Eugene weekly., August 07, 2003, Page 11, Image 11

• Has Mac Court at UO really outlived its
usefulness? UO President Dave
Frohnmayer tells us we can build a new
$100 million-plus basketball stadium to
replace The Pit without spending tax
dollars or diverting money from acade-
mic programs. Nice trick, but beware of
unexpected and hidden costs that the
UO might get stuck covering. Donors
such as Phil Knight will supposedly pick
up the tab, but how much would those
same donors give if they were instead
persuaded to fund academic programs
and facilities, or scholarships — as they
have in the past? Duck sports are great,
but Duck academics are even more
exciting, and in these times of financial
chaos and uncertainty, students and
teachers should be our highest priority.
• New York Times sports columnist
William C. Rhoden used his Sunday
space to go after Myles Brand, former
UO president now president of the
National Collegiate Athletic Association.
His closing: “Mostly, as the public
wrings its hands over the so-called evils
of college sports, Brand must help the
public understand that the old Joe
College enterprise it mourns has been
dead for decades. Questions at Ohio
State, trouble at Baylor and segregation
in the football coaching ranks of the
SEC are related to the complex, rapidly
evolving mission of intercollegiate ath-
letics. The old ideal is a mirage. I hope
that Brand isn’t.” We’re reminded that
some irreverent UO faculty members
always called him Myles Bland when he
was their president.
• Former state Rep. Cedric Hayden has
offered to accept an appointment to the
Lane County Commission to serve out
Tom Lininger’s remaining term, promis-
ing not to run for re-election when the
term ends in 15 months. Hayden figures
the four remaining board members,
often split 2-2 in their voting, will have
trouble agreeing on Lininger’s replace-
ment, but let’s give the commissioners
some credit, and a chance to come up
with a moderate replacement. Hayden
(who didn’t make the short list of candi-
dates) would be a predictable conserva-
tive vote on the commission, continuing
his lackluster, lock-step legislative lega-
cy. And who knows what sort of “grass-
roots” campaign would surface in 15
months to “persuade” him to seek re-
election after all.
• Meanwhile, Anna “Bulldozer” Morrison
remains the only ideologue on the
County Commission. Republicans in the
Legislature are trying to push through
an outrageous bill, HB3013, that would
allow destruction of prime farm land for
even marginal-value gravel mining. The
commissioners voted 4-1 last week to
send a letter of protest to Salem.
Morrison, predictably, cast the lone dis-
senting vote.
• President Bush, when asked about his
views on homosexuality last week, said,
“I believe in the sanctity of marriage. I
believe a marriage is between a man
and a woman. And I think we ought to
codify that one way or the other. And
we’ve got lawyers looking at the best
way to do that.” Looks like the White
House wants to impose its narrow moral
code on the American people once
again. Meanwhile, Republicans keep
telling us they want to get government
off our backs.
fine with this level of funding, was nonsense.”
Farr says he voted for HB5077 “because
we needed to pass a bill along to the Senate
and start the process of adopting the budget.
It establishes $5.05 [billion] as the minimum
number we are willing to consider and will
allow for a carefully deliberated adjustment
as the process moves forward. If we had not
started the process by the passage of the bill
we might be negotiating for weeks with no
promise of a conclusion.”
Corcoran wrote that Farr’s vote was “a
real disappointment” and if “just two more
[House] Republicans had the cajones to take
on their leadership,” the Senate wouldn’t
have to try to “fix” the inadequate budget.
— Ted Taylor
WYDEN CO-SPONSORS BILL
TO TAME PATRIOT ACT
On July 31, Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
and co-sponsor Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced
Senate Bill 1552, “Protecting the Rights of
Individuals Act,” which virtually dismantles
many of the most troublesome provisions of the
USA PATRIOT Act.
SB1552 would provide more judicial and
congressional oversight for searches; require ev-
idence of criminal activity before warrants are
issued; modify the definition of domestic terror-
ism; require more evidence of criminal activity
before allowing searches of library, video store,
bookstore, or financial records; and require more
regular reporting from the Attorney General’s
Office.
The ACLU has done an analysis of the bill
and lauded both Murkowski and Wyden for in-
troducing the legislation. The Center for
Democracy and Technology has also filed a re-
port on the legislation.
Hope Marston of the Lane County Bill of
Rights Defense Committee writes, “If there was
any doubt that the tide is turning, the fact that
Ron Wyden is supportive of extensive changes
to the UPAis a definite indication that opposition
to the UPA has gone mainstream. Our work is
not finished. Besides the UPA, there are still ex-
ecutive orders and Department of Justice orders
that violate our constitutional guarantees. Time
to call every Senator and ask them to co-sponsor
this important legislation!” For more informa-
tion and updates, visit www.lanerights.org
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