Box Score of the Week

San Francisco Giants at New York Yankees - September 20, 2013.

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Round up your posse, jump in my ride......

It's August! Someone said that 2020 has equally dragged on and is passing insanely fast. Regardless, the Northern Alliance Radio Network will continue to bring it every weekend. Today's edition of The Closer will air from 1:00 PM until 3:00 Central Time.

At 1:15, I will be joined by Sen. Scott Jensen (R-Chaska). Sen. Jensen, who has been a physician for decades, will talk about the Minnesota State Board of Medical Practice clearing him after an anonymous complaint regarding his opinions on COVID-19.

In the non-guest segments, I will discuss a potential antagonist from the Minneapolis riots being identified, the memorial service for civil rights icon John Lewis and the NBA's stunning hypocrisy in their advocacy for "human rights."


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.

Until then.....

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Symbolism over substance

The NBA season resumed Thursday night with a pair of games taking place. However, much of the fanfare had little to do with the games themselves.

As promised, the players wore slogans on the backs of their jerseys to bring attention to their favorite social justice causes. Also, the phrase "Black Lives Matter" was painted on the court. And of course, the Utah Jazz and New Orleans Pelicans knelt in unison during the National Anthem.

But in light of the egregious human rights abuses in China (where the NBA and its players profit quite handsomely), these actions can be seen as little more than empty rhetoric.

I have been quite consistent in my viewpoint of not being offended by pro athletes' advocacy. Some methods of protest would be ones which I personally would never partake but that doesn't mean I oppose someone else participating. But if players/management are going to decry what they contend are human rights abuses in America but continue to profit from relations with a communist country which engages in even more abhorrent behavior, then I can righteously ignore anything they have to say in the name of "social justice."

In short, the NBA can go pound sand.

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Special broadcast *today*

I am honored to co-host this broadcast.

Salem Media Group is joining up with the Twin Cities Salvation Army for a live fund raiser. Here to Help radiothon is set for Thursday, July 30th from 4-6 PM.

The Here to Help objective is to raise $100,000 to provide relief to those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 700,000 Minnesotans have been furloughed or laid off from their jobs since March. Some Salvation Army service centers in the Twin Cities have seen requests for food assistance increase tenfold during the pandemic.

“We felt there was something we at Salem Media could do to help our neighbors who are hurting because of COVID-19,” said Nic Anderson, GM, SMG, Twin Cities. “We were moved to create this event in partnership with The Salvation Army—their work on the front lines of the pandemic, helping families reeling from the pandemic’s economic impact, is vitally important.”

Lee Michaels and Brad Carlson from the SMG cluster in Minneapolis-St. Paul will host the radiothon. The SMG cluster includes: AM980 The Mission, AM1280 The Patriot, Business1440, and Wellness1570.

To donate to this worthy cause, click here.

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Umbrella Man

There was a conspiracy theory going around that he was a cop looking to sow unrest after his "fellow police officers" killed George Floyd. Given the all black garb he donned, some also surmised he was a member of Antifa, a group which looks for any reason whatsoever to be violent.

Thankfully persistence has paid off in determining the real identity/motivation of "Umbrella Man."

A masked man who was seen in a viral video smashing the windows of a south Minneapolis auto parts store during the George Floyd protests, earning him the moniker "Umbrella Man," is suspected of ties with a white supremacist group and sought to incite racial tension, police said.

A Minneapolis police arson investigator said the act of vandalism at the AutoZone on E. Lake Street helped spark a chain reaction that led to days of looting and rioting. The store was among dozens of buildings across the city that burned to the ground in the days that followed.

"This was the first fire that set off a string of fires and looting throughout the precinct and the rest of the city," Sgt. Erika Christensen wrote in a search warrant affidavit filed in court this week. "Until the actions of the person your affiant has been calling 'Umbrella Man,' the protests had been relatively peaceful. The actions of this person created an atmosphere of hostility and tension. Your affiant believes that this individual's sole aim was to incite violence."

Police identified "Umbrella Man" thanks to a tip that came via e-mail last week, Christensen said.

Upon this news being revealed, some progs in my Facebook news feed issued verbal equivalencies to "WE TOLD YOU SO!!!!" This was in response to the incredulity expressed by some in late May over residents destroying their city in the name of justice. The retort to that was often "Oh, it's not people from here. It's probably some MAGA-ite white racists stirring up s--t." Of course that retort wasn't taken too seriously by any rational thinking person given that proggies typically chalk up instances of unrest to "white supremacy," often to find those assertions invalid. However, it appears in this case that the progs' proverbial Sasquatch has been sighted.

All that being said, the vandalizing of the AutoZone took place on Wednesday after Memorial Day, about 48 hours after Mr. Floyd died in police custody. Just the night before, vandalism had occurred at the Minneapolis Police Department's Third Precinct. There was then was the worst of the riots/looting the following Thursday and Friday. To suggest that "Umbrella Man" bares 100% of the responsibility for all four evenings of chaos is woefully disingenuous. During daylight hours that week, there was little (if any) tension among people walking the streets of Minneapolis. It was only when the sun started to set that the lunacy ensued.

As insidious as "Umbrella Man" is and as much as he deserves to prosecuted to the full extent of the law for his incitement that Wednesday evening, he's not responsible for what occurred Thursday and Friday nights. Those who have been arrested for such activities as arson are not going to be exonerated over the actions of "Umbrella Man." To try to spin this any other way is little more than an attempt to distract from city and state officials' dereliction of duty on stemming the tide of unrest.

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Cancel this

This toxic era of "Cancel Culture" is little more than the proverbial schoolyard bully. That is, no amount of evasion or capitulation will ever satisfy it. It's been proven over time the best way to deter a bully is to punch back, even if it requires multiple blows.

A few weeks ago Minnesota State Sen. Scott Jensen, who is also a longtime family physician, reported an anonymous complaint was filed against him with the Minnesota State Board of Medical Practice. It had to do with Jensen's opinions on COVID-19. Since said opinions were not necessarily aligned with (or perhaps even undermined) the draconian Gov. Tim Walz administration, Jensen was accused of providing "reckless advice" when analogizing COVID with the flu. 

Instead of kowtowing, Jensen punched back (rhetorically, natch). As a result, he was cleared. 

Fighting back has also worked for Nick Buckley, a UK man and head of a renown charity, who got into hot water for daring to criticize the organization Black Lives Matter.

Upon lawyering up after being removed from his position with Mancunian Way, the charity reversed course and promptly welcomed back Buckley. I guess staring down the barrel of repudiation in a court of law was too much for MW to bare.

I can only hope these specific instances are the beginning of a trend in ending the very fascist practice of "Cancel Culture." There may be hope for Western values yet!

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Box Score of the Week

Los Angeles Dodgers at Colorado Rockies - June 1, 2012

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The Dodgers starting infield this game: Scott Van Slyke (1B), Jerry Hairston, Jr. (2B), Ivan DeJesus, Jr. (3B) and Dee Gordon (SS). This marked the first time in MLB history that an entire starting infield consisted of sons of former major leaguers. Add in the fact that Tony Gwynn, Jr. was the starting center fielder and you had five sons of former MLB players in the same batting order. 

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