Wednesday, June 10, 2026

Quick Hits: Volume CDXIV

 - Perhaps we're beginning to see why Minnesota Democrats invoked a "nuclear option" to replace the current Governor with Amy Klobuchar. 


A Republican-led congressional oversight report alleges that senior Minnesota officials, including Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., failed for years to act on warnings about fraud in the state’s social services programs, allowing hundreds of millions of dollars in confirmed or alleged losses and placing billions more at risk.

The Walz administration had the power to stop fraudulent payments to high-risk entities receiving federal nutrition and Medicaid funds, but the state "repeatedly failed to act" after officials raised concerns, according to a 205-page final staff report released by the House Oversight Committee on Monday.

Congressional investigators found that concerns about potential racial discrimination claims — rather than legal constraints — contributed to the Walz administration's decision to continue paying providers suspected of fraud. The committee also spoke to nearly 30 whistleblowers, some of whom accused the Walz administration of retaliation against state employees for sounding the alarm about potential fraud.


Hey, c'mon now. Isn't this kind of backdoor redistribution a show of neighborliness???? 


But seriously, it's not a stretch to believe Walz was willing to turn a blind eye when he's basically gone on national television touting his state as not so much fraud-ridden but rather "generous." 


The more that is being revealed about Minnesota's fraud problem, it's all the more incomprehensible the magnitude of Walz's arrogance regarding his initial intention to seek a third gubernatorial term. 



- Minnesota Congresswoman Angie Craig is seeking the Democrat nomination to be the state's next U.S. Senator. I recently happened to see one of the TV ads put forth by a leftist PAC supporting Craig. In it, they touted her commitment to no longer fund I.C.E. So passionate was she over this stance, that Craig even got into a shouting match with fellow Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer on the House floor. 





Footage of that dustup was featured in the aforementioned TV ad. 

Knowing she has to get to the left of Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan in order to secure the Dem nomination this August, Craig is also attempting to disavow her "yes" vote on the Laken Riley Act

I ask you to keep all of the above information in mind as you read this post from Emmer: 




I'm not a big fan of our elected officials' constant "trolling" of each other. I firmly believe it's beneath the office. But that said, even I have to concede that Emmer's work here is PhD level. 



- Despite donning a Nazi tattoo on his chest, being tagged with multiple allegations of domestic abuse and sexting women other than his wife, Graham Platner easily won the Democrat Senate primary in Maine on Tuesday night. 


The official statement from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and DSCC chair Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. 





Keep in mind that it was Gillibrand who 8-1/2 years ago was on the forefront of efforts to oust then Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) after multiple women came forward with allegations of inappropriate touching. Fast forward to today when she's essentially welcoming with open arms a guy who's been alleged to have committed far more egregious offenses in an effort to unseat a sitting female U.S. Senator. 

Life comes at ya fast. 

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Monday, June 08, 2026

Box Score of the Week

Baltimore Orioles at Cleveland Indians - July 6, 1954.

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The 11 first inning runs scored by the Indians is an all-time MLB record for most runs in an opening inning which accounted for the only runs scored by the team. 

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Sunday, June 07, 2026

The NARN Closer's playlist - 6/7/2026



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Give me one good reason why I should never make a change...............

It's been a while since I've been on the air in my usual Sunday slot, so it'll be good to be back! My radio show The Closer will air today, 1-3 PM Central Time. 

In the first hour, I'll discuss the fallout from last weekend's chaotic MNGOP state convention. 

At 1:30, MN State Senate candidate Julida Alter will drop by the Patriot bunker. She is vying to be the GOP candidate in Senate District 56, which covers Apple Valley, Rosemount and the southeastern portion of Eagan. 

In the 2:00 hour, I will weigh in on the national Democrats' continued extremism problem and how their laments over the behavior of Donald Trump now ring hollow. 


So please call (651) 289-4488 if you'd like to weigh in on any of the topics we plan on addressing.
 
You can listen live in the Twin Cities at AM 1280 or, if you're near downtown Minneapolis/West Metro area, 107.5 FM on your radio dial. In and out of the Minneapolis-St Paul area you can listen to the program on the Internet by clicking this link, or check us out via iheart radio as well as Amazon Alexa (just say "Alexa, play The Patriot Minneapolis")If you're unable to tune in live, please check out my podcast page for the latest show post.

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

Until then.....


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Friday, June 05, 2026

Gotta love Beast Mode

I've been in quite a funk the past two weeks, so it's nice to have a mindless diversion to give me a chuckle. 

This story from former Seattle Seahawks RB Marshawn Lynch on the ending of his team's Super Bowl XLIX loss to the New England Patriots lives rent-free in my head. 

Just watch. 





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Tuesday, June 02, 2026

Quick Hits: Volume CDXIII

- After the absolute debacle that was the MNGOP convention this past weekend, the runner-up in the gubernatorial endorsement is taking it to the August primary


House Speaker Lisa Demuth will continue her campaign for Minnesota governor despite losing the state Republican endorsement to former healthcare executive Kendall Qualls at the state party convention in Duluth.

She and her running mate, attorney Ryan Wilson, announced their decision on Tuesday. Demuth will run in the GOP primary on Aug. 11 against Qualls and My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell, after this weekend’s convention failed to eliminate top Republican candidates in the races for governor and U.S. Senate.

Demuth had originally pledged to abide by the GOP’s endorsement before the convention, but left the door open after “unusual circumstances” with the balloting process on Saturday.

“We fully expected when we agreed to abide by the endorsement that that process would be fair,” Demuth said on the steps of the state Capitol after filing paperwork to run. “That was brought into question.”


Demuth had led on the first four ballots, increasing her percentage on each occasion. But then from ballots 4 to 5, the result went from Demuth leading Qualls 42.4% to 35.8% to her trailing 49.9% to 46%. And if that wasn't suspicious enough, the number of delegates casting votes dropped by nearly 400. It was when results were being tabulated for ballot #6 that it was ascertained there were technical issues involving the clickers being used to cast votes. A 15-minute recess to address the issue turned into multiple hours before voting resumed. Qualls would eventually reach the 60% threshold on the 10th ballot. 


Look, I'm not suggesting that Qualls' victory is illegitimate. However, given the flawed process, the state party was absolutely justified in allowing Demuth to rescind her pledge to abide by the endorsement if she so chose. 


Finally, friend of the NARN (and occasional guest host) Dave Osmek with perhaps the paramount reason why the endorsement process should be gassed altogether. 





If MNGOP activists indeed don't want the party to perpetually be in the minority, what would they be doing differently if they did? 



- Given it's the month of June, major organizations look to pander to the LGBTQIA2S+ community. And certain media outlets are witting accomplices in calling out those who refuse to do so.  





Unless the Rangers are actively banning gays from participating in their various promotional nights, I'm not really seeing an issue here.  



- I wrote a few weeks ago that the national Democrat party has an extremism problem


A lot has been made of Graham Platner (or is it Grähäm Plätner?), the guy vying to be the Dem Senate candidate to oppose Susan Collins in Maine. Turns out the Nazi tattoo on his chest may, shockingly, be the least of his issues.  


But if you think that's jarring, get a load of the official Democrat candidate for Congress out of New Jersey's 12th Congressional District. 





I guess this all makes sense. For a solid decade now, progs have painted Donald Trump as evil and morally bankrupt. Turns out they were only doing so to justify the lunatics they're now regularly putting forth for political office.


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Monday, June 01, 2026

It's the month of June......

 ....which means..........





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Box Score of the Week

San Francisco Giants at Atlanta Braves - August 14, 2007


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Braves manager Bobby Cox was ejected this game for arguing a called third strike. It marked Cox's 122nd career ouster, surpassing John McGraw for the all-time lead. 


Cox retired after 2010 with 162 total ejections, a record that will likely never be broken. 


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Saturday, May 30, 2026

The NARN Closer's playlist (Saturday edition) - 5/30/2026



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I won't be walking on thin ice to get through the night.....

It's been a few weeks since I've been in the Patriot bunker, so I'm looking forward to getting back into the routine. However, it won't be completely the same as my NARN colleague Mitch Berg and I will be switching broadcasts this weekend. As such, I will be on the air today, 1-3 PM Central Time. 

In the first hour, I'll be discussing a lot of Minnesota politics as both the GOP and DFL will be holding their state conventions this weekend. In fact, we're tentatively scheduled to be joined by former Minnesota State Sen. Dave Osmek and former Salem-Twin Cities Operations Manager Lee Michaels, who will provide live updates from the MNGOP convention in Duluth. 

At 2:30, I will be joined by Independent Institute Senior Fellow Ivan Eland regarding the U.S. conflict in Iran. Mr. Eland is of the mindset that the U.S. should cut its losses altogether and begin to implement an exit strategy. 

 
So please call (651) 289-4488 if you'd like to weigh in on any of the topics we plan on addressing.
 
You can listen live in the Twin Cities at AM 1280 or, if you're near downtown Minneapolis/West Metro area, 107.5 FM on your radio dial. In and out of the Minneapolis-St Paul area you can listen to the program on the Internet by clicking this link, or check us out via iheart radio as well as Amazon Alexa (just say "Alexa, play The Patriot Minneapolis")If you're unable to tune in live, please check out my podcast page for the latest show post.

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

Until then.....


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