Skip to Content

Gregory Lang

Minneapolis, MN
Commenter for
5 years 18 weeks

Recent Comments

Posted on 06/02/09 at 02:54 pm in response to Supreme Court oral arguments: Did Coleman prove enough to overturn three-judge panel's decision?

Next stop after this. The US Supreme Court.

Posted on 06/03/09 at 01:05 am in response to Peterson emerges as obstacle to major energy and climate legislation

"Doing the math" on that $16,000 1500 watt windmill. A poster said 25% output. Historically, wind generators have delivered less than half the "nameplate" output over a 24/7/365 time period.

Let's be generous and go with the 25% nameplate "round the clock". Let's also be generous and value the electricity at ten cents per kilowatt hour. Around half of the electric bill is distribution, billing and administration so this is a generous figure.

Basically this windmill...

Posted on 06/02/09 at 01:56 pm in response to Roxana Saberi: Not a spy but ... [Update]

As a now retired civil servant I used to handle a lot of "confidential" information, some with people or cases in the news. I would have been fired or disciplined if I copied documents.

Let's say I have a court report on "famous man bits dog". I didn't give tips to reporters but reporters get them. The reporter needs to find a public document to write a story "famous man charged with biting dog".

The point here is that it was not up to Saberi to determine if the document is...

Posted on 06/02/09 at 02:18 pm in response to Roxana Saberi: Not a spy but ... [Update]

So the bottle of wine part wasn't true either. Almost all heavily Islamic countries
have unspoken protocols for Westerners to buy alcohol(I had a former boos who worked in Saudi Arabia.) Basically keep it to yourself and don't share with the locals. Iran has a lot of Russian equipment and depends on Russian technicians. Think about it.

The Iranians apparently weren't really thinking this out if they put her in a cell full of other "political prisoners". Sort of unique,...

Posted on 05/28/09 at 11:13 am in response to Geoffrey Canada: Here's how Minnesota can close its achievement gap in schools

Before being assassinated by the Symbionese Liberation Army Oakland's first black school superintendent Marcus Albert Foster outlined many of these same ideas in his book "Making Scools Work". The rare book is online at http://MakingSchoolsWork.com

Posted on 04/06/09 at 12:48 pm in response to House-passed tobacco legislation prompts heated reaction in Minnesota

There is a strong chance that the US Supreme Court, which permits advertising for prescription drugs will find this law unconstitutional.

Posted on 08/04/08 at 03:06 pm in response to No bold steps on gas prices -- at least not in the U.S.

So Air America claims that reducing the speed limit to 55 would end US imports? Hello!! We import 70% of our oil!

Here is a link to a list of imports by country. http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/company_l...

Number...

Posted on 04/28/08 at 05:44 pm in response to High drama in the courts: Bar owners try to skirt state's smoking ban

(1) On April 28, 2008, Gerald Abrahamson says: If they really are claiming to be putting on a play, then they will be able to show their city-issued license (or application--at a minimum) as a live-production playhouse...."

Actually, there is no such thing as a as a "city-issued licence as a live production playhouse."

If you have events open to the public a city can enforce reasonable fire and safety ordinances. This is reasonable in light of the history of fire deaths in...

Posted on 01/13/08 at 03:42 am in response to Beyond corn ethanol: Minnesota's rural economy positioned for enormous gains

I learned more from this article and this series than I have from almost any other series on biofuels.
The first point is the "vaporware" aspect. As this part pointed out the technology for "fiber to hooch" is still at least three years off. I've read twenty year old articles that predicted the same time for a breakthrough. What exactly are the problems?

Logically, a processing/distillation plant should be built adjacent to large power plants since the distillation requires...