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.
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 picks news items of interest from the previous days to give you an overview of the biggest goings-on relevant to the Truth Community.
Items feature original commentary from members of our growing team of citizen journalists. Feel free to follow the corresponding link to see their other work.
Now, onto the news from Thursday, August 3 …
Trump Pleads Not Guilty To Charges In 2020 Election Case
Former President Trump has pleaded not guilty to a third set of criminal charges.
Wearing his trademark blue suit, white shirt, and red tie, Mr. Trump, 77, appeared before Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, in the nation's capital.
Flanked by his attorneys, John Lauro on his left and Todd Blanche on his right, Mr. Trump sat at the defense table with a serious expression, and occasionally looked at Special Counsel Jack Smith, the prosecutor who brought the charges against him.
A 45-page indictment, filed Aug. 1 by Mr. Smith, charges Mr. Trump with criminal conspiracies to defraud the United States, obstruct the certification of votes for Mr. Biden on Jan. 6, 2021, and conspiracy against citizens' right to vote.
Mr. Trump cracked a brief smile after he was sworn in; he listened and nodded as the judge spoke, reading aloud the charges and penalties he faces. He looked at the judge and listened intently.
The former president rose to his feet and stood while Mr. Lauro went to a podium and began talking, saying that he waived the reading of the full indictment. Asked what his pleading was, Mr. Trump then responded, "not guilty." — The Epoch Times
Our Take: “Of all the write-ups I could have chosen to highlight the obvious big news of the day in a never-ending ocean of big news, I like the Epoch Times framing because, by including Trump’s ‘brief smile,’ it feels like Janice Hisle is picking up what he’s putting down, or at least keying in on a baseline impression that even those who don’t do the kind of research this community does are picking up:
Trump isn’t worried, which means, no matter how sensational the latest round of lawfare gets involving the leader of the America First movement, you shouldn’t be either.
In fact, as we’ll discuss in brief in the next item, if one follows the tenets of Game Theory, has a working knowledge of
’s Devolution series and believes Trump and his fellow patriots didn’t simply walk away from a stolen election in 2020, we may actually WANT the ‘weaponized’ DOJ to do its worst, as its worst could be the best-case scenario for discovery and the forward march of Disclosure as we slowly, inevitably try to take our country back from the powers that would be.This isn’t the end of Trump’s story in the public mind, nor the ‘witch hunt,’ targeting him, but we all know the REAL witch hunt is yet to come, and this is all laying the groundwork for it.” —
Trump Lawyer: 3rd Indictment "Opens Door" To More Scrutiny Of 2020 Election
The third indictment of former President Donald Trump could produce unintended consequences for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), one of his lawyers says.
Legal experts disagree about the strength of the Aug. 1 indictment itself. But in interviews with The Epoch Times, they concurred with Mr. Trump's legal spokeswoman, New Jersey attorney Alina Habba, on one point: DOJ prosecutors may have difficulty proving their case.
Mr. Trump is scheduled to appear in a Washington federal court today, Aug. 3, on a four-count indictment. It alleges that the former president willfully made untrue claims that the 2020 election of Democrat President Joe Biden was fraudulent.
The election dispute culminated in a protest in Washington; a number of agitators breached the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, against Mr. Trump's expressed wishes as Congress was preparing to certify Mr. Biden's victory. More than 1,000 people, including some who committed no violence, were charged.
The DOJ is alleging that Mr. Trump orchestrated a conspiracy against the U.S. government during the two months leading to Jan. 6, 2021, the indictment says.
[…]
But Ms. Habba says that, by bringing the latest charges against Mr. Trump, the government is taking a number of risks.
"These cases are tough to prove on a good day, but they [the DOJ prosecutors] also forget that they've exposed themselves," she said.
“When you bring a lawsuit, you now open the door to subpoenas. You now open the door to us being able to ask you questions about the legitimacy of the 2020 election, for us being able to look at things like that."
"So, you know, it's a dangerous proposition, and I'm not sure it was well-thought-through, to be honest," she said.
Ms. Habba called the indictment "sloppy" and said the repeated prosecutions of Mr. Trump have made federal prosecutors' political motivations very clear. "It's for the headline, not for the win," Ms. Habba said.— The Epoch Times
Our Take: “Finally … we’re starting to see relatively major publications and outlets tiptoe into the waters Badlands and Anons have been swimming in for months.
Donald Trump doesn’t do anything by accident. There’s nothing magical about Anons’ belief in him, nor his preternatural ability to continuously slip through the enemy’s lawfare nets.
When the piece above frames the Jack Smith indictment against Trump as having ‘unintended consequences,’ the sentiment is well-taken, but it’s pretty easy to flip the meaning around.
While it could absolutely have unintended consequences for Smith and a weaponized DOJ, ALL of these consequences will be FULLY intended by Trump and company, which once more begs the question … whose movie are we really watching, here?
Is there a reason Trump has now referred to the indictments as ‘fake,’ in several interviews?” —
Biden White House Wanted Facebook to ‘Change the Algorithm,’ Boost New York Times Content over Right-Wing Media
New materials obtained by the House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), have shed further light on the Biden White House’s efforts to influence Facebook — even asking about algorithm changes to make its preferred media sources more visible to users.
In the latest round of disclosures, which Rep. Jordan is calling “The Facebook Files,” Biden White House digital strategy director Rob Flaherty can be seen suggesting Facebook change its algorithm to promote corporate establishment media including The New York Times over competitors, including Tomi Lahren and the Daily Wire.
“If you were to change the algorithm so that people were more likely to see NYT, WSJ, any authoritative news source over Daily Wire, Tomi Lahren, polarizing people,” said Flaherty. “You wouldn’t have a mechanism to check the material impact?”
This is the latest release in Rep. Jordan’s Facebook Files, a cache of communications between Facebook and the Biden White House which were only obtained after the Judiciary Committee brought considerable pressure to bear on the tech company, including a threat to hold Mark Zuckerberg in contempt of Congress. — Breitbart
Our Take: “First came the Twitter Files. Now come the Facebook Files, proving beyond any doubt that the government is using private companies to suppress the truth and end-run their First Amendment limitations. But while the censorship is being exposed, there is zero evidence that it’s being stopped.
For years, Republican legislators beat their chests about censorship. It made for good campaign sound bites — but it had no impact on the censorship apparatus of the system of systems. While there is increased awareness, the visibility filtering continues and the unjustly banned accounts stay banned. Until there is accountability, it’s hard for me to get excited about the Facebook Files. In fact, it’s hard for me to see legislator rhetoric about censorship as anything other than noise.” —
DeSantis Vows To Start "Slitting Throats" Of Deep State On Day 1 As President
Ron DeSantis says he'd start 'slitting throats' on his first day as president, should be win the 2024 election.
"We’re going to have all these deep state people. You know, we’re going to start slitting throats on Day One," said the Florida governor, who is currently trailing former President Donald Trump by a significant margin, according to polls.
The throat-slitting comment came after DeSantis vowed to crack down on Mexican drug cartels.
"At the border, they’re going to be shot stone, cold dead," he said, according to New Hampshire's NPR affiliate.
DeSantis also declared: "We’re going to make sure that the woke agenda ends up in the dustbin of history."
DeSantis notably passed the "Stop Woke Act" in Florida, which bans schools and businesses from teaching anything that could cause people to "feel guilt, anguish or any form of psychological distress" based on race, national origin or sex.
He also signed into law the 'don't say gay' Parental Rights in Education Act, which bans teaching children about gender identity through the 12th grade. It originally covered up to the 3rd grade until it was extended.
The comments were made on Sunday at a New Hampshire stump speech - which turned off at least one attendee.
"If I was in charge of his PR, I would have said, "Don’t use that terminology," Norm Olsen told NPR, adding that he's a "Sununu Republican" who's exploring alternatives to Trump. — ZeroHedge
Our Take: “I’ve written extensively about my take on the Net Effects of the ‘feud’ between Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis; while I’ve certainly softened on my original stance that the well-timed and seeded dispute between the two populist figures looked staged and coordinated to me, I still maintain that the end result of DeSantis’ campaign has added rocket fuel to Trump’s, so much so that even the MSM Establishment is admitting Trump is the runaway candidate to lead the MAGA movement into 2024 and beyond.
While DeSantis’ comments on the Jack Smith indictment SEEM strong on the surface, they were met with resounding backlash from the base he has been trying to cultivate or steal out from under the boots of the embattled Trump, as Trump’s supporters see a wolf in sheep’s clothing, willing to say all the right things, except for his unquestioned endorsement of Trump as the nominee.
Won’t it be something if that tune changes down the line, after DeSantis has soaked up all the Establishment GOP/RINO funding he can, and exposed the wolves in sheep’s clothing that are Con Inc.?” —
New Disney Board Eliminates Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion Programs
The new district board overseeing Disney World in Florida has eliminated its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs, including a DEI board.
In February, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation creating the new board and abolishing its predecessor, which was tightly linked with the primary business it regulated— Disney World.
The act was part of Mr. DeSantis's war with Disney after its leaders came out against his Parental Rights in Education bill last year, one dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" bill by detractors.
Since the district's 1967 creation, Disney had enjoyed a unique self-governing status, putting it outside Florida county or city governments. It was governed by the Reedy Creek Improvement District, and it appointed the members to it. It enjoyed various tax exemptions.
Mr. DeSantis, noting no other business in Florida had such a sweetheart deal, created the new board—the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD)—whose members he appointed.
"Today, District Administrator Glenton Gilzean announced the abolition of all DEI programs at the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District," the district said in a public statement on Aug. 1.
"The announcement comes after the Reedy Creek Improvement District implemented hiring and contracting programs that discriminated against Americans based on gender and race, costing taxpayers millions of dollars.
"The announcement comes after an internal investigation into the district's policies," according to the statement. — The Epoch Times
Our Take: “Discrimination based on immutable characteristics is wrong, and the decision to eliminate DEI practices that perpetuate racism is a good thing.
That said, it’s important to note that this decision comes from the new regional oversight board created earlier this year by DeSantis, and not from Disney proper. That means the decision will not apply to Disney broadly, but only to the Florida-based businesses that fall under the purview of the regional oversight board.
Additionally, there is legal ambiguity about the new oversight board’s ability to influence Disney’s internal practices, with pro-DEI pundits speculating that the prohibition only applies to government workers and not to Disney itself.
Michael McAuliffe, a former federal prosecutor and elected state attorney in Florida, told Newsweek on Tuesday, ‘The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District's pronouncement that it has summarily ended all DEI initiatives within its jurisdiction appears to be a mixture of political posturing and legal implementation … Disney, like many other companies in America, likely is revamping its DEI initiatives to identify ways to promote a productive and vibrant workforce without running afoul of the newly announced prohibition on race as an explicit remedial factor in its business decisions.’
As DeSantis takes a victory lap, the devil is in the details, and it remains to be seen whether or not this celebrated change in policy will actually deliver any real change at Disney. I’m not holding my breath.” —
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.
The Badlands Media team will continue to combine our cognitive powers in order to slow things down and find the signal amidst the noise as this series expands.
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.
Excellent work BB and Ashe. You are two of my favorite Badlanders!!
Enjoyed this morning's Brief Takes.
BB I think you were spot on (as usual).
I deleted my FB, Shitter and Instagram accounts before after the 2020 elections because I did not want to give any of those DS Rat Bastards my $ or access to my information so they could generate revenue off me. So they can all still kiss my azz. And if any Anon is trying to make $ off those platform unless you enjoy getting Rug Pulled stop it. Fuggem!
Keep it coming.
God Wins!
God Bless