Couldn't see a thing but open skies.....

This weekend on the Northern Alliance Radio Network, The Closer will be broadcasting on The Headliner edition as I'll be in for Mitch Berg today. The 2-hour blitz gets started at 1:00 PM Central Time. 

This is one of those rare weeks where I wasn't as heavily engaged in the news as normal (understandable given it's Thanksgiving week), so I'll weigh on an op-ed about how some Americans lost focus on thankfulness and instead are fueled by social media memes during the holidays. 

Also, I'll weigh in on nanny stater Michael Bloomberg entering the presidential race. 

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.....

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

Holiday suggestion

I'm game!

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

Quick Hits: CCIV

- Hide yo guns, hide yo Big Gulps, hide yo fatty foods. The most prolific nanny state advocate is entering the presidential race.

Michael Bloomberg announced Sunday he is running for president, bringing a narrow following but boundless bank account to the crowded Democratic primary.

The 77-year-old former New York City mayor, positioning himself as a centrist alternative to Joe Biden, launched his candidacy in an online video that is part personal story, part attack on President Donald Trump.

“I’m running for president to defeat Donald Trump and rebuild America. We cannot afford four more years of President Trump’s reckless and unethical actions. He represents an existential threat to our country and our values,” Bloomberg declared in a statement Sunday. “If he wins another term in office, we may never recover from the damage.”

It's also been announced that Bloomberg's media empire, Bloomberg News, will not investigate he or his Democrat rivals. Only Trump will be subject to such scrutiny.

If Bloomberg does indeed secure the Democrat nomination, he'll perfectly personify every criticism Trump has lobbed towards the media establishment. And to make the debates even more of a show, Trump should take sips from a 2-liter bottle of Coca-Cola every time Bloomberg speaks.


- On Monday, President Trump welcomed to the White House a German Shepherd named Conan, the dog who was instrumental in the killing of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdad.

Y'know, I'm certain there were heroic canines during the Obama years. Why didn't any of those animals receive the courtesy of a White House visit?

Oh, right.


- This Saturday's Wisconsin Badgers-Minnesota Gophers tilt is likely the most consequential Gophers football game in my lifetime, maybe even in the history of the rivalry (one in which both teams are sporting a 60-60-8 all-time record in this matchup). Not only is Paul Bunyan's Axe (currently in the Gophs' possession) at stake but so too is the Big Ten West championship and possibly a berth in the Rose Bowl. As such, the highly popular ESPN college football pregame show College GameDay will broadcast live on the U of M campus.

Despite the fact Minnesota is at home and ranked slightly higher in the AP Top 25 poll (#9 to Bucky's #13), Wisconsin opened up as a 2-1/2 point favorite. I can certainly understand the rationale given the Badgers have endured a tougher strength of schedule as well as the field at TCF Bank Stadium being subject to potentially sloppy weather conditions. With a good chance of snow this Saturday afternoon, Bucky will put to good use it's potent running attack, which is 7th best in the country in terms of yards per attempt (5.6). Meanwhile, the Gophs' potent passing offense could face significant challenges in inclement weather.

There's no question that the National Football League is more popular in this country in terms of TV ratings and attendance at games. But for my money there's nothing better than the pageantry of college football, particularly in rivalry week. Let's do this!

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

Fab Five Freddy told me everybody's fly.....

It's the Vikings' bye week, so I'm expecting (OK, hoping) for a larger live audience than normal tuning in to today's edition of my radio program The Closer. The 2-hour blitz gets started at 1:00 PM Central Time.

I'll give the obligatory mention of the Trump impeachment proceedings, specifically how Independents (for now) aren't buying what Adam Schiff et al are selling. Also, the national media unwittingly proves they were in an 8-year slumber from 2008 thru 2016.

At 2:00 pm, Sen. Jim Abeler (R-Anoka) will join the broadcast to discuss news of even more ineptitude within the MN Dept. of Human Services.


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.....

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

Quick update

Two months later, I have yet to receive an answer to this inquiry: 

That's all.

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

Upon further review.....

"CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT DESPICABLE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION?!?! THE U.N. SAYS THERE ARE 100,000 CHILDREN IN MIGRANT-RELATED U.S. DETENTION!! THAT IS IMMORAL, EVIL AND WRONG!!!!"



(whispers) **Ummm....that was from a 2015 U.N. study. Barack Obama was President at that time.**


via GIPHY


Oh. Never mind.

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

Quick Hits: Volume CCIII

- I could give or take Chick-fil-A's food but I've always admired their business model. And standing firm in the face of social justice mobs in the aftermath of CEO Dan Cathy declaring strong support for traditional marriage was, in my eyes, a mark in their favor.

Unfortunately, this latest news makes it seem as if they're bending the proverbial knee to the SJW mob.

U.S. fast-food chain Chick-fil-A said on Monday it had stopped funding two Christian organizations including The Salvation Army, having come under fire in recent weeks from LGBT+ campaigners.

The fast-food chain’s charitable arm, Chick-fil-A Foundation, has donated millions of dollars to The Salvation Army and to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, which opposes same-sex marriage.

If indeed this is Chick-fil-A's idea of a "compromise," I got news for 'em: This won't be enough to placate the "mob." Anything less than total acquiescence is unacceptable to those kooks. Don't say you weren't warned.



- The accompanying tweet to a recent Politico story was a bit....odd:

With the Supreme Court’s conservative majority casting serious doubt this week on the future of the Obama-era DACA program, Congress is facing the very real possibility of having the issue dumped on its doorstep https://t.co/k0xkdPkSlY

— POLITICO (@politico) November 17, 2019

You mean there's a possibility we may have proper constitutional order on this issue???? Perish the thought!



- Since last season when my Minnesota Vikings club missed the playoffs, I've been skeptical that quarterback Kirk Cousins could ever be the franchise signal caller he's being paid handsomely to be. And after a disastrous performance seven weeks ago at Chicago, I seriously considered that Cousins was a flat out bust.

But since that game?

Cousins has been a completely different quarterback since Week 4's loss to Chicago, completing at least 70 percent of his passes in six of seven games and boasting a TD:INT of 18:1 all while Minnesota has gone on a 6-1 run.

He has also come up big in nationally televised prime time games, going 2-0 this season, including a first ever win over an above .500 team in such contests (Week 10 at Dallas).

But this past Sunday's win over the Denver Broncos may have been Cousins' signature game as Vikings QB. With stud RB Dalvin Cook being rendered ineffective and a defense being shredded by a Broncos offense lead by backup quarterback Brandon Allen, Cousins took the team on his back the second half in rallying from a 20-0 halftime deficit to a 27-23 win. In that half alone, he went 18-23 for 261 yards and 3 TDs.

With an 8-3 record and a Week 12 bye, the Vikings are in prime position for a postseason berth with an NFC North division title still within the realm of possibility. Definitely no time for Cousins to rest on his most recent stellar play.

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

Going down the old mine with a transistor radio....

With my friend and Northern Alliance Radio Network colleague Mitch Berg on assignment, I will be assuming the big chair which comes with being The Headliner edition of the NARN. The broadcast gets started at 1:00 PM Central Time.

A lot of national news to weigh in on, including the Trump impeachment hearings, University of Northwestern's school newspaper expressing regret for performing journalism, the Santa Clarita, CA school shooting, etc.

At 2:00 PM I will welcome to the show longtime friend of the broadcast Julia Coleman. With the MN Senate up for election in 2020, Julia is vying for the GOP nomination in Senate District 47, located mostly in Carver County.


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.....

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

Myles away

An ugly scene near the end of last evening's edition of Thursday Night Football, featuring AFC North rivals Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns.





I didn't see this live, but I was alerted via social media how Cleveland DE Myles Garrett used the helmet of Steelers' QB Mason Rudolph to smack him atop the head with it. Thank God Rudolph wasn't seriously injured given the concussion he suffered just last month after a brutal hit in a game against the Baltimore Ravens.

Not surprisingly, the NFL has come down with some swift and harsh punishment in the aftermath of last night's fracas.

Myles Garrett will not play again this season, and maybe longer.

The NFL announced Friday that the Cleveland Browns defensive end has been suspended for the rest of this season, including the playoffs should the Browns make it (Browns, playoffs?!?!? BWAHAHAHA!! - ed.), and will have to meet with the commissioner's office before being reinstated in 2020.

Garrett ripped the helmet off Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph and clubbed him in the head with it in the final seconds of Thursday night's game.

Garrett's suspension, which is at least six games, is the longest in NFL history for a single on-field incident.

In a statement, the NFL said, "Garrett violated unnecessary roughness and unsportsmanlike conduct rules, as well as fighting, removing the helmet of an opponent and using the helmet as a weapon."

The NFL also suspended Browns defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi one game for shoving Rudolph in the back, to the ground, shortly after Garrett had slugged the Steelers quarterback in the head with the helmet. Pittsburgh center Maurkice Pouncey, who jumped into Garrett, kicking and punching him after Rudolph had been struck, was suspended three games.

All three players -- who were ejected from Thursday's game -- are suspended without pay and will be fined. In addition, the NFL has fined the Browns and Steelers organizations $250,000 each for the incident.

Given all we've learned about head trauma and CTE which have adversely affected active/retired NFL players, the league was left with no alternative to slapping Garrett with such a severe penalty. And kudos to Browns ownership, coaches and players (particularly QB Baker Mayfield) for not attempting to spin this by not unequivocally condemning Garrett. While it would seem to be an odd sentiment to praise such actions, the instinct of those affiliated with pro sports teams is to "have their guy's back." However, Garrett's actions were in no way excusable regardless of what Rudolph may have said or done, and Browns personnel was keenly aware of that.

While Garrett is slated to suffer some serious consequences handed down by the NFL, there is still an open possibility of Rudolph choosing to take legal action. This certainly has to be considered given if one man wielded a sizable weapon and clubbed another over the head with it while in a public place, it's at minimum assault and battery. I have to imagine the same standard would apply to what took place on the football field last evening since it was outside the realm of play.

I have a feeling this isn't the last we're hearing of this.

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

Kap back?

Like a lot of NFL fans, I was surprised when I heard the news about a certain former quarterback who many feel has been blackballed by the league and team owners.

I’m just getting word from my representatives that the NFL league office reached out to them about a workout in Atlanta on Saturday. I’ve been in shape and ready for this for 3 years, can’t wait to see the head coaches and GMs on Saturday.

— Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) November 13, 2019

Because none of the NFL teams were informed of the workout before Tuesday and Kap's camp is not even being told which teams will have a representative there, this whole thing seems hastily cobbled together. Plus, literally every NFL team has had the opportunity to bring in Kaepernick for a private workout at any point over the past 2-1/2 years but very few (if any) have done so. So why is it taking an NFL orchestrated event to get teams to show up?

My friend and former radio colleague Ed Morrissey has an interesting theory.

One possible explanation exists for this, including the strange scheduling, the demand for a combine in the middle of the season, and the unprovoked outreach — which is that the NFL needs someone to hire Kaepernick ASAP, for whatever reason. It might not be a lawsuit, but it could have to do with its player relations. Kaepernick had a lot of friends in this league and supporters who have mainly quieted down and stopped embarrassing the league, and they may be making it clear that they expect some payback now for their cooperation. Plus, the league and the NFL Players Association will shortly begin working on a new collective bargaining agreement, and an unemployed Kaepernick might make that a lot more difficult.

Consider this perhaps-coincidental report that emerged the day before the league announced the Kaepernick event:

Cowboys defensive end Michael Bennett reportedly said Monday that his new teammates in Dallas, not team owner Jerry Jones, convinced him to start standing on the sidelines during pregame renditions of the national anthem.

Bennett, one of the league’s most outspoken players on social issues, as well as a prominent advocate for Colin Kaepernick’s return to the NFL, had been staging forms of protest during the anthem since the 2017 season. When he was acquired last month from the New England Patriots, he reportedly reached an understanding with Dallas, and Jones said at the time, “I’m satisfied that, in Michael, we’ve got a player who knows how we do it here with the Cowboys.”

Sure enough, in his first two games with his new team, Bennett was seen standing on the sidelines as the anthem was being performed. With the Patriots earlier in the season and with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2018, he stayed in the locker room, and he sat on the sidelines while with the Seattle Seahawks in 2017.

Did Bennett just suddenly throw his friend under the bus, or was he the last piece to fall into place for Kaepernick’s return?

I think it's more a situation of the NFL trying to absolve itself of this issue once and for all. If indeed Kaepernick remains unsigned after this workout, the league can say they made a concerted effort to showcase him but, at the end of they day, cannot legally compel teams to make a contract offer. But, again, since the planning of this event seems so disjointed, you certainly can't blame some current and former players for dismissing this as little more than a public relations stunt.

At the end of the day, it's difficult for me to believe that not a single one of the 32 NFL clubs has a need for a QB like Kaepernick. Given the caliber of talent which has been trotted out on the field since Kap's last NFL start at the end of 2016, I'm quite confident that Kaepernick, at the very least, can exceed what some QBs have put forth in that time frame.

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

Quick Hits: Volume CCII

- So a college newspaper engaging in its sole purpose of journalism can now be "triggering?" Wut?!?!

Editors at the Northwestern University student paper The Daily Northwestern on Sunday issued an apology for what it called "mistakes" in its coverage of a campus event last week featuring former Trump Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Sessions, who served a tumultuous term as attorney general under President Trump from 2017 to 2018, announced a bid to win back his Alabama Senate seat last week. He spoke at Northwestern on Nov. 5 amid heavy protests.

The editors at the paper from the well-known journalism school specifically noted the photos taken at the event in their apology, noting that some students had found them to be “retraumatizing and invasive” and adding that those photos had been taken down.

"The Daily sent a reporter to cover that talk and another to cover the students protesting his invitation to campus, along with a photographer. We recognize that we contributed to the harm students experienced, and we wanted to apologize for and address the mistakes that we made that night — along with how we plan to move forward," reads part of the apology.

"One area of our reporting that harmed many students was our photo coverage of the event. Some protesters found photos posted to reporters’ Twitter accounts retraumatizing and invasive. Those photos have since been taken down," it adds.

Townhall Political Editor (and Northwestern alum) Guy Benson, as you can imagine, was none too pleased with this action.

(I)f elite institutions abandon support for the First Amendment (here's another recent example from Harvard), dark times lie ahead. And the notion that this sort of madness is merely confined to the academy is obviously not true anymore. Woke, stifling political correctness, in subordination of the truth, is infecting increasing swaths of society writ large, with real and distressing consequences. That the Daily Northwestern actively elected to undermine the credibility of its work with this egregious sop to the outrage mob is a tragedy. Its current leadership might as well have taken out a full-page advertisement announcing that their newspaper is no longer in the news business, and cannot be counted upon to relay accurate, factual information without fear or favor.

Constitutional rights die in wokeness.



- So an octogenarian Canadian hockey commentator opines that immigrants to the country aren't appreciative of soldiers who perished in fighting for Canada. Said commentator is unceremoniously dumped.

Meanwhile, the young, progressive boy Prime Minister of Canada donned blackface on multiple occasions as a young adult, yet is reelected.

Huh. Maybe our neighbors to north have decided to glom on to some modern day American values after all.


- I've been an admirer of the late John McCain for his honor and courage while serving America in the Vietnam War. However, a good number of his policy stances as a U.S. Senator and his indignant attitude over being a "maverick," one not afraid to thumb his nose at his own party, were traits of his which I didn't much care for.

As such, I'm really not concerned what McCain would think of today's Republican party. Honestly, how often is the news media going to recycle the same narrative where his widow Cindy proclaims her husband would be ashamed of what the party has become?

What's really disgusting is many of the same people who besmirched McCain because he had the audacity to oppose Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential race are the ones consistently giving his family a platform to do their dirty work. Conservative commentator Steve Deace noticed this, too.

I’m not saying virtually everything in politics is fake...but watching a bunch of folks who smeared John McCain as the 2008 GOP nominee now claim him as their perpetual posthumous weapon to wield against those who actually voted for him....okay, I am.

Say, how many networks gave more than even a cursory mention of Democrat Zell Miller upon his passing 20 months ago? Certainly his family could've conveyed how disgusted Mr. Miller likely was with his party making a quantum leap leftward. Yeah, intellectual consistency is hard.

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

Football euphoria

Both the major college football program (University of Minnesota Golden Gophers) and the NFL squad (Minnesota Vikings) in the Twin Cities had critical games on their schedule this past weekend. Going in, it was difficult for me to be optimistic that just one of these teams would win, much less both. Inexplicably, both emerged victorious!

It has been well documented that Vikes QB Kirk Cousins has rarely delivered his teams (including the Washington Redskins, for whom he was the starter 2015-2017) to victory against above .500 opponents in prime time. While I always thought that stat was overblown given Cousins' numbers in such scenarios suggested he wasn't solely responsible for his clubs losing, the fact of the matter is that the lack-of-clutch-performances narrative would dog him until he was at the helm of such a win. A 28-24 victory over the first place Dallas Cowboys (a game which Cousins was good, not great) is a huge first step. It also put the Vikings at 7-3, which means they're in solid position for a postseason berth.

But let's be honest here. This past football weekend belonged to the Gophs! Ranked #13 in the Associated Press poll, the Gophers would be prime to leap into the Top 10 for the first time in 57 years with a win over #4 Penn St. It got a little to close for comfort, but the U of M hung on for an exhilarating 31-26 win at home, resulting in thousands of fans storming the TCF Bank Stadium field. And sure enough, the Golden Gophers surged into the Top 10 with a # 7 ranking!

In a conversation Sunday with Jason, fellow MN football enthusiast and 25-year old board op of my radio show, he declared that this was definitely the first time in his lifetime that the Gophs usurped the Vikes in terms of football enthusiasm in Minnesota. He then asked if I could say the same given I am literally twice his age. In thinking about it, I'd have to say the only other year that could come close is 1984, which saw the Gophers have an edge by default. That was first year the Vikings would be without the legendary Bud Grant as their head coach. It was apparent early on that the Vikes weren't competitive as new coach Les Steckel guided them to an awful 3-13 season, one in which it appeared the players had quit over the final six weeks. Meanwhile, there was renewed optimism at the U of M as the loquacious and entertaining Lou Holtz assumed the helm of a Gophers program that hit rock bottom after an 84-13 loss at home to Nebraska the season before. Sure, the Gophs only finished 4-7 in '84, but it was very apparent they were on an upswing. Their wins over both Wisconsin and Iowa was the first sweep of their two border rivals since 1975.

Bottom line is that the Vikings, from an enthusiasm standpoint, have ruled not only football but all sports in this state for more than two decades. The fact that the 2019 Vikes are legit playoff contenders but suddenly second fiddle to the Division I squad which has finished in the AP Top 20 only twice since 1962 is unfathomable to me. Truth be told, I didn't really think about Sunday evening's Vikings game until about 3 PM Sunday. This is literally uncharted territory for me.

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

I got no friends 'cause they read the papers......

No Vikings game until this evening, so I expect a lot more of my regular listeners to be tuning in LIVE to this afternoon's edition of my radio show The Closer. The 2-hour blitz gets rolling at 1:00 PM Central Time.

In the first hour I will look back at the media's terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week.

Then at 2:00 I welcome to the Patriot bunker MN state Senator Michelle Benson (R-Ham Lake). As chair of the Health and Human Services Finance and Policy committee, Sen. Benson is heavily engaged in the continuing debacle within the MN Dept. of Human Services. As such, she'll weigh in on the Office of the Legislative Auditor's scathing report citing irregularities within the DHS.


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.....

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

Row. The. Dang. Boat

I've been a fan of the University of Minnesota Gophers football program since the days of coach Smokey Joe Salem, who was at the helm starting in 1979. If you're at all familiar with the Gopher program, you know there has been very little to cheer about these past 40 years.

To say that their latest win was uncharted territory is an understatement.

Minnesota's Jordan Howden picked off Sean Clifford in the end zone with 1:01 left, the third interception thrown by Penn State's quarterback, and the 17th-ranked Gophers held on for a 31-26 victory Saturday afternoon over the fourth-ranked Nittany Lions for their first win over a top-five team in 20 years.

Tanner Morgan passed for 339 yards and three touchdowns to direct a dismantling of Penn State's staunch defense, as Minnesota (9-0, 6-0, No. 13 AP) not only remained undefeated but also stayed on track for its first trip to the Big Ten Championship Game.

The first sellout crowd for the Gophers at home in four years swarmed the field after the clock ran out, reveling in the biggest step forward yet under coach P.J. Fleck in his third season. The Gophers scrambled the College Football Playoff picture too, after Penn State (8-1, 5-1, No. 5 AP) emerged with a top-four spot in the first edition of the rankings.

With this win, the Gophs should vault into the top 10 for the first time since 1962. To put that in perspective for me, that was the year my old man graduated high school. Dang!

On a side note, the Gophers have not lost a single game since coach Fleck spoke at my home church earlier this year.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Brad Carlson (@brad_carlson) on Nov 9, 2019 at 12:51pm PST

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Brad Carlson (@brad_carlson) on Feb 3, 2019 at 8:08am PST

I'm just sayin'.........

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

Quick Hits: Volume CCI

- When it comes to being infected with Trump Derangement Syndrome, "progressives" (and in some cases "Never Trump" Republicans) will occasionally find themselves unwittingly aligned with race hustlers and terrorists, while opposing drug-free, physically fit kids.

The latest "resistance" to President Trump finds a group who gave off the impression that they weren't keen on kindness towards certain unhealthy newborns.

Medical professionals standing in solidarity at Boston Medical center in protest of First Lady Melania Trumps visit.
First lady visiting cuddle program at Boston hospital for babies born on drugs.@boston25 pic.twitter.com/DPDaFxnI5j

— Scott McDonnell (@ScottMcDonnell_) November 6, 2019

 Let's hope these medical professionals were off the clock. Seriously, can you imagine if an emergency involving one of the patients cropped up and there wasn't sufficient staff to provide support? And for what, petulant virtue signaling? Disgusting.


- Has anyone else noticed that whenever there are damning stories about anti-Semitic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN) that it's, more often than not, the Daily Mail out of the United Kingdom reporting them? Aren't there still two major newspapers right within the Twin Cities? Huh.


- Remember how indignant certain members of the mainstream media became when there was a possibility that the "whistle blower" in the Trump-Ukraine saga would be revealed? Many of their chanting points consisted of "whistle blowers need protection, otherwise our leaders' corrupt behavior will remain unchecked!" or "we will cease to exist as a civilized society if people can't anonymously point out wrongdoing by the elites! TRUTH TO POWER!!!"

Well......

CBS News has fired a female staffer believed to have had access to the tape of Amy Robach raging against ABC News, Page Six understands.

We reported on Wednesday that ABC News chiefs discovered a former employee could be behind the leak of the damning footage of Robach slamming the network for shelving her interview with Jeffrey Epstein’s “sex slave” Virginia Roberts Giuffre. Sources told Page Six that a former staffer had access to the footage of Robach as she aired her frustrations over a hot mike — and that employee was now believed to be working at CBS.

A TV source told us later on Wednesday that the woman was let go from CBS, after ABC execs alerted the rival network.

ABC sources confirmed to us that they’d informed counterparts at CBS about the staffer “as a courtesy.”

Yeah, can't have conscientious employees within a news organization who would be willing to call out systemic bias now, can we?

I know this may sound hyperbolic but the firing of the staffer is flat out old school mafioso tactics. Anyone who dares shine a light on obvious irregularities is immediately "whacked" (metaphorically speaking of course). No introspection necessary when utilizing those kinds of methods.

For a media collective who was so offended that a sitting President of the United States would chide them as being corrupt, they sure work overtime to prove him correct.

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

You're on your own, media

Like many political righties, I'm often disgusted by the stunning left-wing bias put forth by mainstream media figures. However, I was never comfortable with President Trump's characterization that they were the "ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE."

From this point forward, I can no longer in good conscience refute that notion in light of the latest Project Veritas bombshell.





Sadly, this is an overall trend within major media outlets.

NBC killed Ronan Farrow's Weinstein story and let Matt Lauer have a rape button.

CBS employed creeps Les Moonves and Charlie Rose.

ABC "quashed" the Epstein story three years ago.

And all of these "news" companies ran with whatever Kavanaugh smears fell into their lap.

— Chris Pandolfo (@ChrisCPandolfo) November 5, 2019

The top trending featured news story on Twitter is a story no journalists are really talking about and no major news network or outlet is covering.

There is a fundamental disconnect between media and audience and that’s why Facebook/Social Media isn’t going anywhere. pic.twitter.com/VqxJQxM5CM

— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) November 5, 2019

Just a reminder that this passed @ABC editorial standards https://t.co/1xgaGWD0Qh

— baby snark do do do do do (@justanurse25) November 5, 2019

Recap:

NBC killed story on Harvey Weinstein, saying it didn't meet their editorial standards.

ABC spiked story on Jeffrey Epstein, saying same.

Both orgs (& rest of media) went wild running uncorroborated stories about Brett Kavanaugh being a gang rapist.

— Tom Bevan (@TomBevanRCP) November 5, 2019

The election of Trump seemed to have broken a lot of U.S. citizens given their behavior on social media, protests in the streets, etc. Unfortunately that derangement has spread to what is supposed to be trusted institutions.

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

Our clownish media

When it comes to reporting on President Donald Trump, many American media outlets do their darnedest to make mountains out of molehills. It almost seems as if getting a few pesky facts incorrect is secondary to ensuring that Trump is in no way humanized. This trait is most apparent when it comes to championship sports teams making (or declining) their obligatory visit to the White House.

Many proggies and media outlets (pardon the redundancy) reacted like poo-flinging monkeys when the likes of the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles or NBA champ Golden State Warriors dissed Trump by playing up their "resistance" chops. Or when a team like the New England Patriots visited in 2017, the media tried to diminish their appearance by using out of context photography to show how sparsely attended the gathering was in comparison to the Pats visiting President Obama in 2015.

So when the 2019 World Series champion Washington Nationals accepted Trump's invite to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., the media was already looking for an angle to undermine the President. Sure enough they found it in the team's closer Sean Doolittle, who stated he would not join the festivities due to his opposition to Trump.

By the time the Nats arrived at the White House on Monday, the Doolittle story line was pretty well drowned out, so the media had to find alternative ways to "own" the POTUS. Oh, and they thought they were on to something when World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg looked to have left Trump hanging when he attempted to shake the pitcher's hand. Some guy named Rudy Gersten (who apparently writes for the Washington Post) played a video that appeared to show Strasburg turn away from Trump and proceed to hug Nats manager Dave Martinez. Ah, but if Rudy (who has since locked down his Twitter account) had played the video in its entirety, here's what we all would have seen:

congrats on the viral tweet pic.twitter.com/gCqdFn6jyo

— David Rutz (@DavidRutz) November 5, 2019

Strasburg himself, who had posted all of five tweets in the past four years, took to Twitter to refute Mr. Gersten's flat out fabrication.

#FakeNews https://t.co/ovDuHyRUTb

— Stephen Strasburg (@stras37) November 4, 2019

As if the day couldn't get much worse for the media and leftists (PTR), many of the players actually seemed to enjoy their time at the White House.

Ryan Zimmerman, who was the Nats' first ever draft pick and made his MLB debut in their inaugural season of 2005, presented the President with a jersey inscribed with Trump's name and the number 45. He also thanked Trump for "keeping everyone here safe in our country and continuing to make America the greatest country to live in the world." Not to be outdone, veteran catcher Kurt Suzuki took to the podium and promptly donned the ever-familiar red "Make American Great Again" cap. What ensued was perhaps the most hilariously awkward photo ops in presidential history.

Honestly, this is my new favorite Trump picture of all time. pic.twitter.com/1jaZyUr7KI

— Caleb Hull 🎅🏻🎁 (@CalebJHull) November 4, 2019

The only thing that would have made this visit absolute perfection was if Daniel Murphy, who played for the Nationals from 2016 thru August 2018, was still on the roster. That would have for sure set off a certain little pipsqueak writing at Slate. Alas.

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Once is never enough; Never is, never was.....

After filling in for Mitch last Saturday I'm back in my normal Sunday, 1-3 PM Central Time slot for this week's edition of my radio show The Closer. It's one of those broadcasts where I could use a third hour!

On a national level, I'll weigh in on the latest in the President Trump impeachment as well as the Washington Post be-clowning itself. 

Locally, the MN Office of the Legislative Auditor came out with a scathing report addressing serious irregularities in the Dept. of Human Services. I will also opine on yet another bad week for Rep. Ilhan Omar. 

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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Ilhan be illin'

Ilhan Omar, a Democrat who represents Minnesota's Fifth Congressional District, has rarely gone a full week without making some sort of news (most of it unflattering) since being sworn in ten months ago.

This past week, her virulent anti-Semitism was set in proverbial stone. Bethany Mandel at the Washington Examiner breaks it down.

During her campaign, the Minnesota Democrat insinuated she was against the boycott, divest and sanctions movement, a supposedly pro-Palestinian protest movement awash in anti-Semitism. But after taking office, she came out in favor of BDS.

In explaining her about-face, her campaign offered, “Ilhan believes in and supports the BDS movement, and has fought to make sure people’s right to support it isn’t criminalized. She does, however, have reservations on the effectiveness of the movement in accomplishing a lasting solution.”

Hold on: Omar believes that Israel should be boycotted and punished but doesn’t believe that it will have any effect on the conflict? Why engage in these punitive acts if they won’t make a difference?

The answer is simple: to punish Israel. Omar believes Israel deserves to be singled out above other countries and held to a different standard because it is the only Jewish state in the world.

If Omar’s concern was truly for the Palestinian people and her support for anti-Israel sanctions was truly humanitarian in origin, she would surely vote in favor of a bill to sanction Turkey because of their horrific actions against the Kurdish people. But Omar’s concern clearly isn’t for human rights — on Tuesday, she was the only Democrat to vote against sanctions targeting Turkey.

And if that wasn't bad enough, she was one of only three members voting "present" on a resolution recognizing Armenian genocide perpetrated by Turkey in the 20th century. Omar's office put out a statement explaining her vote.

Omar's office has sent this statement to CNN explaining her present vote: pic.twitter.com/Gpj198jx0p

— Haley Byrd (@byrdinator) October 29, 2019

It was at this point where Rep. Omar connected the dots for us. Back to Mandel:

Given the opportunity between calling out a serial bad actor on the world stage and a perpetrator of the first state-driven genocide in the modern era, Omar chose instead to set up an American straw man to burn in effigy instead. And given the opportunity to punish the same state for its human rights violations in the present day, Omar broke with her entire caucus and refused. The congresswoman has officially shown us who she is.

With Omar’s votes this week on Turkey, the motivations behind her stance on BDS becomes crystal clear. Omar's anti-Semitism isn’t limited to her Twitter account. It is now documented in her voting record in Congress, too.

You have to wonder how long the residents of CD5 will continue to endure a representative who continually embarrasses them on a regular basis. I get that the district is a lost cause to any non-DFL candidate, but certainly there has to be a potential replacement who is aligned with Omar ideologically but without the serial bigotry.

This is similar to what my home Congressional District (MN CD6) faced back in 2012. After barely being reelected to a fourth term in the U.S. House (a campaign which required spending seven figures in the reddest CD in the state for a paltry 0.5% margin of victory), GOP rep Michele Bachmann got the message from voters and thus chose to forgo another reelection bid. Once she stepped aside, it was a forgone conclusion that any new Republican candidate would win handily. As such, Tom Emmer, who was first elected in 2014, has never won by less than an 18% margin. The dynamic is a little different in CD5 as Omar will never have to worry about such a close call in a general election. But that said, a credible challenger in a DFL primary would certainly go on to win the general should he/she best Omar.

Until then, the GOP needs to weaponize Omar against the left the way Dems used to paint Bachmann as the id of Republicans.

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