Warm and getting hot just past the noon hour Thursday here in California’s Central Valley.– triple digits are expected this afternoon again starting a spell of a heat wave for the next few days.
And sparks fly, too, with Joe Biden’s exciting life for an old guy with another BFD (CBS): ‘“Today, we’re bringing home Paul, Evan, Alsu, Vladimir,” Mr. Biden said, noting all four have been imprisoned “unjustly” in Russia. “And now, their brutal ordeal is over, and they’re free,” he added.‘
Humongous news this morning! And with a heart:
Try to get through this without crying.
The sheer decency of Joe Biden remains unmatched. https://t.co/GjlQ76YinO
— TrumpsTaxes (@TrumpsTaxes) August 1, 2024
Even as she’s going full bore with a way-enthusiastic presidential campaign, Kamala receives another uptick:
The Biden administration leaned on @VP Kamala Harris at key moments to help secure the prisoner deal, including two high-level meetings in Germany with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golab, said a senior administration official pic.twitter.com/afUj4srVw3
— John Hudson (@John_Hudson) August 1, 2024
Meanwhile:
This was Trump today at Bedminster as Biden was announcing that he freed Paul Whelan, who was locked up by Putin when Trump was president. pic.twitter.com/XdNUhzuUSz
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) August 1, 2024
And to punch back:
"I didn’t know he was Orange until a number of years ago, when he happened to turn Orange. I respect either one, but he obviously doesn’t because all of a sudden he made a turn and he went – he became an Orange person. I think somebody should look into that."
— Jane of the North (@JaneotN) August 1, 2024
This summer has not only been hot weather-wise, but also in the political realm, too. An election that just a couple/or more weeks ago was sad, depressing, and seemingly hopeless, has turned itself on the proverbial ear and ripped a new asshole for T-Rump and Repubicans. There’s a refreshing sizzle in the air.
And it’s catching fire (Vanity Fair this morning):
The surreal last couple of weeks has generated a surge of interest in media of all types—cable ratings are up, big news brands have seen their highest traffic levels in a year or more, and TikTok has gone into full campaign mode. Big-name celebrities have added to the interest by jumping into the fray: Jennifer Aniston and JD Vance are feuding, Olivia Rodrigo endorsed Harris, and some of hip-hop’s trollier rappers are doubling down on Trump. That’s driving additional coverage from the celebrity news accounts.
To Nellis, it makes sense. The accounts whole mission is to highlight what’s hot. “There’s a lot for them to gain by tying themselves to the biggest internet sensation of the year,” he says. These accounts appeal to a younger, more diverse audience. So does Harris, at least compared to the octogenarian she replaced in the race for the Oval Office, and the septuagenarian she’s running against. But it’s a trend that’s likely to continue, at least for a while. Rap stars Megan Thee Stallion and Quavo appeared with Harris at an Atlanta rally on Tuesday. Pop Base posted about it five times. Pop Crave went even harder, with seven posts. Given that kind of attention—and the election’s stakes—those stars won’t be the last.
Optimism runs amuck.
Heart-felt uplift, or not, yet here we are once again…
(Illustration out front: ‘A Break in Reality,’ by Xetobyte, found here.)