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.

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An interesting juxtaposition of politics, culture and commercial pressure to comply with a specific brand of social acceptances permeates the discussion between pundit Tucker Carlson and actor-musician Ice Cube during a drive through Los Angeles. {Direct Rumble Link}

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Apparently, someone on the BLM/Woke activism side of the narrative engineering grievance industry decided to call country music singer Jason Aldean a racist for his song “Try That in A Small Town”.   [The song and video are at the end of the article.]

As the story is told, the song and subsequent music video upset the professional grievance industry who took exception to the contrast of small-town values juxtaposed against urban riots, violence and looting.

While it might sound odd, and as a consequence of the spotlight provided by Mr Aldean, intolerance to chaos, small-town values, peace, respect, kindness and neighbor helping neighbor is now declared by the grievance experts as an exhibition of profound racism.  It all seems rather bizarre, because redefining social values is typically Marxist.

Making things even more odd, Country Music Television agreed with the grievance team and immediately pulled the Aldean video from the network.  However, perhaps as an outcome of the interest created by this oddball controversy, viewers and listeners have driven the song and video to the top of the charts.

(Fox Business) – […] According to Luminate, which tracks streams and music sales, the audio and video streams from Aldean’s latest song went from 987,000 to 11.7 million, a 999% increase in the week following the release of the music video.

Luminate also confirmed to FOX Business that sales for “Try That In A Small Town” have spiked as well. The week before Aldean released the music video, it sold 1,000 tracks. Last week, the country music song sold 228,000 tracks, per Luminate.

Another major accomplishment for Aldean came in on Monday. “Try That In A Small Town” came in second on Billboard’s Hot 100 list. This marks the country music singer’s first number two spot on the chart. (read more)

I’ve watched this video below a few times, and I still don’t see what makes it controversial.

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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.

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Arguably one of the most influential and longest lasting brilliant singers who was uniquely capable of crossing multiple generations of song, all while retaining that same smile.  The legendary and irreplaceable Tony Bennett has died at the age of 96.  Wow, what a life!

In the latter part of his career, with incredible and smooth duets with female pop stars (1990 – 2020), I once remarked that Bennett’s specific style of charm reminded me of a human Quokka, simply because of that incredible and authentic smile he carried.  The guy was a class act.

Shine on Mr. Bennett. The sounds in heaven just got a whole lot more jazzed…

(Variety) […] He was born Anthony Dominick Benedetto in Astoria, Queens, New York on Aug. 3, 1926, to Italian immigrant parents; his father was a grocer, his mother a seamstress. Raised in poverty, he began singing as a child, and studied music and his other lifelong love, painting, at New York’s High School of Industrial Art. His vocal influences included Al Jolson, Bing Crosby and, later, Frank Sinatra, as well as such female singers as Billie Holiday and Judy Garland.

Drafted at 18 in 1944, he served in World War II’s European theater, doing combat infantry duty and liberating a German concentration camp. After the end of the conflict, he sang as a member of an Armed Forces band.

On his return from service, he studied voice with Miriam Spier in the American Theatre Wing. He cut his first, unsuccessful sides for independent Leslie Records in 1949, as “Joe Bari.”

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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.”

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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)

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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.

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Things are not looking good for France as a fourth night of riots, violence, looting and general chaos is worsening. “President Macron was last night facing calls to impose a state of emergency after marauding gangs of rioters – some armed with stolen rifles – clashed with police in a fourth night of mayhem.”

(Via Daily Mail) – […] Rioters were again seen rampaging through the streets of Marseille, Lille and Paris, amid claims looters broke into a gun shop and stole hunting rifles while others ransacked a police station. Cars, buses and government buildings have been set alight and fireworks have been launched at police.

There were more than 3,800 fires on public roads last night, while more than 500 buildings were set alight.

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As Anheuser Busch continues supporting alphabet “pride” and transgender grooming rallies around the nation, the sales of their products continue declining. However, that did not stop the marketing and advertising sector from awarding “creative marketer of the year” to Anheuser Busch at Cannes Lions, which is dubbed the “Oscars for the advertising industry.”

[New York Post] – Sales of Bud Light suffered their steepest weekly drop yet since the beer brand launched its disastrous tie-up with transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney, according to the latest data.

In the week ending June 17, sales of the Anheuser-Busch brand fell by an eye-popping 28.5% versus a year ago, according to the most recent sales figures issued by Bump Williams Consulting and NielsenIQ.

That eclipses last week’s 26.8% decline, which beat the previous week’s fall of 24.4%.

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