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Tony Wagner

Minneapolis, MN
Commenter for
5 years 7 weeks

Recent Comments

Posted on 02/18/11 at 04:35 pm in response to What's the cheapest way I can watch the cable-only Twins?

Jason Walker:

This deal wasn't about money for the Twins -- it was about FSN and cable struggling to stay relevant in the Internet age. I highly doubt there is much monetary value in these 25 games -- remember, they were all summer Sunday afternoon broadcasts (when TV viewership is pretty low anyway), and they were only available for "free" to those with antennas in the limited Ch. 29 reception area.

This deal is almost certainly FSN/cable/satellite posturing. It's a shame we...

Posted on 02/18/11 at 04:22 pm in response to What's the cheapest way I can watch the cable-only Twins?

Iven Coffee:

If you can get OTA broadcast signals with an antenna, you can almost certainly get some form of satellite reception. I'm not sure what kind of trees block one but not the other...

Posted on 02/15/11 at 01:58 pm in response to Are the Twins giving up on Francisco Liriano?

Liriano may not seem like a "true" ace in a historical sense, for a franchise used to Johan Santana, but in present-day MLB, he is one. His performance (which seems to trade away some efficiency/durability for increased effectiveness) may come in a different shape than other aces, but he was still in the top echelon of MLB starters in 2010.

Mr. Gleeman's two ace contract comparables (Greinke and Johnson) were both safer investments at the time -- neither had Liriano's 2009 in their...

Posted on 02/14/11 at 08:45 pm in response to Is MPR's member drive fear-mongering about federal cuts?

On a related note, what would be the effect of these cuts at TPT? I notice they are running frequent dire warnings on their channels too. They seem less self-sustaining than radio, so I was just curious if the bite might actually equal the bark for them.

Posted on 02/14/11 at 08:42 pm in response to Is MPR's member drive fear-mongering about federal cuts?

Mr. Collins,

I don't think people doubt that CPB funding cuts aren't "real", but I think people do question the sudden, hyperbolic importance MPR is giving to 6% of their budget.

I generally enjoy your work, but it does seem like you are not providing the proper perspective here. A critical examination of any budget cut, in any organization, will likely reveal "critical departments" affected, with "pain" and "long-term consequences" involved. Institutions everywhere, public...

Posted on 02/15/11 at 01:42 pm in response to Letting Nick Punto depart is ultimately a bad move for the Twins

Just stumbled on this article.

I think it's important to remember than MLB contracts are not negotiated in the open. While it is easy to assume that Punto would have been available for the Twins to sign at $750k, that also implies that Punto would inform the Twins of his intent to sign at that price. That would effectively put a ceiling on Punto's offers, which is probably not standard operating procedure in free agent contract negotiations. For all the Twins knew, Punto may have...

Posted on 02/02/11 at 09:53 pm in response to Chairman Cornish comes out blazing as House committee advances bill to eliminate gun checks

Mr. Coffman,

On Jan. 26th, Rep. Drazkowski replaced the original language of the House File 161 bill. Here is a link to the original bill, which you reference, "as introduced" Jan. 20:

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bin/bldbill.php?bill=H0161.0.html&session=ls87

Here is the summary by the House...

Posted on 12/02/10 at 03:00 pm in response to Voter picture ID by constitutional amendment?

Mr. DeFor,

Do you realize that the voting issues you referenced in #10 would not be addressed at all by a photo ID requirement? Even felons and multiple voters can present a simple photo ID (legitimate or otherwise) -- in fact, it's quite likely that some already presented one in these cases. Unless you're advocating creating an entirely new "Voter ID" card to be issued to every voter in the state (although used only once every 2-4 years) that has to be scanned and validated by a...

Posted on 12/01/10 at 09:42 pm in response to Voter picture ID by constitutional amendment?

And Mr. Tester,

If Republicans are proposing the photo ID requirement to restore the integrity of election process, there is another "possible conclusion" to the Democrats opposing the measure: they may not believe that the integrity of our election process is in jeopardy. (It certainly seems as if data and logic are both on that side at the moment.)

Posted on 12/01/10 at 09:26 pm in response to Voter picture ID by constitutional amendment?

Mr. Tester,

Long post, but I think it's worth it...

If such a dependence on "bogus votes" was so persistent and clear, I suspect that one of the thousands of election officials to serve our state over the years would have noticed something substantive. Perhaps even our 2-term Republican Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer, now a leading advocate of voter picture ID, would have found something concrete during her time in office, no? I'd love to hear in detail how you allege...