Posts on Saturday, December 13, 2025
Hunter Kozak was the last person to ask Charlie Kirk a question before the conservative commentator was assassinated in September. This week, the Utah Valley University student met and posed a question to Kirk's widow Erika as part of a CBS News town hall airing at 8 p.m. tonight on CBS.
When Joe Biden announced his presidential library plans back in September, the writing was already on the wall. Donors were checked out, interest was nonexistent, and the whole thing smelled like a vanity project nobody wanted to fund. Now, a New York Times article confirms what was painfully obvious from the start — Biden's library is turning into an epic fundraising disaster.
The numbers are embarrassing. According to the report, Biden's library foundation received no new donations in 2024, the final year of his presidency. All of its initial funding — a measly $4 million — came from leftover cash from Biden's 2021 inauguration, not from donors eager to immortalize his
WASHINGTON — A former FBI agent who was suspended under the Biden administration and was reinstated under President Trump to much fanfare has been ousted again, The Post has learned.
FBI whistleblower Steve Friend issued what was deemed to be a threat against Director Kash Patel on a podcast hosted by ex-FBI agent Kyle Seraphin last week and that outburst helped cost him his job on Saturday, bureau insiders told the Post. Friend gained fame for claiming he was wrongly placed on leave by ex-FBI Director Chris Wray for exposing problems with the Jan. 6 investigation
Trump tells ISIS, ‘we will retaliate’
after ‘terrible’ ambush that killed
3 US troops in Syria replies
after ‘terrible’ ambush that killed
3 US troops in Syria replies
President Trump vowed to respond Saturday after an attack on US and coalition forces killed three US service members in Palmyra, Syria.
“We will retaliate,” Trump said, asked by reporters about the incident as he left the White House Saturday to attend the Army-Navy football game.
“We mourn the loss of three great patriots in Syria. We know how it happened. It was an ambush — terrible,” Trump said. “We also have three wounded that seem to be doing pretty well,” he added. “But we mourn the loss, these are three great people. And it’s just a terrible thing.”
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Thursday imposed sanctions on Efrain Antonio Campo Flores and Franqui Francisco Flores de Freitas, Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro’s convicted drug-trafficking nephews. Flores and Flores de Freitas were arrested and convicted of drug trafficking crimes in the United States, but released and sent back to Venezuela by former U.S. President Joe Biden in 2022. OFAC also reinstated U.S. sanctions on Carlos Erik Malpica Flores, another of Maduro’s nephews. Malpica was originally sanctioned by President Donald Trump in his first term but had his sanctions lifted by the Biden administration.
An alleged gunman remains on the loose in an active shooter situation on the campus of Brown University, school officials said after retracting an announcement that they had arrested a suspect.
The Rhode Island Ivy League school sent out a first alert to students on campus shortly after 4:20 p.m. of an active shooter near the Barus & Holley Engineering school building. One suspect in custody. Lock doors, silence phones and stay hidden until further notice,” the university wrote in a second emergency alert just before 5 p.m. Saturday before retracting the statement minutes later.
Generally, the Washington Post is the outlet for interests and concerns of the CIA or international elements of the U.S. intelligence community. Narratives from the Washington Post usually shape storylines against scrutiny of the Intelligence Community.
It has been widely reported that the FBI has been working closely with the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) in detecting and discovering corruption amid Ukraine officials who have skimmed money from various international aid programs. However, the Washington Post is suddenly concerned that FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino have held “secret meetings” with lead Ukraine peace negotiator Rustem Umerov.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard appears on Fox News to discuss the Trump administrations’ effort to track down, capture and remove a reported 18,000 known and documented terrorists who crossed the southern border and entered the U.S. during the Biden administration.
There are several elements to this issue, and unfortunately the aspect that pertains to identifying them and locating them works to enhance the argument of those who support govt surveillance. In fact, both the use of Palantir track and trace technology in combination with the FISA-702 reauthorization come into play here.
The geopolitical baseline for Europe is often determined by the economics of their situation. In 2024 approximately 408,000 cars from China were sold in Europe. For 2025 that number is now expected to exceed 700,000 units despite tariffs.
Previously we highlighted the short-term ramifications of the European Union push to force the sale of electric vehicle (EVs) upon the consumer base. {SEE HERE} EU automakers unable to meet the compliance goal began purchasing carbon credits to avoid stiff EU fines. Many of those carbon credits were purchased from Chinese automakers, who then turned around and started using the extra EU revenue to discount Chinese cars
Former Mesa County, Colorado Election Clerk Tina Peters broke no state or federal laws by backing up her Election Management Server (EMS) hard drive, having it analyzed, and even publishing the results. If she had, the federal and Colorado state governments would have legally come down on her for doing so, especially during the Biden administration. In other words, not one state or federal charge resulted from Tina’s actions backing up her county’s server. Because they had NOTHING, Colorado (likely at the behest of the DOJ) had to manufacture imaginary felonies and misdemeanors and prosecute her in the state courts.
What is it with Democrat politicians? Lies are arguably the currency of politics, and politicians of every party engage in them from time to time, but there are some politicians who truly excel in fabulation, and just as the dead almost universally vote Democrat, the most prolific liars are arguably on the Democrat side of the political divide.
During the 2024 presidential race, Americans discovered that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz was a serial fabulist as lie after lie was relentlessly exposed, so many even the Democrat Party media propaganda arm was forced to report them. Walz’s few attempts at damage control were disasters, eventually leading to his “I’m a knucklehead” admission
President Donald Trump is an occasional practitioner of an unsparing form of political logic. Having taken an interest in the massive public-programs fraud committed by an almost exclusively Somali cast of perpetrators in Minnesota, he has followed up with unfriendly comments on Minnesota fifth district Rep. Ilhan Omar (D). (snip) "We oughta get her the hell out. She married her brother in order to get in, right? Can you imagine if Donald Trump married his sister?" Omar is Somali fraud Exhibit A , and her district was the center of gravity in the massive Feeding Our Future scandal (snip.)
Jasmine Crockett leads James Talarico
by 8 points in Senate Democratic primary,
new poll finds replies
by 8 points in Senate Democratic primary,
new poll finds replies
U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett leads state Rep. James Talarico by 8 percentage points in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, according to a poll released Friday. The statewide survey, conducted by Texas Southern University from Tuesday through Thursday, found that 51% of likely Democratic voters planned to support Crockett in the March primary and 43% intended to vote for Talarico, with 6% of voters unsure. (Snip) According to the Texas Southern poll, Crockett’s lead was built on her overwhelming support from Black voters, with 89% planning to support her and just 8% behind Talarico. At the same time, almost half
Retrenchment, realignment and realpolitik
– the 3 Rs of America's new national
security policy replies
– the 3 Rs of America's new national
security policy replies
For half a century, Washington has played the noble fool, bleeding out in deserts among tribes that despise us, wiring billions to kleptocrats who laugh behind our backs, and preaching the soulless gospel of “compassionate conservatism” as if weakness dressed in moral language could substitute for strength.
Two U.S. Army soldiers and a U.S. civilian who was serving as an interpreter were killed after shots were fired at U.S. and Syrian forces during a visit to a historic central town in Syria on Saturday, U.S. military officials said.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a post on X that the attack occurred as the soldiers were conducting a "key leader engagement." He said three other service members were injured in the incident.
COCOA, Fla. - A 13-year-old boy will be tried as an adult after a grand jury indicted him on a charge of first-degree felony murder in the shooting death of a man during what prosecutors say was a botched robbery last month.
The teen, identified as Emeril Tytron Lemeul Rachel, was originally charged with manslaughter. The State Attorney’s Office said that charge "was not enough" based on evidence presented to the grand jury, which also indicted him on a charge of attempted robbery.
The backstory:
A grand jury returned the indictment against the teen, who investigators say arranged to meet 30-year-old Kelby Gavin Miller through a social media app before
Meet Newsom’s trans godson Nats Getty,
the clothing designer heir to a billionaire’s fortune replies
the clothing designer heir to a billionaire’s fortune replies
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is a longtime supporter of the LGBTQ community — and that includes his trans godson, Nats Getty.
Newsom mentioned Getty, a designer, model and activist, as evidence of his empathy for the trans community even as he outraged many progressives for labeling trans participation in women’s sports “unfair.” Getty, 33, publicly came out as transgender in 2021 and uses he/him pronouns.Newsom mentioned Getty, a designer, model and activist, as evidence of his empathy for the trans community even as he outraged many progressives for labeling trans participation in women’s sports “unfair.”
State policies are a monumental factor in electricity costs, and Democrat-led states have driven prices upward through pushing aggressive mandates and choking reliable power supply, according to a new report by the Institute for Energy Research (IER). The new report (snip) found that blue states generally have higher electricity costs than red states. (snip) IER's report notes that all but one of the top 10 most expensive states for energy -- per kilowatt hour -- are governed by Democrats. In contrast, 80% of the states with the most affordable electricity costs per kilowatt hour are "reliably red," according to IER.
Party’s over, Paris: Fearful French
cancel NYE concert on Champs-Élysées
as migrant violence grows replies
cancel NYE concert on Champs-Élysées
as migrant violence grows replies
The normally proud and defiant French are waving the white flag in the face of migrant terror.
Paris has shockingly decided to dim the lights on its annual New Year’s Eve fête along the iconic Champs-Élysées.
The massive midnight concert that drew a jubilant crowd of a million people last year — with the festivities having drawn throngs to the “most beautiful avenue in the world” for six decades — has been scrapped and replaced by a pre-recorded video to be viewed in the safety and comfort of French living rooms.
The fireworks will still illuminate the Arc de Triomphe when the clock strikes 12,
Since being sworn in as NYC mayor nearly four years ago, Eric Adams has made good on campaign promises that included driving down crime in America’s largest city and helping it recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. He did this while dealing with an unprecedented migrant crisis forced upon the Big Apple by the Biden administration and federal corruption charges he was ultimately cleared of that he claims ruined any shot of him winning a second term.
During an exclusive “exit” interview this week with The Post’s Rich Calder at the 103rd Precinct in Queens – chosen by Adams because it was the scene of a life-changing trauma for him
I have been covering the "Paper or Plastic" game since George W. Bush was president. And it's only gotten more ridiculous. First California lawmakers banned paper bags because they "killed" trees -- the ultimate renewable resource. They replaced paper with plastic bags, which they are now banning to go back to tree-killing paper bags. Or you can carry your filthy multi-use cloth bags. (snip) The California legislature is stuck on stupid, and has been for a long time.
A health services contractor in Maine founded by a Somali immigrant is now accused by a whistleblower of defrauding the state's Medicaid program, raising concerns in Congress that fraud in government programs is more widespread than previously known. (snip) Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, says he plans to probe the cases in both Minnesota and Maine to determine whether similar fraud using public dollars exists elsewhere. He believes there is a high chance his committee will find more.
The Trump administration is moving to roll back key immigration protections, with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announcing Friday the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Ethiopia and the end of multiple family reunification parole programs affecting migrants from several Latin American and Caribbean countries.
The plans came as Federal Register filings, with the latter affecting immigrants from Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras and El Salvador.
"DHS acknowledges that aliens paroled into the United States under the FRP programs may have been able to reunite with family members in the United States. However, upon further review of the scope and impact of the FRP programs in their totality,
New York Attorney General James has repeatedly run afoul of federal judges in her quest to regulate the speech of pro-life pregnancy centers, but that hasn't dissuaded her from trying to control speech on other polarizing issues in which courts have rebuked censors. School board members and parents are now suing the AG and New York Education Commissioner Betty Rosa for threatening to remove the former from office for "publicly supporting sex-separated interscholastic sports and school facilities" or "using pronouns that correspond to biological sex" at board meetings (snip.)
It was a comment made Thursday at a Homeland Security Committee hearing by Democrat Rep. Bennie Thompson (MS-02) that caused jaws to drop around the nation. At least, jaws belonging to decent people, which Thompson apparently is not.
The former chair of the January 6th Committee clown show referred to the horrific terrorist shooting of two National Guardsmen in November — which killed one of them and left the other with critical injuries — as an “unfortunate accident.” A planned, cold-blooded terrorist execution by an Allahu Akbar-screaming Afghan in our nation’s capital was an accident?
A massive 155-foot statue of a Hindu god is being built in North Carolina, and the project is already underway.
The world's tallest statue of "Murugan" is being planned in Moncure in Chatham County, NC, the Indian Eagle reports.
The "warrior god" will be at the center of the Carolina Murugan Temple Campus, which will be on 130 acres of residential land.
During the first phase of building, the main temple, three gopurams (entrances to a Hindu temple), and a road surrounding the campus will be completed and will cost around three to five million dollars, the outlet notes. By the project's completion,
The National Trust for Historic Preservation filed a lawsuit on Friday challenging President Donald Trump’s plans to construct a ballroom on the site of the demolished East Wing.
The trust, a congressionally chartered nonprofit, argued in a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that Trump and administration officials have violated, and are continuing to violate, the Administrative Procedure Act and National Environmental Policy Act by demolishing the East Wing and moving forward with construction of the ballroom.
The complaint said the administration violated the laws when it didn’t consult with the National Capital Planning Commission or the Commission of Fine Arts and failed to conduct
A Utah-based mineral production company has stumbled upon a potentially game-changing discovery of 16 different types of rare earth elements and critical minerals in the state’s Silicon Ridge area. The discovery could potentially help America lower its reliance on China for metals vital to high-tech manufacturing.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Ionic Mineral Technologies, a company focused on producing nanosilicon for lithium-ion batteries, has uncovered what could be the most significant critical mineral reserve ever discovered in the United States. The discovery, made while mining clay in Utah’s Silicon Ridge, includes high grades of 16 different rare earth minerals, ranging from lithium and alumina to
President Donald Trump recently cracked down on work requirements with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program by means of the “Big Beautiful Bill.” The policy drastically expanded work requirements for those who want to continue receiving food stamps. But Nelson Scott, a 38-year-old able-bodied man from Tennessee, called the changes “some bulls**t” in a viral interview last month with WZTV. Scott is “38, not disabled, doesn’t have any kids, doesn’t go to school, and doesn’t have a job,” all of which work against him with respect to eligibility, according to WZTV. He was previously receiving $292 per month to pay for groceries.
Ugh! Oliver Sacks Was a Fraud
replies
No doubt many of you cried near the end of the movie Awakenings.
The movie, based on Oliver Sacks' bestselling book of the same name, struck an emotional chord with many people for the same reason that Flowers for Algernon did, and it turns out to be about as based on real life as that depressing work was. (X) Sacks, who is among the most celebrated and influential medical practitioners and nonfiction authors in the world—he wrote 18 books, including two autobiographies—and Awakenings has been listed as a top-20 most important nonfiction work in history. He is also famous for his work,
I'm pretty sure that not wanting to face the consequences of breaking the law is not an excuse to trap federal agents in your car and transport them against their will, despite orders to stop, including with a weapon deployed.
But then again, this is Minnesota, and two illegal aliens refused to be detained by Homeland Security agents, trapped them in their car, and...I kid you not...drove them to the New Hope, Minnesota police station in hopes that the police in this sanctuary state would protect them from arrest.
Given how Minnesota politicians speak about fighting the federal government, they likely assumed
SpaceX to Go Public Next Year
replies
There have been reports recently that SpaceX was planning to go public next year as a way to raise billions in new funding. That now seems to have been confirmed in several ways. Wednesday a writer at Ars Technica confirmed it and explained why he thinks it's happening now.
SpaceX is planning to raise tens of billions of dollars through an initial public offering next year, multiple outlets have reported, and Ars can confirm. This represents a major change in thinking from the world’s leading space company and its founder, Elon Musk...
The decision is surprising because Musk has, for so long, resisted going public with SpaceX.
Another day, another Rep Al Green impeachment attempt on Donald Trump.
Now, the delightful, erudite Mr Green has to get in what cracks at Trump that he can, because the Texas State Legislature, in that redistricting plan that just got the official blessing from the courts?
Well, they drew his Green butt right out of a seat next year.
So time's a' wastin' for Al to make his mark and shake his cane as a U.S. Congressman.
The countdown to 'gone' is on.
Last night, Green demanded a vote to impeach Trump as an 'abuser of presidential power.' (X) The general reaction seemed to be,' Yeah, yeah, yeah' as he got himself all spooled up.
Are Americans feeling worse this holiday season than in recent years? That’s the narrative emerging from the legacy press but there’s very little to support it. The Associated Press published a widely distributed story this week claiming American shoppers face economic conditions this holiday season that “look very similar” to December 2022, when inflation hit a four-decade high. But an examination of the polling data reveals the news organization strategically omitted asking key questions about holiday shopping behavior in 2023 and 2024, while using loaded language and selective anecdotes to manufacture a narrative of Trump-era economic failure.
Venezuela functions both as a forward operating base and as an insurance policy for the regime, safeguarding its operatives and extending its reach.
Allowing Iran to entrench itself in the Western Hemisphere would only create a hostile foothold from which it could coordinate operations, support proxy groups, and control regional dynamics with near impunity.
President Donald J. Trump's policy on Venezuela is not only strategically sound but necessary to finally put a stop to Iran's explicit plans for the U.S. Iran has recently come out publicly, voicing strong support for Venezuela against the United States. Its statement reflects a deep strategic and military relationship that serves multiple interests for Tehran.
Unredacted photos of President Trump from the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s estate — which oddly blurred the faces of women he posed with — reveal he was standing with “adult women models,” according to exclusive images obtained by The Post.
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released a trove of images from Epstein’s estate Friday, including two shots of the president with women whose faces were blacked out — fueling speculation they could be the disgraced financier’s victims.
But a pair of pictures obtained exclusively by The Post show Trump standing next to beautiful grown women.
Welcome to "The New Monroe Doctrine," where I give you an update on what's going on in the Western Hemisphere, south of our border, especially as it relates to the United States.
There is a lot going on in our big, beautiful hemisphere this week. Latin America, in particular, is giving us lots of telenovela vibes. It's had everything from comedy to drama to adventure — Hollywood only wishes it could come up with stories like this. Because there are so many things to cover — and because I'm sick and wasn't even sure if I'd be able to get this out on Friday evening —
Former CBS News Anchor's 'Cronkite Awards'
Remarks Quietly Drop Hints of Improvement
in Legacy Media replies
Remarks Quietly Drop Hints of Improvement
in Legacy Media replies
Journalist Scott Pelley has been a mainstay at CBS News, and someone whom people might know as a correspondent on 60 Minutes, though he was once anchor of the network's national evening news. On Friday, he picked up one of the 2025 Walter Cronkite Awards, which are given out "biennially by the USC [University of Southern California] Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism." This year's submissions theme, which is plenty progressive, is unlikely to shock readers: I think it's crucial to acknowledge the baseline tone of the event before we proceed. More on what Pelley had to say in a minute.
There was news this week: the administration seized a Venezuelan oil tanker in the Caribbean, the Ukraine war continued, Minnesota taxpayers were bilked out of millions more, and so on. But in truth, things are slowing down. The holidays are just around the corner: hence this week’s theme. So we will start with some Christmas memes, and then on to the news and more.
One quick note, however: despite the suggestion of one or two of this week’s memes, “Die Hard” is not a Christmas movie! The action could just as easily have taken place on the eve of Valentine’s Day, or anything else. Got that, Steve?
The Rest is Populism
replies
For even those of us who live the life of the mind it is necessary to have holidays. For me, holidays take the form not of travelling somewhere, but of thinking-about-something-else. So I went on holiday last week.
Yes, indeed, I listened to about 10 hours of The Rest is Politics. You know, the famous podcast with Rory Stewart and Alastair Campbell.
And I did so, friends, not in the spirit of calumny or condemnation.
There are several things one can do with The Rest is Politics. Let me list them:
Listen to it on a weekly or daily basis:
California Governor Gavin Newsom recently appeared on the podcast of New York Times columnist Ezra Klein. During the episode, in addition to saying that he ‘wants to see trans kids’ Newsom talked about providing healthcare for illegal aliens in his state.
Ezra Klein followed up their discussion by tweeting about it, but in his tweet he says two things that completely contradict each other.
He begins by saying that Trump lies about Democrats wanting healthcare for illegals. Then he says triumphantly that Gavin Newsom is actually doing it!
Conservatives spend a lot of time debating how to counter the power of the liberal media. Some say build new platforms. Others say to fight bias on the ones that already exist. But there is one simple step that almost everyone on the Right should agree on: stop letting Washington handicap conservative broadcasters.
A single outdated FCC TV ownership cap, dating back to the 1940s, is doing just that, limiting TV station groups to reaching no more than 39 percent of U.S. television households. That number was invented in a different era, when most people had only a few channels and no internet or streaming.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard appears on Fox News to discuss the Trump administrations’ effort to track down, capture and remove a reported 18,000 known and documented terrorists who crossed the southern border and entered the U.S. during the Biden administration.
There are several elements to this issue, and unfortunately the aspect that pertains to identifying them and locating them works to enhance the argument of those who support govt surveillance. In fact, both the use of Palantir track and trace technology in combination with the FISA-702 reauthorization come into play here.
To recap briefly, the conflict between county residents and library officials began in 2021, when, responding to public complaints, the Llano County library removed 17 controversial books from its shelves, including these children’s books: Freakboy; Freddy the Farting Snowman; and Being Jazz: My Life As a Transgender Teen. A group of patrons then sued, alleging the library had illegally banned the books. At first, the case was going the plaintiffs’ way. In 2023, the federal district court sided with the patrons, ruling the library violated their right to receive information under the Free Speech Clause and ordering the books to be put back on the shelves.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy threatened to withdraw $73 million from New York after an investigation found that 53% of those with commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) were issued illegally.
Duffy said:
53% of New York’s non-domiciled CDLs were issued unlawfully or illegally. Now what New York does is, if an applicant comes in and they have a work authorization for 30 days, 60 days, one year, New York automatically issues them an eight year commercial driver’s license. That’s contrary to the law. That’s one offense.