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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.
Some 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 the Independence Day stretch …
White House evacuated after 'cocaine hydrochloride' found on grounds
The US Secret Service (USSS) rushed many outside of the White House on Sunday after it came across what was initially identified as an "unknown item."
"US Secret Service Uniform Division Officers located an unknown item on the White House complex," a spokesperson for the agency told Fox News.
"As a precaution, the White House grounds were evacuated, and the DC Fire Departments Hazmat team responded."
A hazmat team deployed around 18th St and Pennsylvania Ave, with Secret Service moving in to close off paths surrounding the White House. USSS reportedly said nothing more about its discovery. — The Post Millennial
Our Take: “This week on New American Lows, DC Fire Hazmat descended on the White House Sunday in response to an unknown item. Come to find out, the commies allegedly occupying the White House were halted in their tasks of subverting the US Constitution because the First Crackhead dropped his blow.
According to reporting, the substance was found ‘near the West Executive Wing.’ They evacuated staff, closed streets, engaged taxpayer resources from multiple agencies. Now they’re trying to spin the discovery of cocaine in the West Wing as a legitimately-prescribed substance for a nose job.
Is Biden having more plastic surgery and did he drop his legally-prescribed cocaine near the Oval? Or, did Hunter drop his stash when returning from his father/son getaway at Camp David? Also, what is the total cost of taxpayer resources wasted in responding to CocaineGate?” — Ashe in America
Zelensky Admits He Has Good Relationship with CIA and Intel Talks with Them Often – Suggests War Will Continue Until Ukraine Retakes Crimea
In a recent sit-down with CNN’s Erin Burnett, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted having a good relationship with the CIA, confirming his frequent intel discussions with them.
This candid admission raises questions about the degree of foreign influence on Ukrainian politics and decision-making, particularly in light of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
In the interview, Zelensky explicitly stated that he sees no victory for Ukraine until Crimea is retaken from Russia.
“We cannot imagine Ukraine without Crimea. And while Crimea is under the Russian occupation, it means only one thing war is not over yet,” said Zelensky.
When asked about the possibility of a peaceful resolution that doesn’t involve regaining control over Crimea, Zelensky firmly responded, “It’s in there. It will not be victory then.”
Further into the conversation, he confessed to having a good relationship with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and has always been visited by CIA Chief Bill Burns.
“I know the U.S. CIA Chief Bill Burns has come and visited you regularly. He was here recently. What did you tell him about your plans to take back territory in the counter-offensive?” asked Burnett.
Zelensky was surprised when news of his regular, confidential conversations with the CIA was leaked to the press. — The Gateway Pundit
Our Take: “So now we know, thanks to a very forthcoming Zelensky, that he has both a good relationship and frequent discussions with the Clowns In America. He's also assuring us all that the war will continue unimpeded, which should come as a surprise to no one.
When he says that the war ‘Will continue,’ he means that you (the American citizen) will be paying up to perpetuate a war that shouldn't even be happening. Your hard-earned pittance will be siphoned off and sent overseas to ensure more chaos, property damage, fear, and bloodshed are visited upon a country that was depressing enough before the invasion.
I truly feel sorry for all the people caught in the middle of all of this—the civilians and the families of soldiers on either side. The CIA and the military industrial complex as they exist today need to be either thoroughly cleaned out or dissolved. I hope that day comes.” — Ryan DeLarme
The Affirmative Aftermath: Schools Now Insist That Race Had A Major Impact In Admissions
There is an interesting debate unfolding around the country in the aftermath of the Supreme Court barring the use of race in college admissions.
For decades, colleges and universities have sought to downplay the weight given to race in court while insisting that it was one of a number of factors used in maintaining diversity. Now, however, schools are insisting that, without considering race, minority admissions will plummet.
During the Supreme Court oral arguments over affirmative action, Harvard’s counsel Seth Waxman struggled with an argument that race consideration was needed to maintain current admissions for minorities. Yet, he also maintained that it was not a major factor and that the consideration of race with regard to Asian students produced only a “slight disparity” and “had no effect with respect to outcomes.”
It was no easy argument. As in past cases, the Court was assured that it was just one of a number of “tips” that was not substantial in the decisions. Yet, after the Court barred the use of race criteria, schools are now arguing that it will make a massive difference and substantially reduce minority admissions. — Jonathan Turley
Our Take: ‘No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.’ Matthew 6:24
What are the two masters here? Equal opportunity and equity (redefined in the modern age as rigging the system for some “oppressed classes” that allegedly makes the playing field more even.
But these are mutually exclusive value propositions, due to the fact you cannot provide equal opportunities while at the same time you rig the system in favor of some. Furthermore, you can’t have a consistent rule system (legal system) while at the same time rewriting the rules when you want, which is what the living constitution judicial pragmatism asserts.
On this point, affirmative action was, at best, a misguided attempt to make things better for ‘oppressed’ classes or at worst, an insidious plot by the socialist-left to foment a culture of mediocrity in the US—a form of subtle warfare.
Living constitution judicial pragmatism has become popular in constitutional jurisprudence. It can be summarized as: ‘The Living Constitution, or judicial pragmatism, is the viewpoint that the U.S constitution holds a dynamic meaning even if the document is not formally amended.’ It doesn’t sound so bad at first, but in reality, it’s one of the most toxic ideas for the true rule of law.
The problem is, if WE THE PEOPLE don’t understand what makes a real and valid law system work, we’ll let bogus legal philosophies (jurisprudence) slowly corrupt the foundation of our nation. This is precisely what has happened.
Let me clue you in on one of the biggest secrets of law:
All law that man uses to govern himself in society, be it between two people, within a family, or within a large country is itself an agreement or contract.
When two or more free will-endowed beings, who have unalienable rights, come together to form a rule system that governs their behavior, in anyway, it creates a legal system—in substance.
In substance means that if we boil down any legal system to it’s fundamental components, no matter how complex, it’s always ‘made of’ agreements.
This means that the rules that govern agreements (contracts) determine whether the rule system is a) valid, b) effective, and c) applicable.
One of the most important tests for if a rule system should be applied to a person is consent. In modern jurisprudence, this is referred to as personal jurisdiction—although it only barely acknowledges the true spirit of this principle.
Would the rules for a Walmart employee apply to a Post Office employee? No. The reason why is that the rules for Walmart employees only apply to Walmart employees because the employee consents to the rules via the employment contract. Without consent, the rules do not apply, period.
Living constitutional judicial pragmatism basically argues that we have the right to rewrite the rules that govern our society because they were written at a time in the past and they can’t possibly be robust enough to account for the challenges of the present.
Simply put, this is a fraud.
We already have a mechanism for updating the system of laws in our country; it’s called Congress. And we use that branch, as broken as it is, because there is chain of consent, moving from the voter, to the elected official who issues their consent for a proposed change (a Bill) by voting for it.
By allowing SCOTUS to revise the law through court opinion and decision, we effectively rob citizens of their right to govern themselves—which is the basis of our nation.
This living constitution sham is like changing the rules of Baseball because it’s been a long time since they were created. If we allow the rules to be rewritten in the wrong way, then it’s no longer fair and we might not even be able to call it Baseball anymore.
The same reason it’s unfair to let Lia Thomas compete against biological women—the trans swimmer that transitioned to a woman, competed against Riley Gains et al, and stole their wins—is the same reason it’s unfair, unjust, and ultimately, unlawful, for the laws of our country to change in a way that destroys the spirit or basis for the law in the first place.
It’s like changing the laws of murder to allow murder. Or changing the laws for rape to allow rape.
Hopefully we will learn our lessons from this situation and better serve posterity by never allowing these things to happen again.” — Justin Deschamps
Federal Judge Limits Biden Officials’ Contacts With Social Media Sites
A federal judge in Louisiana on Tuesday restricted the Biden administration from communicating with social media platforms about broad swaths of content online, a ruling that could curtail efforts to combat false and misleading narratives about the coronavirus pandemic and other issues.
The order, which could have significant First Amendment implications, is a major development in a fierce legal fight over the boundaries and limits of speech online.
It was a victory for Republicans who have often accused social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube of disproportionately taking down right-leaning content, sometimes in collaboration with government. Democrats say the platforms have failed to adequately police misinformation and hateful speech, leading to dangerous outcomes, including violence.
In the ruling, Judge Terry A. Doughty of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana said that parts of the government, including the Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, could not talk to social media companies for “the purpose of urging, encouraging, pressuring, or inducing in any manner the removal, deletion, suppression, or reduction of content containing protected free speech.” — The New York Times
Our Take: “Since Fox News inexplicably settled their case with Dominion, and then reportedly fired Tucker Carlson as part of the deal, the legal front has been a rollercoaster of weird. Trust in the justice system is, like trust in all our institutions, at an all time low. That said, Missouri v Biden is a fascinating and narrative-breaking case — and contains a wealth of disclosures.
The Missouri Attorney General has been releasing evidence — examples of the federal government working with private companies to censor Americans — for months.
Tuesday’s ruling — poignantly issued on Independence Day — grants the plaintiffs motion for a temporary restraining order (TRO) for the majority of the Federal government, prohibiting Biden’s weaponized and illegitimate government from colluding with private entities to censor speech online. The judge lists eight explicit prohibitions against the following: HHS, NIAID, CDC, the US Census Bureau, the FBI, the DOJ — including administrators, staff, deputies, and specific principals from all of these entities — several members of the Executive of Office of the President, including KJP and what appears to be the entire White House Strategic communications team, DHS and Mayorkas explicitly, CISA, and the State Department.
The NY Times sounds terrified: ‘Courts are increasingly being forced to weigh in on such issues — with the potential to upend decades of legal norms that have governed speech online.’
According to the judge, ‘If the allegations made by plaintiffs are true, the present case arguably involves the most massive attack against free speech in United States’ history … The plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits in establishing that the government has used its power to silence the opposition.’
Whoa.
Interestingly, the judge denied the motion for a TRO against the FDA, the EAC, the US Department of Commerce, several individuals, and the Disinformation Governance Board and Nina Jankowicz. The judge also denied the plaintiff motion to certify the case as a class action.
It’s hard to hope for justice in our current environment, but even the ultimate losses have proven useful. Remember that the Fox News case revealed Fox’s true motives to millions of newly-awakened patriots, and it also proved the ‘safest and most secure election’ narrative to be an outright lie.
From the Gateway Pundit in February, ‘And just weeks before the 2020 presidential election, Dominion’s Director of Product Strategy and Security, Eric Coomer, acknowledged in private that ‘our shit is just riddled with bugs.’ Indeed, Coomer had been castigating Dominion’s failures for years. In 2019, Coomer noted that ‘our products suck.’ He lamented that ‘[a]lmost all’ of Dominion’s technological failings were ‘due to our complete f— up in installation.’
That was memory-holed — probably as part of the settlement that got Tucker fired — but we all saw it. And we were all censored for saying exactly what Eric Coomer himself said in his private communications. Missouri v Biden is taking on that censorship machine, and this case is one to watch.” — Ashe in America
Ukraine 'Preparing For Nuclear Explosion' As Russia Reduces Zaporizhzhia Plant Presence
Ukraine's President Zelensky has once again been warning the public and the West that Russia is planning to stage some kind of disastrous nuclear fallout event centered on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Europe's largest. The claims from Ukrainian top officials have been persisting for weeks at this point, but have grown louder in the last several days, as Americans are busy with July 4th festivities.
"There is a serious threat because Russia is technically ready to provoke a local explosion at the station, which could lead to a [radiation] release," Zelensky claimed days ago at a joint news conference in Kyiv. Ukrainian intelligence is at the same time this week saying Russia's military is reducing its presence there and has told staff to relocate to Crimea.
The Guardian on Saturday cited Ukraine's intelligence arm, the GUR, to say that "several representatives of Russia’s state nuclear energy agency, Rosatom, have already left" and further that "Ukrainian employees who stayed at the plant and signed contracts with Rosatom had been told to evacuate by Monday, preferably to Crimea, it said." — ZeroHedge
Our Take: “In the last 24 hours, Zelensky has made the following claims:
He and his gov't are closely tied in with the CIA and US intel apparatus.
He expects nuclear fallout that he intends to pre-seed and blame on the Russian Federation.
He will not be negotiating on the basis of peace until his NATO demands are met.
All roads lead to the Scare Event, and whether he knows it or not, Proxy Prince Zelensky is helping the 'Good' Reset right along.
Understanding > Reacting. Don’t be afraid. Simply recognize that the Collective Mind is meant to be afraid. Only then might they start paying attention to the men behind the curtain.” Burning Bright
"Angry" Biden To Use Higher Education Act To Circumvent Supreme Court Student Debt Ruling
President Joe Biden on Friday announced that he would be using a 'new path' to ease the burden of student loans through the Higher Education Act, after the Supreme Court found his original debt forgiveness plan unconstitutional.
Biden: I'm announcing today a new path consistent with today's ruling to provide student debt relief to as many borrowers as possible as quickly as possible. We will ground this new approach in a different law than my original plan with the higher education act. — ZeroHedge
Our Take: “Biden called the completely expected SCOTUS decision on his unconstitutional student loan forgiveness plan, ‘unthinkable.’
Let’s set aside the fact that most complex concepts are unthinkable for the dementia-ridden, so-called ruler. Regardless of Biden’s mental degradation, the premise of the plan is profoundly detached from our American way of life. Biden’s proposal sought to require all US taxpayers — including those who didn’t attend college at all, those who opted for trade school, and those who attended higher schooling and responsibly repaid their debts — to subsidize the debt of the most privileged class of Americans. Like it or not, a college degree opens doors to opportunities that those without a degree can rarely attain. This is true for all intersectional combinations: if you have a viable college degree, you have higher earning potential than those who don’t.
SCOTUS’ decision limits Biden’s ability to force contributing members of society to pay for the gender studies and faux history degrees of those who loathe the very auto mechanics, plumbers, service industry professionals and others from whom they’re demanding tribute. And Biden calls this decision ‘unthinkable.‘
What’s actually unthinkable is that this global communist sock puppet is still walking free, and is allowed to continue irreparably damaging our nation. Stolen elections have catastrophic consequences, indeed.” — Ashe in America
Most Americans approve of Supreme Court decision restricting use of race in college admissions: POLL
A majority of Americans approve of the Supreme Court ruling restricting the use of race as a factor in college admissions, though the country is more divided on other high-profile rulings and increasingly viewing the court as driven more by politics than the law, according to a new ABC News/Ipsos poll conducted using Ipsos' KnowledgePanel.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court set new limits on affirmative action programs in cases involving whether public and private colleges and universities can continue to use race as one factor among many in student admissions.
A little more than half of Americans -- 52% -- approve of the U.S. Supreme Court decision on restricting the use of race as a factor in college admissions, while 32% disapprove and 16% saying they don't know.
A majority of Republicans (75%) and independents (58%) approve of the ruling, while a distinct minority of Democrats approve (26%). — ABC News
Our Take: “Our friends on the left-hand side of the aisle are bugging out over the affirmative action ruling as if it were the bedrock of democracy. If only these people would get even half as worked up about the ceaseless attacks on our constitution. Most of the folks freaking out over this probably didn’t even know what the actual ruling said and merely reacted without reading.
The simplest, least distorted description possible of what occurred is that the US Supreme Court struck down the use of Race as a factor in the admissions process—that's all. The court decided that holding the race of a person seeking admission against them (in this case, non-blacks) was a violation of the right of equal protection under the law, which is guaranteed by the 14th Amendment.
The champions of affirmative action claim that it is a necessary step to combat racism. Fast forward to today, and what was originally meant to create less racist conditions has now become itself a pernicious form of perpetuated racism.
There are some pressing questions everyone needs to ask themselves before they rush to comment on this:
Isn’t the assumption that a person's race determines their thoughts and experiences a little bogus? Isn’t that just a rebranding of the same racist thought process that affirmative action purports to fight against?
Does the color of a person's skin determine what they can bring to the table? Or is this all really just a superficial type of diversity used by politicians as a way to actually prevent true diversity of thought?” — Ryan DeLarme
Visualizing 'Real' US Home Price Growth Over The Last 50 Years
U.S. home prices grew significantly in 2022, even as interest rates climbed higher.
Yet, as Visual Capitalist's Dorotrhy Neufeld details below, in inflation-adjusted terms, this growth rate was far lower. By Q4 2022, it fell to being flat year-on-year, making it the slowest real growth seen in a decade.
The graphic below compares nominal and real residential property price growth over 50 years based on the latest data from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). — ZeroHedge
Our Take: “You probably think home values have gone up significantly over the past few years. There’s a good reason why you might think this: because this is what we’ve been told and it seems to be true—home prices have certainly gone up.
Unfortunately, this seems to be an illusion foisted upon us by the globalists and their inflationary banking system. As a matter of fact, there’s good reason to believe the financial system used all over the world today was designed for subversive purposes.
People believed home values were going up. They believed it so much that they refinanced their houses, took on credit card debt, and spent beyond their means.
What else is distorted in terms of prices, wages, resource costs, and monetary value in general?
These things seem like distant issues that affect economists, governments, and large companies. But the truth is that the PSYOP that is our modern-day financial system is designed to deceive everyone but the people who designed it. We choose our own enslavement via debt. And the more people walk onto this plantation, the harder it is for people not on it to function in the various areas in our civilization where money plays an influence.
How many of us made decisions based on seeming increases in value in our homes? How was the housing boom fueled over the past 10 years? Is this any different than what we’ve seen since the fractional reserve banking system became the norm?” — Justin Deschamps
The Great American Restoration Tour Hits Cocoa Beach this September!
Experience everything you love about Badlands in the form of a live, ticketed event, with in-person speakers and meet-and-greets all weekend long.
Watch live, in-person versions of your favorite Badlands Media shows, participate in live Q&A sessions with Badlands Panels, and meet all your favorite Badlands show hosts in person.
In-person tickets will include a Welcome Reception with Badlands Media on Friday night, Breakfast & Lunch all weekend and the ability to hang out with other Badlanders and with your favorite show hosts throughout the weekend as we attempt to level up in the Information War together.
While the VIP package has already sold out, General Admission tickets are still available, which includes all three days of panels and the opportunity to hang out with Badlands viewers, readers and show hosts throughout the weekend.
GART 2 will take place from September 7 - 10, 2023 in Cocoa Beach, FL.
Conference to take place at the Hilton Cocoa Beach Oceanfront.
Speakers & Itinerary Coming Soon!
Due to the success of the first event in Arizona, tickets for this one are already moving fast.
For those who will be unable to attend the in-person event, virtual tickets to stream the entirety of GART 2 are also available.
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.
@justindeschamps wrote an incredibly valuable short summary of law, the constitution, and our Republic. I highly encourage others to read his comments under "The Affirmative Aftermath...".
I agree with all of his worthy treatise, but I want to spotlight his focus on consent. In my opinion, once the governed no longer consider a government legitimate, then consent is no longer present. We are nearing that state.
I agree that rules and laws are forms of contracts...so is the Constitution. I adhere to Lysander Spooner on that subject. See lysanderspooner.org
Thank you Justin.
There’s only one way to solve all of the issues you talk about daily. And that’s the second coming of Jesus