Not even worthy for fish wrap, bird cage liner and puppy training paper. It’s toxic waste.

Nick Coleman belong in the newsie’s wing Asylum for Deranged, Bitter Morons. Ooops, no offense intended to morons.

But they are absolutely wrong to dump Katherine Kersten, the only local editorialist that has a brain and can effectively use logic.

The Star-Tribune deserves to die – it’s a third rate paper run by fourth-rate left wing extremist ideologues – the faster, the better. I’d love to help them die faster/harder.

In case I haven’t been entirely clear – the Strib is less than worthless. It’s a foul and revolting thing that pollutes the Twin Cities on a daily basis. I would guess it’s the worst major newspaper in the nation.

Steve_Roberts on December 16, 2008 at 2:29 PM

Ditto.

It is a loathsome rag; the sooner it’s dead the better.

I might even hold a little celebration once it’s banko.

Since nature abhors a vacuum, something else will rise to take its place. Let’s hope it’s better. I have trouble believing it could be worse.

In case I haven’t been entirely clear – the Strib is less than worthless. It’s a foul and revolting thing that pollutes the Twin Cities on a daily basis. I would guess it’s the worst major newspaper in the nation.

That would be too bad, as no one really wants the Strib out of business. We need two dailies in this market, but we need them both to do better.

I’d like to see all print media out of business. Anyone who can survive on the web is more than welcome but there is no reason whatsoever for any newspaper to be printed. If you don’t have Internet access, you don’t matter to the rest of us.

…but will relegate the Strib to an also-ran among newspapers.

Uh, I think the Strib has pretty much been in this category for a decade now…

If not for the morbid and grim determination of Frau Strozek, our household would be free of this pestilence.

Thank God for HOT AIR, Day by Day, Powerline blog and the rest of New Media.

As for Nick Coleman, maybe he can join forces with Minnesota’s other resident pompous ass, Garry Keillor, and continue to write more of the same drivel endlessly for audiences comprised of the same chittering twits.

Ed, why so mush attention to a publication most of us have never seen & never will see?
If you wrote about my local paper, that wouldn’t interest me either, because I haven’t read it for years.

jgapinoy on December 16, 2008 at 8:32 AM

……….. because he is freezing his a@s off and needs to do something to keep warm.

Anyway, I wrote that about the Hudson Hornet’s barn-status before I read the actual text of the buyout. I don’t want to be oblique, and I know that saying nothing says something sometimes, but sometimes saying something means nothing, if you’re good at it. So, whatever.

If I’m reading this right, Lileks got a buyout offer. Maybe he’s speaking more generically about what’s happening at the Strib, but this sounds more specific to him.

Heck, they might not even be around to report Al Franken being placed into the Senate.

Adamski on December 16, 2008 at 10:31 AM

The Strib endorsed Norm Coleman.

Note that the only national daily that is increasing circulation is the Wall Street Journal. They combine Pulitzer winning reporting with a conservative editorial viewpoint. Think about that for a while.

Dodd and Frank should be in jail. Clinton signed the new revisions to the CRA (Community Restorative Act) that authorized (forced) lending institutions to loan money to people who had no way of paying it back.

Also, I might add, is that “profit” is a dirty word to some people.

cjs1943 on December 16, 2008 at 10:28 AM

Exactly, the money went to the wrong people, it needs to go to people who are “producing”.
Dodd, Frank, yes and even our Republican Cox, need to be swept out, and replaced.
The SBA has less then a 2.0% loan failure rate…but not for long.

If a small business has been in business for awhile and they have an established working relationship with their creditors/banks, why shouldn’t they get the loan? Again, it comes down to providing a service/product that customers want/need. JMHO.

cjs1943 on December 16, 2008 at 10:16 AM

No, that the misconception, it was like that in the 1070′s downturn, but it is different now.
Let me give you one quick example.
The SBA was established for small business loans, and banks rely on their guarantee for that money (SBA 7(a) and 504 programs). Their are three prongs to this loan fiasco, I will just feature one.
Money is loaned out at 2-3 over prime (by mandate), when prime was, so right now that loan is max at 3.5%, it can’t be sold on the secondary market. The banks can’t make money loaning at 3.5%, so they can’t get the money from the SBA, because gov. mandate is 2-3 (2.25% now I believe) over prime.
So they have a loan at 2.75%, or they can loan at 6.5% premium standard business loan (tied to LIBOR).
The SBA has billions sitting in their coffers, but can’t move the money because of regulations…that is a lot of money out of the investment sector…just sitting.
That is only one of three scenarios stopping small business from getting, start up or bridge loans.

juanito on December 16, 2008 at 10:22 AM

Yes, you are right. They are sitting on it.

Thats what R2B is saying, too. We’ve got some screwed up laws in this country. Dodd and Frank should be in jail. Clinton signed the new revisions to the CRA (Community Restorative Act) that authorized (forced) lending institutions to loan money to people who had no way of paying it back.

Also, I might add, is that “profit” is a dirty word to some people.

I hate to break it to you, but liberal bias has nothing to do with it.

YYZ on December 16, 2008 at 10:05 AM

I agree. If the issue were liberal bias, politically conservative venture capitalists would be swooping and buying these distressed properties for pennies on the dollar. But that’s not happening, for the same reason people don’t buy butter churn factories anymore.

As for those who aren’t familiar with Nick Coleman: imagine the most pompous liberal windbag at your local fish wrap factory. The one who pontificates on nothing, regurgitates the same article again and again (Coleman’s favorite article is on the Twins stadium, which he has honestly rewritten 15-20 times), and makes arguments that are amazingly meaningless and empty.

js1943 on December 16, 2008 at 10:16 AM

They did get $350 Billion – but the banks that got it are sitting on it, or they’ve burned through it.

McClatchy FORCES me to get the paper 7 days a week. I asked for the Fri – Sun subscription, but they said that they include Thur at that rate. Withing 2 months I was getting it delivered 7 days at the 3 day rate. Way to pad those circulation numbers! In all honesty, I read the SacBee.com website daily, and hardly look at the dead tree except for Sunday.

Lileks is a daily must read. He can write his own ticket since he has so much more talent to offer than the Strib can, or will ever use. It’s just hard to step out on your own, and do it all yourself.

Like it or not a bad economy “thins the herd”. The strong companies with goods and services that the public demands and then can provide them at a price the public is willing to pay will survive a bad economy.

Bogeyfre on December 16, 2008 at 9:55 AM

That is just plain wrong, what is happening now is government policy is thinning the herd.
This is not 1970, the economic policies are much different. The effects much greater. Who will survive is not the ones with the “best goods and services” but the deepest pockets. The start-up companies may be the best at what they do, but without working capital they cannot grow their business.
It takes capital, before profits, to build a company.