Box Score of the Week

Minnesota Twins at Cleveland Indians - September 28, 1984.

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With four games remaining in the 1984 season, the Twins were 1-1/2 games behind the American League West Division leading Kansas City Royals. If the Twins could, at minimum, take 3 of 4 from the pitiful Indians in that final series of the year, they'd win the West if the Royals got swept in Oakland. But if the Twins took all four games, the A's would only have to take 2 of 3 against KC. 

On Thursday night, the Twins kicked away a 3-0 eighth inning lead, culminated by light hitting catcher Jamie Quirk (in literally his first and only at bat for Cleveland that year) hitting a walk off homer in the 9th for a 4-3 Indians win.

Now to this week's featured game, which occurred the following night. 

It appeared the Twins would live to fight another day as they were up 10-0 in the third inning with ace starter Frank Viola on the mound. With the score 10-2 in the bottom of the 6th, the Tribe started to chip away with 3 more runs to make it 10-5. With two outs and runners at 2nd and 3rd, relief pitcher Rick Lysander induced Julio Franco to hit a ground ball to third baseman Gary Gaetti. However, the normally sure fielding Gaetti booted the ball, allowing another run to score to make it 10-6. The Indians would tack on three more unearned runs to get within 10-9. 

From there, a complete unraveling felt inevitable. Sure enough, Cleveland's Joe Carter hit a game-tying solo homer in the 8th.  To cap off a miserable 24 hours, Brett Butler hit a bases loaded single in the 9th for an 11-10 Indians win. The Royals would defeat Oakland a few hours later to officially end the Twins' unexpected '84 postseason contention. 

Before the 2024 season, my belief was that final weekend in 1984 was the Twins' most gut-wrenching (and in some ways inexplicable) collapse, capped off by kicking away a 10-0 lead against a lousy opponent. I now consider that meltdown #2 in Twins history. 

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The NARN Closer's playlist - 9/29/2024

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I can't win your losing fight all the time....

With a mere 37 days until Election Day, there's a lot to get to on my radio show The Closer. Today's 2-hour blitz gets started at 1:00 PM Central Time. 

In the first hour I'll discuss the latest in presidential politics, including yet another example why Kamala Harris rarely does one-on-one interviews. 

At 1:30, Republican candidate for MN House Wayne Johnson will join the broadcast to discuss his candidacy in HD 41A (Lake Elmo, Afton, northern Cottage Grove). 

Then for the 2:00 hour, ISD 624 (White Bear Lake) school board candidates Scott Smith, Tim Klecker and Dan Skaar will join the broadcast to tout their respective candidacies. 

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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Collapse completed

On August 17, the Minnesota Twins had a 70-53 record and were a scant two games behind the first place Cleveland Indians Guardians in the American League Central Division. At the very least, they were still in an advantageous position for a playoff berth as they were the second of three teams in the wildcard race with a seemingly ironclad 5-game lead. Their playoff odds at that point were well north of 90%.

With all those details at our disposal, it's not hyperbolic to say that the Twins being officially eliminated from postseason contention on Friday evening is the most stunning in-season collapse in the club's 64-year history. As someone who's been a Twins rube for nearly a half century, it's certainly tops in my time as a fan. Since that August 17 date, the Twins have compiled an awful record of 12-25 which, when extrapolated over 162 games, is a 53-109 pace. 

Fittingly, the final nail in the proverbial coffin for this season happened on the first night of Fan Appreciation Weekend. You see, it's been the fans who have bore the brunt of this pathetic display. Despite a resurrection of enthusiasm last October that hadn't been seen since Target Field's inaugural season of 2010, the Twins brass announced shortly after the club's 2023 postseason run that payroll would be slashed by about $30 million. And then when the team started to get hot at the end of April after a lousy start to the 2024 season, Bally's Sports North pulled the plug on airing Twins games due to a dispute with its regional carrier. With no TV or online streaming options, fans were essentially blacked out of what was the team's best stretch of baseball where, after a 7-13 start, they went on an incredible 63-40 run. Perhaps the final insult was the front office not seriously augmenting a playoff contending club at the July 31 trade deadline. The only player the Twins attained (mediocre middle reliever Trevor Richards from Toronto) was released less than a month after being acquired.

There was a glimmer of hope in the final homestand as the Twins would be taking on a putrid Miami Marlins club and a Baltimore Orioles team whose playoff position (#1 A.L. wildcard) was locked in. If the Twins went, say, 5-1 in addition to a little help from the Kansas City Royals' opponents, they could still sneak in to the postseason. So how did the Twins respond? Why, by losing 2 of 3 to the 100-loss Marlins and then getting blown out Friday evening by Baltimore to put their playoff odds at a Blutarski-esque 0.0. For all the goodwill the Twins had built up almost a year ago with their first playoff win in 19 years and series victory in 21 seasons, they have thoroughly undone it all and then some.

So how does the franchise approach this offseason? I guess firing manager Rocco Baldelli would get peoples' attention. But what I'm hoping to hear is owner Joe Pohlad or President of Baseball Operations Derek Falvey acknowledging that their strategy going into (and throughout) 2024 didn't work, so it's time to "recalibrate." And then they'll need to offer insights as to what that will entail. 

With the Twins having a top 5 (and in some rankings they're slated at #2) farm system, the future isn't at all lost. While that may placate baseball lifers like myself, it's not gonna do much for appealing to a new generation of fans. 

Since the status quo is not an option, this is easily the most crucial offseason Falvey & Co. will endure. 

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Foreign meddling in elections for we, not for ye

"WTF, WE LOVE FOREIGN INTERFERENCE IN OUR ELECTIONS NOW!!" 

Progressives, basically. 

After more than two years of squealing like stuck pigs that Donald Trump won the presidency in 2016 due to Russia meddling in our elections (along with the unadulterated bullsh*t claims that Trump himself was a Russian asset), progs are pulling out all the stops to ensure Trump doesn't return to the White House. And one tactic they've employed recently? It's one which they've spent nearly a decade decrying. 

Erick Erickson breaks it down. 

(Dems and the media) are all strangely silent over the latest foreign interference in our elections.

That would be President Zelenskyy of Ukraine, on the American taxpayer’s dime, going to — surprise, surprise — highly contested Pennsylvania to thank munitions manufacturing employees.

In an interview, he also attacked Republican Vice Presidential candidate J.D. Vance as “too radical.”

Look, I'm not totally opposed to providing assistance to Ukraine in defense of their country against the Russian offensive. However, I concede it's lunacy to a offer a proverbial blank check to this effort when the U.S. is already on the brink of financial ruin. So with that said, it's utterly reckless of President Zelenskyy to make such a characterization of a man who could well be Vice President of the United States in less than four months and thus have influence over foreign policy decisions. 

Back to Erickson. 

It was political, policy, and presidential malpractice for (President Joe) Biden to let Zelenskyy go down that road. Biden has compromised support for Ukraine by tying it directly to a partisan presidential election.

And notice just how approving so much of the press corps and Democrats are who regularly wail about election interference in the United States. They seem to be just fine with it if it helps Democrats.

So please do not be surprised when more Republicans turn against Ukraine and fewer care about the very real issue of electoral interference by foreign governments. It looks like the Democrats and much of the press really don’t care so long as it helps the left or, at least, hurts Donald Trump.

This was disgusting and deep down many of you who deny it actually know it was. Bad precedents just keep being set.

The one irreversible precedent that has been set? There no longer seems to be a single core principle which unites that vast majority of Americans. 

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Box Score of the Week

Oakland Athletics at Milwaukee Brewers - September 23, 1988.

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Before mega star Shohei Ohtani became the inaugural member of the 50-50 club (50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season), someone had to be the first to attain 40-40. That would be Oakland's Jose Canseco, who in this game stole his 40th base of the 1988 season to go along with the 40 home runs he had coming into this game. 

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The NARN Closer's playlist - 9/22/2024

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Things are good, or so I hear.....

It's 44 days until Election Day, but early voting has already started! So for the next six weeks, expect a lot of guest intensive shows on my radio program The Closer. Today's 2-hour festivities get started at 1:00 PM Central Time. 

Today's guest-a-palooza: 

1:00 - Mike Olson, former Secret Service agent to discuss the latest assassination attempt on Donald Trump, as well as what we've learn from the first attempt. 

2:00 - Stacy Bettison, GOP candidate in MN House District 49A (southern Minnetonka, northern Eden Prairie).

2:30 - Dwight Dorau, GOP candidate in MN House District 47B (eastern Woodbury). 

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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House of cards

On August 17, the Minnesota Twins reached their high water mark of the 2024 MLB season when they moved to 17 games over .500 (70-53) with a win over the Texas Rangers. They were firmly ensconced in the playoff picture, sitting as the second team for the three wildcard spots in the American League. But there was still a solid chance they could catapult to the top of the A.L. Central as they were a mere two games behind the first place Cleveland Guardians. 

While things looked promising on the surface, it felt as though the season could go off the proverbial rails at any point. If we were to rank the Twins' top 5 players in terms of guys they could ill afford to be without for an extended period, shortstop Carlos Correa, starting pitcher Joe Ryan and center fielder Byron Buxton would be in that mix. Yet as of that August 17 date, all three were on the injured list with no definite timetable for a return. 

As we fast forwarded to Thursday evening, we have witnessed over the past 30 games one of the more stunning falls from grace I have seen in the near half century I've been a Twins fan. In thirty games since that mid-August peak the Twins have gone 10-20, sliding from a comfortable playoff position to now being tied for the third and final wildcard spot with the Detroit Tigers. How has this happened? Well, when 60% of your starting rotation is comprised of rookies which results in relying heavily on an already overworked bullpen, you have hurlers running on fumes or low leverage pitchers being put in high pressure situations. Add to that a suddenly feeble offense due to being without arguably its two most productive hitters, it's as if someone turned on a ceiling fan near a house of cards. While Correa and Buxton finally returned to the everyday lineup this past week, they're at best 60% of what they can normally bring to the table. 

So am I saying that the Twins will miss the postseason due to this freefall? I'll admit that I'm not overly optimistic of them surviving, but there is a realistic path forward. Of the nine games remaining (3 at Boston, 3 at home vs. Miami and 3 at home vs. Baltimore), the Twins can realistically go 7-2. That would put them at 87-75 for the season, which means Detroit has to finish 8-1 over its final nine games in order to usurp the Twins. 

Let's break it down by series:

• Even though the Red Sox are only four games out of the wildcard with 9 to play, they'd have to leapfrog three teams to get there. That seems insurmountable. Also, the Sox are a mediocre 35-40 at home, so the Twins taking two of three in their series starting Friday evening is certainly feasible.
• After a much needed off day on Monday, the Twins on Tuesday will begin a three-game series at Target Field against a Miami Marlins team that will likely exceed 100 losses this season. While a series sweep is easier said than done, it should be the expectation here. 
• Finally, the Twins wrap up their season against a very good Baltimore Orioles club. The Twins, dating back to July 2023, have lost seven consecutive games to the O's. However, by the time the final regular season series of the year kicks off a week from now, the New York Yankees may well have clinched the A.L. East division since they host Baltimore for three games just prior to the O's-Twins matchup. If indeed the Yanks deliver the knockout blow, the Orioles likely will have the top wildcard spot clinched, thus meaning they'd be inclined to rest a lot of their regulars in that final series. As such, the Twins taking 2 of 3 against Baltimore is a distinct possibility, especially since Minnesota's top two starting pitchers in Pablo Lopez and Bailey Ober are slated to pitch that weekend. 

So if the Tigers, who have been playing out of their minds the past 5+ weeks (25-10 over their past 35 games), do indeed finish the season 8-1 or even 9-0, you just gotta tip your cap to 'em for stepping up and taking that final playoff spot. However, the Twins' front office brass will still have a lot to answer for this offseason if the club completes this epic collapse. 

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Lying in order to preserve infanticide

Leftist ghouls (including the Democrat nominee for President) are politicizing the death of Georgia woman Amber Thurmon to justify their radical stance on abortion. 

Erick Erickson, conservative commentator and Georgia resident, explains. 

ProPublica, the deeply progressive news outlet that has disseminated false information about conservative Supreme Court justices, is reporting that a woman in Georgia died as a result of not being able to receive a legal abortion in the state.

Amber Thurmon suffered from sepsis in an Atlanta hospital after experiencing a rare side effect from an abortion pill. Without additional information, ProPublica extrapolated from publicly available details about the case that Thurmon died in a Georgia hospital because doctors refused to perform a procedure that is currently illegal in the state thanks to the fetal heartbeat law.

We now know that's not what happened, but no matter. When proggies glom on to a narrative which assists in forwarding their culture of death, no amount of facts are going to slow it down. 

Nevertheless, pro life advocate Kristan Hawkins lays it all out. 

My response to the death of the Georgia mother & her twins after reportedly taking Chemical Abortion Pills.

This will be in the news a lot leading up to the election, so be sure to save this post for later. pic.twitter.com/WdV5jGRZoS

— Kristan Hawkins (@KristanHawkins) September 18, 2024

Both Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance have been on record saying they support exceptions to abortion bans when it comes to the life of the mother. Again, that's not really relevant here since Ms. Thurmon's babies died as a result of the abortion pill. But even if this played out as Kamala Harris has said (i.e. the woman dying due to Georgia's law prohibiting abortion after six weeks), Trump himself is not the least bit culpable as he never signed any such legislation while President. Once again, progs are just hoping here that voters are too stupid to draw the distinction. 

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Not sustainable

I'll say what I said in mid-July: I'm not overly shocked that this happened. 

Former President Donald Trump was safe after the Secret Service fired at a gun-toting man outside Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, Sunday, sources told Fox News.

Authorities are treating the case as a potential assassination attempt, and arrested a man sources identified as Ryan Wesley Routh. Routh was allegedly armed with a rifle when agents fired at him.

"This does not appear to be some random guy with an AK-47 walking outside Trump's club," the official added.

Authorities said Routh, who had a GoPro camera and two backpacks, shoved the muzzle of his rifle through a chain-link fence and may have been aiming at the president when agents fired at him.

Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson confirmed that the Secret Service opened fire after they saw the suspect raising the weapon. The suspect fled in a black Nissan, but was quickly apprehended, authorities said.

In less than a week after the first assassination attempt on Trump, the subject was pretty much dropped by leftist media outlets. Heck, it wasn't even mentioned during last week's presidential debate. The reason, of course, is obvious. Progs are concerned such an event would humanize Trump, thus the possibility of making him more electable. I'll be curious to see how long it takes for the media to move on from this particular incident. 

Details are still emerging, but early indications are the shooter was mentally disturbed (gee, ya think?!?!) and that he has a history of donating to Democrat politicians. 

If you wanna know why gun-grabbers are so focused on guns in the aftermath of spree killings/assassination attempts as opposed to acknowledging a serious mental health epidemic in America, it's because they might have to ponder how their fervent anti-Trump rhetoric is resulting in mentally disturbed people taking drastic action. Look, I get it. From a legal standpoint, the shooter and the shooter alone is the only person culpable here. However, if progs are going to continue this drumbeat of "speech is violence" while simultaneously referring to Trump as the biggest threat our republic has ever faced, then they need to take a long, hard look in the mirror. But they won't because gaslighting and slander are the only surefire tactics they have to win elections. 

The people who shout about "stochastic terrorism" every time someone says something they dislike in public are curiously quiet this morning. It's almost as if that whole claim is a cynical, unidirectional attempt to shut up their opponents.

— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) September 16, 2024

It's no longer hyperbolic to suggest there should be serious concern whether or not Trump will even make it to Election Day. 

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Box Score of the Week

Atlanta Braves at New York Mets - September 21, 2001.

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Mets slugger Mike Piazza hits a big home run in this the first MLB game on New York soil since the 9/11/2001 terrorist attacks. 

It certainly didn't erase the images of those horrific events but it was a welcome reprieve for an evening. 

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The NARN Closer's playlist - 9/15/2024

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I can't remember what was said or what you threw at me.....

The calendar says it's September, but the weather feels like June or July. Regardless, my 2-hour radio show The Closer will be airing in its normal 1-3 PM Central Time slot. 

At 1:30, Republican candidate for MN House Cal Warwas will join us via phone to discuss his candidacy in House District 7B (Virginia, Chisholm, Eveleth, Mountain Iron, Biwabik).

In the non-guest segments, I'll discuss the fallout from last week's presidential debate (and first between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris), the TSwift endorsement of Harris and my thoughts on the Daily Wire film Am I Racist? 

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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Review: Am I Racist?

On Thursday evening, my wife & I and some dear friends partook in the film Am I Racist?, a project from the folks at Daily Wire. 

DW's Matt Walsh was the central figure of this film, which explored the practice of racially oppressed people looking to not only eradicate racism (a noble undertaking to be sure) but also encourage white people to apologize for their whiteness (which is downright deranged). For the majority of the movie, Walsh sported a man bun and grey sport coat in an effort to be undercover as a certified expert in D.E.I. (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion).  He then proceeded to caricature someone who claims such expertise. This was often met with hilarious results, specifically people not batting an eye when signing a fake petition requesting to change the name of the Washington Monument to "The George Floyd Memorial." There was also a shocking moment where white folks sitting through an anti-racist workshop were willing to literally flagellate themselves with a whip. 

One thing I was struck by was the individuals who moderated the various anti-racism classes/seminars charged unconscionable sums of money for the privilege of telling white people that their mere existence has been a plague on society. The movie also disclosed the amount of money each "instructor" (all of whom detailed their journey of lifelong oppression) pulled in for a specific gathering. Let's just say that perpetual victimhood appears to be a lucrative endeavor these days. 

Perhaps the key moment of the film was when Walsh sat down with White Fragility author Robin DiAngelo. I'm not going to give too much away, but if you think someone like Ms. DiAngelo is extreme in her regrets over whiteness, Walsh somehow baited her into taking it to another level. 

In the end, the inimitable Thomas Sowell was vindicated when he said “Racism is not dead, but it is on life support – kept alive by politicians, race hustlers and people who get a sense of superiority by denouncing others as ‘racists'.”

A sense of superiority as well as dollar dollar bills y'all.

Yes, I highly recommend this film. 

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Quick Hits: Volume CCCLVII

 - The first presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump took place Tuesday evening. And as per usual, most partisans believed their side prevailed. 

For those who are intellectually honest, the takeaways would be that Harris was allowed to lie with impunity by the lefty-biased moderators while Trump blathered on in his typical undisciplined manner. This election has basically been Trump's to lose, and he seems hellbent on losing. 

There may not have been a definitive winner this debate, but there was one sure loser - the United States of America. 

- Prior to the Miami Dolphins hosting the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, their star WR Tyreek Hill was detained by police near the stadium after being deemed "non cooperative" with the officers during a traffic stop. 

The bodycam footage was released Tuesday. 

The first I learned of this incident was when a video clip circulated online of Hill lying face down with officers standing over him. While that evoked some bad memories of a certain infamous 2020 police incident in my home area of Minneapolis, I was willing to reserve judgement until we got the entire context of what led up to this. 

After viewing the bodycam footage, I'll just say this. Unless a driver being pulled over is violating some sort of obscure law which prohibits keeping the drivers' side window rolled up, the cops unnecessarily escalated this situation. Hill basically pled guilty to the moving violation by telling the officer to go ahead and give him a ticket so he could move on with his day. Why the insistence he keep his window rolled down? 

In the end, it was Hill himself who was looking to move past this incident while also focusing how situations like this don't have to occur. 

- It's the 23rd anniversary of the 9/11/2001 terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. 

As has become custom, I like to pay homage to Minnesota native Thomas Burnett, Jr. on this anniversary of said attacks.

July 2017 - At the Flight 93 National Memorial near the site of the crash

Tom was one of 40 passengers and crew members on United flight 93 on 9/11. This particular flight was noteworthy in that the passengers, knowing what had happened to the World Trade Center earlier that morning, decided to thwart further carnage by overtaking the hijackers in the cockpit.

The flight ended up crashing in an abandoned field in rural Pennsylvania, approximately 20 minutes flight time from its intended target of the Capitol building in Washington DC.

Has America had its problems since then? No question. In fact, I'd say the divisiveness is worse than pre-9/11. But do I believe we are still, as Michael Medved, proclaims, the greatest nation on God's green earth? Without a doubt. 

May we never forget the bravery and heroism that occurred that day in the face of a horrific tragedy. 

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Box Score of the Week

St. Louis Browns at Detroit Tigers - July 4, 1912.

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Tigers pitcher George Mullin, on his 32nd birthday, became the first (and still only) MLB pitcher to toss a no-hitter on their birthday. 

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The NARN Closer's playlist - 9/8/2024

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The waves keep on crashing on me for some reason......

It's the first Sunday of the 2024 NFL season, so I understand if the live listening audience may be thinner. Nevertheless, I'll be in the Patriot bunker for today's edition of my radio show The Closer. The 2-hour festivities get started at 1:00 PM Central Time. 

At 1:30, Republican candidate for MN House Wayne Johnson will join the broadcast to discuss his candidacy in HD 41A (Lake Elmo, Afton, northern Cottage Grove). 

Then at 2:00, Archway Defense founder (and firearms expert) Peter Johnson will join us via phone to weigh in on the Apalachee High School shooting, fending for ourselves due to a porous southern U.S. border, etc. 

In the non-guest segments, I'll discuss a new way forward for the MNGOP, the latest in presidential politics, etc. 

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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Lucky or just? Or both?

In less than two weeks, the sentencing of GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump was going to be handed down in the sham "hush money"conviction out of NYC. Trump has pushed for that ruling to occur after Election Day, stating that doing so beforehand constitutes "election interference." 

The presiding judge concurred. 

Judge Juan Merchan ruled Friday that Trump’s sentencing will take place on November 26, three weeks after election day, ensuring that Trump will not be sentenced in any of his criminal cases leading up to the election.

In a letter to the prosecutors and Trump’s attorneys informing them of his decision to delay the sentencing hearing, Merchan argued that a post-election sentencing would eliminate any appearance of political bias.

“The Court is a fair, impartial, and apolitical institution. Adjourning decision on the motion and sentencing, if such is required, should dispel any suggestion that the Court will have issued any decision or imposed sentence either to gave an advantage to, or create a disadvantage for, any political party and/or any candidate for any office,” Merchan wrote.

Naturally, many prog institutions (specifically The New York Times) suggested such a ruling puts Trump "above the law." But as legal expert Andrew McCarthy at NRO pointed out, it's actually the legally prudent thing to do. 

The principal basis for Trump’s postponement motion is not that, if it is not granted, the sentencing would be a form of election interference. I happen to believe that would be true since there is no rule-of-law justification for sentencing Trump prior to the election — the schedule has been set by a deeply conflicted, partisan Democratic judge under circumstances in which Democrats want Trump labeled “a convicted felon facing a prison sentence” in the run up to the November election.

Nevertheless, Trump has a valid postponement motion because of the rule of law.

In one of Trump’s federal cases, the Supreme Court ruled on July 1 — a month after Trump’s state trial — that presidential immunity from criminal prosecution includes a derivative right to have evidence of official presidential acts excluded. Over Trump’s objection at trial, Bragg’s prosecutors offered such evidence, Merchan admitted it — despite being on notice that the Supreme Court was considering this very issue — and the prosecutors argued in summation that this evidence was “devastating” against Trump (making it difficult for Bragg to now claim its admission was mere harmless error).

In the criminal law, most issues cannot be appealed until all proceedings in the trial court, including sentencing, are concluded — e.g. Merchan’s disqualifying bias, his admission of blatantly inadmissible evidence of a key witness’s guilty plea to federal election crimes, his admission of a porn star’s gratuitous and unfairly prejudicial testimony that Trump may have forced himself on her, his refusal to allow Trump to call a key defense witness, and his failure to instruct the jury properly on the charged offenses or even require a unanimous verdict on a key charge, to cite just a few reversible errors in the record.

In addition to likely enduring some PTSD from his almost being assassinated two months ago, Trump was most assuredly overwhelmed emotionally at the prospects of being sentenced to jail. With that officially put off until after election, he needs to focus solely on the final 60 days of this campaign. When Trump is talking issues, he's pretty solid. And given the abject failure that has been the Biden-Harris administration, it shouldn't be all that difficult to tie VP Kamala Harris to a struggling economy, bumbling foreign policy and a swiss cheese southern U.S. border, all issues which voters strongly favor Trump. 

Sure, Trump has been somewhat lucky this cycle in that he survived an attempt on his life as well as having the classified documents case against him tossed out. And now the delay in the "hush money" trial, which any rational thinking person should ascertain is fair and just. Time will tell if Trump can take advantage of all this good fortune.

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Quick Hits: Volume CCCLVI

 - I'm not saying I am personally pining for this scenario, but.....

The best possible outcome in November for the future of the Republican Party is for former President Donald Trump to lose and lose soundly. GOP leaders won’t tell you that on the record. I just did.

Trump will never concede defeat, no matter how thorough his loss. Yet the more decisively Vice President Kamala Harris wins the popular vote and electoral college the less political oxygen he’ll have to reprise his 2020 antics; and, importantly, the faster Republicans can begin building a post-Trump party.

Harris is less a doctrinaire progressive than she is up for grabs on policy, but any liberal course she takes would be constrained by a GOP-held Senate. No, that’s not a sure thing, but it’s the safest electoral bet in this turbulent election. What is virtually certain come January is that conservatives will have a 6-3 majority on the Supreme Court, which will also serve as a check on the law and rulemaking coming out of a Democratic White House.

Harris is effectively an emergency nominee, has few policy proposals, scant governing history in Washington and a history of churning through staff. Oh, and she would be the first Democrat to enter the presidency since 1884 without majorities in both chambers, should Republicans flip the Senate.

That adds up to a recipe for gridlock — and perhaps some deal-making to fund the government and avoid across-the-board tax hikes — but not a Scandinavian social welfare state.

While many far leftists shriek that Trump is the "gReAtEsT tHrEaT tO oUr DeMoCrAcY" and will no doubt pitch many fits were he to prevail, others may extract a silver lining. Specifically, enough progs know Harris is awful and thus a more formidable (in their minds at least) POTUS candidate would be able run in 2028 since there'd no incumbent. However, if a Harris reelection campaign occurs in '28, would the likes of Gavin Newsom, Gretchen Whitmer or Josh Shapiro be willing to wait until 2032?

At the end of the day, Trump may lose, but I don't see a Harris landslide. So what then? All I know is regardless of who emerges victorious in this race, the post-election climate will be awful.....again.

- The country of Brazil bans the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. 

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison's reaction? 

obrigado Brasil!

— Keith Ellison (@keithellison) September 2, 2024

Translation: Thank you, Brazil.

To summarize: a sitting Attorney General of an American state lauds another country censoring speech. 

Cool, cool. 

- A horrific incident at a Georgia high school on Wednesday. 

 

At least four people are dead Wednesday and a 14-year-old boy (who, SURPRISE, was already on the FBI's radar - ed.) is in custody after opening fire at a high school in north central Georgia and putting the building on lockdown, authorities said.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) confirmed that four people died at Apalachee High School in Barrow County, Georgia — approximately 40 miles northeast of Atlanta – and nine others were taken to various hospitals with gunshot wounds. The suspect is alive and in custody (Thanks to a good guy with a gun - ed.).

Naturally, the typical gun-grabbing demagoguery occurred, including from the current Democrat presidential candidate. And of course, they conveniently ignore that it's policies they support which allow such incidents to happen. 

 

Kamala Harris said "We need reasonable gun safety laws."

Here is a list of gun control that failed today:

❌ Gun Free School Zones Act
❌ Prohibition on armed teachers
❌ Under 18-year-old gun ban
❌ NICS background checks
❌ Bipartisan Safer Communities Act
❌ ATF’s Backdoor… https://t.co/jU2vsVLKEQ

— Gun Owners of America (@GunOwners) September 4, 2024

Even those who aren't passionate about firearms or the 2nd Amendment are becoming red-pilled, particularly in light of literal foreign invasions of American cities. And since agencies like the FBI and ATF continually fail citizens, many are beginning to ascertain that they need to start fending for themselves. 

In short, attempting to go door-to-door to confiscate firearms will not end well for the government. 

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Box Score of the Week

Detroit Tigers at Washington Nationals - September 23, 1905.

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At 18 years, 279 days old, Ty Cobb hit an inside-the-park home run, which is still the American League record for youngest player to do so.

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The NARN Closer's playlist - 9/1/2024

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Better get yourself together and hold on to what you've got.......

Happy September!

It's Labor Day weekend, but the Northern Alliance is still bringing original programming with today's radio show The Closer. The 2-hour broadcast gets started at 1:00 PM Central Time. 

Right at 1:00, Paul Wikstrom, GOP candidate in MN House District 40B (eastern Shoreview, northern Roseville) will join the broadcast to discuss his candidacy in this open seat (DFL rep Jamie Becker-Finn is not seeking reelection). 

I will also weigh in on the latest in presidential politics. 

For the 2:00 hour, Mark "Mr. Dilettante" Heuring will make his annual appearance to preview the NFL's NFC North division. Since Mark is a Green Bay Packers fan and I'm a Vikings rube, it's the only division which matters to us. 

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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