Letters to the Editor

Thanks for all your help
The Editor:
There are no adequate words to express my thanks to the extraordinary community of Blaine for all the attention and help given to my son, Clem, and his wife, Susan, in the search for their loving dog, Jefe.
He was found in the forest 38 days after his disappearance by Eric Hunter, a classic woodsman and was returned home safely. Emaciated and disoriented, he had existed on his great natural instincts and admirable courage and a distinct will to live.
He is being carefully nurtured by Clem and Susan and is expected to regain his strength and energy before too long.
To those gracious, concerned and sympathetic people of Blaine, again I send my heartfelt thanks.
What a wonderful community spirit you have shown newcomers.
John Lottimer
Harrisonburg, VA

War is morally wrong
The Editor:
What�s so reprehensible about America�s new war? It�s morally wrong to attack a sovereign nation that�s not threatening you. And Iraq wasn�t threatening the U.S. or our close allies. They didn�t have the capacity; their military is a shadow of its 1991 strength. Months of inspections couldn�t find any weapons of mass destruction. The U.S., by contrast, has the largest arsenals of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons on the planet, and disturbingly has a new policy to use nukes.
Bush�s administration claims Iraq supports al Qaeda terrorists, but every independent examination of these claims has shown they have no basis. What is true is that Islamic fundamentalist extremists will be inspired by our aggression to join al Qaeda�s jihad against the U.S.
Some folks say this war is to defend the freedom of Americans. To be sure, that is why we have armed forces, and why brave men and women enlist. But invading Iraq against the will of the majority of Americans and the United Nations has nothing to do with defending our freedom.
Is this war about securing Iraq�s oil supply for America�s over-consumption habit? Partly. But the Project for the New American Century, a right-wing think-tank, developed plans for the U.S. to execute pre-emptive strikes and operate outside the framework of the U.N. years before 9/11.
This war is being waged by a president who used his privileged family status to avoid service in the Vietnam war. He went AWOL as a member of the air national guard during that war and faced no consequences. And now this unconstitutionally installed chicken-hawk president has the audacity to send our armed forces overseas to die, not for freedom, but to create lucrative opportunities for corporate America in a post-Hussein Iraq.
This is not the America I was proud to be a part of.
Hudson Dodd
Bellingham

Residents have a right to oppose development
The Editor, Blaine planning commission & city council:
I have just returned from a meeting at the Inn at Semiahmoo hosted by Jonathan Syre of Trillium Corporation wherein he introduced his proposed development plan for one portion of the sandspit. Development plans for the remainder of the sandspit remain to be seen.
Although Trillium Corporation owns the land on the sandspit and have a master plan for the development, it is important to remember that we, the
Resort Semiahmoo residents, are the ones that bought Trillium Corporation�s previous developments: Beachwalker Villas, Melrose Cottages, St. Andrews Cottages, Country Club Villas, building lots, etc. (many of these developments have not lived up to expectations to say the least).
Resort Semiahmoo has therefore become our community and we have a right to oppose new developments that will affect our way of life and the present beauty and serenity of our community. We are the ones who will be living at Resort Semiahmoo well after the Syre Family/Trillium Corporation is gone.
When looking at the proposed plans for the sandspit, I am overwhelmed by the difference in density between these plans and the original master plan. As proposed, these development plans become a liability rather than an asset to the community.
Trillium has also applied to the city of Blaine for realignment of Semiahmoo Parkway. Their argument for this request is the protection of the waterways where, in my opinion, it is only to allow for higher density on a minimal strip of land. I, therefore, urge the city of Blaine planning commission and city council to say no to the realignment of Semiahmoo Parkway and no to such a high-density development.
One concern, reiterated during this meeting by many residents, was the current capacity of the Blaine sewage treatment plant. I feel that until the city of Blaine, through it�s planning commission, public works department and city council, have analyzed the impact on the sewage treatment plant by any new development in Blaine, and made the taxpayers aware of their findings, no new building permit should be approved for any multi-unit developments.
This is the first time in the 14 years that we have owned property at Semiahmoo that I feel the soul/spirit here is at serious risk and I sense a great loss. The destruction of the beauty, serenity, spiritual aspects of the sandspit is heartbreaking and unthinkable.
Nicole McCaig
Semiahmoo

Support our president
The Editor:
As our nation enters a time of war against Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, I want to express my total support for President George W. Bush. He has had to make some difficult decisions in the past months and will have to make more in the days and weeks ahead.
The world has changed since 9/11 and President Bush understands that our world will never be safe again unless we take vigorous action against terrorists and nations that harbor and train terrorists. We must never allow another 9/11 to happen on our soil.
I, for one, support our president in his efforts to protect our nation from terrorism, and I am praying for him daily. I urge others to pray for him, too.
Dean McCarty
Bellingham

Muslim students oppose Iraq war
The Editor:
We the Muslim Student Association of the Northwest, (MSA NorthWest) which represents the Muslim student population across the northwest, from schools like University of Washington, Eastern Washington University, Bellevue Community College, South Seattle Community College, Western Washington University and many other schools including high schools.
After much critical analysis of the information that was presented by our government to justify the crusade war against Iraq, we have come to the conclusion that this war is unjustified and illegal. Iraq does not pose a clear and present danger to the U.S. or U.K. and this war will leave thousands of innocent people dead, injured, and homeless unnecessarily. Here at home we are also concerned about backlash against Muslims by people of ignorance.
There are many unanswered questions about this war. As the saying goes, the truth is the first casualty of war. Having said that, our government is doing disservice to the American people by holding them hostage with lies and hypocritical actions that cloud the real reasons as to why we are carrying out this act of terror and aggression against the Iraqi people.
We have been put in a situation where dissent is considered unpatriotic and nothing could be further from the truth than that. We don�t believe that the war is just, and by remaining silent we only support the murder of both American soldiers and innocent Iraqis. It is the innocent people of Iraq who will suffer and be consumed by the firepower of bombs, made possible by American tax dollars.
We owe it to our soldiers to speak out against this war and bring them back home safely. Surely this war is not about �liberating� Iraq.
We have a duty first to our creator, to speak out against injustice, oppression, hypocrisy, and tyranny even if the ones committing such acts are the leaders of our country.
America has a double standard when it comes to dealing with Muslim nations. There are several countries that have violated U.N. Security Council resolutions, including over 30 violations by longtime U.S. ally, Israel, just to mention one of them.
As for Iraq having weapons of mass destruction, what about North Korea? Iraq does not pose an imminent threat to the U.S.
Instead of spending billions of dollars towards this unprovoked war, this money could be put to better use in supporting social programs. This war should not continue, and those that protest the war should continue doing so until the end of the war.
Mahmud Muhammad
MSA Northwest
Seattle

Letters Policy
The Northern Light welcomes letters to the editor; however, the opinions expressed are not those of the editor. Letters must include name, address and daytime telephone number for verification. Letters must not exceed 350 words and may be edited or rejected for reasons of legality, length and good taste. Thank-you letters should be limited to 10 names. A fresh viewpoint on matters of general interest to local readers will increase the likelihood of publication. Writers should avoid personal invective. Unsigned letters will not be accepted for publication. Requests for withholding names will be considered on an individual basis. Only one letter per month from an individual correspondent will be published.

Please send your letter to:
225 Marine Drive, Blaine, WA 98230 or fax 360/332-2777.
E-mail:editor@thenorthernlight.com

Letters Policy

The Northern Light welcomes letters to the editor; however, the opinions expressed are not those of the editor. Letters must include name, address and daytime telephone number for verification. Letters must not exceed 350 words and may be edited or rejected for reasons of legality, length and good taste. Thank you letters are limited to five individuals or groups. A fresh viewpoint on matters of general interest to local readers will increase the likelihood of publication. Writers should avoid personal invective. Unsigned letters will not be accepted for publication. Requests for withholding names will be considered on an individual basis. Only one letter per month from an individual correspondent will be published.

Please email letters to letters@thenorthernlight.com