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--> --> `Mark Twain' and the water's deep Recently, the 167th observance of the birth of Samuel Langhorne Clemens passed - virtually unnoticed, as he would have insisted it be. Many would-be, or soon-to-be, writers have launched careers with the dizzy vision in mind of writing the Great American Novel. Most learned quickly of their utter lack of ability. All learned eventually that it had already been written - by Mr. Clemens, or Mark Twain as he was better known under his pen name. That novel was "Huckleberry Finn." Besides giving us that remarkable character - and Tom Sawyer, Aunt Polly, Becky Thatcher, plus an allegorical trip down the mighty Mississippi, the confounded whitewashed fence, and black cats slung left-handed at midnight in graveyards - Twain spent much of his life as a journalist. It seems that he was a terrible gold miner, despised manual labor, and had a habit of liking to eat. He wrote of the profession, and in honor of the Great American Writer, we offer some of his observations - without fear, but with a dollop of embarrass. "There is no suffering comparable with that which a private person feels when he is for the first time pilloried in print." - Roughing It "Our newspapers are abused. We are told that they are irreverent, coarse, vulgar, ribald. I hope they will remain irreverent. I would like that irreverence to be preserved in America forever - irreverence for all royalties and all those titled creatures born into privilege." - Interview "The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter. It's the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning." - Letter "The old saw says, `Let sleeping dogs lie.' Right. Still when there is much at stake it is better to get a newspaper to do it." - Following the Equator And the two favorites of The Tidings staff: "I am not the editor of a newspaper and shall always try to do right and be good so that God will not make me one." - Galaxy "How often we recall, with regret, that Napoleon once shot at an editor and missed and killed a publisher. But we remember with charity, that his intentions were good." - Letter Never a Twain shall we ever meet again. Jordan Times, Amman on Iraqi weapons inspections The Iraqi leadership is doing all it can to deny the United States any pretext to start another war. Yet, it remains to be seen whether Baghdad's best try will be enough. U.N. weapons inspectors have admitted that Iraqi authorities have demonstrated more than satisfactory cooperation - "good" was the adjective used by their spokesman. Last week, weapons inspectors made their way unannounced into the most hidden corridors and basements of a presidential palace described as the "most sensitive site" by even those U.S. media that are generally supportive of President George W. Bush's Iraq policy. Baghdad also anticipated the Dec. 8 deadline set by the U.N. Security Council Resolution 1441 to present its weapons program declaration. Iraqi officials said they even listed breweries and health centers, together with anything that could be remotely associated to a weapons facility, in the 12,000-page declaration. While Baghdad's show of cooperation with the U.N. and its weapons declaration should strengthen the prospects for a political settlement, there is still much fear that the U.S. wants to find a pretext for unilateral military action. Is Bush using the very credible threat of force to obtain Iraq's implementation of U.N. resolutions, or is he already determined to use force against Baghdad, regardless? The answer will come in the near future. For the time being, Baghdad must continue on the wise path of full cooperation, for the sake of its people and many others in the region. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing