Show I i ' (itv u ' v ? -- V v f-- : " " vV v-- The Herald Jpurna! Our view A local woman was sentenced to six months in jail this week on her fourth drunken driving conviction She was taken directly from court to jail where a breathalizer test revealed' she had a 017 blood alcohol level almost twice the legal driving limit Although astounding in itself her courtroom inebriation becomes even more significant when one considers her attorney’s appeal to the judge for lenience claiming his client was making great progress as a recovering alcoholic News of the woman’s alcohol level came in a phone call from the jail to the courtroom where the judge and attorney discussed whether the defendant might need to be brought back later in a sober state that way they could be sure she knew and would remember exactly what she was doing behind hars A Herald Journal editor received the hooters - To the editor: The city’s attempt to make Premier Parking look like the bad guys is repugnant The Premier Parking employees like the city’s ticketing officers are only doing a job they were requested to do The real culprits in the downtown parking difficulties are people who disrespectfully ignore private parking signs and the downtown landowners who won’t allow parking on their property after business hours For many years downtown merchants have struggled to keep their private parking spaces available to their customers I rent four stalls behind my store so that customers who are usually canning artwork have easy access Yet in spite of large “customer parking only we will tow” signs abuse has been rampant I could go on at length about the frus- trations of monitoring my parking stalls (which includes receiving a ticket for parking on the street while the ticketing officer was parked in my “customer only” parking) but the point is this: all that changed when Premier Puking came to town Without any charge to me they put up clear signs which have largely been heeded In my case they only boot or tow if I call and request their service and I can also request that a vehicle be released without any charge After 6 pm my parking stalls are available for public use Best of all I no longer receive calls from customers saying they tried to get to my store but there was no place to park It is incomprehensible why the Century Square building owner won’t allow public use after business hours especially considering the city’s offers to keep the lot clean and policed But don’t blame Premier Parking for the problems Their service helps make my downtown location possible '' vv ? :'v v ' r it -- ?i & :““v T u- pans into die telephone receiver Just a hunch but we think the two calls just might be related And on die subject of angry phone calls readers might find it interesting to know that newspaper staff members aren’t the only ones who get an earful when an opinion expressed on this page rubs someone the wrong way Writers of letters to the editor often report being called at home by strangers after their letters appear in print This newspaper does not release phone numbers or addresses of letter writers so apparendy the verbal combatants use the phone book or other means to hunt down their prey A recent letter writer who argued against the American invasion of Iraq said he received two angry phone calls and two letters Interest- ingly — but certainly not surprisingly — one of die responses was from a regular HJ letter writer well known for his bitter words V I iiipii'f Limit UN role in By William Rusher But I fail to see why our friend Chirac should get anything out of it but the Thad Box critics spew propaganda To the editor: Would all the letter writers taking potshots at Thad Box please offer some facts to back up their positions? The sparse info offered in these letters and soapbox submissions to the HJ (if anything is offered at all) are the same weak and unproven propaganda and lies spread by the likes of RushLimbaugh and Bill O’Reilly I’m particularly tired of rolling my eyes at the preposterous ad hominem attacks linking Mr Box’s thinking with the nasty Big Three — communism socialism and totalitarianism Please It’s just laughable Mr Box proves himself to be very intelligent a thorough researcher an eloquent writer and an important voice for Utah and the country His columns brim with facts from reputable sources Are there other voices just as fair and eloquent and as thoroughly researched with an opposing view? I would love to read a solid counter argument to Mr Box’s submissions I haven't seen a single one yet r Kevin Doyle Smithfield Skiers cry foul every 15 years To the editor Jesse Logan’s statement included a phrase that rings true “skiers the historic users” Not that skiers used Bunchgrass or any of the other closed areas before snowmobiles but that driers historically cry foul every IS years or So In 1985 we heed the same argument about the two wilderness areas we now have in the Logan Range District The 25 or so driers who in 1985 needed peace and quiet got their wilderness designations ami we thought they would be happy with 25 percent of the See VIEW on A12 United Nations may think America’s war against Iraq is “ille-ga- l” because we didn’t get their permission to wage it but it sure didn’t take them long to make a grab for the lion’s share of the postwar action did it? And I’m not talking about aid to refugees or other humanitarian projects that the United Nations has demonstrated some marginal competence in administering To borrow a phrase from the anti-w- ar protesters thlS IS all m about oil Iraq is capable of producing about $20 billion worth of the stuff a year A large share of that ' income is predictably and rightly going to be spent for years to come to rebuild Iraq’s infrastructure and economy after 20 years of Saddam Hussein (who squandered most ' of it on his palaces) and the inevitable devastation of war But that raises the delicate question: who precisely is going to get those lucrative reconstruction contracts? Since Iraq is about to be conquered and occupied largely by American forces the first regime will be a military one headed by CentCom’s Gen Tommy Franks It has already been arranged that he will appoint a civilian governor to get the country going again It is estimated that it will be at least six months thereafter and perhaps a post-Sad-da- m Roquefort cheese concession at Baghdad's al Rashid Hotel good deal longer before this functionary will be able to turn tilings over to a consortium of democratic-minde- d Iraqis who in turn will draft a constitution and lead die way to free elections and a democratic soci‘ ' ety The key dedsions-oconstruction contracts and the like will thus be made by these successive administrative apparatuses — unless that is the United Nations and its admirers (notably the French) manage to muscle into the process at some point g and seize control of the contract-distributin- power This scheme is loftily described as “turning the postwar administration of Iraq over to the United Nations” — the only thing (we are told) that can convert America’s “illegal” conquest of Iraq into an internationally acceptable regime With any luck UN Secretary General Kofi Atman should thereafter be able to sluice into theqrockets of French businessmen almost as big a chunk of Iraq’s foreign trade as they enjoyed — thanks to President Jacques Chirac — in the good old days of Saddam Hussein Fortunately President Bush has shown ho signs of being ready to America requiesce in this rip-ocanied the can for Iraqi freedom ff iilfl ii post-wa- r Newspaper Enterprise Association Tt Sue Fuhriman Logan i11 Iraq when Kofi Annan and Jacques Chirac were doing their level best to guarantee Saddam Hussein another 20 years in power and there is not the slightest reason why American companies shouldn’t get tire contracts in question — with all their downstream benefits including American jobs and taxes To be sure British Prime Minister Tbny Blair favors giving the United Nations a big role in the postwar reconstruction of Iraq — a gesture that would greatly mollify the domestic ami European critics whose wrath he incurred by standing loyally by the United States on the issue of the war We owe Tony Blair a good deal but we have already gone the extra mile with him on many issues (eg seeking a second Security Council resolution when none was needed and then failing to get it) and no doubt there are British businesses fully capable of participating in the reconstruction of Iraq But I fail to see why our friend Chirac should get anything out of it but the Roquefort cheese concession at Baghdad’s al Rashid Hotel The troth is that the United Nations’ prospects as a supranational lawgiving entity were mentally wounded when it turned itself into a doormat for France’s attempt to cripple the American superpower of which France is furiously jealous Let the United Nations demonstrate what it can do with the numerous humanitarian problems awaiting its attention in Iraq and in that way live down its current reputation as Jacques Chirac’s poodle William Rusher is a Distinguished Fellow of the Claremont Institute for the Study of Statesmanship and Political - Philosophy World view US naive about democracy Krtstsilgt Dagbiad Copenhagen Denmark he mere thought that democwill wash over Ink am cany racy other Arab countries in the away Middle East like a domino effect is naive and unrealistic The And) countries have no demo cratic tradition Most Arab countries are based on clan structures and often are split between ethnic and religious population groups It doesn’t mean that ' democracy will never grow in the Middle East but it means that it will take a long time and it cannot be forced by foreign powers like die United States did with Germany and Non Scquitur in Iraq Japan after World War II The United States can gamer much support if it supports the idea of a United Nations role in a future Iraq It will also help improve the relationship between Europe and the United States a relationship that both patties need in light of future challenges i Herald Journal mmmzE TlSA AFRNP V4 GOING-TTNKEX&MS' CF VMtEKLT : 6&G6VONGTD Editorial polic 5 - The Opinion page is Mended to acquaint a variety of viewpoMejon rattan of public importance and provide rnemben of the community with a forum tor Mr views Penonal columns cartoons and latten from iNora renoci mt opmons 01 raw wnwrv ma leaden with FINALLY CORE under toe hewing pur View npneent the views of the Herald Journal edtorial board Memben of the edtorial board: creators NOURPWANm Vooc-o- o PNNG KPJctMc£ vww wiigamn-6rW3J- Kjjfit amckaons ' ' an interesting voice mail this week Instead of someone yelling at her as an irate caller with an outrageous demand had done earlier in the day the recorded message consisted of several seconds of loud clanging as if someone were banging pots and Your view Don’t blame v s4c Friday' ’April n 2003 tat monMtfy to Segatfmfout of a multitude of toques tHan though EdMortala DARRELL EHRUCKdtyedRor CtNDYYURTHtoatufeeedtor BRUCE 8MITHpubiahar CHARLES LtoCOLLUMtoanaglng edHor rqA ary fofautfotitative selection’ — M j The Herald Journal weioomes Men to he edNor Fotoitialy fcaious or oleneive Man wN not be puUahed however and the edhor reserves the right to edKal Man to conform to he length and atyle mqufmmenle of the i Latten should be: Typewritten end double spaced ' No mon ten 450 words in length Addmseed and Indude daytime phone number for purpoeee of verification ' Signed by the author IndMduafcamlmiledtoonopublshedlet-ter within any SOKtey period Address latten to hMarOhnewsoom Guest com- menlariea am also welcome and are tun at theedfcrtdtecntionE-- 1 ( " 1 j |