October 30, 2006, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) spoke to University of Oregon law students on a number of contemporary issues including:
-civil liberties,
-security,
-Guantanamo detainees,
-Iraq war and its domestic effects,
-taxes,
-national energy policy
-and how all of these relate to the balance of power

Senator Wyden said he believed that the Bush Administration's handling of the Guatanamo detainees was poor. He also expressed his views on terrorism, and argued that the civil liberties intrusions after 9-11 were unwarranted and unnecessary. He felt that apprehending the 9-11 suspects before they were able to follow through could have been accomplished without such civil liberties infringements, because the conduct of some of the suspects had been sufficiently outrageous to raise red flags with the state security apparatus. Senator Wyden also discussed our discussed enery politics and advocated the uptake of alternative fuels such as biodiesel as part of the national energy policy. Overall, it was a very helpful and informative speech for all those who attended.