“Each October, Americans confront a paradox. We commemorate Christopher Columbus, a man long hailed as the greatest explorer of the Age of Discovery, while increasingly vilifying him as a symbol of colonial oppression. Statues fall, cities rename streets, and Columbus Day gives way to Indigenous Peoples’ Day. But beneath this cultural shift lies a deeper philosophical question: Are we judging the past fairly?
* * * *
Civilization evolves. What was once accepted (e.g., slavery, patriarchy, and conquest) is now condemned. That evolution is a triumph of human conscience. But it also demands humility. We must remember that history is not a courtroom. It is a mirror. In Columbus’s reflection, we see both the darkness we’ve outgrown and the light that led us forward.
This is not a call to ignore the suffering his voyages unleashed. It is a call to balance. To acknowledge both the courage and the cost. To teach our children not just what happened, but why it mattered. And to resist the urge to flatten history into caricature.
Columbus was a man of his time. His greatness lay in his daring. His flaws lay in his humanity. And his legacy, like all legacies, deserves truth, not moral absolutism.
Today, I invite you to pause, not to celebrate blindly, nor to condemn reflexively, but to reflect. To reflect on a man whose voyage changed the course of history, and whose legacy now stands at the crossroads of admiration and accusation.”
–Christian Vezilj, The American Thinker (October 12, 2025).
The New Kent County, Virginia Commonwealth Attorney is investigating Jay Jones’s community service performance as a result of his reckless driving conviction for driving 116 mph in a 65 mph zone. The Observations reported previously that Jay Jones reported 500 hours for working on his own Political Action Committee, raising money for himself. That is a “no no” under the law.
The polls in Virginia are tightening. If trends continue, the Republicans have a very good chance of retaining their Statewide offices. Let us hope!
The House of Representatives will not meet again this week. What would be the point, as Senate Democrats refuse to fund the federal government?
By the way, the clean Continuing Resolution passed by the House keeps spending at China Joe Administration levels. Yet the Democrats want more.
Senator Charles Schumer (D. N.Y.) said that “every day [of the federal government shutdown] gets better for us”. It is all politics to the Democrats. There is not a principled one of them.
Democrats are insistent that the subsidies for Obamacare must be reinstated. No, they do not.
First, these particular subsidies were implemented only during the former Current Unpleasantness, as an emergency measure. The Current Unpleasantness is over. And the legislation ending these subsidies is the Inflation Reduction Act, a law passed and signed only by Democrats. Democrats ended these subsidies.
Second, these subsidies are not going to “needy” Americans. Some of them are. But some of these subsidies are going to individuals earning as much as $600,000.00 a year.
Third, these subsidies are masking the true costs of Obamacare. Remember, Obamacare’s official name is “The Affordable Health Care Act”. If health care is so “affordable”, why are subsidies needed? Because Obamacare made health insurance less, not more, affordable. Costs for policies under Obamacare have skyrocketed, because the legislation distorts the insurance market.
Fourth, these subsidies are not going to individuals, they are going to insurance companies.
Fifth, a very small portion of the population will be affected by the loss of these subsidies. The subsidies only affect about 1.6 million people, out of a total population of 350 million. Should a country that is $38 trillion in debt really be spending $500,000,000.00 to subsidize health insurance for 1.6 million people?
Sixth, who is subsidizing your health care? Answer: No one.
Seventh, where in the Constitution does it mention the provision of health care for the people? Where?
The Democrats inflicted the American people with Obamacare. Let them bear the burden of its failures, or let the Republicans fix it. Those are the options.
So what are Senate Democrats going to do this week to open the federal government. Nothing. Indeed, Senate Democrats are in Napa, California, meeting at the Hotel Yountville, where rooms let for up to $1,100.00 per night. They are going to enjoy a lovely wine dinner, and tour a vineyard. Just down the road is a fantastic golf course. The Democrats are hard at work. But not for the American people.
Senators Adam Schiff (D. Ca.) and Tim Kaine (D. Va.) are pushing for the Congress to ban President Trump’s use of force against Venezuelan drug dealers trying to smuggle drugs into the United States. Because Democrats are always on the side of America’s enemies.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled that the Trump Administration could federalize the National Guard, but not deploy it, in Illinois. The Court is trying to have it both ways. It cannot sit on the fence forever.
A federal judge in Washington, D.C. ruled that the Trump Administration could not withhold funds from programs promoting “trans” therapies and conversions, claiming that there was no science supporting that “trans” was harmful to individuals. Naturally, the judge is an Obama appointee.
“Roses are red. Violets are blue. No one is above the law. Even when you think the rules don’t apply to you. Happy Valentine’s Day!”
–New York Attorney General Letitia James, posting on social media, taunting Donald Trump before the court banned his family from conducting business in New York State for 3 years.
A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia indicted New York Attorney General Letitia James for bank fraud. Ah! That is such as a shame!
Naturally the Democrats and the mainstream media (but I repeat myself) are agog that anyone would pursue criminal charges against a . . . Democrat! That is just not done. No one is above the law! Unless there is a “D” beside their name.
Former Ambassador and National Security Advisor John Bolton is next. The Left has always hated John Bolton. If he is indicted, expect a new found love and respect to emerge. Because, . . Orange Man Bad.
A munitions factory exploded and burned to the ground in Tennessee. There were no survivors. Tragic.
The Texas State government ordered the removal of crosswalks that were painted other than with white lines. A rainbow flag painted crosswalk in Houston was removed, and painted according to law. The City of Houston government repainted the crosswalk with the rainbow flag. The Texas Department of Transportation removed the rainbow flag–AGAIN–and repainted the crosswalk according to law. PAY ATTENTION HOUSTON!
The University of Minnesota student Democrats took umbrage at a remembrance for Charlie Kirk. So they celebrated “Saint” George Floyd instead. We are sure that makes sense for them.
Chef Sergio Garcia lived for decades in the United States, and was well acquainted with former President George W. Bush, for whom he often provided catered meals, both in and out of The White House. Now Chef Garcia has been deported. Twice. Because he is an illegal alien.
McDonald’s restaurants are bringing back “Boo Buckets”, which are great for trick or treating. Available when you purchase a Happy Meal.
Orvis, a beloved retailer of outdoor sporting equipment for 169 years, is shuttering 36 locations. Oh, my!
Canterbury Cathedral, a 6th century English Cathedral, and the home of The Church of England, is covered by graffiti. This was not vandalism. No, the desecration of the center of Anglicanism was done at the invitation of the Church of England’s hierarchy. Church stewards explained that they wanted to give voice to “marginalized communities”. Good grief!
Canterbury Cathedral is where “turbulent priest” Thomas Becket was run through with swords and hacked to death for standing up to tyrannical rule, and where he is entombed still today. Canterbury Cathedral, where the Black Prince, a paragon of knightly chivalry and one of Western civilization’s greatest military commanders, also finds his resting place. Canterbury Cathedral boasts some of the most intricate and oldest stained glass windows in the world. Canterbury Cathedral, which houses one of William Shakespeare’s rarest works, and is a building whose history is greatly entwined with that of the Magna Carta, one of the humanity’s most significant documents. Canterbury Cathedral is an iconic historical and religious treasure. But to its stewards, Canterbury Cathedral is a mere surface to deface with punkish tags to bring attention to “marginalized communities” in England.
Real Englanders, Brits by blood and spirit, with an undying love for their culture and home, are beyond fed up with what the Dean of Canterbury calls “marginalized communities.” These “marginalized communities” are parasitic, they’re destroying the cohesion of England and the nation’s society, and they’re given preferential treatment by the government, that’s ostensibly, representing the English people. If you demand deportation for the third-world savages turning England into a third-world Muslim hellhole, Prime Minister Keir Starmer will “fight” you with everything he has.
As it turns out, these individuals who resonate with graffiti and vandalism aren’t so “marginalized” after all.
Progressives really have an extraordinary ability to turn something unbelievably precious and beautiful into utter trash—how can you make Canterbury Cathedral look like a derelict warehouse in an inner city, or resemble a dirty freight train car? This “is a coordinated effort to demoralize all of Christendom.” It is a humiliation ritual for Westerners, and in particular, the Christians.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado won The Nobel Peace Prize. She then dedicated the prize to the Venezuelan people and to Donald Trump for his support for freedom for the Venezuelan people, and for all peoples around the world. The Left is not pleased.
The refs robbed Auburn, and the Georgia Bulldogs took advantage of the theft. Alabama got by Missouri. LSU beat South Carolina. Texas won The Red River Rivalry, upsetting Oklahoma. The Sooners should be embarrassed. Texas A&M beat Florida. Ole Miss struggled with Washington State.
SMU rolled over Stanford. Georgia Tech won. Wake Forest dominated Oregon State in Corvallis, resulting in the firing of Oregon State’s head coach. Clemson beat Boston College. Florida State lost to Pitt in Tallahassee.
UNC head coach Bill Belichick is telling folks that he is not going anywhere. Apparently he thinks that he can build the Tarheels into a football power. We shall see.
South Florida beat North Texas State. Rocky is inconsolable. Tulane beat East Carolina. Army and Navy both won.
Air Force lost to UNLV. Wyoming beat San Jose State. Colorado State beat Fresno State. Boise State, San Diego State, and Hawaii won.
Texas Tech beat Kansas. Kansas State beat TCU. BYU got by Arizona. Utah beat Arizona State. Coach Prime’s Buffaloes defeated Iowa State.
Ohio State thumped Illinois. Indiana upset Oregon in Eugene. USC beat Michigan. The Trojans are just teasing their fans now. Maryland’s collapse continued, as they lost to Nebraska. Northwestern beat Penn State, which earned head coach James Franklin his termination. Stick a fork in the Nittany Lions, they are done. Just as we predicted at the beginning of the season.
Brown and UPenn won. Harvard beat the Cornell anti-Semites. Princeton and Columbia lost.
Craig Heist, longtime Washington, D.C./Baltimore, Maryland sportscaster, has died at age 66. R. I. P.
John Lodge, singer for the Moody Blues, has died at age 82. R. I. P.
Actress Diane Keaton has died at age 79. R. I. P.
Former Boston Red Sox outfielder Mike Greenwell has died at age 62. R. I. P.
Sister Jean Delores Schmidt, chaplain for the University of Loyola-Chicago basketball team, has died at age 106. R. I. P.
GFK
Observations From The Fifth Estate 