Badlands News Brief
Trump Starts the Winning & Con Inc. Starts the Whining
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 LONG Weekend that Was …
Trump Gives Speech After Winning Iowa Caucus; Ramaswamy To End Campaign
As predicted, Donald Trump has been declared the winner of the Iowa Caucus by the Associated Press. Trump beat both Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley by nearly 30 points and 40 points respectively, in line with the final NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa poll.
According to Bloomberg, Vivek Ramaswamy is ending his 2024 campaign and endorsed Trump.
Trump, likely after finding out that Ramaswamy wouldn't continue, credited Vivek for doing a 'hell of a job.' — ZeroHedge
Our Take: “The Iowa Caucuses finally arrived, and we now have the first of many new data sets this primary season — which is always exciting in election world.
In anticipation of the big event, one of Ron DeSantis’ biggest influencers, Bill Mitchell tried his hand at voter suppression when he implied that elderly Trump supporters should skip the event because it’s cold, and Trump has it in the bag. Just a reminder that Douglass Mackey is doing seven months for less than what Mitchell just pulled. Mitchell has since deleted the tweet.
The big headline in Iowa is the weather, as the event got underway with a ‘feels like’ temperature of 35 below zero. The images of the caucuses in the media and on X, however, show packed rooms across the state. Still, the weather may have impacted turnout as Donald Trump only won with 51% (as of 9pET). Maybe that aging lesbian really did suppress some turnout.
The media called it early for 45. In the race for second place, it appeared Haley and DeSantis were in a dead heat with Haley slightly ahead. But in the evening DeSantis pulled ahead of Neocon Nikki, so you can expect the DeSimps to be insufferable today. Their joy is immaterial, though, as Nikki and Ron both gained four delegates. So they tied. And if you combine their totals into a consolidated ticket (as many expect is coming), they still lose Iowa to Trump by thousands of votes.
The people want their President back. We instinctively know this, but now the people of Iowa are the first to prove it (again). Make caucuses great again around the entire nation. When the people control the process, the outcome reflects their will.” —
Another Take: “Vivek is a Big Pharma collectivist heir masquerading as a Build-a-MAGA candidate, and the shallowest dive into his history revealed this to those who bothered to look when he burst onto the scene with (engineered) force.
We're not taking a victory lap about Vivek RamaSwampy because we were right about Vivek. It's because of what being right about Vivek exposes about those who PUSHED him on you.
The wolves among us aren't so named because they're easy to spot. It's quite the opposite.
Con Inc. has largely risen on the back of freedom-minded, sovereign sentiment within the America First movement, and subsists on that patriotic energy like a decentralized parasite.
Don't focus so much on opposition candidates to Donald Trump. Focus on the information and entertainment apparatus and influencers who push them. That's where the true exposure lies.
And, in typical Trump fashion, he lets them play out the string long enough to saturate the sociopolitical zeitgeist
Many such cases.” —
Pro-Palestinian Rioters Nearly Breach White House Gate In Clash With Police
A pro-Palestinian protest in the nation’s capital on Jan. 13 led to clashes between protesters and riot police, during which an exterior gate of the White House was nearly breached.
Police and federal agents reportedly waited near the White House in anticipation as protesters crashed toward the reinforced gate amid attempts by some rioters to scale it.
“During the demonstration near the White House complex Jan. 13, a portion of the anti-scale fencing that was erected for the event sustained temporary damage,” the U.S. Secret Service told Fox News in a statement, adding that “the issues were promptly repaired on site by U.S. Secret Service support teams.”
The gate was placed as an added security measure to the existing primary gate. One rioter could reportedly be heard shouting to tear down the structure, while another could be heard screaming toward the White House, “You support the murdering of children.”
The riot led to a partial evacuation of staff members from the White House, as rioters threw bottles and other objects, video footage obtained by Fox News shows. — The Epoch Times
Our Take: “This past Saturday (Jan 13th,) Pro-Palestinian protestors attempted to climb, and/or otherwise gain entry to the grounds of the White House by breaching the external gates.
Read that again.
Got it? Good.
Because the hypocrisy here is absolutely blinding. We have seen, for over three years now, Patriots who were merely walking around the Capitol being harassed and imprisoned for what were, in comparison, completely benign actions at the Capitol. We now have Xiden’s DOJ threatening to go after anyone who was just outside of the Capitol.
Yet … YET - when a group of Pro-Palestinian (that really means ‘Pro-Hamas’ btw) protestors nearly breach the gates of the White House itself, it is a nothing burger. Nope, nothing to see here. Move along folks.
Where are the arrests? Where is the wall to wall MSM coverage branding these people as terrorists? Where is it? Why is this even being treated as if this is okay?
Not sure how y’all feel, but I’m pretty sure if a group of MAGA protestors did the same, we wouldn’t be hearing the end of it, and the cries of ‘TERRORISTS’ would only grow louder by the passing day.” —
Fears grow that Trump will use the military in ‘dictatorial ways’ if he returns to the White House
Donald Trump is sparking fears among those who understand the inner workings of the Pentagon that he would convert the nonpartisan U.S. military into the muscular arm of his political agenda as he makes comments about dictatorship and devalues the checks and balances that underpin the nation’s two-century-old democracy.
A circle of appointees independent of Trump’s political operation steered him away from ideas that would have pushed the limits of presidential power in his last term, according to books they’ve written and testimony given to Congress. Most were gone by the end. In a new term, many former officials worry that Trump would instead surround himself with loyalists unwilling to say no.
Trump has raised fresh questions about his intentions if he regains power by putting forward a legal theory that a president would be free to do nearly anything with impunity — including assassinate political rivals — so long as Congress can’t muster the votes to impeach him and throw him out of office.
Now, bracing for Trump’s potential return, a loose-knit network of public interest groups and lawmakers is quietly devising plans to try to foil any efforts to expand presidential power, which could include pressuring the military to cater to his political needs.
Those taking part in the effort told NBC News they are studying Trump’s past actions and 2024 policy positions so that they will be ready if he wins in November. That involves preparing to take legal action and send letters to Trump appointees spelling out consequences they’d face if they undermine constitutional norms. — NBC News
Our Take: “As always, the great irony of the Info War is that you can often project Actuals more accurately by tracking the Narrative Deployments of the enemy faction than those of our side.
Sensational and repeated headlines like these may be warped and delivered through false framing, but also represent signal flares the Controllers send up to one another from within the Matrix.
What they view as an existential threat, we view as a promise.” —
Hunter Biden says he would sit for deposition with new subpoena
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect that Biden’s attorneys floated a “public deposition/hearing with alternating rounds of questions for Republicans and Democrats, and with similar rules (e.g., role of counsel in questioning), as is done in a closed-door deposition.”
Hunter Biden on Friday and said he would agree to give testimony to Congress if the House Oversight and Judiciary committees issue new subpoenas, saying the subpoena he defied last month was not valid.
Hunter Biden’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, made the offer in a letter Friday to Oversight and Accountability Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) and Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the two Republicans who have led the investigations into the Biden family and an impeachment inquiry into President Biden.
“You have not explained why you are not interested in transparency and having the American people witness the full and complete testimony of Mr. Biden at a public hearing. If you issue a new proper subpoena, now that there is a duly authorized impeachment inquiry, Mr. Biden will comply for a hearing or deposition. We will accept such a subpoena on Mr. Biden’s behalf,” Lowell wrote.
In the letter, Lowell floated a “public deposition/hearing with alternating rounds of questions for Republicans and Democrats, and with similar rules (e.g., role of counsel in questioning), as is done in a closed-door deposition.” — The Hill
Our Take: “What a weird story.
Hunter crashes a committee hearing Wednesday, then flees. Then the committee votes to hold him in contempt on Friday, and Hunter finally agrees to sit for a closed door session. Will they still hold him in contempt for his prior shenanigans, or is there a trade-off here?
The so called ruler of the United States’ son — the son of scrotus — is facing nine federal charges and 17 years. It’s unlikely that anything will actually happen to him unless the current justice system rapidly evolves into something that resembles justice, and I’ve come to view Hunter Biden news as an intentional distraction. So, from what are we being distracted?
Biden’s featured announcement on whitehouse.gov is a celebration of record-breaking small business applications. ‘This small business boom hasn’t been an accident—it’s a result of my Administration’s strategy to support entrepreneurs, help small businesses access the resources they need to thrive, and promote competition to level the playing field.’
Holy spin cycle, Batman. Record numbers of Americans are defecting from the hamster wheel because of Biden, alright, but not in the way he claims. Vaccine mandates combined with Bidenomics have convinced record numbers of Americans that they need to reclaim control of their livelihoods. The metric is a net positive, but it is born through our collective awakening to Biden’s efforts to destroy our nation.
Back to Hunter, he originally declined to sit for the closed door testimony because he feared ‘partisan leaks’ — classic blue projection — so I think it’s unlikely that we will get any juicy leaks from the this bit of theater. More interestingly, I wonder what Hunter’s next small business will be?” —
Americans Identifying As Democrats Hits Record Low
A Gallup poll released on Friday reveals that a record low percentage of Americans who identify as Democrats in 2023 hit a record low, when independent 'leaners' are excluded.
Just 27% of Americans self-identify as Democrats, the smallest figure in the party's history according to the survey. That said, self-identifying Republicans also hit 27%, though it did not mark the lowest figure in the party's history - which was in 2013 when just 25% of Americans identified as such. The previous low for Democrats was in 2017 and 2015 at 29%.
Independents, meanwhile, take the cake - with 43% of Americans identifying as such. — ZeroHedge
Our Take: “With the requisite disclaimer about polls generally being impossible to trust (especially when emanating from the Establishment) out of the way, the Narrative power of the latest headline-generating 'statistics' out of Gallup shouldn't be overlooked.
While it's worth noting that 'identifying' with party affiliation has little to do with voting action, the fact that left-leaning or affiliated citizens are currently refusing to admit said affiliation to pollsters is extremely telling.
For starters, left-leaning Americans answer polls at a significantly higher rate than conservatives, and that's especially true in the modern, Trumpian zeitgeist. More importantly, however, the fact that they don't want to be seen identifying as Democrats is less about fear of Actual consequence and much more owing to fear of public ridicule.
We've been ridiculing them for years, and they didn't care. Why the change?
Because the Overton Window has shifted to such a degree that they've SEEN it move.” —
BONUS ITEMS
Jordan launches probe into Nathan Wade, alleged lover of Fulton County DA Willis
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan launched a probe into Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor in former President Donald Trump's Georgia case and the alleged lover of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
Earlier this week, one of Trump's co-defendants alleged that Willis maintained a clandestine relationship with Wade, whom she hired for the case and has paid more than $650,000. Jordan's letter did not directly address the allegations of the relationship, but focused on Wade's receipt of funds.
"According to a recent court filing, you have been paid more than $650,000—at the rate of $250 per hour—to serve as an 'Attorney Consultant' and later a 'Special Assistant District Attorney' in the unprecedented investigation and prosecution of the former President and other former federal officials," Jordan wrote. "This filing also alleges that while receiving a substantial amount of money from Fulton County, you spent extravagantly on lavish vacations with your boss, Ms. Willis."
"The Committee has information that the FCDAO [Fulton County District Attorney's Office] received approximately $14.6 million in grant funds from the Department of Justice between 2020 and 2023 and, given the enormous legal fees you have billed to the FCDAO, there are open questions about whether federal funds were used by the FCDAO to finance your prosecution."
Jordan set a deadline of Jan. 26 for Wade to provide the panel with documents related to the case. — Just the News
Taiwan elects William Lai president in historic election, angering China
Taiwanese voters have chosen pro-sovereignty candidate William Lai as their president in a historic election, cementing a path that is increasingly divergent from China.
The move angered Beijing, which issued a statement after the results insisting that "Taiwan is part of China".
While Beijing has called for "peaceful reunification", it has also not ruled out the use of force.
It had cast the Taiwan election as a choice between "war and peace".
China has ramped up its military presence around the island in recent months, heightening fears of a possible conflict. — BBC News
British troops in Ukraine would be ‘declaration of war’ – Medvedev
Moscow would consider the open deployment of British troops to Ukraine as a “declaration of war,” former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has warned. He was responding to a visit to Kiev on Friday by UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is set to sign a security agreement with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky.
Sunak’s arrival in the Ukrainian capital is meant to “set out a major new package of support and reaffirm the close UK-Ukraine partnership,” his office said in a statement. The security document is a follow-up to agreements reached by G7 and NATO members last year, it noted. The statement did not mention any plans for a British military deployment in Ukraine.
“[The deal] formalizes a range of support the UK has been and will continue to provide for Ukraine’s security, including intelligence sharing, cyber security, medical and military training, and defense industrial cooperation,” Downing Street said.
Medvedev, who currently serves as deputy chair of the Russian Security Council, issued his warning in a social media post. — RT
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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“Fears mount”..... The only fears that exist are those of the traitors who know the rope is getting shorter and shorter. These communists did give a rats ass when the Russia super-hoax was in action. Talk about dictators!!! They will cry like stuck pigs when they get the justice they deserve. And most will never admit to their betrayal.
Hope you all had a great GART weekend❤️
Let the “Winning and Whining” begin!
It is so obvious watching the MSM focus on the “existential threat” of “retribution and/or revenge” when Trump is back at the helm, utterly avoiding the word, the legal concept, the necessity of JUSTICE 🦅 and the Constitutional Rule of Law. The DeepState criminal syndicate has made such a confusing mess of the Constitution and Rule of Law that I expect some interesting theater as [they] dig the hole so deep there is no logical way to climb out.
Love Ashe’s “Holy Spin, Batman” ❤️🇺🇸
Thank You for one of my morning’s favorite reads (very short list), the Badlands Briefs and Takes 🙏❤️🦅🕊