Commence gaslighting

Going into the 2020 presidential race against President Donald Trump, Democrats realize they have an uphill battle to re-take the White House. However, they can certainly rely upon media outlets to run interference for them. Whether it's undermining good economic news under Trump or glossing over Democrat positions which are not popular among the mainstream, we know the media is up to the task. Hell, they're already in full swing.

Whenever he has the bully pulpit, Trump always touts the undeniable economic successes which have occurred during his first term. Whether or not he should be given full credit for that is up for debate, but you can't deny that the meltdown which Paul Krugman assured us would happen upon Trump's election has not even come close to materializing. And you also can't deny that not a single Dem POTUS candidate has conveyed anything resembling a coherent economic message. As such, they sent out their media lapdogs to convince the American people that the majority of them didn't actually receive a tax cut under the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act, which was signed into law 16 months ago. Hey, it's a lot easier to fabricate information than to explain why there was rarely 3% GDP growth during the Barack Obama administration but a regular occurrence in the Trump era.

Then this past week, the media and other "progressive" establishments took great exception to an excerpt of a speech Trump gave in Green Bay, WI last weekend.

Trump noted that the state’s Democratic governor Tony Evers “shockingly stated that he will veto legislation that protects Wisconsin babies born alive,” referring to a bill that would require doctors to provide medical care to infants born alive in the course of an attempted abortion procedure.

Trump then referenced (Virginia governor Ralph) Northam’s comments during a late-January radio interview, in support of a Virginia bill that would’ve made it easier for women to obtain an abortion during the last three months of pregnancy. “The baby is born. The mother meets with the doctor,” Trump said at the rally, describing Northam’s remarks. “They take care of the baby. They wrap the baby beautifully, and then the doctor and the mother determine whether or not they will execute the baby. I don’t think so.”

In his typical fashion, Trump was overstating what Northam had said; the governor never mentioned “executing” babies. Media outlets were quick to accuse the president of “offer[ing] incendiary falsehood on abortion” and to put an unbelievably pleasant spin on Northam’s remarks. Representative Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.), meanwhile, called Trump “deranged” and suggested that his comment would cause violence.

But what did the Virginia governor actually say about care for newborn infants — and was Trump’s representation really that off the mark?

Judge for yourself.





The money quote: “If a mother is in labor...the infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother."

National Review's Alexandra DeSanctis, whose piece I quoted above, points out yet again how Dems can't avoid stepping on rhetorical rakes when attempting to "own Trump."

 

“Ralph Northam didn’t say it’s okay to execute newborn infants, he just said it’s okay to let them die from lack of medical care,” is not the game-changing moral distinction you think it is.

— Alexandra DeSanctis (@xan_desanctis) April 29, 2019

Look, I for one don't believe Trump is a shoe-in for reelection given the fact that, despite very good economic news, his approval rating is currently hovering in the low 40s. Nevertheless, leftists have once again put themselves in the position of having to hope for people to suffer economically and/or utilizing media obfuscation in order to attain their top goal of having Trump sent packing in 2020. What a miserable existence that must be.

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Box Score of the Week

Boston Red Sox at Minnesota Twins - May 8, 1966.

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The longest win streak the Twins have ever had versus one team was 17 consecutive victories over the Boston Red Sox, starting in 1965 and continuing into 1966. The game I referenced above was the Sox ending that aforementioned streak. 

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I'm on my way to New Orleans this mornin'....

I'll be back in the Patriot bunker today for another edition of The Closer. The 2-hour extravaganza begins at 1:00 PM Central Time.

On the local scene, it's been revealed that Taxin' Tim Walz's tax plan isn't as "progressive" as he and DFLers have touted. Then on the national front, I'll weigh in on the perpetual lunacy of the candidates vying for the Democrat nomination to oppose President Trump in 2020.

At 1:30, I welcome to the broadcast Charlotte Pence (yes, the VP's daughter) to promote her latest book Marlon Bundo's Day in the Nation's Capital. 


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.....

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

Biden makes it 20 for '20

It was only a matter of time. It became official Thursday morning.

Former Vice President Joe Biden launched his third bid for the presidency on Thursday, positioning himself as a trusted champion of the middle class eager to take the fight to President Donald Trump.

In a video released early Thursday morning, Biden said that "we are in a battle for the soul of this nation."

In the video's opening, Biden highlighted the 2017 violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, where during a large gathering of white nationalists and counterprotesters a white supremacist rammed his car into an opposition group, killing one person.

Biden noted that President Donald Trump said there were some "very fine people on both sides" (ah, but context matters - ed.) in Charlottesville, where the white nationalists were protesting the city's plan to take down a statue of Robert E. Lee, a Confederate general.

"In that moment, I knew the threat to this nation was unlike any I'd seen in my lifetime," Biden said, adding that he believes "history will look back on four years of this president and all he embraces as an aberrant moment in time."

"But if we give Donald Trump eight years in the White House, he will forever and fundamentally alter the character of this nation," Biden continued. "Who we are. And I cannot stand by and watch that happen."

If you're keeping score at home, Biden is now the 20th Democrat to seek the party's nomination for the 2020 presidential race.

While Biden has politically evolved further left in the 21st century, he certainly isn't as "kook fringe" as fellow candidates Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris or Elizabeth Warren. That is certainly his biggest advantage given a recent New York Times study showed that the majority of Democrat voters consider themselves more moderate than those who permeate Twitter. However, those who will be delegates at the 2020 Democratic National Convention will be of the grassroots ilk, and they tend to be more "progressive." As such, we could see a repeat of 2016 when you had "outsider" Bernie Sanders (who's been in Congress since 1991, but yeah, "outsider") taking on the establishment choice (in 2016 it was Hillary Clinton). And while Clinton was ramrodded through in '16, Sanders is much more formidable this time around.

Speaking of the "WOKE!" left, it's going to be a blast to watch them over the next several months. The reason being is they now have to grapple with their top goal of defeating Trump versus the fact that two septuagenarian, straight white men are the most formidable candidates among the Dems.

If nothing else, debates between Biden and Sanders will be entertaining in that it will have a vibe of two grumpy old men playing chess in the park while arguing over whose move it is.

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More NFL Draft stuff

With the 2019 NFL "selection meeting" upon us, let's look at the draft from 25 years ago. It was most memorable for a war of words exchanged by an NFL front office guy and a draft analyst.

The Indianapolis Colts had two selections among the first five picks. As such, draft "expert" Mel Kiper, Jr. insisted the Colts had to select a quarterback with one of those choices given that just a month earlier they traded QB Jeff George (whom they selected with the top choice in 1990) to the Atlanta Falcons. That meant going into the '94 season, veteran Jim Harbaugh was atop the Colts' QB depth chart, a situation which Kiper firmly believed would not get the club anywhere near a Super Bowl.

So when the Colts selected a running back at #2 and a linebacker at #5 (a pick they acquired via trade), Kiper went off. He basically called it a "typical Colt move" and such a track record is why they're "picking second every year in the draft." Naturally this didn't sit well with Colts VP/Director of Football Operations Bill Tobin. When asked about why he didn't take a potential franchise QB, he launched into a diatribe against Kiper.

"Who in the hell is Mel Kiper anyway? Here's a guy that criticizes everybody, whoever they take. He's got the answers to who you should take and who you shouldn't take. And my knowledge of him: he's never ever put on a jock strap, he's never been a coach, he's never been a scout, he's never been an administrator and all of a sudden he's an expert."

This next quote by Tobin is my favorite

"We don't have to take anybody Mel Kiper says we have to take. Mel Kiper has no more credentials to do what he's doing than my neighbor, and my neighbor's a postman, and he doesn't even have season tickets to the NFL."

I would imagine NFL front office administrators make pretty good money, even 25 years ago. So how is it that a postman can afford to live in Tobin's neighborhood? For some reason, that part of Tobin's rant always stood out to me.

But I digress.

To recap: The two franchise QBs available in 1994 were Heath Shuler out of Tennessee and Trent Dilfer from Fresno State. Shuler was an absolute bust and Dilfer had a pedestrian 14-year career, though he did ride the wave of an awesome Baltimore Ravens defense in 2000 to win a Super Bowl.

So who did the Colts select at #2 overall that year? That would be RB Marshall Faulk, who ended up being a Hall of Fame player, albeit with the St. Louis Rams upon being traded there after five seasons in Indy. The Colts then used their #5 choice to select LB Trev Alberts, who played in only 29 games over three seasons. And even though Harbaugh indeed never led the Colts to a Super Bowl, they got within a whisker of getting there in the 1995 season when they lost a tightly contested AFC Championship Game to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Colts would bottom out a couple of years later but then hit pay dirt when they drafted QB Peyton Manning with the #1 overall pick in 1998. And Manning's favorite receiver in his years with the Colts was Marvin Harrison, who was selected in the first round in 1996 with one of the draft picks Indianapolis received in the George trade. Amazing how things can come together.

Anyhow, check out the backstory from what was perhaps one of the most entertaining moments in a live TV event.

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NFL Draft stuff

With the opening round of the National Football League draft slated to begin Thursday, many sports outlets like to look back at draft picks who didn't exactly live up to their hyped status.

As such, here is the cover of Sports Illustrated from 30 years ago today:

Mandarich ended up being selected #2 overall by the Green Bay Packers in 1989. Not only did he fall far short of the expectations that come with being chosen that high, but the other four picks in the top five of that '89 draft (Troy Aikman, Barry Sanders, Derrick Thomas and Deion Sanders) all had Hall of Fame careers.That's not to say Mandarich was completely worthless as an NFL player. In fact, he resurrected his career when he switched from Tackle to Guard with the Indianapolis Colts in the mid 1990s. He ended up making 32 starts over three seasons in Indy, including 10 in Peyton Manning's rookie season of 1998.

Since my Minnesota Vikings are desperate for offensive line help, it's a strong possibility they will look to fill that need in the first round on Thursday. But as we've learned so often, Super Bowl caliber rosters are not always formed in the opening round. Let's just say that if the Vikings claim they drafted the next Ron Yary or Gary Zimmerman, I will maintain a healthy skepticism.

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Quick Hits: Volume CLXXXVIII (Dem presidential candidate clown car edition)

- One significant reason the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was put in place was for citizens to have the means to defend against a tyrannical government. Sure, there have been laws passed previously which, to a certain extent, "regulated" 2A but nothing has approached government looking to disarm citizens......yet.

But threatening to govern via executive fiat? One could argue that will lead to tyranny.

Senator Kamala Harris of California, the former prosecutor who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination, on Monday committed to a host of executive actions to implement gun control measures that have long failed to pass in Congress.

At a town hall hosted by CNN, Ms. Harris said that, if elected, she would sign an executive order mandating background checks for customers of any firearms dealer who sells more than five guns a year. The executive actions would also include more stringent regulation of gun manufacturers that could result in revoked licenses or prosecution, as well as an attempt to close the loophole that allows some domestic abusers to purchase guns if their victim is an unwedded partner.

“There are people in Washington, D.C., supposed leaders,” Ms. Harris said on CNN Monday evening, “who have failed to have the courage to reject a false choice which suggests you’re either in favor of the second amendment or you want to take everyone’s guns away.”

“We need reasonable gun safety laws in this country, starting with universal background checks and a renewal of the assault weapon ban,” she added, “but they have failed to have the courage to act.”

This is typical leftist pap in that they often incorrectly define what an "assault weapon" is or the implication that background checks aren't already in place. Regardless, laws such as this are compiled in the legislative branch, so Ms. Harris is clearly insinuating she has no issue usurping separation of powers.

If Democrats sincerely want to lessen the incidents of guns winding up in the hands of the wrong people, they really ought to heed the advice of MN Gun Owners Caucus Chair Bryan Strawser, who recently crafted a comprehensive post on the subject.


- Amy Klobuchar, who is barely registering in any prominent polls among Dem POTUS candidates, held her own town hall meeting on Monday. Let's just say it wasn't a good sign that she stirred up memories of Jeb Bush's most pitiful moment of the 2016 GOP race.



via GIPHY

During a CNN town hall in New Hampshire for students, the Democratic 2020 presidential candidate responded to a question about how she planned to appeal to disaffected middle-class voters from the heartland who cast ballots for President Trump in 2016.

"I guess you look at what I've done, and that is that I am someone that runs in a purple state," Klobuchar said of Minnesota. "Every single time I have run, I have won every single congressional district in my state, including Michele Bachmann's."

After a slight pause, Klobuchar added to laughter: "It's when you guys are supposed to cheer, OK?"

No word if audience members ducked for fear of binders being tossed in their direction.


- And finally, America's favorite septuagenarian commie brings the lunacy as only he can.

Senator Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) said Monday that all felons, including terrorists and rapists, should be able to vote while serving out their prison sentences.

Asked during a CNN town hall in New Hampshire whether he believed people like the Boston marathon bomber should be disenfranchised, Sanders said no, and suggested that all restrictions on voting rights erode American democracy.

“If somebody commits a serious crime, sexual assault, murder, they’re going to be punished,” he said. “They may be in jail for 10 years, 20 years, 50 years, their whole lives. That’s what happens when you commit a serious crime. But I think the right to vote is inherent to our democracy. Yes, even for terrible people.”

“Because once you start chipping away and you say, ‘well that guy committed a terrible crime, not going to let him vote,’ or ‘that person did that, not going to let that person vote,’ you’re running down a slippery slope,” he continued. “So, I believe that people commit crimes, they pay the price. They get out of jail, I believe they certainly should have the right to vote. But I believe even if they’re in jail, they’re paying their price to society, but that should not take away their inherent American right to participate in our democracy.”

Look, I'm all for felons having their rights restored, provided they've met all the criteria of their rehabilitation since their release from prison. But this idea that these people should have the right to vote while currently imprisoned is ludicrous. These people aren't members of free society for a reason, so they should have no say in how it should be governed. Again, I absolutely believe those who have "paid their debt to society" should have every opportunity to participate in democracy once again. But absolutely not until they've fulfilled every last obligation of their sentences.

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

Box Score of the Week

If you watched any of the Twins-Orioles series on Fox Sports North this past weekend, you had the opportunity to hear the musings of Jim Kaat, who had a terrific 25-year career as an MLB pitcher. He has been equally outstanding as a broadcaster for 30+ seasons.

With that in mind, let's take a look at a 1972 game featuring Kaat and his Minnesota Twins taking on the Chicago White Sox.

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

Kaat injured his pitching hand while sliding into second base in the top of the 6th inning. Despite that, he proceeded to retire the next six batters he faced before running into trouble in the eighth inning. 

The Twins hung on for the win, giving Kaat his 10th victory less than half way through the '72 season. Unfortunately, it was learned after the game that Kaat had actually broke his left hand which meant he would miss the remainder of the season. 

That game alone should cement his Hall of Fame credentials. The fact he's not in the HOF borders on a travesty. 

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

Do you see what I see?

I've got intelligent readers. I'm sure y'all can ascertain the differences in condolences expressed in the two separate atrocities.

Honestly, I'm not looking to dunk on Obama and Hillary here. I am genuinely confounded why they're so hesitant to say the word "Christians" when referencing the Sri Lankan tragedy. 

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

I would say I'm sorry If I thought that it would change your mind.....

Happy Easter! What a beautiful day to enjoy family and friends, but most of all celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! I will be doing all those things today in addition to my live broadcast of The Closer. The 2-hour blitz gets started at 1:00 PM Central Time.

I will obviously have my own perspective on the release of the Mueller Report this past week and how both sides managed to have their preconceived notions validated.

Speaking of President Trump, he was in the Twin Cities this past week. As such, I will be talking to Salem-Twin Cities Ministry Director Gary Borgendale at 2:30. Gary was one of a handful of people with the opportunity to attend a round table discussion led by the POTUS.

And finally.....Jesus is risen!


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.....

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

Mueller time

This just in: every staunch partisan had their preconceived notions confirmed upon Thursday's release of special counsel Robert Mueller's findings pertaining to Russia's involvement in the 2016 U.S. election.

Perhaps the most prolific mental gymnastics came courtesy of leftists and many media outlets who claimed the issue they raised most often (and was highlighted in Mueller's report) was President Trump's attempted obstruction of the investigation. CNN contributor Mary Katharine Ham provided a not-so-gentle reminder that her media colleagues were focused quite a bit on another angle.

On CNN, @mkhammer calls out the media for ignoring Mueller finding #NoCollusion after hyping it for 2 years: "I hope nobody missed leg day because carrying these goalposts, they're going to be very heavy if you want to do it for the next 18 months." Says media is "gaslighting." pic.twitter.com/pEx3GRHYkj

— Matt Wolking (@MattWolking) April 18, 2019

While said media didn't exactly cover themselves in glory over this, we shouldn't brush off the aspects of this saga where the Trump campaign (and subsequent administration) did indeed engage in downright fabrications. National Review's David French, who read the whole report, indicated that under normal circumstances such damning revelations would sink a presidency.

I must confess that even as a longtime, quite open critic of Donald Trump, even I was surprised at the sheer scope, scale, and brazenness of the lies, falsehoods, and misdirections detailed by the Special Counsel’s Office. We’ve become accustomed to Trump making up his own facts on matters great and small, but to see the extent to which his virus infected his entire political operation is sobering. And the idea that anyone is treating this report as “win” for Trump, given the sheer extent of deceptions exposed (among other things), demonstrates that the bar for his conduct has sunk so low that anything other than outright criminality is too often brushed aside as relatively meaningless.

So there was no evidence of collusion and Trump was not a "Russian agent" engaging in treasonous behavior. But this investigation also was not a "witch hunt" in that it turned up some very serious improprieties, all of which will be gleefully referenced by Trump's Democrat opponent in 2020.

At the end of the day we know that discovery of Russia hacking our election was made at the end of 2016 during the Barack Obama presidency. Then last summer President Trump took Russian leader Vladimir Putin at his word when he denied having knowledge of his country's activities.

Hmm. If only someone had given the U.S. adequate warning of Russia emerging as our country's largest geopolitical foe.

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Quick Hits: Volume CLXXXVII

- Fox News Channel hosted Dem presidential candidate Bernie Sanders in a Town Hall event this past Monday. The current POTUS wasn't impressed.

So weird to watch Crazy Bernie on @FoxNews. Not surprisingly, @BretBaier and the “audience” was so smiley and nice. Very strange, and now we have @donnabrazile?

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 16, 2019

It's really gonna be lit when Trump lumps in Fox News with his "ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE" diatribes.

With all due respect Mr. President, moderators Baier and Martha MacCallum didn't exactly lob softball questions to Sanders. If anything, Sanders' response to hosts' questions gave the viewing audience a sense of how the septuagenarian socialist is in a veritable fantasy land with his policy ideas. It's also somewhat chilling how Sanders' supporters (particularly the barking, clapping seals in the studio audience) indicated they are willing to trade freedom & liberty for government "taking care of us."

I believe Trump missed an opportunity to thank Fox for exposing his possible 2020 opponent as the commie he is. Sad!


- The Minnesota Twins' home stadium of Target Field is in its 10th season of existence. As such, I was really hoping we were past the vacuous discussion of why the stadium has no roof.

Sadly, no, as KARE-11 reporter Jana Shortal decided to stoke the fire.

Last night our Twins played before an announced crowd of 11,727.
That's the smallest in Target Field history.
The day before was 14,774.
Which was VERY small too.
I love Target Field...but uh, should we have put a roof on it?? #BTN11

— janashortal (@janashortal) April 16, 2019

I can't begin to guess how many hours I've wasted since 2010 trying to convince the pro-roof crowd that they're flat out wrong. But for some reason I just can't let it go.

That said, my answer to Ms. Shortal's question is rather succinct:




via GIPHY


- I miss the good old days when Presidents and First Ladies rode off in the sunset and enjoyed post-White House living without garnering much fanfare.

Unfortunately that's just not in the narcissistic Obamas.

Former first lady Michelle Obama compared life in America under President Trump to living with a “divorced dad,” according to The Independent.

“For anyone who had any problems with Barack Obama, let’s just think about what we were troubled by – there were never any indictments,” she said during an interview with late-night host Stephen Colbert in London while promoting her memoir “Becoming,” according to the publication.

She then joked that the U.S. under Trump's presidency was akin to a teenager.

“We come from a broken family, we are a little unsettled,” Obama said. “Sometimes you spend the weekend with divorced dad. That feels like fun but then you get sick. That is what America is going through. We are living with divorced dad.”

I know Michelle sees herself in the motif of her pal Beyonce and her "WHO RUN THE WORLD? GIRLS!!" mantra. But as we're finding out with each passing day, feminists who believe becoming more empowered involves diminishing men aren't going to like the society we devolve into.

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Random

Once a month our cleaning lady (Victoria) gives our house a deep clean, a job which typically requires 4-5 hours to complete. Since Victoria was arriving later than normal on Tuesday evening, she brought along a friend to help her complete the task in a more efficient time frame.

Since I was not at home, my wife was around to make Victoria's friend feel welcome by chatting her up while she worked. Somehow the subject of my radio program came up when it was ascertained that Victoria's friend is a fan of my radio show! How utterly random is that?

Apropos not much.

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Call it a comeback

Since the day he uttered "Hello world" upon declaring he was joining the PGA Tour in August 1996, Tiger Woods has been my all-time favorite golfer.

Upon entering the world of professional golf, Woods was already saddled with ridiculously high expectations, yet he managed to wildly exceed them. In his first Masters tournament 22 years ago (a mere 7-1/2 months after going pro), Tiger set the tourney record with a low score of 270 (-18) and won by a whopping 12 strokes. In addition to his appealing to golf fanatics, Tiger proved he transcended the sport given the 1997 Masters set a television ratings record for the final round. His legend would only continue to grow over the next 11 years as he accumulated thirteen more major titles, culminating with winning the 2008 U.S. Open in sudden death despite playing the tournament with a shredded left knee. That victory marked Woods' 14th major title, which was good for second place all time behind Jack Nicklaus's 18. It seemed a forgone conclusion that Tiger, only 32 years old at the time, would eventually usurp Nicklaus for most majors.

Then 2009 happened.

In August of that year, Woods lead the 2009 PGA Championship (which I was fortunate to attend on day two) by two strokes going into the final round. At that juncture of his career Woods had never lost a major when leading after three rounds.....until this one. Tiger went +3 that final day while the golfer in second place, Y.E. Yang, went -2 to claim the title. Then on Thanksgiving of that year, Woods and then wife Elin had a high profile domestic dispute which eventually led to revelations that Tiger was a serial adulterer. The couple divorced months later.

With Woods' personal life and health deteriorating over the next several years, he was rarely a factor in any tournament he played. He occasionally showed signs of life by popping up with a top ten finish here and there but could never break through with a win. But it was the 2017 Masters where it was ascertained by many that Woods (then age 41) was truly finished. He would withdraw from the tournament, making it the third Masters in four years in which he would miss out. Shortly thereafter, Tiger would undergo his fourth back surgery, a spinal fusion procedure. Even Woods himself privately conceded that he had no future.

But then seemingly out of nowhere, Woods had a solid 2018 season which was highlighted by a second place finish at the PGA Championship and his first tournament victory in five years with a win at the Tour Championship. Woods also finished 8th overall in tournament winnings. While there were no overly optimistic sentiments that Tiger was truly back, it showed he could at least occasionally compete at a high level.

As I summarize Woods' fascinating 20+ years on the PGA Tour, I can't help but believe that what we witnessed this past weekend was not only the most unlikely redemption story in the history of pro golf but perhaps all of professional sports.

Tiger Woods is the winner of the 2019 Masters after posting a 70 on Sunday and rolling through the rest of the field that even dared to get in his way. Having been told by some that he could never win another major in his career, Tiger silenced the naysayers as he captured the fifth green jacket of his career and his 15th major overall.

Washington Post columnist Thomas Boswell also grappled with the question if this was the greatest comeback in sports history.

Yes, of course it is.

Why? Since last year, this Greatest Comeback debate has arisen everywhere sports media types — a nasty bunch — congregate. We make our cases for something, anything, that would beat a Tiger win in a major. With respect for everybody who gets mentioned, we have all given up. Ben Hogan coming back to win majors after almost dying when his car was crushed by a bus is the only competition. But Woods checks boxes for misery and self-inflicted embarrassment that nobody knew existed.

Now let the accolades roll in. Jack Nicklaus sent a text: “A big well-done for Tiger. I am so happy for him and for the game of golf. This is just fantastic.”

Instead of “greatest comeback ever,” we now have a different and almost ridiculous question: Will Woods enter a 40-something renaissance and challenge Nicklaus’s record of 18 majors?

After the way Woods won his fifth Masters, that’s not impossible. His command of himself and his ball’s flight, his sense of what the leader board was telling him and, most important, his ability to avoid even a single dangerous, win-killing mistake — one fatal splash — spoke to a champion who was not simply summoning one magical, lucky week. Rather, this was a player whose polished but merely normal game could churn out a score of 13 under par at Augusta National.

In the end, I'm still skeptical Woods can ultimately surpass Nicklaus's record of 18 major victories given that Father Time is undefeated (again, Woods is 43) combined with the fact there are so many incredibly young and gifted pro golfers currently on the PGA circuit. But similar to this past weekend, I would absolutely love to be proven incorrect.

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Box Score of the Week

Tampa Bay Rays at New York Yankees - September 26, 2013.

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The original draft of this entry was posted April 15, the 72nd anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking baseball's color barrier. In 1997 (the 50th anniversary of Robinson's debut), MLB decided to retire his number 42 league wide but players still donning the number were allowed to wear it while they remained with their current club. 

The game I referenced here was the final one in the Hall of Fame career of Yankees reliever Mariano Rivera. As such, it was also the final game in Major League Baseball history where a player wore jersey number 42.

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

They burned down the gambling house....

I trust my fellow Minnesotans survived the latest Snowmageddon, so we'll roll on with the latest edition of The Closer. The 2-hour blitz gets started at 1:00 PM Central Time.

I'll take the first hour to weigh in on the latest news stories regarding the proverbial clown car that is the 2020 Democrat presidential field. In the second hour I'll discuss the latest Ilhan Omar flap, another "heartbeat bill" signed into law and more fallout from last year's Parkland, FL shooting.


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.....

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

Incendiary rhetoric for we, not for ye

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) was called out for her dismissive rhetoric regarding the 9/11/2001 terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. Fellow U.S. House prog Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) came to her defense and also added that the criticism of Omar is an "incitement of violence against progressive women of color." Naturally, some media outlets were all too willing accomplices since they parroted AOC's chanting point.

Look, I'm not going to deny that some of the more visceral critics of Omar et al are more rooted in their disdain for her than they are offended by specific comments. But if we're going to go down this road once again by stating that incendiary rhetoric directly leads to violence, the media and other proggie establishments are woefully incapable of equal application.

Leading up to the summer of 2017, Sen. Bernie Sanders said on multiple occasions that people will die if Congressional Republicans pass some sort of Obamacare repeal legislation and President Trump signs it into law. Sure enough in June 2017, a self-professed "Bernie Bro." opened fire on a baseball field where he knew several GOP members of Congress were participating in practice. Now, am I saying that Sanders' comments were responsible for the actions of the deranged gun man? Absolutely not. But did any media outlets loop together the multiple sound bites where Gramps constantly declared that "thousands will die" if Republicans get their way on healthcare? I think you know the answer to that. Hell, they didn't even do the obligatory citing of out-of-context stats regarding gun violence since I'm sure many secretly believed it was karma given that it was "gun-loving, NRA-lapdog" Republicans who were the victims.

So for those media outlets who are shocked, SHOCKED that people would react negatively towards a member of Congress whom they believe came off as cavalier regarding 9/11, y'all can go pound sand.

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Swalwell leads 2020 Dem presidential field

OK, the title of this post is misleading. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), who made it official Tuesday that he is running for President, doesn't lead the Democrat field in any significant poll. That said, he has come right out of the gate to take the lead as the most despicable demagogue of the candidates to declare (and that's saying something).

Do you want to protect our children's right to go to school without fear?
The right for a mom to hug her son when he comes home?
The right for a dad to know his daughter can learn safely?

Join me and let's BAN and BUY BACK assault weapons: https://t.co/dniYybKuMm

— Eric Swalwell (@ericswalwell) April 10, 2019

As I said in a post last week, Swalwell has zero shot to be the Dem presidential nominee in 2020. However, he is definitely a useful idiot for most of the other Democrat candidates in that he's actually conveying what they're thinking regarding guns and the Second Amendment. If Swalwell's rhetoric is soundly rejected, he'll gain no traction in the POTUS race but can continue his demagoguery in a California Congressional District where he's captured at least 70% of the vote each of the past three election cycles. In the meantime, the other Dem presidential candidates can swoop in with less crazy gun proposals while incrementally moving toward their ultimate goal of confiscation.

It appears to still be too much to ask for these candidates to actually have even scintilla of knowledge of an industry they are looking to heavily regulate.

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Quick Hits: Volume CLXXXVI

- Because leftists often have few (if any) facts to support their "progressive" worldview, they often rely on caricaturing the political right, utilizing ad hominem straw men, etc.

South Bend mayor (and one of several Democrat presidential candidates) Pete Buttigieg has recently focused his ire on President Trump's administration, specifically the "hypocrisy" of Christians within Trump's team or supportive of the current POTUS. Inevitably, Vice President Mike Pence gets caught in the verbal cross hairs.

"If me being gay was a choice, it was a choice that was made far, far above my pay grade," Buttigieg said. "And that's the thing I wish the Mike Pences of the world would understand. That if you got a problem with who I am, your problem is not with me -- your quarrel, sir, is with my creator."

And if you, Mr. Mayor, believe men shouldn't stand up for a child about to be killed mere moments before birth, your quarrel is with my creator.

But I digress.


This is perhaps the most oft used straw man, where one conflates opposition to gay marriage with despising gay people. Also, does Buttigieg forget that Pence was once governor of his home state? If Pence showed any animosity towards him in 2015 shortly after his "coming out," the then Indiana governor had a funny way of showing it.

"I hold Mayor Buttigieg in the highest personal regard. We have a great working relationship. I see him as a dedicated public servant, and a patriot."

At least Mayor Pete didn't make the egregious mistake of calling Pence a "decent guy."


- The University of Virginia men's basketball team defeated Texas Tech Monday evening to win the national championship.

The Cavaliers win was historic for a couple of reasons. For starters, just last year they became the first top seed to lose in the first round since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985.

Secondly.....

 I just love sports trivia!


- Democrat presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has vowed to release 10 years worth of his tax returns by Tax Day on Monday. As such, he's implored President Trump to do the same.

“Not being a billionaire, not having investments in Saudi Arabia, wherever he has investments, all over the world, mine will be a little bit more boring,” Mr. Sanders said.

Reminded that he is a millionaire, he did not shirk from the description.

“I wrote a best-selling book,” he declared. “If you write a best-selling book, you can be a millionaire, too.”

Whoa, whoa, whoa, what's this?!?!?! You're invoking capitalism here, Bern? What about those of us who don't have the clout or notoriety to write a best-seller?

How about some consistency here, Gramps. Time to start divesting and spread the wealth around posthaste.

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Box Score of the Week

Let's check out one of the Baltimore Orioles' 107 losses in 2018. Here's a September game vs. the Chicago White Sox.

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This game marked the last time the Orioles' Chris Davis reached base via a base hit. After going 0 for 5 Monday evening, Davis now has zero hits in his past 49 at bats, which is a record for a non-pitcher. The previous mark for futility was set by Eugenio Velez who went 0 for 46 in 2010 & 2011 with the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers. 

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All this violence it brings me down.....

Another busy week to recap on today's edition of The Closer. The 2-hour broadcast gets started at 1:00 PM.

On the national scene, more accusations levied against Joe Biden regarding inappropriate touching, Georgians tell pro abortion celebrities to go pound sand, the perpetual lack of context to the "gender pay gap," etc.

In local news, Dems attempt to slip "gun control" into budget bills and the proposed gas tax is not (to put it mildly) being well received.



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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The clown car rolls on

Ummm.....which Democrat elected official isn't running for President of the United States in 2020?

A certain Congressman from California apparently is one of the next to declare.

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) will reportedly announce next week that he is running for president in 2020 and will center his campaign around gun control.

The Atlantic reported Thursday that Swalwell will announce his plans during an appearance on CBS's "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert," where he will be joined by Cameron Kasky, a survivor of the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.

Swalwell, who is hosting a town hall on gun control next week in Florida, did not confirm his plans to The Atlantic, but said he thinks gun control should be a top issue in 2020.

“We are doing a town hall in Parkland,”(That's original. Maybe he'll get a Cronkite award outta the deal - ed.) he told The Atlantic. “And I do believe that gun safety has to be a top 2020 issue.”

You wanna know how serious Swalwell is about enacting "gun safety?" By ensuring no U.S. citizens own a gun, even if it means mutually assured destruction.

Let's be honest. Swalwell has no chance to be the Dem nominee in 2020. However, his brief candidacy will be ripe for memes, satire, etc.

Swalwell running for White House on gun control: reporthttps://t.co/aTzbHEKCuA#2A #rkba pic.twitter.com/zUd8u5kM5o

— Brad 'The #NARNShow Closer' Carlson (@AM1280Brad) April 4, 2019

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The evolution of Woke Joe

It was only a matter of time before Joe Biden responded to multiple allegations of his inappropriately touching women over the years. On Wednesday afternoon he took to Twitter.

Social norms are changing. I understand that, and I’ve heard what these women are saying. Politics to me has always been about making connections, but I will be more mindful about respecting personal space in the future. That’s my responsibility and I will meet it. pic.twitter.com/Ya2mf5ODts

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) April 3, 2019

Look, I don't know Biden personally. I'm not about to try to guess what his true motivations were when he got "up close and personal" with women of all ages.

It does seem rather odd though that Biden would say something like "social norms are changing" as if the process has just begun. As Emily Yoffe points out in a Politico piece, Biden himself was at the forefront of "changing norms."

In a 2015 speech at Syracuse University about sexual harassment and assault, Biden made his oft-repeated assertion that, “We need a fundamental change in our culture. And the quickest place to change culture is to change it on the campuses of America.” In other words, campuses were laboratories where government officials could impose their vision of how males and females should interact.

Among the cultural shifts orchestrated by the Obama administration was the assertion that evaluation of campus claims of sexual harassment and assault rest on the subjective feelings of the accuser. That meant it was irrelevant whether the accused had an intention to abuse, harm or offend. This was codified in 2013, with the joint release by the departments of Education and Justice of what they called “a blueprint for colleges and universities throughout the country to protect students from sexual harassment and assault.” An analysis by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a civil liberties group, found that the administration had abandoned the principle that claims of harassment should be evaluated based on an “objective” or “reasonable person” standard.

The Obama administration’s efforts to expand the definitions of what constituted a possible sexual violation were thoroughgoing. In 2014, the White House issued a report called “Not Alone,” which provided schools with a model “climate survey” that gave this definition of punishable behavior: “Sexual violence refers to a range of behaviors that are unwanted by the recipient and include remarks about physical appearance; persistent sexual advances that are undesired by the recipient; unwanted touching; and unwanted oral, anal, or vaginal penetration or attempted penetration.” In other words, the Obama administration expanded the definition of sexual violence to include compliments, or the kind of touching—often unasked for, and sometimes unwelcome—that Biden has engaged in for years.

I guess the conservatives who were calling out Biden's behavior as Veep were actually the "woke" ones. Ironic, eh?

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For the record.....

Say it with me: There. Is. No. Gender. Wage. Gap.

If you are continuing to regurgitate the chanting point that women only earn 80 cents for every one dollar a man earns, then you are at best not being given the whole story or at worst are being lied to.

For my money (no pun intended), there is no better dissection of that tedious chanting point than what is offered up by Christina Hoff Sommers, a Resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.

Learn it. Know it. Live it.



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Box Score of the Week

It's never too early to feature a Yankees-Red Sox game.

Let's check out their matchup from April 29, 2016.

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David Ortiz hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the 8th inning to break a 2-2 tie, leading to a Red Sox win. That was not at all unusual for "Big Papi" to come through in the clutch. But what was special about this home run was that he promised six-year old Ortiz super fan Maverick Schutte, who was battling a rare heart defect, that he would hit a home run in his honor.

This is the video me and @davidortiz sent our little buddy Maverick before Red Sox game tonight.... pic.twitter.com/kVTqSoe8OV

— Kevin Millar (@KMillar15) April 30, 2016

 Maverick was a tad excited.

And this is Maverick video back us @davidortiz after home run 2nite. The man touches lives daily and brings smiles. pic.twitter.com/SPUhx7Hmdq

— Kevin Millar (@KMillar15) April 30, 2016

And yes, Maverick did get to meet his idol in person a couple of weeks later.



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