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Letters to the Editor: Thoughts on the war, hypocrisy The attack on Iraq is a shocking example of legal hypocrisy perpetrated by the U.S.-led coalition in the light of both US and international law, and common sense. Imagine that a suspected criminal (regardless of public opinion and evidence against them) is walking free, pending legal action. Now imagine that a victim (or the family of the victim) becomes impatient with the legal system and decides to take matters into their own hands by murdering the suspect. Their excuse for such action could be that they did it for the safety of their family and the rest of the public. How many Americans would consider this sort of action acceptable? Incredibly, most (70 percent) do, at least indirectly. But can we blame them? They are acting out of an irrational fear instilled by government and media and not based on their own innate sensibility. The coalition governments, using the excuse of protecting the world from terrorism, have decided to take the law into their own hands. The rest of the law-abiding world must be proactive and legally prosecute such action. It is setting a frightening precedent for self-righteousness in the future. The discussion in this case should not be and should never have been about the validity of war. (Although, with the vast amount of intelligence and creativity in the world today, is war ever necessary?) It should be about the impartial, uniform (without exception) application of law. Daniel Zajic, Ashland Arrogant GOP is out of touch Republicans in the Oregon House have voted to "ax the minimum wage hike," according to the Tidings. It appears that those Republicans are vying to continue Oregon's ranking as the state with the highest percentage of residents who go to bed hungry every night. Who needs food anyway? These folks are so arrogant that they feel that they have the right to override the will of the residents of the State of Oregon, who recently voted to accept the higher minimum wage with annual adjustments. It's too bad the Oregon's Republicans are so out of touch with the citizens of the State of Oregon. Tom Dimitre, Ashland Thank you for printing letter on market, but� First I should say thank you for printing my letter regarding the location of the Farmers Market. Next I would like to say that it would have been a lot nicer if it had been printed 2 weeks ago when it was sent and still pertinent. The Market location has been resolved, see the front page of the Daily Tidings 3/25/03 and 3/31/03. My letter was outdated when you printed it on 4/1/03. I am sure you could have used the space for a more relevant opinion. I think given the choices the market board was given, they chose the best location in choosing the armory site. It remains very unfortunate that Lithia Park was not an option. Tracy Bungay, Ashland Guest forum: Reporter files from the war By Rev. Scott Dalgarno Ashland You may know that Dani Dodge, who recently moved from our little city to Oxnard, Calif., is a journalist embedded with a battalion of Seabees from Ventura County. As I write this on Monday her unit is on the move north toward Baghdad, fulfilling their mission to support our advancing troops by building and repairing roads, bridges, you name it. In an e-mail written this morning to friends and family she writes of the war reporter's life. She has been sleeping in tents, in Humvees, and on the decks of personnel carriers. To file her stories at night she has to cover herself with a blanket or tarp because the light given off by her laptop could alert the enemy to the Seabee's position. She seems to thrive on this kind of assignment. "Unlike the other journalists I've met out here," she says, "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. It's an incredible experience to be living out here where the line between life and death is pencil-thin. I really like the grit and grime and struggle to survive. The other night, we drove a convoy through an area where snipers were active. We drove through the night with lights off. . . It was insane." When you read the pieces she files for her paper, you see why she is NOT every general's favorite reporter. "My stories aren't all bravery and heroism and fluff," she says, insisting that she is "a journalist," not a tool of anyone's propaganda. What she writes are, in fact, lively accounts of very human soldiers. Her dispatches are full of examples of genuine fear, wacky superstitions, longings for home, and a lot of very adolescent behavior (hey, most of these guys are just kids!). Dani can be pretty adolescent herself at times: "We're moving up to Baghdad pretty soon. I packed a Mickey Mouse T-shirt to wear in the city." If you've been paying attention to this war, you probably know that the units at the "tip of the spear" have had it relatively easy. The ones who have been getting the brunt of the shelling have been the support units, like Dani's Seabees, coming in behind them. And yes, she knows how dangerous a situation she is in. "I am now the last journalist embedded with NMCB-4. We started with five, but many left for their own safety. That hit home for me last night when I learned that Michael Kelly of the Atlantic Monthly, died out here while embedded. He was a really decent guy. As we were getting ready to leave the Kuwait Hilton for our units, I ran out of water. I ran back into the hotel to try to buy water, but didn't have any bills small enough. Kelly was there and bought me water, even though it cost a whopping $6. He said, "Doesn't matter, you would have done the same for me." Then we wished each other great stories, good luck and stay safe. Now he's gone." She is totally unflappable: "At night, I sleep with my flak vest as a pillow and my arm around my gas mask. I've stopped waking up with every artillery round, so I'm starting to get a little more rest." You can't help but love this 42 year-old mother of two college girls. "Gotta go," she says, "there's bombs going off. Everyone is throwing on their Kevlars and flak. You can feel the concussion. It's so cool." Editor's note: Readers can find Dani Dodge's stories at www.staronline.com . LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -