The final presidential debate is slotted to begin this evening, and all I can think of is what silly things Mitt Romney might say about the Middle East. What with Big Bird and “binders full of women,” combined with a lack of real clash between the major party candidates, I’m much more interested to see what will happen in the Oct. 23 debate between third-party candidates. That’s right, on Tuesday night, Gary Johnson, Jill Stein@@names checked@@ and two other presidential candidates will be debating about the issues, with Larry King moderating. I just think either of those first two names would be preferred to the status quo of either Romney or the president, a status quo that accepts cutting PBS, NPR and Planned Parenthood to pay for broad-based large tax cuts as a viable political strategy.
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The random drug testing policy for the University of Oregon’s student-athletes sparked a fever pitch that has tapered off some. But it is a serious matter, both as its own issue and in its situation as a UO policy. To begin with, the current status of the UO constitution — a much-lauded creation when its most recent amendments were ratified — requires the UO president to deal with UO issues with the Senate. Some have argued — and I agree — that the matter of the policy including revocation of scholarships makes it an academic one, which should have required Senate approval. Constitutional authority is not situational and attempts by administrative powers to subvert it should be checked carefully. On the other note, as not all students are required to submit to drug testing, this verges on the territory of treating student-athletes as unpaid employees, an issue … I don’t want to get into at this time.
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Ducks football’s defense continues to impress, mostly shutting out its latest challenger in the Arizona State Sun Devils, even as the team drops week by week in the BCS rankings. As I’ve said on Twitter, don’t despair Duck fans, with the schedule currently in front of the team, as long as they take care of business, it’s in their own power to get to Miami on Jan. 7.