Badlands News Brief

Deadline Deals and Crime Families

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 Wednesday, February 21 …

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"Close To A Deal Or It's About To Blow Up": Speaker Johnson Enters McCarthy Territory As March Deadline Looms

While House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) last week told reporters "We think we're going to meet the deadlines" to avert a government shutdown, House Republicans are preparing for the worst closed doors, Axios reports.

"People are predicting a shutdown even if it's just for a few days," one GOP lawmaker told the outlet, which notes that the government will start a two-phased government shutdown unless a budget or spending stopgap is passed by March 1.

They're either "close to reaching a deal or it's about to blow up," one subcommittee chair recently told a fellow House Republican.

Meanwhile, if a new budget isn't agreed upon by April 30, it will trigger a 1% across-the-board spending cut - meaning that even if a stopgap is reached, Democrats won't back anything past that date (since across-the-board cuts would be "A-OK for some House conservatives").

Johnson will have to either stage a fight with Democrats that threatens a shutdown, or work with Democrats to help pass a stopgap - exactly the move that resulted in Johnson's predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, being ousted from his role. — ZeroHedge

Our Take: “Oh, good, it’s government shutdown season again. Steel yourselves for the emotional blackmail to be turned to 11 and for Republicans to be demonized in every possible way for holding the line on frivolous (and, in many cases, criminal) spending priorities.

I mean, that’s the best case scenario.

A worse and, in my opinion, more likely scenario is that Republicans will cave and American taxpayers will end up paying for everyone’s fever dreams — and by everyone, I mean globally. The national security supplemental includes funding for conflicts in at least four theaters: Ukraine, Israel/Gaza, Taiwan, and Sudan.

On the domestic front, the Biden surrogates announce new spending nearly every time they open their mouths. It appears Biden believes the US treasury is his campaign fund, and he’s making it rain in hopes that further tanking the economy will buy him support in the short term and provide narrative cover should he be inexplicably re-elected.

I don’t envy Johnson, who is taking criticism from all sides while he stands with a minority of Congress, and a large majority of the American people, in opposition to looting the treasury. Thoughts and prayers.” —

Ashe in America

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James Biden in impeachment testimony denies his brother was involved in his business deals

James Biden told House GOP investigators on Wednesday that his brother, President Joe Biden, wasn’t involved in any of his financial deals.

In a 10-page opening statement obtained by POLITICO, James Biden kicked off an hours-long closed-door interview with lawmakers by trying to draw a hard line between his brother and his decades-long business arrangements. House Republicans had asked the president’s brother to testify as part of their sweeping impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden, which has largely focused on deals cut by his brother and son Hunter Biden.

“I have had a 50-year career in a variety of business ventures. Joe Biden has never had any involvement or any direct or indirect financial interest in those activities. None. I never asked my brother to take any official action on behalf of me, my business associates, or anyone else,” James Biden told lawmakers and staff from the Oversight and Judiciary Committees. — Politico

Our Take: “The Bidens are a crime family. It's very obvious to those of us who have been tracking the fall of the House of Biden from the early days.

The idea that Joe Biden was NOT a central force in the operations of their organized crime racket is absurd, and yet, even the Republicans involved in this case are struggling with bringing this idea to bear. James Biden's claim that his business operations were somehow unique within the Biden clans' daily operations, sealed off from his VP brother's power and influence is silly.

Let's take a little trip down memory lane for some context:

A Feb. 24, 2016 email from Hunter Biden to Miguel Alemán Magnani (CEO of Mexican airline Interjet, the grandson of a former Mexican President and son of one of Mexico’s richest men) reads:

'I have brought every single person you have ever asked me to bring to the F’ing WHite House and the Vice President’s house and the inauguration.'

This is of course corroborated by photo evidence revealing that Biden did in fact offer Hunter's Mexican business associates access to the White House years earlier in 2014. We also know that while Joe was Vice President, he flew Hunter and his partner Jeff Cooper on Air Force 2 to Mexico City in 2016.

The day after Hunter's 2016 email admitting he uses his father's position as VP for business, VP Joe Biden flew to Mexico ‘for economic talks!’

Fast forward to Dec. 18, 2017: Hunter Biden’s business partner Patrick Ho (‘the fucking spy chief of China,’ according to Hunter) was charged with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and money laundering.

Guess who Ho's first telephone call was to? Was it Hunter? In fact, it was to James Biden. James claimed he believed the call was actually meant for Hunter Biden and went on to say, ‘There is nothing else I have to say. I don’t want to be dragged into this anymore.’

Nothing to see, right? Eventually, texts were leaked between Hunter and a friend referencing James' statement directly:

’Nice quote from uncle jimmy,’ Archer texted Hunter Biden. ‘I hope you thanked him for that.’

’yeah I’m delighted.’

According to the NY Post:

’Text messages on Hunter’s laptop also reveal he began panicking when the New York Times started asking questions as to why Ho called James Biden looking for him.’

Other messages also showed Hunter’s attorney, George Mesires, boasting about steering Times reporter David Barboza away from Hunter and James’ involvement with CEFC.

The same NY Post article references a voicemail from Joe Biden to Hunter referring to the NY Times article on Hunter's dealings with ‘the fucking spy chief of China:’

’I think you're clear.’ - Joe to Hunter

Now, I know I haven't made a LEGAL case here. I'm no lawyer. But the Bidens appear to be a crime family, and even a small amount of inductive reasoning reveals how they have historically functioned and what kind of legacy they all worked together to protect.

I'm confident they will eventually be exposed but, for now, the question is: will James Biden manage to avoid being crushed by the rubble as the House of Biden crumbles?” —

Simon Esler

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Objection to cease-fire in Gaza equals license to kill: Chinese envoy

Following the US veto on a Security Council draft resolution that would have demanded an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza, a Chinese envoy said Tuesday that objection to a cease-fire in Gaza is nothing different from giving the green light to the continued slaughter.

The draft resolution won 13 votes in favor among the 15 members of the Security Council. Britain abstained.

China expresses its strong disappointment at and dissatisfaction with the US veto, said Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations.

Algeria, on behalf of the Arab states, put forward the draft resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, the immediate release of all hostages, guaranteed access to humanitarian supplies, and the rejection of forced displacement. Such a resolution, based on the minimum requirements of humanity, is urgently required by the situation on the ground and deserves the support of all Security Council members, he said in an explanation of vote after the vote. — ChinaDaily.com

And …

UK Warns It Could Restrict Arms Sales To Israel If Rafah Offensive Proceeds

Fresh headlines Wednesday say the United Kingdom is mulling restricting arms sales to Israel if it goes ahead with its planned major offensive on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, which is packed with over a million Palestinian refugees who've been forcibly relocated from other parts of the Strip.

"Further escalation of Israel’s military action in Gaza without more effort to protect civilians could put it in breach of international humanitarian law, depending on how it conducts the operation, UK officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity about internal assessments," Bloomberg reports.

Not only has London's High Court recently dealt with petitions from legal advocacy groups alleging British arms sent to Israel are being used to commit war crimes (petitions which thus far have been rejected), but the UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron has just issued a letter to Netanyahu's office calling for Israel to "stop and think seriously about the repercussions of a military offensive" on Rafah. — ZeroHedge

Our Take: “Settling the Israel-Palestine conflict has been seen as an Impossible Task.

Still, I often argue that, in the context of a Mind War, you don't need enemy psychological combatants to adopt your paradigm in order to win. You only need them to abandon their own.

When it comes to the Globalist Hegemon's latest fear machine in Gaza, we're seeing even more devastating Narrative damages pile onto the establishment (represented most directly by the Biden Admin and the Deep State Department) than even the Ukrainian Proxy War has visited, with virtually all other heads of state loudly condemning the continued actions of the Israeli government.

Because we've got many of the usual suspects in the globalist hegemon adding their voices to the choir, I'm inclined to believe there ARE necessary Actuals being forwarded on the ground in Gaza.

But the fact that even China and Russia are piling on adds continued fuel to the Middle Eastern fire the Biden Admin has been trapped into contending with.” —

Burning Bright

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Utah's New "Sovereignty Act" Will Overrule The Federal Government, Constitutional?

A bill recently signed into law in Utah sets up a process for the state to overrule or otherwise ignore federal rules and decisions. I post a musical tribute below. Can you guess it? And think about the constitutionality.

Please consider the Utah Constitutional Sovereignty Act.

Establishes a framework for the Legislature, by concurrent resolution, to prohibit the enforcement of a federal directive within the state by government officers if the Legislature determines the federal directive violates the principles of state sovereignty;

Describes the ways in which a federal directive violates the principles of state sovereignty; Limits the authority for requesting a concurrent resolution under the bill;

Requires the Legislature to consult with the attorney general regarding the potential impact of a concurrent resolution on litigation and to provide notice to representatives of tribal governments;

CNN reports Utah’s New ‘Sovereignty Act’ Sets Up a Process to Overrule the Federal Government.

The Utah bill, introduced as the “Utah Constitutional Sovereignty Act,” was signed into law by Gov. Spencer Cox on January 31.

For its supporters, the law is another method of standing up to the federal government.

“Balancing power between state and federal sovereignty is an essential part of our constitutional system,” Gov. Cox said in a statement. “This legislation gives us another way to push back on federal overreach and maintain that balance.”

Yet the push may stand in conflict with the US Constitution’s “Supremacy Clause,” which states federal laws take precedence over state ones. Robert Keiter, a law professor at the University of Utah’s SJ Quinney College of Law, said he was skeptical the Sovereignty Act was constitutional.

“This sends the message, and the Utah legislature is famous for sending messages of this sort, that it’s unhappy with the federal government. (And it’s) expressing that in a way that is constitutionally problematic,” he told CNN. — MishTalk

Our Take: “It’s puzzling that the legal analysts cited in this article can discuss this matter without mentioning the 10th Amendment.

‘The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.’ (10th Amendment of the US Constitution)

If the federal government overreaches its Constitutional authority, the states have a right and duty to assert their sovereignty. This has happened many times throughout our nation’s history, and it’s happening in many ways right now. Still, that Utah feels the need to legislate this principle in 2024 is evidence that the federal government is absolutely out of control.

The author of this article calls Utah’s declaration a symbolic measure, but in the same piece refers to the Texas border case and the Colorado 14th Amendment challenges — current efforts where states are attempting to assert such authorities (regardless of however flawed those efforts are).

Can Utah’s Sovereignty Act be classified as symbolic when its enactment may be required to protect its citizens and their rights?

Again, the 10th Amendment should cover this authority, and each conflict should be litigated on its merits. But the Biden Agenda and Administration has a goal — and track record— of institutional transformation. Perhaps it’s time for the states to do more to restrict these authoritarian aims and reclaim state sovereignty.

Thus, I say cheers to Utah in its efforts to not become Colorado.

‘The instability, injustice, and confusion introduced into the public councils…continue to be the favorite and fruitful topics from which the adversaries to liberty derive their most specious declamations.’ (James Madison, Federalist 10)” —

Ashe in America

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SEC closes Rumble investigation in latest regulatory clearance of global free speech platforms

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission concluded its investigation into Rumble Inc. and said it will not recommend any actions against the video-sharing website, marking the latest regulatory clearance of a social media platform promoting free speech across the globe.

"We have concluded the investigation as to Rumble Inc. Based on the information we have as of this date, we do not intend to recommend an enforcement action by the Commission against Rumble Inc.," SEC Assistant Regional Director Sarah Mallett told Rumble on Tuesday in a letter obtained by Just the News. 

The SEC still warned that the platform may not be completely in the clear.

"We are providing this notice under the guidelines set out in the final paragraph of Securities Act Release No. 5310, which states in part that the notice 'must in no way be construed as indicating that the party has been exonerated or that no action may ultimately result from the staff's investigation,'" Mallett also wrote. 

The announcement regarding Rumble comes after Truth Social, former President Donald Trump's social media platform, said last week that it cleared its final regulatory challenge with the SEC to be able to merge with Digital World Acquisition Corp. following nearly two years of delays. — Just the News

Our Take: “We are witnessing the birth pangs of the parallel economy, as the law fare targeting organizations like Rumble and Trump's Truth Social plays out.

The SEC has released its talons from Rumble (for now) providing a moment of hope for CEO Chris Pavlovski. Is this the end of a battle in the war to further establish a parallel economy outside of the Deep State's control, or merely a moment of quietude in the same battle? I'm not sure which depiction is more accurate but, according to the SEC, the notice 'must in no way be construed as indicating that the party has been exonerated.'

Seems like the end of a cartoon show where you know the same villain will be back next week with another hair brained scheme to attack the hero. ‘I'll get you next time, Gadget!’ (Anyone else watch Inspector Gadget growing up?)

True to the hero's journey, Pavlovski is ready to do battle based on what he knows is an actual evil plan to stop him from doing something genuinely virtuous. According to a post from Pavlovski on X:

'We saw the attacks coming, and we prepared for them. Prior to going public, we chose to use Google Analytics to track and report our MAUs, so we could be ready for this very moment.

This is just the start, they’re coming for us in 2024. They can't stand Rumble's mission, but they are going to learn quickly how hard we punch back.'

I have to admit Rumble is a very inspiring story for me personally. Rumble was founded only 20 minutes from my home here in Toronto and has now undermined billions of hours of censorship our enemy was most certainly relying on.

I guess peak success these days means building the foundations of a new society while fending off a Satanic hoard of globalists and their minions. GO RUMBLE!” —

Simon Esler

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BONUS ITEMS

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New York AG Says She May Seize Trump Buildings, Assets If He Can't Pay $355 Million Penalty

New York Attorney General Letitia James said on Feb. 20 that she’s prepared to seize former President Donald Trump’s buildings and assets if he can’t pay the penalty imposed in the state’s civil fraud case.

The former president was recently ordered to pay nearly $355 million and barred from doing business in New York state for three years by state Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron.

During an interview with ABC News, Ms. James said that it was “really not my business” if President Trump doesn’t have the money to pay the penalty, while also noting that she has her eyes on the Trump Building in Lower Manhattan.

“If he does not have funds to pay off the judgment, then we will seek, you know, judgment enforcement mechanisms in court, and we will ask the judge to seize his assets,” she said.

“We are prepared to make sure that the judgment is paid to New Yorkers, and yes, I look at 40 Wall Street each and every day,” she added, referring to the Trump Building.

President Trump’s attorneys have vowed to appeal the case; he and his attorneys have described the case as a “political witch hunt” and the verdict as “manifest injustice.”

Throughout the trial, the Trump team accused Justice Engoron of judicial malpractice, and the president has asserted that he should be the one being awarded damages. — The Epoch Times

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Google (Kinda) Apologizes After Woke AI Gemini Exposed As Anti-White Racist

Having been busted on some very clear race bias in the image generation segment of their new AI, Gemini Experiences Senior Director of Product Management Jack Krawczyk addressed the responses from the AI that had led social media users to voice concern.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, 

"We're working to improve these kinds of depictions immediately," Krawczyk said.

"Gemini's AI image generation does generate a wide range of people. And that's generally a good thing because people around the world use it. But it's missing the mark here."

Was that an apology?

Maybe they thought they could get away with it?

Or it was being done for some higher purpose?

As Modernity.news' Paul Joseph Watson detailed earlier, Google’s Gemini AI program is being roasted for producing ‘diverse’ image results that show things like black Vikings and other historically inaccurate depictions. — ZeroHedge

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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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