Failed Harris campaign went deeper into debt blowing money on star-studded events



Oprah Winfrey, Beyoncé, Bruce Springsteen, and self-identified "Childless Cat Lady" Taylor Swift were among the many coastal celebrities who endorsed Kamala Harris in the lead-up to the vice president's monumental defeat. It turns out that the production of inauthentic election-time adoration and ideological conviction was expensive.

Federal filings revealed that the campaign, which is reportedly indebted to the tune of over $18 million after blowing roughly $1 billion on Harris' latest failed presidential run, poured boatloads of cash into influencer networks and production companies linked to big names in the entertainment industry.

Federal Election Commission filings show, for instance, that the Harris campaign committee paid Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Productions $1 million on Oct. 15.

Winfrey tried her apparent best on more than one occasion to generate excitement for Harris. In September, she hosted a rally in Michigan, suggesting that there was a "grassroots movement" behind the vice president and that Harris inspired "a real feeling of optimism and hope."

On the eve of Harris' rejection by the majority of American voters, Winfrey told a crowd in Philadelphia once again to vote, suggesting it might be their last opportunity ever to do so.

Katy Perry, Jon Bon Jovi, Christina Aguilera, Ricky Martin, rapper 2 Chainz, and Lady Gaga also made appearances at Harris' final swing-state concerts. The Washington Examiner indicated that the campaign blew over $15 million on "event production"-related costs.

'It didn't matter to have a bunch of celebrities talking to no one.'

Elements of the defeated Harris campaign told the New York Post that former Obama campaign adviser Stephanie Cutter pushed the star-studded concert performances as a way to turn out lower-propensity voters — a plan apparently supported by senior Harris adviser David Plouffe, who has since taken steps to erase his social media presence.

One campaign source told the Post, "They said they were 'spending to zero.' I guess they overshot zero."

Another source said that the costly events constituted "a real misuse of funds that could have been better spent on ads laying out economic polices" to irate and struggling voters. "It didn't matter to have a bunch of celebrities talking to no one, because one, 75 million people already voted, and two, people were concerned about their own financial issues, not Oprah telling them America won't exist."

The Harris campaign apparently dodged the Post's request for comment.

'Now they are being squeezed by vendors and others.'

"Money can't buy you love or a good candidate," a Trump campaign adviser told the Examiner.

When compared to President-elect Donald Trump's various podcast appearances, which were virtually all massively popular — especially his appearance on "The Joe Rogan Experience," which has netted over 48.7 million views on YouTube alone despite its initial suppression — Harris' "Call Her Daddy" interview with Alex Cooper was a failure, netting fewer than 845,000 views on YouTube.

This promotional spot was not only ineffective but costly. An unnamed source told the Examiner that the Harris campaign spent six figures building a set for the vice president's "Call Her Daddy" appearance.

Federal filings also indicate that the Harris campaign spent tens of millions of dollars on consultants to stimulate and simulate support online. The Examiner noted that Village Marketing Agency received over $3.9 million, ostensibly for its help recruiting social media influencers to boost the vice president online.

Trump appeared to troll the Harris campaign on Truth Social over the weekend, writing, "I am very surprised that the Democrats, who fought a hard and valiant fight in the 2020 Presidential Election, raising a record amount of money, didn't have lots of$’s left over. Now they are being squeezed by vendors and others."

"Whatever we can do to help them during this difficult period, I would strongly recommend we, as a Party and for the sake of desperately needed UNITY, do," continued the president elect. "We have a lot of money left over in that our biggest asset in the campaign was 'Earned Media,' and that doesn't cost very much. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"

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Sean 'Diddy' Combs accused of raping 13-year-old girl with another celebrity as female star watched, new lawsuit claims



A new wave of lawsuits have been initiated against Sean “Diddy” Combs, which include accusations that the hip-hop producer raped a 13-year-old girl with a fellow celebrity as a female star watched the alleged sex crime.

On Sunday, Houston-based attorney Tony Buzbee filed five new civil lawsuits against Combs in New York federal court under the New York City Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act. Buzbee had already filed six previous jury-seeking suits against the music mogul for alleged sex crimes.

The lawsuit claims that after the purported sexual assault, the alleged victim 'fell into a deep depression which continues to affect every facet of her life.'

Buzbee told NBC News, "We will let the allegations in the filed complaints speak for themselves and will work to see that justice is done. We expect to be filing cases weekly naming Mr. Combs and others as defendants as we continue to gather evidence and prepare the filings."

Buzbee said he is representing more than 120 individuals in civil lawsuits accusing Combs of sex crimes over the course of more than two decades. Buzzbee said the youngest alleged victim was only 9 years old when Diddy reportedly sexually assaulted him.

According to the latest lawsuit against Diddy, an alleged child sex crime occurred at an afterparty following the MTV Video Music Awards in September 2000.

The alleged victim, now 37, claimed she was raped at the afterparty when she was only 13 years old. The alleged victim — identified as Jane Doe — claimed to have felt “woozy and lightheaded” after one drink at the party.

“Looking for a place to rest, plaintiff entered what she believed to be an empty bedroom so she could lie down for a moment,” the 19-page lawsuit stated, according to Deadline.

“Soon after, Combs, along with a male and female celebrity, entered the room,” the 19-page action says. “Combs aggressively approached plaintiff with a crazed look in his eyes, grabbed her, and said, ‘You are ready to party!'”

“Combs then threw plaintiff toward another male celebrity, Celebrity A, who removed plaintiff’s clothes as she grew more and more disoriented,” the lawsuit contends. “Plaintiff was held down by Celebrity A who vaginally raped her while Combs and Celebrity B, a female, watched."

"After the male celebrity finished, Combs then vaginally raped plaintiff while the Celebrity A and Celebrity B watched," the suit alleges. "Combs attempted to force plaintiff to perform oral sex on him, but she resisted by hitting Combs in the neck; he stopped.”

The lawsuit does not name the male and female celebrities.

The alleged victim said she left “the large white house with a gated U-shaped driveway” after the claimed sexual assault, and her father picked her up.

The lawsuit claims that after the purported sexual assault, the alleged victim "fell into a deep depression which continues to affect every facet of her life.”

Rolling Stone reported that another victim said he was 17 years old when Combs sexually abused him.

The alleged victim — an aspiring singer identified as John Doe — said he went to a penthouse hotel party in Manhattan in 2022. The alleged victim claimed Diddy offered him a drink and “assured Doe that he could make him a star."

The alleged victim claimed he began to feel dizzy and confused.

He claims to have stumbled into a room where people were having group sex. The lawsuit claims Combs grabbed the alleged victim and "led him to the bed, forcing him to lie down on the bed against his will.”

"Combs grabbed Doe’s penis and genitals with his hand," the lawsuit alleges. "Combs manipulated Does’ genitals for an extended period of time, trying to get him aroused."

Another alleged victim claimed he was forced to sign a non-disclosure agreement in order to attend a party at Combs’ Holmby Hills mansion following the 2022 BET Awards. The alleged victim claimed he was handed a cocktail and soon felt “disoriented, dizzy and weak.”

The lawsuit states that the alleged victim reportedly was escorted into a small room where nearly a dozen people were engaging in group sex. After “realizing his significant impairment,” Combs allegedly approached him and “removed his pants, and began performing non-consensual oral sex onto him,” the suit claims.

Rolling Stone reported that Diddy's criminal defense team filed a motion with U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian on Sunday night, asking for a gag order that would prohibit “further extrajudicial statements from prospective witnesses and their lawyers that substantially interfere with Mr. Combs’s right to a fair trial.”

According to Page Six, Combs' legal team said: "The press conference and 1-800 number that preceded today’s barrage of filings were clear attempts to garner publicity. Mr. Combs and his legal team have full confidence in the facts, their legal defenses, and the integrity of the judicial process. In court, the truth will prevail: that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted anyone — adult or minor, man or woman.”

As Blaze News reported last month, Combs was arrested in New York City after the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York charged him with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and interstate transportation for prostitution.

The indictment read: “Members and associates of the Combs Enterprise engaged in, and attempted to engage in, among other activities, sex trafficking, forced labor, interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution, coercion, and enticement to engage in prostitution, narcotics offenses, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice.”

The indictment describes sex acts known as “freak offs,” in which Combs allegedly organized the transportation of sex workers across state lines and internationally — and often recorded them.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams previously said, "The freak offs sometimes lasted days at a time, involved multiple commercial sex workers, and often involved a variety of narcotics — such as ketamine, ecstasy, and GHB [gamma hydroxybutyrate] — which Combs distributed to the victims to keep them obedient and compliant.”

Diddy's federal trial is expected to begin in May. Combs has pleaded not guilty.

If convicted, Combs faces a minimum of 15 years in prison and up to life.

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Align interview: Pat Boone



Pat Boone’s plan to be a teacher/preacher got interrupted by a career still going strong 70 years later.

The pop icon's early success gave way to decades atop the show business ladder. Hit songs. Blockbuster movies. Best-selling books. Music spanning gospel, country, pop, rock, and more.

'God lets us reap the consequences of our actions and our betrayal of him ... the worse we get, the harder times we get, and then a revival breaks out.'

Remember “In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy," his disc of heavy metal covers? Boone teamed with Alice Cooper to present the award for "Hard Rock/Heavy Metal" at the 1997 American Music Awards.

He looks back with a chuckle, content to have provided for his wife and young child at the dawn of a remarkable career.

At 90, retirement isn’t on the agenda. There’s still too much to create, and pop culture could use Boone’s God-fearing art.

Still.

His early success struck him as a curiosity, nothing more.

“It was something I would tell my kids and grandkids about,” Boone tells Align about signing with a “Tennessee start-up” label called Dot Records in the mid 1950s.

That initial pairing yielded “Two Hearts.” Boone never looked back.

“Well, it was fun to do, and it became a million-seller,” he says of the song, adding he followed it up with a cover of Fats Domino’s “Ain’t That a Shame.” “All of a sudden I was a teen idol. ... It wasn’t a goal, but it was happening to me.”

Fame, fortune, and endless opportunities followed, but Boone wouldn’t take any ol’ project that crossed his path. Then or now.

“I just kept on doing what I could honorably do,” he says, adding he would go through a song’s lyrics with a “fine-toothed comb” to make sure it matched his godly values. He even turned down a project co-starring Marilyn Monroe.

Along the way, he realized he didn’t have a traditional congregation like he once imagined for himself. He’d use his pop culture perch instead. He could reach the masses on his own terms.

White artists from the 1950s have been criticized for appropriating R&B, sometimes known then as “race music,” for their own benefit. Race relations were fraught at the time, and the music industry often placated white audiences for its content.

Boone sees it differently. Consider his take on “Ain’t That a Shame.” He says it outsold Domino’s version, but since the singer owned the rights to the song, he benefited from both versions.

The cover version steered bigger royalty checks his way, Boone says.

The ageless crooner is proud to share another anecdote tied to improving race relations. He recalls receiving praise from the Rev. Jesse Jackson. He once appeared on a Rainbow Coalition Chicago radio program to promote an album of R&B covers he sang with the original musicians.

That impressed the civil rights leader, apparently.

“I think Pat Boone did more for race relations in his early career than any other artist,” Jackson said, according to Boone. “Not only singing the songs and bringing them on his television show but treating [black musicians] as peers and equals.”

Boone, who appeared in hits like “Journey to the Center of the Earth” (1959) and “The Greatest Story Ever Told” (1965), keeps busy on the big screen to this day. He snagged a small role in the recent “Reagan” biopic and plays an older Thomas Jefferson in “The American Miracle” co-starring Kevin Sorbo, slated for a 2025 release.

He hasn’t stopped singing either. Not only did Boone croon a bit during the Align conversation, his 2023 release “Country Jubilee” features five of Pat Boone's Top 100 Country recordings. That includes the duet "You and I," featuring Crystal Gayle.

The entertainer is keenly aware of the state of the America, cautiously optimistic despite cultural trends.

“God lets us reap the consequences of our actions and our betrayal of him. ... The worse we get, the harder times we get, and then a revival breaks out,” he says. Boone’s America went from singing a patriotic song before the school day started to being taught “warped history” in public schools.

“Now, you can’t say anything about Jesus or patriotism,” he notes.

He also finds hope in the “miracle” of President Donald Trump surviving the July 13 assassination attempt and coming back stronger than ever.

Trump, like President Ronald Reagan before him, survived a bullet and proceeded to do “what God wanted him to do.”

“We’re going to hear more of [Trump’s] confession of faith and how God spared him. Americans will resonate with that,” he says.

Wednesday Western: The top Western social media accounts



Social media has played an interesting role in the revival of Western cinema. I’ve compiled a list of social media accounts dedicated to Westerns.

This article doesn’t include blogs, podcasts, websites, or magazines. I’m currently working on an article for each, so definitely let me know any of these that I need to know about in the comments section, or send me an email.

The following list is by no means comprehensive. And at first glance, it may seem like a random assortment. The accounts vary in audience size, output, and content organization. They employ different media and delivery methods. Some are public; some require you to answer a questionnaire. Each of them is unique.

What unites them is a frontier spirit, a liveliness.

Official John Wayne - Instagram

It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of The Duke.

The official John Wayne Instagram page is probably my favorite Western social media account. The X account is also solid. But the Instagram account is far better.

It delivers the perfect number and flow of posts. And the descriptions, titles, and photos are all flawlessly assembled. I’d be shocked if it weren’t run by social media or marketing/PR professionals.

This is the proper handling of the John Wayne legacy. The people in charge of maintaining it make sure that the Duke’s legacy is truly an experience. All of it is interconnected through John Wayne Enterprises: the John Wayne Museum, the John Wayne Cancer Foundation, the John Wayne Grit Series, among others.

You can buy John Wayne cookbooks and a collection of cocktail recipes, coffee, ornamental cups and top-class clothing — all of which will appear in this series in exciting ways.

All of these converge at the Instagram account.

It’s comforting to see a passionate group of people devoted to the upkeep of the Duke’s invaluable legacy.

If all that weren’t good enough, they just launched a collaboration with Broken Bow Country, a friend of the Wednesday Western series, as captured in this profile.

Broken Bow Country: Meet the 17-year-old behind a viral Western clothing brandwww.theblaze.com

In fact, during our interview, we connected on the Duke and our admiration for the official John Wayne account.

Scrolling through this account, it feels like you’re reading a biography of the Duke, told in vignettes and accompanied by pictures, music, and video.

Some of the posts are simply gorgeous. They provide a holistic view of the Duke, a man unlike any other. They offer great commentary on various Wayne films and media appearances. They help you understand who John Wayne was behind the legend, as in this post about his prolific love of chess.

Other times, it’s playful, as with the incredibly creative inclusion of holidays, like this recent celebration of National Sunglasses Day.

The posts hit every emotion as we navigate John Wayne’s love life and comforts and disappointments and truest victories.

And America, you become closer to this great country. Just check out this 4th of July post. And, man, how about this one? Who else deserves to be the biggest movie star of all time?

Just Westerns - YouTube

Just Westerns is an entrepreneurial feat animated by one man’s love for Westerns. He has mastered the possibilities that YouTube offers.

And that narrator’s voice: That’s Marc Reynard, the Englishman in charge of Just Westerns, the unofficial home of Westerns on YouTube.

This dude is undoubtedly one of us.

He examines the genre from creative and at times surprising angles, like this video about the fate of “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly 2.” You read that right: There was supposed to be a sequel.

His videos are smooth, well produced, well crafted, well written, sharp, fun, lovely, informative.

He also does something that I wish we had more of: He hypes upcoming and anticipated Westerns and compiles year-end lists and legitimizes the artistic merit of video games: “20 Best Western Video Games.” He also covers Wednesday Western favorite "Old Henry" (2021)

We need more of all of this. Best of all, you can feel his passion.

My only complaint is that the channel has only 30 videos. I went through them all at a steady clip.

But even this turns out to be further proof that you’re getting content that is authentically wholesome. Marc addresses it in his YouTube bio: “Please bear with me, I am a solo creator without the resources or manpower that larger channels typically have, so I am unfortunately unable to upload as regularly as I like, especially as I am committed to prioritizing quality over quantity.”

Take your time, brother. Personally, I think it's worth the wait.

r/Westerns - Reddit

Reddit can be a nasty place, especially if your politics are anything to the right of Bernie Sanders. And you can’t avoid the ideological slapfests, either. Leftist goons stir it up in every subreddit, constantly, and they’re almost always combative, even in the subreddits devoted to woodwork or kittens.

The Westerns subreddit is a clear exception. It’s a community. It feels like the town square of a dust-ridden Western town.

Check out this thread about “For a Few Dollars More.”

The mixed-media format of Reddit allows for a variety of sources: pictures, movies, trailers, interviews, text-only, even gifs. It might be the most versatile resource on this list.

It’s a great place for recommendations and commentary. Unlike much of the rest of Reddit, which is disproportionately loaded with young white liberal men, there’s an even spread of people of all ages.

These Redditors routinely swap personal stories about the various movies and actors. Some of their stories are poignant and evocative.

Back to the Old Western - Facebook

Facebook is a great place for Western fans. Instagram is too image-centered to accommodate text, and it doesn’t support links. Meanwhile, the microblogging experience of X is limited in its scope and impatient in its daunting pace — the temperament and vibe of Westerns don’t do well in such a frantic environment.

Facebook circumnavigates all of this, finally able to beat all the much lighter apps. For once, it finds an advantage to its cluttered user interface.

This bulk allows users to upload and share every type of content. No limitations. It’s the only platform capable of this, besides Reddit, but I’m not about to equate the megalith Facebook with the niche subreddit.

Besides, Facebook outperforms Reddit anyway. Its Pages function allows for an immersive blogging experience, run by moderators and admins who are passionate about their content and free to run their operation without much interference, right down to the parameters of the group’s privacy.

Back to the old western | Charles Bronson as Chino in classic western film 'The Valdez Horses' in 1973 | Facebookwww.facebook.com

Back to the Old Western is the perfect example of these principles. It is active, with a constant flow of posts, often aggregated from fan pages — the Duke and Sam Elliot, mostly.

The comments sections are fairly quiet, but most of the time people add substance or passion to the movie or actor being celebrated.

Chatter isn’t as important as it is on Reddit. The admins really know their stuff, offering a healthy range of mainstream Westerns, cult classics, and oddities, like this post celebrating Brigitte Bardot and Claudia Cardinale for their roles in “The Legend of Frenchie King” (1971), a wild little movie that will get its Wednesday Western spotlight in due time.

A Word on Westerns - YouTube

BLAZING SADDLES! The fart scene changed my life, says Burton Gilliam A WORD ON WESTERNSwww.youtube.com

I made a point to place Just Westerns higher up than A Word on Westerns, because Just Westerns is the passion project of an ordinary guy who loves Westerns, while A Word on Westerns is a proper television series. An exceedingly good one, with just as much passion and gusto.

It’s a fantastic channel. A Word on Westerns is sort of like a Western-only version of TMC, which is a thrilling reality. That’s the dream.

The channel features entire movies, each with a brief but thorough introduction by Rob Word, a double feature as part of the segment Word’s Wayback.

These are mostly 1930s and 1940s Westerns.

YouTube is an oddity on this list, because so many of the major Western channels exclusively post full movies. What a joy it is to find a rare Western on YouTube. But these channels lack the commentary and artistry that characterize the two YouTube channels I’ve included on this list.

A Word on Westerns blends the rustic ease of the Old West with the hypersonic immediacy of our infinite now. You can also access lectures, speeches, and clever projects like this "Gunsmoke" mash-up.

Smartest of all, it makes good use of the Shorts function on YouTube, will brief clips about various topics, from Robert Mitchum to stories of mutilation.

Western Podcast - X

The Western Podcast X page is small but mighty, with some impressive followers and praise from True West magazine.

Have you seen #HorizonAmericanSaga yet? If so, share your thoughts with us! We'll record a full podcast episode about the film in two weeks when Andrew is back from his vacation in Europe. In the meantime, here's Matt's highly positive take on Kevin Costner's latest Western epic. https://t.co/baVzZE4vPK
— @WesternPodcast (@WesternPodcast) June 28, 2024

It’s an offshoot of the marvelous podcast hosted by our friend Western apostle Andrew Patrick Nelson and the excellent Matthew Chernov, a screenwriter and a journalist with bylines in Variety, Entertainment Weekly, IMBd.com. Yahoo News, and about a hundred other outlets. His insight thrives with the joy of curiosity.

Andrew's Instagram account will keep you up to date with his media appearances and projects, with the occasional infusion of Hair Metal.

These boys are the real deal. Andrew just began his new job as chief curator of Western Spirit, Scottsdale's Museum of the West. Before that, he taught film history. As a professor at the University of Utah, Andrew guided his students through the badlands full of robbers and coyotes, only to unmask the villains hiding behind all their props and plywood scenery.

Why Millennials & Zoomers Should Watch Westerns | Andrew Patrick Nelson | Alignwww.youtube.com

Both of them are impressively smart with a tenderness for beauty, but not at the cost of a good story or a complicated hero.

They take their time with content, even tweets, but this adds to the reverence of their decision-making process. If you haven't taken the dive into their work already, do it.They have a gift for revealing the beautiful, intricate paradoxes of Western movies. They speak with screenwriters, historians, authors, journalists, musicians, directors, costume designers, and more.

They tell stories. They examine personal reactions to various films. They navigate themes of universality and timelessness within the motion of transcendence, while also exposing the flimsiness of any given cultural era.

Is Stagecoach the best movie ever made? Interview with Andrew Patrick Nelsonwww.youtube.com

They have a gift for discerning the role of Western movies in relation to our unexplained world, differentiating these fictions from their context and influence. But also, more impressively, they succeed in witnessing the presence of our entire universe in one tiny section of cinema history.

Both of them have helped yours truly at many points along our journey so far. They have guided me through the desert more than once.

Kevin Costner and Modern West - X

Kevin Costner & MW (@modernwest) on X

Kevin Costner & MW (@modernwest) on Xx.com

Kevin Costner is this era’s Clint Eastwood. He fights to keep the Western in public view, devoting himself to projects animated by passion, even if his wallet takes a hit. The victory is worth the risk.

He has ushered in a new era for the genre. His success with "Yellowstone" and its Western universe of shows has accelerated the Western’s resurgence. But it’s more than that. We're also witnessing a flourishing of the Western as an ethos, a style, a mode of thought, an approach to life.

So did you realize that Kevin Costner has a country band? Founded in 2007, Kevin Costner and Modern West deliver rowdy songs written for the culturally forgotten people of America. The band's history is tinged with tragedy.

The Kevin Costner and Modern West account is technically the band’s, but it posts tons of Costner content, all hand-picked and polished by a team of social media professionals.

Best Cowboy Movies Forever - Facebook

Best cowboy movies forever | Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur, and Van Heflin in "Shane" (1953) | Facebookwww.facebook.com

There are several variations on the “Western” + “Forever” title, but I’m going with Best Cowboy Movies Forever. I enjoy the way the account profiles various actors, like this post about Lee Van Cleef.

It also includes Westerns from every different era. This is important. It’s good to hop around in this way. I’m partial to the 1939-1960 era of the genre, so I can plant myself in that time exclusively if I’m not careful.

The page rarely ventures into the current scene. But this isn’t a problem. It’s important to offer due reverence to the originators.

Old West - Actors, Films, and Legends - Facebook

www.facebook.com

Old West zooms in so that we get a portrait view of an incredible variety of Western actors, films, and legends, like this post devoted to Myron Halle or this homage to Elsa Martinelli. I value any source that prioritizes the lesser-known figures in the genre. Because, as we all know, the Western genre is overflowing with stories, entire generations of actors, producers, directors, screenwriters — you name it — whose fascinating tales deserve to be recounted.

As much as I love the giants of the genre, I derive incredible joy from learning about these forgotten figures.

Passion for Western Movies - Instagram

Passion for Western Movies makes great use of Instagram’s Reels format.

The account does a lot of this kind of multi-movie post, offering a list of movies connected by timeframe or theme.

Passion for Western Movies lives up to its name, able to glide around the history of the Western genre, seemingly without partiality. It also features lesser-known movies, like this post about "The Hunting Party," which features Gene Hackman.

Broken Bow Country - Instagram

I’m a bit biased on this one, because I think Colton is an absolute legend, but Broken Bow Country is perfect for this list.

The Western experience you get is fairly rough around the edges, in a distinctly modern way. But modernity never wins against Broken Bow Country.

It’s unique for many reasons but primarily because, in addition to its Western ethos, it is a clothing retailer and printmaker. No other creator on our list offers this level of art and style.

Then you’ve got the lore, the storytelling that comes with his posts, the war hymns of country-Western rebels and the toll their rebellion often took on their lives.

The past month has been wild for Colton. Early in July, he landed a collaboration with John Wayne Enterprises. The T-shirts are fantastic. In fact, I’m wearing one of them in the cover photo for Wednesday Western.

Then, a gunman on a sloped roof tried to murder former President Donald Trump, who was days away from officially accepting his party’s nomination.

In the panicky hours that followed, many people succumbed to their emotions, others to their resolve. I won’t pretend to have remained cool.

But Colton did. Following the Trump assassination attempt, he designed a T-shirt honoring one of the most American moments in human history, as Trump rose with his fist in the air. And he donated all of the money to a charity for Corey Comperatore, the man who died shielding his family from one of the gunman’s bullets.

This was a controversial move. He even faced the nasty comments about how the shooter shouldn’t have missed or that the deaths of the victims were “completely deserved.”

He lost a few thousand followers, but he describes it as “inconsequential when you think about the people that it's helping to support.”

In a press release, he said, “This has nothing to do with politics, I was incredibly moved by what happened and I wanted to use my platform to do something that extended beyond the controversy and the arguing.”

Lancer TV Blog - Facebook

Last and certainly not least, Lancer TV Blog on Facebook. It is run by a friend of mine, an avid supporter of Wednesday Western.

Unlike every other entry included on this list, Lancer TV Blog focuses entirely on one show, a show that hardly anyone knows. This reversal in focus is good for a movie lover’s mental sharpness.

I’m working on a deep dive into "Lancer," so I won’t say too much.

Beyond the merits of the show and its cast, "Lancer" is an underdog story still in the middle stages, badgered by uncertainty. Because the show hasn’t had a reboot, despite success throughout its two (long) seasons on CBS. So it’s not an issue of merit; the show deserves a second wind. It would very likely expand its audience.

But none of that matters for the art trapped in the murk of a waiting area, a zone of uncertainty. And the gifted athlete eventually starts to wobble. Filmstock degrades. All technology collapses. Call it the inevitable disintegration of a lively body, in this case a body of art.

Even the most perfect masterpieces eventually crumble. But what if that happens to be your masterpiece? What if it’s your tiny heaven, all tangled up in red tape? Life has enough of this disintegration as it is. Our entertainment needs to be clean, enjoyable, and easily accessible. Or so claims the majority.

Well, thank God for the passionate workers of cultural excavation. They dig and fight. They protect, sustain, and preserve. Without them, life would be less beautiful. Without them, our society would be weaker and tamer and less able to see a way out.

"Lancer" episodes run an hour. This extended run time fundamentally changes the character and depth of a TV show. It’s amazing what an episode can accomplish in one hour that it simply can’t in 30 minutes.

What you’ll find, as you scroll through the posts on the Lancer Facebook page, is purity. This fandom rewards people with a tiny kingdom, a crafted world they can always turn to. That experience should rile up every single person.

There’s a fidelity to their affection that is heartwarming. The Lancer TV Blog connects you to this incredibly pure relation. It’s just there, like sand across the winds of time.

Boob tube bloviators bail on barmy Biden



Late-night comedians returned to work this week knowing their lies had finally caught up with them.

Colbert. Fallon. Meyers. Stewart. They all admitted President Joe Biden’s mental failings are no longer “cheap fakes” but stone-cold truths. They had no other choice following the June 27 debate.

Hollywood stars can no longer afford to insult half the country. Streamers are feeling the economic pinch. The Biden economy is crushing film and TV crews in LA (and beyond).

And boy, was it delicious to behold. Not necessarily funny, of course. They gave up that ghost a while ago.

Stephen Colbert opened his monologue by pretending to take a stiff drink. Then he got down to business — i.e. dismantling his spin from three-plus years.

“I don’t know what’s going on in Joe Biden’s mind, something I apparently have in common with Joe Biden.”

“Biden debated as well as Abe Lincoln ... if you dug him up right now.”

Jon Stewart teed off on both the president and his administration.

“For a campaign based on honesty and decency, the spin about the debate appears to be blatant bulls***, and the redemption tour hasn’t gone that much better.”

Seth Meyers, the nakedly partisan “Saturday Night Live” alum, pulled most of his punches. He sounded more like an MSNBC pundit than a comedian, but that’s par for the “Late Night” course.

He seemed madder about Biden staying in the race than a media landscape that hid the truth from the country.

“If you truly believe American democracy is at stake, and it is, then you have to act like it ... you can’t claim to be the last bulwark against fascism, and also have a more-sleep plan. If you think this is serious, you need to act like it’s serious.”

Perhaps if Team Late Night had spoken truth to power a few months, or even years, earlier, this train wreck could have been avoided.

Michael Moore decries Biden 'elder abuse'

We’re living in crazy times. That’s certifiable. Need more proof? Michael Moore is a voice of reason on the Biden front.

The far-left filmmaker, who hasn’t made a film of consequence in eons, is aghast at how Democrats are treating President Biden. He called shoving Biden onto the June 27 debate stage “the cruelest form of elder abuse I’ve ever been forced to watch.”

Here's a pitch: Crusading documentarian starts knocking on doors to get some answers from current Democratic National Committee chair Jaime Harrison. Call it ... "Jaime & Me"? Hey — we'd watch it.

Minnie mopes

Minnie Driver didn’t get the memo, apparently.

Hollywood stars can no longer afford to insult half the country. Streamers are feeling the economic pinch. The Biden economy is crushing film and TV crews in L.A. (and beyond). Stars like Charlamagne tha God and Dwayne Johnson have retracted their past political endorsements. Even awards shows have cut back on the partisan lectures (the recent BET awards notwithstanding).

Tell that to the “Good Will Hunting” actress. She just tore into Trump supporters as if it were 2017 all over again.

She recently blasted MAGA nation, describing its fans as “70 million people who really quite like a bit of a racist attitude and non-existent immigration policies and dismantling the environmental agencies.”

Oh.

She also said she’d never live in a red state but feels safer in Los Angeles. She might be the only soul who finds that hellscape preferable to Heartland, USA.

She later praised her native Great Britain for being more open to debate and conversation than the U.S. Of course, if you label half of a country “racist,” it makes conversations a wee bit harder.

Rogan's gains

“Jokes, folks. Just jokes.”

That's how Joe Rogan teased his upcoming Netflix comedy special, “Joe Rogan: Burn the Boats," which the streaming giant will broadcast live August 3.

Rogan has every reason to be in a laughing mood.

Just a few years ago, the Austin-based comic's contrarian COVID-19 views sparked furious efforts to crush his Spotify podcast. Aging rock stars lobbied for his removal from the service while news outlets erroneously dubbed a medication he used to recover from the virus as “horse de-wormer.” (In fact, ivermectin has been so effective at treating parasitic infections in humans that its two creators were awarded the Nobel Prize in 2015.)

Since then, Rogan's been racking up the wins. He’s re-upped his lucrative Spotify contract, expanded his reach across YouTube, iTunes, and other platforms, and created a free speech comedy mecca in Austin, Texas.

Maybe his special could use an opening act. We hear Neil Young's available.

ROOKE: Obama Got Exactly Want He Wanted With His Biden Investment

'he made it glaringly obvious that Biden was having another one of his glitchy moments'
This Is How I Learned How Toxic Fame Really Was | Russell Brand

This Is How I Learned How Toxic Fame Really Was | Russell Brand

NEW ‘Sara Gonzales Unfiltered’: Taylor Swift, Biden’s border war, and more trending political topics



If you enjoyed watching Sara Gonzales on "The News and Why It Matters," just wait until you see her new show, “Sara Gonzales Unfiltered,” which just launched this past Monday on BlazeTV.

This rebrand will have all the same raw and real political analysis of America’s most pressing topics but with more of Sara’s fabulous biting sarcasm and less filter.

“What better time to launch a new series, especially when the country is engaged in a full-on constitutional crisis at our southern border with the possibility of an armed conflict?” she says.

Tune in Monday-Friday at 7 p.m. ET or on demand at blazetv.com to hear your favorite spicy Latina unpack topics such as the border crisis, the relentless LGBTQ+ agenda, DEI madness, and the endless list of lies the government continues to feed us.

In Sara’s most recent episode, she tackles Taylor Swift’s potential role in the upcoming election, Biden’s intentionally orchestrated border catastrophe, and the escalating tensions in the Middle East, among other topics.

Check it out below.


Want more from Sara Gonzales?

To enjoy more of Sara's no-holds-barred take to news and culture, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

FACT CHECK: Does Image Show LeBron James Wearing Pink To Go See The ‘Barbie’ Movie?

The image is digitally fabricated

Jonah Hill's ex-girlfriend accuses him of being an 'emotionally abusive' fake feminist, but many are defending the actor: 'Dodged a bullet'



Jonah Hill's ex-girlfriend is accusing the Hollywood actor of being "emotionally abusive." However, many people are defending Hill, and saying the celebrity actor did absolutely nothing wrong.

Hill dated Sarah Brady from August 2021 until early 2022. However, Brady waited more than a year to air dirty laundry from the previous relationship with Hill.

Brady blasted Hill in several Instagram Story posts between Friday and Saturday. She called Hill an "emotionally abusive partner."

Brady, a surfer instructor and law student, shared alleged screenshots of text messages between her and Hill.

“This is a warning to all girls. If your partner is talking to you like this, make an exit plan. Call me if you need an ear," Brady wrote, and included a purported text message conversation of Hill asking his then-girlfriend to remove Instagram photos of her "ass in a thong."

Hill also allegedly listed "boundaries" of actions that he preferred his long-term girlfriend not to engage in:

  • Surfing with men
  • Boundaryless friendships with men
  • To modeling
  • To post pictures of yourself in a bathing suit
  • To post sexual pictures
  • Friendships with women who are in unstable places

Hill allegedly said that he is "not the right partner" for Brady if she needs these actions.

"If these things bring you to a place of happiness I support it and there will be no hard feelings," Hill purportedly wrote. "These are my boundaries for a romantic relationship."

— (@)

Only weeks ago, Hill welcomed his first child with his current girlfriend Olivia Miller, and Brady addressed the birth.

"I hope my ex has a daughter," she said of Hill. "Maybe she'll turn him into a real feminist because the fact that he calls himself a feminist now is laughable."

Brady admitted that she has "genetic mental illness" and "diagnosed with bipolar type 1 disorder."

Brady said she struggles with mental health, but does not use it to "control" people.

Brady wrote, "It's been a year of healing and growth with the help of loved ones and doctors to get back to living my life without guilt, shame and self-judgment for things as small as surfing in a swimsuit rather than a more conservative wetsuit. And I'm sure there's still much more healing from this abuse ahead of me."

"And there's still more healing from this abuse ahead of me," she claimed.

Brady's explanation for attacking Hill long after the relationship: "Sharing this publicly now because keeping it to myself was causing more damage to my mental health than sharing it could ever do."

Reps for Hill did not immediately reply to a request for comment from Page Six.

Many people supported Jonah Hill online after the accusations surfaced.

BlazeTV host of "The News & Why It Matters" Sara Gonzales: "This is not emotional abuse. Sounds like Jonah dodged a bullet."

Conservative rapper Bryson Gray: "I see absolutely nothing wrong with this text. Pretty tame and straight forward. Isn’t this what women ask for?"

YouTuber An0maly: "He couldn’t have possibly been more polite in his preference & boundaries. Read his text. Respectful & giving her the easy option to leave. Never date a feminist or a liberal woman."

Author Shireen Qudosi: "As a woman I completely respect this and wish more men had this kind of integrity. Jonah Hill is looking for a partner who respects herself. That isn’t misogyny. It’s dignity."

YouTuber Destiny: "Ice cold take: these DMs make Jonah Hill seem way more sane and reasonable than I would honestly ever expect a man to act in DMs, A+ handling from him on setting and communicating boundaries appropriately in a relationship. He dodged a bullet from a controlling woman if she felt the need to expose these and thought they made him look bad."

Relationship coach Pat Stedman: "Respectfully stating your boundaries is emotional abuse."

YouTuber Markus Meechan: "The reaction Jonah Hill's texts, where apparently you need to just let your girlfriend act and do whatever she wants and you are not allowed to have any boundaries at all or you are a controlling misogynist makes me so thankful that I left the dating pool a long time ago. It's rough out there."

Media strategist Misha Fitton: "Wait… So Jonah Hill set up his expectations in a respectful and organized way… and he’s the bad guy? What am I missing here?"

A Twitter user said: "Jonah seems like he wants a wife. That text seems very reasonable and fine."

Another user added: "I am straight up not a Jonah Hill fan in any way, but there is nothing wrong with this list. If she doesn't like it, which she clearly didn't, she could end the relationship, which apparently she did. What's the problem?"

Someone noted: "Jonah Hill being a model for healthy and mature relationship behavior is not something I had on my bingo card."

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