Where credit is due

I was a hardcore fanatic of the NHL's Minnesota North Stars from the late 1970s until they relocated to Dallas in 1993. And I certainly enjoy the current pro hockey franchise in Minny (the Wild), though it's not on the level of my past North Stars fandom.

Given those factoids, it's correctly assumed that it's not in my nature to say anything nice about the Chicago Blackhawks, the franchise which was the Stars' bitter rival in the 1980s as well as the team who sent the Wild packing from the postseason in three straight years (2013 thru 2015).

But just this once I can't help but laud the Hawks given they allowed an accountant (aka my daytime profession) to play goalie for them on Thursday.

Scott Foster thought it was going to be just another night. Then the 36-year-old accountant signed a contract, put on his goaltender gear and waited in the Chicago Blackhawks' locker room. Then he got into the game.

Then it was his night.

Foster was pressed into action when Chicago lost Anton Forsberg and Collin Delia to injuries, and the former college goalie stopped all seven shots he faced over the final 14 minutes of the Blackhawks' 6-2 victory over the playoff-bound Winnipeg Jets on Thursday.

"This is something that no one can ever take away from me," Foster said. "It's something that I can go home and tell my kids and they can tell their friends. ... Just a ton of fun."

Foster is part of a crew of recreational goaltenders who staff Chicago's home games in case of emergencies for either team. But it usually just means a nice dinner and a night in the press box watching the world's best players compete at hockey's highest level.

Nothing at all like this.

Between this and a few dudes resembling barflies winning an Olympic gold medal, we middle aged sports nuts have some genuine role models!!

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Pop off

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is one of the all time great coaches, evidenced by leading his team to five NBA titles in 22 seasons. While he has made his mark by having success on a basketball court, he's really made additional hay in his penchant for scathing criticism of President Donald J. Trump. Given the majority of media members (especially sports media) tend to lean left politically/socially, they look to have their worldview reaffirmed by those they cover.

While he is notorious for not being particularly chatty with reporters during postgame pressers, TV timeouts, practice sessions, etc., Coach Pop can be easily swayed into leftist diatribes. Perhaps the most polarizing culture war battle in years has provided plenty of fodder for Pop.

The outspoken coach told reporters that changes to current U.S. gun laws were comparable to Band-Aids, according to USA Today.

“Even if they changed the age limit, it’s all a Band-Aid,” he said. “The obvious elephant in the room is the guns, weapons of war, the magazines. The real discussion should be about the Second Amendment. Is it useful? Does it serve its purpose the way it was supposed to do in the beginning? That discussion should be had.”

Heh. The gun grabbers' idea of "discussion" is impugning the character of law-abiding gun owners and pro-second amendment politicians as opposed to addressing legitimate issues like law enforcement failures, breakdowns in threat assessments, etc. Yeah, I know. Broaching those specific areas would undermine too many gun-grabber narratives. Can't have that.

It is the second time in a few days Popovich decided to enter the political realm. He applauded demonstrators who participated in the March for Our Lives event supporting gun control and ripped President Trump for not being in Washington during the marches, according to The Hill.

“It's just cowardice," he said. "A real leader would have been in Washington D.C. this weekend, not at his penthouse at Mar-a-Lago. He would have had the decency to meet with a group, to see what's going on, and how important it is, and how important our children should be to us. So for all those politicians involved, it's just a dereliction of duty."

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that even if Trump offered to attend these marches, he would have been turned away. Heck, I believe that even if Trump, say, pre-recorded a video greeting to be played at the various rallies, the organizers would have either declined to play it or the message would've been drowned out due to tens of thousands of demonstrators screaming over the audio.

Speaking of large gatherings, the March for Life rally takes place every January 22nd on the anniversary of the 1973 SCOTUS decision to legalize abortion. It is the largest perennial gathering in America, with attendance rivaling or surpassing the crowd at last weekend's gun-grabber rally (again, that's every year). So from 2009 thru 2016, did then President Barack Obama ever once address that group? Did he ever offer to do so? Serious questions here, none of which noteworthy leftists like Popovich have ever asked. But, to be fair, I'm quite certain no one in the media inquired either.

---------------------------------------------

Quick Hits: Volume CLXI

- Baseball news away from the diamond.

Major League Baseball said Friday it will not suspend Twins star third baseman Miguel Sano after investigating claims by a Twin Cities photographer that he assaulted her at a Minnetonka shopping mall in October 2015.

Baseball cited “insufficient evidence” and “conflicting and inconsistent witness accounts” after interviewing more than 20 people, including Sano and photographer Betsy Bissen, and reviewing available documents and communication records, according to a statement.

MLB left open the possibility of reopening the investigation upon “receipt of any new information or evidence.”

“I want to thank Major League Baseball for conducting a thorough investigation and I’m happy to put this behind me,” Sano said in a statement issued in English and Spanish through the MLB Players Association.

“I look forward to focusing on the upcoming season and playing alongside my teammates. I want to thank my family, friends, the Players Association, the Minnesota Twins and my fans for their continued support.”

Keep in mind that this doesn't mean Sano absolutely, positively did not assault the woman, rather there just wasn't sufficient evidence to warrant disciplinary action. For all the positives the #MeToo movement has brought forth, the downside is a mere accusation (regardless of its veracity) has the potential to destroy someone's life and livelihood before all evidence is presented. That said, I am heartened that MLB conducted a thorough investigation as opposed to just meting out punishment based on mere suspicion.

For the record, I am inclined to believe Ms. Bissen's account given what others have said about Sano's mindset. And if indeed Sano did assault Ms. Bissen, he should take a long look in the mirror and realize he dodged a major bullet. For his sake, let's hope Sano uses this as a teachable moment on how not to interact with women and thus act accordingly in the future.


- Using condescending tones and sneering looks, leftists will often say to law abiding gun owners "No one is looking to outlaw guns."

Behold, I present you an Op Ed from former U.S. Supreme Court justice John Paul Stevens entitled "Repeal the Second Amendment." 

As of today, the Republicans' majority in both chambers of Congress looks to be in peril in this midterm election year. However, the rhetoric spewed at this past weekend's March for Our Lives "rally" in addition to Stevens' belief in ditching the Second has provided the GOP with a veritable buffet of sound bites. The Republicans losing the House in November doesn't have to be a forgone conclusion.


- To this day, there a few athletes who elicit such polarizing reactions as former NFL quarterback turned pro baseball player Tim Tebow. His unapologetic faith in Jesus Christ has garnered tremendous adulation on one side and utter derangement on the other.

I can only fathom how the deranged side reacted to this news.

Tim Tebow has his 2018 assignment: the Binghamton (N.Y.) Rumble Ponies, which is the Double-A affiliate of the Mets, USA Today reported.

It's a new level for the Heisman Trophy winner, who started out last season with the Columbia Fireflies and ended it with the high-A Port St. Lucie Mets.

During that span, Tebow hit .226 with a .656 OPS.

It seems pretty obvious that Tebow's numbers in A-ball hardly warranted the call up to AA. As such, his detractors have angrily implored Tebow to give up this fantasy of being a pro baseball player as he might be taking the roster spot of a legitimate MLB prospect.

I'll agree that Tebow, at age 30, will never become a bona fide major leaguer. And I'll also concede that the only reason he's kept around is he draws tremendous crowds (within the context of minor league baseball attendance) wherever he plays. But still, why the invective towards Tebow himself? After all, it's the Mets' brass who makes these types of decisions. And for those who use that vapid argument of Tebow usurping a legit big league prospect, do you honestly think every single solitary player on the Binghamton roster outside of Tebow is a sure thing to make it to "The Show?" Of course not. As such, Tebow is likely not the worst player on that team.

Unless the Binghamton Ponies' games are regularly broadcast on major TV/cable networks, the odds of Tebow haters ever seeing a single AB of his are pretty much nil. Seems like a lot of wasted energy to hope for his demise.

----------------------------------------------

Box Score of the Week

Major League Baseball opening day is this Thursday, so it's time to kick off this weekly feature.

Let's go with a game from opening day in 1986 -- Milwaukee Brewers at Chicago White Sox.

----------------------------------

In a Hall of Fame career that spanned 20 seasons, pitcher Tom Seaver made 16 Opening Day starts, which is an MLB record. This week's featured game is Seaver's final opening day start of his career. 

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A rare and well deserved break

I will not be broadcasting my radio show The Closer today as I am out "on assignment" (translation: On a family trip to Wisconsin).

In my stead, Northern Alliance Radio Network mainstay Mitch Berg will be filling in from 2:00 until 3:00 PM Central Time. Hop on over to his place to find out what he has in store for today.


Until then.....


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Swamp things

He didn't wanna do it guys. Really, he didn't. I mean, President Trump was so angry with the abominable $1.3 trillion omnibus bill that he almost didn't sign it.

Yeah, I'm sure the next Congress (which will likely be a Democrat majority in light of this past week's GOP buffoonery) will be quaking with fear when they cobble together the next bill (they'll get around to it when they're not consumed with drafting articles of impeachment).

Let's go live now to the current status of the D.C. "swamp" (h/t CNN's Jake Tapper):

Alligator Happy GIF from Alligator GIFs




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Rest easy, Zell

Given I'm firmly right-of-center in my political worldview, I've often pondered if I could ever vote for a Democrat today. On the rare occasion someone has asked me if I ever could do such a thing, my typical retort was something along the lines of "Only if someone in the motif of Zell Miller were on the ballot."

I've often thought about the former governor and U.S. senator out of Georgia, particularly over the past 13+ years after his rousing speech at the 2004 Republican National Convention. It was always in the back of my mind to perform a simple Google search to find out what Miller's up to these days, but I never go around to it. Had I done so recently, I would have learned that he had withdrawn from public life due to a battle with Parkinson's disease. Sadly it was announced on Friday that ailment is what ended up taking his life.

“The people of Georgia have lose one of our state’s finest public servants,” grandson Bryan Miller said in a statement.

He said Miller “passed away peacefully at his home with family by his side.”

Miller was the 79th governor of Georgia, serving from 1991 through 1999. He represented the state of Georgia in the U.S. Senate from 2000 to 2005.

Miller’s political career began in 1959, when he served as mayor of Young Harris, moving on to become a Georgia state senator from 1961 to 1965. He then served as Georgia’s lieutenant governor from 1975 to 1991, making him the longest serving lieutenant governor in Georgia’s history.

Later in life, Miller was a Fox News contributor.

As governor, Miller created the Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally (HOPE) scholarship, and Georgia’s voluntary pre-kindergarten program. According to the Miller Institute Foundation, more than 1.8 million students have gone to college in Georgia on HOPE scholarships, and more than 1.6 million four-year olds have begun their education through the pre-K program.

“These were his proudest achievements in his 46-year career in public service,” the foundation said in a statement Friday.

Many concern-trolling leftists often convey that today's GOP is soooooooooo extreme that someone with the same policy stances as, say, Ronald Reagan couldn't receive the party's nomination for president. It's classic projection given that it's a near certainty a Zell Miller (who was staunchly pro life and a war hawk) would be persona non grata among today's Democrat party.

Thanks for your service, Mr. Miller.

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You want a response, eh?

Full disclosure: Of the four (soon to be five) candidates vying for the GOP nomination for Minnesota governor, I have no preference. My stance is I will enthusiastically support whomever receives the nod to oppose the DFLer.

For now it appears Jeff Johnson is the GOP front runner with former Republican Party of Minnesota chair Keith Downey being a distant second. As such, Downey is doing everything he can to garner more attention. On March 7, the following email was sent out.

One week later, Downey provided an update on his request to the other candidates.

Less than a week after that particular email blast, three of the four declared Republican candidates met in Staples for yet another candidate forum. The only individual to not show up? That would be Downey. Even though he indicated that Johnson was the only candidate to not respond to his debate challenge, it's obvious he's aware of said email requests.

Huge crowd tonight in Staples for our 31st gov forum. We missed Keith (prob busy crafting another email calling for more debates 😇) pic.twitter.com/hl2frVfJjJ

— Jeff Johnson (@MNJeffJohnson) March 21, 2018

 That's gonna leave a mark.

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Leftist narratives done before they started

The mass shooting at Parkland, Florida's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School was still fresh in America's consciousness when word of another school shooting occurred on Tuesday morning.

A gunman who shot and wounded two students at Great Mills High School in Maryland was killed Tuesday after engaging an armed school resource officer, an official said.

The shooter was the only fatality. A female student was critically injured and a male student was also shot but is in stable condition at a hospital, authorities said.

"Our school resource officer was alerted to the event. he pursued the shooter, engaged the shooter, fired a round at the shooter," St. Mary's County Sheriff Tim Cameron said. "The shooter fired a round as well. In the hours and days to come, we'll be able to determine if our school resource officer's round struck the shooter."

This is what happens when a good guy with a gun engages the active shooter (unlike the resource officer who stood down in Parkland). Also, Maryland has some tight gun restrictions, proving once again that someone determined to perpetrate a violent act is not deterred by laws.

Nevertheless, gun grabbers will likely shriek for more draconian "gun control" laws and will still label the National Rifle Association a "terrorist organization" despite this incident pretty much validating every assertion put forth by the pro-gun crowd (not to mention an FBI study conducted on active shooter engagement). It's almost as if gun grabbers have pre-progammed chanting points readily available in an effort to gin up anger towards law abiding gun owners, regardless of concrete facts regarding a specific incident. It really is a vicious cycle.

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If you work in an office environment.....

......but you've yet to see the cult classic Office Space, you're doing it wrong.

There are so many funny moments, but my favs involve a character by the name of Michael Bolton (ABSOLUTELY NOT SAFE FOR WORK).










Given that it's one of my favorite movies, you can imagine my delight when this started circulating the internet (again, NSFW).





------------------------------------------------

Where do we go from here now that all other children are growin' up......

Hopefully the ill effects of your St. Patty's Day libations have worn off by the time the Northern Alliance Radio Network hits the airwaves today. Today's 1-hour edition of The Closer kicks off at 2:00 PM Central Time.

A lot to get to today, including failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton taking her slanders of middle America to a conference in India. Also, I hope to discuss the National School Walkout from this past week where thousands of students unwittingly begged the government to take away some of their rights.

At 2:30 I will be joined by Rob Doar, Political Director of the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus. Having spent every day at the MN State Capitol this past week, Rob will inform us of how certain legislators are looking to curtail our Second Amendment rights, including some elected officials who were once thought to be allies.


So please call (651) 289-4488 if you'd like to weigh in on any of the topics we plan on addressing. You can also text comments/questions to (651) 243-0390.

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. If you're unable to tune in live, please check out my podcast page for the latest show post.

Even though I have a face for radio, there is a UStream channel where you can watch the broadcast if you so desire. Check it out here.

And if you're so inclined, follow along on Twitter at #NARNShow or "Like" our Facebook page.

Until then.....

---------------------------------------

QB Kirk

Perhaps the worst kept secret in the NFL's 2018 free agent frenzy became official Thursday afternoon.

Kirk Cousins not only reset the bar as the highest-paid player in NFL history when he inked a three-year, $84 million contract with the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday, he also set a new precedent for veteran players by signing a fully guaranteed deal.

A contract of this magnitude -- one that also contains another $6 million in incentives that could elevate the total value to $90 million, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter -- was the focus of conversations with Cousins and his agent, Mike McCartney, for the past two and a half years.

While the deal is short-term in nature, it carries long-term importance in providing stability for the Vikings at the quarterback position and for the next chapter of Cousins' career.

"As (Vikings GM) Rick (Spielman) said yesterday, this is a lifetime deal," Cousins said. "That's the goal. This is a three-year deal but the expectation from both sides is we raise our kids here and then if everything goes as planned that I'd be here for a long, long time."

Make no mistake, my favorite NFL squad definitely upgraded the quarterback position. That's not to say last year's starter, Case Keenum, didn't have a very good season in 2017. He absolutely did. But one good season in what has thus far been a journeyman's career does not necessarily a franchise QB make. However, since Cousins became the Washington Redskins' full time starter at the beginning of the 2015 season, his per season averages consisted of 4,392 yards passing, 27 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, a 67.0% completion percentage and a 97.5 QB rating. I'd be willing to bet there haven't been more than 3 or 4 NFL quarterbacks who have bested those numbers in the same 3-year span. What is left out of those numbers though is the Redskins were merely 24-23-1 in that time frame. But to say that's a reflection on Cousins' play is a stretch. Washington's defense was never better than 21st in total yards allowed in any of those three seasons, so that tells you how much of the burden Cousins had to bear. Given there's a top tier defense in Minnesota, that certainly had to be an enticement for him to don purple.

So does this mean the Vikings are the prohibitive favorites to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl in 10-1/2 months? Not quite yet. While their defense finished #1 overall in terms of yards allowed last year, they were definitely exposed over the final five quarters of their 2017 postseason run. The good news there is the Vikings organization is keenly aware of that, hence why former Seahawks DT Sheldon Richardson was in town this week for a free agent visit. Can you imagine a D-line with he and Linval Joseph clogging up the interior? That would certainly make DEs Everson Griffen and Danielle Hunter that much more formidable.

Overall I like the Cousins signing not only because he is a talented player but also appears to be a solid citizen. I didn't get a sense that he's overwhelmed by the expectations heaped upon him despite being the highest paid QB in the league and being given the reins of a team on the brink of a Super Bowl berth. Since Daunte Culpepper blew out his knee in 2005, the Vikings have made multiple attempts to identify a franchise QB but have had little success. Whether it was long shots via the draft (Tarvaris Jackson in 2006; Christian Ponder in 2011) or bad luck (Teddy Bridgewater's horrific non-contact leg injury just prior to the 2016 season), the Vikings are looking to exorcise those demons by going all in on Cousins (who will turn 30 in August) fulfilling that role for the intermediate future. Here's hoping they get it right this time.

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Obligatory #NationalStudentWalkout post

As promised, thousands of high school students across the country walked out of class for 17 minutes on Wednesday. This was a tribute to the 17 people killed at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL four weeks ago when a crazed gunman walked in and opened fire for four uninterrupted minutes. The walkout doubled as a protest as students demanded that elected officials enact legislation imposing tighter "gun control." 

Look, I'm not going to rehash all the data which strongly suggests "gun control" will do nothing to alleviate the issue of spree killings. I'm also not going to universally condemn the students who participated in this movement, as I am certain many are sincere despite being woefully misguided.

I am curious about one thing, however. I wonder how many of the students who participated in that walkout routinely browse on their smartphones while driving. I don't know the exact statistics but I am willing to bet that more young people are injured or killed as a result of texting & driving than in mass shootings.

Since "honest conversations" are suddenly en vogue, how about starting with a deadly issue that is actually pervasive among young people, particularly high school students. Just a thought.

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Lost in all the NFL free agency hoopla....

...is the fact that key Major League Baseball free agents are finally being snapped up.

My Twins club has had a very good offseason pulling off trades and free agent acquisitions to bolster a team which made the postseason last year. The latest move definitely helps what was a suspect starting pitching rotation going into Spring Training.

The unusually slow free-agent market forced Lance Lynn to wait through the winter and well into spring training before he found a new team.

The offer he settled on from the Minnesota Twins also came with the expectation of pennant race and perhaps postseason pitching.

"I wanted to go somewhere where they had a chance to win, no matter what," Lynn said on Tuesday at his introductory media conference. "It seemed like the perfect fit, and I look forward to doing what I have to do, which is take the ball when it is my turn."

Lynn agreed to a $12 million, one-year contract that includes bonuses of $1 million each for pitching 170 and 180 innings. He was given a turn right away and struck out five batters in three hitless innings of an exhibition against Baltimore. He walked one.

"Other than that, everything went about as smooth as it possibly could," Lynn said. "Get ready for the next and kind of keep the buildup for Opening Day."

Obviously my main focus will be Lynn's performance on the mound. But a close second will be postgame interviews like this one.




------------------------------------------

Sixteen months later, they *still* don't get it

I understood the rationale as to why some conservatives as well some white working class who typically voted Democrat decided to pull the lever for Donald Trump in 2016. I ultimately didn't agree with their reasoning and believed they would likely regret that support, but I nevertheless gleaned they were legitimately frustrated. Something had to change, for better or worse.

When Trump won, it sent shock waves through the political establishment. And while some leftists accepted the 2016 results as a hard lesson learned, it seems a majority of "progressives" have doubled down on their sneering and condescension as opposed to listening the concerns which resulted in someone like Trump being elected president.

You would think if there's merely one person who would be open to serious introspection, it would be Trump's 2016 opponent Hillary Clinton. Alas, if that is your belief, you are far too optimistic.







Let's go live now to the Hillary Clinton 2020 presidential campaign:

Donald Trump once talked on tape about grabbing women by the....well...y'know. As a sitting president, he launches personal insults towards those who criticize him. His stump speeches are typically divisive. 

Despite all that, Mrs. Clinton somehow manages to make Trump seem more likable than herself. No small feat.

-------------------------------------------

Another example of why Trump won

I'm not saying I agree or disagree with President Trump's decision here, but his lifting up of the "Joe Schmoes" of America further underscores why he appealed to the "working class."

Kristian Saucier, the former U.S. Navy sailor who served a year behind bars for taking photos of classified areas in a nuclear submarine, has been pardoned, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Friday.

Saucier recently received a letter from the Department of Justice saying it was taking a new look at his request for a pardon. Although he was released from jail last year, he remained under house arrest.

President Trump had denounced the government’s handling of Saucier’s case, calling it a political move and saying it contrasted with the velvet-gloved response to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s mismanagement of classified information through a private server.

"The president has pardoned Kristian Saucier, a Navy submariner,” Sanders said in a press briefing Friday afternoon. “Mr. Saucier was 22 years old at the time of his offenses and has served out his 12-months sentence. He has been recognized by his fellow service members for his dedication, skill and patriotic spirit.”

“While serving, he regularly mentored younger sailors and served as an instructor for new recruits. The sentencing judge found that Mr. Saucier's offense stands in contrast to his commendable military service. The president is appreciative of Mr. Saucier's service to the country.”

If you'll recall, Saucier's May 2016 guilty plea was entered less than two months before then FBI Director James Comey chose not to recommend criminal charges for then presidential candidate Hillary Clinton despite basically admitting she was guilty of gross negligence.

My friend and Northern Alliance Radio Network colleague Mitch Berg accurately pointed out the blatant unequal application of the law soon after Comey made his announcement.

I'll make no bones about the fact that I think Hillary Clinton is utterly qualified to be a terrible president, that she was the second-worst Secretary of State in the past 100 years (Albright was worse), and that along with her husband she set back "feminism" a generation (for better or worse).

And yeah, I think the fact that the FBI, which answers to Loretta Lynch's DOJ, magically decided to recommend "no charges" in this probe despite multiple serious violations of the law (as laid out by former Federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy) is a flame-belching hemi-powered travesty.

But the worst thing about it?

"Democracy" requires trust to function. When the people start to believe there's one system for those in power, and one for everyone else, people are justified in not trusting their government. And given that the Administration *has* used not only its bully pulpit, but its bureaucracy to sandbag and attack American dissenters in ways big and small (putting dissenter groups on watch lists, subjecting conservative groups to extra-special IRS scrutiny, sending guns across the border to try to discredit American gun owners and dealers, lying about Obamacare and the Iran non-treaty treaty), and now this?

Perfect illustration of the hypocrisy; a Navy sailor is looking at six years in Federal prison for doing taking pictures inside a submarine. NOT putting them out on a server where any Chinese hacker can get 'em; nothing of the sort.

Why should we, the people, think that our government HASN'T become the unresponsive, unaccountable tyranny our forefathers feared?

Again, Trump's methodology and rhetoric while being a head of state leaves a lot to be desired. But actions such as the Saucier pardon validates the assertions of those who believed a Trump presidency would refreshingly not be business as usual in Washington, D.C.

------------------------------------

Come on now, people, let's get on the ball....

Hopefully you remembered to set your clocks ahead one hour last evening so you're not late for this week's edition of The Closer. The one-hour broadcast gets going at 2:00 PM Central Time.

For the first two segments I'll play a pre-recorded interview with political wonk Matt Mackowiak. We'll discuss the Trump administration's upcoming nuclear talks with North Korea as well as the latest in the 2018 midterm elections.

In the non-guest segments I'll discuss how gun grabbers are so focused on their mission that they eschew literally all common sense when talking to crime victims who chose to buy a gun for personal safety.


So please call (651) 289-4488 if you'd like to weigh in on any of the topics we plan on addressing. You can also text comments/questions to (651) 243-0390.

You can listen live in the Twin Cities at AM 1280 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. If you're unable to tune in live, please check out my podcast page for the latest show post.

Even though I have a face for radio, there is a UStream channel where you can watch the broadcast if you so desire. Check it out here.

And if you're so inclined, follow along on Twitter at #narn or "Like" our Facebook page.

Until then.....

---------------------------------------

A Painter without red or blue

Richard Painter, former ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush administration and current U of M law professor, posted this tweet Wednesday morning.

I will make an announcement today at the State Capitol in St. Paul about the Minnesota senate race.
It is time to take back our government from corruption and money in politics
More to come.

— Richard W. Painter (@RWPUSA) March 7, 2018

Given he's been trolling Minnesota Senate candidates Karin Housley and Tina Smith (who is also the current interim senator), on Twitter, Painter was expected to announce that he is forming a third party bid to fill the final two years of Franken's former seat.

And that he did......kinda.

Just announced my exploratory committee for the US Senatehttps://t.co/T6k9kUF7eB

— Richard W. Painter (@RWPUSA) March 7, 2018

So for all the tough guy talk and bluster on social media, his announcement was essentially "I'm definitely a maybe for the Senate race."

I want you to go to the window, open it, stick your head out and yell: "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm gong to form an exploratory committee to consider doing something about it!”

— Howard Root (@RootHoward) March 7, 2018

Upon perusing his web site, I noticed this was one of the photos posted.

Sheesh, Mr. Painter is not even an official candidate yet he's already thieving intellectual property. 

Let's just hope he also has the penchant for Biden-esque verbal gaffes. It would make this crazy cycle that much more entertaining. 

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Closed Circuit to the "gun control" crowd

If you're part of any movement where the deplorable Shannon Watts is the face and voice of your cause, you will be soundly defeated at every turn. That said, is there some sort of fund to which I can contribute to ensure Ms. Watts stays firmly entrenched as y'all's leader?

Lemme know posthaste. 

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Pretty simple

You either value life at all points or you don't. And inanimate objects are not good or evil, rather they act at the behest of who possess them.

Kudos to Virginia delegate Nick Freitas for saying what needed to be said.





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In case you missed the Oscars on Sunday evening,....

......here's a lightning fast recap.

Kobe Bryant joins a long line of men who have both won an Oscar & have been accused of rape. #MeToo #Oscars

— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) March 5, 2018

The same people congratulating each other on standing up against sexual abuse of women in Hollywood are celebrating a movie about an adult man sexually abusing a teenage boy.

— Chad Felix Greene (@chadfelixg) March 5, 2018

You're welcome.


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Time was drifting, this rock had got to roll.....

It was the first weekend in March back in 2004 when the Northern Alliance Radio Network debuted on The Patriot. So on this 14th anniversary weekend of the NARN, I will carry on the fine tradition of conservative talk with today's edition of The Closer. The one-hour broadcast gets started at 2:00 PM Central Time.

Despite being 2-1/2 weeks removed from the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, many story lines rage on. Today I'll discuss whether the SD students who are touting left wing chanting points are fair game for critical retort. 

I'll also weigh in on President Trump's bipartisan gun control meeting and his declaration that he prefers to get the guns first, enact due process later. 

So please call (651) 289-4488 if you'd like to weigh in on any of the topics we plan on addressing. You can also text comments/questions to (651) 243-0390.

You can listen live in the Twin Cities at AM 1280 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. If you're unable to tune in live, please check out my podcast page for the latest show post.

Even though I have a face for radio, there is a UStream channel where you can watch the broadcast if you so desire. Check it out here.

And if you're so inclined, follow along on Twitter at #narn or "Like" our Facebook page.

Until then.....

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If you're out and about Saturday morning....

....feel free to stop by the Mall of America (East rotunda area) anytime between 7:00 and 10:00 AM, where I will be emceeing the festivities for the Walk to Cure Arthritis. Given that my own mother has been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, I am definitely on board with any organization looking for ways to raise funds for research.

This emcee opportunity came about at the recommendation of Miss Minnesota Brianna Drevlow, whose 10-year old sister Brenna is living with juvenile arthritis. As it so happens, Brenna is also this year's youth honoree for the walk!

If I don't see ya there, my feelings won't be hurt.....much. You can just placate me by donating to the Arthritis Foundation directly (click here).

Thanks for your support. 😀

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