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Tonight, Canada and the USA square off in the final game of the Four Nations Face-Off to determine first place in the international hockey tournament. And—let’s be honest—America isn’t exactly “likable” these days. In fact, we’re kind of “an irredeemable hellscape.” But the moment the puck drops, perhaps you’ll feel a dormant pang of patriotism you only associate with Simone Biles spinning through the air or watching Bruce Springsteen in a Jeep commercial. It’s not that you want to pull for your own country—how could you possibly live with yourself?—but also, wouldn’t life be simpler if you could?

Well, if you need help justifying your humiliating attachment to your godforsaken country, here are some things to keep in mind:

Big congratulations to McSweeney’s friend, colleague, and writer Mac Barnett, who has been named the 2025-26 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. Here’s the press release from the Library of Congress:

The Library of Congress and Every Child a Reader announce the appointment of Mac Barnett as the 2025-2026 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. Barnett is the ninth author to hold this position. He succeeds Meg Medina, who served as the National Ambassador from 2023 through 2024.

Barnett is the author of more than 60 books for children, including Twenty Questions, Sam & Dave Dig a Hole, A Polar Bear in the Snow and Extra Yarn, as well as the popular Mac B., Kid Spy series of novels, The First Cat in Space graphic novels and The Shapes Trilogy picture books.

So, the supreme court of Romania cancelled the previous Presidential election, ostensibly because of Russian interference.

The guy who won last time, however, will probably win the next elections in May. He recently stated:

Georgescu will prosecute the judges who canceled the elections for high treason once he becomes president

“There will be a commission at the highest level to analyze these abuses, which amount to high treason and an attack on national security.

We are not playing with this.” pic.twitter.com/Wxe6JEHQ9q

— Daily Romania (@daily_romania) February 19, 2025

President Donald Trump has made no secret of his disdain for immigrants, particularly the non-white variety from south of our border. His statements that immigrants are “poisoning the blood” of our country,” coupled with Fox News reports on Hispanic-appearing migrants who commit crimes, leave little doubt about what he and his allies think of (non-white) immigrants and their contributions to this country. So it didn’t surprise me that he recently began to follow through on his own and his Department of Homeland Security (DHS) leadership’s earlier intentions (as far back as 2018) to detain immigrants — including unaccompanied children — at military posts. Earlier this month, the first deportation flight carried a few men from the American mainland to our... Read more

Dear Miss Julie,

As you’re about to discover, we’re sending Lionel back to preschool today after his two-week-long illness-related absence. Although we had a wonderful time hanging out with our boy twenty-four hours a day, taking him to multiple doctors’ appointments, neglecting urgent deadlines, and waking up intermittently at night to pin him down while injecting syringes of ibuprofen into his mouth, he’s finally well enough to return to school, according to a telemedicine appointment with a Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Holistic Healing Center receptionist temp. A few small notes:

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In a July day in 1795, a crowd of women approached a bread cart on a road outside Delph, near Manchester. The cart was stopped and the loaves in it taken. Its driver, Richard Broome, probably thought he was being robbed, but then the bread was sold to onlookers for two pence a pound and […]

AN ENGAGED crowd of nearly 300 packed the Coast Hotel at Coffs Harbour last Friday night for “Politics in the Pub” featuring the first Independent Senator for the ACT David Pocock, and two-time Federal candidate for Cowper, Caz Heise. Despite the sweltering conditions and standing-room-only crowd, the audience remained enthusiastic, directing a wide range of...

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AN 86-year-old cyclist has celebrated his birthday aboard his bike, in a pedalling party of friends. Dressed in high-viz lycra, the Dorrigo, Urunga, Bellingen Bicycle User Group’s (DUBBUG) very own “Poppy John” enjoyed a birthday ride that included a stop off for morning tea where his wife Pam joined in. Advertise with News of The...

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