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Tuesday, 01 May 2007 18:10 |
Homeless doing their part
to create affordable housing
The most empowering tactic the homeless have is the ability to use their presence in selected neighborhoods to make those neighborhoods more affordable to themselves and others (specifically, all tenants, both residential and commercial).
This enables them to end their homelessness while preventing others from becoming homeless; the ìwhite flight,î or more ideally the gentry flight, strategy of self help. Integration is not the goal (though is possible when the strategy is partially successful).
Housing, and territory, are the goals. There is nothing negative about
affordability or those who create it through the hard work of vigorous
drumming. Gentry flight is preferable to integration because it leaves
the poor with all of the housing while integration only leaves the poor
with some of the housing, which is limited by zoning and height limits
like musical chairs in which superior funds meet superior tolerance.
Furthermore, the homeless have the lowest mean carbon footprint and
mean solid waste production in the U.S. It is a fraction of the U.S.
and Asheville averages. Thus a city that prides itself on conservation
must respect, honor and welcome its most conserving and thus
environmentally responsible citizens, who are the homeless of
Asheville, the kings of conservation.
Alan Ditmore
Vice president, Asheville Homeless Network
Asheville
Writer lauds Wiccansí rights
to have pentacle on tombs
Representatives of the Coalition of Earth Religions/CERES are relieved
that the legal battle to accord due respect to Wiccan service members
who die in the line of duty has ended with such a favorable result.
Today, the Bush administration conceded that Wiccans are entitled to
have the pentacle, the symbol of their faith, inscribed on
government-issued memorial markers for deceased veterans.
H. Byron Ballard and Diotima Mantineia represented CERES at a rally
last July 4th in Washington, DC, to bring attention to this issue and
were honored to meet Roberta Stewart, widow of Patrick Stewart, who
died in the line of duty in Afghanistan in 2005. Ms. Stewart had worked
through all available channels to get a pentacle marker for Patrickís
grave and was rebuffed by the VA at every step. With the help of Circle
Sanctuary and Americans United for Separation of Church and State,
Stewart filed suit against the federal government.
That suit was settled today in a federal court in Wisconsin.
This is an important day for minority religions throughout the U.S. and
for religious freedom, as guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution.
BYRON BALLARD
for Coalition of Earth Religions
Asheville
Planet termed irresponsible
for global warming headline
Although the global warming debate isnít Marlo Lewis vs .Al Gore, it
seems thus in your headline article (in the April 18 edition of the
Daily Planet).
What about the recent U.N. report? And all the other voices of science?
Headlining this talk gives power to an irresponsible voice.
Dot Sulock
Asheville
Vegan diet said to be key
to fighting global warming
Your (April 18 Daily Planet) editorial, ìCost of ethanol might be too
high,î made the important point that fighting global warming will
require lifestyle changes. I couldnít agree more.
But while ethanol clearly has its problems, using land to grow crops
for fuel isnít one of them. Most crops grown in the US are used for
something more environmentally destructive than fueling automobiles.
They are fed to animals, a process so wasteful that a recent University
of Chicago study concluded that switching from the standard American
diet to a vegan diet does more to combat global warming than switching
from a gas guzzler to a Toyota Prius (hybrid). Weíd have plenty of
land to grow food and fuel if we simply eschewed flesh foods in favor
of a much healthier plant-based diet.
The United Nations recently stated that raising animals for food
generates more greenhouse gasses than all the cars and trucks in the
world combined. Their report noted that the meat industry is ìone of
the most significant contributors to todayís most serious environmental
problems.î
As noted in your editorial, a bicycle is a great tool in the fight for
energy independence and against global warming. An even better tool is
your fork. To learn more, visit www.GoVeg.com/environment.asp.
STEWART DAVID
Asheville
People ëdonít get their news from the papers anymoreí
Iíd like to comment on the matter discussed in your column having to do
with the AC-T publisherís remarks and related ideas (in the April 18
Daily Planet).
Perhaps we should note that despite brave talk and their obvious
pandering, Gannett just sold two papers. Since newspapers are now well
known as essentially businesses, what do we make of Gannettís judgment
in spending $6 million to put USA Today on the newsstands? In a dying
climate? And, without (Roger) Ailesí political connections, Fox would
soon wither on the vine.
Frankly, I see the AC-T as maybe a goner (Cheneyís ìdeath throesî) as
it stumbles toward the exit. My wife and I have subscribed to it since
1983, and have seen it decline badly. When we began reading it, they
had a correspondent in Raleigh. Gone now, probably due to economics,
but what does that say about reality, the WNC connection with the
capital?
An AC-T will survive, but not as an important source of news. Not
particularly their fault. Small locals like yours will get stronger and
survive, according to my current thinking. Footnote ó I am for 30 or so
years continually surprised to bump into people who say they donít read
the daily paper.Very close to 100 percent. The enlistment of local
wannabes for AC-T columnists ó not an impressive journalistic coup.
Hard to make much of the wild confusion where, ìpeople donít get their
news from the papers anymore,î the young people are said not to read
the papers, TV has 500 or so channels to fill and the tabloids have
infected the dailies, if not having taken them over. Maybe all this
white noise will settle down and we can form some coherent picture, but
for now, itís a wide-open struggle.
I have been interested in newspapers for a long time, at least since
about 1948 or so, and was a weary carrier before that (Prov. Evening
Bulletin). I considered journalism as a career but the profession is
the better for my not having gone that way. (I was a non-reader
bystander when the N.Y. Herald Trib went under and donít even recall
much public reaction). They are a wonderful phenomenon but so was the
first airplane.
ALLEN THOMAS
Asheville
Direction of cityís values
questioned by letter writer
During my daily rounds (on a recent) Tuesday morning I happened by Pritchard Park and was taken aback by the folks I saw there.
I counted 38 people sitting on benches around the perimeter and maybe
another 30 in the central area, sitting on rocks, concrete or the
ground. My guess is that 75 percent of those folks would not be
welcomed in a tightly packed elevator.
In fact, I doubt theyíd even get a pass into the elevator at the AC-T
offices, the only business in downtown that limits public access to its
workspace.
I finished my business and came back by about 30 minutes later. Essentially, no one had moved.
Our downtown area has to be open to anyone, but the concentration of
folks muttering or talking out loud to themselves, accosting strangers
for money or selling and using drugs might be considered a detriment to
the ambiance of the neighborhood.
I lived in Chicago under both Mayors Richard Daley and Jane Byrne. No
Loitering signs were posted as necessary and the (largely Irish) police
force kept the vagrants moving. And, yes, they proudly proclaimed that
their little vans were ìpaddy wagons.î
We should examine our basic character and who we really want to be.
There could be a new day when our cityís character wasnít reflected
with the meaningless slogan ìany way you like itî but was, instead,
ìthe life of the mind,î which is currently in use in Chicago.
Is Asheville going somewhere? Are we creating an intellectually
stimulating city for the new high-tech industries that are being built
around our broadband Internet? Are we building a stimulating
environment for our children, or are we just going to park our sorry
butts on a bench in Pritchard Park and opine about the three-day work
week?
Even the AC-T now features the paid-for obituaries in Section A, but
buries their well-crafted editorials in B. Billy Grahamís column of
spiritual and moral guidance was pulled off the comic pages, where
youngsters often get their first exposure to newspapers, and was
replaced by a Hollywood celebrity tattler. Clearly, our values are
misguided.
Come on, folks. Weíre a better city than this.
BILL FISHBURNE
Asheville
EDITORíS NOTE: Fishburne is the senior editor of The Asheville Tribune
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