Herb Rothschild Jr.: Reframing the issue of gun violence
Few of us support gun violence at home; huge numbers of us support it abroad. Our efforts to curtail domestic violence of all sorts will be severely hampered so long as we celebrate war and honor those...
View ArticleHerb Rothschild Jr.: One degree of Blake Farenthold
Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon is a parlor game created in 1994 by three college students. Premised on the notion that any two humans are no more than six acquaintances apart, and also that Kevin Bacon...
View ArticleHerb Rothschild Jr.: Let’s talk about money
We need to talk about money. That’s the way I ended my last column. Few of the people with whom I associate talk about money. People with a great deal of money talk about money, but it makes most...
View ArticleEasing nuclear tensions
Do threats produce compliance? Often yes, but it’s always a grudging compliance that lasts only as long as resistance seems futile. Lately, women have been impressing that truth on powerful men. Some...
View ArticleHerb Rothschild Jr.: Serving two masters
Who will you serve? In political as well as personal life, answering this question is foundational to any new beginning. Democrats can win some elections without radical self-examination. Both major...
View ArticleHerb Rothschild Jr.: Withdrawing from agribusiness
For more than half my life I lived beside the Mississippi River. In my childhood we ate river shrimp, smaller but tastier than salt water varieties. No longer. The river at New Orleans is too polluted....
View ArticleHerb Rothschild Jr.: Corporate food, Part 2
People of conscience were appalled by President Trump’s proposal that the benefits disbursed by SNAP (formerly food stamps) be converted from cash cards usable at grocery stores to bags of selected...
View ArticleHerb Rothschild Jr.: Unions, women and Senate District 3
I begin with two personal disclosures pertinent to the subject matter of this column. I’ve long been a member of Communication Workers of America; I’ve continued to pay monthly dues during my...
View ArticleHerb Rothschild Jr.: Taking the symptom for the problem
Here are some data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about our opioid epidemic: Since 2000, the rate of deaths from drug overdoses has increased 137 percent, including a 200 percent...
View ArticleAging Happens: All you need to know about falls
If I told you this was going to be another column about falling and fall risks, would you stop right here and skip it? In spite of all the information that’s out there on this topic, it’s still a heavy...
View ArticleFive ways hypnosis can help our minds
Most people have some understanding about hypnosis and mindfulness. But you might not realize all the benefits of these two modalities as aging happens. If I told you to think about hypnosis, would you...
View ArticleWhen you need care at home, who you gonna call?
When you know the time has come to bring in assistance for yourself or a loved one, to whom might you turn? For many people, it’s friends, neighbors or family. But if there is a need for ongoing,...
View ArticleA chance to speak out about ‘successful aging’
I once read a quote that said, “Everyone needs a good listening to.” I heartily agree with that sentiment, and Southern Oregon is going to be part of AARP Oregon’s “Age-Friendly Oregon: Building...
View ArticleAging Happens: Easier to line up help before you have to have it
Welcome to column number 100! From the beginning of writing these columns, I have emphasized the importance of planning for aging in all these areas: financial, legal, medical, housing, long-term care...
View ArticleAging Happens: Tips for crafting an obituary — even your own
When I was a lot younger, I’d watch my parents reading an occasional obituary out loud to one another. They would sigh or seem surprised or saddened by the news of someone’s death. At that time, I...
View ArticleCouncil Corner: Thank you, Ashland
I want to publicly thank my community for all the support my family and I have received over the nine years have served on the Ashland City Council. At this past council meeting, I formally stepped...
View ArticleCouncil Corner: Voting no is important
I simply do not think it is the way we treat people in Ashland. Never has been, never will be.The three people who are under the threat of recall are all good people, public servants who have stepped...
View ArticleHerb Rothschild: A second beginning
Immediately after the November 2016 election, I discontinued my weekly column for this newspaper. From writing Relocations I had derived pleasure, and from my readers encouragement. But Trump’s...
View ArticleHerb Rothschild: Who is the enemy?
Last May, on two consecutive Monday evenings, I viewed the six episodes of “A Force More Powerful,” a documentary about the efficacy of nonviolent direct action campaigns, which originally aired on PBS...
View ArticleHerb Rothschild Jr.: How we really live
In my previous column I identified our oppressor as our culture, shaped by laissez-faire capitalism, which posits competition as our natural condition and the iron law of winners and losers. I urged us...
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