UPDATE: Yep, it’s confirmed on Obama’s website.

He presented to Senate last night some of the changes he’s making, a large part of them mainly housekeeping and cleanup of old, defunct, and obsolete rules. He wants to introduce a check to the Con Court, something along the lines of Senate needing to approve Con Court rulings on Constitutional changes. Con Court needs more checks on it, but I don’t know if just having a final approval from Senate is enough. The irony is that Con Court will have to approve that rule change. However, some of the changes he suggested last night raise red flags: Adding the Rules and Recognition Committee to the Constitution? RRC is ineffective and bureaucratic, and reform is necessary to the system. Having it in the Constitution will make it more difficult for these important reforms to happen.

And why now? Why at the end of the year? The timing of this is suspicious, and I’m curious to see what other changes President McLain and Mr. Axelrod will be cook up.

This seems like as good a use of the over-realized fund as any. Actually, it sounds better, since it will benefit the whole campus. I’d be a fan of 24-hour library service, seeing as how I’m a raging insomniac and procrastinator. The request also noted that a previous library study found that “demand for extended library hours come disproportionately from non-traditional students who are busy during the library’s daily hours.” So there you go: 24/5 library service would also help minority students. And if it doesn’t work out, well, we can just scrap it after the trial period. Wait, a sensible plan coming out of the ASUO? Pardon me, I have to go find something to be curmudgeony about.

The owners of the Horsehead are understandably pissed, especially since they already spent $10,000 tearing down the old fence that used to enclose the area in an attempt to conform to the 2005 smoking ordinance. The new row of arborvitae was supposed to allow air to circulate and give patrons privacy from downtown Eugene’s omnipresent street kids and hobos.

Apparently the city of Eugene has a very loose definition of “wall” because the planning commission also deemed the wrought-iron fence around Jameson’s outdoor area violated the code. Patrons are no longer allowed to smoke there, either.

Just another ridiculous moment in the annals of bureaucracy. For all those interested, there will be a smoke-in on Monday, May 12, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the EMU amphitheater to protest all such asinine ordinances and laws targeting smokers. See you there.

P.S. The R-G story I linked to up top has a picture with the offending “wall” in the background. See for yourself. If that’s a wall, then I’m the bastard child of Elvis and Mother Teresa.

P.P.S. Hey everyone, we’re on Fark. So, uh … go us.

But signs like “Israel @ 60: Celebrating Genocide” do not help the discussion of a convoluted and complicated issue. And yes, I saw those over campus today, including other ones that said “Celebrating Racism” and “Celebrating Terrorism”. I’m interested to see what else these clowns come up with.

So, if you give two squirts of demon piss about metal, read on. If you don’t, read on anyways, weakling.

(more…)

Photo by Mary Compton, SouthtownStar via AP

Bill Bramanti is his name, and he, at only 67-years-young, has purchased a custom designed PBR coffin, story courtesy of USA Today.

I plan on doing things the cheap way and having my ashes dumped in the empty 1/2 gal of Patrone that’ll presumably kill me.

Happy Cinco de Mayo, people!

 Anyway, at the end of the seminar the speaker opened up the floor to those students on campus who wanted to speak out against hate.

 A girl two seats away from me raised her hand and said, “Last fall the Oregon Commentator published an issue where they called girls ’scrunts’.”

 In the fall of 2006 the Commentator defined a “scrunt” as: “A female, typically a freshman.  Generally a scrunt lacks a father figure and is extremely susceptible to peer pressure and persuasion.  Scrunt is something that one rustles.  ’Hey dude, let’s go dorm stormin’ and rustle up some scrunt.’”

I don’t know what she was so upset about.  I mean she’s been carrying this around with her for two years.  It must have really affected her.  I’m just going to do the responsible thing here and blame Ted.  Why?  Because it’s fun to rile up Ted. 

One point of interest is that Knight’s $100 million donation comes with the stipulation that it can be withdrawn if the UO does not secure state-backed bonds for the new arena by June 1. The state legislature approved a $200 million bond in February, and the UO will take its case to the State Board of Higher Education next month for final approval. Coincidently, the UO spent $270,000 in lobbying expenses in 2007, up from $90,000 in 2006. I wonder how much they’re spending this year?

Personally I’d pinned Mr. Weezy as an Obama man, but this got me wondering: How many men will vote for Hil just because she’s a woman in power and they’re attracted to it?

I know all about voting based on sex appeal, I’m a Ron Paul girl, but I’d rather vote for Obama simply because (Ty Schwoeffermann, cover your eyes) I’d like to fuck him.

Perhaps this explains why I am also such a fan of Colin Powell?

Of that $24,962, only two contributions went to Republicans, totalling $956. Actually, I should say Republican because both of those went to … Ron Paul. The majority of the Dem donations went to Obama with only one donation to Hillary Clinton. No contributions were listed from Frohnmayer, although his pals Melinda Grier and John Moseley both donated to Obama.

According to the Oregonian, Marino earned a doctorate in Marketing in under three months from Ashwood University, which gives its students credit for their “life experiences.” Later he discovered the shocking truth that the “university” wasn’t accredited in the state of Oregon.

Marino did leave out a few other tidbits, though. From the Oregonian:

A background check unearthed other financial run-ins, including a $12,300 civil judgment from 2001 that he contests and that he says he didn’t know about until Thursday. He’s also making monthly installments on a $4,900 judgment from 2002, filed by Ford Motor Co.

Whoops! It will be interesting to see if Marino’s “only human” strategy works. I for one would like to see more detailed confessions from politicians. Imagine the letters coming out of DC: “This one time Arlen Specter got drunk and passed out on my couch, so I drew penises all over his face with a Sharpie. He woke up the next morning and rushed straight to the Senate Judiciary Committee meeting. Everyone laughed at him, and I felt really guilty.”

Edit: I was very drunk when I made this post originally. Apparently some peoples’ idea of cleaning out Suite One doesn’t involve boxes, several hand-trucks, and a U-Haul, but merely some Simple Green and a recycling tub. To each his own, I suppose.

If you’re interested in assisting with the Suite One clean-up, considering it is “filthy, filthy”, click the link above, or just join the group and encourage my idea of cleaning-up!

P.S. Drew, are you circumcised I’ll ask this at a more appropriate time.

Hey, um, I saw you at the VRC in the food court reading manga, “Got Rice?” Tee shirt, glasses, very cute. Saw you later watching “Smart People” alone, thought you had an adorable giggle. Me: kind of loud girl sitting in the row in front of you, red Chuck Taylors, MC Chris shirt and Foster’s sweatshirt, glasses, ponytail. I get a discount on manga at work, interested??

Or, on a slightly more disturbing note:

You activate my motion sensing flood lights practically every night when you walk by. Why don’t you stop and say hi? Is it my big telescope that distracts you?

The site currently has a free promotion going, and being the curious journalist that I am (and single), I have started exploring this strange, new meat market. The “Wink” section of the site is set up more like a conventional dating site, while “Kink” is more, well, kinky. I haven’t delved into the horrors of “Kink” yet, but the public has a right to know, dammit! Expect a full report soon.

Some have hypothesized that it’s because liberals are miserable with President Bush’s administration, but apparently the evidence traces back 35 years. The article points to the fact that conservative people tend to go to church more and have more children, which leads to more long-term happiness.

While I’m not sure about that, I do like that they point out that the conservative perspective is more about taking responsibility, working hard, and succeeding through individualism. Whereas the liberal view points to societal issues, injustices, and huge “crushing impersonal forces that keep the little guy down”, conservatism acknowledges those issues (I hope) as history and seeks to solve them by discrediting them and living in spite of them.

So this election season, vote Republican and be happier.

Healy is a smart, funny guy, and we enjoyed throwing back some Guinness with him. I haven’t read the book yet, but everything he said last night was spot-on. In short, voters and politicians on both sides of the aisle need to get rid of the idea that the President is the daddy or mommy who will fix all their problems. I did have to disagree with Healy when he started bagging on Teddy Roosevelt, though. Ugly views on manifest destiny aside, Roosevelt was pretty awesome; he gave a 90-minute speech after being shot in the chest. C’mon, Hillary Clinton isn’t even that hardcore in her fantasies.

We support free expression, be that: verbally, musically, poetically, artistically, physically, nutritionally, literarily, meditatively, economically (barter) or otherwise.

A perfect example of this “free expression” they support is Cimmeron Gillespie’s (coincidentally the group’s founder) drumming/musical performances that, I’m sure, we’ve all had the pleasure of encountering.

Perhaps a further buried example would be a student’s right to smoke–the act of smoking as an expression. I am hesitant to jump on the freedom of expression bandwagon here, but perhaps we, as a campus, could broaden our freedom horizons a bit and accept smoking as a tool to unite students, similar to say, a FIG class, or Week of Welcome.

Even better, if we can get the environmental lovin’ kids to support smoking on campus. Can you imagine OSPIRG collecting signatures to save your right to smoke? Student dollars at work on campus? Dare to dream, people, dare to dream!

As for me, I’ll see you at the Smoke-in on Monday, May 12th, sporting a large cigar.

1.  Unlike the Democratic plan, his plan is market-based
2. It dissociates health insurance from the workplace, which McCain argues will force insurance companies to “no longer take your business for granted, offering narrow plans with escalating costs.”
3. It provides tax credits to individuals, rather than employers, for health insurance.
4. It will create a “GAP” (guaranteed access program) in the short-term to provide for “high-risk” patients until the “market matures”.
5. Lowering costs through a variety of methods such as tort reform and encouraging the prescription of generic drugs.
6. McCain also advocates the “health savings account” idea.
7. Interestingly, he also says “[g]overnment should promote greater access through walk-in clinics in retail outlets” to facilitate easier access to basic, preventative care.

As the Post notes, a lot of the McCain plan echoes President Bush’s spectacularly failed attempt at health care reform. Indeed, McCain is probably going to have a relatively difficult time selling his health care plan, whatever its merits, since he’s going to have to compete against either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton, both of which are promising “free” health care for the masses. For McCain to succeed on this issue against his opponent (especially if he runs against Barack Obama), he’s going to have to find a simple, sensible way to explain to people how setting them adrift and trusting market forces is going to result in better health care at a lower cost than anything a massive, tax-funded government bureaucracy  can hope to provide.

Unfortunately for McCain, explaining economics to people is a lot more difficult than saying “the government will take care of you”.