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Jon Miners

Crystal, MN
Commenter for
5 years 24 weeks

Recent Comments

Posted on 02/11/11 at 11:41 am in response to Keeping up with the Joneses: difficult but necessary

I would be fiercely opposed to any discrimination in income tax rates based on the kind of work someone does. Professional athletes, as it stands, pay a huge amount in taxes. They should not be asked to pay more.

As for the owners, they don't make much from their teams because of the way their finances are constructed, both for tax and for public relations reasons, as well. While I would oppose discriminatory rates for owners as well, in practical terms it wouldn't matter.

Posted on 06/16/10 at 11:14 am in response to Emmer searches for distortions -- and finds lame examples

The sense I get in talking to people is that the Pawlenty mode of government is played out, that he and by extension, Republicans, have lost the mandate of heaven. I think the high relatively uniform poll numbers all the DFL candidate have reflect that general sense, rather than personal reaction to any of the candidates on both sides, who are still largely unknown, with the exception of Dayton.

Posted on 06/16/10 at 10:31 am in response to Emmer searches for distortions -- and finds lame examples

"Either the campaign is still "early", or the DFL is behind schedule."

And the answer is, of course, the DFL is behind, way behind, schedule.

Minnesota Democrats remind me of the great scene in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid", where one of the characters learns to his detriment that in knife fights, there are no rules, and you can't wait for somebody to say start. Republicans campaign constantly. Since they have little interest in actually governing, they don't have much...

Posted on 07/06/09 at 07:07 am in response to Pawlenty in Aspen talking about education at 'ideas fest'

I suppose that's one of the junkets lame duck governors participate in.

Posted on 02/16/09 at 04:52 pm in response to Coleman-Franken trial notebook: Musings as we enter -- egads! -- Week Four

"I can't rent a DVD at Hollywood video without a photo ID when I don't have my membership card with me no matter how many people there "vouch" for me."

I can't remember the last time a merchant asked me for ID. These days, when I use a credit card for a small purchase, they don't even want my signature. I am never carded in liquor stores or restaurants. At Hollywood Video, it seems, you don't have to produce an ID if you have a membership card.

It might be useful to ask why...

Posted on 02/16/09 at 02:10 pm in response to Coleman-Franken trial notebook: Musings as we enter -- egads! -- Week Four

"Why isn't a runoff election between Coleman and Franken being given strong considered?"

Because there is no provision in law for it. The election was held last November, and now it's time to count the votes and figure out who got the most.

Posted on 02/10/09 at 11:59 am in response to Pope must retract rehabilitation of Bishop Williamson

I am not a Catholic and therefore it is inappropriate for me to make judgments on Catholic issues. But I would point out that what the pope has done here is lift the excommunication of Williamson. I don't think that amounts to any sort of rehabilitation.

Posted on 01/27/09 at 07:00 am in response to Slate rips Larry Fitzgerald, Sr.

My impression is that the Slate writers were being more critical of the national scribes who were taking Mr. Fitzgerald's word for how unbiased he was. I think they missed Larry's irony.

Posted on 12/05/08 at 12:24 pm in response to Connecting the purple dots of stadium politics and the Viking suspensions

"You realize he'll be able to sell the franchise in a couple years for at least $1 billion without a new stadium, don't you?"

I simply don't care whether about the deal Zygi makes for himself. He is going to make his money somewhere. What I do care about is whether a good deal or bad deal is made on behalf of Minnesotans. I am in favor of driving as hard a bargain as we can to keep the Vikings here. My guess is that the Wilfs will settle for less here than they can get elsewhere. But...

Posted on 12/05/08 at 10:05 am in response to Connecting the purple dots of stadium politics and the Viking suspensions

Something to remember about NFL football franchises. The market for them is much more competitive than for some other sports because the cost and commitment to NFL games is relatively inexpensive. That means the pool of cities that can support an NFL team is much larger than it is, for example with baseball which requires much larger communities to support it.

The NFL thrives in Green Bay, a small Wisconsin town. And the Rams found it profitable to leave the large Los Angeles market...