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chuck holtman

minneapolis, MN
Commenter for
3 years 37 weeks

Recent Comments

Posted on 09/14/11 at 04:50 pm in response to What Obama's jobs plan would mean to Minnesota

Ms Kohls (#5): If in fact unemployment is worse now than it was in 2009, how is this evidence that the stimulus didn't work? Wouldn't the proper comparison be the level of unemployment now with or without the stimulus? Also, many progressives and economists faulted the stimulus, in advance, as being too small to trigger a structural positive readjustment of economic activity and money flows. If this is correct, then wouldn't the lesson of the stimulus be not that we should forego a jobs...

Posted on 09/13/11 at 10:10 am in response to College Republicans protest water bottle ban at St. Ben's

Well, we can see what pablum these innocent little children have been fed for breakfast. Hopefully now that they are at college they will learn that understanding "market theory" includes understanding market failure and the orthodox bases for public intervention. Cute little things ...

Posted on 09/08/11 at 11:51 am in response to GOP 'debate': Awful on almost every level

Perry's reference to Social Security as a Ponzi scheme is revealing, again, through the ever-reliable lens of psychological projection. Government is all about establishing commitments and then respecting them over time. This is one reason why government is superior to the private sector in the realm of social insurance. Perry's statement simply reveals that he and his fellow travelers are fully prepared to savage the broadest mutual commitments of our society in pursuit of private...

Posted on 09/07/11 at 05:16 pm in response to The one thing Dems and Repubs agree on: That the other is radical

So if Charles Manson says that Mahatma Gandhi was a mass murderer, does that mean there's nothing to differentiate them? I'm with Paul (#2): false equivalency of the stupidest kind. Besides, what does "radical" mean? In a world barreling toward the abyss, some sorts of radicalism are essential if humanity is to survive. Conversely, some sorts of radicalism simply hasten the plunge. And it isn't that difficult to distinguish the two on the basis of things known as "facts."

Posted on 09/02/11 at 04:21 pm in response to Former President George W. Bush to speak at local synagogue

Mr Levin (#6) - Of COURSE it is appropriate for folks to judge Beth El on the basis of its choice of fundraiser. Beth El is a leading civic institution and one that participates actively in defining the ethical stance of our society. If it were to raise money by selling folks the opportunity to flog a homeless child, should that not be judged? While you may not share the view, many people consider Mr Bush to be a war criminal and conniver in torture who did more damage to this nation and...

Posted on 09/02/11 at 11:29 pm in response to Former President George W. Bush to speak at local synagogue

Mr Levin (#13) - First, what I think isn't the point. The point I am forwarding is simply that it is perfectly appropriate to judge a leading ethical institution by those to whom it chooses to give a platform and on whom it chooses to publicly confer respectability. But since you are asking, I would not equate pandering, philandry and petty lying with the squandering of hundreds of billions of dollars in social wealth on the killing and immiseration of millions of innocent people solely to...

Posted on 09/01/11 at 05:04 pm in response to Is Bachmann positioning herself as 'the new Margaret Thatcher' with American Legion speech?

I'm positioning myself as "the new Albert Einstein" or, hmm, maybe "the new LeBron James." Can't decide...

Posted on 08/31/11 at 03:31 pm in response to State says no to alternative St. Croix bridge plan

"... the existing Stillwater Lift Bridge, which is aging and causes great congestion in downtown Stillwater."

Close the lift bridge to motorized traffic. That will address congestion in downtown Stillwater and ensure no tragedy from the aged condition of the bridge. Now that the problems are addressed, what is the justification for a $700M duplicative crossing to rural Wisconsin?

Posted on 08/31/11 at 08:30 pm in response to State says no to alternative St. Croix bridge plan

James (#3) - I've had the experience that simple solutions often are good solutions. So while your maxim otherwise may fit your experience, it doesn't aspire to a rule. To the substance, the cited issues are Stillwater congestion and a structurally unsound bridge. My simple solution solves those problems fairly elegantly. What to do about the expectations of folks used to crossing the river at that point is a wholly separate question. Should Minnesota taxpayers spend close to a billion...

Posted on 08/29/11 at 03:16 pm in response to Will proposed St. Croix bridge hurt Bachmann campaign?

There's an alternative that solves the problem, and doesn't cost a penny. Close the lift bridge to motorized traffic. No more traffic jams in Stillwater, no more risking of lives on an aging bridge. Done. Use the money for hundreds of bridge repairs across the state.