American politics has descended into funny cat memes

We can thank the great man himself, Donald Trump, for the dumbing down of American politics into cat memes (see below for definition). Political discourse is now a social media fun activity. Where's the serious debate about serious stuff that affects us all? I say 'us all' because the decisions of the president of the United States affects the world.

I am referring to the latest debacle over the much-reported Haitian migrant cat eating rumours. And they are all rumours. Check out the post below for more on that:

Story about Haitians eating cats was third or fourth hand and unsubstantiated

Trump made a meal out of the rumour and stated it as fact in that criticial debate with Kamala Harris. He got egg on his face and he can't get it off thanks to the avalanche of memes 😱😃!

Here is a comment by a Guardian journalist with whom I agree:

"The debate over Springfield also illustrates the continuing “memeification” of politics – the turning of politics more into a collection of signals and symbols than discussions of content or policy. Trump has always insisted on dragging politics into the gutter. He is only able to do so, though, because the desire to feed the outrage machine rather than engage in nuanced discussion has become such an integral feature of politics."

And here are just two examples of what has happened in terms of meme imagery:

And another!

Both were created by AI, probably DALL E3. Bing Copilot uses DALLE.

What is a meme? Answer: 

A meme is a piece of content, typically in the form of an image, video, or text, that spreads rapidly across the internet, often with humorous or satirical intent. Memes are usually simple, easily recognizable, and can evolve over time as they are adapted by different people to reflect various situations, ideas, or emotions.

They often rely on shared cultural references, making them relatable to specific groups. For instance, a meme might use a popular image or phrase to comment on everyday experiences or current events in a light-hearted way.

In essence, memes are a form of digital cultural shorthand, using humor to connect people through shared understanding or collective experiences.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also: sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. Also, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable.

Press photographers surround Socks, the Clinton family cat, in Little Rock, Ark., in 1992

This sort of photograph always amuses me. I used to be a photographer back in the 1970s. The main part of my business was photographing actors for promotional, handout portraits for casting purposes. Although I did variety of work including press photography and portraits of other celebrities which were published in magazines. So I know a bit about professional photography. It was harder in those days because digital cameras were unheard of. They had not been invented. I found it very hard to make a living out of it which is why I eventually became a solicitor. More stable work.

Press photographers surround Socks, the Clinton family cat, in Little Rock, Ark., in 1992. Photo: Mike Nelson - AFP via Getty Images. I claim fair use! 

Digital cameras became pretty common in the 1990s and the photograph on this page was taken in 1992 by Mike Nelson. I suspect that this is a film photograph i.e. was taken with 35mm film rather than digitally. It has that quality and there is some grain. I will also presume that all the guys you see in the photograph were using 35mm film cameras. Perhaps professional photographers were slow to take up digital cameras. As they weren't that good in the early years, perhaps there was good reason.

The man lying down, getting dirty, at cat height on the sidewalk is the press photographer getting the best photograph, by far. All the other press photographers are photographing Socks' back! Of course, they are waiting for that moment when Socks turns around and looked up at them.

ASSOCIATED: US PRESIDENTS WHO LIVED WITH A CAT

But you get a much better cat photograph if you get down and dirty to the level of the domestic cat. It is uncomfortable. And cats are hard to photograph even when cooperative. Although some positively hate being photographed. You point the camera at them and they think you are taking their soul from them like the secretive and isolated Amazonian tribes. It helps to have a second person 'wraggling' the cat or cats. Or even a third!

Perhaps the best photograph taken that day is the one we see on this page: of photographers taking a photograph! The Bidens are about to introduce their new cat to the White House. Will there be problems with their German Shepherd Major?