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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels June 24, 2004 Thank you, John Morrison Thank you councilor John Morrison for your vote in opposition to the recently adopted anti-nudity ordinance. Your lone stance against unnecessary censorship in our town shows great integrity and concern for our personal freedom of expression. Thank you for listening to the citizens of Ashland. Thank you resident Paul Copeland and others for being a voice for our community. I agree that the language should be changed to allow full nudity of persons when being used for political and artistic expression. The city of Ashland has an ever growing artistic community with diverse forms of art making Ashland unique. Ashland's art scene is strong and has been mentioned in the news, radio, magazine articles, television, and film. In my opinion I feel limiting artistic expression can and will hurt the art scene that Ashland depends on. Let's face it, Ashland's art scene is fantastic and is one of the tourist-drawing characteristics of our town. Councilor Chris Hearn, who is in favor of the ordinance, offered an experience he recently had downtown, "I was on a police ride-along and we saw a gentleman in the street who was intoxicated showing his genitalia and yelling, 'Whoo!' The officer said there was nothing he could do about it." I know that there is a law in place pertaining to intoxication in public. I would very much like to know why the officer would not do his/her job and arrest the 'gentleman' for breaking the law. The anti-nudity ordinance did not need to be put into place to remove the intoxicated man from the street. I am disappointed that the Ashland City Council would pass an ordinance with out a large out cry from the residents. I hope that the people of Ashland consider this and protect what is vital and unique in our community. Jon Aaron Ashland Art Gallery Owner Media biased against Israel I am one of several locals who write regularly to defend Israel as a democratic Jewish state. While we acknowledge Israel is an imperfect democracy, in comparison with its Arab neighbors it is exemplary: Its leaders are elected, the press is free, there is religious freedom, and it is the only place in the Middle East where Arab women can vote. It is also our only true ally in the region - a place where the USA is praised. We also write to protest what we consider to be media bias against Israel. The Society of Professional Journalists has a Code of Ethics which reflects the highest possible standards. I encourage you to read the Code and measure all reportage by it. www.spj.org/ethics_code.asp The most tenacious defender of Israel regarding media bias and inaccuracy is CAMERA, Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America. CAMERA is relentless in exposing bias and falsity (unintentional and/or intentional) and seeking corrections and redress. I urge you to visit www.camera.org. There is an article titled "NPR On Defense: An Internal Review Fudges the Score." CAMERA has been at odds with NPR's Israel/Palestine coverage for a long time. This article explains and justifies its criticism. There are also articles about the BBC, Nightline, Reuters and more. CAMERA reflects the ethics aspired to by the SPJ. Go there! Gerry Mandell Ashland Greenpeacers in the thousands I am puzzled by the comment made on June 15 by Dave Schott of the Southern Oregon Timber Industries Association to the effect that people from Greenpeace represent � "a small portion of the population." Where has he been for the past several decades? We, who are actual members of Greenpeace, number in the thousands and thousands. We who want clean air, clean water, and the beauty of natural world represent the great majority of the American people. Rebecca Holt Ashland Hooray for Bloomsday Congratulations on your several articles and pictures covering Bloomsday 2004! As one who first read "Ulysses" 50 years ago, and many times since, I thought the coverage was delightful. My only addition would be to stress that the novel is comic, sometimes a bit vulgarly so, sometimes quite linguistically funny. Often readers approach the novel as if, since it is a "masterpiece," it were a solemn work. It is very human, very funny and rewards re-reading. I hope your articles will prompt more people to read this great book. Don Reynolds Ashland DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams