boat pokerrun, catfish and bass fishing tournaments, a golf tournament, asongwriters in the round event, a Southern rock concert, amotorcycle poker run, country music and a Southern gospel show withdinner on the grounds . For more information, call (731) 925-8181 or visit www.darrylworley.com . 19th Annual Southern Heritage Classic Cultural Celebration It's a football game, but then again, it's so much more. The 19th Annual Southern Heritage Classic Cultural Celebration isset for Sept. 11-13 this year at locations throughout Memphis. Theevent's main event, as always, is the football game betweenhistorically black colleges Jackson State University and TennesseeState University. The tailgate party is set to begin at 8 a.m.Sept. 13 at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, where the game will beplayed at 6 p.m. In between, other events include the Ed "Too Tall" Jones GolfClassic, a parade, a fashion show and brunch and a "Battle of theBands." Following the game, the Classic 5th Quarter celebration willconclude a fireworks show and another battle of the bands. The schedule is subject to change, but for more information on theSouthern Heritage Classic, visit www.southernheritageclassic.com . Casey Jones Village Old-Time Music Festival Sit back and enjoy the pickin' at the annual Casey Jones VillageOld-Time Music Festival, running Sept. 12-13 this year in Jacksonat Casey Jones Village, on U.S. 45 Bypass N. near Interstate 40. Along with old-time string, bluegrass and gospel music, the eventwill offer arts and crafts. For more information, call (800) 748-9588 or visit www.caseyjones.com . Peavine Arts & Crafts Festival A weeklong-celebration builds up to the main events on Sept. 19-20for the annual Peavine Arts & Crafts Festival in Parsons. Activities, which center around the downtown area, include a beautypageant, an art and quilt show, a dog show and more. Weekend eventsinclude gospel, bluegrass, country and rock music; arts and crafts,an "Old Time Toby Tent Show," featuring Bisbee-style comedians; acar show; children's events and more. Friday's headliner will be T.Graham Brown, and Saturday's entertainment will feature a talentshow. For more information, call (731) 847-6359. Jackson Service League's annual Thrift Sale Bargain hunters will want to mark their calendars for the JacksonService League's annual Thrift Sale, beginning at 7 a.m. Sept. 20at Fairgrounds Park, 800 S. Highland Ave., Jackson. The event is always a treasure trove for children's clothing anditems, baby items, maternity clothes, furniture, adult clothing,sports equipment and lots more. Some of the donated items up forsale are new. Sales are cash only. Proceeds benefit the Service League's many community projects. Saltillo River Day The town of Saltillo in Hardin County celebrates its river heritageSept. 20 with Saltillo River Day in the downtown area. The festival's free events will include a parade, live music, astreet dance, arts and crafts and more. For more information, call (731) 687-3889 or (800) 552-3866. Pinson Mounds State Archaeological Park Pinson Mounds State Archaeological Park, on Ozier Road near Pinson,is open daily as a showcase of West Tennessee's Native Americanheritage. The park's biggest event of the year, Archaeofest, is setthis year for Sept. 20-21. Pinson Mounds is home to at least 15 earthen Native Americanmounds, a museum, walking trails and picnic tables for visitors.Regular hours for the museum are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday throughSaturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. Regular admission is $3 for cars, $10for vans with 9 or more passengers and $30 for buses (school busesare exempt). On Wednesdays, admission is free. Archaeofest is a weekend celebration of Native American historyfeaturing dancers, storytellers, crafts people, food vendors,guided tours and more. Archaeofest hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept.20 and noon to 6 p.m. Sept. 21. Admission for Archaeofest is free,but donations will be accepted. For more information on Pinson Mounds, call (731) 988-5614. Chester County Barbecue Festival Bring your appetite to the annual Chester County Barbecue Festival,planned Sept. 25-27 this year around the court house lawn area ofdowntown Henderson. The family-friendly celebration offers lots of music, crafts, localtalent, children's activities and all kinds of barbecue. For more information, call the Chester County Chamber of Commerceat (731) 989-5222. 37th Annual Tennessee Crafts Fair The 37th Annual Tennessee Crafts Fair will run Sept. 26-28 inNashville's Centennial Park. The juried crafts festival will offer about 170 contemporary andtraditional artists, skills demonstrations, live music and food forvisitors. The spring show featured artisans such as Gin Powell, who was newto the show. Powell won the Best New Artist award. She also showsher work at The Dickson Gallery of Fine Art in Jackson.TACA CraftFairs are all juried shows and require artists to apply, sending inslides for a jury to review. Show hours are Friday and Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. andSunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. There is free admission and parking. At the Demonstration Tent, visitors to the fairs will seeprofessional artisians demonstrate their skills in such crafts asGullah sweetgrass baskets, Chinese paper carving, weaving, claysculpture, marquetry and animal figures crafted of jute. At the May 2-4 fair, Jean Ashmore of Jackson demonstrated tatting.Other demonstrators included: G. Dwain Adams - carved wooden birds;Shona Cowart - letterpress/linocut printing; Margery Detring -Basketry; and Wanda Shotwell, Nashville, weaving. Craft artists interested in demonstrating at upcoming Fairs shouldcontact taca@tennesseecrafts.org . At TACA, children are exposed to art, get their hands dirty andexplore their creativity. Activities include paper weaving andpainting, as well as creating wire jewelry, chalk drawings, kites,dye-dip flowers, yarn mosaics and stained glass windows. For more information, contact the Tennessee Association of CraftsArtists at (615) 385-1904. Huntingdon Heritage Festival The Huntingdon Heritage Festival is set for Sept. 27 this year inCarroll County. Look for arts and crafts, an antique and classic car show, foodvendors, a petting zoo, recipe contest and more in SesquicentennialPark, across from the Carroll County Civic Center, on Mustang Driveoff U.S. 70 in Huntingdon. Organizers are already accepting vendor applications for the event.For more information, call (731) 986-2900. Ryan Holladay Bluegrass Festival The Ryan Holladay Bluegrass Festival brings a weekend of bluegrassmusic, arts and crafts and more to Camden City Park, on U.S. 70,Sept. 27-28. The festival, named for young West Tennessee bluegrass musicianRyan Holladay, said to be the youngest person ever to play on theGrand Old Opry stage, will last from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.Admission is free. Artists scheduled to appear: the Ryan Holladay Band, The Grascals,Bluegrass Male Vocalist of the Year Bradley Walker, Larry Cordle,Carl Jackson, Jerry Salley, Dailey & Vincent and Wire and Wood. For more information, call (731) 441-2214.

Metal Badges A COMMUTER has accused Connex staff of manhandling a Brunswickstudent and impersonating police officers in an incident at Coburgstation. Coburg commuter Carly May said she broke up an incident between twoplain-clothes Connex staff and a teenager in school uniform afterseeing an incident "bordering on assault". Ms May said Connex staff grabbed the boy, thought to be 15 or 16,and pushed him against a metal fence when she approached. "I thought they were two drug dealers beating up on a young kid,"Ms May said. "I went to stop it and then I realised they wereConnex people." She said the student was not aggressive toward the officers andappeared scared. Ms May said the Connex officers claimed they were police. Ms Maysaid she insisted on seeing their badges before phoning 000. Shesaid the badges they showed were not police badges. Police have confirmed they attended the incident and they wereinvestigating. Connex spokeswoman Kate De Clercq said the officers were trying tostop the student illegally crossing the train tracks. Ms De Clerq said the boy was told to leave through the ticket gate,which he did before police arrived. Ms May could have misinterpreted the situation. "At times members of the public will observe the latter half of anincident and draw conclusions inconsistent with the wholecircumstance," Ms De Clerq said. "Their interference oftenexacerbates a situation rather than assists." Ms May said she would pursue a complaint with the Public TransportOmbudsman. The Leader contacted the boy's school, but did notreceive a response before deadline.