“Your love of liberty — your respect for the laws — your habits of industry — and your practice of the moral and religious obligations, are the strongest claims to national and individual happiness.” —George Washington (1789)

The endless loop of acrimonious “news” reports from MSM talkingheads and scribes can obscure the fact that we are a great nation and people.

In this year of our nation’s 250th anniversary of American Liberty, I think it is particularly important that we keep our eyes on what is good and right.

Your Patriot Post team has been digesting news, policy, and opinion on the Web for 30 years — longer than any other online news journal. I have always been concerned for our younger editors (all substantially younger than me), who slog through the daily news to determine what is actually newsworthy for each edition. They do that so you, our readers, don’t have to. I encourage them not to get bogged down in the effluent, but instead to keep a constant eye on the great good that is America, our mission to support Liberty, and our Creator above all.

Consequently, every edition of The Patriot Post includes elements of good news, either in our Analysis or Executive Summary sections.

As for me, I take regular breaks from the daily grind to write about notable American Patriots in my Friday Profiles of Valor — one of whom, Nick Freitas, I will tell you more about in a moment. Those Profiles are a touchstone for who we really are as a nation.

In recent months, rising above the din has also included my columns on citizens who represent the goodness of America, including high-profile individuals like Denzel Washington and Dolly Parton. And there was the connection between Jon Erwin, the director of the outstanding film “Young Washington,” and his grandfather, Medal of Honor recipient Henry “Red” Erwin.

And on the subject of Washington, I compiled his “Enduring Advice for Americans Today,” demonstrating the timeless wisdom of our Founders.

I wrote about the generational wisdom Rick Rigsby learned from his father in “Lessons from a Third-Grade Dropout,” and I highlighted the best commencement speech of the year (“Six Strings and the Chord Your Life Makes”), which was delivered by Eric Church to graduates of the University of North Carolina.

This resurgence of advice on hope and faith from influencers is a contributing factor in a recent assessment by Ronald Reagan’s Secretary of Education, Bill Bennett, who observed, “I believe today’s young people might not merely match the faithfulness of my generation, but exceed it.” He says of current trends: “History shows that the hunger for God never fully disappears. It can only be suppressed for a season. When it reawakens, the political and cultural consequences can be profound — and, with God’s help, profoundly hopeful.”

And that brings me to former Green Beret Nick Freitas, who I have followed since he was first elected to the Virginia House of Delegates a decade ago, serving until January of this year.

What really got my attention was Nick’s 2020 campaign to unseat Abigail Spanberger in Virginia’s 7th congressional district. Now-Governor Spanberger, a disgraceful and deceitful leftist who pretended to be a moderate, very narrowly won that congressional seat in 2018, and unfortunately, she barely defeated Nick thanks to her incumbent momentum.

Nick’s articulate leadership had a significant effect on Virginia during his years in the House of Delegates, an example of which is this riveting response to criticism from Virginia’s Demo House Speaker Don Scott. But Nick’s political and cultural impact as a podcaster and content creator put him among the most significant conservative thought leaders nationwide.

For some background, Nick is a native of Chico, California, the son of Robin McMichael and John Freitas.

He joined the Army in 1998, immediately after graduating high school, thereby leaving California before it became a full-fledged failed socialist state. He was inspired to become a Green Beret with the 82nd Airborne Division after the 9/11 Islamist attack on our nation, and he then served with the 25th Light Infantry Division as an Infantryman (82nd ABN, 1998-2001; 25th Infantry Division, 2001-03; 1st Special Forces Group, 2004-09). He served two combat tours in Iraq as a Special Forces Weapons SGT and Special Forces Intelligence SGT. He also completed a degree from Henley-Putnam University.

Honorably discharged in 2009 at age 30, Nick married his high school sweetheart Tina, who is likewise a conservative champion. After 11 years of military moves around the nation, they settled in Culpeper, Virginia, where he began working as an operations director for a service-disabled veteran-owned company. In 2010, he waded into the political waters, becoming chairman of the Culpeper County Republican Committee, which led to 10 years of service in the Virginia General Assembly.

As a distinguished Veteran, Nick’s years in the Assembly were focused on issues important to Vets. The first bill he passed through the House ensured the Veterans Services Foundation membership had balanced representation among the officer and enlisted ranks. He advocated for Veteran care centers, Virginia Veteran and Family Support programs, and Veteran education issues.

Summing up his worldview, Nick says: “I am first and foremost a Christian. My dedication to the belief that we all have inherent value and are entitled to liberty and equality before the law is rooted in this worldview. Principles of individual liberty, personal responsibility, respect for God, and limited, constitutional government are not merely convenient political concepts, but essentials which are fundamental to our liberty, prosperity, and security.”

To get a sense of Nick’s growing influence on the next generation, I recommend his Grove City College speech from earlier this year, sponsored by the Institute for Faith & Freedom. Or watch his speech at AmericaFest 2025.

Among other things, Nick is a formidable advocate for constitutional Rule of Law and especially the Second Amendment as its backstop defense.

You may recognize him now as a regular guest on Fox News and on podcasts including the “Shawn Ryan Show,” “Iced Coffee Hour,” “TimCast,” and others.

He hosts popular podcasts including “Making the Argument” and “The Why Minutes,” often co-hosting with Tina. He now has millions of followers and averages more than two million views per day. Those numbers are on the rise.

I am not sure where Nick will land next, but if you don’t already follow him, you can find Nick on YouTube, X, Instagram, and Facebook.

He and Tina are raising their three children — Lillyana, Luke, and Alexandria — in Culpeper, and we at The Patriot Post wish them Godspeed in their life’s mission.

PS: If you want a refreshing reminder of the goodness of the American people, you might consider ending your day as I often do, with uplifting video clips from “On the Road with Steve Hartman,” and from one of my favorite social media Patriots, Mike Rowe. Steve and Mike are the “Paul Harveys” of the current era, storytellers who focus on the extraordinary lives of ordinary people.

Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis
Pro Deo et Libertate — 1776

Please join us in prayer for our nation, that righteous leaders would rise and prevail, and we would be united as Americans. Pray for the protection of our Patriots in uniform who support and defend our Republic’s Founding Principle of Liberty, and for our nation’s Veterans, First Responders, and their families. Lift up your Patriot Post team and our mission to ignite the fires of freedom in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

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