These days you will often see a particularly bad vote in the House of Representatives opposed by four or five Members. It used to be one, Ron Paul. Much of the credit goes to Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who is building on Dr. Paul's Congressional Liberty Caucus and adding Members. How is the fight for peace and liberty going on Capitol Hill? There are some surprising victories these days. Today's Liberty Report sits down with Rep. Massie (who recently joined our Board of Advisors) for a look at recent victories, information on what is on the horizon, and how we can all make a difference by communicating our views to our Representatives... read on...
The apparent attack on a humanitarian convoy in the rebel-held part of Aleppo seems to be the final nail in the coffin of the latest ceasefire in Syria. The US blames the Russians for what it calls an "airstrike" on the aid convoy, but the Russians deny that they or the Syrians bombed the convoy. Was it a rebel provocation, like the gas attack at Ghouta in 2013? How do the Russians or Syrians benefit by attacking a UN aid convoy just as the world is watching Aleppo? A briefing on three important events in Syria in today's Liberty Report... read on...
On September 9th the Washington Post featured a front page article describing how the Defense Department had used warplanes to attack targets and kill suspected militants in six countries over the Labor Day weekend. The article was celebratory, citing Pentagon officials who boasted of the ability to engage “multiple targets” anywhere in the world in what has become a “permanent war.” The article did not mention that the United States is not currently at war with any of the six target countries and made no attempt to make a case that the men and women who were killed actually threatened the U.S. or American citizens.
Actual American interests in fighting a war without limits and without an end were not described. They never are. Indeed, in the U.S. and elsewhere many citizens often wonder how certain government policies like the Washington’s war on terror can persist in spite of widespread popular opposition or clear perceptions that they are either ineffective or even harmful. This persistence of policies regarding which there is no debate is sometimes attributed to a “deep state.”
The phrase “deep state” originated in and was often applied to Turkey, in Turkish “Derin Devlet,” where the nation’s security services and governing elite traditionally pursued the same chauvinistic and inward-looking agenda both domestically and in foreign affairs no matter who was prime minister. read on...
Fifteen years, hundreds of thousands of lives and trillions of dollars later, the United States’ war on terror has spawned more instability, violence and chaos than we could have imagined when this undefined and never-ending global campaign began.
Today, jihadist terror groups control more territory and are more of a threat to the world than they were on September 11, 2001. Last week, US-based security firm the Soufan Group estimated that many of the post-9/11 concerns about global terrorism are “considerably worse now than in 2001.” The group argued the spread of violent extremism has “surpassed anything [Osama] bin Laden likely thought achievable in a fifteen-year period.”
This is why Washington’s actions in Syria seem utterly inconceivable to those who would like to believe the US’ main goal in that country is fighting terrorists. I am one of those people: I would like to believe that Washington’s number one priority, globally speaking, is fighting terrorism. I would like to believe they will put aside their differences with other world powers, including Russia, in pursuit of that goal. Sadly, however, believing such a thing would make me incredibly naive. read on...
The Oliver Stone film "Snowden" is predictably being nit-picked by the denizens of the establishment, nevertheless those with a better understanding of what it means to live in a free society are calling it an important opportunity for average Americans to get a look at what living in a surveillance state looks and feels like. Thanks to NSA spying, the government collects virtually every bit of possible information on all of us, storing it for a later date so as to use against us if we run afoul of the powers that be. Today's Liberty Report is joined by former State Department official and whistleblower Peter Van Buren to consider how dramatically the world has changed since 9/11 and what we can do to work against encroaching tyranny. read on...
Last week’s announcement of a record-breaking US aid package for Israel underscores how dangerously foolish and out-of-touch is our interventionist foreign policy. Over the next ten years, the US taxpayer will be forced to give Israel some $38 billion dollars in military aid. It is money we cannot afford going to a country that needs no assistance to maintain its status as the most powerful military in the Middle East.
All US foreign aid is immoral and counterproductive. As I have often said, it is money taken from poor people in the US and sent to rich people overseas. That is because US assistance money goes to foreign governments to hand out as they see fit. Often that assistance is stolen outright or it goes to the politically connected in the recipient country. read on...
The latest from the Gallup Poll is that only 32 percent of Americans trust the print and TV media to tell the truth. Republicans, 18 to 49 year old Americans, and independents trust the media even less, with trust rates of 14 percent, 26 percent, and 30 percent.
The only group that can produce a majority that still trusts the media are Democrats with a 51 percent trust rate in print and TV reporting. The next highest trust rate is Americans over 50 years of age with a trust rate of 38 percent.
The conclusion is that old people who are Democrats are the only remaining group that barely trusts the media. This mistaken trust is due to their enculturation. For older Democrats belief in government takes the place of Republican belief in evangelical Christianity. Older Democrats are firm believers that it was government under the leadership of President Franklin D. Roosevelt that saved America from the Great Depression. As the print and TV media in the 21st century are firmly aligned with the government, the trust in government spills over into trust of the media that is serving the government. As the generation of Democrats enculturated with this mythology die off, Democratic trust rates will plummet toward Republican levels. read on...
Video footage appears to show US commandos fleeing a Syrian town under a barrage of abuse and insults hurled at them by fighters from the American-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebel group.
The video appears to be the first evidence of US special forces cooperating with Turkish troops in their battle against Islamic State (ISIS).
The incident illustrates the complex web of alliances and enmities in Syria, where many of America’s allies are fighting each other and some rebel groups that receive US support still harbour strong anti-American sentiments. read on...
Oh, it was a very big deal, one of those Defining Moments our media likes to chortle over. There was Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson on “Morning Joe” being interviewed by a panel of pundits including Mike Barnicle. “What,” asked Barnicle, “would you do about Aleppo?”
Johnson looked puzzled, because he was: “And what is Aleppo?” he answered.
“You’re kidding,” said Barnicle.
“No,” said Johnson.
“Aleppo is in Syria,” explained Barnicle, looking and sounding both smug and incredulous. “It’s the epicenter of the refugee crisis.”
The media – which has finally realized that Johnson is taking more votes away from Hillary than he is from Trump – was all over this. Joe Scarborough declared – as if he were delivering a Papal Bull – that this automatically disqualified Johnson from any serious consideration as a presidential candidate. And the rest of the media pack followed suit: How could he not know about Aleppo? After all the propaganda about that poor little soot-covered boy, Omran Daqneesh, who was uninjured but very photogenic, and those dastardly Russians bombing those sweet innocent Islamic rebels – how could Johnson not know that Aleppo is the epicenter of the War Party’s latest attempt to drag us into yet another foreign war? read on...
The US military-industrial complex and the US mainstream media often describe the leadership of North Korea, headed by President Kim Jong-un, as crazy and irrational. But what could be more crazy and irrational than doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results?
What better way to describe the actions of the US national-security establishment and its loyal acolytes in the mainstream press whenever North Korea does something that they don’t like, such as engaging in underground nuclear testing?
In response to North Korea’s latest round of underground nuclear testing, the national-security establishment responded with its standard, predictable response by flying two B-1 bombers, flanked by several US fighter planes, right near the South Korea-North Korea border.
What’s that supposed to accomplish? Does the Pentagon really think that that’s going to stop North Korea from engaging in more nuclear testing? If so, one has to ask why Pentagon officials would believe that given that the last time they did the same thing, North Korea responded with another round of nuclear testing. read on...
