Badlands News Brief
Another Trump Trial Begins ... Regime Most Affected
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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, whose stated opinions are their own. Feel free to follow the corresponding link to see their other work.
Now, onto the news from Monday, October 30 …
Colorado Trial Considers Whether the 14th Amendment Disqualifies Trump
Something the nation has never seen before began playing out in a Denver courtroom Monday morning: a trial to determine whether a major party’s likely presidential nominee is eligible to be president at all.
The lawsuit, filed in September by six Colorado voters with the help of a watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, argues that former President Donald J. Trump is ineligible to hold office again under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. That section disqualifies anyone who “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the Constitution after having taken an oath to support it.
The plaintiffs say that Mr. Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election — namely his actions before and while his supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to try to stop the certification of Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s victory — meet the disqualification criteria.
Sarah B. Wallace, the state district court judge presiding over the case, rejected multiple requests from Mr. Trump and from the Colorado Republican State Central Committee in recent weeks to dismiss the case without a trial.
Judge Wallace also on Monday rejected a call for her to recuse herself because she had donated to an organization that opposes Republican candidates in Colorado — a donation that Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign was fervently highlighting. She said she had not formed any opinion on the legal issues in the case.
In an opening statement on Monday, Eric Olson, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said his team would argue that Jan. 6 was “an insurrection against the Constitution” and that Mr. Trump engaged in that insurrection. — The New York Times
Our Take: “Day one of the Colorado trial to prohibit President Trump from accessing the 2024 presidential ballot got underway Monday, and the state presented their case for nearly five hours.
The first witness they called was former capital police officer Daniel Hodges, who testified that he was very scared on January 6, but also that he had no civil disobedience experience prior to that day. They could only get one other police officer, out of hundreds, to testify — and we quickly learned that he is now selling his January 6 artwork on Etsy. Both police officers were highly coached.
Eric Swalwell also testified, but had nothing substantive to say. The biggest takeaway from Day One is that the First Amendment is on trial and the January 6 Committee Report is testifying. The entirety of the petitioners evidence is the J6 report, political witnesses, and President Trump’s tweets.
Mel Hawley, independent J6 journalist, joined me for the coverage Monday, and we both agreed that this trial appears to be an effort to have a court rubberstamp the J6 committee report. And when you need a commie court to rubberstamp something, you come to Colorado.
Petitioners expect to present 18 hours of evidence — which is going to test all of our collective patience and serenity. It’s unclear who the defense plans to call as witnesses and they have strenuously objected to the J6 Committee Report in evidence. Whoever loses this case is expected to appeal. One thing is for sure, though: This case is a massive red pill about the elections. Tune in!” —
Israeli Ground Troops Rescue Hostage, After Mossad Chief's Secretive Trip To Qatar
Amid the expanding ground operation which has seen Israeli tanks positioned outside of Gaza City and heavy firefights with Hamas militants erupt, Axios has revealed that the head of Mossad, David Barnea, made a secretive weekend trip to Qatar where he met with senior Qatari officials as part of mediation efforts to secure the release of Israeli and foreign hostages.
According to the latest update, over 235 are in Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) captivity, and Qatar remains the chief third party communicating with both Tel Aviv and Hamas. But Israeli officials have described that the ground offensive was launched after it became clear that the talks had born no fruit. Barnea was in Doha as the ground invasion kicked off and progressed. According to the Israeli side's conclusions reached as a result of the meetings, per Axios:
Israel made the decision [to invade] in part because Hamas refused to give Israel via Qatar a list of names of all the hostages it is holding, the officials said.
Hamas told the Qatari officials it is still in the process of finding out where all the hostages are located and their identities. But the feeling in Jerusalem was that this was just a tactic to buy time and prevent an Israeli ground operation, the Israeli officials said.
On Monday the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) made the unexpected announcement that one hostage, a military member who had been taken on Oct.7, has been rescued alive from the battlefield... — ZeroHedge
Our Take: “More stories on the Actuals coming out of Israel and the Gaza strip, with many more to come, most of which are extremely difficult for us to verify in a direct-path manner.
As I’ve said many times, there are ‘real’ Actuals with false stories attached, and then there are entirely fictitious Actuals from the start, which is just the sort of paradoxical arrangement the Deep State loves when it comes to provoking reactions within the Collective Mind.
That said, I don’t think they’re liking where said Collective Mind is heading in all of this chaos, as we’ll see in the next item …” —
Congress Headed For Showdown Over Ukraine, Israel Funds As Massie And Greene Say 'NO' To All
House Republican opposition to Ukraine funding - a large part of why Kevin McCarthy was ousted by the Freedom Caucus - is solidifying under newly crowned Speaker Mike Johnson, who hand-delivered a report to President Biden with a list of demands.
In particular, the list - written by Rep. Mike Garcia (R-CA), informs Biden that Congress won't authorize any additional funds for Ukraine unless the administration answers a dozen questions about the path forward. Chief among them - how Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy plan to win the war against Russia, and how long it might take.
"Failure to ask these questions, and a continued willingness by Congress to enable this carte blanche mentality to date, is, in my opinion, a dereliction of duty and a recipe for disaster that will enable a Ukrainian defeat and enhance Chinese aggression," said Garcia.
Johnson, meanwhile, has made clear that House Republicans won't bundle Ukraine aid and money for Israel's conflict with Hamas, as Biden wants.
On Sunday, Johnson told "Sunday Morning Futures" that Israel aid must be separated because it's a more "pressing and urgent need" that the House will act on this week.
"There are lots of things going on around the world that we have to address, and we will," he said, adding "But now what’s happening in Israel takes the immediate attention, and we’ve got to separate that and get it through."
What about no on Israel too?
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) on Sunday posted on X that she won't support any more foreign aid, including support to Israel, because of the national debt.
"I will be voting NO on all funding packages for the Ukraine war (as I have from the beginning) and now the Israel war," she wrote. "We have had over 10 MILLION people illegally cross our border since Biden took office and we are over $33 TRILLION dollars in debt with many major problems afflicting Americans."
She also responded to a tweet by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who raised the same point, saying "we simply can't afford it." — ZeroHedge
Our Take: “It might be a simple take, but just about the only thing there's bipartisan agreement on right now within the Collective Mind is the 'No New Wars' paradigm, which is great, and the fact that the Establishment can't seem to get that through their collectivist heads.
Both Right and Left, and all Narrative Layers in the Mind War are being guided into intense, focused debates on direct issues, rather than on party affiliation, since affiliation is losing its anchoring in light of some of the most contentious geopolitical topics in the zeitgeist.
When a bipartisan audience puts aside tribal framing and argues earnestly on the core tenets of issues, it creates a natural filtering process through which the best ideas, and those that should guide the direction of this nation are distilled and crystalized.
Unfortunately on an Actual level (and perhaps fortunately on a Narrative level,) the only people who don't seem to want to recognize those 'best ideas' are those ostensibly in control.” —
A man was shoved out of campaign event after asking John Fetterman why he doesn't support a ceasefire in Gaza
A man was forcibly removed from a campaign event on Sunday after he approached Sen. John Fetterman and asked why he's opposed to a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Dan Kovalik, the man kicked out of the event, posted a video of the altercation on Sunday to his profile on X shortly after it occurred. According to his website, Kovalik is a "lawyer and human rights advocate" who "currently" teaches courses on international human rights law at the University of Pittsburgh's Law School. The university told Insider his contract expired in June, was not renewed, and that he's no longer affiliated with the university.
Kovalik also writes an occasional op-ed for Russia Today, a Russian state-funded media group that the US Department of State recently called a critical element of the country's "disinformation and propaganda ecosystem" where he's raged against "Ukraine's atrocities" and called Western liberals "woke and war-crazed" in an essay while also vilifying transgender people. — Business Insider
Our Take: “Myself and others at Badlands have addressed the fact that, while there’s a LOT of tension within the Truth Community at present over the Israel chaos, the absolute worst thing we can do as individuals or as a decentralized collective is to shame or discourage the earnest asking of questions of any and all parties on the game board.
When reactions by Establishment shills mirror some of the sentiment we see expressed by supposed America First journalists in what we refer to as Con Inc., you know that
’s appeal that Understanding > Reacting was made for times such as these.Keep your head when those about you lose their own, and we might yet make an Info Warrior out of you.” —
Warning Signs Grow Apple Is Losing Chinese Consumers to Huawei
There is growing evidence that Apple Inc.’s latest iPhone is falling shy of its predecessor in China, suggesting a setback for the world’s most valuable company in its most important overseas market.
The iPhone 15 series saw a 6% decline in sales in its launch month compared with the prior year, according to data from market researcher GfK that covers end-consumer sales for all channels. Mobile industry tracker IDC estimates Apple’s shipments were down 4% in the third quarter, with both identifying Huawei Technologies Co.’s return to the mobile arena spotlight as a key event in the period. Huawei’s Mate 60 series recorded sales of close to 1.5 million in its launch month, more than doubling from a year ago, GfK said, despite facing supply constraints.
“Against the backdrop of the strong growth of Huawei, Apple iPhone 15 series registered a 6% decline in sales,” said Hayden Hou, China senior analyst at GfK. “Huawei Mate 60 series will continue to maintain its strong sales momentum going forward.”
Shenzhen-based Huawei abruptly released its Mate 60 and 60 Pro smartphones in the weeks leading up to the latest iPhone’s launch, drawing buyers and attention with its made-in-China Kirin processor, an apparent breakthrough in its fight to overcome US trade sanctions.
Counterpoint Research and Jefferies analysts released preliminary sales figures for China earlier this month, indicating the slump for Apple could be as big as a double-digit percentage as the country’s economic challenges hit consumer demand. With the iPhone 15, Apple upgraded several key features of its lineup, but has not been able to stir growth in the world’s biggest mobile market. — Bloomberg
Our Take: “This may seem like a bit of an afterthought of a story, or one that’s not super relevant to Americans, but to me, it’s a tantalizing hint as to the Sovereign Alliance that I believe has either been directly or serendipitously forged on the international game board.
When America adopts an America First philosophy, Russia adopts a Russia First philosophy, and China follows suit … who’s most affected?
The Globalist Oligarchy and their slave labor-utilizing, market-dominating monoliths.
I won’t shed any tears for the waning of Apple’s sales in China …” —
‘Exposing The Corruption’: Senate Republicans Target Biden DHS ‘Censorship’ Agency
Republicans are attempting to curtail the powers of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) after it purportedly engaged in substantial social media censorship.
The DHS’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) likely violated the First Amendment by telling social media platforms how to moderate content, a Fifth Circuit federal appeals court recently found. Republicans on the Senate Homeland Security Committee are pushing legislation to address CISA’s ability to collaborate with tech companies to censor content, introducing bills to mandate transparency and accountability regarding CISA’s activities.
“CISA has blatantly violated the First Amendment and colluded with big tech to censor the speech of ordinary Americans,” Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Federal courts have ordered CISA to stop, but the trust CISA has abused cannot be restored until the agency gives a full accounting of what it has done, and Congress changes the law to create severe penalties for anyone who tries to do the same thing in the future.”
Paul says he will not back cybersecurity bills until CISA earns back Americans’ trust, The Washington Post reported. He also introduced a bill called the Free Speech Protection Act. — The Daily Caller
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.
The Uniparty is being exposed and Normieville is starting to notice. I love when a Plan comes together.
Thanks for the Takes.
God Wins!
God Bless!!!
“Understanding vs. Reacting.” Making questions legal again. Great way to start the day.