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3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW UPDATED: 13 dead, including gunman; RR student saw shooting ... LISTEN: Recording of 911 dispatch during UCC shooting ... UPDATED: Multiple deaths reported following shooting at Umpqua Community College ... UPDATED: 13 dead, including gunman; RR student saw shooting ... LISTEN: Recording of 911 dispatch during UCC shooting ... UPDATED: Multiple deaths reported following shooting at Umpqua Community College ... LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters to the Editor, Sept. 29 Comment DailyTidings.com Writer Posted Sep. 29, 2015 at 12:01 AM Posted Sep. 29, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News 'Gather' is not great art I have just read Rochelle Newman's guest opinion (Sept. 23) on the proposed sculpture "Gather." I see that Ms. Newman is an academic, but I didn't need to be told that. As a 65-year-old artist, I have waded through more than my share of pompous, gooey, ideological verbiage. There is not a word in her piece which truly explains why this big, funny-looking object ought to be erected in a public place, or why the judgment of the people who are going to have to look at it every day should be disregarded. I see nothing in Ms. Newman's piece but recycled cliches: "site-specific," "dynamic," "thought-provoking," "dialogue," "mindset," "layers of meaning" — and the tired and false narrative of great art always being misunderstood, as if great art were what we're discussing here. But "Gather" is not great art. It isn't even interesting art. Pseudo-profound explanations of its "meaning" cannot be hauled in from the modernist archives to make us all think that we're not deep enough to penetrate its profundities. The resistance to planting this thing in our public space is sound. And don't let the professors tell you otherwise. Kyr Arnsugr Talent Bookstores overlooked Thanks for Saturday's wonderful full-page feature on Ashland book stores. What a pleasant surprise! This is truly a unique community in its support of reading and the arts. And I have to say, as co-owner of the Book Exchange, I was delighted to see our store included in the coverage. However, there are three other fine stores that were overlooked: Tree House on the Plaza which sells children's and young adult titles, Soundpeace on Main Street with its deep selection of spiritual and metaphysical titles, and Bookwagon in the Ashland Shopping Center featuring both new and used books. Book stores are businesses, but they're also cultural endeavors and labors of love. They are palaces full of stories waiting to be heard. With its thriving theater and arts scene drawing visitors from around the country and the world, combined with bedrock support the local community, Ashland is unique in its ability to support six book stores and numerous other independent businesses. We should all celebrate our good fortune! Roy Laird Ashland Only in the USA A Sept. 21 New York Times article reported on a study revealing that the Republican Party in the United States is the only conservative party out of nine main Western nations that denies the reality of global warming due to greenhouse gases from fossil fuels. Makes you wonder why only in the USA, doesn’t it? My first thought went immediately to the fossil fuel-funded propaganda that has been inundating our media close to 40 years. Exxon and the Koch bros, et al., have been profligate in this arena, funding corporate think tanks who disseminate the disinformation while simultaneously purchasing legislators and media outlets. But why is it mostly Republicans who seem to believe the propaganda? And why is it mostly Republicans who are so susceptible to the bribery? And why is it only U.S. conservatives who refuse to believe the consensus of scientists around the world? The only possible reasons I could come up with were that the U.S. Republican Party: 1) Values money more than life itself. 2) Is exposed to and influenced by propaganda more than others (think FOX viewers). 3) Is not very logical or evidence-driven. 4) Is a totally owned subsidiary of the fossil fuel industry. Lee Lull Talent DailyTidings.com Writer Posted Sep. 29, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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