It's my birthday!

So how old am I?



via GIPHY


Tis true! In fact, my mother tells me I was born at 5:41 AM on May 24, 1969. So given the time stamp of this post, I am now officially closer to my 100th birthday than I am the day of my birth. 😳

Yep. Life indeed does move pretty fast.

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Bringing a rubber band to a knife fight (rhetorically speaking)

Protip: If you're attempting to rhetorically "dunk on" someone who is by far morally and intellectually superior to yourself, it can't possibly end well for you.

Since you brought it up... I know what it's like to actually be sleepy, especially after 18-hour surgeries and operating on babies in the womb. I hope @IlhanMN knows I care about all people, even those she doesn't recognize as having a right to life. https://t.co/BRl3ibSKM3

— Ben Carson (@SecretaryCarson) May 22, 2019

But in her defense, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) is utterly vacuous.

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This is what attacking press freedom looks like

When President Donald Trump chides the media as "Fake News" or "Enemy of the People," it is undeniably petulant. I daresay it can even be labeled as inappropriate. But to convey it as an "attack on press freedom" is a bit hyperbolic since media outlets are neither prevented from nor punished for actually doing their jobs, even when being highly critical of the Trump administration.

But this? This would be a legit charge of attacking freedom of the press.

The banging jolted Bryan Carmody awake. Outside his San Francisco home Friday morning, the longtime journalist saw a throng of police officers with a sledgehammer, trying to break down his front gate.

Carmody told the eight to 10 officers he would only let them in with a search warrant. Police confirmed a judge signed off on their barging into his home. Then the officers drew their guns and scoured his residence. When police left, they carted away his notebooks, computers, cameras, phones and even his fiancee’s iPod from her college days.

“I knew what they wanted,” Carmody told The Times. “They wanted the name.”

A few weeks before, he said two San Francisco police officers — a sergeant and a lieutenant — knocked on his door and “cordially” asked him to identify the source who shared a confidential police report into the Feb. 22 death of San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi.

“Of course, I politely declined,” Carmody said of the visit from police last month. He had the same response Friday.

After police came into his home, officers handcuffed him for six hours as they collected his equipment. A receipt certifying his release from custody confirms he was handcuffed from 8:22 a.m. to 1:55 p.m. The search warrant for his home said officers were investigating “stolen or embezzled” property.

It was unclear whether he was handcuffed because of the guns he says he legally owns. Carmody said the guns were locked in a safe, and he said that over the hours-long search, it was evident officers didn’t view him as a threat. At one point, some police took off their bulletproof vests on account of the heat, he said.

While he was shackled, officers got a second warrant to search his newsroom, where police seized a thumb drive, CDs and, inside a safe, the sought-after police report about Adachi’s death.

Carmody, 49, said he has not shared the name of his source with anyone, and no markings on the document could be traced to the person who provided it.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed's reaction:

Mayor Breed releases statement on the police raid of a journalist's home that appears to have been parsed with Valyrian steel pic.twitter.com/ZaAxNCbGoO

— Demian Bulwa (@demianbulwa) May 14, 2019

Journalist Yashar Ali rightly characterizes the outrage all journos should be conveying.

Some of you who are ready to march on Washington when a reporter gets a rude reply from the White House are not showing concern for the story in the thread below. It's really pissing me off how many people are silent about it or have shown little concern.

You're hypocrites https://t.co/cfvuizJGLx

— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) May 17, 2019

So next time the smarmy Jim Acosta or the insufferable April Ryan are not called upon during a White House press briefing and thus engage in their obligatory thumb-sucking, it's perfectly appropriate to say "Folks, you're no Bryan Carmody."

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Didn't see that comin'

For the entire first hour of this past Sunday's radio show, I discussed the 2019 Minnesota legislative session with Americans for Prosperity State Director Jason Flohrs. Given the DFL (which controls the governor's office and House of Representatives) was digging in on a 20 cents per gallon tax increase as well as myriad other hikes resulting in $12 billion of increases, I saw no possible way an agreement could be reached on a state budget by 11:59 PM Monday evening. Jason agreed with me, so we made tentative plans for him to come back on the broadcast when an inevitable special session of the Legislature was called by Gov. Tim Walz.

Then on Sunday evening I was scheduled to guest host on the Up and At 'Em podcast with Ben Kruse. As I awaited Ben's arrival I was scrolling through Twitter when I saw a few blurbs indicating Gov. Walz and legislative leaders had reached agreement on a budget. Upon Ben's arrival, we settled in to the studio and watched multiple live press conferences where the leaders spelled out terms of the agreement.

“Today we prove that divided government can work for the betterment of the people we serve,” said Gov. Tim Walz, who announced the budget plan with Republican Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka and Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman. “Instead of dysfunction, shutdowns and yelling we have a compromise agreement. … We’re still friends.”

Under the plan, spending will rise about $1 billion over the projected base budget of $47.4 billion for 2020-2021. The current budget is $45.5 billion and expires June 30.

The budget was expected to grow by nearly $2 billion if lawmakers changed nothing because of inflation, increased population and new and expanding state programs.

The deal also includes a quarter percent cut in the second tier of the state’s income tax. The rate will fall from 7.05 percent to 6.8 percent by 2022.

That and stopping the gas tax were big wins for Gazelka.

“Minnesota is finally going to see income taxes go down for the first time in 20 years,” Gazelka said. “Stopping the gas tax increase was one of our top priorities, and I’m pleased Governor Walz and House Democrats ultimately listened to the people of Minnesota and rejected this approach.”

In addition, the latest public safety omnibus bill included no gun control.

So if I had been told that a budget deal would be reached before Monday night, I would have been skeptical. But if it had also been conveyed to me that not only would a deal be reached but said budget would also include no new gas tax, a middle class tax cut and no gun control provisions, I would have asked what the GOP had to give up in order to receive those concessions.

Well.....

(The pact) continues a tax on health care providers that Republicans wanted to allow to sunset, but the rate falls from 2 percent to 1.8 percent.

(House Minority Leader Kurt) Daudt said his members are unhappy the provider tax is not going away and will want to air their frustrations during the final debates. “I think this is a failure of this deal,” Daudt said. “We are incredibly disappointed that is the end result.”

There's a reason why Democrats were willing to concede so much in an effort to continue the provider tax (aka a "sick tax"). Rep. Peggy Scott (R-Andover) encapsulated the GOP's frustration.

"By not getting rid of the sick tax they are paving the way for a funding mechanism for single payer healthcare in Minnesota.

The Dems play the long game, folks. Don’t be deceived. They were willing to let go of the gas tax and a lot of policy to keep the provider tax. They will continue to push their One Care single payer plan. Mark my words. Sadly (the) GOP senate fell for it."

All 201 seats in the Minnesota Legislature will be up for election in 2020. Seems to me a lot of campaign narratives were established with this latest budget agreement.

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Box Score of the Week

Colorado Rockies at Miami Marlins - June 20, 2016.

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This game set an MLB record for most home runs (eight) in a game in which all the runs were scored on solo homers. 

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Meet me down by the jetty landing.....

The calendar says May 19 but if feels more like mid March. Regardless, the 2-hour edition of The Closer will be bringing the heat, starting at 1:00 PM Central Time.

Right at 1:00 PM I will be joined by Jason Flohrs, State Director of the Minnesota chapter of American For Prosperity. With the current MN legislative session slated to end late Monday evening, we'll discuss what work remains and if conservatives will be able to thwart the DFL's attempts to hike taxes.

Then in the 2:00 hour I will weigh in on the latest pro-life legislation passed in southern states and how stunningly bias the media is in covering these in comparison to the pro-death legislation passed in New York and proposed in Virginia.


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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Big wheels keep on turning.....

Sh*t just got real in the latest battle of the Culture War.

Alabama’s new law restricting abortion in nearly every circumstance has moved one of the most polarizing issues in American politics to the center of the 2020 presidential campaign.

The state’s legislation — the toughest of several anti-abortion measures that have passed recently, with the only exception being a serious risk to the woman’s health — prompted an outcry from Democratic presidential candidates, who warned that conservatives were laying the groundwork to undermine the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. The White House, meanwhile, didn’t comment on the Alabama bill, signed into law Wednesday by Republican Gov. Kay Ivey, as President Donald Trump tries to balance his conservative base against the potential of antagonizing women who are already skeptical of his presidency.

For the record, I am staunchly pro life and thus oppose abortion at any juncture during a pregnancy. But that said, I have a difficult time demanding that a woman endure a pregnancy which is the result of a rape. And I certainly am not one to shame a young lady for making what I'm certain is a heart-wrenching decision to terminate a pregnancy for any reason. That's why I've felt the best way to severely limit (and ultimately eradicate) the number of abortions being performed is by changing hearts and minds. For example, seeing an ultrasound of the baby certainly goes a long way in appealing to a pregnant woman's sensibilities about whether she's carrying a viable human being inside her.

A couple of other thoughts:

- Given the abortion-on-demand bill which passed in New York (and was proposed in Virginia) mobilized the pro-life crowd, I suspect this Alabama law will have a similar impact among the pro abortion "choice" folks. Sure, those who tout "progressive" causes tend to be louder and much more well-funded, but they also have on their side a willing media complex to shout their chanting points. I guess we should be prepared for more Handmaids costumes to fly off shelves.


- Speaking of chanting points:

Not one uterus. NOT ONE UTERUS. https://t.co/WDnTzrU00Z

— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) May 15, 2019

Conveniently left out of the "Handmaid's Tale" narrative is the fact the sponsor of this bill was Rep. Terri Collins....a woman. And the person who signed this legislation into law was Gov. Kay Ivey. Yep. Also a woman. Oh, maybe attend a pro life rally one of these days. You'll undoubtedly find the majority of advocates are indeed....**wait for it. wait for it**.....WOMEN!

Nice try though.

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Gun control dead?

Some rare good news out of St. Paul these days.

Two gun-control measures deemed a top priority by Minnesota DFL lawmakers this session were dealt an all-but-fatal blow Tuesday after they failed to advance on a party-line vote.

Coming after three hours of debate, the result appeared to stymie efforts by gun-control advocates to expand criminal-background checks to private gun sales (*and* transfers, which gun control advocates conveniently leave out of their diatribes - ed.) and create a “red flag” law that would allow authorities to temporarily confiscate firearms from people considered a threat to themselves or others (without the accused receiving due process - ed.).

The gun proposals, similar to federal proposals that have divided Congress, came to a head when Sen. Warren Limmer, R-Maple Grove, called for a vote on whether to add them to a broader spending bill being assembled by members from both the House and Senate.

The gambit paid off for Limmer, who earlier expressed deep reservations about both policy proposals: Members of the joint conference committee on the public safety budget split 5-5 along party lines and failed to add either measure to the spending bill.

“I’ve always regarded controversial policies in budget bills as something we really shouldn’t do (so did the DFL --- until this session apparently - ed.) because it gums up the work,” Limmer said after Tuesday’s meeting. “Let’s tear the Band-Aid off and get at it.”

The "gun control" issue was one which many DFLers claimed had upwards of "90% support" among Minnesotans yet the substantial Dem majority in the House never took a vote on the standalone bills. Seems to me that something which has that kind of overwhelming support could easily get through the House but then could be hung around the necks of the GOP controlled Senate if they voted down the legislation. Why it's almost as if folks like Rob Doar of the MN Gun Owners Caucus was shining a light on the DFL's blatant obfuscation regarding the two bills thus making Dems.....ahem...."gun shy" in bringing them up for votes.

Regardless, the leftist chanting points will remain the same.

Rep. Dave Pinto, DFL-St. Paul, chief author of the background check bill, later characterized the vote as an effort by Minnesota Republicans to stymie new gun legislation.

“Today, they chose not to move forward on two gun-safety measures despite broad public support,” Pinto said. “That is deeply disappointing to thousands of families who have been touched by gun violence and expect action.”

You want action, Rep. Pinto? You might wanna study what has taken place over the past quarter century. As Doar pointed out during this testimony in the conference committee, "Minnesota violent crime rates has dropped 50% over the last 25 years while gun ownership permits to carry has sky rocketed.” Seems to me the answer is right in front of you.

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