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Salon: Past Events

Salon Information

Salon Program
Jefferson Center Salons present topics of interest to our community, and provide a forum for lively discussion afterward. Topics are selected by a committee of members. We serve refreshments contributed by volunteers and have a brief social time before the start of the program. Salons are typically held on the second Sunday of each month at 4pm at The Jefferson Center, 208 Oak Street, Suite 101 in Ashland. Guests of members and interested visitors are always welcome to join us. NOTE: Due to the Covid epidemic, Salons are being held via zoom. See the Future Salons list for information about upcoming events.

04/10/2016 - 4:00pm "Planned Parenthood: Past, Present and Future"

Doris Towery, Vice President of Development for Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon, will present an overview of Planned Parenthood: Past, Present and Future. Her presentation will include information on the structure of PP, history, available services, funding, political de-funding efforts and recent controversy seen on Fox . We will then have a discussion. The same Tea Party types that continue to mix church & state have made Planned Parenthood a target, so we will be very interested in hearing from Doris. There will be a way to donate for those that are interested. PLEASE NOTE because of the congestion at the Historical Armory due to AIFF.....this will be at The Haven, 1970 Ashland St, Ashland OR.
Doris Towery is a recovering newspaper publisher and the Vice President of Development for Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon. She has served as Executive Director of Eugene Hearing & Speech Center and the Chief Operating Officer and Development Director at United Way of Lane County for nine years. While serving at both organizations they were honored as being one of Oregon’s top 100 Non-profits to work for. Prior to her work at United Way Doris was in Newspapers for 12 years. Doris served as a Publisher in Auburn, NY, Helena, MT and finally as Publisher for The Springfield News and Cottage Grove Sentinel here in Oregon. While working in newspapers Doris was honored by the Newspaper Association of America as one of 20 people under 40 making a difference in the industry.

03/15/2016 - 7:00pm "Fighting God: An Atheist Manifesto for a Religious World"

The Jefferson Center will be having a 'Special' Salon on Tuesday, March 15, from 7-9pm in the Meese Room, Third Floor, SOU Hannon Library in Ashland. In this fiery talk, "Fighting God: An Atheist Manifesto for a Religious World", David Silverman argues that religion is more than just wrong, it is malevolent and does not deserve our respect. It is our duty to be outspoken and do what we can to bring religion down. Examining the mentality, methods and issues facing any firebrand atheist, Silverman presents an overwhelming argument for activist atheism. Please join us for this lively event.
David Silverman is the President of American Atheists, America's oldest nonprofit organization that supports the rights of atheists and the removal of expressions of religion in the public when possibly interpretable as governmental endorsement, in accordance with the First Amendment of the US Constitution. He is best known for his "firebrand" style of activism, which has landed him numerous appearances on national TV shows including 'The O'Reilly Factor' and 'Hannity'. David's first book "Fighting God: An Atheist Manifesto for a Religious World" will be available for sale at this event.

03/13/2016 - 4:00pm "Questions No One Knows the Answers To"

On Sunday, March 13th, at 4-6pm the Jefferson Center Salon will be presented by Roy Kindell: “Questions No One Knows the Answers To”. What is consciousness? Do we have free will? Is there life beyond death? Is the universe infinite? Does life exist beyond the Earth? No one knows the answers to questions such as these – yet we cannot help being curious about them, or enjoy musing about them. In this session we will explore them once again. Roy Kindell is President of the Jefferson Center, a member of the ScienceWorks Science Advisory Board, and was a founding board member of the National Center for Science Education. This program will be at the Jefferson Center located in the basement of the Old Ashland Armory.

02/14/2016 - 4:00pm "The Reality of Socialism"

The February 14th Salon will be an open round table discussion of Socialism moderated by Noreen Hulteen. The concept of Socialism is often misunderstood in the USA. It is many things and many things it is not, resulting in a word frequently misused and misunderstood. There will be no slides or films, as Noreen will encourage questions and lead attendees in a lively discussion of this timely subject.
Noreen Hulteen is a long time Jefferson Center member and past board member. Born in England where she spent her early years she had lived in many places, including Uganda and California, before settling in Southern Oregon in 1999 with her husband Ron. Always active in politics, she is currently in the proccess of publishing "Socialism is Not a Dirty Word".
This event will be at the Jefferson Center located in the basement of the Old Ashland Armory.

01/10/2016 - 4:00pm The Syrian Refugee Crisis

Our January 10th Salon at Suite 101, Old Ashland Armory, will investigate the political and humanitarian issues of the Syrian refugee crisis. Len Eisenberg will discuss why the crisis emerged from the historical roots of the middle east. Richard LeVitt will focus on how the world—particularly the west—is responding to the crisis. Following this will be an open group discussion of alternative solutions to the crisis, given the political tensions in Europe and the US.

11/08/2015 - 4:00pm Christmas Trees and Pagan Roots

The November 8th salon will be held at The Haven, 1970 Ashland St at 4pm. David Fitzgerald will be giving an enlightening and fun filled presentation about pagan influence on Christian Winter Holidays. Have we forgotten the real meaning of Christmas? Or have the Christians? This talk from David's 'The Complete Heretic's Guide to Western Religion" series takes a look at the ancient (and downright spooky) pagan origins and evolution of not just Yuletide, but all our winter season holidays from Halloween to New Year's Eve.
David Fitzgerald is an atheist, activist, author, and national public speaker. He was the co-founder and director of the worlds first atheist film festival as well as the Secular Student Alliance's Campus Organizer for California and Nevada. If you missed David's presentation last year, don't miss this one.
NOTE venue change to The Haven at 1970 Ashland St, Ashland OR. Entrance is in the back and parking is available front and back as well as in the near by street.

10/11/2015 - 4:00pm Ada Lovelace, Alan Turing, and A.I.

Come to Pioneer Hall, 73 Winburn Way, 4-6 PM Oct 11th, to witness an imaginary meeting of minds between Ada, the earliest computer programmer, and Alan, the father of modern computing, born almost exactly one hundred years later. Their dialog will focus on the promise and peril of computing particularly what Turing called the "Lady Lovelace Objection" that computers will never be able to think or become conscious.

09/13/2015 - 4:00pm "In Pursuit of Happiness"

The September 13, 2015, 4-6pm Salon: "In Pursuit of Happiness", a round robin discussion, moderated by Surya Bolom will be at The Jefferson Center. Happiness is thought of as the good life, freedom from suffering, flourishing, well-being, joy, prosperity, and pleasure. Its pursuit is enshrined as a fundamental right in the United States constitution and is sought by most of us. But what do we really know about happiness? Can we study it? Are we born with it? Can we make ourselves happier? Who’s happy and who’s not, and why? What makes us happy? Researchers are learning more and more about the answers to these questions. Join us for a lively discussion!
We don't want to take up discussion time to show them but if you have the time review one or more of these TED talks (all less than 25 min) about happiness:
The Habit of Happiness by Matthieu Ricard
Happiness and its Surprises by Nancy Etcoff
The Surprising Science of Happiness by Dan Gilbert
Flow, the Secret to Happiness by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Surya Bolom, our moderator, is a retired Chiropractor, Yoga teacher and Jefferson Center Board Member. She presently lives in Ashland with 3 happy and 1 peevish cat.

08/09/2015 - 4:00pm Summer Vacation for JC Salons

The Jefferson Center Salons will be on vacation for July and August and will resume on September 13, 2015

06/14/2015 - 4:00pm Parental Influence on Religiosity

On Sunday, June 14th, at 4pm the Jefferson Center Salon will be a round robin discussion concerning Parental Influence on Religiosity. Long time Jefferson Center member, Noreen Hulteen, will be the moderator. Most social scientist agree that religiosity, particularly church participation, is a learned behavior. One learns his religion from those around him. Fundamentalist parents tend to bring up children who share the fundamentalist tradition; liberal religious views are found most often among those who have been trained to such views. This is a great opportunity to discuss your own religious or non religious upbringing and how it affected your beliefs as well as how it influenced your parenting. How will the fact that Millennnial's, which are the fastest rising group of "nones" as far as religious affiliation is concerned, effect the religiosity of their offspring? Please join us for a lively group discussion. This salon will be at the Jefferson Center in the Old Ashland Armory.

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