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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 Home News Latest Stories What's in a name? Association sets standards Fourth annual Peace House Empty Bowls supper City of Ashland to consider making recorder position appointive, not elective 'Fill'er up' will mean with beer, not gas Ashland Creek Park opening celebration set for May 20 Education Southern Oregon University's week-long Arts & Research showcase offers a potpourri of academics Ashland Middle School students put their Spanish-speaking skills to the test Grizzlies claim speech championship Levy backers eye final push Neal Simon: This is a test Environment Ashland publisher offers prize for environmental book Ashland water bills could go up to fund watershed protection Stopping fire in its tracks Some trails, roads remain closed due to controlled burn Earth Day: Hope for our 'pale blue dot' Business 'Fill'er up' will mean with beer, not gas Ride & Drive: 2015 BMW 428i Gran Coupe Ashland Safeway closes Thursday, to reopen as Haggen on Sunday Cars We Remember: Car enthusiast wishes new model designs were ‘more different’ Ride & Drive: 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Politics and elections City of Ashland to consider making recorder position appointive, not elective Ashland water bills could go up to fund watershed protection BREAKING: Baltimore prosecutor charges officers in Gray's death Arthur I. Cyr: Cuba’s enduring challenge to American foreign policy – and American politics Kent Bush: Clinton 2.0 is neither new nor improved State News Lack of snow nixes ski portion of popular Central Oregon race Bill under debate in Oregon would limit livestock antibiotics Oregon lawmakers begin minimum wage debate Nation - World There's a $10 million precious stone hidden in plain sight at Grand Central Obituaries Kenneth Lee Nichols R. Charles "Charlie" Snyder Death Notices Harry D. 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Editorial Our View: Forest work is a bargain Our View: What price history? Our View: Waging peace after war Our View: Rail car roulette Our View: Reading the tea leaves Letters Letters to the Editor, May 8 Letters to the Editor, May 6 Letters to the Editor, May 5 Letters to the Editor, May1 Letters to the Editor, April 30 Guest opinions Guest Opinion: Ambrose spins a conservative fantasy Guest Opinion: Restoring the Plaza's sense of place Guest Opinion: Making conservation a game Guest Opinion: A good day to act Guest Opinion: Allegations unfair to Dr. Tomashefsky Columns Chris Honoré: Supreme Court grapples with tradition, suffrage Guest Opinion: Ambrose spins a conservative fantasy Herb Rothschild Jr.: The courage to ask Arthur I. Cyr: Britain’s important election – in royal political context Matthew T. Mangino: Aging prisoners: An American crisis Chris Honore Council Corner Editor's Notes Jeffrey Gillespie Herb Rothschild Revels Latest Stories Peter Rowan, Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys at Rootsfest Movie listings: May 8-14 Dancing People Company presents 'Salon Series' 5 picks for live entertainment Prepare for lots of dialogue in 'Clouds of Sils Maria' Theater Ticket availability Ticket Availability Ticket Availability 'Arsenic and Old Lace' has killer charm Some OSF crew members seek to unionize Music The Farr Side: Mumford & Sons’ latest is full-on rock Interview: Country singer Suzy Bogguss enjoying life on the road The Farr Side: CMAs do it right, in many ways Interview: Offspring plays hits new and old on tour The Farr Side: Slow disappearance of physical music Visual Art Movies Movie review: ‘Hot Pursuit’ is a hot mess George Miller returns to his ‘Mad Max’ roots Tom Hardy adapts to life as Mad Max Movie listings: May 8-14 Prepare for lots of dialogue in 'Clouds of Sils Maria' Food and Drink Taqueria Picaro takes over Tabu space Owner of Mix and Amuse to bring Flip burger joint to Ashland Cruelest Month: Poetry Blog Lifestyle Latest Stories What's in a name? Association sets standards Community Blog: Inspiration is the Oxygen of our Survival Inner Peace: Satyam, shivam, sundram (truth, consciousness, joy/beauty) Looking Up: Once in a while a star blows up Health Watch: Easy tips to drink more water throughout the day Aging Happens Inner Peace Column Inner Peace Blog Mocha Musings Rogues: Tales from the Valley Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Photos Videos Blogs Business Business Services NEWS NOW What's in a name? Association sets standards ... Chris Honoré: Supreme Court grapples with tradition, suffrage ... 'Fill'er up' will mean with beer, not gas ... What's in a name? Association sets standards ... Chris Honoré: Supreme Court grapples with tradition, suffrage ... 'Fill'er up' will mean with beer, not gas ... RELOCATIONS Herb Rothschild Jr.: The courage to ask Comment DailyTidings.com Writer Posted May. 9, 2015 at 12:01 AM Posted May. 9, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News Last night, Peace House held its annual Empty Bowls Supper on behalf of Uncle Foods Diner. It was a celebration of Ashland’s spirit of caring for its neediest residents. The generosity of potters, restaurants, bakeries, musicians, individual donors, volunteers, and attenders — including the mayor and City Council members, who ladled soup — made the event a wonderful success materially and spiritually. We are deeply grateful. Uncle Foods Diner is Peace House’s only program of social service. Most of our work is educating and organizing for social change. Many people relate easily to the former, and understandably so. Direct giving is personally rewarding, and the results seem tangible. In comparison, trying to change public policy seems abstract, and it may require years of work to see any results. Not only that, social change work entails risks. One is that the solutions we are proposing may prove misguided, whereas nothing can be misguided about feeding a hungry child. Another risk is that such work can embroil us in controversy, whereas direct service brings us only affirmation. As the great Brazilian bishop Dom Helder Camara put it, “When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why they are poor, they call me a communist.” Perhaps the biggest risk, though, may be the discovery that we are at least as much part of the problem as part of the solution. Let me explain. In most cases, people aren’t hungry or homeless for no reason or simply because of poor choices. If large numbers of people in a wealthy nation are in those circumstances, something is systemically wrong. And if, like Dom Helder, we summon the courage to ask why, we may find that the people we voted into office, the political ideologies we espouse, and even our own economic behavior, are the causes. If we are sympathetic to hungry people, it’s important to know that both versions of the fiscal year 2016 budget resolutions that the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate just passed will, if they are enacted, guarantee that the ranks of the hungry will swell dramatically. The Food Stamp program, renamed the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, has been our primary tool of food security for decades. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the program, says that 1 in 4 Americans receive Food Stamps. That program is targeted for cuts totaling $125 billion over 10 years. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that such reductions can be achieved only by kicking 11-12 million people off the rolls or by reducing everyone’s benefit by $55 (for a woman and three children, that means $220 less per month). Those cuts won’t begin until 2021. But the Earned Income Tax Credit, on which low wage workers depend, is slated to end completely in 2017. That will push almost 15 million poor people deeper into poverty and add 1.8 million to their ranks. Programs like Uncle Foods Diner will do what we can to mitigate the damage. But we won’t be able to do nearly enough, so we are obligated, I think, to do everything we can to prevent the damage. I’ll have more to say next week about this appallingly mean-spirited budget — an assault on working-class and poor people unprecedented in my lifetime — and what we might do. For now, my plea is that we get beyond our philanthropic comfort zones and become advocates for justice. Without realizing it, the people we care about need us to take that risk. Herb Rothschild Jr. is chairman of the board of Peace House.   DailyTidings.com Writer Posted May. 9, 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. calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs 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. 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