Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Day 65 in the Search for an Athletic Director at the University of Oregon


Click on the title above for a link to the advertisement the University of Oregon placed in The Chronicle of Higher Education for applicants for the position of Athletic Director at Oregon to replace Bill Moos who was given an almost 2 million dollar going away gift. The ad does not mention that the new AD must be able to get Phil Knight to help build a new basketball arena to replace 80 year old MacArthur Court. Go Ducks!

All In Fun!





I received this in an email from a friend. Who says Conservatives don't have a sense of humor.

Monday, January 29, 2007

Day 64 in the search for an Athletic Director at the University of Oregon ...... Or......When are you coming home Jim Bartko?


FACT 1: A judge this morning granted a preliminary injunction stopping UC Berkeley's plans to build a training center next to Memorial Stadium, handing at least a temporary victory to a group of environmentalists who have been camping for weeks in old oak trees that would have to be cut down for the development.
In the four-page ruling, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Barbara Miller said the plaintiffs -- the city of Berkeley, Panoramic Hill Association and California Oak Foundation -- made a sufficient case that the project violates the Alquist-Priolo Act, a state law prohibiting new buildings on earthquake faults.


The injunction means that UC cannot begin work on the project until after the trial, if at all. The trial likely would begin in early summer.

The delay pushes back the construction schedule at least a year, due to conflicts with the football schedule, costing UC $8 million to $10 million due to rising construction costs.

FACT 2: Jim Bartko was hired by the Cal Athletic Department to raise money for the training center and the retrofit of Memorial Stadium.

FACT 3: What big donor would want to donated money to the Cal Athletic Department now with all those left wing kooks in Berkeley willing to use the courts to delay the project indefinitely? Not a healthy climate for raising funds.Jim Bartk's job of raising money will now be much harder.

FACT 4: Jim Bartko when he was working for the Oregon Athletic Department was the main contact between Oregon's main big donor Phil Knight and the Oregon Athletic Department. He had and has an excellent relationship with Phil Knight and was liked by large and small donors. He is ready to be an Athletic Director and he knows Oregon

Fact 5: Oregon will not be able to build a new basketball arena without Phil Knight's help which he would not give as long as Bill Moos was AD. That's the reason for the almost two million dollar buy out of the Moos contract by other donors.

FACT 6: It's been 64 days and Oregon has not been able to find a new Athletic Director that can be announced to the public.

THEREFORE: University of Oregon President Dave Frohnmayer should get on an airplane for the San Francisco Bay Area and offer Jim Bartko the job of Oregon Athletic Director and not take "NO" for an answerer! Time to come home!

Oregon Duck Football Recruiting

February 7th is Letter Of Intent Day for High School Seniors to send in their letters accepting football scholarships from U.S. Colleges and Universities. To date, the University of Oregon Ducks have received 27 non binding verbal commitments. According to Scout.com ,an Internet site, that tracks these sorts of things, Oregon has commitments from 11 **** Star athletes and 10 *** star athletes on a ***** star scale. In the past Oregon has been lucky to get 4 or 5 four Star athletes but this year they have 11. Oregon is rated at the #9 team in the nation in recruiting this year, to date, and second in the Pac-10 only to U$C. In the past Oregon was often last in the Pac-10 in recruiting. This takes away SOME of the sting of the terrible season Oregon had last year and the embarrassing loss in the Los Vegas Bowl.However I will not forget that loss for a long long time and I don't care how many stars a football player has, as given by a ranking service, he must perform on the field and we need to beat the Oregon State Beavers EVERY year. Keep in mind oral commitments are not binding and we will not know for sure who comes to Oregon until Letter of Intent Day .... Wednesday February 7th... the Wednesday after the Super Bowl. To go to the Scout.com site on the Ducks click on the title above for a link. GO DUCKS!

Sunday, January 28, 2007

Home Depot

This weekend with out any football I offered to take my wife to a movie. However, to my surprise she wanted to check out a Home Depot store that just opened near our house. Until a few weeks ago the Medford area did not have a Home Depot. So my wife and I spent about an hour and a half walking up and down the isles checking out what was new in home improvement. We didn't buy anything but got a lot of good ideas. The store is only 8 minutes from our house. I timed it driveway to parking lot. It will be very handy for our next home improvement project. It seems when I work on a project it takes about 4 or 5 trips to the hardware store for all the stuff I need. Until this store opened near Phoenix I had to drive all the way across town to Lowe's It used to be called Eagle Hardware. Now I can take a back country road and a huge store with everything I want is there. It's even easier to get to then Fred Meyer, South Medford. So next time I need a light bulb or something to fix the toilet I will drive the 8 minutes to Home Depot. Isn't free enterprise great!

Day 63 in the Search for an Athletic Director at the University of Oregon

During the Civil War Abraham Lincoln in describing one of his generals, George McClellan, said: "He has the slows." The same think can be said about University of Oregon President Dave Frohnmayer in his search for a new Athletic Director. Ron Bellamy in today's Eugene Register-Guard newspaper has a column titled: "Big wheels turn slowly on A D search". Bellamy has been talking to Allan Price the fella put in charge of Frohnmayer's search committee and the search is going too slowly . Bellamy points out that an ad has just been placed for the position. As the title to this post points out it has been 63 days since the Frohnmayer/Moos press conference anouncing the Moos was going to leave. A few quotes from the column:


Then again, the ad also doesn't say that the "successful candidate" will inherit a bit of a train wreck, the demise of the Bill Moos era in a $2 million buyout.

It doesn't say that the "successful candidate," like a character in "Lord of the Rings," will be entrusted with the Thus Far Impossible And Yet Very Important Job of building a new basketball arena by quickly earning the trust of the single donor essential to making that happen.


The decision will be Frohnmayer's, and should be. In my view, at some point, after the groundwork is done, Frohnmayer needs to get on an airplane, or walk over to the Casanova Center, and come back with his arm around his choice. End of story.


That the process doesn't seem closer to that now is disconcerting, given that Frohnmayer and Moos were discussing exit strategies since early last fall, but perhaps that's the process-laden nature of higher education vs. the get-it-done pace of private business.

But there should be a sense of urgency now, a sense that each week that goes past is a week lost toward building a new and ever-more-expensive basketball arena. Price said Frohnmayer "wants to have the person named by April 1, and my goal is to have it done before that."

Where will the search lead? If there is a three- or four-person short list for Oregon - and Price indicated that the university isn't quite that far yet - then, in my view, it should include Tom Jernstedt, the Oregon grad from Carlton who is NCAA senior vice president, and Vin Lananna, the high-powered and visionary associate athletic director and director of track and field, and it would include the best sitting athletic director available, and perhaps an "X factor," if you will, an outside-the-box choice.

At this point, it seems unlikely that the list would include Kentucky football coach Rich Brooks, the former Oregon coach who also served two years as athletic director here. Brooks, who just led Kentucky to victory in the Music City Bowl, said Friday that he is "getting very close" to signing a new deal with the Wildcats that would add three years and a rollover clause to the year he has remaining on his contract.

(To read the entire column click on the title above for a link)

Saturday, January 27, 2007

Gutty Win by the Oregon Ducks


In a gutty win tonight the University of Oregon men's basketball team beat the Washington State Cougars in Pullman Washington in overtime. Oregon trailed for most of the game often by 7 to 10 points. With no time left in regular time the Ducks were down by two with two foul shots. Maarty Lunen got both to send the game into overtime. The game was played before 12,000 craze Cougar fans who made a lot of noise. Way to Go Ducks!

The Courage of John McCain by Rich Lowry


A good column by Rich Lowry on John McCain standing by his unpopular belief that more reinforcements are needed for U. S. Troops in Iraq. Much of the American public has grown tired of a war in Iraq and just wants to leave regardless of the consequences. The old "head in the sand" syndrome.The war actually touches few of them, except for those who have son's and daughter's in the military who are generally supportive of the war. It's just too hard to watch all that killing and violence on the evening news followed by the Main Stream Media's constant attack on President Bush.(sarcasim) Some quotes by Rich Lowry
"A funny thing happened to convention-defying political courage, at least in the case of Sen. John McCain. It used to be that McCain's willingness to boldly follow his principles was considered the gold standard of selfless political principle. Now, the media portray the same boldness as primarily a drag on McCain's political ambition....


Thus, there's yet another layer to what, at the moment, is the tragic irony of John McCain. He is exhibiting just the sort of go-it-alone bravery the media pine for -- at a time the media are uninterested in celebrating it, either because they consider the war lost or are obsessed with the primary-season horse race. He finally is getting the additional troops for Iraq that he has long advocated -- at a time when it might be too late and when support for the war is collapsing. He is winning over the Republican establishment that once loathed him -- at a time when the GOP brand is significantly degraded.

There is no justice in any of this. McCain began calling for more troops almost immediately after the invasion and criticized Defense Secretary Don Rumsfeld back when he was still a GOP icon. President Bush has come to see the merit of McCain's view on the conduct of the war, but belatedly.

This has created the most tragic irony of all. After a long period of being distant from or hostile to President Bush, McCain is closer to him than ever, just as Bush is at his lowest ebb of public support. Bush sank McCain's presidential hopes in 2000 with his enmity; he might sink them in 2008 with his amity.

McCain's attitude has been that the political considerations don't matter. Whether he has been bucking an administration of his own party (originally) or public opinion (now), McCain has been standing like a stone wall for the proposition that the war must be won and that our effort must be commensurate with the high stakes.

The political world might yet turn in McCain's favor. He's losing support among independents and the press, but you can't win a Republican presidential nomination with just their support, as McCain learned in 2000. With Republicans, his support for the surge isn't hurting and might be helping. Perhaps the surge eventually will work, vindicating McCain. Even if it doesn't, he will be able to argue that the tactic could have worked had it been implemented back when he first called for it, and he still might be the kind of tough leader voters will want in the more dangerous international environment created by a failure in Iraq.

But none of this is guaranteed....

All that will be sorted out during the next year. In the meantime, as the windy Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel congratulates himself for his bravery in sponsoring a nonbinding resolution representing an anti-surge position supported by almost 70 percent of the public, and as poll-conscious Republicans flee from Bush, John McCain is steadfast, and the very picture of courageous political leadership."


(To read the entire column click on the title for a link)

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Kukla, Fran and Ollie

If you are my age this picture brings back warm memories from childhood. Before Sesame Street, Mr Rodgers, and Captain Kangaroo there was Kukla, Fran and Ollie in black and white during the golden age of TV. What ever became of Sky King? Click on the title above for a link to the Wekipedia listing for Kukla, Fran and Ollie.

The Lynching of the President: by Ben Stein

Been Stein who does NOT support Bush on Iraq writes an interesting column on how the Main Stream Media (MSM) is figuratively lynching the President because they can not get him impeached. He writes in part:

...watching Mr. Bush's State of the Union speech. I thought it was darned good. Realistic, gracious, modest, sensible. I happen to think we should get out of Iraq yesterday, but I thought Mr Bush put forward his case well. And Congress responded graciously and generously on both sides of the aisle.

Then, whaam, as soon as the speech was over, ABC was bashing him, telling us how pathetic he was, how irrelevant he was, how weak he was, how unrealistic he was...suddenly it hit me. The media is staging a coup against Mr. Bush. They cannot impeach him because he hasn't done anything illegal. But they can endlessly tell us what a loser he is and how out of touch he is (and I mean ENDLESSLY) and how he's just a vestigial organ on the body politic right now.

The media is doing what it can to basically oust Mr. Bush while still leaving him alive and well in the White House. It's a sort of neutron bomb of media that seeks to kill him while leaving the White House standing (for their favorite unknown, Barack Obama, to occupy).The truth is that we are in a huge economic boom. We are coming off a mammoth real estate explosion that put the most Americans in history in their own homes. We have totally full employment. After decades of stagnation, real wages are rising. Gasoline prices are way, way down. The nation is wealthier than it has ever been (although this is very unevenly distributed). Opportunities for subsidized higher education are better than they have ever been.

Most important of all, who would have ever been rash enough on September 12, 2001 to say there would not be one major or even minor successful terrorist incident against the U.S. homeland in over five years? Who would have thought we would escape without more massive terror? But we have, and it is a foolhardy person who would say that's an accident. Bush may not have done it by himself, but he had something to do with it....


My point: let's be aware that Bush has presided over a lot of success in addition to substantial failure. My second point: no one elected the media to anything. If we let them lynch the man we elected as President we are throwing out the Constitution with the war in Iraq. In the studios and newsrooms, there is a lynch mob at work. Let's see it for what it is. We have a good man who has made mistakes in the Oval Office. He's the only President we have, and I trust him a lot more than I trust unelected princes of the newsroom.


Ben Stein is a writer, actor, economist, and lawyer living in Beverly Hills and Malibu. He also writes "Ben Stein's Diary" for every issue of The American Spectator's monthly print edition.

(To read the entire column click on the title for a link.)

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Talking Ourself into Defeat

Great column from the Wall Street journal by Daniel Henninger. Some Quotes:

The United States is talking itself into defeat in Iraq. Its political culture is now in a downward spiral of pessimism. In the halls of Congress, across endless newspaper columns, amid the punditocracy and on Sunday morning talk shows--all emit a Stygian gloom about America....


the Associated Press wrote from Washington before the State of the Union speech that "Democrats--and even some Republicans--scoffed at his policy." "Scoff" is a strong word, suggesting eye-rolling ridicule. (The line was so good that the AP ran it after the speech as well, under another writer's byline, this time from Baghdad.) But of course amid the giddy vapors of mass mockery, they all "support the troops."

Our slide to a national nervous breakdown because of Iraq is not going unnoticed. Australia's foreign minister, Alexander Downer, has been visiting across the U.S. this week. "I've been pretty worried about what I've heard," Mr. Downer said in an interview.....

"What concerns me about this," he said, "is that it's sort of an isolationist sentiment, subconsciously, not consciously, and that would be an enormous problem for the world. I hope the American people understand the importance of not retreating and thinking the world's problems aren't theirs."


You know the pessimism has turned manic when no one is allowed to depart the asylum. Sen. John McCain's support for Iraq and the new Bush plan is now being described in press reports as not only costing him support in the polls (the asylum's inkblot of reality) but worse, the support of campaign contributors.....

As a political strategy, unremitting opposition has worked. Approval for the president and the war is low. The GOP lost sight of its ideological lodestars and so control of Congress. But the U.S. still occupies a unique position of power in the world, and we are putting that status at risk by playing politics without a net.

On the "Charlie Rose Show" this month, former Army vice chief of staff Gen. Jack Keane, who supports the counterinsurgency plan being undertaken by Gen. David Petraeus, said in exasperation: "My God, this is the United States. We are the world's No. 1 superpower. This isn't about arrogance. This is about capability and applying ourselves to a problem that is at its essence a human problem."

At our current juncture, Gen. Keane's words probably rub many the wrong way. But there's a Cassandra-like warning implicit in them. The mood of mass resignation spreading through the body politic is toxic. It is uncharacteristic of Americans under stress. Some might call it realism, but it looks closer to the fatalism of elderly Europe, overwhelmed and exhausted by its burdens, than to the American tradition.

In 1966, Sen. George Aiken delivered a speech on Vietnam famously translated for history as "declare victory and go home.' " On current course, it looks like we may declare defeat and go home.


To read the entire column click on the title above for a link

The Gathering Storm...... You Have Been Warned!


Newt Gingrich, former US. Speaker of the House of Representatives, as quoted in the Israeli press:

The Israeli people are facing the threat of a nuclear Holocaust, former US Speaker of the House of Representatives Newt Gingrich warned the Herzliya Conference held by the Institute for Policy and Strategy at IDC Herzliya on Tuesday afternoon. Meanwhile, he said, the United States could lose a few million people or a number of cities to a terrorist attack with weapons of mass destruction.
Gingrich, who addressed the conference via satellite from the United States, said he thought Israel's existence was under threat again for the first time in 40 years.

"Israel is in the greatest danger it has been in since 1967. Prior to '67, many wondered if Israel would survive. After '67, Israel seemed military dominant, despite the '73 war. I would say we are (now) back to question of survival," Gingrich said.

He added that the United States could "lose two or three cities to nuclear weapons, or more than a million to biological weapons."
Gingrich added that in such a scenario, "freedom as we know it will disappear, and we will become a much grimmer, much more militarized, dictatorial society."

"Three nuclear weapons are a second Holocaust," Gingrich declared, adding: "People are greatly underestimating how dangerous the world is becoming. I'll repeat it, three nuclear weapons are a second Holocaust. Our enemies are quite explicit in their desire to destroy us. They say it publicly? We are sleepwalking through this process as though it's only a problem of communication," Gingrich said.

The former House speaker expressed concern that the Israeli and American political establishments were not fully equipped to take stock of the current threat level.

"Our enemies are fully as determined as Nazi Germany, and more determined that the Soviets. Our enemies will kill us the first chance they get. There is no rational ability to deny that fact. It's very clear that the problems are larger and more immediate than the political systems in Israel or the US are currently capable of dealing with," said Gingrich.

'Time to come to grips with threat'


"We don't have right language, goals, structure, or operating speed, to defeat our enemies. My hope is that being this candid and direct, I could open a dialogue that will force people to come to grips with how serious this is, how real it is, how much we are threatened. If that fails, at least we will be intellectually prepared for the correct results once we have lost one or more cities," Gingrich added.

He also said "citizens who do not wake up every morning and think about the possible catastrophic civilian casualties are deluding themselves."

"If we knew that tomorrow morning we would lose Haifa, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem, what we would to stop it? If we knew we would tomorrow lose Boston, San Francisco, or Atlanta, what would what would we do? Today, those threats are probably one, two, five years away? Although you can't be certain when our enemies will break out," he warned.
(To read the entire new article click on the title above for a link)

We Shall Fight Them In The Streets of Baghdad, We Shall Never Surrender!



Text of part of President Bush's State of the Union Address to Congress on January 23, 2007:

This is not the fight we entered in Iraq, but it is the fight we are in. Every one of us wishes that this war were over and won. Yet it would not be like us to leave our promises unkept, our friends abandoned and our own security at risk. Ladies and gentlemen: On this day, at this hour, it is still within our power to shape the outcome of this battle. So let us find our resolve, and turn events toward victory...

If American forces step back before Baghdad is secure, the Iraqi government would be overrun by extremists on all sides. We could expect an epic battle between Shia extremists backed by Iran and Sunni extremists aided by al Qaeda and supporters of the old regime. A contagion of violence could spill out across the country — and, in time, the entire region could be drawn into the conflict.

For America, this is a nightmare scenario. For the enemy, this is the objective. Chaos is their greatest ally in this struggle. And out of chaos in Iraq, would emerge an emboldened enemy with new safe havens, new recruits, new resources and an even greater determination to harm America. To allow this to happen would be to ignore the lessons of September 11th and invite tragedy. And ladies and gentlemen, nothing is more important at this moment in our history than for America to succeed in the Middle East ... to succeed in Iraq ... and to spare the American people from this danger.....

The war on terror we fight today is a generational struggle that will continue long after you and I have turned our duties over to others.


A profile in courage for our time. Years from today children will read the above words carved in stone on a monument celebrating George W Bush and Victory in the War on Terrorism. In the dark days of that war he kept his nerve when many were losing theirs and faced the enemy and led us into battle and Victory!

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

How Stands the Union ?


Every time the President of the United States gives a State of the Union address I hear in my mind the opening words to The Devil and Daniel Webster by Stephen Vincent Benet:
IT'S A STORY THEY TELL IN THE BORDER COUNTRY, where Massachusetts joins Vermont and New Hampshire.

Yes, Dan'l Webster's dead-or, at least, they buried him. But every time there's a thunder storm around Marshfield, they say you can hear his rolling voice in the hollows of the sky. And they say that if you go to his grave and speak loud and clear, "Dan'l Webster-Dan'l Webster!" the ground'll begin to shiver and the trees begin to shake. And after a while you'll hear a deep voice saying, "Neighbor, how stands the Union?" Then you better answer the Union stands as she stood, rock-bottomed and copper sheathed, one and indivisible, or he's liable to rear right out of the ground. At least, that's what I was told when I was a youngster.


For the Wikipedia, Internet encyclopedia, listing of the short story of "The Devil and Daniel Webster" click on the title above for a link.

Monday, January 22, 2007

Lazy Sports Weekend.


This was one of those lazy weekends I used to rest up from the excitement of the Christmas Holidays and the snow storm of last week. Friday night my wife and I went to the North Medford/South Medford High Basketball game. The South Medford Panthers won the game. There was a packed house for the game and South put on quite a show beating their cross town rivals. Saturday I did some house cleaning and watched the Oregon Ducks on TV beat Cal in a fun basketball game. We had Pizza and following the game I watched two DVD movies, "My Favorite Year" with the Director, Richard Benjamin doing the voice over commentary. I then watched Richard Benjamin in "Good By Columbus" from 1969. Both good movies. Check them out over at www.imdb.com. On Sunday after reading the morning papers I watched both the NFC Championship Game ( The Bears vs The Saints in the Chicago snow) and the AFC Championship Game ( The Colts vs the Patriots in a dome) on TV and then finished off the day with the DVD movie "The Dirty Dozen." In between we talked to both of our children on the phone. I had some frozen buffalo wings( I heated them up) for dinner while I watched The Colts beat the The Patriots in a close game. My wife got them at Win co and they are put out by the folks that run the TGIF Fridays restaurant chain and they are very good. I love buffalo wings when watching football on TV. Only one real football game left this season and it is two weeks till that game, The Super Bowl on Super Sunday. I love Football!

Go Ducks: # 7 in the Nation




The University of Oregon Men's Basketball Team swept both Cal and Stanford at Mac Court in Eugene this last weekend. The Ducks are now one of the top ten teams in the nation and are tied for first in the Pac-10. Congratulations to coach Ernie Kent and the team for a fun ride this season. The adversity of last year has pulled this team together and they are fun to watch. Go Ducks

UPDATE the Oregon Ducks are now # 7 in both the AP Poll and the USA Today Coaches Poll.

Saturday, January 20, 2007

The Duke, Still on Top


Last month, 1,147 U.S. adults were surveyed online by Harris Interactive and asked to name their favorite movie stars. The results were released Tuesday The #3 movie star of 2006: John Wayne, who died in 1979. He will always be #1 with me. His last movie was in 1976, The Shootist. Click on the title above for a link to my collection of John Wayne movies on DVD

Horatio at the Bridge




Sen. Lieberman, a sort of Horatio at the congressional bridge--spiritedly trying to hold back a bipartisan stampede out of Iraq that he believes will result in devastating consequences for that country, the region and, most importantly, U.S. national security. Senator Lieberman said he came of age politically when he heard John F Kennedy give his inaugural address in 1960. it's interesting to review that speech to see how much the Democratic party has changed but Joe Lieberman shill stands for those words when JFK said:


Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.....

Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe.

Now the trumpet summons us again-not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are-but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation"-a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.....

In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility-I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it-and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.

It's not Politics..... It's the fight against evil!

A Soldier Comes Home to Texas








I recieved an email with this story and pictures. Lest we forget. What follows is a message from Vicki Pierce about her nephew James' funeral (he was serving our country in Iraq):

"I'm back, it was certainly a quick trip, but I have to also say it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. There is a lot to be said for growing up in a small town in Texas. The service itself was impressive with wonderful flowers and sprays, a portrait of James, his uniform and boots, his awards and ribbons. There was lots of military brass and an eloquent (though inappropriately long winded) Baptist preacher. There were easily 1000 people at the service, filling the church sanctuary as well as the fellowship hall and spilling out into the parking lot.

However, the most incredible thing was what happened following the service on the way to the cemetery. We went to our cars and drove to the cemetery escorted by at least 10 police cars with lights flashing and some other emergency vehicles, with Texas Rangers handling traffic. Everyone on the road who was not in the procession, pulled over, got out of their cars, and stood silently and respectfully, some put their hands over their hearts.

When we turned off the highway suddenly there were teenage boys along both sides of the street about every 20 feet or so, all holding large American flags on long flag poles, and again with their hands on their hearts. We thought at first it was the Boy Scouts or 4H club or something, but it continued ... for two and a half miles. Hundreds of young people, standing silently on the side of the road with flags. At one point we passed an elementary school, and all the children were outside, shoulder to shoulder holding flags . kindergartners, handicapped, teachers, staff, everyone. Some held signs of love and support. Then came teenage girls and younger boys, all holding flags! . Then adults. Then families. All standing silently on the side of the road. No one spoke, not even the very young children.

The military presence..at least two generals, a fist full of colonels, and representatives from every branch of the service, plus the color guard which attended James, and some who served with him ... was very impressive and respectful, but the love and pride from this community who had lost one of their own was the most amazing thing I've ever been privileged to witness.

Thursday, January 18, 2007

"Al-Sadr has to be taken out."


I believe that the Mahdi Army continues to pose a threat," Sen. John McCain said in Arizona last fall. "I believe al-Sadr has to be taken out." John McCain is correct, if the United States wants to win in Iraq we need to take this guy out one way or the other. The Iraq government may give lip service to the United States on controlling al-Sadr but I doubt they are able to handle him because of his political influence. Al-Sadr is the head of one of the militias that is causing so much of the violence in Baghdad.Anyone who is a regular to this blog know that I am a firm supporter of President George W Bush. However, one of the mistakes he has made was not to "neutralize" this guy a long time ago. Where is 007 when you need him.

College Football is NOT Over!

I know what you are thinking! Over a week ago was the last college bowl, the Fiesta Bowl II aka "The National Championship" game between that other OSU in Ohio and Florida.The college football season is over. Well, "National Letter of Intent Day" is on February 7, 2007. Yes, the day when 17 and 18 year old high school seniors sign letters of intent to play football for colleges all over America. College football coaches have been beating the pavement meeting with these kids and their parents for the last 5 months or so. They have visited campus and this is the day they fax in their letters to the college team of their choice. Many have given verbal commitments already, but they are not binding till the faxed letter is received on Wednesday February 7th , 2007. If verbal commitments are to be believed the Oregon Ducks have received about 20 verbals from some all star athletes and this should be a great year in recruiting for the Oregon Ducks. Each college has several fan web sites devoted to the college recruiting campaign and "Letter of Intent Day" is the election day for the recruiting returns. College football fans are on "pins and needles" waiting for the decision of these high school seniors. So college football is not over. Letter of intent day is 3 days after the Super Bowl. To see how the Ducks are doing click on the heading above for a link to "eDuck" the Oregon fan web site and click on "FB Recruiting" and follow the links to more information on these kids than you will ever want to know. It has a list of all of Oregon's "Verbals" Go Ducks!

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Barak Obama vs Hillery Clinton

Dennis Miller tonight on FOX NEWS advised Barak Obama who is running against Hillery Clinton for the Democratic nomination for President to watch out for the Clintons as running against them is like trying to catch a pass across the middle against Ronnie Lott on defense. If you know football you understand what Obama is against when he takes on the Clintons.They play rough!

Congradulations, South Medford High Men's Basketball

The South Medford Panthers this week were ranked number 11 in the nation for high school men's basketball teams by U.S.A.Today newspaper. Not bad for a team that only gets players from the South half of Medford Oregon along with Jacksonville and some sparsely populated rural areas. This is a team for a community to treasure because they don't come along that often. What is really special is they are a real TEAM and good kids who represent the best in our community. They received lots of compliments from the folks in Springfield, Missouri at the Pro Bass Tournament for their off court conduct. I already have ordered my tickets for the State Tournament! Go Panthers!

Day 52 in the University of Oregon's Search for a new Athletic Director and Mac Court


Bud Withers of the Seattle Times has some interesting quotes today:

News item: Oregon agrees to give outgoing athletic director Bill Moos $1.825 million over 10 years, plus interest, to forgo the final 15 months of his contract.

News item: McArthur Court turns 80.

News item: Aaron Brooks hits another winning shot, and the Ducks bring down a second top-10 team in eight days, allowing Oregon to crash that list.

Hmm. Are circumstances aligning that would finally push Oregon toward construction of a new arena to replace the cozy but creaking Mac Court?

Maybe.

"It's not a very usable building," said Ducks coach Ernie Kent. "It's aging by the day. At some point in time, it's going to have to be done."

Three years ago, when players like Bryce Taylor and Malik Hairston were being recruited, it was partly on the suggestion they'd be in a new arena by now, a mega-playpen that was estimated at $160 million, far in excess of other comparable new gyms.

That got tabled for its cost, the Ducks hit a competitive dead spot, and the arena went to the back burner. Then Moos' departure was announced, and the widespread assumption - because of public differences between Moos and uber-donor Phil Knight - is that Knight now is more willing to unpeel about $100 million from a wad of bills in his Nike warmups.

And he might. But there could be more to it. Oregon president Dave Frohnmayer hinted recently the $160 million figure is too much - three years later - while Knight is known to be cool to any edifice less than a lasting monument to Nike, himself and the wonderfulness of Oregon.....

At issue is the most endearing, if outdated, college basketball venue west of Kansas' Allen Fieldhouse, one that hosted its first game Jan. 14, 1927, eight months ahead of Babe Ruth's 60th home run.

It has hosted untold rich moments, none bigger than the 1974 day when Oregon beat top-ranked UCLA to hand John Wooden's Bruins a second defeat atop the one Oregon State administered less than 24 hours earlier

Oregon center Gerald Willett, who famously battled Bill Walton that day and found himself on the cover of the next week's Sports Illustrated, summed up the dilemma the other day to the Times:

"You've got to have a new arena sometime, so you might as well do it," he said. "When (ex-coach) Jerry Green was here, I was kind of fighting it. I realized it was going to have to happen.

"I just know they're not going to be able to replace not just the history, but the emotion."


To read the rest of Withers' column click on the title for a link

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Pardon "Scooter" Libby Today!

President George W. Bush should use Article II, Section 2 to pardon Lewis "Scooter" Libby. He should do it today. He should sign whatever paper he has to sign and stop this foolishness. To read more check out Rich Galen's column by clicking on the title for a link.

Snow Snow Snow

It's snowing on the valley floor in Medford, Oregon and it is sticking! A winter Wonderland. Let is snow, let is snow!

Weekend At Bernie's Update

Fidel Castro has had at least three failed operations and complications from an intestinal infection, and the Cuban leader faces "a very grave prognosis," a Spanish newspaper reported Tuesday. A Cuban diplomat in Madrid said the reports were lies and declined to comment.
"It's another lie and we are not going to talk about it. If anyone has to talk about Castro's illness, it's Havana," the diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of official policy.

Sunday, January 14, 2007

Oregon Ducks beat Arizona 79-77


In a great day for basketball the University of Oregon Ducks beat the University of Arizona Wildcats 79-77 in a mens college basketball game at Arizona.The Ducks have beat Georgtown, UCLA and now Arizona. On Thursday night Oregon beat Arizona State for their first ever sweep in Pac-10 play in the Arizona desert. Goooooooo DUCKS!!!!

South Medford High Wins the Bass Pro Tournament in Springfield Mo.

The South Medford High Boys basketball team of Medford Oregon beat Lake Howell of Florida tonight 77-72 to win the Bass Pro Tournament in Springfield Missouri, while mother nature spit rain and ice outside. The fans where kept warm with some hot and heavy action in the 23rd annual Bass Pro Tournament of Champions.

Saturday night South Medford traded blows with Raleigh-Egypt of Memphis, Tenn., before holding off the Pharaohs for a 75-63 victory that sent the Panthers to the title game in their first appearance in the tourney.

Raleigh-Egypt (12-3) entered the contest ranked No. 22 in the USA Today Super 25, while South Medford (12-1) is 24th in that poll.

South Medford is led by DUKE bound Kyle Singler. South Medford has now beat some of the best teams in Oregon(Lake Oswego), Arizona, Florida, Tennessee and almost beat an all star team from Virginia. Go Panthers.... beat Grants Pass!

Saturday, January 13, 2007

Democratic Civility

This from Bob Novak's column today:

Newly elected Rep. Steven Kagen, a rich allergist who self-financed his campaign in Wisconsin, by his own account taunted President and Mrs. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and presidential adviser Karl Rove during a White House function for new members of Congress in December.

Kagen told a group of activists that after he found himself in the restroom with Rove, he blocked the White House deputy chief of staff's departure by holding the door closed. According to Kagen, he then said: "You're in the White House and you think you're safe. . . . My name's Dr. Multimillionaire and I kicked your ass."

The new congressman said he said separately to both Bush and Cheney: "Thank you for coming to Green Bay. I couldn't have won without you coming." Kagen also said he approached Laura Bush and purposely called her Barbara, the name of the president's mother. Kagen's remarks were reported in "The Scene," published in Appleton, Wis.

Friday, January 12, 2007

Senator Boxer, Have You No Shame?

From the New York Post Editorial:
Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer, an appalling scold from California, wasted no time yesterday in dragging the debate over Iraq about as low as it can go - attacking Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for being a childless woman.... Rice appeared before the Senate in defense of President Bush's tactical change in Iraq, and quickly encountered Boxer.....

"Who pays the price? I'm not going to pay a personal price," Boxer said. "My kids are too old, and my grandchild is too young."

Then, to Rice: "You're not going to pay a particular price, as I understand it, with an immediate family."

Breathtaking.

Simply breathtaking.

We scarcely know where to begin.

The junior senator from California ap parently believes that an accom plished, seasoned diplomat, a renowned scholar and an adviser to two presidents like Condoleezza Rice is not fully qualified to make policy at the highest levels of the American government because she is a single, childless woman.

It's hard to imagine the firestorm that similar comments would have ignited, coming from a Republican to a Democrat, or from a man to a woman, in the United States Senate. (Surely the Associated Press would have put the observation a bit higher than the 18th paragraph of a routine dispatch from Washington.)

But put that aside.

The vapidity - the sheer mindlessness - of Sen. Boxer's assertion makes it clear that the next two years are going to be a time of bitterness and rancor, marked by pettiness of spirit and political self-indulgence of a sort not seen in America for a very long time.....

It would take a truly hard heart not to be touched, deeply, by the sacrifices made by the young men and women now wearing their country's uniform.

And one can only imagine the pain felt by the families of those killed and cruelly wounded in service to America. Just as it was hard to imagine the agony of the loved ones left behind on 9/11.

But even to suggest that Condoleezza Rice is not fit to serve her country because she is childless is beyond bizarre.

It is perverse.

Sen. Boxer needs to apologize.

And she needs to do it today.

(To read the Rest of the New York Post editorial click on the title above for a link)

Thursday, January 11, 2007

At Marine Cpl Jason Dunham's Medal of Honor Ceremony at the White House


Tears run from the eyes of U.S. President George W. Bush during a ceremony in honor of Medal of Honor winner Marine Cpl. Jason Dunham in the East room of the White House in Washington, January 11, 2007. Cpl. Dunham was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously.


On April 14, 2004, in Iraq near the Syrian border, the corporal used his helmet and his body to smother an exploding Mills Bomb let loose by a raging insurgent whom Dunham and two other Marines tried to subdue.

The explosion dazed and wounded Lance Cpl. William Hampton and Pfc. Kelly Miller. The insurgent stood up after the blast and was immediately killed by Marine small-arms fire.

"By giving his own life, Cpl. Dunham saved the lives of two of his men and showed the world what it means to be a Marine," said Bush.

Addressing Dunham's parents, Bush said, "We remember that the Marine who so freely gave his life was your beloved son. We ask a loving God to comfort you for a loss that can never be replaced."

"As long as we have Marines like Cpl. Dunham, America will never fear for her liberty."

UPDATED ON CORPORAL DUNHAM'S HEROISM:

In April 2004, Dunham, a 22-year-old corporal, received a report that a Marine convoy had been ambushed, according to a Marine Corps account. Dunham led his men to the site near Husaybah, halting a convoy of departing cars.

An insurgent in one of the vehicles grabbed him by the throat when he went to search the car and the two fought. A grenade was dropped, and Dunham covered the explosive with his Kevlar helmet, which along with his chest plate absorbed some of the blast.

He died a few days later.

"I've lost my son but he became a part of history," Dunham's mother, Deb, said after the ceremony. "It still hurts as a parent, but the pride that you have from knowing he did the right thing makes it easier."

I remember a line from an old movie that seems perfect: "Where do we get such men?"

The Times of London on Bush's Plan on the Iraq War:

.... there is no credible alternative. The Iraq Study Group proved rather better at setting out the many problems that exist in Iraq than in offering precise solutions. Its recommendation that the White House co-opt Iran and Syria as its allies in Iraq does not look remotely plausible. The idea that suddenly withdrawing American soldiers from the country would convince Shia and Sunni hardliners to be more charitable to one another is equally improbable. Mr Bush’s domestic foes, notably Nancy Pelosi, the new Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives (who has a minimal record in foreign policy) and the increasingly surreal Edward Kennedy, would simply abandon Iraq and be done with it.

This is not a course that the United States can afford to take. Mr Bush’s decision involves serious risks and it is inevitable that more American soldiers will die as a result of being sent to dangerous sections of Baghdad. Nor is this destined to be a wildly popular announcement at home. It is right, nevertheless, to make one more effort to create the sort of Iraq that its people deserve and the vast majority of its citizens aspire to. These are the appropriate means to what is a noble end.
(To read the entire editorial click on the title above for a link)

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

The Eternal Choice of a Free People!


The American People now face the decision that all men and women in all times must face...the eternal choice of men and women to endure evil and terrorism or to resist. Tonight, President George W Bush figuratively drew a line in the sand. Who will cross the line with him and stand against evil and who will try to escape the fight? I do not know what the American people will decide but for me I will cross the line and stand against evil and terrorism with George W Bush!

UPDATE:
Looks like I am in some good company.....John McCain and Joe Lieberman just crossed the line too !

Your Welcome Tony!

"Thank God for blogs," said White House Press Secretary Tony Snow this afternoon, commenting on the Bush administration's communications efforts. Your welcome Tony! There is no substitute for Victory! No More Vietnams.... Win In Iraq!

Day 44 in the Search for an Athletic Director at the University of Oregon

Ron Bellamy of the Eugene Register Guard Newspaper has a front page news story on the University of Oregon's search for a new Athletic Director. Some quotes from the news story are as follows:
University of Oregon President Dave Frohnmayer announced Tuesday that he has appointed an eight-member "search team" to assist him in selecting the school's next director of athletics.

Frohnmayer said the team, headed by UO Vice President Allan Price, will be "poised for acting rapidly," with some team members - not necessarily the entire group - available to travel from Eugene to meet directly with potential candidates who do not wish to be identified publicly.

The final decision, Frohnmayer said, will be his alone. ".....

His successor, even on an interim basis, won't be Mike Bellotti, at least not as long as Bellotti also remains Oregon's football coach, Frohnmayer said.


Frohnmayer said he also has discussed the position with Vin Lananna, Oregon's director of track and field and the former athletic director at Oberlin College. "He's certainly a person of great ability," Frohnmayer said, describing their visit as "a very enjoyable, productive conversation." ....


Frohnmayer said he's looking for an athletic director who can take the athletic department to another level while addressing some immediate concerns, including the "high priority" of building a new basketball arena to replace McArthur Court; stabilizing the department's financial situation; shoring up relationships with donors; and improving the academic success of athletes. I think we already have quite a broad and promising field of candidates that others have identified for us, and that we've identified for ourselves," he said.

In addition to Price, the UO vice president for university advancement, search team members will be: law professor Michael Moffitt, chairman of the faculty advisory council and member of the intercollegiate athletics committee; English professor Suzanne Clark, co-chairwoman of the University Senate and former chairwoman of the faculty task force on intercollegiate athletics; Dan Williams, special assistant to the president for athletics and a former UO vice president with oversight of the athletic department; Melinda Grier, the university general counsel and adviser to the president on athletics; Willie Blasher Jr., a federal probation officer and former UO athlete who is a board member of the UO alumni association; Joe Gonyea II, a member of the UO Foundation board; and Dave Petrone, a board member emeritus of the UO Foundation.

Frohnmayer said he plans to have an initial meeting Friday with the team, which will identify, research and potentially talk with candidates.....

"We'll cast that net even wider, but on a very accelerated timetable to make sure we're considering the most likely and most appropriate candidates. This could be a situation ... where the committee is continuing to vet potential candidates even as I might be reaching a decision."

Frohnmayer said he remains hopeful that Oregon will have identified Moos' successor by April 1.


"Shoring up relationships with donors"...... could he be talking about Phil Knight? To read the entire news story click on the title above for a link.

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

Day 43 in University of Oregon Search for a New Athletic Director

UO president names AD search committee
Saying the University of Oregon planned to move "quickly and aggressively" to find its new athletic director, president Dave Frohnmayer introduced a search committee today that will meet Friday for the first time.

Allan Price, one of the university's top fundraisers, will be chairman of the committee, which also will consist of former athletic director and university vice president Dan Williams; university general counsel Melinda Grier; Michael Moffitt, chairman of the Faculty Advisory Council; Suzanne Clark, co-chair of the University Senate; and three others.

Current athletic director Bill Moos announced his resignation Nov.

Fiesta Bowl II aka"The National Championship"

The "National Championship" of college football on a "school night"!!!! I don't know about you but the game between Ohio State and Florida was a real snoozer. In fact I fell asleep on my sofa in the third quarter and did not wake up till the end of the game.... and I live in the Pacific Time Zone. The game ended much later on the East Coast on a week day night. The college football season should end on New Years Day. The major bowl games SHOULD be played on New Years Day. A day where fans can gather together, drink beer and eat chips. The best game of the year, this year, was played on New Years Day... the Fiesta Bowl between Boise State and Oklahoma. Long after we have all forgotten the "National Championship" game between Florida and Ohio State we will remember the overtime win by that team from Boise Idaho. Lets go back to the old bowl system and get rid of the BCS BS.

Sunday, January 07, 2007

Christmas Holidays are Over

As I type this my wife is in the living room putting away our inside Christmas decorations. I spent the morning outside in the rain with my yellow poncho taking down the 30 plus strings of outdoor lights.I am now trying to stay out of my wife's way as she is very particular in packing everything away very neatly. Our kids are now gone. Our son called last night from North Dakota to let us know he made it back to grad school safely. We put him on the plane yesterday morning. That was my 7th trip to the "Jackson County International Airport" this holiday season. We put his sister on the plane back to DC the day after New Years. Right after New Years we celebrated my mother-in-laws 80th birthday and her four adult children all gathered at our place for a series of birthday celebrations. They have all now headed back to their homes in Washington State and Maryland. Between Christmas, New Years, Birthdays, Basketball Games (South Medford and the Oregon Ducks),Football Bowl Games, shopping, eating out,trip to Eugene, movies, parties and the comings and goings of relatives this has been a very busy Holiday season. How about that Boise State game vs Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl and the Oregon Basketball win over UCLA. How long till Super Sunday and the Super Bowl?

Saturday, January 06, 2007

Day 40 in the University of Oregon's search for a new Athletic Director

One potential candidate for the job who should be considered is Greg Byrne.
He has more than a decade of intercollegiate athletics experience. Greg is presently an Associate Athletic Director at Mississippi State University.Greg spearheads the MSU Athletic fundraising effort and oversees the Bulldog Club staff. Before that , he served as the associate athletic director for development and fundraising at the University of Kentucky from 2002-2005. Prior to joining the Kentucky Wildcats, Byrne spent four years as associate athletic director of development at Oregon State University. He served as the regional director of development at the University of Oregon from 1995-1998. Byrne's resume also includes a year as the special projects coordinator for the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Ariz. He holds a bachelor's degree from the College of Public Programs at Arizona State University.

I first met Greg when he was stationed here in Medford as the Regional Director of Development for the University Of Oregon. He was and is a real dynamo and would do a great job for the Duck! I don't know if Greg is interested in the job but Oregon should be interested in him. I remember when he went to Oregon State. I ran into him shortly after his move and I told him he would be a Duck again someday. That someday should be now! He comes from "good stock" as his father, Bill Byrne was the Athletic Director at the University of Oregon from 1984 till the mid 1990's. After leaving Oregon he was the Athletic Director at Nebraska and is now the AD at Texas A&M. When Bill became Oregon AD he was one of the youngest AD's in the United States and let's hope Greg can follow in his father's footsteps! If Oregon doesn't hire him it will be our loss!

Ducks Beat UCLA 68 to 66

This afternoon the University of Oregon Ducks beat the # 1 men's college basketball team in the nation, the UCLA Bruins, at Mac Court aka "The Pit" in Eugene. The last time a # 1 UCLA team came into Mac Court and were defeated was in 1974 and I was there. It was back in the era of Coach Dick Harder and the "Kamikaze Kids". UCLA was led by a guy by the name of Bill Walton. Today I watched the Ducks win and the same magic was there. The 9000 + students and fans were yelling and jumping up and down and the scoreboard was jumping up and down as the 80 year old building shook. The Ducks led most of the game but the TV announcers, seeming to pull for UCLA, kept saying "plenty of time left" Well just as in 1974, time ran out for UCLA and the Duck fans stormed the court at the end of the game. Congratulations to the team, coach Ernie Kent and the Oregon Fans. After the disappointment of last year it was a great effort by the team.Go Ducks

Friday, January 05, 2007

Sports Illustrated Award!

My University of Oregon Ducks Football Team have won an award from Sports Illustrated. The Ducks were given the "Worst Team Performance Award" over the other 57 college Football teams that have played in Bowl Games this season, for their performance in losing to BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl. Of course, Ohio State and Florida have not yet played for the BCS Championship. Thanks Ducks! I will be at the Spring Game in four months. It will be a long time before I forget that game or this season.(For a link to the Sports Illustrated article click on the title above for a link.)

A Joke

What does Notre Dame and Marijuana have in common? They both get "smoked" in Bowls. This week Notre Dame lost to LSU 41 to 14 in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. the loss gave the Fighting Irish an unwanted spot in the record book ... NINE consecutive bowl losses breaking the tie with South Carolina and West Virginia for the most in NCAA history. On another note, why aren't the Irish upset by being a team mascot? Fighting Irish... Fighting Sioux... what's the difference? Go Fighting Ducks! Fortunately the fowl animal lobby led by PETA has not yet taken on the mascot issue YET!

Day 39 in the Search for an Athletic Director at the University of Oregon

Last night the Ducks lost to U$C in Men's Basketball at "The Pit" in Eugene. I watched the game on TV and it was good to see Phil Knight sitting court side at the game. The camera focused in on his smiling face near the end of the game as the Ducks were comming back from beind down by several points. The Ducks lost by 2 points 84-82.

Another potential candidate for Duck AD is Dave Heeke. He is presently the AD at Central Michigan University. Prior the that he spent almost two decades working for the University of Oregon athletic department from 1988 until he left in December of 2005. His final job was "Senior Associate Athletic Director/Chief of Staff" under AD Bill Moos. The questions are: 1.Does he want to move back to Oregon after being AD at Central Michigan for just one year? 2. Does Oregon want a protege of Bill Moos after paying Moos almost 2 million dollars to go away? What does Phil Knight think of Dave? What is clear is he is a bright guy who knows the job.

The picking of a new AD by University of Oregon President Dave Frohnmayer is one of the most important decisions of his time as President because it could and probable will determine whether Phil Knight will donate the money necessary to build a new basketball arena for the University. I love Mac Court but it's time is past.

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Perspective on the Death of a Dictator


According to Wikipedia the free Internet Encyclopedia, Fascist Italian Dictator Benito Mussolini who was allied with Hitler in World War II was found as follows:
On April 29 the bodies of Mussolini and his mistress were found hung upside down on meat hooks in Piazzale Loreto (Milan), along with those of other fascists, to show the population the dictator was dead. This was both to discourage any fascists to continue the fight and an act of revenge for the hanging of many partisans in the same place by Axis authorities. The corpse of the deposed leader became subject to ridicule and abuse by many who felt oppressed by the former dictator's policies.


This was done by the Italian people before the American and British forces could capture him at the end of World War II in Europe. There are numerous pictures now on the Internet of Mussolini hanging from the light pole. The pictures were taken in the days before picture phones. (sarcasm)

More recently, on Christmas Day 1989 communist Dictator Nicolea Ceausescu, of Romania and his wife were executed. According to Wikipedia:
On Christmas Day, the two were condemned to death by a military kangaroo court on charges ranging from illegal gathering of wealth to genocide, and were executed in Târgovişte. Before they were shot dead, Ceauşescu sang part of the "Internationale" and proclaimed that history would judge him well. His wife was screaming at everyone to go to hell.

The CeauÅŸescus were executed by an officer named Ionel Boeru who shot them with his sub-machine-gun.

The "trial" and execution were videotaped. The footage was promptly released in France and other western countries. Several days later, footage of their trial and pictures of their corpses (but not of the execution itself) was released on television for the Romanian public.


Of course both of these examples took place in Europe where they are more sophisticated in these sorts of things (sarcasm)

Day 37 in the University of Oregon's search for a new Athletic Director

It has been very quiet on the search for a new Athletic Director at the University of Oregon. Oregon President Dave Frohnmayer and Dan Williams have been keeping the search very close to the vest. Dan Williams is President Frohnmayer's eyes and ears over at the Cas Center. According to a press release from the University issued in 2005:
"After 22 years as vice president for administration, Dan Williams is about to take on a new role for the University of Oregon. On July 1, he will retire from his vice presidency to become a part-time consultant for the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and will move from Johnson Hall to new quarters at the Casanova Center...."The president asked me to continue the portion of my work having to do with intercollegiate athletics," Williams adds. "Since I devote a quarter of my time to it now, that's how much time I am contracted for during the next two years"

Williams will continue his close, decade-long relationship with Bill Moos, director of athletics, and will assist him in the planning for a new basketball arena. Phasing into a consultant's role for the department rather than being its supervisor doesn't bother him as he is much more concerned with the urgent tasks at hand."


My guess, and it is only a guess, as I don't have any inside information is that Williams is deeply involved in the process of helping Frohnmayer find a new Athletic Director. Remember when Presidential candidate George W Bush was looking for a Vice Presidential candidate and he got Dick Chaney to help out and guess who ended up as Vice President.... the guy helping Bush. Could that happen to Frohnmayer? William's would make a great AD even if for a transition period until the Track Coach, Vin Lananna, can get Oregon past the United States 2008 Olympic Track & Field Trials at Hayward Field in Eugene. It's important to remember the Lananna was not just hired as a track coach but also as an Associate Athletic Director and he is on good terms with Phil Knight.In fact when he was hired there was speculation that he would move up to AD when Bill Moos retired. Moos just retired sooner than most of us expected thanks to an almost 2 million dollar boost from donors. That would be perfect, Dan Williams as an interim AD followed by Lananna. As one friend said I don't care who Oregon hires as an AD just so long as he gets along with Phil Knight!