Autumn Aspirations and a New Beerchaser Notable

Posted on October 14, 2025 by Thebeerchaser

Welcome back to Thebeerchaser. If you are seeing this post through an e-mail, please visit the blog by clicking on the title at the top to see all of the photos and so the narrative is not clipped or shortened.(External photo attribution at the end of the post) (#1)

Fall is my favorite season. The crisp air and sunny days in Oregon before we have six months of daily rainfall make it a great place to live. Tailgating at football games is a hallowed tradition and the leaves fall at the same rapid pace as Bill Belichick’s college coaching career at the University of North Carolina, althugh the leaves have better interpersonal skills.(#2 – #3)

College football is now not one of Thebeerchaser’s favored topics – a sentiment reinforced today when the Oregon State Beavers lost to the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest and moved “forward” with a no-win and seven-loss season. Second-year Head Coach Trent Bray was fired the next day.

This cannot be pinned entirely on Coach Bray although he hasn’t done a good job solidifying his position by decisions and media interviews. The disintegration of the former PAC12, the transfer portal and NIL have essentially left OSU in a no-win position — literally.

For example, see below just a few recent headlines greeting Beaver fans in The Oregonian:

You get the gist…..

Not to belabor, but the first two paragraph of the third headlined article reads: (Oregon Live)

“What does rock bottom look like? It can’t look much worse than a cloudy October day in Reser Stadium where Oregon State fans booed, then bailed on the Beavers in a 39-14 loss to Wake Forest.

The Beavers (0-7) withered in every crucial moment and some players appeared to have given up on this OSU coaching staff under head coach Trent Bray.”

Although you might accuse me of living in the past, it’s especially painful since I was there during the Giant Killer era. The memorable highlight was in 1967 when the Beavs beat the OJ Simpson led #1-ranked USC Trojans 3 to 0 following an earlier season win over #2 Purdue and tied then #2 rated UCLA. Coach Dee Andros celebrates the USC win with his players in the photo below. (#4)

Tough to Watch but Fodder for my Introduction

Now my wife and I laugh because she is an Oregon Duck and our older daughter graduated from the University of Washington and married a third-generation, Husky. We love our respective alma maters because of the great educations we received, but football has been a fun topic of banter for years.

I currently serve as Vice President of the Abbey Foundation of Oregon and my responsibilities included helping to organize our recent Board retreat including introducing all of the speakers during that day and one-half gathering at the beautiful Mount Angel Abbey Hilltop. (#5)

One of the speakers was the President Rector of the Seminary, which is now doing very well after downturns and hardship during the pandemic. The backgrounds of Fr. Jeff Eirvin and his predecessor, Monsignor Joseph Betschart – both OSU grads – gave me a perfect opportunity to tap into the current football season in my intro. (see the excerpt below)

“After reflecting on the opening three weeks of the college football season, my wonderful wife of 45 years – by the way, she’s an Oregon Duck – exclaimed:

‘Don, it must be tough for you and other Beavers to watch OSU football this year.’

I responded:

‘Well Janet, while we won’t match U of O Football results in the near future – or ever – our mission at OSU is to continue to build an academic program our football team can be proud of.”

Today’s speaker is an example, and I pointed out to Janet that the last two President Rectors of the Seminary have both been Beavers. Msgr. Betschart, who served in that role for twelve years, graduated from OSU with degrees in nuclear engineering and general science and served five years in the U.S. Navy’s nuclear power program.

Fr. Jeff Eirvin received a BFA from Oregon State and worked in the field of advertising as a graphic designer prior to entering Mount Angel Seminary in 2005. After completing two years at Mount Angel, he completed his Bachelor of Sacred Theology in Rome.” (#6 – #7)

There’s Nothing Artificial About This Guy – the Newest Beerchaser Notable

Moving from football to more intellectual and weighty topics, let’s for a bit, cover artificial intelligence. Some synonyms for “artificial” include “pseudo,” “fake” and “phony” but reading just a few of the articles on this phenomenon would not incline you to use one of these labels to describe this technology.

If one uses a common search engine to inquire, “Is AI a trend?” 6,050,000 potential hits will appear. I haven’t used ChatGPT or any other AI model to help me write; however, a few of my recent blog posts have AI generated images (check the one with the football above). Long term, I’ll admit to more trepidation than optimism on this concept.

That’s why I’m glad that I know an incredibly talented young man named Kevin Frazier. We met in 2022 when he was in his third year at UC Berkley Law and edited a politically oriented on-line newsletter. He can now list on his incredible resume, the designation of “Beerchaser Notable.”

He asked me to submit a few articles recommending the perfect bar or brewery for each of the major Oregon Gubernatorial candidates to hypothetically chat with constituents to discern what was on their minds. I republished them in my blog. (#8) https://thebeerchaser.com/2022/04/29/beer-and-politics-part-1/

A Bright Future

Kevin graduated summa cum laude from the University of Oregon in 2015. He then earned his M.P.A. at the Harvard Kennedy School and subsequently received his JD at Berkley Law where he was Order of the Coif and passed the California Bar in 2022.

The title of this blog post is about aspirations and I had aspired to recruit Kevin to Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt, my former law firm, but after a six-month fellowship at the Miller Institute for Global Challenges and the Law, he received a prestigious one-year clerkship for the Montana Supreme Court.

Now, I received my M.P.A. at Portland State rather than Harvard, but I still had some great conversations with Kevin (he used a less erudite vocabulary) and that’s when I realized that rather than billing clients $500+ an hour, he should use his education to better serve humanity.

He is a true “policy wonk” in the most positive sense of the term. (#9 – #10)

I was therefore very pleased when he accepted a teaching position at the St. Thomas University Benjamin Crump School of Law in Miami, Florida, which welcomed him with an article entitled, “Incoming STU Law Professor Kevin Frazier Selected for Auschwitz Professional Ethics Fellowship Program.”

Concurrently, he was working as a Senior Research Associate at the Institute for Law and AI and they persuaded him to leave teaching to join them in a full-time position. It’s an independent think tank that researches and advises on the legal challenges posed by artificial intelligence.

I haven’t figured out (and Kevin’s partner probably hasn’t either) how he has enough time to also serve as a fellow for the Lawfare Institue:

“(The) mission is to produce scientific content on lawfare and the analysis of emblematic cases of the phenomenon. Lawfare is the misuse and abuse of law for political and military ends. It is the injunction of the words law and warfare for it is a legal war.”

Kevin Can Enlighten You Too!

Kevin authors a Substack publication entitled Appleseed AI. It offers essays, videos, and community chats about how to spread AI literacy and make the ingredients for AI innovation more generally available. This is a neglected topic that warrants far more attention. (#11)

An edifying publication

Subscribing to it has given me an education, of sorts, on AI – most notably the policy issues surrounding its implementation and future development. Kevin is an optimist and while I think, at times, he may be just a bit naive about society’s cooperative ability to harness and control this technology, I will leave you with why he has become a sought-after expert.

In his 9/22 article entitled “Mr. Frazier Goes to Washington,” he relates his testimony and that of three other experts before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet. (#12)

I’m biased because of my high regard for him, but the full testimony is shown in a video and I think the Subcommittee directed most of the questions to him. Unlike the disgraceful appearance of Attorney General, Pam Bondi last week before a very partisan Senate Judiciary Committee, this hearing was very bipartisan and informative – in large part because of the cogent expert testimony.

I urge you to check it out and subscribe to Kevin’s publication.

And on a Final Note….

Happy Halloween and be kind to Trick-or-Treaters. In Portland, however, we will unfortunately be cautious about answering the door for a masked person — unless we have our passports handy…(#13)

External Photo Attribution

#1. Wikimedia Commons (File:Acer saccharum Equinox Mountain Vermont.jpg – Wikimedia Commons). Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Author: Famartin – 17 October 2020.

#2. Wikimedia Commons (File:Bill Belichick 2019.jpg – Wikimedia Commons). Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. Author:
AlexanderJonesi – 6 October 2019.

#3. ChatGPT (https://chatgpt.com/c/68ec46d1-bcf8-8328-b304-bf43c5b37d93).

#4. Oregon State Athletic Dept. (https://osubeavers.com/honors/hall-of-fame/dee-andros/43).

#5. Mount Angel Abbey (https://www.mountangelabbey.org/).

#6. Facebook Fr. Jeff Eirvin (https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1876536385944106&set=a.1448964055368010).

#7. Mount Angel Abbey ((https://www.mountangelabbey.org/wp-content/uploads/MAL-Summer-2024.pdf).

#8. The Federalist Society (https://fedsoc.org/bio/kevin-frazier).

#9. Linked in – Kevin Frazier ((5) Kevin Frazier | LinkedIn).

#10. Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=kevin%20frazier%20attorney).

#11. (https://appleseedai.substack.com/).

#12. Appleseed A1(https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?shva=1#search/appleseed/FMfcgzQcpnVJtwBJKfpKPgTpdprgMVbZ).

#13. (https://chatgpt.com/c/68ec46d1-bcf8-8328-b304-bf43c5b37d93)

Beer and Politics – Part 1

Posted on April 29, 2022 by Thebeerchaser

Thebeerchaser studiously avoids political controversy although sometimes making observations on policy issues. That said, if you read the last blog post entitled “Thebeerchaser’s April Acknowledgements,” you will read about an admirable young man named Kevin Frazier – graduating this spring from Berkley Law to take a one-year clerkship for the Chief Justice of the Montana Supreme Court.

Besides his other accomplishments, Kevin, has been the Editor of an outstanding newsletter/blog named “The Oregon Way,” – a compendium of articles on public policy and current political issues by writers throughout the state.

Kevin suggested that I write several articles recommending the perfect bar or brewery for each of the major Oregon Gubernatorial candidates (there’s a slew as you’ll see below) to visit – to chat with constituents to find out what was on their minds outside of a political rally.

Now I know that many followers of this blog live a long way from Oregon, but I’m suggesting a model which is transferable to any jurisdiction. What better place to have meaningful dialogue than over a pint of beer in a watering hole? Regardless of whether someone is running for office in Missouri, Montana or Mozambique, they should belly up to the bar!

Below is the first of a number of installments that were published on The Oregon Way. Check it out and consider subscribing.

The Oregon Governor’s race has received intense scrutiny in recent months. From the controversial lawsuit regarding, former New York Times Columnist, Nicholas Kristof’s residency to the late entrance of additional candidates from both parties and the viable candidacy of an “unaffiliated” candidate, speculation, speechifying, and sound bites have defined the May 2022 Primary. (* External photo attribution at the end of the post).

Sorry Nick – you didn’t qualify for the ballot….*2

But how does one who wants to go beyond the surface of these candidates’ (16 Democrats, 21 Republicans and 1 Independent) platforms determine substance. As Jeff Gudman wrote in a recent piece for The Oregon Way, entitled “Oregon’s Next Governor:”

“….it is easier to speechify, bloviate if you will, then to do the hard follow up work that is not as exciting as making a pronouncement of some new program or initiative. Don’t talk in platitudes like investing in the 21st century workforce or serving the under-served. Be serious, be specific and then provide the sound bites.”

That’s a great point, but it occurred to me, “I want to know what makes these people tick. How do they relate to others, what’s important in their lives besides politics and what do they think about day-to-day issues Oregonians face?”

To really understand a candidate and his or her ability to relate to everyday voters, you have to do more than know their party affiliation. I’ve been a member of both political parties and unaffiliated and I worked for five years in the Clackamas County Elections Department, so I have a decent grasp of each party’s values, attitudes, and without stereotyping – the personalities of their candidates.

I propose a remarkable, albeit improbable solution to get a better sense of the true character and relatability of each candidate. It’s a solution based on my main avocation since 2011 when I retired as the COO of a large regional law firm based in Portland.

My hobby is visiting and reviewing bars and breweries and writing about the experience in my blog entitled Thebeerchaser.com. The narratives aren’t about beer but the watering holes themselves – the history, the regulars, the bartenders, and distinguishing features.

Originally the goal was to include just Portland bars, but with retirement travel, it expanded. After eleven years, I’ve reviewed almost 400 establishments – all over Oregon and throughout the US and a few in Europe. And the conversations have been remarkable.

Essayist Samuel Johnson (not candidate Betsy’s Dad!) reinforced this idea about the suitability of a tavern for this dialogue:

“There is nothing which has yet been contrived by man, by which so much happiness is produced as by a good tavern or inn … As soon, as I enter the door of a tavern, I experience an oblivion of care, and a freedom from solicitude: when I am seated…(wine/beer) there exhilarates my spirits, and prompts me to free conversation and an interchange of discourse”

In future articles here on the Way, I’ll suggest some specific watering holes for the individual candidates to get a better sense of Oregon, but I’d first offer these two bars as a great option for all Democrats and Republicans. And these two favorite Beerchasing establishments are both within two blocks of each other in Multnomah Village.

The Ship Tavern

The Ship Tavern would be a perfect place for all candidates to chat with Democrats and get a better sense of their perspective. Opened in 1946 in what was once a garage, it serves peanuts in the shell which the patrons throw on the floor. As one reviewer stated:

“The Ship isn’t anything to write home to Mom about . . . heck it probably isn’t even a place I would tell my Mom I went . . . but it knows what/who it is.

The bar was once home bar for the Portland Rugby Club and the two most popular recording artists on the juke box were Jackson Browne and Waylon Jennings. And in tradition of a notable Democrat – former Mayor Richard Daley – the Ship is a Chicago hangout as evidenced by the fact a few years ago, any time The Bears, the Cubs or the White Sox played, Pabst Old Style Beer – A Chicago favorite – was $1.50 and margaritas and Bloody Mary’s $3.50.

The Democratic candidates might be uncomfortable with the Big Buck Hunter video game, but would otherwise love this place with 24 taps.

Rennners’ Bar and Grille

Conversely, Renners’ Bar and Grill is a more “establishment” bar focusing on cocktails rather than beer. Established in 1939, it’s a “pull yourselves up by your bootstraps” kind of place Republicans would like – the bar burned completely down in 2018, but fought back and reopened in 2020. It’s known as a tough place with stiff drinks.

And the Republican political chats should be held in Renners’ Suburban Room – at the back of their bar – “it’s dark, it’s a little gritty…… Fleetwood Mac is somehow always playing and the food is greasy in the best way possible……The wells are a dollar instead of the drafts, and…. they’re the strongest you’ll get west of the river.”

The clientele is very different than the Ship – I talked to a nice guy who was an insurance adjuster. The guy on the other side actually ordered a vodka martini – wanted it shaken not stirred! Republican candidates could get an earful on their campaigns.

In closing, I should add that visiting a bar doesn’t imply nor necessitate drinking in excess (or drinking at all !), the most important thing is to engage in an open conversation with whomever happens to sit down next to you. Stay tuned for further discussion of “Beer and Politics!”

Cheers!

At the Horner Pub in the Lauterbrunnen, Valley of Switzterland

External Photo Attribution

*1 Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_State_Capitol#/media/File:Oregon_State_Capitol_1.jpg) This work has been released into the public domain by its author, Aboutmovies at English Wikipedia. This applies worldwide. Author: MO Stevens – 16 March 2007

*2 Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nicholas_D._Kristof_-_Davos_2010.jpg) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. Author: World Economic Forum 30 January 2010

*3 Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (http://, the copyright holder of this work, release this work into the public domain. This applies worldwide.) Author: M.O. Stevens 12 January 2009.

*4 Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dr-Johnson.jpg) This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author’s life plus 100 years or fewer. Source: The Gallery Of Portraits With Memoirs encyclopedia, United Kingdom, 1833.

Thebeerchaser’s April Acknowledgements….

Posted on April 27, 2022 by Thebeerchaser

Find out why this guy should imbue you with optimism – see below!

In these days of both national and international turmoil, divisiveness and lack of civility along with ominous global phenomena, it’s a real challenge to remain optimistic. So with an initial digression from bar and brewery forays, Thebeerchaser will provide some evidence in this post – perhaps one small step in encouraging you about tomorrow.

We all know the foils of much social media, but at the same time, it opens opportunities for expansive education, exploration and new relationships all over the world.

I have seen this in the ten years of Thebeerchasing.com where I’ve developed ongoing dialogue with bloggers ranging from Rich Carbonara – Beerwanderers.com – a guy whose written several books and gives beer tours in Bavaria, to Theresa, who lives in New Jersey and authors a wonderful blog – the National Parks with T. (Photos below of Acadia and Badlands National Parks)

And they’re diverse! For example, I get to read compelling narrative and see stunning photos of the Colorado wilderness and varied sites throughout the world in “Handstands Around the World” the adventures of Diana, a former gymnast, current college nutrition professor, and “perpetual vacation planner” in Denver.

She and her fiancé have spent most of the past 4 years exploring the never-ending beauty of Colorado and the surrounding states. She’s also working on summitting as many US state high points as possible (currently at 12/50). Her blog posts always include a photo of her incredible handstand as her unique trademark.

A few more also deserve recognition and my ongoing appreciation – Sandra J, a talented professional photographer authors a blog – “Into the Light Adventures” – she and her husband are retired and travel the country documenting the beauty of nature.

Then there’s Kelly MacKay’s blog Maritime Mac.com – Kelly is a fascinating lady from Canada with an incredible background – twenty years in the thoroughbred racing industry – seven as an exercise rider and thirteen as a successful jockey, ultimately incurring an injury which caused her to change careers.

Besides enhancing her education, she then worked as a trail guide on horseback tours in Ontario, labored in the financial industry and even as a cellphone sales person. She’s now in her dream job as a Fitness Leader to a Canadian Forces Base Gagetown in Oromocto, New Brunswick, Canada. Kelly has backpacked around Europe and has been to every US State but Hawaii and Oregon. Her travelogues are fascinating.

Another – no less interesting – Color My World where sixty-six year old Charly Holganza, born in then rustic Tagbilaran, in the island of Bohol, Philippines, entered the Philippine Military Academy – he joined the military at 17. Charly retired in 2012, after spending 37 plus years of devoted service.

Charly authors several blogs which embody his theme “Living, loving, learning, leaving a legacy.” The one I enjoy the most is his cogent and detailed analysis of the NBA – that’s right – an expert across the world with considerable insight.

And Finally, Jadi Campbell grew up in little New England/upstate NY villages, spent summers in a cabin in the woods, and attended a state university on the West coast. She decided at the age of 6 to be a writer, and earned a B.A. in English Literature and worked in corporate America until she became a Licensed Massage Therapist.

Living in Europe since 1992, she published her first of several awarding-winning books Broken In: A Novel in Stories in 2012. Her second novel Tsunami Cowboys followed in December 2014 and Grounded appeared in May 2016. In 2020 Jadi, published a collection of short stories, The Trail Back Out. Her blog covers everything from natural beauty to science.

But What About Kevin Frazier?

So how does Kevin Frazier work into this scenario? In November last year, I came across a blog – The Oregon Way – in which Kevin, the Editor, wrote a very compelling piece on a transportation policy issue. It also caught my interest because he referenced a dive bar!

I reached out by e-mail to compliment him – not just on his article, but his excellent on-line publication and we discovered some mutual background and acquaintances. My follow-up research revealed that we will be witnessing some great things from this young man in the future.

Through Linked-in I discovered that Keven was first in his Southridge High School class of 495 students in 2012. In the ten years since, his volunteer and leadership activities, internships in the public and non-profit sector and higher educational achievements are profound.

After graduation from the University of Oregon where he gave the Honors College commencement speech, he earned his Masters in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School while serving as a research intern and graduate teaching assistant.

He graduates this spring from University of California Berkley School of Law where he was a

ter passing the bar exam, he’ll head for Helena, Montana and spend the next two years gaining experience with two prestigious and competitive clerkships –

2022 – Chief Justice Mike McGrath on the Montana Supreme Court

2023 – Judge Michael McShane of the US District Court for the District of Oregon

And to reinforce the good news, he and his girlfriend, Dalton just got engaged.

Kevin and I decided that since COVID would preclude getting together to raise a mug in a dive bar, that we’d have a ZOOM Happy Hour – a great 90-minute conversation we had in January.

We still have not met in person because of travel complications. A meeting scheduled in San Francisco when my wife and I had planned to road-trip to the Bay City is now canceled because of Thebeerchaser’s herniated disk – that’s another story.

With his clerkships, Kevin has handed his editorial responsibilities to colleagues and I will miss his incisive commentary on subjects ranging from the lottery, to wages and living conditions of wilderness firefighters to selecting the judiciary.

I’ll still actively follow The Oregon Way’s piercing commentary on issues ranging from political analysis, tax policy, public health and issues all of us need be informed. So check it out below:

The Oregon Way is a nonpartisan blog that features contributors from around the state and across the political spectrum. You can .visit it here: https://theoregonway.substack.com/

Run by a volunteer team, the Way has no agenda other than reminding Oregonians of our capacity to get stuff done. That’s why the blog welcomes submissions from any and all folks who share a commitment to putting good policy before partisan goals. On this blog, nuance, complexity, and humility are respected and shared. Consider joining the Oregon Way volunteer team or submitting a piece for publication by reaching out to theway@or360.org

But Wait – There’s More….

Kevin and I discussed me making a written contribution to The Way and the result demonstrates that he not only has analytical, but creative skills. Oregon’s Gubernatorial race has an unbelievable number of candidates – nineteen Republicans, fourteen Democrats and an Independent.

He proposed that I suggest the perfect bar or brewery for the major candidates to visit during their campaigns – where they could have meaningful dialogue with the regulars based on the history and circumstances of the watering hole. This was a great idea and watch for the next posts of Thebeerchaser to see the result – something that was quite fun to write.

Cheers

External Photo Attribution

*1 Facebook page Harvard Kennedy School (https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=299945832166112&set=a.299945792166116)

*2 Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Taubman_Building.JPG) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Author: Bostonian13 12 June 2013.

*3 Facebook Page – University of California at Berkley Law School (https://www.facebook.com/UCBerkeleyLaw/photos/a.477083278124/1016173790)

*4 Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boaltsouthside.jpg) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Subject to disclaimers. Author: Donutmonger at English Wikipedia 14 July 2006.

Thebeerchaser

Bars, Breweries and Watering Holes – An Exploration

Tag Archives: Kevin Frazier Berkley Law School

Beer and Politics – Part 1

Thebeerchaser’s April Acknowledgements….