GROOMING, STRAIGHT UP: San Diego school district teaches young kids 28 sexual orientations, 9 gender identities. “Using a rationale rejected by the Supreme Court’s Mahmoud precedent against a suburban D.C. district’s no-exceptions LGBTQ curriculum, SDUSD claims it can expose children to such mature and disputed concepts because it’s ‘not trying to change the religious beliefs or ideologies of any person’ but rather ‘to change how we respond to the most vulnerable populations that we serve.'”

Stick to the three R’s and leave them kids alone.

THE CRITICAL DRINKER: Animal Farm — This Was Probably a Bad Idea.

UPDATE:

I understand the dynamics of declining interest in going to movie theaters due to streaming, home entertainment centers, etc.

But has anyone considered the possibility that the real issue why theaters are shutting down nationally is that no one in Hollywood outside of Tom Cruise… https://t.co/TjnNblfbm7

— Cynical Publius (@CynicalPublius) December 13, 2025

HIGHER EDUCATION IN AMERICA: SUNY Plattsburgh approves furry club, joining campuses across nation.

RELIGION OF PEACE UPDATE, IOWAHAWK STYLE:

I feel it would wrong to use the actions of a couple of bad apples tarnish the reputation of the entire Syndney October 7 Mass March to Gas The Jews community https://t.co/L4MhsKWxxx

— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) December 17, 2025

CHRISTIAN TOTO: Avatar: Fire and Ash Won’t Save Mother Earth.

The new film is once again overstuffed with characters, subplots and visual marvels, to the point where it deadens our senses. The first 10 minutes have us staring at the screen, our mouths agape at what Cameron and co. cooked up for our pleasure.

Digital trickery feels routine at this point. Not when you’re witnessing an “Avatar” spectacle.

That sense of wonder doesn’t last. At some point, we need compelling characters and a story that demands our attention. What we get are two marvelous villains, a crush of character beats that alternately impress and underwhelm and little sense of storytelling momentum.

Where is this all going? To the big battle, of course, just like in the first two films. If that’s a spoiler … then you don’t recognize franchise storytelling on autopilot.

And then there’s the dialogue. Some characters offer glib takes on life and native culture, a sop to spirituality and eco-worship. Take it or leave it, but “Fire and Ash” has a point of view and boasts a consistent approach here.

Why should we take Hollywood’s eco-worship seriously, when we know they don’t? Wicked films leave big carbon footprint on yellow brick road. “Universal’s blockbuster Wizard of Oz prequels generate more emissions in UK than rival productions such as the new Knives Out film and Deadpool & Wolverine”

WELL, HE’S RIGHT: Sen. Tuberville Says ‘Islamists’ Are ‘Here to Conquer,’ and Great Pearl-Clutching Ensues.

READER FAVORITE: BAMBOO COOL Men’s Ultra ComfortSoft Underwear. #CommissionEarned

MAKE THEM PAY: Popular professor fired at HBCU files lawsuit alleging anti-white discrimination.

2028 PREVIEW: Rubio: I Won’t Run If Vance Enters 2028 Race.

“If J.D. Vance runs for president, he’s going to be our nominee, and I’ll be one of the first people to support him,” Rubio told author Chris Whipple in a “Vanity Fair” interview published Tuesday.

Rubio, 54, and Vance, 41, are widely viewed as leading GOP presidential candidates when Trump’s second term ends. Presidents are constitutionally limited to two terms under the 22nd Amendment.

Trump this year publicly praised Vance and Rubio and floated the idea of them running together on a future Republican ticket, without specifying who would lead.

“We have J.D., obviously — the vice president is great,” Trump said while traveling in Asia in October. “Marco’s great. I’m not sure if anybody would run against those two. I think if they formed a group, it would be unstoppable.”

Of course, intentions often change as the primaries come closer.

SAD:

📰 SYDNEY: JEWISH-OWNED BAGEL SHOP CLOSES AFTER FEAR OF BEING MURDERED

Avner’s, a Jewish-owned bagel bakery in Sydney, has closed effective immediately following the Bondi chanukah massacre and escalating antisemitic threats.

The owners say police and security agencies warned… pic.twitter.com/W8kMXLZ6mE

— Mossad Commentary (@MOSSADil) December 16, 2025

“Police and security agencies warned the bakery had become a potential target, and that they were unable to guarentee their safety.”

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: In a Perfect World, Merrick Garland Would Be Living in GITMO. “There are so many people to despise from the Biden years that it’s probably best to just go with a Top 10 list. Number One on mine is Merrick Garland, who who turned the Department of Justice into Joe Biden’s personal goon squad. For four years, the chief law enforcement officer in the United States had zero respect for the law. Garland’s focus was getting revenge on Republicans for keeping him off of the Supreme Court. He had enormous power and the emotional maturity of a prepubescent boy whose parents didn’t like him.”

WHY ARE IVY LEAGUE CAMPUSES SUCH CESSPITS OF VIOLENCE? An MIT professor was fatally shot at his home and police launched a homicide investigation. “It’s difficult to grasp. It just seems like it keeps happening.”

WE NEED FUNDAMENTAL CHANGE:

This will go down as one of the most consequential articles in U.S.history.

And yes, it is super fucked up.

10 million views at the time I’m writing this.

May it help end the scourge of DEI forever.

And lead to a rapid cultural correction. https://t.co/JK2sv6zHl2

— InfantryDort (@infantrydort) December 17, 2025

ERIK DURNEIKA: The Myth of an American Retreat From the Indo-Pacific Debunked.

A Financial Times article alleges, based on anonymous sources, that the Japanese government feels abandoned by Washington amid an escalating row with Beijing. The same Financial Times published a now-debunked piece claiming that the Trump administration had blocked the Taiwanese president’s planned transit through the U.S.

None of these stories and talking points align with reality, though. The Trump administration isn’t turning away from the Indo-Pacific region and doesn’t plan to do so in the foreseeable future. In fact, quite the opposite is happening.

The NSS’s main priority is the Western Hemisphere, in line with the administration’s focus on protecting the homeland. Much of this focus is due to China’s and other adversaries’ expanding influence on America’s doorstep. China, for example, weaponizes migration and drug trafficking to the detriment of the U.S. and the rest of the free world.

At the same time, the Trump administration remains committed to the Western Pacific. The NSS covers a range of topics relating to the region, from China’s economic warfare and coercion to Taiwan, the South China Sea (SCS), the First Island Chain, and defense burden-sharing.

Contrary to attempts to paint the NSS as a dark, isolationist, “far-right” document, there is an emphasis on strengthening Indo-Pacific alliances and partnerships, including with Japan and India — another country Democrat elected officials claim President Trump has left behind.

A quibble or two aside, this is the best set of foreign policies and national defense priorities since Reagan.

BUCK ROGERS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING: Gil Gerard, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century Star, Dies at 82.

THEY’RE NOT SURRENDERING, THEY’RE COMPLICIT: Violent Migrants Are Invading And Western Leaders Are Surrendering Without A Fight: The signal we’re sending to these invaders is a very familiar one: we’re advertising our own incompetence to the world.

THIS CALLS NOT MERELY FOR FIRINGS, BUT FOR PROSECUTIONS: Is Anybody Shocked That Biden’s DOJ Pressured FBI to Search Trump’s Residence?

ICYMI: Wait, Nancy Pelosi Just Said WHAT?

CHANGE: Privacy, Doxing, Stalking, and People Who Love Dogs Too Much.

DON SURBER: The U.S. coin story CNN failed to tell: Polly Cooper, the heroine of Valley Forge, will finally get her due.

WELL, WELL, THE LEFT WON’T BE HAPPY:  The November Jobs Numbers Are Here, and It’s Good News for American Workers.

DEAL OF THE DAY: Crest 3D Whitestrips Professional Effects. #CommissionEarned

THE NEW SPACE RACE: Oh look, yet another Starship clone has popped up in China.

The trend began with the Chinese government. In November 2024 the government announced a significant shift in the design of its super-heavy lift rocket, the Long March 9. Instead of the previous design, a fully expendable rocket with three stages and solid rocket boosters strapped to the sides, the country’s state-owned rocket maker revealed a vehicle that mimicked SpaceX’s fully reusable Starship.

Around the same time, a Chinese launch firm named Cosmoleap announced plans to develop a fully reusable “Leap” rocket within the next few years. An animated video that accompanied the funding announcement indicated that the company seeks to emulate the tower catch-with-chopsticks methodology that SpaceX has successfully employed.

But wait, there’s more. In June a company called Astronstone said it too was developing a stainless steel, methane-fueled rocket that would also use a chopstick-style system for first stage recovery. Astronstone didn’t even pretend to not copy SpaceX, saying it was “fully aligning its technical approach with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.”

And then, on Friday, the state-aligned China.com reported that a company called “Beijing Leading Rocket Technology” took things a step further. It has named its vehicle “Starship-1,” adding that the new rocket will have enhancements from AI and is billed as a “fully reusable AI rocket.”

Presentations and buzzwords are easy. Space is… you know.

WELL OKAY THEN: Jesse Singal: Good News: Progressive Advocacy Groups Have Been Found Not Guilty By A Progressive Advocacy Group.

RIP: Norman Podhoretz, 1930-2025.