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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Guide Weather Subscribe Contact Us December 3, 2004 Some homeless working an angle An interesting discussion is wafting through town lately regarding the homeless. Right at the top, let me say that those who have been dealt a blow to their health or a cheap shot by the machinery of the marketplace but want to get back on the horse that threw them - those I'm more than happy to discuss ways and means for. But I ask myself, why do nomads, hunter/gatherers and pilgrims wander into a settlement like Ashland and ask to be given the means to establish their lifestyle in our midst at our expense? Clearly, we've got something they can't provide for themselves (coffee and warm toilets while they enlighten one another immediately come to mind). And what do they offer in return for their proposal to suck off the public teat? Why, the occasional light weeding in a community garden and self-policed efforts not to trash the place. The West and Midwest are filled with empty, cheap land suited to starting some stress-free, spiritual, off-the-grid lifestyle that stands as a sharp, shining rebuke to the status quo. Homesteads, communes, tribes, intentional communities: post-modern primitive living at its best. Nah. Back-breaking, soul-deadening hard work that. Easier to peddle snake oil to the locals in town. Ashland has been blessed with a contingent of these scruffy lumpers who suffer from extended adolescence and delusions of adequacy. The only thing Ashland has to gain from this lot is the realization that we're being played for soft touches. John Gaffey Ashland A brilliant look at moral values Brian Stout's piece (Nov. 18) on Bush and the election is one of the best anywhere around. He discusses how working-class Americans continue to vote against their own economic interest. Stout says that it is because they "recognize in his (Bush's) conviction a man governed by faith and heart, not politics and intellect." Faith certainly has a role in life, but one faces the consequences of ignoring reason. As Alfred North Whitehead said, both faith and reason are important, but it is important to know where one leaves off and the other begins. But most important, Stout analyzes the brilliance (and reveals the perversions) of the way Republicans used "moral values" in their campaign. In the Republican/conservative world an abortion is a horrible murder, but killing thousands of women and children in an unquestioned war is OK. Similarly, Republican morality blithely ignores deepening poverty, corporate shenanigans and environmental deterioration to devote unlimited funds for war and hyped up terrorism. Republicans successfully exploited a deceptive version of "morality." It is up to the Democrats "to paint a portrait of morality that actually deals with the fundamental issues at the heart of what it means to be an American." Harry L. Cook Ashland Cancer center a rare jewel Three and a half years ago, I attended a 10-day training session on Integrative Oncology to be certified as a cancer guide. Oncologists, oncology nurses, and other professionals dealing with cancer patients were there from all over this country and Canada. I returned to Ashland, passionate about the idea of seeing an Integrative Cancer Center in our town. As a physician and a Stage 4 cancer patient myself, "given" six months to live six years ago, I knew that my recovery depended on both the science and art of medicine as well as oncologists who were willing to "think outside the box." Over the past three years, thanks to the hard work of local physicians, hospital administration, and community business people, the dream is now coming to fruition with the building on Lithia Way as described in a recent story in the Ashland Daily Tidings. I would make only one correction to that article. We do not envision the Center as providing "traditional and alternative oncology." The word "alternative" implies something separate - either this or that. We prefer the word "complementary." True integrative medicine utilizes the very best of known conventional modalities, integrating them with the best of complementary treatments. This concept embraces both the art and science of medicine. Practitioners of integrative medicine look at each patient as an individual, not a statistic, and devise programs based on that person's physical, social, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs. Ashland has the opportunity to build the best Integrative Oncology Center in the country. With the incidence of cancer projected to soon be one in three persons, this center will be of inestimable benefit to our Valley and to each one of us personally. Joy Craddick, M.D. Ashland DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Slippers Isotoner Slippers Dsw Shoes Ceramic Piggy Banks Fanny Mae Eloans Calenders 2005 Calender 2005 Accelerate Weight Loss Programs Citibank Student Loans Acs Loan Matchmaking & Dating Scripts Adventure Travel Conference Calls - $50/Month Security Systems student loan consolidation helzberg diamonds Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams