The same people who told you COVID came from a wet market are now telling you D.C. is safer
Trump torches the crime “decline” lie as media spins the stats
Good Morning, it’s Tuesday, August 12th, 2025.
Washington’s elite want you to believe the capital is getting safer. The Washington Post says crime is “declining from pandemic spikes.” Donald Trump says it’s “out of control.” The numbers say one thing, the streets say another — and the media’s cooking the books to keep their narrative intact. Today, we’ll break down the data games, Putin’s Alaska daydreams, London’s mass arrests for “wrongthink,” and why the Gaza outrage machine is pure manufactured chaos.
Don’t keep this to yourself — send it to the friend who thinks “official stats” are the truth.
And as always, hit reply with your take — I read them all.
If today’s stories feel familiar, it’s because we’ve seen this movie before — the numbers get massaged, the headlines get polished, and the truth gets buried until it’s “safe” to remember. That’s why we put together 7 Truth Bombs the Media Tried to Erase — a record of the stories they buried, the lies they told, and the patterns they don’t want you to recognize.
Trump calls out crime chaos as media spins the stats
Donald Trump isn’t buying the Washington Post’s sunny take that “D.C. crime is declining from pandemic-era spikes.” At a rally last night in Harrisburg, he called the capital “a dangerous, out-of-control embarrassment” and accused the press of “playing with numbers to protect Democrats.” The disconnect between official crime data and what residents see on the streets has become another flashpoint in the fight over truth, safety, and who controls the narrative.
Here’s the reality: MPD’s own reports show a 15% drop in reported violent crime so far in 2025 — but that’s after a 37% surge last year. Carjackings remain triple their 2019 levels. Homicides are still 22% higher than pre-pandemic averages. Police union officials say reporting changes have “reclassified” hundreds of assaults as lesser offenses, while property crime “clearance rates” have plunged to historic lows.
Meanwhile, the WaPo’s crime desk works in a secured newsroom, and the journalists Uber between high-security buildings. The residents riding the Metro at night? They’re the ones dodging armed robberies and gang fights. “Declining from pandemic spikes” is like saying the Titanic stopped sinking after hitting the ocean floor — technically true, functionally useless.
The manipulation is familiar. The same statistical gymnastics used to make unemployment look better — dropping people who stopped looking for work from the labor force — now props up crime numbers. Adjust the categories, shift the baselines, and the crisis vanishes on paper. In reality, thousands of families are locking their doors earlier and avoiding entire neighborhoods.
Bottom Line: Washington’s elites aren’t just insulated from the crime crisis — they’re rewriting the data to convince you it doesn’t exist. Trump’s blunt warning cuts through the noise: if this is “safe,” America’s cities are in deeper trouble than they’ll admit.
They tell you the spy games happen “over there.” But the same playbook used to topple governments abroad is quietly being run in your backyard — with your tax dollars, your data, and your freedoms in the crosshairs. In the next Ledger, we follow the money, the tech, and the operatives pulling the strings.
Putin dreams of Alaska while China builds spy bases in our backyard
Moscow’s “peace talks” come wrapped in territorial threats
Vladimir Putin says he’s open to meeting with Trump to “discuss peace in Ukraine” — but his loudest nationalist backers are celebrating by fantasizing about reclaiming Alaska. State TV hosts and Kremlin-linked bloggers have been floating maps with the U.S. state shaded in Russian red, calling it “historically ours” and a “matter of time.”
This isn’t diplomacy — it’s psychological pressure. The “invitation” was dropped the same week Russian military analysts publicly debated “conditions” for peace that include Ukraine abandoning NATO ambitions and the West lifting all sanctions. Sliding in an Alaska reference isn’t just trolling; it’s a way to test Trump’s backbone before he’s sworn in for his second term.
The real question: why give this circus oxygen when China is building new electronic surveillance facilities in Cuba and expanding naval basing in the Caribbean? Putin’s Alaska talk is a sideshow designed to inflame American media and split Trump’s base between those demanding immediate peace and those demanding a show of strength.
Bottom Line: Peace negotiations don’t start with threats to seize U.S. soil. If Putin wants talks, he should start by closing his mouth about Alaska.
London just arrested 474 people for wrongthink – America, you’re next
Britain tests mass arrests for political opinions
In a single weekend, London police arrested 474 people after a banned pro-Palestinian group staged a deliberate mass protest in defiance of the UK’s new anti-terror law. The group had been formally outlawed last month under Britain’s Terrorism Act, with authorities citing links to extremist funding. Protest leaders called the ban “political censorship” and vowed to flood the streets, knowing full well they’d be hauled off in handcuffs.
This is how the line shifts. Today’s “terrorist group” is tomorrow’s banned political opinion. The same governments that aggressively protect drag shows and climate protests will have no problem criminalizing a patriotic rally if it threatens their power. British officials are already framing the mass arrests as a “success” in keeping “dangerous ideas” off the streets — language that normalizes state suppression of political expression.
If this pattern holds, the precedent is deadly for free speech. First, redefine a movement as a threat. Second, outlaw it. Third, arrest anyone who refuses to shut up. You don’t have to agree with the cause to see where this road leads.
Bottom Line: London just proved mass arrests for political dissent can be done — and sold to the public as “public safety.” The U.S. government is watching.
The same media that buried Qatar’s $1.8B Hamas pipeline for years is now screaming genocide
Netanyahu stands firm as Europe demands retreat from Gaza
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu isn’t budging on his plan to fully take over Gaza City, despite an emergency UN session where European leaders demanded he reverse course. The US ambassador to the UN openly rebuked delegates for using the meeting to accuse Israel of genocide while sidestepping years of terrorist funding from Qatar.
Here’s the inconvenient history the media won’t touch: from 2012 to 2023, Qatar funneled over $1.8 billion into Hamas-run Gaza under the guise of “humanitarian aid,” with full knowledge that much of it funded tunnels, rockets, and militias. European leaders who stayed silent then — and in many cases encouraged the cash flow — now position themselves as moral authorities.
The press plays the same game. Outlets that covered up or downplayed the Qatar-Hamas money trail now act as if Netanyahu’s decision appeared from thin air. This is managed chaos: fund the problem, wait for the inevitable military response, then use the outrage to box Israel into concessions.
Bottom Line: The Gaza crisis wasn’t an accident — it was engineered. The same governments and media that fed Hamas now weaponize the backlash against anyone who dares shut them down.
Florida declares war on university money-laundering scheme
DeSantis’ DOGE team is auditing every Florida university research grant, and the findings are ugly. For decades, “research” has been code for funneling taxpayer money to activist professors studying “climate equity” and “gender justice” while producing nothing of value. This is the academic version of NGO funding: laundering your money for political ends. Florida just put woke academia on notice — and they’ve got the receipts.
Abbott’s redistricting fight exposes democracy’s corpse
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vows to keep redistricting battles going for years, even threatening to arrest Democrats who fled the state to block GOP votes. When “democracy” needs arrest warrants to function, the system is already dead. Democrats normalized abandoning their posts, and now act shocked when consequences follow. Abbott’s threats only prove he can’t lead his own party without police-state tactics.
Europe pushes Trump to weaponize sanctions before Putin summit
Brussels is demanding that Trump use economic warfare to “shape talks” with Putin, essentially trying to dictate U.S. diplomacy. Sanctions don’t end wars — they fuel a war economy that keeps bureaucrats relevant and connected insiders rich. Peace would expose their racket, so they prefer “managed conflict.”
Trump orders D.C. homeless out ‘IMMEDIATELY’
The President told D.C.’s homeless to clear out ahead of his crime crackdown conference Monday. The same agencies that created the crisis are now tasked with “fixing” it overnight. Moving tents for cleaner TV shots isn’t policy — it’s optics.
Former Trump surgeon general takes aim at RFK Jr.
Dr. Jerome Adams slammed RFK Jr.’s CDC shooting response as “tepid” and a “failure.” But Adams was part of the COVID response disaster — the last person qualified to lecture on crisis management. This smells like the medical establishment using tragedy to take out a reformer before he dismantles their fiefdom.
Afghan interpreter survives Taliban, killed in Texas
Abdul Niazi dodged death working with U.S. forces in Afghanistan, only to be murdered in Houston after resettlement. We evacuated him from a war zone into a war zone — proof that American cities can be more lethal than foreign battlefields. The same government that couldn’t secure Kabul can’t secure Houston. Read more
Asylum-seekers punished for following the rules
NPR reports dozens of asylum seekers had their cases dismissed after never receiving mandatory interviews — now told to start over. Meanwhile, millions cross illegally without consequence. Bureaucrats are sabotaging legal immigration while rewarding law-breaking. Read more
Palantir’s 2,500% surge is a surveillance state jackpot
The “AI” darling’s real business is weaponizing your data for government agencies, and Wall Street is all in. Investors aren’t buying analytics, they’re betting big on your privacy disappearing. Read more
Democrats embrace gerrymandering, which they once called “voter suppression.”
When Republicans redraw districts, it’s “anti-democracy.” When Democrats do it, it’s “tactical redistricting.” The media spins identical tactics differently based on party — institutional gaslighting at its finest. Read more
Trump floats ‘MAGA’ stock listing for Fannie and Freddie
Mortgage giants have been under government control since 2008. Trump’s branding suggestion sends reporters into meltdown mode while he eyes ending federal conservatorship. Classic distraction play while restructuring trillion-dollar companies. Read more
Quick Question:
If mass arrests for banned protests became legal in the U.S., would you still show up?
Hit reply — yes or no, and why.
“Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are pliable.”
— Mark Twain
Inside this week’s Ledger deep dive:
How Western intelligence runs covert ops abroad — and recycles the same playbook at home
The Israeli surveillance firms powering a global spy network
The hidden pipeline from U.S. foreign meddling to domestic political “investigations”
The system is collapsing. Most will get blindsided. You won’t.
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Thanks for reading The Daily Briefing. We don’t just cover stories — we drag the truth into daylight, no matter how deep they’ve buried it. Whether it’s cooked crime stats, foreign leaders testing our resolve, or mass arrests sold as “safety,” the through-line is simple: power protects itself. And it’s counting on you not to notice. The fact that you’re here means you already do — and that makes you dangerous to the narrative. Stay loud. Stay sharp.
~ Scott 🇺🇸
P.S. Here’s my take on the D.C. crime story — the “decline” the media is bragging about is like losing 20 pounds after gaining 80. They want you to celebrate the recovery while you’re still twice your healthy size. What’s your read? Is Trump right, or are the numbers telling the real story? Hit reply — I want to hear it.
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