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Robert Ryan

St. Paul, MN
Commenter for
4 years 1 week

Recent Comments

Posted on 06/24/11 at 01:51 pm in response to Judge Gearin makes clear: This shutdown will hurt

So how did we avoid a hard shutdown in 2005?

I believe in 2005, several portions of the budget had already been passed and signed into law, so only part of the government was not funded by July 1st. This time, Governor Dayton vetoed the whole shebang.

Posted on 06/02/11 at 04:40 pm in response to If state constitution is enforced, this shutdown could be horrible

The Minnesota Constitution says:
Sec. 8. REDRESS OF INJURIES OR WRONGS. Every person is entitled to a certain remedy in the laws for all injuries or wrongs which he may receive to his person, property or character, and to obtain justice freely and without purchase, completely and without denial, promptly and without delay, conformable to the laws.

Sections 6 and 7 also indicate that justice must delivered in a speedy manner.

The MN Constitution says the court must...

Posted on 06/03/11 at 07:41 am in response to If state constitution is enforced, this shutdown could be horrible

Alec,

My point was that the constitution does not allow the other two branches of government to defund the courts. There's an argument that the courts can order the state to fund the courts, budget or no budget.

Posted on 01/20/11 at 08:43 pm in response to With fewer 'allies' this time around, labor finds itself under major assault at Capitol

Not surprising coming from the party that thinks establishing a minimum wage was a communist plot.

The destruction of unions is part of their strategy that, according to the census bureau, has seen the largest income gap between the upper few percent and everyone else ever recorded. Republicans claim their strategies will create jobs. What it really does is impoverishes most people while transferring wealth into the pockets of the moneyed class. We are witnessing the destruction of...

Posted on 01/14/11 at 11:13 am in response to The Star Tribune's op-ed lineup turns rightward

I don't think the problem I have is not wanting to read opposing points of view. It's just that so much of what gets printed is predictable political claptrap. If you tell me the topic of a Kersten or Krauthammer article, I could write the article. There are some exceptions. I like David Brooks.

The problem is the institutional proselytizing for conservative ideas I see coming from the media. Despite the canards about the 'liberal media' I see very little space devoted to liberal...

Posted on 01/13/11 at 01:46 pm in response to The Star Tribune's op-ed lineup turns rightward

There was a time when I read both the Pioneer Press and Strib. One of the first things I would do was open up the opinion pages. I never read the PP anymore. I get the Wed-Sun editions of the Strib and rarely open the opinion page - it's all so predictable, and the rightward tilt is just not worth the aggrivation.

As soon as I post this I'm calling the Strib to cancel Wed-Sat. I'll keep getting the Sunday edition because I still like to page through the ads and sometimes they have a...

Posted on 01/12/11 at 08:11 am in response to Big changes planned for St. Paul schools: less busing, some closings (and re-openings)

Another change a teacher told me about is that some schools will be adding an hour to the school day. She said this change would take effect in the 2011-12 school year at her school.

Posted on 12/21/10 at 04:42 pm in response to Census numbers released: Minnesota retains all eight congressional districts

One thing about Texas and Florida that will influence triditional politics is that the increase is in part a result of the birthrate among the Hispanic population. Their politics might not be quite the same as the aging white population of those states.

Minnesota might want to figure out away to increase growth if they want to hold onto those 8 seats 10 years from now.

Posted on 12/14/10 at 07:27 pm in response to St. Paul mayor criticizes today's school closings, but superintendent defends decision as 'Safety first'

Maybe the mayor got his nose out of joint because he perceived the school closing as a criticism of the city's efforts. I know this morning on the way in to work it was pretty bad on city streets - no criticism implied - it just takes a long time to clean up after a couple of feet of snow get dumped on you.

I drive on city streets to get to work and I was just glad there were no school buses to contend with today. My usual seven minute drive took 30+ minutes. I'm sure had there been...

Posted on 12/13/10 at 11:00 pm in response to Star Tribune offers free e-edition for a week

I feel pretty special being part of the unlucky 2 percent. Didn't get my Saturday paper either. I'm skeptical of their delivery claim.