Badlands Brief
Virginia Democrats Lose the Plot and Go For Tyranny
The Badlands Brief is your daily drop of Badlands’ takes on the narratives dominating the info war. Read on, and join the conversation in the comments section.
Trump Celebrates Mutual “Victory Day” with Both Russia and Ukraine as Putin Takes Shots at NATO
Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of acting with support from the NATO alliance during Russia’s annual Victory Day celebrations on May 9, as Moscow staged a scaled-down military parade under heightened security amid the continuing war in Ukraine. (Reuters, May 8, 2026; AP, May 9, 2026)
Speaking in Red Square, Putin said Russian troops were confronting “an aggressive force armed and supported by the entire NATO bloc” and described Russia’s objectives in Ukraine as “just.” The annual parade commemorates the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II and traditionally serves as a showcase for Russian military power. (Reuters, May 8, 2026)
This year’s event omitted the customary display of tanks and heavy military equipment. Instead, prerecorded footage of Russian weapons systems, including the Yars intercontinental ballistic missile, the Su-57 fighter aircraft and the S-500 air defense system, was shown on large screens and state television broadcasts.
Authorities implemented extensive security measures in Moscow amid concerns over possible Ukrainian drone or missile attacks. Communications disruptions and tightened security were reported around the capital during the commemorations.
North Korean troops also took part in the parade, underscoring growing military ties between Russia and North Korea during the conflict in Ukraine.
The events took place during a temporary three-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine that appeared to remain in effect throughout the parade proceedings.
Burning Bright: As if Trump and Putin haven’t already made their pincer obvious enough to any with the eyes to see it, we get ANOTHER perfect phone call?
Conflating and comparing the Ukrainian Proxy with the Iranian one?
And what’s that? References to timelines, and deals that might already be done?
Victory Day is signal as to the real story, and the real war.
And given all the talk of ‘Ze Germans’ of late, and given who seems most upset about the convergence, and the closing of the pincer I projected in my very first piece of writing in the Info War … who was that Victory against, and why did it take Trump and Putin coming to the fore in order for the ‘Allies’ to recognize their longest-tenured one in the East?
The one who suffered the most, and so, who remember the most they have suffered, and at whose hands?
Who really runs Ukraine? Who really runs Iran?
Rather, who HAS really run each?
Well, I wrote about that, too in my original series in these very digital pages …
"By focusing the Collective Mind on a singular, far-reaching series of dramatic events on the world stage, Russia has made the Invisible Enemy visible for the first time, even if recognition is slower dawning for many than we would like.
While the enemies in the Mind War have presented Russia as the prime force guilty of that final and therefore greatest sin that is evil incarnate, Vladimir Putin has offered another. One more ubiquitous than any singular or family name, and one that transcends political parties, ideologies and even generations, and that has touched virtually every culture in the world over the course of the last century.
The enemy Putin has offered is the Azov battalion. The Black Sun. The ultimate evil in the normie consciousness, and one whose true origins and exploits need not burden the fragile minds of the unawakened, but whose position in the collective consciousness will suffice all the same.
This is an evil that Soros, Fauci and yes, even the Bidens have mingled with not just in the shadows and in ledgers and back rooms, but in the open. An evil the dreaded middle recognizes by a different name, perhaps more so than any other. And an evil that Putin and Russia are revealing in all its insidious, subversive inglory as their crimes against the women and children of the land they named Ukraine are revealed, story by agonizing story.
An evil that is four spokes on a wheel.
I focus on the power of stories. Of narratives. Every story needs a hero. We have a few of those, and those of us in this community can put together an exhaustive casting list of villains, from Klaus Schwab to Hillary Clinton, and yes, George Soros for the more discerning, but sometimes, to engage the public at large, you’ve got to cut right to the heart of the matter. You’ve got to get back to archetypes, some would say cliches.
In short … you’ve got to expose some Nazis." - From Righteous Russia, Part 6
THAT is the true nature of the Invisible Enemy.
THAT is who the war is truly against.
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Virginia Supreme Court Strikes Down Redistricting Referendum
The Virginia Supreme Court on May 8 invalidated the state’s voter-approved redistricting referendum in a 4-3 ruling that halted implementation of new congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. The court found that the constitutional amendment process used by the General Assembly violated Virginia’s constitution because lawmakers approved the amendment after early voting for the prior general election had already begun.
The referendum had been approved by voters on April 21 following months of legal challenges. The proposed amendment would have temporarily shifted congressional map-drawing authority away from Virginia’s bipartisan redistricting framework established by voters in 2020. The associated congressional map was projected to favor Democrats in as many as 10 of Virginia’s 11 U.S. House districts.
In its ruling, the court determined that the constitutional reference to the “next general election” includes Virginia’s early voting period and not solely Election Day. Republicans argued that approving the amendment after early voting had started disenfranchised voters who had already cast ballots before the measure was finalized for consideration.
Virginia Democrats said after the ruling that they plan to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Ashe in America: This is obviously the right decision, but I’m still surprised it happened. We’re in the election period and, historically, nothing changes in the election period. Also, the remedy happening here is overturning a “vote” of the people. That almost never happens!
Brian and I discussed how this crisis was entirely avoidable on Why We Vote Tuesday, and he clipped it and posted over the weekend.
I shared it, and both of our comment threads had people claiming we were repeating “democrat talking points” — upset and lashing out because we were putting the blame on the court and not the “democrats.”
The court had the decision right and broad discretion — and they chose to create this crisis. The “democrats” (specifically “the Commonwealth” under democrat control) pushed for what they wanted, of course. That’s literally how court works. This was democrats doing democrat things — the court’s job was deciding what was right.
The fault for the current crisis resides entirely with the court. As @canncon has been saying since the original decision allowing the election, the court made a massive error in allowing the election on this measure to take place.
But their eventual decision overturning the “temporary…to promote fairness” redistricting endeavor was the right one; and the entire saga has forced the People — whether they want to or now — to reckon with the fact that elections are fake, politicized theatre, and that that is true even before a single voter is registered or a single ballot is cast.
It’s corruption all the way down, and @Chris Paul is correct (again) in that the most logical position to hold against that backdrop is to cancel the midterms until we have real elections.
We cannot have real elections until we are honest about how fake they’ve been. It’s encouraging that more people are open to that conversation now than ever before.
Change happens one conversation at a time.
Trump Says Hantavirus “Under Control” While Moderna Shares Spike on Vaccine Development News
U.S. health officials said May 8 that the government was monitoring and responding to a hantavirus outbreak linked to the M/V Hondius cruise ship, while the CDC said the risk to the American public remained extremely low. The World Health Organization said the illness cluster aboard the ship was reported May 2.
WHO said that as of May 4, seven cases had been identified, including two laboratory-confirmed hantavirus cases, five suspected cases and three deaths. President Donald Trump said May 7 he had been briefed on the cluster, The Epoch Times reported.
Bloomberg reported May 8 that Moderna said it was researching hantavirus vaccines. The company said its early-stage work involved the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases and Korea University College of Medicine’s Vaccine Innovation Center, and began before the Hondius outbreak.
GhostofBasedPatrickHenry: I can’t believe these scumbags are going to try it again, but here we are.
President Trump had the perfect response to the news of this new and very deadly virus:
What’s amazing is that he succeeding in “sparking outrage” over the fact that he has already ruled out locking down the country and imposing another round of tyranny onto the American People.
It is really is hard to convey the levels of contempt I have for these malignant sociopaths. I know as Christians we aren’t suppose to hate people, but I truly think these creatures are demons in service of Satan, and so I will choose to hate them with the might and strength of the Lord.
We have a moral obligation and duty to our children and grandchildren to become vicious if people in our community start wearing masks and acting vaccinated. If somebody in your life—a friend or loved one—starts talking to you about their fear/concern for the hantavirus, you must ruthlessly ridicule them. You must shame them to the point where they feel humiliated for even suggesting that the hantavirus was anything other than fearmongering.
People must be made to feel embarrassed for even talking about hantavirus. Laugh at them. Meme them. Publicly ridicule them. In order to eradicate the mind virus, we must vigilantly crush the weakness and fear that the media will desperately try to sow.
If you have to tell your family that they are retarded boomers for believing in this stuff— do it.
If you are dealing with Millennial adult children, definitely call them “boomers.” Keep calling them that until they lose their cool and flip out. (Just trust me on this.)
If you are dealing with actual Baby Boomers who just can’t quit their addiction to the MSM, definitely call them “boomers.” For whatever reason, everybody hates being called a boomer—especially Baby Boomers. Probably because the stigma these days is so devastating.
Whatever you have to do to make your friends and family feel like absolute morons for even considering buying into this bullshit, DO IT. The only way we are going to defeat this mind virus is by killing it in the cradle. So be as ugly and nasty as you possibly can when the topic of Hantavirus comes up, not because you hate your friends/family for acting like vaccinated goyim, but because you love your children. The future of America depends on our ability to shame our retarded countrymen into behaving like rational adults and not grovel at the foot of the television like a bunch of simpering cowards.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is how I expect every able-bodied man in America to respond to anyone who expresses concern over the hantavirus. No excuses.
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FBI Opens Probe into Senate Intelligence Committee Leak Allegations
The FBI has opened an investigation into possible leaks of classified information involving Democrats or staff members on the Senate Intelligence Committee, according to a May 7 report by Just the News citing unnamed sources. The report said the inquiry was prompted in part by a criminal referral from the National Security Agency concerning disclosure of information from one of its overseas intelligence intercepts.
According to the report, the referral stemmed from media coverage published during Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s confirmation process that referenced an intercepted conversation involving two Hezbollah figures discussing Gabbard’s 2017 visit to Syria. The report said the NSA concluded the published information accurately reflected contents of an intercept but found that Gabbard had not met Hezbollah leaders.
The article reported that the NSA identified potential leakers among Democratic staff members on the Senate Intelligence Committee who had access to the intercept before the media reports were published. It further stated that the referral remained pending for months until FBI Director Kash Patel became aware of it, after which FBI counterintelligence and criminal investigators broadened the inquiry to examine other possible leaks and contacts with reporters.
The report also referenced prior leak investigations involving the Senate Intelligence Committee, including the 2018 case in which former committee security director James Wolfe pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about contacts with a reporter.
Ashe in America: The framing of this story implies that the investigation is going to center on rogue staffers leaking NSA cables. That’s silly, and I hope it’s not the case.
“Investigators reportedly narrowed attention to Democrat staffers on the Senate Intelligence Committee who had access to the intercept before the report became public.”
Sounds like setting up plausible deniability for Senate Intelligence Committee members. Where does the buck stop? Also, whose staffers —which Senator(s) — were implicated?
The Speech and Debate Clause protects members for legitimate legislative activity. It does not, at least in theory, protect them from prosecution for Bribery, Corruption, Fraud, Espionage, Unauthorized disclosure of classified information, Conspiracy, or Obstruction.
Leaks of NSA cables to undermine the President’s ODNI pick has the potential to touch on several of those exemptions.
The fact that the referral sat without action for so long implies that conspiracy and obstruction are on the table — and it loops in the executive branch on the apparent legislative conspiracy. That last part isn’t new. It’s just new that the government is admitting to it.
The idea that US Senators could be prosecuted for espionage-related actions is a tempting rug. I’m not on it yet, but I’m admiring the pattern and weaving at the edges.
Adam Schiff is a Senator on that committee, isn’t he?
Netanyahu Appears on 60 Minutes; Says Iran War “Not Over”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told CBS News that he wants Israel to reduce the U.S. financial component of military cooperation to zero, saying the process should begin now and unfold over the next decade. Netanyahu said Israel receives $3.8 billion a year, while Reuters reported the United States agreed to provide Israel $38 billion in military aid from 2018 to 2028.
In the same interview, Netanyahu said “everybody bears some responsibility” for the failures before the Oct. 7 attack, including “from the top, from the prime minister down.” He also said Israel has “not done well on the propaganda war.”
Asked whether Iran’s regime could be toppled, Netanyahu said it was possible but not guaranteed. CBS published the full interview transcript on May 10, 2026.
GhostofBasedPatrickHenry: The Israeli Propaganda Machine is in full blown freak out mode, as their grip over the collective mind of America slips.
Victoria Nuland’s fat and retarded husband, Robert Kagan, published an article in The Atlantic yesterday entitled, “Checkmate in Iran,” where he laments that Iran will emerge from this conflict as a key player in the Middle East, and the definitive master of the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaking on behalf of Establishment Washington, Kagan is extremely butthurt that NeoConservatism as a brand has failed. The long-anticipated war with Iran has fizzled out without delivering a cataclysmic death toll, meaning Establishment Republicans have failed to faithfully serve their master, Netanyahu Satan.
In moments like these, the master will slither out from his den to fix the problem, himself; Which is likely why Bibi Netanyahu went on CBS’s 60 Minutes last night to communicate a bunch of bullshit that nobody needed to hear. (Or, perhaps people did need to hear it so they can finally wake up to the reality that Israel controls the US government and military—or, at least, they think they do.)
Netanyahu said that the Iran War was “Not Over” until the nuclear fairy dust had been recovered from the purportedly bombed out nuclear facilities. He wasn’t willing to say exactly what he expects to happen next, but it’s pretty obvious that what he expects are for young American men and women to go die in that retched desert (yet again) for absolutely no good reason.
To be fair, it actually is for a particular reason: According to Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich—in an interview he did over the weekend—the war must end with a changing of the national borders of Israel to include Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and the West Bank.
In his interview with CBS, Netanyahu said that he wants to wane off Israel dependence on US financial and military aid—though he said he wants a 10-year horizon on that goal, giving them plenty of time to renege at some point. Everybody knows that Israel is like a welfare queen in the ghetto. No chance she gives up that sweet easy money. Without the US, Israel simply couldn’t exist. It is like a parasite or a malignant tumor.
The reason that Netanyahu and his ilk are pushing to give up US financial/military aid is to achieve greater levels of autonomy, so the US can’t tell them what to do. With greater autonomy, they can be free to pursue greater levels of warfare with the world, while fully expecting the US military to back them no matter what.
Netanyahu even gave us a sliver of intel that I think is far more insightful than it may initially appear. He said that the first thing Donald Trump said to him when Bibi went to visit the candidates for US President in both 2016 and 2024 (much like a boss going to visit with his prospective employees) was that “Iran will never have a nuclear weapon.”
What makes this anecdote so interesting is that I think it speaks to how Trump fooled the Israeli Diaspora into supporting his candidacy in the first place. He had them convinced from the beginning that he was going to help them wage a war against Iran. And for that reason, they were more than happy to fund his campaign and help put him into office.
And the net effects of that decision have been devastating for the Zionist agenda. The public sentiment toward them has hit all-time lows, while their real agenda of Greater Israel has been fully exposed.
We are reaching a moment where all Americans will have to choose between America and Israel, and sadly, I think there is a small contingent of earnest Americans who will choose the foreign occupier. (The conditioning program has simply been too effective.)
Don’t be one of these “patriots.” Choose America.
BONUS ITEM
DOJ Releases UAP Portal for UFO Disclosure; Trump Says “Have Fun”
The Department of War announced May 8 the initial release of new files on unidentified anomalous phenomena through the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters, known as PURSUE. The department said the effort includes the White House, ODNI, DOE, AARO, NASA, the FBI and other intelligence components.
The department said the records will be housed at WAR.GOV/UFO and that additional files will be released on a rolling basis. The PURSUE portal lists Release 01 as cleared for release May 8, 2026.
The department said the files were reviewed for security purposes, while many materials had not yet been analyzed for resolution of anomalies. Badlands Media reported the launch the same day.
Check out Jordan Sather’s thread on X on this subject:
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The three of you consistently deliver authentic, real takes on the news. Every morning's Brief is like catharsis as I mentally (and sometimes literally) say, "Yes! Absolutely! Spot-on!!" :-)
Awesome reporting, digs, and commentary, Ashe, Ghost, and Burning Bright! I love your work!
"Virginia Supreme Court Strikes Down Redistricting Referendum
U.S. health officials said May 8 that the government was monitoring and responding to a hantavirus outbreak ..."
Note to Editor: The Hantavirus article doesn't belong under the Virginia self-goal heading ...