Box Score of the Week

Pittsburgh Pirates at Washington Nationals - June 8, 2010.

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The NARN Closer's playlist - 5/18/2025

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There's a place where mornings are an endless blue......

I could really use a third hour for today's edition of my radio show The Closer. Alas, I'll have to soldier on with the regular 2 hours, starting at 1:00 PM Central Time. 

In the 1:00 hour, I'll broach myriad topics on the Minnesota political landscape, including the perpetual trash fire that is the Republican Party of Minnesota. Also, the Friday night news dump included a tidbit about the race to replace Sen. Tina Smith. 

Then in the second hour I will weigh in on a new book on the coordinated coverup of then President Joe Biden's mental and physical decline. 

Finally at 2:30, RedBalloon CEO Andrew Crapuchettes will join the broadcast to discuss the left's war on cops and how America can rebuild America's law enforcement ranks. 

So please call (651) 289-4488 if you'd like to weigh in on any of the topics we plan on addressing.

 

You can listen live in the Twin Cities at AM 1280 or, if you're near downtown Minneapolis/West Metro area, 107.5 FM on your radio dial. In and out of the Minneapolis-St Paul area you can listen to the program on the Internet by clicking this link, or check us out via iheart radio as well as Amazon Alexa (just say "Alexa, play The Patriot Minneapolis"). If you're unable to tune in live, please check out my podcast page for the latest show post.

And if you're so inclined, follow along on Twitter at #NARNShow or "Like" our Facebook page, where we also conduct a "Live Stream" of the broadcast.

Until then.....

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Short run

Dang, I've had sneezes which lasted longer. 

In a surprise move, former state Sen. Melisa Lopez Franzen dropped out of Minnesota’s U.S. Senate race. Congresswoman Angie Craig and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan are the two front runners for DFL endorsement for the seat now held by Tina Smith, who is not running for reelection. pic.twitter.com/9BHRDdxaEJ

— Tom Hauser (@thauserkstp) May 17, 2025

I respectfully disagree with Tom's sentiment that this was a "surprise move." Lopez Franzen was one of three Democrat candidates vying for this seat. Of the other two, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan will likely be endorsed by the DFL grassroots given the majority of delegates will be on the far left. And then you have Congresswoman Angie Craig (MN-02) with her national profile and significant war chest. No doubt she will take this to the Dem primary where she will prevail over Flanagan. As such, there just wasn't a realistic path for Lopez Franzen. 

Because Democrats will have a built in advantage in the 2026 midterms (opposite party of the current President) combined with the MNGOP being a perpetual gong show, get used to saying Senator Angie Craig. 

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Monday's Minneapolis forecast: chance of unrest

This past Monday, a friend of a friend (who is well connected to law enforcement agencies in Minnesota) sent me a copy of a text message he received. 

Heads up, MN Dept of Public Safety (DPS) has put out an alert to all MN law enforcement agencies that Derek Chauvin will likely get a commuted sentence or partial pardon on May 19th. I've no(w) confirmed this with 4 separate agencies, so I'm confident they got the notice.  Don't know if the pardon is real, I assume it is.

I hesitated to share this on the blog earlier simply because I had heard nothing from any local news outlets. Certainly someone within Twin Cities media would have heard from a source regarding this, right?

Then on Wednesday, a story relating to this very saga came out in the Minnesota Star Tribune. 

State political and law enforcement leaders are preparing for the possibility that President Donald Trump could pardon former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin’s federal conviction in connection with the murder of George Floyd.

Responding to questions from reporters this week, Gov. Tim Walz said the White House has given him no indication that a federal pardon for Chauvin is imminent. Nonetheless, he’s bracing for the possibility, reminding people that even if Chauvin’s sentence is commuted on the federal level, he would be transferred to Minnesota to serve out the remainder of his lengthy state prison term.

So if that's the case, why would there be concern that unrest will happen if indeed a Chauvin pardon occurs? Given his State and Federal sentences run concurrently, Chauvin would be released from prison at the end of 2035 if indeed Trump pardons him. But that would only be two years sooner than if his Federal sentence remains intact. Are people really going to (again) burn down the city of Minneapolis over a lengthy sentence essentially being cut short by a measly two years?

Then again, that's implying that people destroyed the city five years ago due to legitimate feelings of aggrievement as opposed to, say, using it as an excuse for general thuggery. 

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Quick Hits: Volume CCCLXXIV

- I'm genuinely befuddled by a few things which regularly occur in the political arena, but one question which I've never asked myself is "Gee, I wonder why Minnesota Republicans can't ever break through and win a statewide race?" 

In case any of y'all want an answer, the latest circular firing squad is a perpetuation of nearly two decades of dysfunction. 

Hundreds of conservatives across Minnesota gathered in Bloomington on Monday evening for one of the state Republican Party’s biggest fundraising events of the year.

But none of the state‘s highest-ranking Republicans attended the event amid disagreements with the direction the party is going under the leadership of its new chair Alex Plechash and executive director Jennifer DeJournett, who they believe are associating too closely with conservative grassroots factions of the party, several Republican sources told the Minnesota Star Tribune.

It’s a stark contrast from last year, when President Donald Trump headlined the fundraiser and the state‘s highest-ranking GOP Rep. Tom Emmer, the No. 3 Republican in the U.S. House, pledged to donate $100,000 to the party.

“I think the congressional folks want to see a strong party and want to see a party that they can work with,” said former Minnesota GOP Chair David Hann, who lost the leadership position to Plechash in December. “It seems that they’re not finding that in the current administration.”

Plechash denied that there‘s friction between the state party and congressional delegation, calling it “simply false.”

The target of the elected MN Republicans' ire is a group called Action 4 Larceny Liberty. This organization is little more than a grift operation which cares more about undermining elected Republicans (in their minds, anyone who has won an election is part of the "establishment") as opposed to actually working towards a GOP majority. That said, if A4L chair Jake Douchebag Duesenberg is to be believed, his group doesn't have a whole lotta love for the MNGOP these days. 

Jakey is probably still pissed that Plechash discouraged GOP candidates from using the tedious term "RINO" since it alienates some potential Republican voters from participating in the process. Given there aren't enough committed Republicans in the state of Minnesota, it's probably not a great idea to turn away someone who agrees with you "only" 90% of time, thus allowing a Democrat to prevail in elections. So while Plechash may not have received a full-throated A4L endorsement to be party chair, he was warmly received by the grift group simply because he was not David Hann. 

If I can offer Jake any advice I would say let people who have actually helped win elections do the heavy lifting, thus allowing him more time to update his organization's filings with the IRS. 

Oof. Might wanna get on that posthaste. 

- It took 'em a while, but mainstream media outlets are finally looking into a problem which has been plaguing Americans since about 2021.

NBC News is tracking changes in the prices of eggs, bread, ground beef, chicken and other grocery items to monitor the impact on consumers’ food bills. https://t.co/pb7PMJZYXv

— NBC News (@NBCNews) May 12, 2025

As NBC et al know by now, this was a salient issue during the presidential campaign, but they were too busy telling Americans not to believe their lying eyes. 

What's even more amusing about NBC's tweet it is was rather ill-timed. 

 

🚨Even CNN couldn't ignore that inflation just hit its LOWEST point since 2021.

"It's an unexpected and very welcome development that's defying economists' expectations..." pic.twitter.com/ywW4WYXGME

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) May 13, 2025 

Egg prices down 12.7%, biggest drop since March 1984, second biggest drop on record pic.twitter.com/AWcuDPb8qh

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 13, 2025

They still think you're stupid. 

- After appearing in the NBA's Western Conference Finals just once in their first 34 years of existence, the Minnesota Timberwolves are now one win away from their second consecutive trip to that round. After a 117-110 win over the Golden St. Warriors on Monday, the Wolves now have a commanding 3-1 series lead. 

Perhaps may favorite aspect of the Wolves potentially dispatching the Warriors is the toxic Jimmy Butler being sent packing. If you recall, Butler played 1-1/2 seasons for the Timberwolves, demanding a trade after year one. When his request wasn't granted, Butler verbally assaulted teammates, coaches and executives during a scrimmage at practice. That's been a trend throughout Butler's career in that he makes a favorable initial impression only to wear out his welcome within a year or two. 

SKOR North's Judd Zulgad is also ecstatic to see Butler humbled, but articulated it better than I could have ever dreamed. 

"I love this, this is karma come full circle. There's no better team to put his lights out than the Minnesota Timberwolves" 🙌

- @jzulgad is LOVING watching Jimmy Butler having karma handed to him by the #Timberwolves pic.twitter.com/ab1feEbzYX

— SKOR North - Minnesota Sports (@SKORNorth) May 13, 2025

Just finish the job Wednesday, boys. 

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Box Score of the Week

Houston Astros vs Pittsburgh Pirates - May 8, 1992.

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Astros pitcher Butch Henry became the first player in MLB history whose first career hit was an inside-the-park home run. 

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The NARN Closer's playlist - 5/11/2025

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I was once out strolling one very hot summer's day.....

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!

I visited with my mom yesterday, so I'm rarin' to go for today's edition of my radio show The Closer. The 2-hour broadcast gets started at 1:00 PM Central Time. 

In the first hour, I'll talk about Minnesota right wing grift groups who claim they want to help Republicans win elections but their actions tell a different story. Also, journalist Liz Collin was vindicated by a judge in regards to her documentary The Fall of Minneapolis.

At 2:00, writer, author and "undisputed king of stuff" Jon Gabriel will join the broadcast to discuss the encouraging trend of more and more Americans flocking to traditional faith.

And finally......Habemus Papam. 

So please call (651) 289-4488 if you'd like to weigh in on any of the topics we plan on addressing.

 

You can listen live in the Twin Cities at AM 1280 or, if you're near downtown Minneapolis/West Metro area, 107.5 FM on your radio dial. In and out of the Minneapolis-St Paul area you can listen to the program on the Internet by clicking this link, or check us out via iheart radio as well as Amazon Alexa (just say "Alexa, play The Patriot Minneapolis"). If you're unable to tune in live, please check out my podcast page for the latest show post.

And if you're so inclined, follow along on Twitter at #NARNShow or "Like" our Facebook page, where we also conduct a "Live Stream" of the broadcast.

Until then.....

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