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Pat Berg

Twin Cities
Commenter for
1 year 23 weeks

Recent Comments

Posted on 01/14/13 at 10:10 am in response to Digital billboards draw critics — and a small but lucrative slice of outdoor ads

First, I think that animated displays on digital billboards should be prohibited. Off the top of my head I can't think of any examples, but I seem to recall having seen an animated display at least once.

If my recollection on this is faulty, so be it. But I do think an animated display would be more likely to be a hazard due to holding a driver's attention longer.

And secondly, I wonder if any studies have been done to assess the cycle time (the amount of time any given ad...

Posted on 01/11/13 at 11:24 am in response to Lessons to learn from Dayton brothers’ fateful decision in St. Paul

I hate driving next to it or walking under it - it just looms over you.

Whatever they build there next, I hope they will keep one word in mind - setback!

Posted on 01/09/13 at 11:31 am in response to Do members of Congress work hard?

It seems to me you stopped short of reporting a full accounting of what Representative Nolan found so concerning. From http://www.startribune.com/politics/blogs/185928001.html:

"By Nolan’s estimate, the average 'call time,' is about 30 hours a week. 'The time that people are spending now raising money and campaigning is time Congress used to spend...

Posted on 01/09/13 at 02:48 pm in response to Do members of Congress work hard?

Ira Glass also did a pretty effective program on this subject last year on "This American Life":

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/461/transcript

It's an aspect of being a legislator that's slowly taken over a huge chunk of their daily time, and I'd bet most Americans have no idea how many hours...

Posted on 01/09/13 at 11:36 am in response to DFL legislators, even with full control, will find plenty to fight about

Republicans tend to march in lockstep while Democrats tend to have a more nuanced view of things.

While I prefer the second approach from an intellectual perspective, it certainly makes for more complex discussion and (arguably) less effective political strength.

All I can say is, "Here we go again. Sigh."

Posted on 01/08/13 at 09:41 am in response to Rick Nolan: 'Congress is not governing'

I'm always annoyed when I eat at a fast-food restaurant that offers bottled drinks and there is no recycling container available when I finish my meal, so I have to schlep my bottles home and recycle them there. I'd like to see a rule that if a restaurant offers food or drink in recyclable containers, then it must also provide suitable recyclable waste container(s). Sure, it's a small thing, but every little bit helps.

Posted on 01/10/13 at 12:06 pm in response to It is time to repeal the Second Amendment





Talk about a "take it to the other extreme" response.

No one is talking about wanting to "tear the Constitution down". They're having a reasonable discussion about a possible repeal of one Amendment (and presumably replacing it with another).

This has happened before with other amendments, and our Constitution is still with us.

You really should learn that making such alarmist and overblown reactions does a lot to hurt your credibility.

Posted on 01/10/13 at 01:24 pm in response to It is time to repeal the Second Amendment





I thought you valued the study of and learning from history (see http://www.minnpost.com/politics-policy/2013/01/tallying-gun-deaths-one-...).

Criticizing Greg for engaging in what you bemoaned a lack of in the other...

Posted on 01/07/13 at 05:43 pm in response to Legislators' economic disclosure statements are kind of a joke

From the MPR article:

"Sometimes when you're a consultant, what that means is you're offering yourself as a person who is going to offer advice," Hann said. "And sometimes you're asked to advise on different things. And if you say I'm going to consult on only this topic, well, what if someone comes along and says I'd like you to consult on another topic? Does that mean you can't do that?"

Answer: No, it means you update your disclosure form and add the additional topic you'd...

Posted on 01/10/13 at 11:46 am in response to Groups plan national 'Gun Appreciation Day' for Jan. 19

Your final question has nothing to do with the article and is an attempt to highjack the thread. If you're so darned interested in a discussion of this, abide by MinnPost guidelines, write your own article and submit it to "Community Voices" for publication.

But quit trying to highjack unrelated threads.