The News Cycle is almost impossible to track these days. At least, to do so fully.
That’s where we come in.
In the Badlands News Brief, the Badlands Media team hand pick news items of interest from the previous days to give you an overview of the biggest goings-on relevant to the Truth Community.
Some items feature original (and subjective) commentary. Feel free to follow the corresponding link to see our writers’ corresponding Substack accounts and check out their other work.
Now, onto the news from Thursday, December 21 …
Times Editorial Board Member Paints Opponents To Trump’s Disqualification As Modern Day Confederates: Turley
“Why are you standing with confederates who betrayed this country?” Those words from New York Times editorial board member Mara Gay on MSNBC captured the unhinged coverage of the Colorado Supreme Court’s disqualification of Donald Trump from the 2024 election.
While the underlying theory under the 14th Amendment had been previously rejected by jurists in various states (including many Democrats), Gay had a simple take for viewers: anyone raising democratic or constitutional objections are modern day confederates.
Gay was asked on MSNBC’s Morning Joe how she would respond to many of us who have questioned the constitutional basis for using the 14th Amendment to bar Trump from ballots.
Gay responded:
“Why are you standing with confederates who betrayed this country? This is what they’re standing with. It’s the spirit of those confederates rather than the Americans who came together after a long and brutal Civil War that was fought to keep the Union together and clearly saw a threat in ex-confederates running for office. So much so they amended the Constitution to prevent those traitors from running for office.” — Jonathan Turley
Our Take: “This was previously a subtle theme, but I think we can expect to hear more of it as we head into 2024.
The 14th Amendment challenges across the nation have painted Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy during the Civil War, as a reasonable comparison to disqualifying President Trump from further office. During the Colorado trial specifically, a significant portion of the discussion was dedicated to Davis, and the court’s ruling reflects that they considered that to be an apt comparison.
Mara Gay of The NY Times is taking this comparison further by suggesting that opposing the Colorado ruling makes one a ‘modern day confederate.’
So, according to the state propaganda, January 6 was a civil war. A CIVIL WAR.
Insanity, but it makes sense given that we are less than two weeks away from 2024 and the establishment is failing in their crusade to stop Trump. Expect this kind of dangerously hyperbolic and rapidly escalating rhetoric to get worse.” — Ashe in America
Too Late For US Naval Deterrence In Red Sea After Biden Misled World On Houthi Attacks
It has become clear there's a full-blown Houthi war on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. Weeks ago, we featured commentary that cited US defense officials who were frustrated that the Pentagon was being held back from responding forcefully against Houthis positions in Yemen by the Biden White House.
President Biden stood accused of "downplaying" the threat, as statements in Politico have underscored, "Some current and former military officials were frustrated by the administration’s initial response to the Houthis’ Sunday attacks on the ships." This as some top military brass pushed for a more forceful response, lest the Iranian proxies grow more emboldened.
But more emboldened is precisely what has happened, as container ships are coming under drone and missile attack on a daily basis at this point, triggering delays and rising prices on goods as major liners avoid Red Sea transit altogether.
Fast-forward to this week, now nearing the end of December and The Wall Street Journal has run an alarming but apt headline which spells out U.S. Naval Deterrence Is Going, Going, Maybe Even Gone.
Increasingly, Biden's desire to make nice with the Iranians in order to keep global energy prices down ahead of the 2024 election is translating to a posture of 'looking the other way'—and some analysts worry it's too late to reestablish deterrence.
The Commander-in-Chief hasn't so much as ordered a military response when American warships in waters off Yemen themselves come under direct attack. Again, this is what has deeply frustrated Pentagon leaders, who feel handcuffed. In its fresh commentary, WSJ points to the reality and immediate consequences of the US Navy coming under attack, but failing to respond or decisively hit back. — ZeroHedge
Our Take: “I’ve attempted to do the Badlands community a solid by putting Jon Herold on this story ahead of next week’s Power Hour, as it has the gravitational effects of Devolution written ALL over it.
As I always say, attempting to suss out the Actuals vs. Narratives in virtually any theater in the Info War is nearly impossible—a prospect made even more difficult when we’re separated from the reported action by oceans, continents, cultures and a media matrix largely built on its ability to obfuscate the truth.
I have little idea what’s really going on in the Red Sea, but I do know that the US Military is complaining to the media about the Biden Admin’s lack of response to it—specifically, the supposed Commander-in-Chief.
What this tells me is two things:
Whatever IS happening in the Red Sea is, at least so far, failing to trigger a US MIL response under the framing of National Essential Functions.
Biden either has no desire to interfere with the Red Sea chaos—and other chaos in the region—or, more likely in the view of many of us around these parts, no ability to do so.
Eyes on the Red Sea … which is starting to get spicy.” — Burning Bright
Excerpts From Dr. Claudine Gay’s Work
Harvard’s president, Dr. Claudine Gay, is accused of lifting words, phrases and sentences from other sources without proper attribution. Most, if not all, of the examples below are written in technical and academic jargon, not meant to convey sweeping or original ideas.
But her papers sometimes lift passages verbatim from other scholars and at other times make minor adjustments, like changing the word “adage” to “popular saying” or “Black male children” to “young black athletes.”
(In the article, read) five examples of Dr. Gay’s work that are under scrutiny, comparing her writing with that of the scholars listed. — New York Times
Our Take: “Remember when Andrew Cuomo was under fire for allegedly killing New Yorkers’ grandparents, and then that story disappeared because of a #MeToo scandal? This feels like that. For what private crisis at Harvard is this public plagiarism scandal a cover? I’m really asking …
Setting that aside, Harvard President Claudine Gay allegedly stole other people’s work, which in this case means she stole other people’s ideas, research, and writing. And she’s the President of the University. Still. As public reaction in the article states, why are there different standards of conduct for faculty than for students? Further, why is plagiarism an acceptable standard at any level, in academia or any other institution? Why is Gay allowed to edit her research from 1992? And why has The NY Times started covering this scandal instead of covering it up? What is actually happening here?
I can’t say for sure, but I can tell you what it sounds like:
‘Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.’ - George Orwell, 1984” — Ashe in America
Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount Global in Merger Talks
Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global have held talks about a potential merger of the two media companies, Variety has confirmed.
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav met with Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish in a lunch meeting Tuesday in New York where they discussed a possible merger, sources said. Zaslav also has talked with Shari Redstone, whose National Amusements Inc. owns a controlling stake in Paramount Global, about a potential combination of the companies.
Reps for Paramount Global and WBD declined to comment. Axios first reported the talks.
Terms of a possible merger of the companies could not be learned. Both companies have enlisted bankers but the status of the talks are described as very preliminary. As of the end of Q3, Paramount Global reported long-term debt of $15.6 billion, considerably less than WBD — whose debt load stood at $43.5 billion. But in terms of market value, Warner Bros. Discovery is the bigger fish, with a market capitalization of $28.4 billion as of close of trading Dec. 20 compared with $10.3 billion for Paramount Global.
Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount would be looking to pool their assets, which span TV, film, sports and streaming, to gain greater scale and operational efficiencies. Specifically, WBD and Paramount would have an interest in combining their Max and Paramount+ premium streaming services to better compete with the likes of Netflix and Disney’s Disney+ and Hulu. — Variety
Our Take: “About a year ago, I said the following when it came to Macro economic data, specifically with regards to Fortune 500 companies merging together:
‘Consolidation precedes collapse.’
And I think this Macro is accelerating of late.
While major, blockbuster mega deals between massive entertainment, media and technology companies tend to provoke sensational headlines that toss massive numbers around (for example, a $40 Billion company purchasing a $10 Billion company,) implying economic viability, don't miss the forest for the trees.
If a $10 Billion company is seeking to merge with a larger one, it's not doing so because it wants to, but rather because it HAS to. This is the accounting shell game that goes on when companies 'worth' tens of billions operate on margins in the single digits, and then start reaping what they've sown in terms of market backlash to sub-par offerings.
Keep an eye on these headlines as we get into the 2024 swing, as you're going to see a LOT more of this.” — Burning Bright
Nikki Haley Tries To Tie Putin To Israel Attackers, Says Gazans Should Be Resettled In 'Pro-Hamas Countries'
Two ultra controversial and somewhat bizarre statements from Nikki Haley this week on the Israel-Hamas war... first, the Republican presidential candidate lashed out at what she called the "pro-Hamas" countries of Iran, Qatar, and Turkey in a fresh ABC News interview.
She said these countries, given their well-known 'support' to the terror group, should take in all Palestinians fleeing the war in Gaza. During the discussion Haley was asked where the war refugees in Gaza should go. She responded: "They should be going to the Rafah gate and [have] Egypt take them." That's when she added the controversial statement, "But I’ve always said that what you should have is that they should go to pro-Hamas countries — Qatar, Iran, Turkey… send them there… Those are pro-Hamas countries."
"Why isn’t everybody talking to Egypt? Why aren’t they talking to Turkey? Why aren’t they talking to Qatar? Why aren’t they talking to Iran? Why aren’t they doing something to help the Palestinians? Why is it that you come back to Israel and the US? It’s always the case."
"If [the October 7 attack] had happened to America, do you not think that we would have hit back?" asks Haley, who is trying to pull off an improbable primary win over GOP frontrunner Donald Trump.
Even before the crisis which kicked off with the Oct.7 Hamas attacks, Haley has long been a staunch supporter of Israel and has advocated for keeping up maximal US defense and foreign aid. Israel remains the biggest recipient, at over $3 billion annually. In this case, the Netanyahu government would likely agree with her, given it's been trying to press Egypt to take in hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, and place then in tent cities in the Sinai desert.
Second, she also had some interesting (ahem) things to say about an alleged Putin-Hamas connection at a recent campaign rally...
"Hamas invaded Israel on October 7th, October 7th is Putin's birthday," Haley told a crowd of supporters. — ZeroHedge
Our Take: “Many in the Badlands community poke fun at me for being a former liberal, but if one were to transport one’s conservative self back to 2002 or so, one might be right at home cheering on every word of warmongering, zionist propaganda in Haley’s appeal, up to and including her condemnation and conspiracy theory peddling about the implied evils of the Russian Federation.
Take that as a dig, if you want, but I think the fact that we can laugh or cringe at statements like this in 2023 shows just how far the conservative base in the U.S. has truly come in the age of Trump, MAGA and the America First movement.
These charlatans, blowhards and establishment shills being propped up on faux-MAGA stages while the true representative of the movement is hunted relentlessly by that same establishment is serving not just as a rapid red-pill delivery mechanism to sleeping normies, but also as a reminder of what the movement once was … and what it could be again, without internal and external vigilance and discernment.” — Burning Bright
BONUS ITEMS
Economist Claims 2024 Will Bring 'Biggest Crash of Our Lifetime' in US
An economist who focuses on consumer spending issued a dire warning about the U.S. economy in 2024.
"Since 2009, this has been 100 percent artificial, unprecedented money printing and deficits: $27 trillion over 15 years, to be exact," Harry Dent told Fox Business on Tuesday. "This is off the charts, 100 percent artificial, which means we're in a dangerous state. I think 2024 is going to be the biggest single crash year we'll see in our lifetimes."
He added that "we need to get back down to normal, and we need to send a message to central banks," adding, "This should be a lesson I don't think we'll ever revisit. I don't think we'll ever see a bubble for any of our lifetimes again."
The economist, who owns the HS Dent Investment Management firm, told the outlet that U.S. markets are currently in a bubble that started in late 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Things are not going to come back to normal in a few years. We may never see these levels again. And this crash is not going to be a correction. It's going to be more in the '29 to '32 level. And anybody who sat through that would have shot their stockbroker," Mr. Dent added, making references to the stock market crash in 1929 that led to the Great Depression throughout the 1930s.
"If I'm right, it is going to be the biggest crash of our lifetime, most of it happening in 2024. You're going to see it start and be more obvious by May," the analyst claimed. "So if you just get out for six to 12 months and stuff stays at the highest valuation history, maybe you miss a little more gains if I'm wrong. If I'm right, you're going to save massive losses and be able to reinvest a year or year-and-a-half from now at unbelievably low prices and magnify your gains beyond compare." — The Epoch Times
At Least 15 Dead in Czech Republic After Shooting at Prague University
At least 15 people were killed during a shooting rampage in the Czech Republic on Thursday, including 14 people at Charles University in Prague and the suspect’s father, the authorities said. Twenty-four other people were wounded at the university.
The gunman, a 24-year-old student in world history at Charles University, also killed himself after the shooting spree in central Prague. He first killed his father in their family home in the town of Kladno, outside of Prague, Radek Jiroudek, a police officer with Interpol Prague, said in an interview.
The police partly identified the assailant as David K. European police officials often give only a first name and last initial for privacy reasons. Speaking at a news conference in Prague, the chief of the national police force, Martin Vondraska, said the assailant “got inspired by a similar terrible event abroad.” He did not specify where.
But the authorities said they did not believe that the gunman’s actions were connected to international terrorism. — The New York Times
"Public Has A Right To Know" - O'Keefe Exposes Bussing Of Migrants Direct From Border To Phoenix Airport
This week saw a surge in citizen journalist reports on social media platform X, detailing how 'migrants' from the southern border are being jetted around the country through US airports.
On Tuesday, a post from X user Ashley St. Clair sparked the first major concern that perhaps the government and or non-government organizations were flying migrants from processing centers to Delta Airline planes at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport and then across the nation.
However, Community Notes responded: "There is absolutely no evidence of the people at the gate being "migrants"".
Nevertheless, X user Tony Ortiz claimed, "I have noticed a large amount of migrants being shipped from" Phoenix Airport "to different parts of the country. These Guinea migrants were headed to New York via Catholic Community Services of Southern Arizona."
[…]
While it's hard to speculate on the immigration status of these foreigners, after all, it's an airport. James O'Keefe, the founder of O'Keefe Media Group, might have provided the best evidence yet, these folks are, in fact, illegals.
On Wednesday night, O'Keefe posted a video of him at the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport's drop-off terminal, where he interviewed a bus driver who works for a limo service contracted by an unknown entity to haul migrants from the border to the airport.
O'Keefe asked the bus driver: "Are these migrants from the border?"
The bus driver responded with "Correct."
(CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO WATCH ON ‘X.’)
We hope you enjoyed this brief look back at the major news items you might have missed in this ever-escalating and ever-accelerating news cycle as the Information War continues to rage on around us.
As always, if you have any thoughts on these news items or the MANY others swirling in the digital ether, drop into the comments below to share them with your fellow Badlanders.
Oh, and … MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS, BADLANDERS!
Badlands Media will always put out our content for free, but you can support us by becoming a paid subscriber to this newsletter. Help our collective of citizen journalists take back the narrative from the MSM. We are the news now.
I expect you all to take off the 25th in celebration of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth (I know - it was actually on "yom kippur" but recognizing His birth and all that that means as regards Ransom, Rescue, Redemption and Restoration can/should be done every day). My prayers for all here: I hope you are able to surround yourself with those you love and who love you and that you reflect on our Loving God who only wants good for His children - but allows us to make the choice for ourselves.
PS - If you are looking for a great Christmas story try reading Isaiah 53 as a prophecy of the Miracle of His coming and a mandate on His Mission.
"Glory to God in the Highest - then on earth: Peace among men of good-will" Luke 2:14
Let me get this straight. The Democrats are accusing Republicans of being Democrats? That is hilarious!
They are accusing us of being Confederates but the Confederates were all Democrats. Democrats were the insurrectionists who pulled out of the Union in 1861 because Abraham Lincoln was a Republican and hated slavery.
Apparently Democrats in 2023 believe Americans are stupid and do not know their history. Oh, I think I have this figured out. Never mind.
Jim Schout