FEBRUARY 24, 2026

“The purpose of Lent is not to force on us a few formal obligations, but to ‘soften’ our heart so that it may open itself to the realities of the spirit, to experience the hidden ‘ thirst’ for communion with God.”

— Saint John Paul II.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JASON MUEHLECK! Jason is an aspiring Dallas Cowboys fan, and future Martinsville, Virginia City Council member.

Interesting things I have learned. Holland Koontz informs me that there is a girl in one of her classes who is also named Holland. Moreover, when she was getting a coffee over the weekend, she encountered a teenager in the shop who was named Holland. What are the odds?

Now Holland is not a common name by any means. Indeed, Holland is a nickname for our daughter, derived from the family name “Hollandsworth”. Her name is Grace Hollandsworth Koontz. But the 2 girls in Dallas she encountered are actually named “Holland”.

If I ever encounter another Basset Hound named “Dudley”, I’m buying a lottery ticket. It is a definite sign.

“This is all about our country right now.  I love the USA.  I love our teammates.  It’s unbelievable.  The USA hockey brotherhood is so strong.  We had so much support from ex-players, and I’m so proud to be American today.”

–Jack Hughes, member of Team USA, speaking after his team beat Canada to win the Olympic gold medal.

Arthur Liu was born in Red China, and participated in the Tiananmen Square protests in Peking. He agitated for democracy in China, and was forced to emigrate to the United States as a result of communist persecution. To this day, the Chinese Communists act to harass and intimidate Mr. Liu. They offered to leave him alone, and pay him millions of dollars if only his daughter Alysa, a native born American, would compete in Olympic skating competition on behalf of China. The Lius refused. Alysa Liu competed for Team USA, and won the gold medal.

Meanwhile, Eileen Gu, a native born American took Red China’s millions of dollars. She has whined that she has been criticized for competing on behalf of China, instead of her own country, the United States. She won a silver medal in skiing.

One athlete born in America chose the regime that countless others risked and lost their lives to in an effort to bring democracy to the communist nation.  Another athlete, whose father risked everything for freedom, refused to skate for the government that once persecuted him.  

Alysa Liu’s gold medal is not just a victory in the skating rink. It is a quiet rebuke to the idea that loyalty can be bought and that freedom is merely branding. 

For the Liu family, America wasn’t a marketing opportunity.  It was a refuge.  And this week, it was the flag raised above the podium, and a gold medal around her neck.  And in a world of Eileen Gus, be an Alysa Liu. A true American.

New York City has not dug out from the last snowstorm, and it is now the recipient of many more inches of the frozen white stuff. Mayor Comrade Zohran Mamdani (D.) begged for paid volunteers who would assist the City in shoveling the sidewalks and streets. One catch; if you wish to get paid $19.00 an hour for shoveling snow, you must complete extensive paperwork, and produce 5 forms of ID, to wit: 2 photographs, 2 photo IDs, and your Social Security Card. IT IS HARDER TO GET PAID TO SHOVEL SNOW IN NEW YORK THAN IT IS TO VOTE! Because you need not provide photo ID to vote in New York.

Why doesn’t Mayor Comrade Mamdani want black and brown people to shovel snow? Because his excuse for opposing photo ID as a voting requirement is that black and brown people cannot obtain photo ID.

Los Angeles, California Mayor Karen Bass (D.) was enjoying a photo op in her city, filling a pothole on a city street. The streets of Los Angeles are littered with potholes, but Mayor Bass was especially proud of the fact that city workers had repaved 60 miles of city streets. Sadly, Los Angeles has 22,000 miles of city streets, and virtually all are in disrepair.

Somboon Phaymany is a Cambodian citizen. Until very recently, Mr. Phaymany was serving a prison sentence, having been convicted by a California jury of 10 counts of attempted murder. He as also facing eventual deportation back to Cambodia. But now Governor Gavin Newsom (D. Ca.) has intervened, and pardoned Mr. Phaymany, in order to make it harder for ICE to deport him.

Think about that. California’s Governor, who wants badly to be President of the United States, would rather have a would be mass murderer walk free, cancelling a jury’s verdict, than permit that would be mass murderer be returned to his home country. Does that make any sense to you? Any at all?

Did you know that Virginia has the 15th strictest gun control laws in the United States? It is far more restrictive than any other Southern State (except for Maryland), and most Western States. California is the #1 strictest State, no surprise. But Virginia is an outlier among Southern States, and Governor Spanberger (D.), who hails from New Jersey, is trying to move the needle closer to California. I may well have to move. Kenan is already determined to move. Of course, he has far more firearms than I do.

More than 2/3 of Mexico is ablaze with violence in reaction to Mexican Security Forces killing a drug cartel head. The violence started in Puerto Vallarta, and rapidly spread, trapping American tourists in Pacific coast resort cities. Armed gunmen attacked the airport in Guadalajara, making it impossible to flee the violence.

THIS IS WHY, Holland Koontz, your Father forbids you to travel to Mexico, no matter how often you ask! No matter how many of your friends or family members go there. Our friends the Bayses left Mexico years ago for a reason, and this is exactly the reason. It is not safe. And it is why you are not allowed to go there.

The Mexican state will continue to offer up big-name cartel figures ad infinitum, but their elimination alone changes little.  What would be transformative is bringing to account the politicians who enable, protect and promote cartels.  These men are at the very heart of Mexico’s Morena ruling political party regime.  That is what a true strategic win would look like, and it is what the United States must resolutely pursue.

Mrs. Babette Burge, 97, fell in her home, and called for emergency services. A paramedic responded, examined Mrs. Burge, and concluded she had broken her hip. He informed her that an ambulance would be there in 10 days. Five (5) days later, a neighbor found Mrs. Burge lying on a floor in her home, dying.

Mrs. Babette Burge is the victim of socialized medicine, or what Senator Bernie Sanders (I. Vt.) would call, Medicare For All. Vote it in, and you too can wait 10 days for an ambulance.

Disgraced former British Ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson was arrested in England on criminal charges relating to misconduct while in official office. Apparently, Mr. Mandelson leaked sensitive government information to Jeffrey Epstein. Huh. Maybe he and Andrew Mountbatten Windsor can share a prison cell.

GFK