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craig furguson

Minneapolis, MN
Commenter for
2 years 38 weeks

Recent Comments

Posted on 07/07/11 at 10:49 pm in response to From a state that works to shutdown: What changed in Minnesota politics?

An Republican Aunt who lived on the same block as Stassen and
Durenburger in South St Paul on "pill hill" told me when the young conservatives came after Reagan, they basically told her that she could keep the books for the caucus, but she was no longer one of the decision makers She remained a Republican for the remainder of her life, but her party had been basically hijacked. I went to a retirement party where Quie and Carlson were in attendance. They were still working the crowd,...

Posted on 07/07/11 at 02:00 pm in response to Molnau says T-Paw wouldn't keep aides who criticized him

I agree with Rolf, I don't see a problem with Vin Weber's "little bit of sex appeal" comment. The trouble is, you have to turn on the sound occasionally.

Posted on 07/01/11 at 10:04 am in response to Budget gap shrinks, but massive philosophical divide remains in shutdown battle

Governing, a national publication, has a pretty succinct and accurate synopsis(http://now.eloqua.com/es.asp?s=1222&e=225588&elq=96b4cdeec45b4a829d81bbd...)

"Talks imploded between DFL Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican legislative leaders in the final hours before a midnight...

Posted on 06/29/11 at 09:44 am in response to Gov. Dayton says time runs out Wednesday when the shutdown clock hits midnight

I wonder if at some point some GOP legislators will start peeling away and support a compromise.

Posted on 06/20/11 at 12:54 pm in response to Netroots Nation event reveals unhappiness among Obama supporters

"Pfeiffer seemed to feel the heat. "I promise you, the president shares your frustration," he said, assuring the audience that Obama is still the same person as he was on the campaign trail for the 2008 election." Maybe Obama wasn't the person we thought he was.

Posted on 06/17/11 at 06:11 am in response to GOP offers $200M for budget, but Dayton not impressed

"I know its not your job, but you do run across Governor Dayton's specific budget plan the rest of it would like to see it." Just look up the Governor's original plan and subtract 1.8 billion. Even with the tax hike, it is still going to hurt. That's why you are not going to see a "plan" until after an agreement. http://www.mmb.state.mn.us/

Posted on 06/16/11 at 03:22 pm in response to What it will take to find a Minnesota budget solution

The Governor has three more years to recover from a shutdown. The house has one more year before re-election. Guess who is going to come out on top?

Posted on 06/16/11 at 03:07 pm in response to Footnotes to the shutdown: Dayton told us how many he'd keep, but how many will be left behind?

"I don't see the court system on this chart. They are all state employees--where do they fall in the scheme of things?"
Dayton recommended that the court system continue. FTE counts in 2010 were: Supreme Court 293, Trial Courts 2,494,Court of Appeals 90, Public Defense Board 568, Judicial Standards Board 2. Not sure about the Guardian board. They'll probably make their own cuts as they see fit. Also note that the Ag budget was signed. There were 412 fte's there. So a little over half...

Posted on 06/16/11 at 08:25 pm in response to Feds deny aid to individuals for storm repairs in North Minneapolis

Hopefully they don't offer loans. Studies have shown the low income persons often cannot qualify.

Posted on 06/15/11 at 12:21 pm in response to Dayton's shutdown brief full of surprises

OK kids, for the fun of it compare the numbers in Daytons recommendations to stay open vs. the number of employees in the Minnesota State Office of Management and Budget employee fte pivot tables (the last update was second quarter 2010. Total fte's were 35,575. http://www.mmb.state.mn.us/doc/budget/report-fte/2010/fte-2.xls I'm counting 13,250...