Barack Obama was the leading presidential candidate in a survey by American University. When asked who they would vote for if the presidential election was held today, 54 percent of respondents chose Obama, with McCain coming in second at 19 percent.

However, a similar poll by the Oregon Commentator found Ron Paul leading by 100 percent. Although Paul has been popular with the college crowd, this is a surprising surge and could cause trouble for current Republican front-runner McCain. The results also indicate that 100 percent of university students are registered Independents, functional alcoholics and named Ossie Bladine.

You would cry too, if this was happening to you. Via the Oregonian, the tale of the stunning implosion of the Oregon GOP:

“It’s a wake-up call,” says former state labor commissioner Jack Roberts. “We’ve been spending so much of our time arguing about who is more Republican, and the voters are electing people who aren’t Republican at all.”

A quick survey of the party’s status in Oregon tells the story: Democrats control both chambers of the Legislature. Democrats hold every statewide office. Democrats hold five of seven seats in Congress.

And the cherry on top? Last week it came to light that the Oregon GOP was a cool $300,000 in debt. I can only wonder what the atmosphere will be like at the Republican’s annual Dorchester Conference, which commences tonight. They must not be too worried, though, because I didn’t see any entry on the official agenda titled “OMFG, guys! What the hell are we going to do!”

Instapundit links to some criticism of attempts at another university (Columbia, specifically) to departmentalize something akin to an “Ethnic Studies” program (Native American Studies, specifically). In particular, critics point out statements made by advocates of the program that would seem to suggest that a Native American Studies Department at Columbia would be an explicitly political organization.

Ahem. Not that I’m suggesting that any of the concerns raised have any relevance whatsoever with current goings on at the University of Oregon.

Now, on the other hand, if there was a push at the U of O to departmentalize Ethnic Studies, I might be somewhat more worried. Since that isn’t the case, however, I can rest assured that an overtly politicized Ethnic Studies Department at this institution is nothing to fret about for the time being.

Well, I wish my first post here was for a happier occasion, but, as I noted in an off-topic comment below, conservative icon William F. Buckley, Jr. has died. Whether or not you agreed with everything the man ever wrote (and I did not), it’s undeniable that he was a massively influential figure in the national debate, and a pretty classy one at that.

[edit]

More here.

It seems that the lifeblood of the ASUO is the language and hot-topic phrases debated each year by the student government. Last year it was “institutional racism” and this year it is “viewpoint neutrality.” Here is a good, concise explanation of viewpoint neutrality from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). As noted below by Neil Brown, two major court cases defined the role of viewpoint neutrality in the allocation of student fees at state colleges and universities.

Together, the rulings show clearly that (1) any student organization at a state school that is denied funding because of its views can sue claiming viewpoint discrimination; and (2) students may opt out of funding an objectionable group only if that state university does not distribute its money in a viewpoint neutral manner.

(more…)

Communism might not be over, but the man who has been in power for as long as most of our parents can remember said early this morning, “I will not aspire nor accept - I repeat I will not aspire or accept - the post of President of the Council of State and Commander in Chief.” That was, obviously, Fidel Castro.

The newly elected Cuban Parliament will meet this Sunday and will choose the new council of state, including the president. Since he grasped power in 1959, his brother Raul, who is years his junior, has been positioned to take over the presidency.

So what new foreign policy cackles has Castro — a rather irrelevant dictator by modern standards, frankly — raised in his last few months as el Presidente? Surprisingly, he’s raised a few.

Fidel and U.S.presidential hopeful John McCain have been in a back-and-forth verbal battle over Cuba’s involvement in the torture of U.S. POWs during the Vietnam War. Earlier this month Fidel wrote an article in the Granma, the newspaper of the Central Committe of the Cuban Communist Party, that denied McCain’s accusations, calling them unethical. Fidel attacked him further saying: “The commandments of the religion you practice prohibit lying.” McCain responded with the whole “to respond is to dignify, and I will not dignify” bit. He says this is a matter of record which is not up for debate. It seems odd that Fidel would choose to comment on these allegations now, but I wouldn’t put it past Hillary’s strategists, if she has anymore left that is.

Yesterday, the Oregon House held an atypical debate on natural rights, specifically a natural right to health care. The House Democrats successfully referred a bill to the November ballot that would make health care a constitutional right for every Oregon citizen.  From the Oregonian article:

House Joint Resolution 100 would amend the Oregon Constitution to make health care “a fundamental right” and order the Legislature to adopt a plan for giving every legal resident “access to effective and affordable health care on a regular basis.”

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The folks over at left-leaning Loaded Orygun have endorsed Democrat John Kroger for state Attorney General. (I previously wrote about Kroger’s ambitious, silly plan to end the “meth epidemic” here). However, reading through LO’s justifications for endorsing Kroger makes me wonder if they are actually running some sort of back-handed smear campaign against him. I mean, if someone wrote this about me, I might ask them to take the endorsment back (emphasis mine):

As pleasant and apparently very competent as Macpherson is, Kroger’s enthusiasm, sharply detailed vision and obvious desire for public service–in all senses of the phrase–make him the more compelling candidate. He better exemplifies the borderline-angry demand of the electorate for post-partisan change, post-fear. He’s ready to fight, but on principles for people, not for parties and politics.

What does “post-partisan change, post-fear” mean? Post-fear of what? Post-fear of witches? Post-Fear of a Black Planet? Read on to see the rest of the endorsement, with emphasis on the especially humorous parts. (more…)

The Oregonian ran a follow-up today on the strange case of John Roberts, who claims to have killed his wife out of mercy, saying she was suffering from AlS and did not want to wait for a doctor-assisted suicide. I wrote about the story here.

Although friends and family came to Roberts’ defense, prosecutors are starting to punch holes in his story, including the claim that his wife actually had ALS. The Oregonian reports that a doctor who examined Roberts’ wife in January told authorities that she did not have the disease. A fair amount of character evidence against Roberts has also come to light.

Nevertheless, I think the larger point of my previous post is still valid. Oregon needs to revise its assisted suicide laws. Although Oregon is the only state in the nation to legalize the practice, a patient with a terminal illness still has to be within six months of death before he or she can request a doctor-assisted suicide. This can leave people who would rather die in terrible pain for months, maybe years.

As reported in today’s Oregonian, John Roberts has been charged with the murder of his wife. However, Roberts and those close to him and his wife claim it was a mercy killing. Roberts’ wife was suffering from debilitating ALS and chose to die quickly rather than wait for an official assisted suicide. From the Oregonian article:

[Friends and family] say Virginia [Roberts] had her reasons for not using Oregon’s Death With Dignity Act, the only law in the nation that allows terminally ill patients to end their lives. Virginia did not want to deteriorate until doctors determined she was within six months of death, as required by the physician-assisted suicide law, they said. Nor did she want to take her own life because of her Catholic beliefs.

Like Sophocles’ Antigone, the story illuminates a sad disparity between state law and natural law. Unfortunately, I doubt the State of Oregon will realize its error any time soon. The assisted suicide laws will not be revised, and Roberts will no doubt face jail time on murder charges (manslaughter if he’s lucky). Until then, we will probably continue to hear these sorts of stories - people who take the law into their own hands after it fails them on a gross level.

The game has been played well by those backing a John McCain run for the presidency, as his biggest opposition in the Republican Party bowed out today, for his love of America. (My professor in Game Theory is sure it was Karl Rove in the back pulling strings to catapult McCain over Romney on Super Tuesday.) As the Republican Party gears up for its national presidential campaign, all eyes will be on the democrats, who will be asking themselves, “who is better equipped to beat McCain?”

I originally thought Obama had a better chance to take the presidency, but now I’m just not sure. Either way, I think McCain’s early appointment (as it seems to be now) as the GOP nomination will give him a much needed boost to convince Americans to vote conservative. Nice strategery boys!

Last Friday, as I was reading the ODE’s editorial and interview with Sue Jakabosky, Co-Chair of the Fairmount Neighborhood Association, regarding the construction of the new basketball arena near the Fairmount neighborhood. THe article made me a little upset. For I have lived amongst the Fairmount neighborhood for two years, enjoying the pleasant geography, citizens, and fellow Fairmount brethren.

It’s a fact that doesn’t sit well with some neighborhood residents, who have voiced displeasure over feeling left out of the negotiation process. Fairmount Neighborhood Association Co-chair Sue Jakabosky has been especially vocal. Throughout the negotiation process, she has cited land value concerns, adverse traffic conditions, litter and disorderly conduct as problems that will arise in the wake of the arena’s construction.

I do not know Ms. Sue Jakabosky, my so-called “voice” in the community as it pertains to the new basketball arena. However, one thing that was overlooked in the editorial, as well as Sue’s complaints, is that everything being complained about already exists! Every game day, whether it be football or men’s basketball, there is grandiose flaunting of automobile traffic, public drinking, trash, noise, and good ol’ fashion carrying on. Moving the arena a few blocks east of where it currently sits will barely change the logistical dynamics of a bunch of people getting together to cheer on Oregon sports. If anything, moving the arena closer to the new EMX will create less traffic. The use of the public transport system will likely increase substantially during events at the arena.

From one neighbor to another, “Keep it Down Out There!”

I’ll be updating this thread with primary results and other information as it comes in over my teletype.

• First results of the day: West Virginia goes to … Mike Huckabee? That’s 18 delegates for the Huckster. UPDATE: Reason is reporting that the Huckabee and Paul camps cut a deal to keep Romney from winning the state.
• Rush Limbaugh weighs in (and he has a lot to throw around) against McCain.
• What’s left of the Grateful Dead endorse Obama, giving him an edge in the critical “50 year-old burnouts who will probably forget to vote” demographic. The Dead also gave Obama some campaign trail advice, saying he’d better “watch his speed” and “sometimes the cards ain’t worth a dime if you don’t you lay ‘em down.”
• Political markets show Clinton and Obama in a statistical dead heat.
• From Politico.com: Clinton is the projected winner in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Tennessee. Obama takes Georgia and Illinois. Romney wins Massachusetts and … nothing else so far. Huckabee projected winner in three states. McCain currently leading the Republicans with four. I’m going to the bar. Full write up tomorrow.

The Oregon Commentator staff will be at Rennie’s Landing tomorrow to keep track of the Super Tuesday proceedings (or at least that’s our excuse). We should be arriving en masse after our staff meeting, sometime around six or seven p.m.

Any predictions? I’m calling all the states for Jesus, who will appear tomorrow in a cloud of glory and announce his candidacy/thousand-year reign. Except for New York. New York will go to McCain.

UPDATE: I just remembered tomorrow is Fat Tuesday as well, so we’ll be celebrating Super Fat Tuesday - the best combination of debauchery and politics since Grover Cleveland’s infamous “oval office ho’s and CEO’s” inauguration bash!

This is just coming over the wire, via The Oregonian:

 A federal judge this afternoon threw out a lawsuit against Oregon’s domestic partnership law, allowing the legislation to go into effect about 4:20 p.m.

Of course, opponents of Oregon’s new domestic partnership law plan to appeal, but for now you can civil unionize to your heart’s content. Well, actually you’ll have to wait until Monday; the county offices are closed on weekends.