Badlands News Brief
Trump Skips Debates, FED Paralyzed & Garland Grilled
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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 picks news items of interest from the previous days to give you an overview of the biggest goings-on relevant to the Truth Community.
Items feature original commentary from members of our growing team of citizen journalists. Feel free to follow the corresponding link to see their other work.
Now, onto the news from Wednesday, September 19 …
Trump to Woo Striking Union Members in Detroit, Skipping 2nd G.O.P. Debate
Former President Donald J. Trump is planning to travel to Detroit on the day of the next Republican primary debate, according to two Trump advisers with knowledge of the plans, injecting himself into the labor dispute between striking autoworkers and the nation’s leading auto manufacturers.
The trip, which will include a prime-time speech before current and former union members, is the second consecutive primary debate that Mr. Trump is skipping to instead hold his own counterprogramming. He sat for an interview with the former Fox News host Tucker Carlson that posted online during the first G.O.P. presidential debate in August.
The decision to go to Michigan just days after the United Auto Workers went on strike shows the extent to which Mr. Trump wants to be seen as looking past his primary rivals — and the reality that both he and his political apparatus are already focused on the possibility of a rematch with President Biden.
So instead of attending the next G.O.P. debate — on Sept. 27 in California at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum — Mr. Trump intends to speak to over 500 workers, with his campaign planning to fill the room with plumbers, pipe-fitters, electricians, as well as autoworkers, according to one of the Trump advisers familiar with the planning. Mr. Trump has not directly addressed the wage demands of striking workers and has attacked the union leadership, but he has tried to more broadly cast himself on the side of autoworkers.
The campaign is also considering the possibility of having Mr. Trump make an appearance at the picket line, although the adviser said such a visit, which could involve difficult logistics given the former president’s security protections, is unlikely. — The New York Times
Our Take: “Donald Trump never does anything by accident, especially from a Narrative perspective.
Not only is he continuing to demonstrate that the very prospect of GOP Debates are beneath him (thus, rendering the entirety of the 2024 'run' beneath him, and by extension, us,) but he is eschewing legacy political posturing in favor of addressing current national issues weighing on the Collective Mind, and that Mind is watching him do so.
While the Pretender gears up to defend his false throne, Trump is leading.” —
FOMC Leaves Rates Unchanged, Signals Much More Hawkish 2024
Rates unchanged (in target range of 5.25%-5.5%, a 22-year high) but hawkish-er than expected forecast for rates... but at the same time signaled a 'soft landing' with higher growth forecasts.
Dot plot' of rate projections shows policymakers still foresee one more hike this year, but 2024 and 2025 rate projections each rose by a half-percentage point, a signal the Fed expects rates to stay higher for longer
Twelve of 19 policymakers on the FOMC expect one more rate hike this year to be appropriate; the remaining seven favor holding rates steady
Median projection for economic growth in 2023 jumps to 2.1% from 1% in June; officials significantly reduce unemployment forecasts and now expect jobless rate to peak at 4.1%, rather than 4.5%
Statement repeats prior language saying officials are considering “the extent of additional policy firming that may be appropriate”; Fed acknowledges job gains have “slowed” but says they “remain strong” — ZeroHedge
Our Take: “Rates stayed the same, which, if you recall, the hike caused significant bank failures earlier this year. The goal? Controlled implosion of the economy for political needs—2024 elections—and preamble to the great reset.
If you know how to ride a falling economy and capture certain assets on the flip side, you’ll weather this storm rather well. That said, if the great reset happens, no one will be unaffected.
Pray that Trump’s vengeance is swift and full.” —
Garland grilled by House Republicans on Hunter Biden, Trump investigations
Attorney General Merrick Garland testified before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday in a roughly five-hour high-stakes hearing where Republican lawmakers lambasted him over his department's handling of criminal probes into former President Donald Trump, President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden, the events of Jan. 6 and other high-profile investigations.
"The fix is in," chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said as he kicked the hearing off. "Even with the face-saving indictment of Hunter Biden last week, everyone knows the fix is in."
Jordan accused Garland several times of "slow walking" the Hunter Biden investigation to benefit President Biden.
But Garland, in his opening statement, took criticism of his tenure head-on -- arguing that some Republicans' efforts to target career officials is "dangerous" at a time when threats against public servants are on the rise.
"We will not be intimidated," Garland said. "We will do our jobs free from outside interference. And we will not back down from defending our democracy." — ABC News
Our Take: “Listening to Garland speak raises my blood pressure, but Republican committee members went hard at the AG in Wednesday’s hearing, with several viral moments. Garland fumbled over his words and appeared to perjure himself a couple of times relative to prior statements, with Rep Thomas Massie (R-KY) stating as much in a fiery exchange.
Rep Matt Gaetz (R-FL) hammered Garland on Hunter and Joe’s relationship, with a spotlight on the art-dealing scandal. The scandal has all the classic earmarks of influence peddling and money laundering, but Garland confirmed that he has not asked questions about it or investigated.
Rep Kevin Kiley (R-CA) pinned Garland down on the inception of his infamous parent-targeting memo, with the AG getting flustered and citing the mainstream media as cause to target conservative moms and dads at school board meetings. He also confirmed that he did not speak to FBI Director Chris Wray prior to its issuance.
It’s theater, but it’s nice to see Garland sweat, and we can all breathe another sigh of relief being reminded that this man is not a Supreme Court Justice. And it’s obvious that Garland is still bitter about it.” —
The 'Kitchen Sink' Is McCarthy's Only Path To Avoid Shutdown, And It Probably Won't Work
With a shutdown looming in just over a week, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has backed himself into a corner.
On Tuesday, House Republicans were forced to cancel a procedural vote for a 30-day stopgap funding measure (Continuing Resolution) to keep the government's lights on beyond Sept. 30. Hours later, five GOP lawmakers crossed the aisle to vote with Democrats to bring down the rule for the Pentagon's spending bill.
As Punchbowl News puts it: "Tuesday was a bad day for McCarthy and House Republicans."
The problem for Kevin is that he needs votes from members of the Freedom Caucus, who are demanding that the CR be spliced up so that it doesn't fund 'the election interference of Jack Smith,' according to Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL). Gaetz also wants McCarthy to sign a subpoena to better investigation Hunter Biden's alleged "high crimes and misdemeanors," - with the Florida rep going so far as to draft said subpoena for McCarthy to sign.
McCarthy can also throw a Hail Mary and pander to Democrats for the votes he needs to pass the CR, however doing so would likely seal his fate over a looming threat by Gaetz and others to remove him from his post. — ZeroHedge
Our Take: “Kevin McCarthy, rightly or wrongly is seen by both disillusioned Democrats and Republicans as representative of the Uniparty in the current American political zeitgeist.
As such, Matt Gaetz and the Freedom Caucus, who are largely seen as those ostensibly doing Trump's will in the people's house, have him bent over a barrel when it comes to both the Actuals and Narratives of funding the US government.
If McCarthy caves to Dem demands to fund the War in Ukraine, he continues to draw a line between America First and the Uniparty. If he caves to the Freedom Caucus, it represents a marked shift in Establishment deal-making in favor of sovereign nationalism, proving the movement has real power, even without Trump IN power.
When you combine that with the knowledge that Trump de facto installed McCarthy as Speaker, you begin to see the game, which is a story.” —
Badlands Media Special Coverage: Court Hearing - We The People AZ vs. Runbeck
Badlanders joined Badlands Media for live coverage of the court hearing for We The People AZ vs. Runbeck.
Runbeck Election Services has refused to comply with a lawful Public Records Request for “exterior video of all loading dock locations which clearly shows any items) being delivered and/or picked up” and “interior video of all loading dock locations/warehouse space which clearly shows any items) being delivered and/or picked up” after Election Day. — Badlands Media Rumble
Our Take: “We the People Arizona Alliance vs. Runbeck had its first hearing on Wednesday, to decide the question of whether or not Runbeck, acting as a government contractor, should be subject to public records requests. The Alliance has asked for two days of surveillance footage of Runbeck’s loading dock, arguing that the footage is critical to chain of custody.
Attorneys for Maricopa County and Runbeck argued that Runbeck is no different than Staples or the UPS Store, and that the product of Runbeck’s work is no different than the toilet paper that fills the county’s bathroom. Yes, they really argued this.
The smoking gun refutation of their argument is the fact that the county’s Runbeck contract is sole source — meaning the legal requirements for a competitive contract with multiple bids are waived because the vendor, Runbeck, is so critical to the process that there is no other vendor that can provide the service. The plaintiff attorney made this argument, but it was not their main argument and the delivery was muddled.
The judge committed to ruling on the matter expeditiously, and we will bring you the decision on Badlands as soon as it is issued.” —
Former NZ PM Ardern Urges United Nations To 'Crack Down On Free Speech As A Weapon Of War'
Jacinda Ardern may no longer be Prime Minister of New Zealand, but she was back at the United Nations continuing her call for international censorship.
Ardern is now one of the leading anti-free speech figures in the world and continues to draw support from political and academic establishments.
In her latest attack on free speech, Ardern declared free speech as a virtual weapon of war.
She is demanding that the world join her in battling free speech as part of its own war against “misinformation” and “disinformation.”
Her views, of course, were not only enthusiastically embraced by authoritarian countries, but the government and academic elite. — Jonathan Turley
Our Take: “The Establishment, represented by their vultures in the Media Industrial Complex and their proxy puppets in political offices throughout all lands, are demonstrating with increasing frequency of late not that they fear specific figures rising up in favor of nationalism and sovereignty both nationally and internationally ...
They're demonstrating that what they're truly afraid of is what those figures represent.
From Donald Trump to RFK Jr., Elon Musk to Vladimir Putin, what the Collectivist Beast truly fears is choice, and choice is birthed from a sovereign will, which is represented by one thing above all others:
Questions.
The right to ask them, the will to ask them and the courage to see where they lead.
It's not the answers that will bring the whole corrupt temple down on their heads. It's the questions that lead the way.
Keep asking them.” —
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.
The Badlands Media team will continue to combine our cognitive powers in order to slow things down and find the signal amidst the noise as this series expands.
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.
Ashe: "It’s theater, but it’s nice to see Garland sweat, and we can all breathe another sigh of relief being reminded that this man is not a Supreme Court Justice."
I remind myself of this every time I have the misfortune of seeing him on TV. They claimed he was moderate. Everyone now can see what he would have been on the court.
I'm developing a serious dislike for severely rotten POS Garland.