DAVID MANNEY: Trump’s Pressure Campaign and Maduro’s Fury.

THEY FIGHT: Democrats recruit candidates to run in every 2026 race in Texas.

The party is running 104 candidates to fill every congressional and state legislative seat, along with every statewide judicial and state Board of Education race, the Texas Tribune reported. Strategists speaking with the outlet said the move, which will see Democrats use resources in hopeless races, will have an upstream effect by pushing turnout in areas where top-level candidates usually cannot reach.

“Even the most relentless statewide candidate is never going to talk to every voter that they need to,” Texas Majority PAC Director Katherine Fischer told the outlet. “We need a network of talented, compelling Democratic communicators across the state to clearly communicate the message that Republican leadership has failed us, and that Texans should consider voting differently this cycle and in the future.”

The effort will also force Republicans to stretch their resources across the state.

The GOP should do the same in Dem strongholds, if for no other reason than to show Democrats a living, breathing, non-Nazi Republican to dispel the propaganda.

Longterm, the downstream effects could prove useful.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Trump Hails 2025 Successes, but I’m Just Here for the Trolling. “I mean, I didn’t think that he could top the “official portrait” of the autopen, but Trump never ceases to surprise. The leftmedia hacks have been triggered and it’s beautiful to see. After what they put Trump through during the aforementioned Biden slog, I don’t think he can be too harsh to them. The harshness is all true, of course. His High Holiness the Lightbringer Barack Obama and Joe Biden have long been overdue for some honest assessments of their useless presidencies.”

YOU DON’T HAVE TO SELL ME ON IT, I’M ALREADY IN FAVOR: Ilhan Omar claims Trump travel ban is ‘cruel’ and ‘inhumane,’ says he has ‘creepy obsession’ with Somalians.

Omar appeared on CNN, where she discussed the travel ban in an interview with Wolf Blitzer and argued that the policy separates families. Groups of Somalians in Minnesota have been discovered to have been engaging in fraud by taking money for to provide government services that they never delivered. In some cases there have been kickbacks to others in the community who allowed those non-profit groups to claim they were providing benefits to those persons.

“The biggest worry of the new executive order is that it does separate families,” she claimed. “It doesn’t create an exception for US citizens to have their family members be able to come visit and celebrate milestones with them, so this is a very cruel, inhumane immigration policy that he is putting in place.”

Here’s another thing she recently said: DHS says Rep. Omar’s son was not pulled over by ICE, despite claims.

WHAT’S GOING ON WITH CHATGPT? This AI Keeps Getting Dumb and Dumber, and I’ve Got the Receipts.

COLD WAR II: Trump and Xi Are Talking — But the U.S. and China Are Headed for an AI Collision.

To understand the rivalry, consider a recent announcement by the U.S. Justice Department: on November 20, it charged two Americans, and two Chinese nationals, with a conspiracy to illegally export about 400 high-performance graphics processing units (GPUs) to China. Federal law requires that a license be secured for export of these technologies, which can be used to develop and strengthen AI.

The co-conspirators didn’t have a license – and never even applied for one. In fact, they lied about the destination of the GPUs when shipping them. And for their services, they received a cool $3.89 million in wire transfers from China.

The backdrop to this smuggling scheme is Beijing having set a goal for China to be the world’s leader in AI by 2030. And it’s made considerable headway. “China is the global leader in AI research publications and is neck and neck with the United States on generative AI,” points out the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. It adds that China is “advancing rapidly in AI research and application, challenging the United States’ dominance in this critical field.”

Exit quote: “China is not abiding by the rules that are supposed to govern the global economy. And it’s using AI, says the Justice Department, to bolster its military, to test weapons of mass destruction, and to heighten surveillance.”

TREATING CANCER WITH A BAND-AID: Extending Obamacare Subsidies Won’t Fix a Broken System.

THAT’S A TOTAL OF 18 MONTHS: UK Imprisons Man for 17 Days — for Each X View of His ‘Hate’ Speech.

WE HAVE AN ASTRONAUT-ENTREPRENEUR IN CHARGE OF NASA:

BREAKING: The U.S. Senate has just officially confirmed Jared Isaacman as the new head of NASA. At just 42 years old, he now becomes the youngest person in history to lead the agency.

Congrats @rookisaacman! To the Moon and Mars!🚀 pic.twitter.com/xmcPCHc1zU

— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) December 17, 2025

FIRST LOOK: ‘Melania’ Trailer Takes Us Inside Trump 2.0. “The film will hit Prime Video cyber-shelves soon after its theatrical run, giving the streamer an original title that could spark membership interest.”

WHAT’S HAPPENING TO CHATGPT? This AI Keeps Getting Dumb and Dumber, and I’ve Got the Receipts.

BEEGE WELBORN: Trump Makes the Move on ‘Sanctioned Oil Tankers’ From Venezuela Official.

When the headlines broke late last night, I thought, wowsahs – this is an escalation.

And that while a ‘blockade’ was a dramatic move, it seemed like it would be kind of difficult to enforce on a country whose other two-thirds of borders had nothing to do with the oceanfront. There are plenty of roads in and out of Venezuela, and people who are willing to still trade with them in South America.

Maduro’s gang hasn’t reached complete pariah status yet, but, man, are they getting there quickly.

When I had a chance to read what Trump had actually announced vice breathless media chirps, it made perfect sense as the next step to ratchet up pressure on Maduro’s finances.

Read the whole thing.

I’d just add that sanctions without teeth are meaningless, and Trump’s “blockade” is finally sanctions with real teeth.

BREAKING: Police Search for TWO Persons of Interest in Brown University Shooting

THE MEDIA LIES:

Media coverage: Actual suspect: pic.twitter.com/h2lO2P97aT

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) December 17, 2025

The media lies stupidly, clumsily, and obviously. Maybe I’d despise them less if the lies came without all the moral preening about objectivity, editorial standards, and those layers of editors and fact-checkers.

Maybe, but I doubt it.

THE GHOST OF RONALD REAGAN SMILES: Space Force wants advanced tech for space-based interceptors. “Space-based interceptors are a key component of the Trump administration’s massive Golden Dome program for missile defense of the United States. Earlier this month, the Space Force released a Request for Proposal for space-based midcourse interceptors that would target missiles as they coast in space in between launch and reentering the atmosphere. Boost-phase interceptors seek to destroy missiles during their slower, more vulnerable ascent as the rockets gathers speed after launch.”

THE ENEMY WITHIN:

Incredible: "When college students tore down posters of kidnapped Israeli children in October 2023, parents asked: where did this come from? The answer lies in curriculum materials developed at Brown University. These materials reached approximately one million students annually… https://t.co/aTMTJqOKum

— William A. Jacobson (@wajacobson) December 17, 2025

We need a complete and total shutdown of the Ivy League until we can figure out what the hell is going on.

Related (From Ed): Is Brown University Protecting a Suspect in the Campus Shooting?

“MAJOR DEM SUPPORT FOR CHILD TRAFFICKING” MIGHT BE A MORE ACCURATE WAY TO PHRASE IT: House Passes Act to Screen Unaccompanied Minors Despite Major Dem Opposition.

I ASSUME THERE ARE STILL PLENTY OF AMERICANS WITH LIVING MEMORIES OF SMUGGLING GUNS INTO IRELAND:

Counterplanhttps://t.co/U32eM3Wi4q

— Morgan Warstler (@morganwarstler) December 17, 2025

AS IN MORE CHEAP PHOTOSHOPS IN ANOTHER DESPERATE ATTEMPT TO DISCREDIT TRUMP? DOJ Epstein files are required to be made public by Friday; Democrats say there are more. “Democrats held a press conference Tuesday saying they expect the administration to only partially comply with the law on Friday, but that there would be consequences for anything less than full compliance.”

Based on what we’ve seen in recent days, this is just more handwavium from the Dems.

DISPATCHES FROM AIRSTRIP ONE: UK Imprisons Man for 17 Days — for Each X View of His ‘Hate’ Speech.

M&A: Warner Bros. Discovery recommends investors reject Paramount’s hostile takeover bid.

The company’s board said in a statement that it determined the Paramount Skydance offer “is not in the best interests of WBD and its shareholders.”

The Warner Bros. board’s recommendation to shareholders effectively means Paramount’s offer is dead. Paramount could, however, return with a higher offer.

“This offer once again fails to address key concerns that we have consistently communicated to Paramount throughout our extensive engagement and review of their six previous proposals,” WBD’s chair, Samuel Di Piazza, said.

Warner Bros. Discovery said it was instead sticking with its initially announced deal to sell its studio, HBO, and HBO Max to Netflix. “The terms of the Netflix merger are superior,” WBD said in a letter to shareholders.

Sad end for a storied studio.

YES:

If the most prominent leftist in America was shot and killed on camera during a Democrat administration, the Democrats would spend every waking moment, for as long as they hold power, using it as an excuse to ruthlessly crackdown on the Right, throwing hundreds of us in prison,…

— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) December 17, 2025

Exit reply: “They did this after January 6th, and the J6ers weren’t even armed.”

SHE EFFED UP, SHE TRUSTED THEM: What the Hell Was Susie Wiles Thinking?

HEY, BIG SPENDER:

Brown University has offered $0 as a reward to catch the shooter.

You read that correctly.

$0

The FBI offered the $50,000.

Brown University…

$8 billion endowment
$3.17 million a year salary for president
$180 million in taxpayer dollars per year

$0 for reward.

Unreal.

— C3 (@C_3C_3) December 17, 2025

Message sent and received.

K-12 IMPLOSION UPDATE: Greatly reduced expectations: Students read few ‘whole books’ or none at all.

“Twelfth-grade reading scores are at historic lows,” she writes. “College professors, even at elite schools, are increasingly reporting difficulties in getting students to engage with lengthy or complex texts.”

Andrew Polk, 26, who teaches 10th-grade English in suburban Ohio, tells the Times he was assigned many whole books and plays when he was in high school not that long ago. But he’s supposed to use McGraw-Hill’s StudySync, which centers on excerpts. He has time for a few longer works each year, such as Macbeth, Fahrenheit 451 and John Green’s Paper Towns, a young-adult mystery. Teenagers still feel “passion for a good story,” and “can and do rise to the occasion.”

Teaching excerpts can expose students to more diverse writers, writes Goldstein. Schools can avoid controversial passages, such as sex scenes. The passages students read resemble what they’ll see on standardized tests. And providing online excerpts can be cheaper than buying books.

But students don’t build reading stamina. They don’t have a chance to dive into a different time or place, see characters develop or get to the happy ending.

What shame. Some of my best and most enjoyable reading was books I didn’t want to read, but that teachers required.