Harvard law professor and former Obama Administration official Cass Sunstein has written approvingly recently about a recent Supreme Court decision which affirms a 1997 case that determined that Executive Branch agencies have the authority to interpret the meaning of the regulations they write. What this means is that the Legislative Branch and the Judicial Branch of government will have no role in either writing or interpreting what are de facto laws (anyone who does not believe that should try breaking an IRS regulation and see what happens) written by the Executive Branch. It represents a huge agglomeration of power in the hands of the bureaucrats who in most cases answer to no elected authority. This is the real "deep state," where the elites rule over us under the approving gazes of ideologues like Sunstein. What does this mean for liberty? Tune in to today's Liberty Report... read on...
President Obama's visit to Vietnam was more about bringing this former adversary into the US sphere of influence against China than about truly developing further mutually-beneficial trade and other relations. The opening of weapons sales to Vietnam will be a boon to the US military-industrial complex (Lockheed-Martin and Raytheon are already eyeing juicy deals) and is designed to cut out the Russians. Pushing the Trans-Pacific Partnership is to the benefit of the "deep state" and a new world order of non-elected global governing bodies. And the implied US support for a more confrontational Vietnamese relationship with China shows the "Pivot to Asia" as nothing more than an Asian version of NATO's policy of encircling Russia. It is a shame that in his "farewell tour" Obama is carrying such dangerous baggage... read on...
This week served as another reminder that the Beltway serves the Beltway and not the American people. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) again appeared on the House Floor and again it flushed away hundreds of billions of dollars to maintain the US military empire overseas. Very little if any of the $600-plus billion in Pentagon spending will go to actually keeping us safe, and in fact much of it will be used to provoke our current and future adversaries thereby making us far less safe. The NDAA also has become notorious for stepping far over the line in violating our civil liberties. This year a measure to force young women to register for the draft narrowly missed inclusion in the bill -- it was removed at the last minute. But remember the NDAA of 2012? Remember Section 1021, which provided for the indefinite detention of American citizens without charge or trial? Remember how little opposition such an anti-American measure faced in Congress? Remember when one outraged Congressman went to the Floor of the House to demand that this horrible measure be repealed? read on...
Shortly after World War II, after the Soviet Red Army liberated Hungary from Nazi occupation, the Hungarians held their first election in six years. The November, 1945 vote resulted in an overwhelming victory for a coalition led by the agrarian, anti-communist Hungarian Smallholders Party. This victory at the ballot box infuriated Hungary's Communist Party and Hungary's new occupying Soviet overlords. Little by little, in what became known as "salami tactics," the Hungarian communists chipped away at the ruling coalition -- slicing off one piece of salami (coalition partner) at a time until nothing was left. Once accomplished, a new election was held in which the Communists captured power and ruled for 40 years from the barrel of a Soviet tank (literally in 1956). read on...
For the "privilege" of being groped and radiated before being allowed to travel, passengers are now facing the additional TSA abuse of being forced to miss their flights due to unimaginably long security check lines. Thousands are missing their flights, and much of the problem is that the agency has thrown a hissy-fit over a slight reduction in the number of screeners. Some 4,600 screeners were cut in hopes that more people would sign up for "TSA-PRE" (they didn't) and thus fewer screeners would be necessary. They now want not only all of those back -- they want an additional 6,000 screeners, which would far exceed the limit set by Congress! To top it off, a recent Homeland Security investigation of TSA performance at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport found that nine out of twelve times TSA screeners missed simulated explosive material passing through checkpoints. What to do about an inefficient government agency that abuses our civil liberties? We have some ideas in today's Liberty Report read on...
What does a discussion on gold and monetary policy have to do with an Institute that focuses on foreign policy and civil liberties? The Federal Reserve and its fiat currency policy is literally the lifeblood of the warfare state. Without endless printing of paper money by the Fed -- in other words if the money supply was limited by some sort of commodity-backed currency -- the warfare state, the military-industrial complex, the wealthy Beltway think-tankers would see their power slip away like sand through fingers. Sound monetary policy and a peaceful foreign policy go hand in hand and must not be ignored. read on...
Conservatives were up in arms upon hearing from a Facebook whistleblower that the popular social media site as a matter of course would suppress news of interest to conservatives (and libertarians) from its "trending" section. Would Facebook really secretly plot to suppress the views of so many of its dedicated users? Could they really have decided to suppress, as was reported, news on Ron and Rand Paul? Even the US government became interested, with Senator John Thune writing a very nasty letter to Facebook demanding more information on how the business operates. What is the solution to the issue? Definitely not the involvement of the Federal Government, which will only make things worse! In fact, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is already trying to mend fences, scheduling a meeting tomorrow with a group of conservative leaders. Ultimately the market will decide. If people have lost faith in Facebook as a result of these allegations, the business will suffer as people vote with their feet. More today in the Liberty Report... read on...
The Defense Authorization bill is supposed to be an opportunity for Congress to shape national defense priorities and share the responsibility with the president when it comes to foreign policy. Generally the president has significant authority to make his mark on foreign and defense policy and the authorization process for both the Defense and State Departments is the Constitution's way to make sure the co-equal Legislative Branch of government is properly part of the process. Sadly though this is what was intended, current reality no longer resembles what was meant to be. Instead, Congress abrogates its authority to set defense spending priorities to the Pentagon, the military-industrial complex, and to special interests in their districts. The result is a mess that has very little to do with defending this country and a whole lot to do with enriching those in position to feed from the trough. This week the House will vote on the Defense Authorization Act for 2017. Today's Liberty Report explains the process and previews the result... read on...
Adding to suspicions of a US role in the ouster of independent-minded Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff is a revelation making the rounds today that Michel Temer, the opposition leader who will step in as interim president, had met with US embassy officials in Sau Paulo to provide his assessment and spin on the domestic political situation in Brazil. Thanks to Wikileaks, we have the US embassy cable that resulted from the incoming president's visit to US political officers.
Acting president Temer will hold office for up to six months while impeached president Rousseff stands trial in the Brazilian senate. If her impeachment is finalized by a two-thirds vote, Temer will remain in office until elections in 2018. read on...
"Why has the world’s mightiest military achieved so little even while absorbing very considerable losses and inflicting even greater damage on the subjects of America’s supposed beneficence?" This is the question asked by Professor Andrew Bacevich, a retired US Army colonel, in a must-read recent article. It is an excellent question that no one in the mainstream dares ask. But this is critical when considering our interventionist foreign policy: why are the constant wars not working? Why has 30 years of constant US warfare in the greater Middle East produced less peace, less harmony, less democracy, and less economic development than before we started? If war is so critical to peace and prosperity in the world, why has constant war produced less of it? The neocons would say that we simply have not waged enough of it. But that's like going to a doctor after a bad reaction to medicine and having him tell you to double up. In today's Ron Paul Liberty Report we are delighted to have Professor Bacevich, author of the excellent new book, America's War For The Greater Middle East, join us to trace the history of our failed foreign policy and plot a new course. read on...
