badlands.substack.com Badlands News Brief Burning Bright 9–12 minutes https://open.substack.com/pub/badlands/p/badlands-news-brief-bec?r=dnyu4 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 Thursday, March 30 … A yearslong probe into a hush money scheme involving former President Donald Trump and adult film star Stormy Daniels has led to him being indicted by a Manhattan grand jury for his alleged role in the scheme. The indictment is historic, marking the first time a former US president and major presidential candidate has ever been criminally charged. — CNN Our Take: “The Deep State's (in)Justice system had two choices. I maintain that they made the worst one. Don't indict Trump, and they've allowed him to wring a lot of the Actual effects out of a Potential Event. Indict Trump, and they've just kicked off the greatest--and eventually most cathartic--presidential campaign in U.S. history ... and almost two years early. CNN gives away the came with that second graph, there, indicating the potential psychological benefit to the Collective Mind for setting such a precedent. Now, can you think of any names this could come back around on in the coming years? Not the move, boys and girls. Not the move.” — Burning Bright Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Thursday called the indictment of former President Trump “un-American” and said the state would not assist in any extradition request. “The weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda turns the rule of law on its head. It is un-American,” DeSantis, who is seen as Trump’s top rival in a potential 2024 GOP primary, tweeted after news of the indictment broke. “The Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney has consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct. Yet, now he is stretching the law to target a political opponent,” DeSantis continued, adding that Florida would not assist in an extradition request “given the questionable circumstances at issue.” A Manhattan grand jury on Thursday voted to indict Trump on criminal charges for his role in organizing hush money payments made to an adult film star during his 2016 campaign. Trump, who is a Florida resident, is expected to be arraigned next week. — The Hill Our Take: “Much has been made of the public back-and-forth between Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis in recent months, with some believing the two are actually at odds, and that Trump has been exposing a wolf in MAGA’s midst, while others have maintained that DeSantis is actually working WITH Trump in terms of forwarding a story beneficial to the exposure of Con Inc. and the RINO Establishment. I’ve waffled back and forth between the two potentials. That said, wouldn’t it be something if DeSantis ends up throwing his full weight and support behind the leader of the America First movement after the Establishment Media Industrial Complex has pitted the two against each other as one of their last hopes to split the MAGA base?” — Burning Bright Compared to March of last year, CNN lost 61 percent of primetime viewers and 73 percent of viewers in the 25-54 age group. That 25-54 age group is vital because it sets advertising rates. Thankfully, the news gets worse for CNNLOL. Throughout the entire month of March, CNN averaged only 473,000 primetime viewers and 100,000 demo viewers. Throughout the total day in March, CNN averaged only 425,000 total viewers and 83,000 demo viewers. The top-rated show at CNN — a far-left propaganda outlet that spreads conspiracy theories and political violence — was Anderson Cooper 360. It placed 26th and averaged only 635,000 total viewers. Erin Burnett earned only 625,000 viewers. During his smug two hours, Jake Tapper averaged only 584,000 and 575,000 total viewers… These are disastrous numbers. Don Lemon’s morning show attracted only 346,000 viewers. — Breitbart Our Take: “"We are the news, now." I know we say it a lot, but it's a mantra that must become a reality if we hope to have any semblance of truth in this world. It's great to see CNN floundering after years of ridicule from their talking heads, but I hope at least some of these CNN employees have seen the light after watching up close and personally how a news corp. shouldn't conduct itself. In the words of Joseph Goebbels, Patron Saint of CNN: "Not every item of news should be published. Rather must those who control news policies endeavor to make every item of news serve a certain purpose." But the American people have grown tired of being fed the manipulated worldview of CNN; our bellies are full. Every time CNN loses a viewer, an angel gets their wings. I'm sure they're pleading with whatever stand-in they have for God to bring Trump back to the White House to save their careers.” — Ryan DeLarme A bearded pro powerlifter entered a women’s competition in Canada — and smashed a record held by a trans lifter who was watching. Avi Silverberg, the head coach for Team Canada Powerlifting for more than 10 years, entered Saturday’s Heroes Classic tournament in Lethbridge, Alberta, after identifying as a female. Video shared by athlete activist group the Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS) shows him walking up to the platform still fully bearded and wearing a regular men’s singlet. He then casually bench-pressed nearly 370 pounds — beating the current Alberta women’s record by almost 100 pounds. That record — 275 pounds — was held by trans athlete Anne Andres, who was seen watching Silverberg while volunteering at the event. Andres also holds the Alberta women’s record for the deadlift, at 544 pounds — giving her the local record for the total of all three lifts, lifting a combined 1,245 pounds. The trans lifter won eight of nine competitions entered in the women’s category over the last four years, ICONS said. — NY Post Our Take: “I think this is wonderful and should be happening in every place this woke nightmare of allowing Trans athletes to compete in Women's sports is enabled. For starters, he is a regular guy with a beard, so this was purely to send a message. Secondly, the record was already held by a transgender who, by doing so, in my opinion, was spitting in the face of every woman who has ever competed in this sport. This case and other Transgenders competing in womens’ sports such as Lia Thomas should infuriate women across the globe. That is what is needed to illicit change in this mockery; Liberal Woman to be outraged. They are the ones who led the charge to usher in this nightmare of "woke" culture and they are the very ones who we need to put the final nail in its coffin. It's only fitting that, as we have watched Liberalism be decimated these past 5 + years, it has come to antagonize the very people who helped propel it.” — Brad Getz In a time when de-dollarization news are dropping fast and furious and even Elon Musk is now jumping on a bandwagon... ... which we first defined a decade ago, not a day goes by without some modest or not so modest shift toward a world in which the US currency - fully weaponized after February 2022 for the entire world to see and fear - is no longer the world's reserve. And today was no exception. According to the Brazilian government, China and Brazil have reached a deal to trade in their own currencies, ditching the United States dollar as an intermediary entirely, AFP reported. The deal, Beijing’s latest salvo against the almighty greenback, will enable China, the top rival to US economic hegemony, and Brazil, the biggest economy in Latin America, to conduct their massive trade which amounts to $150 billion per year, and financial transactions directly, exchanging yuan for reais and vice versa instead of going through the US dollar. In doing so China extends its bilateral, USD-exempting currency arrangements beyond countries such as Russia, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to now include the Latin American exporting powerhouse. — ZeroHedge Our Take: “Another one bites the dust. And that’s a good thing. While all manner of political and cultural distraction events are hitting the U.S. media cycle in an attempt to distract us, REAL and lasting moves are being made on the world stage as it relates to currency—the lifeblood of transactions. For decades, the U.S. Petrodollar (the Zombie Dollar, as some call it,) has only maintained its status as a “strong” fiat currency due to its status as a reserve currency used by nations too afraid of being helped along by intel agencies toward the path of more dollar-friendly regime change. Now that a strong bloc is emerging in the East, in the form of Russia and China, the days of Petrodollar hegemony appear to be numbered.” — Burning Bright 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. 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