Box Score of the Week (Postseason edition)

Game 2 of the 2006 World Series - St Louis Cardinals at Detroit Tigers. 

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The NARN Closer's playlist - 10/18/2026

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Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right.............

Barely more than two weeks from Election Day, so a lot to get to on today's edition of my radio show The Closer. Today's 2-hour blitz starts at 1:00 PM Central Time. 

Right at 1:00, GOP candidate Sue Ek will be on to discuss her candidacy in MN House District 14B (northern St. Cloud). Sue had faced the incumbent DFLer for this seat in 2024, losing by a mere 191 votes, which amounted to less than a 1%  margin. 

At 1:30, GOP candidate Mary O'Neal will stop by to discuss her candidacy in MN House District 66B, which lies within the city of St. Paul (south of Larpenteur Ave and north of Pierce Butler Route, between Lexington Ave & Hwy 61). 

In the non-guest segments, we'll take a look back at this past week's U.S. Senate debate between MN Lt Gov Peggy Flanagan and her Republican challenger Michele Tafoya. 

And finally, gun control advocates conjure up exactly zero new talking points in reaction to the Bend, OR school 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, where we also conduct a "Live Stream" of the broadcast.

Until then.....

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Gun control fails.....again

I've said it many times in this space: those who look to commit atrocities will do so in spite of any strict "gun control" laws. 

Three children, aged 5, 8 and 11, and one teacher were killed when a 16-year-old Bend, Oregon, resident entered an elementary school and started shooting, police said at a news conference Thursday evening.

The shooter, armed with a long gun, forced his way into the school by shooting at locked doors, but it’s unclear how far he made it into the building, said Chief Mike Krantz of Bend Police Department.

A community member who saw the teenager entering Silver Rail Elementary School at about 1 p.m. followed him in before engaging him in gunfire, killing him before responding officers arrived, Krantz said.

As I alluded to in the first paragraph, a motivated gunman will do whatever is necessary to gun down others, until they're met with professional violence. And it would certainly appear the Bend, OR school shooter was bound and determined to kill others. 

 

The gun-toting young madman then tried to enter through the school’s front door but was blocked by two bystanders, including a dad of two little girls at the school who noticed the property breach while driving by on his way home for lunch, sources said.

The man opened fire on John with a concealed weapon he was carrying, thwarting the teen’s attempt to go in the front, sources said.

Refusing to give up, John ran around to the school’s back door and blew off its lock — which was designed to prevent such tragedies, sources said.

He entered the school and headed straight for his former special-needs classroom and opened fire, killing three students, ages 5, 8 and 11, and a teacher, while also injuring a 7-year-old in a wheelchair and a 54-year-old teacher before being gunned down by the gun-toting dad who had spotted him out front.

The usual suspects like gun-grabbing orgs and prog politicians have engaged in their usual grandstanding on how if just one more "gun control" bill were passed, this tragedy could have been averted. Sure, they gloss over the fact that spree killers ignore such laws, but they press on with the assumption that the general public is ignorant of such things. 

Perhaps the biggest tell is the lack of balls-to-the-wall coverage by media outlets. Y'see, demagoguing a white guy shooting up a school is among their favorite pastimes. However, in this specific instance they know they can't exploit the tragedy without acknowledging one incontrovertible fact: there would have been many more fatalities had a law-abiding, conscientious gun owner not stepped in to stem the tide of violence. And since media outlets are some of the biggest deniers of the "good guy with a gun" mantra, giving an honest assessment of this incident would be the proverbial exploding cigar in their collective faces.

In the end, I'm beyond weary of having to defend myself and other law abiding gun owners from those who choose to exercise fascist control over our Constitutional rights. But that frustration pales in comparison to the utter heartbreak and devastation the loved ones of those killed are no doubt feeling in the aftermath of evil once again rearing its ugly head. And regardless of your position on guns, the love and support of survivors is where our immediate focus should be guided. 

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Quick Hits: Volume CDXXV

 - Upon receiving an endorsement from President Donald Trump, Republican US Senate candidate out of Minnesota Michele Tafoya put forth this statement. 

#MNPol: "I'm a pro-choice Republican, I'm not afraid to stand up to my party. When Trump is right, I'll work with him. When he's wrong, I'll stand up for Minnesota." Michele Tafoya is up with a new #MNSen ad. Future reservations: 🔴$1.1M 🔵$896K https://t.co/jUpPC11oIP

— AdImpact Politics (@AdImpact_Pol) October 10, 2026

Of course, there are a good number of staunch pro life Minnesotans who are offput by this message and thus will leave the US Senate portion of their ballot blank. But will that number be surpassed by Independents or moderate Dems who realize DFL candidate Peggy Flanagan is too much of a far left kook, thus would be willing to vote for Tafoya? No way to know for sure. 

I would be interested, however, in knowing how many of these pro life purists who vow to now vote in this Senate race actually cast a vote for Trump in any of his elections. After all, Tafoya's actual stance on abortion is indistinguishable from that of Trump's. 

- Trump made it official on Thursday: the execution of murderer Nidal Hasan will not be live streamed. 

🚨 JUST IN: President Trump CANCELS the livestreaming of the execution of Fort Hood terrorist Nidal Hasan, but announces that the immediate families of the victims can watch IN-PERSON if they choose The firing squad is still happening 47 even exposes OBAMA for failing to stop the shooting "I think streaming the execution for all to see might have been a strong deterrent for the World to witness how America deals with Terrorists and SCUM like Hasan but, many very good and well meaning people would rather not watch him die, through streaming, or through any other visual device." "He will die, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed." "That said, the execution may be viewed in person by the immediate families of the victims, if they so choose. They deserve to witness JUSTICE!" At the very least our enemies will know how he died but won't have video of it Hasan m*rdered over a dozen people at Fort Hood in 2009, while shouting "Allahu Akbar." He's waited 17 years on death row, and his execution date is set for December 3. It'll be the Army's first firing squad execution since 1945. Obama's administration called the attack "workplace violence" rather than terrorism. DISGUSTING The families waited nearly two decades for this.

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 15, 2026

This is the correct decision in that America ought not be using similar tactics of terrorist organizations who flaunt their power by executing enemies. Yes, I realize the difference is jihadist factions typically behead innocent people as opposed to those who commit atrocities on the level Hasan has. But still, live streaming such an event would appeal to far too many blood thirsty individuals who would become even more deranged after witnessing a live execution via firing squad. 

Kudos to Trump for having one of the few clear, concise moments of his presidency over the past year-plus. 

- Multiple things can be true: Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) may well have committed immigration fraud upon entering America. The Monday raid of Omar's home by Federal authorities smacks of lawfare and an abuse of power by the Trump administration. 

Representative Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) says she will “not be silenced” after federal agents carried out an early-morning raid at her Washington-area home on Monday as part of a criminal fraud investigation into her immigration paperwork.

She decried the search as the ‘latest escalation’ in President Trump’s ‘intimidation’ campaign against his political adversaries.

The investigation into the Democratic lawmaker’s immigration paperwork is being led by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the agency’s criminal investigations arm, with the Department of Justice assisting. The paperwork in question was filled out by Omar’s late father when she came to the country as a child, Fox News reported.

“Today in the Washington, D.C. area, Homeland Security Investigations executed ​a judicially authorized search warrant secured by the Department of Justice. This enforcement ​action is part of an ongoing federal investigation,” a Department of Justice ⁠spokesperson said in a statement.

National Review legal analyst Andrew McCarthy believes Omar has committed fraud in the past, but this current investigation likely won't yield any punishment. 

 

(T)here have long been allegations that Omar committed marriage fraud by marrying her brother (on paper) to help him establish a legal basis to enter the United States. Omar has denied the allegations (not very convincingly, in my opinion). The current reporting indicates that Omar is under investigation in connection with the establishment of her own basis for admission and naturalization, not her brother’s immigration paperwork. Yet, even if we assume the brother’s status is part of the investigation, any criminal prosecution would almost certainly be time-barred. The marriage in question occurred in 2009 and ended in 2018. The statute of limitations for this kind of fraud is five years. And even if Omar violated tax law by filing joint returns with a different husband while she was technically still married to her brother (something that hasn’t been established), those returns (as Brittany reports) were filed over a decade ago. Again, the SOL has expired.

I hope there is some teeth this investigation not because I detest Omar as a person or politician, but that I loathe to believe Trump et al would give in to their worst impulses in a situation like this. And sadly, this will only perpetuate the "tit for tat" lawfare once the Democrats regain any meaningful power. 

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Box Score of the Week (Postseason edition)

Game 4 of the 1989 ALCS - Oakland A's at Toronto Blue Jays. 

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This game was best known for Oakland's Jose Canseco hitting a gargantuan home run into the fifth deck at Toronto's Skydome (now Rogers Centre).

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On assignment

I will be off the air today for my weekly radio show The Closer. However, the program is in good hands as long time friend of the broadcast NASCAR Kelly Gunderson will be taking the reins, 1-3 PM Central Time. 

So please call (651) 289-4488 if you'd like to weigh in on any of the topics Kelly plans 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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Brief hiatus

I am back home after most of my past week being spent in South Carolina on a work trip. As such, blogging has been lighter than normal. And since I'll be off from my radio show this Sunday, I'll wait until next week to get back into the swing of things. 

Talk to y'all then.

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