Badlands News Brief
The Simulation Gets Very ... Very Weird
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 …
Senate Staffer Caught Filming Gay Sex Tape In Senate Hearing Room
Leaked amateur pornography shows a congressional staffer having anal sex with an unknown man in the Senate hearing room, video obtained by the Daily Caller shows.
The alleged staffer can also be seen in a photo, naked on all fours, looking back at the camera on the table where Senators often sit to ask questions during a hearing. It appears to be unprotected sex.
A source identified the room to the Daily Caller as Senate room Hart 216- The Judiciary Room. The Caller blurred out his face because his identity has not been confirmed. — The Daily Caller
Our Take: “‘We have seen media reports emanating from the right-wing media. As this is a personnel matter and under review, we will not be commenting further at this time.’ - Spokesperson for Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD)
’This has been a difficult time for me, as I have been attacked for who I love to pursue a political agenda ... I love my job and would never disrespect my workplace.’ - Aidan Maese-Czeropski
A big part of me cannot believe this is a real story. But let’s pretend.
The comments on Aidan’s LinkedIn post show that gay professionals are livid at the young aide’s claims of homophobia. This is the response I would expect from gay professionals who, in my experience, have fought harder than most to be taken seriously and given a fair shot in professional careers.
‘Give me a break 🙄 I'm a Democrat and a member of the LGBTQ community, and you're not being attacked for who [you] love. To say that is to minimize the struggles of people who actually are attacked for their sexual orientation. In fact, your actions, and your defense of those actions, are a huge setback for LGBTQ acceptance, for the rights we have all been fighting for.’
‘Don't tar all gay people with the same brush. Filming a sex tape in the workplace is inherently disrespectful and would be a sackable offence anywhere. Nothing to do with who you love.
‘If you feel attacked, it’s because you brought this on yourself. Don’t bring being gay into it and besmirch the community even more. This was a stupid and disrespectful act on your part.’
It’s only those in government claiming that homophobia is the reason for opposition to a senate aide having sex in Hart 216, a room that was most recently used for a Judiciary Committee for a hearing titled, ‘Cleaning Up the C-Suite.’ Aidan has a solid title option there.
Nonetheless, remember how government buildings are painted by uniparty democrats as hallowed and sacred and to be revered when we are discussing J6? This story gives us a bit more insight into acceptable behavior.
It’s not okay to remove the lectern from the room, but it’s fine have sex on it — in the hallowed and revered hearing room — film it, and post it online. Don’t you dare disagree, homophobe.
We are not a serious country.” — Ashe in America
Boycott Harvard: Early Applications Plunge 17% As Hate Fills The Leftist Campus
Harvard College is led by controversial president Claudine Gay, who has single-handedly done more damage to the school's reputation than anyone else in its nearly 500 years of existence.
Gay's failure to tackle antisemitism on campus has been a major wake-up call for parents nationwide who aspire to send their children to the elite school. Parents quickly realize the school no longer prioritizes excellence through education but instead pushes toxic woke narratives and political indoctrination that is harmful to Western society.
New data from Bloomberg shows that a huge blowback is just beginning: The college received 17% fewer applications for early admission from high school seniors this year. Applications this year for non-binding early admissions were 7,921 versus 9,553 last year.
Applications were due Nov. 1, a little more than a month before Gay refused to answer US lawmakers on Capitol Hill if "calling for the genocide of Jews" is bullying and harassment in terms of the school's code of conduct. — ZeroHedge
Our Take: “There is an unmistakable (social) circular firing squad pattern emerging within the halls of academia, and isn’t it poetic that Harvard is currently at its epicenter?
What’s somewhat lost in the noise of an admittedly-sensational headline by ZH, however, is the fact that this data (interesting stat, huh?) actually predates the recent plagiarism and antisemitism scandals plaguing the head of the ‘prestigious’ university, and the symbolic heart of the Woke Industrial Complex.
American universities get picked on a lot by sovereign-minded Americans, and for good reason, but I think it’s only been in the last few years—with the full unveiling and mass industrialized push of transgenderism and fifth-wave feminism—that we’ve begun to understand just how dangerous to a free, fair and most importantly, unified society this cultural, Marxist subversion is.
Academia is being allowed to destroy itself in full view of the Collective Mind, and I can’t help but wonder if patriot ghosts in the machine have something to do with the acceleration of this exposure pattern.” — Burning Bright
Ex-FBI counterintelligence chief sentenced to over four years in prison for work with Russian oligarch
The former head of counterintelligence for the FBI’s New York field office was sentenced to just over four years in prison for working for a sanctioned Russian oligarch after leaving the government.
Charles McGonigal, a 22-year veteran of the FBI, pleaded guilty in August to one count of conspiracy to violate US sanctions and money laundering for working for Oleg Deripaska, a wealthy Russian with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Judge Jennifer Rearden sentenced McGonigal to 50 months in prison, just below the statutory maximum of five years. The judge ordered McGonigal to surrender to prison on February 26.
McGonigal, the judge said, “repeatedly flouted and manipulated the sanctions regimes vital” to US national security interests and “the undeniable seriousness of this and the need to respect the law … compels a meaningful custodial sentence.” At the same time, the judge said his actions “do not all together stamp out” his distinguished career and the “profoundly important contributions” he made to the US.
Before the sentencing was handed down, McGonigal told the judge he has a “deep sense of remorse and sorrow for my actions.”
“I, more than anyone, know that I have committed a felony and as a former FBI special agent it causes me extreme mental, emotional and physical pain – not to mention the shame I feel in embarrassing myself and the FBI, the organization I love and respect,” he said while fighting back tears.
“I’m humbly asking for a second chance,” McGonigal told the judge.
Prosecutors argued McGonigal should receive five years in prison, saying his work for Deripaska put US national security at risk, positing that if a foreign government had to choose between military supplies or having the former FBI counterintelligence chief “on their payroll,” it is an easy decision. — CNN
Our Take: “During the first impeachment trial of President Trump, I said to my husband, ‘They had to know they’re caught. But they decided to put the country through it anyway.’ It was largely speculative at the time but years later, it’s proven out.
The evidence surfacing in many cases involving President Trump — and many like this one that don’t appear to have anything to do with 45 — shows the government engaging in an illegal RICO operation against the America First movement and its leaders.
The high-ranking FBI agent who investigated Trump-Russia collusion — that is, investigated RussiaGate, at its inception — pleaded guilty to corruption charges involving collusion with the Russians.
’The indictment unsealed in Federal District Court in Manhattan on Monday charges the former F.B.I. official, Mr. McGonigal, with one count of violating U.S. sanctions, one count of money laundering and two conspiracy counts.’ - NY Times
While a top FBI official, he was moonlighting as inside fixer for certain powerful Russians, using his government position to manipulate US investigations and action against those Russian oligarchs.
‘While heading up the NY counterintelligence division, McGonigal was responsible for supervising and participating in investigations of Russian oligarchs, including Deripaska.’
As US Attorney Damien Williams stated:
’It is not an overstatement to say that no one knew better the gravity of McGonigal’s crimes than McGonigal himself.’
The four corruption charges carried a potential sentence of 80 combined years, and Judge Jennifer H. Rearden gave him 50 months and a $40,000 fine.
‘She said her sentence was designed to balance McGonigal's more than two decades as a law enforcement officer with the extremely serious nature of his crimes - which she said threatened national security.’
The government, with this ruling, is claiming that all of McGonigal’s investigatory work was above reproach — except this one time. I’ve never seen a civilian receive that kind of presumption of innocence. McGonigal is a poison tree, and all his fruit should be tossed out.
This sentence is another glaring example of asymmetrical justice. Every US defendant prosecuted and/or convicted based on the work of Charles McGonigal — beginning with Carter Page and President Trump — should go after McGonigal and the relevant agencies in civil court and, in the case of criminal convictions, immediately appeal.
It’s time we stop allowing the government to hide behind ‘Matters of National Security’ and make them start answering what they knew, when they knew what they knew, and how they used their knowledge to violate the civil rights of Americans through weaponized law enforcement and investigative overreach.
We only have rights if we exercise them — and there is a case to be made that, today, many of our rights only truly exist on paper. The story of Charles McGonigal does nothing to alleviate those concerns.
Watching the treatment of McGonigal in the judicial system, compared to that of President Trump, only reinforces them. Deprivation of rights under color of law.” — Ashe in America
Oh No! Satanic Goat Skull Display In Iowa's State Capitol Destroyed
The Pentagram adorned Baphomet Satanic Christmas display that had been installed in Iowa’s State Capitol building has been destroyed by a Christian military veteran.
The Republican Sentinel reports that the veteran, named Michael Cassidy, ‘beheaded’ the caped goat thing and threw the skull in a bin:
Cassidy was quoted as stating that he took the action to “awaken Christians to the anti-Christian acts promoted by our government.”
“The world may tell Christians to submissively accept the legitimization of Satan, but none of the founders would have considered government sanction of Satanic altars inside Capitol buildings as protected by the First Amendment,” he added.
The Satanic Temple of Iowa issued a statement acknowledging that the display was “destroyed beyond repair,” but adding “We are proud to continue our holiday display for the next few days that we have been allotted. We ask that for safety, visitors travel together and use the 7 Tenets as a reminder for empathy, in the knowledge that justice is being pursued the correct way, through legal means.”
They signed off the statement with “Hail Satan!” — Modernity News
Our Take: “Well, that didn’t take long, as apparently, former Military Officer and current Iowa State Representative Michael Cassidy did what so many of us wished we could have done: Tear down the hideous Baphomet ‘Christmas’ Display at the Iowa State Capitol and toss the hideous goat head in the trash where it belongs.
In his statement, Cassidy went on to say that he took this action to ‘awaken Christians to the anti-Christian acts promoted by our government.’
’Promoted’ being the keyword here, as not only do the demons on the left accept these displays - they openly display and tout them all while denigrating Jesus Christ, Christians, and Christian Beliefs.
These are the same people who will shout down manger scenes in public, and I promise that had a Christian erected a shrine for Jesus at the Iowa State Capitol - We would have heard all about it the very next day in the MSM. We would have heard all about ‘Christians shoving their beliefs on others’, and we would have heard cries for it’s removal.
To Mr. Cassidy, we say thank you. Thank you for showing the faith, conviction, and backbone that so many of your colleagues lack.” — Paul Fleuret
Illinois NAACP president apologizes for saying migrants are rapists and likening them to ‘savages’
Illinois NAACP President Teresa Haley has apologized “to anyone who may have been hurt or offended” when she said migrants were rapists and “like savages,” while branch presidents said they “unanimously supported” her leadership.
Haley made the initial comments, which were recorded on video, during a statewide meeting. She objected to migrants receiving shelter and clothing while saying Black people in need have long gone without such assistance.
“I love and value all members of our communities — including immigrants,” she wrote in a news release Thursday. “I have worked tirelessly to advocate for the underserved and the voiceless. I remain focused on denouncing injustices, racism, and discrimination. I am empathetic to the plight of all people, and I proudly serve as a beacon of hope to the hopeless.
“I embrace the mission of the NAACP, which is to ‘Achieve equity, political rights, and social inclusion by advancing policies and practices that expand human and civil rights, eliminate discrimination, and accelerate the well-being, education, and economic security of Black people and all persons of color.’” — The Chicago Tribune
Our Take: “As I said in my take above regarding Harvard University, the Marxist death spiral or circular firing squad pattern isn’t a pattern if you’re only paying attention to one theater or pillar within the Deep State’s System of Systems.
The NAACP is one of the key narrative power projection vectors of the cultural arm of the Deep State, often hiding behind a permanent shield of victimhood while lashing out at any figures or groups in society (often white conservatives and politicians they supposedly support,) they deem to have inherited the original sin of, well … having been born the way they were.
While I’m not a fan of cancel culture, and I don’t think anyone in this community is, there’s something delightfully delicious about getting to sit back and watch Marxist leaders taken down in public by the very social power structures they helped to erect.
If you don’t want to play by the rules you enforce on others … maybe you should reconsider recasting the entirety of American culture as a game in the first place.” — Burning Bright
BONUS ITEMS
3 hostages mistakenly killed by Israeli troops were holding white flag, official says
The three Israeli hostages who were mistakingly killed by Israeli troops were holding a stick with a white piece of cloth and shouted "help" in Hebrew before being shot, Israeli Defense Forces officials said on Saturday.
The latest: "The shooting at the hostages was done in violation of the IDF rules of engagement," IDF chief of staff Herzi Halei said in a statement. "It is not allowed to shoot at a person who is holding a white flag and wants to surrender. But this shooting was conducted under stress and on a battlefield," he added.
It's the first time since the Israel-Hamas war began that the IDF has acknowledged accidentally killing hostages during its ground operation in Gaza. Hamas has previously claimed some hostages have been killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza.
The incident is increasing pressure on Israel to strike a new deal to release the more than 130 hostages still held by Hamas.
Details: The incident took place Friday morning in the Shijaiyah neighborhood, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said in a press conference later Friday. — Axios
Rudy Giuliani is ordered to pay over $148 million to 2 Georgia election workers for defamation
A federal jury on Friday ordered Rudy Giuliani to pay over $148 million to two Georgia election workers for falsely claiming they committed ballot fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
The jaw-dropping figure includes $75 million in punitive damages, along with awards of $20 million to each of the two election workers for emotional distress and more than $16 million each for defamation.
Giuliani was in court as the verdict was read aloud by a federal judge. After the court adjourned, the plaintiffs joyously embraced while Giuliani, who stood alone, packed a bag without looking up, NBC News reported.
Outside the courthouse, Giuliani called the damages figure “absurd” and vowed to appeal.
The defamation damage award is the latest in a series of legal blows to Giuliani related to his service as the top campaign lawyer for Donald Trump in efforts to reverse the former Republican president’s loss in that election. — NBC News
Putin has ‘no interest’ in attacking NATO, calls Biden’s warning ‘nonsense’
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow has “no interest” in attacking a NATO member and called U.S. President Joe Biden's warning that Russia would do so if it wins the war in Ukraine “complete nonsense.”
Biden earlier this month warned that “if Putin takes Ukraine, he won’t stop there,” and will attack NATO countries resulting in “American troops fighting Russian troops.”
Putin said Biden’s words were just an attempt to support “mistaken policy” toward Russia and the war in Ukraine.
“It is complete nonsense — and I think President Biden understands that,” Putin said during an interview published Sunday by Rossiya state television.
“Russia has no reason, no interest — no geopolitical interest, neither economic, political nor military — to fight with NATO countries,” Putin said.
In the interview, Putin also warned of “problems” with Finland after the EU country joined NATO. — Politico EU
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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Thanks for another episode of WHAT THEY AREN'T COVERING. No need to call the Lamestream News "fake news" any longer. Their level of deceit has gone way over the top of what Pravda perfected for the last 50 years and longer.
Gay sex in the Senate building
Lawfare in Georgia and New York
Utter hypocrisy in Collegiate level "education"
Russia Russia Russia ooops WTF did they cover up again?
Good start to my week.
I watched Defected earlier this morning and now get to enjoy your Takes here.
We are winning. Glorious!!!
God Wins!
God Bless!!!