Badlands News Brief
Trump and Elon Break the Internet ...
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 with some Badlands flavoring to help wash it down.
Now, onto the news from Monday, August 12 …
Elon Musk Interviews Donald Trump
President Trump sat down with X's Elon Musk for a one of a kind interview that Badlands Media covered before, during and after.
Our Take: Last night was awesome. Trump demonstrated that he is a master of long-form podcasting-- putting the rest of us on notice.
What an incredible contrast to everything we have seen out of Biden and Kamala over the past 4 years.
Is it a coincidence that Trump returned to X and made his first post since being banned in January 2021 on the same day that he held this conversation with Elon Musk?
Here's the post:
As for the conversation, itself, that is something that I suspect will be dissected every which-way over the next several days. You can listen to our immediate reaction and analysis here.
What's clear is that Trump and Elon are working together, and nothing is as it seems. —
Donald Trump Returns to Posting on X/Twitter After Year-Long Break Ahead of Elon Musk Interview
Donald Trump has returned to posting on X/Twitter ahead of his interview with site owner Elon Musk, taking place Monday, Aug. 12, at 5 p.m. PT.
Trump came back to the social media platform with three campaign videos emphasizing his vision for the country and bashing his opponent, whom he is calling “San Francisco Radical Kamala Harris.” His return to X comes amid Harris’ rise in various election polls.
The last time Trump posted on the social media site was Aug. 24, 2023, when the former president touted his mug shot with the caption, “Election interference. Never surrender!” Prior to that post, Trump hadn’t tweeted since Jan. 8, 2021, just two days after the insurrection on the Capitol. — Variety
Our Take: Coordination = Control.
Donald Trump's return to Twitter didn't come with "the post" many Anons have been looking for since the advent of the Q Drops, but it has come at an auspicious time in the war.
On the surface, Trump is simply leveraging the big splash a return to the world's biggest communications platform can make in the final sprint of a contentious election cycle, and ahead of his conversation with its new CEO.
But if you've been engaging in the Info War for any length of time (hell, if you KNOW there IS an Info War happening at all,) it's impossible to read the current string of convergences as anything other than proofs of patriot plans.
As many have pointed out, Elon Musk was the largest DOD contractor under Donald Trump's Administration, "took over" the Deep State's largest Fifth-Generation Weapons center and publicly endorsed the man who never lost the mandate of the people in the first place.
First, they divided to conquer.
Now, they're coming together to unify. —
Trump to sue DOJ for $100M over Mar-a-Lago raid, alleging 'political persecution'
Former President Donald Trump is set to sue the Justice Department for $100 million in damages over the government’s unprecedented 2022 raid on his Mar-a-Lago property in Palm Beach, Florida, with lawyers arguing it was done with "clear intent to engage in political persecution."
Fox News has obtained Trump’s memo claiming "tortious conduct by the United States against President Trump."
Trump and his legal team intend to sue the Justice Department for its conduct during the FBI’s raid on Mar-a-Lago on Aug. 8, 2022, amid the federal investigation into his alleged improper retention of classified records.
After the raid, Special Counsel Jack Smith was appointed to investigate. Smith ultimately brought 37 felony counts against Trump, including willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and false statements. Trump pleaded not guilty to all counts. — FOX News
Our Take: We’re going to win so much, you’re going to be tired of winning. That was a promise from Donald Trump in 2016. While it’s been a rough road since then, recent developments bring this old statement to mind.
The Supreme Court ruled on Trump’s immunity.
Judge Cannon ruled that Jack Smith was unlawfully appointed and that Trump had immunity regardless.
Now President Trump is on offense, and the government is going to have to defend their actions.
There should be discovery. That likely means there will be new revelations of the Biden-led government’s plot to weaponize the government against their most formidable political opponent.
The tide is turning, but I’m not yet tired of winning. Onward! —
New Israeli intelligence suggests Iran prepares to attack Israel within days
The Israeli intelligence community's updated assessment is that Iran is poised to attack Israel directly in retaliation for the assassination of Hamas' political leader in Tehran and is likely to do it within days, two sources with direct knowledge of the issue told Axios.
Why it matters: The new intelligence assessment indicates an attack could come before the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal talks planned for Thursday, potentially jeopardizing negotiations at what Israeli officials have said is a "now-or-never" moment for a potential deal between Israel and Hamas.
But one of the sources who has direct knowledge of the intelligence said the situation is "still fluid."
The assessment, which was drafted in the last 24 hours, represents a shift, the sources said. — Axios
Our Take: It's worth starting this take by mentioning that China has come out in full-throated support of Iran.
Russia also has given Iran its complete and total endorsement.
With all of that said, I do not expect Iran to blink first.
This is a giant game of chicken, and Iran is the infinite player. All they have to do is sit back and let Israel attack them—or invade Lebanon—and let the Sovereign Alliance calvary come riding over the hill to the rescue.
The western/globalist media will likely throw every psyop they have to convince the public of the contrary, and justify whatever aggressive action they are planning on pursuing.
From ZeroHedge:
"See how all this works? Israel provokes Iran with a sensational violation of its sovereignty, and then the US government spends untold billions of dollars to protect Israel from the ensuing response -- while putting in harm's way service members who've been led to believe it's a way of serving their country."
Indeed. —
Putin Says There Will Be No Peace Talks With Ukraine As 180,000 Citizens Evacuated Amid Invasion
Ukraine's brazen and high risk cross-border ground incursion into Russia's Kursk region is nearly one week in, with Russian forces still fighting off the invaders, and Kiev confirming in a fresh statement that the "offensive operation" is continuing.
Russian emergency authorities are evacuated an astounding 180,000 citizens from border regions where fighting has encroached. An official briefing delivered to President Putin on the situation on Monday has revealed that this shock Ukraine offensive is bigger and more expansive and devastating than previously believed.
"Ukraine’s military has taken control of 28 towns and villages in Russia’s Kursk border region, prompting a sixth of its population to flee the incursion, the acting regional governor told President Vladimir Putin," Bloomberg writes of official statements. But it remains that along the front lines inside eastern Ukraine, Russian forces are still advancing, with RIA stating "Russia takes control of the settlement of Lyscychne in Ukraine."
[…]
President Putin has issued his first detailed public statements since the incursion began. One thing he stressed in the Monday remarks is that now there will be no peace talks or settlement with Kiev.
"It is now clear why the Kiev regime refused our proposals to return to the plan for peaceful settlement," Putin said. "The enemy, with the help of its Western masters - it is doing their bidding, and the West is waging war against us using Ukrainians... seeks to improve its negotiating position in the future."
"But what kind of negotiations can we even talk about with people who indiscriminately strike civilians, civilian infrastructure or try to create threats to nuclear power facilities," the Russian leader added.. "What can we even talk about with them?"
This latter part was in reference to the somewhat mysterious drama happening Sunday at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, where a fire appeared to break out, which was then used by President Zelensky to hype the threat of looming nuclear disaster. But the UN's IAEA has since said the incident, which may have simply involved tires being set alight at the complex, has had no impact on nuclear safety. — ZeroHedge
Our Take: In order to make peace, you must first have the threat of war.
This is an obvious statement to make on its face, but I see it as THE prime reversal of the Hegelian Dialectic the enemy has been programming humanity with since the advent of World Wars.
Much has been made of Russia's Special Military operation in Ukraine since it kicked off in earnest, but the establishment framing of the conflict (already farcical on its face,) now pales in comparison to the state of exhaustion and anxiety the Collective Mind feels as things escalate.
From Israel and Iran to China and Taiwan, the Russia-Ukraine conflict started the cascade of the breakdown of the global (and globalist) order, at least according to the public narrative. Which means any solution to said conflict (or story) is going to similarly kick off a catharsis cascade to counter the crisis cascade.
It won't end until Trump and Putin end it, and they'll do so with the express mandate of the people, which they will then codify. —
Another Take:
What more is there to say? The Nazis have overplayed their hand in Kursk-- again. History repeats itself, and now comes the pain.
Putin is now playing for keeps. What I'm wondering is what will "Total Victory" look like?
The same question can be asked of MAGA in its conflict with the Deep State. What does Total Victory look like?
We are all on the same path; we are all one in the same: An alliance of sovereign-minded individuals working together toward true independence from an oligarchy that seems to despise God and His creation. —
Dr. Fauci Admits He's Infected With COVID For Third Time After Being "Vaccinated And Boosted Six Times"
Dr. Anthony Fauci revealed that he’s been infected with COVID for a third time despite having been “vaccinated and boosted six times.”
Yes, really.
The former chief medical advisor to the president, who became the face of the COVID vaccination drive from late 2020 onwards, reacted to catching COVID-19 yet again by thanking the vaccine.
“I got infected about two weeks ago, it was my third infection, and I have been vaccinated and boosted a total of six times,” said Fauci.
Fauci, who back in 2021 said, “If you get vaccinated, you are protected,” seemingly hasn’t been protected from catching the virus despite receiving half a dozen vaccines.
He also separately asserted during the same year, “When people get vaccinated, they can feel safe that they are not gonna get infected.” — Modernity News
Our Take: The narrative is falling apart across the board. Donald Trump is back on Twitter, to the shock and horror of blueanon crybabies. Kamala rallies are reportedly invitation only, which may be my favorite example of modern democracy to date. Nothing says a campaign for the people like, "Sorry, you're not on the invite list."
And, now, Dr. Fauci has COVID. Again. "I got infected about two weeks ago. It was my third Covid-19 infection, and I had been vaccinated and boosted a total of six times."
There are two appropriate responses to this news. First, mockery, and it's first for a reason. Public shaming is the appropriate tactic for lack of virtue—a rule established by the Free Palestine movement—and there is nothing less virtuous that Anthony Fauci's lies.
The second response is accountability. The COVID-19 response, as imagined and implemented by Anthony Fauci, is now proven to be a lie. Unequivocally and indefensibly, Fauci coerced millions of Americans—with carrots and sticks and without informed consent—into a mass medical experiment. There must be accountability.
I know there will be mockery. There already is, and everyone should do their part to keep it going on every level. Never let them gaslight society with pandemic fear porn again. This is your American duty.
I'm bullish on accountability as well. After Trump wins in November, of course. —
BONUS ITEMS
Harris, Trump see votes in not taxing tips. Experts see trouble.
The hottest topic in taxes this presidential cycle is pitting political strategy against the beancounters.
Over the weekend, Vice President Kamala Harris embraced the effort to eliminate taxes on tips for service and hospitality workers, after former President Donald Trump first proposed the idea in June. Both did so with an eye toward the key state of Nevada in the presidential election, which is teeming with tipped workers, especially in Las Vegas.
The idea has caught fire with those workers and the union that represents many of them. But economists on the left and right are sounding alarms about unintended consequences. Depending on how such a tax cut is structured, they warn, it could pile onto the already unsustainable federal deficit, ding Social Security and Medicare, and open a tempting loophole for high-end earners like financiers to recategorize their income to shield it from taxes.
“It’s one bad idea layered on top of another,” Howard Gleckman, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan research group, said to POLITICO. “There are not a lot of tax upsides.” — Politico
Sen. Grassley Questions Immigration Parole For New Alleged Trump Assassination Plotter
Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) posed a series of questions to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) seeking clarity on the recent arrest of a Pakistani national regarding his attempts to assassinate high-ranking U.S. government officials, allegedly including former President Donald Trump, in light of the fact that he was flagged on a federal watchlist and recently granted immigration parole.
The alleged Pakistani plotter, Asif Raza Merchant, 46, was apprehended on July 12, 2024, when he attempted to leave the United States. Currently in federal custody in New York, Merchant’s plot was foiled when he allegedly conspired with undercover agents, who posed as assassins, to attempt to murder high-ranking U.S. citizens.
The alleged scheme was conducted as part of a larger Iranian ploy to retaliate against the killing of General Qasem Soleimani, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said, according to an Aug. 6 Justice Department (DOJ) statement that revealed the incident. Soleimani was taken down in 2020 during the Trump administration for aiming to blow up the U.S. Embassy in Iraq.
On Aug. 9, Grassley wrote a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas asking him for more information regarding Merchant’s immigration parole status. Citing media reports, Grassley said that Merchant was interviewed by the Joint Terrorism Task Force upon his arrival in the United States on April 13 because he was flagged in the federal database as a “Lookout Qualified Person of Interest.” — The Epoch Times
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.
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.
“First, they divided to conquer.
Now, they're coming together to unify.” — Burning Bright
I just have to say something in general regarding Badlands Media and the daily Takes and it has to do with BB quoting Miyamoto Musashi ages ago:
“Know the way broadly and you will see it in all things.” Badlanders have tirelessly given us context to contribute to our Knowing The Way Broadly and knowing the way broadly IS The Great Awakening.
What a great contribution all of you have given!! Minds divided by conflict, confusion and chaos are walking the path of healing, of unity…awareness based on understanding the way broadly.
🙏❤️🕊💫
Headline from CBS Mornings News - Trump and Musk fail on the platform formerly known as Twitter due to what Musk said was a Cyber attack. When they finally started, they talked about the campaign and spread falsehoods and conspiracies.
Now if you were a left leaning normie who watches CBS mornings (Or ABC, NBC, CNNLOL), what would you be thinking about the historic Musk-Trump Twitter podcast, that garnered at least 30 million viewers???
As for being back on the platform, there cannot be enough said about how Trump mesmerized the world and confounded the lamestream left be having access to the largest audience in the world. And THEY could not control it.