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Jeff Klein

Minneapolis, MN
Commenter for
4 years 28 weeks

Recent Comments

Posted on 04/23/12 at 12:01 pm in response to Horse manure litters the road as Americans move to electric cars

"effects of CO2 emissions - and the net reductions from using hybrid/electric vehicles - are too far removed from consumers to significantly affect purchasing decisions. "

Which is why we need to charge people appropriately for this externality.

Posted on 04/19/12 at 05:14 pm in response to What’s really behind the abortion bills in Legislature?

... have some kind of logic test for commenters that would weed out anybody who doesn't see the gaping fallacy in that line of thinking.

But in the interest of contributing something, I'll give Mr. Tester a hand. Somebody that doesn't exist can't be angry about not existing, and an aborted fetus is no sadder about never having been born than someone whose parents thought about having a child but then changed their minds.

Posted on 04/10/12 at 11:19 am in response to College students tell Franken, Dayton about impact of student debt

I'm usually the first guy to jump on the too-much-management bandwagon, but I don't think this is entirely fair. 40 executives running a $2.4 billion institution with something like 100,000 students doesn't seem way out of hand, nor does that pay compared to their private-sector counterparts. The fact the of matter is the state has slashed the U's budget by many millions of dollars repeatedly year after year, and trying to distract from this by haggling over whether the U should employ 40...

Posted on 04/09/12 at 10:34 am in response to Twin Cities’ exurban housing boom stalls — perhaps for good

Cities revive themselves because the land, due to density, is desirable. And most city housing was built more robustly, or has been maintained because the land is desirable. Cities will continue to reinvent themselves, but our experiment with exurbia will end in a messy disaster of ghost subdivisions.

Posted on 04/05/12 at 10:49 am in response to Minnesota builders warn energy-code changes would raise price of homes

To consider only the savings in energy costs in dollars is only one side of the equation. Yes, it matters directly in terms of the house's affordability in the short term. But since what we pay for energy has almost no relation to its actual value due to the fact that energy costs don't factor in externalities (from wars to control the price of oil, to oil company subsidies, to the almost unestimatable costs of global warming), using such a cost analysis is a poor way to make decisions...

Posted on 04/05/12 at 09:39 am in response to Strib: Scrutinize Blue Cross Medicaid payments

It's embarrassing when the idiotic behavior of our local GOP is exposed to the rest of the world. We used to be able to proud of the way our state worked. Now the rest of the country can watch as the GOP executes Plan Cold Alabama.

Posted on 04/05/12 at 09:32 am in response to With final passage, fate of Photo ID constitutional amendment will be up to voters

Yeah... see, the thing about that is, it's not a thing.

Posted on 04/05/12 at 09:34 am in response to With final passage, fate of Photo ID constitutional amendment will be up to voters

... that that is more common than voter fraud, even if you only include fornication by Republicans.

Posted on 04/04/12 at 01:39 pm in response to A field guide to the vacant storefronts of East Lake Street

I always enjoyed the feel of East Lake and wish it was a bit livelier. There are actually many people that live in the East Lake area, and I think there's a deficit of bars and restaurants at least (this is why Merlin's Rest can charge $11 for a hamburger). Perhaps there just needs to be some kind of critical mass to support a few cool bars, restaurants, and art.

Posted on 03/26/12 at 06:52 pm in response to Wisconsin echo of Trayvon Martin shooting draws protests

Someone sneaking into your house and murdering you is just the next logical step from the evil that is a loud party next door.