Badlands News Brief
Bidenomics Comes Home to Roost & Mayhem Marches On
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 the Weekend that Was …
US warship shoots down three Houthi drones targeting commercial vessels in Red Sea: CENTCOM
Three commercial vessels were attacked in the Red Sea on Sunday, prompting a U.S. warship to shoot down multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) headed toward them.
The development could signify a serious escalation in a series of maritime attacks in the Middle East linked to the Israel-Hamas war.
"Today, there were four attacks against three separate commercial vessels operating in international waters in the southern Red Sea," a statement by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) explained. "These three vessels are connected to 14 separate nations."
The USS Carney was in the southern Red Sea, just north of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, when it shot down three Houthi drones heading in its direction, a U.S. official told Fox News, adding that the action was taken in self-defense. The drones were launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, the official claimed. — FOX News
Our Take: “Leaving aside the fact that, as always, it’s very difficult, if not impossible for us to confirm what did or did not ALMOST happen in the Red Sea over the weekend through open-source intelligence alone, I would classify this particular deployment as a ‘close call’ in terms of Actuals.
We’re told that Houthi rebels targeted commercial vessels, prompting US warship(s) to respond, and respond effectively.
Of course, what I tend to be interested in is the Narrative impact of the deployment, which, in this case, caused the ‘Gulf of Tonkin’ phrase to trend worldwide on X.
This marks further escalation in the Collective Mind, while successfully bridging the past to the future.
The more exposure we see, the worse it is for those pulling the strings. We’ll see how far it ends up going.” —
Jan. 6 Committee Tapes Have Disappeared, Says House Republican
The disappearance of videotapes of witness interviews conducted by the Democratic-led House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack has alarmed the chairman of the House panel that replaced it.
Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), who chairs the House Administration Oversight Subcommittee that is currently investigating security lapses connected to the Capitol riot and potential ramifications for upcoming criminal trials, is questioning the disappearance of the video evidence.
“All of the videotapes of all depositions are gone,” Mr. Loudermilk told the "Just the News, No Noise" television show Thursday night.
“We found out about this early in the investigation when I received a call from someone who was looking for some information off one of the videotapes, and we started searching, and we had none,” Mr. Loudermilk explained.
“I wrote a letter to Bennie Thompson asking for them. And he confirmed that they did not preserve those types. He didn't feel that they had to."
According to Mr. Loudermilk, the videotapes met the requirements for congressional evidence under House rules because some of the segments were shown at hearings, and the now-defunct J6 committee, led by Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss), ought to have kept all of the recordings. — The Epoch Times
Our Take: “‘I wrote a letter to Bennie Thompson asking for them. And he confirmed that they did not preserve those types. He didn't feel that they had to.’
Let’s consider that shocking statement. The insurrection narrative is critical to the regime’s grip on power. It has been wielded to put grandmothers in shackles, torture political prisoners, and character-assassinate anyone else that gets in their way. But the ‘evidence’ upon which the narrative relies was not worthy of retention? Doubtful.
The good news is that the reaction of Bennie Thompson et al lets us know with a high degree of certainty that there is likely narrative destroying (and prosecutable) evidence in those files. And the digital record is forever.
A cover up of a cover up of a coup is a brilliant way to end the year. 2024 is gonna be fun.” —
Gold Spikes To Record High Over $2,130, Bitcoin Soars Above $40,000 As Market Calls Powell's Bluff
On Friday, shortly after Powell failed to hammer the hawkish case in his "fireside" chat with stocks eager to take out 2023 highs, we said that Powell has a big problem on his hands not so much because if the market was indeed correct about imminent easing that only assures that inflation will come back with a vengeance and Powell would indeed be the "second coming" of a former Fed Chair - only Burns not Vlcker - but because the kneejerk surge higher in gold (and digital gold) meant that the once again deathwatch for the dollar - and fiat in general - had resumed.
Well, with futures having opened for trading on Sunday night, what we joked about on Friday, namely that Powell - having seemingly once again lost control of the hawkish narrative - may be leaking emergency rate hikes though Nick Timiraos on Dec 12, ahead of the December FOMC (now that the Fed is in blackout mode)...
... is all too real because suddenly everything that is non printable is soaring, starting with gold, which has exploded as much as $60, spiking to a new all time high of $2,135...
... while bitcoin, and the entire crypto sector following closely, spiking above $40,000 for the first time since May 2022. — ZeroHedge
Our Take: “The FED (and the propped-up US economy) is caught in a Bicameral Pincer, and I believe it was deployed by Donald Trump in 2020 as part of Operation Warp Speed.
This weekend, gold hit all-time highs relative to the fiat dollar, Bitcoin surged and stocks and bonds made chaotic, confusing moves up after the market had a schizophrenic, wish-fulfillment-tinged fit as it attempted to discern Jerome Powell's statements on future hikes (or cuts) as both hawkish AND dovish.
In the end, it doesn't matter what the intent was of Jerome Powell's words or the sentiments of former market-makers, because Trump kicked the fiat money printer into overdrive, a trend Biden continued (likely at Trump's direction,) thereby trapping the FED in no man's land.
If they continue to raise rates, they continue to put the squeeze on stocks, corporate profits, and jobs.
If they cut (which they will,) inflation (and alternative valuation systems) takes off like a rocket.
Trump told us this was coming. The rest is timing.
The transition is accelerating.” —
Greg Gutfeld: Tucker Was Cancelled by Special Interest Groups
Fox News host Greg Gutfeld revealed that Tucker Carlson was kicked off the network by special interest groups tied to political interests.
Gutfeld made the remarks during his show last night while discussing Elon Musk telling advertisers “fuck you” over their attempts to blackmail him.
“That’s like extorting Jerry Nadler with salad, or blackmailing sports fans by threatening to cancel PBS,” Gutfeld joked.
The Fox News host said Musk was the last man standing against “the censorship-industrial complex, which is made up of government, media and tech forces.” — Modernity News
Our Take: “Late last week, the ‘CTIL Files’ were released by Michael Shellenberger and Matt Taibbi, the day before the two independent journalists testified before the House Weaponization Subcommittee.
and I went through the CTIL Files on Sunday’s extended Culture of Change, and it’s stunning stuff. At press time, the CTIL files are a set of three threads on X along with supplemental media on multiple alternative outlets.We effectively have their strategy documentation, their project/change/communications plans, their training materials, and their own video-recorded admissions. They admit to — brag about — running government sanctioned information operations on American People. Just like President Trump said they did.
The operations were to ensure there wouldn’t be a ‘repeat of 2016’ and, based on the timeline, may have involved the leadership and possible direction of the 44th President.
What does all that have to do with Carlson and Gutfeld?
Control of the information channels is critically important and also in the midst of transition. According to his side of things, Tucker Carlson attempted to report critically on the J6 narrative prior to being fired from Fox. The way he tells it, he recorded an interview with former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund, the story was filmed but never aired, and it’s a story the regime and their J6 committee attempted to bury.
Gutfeld, while on air at Fox, acknowledged this — which would ostensibly upset his employer. The mainstream media is pretending to be shocked at this story, but Gutfeld has been critical of Fox for years, it’s nothing new. It’s part of his brand and Fox can dig it — criticize the company all you want, just don’t tell the truth about the communist insurrection on November 3, 2020, or its cover up on January 6, 2021.
Fox didn’t bow to the censorship industrial complex — which is just the MIC, btw. Fox IS the censorship industrial complex. Fox is the OG narrative peddler for the right side of the uniparty. Who is controlling the channel?
Then there is X and Musk and the ‘Go F Yourself’ saga.
For too long, advertising dollars were weaponized — across all media — to deliver upon the promises of cancel culture. Since media’s revenue is, for the most part, advertising-based, shaming advertisers into pulling their ad dollars from certain shows and channels has been largely effective in expanding the subversive First Amendment violations to date.
But Musk is otherwise motivated, and X appears to be moving towards free speech. More specifically, despite still being plagued by communist visibility filtering, unexplained and ideological account banning, and Musk’s hand picked leadership team — which appears curiously misaligned to Musk’s stated change goals — X has measurably improved for the truth community and trust itself.
Who is controlling the channel?
Can you really buy the public square on the open market?
These two stories reveal the censorship industrial complex, from strategy through execution. The fact that they’re running concurrently is… lucky.” —
Did Elon Musk's 'GFY' Tirade Accelerate Pivot In Advertising Strategy?
On Thursday we emphasized in a note titled "Time To Boycott Elon's Boycotters" that when mega-corporations advertise on social media platforms or news websites, it's often less about traditional advertising and more about supporting, promoting, and financially backing specific ideologies and party lines that align with their interests.
As we noted, "It's why when Pfizer or Moderna spend tens of millions for advertising in the NYT, it is not so people are aware that Pfizer makes a covid booster shot - they know that from non-stop news coverage; it is to make sure that the NYT never questions the corporate party line. In other words, it is public relations in an advertising wrapper."
Elon Musk is purging these mega-corporations from advertising on X, intentionally or unintentionally.
His remarks on Wednesday at the DealBook Conference, where he bluntly told the audience that advertisers who attempt to "blackmail him" can "go fuck themselves."
Musk was referring to some of these advertisers: Disney, IBM, and Apple, which halted ad spending on the platform for the billionaire's 'antisemitic post.'
However, what is very interesting is that other social media channels, like Facebook and Instagram, have had way worse content on their feeds, but you don't see corporate media and activist groups trying to pressure advertisers on those platforms.
Out with the old...
To that end, Musk plans to attract small business advertising to plug the holes.
"Small and medium businesses are a very significant engine that we have definitely underplayed for a long time," X told the Financial Times.
X even said, "It [was] always part of the plan — now we will go even further with it." — ZeroHedge
And …
Rogan: Democrats Have "No Cards To Play" For 2024, Except Imprisoning Trump
Podcast king Joe Rogan noted earlier this week that he believes there is no strategy for 2024 on the part of Democrats, and the only play they have is to imprison Donald Trump.
“I think at this point they kind of have to run [Biden] unless he dies,” Rogan asserted, adding “We have one year now, we’re in late November, we have less than one year. What are they going to do? If Biden died tomorrow, what do they do with Kamala Harris? Put her on the moon? What are they going to do, she’s the vice president. If he dies, she becomes the president, which is fucking wild when you hear that lady talk.”
Rogan further noted that throwing someone like California Governor Gavin Newsom in as the nominee in place of Harris would expose how lacking in direction the party has been.
“I think they have no cards and they’re looking at this game and I think they’re depending upon party loyalty and they’re depending upon Trump getting convicted and arrested and imprisoned,” Rogan contiuned.
“I don’t know if that’s going to happen. I don’t think it is. It just seems like it’s a bunch of trumped-up charges, no pun intended,” he added. — Modernity News
Our Take: “Language Coding in the War of Stories:
Whether repeated terms are the work of Patriot ghosts in the machine, or an observable effect of movement of the Collective Mind, I think repetition in various theaters of the Info War can give us hints as to directional changes on the horizon.
I've referred to figures like Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Joe Rogan and Joe Biden as Mind-Movers, as in, characters in the War of Stories capable of shifting public sentiment and thought patterns (and often, even behaviors) with their Narrative Deployments, for better and worse.
Over the past few days, the phrase, "Go fu*k yourself" has been used by a few Mind-Movers, most notably Musk and even UFC President Dana White, specifically in the context of big-money advertisers threatening to withhold budgets on account of ideological and political programming.
While blunt, the phrase is a mass signal of defection from the System of Systems, and it's only going to pick up speed and ubiquity as things accelerate.” —
George Santos’ expulsion is just the latest act in a tumultuous year for the House
Divided government is common and often messy. But the current U.S. House of Representatives has had arguably the most tumultuous year in modern times.
The Republican-led chamber began the year requiring 15 ballots to elect a speaker, the most since 1860. Nine months later, it became the first House in U.S. history to overthrow the speaker midsession, causing an unprecedented 21-day period of limbo that felled three nominees before the party settled on a little-known congressman.
And on Friday, the House entered its final month of 2023 by taking the extraordinary step of expelling one of its own members, now-former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., for just the third time since the Civil War, after he fabricated much of his biography and as he faces a 23-count federal indictment for a smorgasbord of alleged crimes. (He has pleaded not guilty).
It was the latest in a series of unfortunate distinctions for the 116th Congress, which has elevated rancor and chaos to levels unseen in generations. One reason for that is the GOP’s narrow majority, which was cut from four votes to three on Friday.
Santos responded to the historic vote by bolting through the Capitol doors and taunting his colleagues, saying they “just set a new, dangerous precedent” that could bite them, before driving off. Many of his colleagues were unimpressed. — NBC News
Our Take: “As
and I discussed last night on DEFECTED, I think you can go Bicameral with this deployment and argue it from both sides, but only IF you have a fundamental foundation that our current political system lacks:Trust.
Not trust that the representatives are going to wield the powers vested in them responsibly, but rather the simple, bedrock trust that said representatives ARE, in fact the representatives their particular voting blocs actually voted for.
Without trust in our election system, the inmates are going to continue running the asylum, and from where I’m sitting, the increasingly-bipartisan recognition of that fact is a net positive, however chaotic the path there.” —
BONUS ITEMS
First Hospital In Nation To Require COVID-19 Vaccines Will End Mandate
Houston Methodist, which made national headlines after becoming the first hospital in the United States to mandate the COVID-19 vaccines, will no longer require its employees to receive the controversial shots after a new law passed by the Texas legislature outlawed the practice of denying vaccine choice to workers in the private sector.
The hospital announced the change in policy in an internal email to employees, reviewed by The Epoch Times, that employees who choose not to receive the COVID-19 vaccine will no longer be prohibited from working at the institution, effective Dec. 1.
“The Texas Legislature passed a law in the special session that prohibits private employers from requiring employees and contractors to get a COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of employment,” the statement read. “We will continue to encourage everyone to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, but it will no longer be mandated at Houston Methodist. This means that getting the vaccine, or being approved for an exemption, will no longer be a condition of employment.”
The statement added that the hospital “has always put the safety of our patients and employees first.” — The Epoch Times
Israel Pounds Southern Gaza As Officials Say 'Long War' Expected For A Year Or More
All hell has broken loose on the first day of renewed fighting in Gaza post-truce. A UNICEF spokesperson said of the Friday bombardment, "This nightmare for people today just somehow got so much worse." Already, Palestinian sources have said that over 100 have been killed in the last hours of IDF bombing of the Strip. Israeli media is reporting that at least 50 rockets have been launched from Gaza onto southern Israel.
The aerial campaign has even expanded to include the southern half of the Strip, after throughout the early phase of the conflict Gazans were told to abandon their homes in the north and flee south for safety:
Footage verified by Al Jazeera shows numerous plumes of smoke in the sky from Israeli army strikes on Khan Younis. ...Khan Younis in southern Gaza is where thousands of Palestinians have fled from bombing farther north.
Earlier in the day, the Israeli army dropped leaflets on the city, instructing Palestinians there to flee farther south to Rafah.
The White House has said it supports Israel, and has blamed Hamas for the ceasefire's collapse. Israeli officials have explained that Hamas refused to release ten more women captives. Israel says "This violated the terms of the agreement, which specified that Hamas would first release all women and children being held in Gaza in exchange for Israel agreeing to a truce for as long as nine days."
Perhaps the biggest and most ominous development in terms of what the future holds is seen in Israeli officials' words to Financial Times. The Netanyahu is planning for a "long war" which could reach over the next year or more. — ZeroHedge
Biden Shifting Away From 'Bidenomics' Talk As Public Remains Skeptical On Economy
A word once a badge of honor for President Joe Biden might have turned into a political liability. "Bidenomics," a term used to describe his economic doctrine, is being used less, and the press is beginning to take notice.
In recent weeks, President Biden has refrained from uttering "Bidenomics." It has been absent in nearly all of his public appearances this month, from his prepared remarks in Colorado, where he touted the Inflation Reduction Act, to his speeches at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in California.
The last time President Biden touted the term was in a Nov. 1 speech in Minnesota, where he mentioned it four times and compared it to the American Dream.
"Folks, Bidenomics is just another way of saying 'the American Dream,'" President Biden said then.
But it has not entirely disappeared. Instead, President Biden's re-election campaign has used the "Bidenomics" branding in subtler forms. During the Colorado event, there were signs with the label. The term is also inserted into the title of President Biden's events or speeches. His team has used it in social media messages.
“In Colorado, [Biden] highlighted how Bidenomics is creating jobs and opportunities – unleashing over $7 billion in new investments across the state,” the White House wrote on X (previously Twitter) on Nov. 30.
Mainstream media outlets, including NBC News, have noticed that the White House has removed the term when President Biden talks about the economy. — 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.
Does Elon Musk have Tesla secrets up his sleeve? When you consider that for over a century anyone hoping to strike it rich with their zero point energy field inventions (tapping UNLIMITED free energy) has been threatened or killed to suppress those inventions (there have been many) and in light of the awesome “F you” statement to the mega corporations and their advertising $$ by Musk…clearly he is not worried about loosing their revenue! Makes me think he knows something amazing in the field of energy! Many people have invented free or nearly free energy devices for a long time (always suppressed!) and it isn’t a stretch to think Elon has the real thing in the wings…waiting for the right time!
“ The transition is accelerating.” BB
On so many levels!
Thank God for the Badlands contibutors! What a difference such a team makes for us following! Thank You❤️🙏
Regarding George Santos - I believe that ousting him by the Republicans is from one of two causes:
1) The Republicans are idiots. He will be replaced by a democrat by Houchul. Loss of a seat in Congress.
or
2) A stroke of genius. They are making a play that they are willing to go after ANY & ALL instances of corruption. Stage one for attack on the POTUS for being . . . well . . . completely corrupt and accepting bribes from Ukraine and China.
Unfortunately I believe it is #1. They are idiots and as of yet I have not seen evidence of them being smart enough to pull off #2.
PLEASE surprise me!