October 27
MISSING BETTY HILL
Heard of the death of Betty Hill yesterday. I never met her, yet I found myself grieving, as though I had lost a loved one. As a teenager, I read "The Interrupted Journey", then as a later teen had a much more frightening encounter on a beach near Copalis, WA. My experiences were very similar to hers, my main regret being that I never wrote to her and told her of it. I am sure she had heard the drill before, but her role was one of making people feel comfortable, and making people who had had the most unbeleivable experiences feel normal! She was a great lady, this one I never met, And I will miss her dearly.
Bryan Harris

October 26
WHERE ARE THE FREE PHONE NUMBERS?
I've been looking thru your web page for a list of contact telephone numbers for the Chamber. Can't find it. Have I missed something? Why not list the "One Number" everywhere on your web site?
Clark McCurdy

EDITOR’S REPLY: That’s probably because we are not the chamber of commerce. We do, however, list thousands of local web sites in our search engine, many with phones. But if you want the list of locals who pay to join the chamber (us included) you’ll have to check out our chamber page that includes more than a dozen local chambers.

October 24
WHY I SUBSCRIBED TO YOUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Been to Portsmouth 2 times. Going next week for one week and also in November. My husband gets sent there on business and i gey to have fun seeing the town and shopping and eating ect!!!
Kin in Reading, PA

EDITOR'S REPLY: We shall see what we shall see. All we can tell from here is that"The Brief Agsint Bush" first published here, is approaching 1,000 readers in its first 24 hours online. That's one of the largest audeinces we've seen in that time period for a single page in a long time. .

October 17
THE BRIEF AGAINST EVERYBODY
I just read the article called "Brief Against Bush" by John Perralt. I noticed he used several quotes by the President, Vice President and Sectretary of State to make his argument I noticed he neglected to use any quotes from other prominate people in politics that have made the very same argument concerning Iraq. Several of the quotes I have included were made by members of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Just food for thought
Doug Basnett

EDITOR’ NOTE: Many thanks for this great response. We’re going to guess that the difference between those quoted below and President Bush, is that they were not Commander in Chief at the time of the Iraq invasion. The BRIEF, as we read it, was about the decision to invade, rather than on everyone who discussed the topic of dealing with Saddam. Your quotes are printed in full below.

"Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime ... He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation ... And now he is miscalculating America's response to his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction... So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real."
-- Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Jan. 23. 2003

"One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That is our bottom line."
-- President Clinton, Feb. 4, 1998

"If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program."
-- President Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998

"Iraq is a long way from [here], but what happens there matters a great deal here. For the risks that the leaders of a rogue state will use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons against us or our allies is the greatest security threat we face."
- Madeline Albright, Feb 18, 1998

"He will use those weapons of mass destruction again, as he has ten times since 1983."
- Sandy Berger, Clinton National Security Adviser, Feb, 18, 1998

"We urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the U.S. Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions (including, if appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq's refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs."
- Letter to President Clinton, signed by Sens. Carl Levin (D-MI), Tom Daschle (D-SD), John Kerry ( D - MA), and others Oct. 9, 1998

"Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process."
- Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D, CA), Dec. 16, 1998

"Hussein has ... chosen to spend his money on building! weapons of mass destruction and palaces for his cronies."
- Madeline Albright, Clinton Secretary of State, Nov. 10, 1999

"There is no doubt that ... Saddam Hussein has invigorated his weapons programs. Reports indicate that biological, chemical and nuclear programs continue apace and may be back to pre-Gulf War status. In addition, Saddam continues to redefine delivery systems and is doubtless using the cover of a licit missile program to develop longer-range missiles that will threaten the United States and our allies."
- Letter to President Bush, Signed by Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL,) and others, December 5, 2001

"We begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandate of the United Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction and the means of delivering them."
- Sen. Carl Levin (D, MI), Sept. 1! 9, 2002

"We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country."
- Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002

"Iraq's search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power."
- Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002

"We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction."
- Sen. Ted Kennedy (D, MA), Sept. 27, 2002

"The last UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in October of 1998. We are confident that Saddam Hussein retains some stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, and that he has since embarked on a crash course to build up his chemical and biological warfare capabilities. Intelligence reports indicate that he is seeking nuclear weapons..."
- Sen. Robert Byrd (D, WV), Oct. 3, 2002

"I will be voting to give the President! of the United States the authority to use force-- if necessary-- to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security."
- Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Oct. 9, 2002

"There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively to develop nuclear weapons and will likely have nuclear weapons within the next five years ...... We also should remember we have always underestimated the progress Saddam has made in development of weapons of mass destruction."
- Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D, WV), Oct 10, 2002

"He has systematically violated, over the course of the past 11 years, every significant UN resolution that has demanded that he disarm and destroy his chemical and biological weapons, and an! y nuclear capacity. This he has refused to do."
- Rep. Henry Waxman (D, CA), Oct. 10, 2002

"In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapon stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al Qaeda members. It is clear, however, that if left unchecked Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons."
- Sen. Hillary Clinton (D, NY), Oct 10, 2002

"We are in possession of what I think to be compelling evidence that Saddam Hussein has, and has had for a number of years, a developing capacity for the production and storage of weapons of mass destruction."
Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL), Dec.! 8, 2002

THE BRIEF AGAINST KERRY
I've just read with great interest John Perrault's case against Prsident Bush. This 'case' against BUSH....is quite selective. On the basis of this 'legal brief' maybe we'll all have to vote for Michael Badnarik (my party's candidate)or Ralph Nader! Though quite unlikely, I'd be delighted should candidate Bednarik benefit substantially, if citizens vote against anyone who thought that Iraq possessed WMD..

EDITOR’S REPLY: Yikes! I mean, thank you. (The original of this photo is so large you can read the words on the pen.) I’ve worked for 7 years to pretty much stay invisible on this site, but this perspective here is relatively safe. Thanks to Carol Arnold for arranging the gig and for the surprising roomful of listeners who showed up here and at so many other signings and lectures so far this season. Our second edition is nearly sold out and we see today that, six months after release, the book is still hanging on at #5 in the Barnes & Noble best seller list locally. That success is due to the thousands of readers who have so kindly picked up a copy.

EDITOR’S REPLY: We alluded to that story in our essay on the history of shade trees in Portsmouth. There is a file on this topic in the special collections of the Portsmouth Public Library and likely some solid data on Richards Ave in the vertical files at the Portsmouth Athenaeum. Portsmouth has lost so many of its trees so familiar to Victorians.