SOME PARTS OF THE INTERNET SHOULD NOT BE SCRAPED: AI image-generators are being trained on explicit photos of children, a study shows.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Democrats Want the Border Crisis to Get Worse for the Election. “It’s almost as if the administration is deliberately trying to inject them into the population just in time for the election.”

STALKING HORSE? How Christie became a ‘monumental problem’ for Haley — and a potential boon to Trump.

Chris Christie has singularly devoted his presidential campaign to tearing down Donald Trump.

But with the start of the primaries just a few weeks away, some top Republicans in New Hampshire say Christie is now positioned to help pave the way for Trump’s nomination by siphoning votes away from Nikki Haley, Trump’s closest-polling competitor in the state.

“Chris Christie is a monumental problem for Nikki Haley,” said Mike Dennehy, a former Republican National committeeman from New Hampshire who is neutral in the race. “They are both currently splitting the Independent vote, and Haley desperately needs those votes if she is to have a chance of knocking off Trump in New Hampshire.”

This is a strange story since Haley’s “monumental problem” — and DeSantis’ and Ramaswamy’s and Christie’s — is Donald Trump’s seemingly insurmountable lead in every poll. I guess the press needs to make it look like a horse race, but this is a lame attempt.

VODKAPUNDIT PRESENTS YOUR WEEKLY INSANITY WRAP [VIP]: When Is an Insurrection Not an Insurrection? “It’s only a little illegal to stage a protest in the Capitol when Linda Sarsour does it. That’s the lead crazy on today’s Insanity Wrap, an entire week’s worth of the best bad news.”

Plus:

• Don’t watch even one second of this video.
• I know the real reason Democrats are trying to keep Trump off the ballot.
• Christmas is the time for… penis fractures?

So much more at the link, you’d have to be crazy to miss it.

TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN (ON GAS): Nearly half of Buick dealers accept GM’s buyout offer. “General Motors Co.’s Buick brand said that nearly half of its U.S. dealers have opted to take a buyout instead of moving forward with its electric-vehicle future.”

Plus: “Buick is the second of the Detroit automaker’s brands to shift toward an all-electric future, following Cadillac. The Cadillac brand also went through a dealer buyout program. Some 880 franchises that were under the Cadillac umbrella were required to invest at least $200,000 each to sell EVs starting this year. Hundreds of dealers opted to instead take a buyout.”

PAULA BOLYARD: Time for an Adult Conversation About the 2024 Election. “Radio talker Steve Deace warned yesterday that if Republicans don’t start living in reality, there won’t be a country to leave behind for our children.”

I disagree strongly with the premise that Trump can’t win in November, but there is something to be said about his wrecking ball campaign leaving the GOP bench leveled in the out years.

CHRISTIAN TOTO: Disney’s Terrible, Awful, No Good, Very Bad 2023.

TO BE FAIR, BIDEN LIES A LOT: Biden Tried to Keep This Dirty Little Secret About His Summit with Xi.

FIGHT THE POWER: Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw Files Bill To Ban DEI Statements At Universities.

MATT MARGOLIS: Planned Parenthood Finds a New Disturbing Cash Cow.

ERASING HISTORY: Confederate Memorial at Arlington will be removed despite GOP opposition.

The Left can’t tolerate a monument to reconciliation and national unity for obvious reasons.

MEANWHILE, OVER AT VODKAPUNDIT: The Left Is Panicking Over Biden and I’ll Pop the Corn. “When the lefty author of ‘It’s Time to Fight Dirty: How Democrats Can Build a Lasting Majority in American Politics’ says it’s time for Democrats to panic, then it’s time for Democrats to panic. Presidentish Joe Biden’s reelection chances are shuffling aimlessly around like Joe at the end of a speech.”

HMM: Tesla and Mercedes-Benz to compensate for loss of German EV subsidies. “The German government announced that it will abruptly end its subsidy program for electric vehicles on December 31, which has dealt a blow to automakers in one of its biggest European markets. But Tesla and Mercedes-Benz say that they will compensate for it, covering the full price of the subsidy for German buyers, with other automakers joining in.”

If this keeps up, someday we might even get an idea of what these cars really cost.

THAT’S ANOTHER SIGN OF INCREASING SENESCENCE: Aides Say Biden Is Oblivious to How Old He Comes Across.

I’M SO OLD I REMEMBER WHEN LEFTIES WOULDN’T EAT THERE ANY DAY OF THE WEEK: New bill would require Chick-fil-A to be open on Sunday. “A bill has been introduced in New York that could affect Chick-fil-A locations at rest stops along Interstate 90 in New York state.”

Pretty sure this is a not-so-veiled attack on the company’s Christian principle not to work on Sundays.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Colorado Supreme Court Hits Trump, Begs for SCOTUS Attention. “To say that the Colorado court went rogue on this one would be a real trip over the Understatement Bridge.”

SILENT PROTEST: America Had ‘Quiet Quitting.’ In China, Young People Are ‘Letting It Rot.’

Record youth unemployment that topped 21% this year has further dented confidence in traditional paths to achievement in China. Some, like Li, are also frustrated about other issues, such as violence against women in China or government efforts to prevent people from accessing foreign apps such as Twitter or Instagram.

Many are quitting their jobs and turning to meditation and other forms of spirituality. Some are moving far from China’s megacities to start lives anew in places like Dali, a southwestern city famous within China as a hub for digital nomads and dropouts.

Others are flooding fortune-teller stands and Buddhist temples in mountainous areas, or exploring Chinese and Western philosophers and writers from Laozi to Hermann Hesse. Some are throwing “quitting parties” with banners celebrating their newfound freedom.

“This generation has had a lot of resources invested in them,” said Sara Friedman, professor of anthropology and gender studies at Indiana University, who studies Chinese society.

“They have worked really hard. They have been pushed really hard. And to then say, ‘I’m stepping out of this rat race, I’m opting out,’ is a pretty radical decision to be making.”

If young people can’t find work or are dropping out of a working-age population that’s already shrinking, that’s a real problem.

A QUARTER BILLION DOLLARS, 1,500 ACRES, AND AN UNDERGROUND SURVIVAL BUNKER: What the Hell Is Going on with Zuckerberg’s Hawaii Supervillain Lair?

STRAIGHT TALK: Israel’s Opposition Leader Has a Message for Democrats. They May Not Like It.

Yair Lapid, Israel’s opposition leader and former prime minister, has spent his political career trying to vanquish Benjamin Netanyahu.

You might not know it from his recent conversations with Senate Democrats.

In a series of phone calls with left-of-center American lawmakers since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, Lapid has conveyed resolute support for the Netanyahu-led government’s strategy in Gaza. There has been no second-guessing of the war cabinet or quiet sniping at Israel’s unpopular right-wing administration.

Some who know Lapid, who served as Israel’s interim leader for the final six months of 2022, have been struck by his formality on the phone — and the absence of the lively and confiding mien that American Democrats can find disarming.

“Despite his deep, historic misgivings about Netanyahu, he wanted to make clear that there was real unanimity of purpose when it comes to the campaign in Gaza,” said Senator Chris Murphy, a top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “He was delivering a message about the imperative of defeating Hamas.”

When I asked Murphy if Lapid had actually mentioned his rivalry with Netanyahu, he quickly clarified that Lapid had not.

Lapid clearly understands that if he shows any daylight between himself and Netanyahu before the war is won, the anti-Israeli American Left will exploit the division to force an end to the war before it is won.

Lapid and Netanyahu can duke it out after — and they certainly will.

VICTORIA TAFT: Still Don’t Think This Is a Battle of Good and Evil, Eh? “What does teaching a child how to do BJs and the finer points of masturbation have to do with success in school? Does it help a child’s ability to learn math facts, how to read, or understand what they’re reading? What is it that our schools should be teaching, anyway? If you’re the newly-elected Fairfax County, Va., school board president, gay sex should be front and center. In fact, when Karl Frisch took his oath of office, he laid his left hand on gay porn books and, with his right arm raised and his male partner looking adoringly at him, he swore an oath to be a ‘providential magistrate’ of Fairfax County schools.”

A QUARTER BILLION DOLLARS, 1,500 ACRES, AND AN UNDERGROUND SURVIVAL BUNKER: What the Hell Is Going on with Zuckerberg’s Hawaii Supervillain Lair?

FINALLY: Jeffrey Epstein associates in for New Year shock as judge orders release of sealed documents naming 177 people involved in pedophile’s sordid case.

OH, GROW UP: Gen Z Now Plagued by ‘Menu Anxiety.’

RUSSIA HAS NO ONE TO BLAME BUT PUTIN: Russia summons Finland ambassador over US border accord.

Russia has summoned the Finnish ambassador in Moscow, after Finland signed a new agreement on military co-operation with the US.

Monday’s deal grants the US broad access to the area of Finland’s long border with Russia.

Moscow said it would “take necessary measures to counter the aggressive decisions of Finland and its Nato allies”.

Finland joined Nato this year in response to Russia’s Ukraine invasion.

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently accused Nato of having “dragged” Finland into the bloc, and announced the creation of a new military district near Finland’s border.

Meanwhile Finland has accused Russia of channelling migrants towards its territory in a “hybrid operation”, and has temporarily closed all its border crossings with its eastern neighbour.

If Putin doesn’t like his neighbors joining defensive alliances, maybe he should stop invading them.

RABBI MICHAEL BARCLAY: To Win This War, We Cannot Be Distracted by the New York Times. “Whatever mistakes were made in the past are inconsequential right now. Israel is at war with an enemy that is truly evil. An enemy that must not only be defeated, but utterly destroyed. As long as Hamas exists in any form, their commitment to the destruction of Israel also exists; and like Amalek, Hamas must have ‘their remembrance be blotted off the earth’ (Deut. 25:19). We must remember that Israel is just the front line in their war against the world in an attempt to create a global Islamic theocracy.”