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Brian Simon

Minneapolis, MN
Commenter for
5 years 26 weeks

Recent Comments

Posted on 05/16/11 at 11:34 am in response to McCollum tries again to ban federal funding of NASCAR

"The amendment would have prohibited any funds in the bill from being used "to sponsor motorsports race drivers, racing teams, or racing events.""

Instead of singling out one form of advertising / recruiting, perhaps Rep McCollum should instead force Fed agencies to justify such expenditures by quantifying the results of such spending. Perhaps the VA determined that NASCAR sponsorship is an effective way to deliver their message to the target audience. That should be the focus of...

Posted on 05/12/11 at 12:25 pm in response to It's going to happen: Senate OKs anti-gay marriage vote

Opat said ... 'I’m not a fan of the Metrodome site and I wouldn’t be interested in working on it.’

Has anyone asked him what he thinks should be done with the Metrodome site when it is no longer in use by an NFL franchise? That problem needs to be solved whether they go to the farmers market, Arden Hills or Los Angeles.

Posted on 05/11/11 at 03:19 pm in response to The state of hipness: Minnesota apparently has the most hipsters, even if most of us don't know what that means

For the record, if you factor price into the equation, Pabst Blue Ribbon is the best damn beer in America.

Posted on 05/11/11 at 12:44 pm in response to The limited gene pool of potential prez nominees

"instead of finding the best candidate among 300 million people every four years, we’re only allowed to choose among about 200"

Perhaps the answer was discussed outside the excerpt, but the question I want to ask is: who is being excluded from the pool for failing to meet the de facto criteria of being VP/Senator/Governor?

Posted on 05/06/11 at 01:35 pm in response to A strange GOP debate

"TPaw seems mostly to be going for an “I ain’t crazy” appeal. He has repudiated all former moderate positions, so as not to be eliminated by the righty purists. But he hopes there will come a time when the Repub electorate will decide it can’t go with a flame-throwing novelty candidate."

Couple that with his straightforward statement that he was 'wrong' about cap-and-trade & I'd say he wants to be in the 'not crazy' group with Romney, but not in the 'flip-flopper' group with...

Posted on 05/04/11 at 12:25 pm in response to Tax revenues and a new Vikings stadium: A payback?

Art Rolnick did a study on stadium payback a number of years ago and concluded that ROI on a stadium 'investment' is much lower than other public investments in things like schools and early childhood education. In tough times, we need to be maximizing bang for the buck - which a football playground will not.

Posted on 04/29/11 at 12:51 pm in response to Shocking study says Minnesota not really all that bad for business

"The states with the lowest (North Dakota) and highest (Nevada) current unemployment rates don't show up on either the 10 best or the 10 worst states when ranked by E&Y for business tax policies designed to get comanies to build and hire."

That should not come as a surprise. There is not as direct a relationship between corporate success and the employment rate as the pundits would have us believe. This likely leads from the talking point that 'private enterprise creates jobs' [...

Posted on 04/28/11 at 11:17 am in response to Should Justices Ginsburg and Breyer retire now?

I'd rather see Scalia & Thomas retire now.

Posted on 04/28/11 at 11:16 am in response to Farmers Market site gaining momentum for Vikings stadium

"Gregg Steinhafel, CEO of Target Corp., which has become downtown's major player, gave the Republican Party of Minnesota $25,000 in 2010."

Strange how these corporate fatcats are all about low taxes & small government until its time to tax the masses for business subsidies.

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Posted on 04/27/11 at 02:38 pm in response to Obama's long-form birth certificate

"Pres. Obama made a five-minute appearance before the press corps, in which he tried to appear amused ("bemused" was the word he used) and to reiterate that he -- and the rest of us -- have better things on which to spend our time."

For those who missed it, there is an article in last Sunday's New York Times Magazine about a forthcoming biography of Stanley Ann Dunham - the president's mother. An excerpt describes how in Indonesia, one learns to not respond to people who are teasing...