When the people of Wyoming removed Liz Cheney and replaced her with Harriet Hageman, it was perhaps one of the best reflections of a damaged, yet standing, constitutional republic.  To say Harriet Hageman represents an upgrade to our congressional representation would be a profound understatement.

This is a lady I would campaign for, volunteer for and fight like hell to keep in office.

During her remarks today Representative Harriet Hageman dropped all pretenses and eloquently called DHS Secretary Mayorkas what he is, “a tyrant.”  Representative Hageman’s perspective on the value, importance and critical protections for the constitutional freedom of speech was eloquently argued, directly to the face of the DHS organization that seeks to define, restrict, censor and control speech.  This is really good.  WATCH:

.

…”There is no such thing as “disinformation” or “misinformation”.  There is only information you accept and information you do not accept.  You were not born with a requirement to believe everything you are told; rather, you were born with a God given brain that allows you to process the information you receive and make independent decisions.” ~ Sundance

(more…)

It’s funny in a way, because since mid 2022 CTH has been pointing out the 2021 arrival of registered foreign agent Christina Pushaw in the DeSantis orbit always looked a little, well, ideologically structured.

Someone had to enlist the Ukrainian activist into the DeSantis orbit to become his press secretary.  We wondered if perhaps the similarity between the State Dept World War Reddit fraud and the pretending around the Ron DeSantis 2024 operation was not coincidental.

Regardless of how all of that took place, the reality of Pushaw’s pro-Zelenskyy, pro-Ukraine influence was clearly visible long before the ‘book tour’ pretenses were dropped, and the handlers of Ron DeSantis finally admitted a 2024 nomination effort was underway.

So, here we are.  Now we enter this odd phase where campaign branding and images of the DeSantis brand start to represent the ideology of the brand creators.  After it was revealed that an anti-Trump homophobic and violent video was actually created by the campaign and then delivered to Pushaw’s influence group to push it, the DeSantis campaign removed it.  This was the first effort.

Now comes the second instance.  A DeSantis video showing Nazi symbolism, a Sonnenrad or symbol used by Nazis and still used by white supremacists in the Ukrainian military units, surfaces.

[See screengrab left]

Is this just another random occurrence, or really is it an outcome of the people who Pushaw et al helped assemble in the branding phase?  The former possibility is pretending, the latter probability is the Occam’s razor likelihood.

(Via Axios) – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 2024 campaign fired an aide this week who secretly created and shared a pro-DeSantis video that featured the candidate at the center of a Sonnenrad, an ancient symbol appropriated by the Nazis and still used by some white supremacists.

Driving the news: Nate Hochman, a speechwriter on the DeSantis campaign and a former writer for National Review, created the video on his own and shared it through a pro-DeSantis Twitter account, according to a person familiar with the matter.

(more…)

Finding solid information, accurate data, to update the perspective of the ongoing boycott of Bud Light products is a little challenging. You would think the data would be easily found; alas, in this era of hyper partisanship, data that would reflect the truth of the situation is less visible. Go figure.

That said, this market share report from Union does give us a little more perspective on the outcome.  According to the market share report, the decline in Bud Light sales overall is 34.2% over the past six months.  Interestingly, some regions have much larger declines than others. For California, “Union reported only minor changes in market dominance in the state. Bud Light’s sales share in California slid by 0.8 points to 6.6%, while Miller Lite’s sales share increased by 1.7 points to 12%.”

(Via MSM) – The hospitality consumption data platform Union reported a significant decline in Bud Light’s sales share in the Carolinas. From April through June 30, the brand’s sales share dropped by 6.9 points, falling from 19.4% to 12.5%. This decline has been attributed to the fallout from Bud Light’s partnership with Dylan Mulvaney, which sparked controversy and calls for a boycott.

[…] Local bar owners in the Carolinas have also reported a significant impact on Bud Light’s sales. For instance, Chris Dimattia, the owner of Recovery Room Tavern in Charleston, SC, mentioned that he used to sell 10 cases of Bud Light each week, but now only sells one to three cases of the boycott brew, resulting in a 70% to 90% drop in sales. At Blind Tiger Pub, another Charleston bar, Bud Light sales are described as “almost non-existent” by general manager Clayton Dukes. Dukes expressed his concern that the boycott may persist for an extended period, prompting him to replace Bud Light draft with Michelob Ultra due to the low sales.

(more…)

If you did not watch the two-hour+ video of Tucker Carlson and Andrew Tate [Rumble Link Here], you might not have the correct perspective for just how devastating this video is for the career of Tucker Carlson.

However, that said, this video is very useful in explaining something about Tucker Carlson that has been discussed, debated and argued on these pages for quite a while.  First, watch the video. [6 minutes] WATCH:

https://youtu.be/tHAmpUyfyy4

.

Tucker flew all the way to Romania to interview Andrew Tate and present him as the victim of a horrible prosecution.  Tucker went out on a limb to portray Tate as wrongly accused.  When your entire brand is based on judgement and opinion, you cannot be as wrong as Tucker Carlson was in that portrayal of Tate.  You just can’t.

(more…)

There has been a great deal of increased discussion surrounding the issues of automated Artificial Intelligence, colloquially called “AI.”

At the central core of the AI issues in communication; you inevitably enter a discussion on the issue of definitions and terms.  Who is determining the definitions of what constitutes valid information? Who is determining what types of information are not valid, not approved for communication networks and how are their definitions being applied?

A solid and short-read thread on the assembly of people, groups and institutions surrounding the issue of AI in communication and media is presented HERE.

[Article/Thread LINK]

The topic of AI in general is a very large conversation.  The topic of AI specific to communication is equally large and perhaps even more significant.

AI applied to communication must first establish a need for it to exist.  Within that discussion, government interests and corporate interests take large seats at the table.  Social media platforms, communication outlets, almost the entire technology sector and various special interest groups are also stakeholders in the discussion of how AI can be applied to the filtering of information – or what I would more appropriately call the CONTROL of information.

The predicate of the conversation jumps around a little, but the issue of defining reality is throughout the discussion.  This is where my prior warnings about defining information must be emphasized.  I am losing the current argument, but I retain optimism that eventually the control mechanisms will need to be destroyed by a generation that falls under its influence.

“There is no such thing as “disinformation” or “misinformation” or “malinformation”.  There is only information.  There is information you accept and information you do not accept.  You were not born with a requirement to believe everything you are told; rather, you were born with a brain that allows you to process the information you receive and make independent decisions.”

(more…)

Anheuser Busch continues to lose market share according to the latest statistics shared by Bump Williams consulting firm. In the key period just before the July 4th holiday, sales of Bud Light dropped another 28.5% compared to the prior year.

The initial sales decline which began in April continues.  The ongoing boycott against Bud Light appears to be holding firm.

CNN – […] For the four weeks ending on July 1, Modelo Especial captured 8.7% of overall beer sales, compared to Bud Light’s 7% share, according to NIQ data given to consulting firm Bump Williams. Dollar sales for the pre-July 4 period continued to be grim for Bud Light, with sales falling 28.5%, while Modelo’s grew 8.5% during the same time period. (more)

(more…)

There’s a lot of background discussion about this latest issue created by Elon Musk signing a pledge to support the socialist (communist) economic enterprise systems under the control of the Chinese Communist Party.

Most of the current discussion is focused on the weak ideological ‘free-market and democratic’ commitment exhibited by Musk’s adherence to the rules and dictates of the Chinese state.  However, I’m staying far outside the esoteric and nuanced implication of this.  The reality is much simpler.

Elon Musk is in a dire financial situation; he cannot afford to be high-minded and ideologically connected to free-speech and free-enterprise right now (if he ever was).

The Musk empire is in a very weak financial position; these decisions made, while China is holding such financial leverage over him, are made without option.  Ironically, Twitter is banned in China. lolol

(Via Daily Mail) – […]  Elon Musk’s Tesla was the only foreign company in the lineup of 15 other automakers to sign the letter.  Part of Musk’s pledge was a promise to support China’s ‘core socialist values’ and bear ‘the heavy responsibility of maintaining steady growth.’ 

The automakers also agreed not to ‘exaggerate or use false publicity and disrupt fair competition with abnormal pricing,’ according to Bloomberg. 

China accounts for one third of Tesla’s annual sales, reports the FT. The communist country is Tesla’s second-largest market after the U.S. and the Shanghai plant is the electric car maker’s largest production hub. 

Yaqiu Wang, senior China researcher with Human Rights Watch, criticized Musk’s moves, telling the FT: ‘Failing to comply with ‘core socialist values’ has been frequently used by authorities to punish speeches that are critical of the Chinese government.’  (read more)

Once you strap onto the ride with the dragon, you don’t get off until the ride’s over.

(more…)

The Netherlanders are a rather dramatic sort, organizing their system of governance on coalitions of various shades that agree to high-minded pleasantries as a way to remain above the fray of pesky conflict.  Alas, once a moment of core and consequential disagreement reaches an impasse, the entire Dutch government is said to “collapse.”

The Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte traveled to Tunisa earlier this year, together with EU leaders, pledging €1 billion in assistance if the North African gatekeepers could just stop the flow.  The effort didn’t work, and his small country of 18 million, already dealing with major internal conflict driven by farmers and climate change, could not cope with the toxic political challenge of increased unlawful migration.

Associated Press – The ruling Dutch coalition collapsed Friday after tense talks among the four parties in Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s ruling bloc failed to broker a deal over ways to rein in migration, a senior politician said. 

Henk Kamp, a senior member of Rutte’s People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy told Dutch television: “It is a great shame that the government has now fallen.” The failure of months of talks on the thorny issue could now force a general election. 

Rutte’s Cabinet gathered late Friday in a hastily scheduled meeting. “We talked for a long time, we are coming here tonight because we did not succeed,” Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren told reporters as she walked into the Cabinet meeting.

(more…)

Former popular Fox News host Tucker Carlson appears for a lengthy interview with British pundit Russell Brand about current events. {Full Video Rumble Link} The interview is well over an hour and covers a wide range of topics [full video below fold]; the segment below is specifically about Donald Trump, RFK Jr and the state of DC politics. WATCH:

“I think looking back on this ten years from now, assuming we’re still around, I think we’re going to see Trump’s emergence as the most significant thing that happened in American politics in 100 years, because he reoriented the Republican Party against the wishes of Republican leaders.”

“I’m struck by his foreign policy views. You know Trump is the only person with stature in the Republican Party really who is saying wait a second why are we sending an endless war in Ukraine. Leaving aside whether Trump is going to get the nomination or get elected President or would be a good President, I can’t even assess that, all I can at this point is I’m so grateful he has that position. He’s right and everyone in Washington is wrong, everyone. And Trump is right on that question and it’s a big question. That war is reshaping the world. It’s reshaping the economy of the world. It’s reshaping populations.”

“Europe will never be the same because of this war and it really matters, and Trump alone among popular figures in both parties understands that and I’m grateful for that.”

“Whether he gets the nomination or gets elected, words really matter. Saying something true out loud matters, and he is saying true things about Ukraine and God bless him. That’s how I feel.”

(more…)

Neil Oliver’s monologues each week are even more critical in the intellectual pushback as the thoughts and monologues of Tucker Carlson.  Neil articulates the issues and reaches an audience thirsting to understand just how corrupt the systems are that flow from the globalist and corporatist constructs.

Behind all the disparate institutional machinations, the larger objective of globalism and nationalism continue to present the most direct reference point of the conflict.  Just as Donald Trump represents this dynamic clearly in the United States, within Europe UK political figure Nigel Farage has been the tip of the spear confronting globalism and representing the face of British nationalism.

As a result of this dynamic almost every multinational and corporate EU institution has attempted to destroy Nigel Farage.  The latest example comes from the banking system in the U.K which has told Mr. Farage he will not be permitted to engage in banking, finance or commerce.  Neil Oliver takes this example and puts the larger context into his monologue.  WATCH:

.

(more…)