“I’m not lost for I know where I am. But however, where I am may be lost.”

–Winnie The Pooh.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAURA HUNDLEY! English wants to party with you!

I drove down to Chatmoss last night. I have business in Henry County this week, and English is joining me later for the weekend. Dudley’s protestations aside, he will be here also.

The drive down Rt. 29 was pleasant, and the further South I went, I saw more grass and blacktop. Then I got to my house. A white sheet from front to back, EXCEPT, bless his heart, our house’s caretaker had shoveled away the 3 foot barrier that Henry County plow crews had so kindly placed in the drive’s entrance. So I was able to get in, and up to the house. Where I suddenly realized . . .

The garage door was still closed. I had pushed the button to open the door, but the vehicle (our farm truck) had become unpaired. That was a problem, as the garage door opener is the “key” I use to get into the house. And I had forgotten to take the keys from the car I normally drive, so this was a problem. I called Frank, and he drove up, with keys not to my house. I called my sister who lives close (relatively close, she is in the same county, but a good 30 minutes away), and she grumpily agreed to come over with a key. Then I found an old set of keys in the farm truck. About the same time Frank found my keys.

In the end, I got into the house, and did not freeze to death. Indeed, I was very pleasantly surprised to see that the power had not gone out even once in the last month since I was last here. My diesel started up, and that was a most pleasant surprise. The house was warm, and I happily poured a Scotch and lit a cigar. I lit a fire in the fireplace. Things are good. It is nice to be home.

Poor Frank. He has shoveled his drive 4 times in the last 2 weeks. There is still a solid sheet of ice on his front walk. He would have invited me over, but he was not convinced that one or both of us would not fall trying to get into the house. That would have been bad.

It is supposed to be in the 60s tomorrow. Let us hope that it is, and is sunny. Winter has worn out its welcome in Southside Virginia.

Today I bring you more good news about the economy. Mr. Wolf’s analysis below is something you won’t see on the evening news shows, or read about in your local newspaper. Enjoy!

The Productivity Boom Economists Didn’t See Coming

Surging productivity is the latest Trump-era reality economists can’t explain away.

BY:          F. Andrew Wolf, Jr., The American Spectator (February 3, 2026).

First, economists complained about Trump’s low inflation figures, then it was the “unbelievable” growth in the economy, next it was solid wage growth and a confident consumer, suggesting the economic expansion should continue at a healthy pace in 2026. Now, it’s something else.

Productivity is surging in America, and this points to mild inflation even though wages rise and rapid economic growth continues. It’s a win-win for America, and mainstream economists don’t like it.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday that productivity rose at an annualized rate of 4.9 percent in Q3 of last year and 4.1 percent in Q2, consistent with earlier estimates. That makes the first two full quarters of Trump’s presidency the best two consecutive quarters since, well… the last time Trump was president.

The numbers actually understate the remarkable upward shift in productivity. During the pandemic era, productivity spiked, but only because millions were laid off. That’s more or less typical of economic downturns — the least productive workers receive “pink slips”; thus, the ratio of economic output to man-hours worked — which is how the government calculates productivity — goes up. Now, however, productivity numbers are above 4.0 percent even though unemployment remains stable — economic output continues to grow.

The really good news is that there’s reason to suspect that we may have entered a period (perhaps an era) of high productivity growth. After a few quarters of remarkably good productivity in 2023, Cleveland Federal Reserve economists ran a statistical model aimed at detecting what they term productivity “regime changes” — no, this has nothing to do with Venezuela! They calculated the probability that the U.S. economy had shifted into a high-growth phase at roughly 40 percent. (They noted that it would take a few more quarters to reach a “more unambiguous conclusion.”)

The second and third quarter numbers mentioned previously are helpful in understanding their conclusions. The figures suggest that what the Cleveland Fed economists were seeing last year — they ran their model in January 2025 — was not just a transitory spike but a sustainable rate of real growth, which economists call… productivity.

What’s Causing the Higher Productivity?

Mainstream economists are stumped about this phenomenon. Most think it is too early to be caused by the advent of artificial intelligence. The fact that manufacturing productivity and output are rising so rapidly suggests that it is probably not AI but rather something more significant: investment in innovation more broadly in the economy.

They had become enamored with the status quo without considering the effect of real productivity growth through domestic reinvestment.

What is precipitating this is Trump’s economics. And the most likely factors are a tight labor market and the end of the offshoring policies of previous administrations. After more than a few decades of productivity suffering because businesses could rely on abundant and cheap labor at home and abroad, many have now realized that they have to switch to domestic investment to achieve growth.

Even after Trump departs the White House, it’s unlikely we’ll see the permissive immigration policies we saw under Biden and Obama (and Bush before that), and we’re not returning to the era of globalization. There has been a paradigm shift in economic policy in America.

A major reason for this shift is Trump’s new tax incentives for capital investment. Making 100 percent expensing for capital outlays permanent has likely incentivized companies to invest more heavily in the U.S. and adopt business models built around capital investment and agentic AI rather than payroll expansion. The old tax rules made capital investment costly by only allowing deductions spread over several years, while labor costs were immediately deductible. Trump’s new tax rules level the playing field.

But to be fair, it’s not all Trump policy at work here — or at least not all recent Trump policies. The improvement in productivity began back in 2023 and 2024, which is when it caught the eye of those economists at the Cleveland Fed. The most likely drivers, however, did have their origin with Trump. For one thing, Biden surprised many by leaving the tariffs from Trump’s first term in place — they realized they work. And this is important; it signaled to businesses that tariffs were not something they could just wait out. Moreover, the labor market was extraordinarily tight in those years, with job openings far exceeding the number of people seeking employment.

Trump’s immigration and tariff policies in his second term are now doubling down on these. The growth of the workforce has slowed dramatically because immigration has been curbed, as has the rising cost of imported goods. As a result, the relative benefits of investing in domestic productivity have increased dramatically.

The recent report that steel production in the United States has surpassed Japan’s steel production for the first time in 26 years is a testament to Trump’s push for domestic production.

In 2025, U.S. steel production surpassed Japan, becoming the world’s third-largest steel producer. This is the first time since 1999 that the U.S. has produced more steel than Tokyo.

“U.S. crude steel production in 2025 was up 3.1 percent to 82 million tons, the first rise in two years, according to the World Steel Association,” Nikkei Asia reports. “The growth is due in large part to the Trump administration’s tariff policies.”

Last year, Trump initially placed 25 percent tariffs on imported steel and aluminum products. Those tariff rates were later doubled to 50 percent, which has helped drastically boost steel production in the United States.

Leon Topalian, the CEO of U.S. steel producer Nucor, remarked that Trump’s tariffs were not hurting American manufacturing and, in fact, were a bright spot in the nation’s economy. “[T]he demand, the robustness that we see in this economy, again, I think 2026 is shaping up to be a very, very solid year for Nucor,” Topalian said.

So, here’s the thing: this is the exact opposite of what tariff critics predicted. They admonished that if tariffs forced the U.S. to produce more domestically, productivity would decline as workers were drawn into less efficient sectors. What they missed was that foreign intervention in the economy had so badly distorted global production that reinvigorating production would actually improve productivity, and businesses would seek to lower costs by investing in productivity-increasing technology.

They failed to consider the bigger picture of how the American economy was so negatively influenced by previous administrations’ promoting offshore policies. They had become enamored with the status quo without considering the effect of real productivity growth through domestic reinvestment — which they never believed was profitable (or even possible) before Trump.

GFK

“You only live once.  But if you really do it right, once is enough.”

–The Tao Of Frank.

The Dow Jones Industrials passed the 50,000 mark for this 1st time in history, on Friday. WINNING!

A Rockville, Maryland man left his parent’s home [loser], and ventured into the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. to murder OMB Director Russell Vought. Fortunately, he was arrested. Yet another sign of Leftist derangement, as they seek to eliminate those who oppose them.

President Trump wants to put a statue of Christopher Columbus on The White House’s South Lawn. That popping sound you hear is the sound of Democrats’ heads exploding.

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D. N.Y.) vows that no Senate Democrat will vote for the SAVE Act, which, inter alia, requires a photo ID to vote. He calls it “Jim Crow 2.0”. In other words, only racists support photo IDs as a voting requirement. Huh. You know who supports voter IDs as a voting requirement? Seventy-two percent (72%) of Democrats. Senator Schumer thinks his own party’s voting base is composed of racists.

“Right now, the missing congregants are missing out on one of the most important things of their faith practice, which is being able to engage in group prayer, group worship, communion.”

–Attorney for The Episcopal Church, USA, arguing to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia that illegal aliens and the Church are being harmed due to the fear of arrest by ICE agents.

Illegal aliens can always go to the church of their choice in their home countries. Problem solved.

A Massachusetts federal judge–a China Joe appointee–ruled that ICE cannot use IRS information to track illegal aliens. Hmmm. The government cannot use its own information in order to enforce federal laws. That is insane.

Former U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich (R. Ga.) told FOX News’s Sean Hannity that it was time to have a national conversation about amnesty for illegal aliens present in the United States. No. No it is not.

Some people need to fade away, as their time is past. Newt Gingrich is one of them.

The Washington Post is slashing its workforce by 1/3, and eliminating its entire sports department. Wow.

Federal investigators discovered and dismantled a Red Chinese operated biological lab in a Las Vegas, Nevada residential neighborhood. When will we realize that Red China is our enemy?

Why is Maryland Governor Wes Moore (D.) discussing the State flag? He mentioned that it was a “contradiction” since the flag contains both Confederate and Union symbols. Are changes going to be proposed?

The Maryland State government is currently facing a massive budget crisis. Perhaps Governor Moore should pay more attention to it, than the flag.

In Jefferson County, Colorado, a local public high school hosted a presentation teaching students how to observe, record, and identify ICE agents. That is so despicable. Public schools cannot teach reading and arithmetic, but they can spend instructional time on grooming Leftist terrorists.

Governor Gavin Newsom (D. Ca.) told The Washington Post in a recent interview that he was present at, and participated in, his mother’s “assisted suicide”. At the time of her death, California law deemed his, and the doctor’s, acts as murder.

Gavin Newsom is an evil man, who murdered his mother. Is this who the Democrats want to nominate as their presidential standard bearer?

In the last year, California has released 4,561 criminal illegal aliens back into society, rather than turn them over to ICE. No regard whatsoever for the safety of California citizens, or the rule of law. Disgusting.

“I consider my own faith, Islam, a religion built upon a narrative of migration.” “The story of the Hijrah reminds us that Prophet Muhammad, was a stranger too, who fled Mecca and was welcomed in Medina.”

–New York City Comrade Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D.), urging that U.S. immigration policy be set according to Islamic standards.

Trash and snow are piled up 8 and 9 feet deep on New York City streets and sidewalks, but Comrade Mamdani insists on dabbling in federal policy.  Stay in your lane, Comrade.

Governor Abigail Spanberger (D. Va.) campaigned on a platform of “affordability”. Shortly after taking office, Governor Spanberger reentered Virginia into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. The Initiative is nothing short of a carbon based tax, which will raise Virginians’ electricity bills by more than $500 million, per year. Some affordability.

Virginia General Assembly Democrats want to criminalize “Islamophobia”, making it a “hate crime”, as well as “assault” and “battery”. Never mind that there is no such thing as “Islamophobia”. Never mind that speech that is critical of Islam is protected under the United States Constitution. No, no, no. You upset an Islam, and you go straight to jail.

“We know today students at VMI attend class in Maury Hall and Scott Shipp Hall, celebrating two Confederate officers. They attend class in Mallory Hall, celebrating a Confederate secretary of the Navy. Every graduate today has emblazoned on their rings … the date of the Battle of [New Market] in which cadets marched out in a spectacular act of treason and fired on United States troops in defense of slavery.”

–Virginia State Delegate Dan Helmer (D. Fairfax), who is leading the charge against The Virginia Military Institute’s very existence.

Here is the problem with Virginia. Increasingly, we are governed by non-Virginians, people who have no regard for our history and traditions, and who do not share our values. Delegate Helmer is from New Jersey, as is Governor Spanberger. U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner are from Minnesota and Connecticut, respectively. Our Lt. Governor is from India. Senator Adam Ebbin, who wants to tear down more Confederate statues, is from New York.

Virginians are a welcoming people. But we are not looking to be conquered or transformed by outsiders. We do not think that VMI is a relic to be shunned, or changed. We are not ashamed of our role in all of America’s wars, including The Late Unpleasantness. We are proud. We started this country. Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence. James Madison was the principal author of the Constitution. Four (4) of the first 5 Presidents were Virginians. Robert E. Lee is a figure to be admired and emulated, not insulted and relegated to the dustbin of history.

If Delegate Helmer, Senator Ebbin, Governor Spanberger, et al. want to enjoy “their values”, maybe they should pack their bags and return North. They can enjoy their bagels and white wine spritzers in New York City. Leave us to drink our bourbon, eat our ham biscuits and peanuts in peace. You can live in your gated communities. We will tote our guns.

Episcopalians, churches and dioceses observed on Feb. 8 “Migration with Dignity Sunday,” an annual day of education, prayer and action for immigration justice.  What a crock of Left wing, political B.S.

Kentucky Fried Chicken is testing a hand-held chicken pot pie. Oh, no! This has disaster written all over it.

Chick-Fil-A is testing 2 new sandwiches.  In Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, diners can try a freshly breaded Original Chicken filet served on Sriracha Swirl Toast with lettuce, tomato, seasoned avocado mash, and strips of hardwood smoked bacon, and cayenne ranch sauce on the side for an extra kick.  And in the North Carolina Piedmont Triad area, diners can purchase a freshly breaded Original Chicken filet on a toasted, buttered white bun, topped with a Ginger Lime Cool Crunch—made with cabbage, kale and ginger lime dressing—and drizzled with sweet chili sauce for a sweet and spicy finish.  All sandwiches can be purchased with an original, spicy, or grilled filet.  YUM!

YUM! Brands is closing 250 Pizza Hut locations throughout the United States. That is a lot of pepperoni.

In Arnsberg, Germany, locals painted the German flag on some steps in a public square. This upset the nervous Nellies of the German Green Party, who issued a statement, reading:

“This is an extreme right-wing statement.  This means you are against diversity, peace, and freedom.”

Hmmm. So, an image of the German flag in a public square, in Germany, is “an extreme right-wing statement”? And you are against peace and freedom? Wow.

Iran seized 2 oil tankers near Farsi Island. The Iranian government warned of a “massacre” in the Straits of Hormuz if the United States tried to intervene.

“I just don’t.  I don’t see why they chose that [Bad Bunny]. The NFL does stuff that baffles your mind. So, they’ll do anything for money . . . Look, why don’t we get somebody from right here from home?  What how about someone from right here in San Francisco, all these artists right here in the area to play at the Super Bowl?  Somebody (who speaks) English, you know?”

–Former SMU and Los Angeles Rams running back Eric Dickerson.

Congratulations to the Seattle Seahawks on winning the Super Bowl. They thoroughly dominated the New England Patriots.

English’s sausage balls were fantastic! So delicious!

Before the game, a singer performed the so-called “Black National Anthem”. Yawn. I was watching a Bugs Bunny cartoon.

Why does 13% of the population get their own national anthem? It makes no sense.

There is no “black national anthem”. There is only 1 national anthem, the Star Spangled Banner. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is a race baiting Leftist, who is ruining the game.

The commercials were forgettable. As predicted.

The halftime shows? Well The Turning Point USA show was a big success with millions streaming a pro-American celebration. The official halftime show was a big middle finger to America. The broken down rabbit did his political act, in Spanish, and celebrated–not the United States–but all of Latin America.

NOTE TO BAD BUNNY: First, you are a U.S. citizen. Second, we speak English in the United States. Learn it, live it, love it. Or get the Hell out.

The Washington Post published a HUGE article in advance of the Super Bowl about “the most relevant player”–Colin Kaepernick. Colin Kaepernick did not play in this Super Bowl. He is not even a player. Colin Kaepernick has not played football in 10 years. He is a washed up, anti-American, Leftist a$$hole, about whom no one cares. But here is the Post celebrating a big nothingburger. No wonder the paper is circling the drain of bankruptcy.

Former Washington Redskin cornerback Barry Wilburn has died at age 62. R. I. P.

LaMonte McLemore, founding member of The 5th Dimension singing group, has died at age 90. R. I. P.

Former Washington Redskins quarterback Sonny Jurgensen has died at age 91. R. I. P.

Former Virginia State Delegate Charles Poindexter (R.) has died at age 83. R. I. P.

Former Representative Lee Hamilton (D. In.) has died at age 94. R. I. P.

GFK

The Sundays of Pre-Lent and Lent have a distinct logic to assist us in our life in Christ. Last week, Septuagesima, Our Lord calls us to become laborers in His vineyard. This is, in effect, the call to become pilgrims on our way to the Kingdom of God. This week, Sexagesima, in the Parable of the Sower, He speaks of the importance of bringing forth good seed. Next week, Quinquagesima, He will speak to us of “going up to Jerusalem.” Here, we will reflect on what it means to walk with Our Blessed Lord as He heads towards the Holy City for the last confrontation with His adversaries.

The Sundays of Lent will speak to the hazards of our journey: the temptations we will face and conflicts with demons and the powers of evil. But on Refreshment Sunday, we are reminded that Our Lord will provide “food for the journey,” in the feeding of the multitude. Then on Passion Sunday, Our Lord reminds us why the religious establishment was so opposed to Him: “Before Abraham was, I am.” His claim to be God was considered blasphemous and worthy of the death penalty. This brings us to Palm Sunday and the reading of S. Matthew’s Passion account and our journey’s end, as Our Lord opens to us the heavenly Jerusalem through His death and resurrection.

In the Epistle for this Sunday, S. Paul speaks of the things that distract us and impede our spiritual progress. There are external contingencies: weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Although we will most likely not suffer in the same way as S. Paul, Satan does use the things that come at us externally to discourage us and deflect us from our goal. It may be the derogatory way in which people speak of us because of our faith. Or it may even be outright rejection because we are so far outside the cultural norm.

This can be exacerbated by the daily concerns and duties we face as well as our own inner weaknesses. Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?

Entering upon this pilgrimage is not easy for any one of us. The trials and limitations we face are meant to be embraced as the very essence of our glorification: If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities. This seeming paradox is at the very heart of our faith. Only when we acknowledge our inabilities, are we able to realize that it is God working in our lives to draw us to Himself. 

At the end of the day, all we can do is to will what God desires to do within us. This is the moment of conversion – this is the moment of learning to live our lives as we are meant.

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Today is the Super Bowl, that great American attraction that somehow diminishes the game of football, more often than not. It is the 60th playing of the game since the merger of the National and American Football Leagues.

Seattle and New England will play the game in Santa Clara, California, in the stadium that hosts the San Francisco 49ers. Personally, I am cheering for Seattle, largely because I dislike the Patriots.

I do not care for the highly touted commercials, which are usually insipid. And I will not be watching Bad Bunny and Green Day at the halftime show. I get enough politics during the week.

English is making game snacks. They are always delicious, even though they do not always settle well in my stomach. Tomorrow could be a long day.

Below is an article by Everett Piper, who columns I find thoughtful and thought provoking. I hope you have time to digest Mr. Piper’s work between the morning and the Super Bowl.

____________________________________________________________________

‘Progressive’ Christians, not evangelicals, are the moral sellouts

They’re blind to their own rampant compromised values

BY:          Everett Piper, The Washington Times (February 1, 2026).

Last week, a friend sent me an article and asked for my opinion. The author of the essay in question is a “progressive Christian” named Tripp Fuller. His long, verbose column is titled “Bonhoeffer’s Warning, Unheeded: The Moral Collapse of White Evangelicalism.”

Painful though it was, I read all 7,300 words of Mr. Fuller’s musings, and here is what he said in a nutshell: Today’s “White evangelicals” are like the German Christians of the 1930s, and, like them, we are “sequentially complicit” in the evils of a Nazi regime.

In other words, America’s White evangelicals are “frogs in the kettle” whose consciences have been slowly “boiled” by our moral compromise with the Republican Party.

That’s it. Mr. Fuller could have saved himself a lot of words and barrels of ink and just said, “If you want to know what’s wrong with America, look no further than ‘White evangelicals.’ Their sellout to the Republican Party is the cause of all that ails us.”

Am I the only one who gets weary of the hypocritical duplicity of oxymoronic “Christians” such as Mr. Fuller? I mean, seriously, how could such a self-declared “scholar” be so clueless?

Has it never crossed his mind that millions of “White evangelicals” vote for Republicans for a variety of reasons other than superficial political alignment? Never mind that the party Mr. Fuller and his liberal sycophants favor supports government collectivism over individual responsibility, drag queens over the dignity of women and the sexual indoctrination of children over the innocence of little boys and girls.

Never mind that they align with those who champion illegal immigrants over the blue-collar citizens in Springfield, Ohio, who are being overrun by the crime and vagrancy of these imported masses.

Never mind that Mr. Fuller’s politics favor illegal gangs over the working-class Hispanic Americans in Aurora, Colorado, who are afraid to leave their apartments because another country’s murderous thugs have taken over their neighborhoods and streets.

Never mind that Democrats seem to care more about the “rights” of those who have entered our country illegally than they do about young women who are afraid to go for a jog in the local park for fear of being raped and murdered.

Never mind that this is a party that seems to think running over a federal officer with your car in Minneapolis is justified, while singing hymns outside a Planned Parenthood clinic in Tennessee is not.

Never mind that Democrats at the highest level of government have specifically labeled anyone who champions traditional sexual morality, school choice, parental rights, secure borders and/or religious freedom a “national security threat” while they laud the “peaceful protests” of Black Lives Matter and antifa. Never mind all this.

How is it possible that the smart folks such as Mr. Fuller are so deluded? How can they be so blind?

How can they not see that “White evangelicals” (as well as those who are Black, Hispanic, Native and Asian) vote Republican because we believe women are biological facts, that antisemitism is wrong and that Marxism is evil? How can they not see that we vote Republican because we can read and have thereby concluded that the Green New Deal is not only anti-science but also anti-human, Orwellian and insane?

How can they not see that we vote Republican because we understand what a fascist is and what a Nazi isn’t and they apparently don’t?

How can they not see that we vote Republican because we are appalled by the racism of critical race theory and the divisive agenda of diversity, equity and inclusion?

I could go on and on, but the point is clear.

What Tripp Fuller’s long-winded, condescending essay tells us more than anything else is that he and his acolytes (i.e., his tribe of “progressive Christians”) are the ones being slowly cooked in the proverbial pot, much more so than the conservative “White evangelicals” they bemoan.

The fact that this guy can’t see that he is the poster child for the “sequential complicity” that he pedantically criticizes is nothing short of stunning. My land, he just spent 7,300 words blathering on about the moral compromise of “White evangelicals” while apparently blind to his own rampant moral compromise.

These liberals could save themselves a lot of words by simply quoting Pogo: “We have met the enemy, and it is us.”

A good dose of self-awareness never hurt anybody. These proudly deconstructed “Christians” (and I use that term loosely) would all do well to go back and reread Matthew 7:5. “You hypocrites, first take the log out of your own eye.”

Talk about a frog in a kettle.

GFK

GFK

Today I offer you Professor John Lott’s analysis of ICE actions under Presidents Trump and Obama. The media will tell you that under President Trump, ICE is terrorizing citizens, rounding up “brown” people, and generally acting as a “private militia”. The media will also tell you that under President Obama, ICE behaved responsibly, there were few, or no, errors, and that deportations were more orderly. That is not the truth.

How Trump’s ICE enforcement record blows Obama’s out of the water— by a lot

BY:          John R. Lott, Jr., The New York Post (January 22, 2026).

“Earlier you were just defending ICE agents … that they were doing everything correctly,” Niall Stanage of the Hill challenged press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

“Thirty-two people died in ICE custody last year; 170 US citizens were detained by ICE. And, uh, Renee Good was shot in the head and killed … How does that equate to them doing everything correctly?”

Countless news stories have amplified fears that under Trump, federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are wildly violating basic rights.

NPR, to cite just one example, recently claimed that “many” American citizens “have been mistaken” for illegal immigrants, and that there’s “a long history of immigration agencies not having a good track record.”

But the numbers tell a very different story about how ICE is doing under Trump.

Let’s set the baseline: Between the president’s Jan. 20, 2025, inauguration and the end of November, Trump’s administration arrested an extraordinary total of 595,000 illegal aliens and deported 605,000.

The 170 ICE-detained US citizens cited in Stanage’s diatribe included about 130 arrested for interfering with or assaulting officers, according to the left-leaning ProPublica — justifiable under any reading of the law.

Only about 40 or so of those who were detained claimed to be US citizens accidentally or erroneously arrested by ICE, and just half of those people were held for more than a day; most were released in a few hours.

Any error is serious, but 40 mistakes out of 595,000 arrests amounts to an error rate of just 0.0067% — roughly one wrongful detention for every 14,925 arrests.

Compare that with the final two years of President Barack Obama’s administration.

In fiscal years 2015 and 2016, ICE recorded 263 mistaken arrests, 54 mistaken detentions (book-ins), and four mistaken removals.

During those two years, ICE made a mere 239,645 arrests, meaning the 54 mistaken detentions alone produced an Obama error rate of 0.0225% — about one mistake for every 4,444 arrests.

Overall, the error rate under Obama was 3.36 times higher than under Trump.

Unfortunately, there’s no comparable public data for other past administrations, or the rest of the Obama years.

As further evidence of ICE’s irresponsibility, Stanage charged that “32 people died in ICE custody last year.”

That claim, however, misleads without context; the numbers only make sense when compared across administrations.

During the course of Obama’s two terms, from 2009 to 2017, 56 individuals died in ICE custody.

That administration didn’t publish clear detention totals, but the closest available figures show about 498,646 detentions and deportations over five fiscal years, an average of roughly 99,729 per year.

If that annual rate held throughout the entire administration, ICE processed about 797,834 individuals.

Under that estimate, 56 deaths translates into a rate of 0.007% — roughly one death for every 14,314 detainees.

By comparison, the rate last year under Trump was slightly lower: 0.0054%, or one death for every 18,594 detainees.

Both those figures are substantially below the average death rate for the detainee age group.

Stanage’s rant omitted one key data point: the number of Americans accidentally deported.

The reason for him not doing so is straightforward — none occurred.

That’s right, for all the tumult and fury, ICE under Trump made no erroneous deportations through November.

By contrast, ICE under Obama deported two US citizens in fiscal year 2015, and two more in fiscal year 2016.

All the media lies and distortions bring disturbing real-world impacts.

Amid the drumbeat of slanted coverage, 57% of Americans now disapprove of how ICE enforces immigration laws, a Quinnipiac University survey found this month, with only 40% saying they approve of ICE’s actions.

Another recent poll, conducted by CNN/SSRS, found that 51% of adults now say ICE enforcement is making cities less safe.

The critics’ demonization tactics are making federal agents’ jobs considerably more dangerous.

Assaults on federal immigration officers increased by 1,347% in 2025, as agents experienced a terrifying 8,000% surge in death threats.

Car attacks on ICE agents spiked by 3,200%, The Post reports.

And in just the last few days, hackers leaked the home addresses and personal identifying information of about 4,500 employees of ICE and the US Border Patrol — multiplying the risks to their safety.

No federal agency is perfect. In immigration enforcement, as in all law enforcement operations, mistakes will be made.

But the media’s lack of perspective on the data, and their refusal to put the numbers in context, is putting a match to an explosive public debate.

Responsible journalism should inform us, not distort reality — or fuel hostility toward those doing a difficult and dangerous job.

GFK

“Republicans believe every day is the Fourth of July, but the Democrats believe every day is April 15.”

“As government expands, liberty contracts.”

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”

“How do you tell a Communist? Well, it’s someone who reads Marx and Lenin. And how do you tell an anti-Communist? It’s someone who understands Marx and Lenin.”

“The most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”

“The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.”

–President Ronald Reagan

He was talented, but often overlooked and underestimated.  He was educated, well read and informed, but thought of as simple minded and ignorant.  He was gregarious, but very private and introverted.  He was born into humble circumstances, but rose to the highest office in the land, to the continued surprise of his many detractors.  Today, February 6, is the 115^th birthday of Ronald Wilson Reagan, the fortieth (40^th) President of the United States.  He was born in Tampico, Illinois, in 1911. 

It is fascinating when proponents of former Presidents Obama and China Joe claim that these men saved us from the worst recessions since the Great Depression.  In the case of President Obama, it was hyperbole.  In the case of China Joe, it was just a damn lie.

Clearly none of these advocates have any memory of 1979, with interest rates approaching 21%, inflation ravaging American incomes at 13.5%, high unemployment at 8%, and gas lines.  Moreover, across the globe, Soviet expansionism was on the march.  Then, as under former Presidents Obama and China Joe, many declared that the American people would have to adjust to this new “normal” and make do with less.  One such figure—then President Jimmy Carter—comes to mind.

Ronald Reagan rejected that view.  Ronald Reagan believed in the American people and their capacity to achieve, if only government would get out of the way.  He famously stated in his First Inaugural Address that “[i]n this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.”  President Reagan then spent the next eight (8) years implementing policies that unleashed the greatest expansion of the American economy ever. 

A man of peace, President Reagan also moved American foreign policy in a different direction.  Rejecting the defeatist policies of détente and containment, President Reagan sought to win the Cold War against the Soviet Union.  He succeeded beyond all expectations, freeing millions of people from Soviet bondage behind the Iron Curtain.  Because of President Reagan, the Berlin Wall was torn down, free democratic elections are now regularly held in Eastern European countries, the Soviet Union does not exist, and communism—the most evil ideology ever implemented—lies on the ash heap of history.  And it all occurred without a nuclear exchange or the firing of a single shot.  President Reagan achieved all this, not because he was a great man (though he was), but because he believed, truly believed, in the greatness of the American ideal and the American people.  Indeed, in his farewell address, he touted the successes of the American people and predicted that our best days lay ahead of us.  “After all, why shouldn’t we believe that? We are Americans.” 

Ronald Reagan died on June 5, 2004.  He left us all a legacy of prosperity and peace, as well as  a roadmap to freedom and prosperity; the very same roadmap that our Founding Fathers first established, and that so many have died to preserve.  We as a people only falter when we forget. 

God bless Ronald Wilson Reagan. 

GFK

“The happiest people don’t have the best of everything.  They just make the best of everything.”

–The Tao Of Frank.

The federal government is open. At least for another 10 days or so. Or until Democrats throw another hissy fit.

Facing a vote to hold them in criminal contempt of Congress, former President Bill Clinton, and 3 time failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, have agreed to testify before an investigative committee dealing with the Jeffrey Epstein files. Let the lying begin!

A review of campaign finance forms reveals that Representative Eric Swalwell (D. Ca.) spent $200,000.00 of campaign cash on . . . childcare for his children. Why should he spend his own money? He is used to spending other people’s money.

“If you were attacked by a masked person, you might think you were being kidnapped. You’d be justified in shooting the person.”

–Representative Jerrold Nadler (D. N.Y.), urging illegal aliens to shoot ICE agents apprehending them, at a House of Representatives committee meeting.

Despicable. A new low, even for a Democrat.

Would be Trump assassin Ryan Routh was sentenced to life in prison, plus 7 years. Good-bye.

Baltimore, Maryland’s Mayor Brandon Scott (D.) launched into a tirade against a reporter for daring to ask why he needed to waste $163,000 of taxpayer funds to purchase an armor plated Jeep Grand Wagoneer, more expensive than even the SUV of the Maryland governor. According to Mayor Scott, it is “racist” to even ask the question. Uh, huh.

In Mayor Scott’s defense, I would not ride around the streets of Baltimore unless I was in an armor plated vehicle. Too dangerous.

Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal (D.) is outraged that New York City taxis play Newsmax on their backseat television screens. He is demanding that the Newsmax broadcasts be removed. Because Leftists are intolerant, and want to control everything.

In Hays County, Texas, high school students walked out of class in order to protest ICE “brutality” in Minnesota. The protest quickly devolved into a riot, as a group of the students physically attacked, and violently beat, a teacher standing on the sidewalk outside the school. Other than that incident, the protest was “mostly peaceful”.

Texas State Representative and U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico (D.) has managed to make yet another outrageous statement. Mr. Talarico is facing off against U.S. Representative Jasmine Crockett (D. Tx.) for the Democrat nomination, after former U.S. Representative Colin Allred dropped out of the race. Mr. Talarico told supporters that he signed on to run against “a mediocre black man”, not against a “formidable and intelligent black woman”. Hmmm. The Observations’ problem with his statement is not that he called Colin Allred a “mediocre black man”. Because that is true. But to call Jasmine Crocket “formidable and intelligent”? That is an absolute lie.

Larry Temah is an illegal alien subject to a deportation order. He is also a cadet at the New Orleans Police Academy, and was only a week away from graduation when ICE arrested him. HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN?!?

In Portland, Oregon, anti-ICE agitators continue to besiege and assault the ICE detention center. But federal Judge Michael Simon–an Obama appointee–is doing something about it. He has issued a court order preventing ICE from using standard crowd control techniques such as the use of tear gas. Because Judge Simon 1) thinks that a judge should be able to second guess executive decisions; and, 2) is on the side of the agitators.

Judge Simon issued a similar order in 2020 during the George Floyd riots. That order was struck down on appeal. This order will be too.

Anti-ICE agitators took over parts of Minneapolis, Minnesota, blocking streets, and maintaining checkpoints, where motorists were stopped while agitators checked the plates and automobiles for ICE officers or sympathizers. This was done with the blessing of the Minneapolis police department.

But now the Minneapolis police department has reversed its “blessing”, and now has cleared out the roadblocks, and stopped the checkpoints. Why? Because people found out what was going on, and were outraged. The anti-ICE agitators are now fuming, accusing the police of colluding with ICE.

It’s official! The Commonwealth of Virginia is now a “sanctuary State”. Woo hoo! Thank you Governor Spanberger (D.)! Don’t you dear readers feel so much safer now?

The Loudoun County, Virginia School Board hired 30 actors to enact a training session on how for Board members to react if a parent showed up at a meeting with a gun. My goodness. This is how these wackos see concerned and involved parents; as terrorists. This School Board has done some despicable things in the past, but this is a new low. All School Board members have demonstrated themselves as unfit to have any role in public education in the Commonwealth.

At The National Zoo in Washington, D.C., a female Asian baby elephant was born. The calf weighs 308 pounds, and stands 3 feet tall. Mother and baby are fine. Father is passing out cigars to interested visitors.

“No one is illegal on stolen land.”

–Pop tart Billie Eilish, at the 2026 Grammy Awards ceremony.

Oh, my, where to start? First, the United States is not “stolen land”. No matter how many times Leftist bozos say it, it is just not true. Second, Billie Eilish lives in a $14.5 million estate. When is she vacating the premises, and returning the property to whatever savage Indian tribe lived there eons ago? Because if she is not, she is merely engaged in performative virtue signaling, hating on her country. The country where she has prospered, and which provides her the freedom and forum to utter such rot.

The Tongva tribe in Southern California reacted to Billie Eilish’s comments, welcoming her acknowledgement that Los Angeles was on their tribal lands, and asking for a dialogue to return her property to them. Let’s see if Billie Eilish is willing to put her money where her mouth is. We’re betting, not.

“Introducing a detention facility into our community shifts our focus away from love, care and welcome and to surveillance, hostility and fear.”

–Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia E. Mark Stevenson, speaking in opposition to the building of an ICE Detention Center in Hanover County, Virginia.

Dolt.

The Cape Cod potato chip company is leaving Hyannis, Massachusetts, where it was founded. The company will concentrate its manufacturing in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina.

Mattel, Inc. released an “autistic Barbie”. Sigh.

Starbucks is exploring installing robots in its stores to perform some of the normal barista tasks. That will cost jobs. Maybe the rush to unionize the workforce was a bad idea.

Minute Maid is ending production of its frozen canned concentrated juices after 80 years. THIS IS TERRIBLE! How in the world will partying fraternity boys make a decent grain alcohol punch?

Iran launched a drone against the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln. A fighter jet shot it down.

Iranian gun boats attempted to seize and board a U.S. flagged oil tanker. A U.S. naval vessel chased the gunboats away, and escorted the tanker through the Straits of Hormuz.

A Doberman pinscher named Penny won best in show at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Congratulations! But what about the Basset Hound?!?

National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell assured the media that Bad Bunny and Green Day, who are performing at the Super Bowl halftime show, will not “get political”. HA, HA, HA, HA, HA!

Three Dog Night co-founder Chuck Negron has died at age 83. R. I. P.

GFK

“Real friends do not get offended when you insult them.  They smile and call you something even more offensive.”

–The Tao Of Frank.

We who live in the Commonwealth are facing a bleak future. The Democrats in Northern Virginia and Richmond are imposing a radical Left-wing agenda on our population, relying on Democrat lies and mainstream media complicity to impose Abigail Spanberger on us. The Observations’ use of the phrase “California East” is not hyperbole. It is a frightening reality. Below is a column by David Catron which summarizes what Virginia faces in the next 4 years.

Below Mr. Catron’s column is an analysis of the situation in Canada, and how it compares to that in Venezuela. Will Barclay suggests that Canada under its recent leadership is a threat to the national security interests of the United States. Enjoy.

The Abigail Spanberger Bait-and-Switch

Virginia voted for a ‘moderate’ — and got a sanctuary state, tax-and-spend ideologue.

BY:          David Catron, The American Spectator (February 1, 2026).

During the 2025 gubernatorial election the voters of Virginia believed they were choosing between pragmatic Democrat Rep. Abigail Spanberger and lackluster Republican Lieutenant Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears. The former was well funded and portrayed favorably by the corporate “news” media as a centrist, while the latter struggled to raise money and was labeled an extremist because of her strong support of gun rights. In the end, Spanberger won by double digits, and most Virginians thought they were getting a slightly more liberal governor than her predecessor, Glenn Youngkin. Yet the moment she took office, it became obvious that Gov. Spanberger was no moderate.

This is something to remember as the 2026 midterms approach. Every Democrat who utters the word “affordability” must be regarded as a con artist.

Immediately upon assuming office, she signed an executive order that reversed her predecessor’s policy whereby state and local law enforcement were required to cooperate with federal immigration authorities to detain illegal aliens convicted of criminal offences. This order sent a clear message that Spanberger viewed immigration through the ideological lens of far-left Democrats like Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz rather than the moderate perspective she espoused during the election. She didn’t deign to tell Virginia’s voters how limiting cooperation with DHS would protect them and their families from criminals who are in the country illegally. Instead, she recited the tired shibboleths echoed in every sanctuary state:

Ultimately, I am looking to every step forward that we can take as a commonwealth to ensure that our communities are safe and protected … Frankly, the fear and concern that we’ve seen in other places where people without any sort of designation — unannounced, wearing masks — are taking people off the streets, the level of fear that that’s created and the level of distrust and confusion is certainly not contributing to any strengthening of our communities, let alone keeping our communities safer.

Spanberger further revealed her far-left ideological governing philosophy when she moved to bring Virginia back into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). As the American Energy Alliance explains, “RGGI is a regional cap-and-trade program in the Northeast that requires power plants to buy “allowances” to emit carbon dioxide. These allowance costs are naturally passed on to the consumer, inevitably raising electricity prices.” Former Gov. Glenn Youngkin had pulled the Old Dominion out of RGGI. According to Youngkin, from the time the state originally joined RGGI until the time it finally pulled out in 2024, the Commonwealth’s residents paid $828 million in a regressive interstate tax imposed via their electricity bills.

Why would Spanberger, who yammered endlessly about “affordability,” rejoin RGGI knowing full well that it will increase the cost of living for everyone in Virginia? The obvious answer is that her desire to bring down the cost of living is far outweighed by her allegiance to the leftist ideology that is rapidly infiltrating the Democratic Party. Nowhere is this more obvious than the avalanche of new taxes under which the Old Dominion’s hapless residents will soon be smothered. As abc7 reports, “Virginia

Democrats have introduced more than fifty new tax proposals this legislative session.” Surely this is an exaggeration? Nope. The following is a partial list of new taxes Gov. Spanberger and her legislative accomplices are seriously considering:

• Additional local sales tax in all Virginia counties and cities
• New personal property tax on electric leaf blowers and electric landscaping equipment
• Large employer tax
• Gun and ammunition tax
• Delivery tax on Amazon, Uber Eats, FedEx, and UPS orders in Northern Virginia
• Investment income tax
• Event tax
• Storage facility tax
• Gym membership tax
• Dog walking tax
• Dog grooming tax
• Counseling tax
• Digital personal property tax
• New car taxes and highway use fees
• Increase in the hotel tax in Arlington
• Vehicle repair tax
• Home repair tax
• Dry cleaning tax

But wait, there’s more: “Virginia Democrats are also looking at proposing a 4.3% tax on rideshare trips and an additional 1.9% tax on top of that for trips in Northern Virginia.” One would expect that a governor who ran on “affordability” would veto almost all of this proposed theft — and that’s what it is — but Spanberger will sign any tax bill that her Democrat-dominated legislature slaps on her desk.

Why? She believes this money can be more efficiently spent by the state than by the people who earned it. Yet there is no small amount of poetic justice in all of this nonsense. Spanberger and her co-conspirators in the General Assembly were elected by the bureaucrats who colonized Northern Virginia. Now they pay — albeit with your tax money.

This is something to remember as the 2026 midterms approach. Every Democrat who utters the word “affordability” must be regarded as a con artist. Any Democrat described by the corporate media as a moderate will pick your pocket without hesitation. There is no such thing as a moderate Democrat.

Abigail Spanberger is not an outlier. She is all too typical of the party to which she belongs. They are all left-wing extremists and determined to “fundamentally transform” the U.S. into a dystopian hellhole if they are returned to power.

___________________________________________________________________

Canada Looks an Awful Lot Like Venezuela. And Trump Has Noticed.

Canada’s liberal experiment has put it on the wrong side of Trump’s democratic revival.

BY:          Will Barclay, The American Spectator (February 1, 2026).

Recently, the United States of America (USA) successfully completed Operation: Absolute Resolve and, thereby, liberated the Venezuelan people from Nicolás Maduro’s brutal socialist regime.

More importantly, it is readily apparent that Carney and other corrupt politicians do not have the luxury of delay, nor the time to bluff and posture.

More importantly, Maduro’s rapid dispatch and America’s open pursuit of democracy’s resurgence have now forced a bevy of corrupt leaders and nations to scurry out and confront their sins in the light of the new American epoch.

Unfortunately, it is clear that even the U.S’s historic ally, Canada, has been badly disfigured by its past decade of Liberal government and transformed into a fortress of hyper left-wing politics that now echoes many aspects of Maduro’s Venezuela.

And therefore, Canada’s Prime Minister, Mark Carney, must now begin to abandon the Liberal government’s own corrupt, neo-socialist, politics, if Canada is to escape the ire of Trump’s America and survive the U.S.’s modern renaissance as democracy’s champion.

Firstly, throughout the modern era, Canada’s Liberal government has lapsed into fascism and forcibly imposed its own hyper left-wing ideology upon all of Canadian society.

For example, for over a decade, the Liberal government has consistently oppressed fundamental human rights, such as free speech and religious freedom. In fact, the Liberal government has transformed the CBC, as well as the RCMP, into enthusiastic orifices of left-wing propaganda. In 2022, the Liberal government openly violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms itself, in a vulgar effort to oppress every ideology outside its own left-wing dogma during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition, Canadian citizens have routinely been prevented from espousing right-wing political values at public forums,: “Nearly half of all Canadian university students are actively concealing their real opinions for fear of sanction or mistreatment,” due to the open climate of ideological oppression that his been cultivated within Canadian academia. Worse still, the Liberal government now seeks the power to punish any Canadian with a lifetime of imprisonment for a slew of vaguely defined hate-crimes that amount almost entirely to right-wing “wrongthink” and any values or ideology that are not utterly left-wing.

Moreover, the Liberal government’s neo-socialist politics and hyper left-wing ideology have collapsed the Canadian economy and severely eroded quality of life.

For instance, due to the fact that Canada has vainly sought to “[rely] on immigration to drive economic growth and plug labor gaps,” Canada’s GDP per capita has crumbled, and a slew of respected economic indicators have all concluded that the Canadian state is currently mired in “the longest decline in individual living standards of the last 40 years.” Even the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) itself has confirmed that Canada will actually boast “the single worst performing economy of all 38 OECD members” until 2060.

Sadly, Canada’s unemployment rate has now also “jump[ed] to  a nine-year high, outside the pandemic” and youth unemployment has hit levels typically “seen during a recession,” as a result of Liberal initiatives such as the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFW). In fact, since 2019, food bank usage in Canada has increased by nearly 100 percent and over 25 percent of all Canadians currently suffer from food insecurity with “one third of food bank clients [now being] children.”

Furthermore, the past decade of Liberal government has transformed Canada into an urgent national security threat to the United States of America.

For example, the Rule of Law is collapsing in countless major cities across Canada and the Canadian state has started to become openly unsecure and unsafe. Astonishingly, Canada now displays the quintessential hallmarks of any failing or failed state, and the Liberal government’s shameful inability to secure Canada’s borders has permitted the violent insecurity that now menaces the Canadian people to bleed over into America and openly threaten the security of the America.

In addition, the Canadian state has become an outpost of Chinese influence in North America and utterly beholden to the national interests of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). In fact, the Liberal Party itself has long been corrupted by the PRC’s influence and rendered unto the Chinese state. Even Prime Minister Carney himself recently lauded the “new strategic partnership” between the PRC and Canada, and openly declared that “the progress [Canada and the PRC] have made in the partnership sets us up well for the New World Order.”

Finally, Canada is itself a vital geo-strategic asset and home to vast reserves of oil, as well as countless other valuable resources.

For instance, the Canadian nation is a major global energy supplier, and Canada actually possesses “the world’s fourth-largest proven oil reserves,” ranking only behind Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Venezuela, whose oil is already, effectively, America’s property. In fact, oil, natural gas, and other refined products “are a critical component of Canada’s exports, making up about 20 percent of Canada’s balance of trade,” and Canada is currently one of the largest producers of crude oil on the world stage.

Canada is also an immense source of fresh water, as well as various Rare-Earth Elements (REE) and Critical Minerals, such as aluminum, that are all absolutely crucial to the American economy and industrial complex. In addition, any annexation of Canada and its northern territories will inevitably afford America with an immediate, invaluable, foothold in its current crusade to defend the international progress of Democracy and The West against the constant onslaught of communism and dictators, such as Putin and Xi.

In fact, President Trump himself has already articulated his own intent to annex Canada and transform the nation into America’s 51st state. The Liberal government in Canada has now openly antagonized President Trump for over a decade. Even Prime Minister Carney has glibly pilfered and mis-purposed the phrase “elbows up” in a bizarre effort to highlight his own attempts to undermine Canada’s historic relationship with the U.S. and leverage its collapse towards his own personal gain and profit.

In fact, Canada has been badly disfigured by its past decade of Liberal government and transformed into a grotesque fortress of hyper left-wing politics that now echoes many aspects of Maduro’s Venezuela.

And therefore, Canada’s Prime Minister, Mark Carney, must now begin to abandon the Liberal government’s own corrupt, neo-socialist politics if Canada is to escape the ire of Trump’s America and survive the U.S.’s modern renaissance as democracy’s champion.

More importantly, it is readily apparent that Carney and other corrupt politicians do not have the luxury of delay, nor the time to bluff and posture.

Maduro’s rapid dispatch has confirmed that President Trump is utterly committed to re-establishing democracy worldwide and that the Trump Administration will immediately endeavor to eliminate any threat to America’s own national interests.

Even Canada.

GFK

“The hardness of the butter is directly proportional to the softness of the bread.”

–The Tao Of Frank.

The Trump/Kennedy Center has no “Black History Month” events scheduled. And?

After July 4, the Trump/Kennedy Center will close for 2 years. The Center will undergo extensive capital renovations. Democrats are unhappy. They prefer the Center remain a dilapidated dump, than let President Trump renovate it.

Representative Pramila Jayapal (D. Wa.) suggested that Democrats would abolish ICE as soon as they reclaim Congressional majorities. Vote accordingly.

Congressional Republicans want to attach legislation to the proposed short term funding for the federal government that would mandate citizenship verification for, and voter ID by, voters. Senator Charles Schumer (D. N.Y.) is apoplectic, insisting that such legislation is dead on arrival in the Senate. Now why would that be? Why don’t Democrats want to ensure voters are U.S. citizens? Why don’t Democrats want voters to prove their identities with a photo ID? Hmmmm.

New York City Comrade Mayor Mamdani named Stanley Richards Commissioner of the city’s Department of Corrections. Mr. Richards is a felon who served prison time for violent robberies.

New York State Court Judge Sheridan Jack-Browne (D.) allowed a wanted illegal alien with a history of violent sexual crimes to escape ICE agents.  The judge possessed a valid federal arrest warrant for the illegal alien, but allowed him to exit the courtroom via a back door.  Sigh.

Wasn’t a Wisconsin State Court judge recently convicted of a felony for similar behavior?  Why yes, yes she was!

“Toothless virtue signaling rhetoric like this has already cost two people their lives.  The concept of pitting two armed law enforcement agencies against each other is ludicrous, and will not happen.  I will not allow SPOG members to be used as political pawns.”

–Seattle Police Officers Guild President Mike Solan, reacting to Seattle’s Socialist Mayor Katie Wilson’s (D.) directive that the police department track ICE agents operating in Seattle.

Mayor Wilson wants Seattle’s policemen to not only track ICE agents’ daily moves, but prepare detailed reports, and share those reports with anti-ICE organizations, in order to allow those organizations’ members to follow ICE agents, and disrupt their operations. This is pure insanity.

Chicago, Illinois Mayor Brandon Johnson (D.) signed an executive order, directing the Chicago police to investigate and document every ICE agent interaction with illegal aliens. He urged police to refer ICE agents to the State’s Attorney for prosecution of State crimes.

Mr. Liam Conejo Ramos is the illegal alien who abandoned his 5 year old son in Minneapolis, Minnesota, while attempting to evade arrest by ICE. Readers will recall that the child’s mother refused to assume custody of her son, so ICE reunited the boy with his father in detention. Mr. Ramos is subject to a final deportation order. But federal district judge Fred Biery ordered the release of Mr. Ramos and his son, back into the United States. Judge Biery–a Bill Clinton appointee–chastised ICE agents, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Homeland Security, everyone but the illegal alien who abandoned his son. Judge Biery cited the Declaration of Independence, news reports, The Bible, everything but U.S. federal law. Indeed, Judge Biery had to ignore U.S. law to reach his decision.

Judge Biery is a disgrace to the judiciary. The Department of Justice is appealing his order.

“I have met so many Hindus, Buddhists, Sikh Jews, Muslims, atheists, agnostics who are more Christ-like than some of the Christians I serve with in the Texas legislature.  It is about how you treat other people.”

–Texas State Representative James Talarico (D.).

Mr. Talarico is a pastor who wants to be a United States Senator.  He has a habit of making outrageously stupid comments, such as his claim that God is “non-binary”.  And now he wants Texans to believe that atheists, among others, are more Christian than Christians.   

“. . . it took Abigail Spanberger, the new Governor, about 15 minutes to return Virginia to la-la land. She had campaigned on “affordability” but rejoined the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a climate-change scam that will raise everyone’s utility bills.  She introduced a 3.8 percent “net investment tax” on individuals, trusts and estates.  She stopped cooperating with ICE in deporting illegal aliens.  She said abortion was A-OK, right up to the moment of birth (why stop there?).  She reinstituted DEI programs throughout the government and the state’s educational system.  She undid reforms to the state’s voting system, making it easier for Democrats to “massage” the vote tally.  And that’s just the tip of the proverbial deep-state iceberg.”

–Roger Kimball, “The Deep State Vampire”, published in The American Spectator (February 2, 2026).

The American Taliban is back again.  Virginia State Senator Adam Ebbin (D. Alexandria) is sponsoring a bill to remove 3 statues — one of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson, one of Gov. William “Extra Billy” Smith, a former Confederate general, and another of Confederate Dr. Hunter Holmes McGuire — from Capitol Square.  He said it was embarrassing to have his constituents walk by these statues when they visited Richmond.

Virginia’s history, including its forebears, is not embarrassing.  What’s embarrassing is this carpetbagger poofter from New York is trashing our history.  Today’s Democrats will leave behind only destruction.  There will be no statues erected to commemorate Mr. Ebbin, Coonman, Jay Jones, Abigail Spanberger, et al.

More than 154 Episcopal bishops signed a letter calling on the Trump Administration to retreat from enforcing U.S. immigration law. Uh, no. Indeed, HELL NO!

It would be nice if these 154 Episcopal bishops spent more effort preparing for The Lenten Season, than practicing Democrat Pary politics. Really nice.

Ireland is a historically Catholic country, where infant baptism is the normal practice. So why would former Irish President Mary McAleese come out and condemn infant baptism, a tenet of the Catholic faith? Mrs. McAleese was baptized as an infant, and she claims that the practice of infant baptism imposes heavy burdens upon children, restricts their choices, and is done without consent. Mrs. McAleese wants baptism to occur only with the consent of the child. Which, obviously, would eliminate the Catholic Church’s direction on infant baptism.

The United Nations is facing imminent financial collapse and will run out of money by July if countries did not pay their annual dues that amount to billions of dollars.  Senior U.N. officials say that if the cash runs out, the agency would be forced to shut down its landmark headquarters in New York by August. The U.N. Security Council, a 15-member body responsible for maintaining international peace and stability, convenes its meetings at U.N. headquarters.  It would also have to cancel the annual General Assembly gathering of world leaders held in September and shut the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which responds to global emergencies like conflicts and natural disasters.

We can only hope. Please, please let the United Nations go broke.

Great Britain’s Labour Party is exploring imposing “15 minute city limits”. What that means is that the government determines that you can access whatever you need within a 15 minute walking perimeter (need, not want) of your home, and therefore would restrict you from driving within that perimeter. And of course, if you violate that restriction, fines, imprisonment, and automobile confiscations will follow.

WARNING TO AMERICANS! Do not think that government planners in this country do not, or would not, implement a similar scheme. I have sat in on meetings where our “betters” in Washington, D.C. have discussed such plans. Tyranny.

The United States and India reached an agreement where both countries would lower tariffs and trade barriers. WOO HOO! WINNING!

Former Dallas Cowboys running back Scott Laidlaw has died at age 72. R. I. P.

GFK

“This is one time where television really fails to capture the true excitement of a large squirrel predicting the weather.”

–Television weatherman Phil Connors (played by actor Bill Murray) in the movie Groundhog Day.

Today is Groundhog Day.  Notwithstanding PETA’s objections, Punxsutawney Phil made an appearance.  The obnoxious little rat DID see his shadow, so we get 6 more weeks of Winter!  Spring is delayed.  Thanks a lot Phil!  I hate that rotund rodent!

My good friend Mary Hazen always promises me that Spring is coming.  OF COURSE, she never promises WHEN Spring will come.

President Trump announced he would nominate former Federal Reserve Bank Governor, and Wall Street investor Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve Bank Chairman. If confirmed by the Senate, Mr. Warsh would succeed Jerome Powell.

Senator Thom Tillis (R. N.C.) immediately rushed to the microphones to announce he was unmovably opposed to Mr. Warsh’s nomination. Not due to any lack of qualifications or disqualifying behavior on Mr. Warsh’s part. No. Senator Tillis is upset that the Department of Justice is investigating current Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Senator Tillis is an a$$. His retirement cannot come too soon.

The United States Department of Justice released 3 million pages of Epstein documents. Yawn!

The main takeaway from the latest release is that Microsoft founder Bill Gates contracted a sexually transmitted disease from one of Jeffrey Epstein’s girls. Now why in the world does anyone need to know that? Why?

House Democrats remain unsatisfied. Now they want to view the unredacted versions of the files, so that they may double check to see if the Department of Justice is doing its job correctly. Sigh. Have at it.

“The United States and China have a lot in common and the two economies are highly complementary.  There are great potential for the two countries to cooperate.  I will work actively to promote bilateral economic and trade cooperation, and I’m looking forward to visiting China in the near future.”

–Representative Eric Swalwell (D. Ca.).  The Tao according to Fang Fang’s boyfriend.

Senator Dianne Feinstein (D. Ca.), Representative Eric Swalwell (D. Ca.), Representative Nancy Pelosi (D. Ca.), Governor Tampon Tim (D. Mn.), and China Joe (D. De.). And do not forget the former First Son of Cocaine, Hunter Biden (D.). Wow. There sure are a lot of Democrats who love the Red Chinese commies.

“It actually goes back 250 years in Boston when the Minutemen and the Minutewomen rose up in order to stand against King George and his arbitrary imposition of laws illegally upon American citizens. And this latter-day generation of patriots, they’re rising up in Minneapolis, they’re rising up across the country, and the Department of Homeland Security bill is the vehicle we need to use to have that debate.”

–Senator Ed Markey (D. Ma.) comparing the far-Left mob attacking law enforcement officers in Minneapolis to the Minutemen of the Revolutionary War.

Senator Markey is just plain stupid.  The Leftist agitators are not remotely comparable to the colonists who revolted against Parliament.  Moreover, the laws imposed in 1776 by the Crown, and the immigration laws passed by the U.S. Congress were not “illegally imposed”.  Finally, Senator Markey, you woke bozo, there were no “Minutewomen”.  Not one. 

Disgraced former CNN host Don Lemon was arrested and criminally charged over his role in the desecration and disruption of church services in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Mr. Lemon claims that his activities are protected under the Constitution’s First Amendment. Mr. Lemon will be disappointed to learn that “journalists” are not shielded from the consequences of criminal activities.

“Gavin Newsom had to go to Davos to see all the CEOs he chased out of California.”

–U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

California Assembly Democrats passed a mileage tax, that will require California drivers to put devices on their automobiles in order to track their mileage. This is on top of the nation’s highest gasoline tax. Democrats insist that once the mileage tax provides a proven source of revenue, they will abolish the gasoline tax. Do you believe them?

On last Friday, in Los Angeles, California, a mob of radical Leftists rioted outside the Federal Building, angry at ICE enforcement in the State. Hmmm. How strange. Here in Virginia, people tend to go out for drinks and dinner with their friends on Fridays. Maybe that will change after Governor Spanberger (D. Va.) completes the Californication of the Commonwealth.

Last year, Governor Gavin Newsom (D. Ca.) signed into law a prohibition on federal ICE agents wearing face masks, hiding their identities. This year, Governor Newsom directed all California local law enforcement agencies to strictly enforce this law. Los Angeles Police Chief James McDonnell declined, informing the Governor that his officers would not obey the directive and enforce the law. Good call.

“I think we need a strong border.   But the other thing that really bothers me is that some of the people that are here that have been great citizens—family, history, businesses—we can’t just throw those people over.  The people that are doing well, we need to make sure that we have a pathway for them.  I’m not saying a freebie, put some fines on there, but have something in place for them.”

–Texas State Representative John Lujan (R.), expressing his support for amnesty for illegal aliens.

Uh, no. Deport them. Deport them all.

Federal judge Katherine Mendez–a China Joe appointee–rejected Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s (D.) request to shut down ICE’s operations, and order them to leave Minnesota. The judge lectured the federal government attorneys, criticized ICE, accusing the federal actors of being racists, bigots, civil rights violators, pretty much everything short of being a Nazi. BUT, she declined to grant Minnesota any relief.

When a Democrat appointed federal judge declines a Democrat request for relief, you know that your case is ridiculous. The Observations predicted this result, but still is pleasantly surprised.

Nevada federal judge Richard F. Boulware II—an Obama appointee—ordered the release of El Salvador national Harvey Laureano-Rosales, a 54-year-old who illegally entered the U.S. in 1987.  Mr. Laureano-Rosales is a convicted murderer and MS-13 gang member.  He is also subject to a final order for deportation.  But Judge Boulware thinks he poses no danger to the community while he challenges his deportation.  Uh, huh.  Now that ruling is more like a Democrat appointed judge.

Last week, the FBI raided the Fulton County, Georgia elections bureau, and seized all the records relating to the 2020 presidential election. Democrats immediately panicked. Why? Because the records reveal that many voters are registered to vote with addresses at UPS stores, post offices, abandoned buildings, and highway overpasses, all contrary to Georgia law. Additionally, thousands of voters were born either in 1800 or 1900. The 2020 presidential elections were stolen.

Unhinged Philadelphia, Pennsylvania District Attorney Larry Krasner (D.) is coordinating with Democrat prosecutors in other States to file State criminal charges against ICE agents, “so that President Trump cannot pardon them”. Sigh. Who thinks like this? This is a terrible plan, that is destined to fail. But it will cause disruptions. And that is the whole point of this phase of the Democrats’ “insurrection”.

Democrats are wringing their hands and wailing over the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, whose violent actions led to their demise. Government cruelty and overreach! Tyranny! Hmmm. Well, in New York City, 34 people have died in the last couple of weeks, because Comrade Mayor Mamdani (D.) directed the police to not clean up homeless camps, and to not force the homeless into shelters during oppressively cold weather. According to Comrade Mayor, these people–most of all of whom are mentally ill or drug addled, or both–have a “right” to be on the street. So the police did as they were instructed, and 34 people are now dead, because of government inaction. And not 1 Democrat has uttered a word of protest or complaint, in the face of government cruelty.

Virginia Delegate Dan Helmer (D.) introduced a bill (HB 359) that is a direct assault on private education in Virginia.  This bill would effectively eliminate meaningful private schooling by forcing any private school that enrolls even one student receiving tuition assistance, whether through a federal scholarship tax credit program, a state tuition assistance program, or any other public subsidy, to comply with the same mandates imposed on public schools.  This bill strikes at the very heart of what makes private schools private.  It would erode curriculum freedom, faculty standards, admissions policies, religious and classical identity, and covenantal educational models.  In other words, it forces these private and religious schools to indoctrinate students with the same DEI, transgenderism, drag, and other LGBTQ initiatives that will be mandated for Virginia’s public school system. And parents will have no say.

Good-bye to any school choice in the Commonwealth. And who will this hurt? The very students who would most benefit from school choice. It will punish the poor and working-class parents who want better for their children. But if this bill becomes law, what private school will accept them? None. And the Democrats do not care. They care only about power, and preventing more folks from escaping the Leftist plantation. Sigh. Elections have consequences.

“Virginia honors our highly skilled law enforcement agencies that protect our communities and uphold the Constitution.  We are deeply concerned about the tactics and strategies employed by the federal government in other states that have cost lives and put others at risk in the name of immigration enforcement.”

–Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones (D.), commenting on the federal government’s efforts to reach an agreement with Minnesota on immigration enforcement.

Of course Jay Jones is taking the side of the criminal illegal aliens. Birds of a feather . . . .

Mexican President Claudia Scheinbaum recently met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubion. Shortly thereafter, Mexico ceased all oil shipments to Cuba. Hmmm. Interesting.

In Melbourne, Australia, the police are conducting a manhunt for a 50+ year old jogger, who called a duo of homosexual men he passed, “poofters”. Oh, dear! A 3rd man, allegedly heterosexual, reported the jogger to the police, and filed a criminal complaint.

The Observations does not condone gratuitously insulting others. But seriously; it is a criminal offense to call someone a “poofter”? And to conduct a “manhunt”? That is just insane.

Congratulations to Justin Rose on winning the Andy Williams San Diego Open. Justin Rose ran away from the field, leading wire to wire, winning handily.

Actor Grady Demond Wilson, who played the character Lamont Sanford in the television series, Sanford and Son, has died at age 79. R. I. P.

Actress Catherine O’Hara has died age 71. R. I. P.

GFK

“I stand for straight Americanism unconditioned and unqualified, and I stand against every form of hyphenated Americanism. I do not speak of the hyphen when it is employed as a mere convenience, although personally, I like to avoid its use even in such manner. I speak and condemn its use whenever it represents an effort to form political parties along racial lines or to bring pressure to bear on parties and politicians, not for American purposes, but in the interest of some group of voters of a certain national origin, or of the country from which they or their fathers came.

Americanism is not a matter of creed, birthplace or national descent, but of the soul and of the spirit. If the American has the right stuff in him, I care not a snap of my fingers whether he is Jew or Gentile, Catholic or Protestant. I care not a snap of my fingers whether his ancestors came over in the Mayflower, or whether he was born, or his parents were born, in Germany, Ireland, France, England, Scandinavia, Russia or Italy or any other country. All I ask of the immigrant is that he shall be physically and intellectually fit, of sound character, and eager in good faith to become an American citizen. If the immigrant is of the right kind I am for him, and if the native American* is of the wrong kind I am against him . . .

Now for our own citizens. We represent many different race strains. Our ancestors came from many different Old World nationalities. It will spell ruin to this nation if these nationalities remain separated from one another instead of being assimilated to the new and larger American life.

The children and our children’s children of all of us have to live here in this land together. Our children’s children will intermarry, one another, your children’s children, friends, and mine. Even if they wished, they could not remain citizens of foreign countries . . . The effort to keep our citizenship divided against itself by the use of the hyphen and along the lines of national origin is certain to breed a spirit of bitterness and prejudice and dislike between great bodies of our citizens.”

–Former President Theodore Roosevelt, speaking to a gathering of The Knights of Columbus (May 31, 1916)

The Observations does not believe that the United States is a “systemically racist” society.  The Observations opposes hyphenated Americanism.  The Observations opposes the very concept of dual citizenship.  We believe in a single loyalty, to the nation in which one resides, and is a citizen.  The Observations opposes identity politics.  The Observations opposes Critical Race Theory, as it is a Marxist tool that substitutes race for class.  The Observations opposes anti-racism because it is, by definition, racist.  The Observations opposes The 1619 Project because it is a pack of lies, that distorts history in order to characterize America as a nation founded on race.  The Observations opposes legislative caucuses based upon race, sex, or nationality.  The Observations opposes any concept of “reparations.  The Observations opposes the politics of perpetual grievances. 

The Observations believes in America, and Americans.  Americans are not defined by nationality or race, as observed by former President Theodore Roosevelt.  But in recent times, most particularly in the last 14 years (though it began before), our country has become more divided along racial, sexual, and national identities.  These divisions threaten our very existence.  These divisions are anti-American, anti-freedom, and anti-liberty.  These divisions are anti-Christian.

THEREFORE, no matter what the calendar reads, or the media tells you, this is NOT “Black History Month”.  It is February.  And in 4 months it will NOT be “Pride Month”.  It will be June.  There is NO “National Hispanic Heritage Month”.  There is September and October.  Next month will NOT be “Women’s History Month”.  It will be March.  And undoubtedly, colder than I prefer.

We need to move beyond the culture of grievance.  We need to celebrate what makes this country great, and it is not the false “diversity” of immutable characteristics.  America is great because America is good.  But when America ceases to be good, it will also cease to be great.  Sadly, it is hard to argue with a straight face that today, America is good.  And therefore, today, America is not great.  But nothing in life is permanent.  If we want—TRULY WANT—America to be great again, we have to be good again.  This is more than achievable if we are willing to commit to it.  Let it begin today, with each of us, and our neighbors.

GFK