• The “3,000 Dead” cover of our Jan. 4 issue
has generated mostly positive calls and letters,
none yet for publication. Several people have
asked where they can find extra copies to pass
around or send to friends and family. We will
have a free stack at our front desk for the next
couple of weeks. Some noticed that no credit
was given for the cover image; that was at the
request of the East Coast artist who gave us
permission to use it. He tells us he created the
“War President” photo-mosaic in 2004 and has
grown weary of the negative feedback.
• The Bush and Cheney decision to escalate the Iraq War, defying Congress,
the American people, his generals and the Iraq Study Group, has left many of
us scratching our heads. But then we’ve been scratching ourselves bald in
recent years. Here’s one perspective that hasn’t gotten much press. On
http://electronicIraq.net this week, Mideast analyst Trita Parsi says regarding
Bush’s address on Iraq: “There was little new about the U.S.’s strategy in Iraq,
but on Iran, the president spelled out a plan that appears to be aimed at
goading Iran into war with the U.S.” She goes on to say that “Rather than
talking to Iran and Syria, Bush virtually declared war on these states.” If this
perception is true, or even half true, the escalation finally makes sense.
• Worth noting who was sitting next to the governor last week at the Lane
County inaugural luncheon at King Estates Winery: Ben Westlund, now a
Democratic senator from Bend, and for a short time an independent, and
before that a Republican. Nominated for the state Senate by both R’s and D’s
in Deschutes County, Westlund ran a quick race for governor against Ted, but
money and signatures stopped it, along with polling that we suspect showed
him pulling more votes from Kulongoski than from Saxton. Now that he’s fol-
lowed the Wayne Morse trail through Oregon politics, maybe he should take
on Gordon Smith in 2008.
• Makes us proud that Oregon’s Secretary of State Bill Bradbury has gone
several times to Tennessee to work with nearly 600 advocates spreading Al
Gore’s powerful message against global climate change. Makes us wonder if
this could be Gore’s field organization for “Re-elect Gore in November 2008.”
After his recent rip to Tennessee, Bradbury speculates that Gore won’t
choose to run, but he could be drafted.
• Now that’s more like it: After beating two top ten teams — Arizona and
UCLA — in eight days, the Oregon men’s basketball team finds themselves
vaulting from 15th to ninth in the latest AP poll. It’s too early to count chick-
ens — or NCAA tournament berths — just yet, but it’s got to feel good for this
once über-hyped junior class (with stellar senior Aaron Brooks) to finally
come together as a team the way they have this year (and don’t count out
inconsistent but talented freshman Tajuan Porter). Doesn’t feel half-bad to be
a Duck fan, either.
• Army Spec. Suzanne Swift’s court martial is over, and
the Iraq veteran was sentenced to 30 days in detention
and lost all the rank she had earned. Swift, who went
AWOL rather than return to Iraq where she was sexual-
ly abused, will be reassigned to a new job in clerical
shipping and ordering. We hear she will be transferred
March 30 to Ft. Irwin, Calif., 917 miles from her home-
town of Eugene. Her mother, Sarah Rich, said last week
that Swift is not doing well following her court martial,
even though she avoided a long prison sentence and a
Suzanne Swift
dishonorable discharge. “For the record this ‘deal’ was
anything but ‘phenomenal.’ It was more ‘abominable.’
Soldiers who’ve been in combat in Iraq who have PTSD from sexual abuse
don’t deserve to be stripped of their rank and sent to prison. Be mindful who
you trust to take care of your children.” Updates are available at
http://suzanneswift.org
• Fun to see a reference to Eugene’s political consultant Dan Carol and his
“Kumbaya Dammit” column in the Washington Post Jan. 11. Carol’s column on
progressive politics has appeared many times in EW and elsewhere in nation-
al magazines and caught the attention of Post writers Amy Argetsinger and
Roxanne Roberts regarding Tony Snow. The White House press secretary has
tossed around the word “kumbaya” four times recently. The writers say the
“Kumbaya” song “began as a spiritual, turned into a folk anthem, and has
evolved into political shorthand for idealistic, fuzzy-wuzzy moments.” Only
Carol, however, appears to be adding “dammit” to the word, injecting a bit of
his signature irony and feisty attitude.
SLANT includes short opinion pieces, observations and rumor-chasing notes compiled by the EW staff.
Heard any good rumors lately? Contact Ted Taylor at 484-0519, editor@eugeneweekly.com
8 JANUARY 18, 2007
news
The R-G has also received letters to the
editor critical of the ad. Richard Reed wrote
Jan. 16 that the paper has “given the finger”
to citizens and eroded the wall “between the
purity of the journalistic ethic and the
cesspool of marketing mendacity!”
The finger ad has drawn criticism from
across the nation on journalism web blogs.
Upshaw’s column was posted on the widely
read Romenesko web site of the Poynter
Institute for journalism education.
On visualeditors.com the ad drew a long
list of comments. Seattle news designer Paul
Morgan called the ad a “sad state of affairs
The Register-Guard has won one of the
for my former paper in Eugene.” The ad blurs
highest dishonors in journalism.
the line between advertising and news, he
The R-G won a “Dart” for “thumbing its
wrote. “Would the paper run a story critical of
nose at the news” from the Columbia
that company on the same
Journalism Review. The
page as that ad?”
magazine, published by
One comment found the
the journalism school
ad tolerable, saying it was no
that administers the
worse than an internet pop-up
Pulitzer Prize, criticized
ad. But other comments were
a finger-shaped ad from
that the ad layout was visually
Sacred Heart hospital
ugly and said it appeared that
that jutted through the
the story around the finger
text of a news story
was part of the ad. A comment
which wrapped around
questioned whether Sacred
the finger.
Heart also paid for the space
CJR wrote in its
that the story ran in around the
“Darts and Laurels” col-
finger.
umn that the ads that ran
Other comments ques-
in October were “knock-
tioned whether the story
ing down still further the
wrapped around the ad was
ad-edit wall.” CJR con-
picked to not conflict with the
tinued, “Thus forced to
ad. One blogger joked that he
read around that grossly
would have run a story like
gratuitous graphic, some
the alleged finger in the
readers suspected the
An October ad in the R-G
Wendy’s chili around the ad as
paper of giving them the
a protest and been fired.
finger.”
— Alan Pittman
EW reported on the ad
Oct. 28, noting that it appeared to conflict
with professional journalism ethics codes
calling for newspapers to clearly separate ad-
vertising from news. Earlier R-G stories on
Sacred Heart gamma knife machine being
advertised read like the ad, the article noted.
UO Journalism Prof. Jim Upshaw wrote
UO football coach Mike Bellotti finished
an op-ed in the R-G in November, which also
a disappointing season this year, and UO fac-
criticized the “invasive” finger ad. The view-
ulty are up in arms over lavish athletic spend-
point column was headlined, “Advertiser has
ing, but the UO still pays Bellotti about $1.3
newspaper wrapped around its finger.”
million per year.
briefs
R-G FINGER AD
GETS A ‘DART’
COACH’S PAY
TRUMPS PROFS