That is, John Frohnmayer – brother of UO President Dave Frohny. Frohnmayer, who was appointed as chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts by President George H.W. Bush in 1989, only to be fired soon after for funding “obscene” art, will run in the 2008 election for U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith’s seat. But get this, he is running as an independant.

“We who have been Republicans should be weeping about the state of the Republican party,” he said. “Because the Republicans have always stood for fiscal responsibility and we have a president who has taken a $3 trillion surplus and turned it into an $8 trillion defecit in seven years.

Frohnmayer, who left the Republican Party in 2005, is a former student of the UO Law School. He currently lives in Corvallis where he is an affiliate professor of liberal arts at Oregon State, “where he teaches First Amendment issues and ethics in the history department.”

“The order of the day ought to be that partisanship ends when a person is elected, and for every minute the person is in office after that, the person ought to be doing the public’s business.”

It’s kind of sad that I got this via the Agitator, but OC Alumn and all-around cool guy Mark Hemingway has a piece about Live Earth in NRO. The whole thing is golden, so read it, but I’ve excerpted a few of my favorite bits below.

12:59: Another PSA, this time horrendously exploited children prattling on about global warming. One very young girl bemoans that her children may never see a blue sky or green grass. It’s a full-frame closeup with tears streaming down her face. Naturally, this causes my wife to laugh uproariously. I knew there was a reason I married her.

5:55: John Mayer takes the stage. Mayer is Berklee College of Music grad and arguably the first virtuoso musician to take the stage today. Too bad he’s carved out a lucrative career by taking on the most thankless task in music — writing songs that simultaneously a) make sorority girls feel good about themselves (“Greg at Sigma Chi would never compare my body to a wonderland!”) and b) are non-threatening enough that make aging Grammy voters feel good about voting for someone under 30. For all of his technically impressive licks, every song the man writes makes my cochlea want to leap out of my head and dissolve themselves in a warm bucket of lye.

This describes, perfectly, exactly what is wrong with John Mayer.

Commentator Alum Bret Jacobson had an op-ed piece printed Tuesday in the Register-Guard. According to Ian, here is the Money Quote:

The problems associated with trading traditional democratic elections for a petitionlike process shouldn’t be a surprise to Kulongoski or to Congress. (more…)

I am certainly not the only OC bloghead who loves Radley Balko’s The Agitator. Now, for a limited time only, our own alumnus Mark Hemingway will be sharing guest blogger duties at TA, while Balko suns himself in beautiful Buenos Aires. Hemingway has written hilarious and informative pieces for the Weekly Standard and elsewhere. Good luck at The Agitator, Mark… we’ll be watching.

The Retro Issue is done. Please enjoy it responsibly.

In this post 4-18-07 world, it is good to see that the Emerald still prints the “institutionally racist” words of Tyler Graf, who has brought some comon sense to the editorial page of the Emerald. As he accurately points out, it is not that the diverse body of the Student Senate is racist or incsensitive, but instead are lacking the maturity to properly fulfill their duties as student politicians.

On another note, I personally have to thank people like Tyler and Ted who have had the courage to stand up in the name of common sense throughout this situation. Because it touches on many sensitive topics of discussion, it is not easy to make your point before the claim of “racist” or “hetero sexist” or any other “ist” or “ism” is slapped down on you. Both have managed to create an intelligent dialogue, of which people on all sides of this issue have come to respect. It is not always easy to stand up and speak in such a heated political climate where the fight is very personal, but both have done the OC proud in standing for maturity, personal responsibility, and criticism of all forms of government, no matter how disfunctional or inane.

Our distinguished alumnus Mark Hemingway has the Weekly Standard’s cover story this week, on Blackwater USA and the rise of private military contractors. From a tour of Blackwater’s giant training facility, to interviews with it’s top executives, to the history of private military contractors, this fantastic piece has it all. Particularly interesting is the possibility of private military contracter involvement in Darfur and other humanitarian missions. Great work, Mark… thanks for proving that the Commentator can be a stepping stone to bigger things than just a liver transplant!

**Update** Link to the story via the picture.

This is a little outdated, and many of you who are “in the know”, so to speak, have probably already read it. Nonetheless, this is the cover story for the March third issue of the Weekly Standard, written by Oregon Commentator alum Mark Hemingway. It’s already gotten some play in the blogosphere from the likes of Hit and Run and the Volokh Conspiracy, and in my opinion it’s easily the funniest and most interesting article about that unlovable lobbying loser. I mean, it’s all about the making of Abramoff’s Dolph Lundgren film vehicle Red Scorpion. Awesome

A big, big thank you is due to the following people who chipped in money in order to give us two brand spankin’ new boxes: Bill Beutler, Ed Carson, Bret Jacobson, Owen Brennan Rounds, R.S.D. Wederquist, and, of course, Tim Dreier. Tim was instrumental in organizing and paying for the purchase of the boxes (not to mention this website, which he pays for out of pocket.) This magazine is what it is today thanks to our alumni- without them, we’d be just another characterless rag. Thanks a lot, fellas.

This doubles our total number of outdoor distribution points. You can find Commentator boxes across the street from the UO Bookstore, next to the PLC bus stop, on a kitty-corner from the EMU Amphitheatre, and on Agate St. across from Hamilton. You can find indoor racks in Lillis, Hamilton, Carson, and the EMU. We will be adding two more outdoor boxes soon enough, this time out of our fundraising account.

Something not about London for a change: distinguished alum William Beutler’s latest venture is now available to the entire interweb! The National Journal’s Blogometer is here. Every day, Bill sits down early in the morning with a cup of coffee and reads every single blog in the world, then writes a concise digest of them all. This is his story, hitherto available by subscription only.

But do we make the blogroll? Do we bollocks. Where’s the love, WWB? Where’s the love?

We know him as Armed Prophet, Washington Canard, and Oregon Sports Fan. However, his name is apparently Bill Beutler, and in addition to maintaining far too many blogs, he finds the time to appear in the mainstream press as well. Kudos.