He's probably planning a bid on Paul Douglas' place on Lake Minnetonka. I've heard he has some sort of fetish for homes owned by former KARE talent, and he missed out on Pat Miles' house when she and Bucky wed.

LAMBERT: The way Ridder is used to doing things, I'm guessing he had a clause in his Avista contract guaranteeing him equity on the mansion.

Paragraph 5 maybe should have read "disregard for business acumen, standards and ethics." He wasn't all the crafty at being shady. America doesn't seem to appreciate someone running a company into the ground in a ham-handed manner. It wants lots of sleight of hand and obfuscation. I can't imagine Kenny Lay getting involved with swiping a hard drive. Of course, he's all we've got for prominent crooked, stupid businessman in these parts.

LAMBERT: America's reputation for growing the smartest business minds on the planet is taking a miserable beating these days, isn't it?

What happened to the old days when news reporters paid for tips? Oh that's right, the MSM has changed the way they do business.

I know of at least one Strib employee that would not shed any tears if poor Par took a loss on this property. He did not endear himself to the gang on Portland Avenue.

LAMBERT: Here at LTTS we offer al fresco butler service to the spouses of tipsters.

What are the lessons for us simple folk here on the urban edges of the prairie? What are we supposed to take away from actions such as these, as we seek growth and understanding in this ever globalized society?

How about--
--when we place our faith in people whose experience is trailed in celebrity more than substance of character, we endanger joy in our lives.
Or--
--when we have been placed in said position whereby our substance of character WILL BE tested, the trail you leave behind will be the judge of your character, not your celebrity riches.
Or--
--when we partake in one good night listening to some starving artist who is really quite good at what they do will be much more warmly remembered than 99% of what people spend their entire life chasing...sorry, had a fuzzy moment there.

Back on topic -
Par = bad rubbish, and each day these old sayings prove to be true.

Peaches Brian, I'm feeling peaches.
Best regards!

LAMBERT: Is there a proverb along the lines of, "Daddy will always clean up my messes"?

I'm personally hoping that Par will take the money from the sale of the Magers mansion and begin a monthly newsletter, in partnership with Dr. Bill McGuire, about the the best business practices for the healthcare industry.

Let's face it, they've both got the time. Plus, I think they'd be a great duo on The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch.

LAMBERT: And maybe a quick look-in on Jim Cramer. "Avista Capital Partners? They'll be fine. Fine!"

Brian -- Would you please write about the Strib swinging for the fences but whiffing in its bid for a Pulitzer with "13 Seconds in August"?

LAMBERT: I may. But I never thought they had a serious shot. There was a lot of quantity and some very good profile feature stuff, but it seemed to me the event required more journalistic outrage/indignation over the roots of the failure than the Strib was inclined to give it. But that's just me.

Ooops! Sentence construction! "Somewhere between a laughingstock and a pariah in the Twin Cities for his brazen disregard for business standards and ethics, I have not yet heard where Mr. Ridder will move next"

That's not like you

LAMBERT: Yeah, it seemed clever when I wrote it. But my old English teacher, Mr. Dziuk, would rearrange it like so: "Because Ridder is regarded as something between a laughingstock and a pariah in the Twin Cities for his brazen disregard for business standards and ethics, a relocation seems likely. But I have not yet heard where he will move next."

Straighter. Clearer, I guess. But not as much twisty fun.

I think I notice a bit of jealousy out of Mr. Lambert. Let's all pass the hat and get Brian the McMansion he has always wanted. One condition, he must come up with the 40K for the taxes each year (they actually went down this year! http://www16.co.hennepin.mn.us/pins/pidresult.jsp?pid=3302924240015)

Now an actual serious question. Where did a guy as incompetent as Par get the bucks for a shack like that?

LAMBERT: One word: Daddy.

What is it with the Twin Cities media and their mind-numbing fascination with their news anchors? Ridder selling the mansion? OK, mildly interesting. Ridder selling PAUL MAGERS manse. Yawn! Magers is, like, so gone, get it? He reads teleprompters. And he was not as wild as his brother. If you're gonna to fawn over departed anchors please talk about that minx, Inga Hammond, or Yul Brenner look alike, Bud Kraehling. OK, forget that last idea. But, please, no comments on Brad Goode-Lookin', OK, CJ?

LAMBERT: Oh, that's low!

Ahahahahhahahahahaha!

Good stuff. Ann Hutchinson cavorting with the Twins in the locker room may have been the harbinger of the "news of the future".

I too sense some housing envy form Lambert, which is curious, as he is comfortably ensconced in the Republican stronghold of Edina, a mere steps from the Milf-laden Starbucks / Lunds compound.

LAMBERT: Edina turned blue last election.

The problem isn't with the local media, it is with the viewers that have a sense of loss when their "close personal friends" (sorry Sid) leave their family by relocating, retiring, or being rifted. I still find it strange to see a familiar face on local news when I am traveling, e.g. Magers in L.A., Brad Goode in Seattle or Mike Walcher in Ft. Myers. They seem to be out of context.

LAMBERT: Steve Hartman still looks wrong.

Who cares?

LAMBERT: I'm trying to.

I meant: Who cares about an overpriced house located in a chichi Minneapolis neighborhood put up for sale by an apparently unethical and avaricious scion of a publishing empire?

Why give Par Ridder another 15 seconds of infamy?

Next time, make him earn his press by doing something more important than simply sticking a "For Sale" sign in his front lawn. Now, if the house had been in foreclosure, perhaps it could have been shopped as the "plight of the upper class" during these tough times of "economic correction."

LAMBERT: What I meant to say was, "Everyone who cares about and loves schadenfreude ... cares."

Avista Capital Partners' judgment in hiring and backing -- to the $10 million, legal-fees hilt --that lowlife daddy's boy mirrors its nose for newspapers and its affinity for the Twin Cities. Will Chris Harte and his money buddies ever stop pretending that they can run a newspaper, and just sell the damn thing for 50 cents on the dollar to Lean Dean Singleton?

LAMBERT: Avista's -- very great trouble -- is that any potential buyer, "Lean" Dean being first on that list, are only too happy to chill while the purchase price of the Star Trib drifts lower and lower ... to a fraction of the $530 million Harte and Avista paid. I mean, let's not forget, Singleton may be a "newspaper man", but he stays in newspapers by investing even less in his products than Avista, if that's possible.