It was once fashionable to speak of Ethereum as a “world computer,” a phrase that suggested a certain noisy, industrial utilitarianism. The idea was that every instruction, every transfer of value, every digital breath would be executed publicly and redundantly by a global network of nodes, a process that was transparent, unstoppable, and, as it turned out, prohibitively slow.

Although Ethereum in 2015 aimed at radical transparency, it is now engaged in a great transformation, an architectural renovation carried out while the building is still occupied. Ethereum is remaking itself not with more computing power, but with the mathematics of shadows: zero-knowledge proofs.

Ethereum replaces personal trust with mathematical guarantees, accountability without surveillance.

The central tension of the digital age has always been this trilemma: how to remain secure and decentralized while scaling to meet a global demand. Ethereum’s answer is to turn to an innovation in cryptography: the zero-knowledge proof, a protocol that allows one party to prove a statement is true without revealing why it is true, or indeed revealing any other information at all. It is a way to convince a stranger that you know a secret without ever telling him the secret itself. This property, which borders on the magical, is being woven into the very foundations of the network.

The heavy lifting of transaction execution is leaving the main stage. The Ethereum roadmap, in a phase titled the “Surge,” dictates that most activity will now occur off-chain, on Layer-2 networks known as rollups. These rollups bundle thousands of transactions, execute them in the dark, and generate a succinct validity proof, which is then posted back to Ethereum’s main layer. The main chain, once the sweating engine of the network, is now a high-security court, a judge that need not hear the testimony, only see the irrefutable mathematical certificate of the verdict.

Instead of a world computer, Ethereum is becoming a “world settlement layer,” an anchor for off-chain environments. To facilitate this, the network has introduced “blobs,” an inelegantly named but vital innovation of the Dencun upgrade. Blobs are temporary data, a cheap lane on the highway for rollup trucks, allowing vast amounts of information to be posted without clogging the passing lane. The new Fusaka upgrade promises to expand this capacity further, raising the gas limit and introducing PeerDAS, a system where nodes sample data rather than storing it. It is a move toward a system where the network holds everything, but no single participant must hold more than a fraction.

RELATED: Bitcoin billionaire will serve time after British police broke down her door and arrested her in bed

Photo by Vince Mignott/MB Media/Getty Images

But the most radical application of this new approach lies in the “Verge,” a suite of upgrades intended to make the network “stateless.” The ambition is to allow a user with a basic laptop, or even a phone, to verify the chain. Through the use of Verkle trees — cryptographic accumulators that replace more cumbersome data structures — proofs of state become tiny, manageable things. Verification is broadened, flattening the hierarchy of nodes. In this future, we need not trust institutions or even the “full nodes” of the blockchain priesthood, but rather trust the math and verify the proof.

There is a detachment to this logic that appeals to the cypherpunk instinct. The implications are deeply social. In the classical world, trust was intimate; it required knowing a reputation, a face, a history. Ethereum replaces this personal trust with mathematical guarantees. It is a vision of accountability without surveillance. This affordance is particularly relevant in the realm of privacy, an area where the unblinking transparency of the blockchain has long been a liability.

The Privacy Stewards of Ethereum, a group operating within the Ethereum Foundation, have outlined a roadmap that seeks to make privacy a “first-class feature.” They speak of “private writes” and “private reads,” of enabling users to interact with the ledger without leaking their identity or intent. They reject the idea that scaling requires the sacrifice of privacy and posit that one might gain a degree of invisibility while the system enforces the rules so strictly that cheating becomes computationally impossible.

One could prove one is a unique human without revealing one’s name, or prove a vote was counted without revealing the ballot. It is a shift from universal transparency to a society of secret handshakes, where transparency is selective and discretionary.

Of course, the Ethereum roadmap has risks. There is the question of “gas limit politics,” the danger that the specialized hardware required to generate zero-knowledge proofs will reintroduce centralization by another name. There is the fragility of the new cryptography itself, the fear that a breakthrough in quantum computing could render these mathematical castles defenseless. There is the ever-present tension between the ideal of a decentralized network and the reality of complex governance.

Yet, the momentum is undeniable. The integration of a zkEVM at Layer 1, an implementation of the Ethereum Virtual Machine that generates proofs of the blocks themselves, represents the capstone of this overhaul. It is an attempt to scale to the level of global finance, to process hundreds of thousands of transactions per second, without utilizing trusted servers.

Ethereum aims to renovate digital society in real time, to reconcile the conflicting desires for scale, security, and privacy through a reliance on “moon math” that has suddenly, quietly become infrastructure. Ethereum is betting that cryptographic truth can substitute for consensus. It is moving toward a global notary that sees everything and nothing, verifying the unseen with absolute precision in a ballet of proofs, harmonizing to a music we are only just beginning to hear.

​Tech, Ethereum 

The city of Seattle’s progressive ideology is set to clash with Islam during the FIFA World Cup next June.

Lumen Field in Seattle is scheduled to host six World Cup games in 2026, and the city’s organizing committee is planning a special gay-pride game for June 26.

‘The match-up of two countries where it is illegal to be gay is actually a “good thing” for the Pride Match.’

Announced in October, the committee is dubbing the game the “Seattle Pride Match” and has even procured gay art from fans through a contest meant to be used in Seattle’s “citywide celebration.”

However, after the World Cup draw finally happened on Friday to determine the tournament groups, the gay game is likely to run into ethical problems after it was decided who the two combatants will be.

The June 26 game will showcase a Group G matchup between two Muslim nations where homosexuality is prosecuted: The Islamic Republic of Iran and Egypt.

RELATED: ‘Equality’ in pay and ‘everything’ bar for women’s sports opens in Seattle

Photograph by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

In Iran, same-sex relations are criminalized, with punishments ranging from flogging to the death penalty, according to Amnesty International.

Egypt is known to use its “debauchery” laws to prosecute gay acts, and while homosexuality is not explicitly illegal, the country used anti-prostitution laws to convict a man for sending nude photos to another man on the gay-dating app Grindr in 2017, according to the Guardian.

The Seattle organizers, who are not affiliated with FIFA, said they are already preparing the area’s gay businesses to prepare for the influx of fans.

“We’re working with small businesses so the region’s LGBTQ+-owned enterprises are ready to benefit from the tournament’s unprecedented visitor surge,” said Hedda McLendon, the committee’s senior vice president of legacy, according to Newsweek.

Seattle also organized a committee specifically for the Pride match, calling it the Seattle Pride Match Advisory Committee. A member of that of that group, Eric Wahl, reportedly stated on social media that “the match-up of two countries where it is illegal to be gay is actually a ‘good thing’ for the Pride Match.”

RELATED: Major League Soccer lifts ban, allows fans to display Antifa-adopted ‘Iron Front’ flag during games

Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty images

The activism does not stop at gay pride for the Seattle group. It will also celebrate Juneteenth for one of the games. Juneteenth was first recognized by President Biden to celebrate the end of slavery annually on June 19.

A Group D match between the United States and Australia will take place in Seattle that day.

“Having the U.S. Team playing in Seattle on Juneteenth creates a high-visibility, high-responsibility moment to introduce hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide to Juneteenth and to create benefit for local Black-owned businesses and arts and cultural organizations,” the organizers said on their website.

For that match, the group created another committee called the Juneteenth Advisory Committee.

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​Fearless, Soccer, World cup, Gay pride, Woke, Seattle, Lgbt, Pride night, Islam, Muslim, Iran, Egypt, Sports 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has effectively torpedoed President Donald Trump’s peace plan.

After his meeting on Monday with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and French President Emmanuel Macron — who reportedly suggested last week that the U.S. might “betray” Ukraine — Zelenskyy reportedly told reporters that Kyiv will not cede any territory to Russia.

‘A lot of people are dying. So it would be really good if he’d read it. His people loved the proposal.’

“We have no right to give anything away — not under our laws, not under international law, not under moral law,” said Zelenskyy, reported the New York Post. “Russia is, of course, insisting that we give up territory. We, of course, do not want to give up anything — that is precisely what we are fighting for, as you are well aware.”

Zelenskyy, whom Trump accused in February of “gambling with the lives of millions of people,” added, “To be honest, the Americans are looking for a compromise today.”

Russia, which has slowly captured additional territory over the past year, presently occupies around 20% of the entire country and most of the Donbas — including all of the Luhansk region, most of the largely Russian-speaking Donetsk region, much of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, and parts of the Sumy and Kharkiv regions.

Under the Trump administration’s initial 28-point peace plan, embraced by Moscow but rejected by Kyiv and European leaders,

the U.S. would recognize Crimea, Luhansk, and Donetsk as de facto Russian; Kherson and Zaporizhzhia would be divided along the current line of contact; Russia would cede other territories under its control outside the five regions; and Ukrainian forces would abandon the part of Donetsk Oblast currently under their control, leaving it as a demilitarized buffer zone.

RELATED: European leaders gossip about US amid apparent efforts to torpedo Trump’s Russia-Ukraine peace deal: Report

Photo by Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu via Getty Images

Trump has long maintained that Kyiv will have to make some territorial concessions to bring an end to war that has resulted in millions of casualties. In August, for instance, the president said that while the U.S. seeks to negotiate for some of the Russia-occupied territories back for Ukraine, inevitably “there will be some land swapping going on. I know that through Russia and through conversations with everybody.”

On Monday, Zelenskyy suggested that he and Trump see things differently, stating that Trump “certainly wants to end the war. … Surely, he has his own vision. We live here, from within we see details and nuances, we perceive everything much deeper, because this is our motherland.”

‘It gets to a point where it’s not a democracy anymore.’

Trump said in an interview with Politico on Monday that while he credits the Ukrainian people for their bravery in defending their homeland, Russia is presently in the stronger negotiating position and “size will win, generally.” Accordingly Ukraine has to “play ball,” suggested the president, who was uncertain about whether Zelenskyy had even bothered to read the latest peace proposals.

“That’s as of yesterday. Maybe he’s read it over the night,” said Trump. “It would be nice if he would read it. You know, a lot of people are dying. So it would be really good if he’d read it. His people loved the proposal. They really liked it. His lieutenants, his top people, they liked it, but they said he hasn’t read it yet. I think he should find time to read it.”

Zelenskyy indicated this week that he will provide Washington with his views on the current U.S. peace plan — which has reportedly shed eight of the original points Zelenskyy characterized as “anti-Ukrainian” — on Tuesday night but not until he discusses with European leaders the “reparations loan and security guarantees” he regards as critical to the peace process.

When asked what would happen if Zelenskyy rejected the deal, Trump said, “He’s gonna have to get on the ball and start accepting things.” As for the European leaders who appear keen to involve themselves in the process, Trump said, “They talk but they don’t produce, and the war just keeps going on and on.”

Trump noted further that it’s time now — 18 months after Zelenskyy’s term was originally scheduled to end and in the midst of an ever-worsening corruption scandal involving Zelenskyy’s administration and close allies — for a Ukrainian presidential election.

“It’s been a long time,” said Trump.

“I think it’s an important time to hold an election. They’re using war not to hold an election, but I would think the Ukrainian people would, should have that choice. And maybe Zelenskyy would win. I don’t know who would win. But they haven’t had an election in a long time. You know, they talk about a democracy, but it gets to a point where it’s not a democracy anymore.”

Zelenskyy said in a statement on Tuesday, “We are committed to a real peace and remain in constant contact with the United States. And as our partners in the negotiating teams rightly note, everything depends on whether Russia is ready to take effective steps to stop the bloodshed and prevent the war from reigniting.”

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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) announced a new executive order on Monday, taking action against radical Islam.

DeSantis issued an order designating the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations as foreign terrorist organizations.

‘CAIR was designated as an unindicted co-conspirator by the United States Government in the largest terrorism-financing case in American history.’

The order, which took immediate effect, argued that the Muslim Brotherhood is a “transnational network with a long history of engaging in or supporting violence,” noting that the group created Hamas in 1987. It stated that the U.S. designated Hamas as a foreign terrorist organization in 1997 and that the group was responsible for 1,200 murders on October 7, 2023.

DeSantis’ order explained that the Palestine Committee, a group affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, founded CAIR in the U.S. in 1994.

“CAIR was designated as an unindicted co-conspirator by the United States Government in the largest terrorism-financing case in American history, and the court found ‘ample evidence to establish the association[]’ of CAIR with terrorist organizations,” the order read, citing United States v. Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development.

RELATED: Gov. Abbott talks redistricting victory, action against CAIR with Glenn Beck

KHALIL MAZRAAWI/AFP via Getty Images

“Florida agencies are hereby directed to undertake all lawful measures to prevent unlawful activities by these organizations, including denying privileges or resources to anyone providing material support,” DeSantis stated.

DeSantis’ order follows similar executive action from Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) in November.

RELATED: No Sharia law in Texas: Abbott draws a hard line against radical Islam

Greg Abbott. Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images

CAIR issued a statement declaring that it plans to file a lawsuit against DeSantis’ designation, accusing the governor of “serving the Israeli government over serving the people of Florida.”

“Like Greg Abbott in Texas, Ron DeSantis is an Israel First politician who wants to smear and silence Americans, especially American Muslims, critical of U.S. support for Israel’s war crimes,” CAIR National and CAIR-Florida said in a joint statement. “Governor DeSantis knows full well that CAIR-Florida is an American civil rights organization that has spent decades advancing free speech, religious freedom, and justice for all, including for the Palestinian people. That’s precisely why Governor DeSantis is targeting our civil rights group with this unconstitutional and defamatory proclamation.”

CAIR plans to hold a press conference on Tuesday to announce details of its forthcoming lawsuit against the state of Florida.

— (@)

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​News, Florida, Ron desantis, Desantis, Greg abbott, Abbott, Texas, The muslim brotherhood, Muslim brotherhood, Society of muslim brothers, Council on american islamic relations, Council on american-islamic relations, Cair, Islam, Politics 

A nine-time convicted felon opened fire on a man and woman outside a Florida home early Sunday morning, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said.

Deputies responded around 2:15 a.m. to a report of two people who had been shot in the 3100 block of 11th Street Court East in Bradenton, officials said.

‘The title of this video is exactly what is wrong with our country: “9-time convicted felon.” There should’ve never been a second time.’

When deputies arrived, they found a 32-year-old woman with a gunshot wound to her face and a 41-year-old man with a gunshot wound to his chest, officials said.

Both victims were taken to a hospital, officials said. The woman was later listed in stable condition, and the man’s injury was determined to be minor, officials said, adding that he has since been released.

The sheriff’s office said the shooter fled the scene prior to deputies’ arrival.

RELATED: Florida creep, out on bond after allegedly exposing privates to girl, masturbating, saying ‘It’s big, isn’t it?’ caught again

An investigation identified the suspect as 26-year-old Exzavion Richardson, officials said, adding that he was located in a vehicle several blocks away and detained during a traffic stop.

Multiple witnesses positively identified Richardson as the man who came to the residence looking for someone he claimed owed him money, officials said.

Witnesses reported that Richardson shot the male victim and then shot the female victim who also was standing outside the residence, officials said.

Richardson is charged with two counts of attempted murder, home invasion robbery, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, officials said. Jail records indicate he’s being held with no bond.

As for his criminal history, court records indicate Richardson has at least two battery convictions and multiple convictions for lewd and lascivious behavior, WFLA-TV reported. Jail records indicate Richardson stands 6’3” and weighs 205 pounds.

Commenters under WFLA’s video report about the shooting were not happy the suspect was back on the streets after so many run-ins with the law:

“Lock up the judges that released him as accomplices to the crime,” one commenter wrote.”The title of this video is exactly what is wrong with our country: ‘9-time convicted felon.’ There should’ve never been a second time,” another commenter noted.”Where’s Vlad the Impaler when you need him,” another commenter wondered.”Only nine times; that’s practically a clean record,” another commenter stated sarcastically. “I mean, he didn’t kill the woman — just shot her in the face. Give him probation. 10th time is a charm, right[?] He will change smh.””This dude either has a huge growth on his 4head or someone hit a Grand Slam on it,” another commenter observed.

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​Repeat offender, Convicted felon, Florida, Shooting, Arrest, Attempted murder charge, Home invasion robbery charge, Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon charge, Crime 

If Democrats seem extreme now, wait until they adopt ranked-choice voting. Some activists inside the party want exactly that — a reform that would push presidential nominations even further left and force establishment figures to navigate an ideological gauntlet to win.

Multiple reports indicate that Democratic Party activists and elected officials are pressuring the party to adopt ranked-choice voting for its 2028 presidential primaries. Axios notes that the push has grown serious enough that top party officials met in late October with advocates including Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), pollster Celinda Lake, and representatives from FairVote Action.

Ranked-choice voting would pour accelerant on a process already pulling Democrats further left.

Such an effort fits a long pattern: For decades, Democrats have shifted presidential nominations away from party leadership. On ranked-choice voting specifically, several states already use it — Maine and Alaska among them — along with deep-blue cities such as New York, Minneapolis, San Francisco, and Seattle.

Ranked-choice voting takes multiple forms, but New York City’s model illustrates the dynamic. Voters rank up to five candidates. If no candidate wins an initial majority, the last-place candidate drops out, and those voters’ second-choice votes are redistributed. This “loser leaves” process continues until a candidate secures a majority.

Assuming rational behavior, Democratic voters would likely rank candidates from more extreme to less extreme. That pattern would advantage the leftmost candidates again and again as lower-preference votes transfer upward.

This structural boost would encourage both supply and demand for extreme candidacies. Candidates on the ideological edge would have more incentive to run. Voters who prefer them would have more influence. Ranked-choice voting’s supporters tout this expanded participation as a virtue.

Offering voters multiple choices would foster coalition-building. Knowing the race may go to multiple rounds, candidates would angle for second- and third-choice votes. The horse-trading once done in old convention “smoke-filled rooms” would unfold publicly through a series of ranked ballots.

But the key question is simple: Why would ranked-choice voting necessarily supercharge extremism inside the Democratic Party? Because the system rewards voters for casting marginal votes — and among today’s Democrats, “marginal” means “further left.”

The party’s ideological shift is measurable. In Gallup’s 2023 polling, 54% of Democrats identified as liberal — an all-time high. Support for democratic socialists in major-city mayoral primaries shows how rapidly the party’s activist base has moved left. In 1995, the liberal share of the party was 25%, roughly equal to conservatives. Three decades later, conservatives make up just 10% of Democrats.

Exit polling confirms the trend: In 2024, 91% of self-identified liberals voted for Kamala Harris; only 9% of conservatives did.

Extrapolate from this trajectory, and the danger becomes even clearer. Extreme candidates increasingly win Democratic primaries in major cities. Those cities dominate statewide Democratic politics. And in closed primaries, only Democrats vote — meaning the hyper-engaged activist left already sets the terms of competition. Ranked-choice voting would amplify that influence. The same voters who nominated democratic socialists in New York and Seattle would wield disproportionate power in a presidential contest.

RELATED: Democrats are just noticing a long, deep-running problem

Photo by RYAN MCBRIDEDON EMMERTDON EMMERTKENA BETANCURROBYN BECKANGELA WEISSROBYN BECKROBYN BECKROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images

Consider how the 2020 Democratic primary might have played out under ranked-choice voting. Joe Biden — an establishment candidate favored by moderates — would have faced a field dominated by Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg, Tom Steyer, and others to his left. Ranked-choice voting would have forced him through a gauntlet designed by the party’s most ideological voters.

This trend is not new. In 1972, George McGovern reshaped Democratic nominating rules and then benefited from the changes. Since then, the party has repeatedly weakened its establishment’s role (with key exceptions). Ranked-choice voting would accelerate that shift dramatically.

With moderates now only 36% of the party, according to Gallup, how could they resist a move toward ranked-choice voting? More importantly, which remaining moderate or establishment Democrat could survive a ranked-choice system dominated by the party’s left wing?

Ranked-choice voting would pour accelerant on a process already pulling Democrats further left. The only question is how long it takes for the party to adopt it — and how long the party can remain viable nationally if it does.

​Opinion & analysis, Elections, 2028 election, Primary elections, Democrats, Democratic party, Democratic socialists, Bernie sanders, Elizabeth warren, Zohran mamdani, New york city, Seattle, Ranked-choice voting, Extremism, Leftists, Left-wing, Polls, Gallup poll, Joe biden 

Zohran Mamdani, the mayor-elect of New York City, has provided a number of strong indications that he might be every bit as radical in office as his critics feared in the lead-up to the mayoral election.

On Sunday, for instance, the Democratic Socialist conflated “immigrants” with illegal aliens, stressed that New York will always be a “city for all immigrants,” and identified ways that people can “stand up to” U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Last week, Mamdani suggested that he will end the clearing out of homeless encampments in the city.

Mamdani’s personnel decisions similarly hint at what is to come.

‘The optics and reality here point to a potential erosion of public safety in New York City.’

Until Freedom, an identitarian activist group, recently announced that its leaders had been “chosen to serve on Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani’s transition team on committees for public safety and criminal justice respectively.” In addition to one of the radical co-leaders of the 2017 Women’s March, Tamika Mallory, Mamdani brought aboard Mysonne Linen — a 49-year-old convicted armed robber who has made no secret of his racial animus and once suggested that all of the black Americans in President Donald Trump’s “circle” are “coons.”

According to the New York Daily News, Linen was found guilty in July 1999 of robbing multiple cab drivers in the Bronx. A prosecutor indicated at the time that Linen was among the thugs who held up cabbie Joseph Eziri in 1997 and smashed him with a beer bottle. Another cabbie, Francisco Monsanto, identified Linen as the thug who held him at gunpoint on March 31, 1998, stealing a ring and cash.

RELATED: Why the kids are not all right — and Boomers still pretend nothing’s wrong

Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Despite denying responsibility — he claimed at the time he didn’t need to commit the crimes because he was making money writing music for rappers such as Lil’ Kim — Linen was ultimately convicted on three counts of robbery, weapons possession, and possession of stolen property. Although he faced up to 25 years in prison, he was released on parole in July 2006.

Linen, still denying his guilt and complaining about “white supremacy,” later co-founded Until Freedom with Mallory and Linda Sarsour — the Islamic activist who told fellow radicals earlier this year to “abolish Israel.”

On the transition page for the mayor-elect, who said in 2020 that the NYPD “is racist, anti-queer & a major threat to public safety,” Linen is listed among the radical leftist members of Mamdani’s committee on the criminal legal system.

Until Freedom said in response to the appointment, “This is a testament to our decades of work advocating on behalf of black and brown communities and our expertise in gun violence prevention, legislative advocacy, and criminal justice reform. We are building something different.”

The news that an apparently unrepentant convict will advise New York City’s incoming mayor did not sit well with Benny Boscio, president of the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association, who told the New York Post, “It is both disheartening and deeply disturbing that individuals who are convicted felons and have a history of breaking the law are being given the opportunity to help shape the future of New York’s criminal justice system.”

“The men and women who risk their lives every day to enforce the law have been shut out from this process entirely,” added Boscio.

“It’s just another appointed adviser that has a questionable past, which is in line with some of his other recent appointees who were anti-police and establishment,” retired NYPD Chief of Department John Chell told the Post. “The optics and reality here point to a potential erosion of public safety in New York City.”

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​New york city, Zohran mamdani, Crime, Democrat, Democratic city, New york, Leftism, Mysonne linen, Convict, Politics 

Democrat Rep. Jasmine Crockett (Texas) put the rumors to rest and finally announced her bid for the U.S. Senate with a campaign video that will make Americans laugh now — and may leave Republicans laughing later.

Crockett has reportedly been weighing whether to continue serving Texas in the House of Representatives or to pivot and pursue higher office in the Senate. The rising star of the Democratic Party finally made her decision official on Monday, the last day to file for the 2026 race.

‘She’s a very low-IQ person.’

In the highly anticipated announcement, her campaign released a video of Crockett stoically looking off into the distance, blinking slowly, then crossing her arms and smiling briefly. The video has been edited to have a vintage, film-like effect reminiscent of prominent politicians who came before her.

But rather than outlining her campaign promises or articulating her vision for Texas, Crockett stands there with a voice-over of President Donald Trump repeatedly berating her for being “low-IQ.”

RELATED: CNN brutally fact-checks Jasmine Crockett for peddling debunked ballroom hoax

Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images

“How about this new one they have, their new star, Crockett?” Trump says in the video. “How about her? She’s the new star of the Democrat Party, Jasmine Crockett. They’re in big trouble.”

“You have this woman, Crockett, she’s a really low-IQ person,” Trump says. “I watched her speak the other day, and she’s definitely a low-IQ person. … She’s a very low-IQ person.”

While the highlight reel of Trump’s insults against Crockett is hilarious, it may prove to be a mistake many other Democrats have made to their detriment.

RELATED: Jasmine Crockett’s jaw-dropping defense of criminals: ‘They literally are trying to survive’

Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images

Democrats have a habit of focusing their entire campaigns on defining themselves as the anti-Trump choice rather than actually focusing on a set of policies their voters might find compelling.

During the 2024 presidential election, former Vice President Kamala Harris tailored her campaign to be about Trump and not about the American people. Partly as a result, voters rejected her resoundingly.

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​Donald trump, Jasmine crockett, Texas, Texas senate race, Collina allred, 2026 primaries, Texas democrat, Low iq, House democrats, Senate democrats, Politics 

Director David L. Cunningham brought some old-school Disney magic to his latest project.

The Hollywood veteran recalled how Walt Disney often appeared on camera to personally introduce the projects closest to his heart, putting his unmistakable stamp on them.

‘By taking out the hardship and the risk, you diminish the courage that Mary and Joseph had, their faith, and so much of the sacrifice.’

So when Cunningham envisioned a fresh, authentic take on the Christmas story, he wondered if another icon could do the honors. And, as fate would have it, his producing partner knew Kevin Costner personally.

The busy film legend agreed to join the project, with one caveat.

“He insisted on bringing his story into it … and the pieces fell together,” Cunningham tells Align.

‘Unifying celebration’

“Kevin Costner Presents: The First Christmas,” debuting Dec. 9 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC before hitting Hulu the following day, does more than put the Christ back in Christmas.

The special lets Costner share some personal anecdotes regarding the earliest days of his acting career, including how he participated in a Christmas story production with less than Hollywood-style results.

He improved over time, of course.

“The First Christmas” introduces us to Mary and Joseph, a young couple facing incredible hardships along with the most important pregnancy … ever.

“The intent was to try and find a unifying celebration of the story,” Cunningham says. “Let’s all get behind what matters the most. Jesus was brought into this world in this amazing way. … The goal wasn’t to put a spin on something but to revisit the ancient texts and try to honor it as much as possible.”

Not too ‘cozy’

“The First Christmas” pushes past misconceptions about the holiday, blending polished dramatic beats with commentary bringing critical context each step of the way. That approach worked well with the material, the director says, comparing the expert commentary to “miniature podcasts” that pop in between dramatic elements.

“We didn’t want a theological, wag-your-finger thing,” he notes, but he also wanted to remove the “cozy interpretations” many have of the Nativity.

“By taking out the hardship and the risk, you diminish the courage that Mary and Joseph had, their faith, and so much of the sacrifice,” he says.

“There’s nothing wrong with having the cozy little Nativity, with the angels looking on, but let’s go back and revisit this and say, ‘Hey, what does the Scripture say and why?’”

The special features “talking head” interstitials from voices stateside and beyond, echoing Christianity’s global reach and impact.

“The West doesn’t have the corner on the [Christian] market,” Cunningham says, noting a spiritual rise in Brazil and other nations in recent years.

Sticking to the text

Cunningham is no stranger to faith-based productions, starting with one of his earliest projects: 2001’s “To End All Wars.” The film recalled the fact-based story of Japanese POW camp captives who embraced God to both endure and forgive their captors.

Those experiences have given him insight into Christian projects that connect with the masses and, more importantly, ring true.

“When a biblical movie works, it sticks to the text,” he says with a chuckle. “It also helps to have people who are leading the charge who believe in it.”

Cunningham studied faith-based films in film school, noting how the industry “lost the plot” over the years regarding Christian projects.

“We felt as Christians that somehow entertainment and Hollywood was of the devil. We didn’t want anything to do with it,” he says. “We just walked away from one of the most influential platforms there is.”

RELATED: 12 American-made Christmas gift ideas

Russell Moccasin

Cinematic revolution

That, of course, has changed dramatically over the past 20-odd years, from “The Passion of the Christ” to 2023’s “Sound of Freedom.” The clunky, low-budget stories of the recent past have been replaced by slick, soulful projects that reflect both faith and a dramatic upgrade in craftsmanship.

He name-checks “The Chosen” creator Dallas Jenkins and Jon and Andrew Erwin for being part of this cinematic revolution.

Cunningham also used his personal experiences to help inspire and shape “The First Christmas,” echoing what Costner brought to the project. He recalls his own days as a young father, with all the fear and uncertainty that came along with it.

“I’m walking out the door with this child. … We had a car seat ready to go,” he says of his earliest hours as a parent. “Can you imagine a young couple in a cave when infant mortality was through the roof? Now you’re being born into this world that’s incredibly brutal and cruel. You’re a young couple, and by the way, that’s the Son of God.

“No pressure,” he says.

​Entertainment, Abide, Faith, Abc, The nativity, Kevin costner, Kevin costner presents: the first christmas, David l. cunningham, Television, Christmas, Align interview