Five in Five

Mari Margil

My Top 5 Most Disappointing People of '05:

Johnny Damon: Former Red Sox heartthrob who sold out to the Dark Side.

John Kitzhaber:  The King of non-decisionmaking.  It's that ol' deja vu all over again...didn't we already do this in '02 (remember John John, that US Senate race you didn't run for?!)?!  Enough!

John Kerry: Stop running!

Dave Chappelle:  Your show rocked, you rocked...and then you rolled (i.e., bailed).  Why, Dave, why?!

Steven Spielberg:  I hold you in the highest esteem.  You've directed many of my Top 10 favs (Raiders, Jaws, Close Encounters), but then you go ahead and make War of the Worlds.  Oy vey, Steven.  Though, of course, I forgive you as I expect you will dazzle me once more (Munich, perhaps?).  Happy Chanukah, Steve-o.

P.S.  For everyone whose sayin', but what about Brownie, W., or Jeb, or Condi, Rummy, Cheney, etc.  I say, with low expectations, it's hard to be disappointed.  No?

  • sasha (unverified)
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    Johnny Damon is so overrated. The Yankees are chumps for overpaying him so much.

    He's got no arm - journeyman 35 year old catchers take third base on him with impunity. He's a an OK hitter, but for a leadoff guy he is average at best. His on base percentage is really bad for a leadoff guy - he was about 20th in the majors last year.

    Beleive me - he will be very easy for the Red Sox to replace, and save $$ in the meantime.

    Now, you think he's cute, fine. But Solomon had to cut his hair and shave his beard, so maybe he's not so dreamy anymore.

    As a leadoff hitter, he ain't all that great.

  • Eric Berg (unverified)
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    Oregon Senate Democrats: "Majority. What is it good for?..."

    Ted Kulongoski: Nothing that hasn't already been said on BlueOregon. Great guy. The best. But a disapointment in office. Two sessions is enough.

    College of Cardinals: Two words/one bad choice to replace JPII: Joseph Ratzinger.

    Federated Department Stores:Sure, Meier & Frank hasn't been locally-owned since 1966 and I rarely shop there other than to buy mom's Christmas bell every year. But getting rid of a name that pre-dates statehood by two years and replacing it with 'Macys' is another "Where is the Oregon in Oregon?"

    Tillamook Bay and Siletz River salmon: Didn't land one I could keep this this year.

  • Jesse O (unverified)
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    I'd add in Peter Jackson for the terrible, special-effects-driven drivel King Kong. And Charlie Ringo for his stubborn cluelessness about land use -- thinking that voters want to weaken the laws. And OLCV for fawning over Ringo. And... Judith Miller for her so-called reporting. Did we mention Kelley Wirth? Or was she predicted to be bad? If so, let's add-in Basic Rights Oregon for supporting Diane Linn who both took the lead on gay rights, then managed to send mixed messages about her actions and validated the muddling of the equal right to marriage. Note to BRO: celebrate effective leaders, not just well-wishing ones.

    Just five? Damn.

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    I have to add the crowd at the Democratic Oregon Summit in Bend that cheered Kitzhaber when he criticized the party leadership for campaigning against Minis aggressively. My God this was a partisan crowd that to a person wants to oust Minnis. Yet when Kitzhaber urged us to forget about attacking Minnis most of the crowd cheered him on. This is the same guy who did little to get other Democrats elected and as a result had a Republican House and Senate.

  • David English (unverified)
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    I'm surprise at the fact you rush to bash John Kitzhaber in terms of whether or not he will run for governor. Yes, he did delay his decision on 2002, some feel to the point no one else had a chance to run against Gordon Smith.

    However, this situation is quite different. The incumbent governor is a Democrat, which puts any challenger in an uphill battle. I don't know if I'll support Kulongoski's bid for reelection at this point. Like many other people, I am disappointed with his lackluster performance.

    Given the situation, I have to wonder though, if those comments were made to benefit other candidates. Let’s just throw out some names…Vicki Walker and Pete Sorenson, both of whom have about a snowball’s chance in heck of winning the nomination, much less winning the general election.

    Certainly if it’s to try to force Kitzhaber into the race, it’s not the message we want to send.

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    Mike Bellotti: Giving in to the stupid virus that is the spread option offense, and despite a Herculean comeback effort by his players, losing to an Oklahoma team we should have torn up if we'd cared, and proving all these people (who come out of the woodwork whenever any positive word is said about U of O football) right for once that we're too young to be number 5 in the land.

    Hillary Clinton: Apparently thinks that selling out the Democratic base on Iraq, the Patriot Act, and a host of other important issues is going to vault her into the Presidency, even when a good 40% of the electorate, minimum, has such a visceral hatred of her that they'd sooner vote for George Bush for a third term (were it possible). Don't take your finger off that Senate seat, ma'am.

    Kitzhaber and his groupies: Y'all said it better than I ever could. But sitting Karen Minnis back down is a universal net benefit for Oregon.

    Oregon Congressional District 3: You've had DeFazio long enough, and your bench is deeper than Portland's. Time to make him the junior US Senator, pron-freakin'-to.

    Ernie Kent and the Oregon basketball team: Not even the second-best Division 1 team in PORTLAND. I told anyone at that program who would listen that Maarty Leunen doesn't bang or hustle, Brooks was too small to guard a Pac-10 point who posts up, and without rebounds, even Taylor and Hairston, good as they are, couldn't shoot you back into a game from the perimeter. Straighten it the hell out or I forget I ever watched Byron Scott shoot 25% for ASU, from the shaking rafters of Mac Court, before the advent of the three-point line. And Gator gear's a lot easier to get where I am.

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