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Hiram Foster

Crystal, MN
Commenter for
5 years 30 weeks

Recent Comments

Posted on 12/20/09 at 04:54 pm in response to Earworms: Songs that get stuck in playback mode

I once had the problem with the theme song from "The Jeffersons".

Posted on 12/14/09 at 06:29 pm in response to DFL says it moved quickly to end controversial Kelliher contribution plan

What we see here is a reliance on authority, a legal opinion which as it turns out probably does not exist, instead of logic or just plain common sense.

Campaign finance rules are complex, and sometimes obscure. But a pretty good rule of thumb to follow is that you shouldn't try to do indirectly, what you can't do directly. In this case, you can't pay the obligations of a campaign, if for whatever reason, you can't contribute to the campaign.

Posted on 12/15/09 at 11:09 am in response to Washington insiders rate Ellison, Franken, Bachmann

It's not Ellison's job to please staffers either. It's the staffers job to please Ellison, and ultimately the people Ellison represents.

Where do staffers get off talking to newspapers? Isn't their job to be seen and not heard?

Posted on 12/15/09 at 08:54 am in response to Washington insiders rate Ellison, Franken, Bachmann

It most certainly isn't the job of our congressman to please Democratic insiders. It's his job to represent his district.

Posted on 12/13/09 at 07:31 am in response to Washington insiders rate Ellison, Franken, Bachmann

I was under the impression that the National Journal published only once every four years, to proclaim the current Democratic presidential candidate, the most liberal ever. It's good to know they publish at least once a year to provide a new and fresh source of conventional wisdom for inside the beltway types to republish elsewhere.

Posted on 12/09/09 at 04:11 pm in response to Day's move puts focus on Legislature's weak lobbying rules

"My response to that is that there are 1,500 lobbyists in the state and 2.5 jobs."

It only seems that way.

Posted on 12/09/09 at 09:06 am in response to My conversation with Michele Bachmann: 'I'm a lovable little fuzz ball!'

Generally, people who have met Michele and worked with her and against her like her personally. By all accounts, she is a very nice lady.

Posted on 12/01/09 at 05:50 pm in response to MPR: Taylor, Opperman withdraw Star Tribune bid

"A lawyer for the investment fund says the paper's current owners offered to sell less than a 25 percent equity stake, so Taylor and Opperman declined to proceed."

Curiouser and curiouser. A twenty-five percent equity ownership interest is probably not enough to give control in these circumstances since the majority of the shares would be held by other owners in a close partnership. Why would Taylor and Opperman make ownership of a less than controlling interest a condition of their...

Posted on 12/01/09 at 09:19 am in response to Star Tribune owners spurn Taylor/Opperman bid

The Strib's action with respect to the Taylor Opperman offer didn't establish a floor. Future prospective buyers are free to offer either more or less for a piece of the Star Tribune. The rejection of the offer merely establishes that the owners didn't like the bid they received yesterday for reasons they seem not to have disclosed. It might be reasonable to assume that this was because in owners' judgment the prospects of the newspaper might improve, but they have been consistently wrong...

Posted on 11/18/09 at 03:57 pm in response to Metrodome update: Angry Vikings blast stadium commission resolution

"No Hiram, what gives a "sports franchise" value is the loyalty and support of its "fans"."

I honestly don't think the loyalty and support of Vikings fans in New Jersey, for example, adds value to the franchise. Support from people out of state of the home region might add some value to an America's team franchise, like the Dallas Cowboys are or maybe used to be, but not to the Vikings.

"If you think that's a commodity only found in Minnesota, you're sadly mistaken."

I...