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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Guide Weather Subscribe Contact Us January 7, 2005 Could our leaders give a year's pay? An Open Letter To All Members of the 109th Congress of the U.S. (2005-2006), Vice President Cheney, and President Bush: Would you be willing to donate the equivalent of one year's worth of your government salary to aid the victims of the ongoing tragedy in Southeast Asia? I have determined roughly that if all members of Congress, the vice president and the president donated so, the amount would be more than $85 million. It would not solve all the problems that this disaster has unleashed, obviously, but it would be of significant tangible aid to the millions of people who have been affected. It would also be a timely and powerful symbolic gesture to people all over the world who need their hope rekindled. Hope, especially in this time of such troubled relationships all over the world, that the goals of the richest nations are at their core the same as the goals of the poorest. That we, as citizens and leaders of this nation, recognize that wealth should not be used as a tool for distancing and isolating, but for bringing nearer and unifying. I want to emphasize that I believe the symbolic power of the move would live in the fact that you, as our leaders and in so many cases the most wealthy among us, made a personal sacrifice to help. (I do realize that not all of you fall into the "most wealthy" category. Perhaps those that do could pay your share.) P.S. There are obviously many good places to give. My donation went to Doctors Without Borders (www.doctorswithoutborders.org). Thom Little Ashland Tsunami should open some eyes The only difference between the tsunami's destruction and horror and the armed devastation and horror ongoing in Iraq, the Sudan, the Middle East, and elsewhere is that all but one was created by people. Thousands dead, loss of livelihood, daily fear, infrastructure destroyed, insufficient food and medicines to care for all ... these conditions exist in other lands, such as Iraq, the Sudan, elsewhere. So, when we allow ourselves to be touched by this tsunami tragedy, we owe it to ourselves and the whole of humanity to connect the dots: How could the suffering/destruction brought about by a natural disaster be somehow more devastating than the suffering/destruction caused by armed conflict? Could the terror and the loss of the thousands whose homes and loved ones are destroyed by U.S. bombers and soldiers in Iraq be less than that of those devastated by the tsunami? And why aren't we outraged to be the force causing such "shock and awe" pain? Oddly, why do individuals feel more "horror" when suicide bombers kill dozens? (Are their bombs less "right" than ours?) As individuals watching the news, we find ourselves imagining the terror of people swept out to sea, wonder what went through their minds, and how on earth their relatives are coping emotionally, physically, how damaged their psyche must be. We cry in our livingrooms as a child's body is handed to a wailing father and family. We see the photographs of bruised and bloated bodies laid out in courtyards so people can claim their loved ones. Yet, what of the "shock and awe" bombs that fall from our bomber bellies in accordance with governmental policy and practice. Those deaths, too, come without warning or protection. What of governmental genocide as prevalent in Sudan? Can you also share that grief, imagine that terror for mothers, fathers, children? Is it, somehow, more understandable? It is the same ugly fear, pain, loss. What is our responsibility to these suffering people? The forceful gift of a natural disaster is how it shakes the core of our common humanity and emotional desire to somehow make it better for these people who've suffered. Unnatural disasters are created by individuals, civilian and military, everyday. It's time we feel ourselves at one with those facing that force - and say "no more." Claire Krulikowski Ashland Opposing spin to ski area 'facts' Mr. Greg Williams, president of the Mt. Ashland Association, stated in his guest opinion of Dec. 27 that "Letters we have submitted to federal agencies on public processes have reflected our desire for upholding environmental laws with sensible and timely processes." Mr. Williams needs to check his facts. Perhaps Mr. Williams is not aware that the MAA sent comments in 2003 to the Forest Service asking them to eliminate the watershed protection measures of the Northwest Forest Plan so as to expedite the clearcutting of our watershed for ski run construction. Or perhaps Mr. Williams is simply being less than truthful in his guest opinion. The contents of the letter in which MAA explicitly asked the Forest Service to eliminate existing environmental protections for water quality may be found on pages C-50 and C-67 in Appendix C of the Final EIS for eliminating the Aquatic Conservation Strategy of the Northwest Forest Plan. You can read the MAA comments cheering on the Bush administration's rollback of clean water protections for yourself at http://www.reo.gov/acs/ When the MAA's aggressive clearcutting of our watershed is found illegal in federal court, look for Mr. Williams to propose additional gutting of our remaining environmental laws; Just don't look for him to tell you about it in the newspaper. 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