Herbert Rothschild: In June 2020, Bayer agreed to pay $9.6 billion to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits claiming harm from Roundup. Bayer also assigned $1.25 billion to pay future claims. As of 2023, around 165,000 claims, more than 50,000 of which are still pending, had been made against Roundup. New lawsuits continue to be filed from agricultural workers, homeowners and groundskeepers.
Herbert Rothschild: Those to whom the land acknowledgements have come to sound merely performative might find it meaningful to promote passage of legislation to investigate the impacts and ongoing effects of the infamous Indian boarding schools.
Herbert Rothschild: Trump’s apologists say that his aggressive moves and subsequent pull-backs are part of his negotiating strategy. But the real goal of Trump’s negotiations isn’t deals but the enhancement of his own power. His aggression is the way he tests how successfully he can bully his opponents.
Herbert Rothschild: Now that deep cuts in spending are planned for education, health, nutrition, housing, community development, environmental protection, energy assistance and so much else, it’s clear that our federal government itself is assaulting the people whom all its military spending is ostensibly meant to protect from assault.
Herbert Rothschild: Where American Jews stand on Israel’s ethnic cleansing will depend on our self-understanding. Will we adhere to a problematic idea of national identity or will we champion the values we accused the Nazis of so egregiously violating in the name of “Aryan” supremacy?
Herbert Rothschild: Opinion writing is not just communication. It’s a process of dialogue with yourself and thus of discovery. I find that process highly rewarding. I commend it to you.
Herbert Rothschild: Some Lenten sustenance: Currently, nearly 3.5 million Afghan children are suffering acute malnutrition. And on March 1, Netanyahu sentenced the Gazans to starvation.
Herbert Rothschild: The contrast between narrowly self-interested dealmaking and policy based on a concept of the kind of world the U.S. wants is a helpful lens through which to view Trump’s behavior toward other countries. It explains actions that might otherwise appear merely capricious or intemperate.
Herbert Rothschild: In one year, from 2022 to 2023, U.S. Treasury tariff revenue declined by $12.3 billion, most of which was in effect a subsidy to China’s exporters.
Herbert Rothschild: I was pleased when Trump announced that the U.S. will oppose NATO membership for Ukraine. That is the necessary prelude to ending the war of attrition in Ukraine, a war Ukraine cannot win and, over time, is bound to lose.
Owen Johnson: While it may be tempting to be unproblematic in the face of threats of violence, this is the desired effect. The most effective form of counter-protest is for local communities to monitor ICE activity.
Although many large regional theaters host students on their own campuses, only a few maintain educational outreach programs like OSF’s because of the high cost of school visits.
MLK Jr.: “Malcolm was still turning and growing at the time of his brutal and meaningless assassination. . . . Like the murder of Lumumba, the murder of Malcolm X deprives the world of a potentially great leader. I could not agree with either of these men, but I could see in them a capacity for leadership which I could respect, and which was just beginning to mature in judgment and statesmanship.”
Obituary: Cheryl Rae Gilliam Minoletti passed away Tuesday, Jan. 20 following complications from heart surgery. She was 68. Infectious laughter, warmth, and compassion were felt by those who knew her. A celebration of her life will be held Saturday, March 28, in Eagle Point.
The Ashland Independent Film Festival will spotlight homegrown talent Saturday, Feb. 21, during its revived Local Lens Spotlight at the Varsity Theatre. The one-night program features 13 short films by filmmakers from Jackson and Siskiyou counties, followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers and crew.
Evan Frost, ecologist and conservationist, passed away Dec. 12, 2025.
(It’s free)
