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0 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 Herb Rothschild Jr.: Making sense of UCC ... Police giving away trick-or-treat bags ... Ashland author memorializes slain UCC professor in poem ... Herb Rothschild Jr.: Making sense of UCC ... Police giving away trick-or-treat bags ... Ashland author memorializes slain UCC professor in poem ... LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters to the Editor, April 8 Comment DailyTidings.com Writer Posted Apr. 8, 2015 at 12:01 AM Posted Apr. 8, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News Barone misses the point In Michael Barone’s view: “Indiana act in accord with traditional American toleration," he completely misses the point. Perhaps he didn't read the act. First, it is not “substantially identical to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act passed by Congress in 1993.” Unlike the RFRA, the Indiana Act re-defines “a partnership, a limited liability company, a corporation, a company” as being a “person.” Certainly people can have, and are entitled to religious beliefs. But corporations and companies are not people and they do not have religious beliefs. Companies that operate in the public sector should not be allowed clever legal ways to discriminate against individuals on any basis. The concept of tolerance in the United States allows each person to believe whatever they choose. However, that freedom does not extend to imposing their belief on others, which eliminates the freedom of others. Who would be left with freedom if each of us could impose our beliefs on everyone else? Barry Thalden Ashland Pave paradise The Plaza redo is a festering boil on the buttocks of the city. It is the lowest common denominator of taste, the product of people with no esthetic sense, who are perhaps a product of cookie-cutter tract housing, prison, or Torrance, Calif. And now there's talk of cutting down more trees in the Plaza area. City building code dictates that all concrete sidewalks and curbs shall be a tan or brown color. How is it, then, that the Plaza was paved in asphalt black pavers? Something smells like rotten fish; a kickback, perhaps? The mosaics on the concrete ramparts: lipstick on a pig. Attractive, but it's still a pig. The city is looking for ways to spend money, the beautification of an obscure parking lot, where is the leadership? Why not use the bricks from the Green Show area and make a mosaic of pavers over time in the Plaza? And finally, what the Plaza really needs is a fountain. Neil Stewart Ashland Higher speed limits State Rep.Cliff Bentz of Ontario has sponsored a bill that would raise speed limits on interstate and state highways. I am not surprised at such a bill being submitted, but do find Bentz’s rationale for raising limits to be distorted. He is quoted as saying that improvements to vehicles, such as airbags, GPS systems and seat belts, mean the current speed limits are no longer needed to keep drivers safe. To me this implies that an increase in accidents due to higher speeds would be acceptable. What about the risks associated with increased emergency response calls, the resulting increased exposure to other drivers who faultlessly become involved, and the resulting time and costs for missed work time, repairs, legal proceeding costs, etc.? Do safety improvements warrant our becoming less responsible in our behavior to permit us to be more reckless in our habits with other socially undesirable results? I do not believe that was intended. Alan Ives Ashland DailyTidings.com Writer Posted Apr. 8, 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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