Badlands News Brief
Supreme Court Backs Trump & The REEEEEE Commences
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.
Many items feature original (and subjective) commentary. Feel free to follow the corresponding link to see our writers’ Substack accounts and check out their other work.
Now, onto the news from Monday, March 4 …
Supreme Court rules unanimously for Trump in Colorado ballot disqualification dispute
The U.S. Supreme Court sided unanimously with former President Trump in his challenge to the state of Colorado’s attempt to kick him off the 2024 primary ballot.
All nine justices ruled in favor of Trump in the case, which will impact the status of efforts in several other states to remove the likely GOP nominee from their respective ballots.
The court considered for the first time the meaning and reach of Article 3 of the 14th Amendment, which bars former officeholders who "engaged in insurrection" from holding public office again. Challenges have been filed to remove Trump from the 2024 ballot in over 30 states.
"We conclude that States may disqualify persons holding or attempting to hold state office. But States have no power under the Constitution to enforce Section 3 with respect to federal offices, especially the Presidency," the Court wrote. — FOX News
And …
Top Democrat “working on” bill responding to Trump ballot ruling
A leading House Democrat is preparing legislation in response to the Supreme Court's ruling on Monday that Colorado could not disqualify former President Trump from its state ballot, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The ruling determined that only Congress can enforce language in the 14th Amendment barring anyone who "engaged in insurrection" from holding federal office.
"Congress will have to try and act," Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, told Axios.
What he's saying: Raskin, a former member of the Jan. 6 select committee, said he is already crafting the bill, telling Axios, "I'm working on it — today."
Raskin pointed to legislation he introduced with Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) in 2022 creating a pathway for the Justice Department to sue to keep candidates off the ballot under the 14th Amendment.
"We are going to revise it in light of the Supreme Court's decision," Raskin said.
Raskin suggested the bill would be paired with a resolution declaring Jan. 6 an "insurrection" and that those involved "engaged in insurrection."
Reality check: The bill will face almost certain stonewalling in the House, where even moderate, swing-district Republicans such as Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) are cheering the Supreme Court's ruling. — Axios
Our Take: “In a stunning rebuke of the Colorado Supreme Court, the US Supreme Court decides 9-0 to reverse the decision removing President Trump from the ballot.
The tears were glorious. Jena Griswold did a press circuit without even a hint of self awareness about how embarrassed she should be. Marc Elias was apoplectic that the court cut off additional lawfare angles for election interference. And apparently, Keith Olbermann’s tears are made of urine. Not gonna lie, it got pretty weird.
In the wake of the decision, Shenna Bellows of Maine has withdrawn her unilateral ‘ban,’ and all other legal challenges on the 14A grounds are rendered moot.
The court ruled that the Congress requires implementing legislation to remove President Trump — a move that was criticized by the four female justices in their concurring opinions. Rep Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and Rep Eric Swalwell (D-CA) are working on such legislation. It’s doubtful Speaker Johnson would ever allow such a bill to hit the floor, so this is really just a coping mechanism for Democrats and other TDS-sufferers that is ultimately headed to the dust bin.
It’s been a long few months of this saga, and it’s now concluded. The American People can clearly see the election interference that has taken place. It’s nice to have closure on something for once.
Today I will go to polls in Colorado and cast my ballot for President Trump.
America First.” — Ashe in America
Another Take: “There's almost too much signal in the Trump Supreme Court decision to distill, but here's a few top-line thoughts of why this is such a big deal from both a Narrative and Actual perspective:
Whether you're a Q follower or just MAGA-America First, any conception of 'The Plan' involves the belief that Trump's Supreme Court picks during his first term present a bedrock foundation or backstop to [their] moves. This doesn't dispel that notion.
The Establishment is responding to the Court's decision by immediately rejecting it and promising retribution/new angles of attack, confirming to the Collective Mind that it isn't about justice, but revenge.
The Deep State may be confident in their ability to rig elections, including the 2024 election, BUT ... they are NOT confident they're keeping Trump out of the White House circa 2025.
Scared things are stupid things, and from where I'm sitting, there are a lot of scared things mulling around the halls of congress these days.
Tick tock.” — Burning Bright
Hunter Biden Met Privately with ‘F—ing Spy Chief of China’ During Hong Kong Trip, Jim Biden Testifies
First brother Jim Biden provided explosive new details about his nephew Hunter Biden’s previously undisclosed meetings with a corrupt Chinese businessman, whom Hunter has called the "f—ing spy chief of China."
In a congressional deposition last month, Jim Biden said he accompanied Hunter Biden to Hong Kong in September 2017 to meet with Patrick Ho, an executive with Chinese energy conglomerate CEFC China Energy. Weeks earlier, CEFC China Energy paid Hunter and Jim Biden $5 million as part of a joint venture to find investments for the Chinese firm.
The Biden family’s arrangement with CEFC China Energy has stoked national security concerns because of the Chinese firm’s links to Chinese military intelligence. Middlemen for CEFC China Energy approached Hunter Biden in 2015, when his father was vice president, about potential business deals.
According to Jim Biden, he and Hunter Biden had a "pleasant" lunch in Hong Kong with Ho, who also served as head of the China Energy Fund Committee, a think tank funded by CEFC China Energy. At the end of the meeting, Ho asked to meet alone with Hunter Biden, according to Uncle Jim.
"Ho said, ‘Can I borrow Hunter for, you know, a half-hour? We're going to go in the next room,’" said Jim Biden, who claimed ignorance about what his nephew discussed behind closed doors.
Biden’s testimony is likely to raise questions about Hunter’s previously unknown interaction with a man he has described as "the f—ing spy chief of China." Hunter Biden made that remark about Ho in an audio recording dated May 11, 2018. — The Washington Free Beacon
Our Take: “Hunter is the gift that keeps on giving!
I was secretly hoping more would come out about him and ‘the fucking spy chief of China.’
Having Jim Biden openly reveal that Hunter’s relationship with the Chinese Spy Chief has more to it than we thought is awesome because:
It’s getting more and more apparent that Jim was not an innocent bystander in the family business
It proves without a doubt that it’s as bad as it all looks, if not worse.
Hunter claimed he was fighting corruption in Ukraine by aligning with Burisma.
But now it turns out he was also being paid to protect the Burisma’s corrupt opposition. 😆
But, I can’t help but think that all of the corrupt business deals, the treason with Ukraine and China etc, is all simply preparing the public for Hunter to be used as a symbolic diving board into the depths of what [they] always fight hardest to cover up: the sexual abuse of children.
We all know this speaks to more hearts and minds than anything, and yet it has gone unmentioned for quite some time in all the HB coverage.
Recall what Q said about Hunter in response to OANN coverage about his laptop, way back in October 2020:
When it comes to the white hate usage of Hunter Biden, what is the public really being primed to accept, phase by phase, on a larger scale?” — Simon Esler
Lawyers Offer New Witness in Effort to Disqualify Trump Prosecutors in Georgia
Defense lawyers in the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald J. Trump say they want to put someone on the stand whose testimony could back up their assertion that Terrence Bradley, a witness in their effort to disqualify the prosecutors running the case, gave misleading testimony.
The new information comes from Cindi Lee Yeager, a deputy district attorney in neighboring Cobb County, Ga., whom the defense lawyers said they spoke to on Friday about conversations she has had with Mr. Bradley.
At issue is a key matter in the disqualification effort: the timing of the romantic relationship that developed between Fani T. Willis, who as the Fulton County district attorney is leading the prosecution of Mr. Trump, and Nathan Wade, the Atlanta-area lawyer she hired to manage the case.
Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade have said that a romance developed between them after she hired him in November 2021. But the defense lawyers have tried to prove the romantic relationship started earlier.
If they are correct that Ms. Willis hired a boyfriend for a lucrative, high-profile job, it might bolster their argument that she engaged in “self-dealing” when she took a number of vacations with Mr. Wade, and thus created a conflict of interest that should result in her removal from the case. — The New York Times
Our Take: “On Monday afternoon, it was reported that a Georgia Senate committee has subpoenaed Defense Counsel Ashleigh Merchant to testify on Wednesday. Monday afternoon, the defense dropped another witness, Cindi Lee Yeager, a deputy DA in Cobb County.
Ms. Yeager’s testimony supports the story that Mr. Bradley told Ms. Merchant in the text messages revealed during the hearing last week—that the relationship began in 2019 after Willis and Wade met at a municipal conference. Further, Ms. Yeager claims to have been present when Mr. Bradley took a call from Fani Willis, where allegedly Willis said, ‘They are coming after us. You don’t need to talk to them about anything about us.’
This is important, because Bradley swore under oath that he never had personal conversation with Willis. ‘My interaction with Ms. Willis was never where I would pick up the phone and talk to her.’ Yikes. Yeager claims she decided to come forward after she watched Mr. Bradley commit perjury last week.
The Merchant hearing before the GA Senate committee tomorrow will be live-streamed, and Judge McAfee still has some decisions to make about the disqualification. This drama still has a few scenes left, so stay tuned!” — Ashe in America
A heated custody battle over a transgender child in California stokes a viral debate
Conservative social media influencer Chris Elston — who goes by the handle “Billboard Chris” and travels the country denouncing medical treatment for transgender youth — posted a video to his hundreds of thousands of followers in late 2023.
Elston was in Phoenix at AmericaFest, a conservative conference hosted by the right-wing group Turning Point USA, and wearing a sign across his chest that read: “Children Cannot Consent to Puberty Blockers.”
The video showed him interviewing a Southern California father named Adam Vena, who claimed that his 5-year-old had been taken away from him by the state because he objected to the child being transgender.
“Adam spoke out against this, and the authorities consider that abuse. He now has a 5-year restraining order forbidding him from talking to” his child, Elston wrote atop the video posted on X.
“Pure evil,” one commenter wrote. “Heartbreaking,” wrote a second. “Madness,” wrote a third.
Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of Tesla and X, commented with two exclamation marks, which helped draw attention to the post.
The video has now been viewed 5.5 million times. — The LA Times
Our Take: “I have known Adam Vena for over a year now. He’s a prime example of a blue collar father who couldn’t even have conceived of the ideological dangers looming for his son.
This LA Times hit piece performs all the standard mental gymnastics expected of propaganda focused on fostering the current explosion of young people transitioning across America.
Probably the most glaring distortion the LA Times pulls here is to prop up the facade that socially transitioning young children is safe.
This illusion is held up by ideologically-captured institutions across North America who rely on ignoring data from nations rolling back the gender affirmative model.
Among them are Norway, Sweden, Finland and the UK. Most notably, after a systemic review by Dr. Hillary Cass, the UK has radically changed their approach to gender non conforming children.
Adam’s son was 2 when the mother began to socially transition him. Contrast this with the UK medical system now stating that socially transitioning children has severe psychosocial implications and should only be performed on rare occasions, with extensive counseling and medical guidance. On top of this, puberty blockers are no longer available to children outside of formal research settings, by law.
In North America they just claim to be ‘freeing the children’ as if social transition and chemical castration are just a chance for them to “find who they are.”
This piece also represents more anti-masculine propaganda by attempting to directly equate the rage of a father losing his son with violence. Masculinity is toxic right? I can’t imagine the rage I would struggle with if my son was captured by this ideology.
Having made a feature length documentary on this issue, and knowing Adam personally, I have mixed feelings about his story being uplifted on X by Elon Musk.
On the one hand, it got his story to the world. On the other hand, it made the power of his story a threat to an operation dead set on transitioning as many children as possible. It made Adam a target.
Which brings us to the crux of this maddening trans-craze sweeping through North American families: we have never transitioned hundreds of thousands of children before. We all know this to be true. Therefore, the data to back it up cannot exist.
Which is precisely why the LA Times has to write hit pieces like this, to continue the march deeper and deeper into the greatest child abuse scandal in human history.” — Simon Esler
Biden facing Super Tuesday revolt from ‘uncommitted’ far -left voters: experts
A backlash looms for President Biden on Super Tuesday, when at least half of the states participating in presidential contests have an “uncommitted” line on their ballot – potentially allowing this week’s far-left voter revolt in Michigan to snowball, experts told The Post.
Activists who launched the successful Michigan campaign have their sights on a slew of Super Tuesday primaries next week, including Massachusetts, Minnesota, Colorado, North Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Maine and Alabama — all of which have “uncommitted” or write-in slots on their Dem primary ballots.
“Biden is not going to duplicate his 2020 coalition,” said veteran Dem strategist James Carville, noting that black voters are also among the party’s disaffected. “It’s across the spectrum,” he said of grassroots frustration with the sitting president. — NY Post
Our Take: “One of my most of-repeated arguments in the Fifth-Generation War we all find ourselves embroiled in is that, in order to win a Mind War, you don’t necessarily need an enemy psychological combatant to adopt your paradigm; you only need them to abandon their own.
Oftentimes, this is a bit of an esoteric, difficult-to-quantify phenomenon, but when it comes to the 2024 primaries and ‘incumbent’ potato Joe Biden, it’s being rendered corporeal not just in the public narrative, but in the data.
What’s especially delectable about this particular trend is the fact that, according to polling, the biggest single reason for the left-wing defection from the uniparty is the Israel-Gaza crisis.
Bad news is good news in the Mind War.” — Burning Bright
BONUS ITEMS
Urging 6-week ‘ceasefire,’ US VP Harris says Israel not doing enough to get aid to Gaza
US Vice President Kamala Harris bluntly called out Israel on Sunday for not doing enough to ease a “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza and called for an extended pause in hostilities to be implemented immediately, as the Biden administration faces increasing pressure to rein in its close ally.
Harris’s call for an “immediate ceasefire” won loud cheers from the crowd even as she clarified that she was referring to a cessation of hostilities as part of a deal that would free hostages kidnapped from southern Israel by the Hamas terror group some five months ago.
“Given the immense scale of suffering in Gaza there must be an immediate ceasefire,” Harris said to raucous applause. “For at least the next six weeks, which is what currently is on the table.”
“Hamas claims it wants a ceasefire. Well, there is a deal on the table. And as we have said, Hamas needs to agree to that deal,” Harris said. “Let’s get a ceasefire. Let’s reunite the hostages with their families. And let’s provide immediate relief to the people of Gaza.”
Her remarks were consistent with long-standing US policy that the best way to secure a truce is through a hostage deal, but reflected the White House’s increasing willingness to support rhetoric backing a halt to Israel’s offensive even if Jerusalem’s goal of eliminating the Hamas terror group remains unrealized. — The Times of Israel
What we know about the state of negotiations as Israel skips ceasefire talks
On Sunday, Israel decided not to send a delegation to Egypt for talks on a deal for a ceasefire and release of hostages from Gaza, an Israeli official told CNN.
The official said the reason was that Hamas had not responded to two Israeli demands:
a list of hostages, specifying which are alive and which are dead
confirmation of the ratio of Palestinian prisoners to be released from Israeli prisons in exchange for hostages
Meanwhile, a Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo for the talks, a senior Hamas source told CNN, where negotiators from the US, Israel and Egypt were also expected to attend.
For Hamas' part, it said that without Israel agreeing to a permanent ceasefire, it will not agree to a deal over hostages, a highly placed source in the militant group told CNN on Sunday.
At least three sticking points remain before Hamas will agree on a deal, the source said. These are:
A permanent ceasefire
The withdrawal of what the source called “occupation forces” — that is, Israeli troops — from the Gaza Strip
The return of displaced people from the south to the north of the strip — CNN
Argentina Govt Suspends State News Agency Telam
Argentina's government on Monday suspended the Telam state news agency in the wake of an announcement by President Javier Milei that he would shut down what he called a mouthpiece of "propaganda" for previous leftist governments.
The 79-year-old news organization, which has more than 700 staff, is the latest casualty of Milei's drive to shake up and shut down state institutions since taking office in December.
"We found out last night (Sunday) that they had started to shut down after Javier Milei's disastrous announcement," Agustin Lecchi of the Buenos Aires press union told a local radio station.
He said staff had been blocked from entering the premises when they arrived for work on Monday morning. The agency's website was also down.
Telam publishes more than 500 national news articles and 200 photos daily, as well as content for video and radio clients.
Presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni told a press conference that the government had issued an internal statement "to all staff, exempting them from providing services for seven days with pay, while progress is made" to shut the agency.
The Buenos Aires press union said its members would gather at one of the Telam buildings on Monday for a "symbolic hug" to protest the closure. — Barron’s
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.
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The Supreme Court ruling in favor of Trump (and the Constitution) had me smiling all day. The Badlands News Brief take had me smiling even more!
While I was relieved that SCOTUS ruled states can't interfere with federal elections, I'm beside myself how they're going to continue ramming J6 down our throats. This is what drives me to finding actual solutions that We the People can bring to bear against corrupt "representatives".
Does ANYONE know what or how we as people of these states can rip this damn fool J6 narrative down? IT WAS NEVER AN INSURRECTION.