Badlands News Brief

Devolution Digs, Storm Stirring & Leverage

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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 Weekend that Was …

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Antony Blinken, the CIA and Hunter Biden at the Heart of the Latest Devolution Dig …

Trump knew what was on the laptop. He didn’t mince words when he called Joe Biden a criminal. He also didn’t mince words when he called the media criminal for not reporting on it. Trump’s administration knew what Biden & co. were doing was interference in the election. Every week, we have more and more information about how corrupt the Biden Crime family is and the lengths to which everybody in their orbit have gone to cover up their tracks.

Ask yourself this.

If Joe Biden and his criminal associates were really in FULL control and going to get away with what they have done, why is any of this information coming out at all? — Jon Herold

Our Take: “I believe Herold’s latest Devolution dig—even if it focuses on Blinken and his actions and connections regarding the suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop—ties more threads together than many believe.

From mapping actual data points onto the obvious Deep State plot to suppress damning evidence and interfere in a US election, to the less-discussed, but equally tantalizing circumstantial evidence that the Biden Administration itself could—and likely is—operating in something of a siloed, compartmentalized and faction-oriented manner as individual actors within the cabal attempt (unsuccessfully) to keep their many crimes from coming to light, the rabbit hole goes deep.

Jon’s full dig is well worth checking out through the link above, if there happens to be anyone on this list who has yet to read it.

Instead of focusing on the Deep State’s criminality, however, take Jon’s advice and consider the (positive) implications of this information seeing the light of day for the first time …” — Burning Bright

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Mike Pence Tells Fox News Anchor “A Storm Is Coming One Week from Today”

Former Vice President Mike Pence made an appearance on Fox News on Thursday morning and warned of the incoming influx of illegal immigrants crossing the border.

Pence warned, Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer “A storm is coming one week from today at the Southern Border.”

The former vice president’s warning comes as thousands of migrants are waiting outside of the US Mexico borer waiting for Title 42 to end. — The Gateway Pundit

Our Take: “A storm is coming, you say? Shall we look to twitter, then?

Mike Pence might be one of the most reviled one-time close associates of Donald J. Trump. There are plenty in that category, to be sure. Americans feel a deep sense of betrayal due to Pence's lack of action in 2020. It is believed he could have done something to stop the 2020 election fraud, but chose not to. Still others suspect Pence is merely playing a part in a much bigger operation, the aim of which is beyond just winning an election.

Pence, if this theory is true, had to let the fraud of 2020 go through, more or less, so that the sleeping giant of the American public would rise from its slumber.

Did it work? I think so, but not to completion.

We're still in the ‘you've got to get mad as hell’ phase of the operation. And on that point, it is working wonderfully. Pence is talking about a storm at the border. But those of you who follow the Q material know that the word ‘storm’ has several meanings that relate to a much bigger push to expose the Deep State and restore the power back to the American people—or at least this is a popular meaning of ‘the storm’ concept.

Was Pence alluding to a Q reference and the take down operation that many Q followers believe is taking place at this time (NCSWC)? Many think, or thought it was Trump who would go to twitter and post ‘My fellow Americans. The Storm is upon us.’ But Q is never specific about who or when this statement will be posted.

Dare we consider the loathsome Pence as a possible candidate?” — Justin Deschamps

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CDC Director Rochelle Walensky stepping down

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky announced Friday she is stepping down from her role. 

The CDC said Walensky will leave the agency at the end of June.

"The end of the COVID-19 public health emergency marks a tremendous transition for our country, for public health, and in my tenure as CDC Director," Walensky wrote in her resignation letter to President Biden. "I took on this role, at your request, with the goal of leaving behind the dark days of the pandemic and moving CDC — and public health — forward into a much better and more trusted place." — FOX News

Our Take: “Good riddance! Also, make sure to retain all your records and communications.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky presided over multiple scandals involving COVID-19 case rates and death statistics, not to mention vaccine mandates and illogical school closures that set American students back, by some estimates, 20 years.

‘What this pandemic taught us and showed us is that now we need to talk to the American people.’

That's an interesting takeaway considering Walensky repeatedly lied to the American people and prioritized, in her policymaking, the input of teacher's unions over that of parents. When you combine Walensky's departure with last week's narrative rehabilitation for American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, it becomes clear that the regime is engaging in COVID-19 revisionism.

On the upside, homeschooling has welcomed more than one million new kiddos since pre-pandemic, a number that will continue to rise as American parents lose confidence in government schooling. The kids might just be alright.” — Ashe in America

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Justice Dept. Intensifying Efforts to Determine if Trump Hid Documents

Federal prosecutors investigating former President Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents have obtained the confidential cooperation of a person who has worked for him at Mar-a-Lago, part of an intensifying effort to determine whether Trump ordered boxes containing sensitive material moved out of a storage room there as the government sought to recover it last year, multiple people familiar with the inquiry said.

Through a wave of new subpoenas and grand jury testimony, the Justice Department is moving aggressively to develop a fuller picture of how the documents Trump took with him from the White House were stored, who had access to them, how the security camera system at Mar-a-Lago works and what Trump told aides and his lawyers about what material he had and where it was, the people said.

At the heart of the inquiry is whether Trump sought to hide some documents after the Justice Department issued a subpoena last May demanding their return. — The New York Times

Our Take: “Nauta, the perfect last name … not a bit of evidence.

This goes back to October 2022 and an update on this situation from several outlets in May 2023. This has been resurrected in order to attempt in a feeble manner to slow Trump's momentum.

Essentially, the DOJ threatened to prosecute Walt Nauta, the witness who wanted to plead the 5th; mind you, this is AFTER, Nauta changed his testimony.

Now, today, surprise … it's a headline.

Yeah, Jack Smith’s case is going great. It's so great, in fact, the star witness, Nauta has changed his testimony and possibly been entrapped by SC Smith's team. What the DOJ prosecution means to imply is that Trump told his beverage boy to move some boxes with classified documents? This isn't even fathomable, believable, and is also violently stupid conjecture from the MSM & DOJ.

It's another case of ‘Get Trumpism,’ when they have nothing in reality.” — Johnny Q

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RFK Jr. Says “CIA Definitely Involved In The Murder” of His Uncle President John F. Kennedy

Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was recently interviewed by Jason Calacanis and other members of the popular All-In podcast and in that interview, RFK Jr. revealed he believes the CIA was involved in the assassination of his uncle President John F. Kennedy.

The question arose when host Jason Calacanis asked Kennedy directly “Do you believe they (the CIA) were involved in the murder of your uncle?”

Without any hesitation Kennedy responded “They were definitely involved in the murder and the 60-year cover-up.”

Kennedy continued “They’re still not releasing, you know the papers that legally they have to release.” — The Gateway Pundit

Our Take: “In 1963, the Deep State had already been a deeply ingrained and formidable force in America for generations, but the very public assassination of John F. Kennedy signified the beginning of a new age of subversive rule; all opposition was shown exactly what would happen if a sitting president (or any other elected official for that matter) did not play ball with the Central Intelligence Agency.

The murder of JFK is when the CIA's Deep State conspiracy to take over America became an actual coup. If you are looking for the shadow government that now controls our politicians, you need look no further than the CIA.

Regarding RFK's ballsy remarks … hopefully he avoids any planes, trains, and automobiles.

I'm kidding … well, half kidding. The fact that Donald Trump hasn't been iced yet suggests that the CIA and company are either not as all-powerful as they tried to make us believe, or this is all some elaborate charade and everyone is in on it.

I'm not inclined to put much stock in the latter.” — Ryan DeLarme

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Fox demands Dominion conduct internal probe after redacted Tucker Carlson text messages leaked

Lawyers for Fox News are asking officials at Dominion Voting Systems to conduct an internal investigation after media reports have surfaced pertaining to leaked text messages from Tucker Carlson, a former top host at the network.

In a letter dated Friday, Fox lawyers said the company had learned documents Fox produced as part of its recent litigation against the voting systems provider “were disclosed to media organizations and published for mass consumption.”

The letter urges officials at Dominion to “investigate and confirm that you are not the source of these improper disclosures.”

Leakage of court documents and redacted exhibits, the network’s lawyers said, would violate “the text and spirit of the parties agreement.”

Late last month, the news company agreed to pay Dominion $787 million to settle defamation claims in connection with false claims the network aired about the company’s software around the time of the 2020 election, a narrative being promoted by former president Trump and his allies. — The Hill

Our Take: “Strongly worded letter demands that Dominion investigate itself …again.

The Fox News v. Dominion Voting Systems act of this movie has jumped the shark. Fox blew everyone’s mind last month when they inexplicably folded a straight flush with $787M in the pot. Part of that settlement was confidentiality of items disclosed during the course of discovery.

A week after the settlement, Tucker Carlson was out, effective immediately, and ‘Fox News Tonight’ was born to the mediocre applause of an audience barely half Carlson’s average (1.7M debut).

Then the leaks started, most recently the, ‘That’s not how white men fight’ non-story and, now, Fox is ‘demanding’ that Dominion investigate themselves to ensure they’re not the source of the leaks and in violation of the settlement agreement.

Dominion, true to form, denies the allegations: ‘Nobody associated with Dominion shared these confidential materials with the press.’

We’re gonna need a bigger boat.” — Ashe in America

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Consumer Credit Shocker: Credit Card Debt Explodes At 2nd Fastest Pace On Record Just As Rates Hit All-Time High

So much for credit being tight.

One month ago, not long after we warned that consumer credit was about to get much tighter in the aftermath of one of the most depressing Senior Loan Officer Opinion Surveys, which saw near record tightening in lending standards coupled with a historic plunge in credit demand, we observed that - as one would generally expect - growth in US credit card debt had ground to a crawl, as revolving credit rose by just $5 billion, down sharply from the $12.8 billion in January, down from the $13.7 billion LTM average, and the lowest single increase since April 2021.

Looking at the data, we concluded that "while it is unclear if credit card usage rose at the slowest pace in two years due to weak demand or a sudden squeeze in supply - obviously we will have more information in one month when the next SLOOS hits - the implication is clear: one of the most powerful economic lifelines is grinding to a halt."

Well, maybe not. Ever hear the saying never bet against (the stupidity of) the  US consumer? Well, fast forward one month when moments ago the latest consumer credit data from the Fed was released and it was a doozy: instead of printing at a "credit-crunchy" subdued level, with the Street expecting only a modest increase from February's $15 billion to $17 billion in March, the Fed reported that the actual amount of new credit card debt was a whopping $26.514 billion, smashing expectations by almost $10 billion. — ZeroHedge

Our Take: “Credit, borrowing, and leverage are the order of the day.

At one time, we saved for what we wanted to buy, and when we didn't have the money. We learned to be practical with our consumerism, saving money and spending it on things that matter. While the move toward endless credit and debt was long underway by 1970, something changed shortly after Credit Cards became the norm in the late '70s. Combined with an explosion of cheap goods from overseas, the bounty first-worlders had available to them seemed well-nigh limitless.

But it wasn't. As a matter of fact, it was all, most likely, part of a much older game—to get otherwise self-sufficient people to give it all up in the name of convenience, ease, and material splendor.

Yes, you could work hard for four years to save up for that new TV, refrigerator, or car—or you could have it now on credit. The fact that you had to pay nearly double, just in interest, was a price we're all willing to pay—at least, this is what we thought at the time. Now, the waterline is so high, treading water is all we do.

With this shift came an increasingly irrational and self-destructive addiction to high quality lifestyles. High quality is a relative term here. Point of fact—most high-end consumer goods are only a few grades above cheap shite. But, like any addiction, once the bottle is almost finished, going all the way seems like the best choice. 

‘Everyone else is doing it, who am I to say no?’

With the dawn of the computer age came an ever growing ‘keeping up with the Jones’ demand on one's lifestyle standards. It didn't matter how much debt you took on, as long as you had the latest gadget, outfits, and so on, that's all that mattered. Some 100 years after the great depression, which caused generations of people to embrace saving and practical limits on spending, we've completely reversed the trend. Now, almost everyone continues to spend-spend-spend without skipping a beat, even if the Fed raises rates to double what they were in the past, even if nearly every consumer good has doubled in price, even if the housing market is deflating. 

This is exactly where they want us, addicted to the trappings of the modern-day slave plantation with all its brightly colored toxic gadgets and food as a meth addict is addicted to their meth. Did we fall asleep on pleasure island only to wake up a nation of asses?

The answer to this question is way more disturbing than many of us are willing to acknowledge.

The banker's solution is not a return to sound money. Their solution is to trigger yet another global bankruptcy (one in a long line of ‘great resets’) ushering in a more permanent, sustainable, and freedom-compromising financial system.  Central Backed Digital Currencies will ‘save us’ from the horrors of skipping on any number of essentially useless modern-day consumer goods.

Not to worry, you might be broke in the future, but you'll still be able to use your UBI tokens to get the latest iPhone, iWatch, or Smart TV.  Maybe the Amish had it right the whole time. For all the benefits of our technological age, the price we had to pay to get here is far beyond the value received in exchange for real freedom, prosperity, and the legacy of a real and aspirable American dream.” — Justin Deschamps

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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.

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.