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Can Public Opinion Check Presidential Power?

Wednesday March 8, 2017

The concentration of power in the United States presidency has had a good run over the last few decades. This concentration of power is evident in presidents pursuing war after war without the constitutionally-required congressional declaration of war or even a congressional vote on an authorization for use of military force (AUMF). It is also evident in presidents using executive orders and regulations to bypass the legislative process.

President Barack Obama was up-front about his desire to use expansive executive power to bypass the Congress when he said before a Cabinet meeting in January of 2014, “I've got a pen, and I've got a phone.” The pen, Obama explained, he could use to “sign executive orders and take executive actions and administrative actions” without any involvement of Congress. The phone, he said, he could use to build support for his unilateral actions.
read on...

US Airstrikes Continue in Yemen, Killing Former Gitmo Detainee

Tuesday March 7, 2017

Heavy US airstrikes that began Thursday and continued through the weekend have not halted yet, with at least one strike reported on Monday, with the drone strike destroying a car and killing both people within, labeled “suspected terrorists,” though both were burned beyond recognition and unidentified.

On the other hand, we finally do have one identified victim among the flurry of strikes in the past five days, with reports that former Gitmo detainee Yasir al-Silmi was slain. Officials say they think he was part of al-Qaeda, though they say he was not a “high-value” target.
read on...

Five Minutes Five Issues: Anti-Marijuana Sessions, War Propaganda, No Guns List, Military Spending, Prostitution

Monday March 6, 2017

A new episode of Five Minutes Five Issues has been posted. You can listen to it, and read a transcript, below. You can also find previous episodes of the show at Stitcher, iTunes, YouTube, and SoundCloud.
read on...

James Clapper Denies Obama Wiretapped Trump

Sunday March 5, 2017

The former Director of National Intelligence under the Obama administration, James Clapper, denied there was a secret court order for surveillance at Trump Tower. Speaking on NBC's Meet The Press, Clapper said that in the national intelligence activity he oversaw, "there was no such wiretap activity mounted against the president, the president-elect at the time, as a candidate or against his campaign."

Clapper was asked if he would be aware if something like that had happened. "I would certainly hope so ... Obviously I can't speak officially anymore," "But I will say that for the part of the national security apparatus that I oversaw as DNI, there was no such wiretap activity." Clapper said that as intelligence director he would have known about a "FISA court order on something like this. Absolutely, I can deny it."

Clapper also said he would know if a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court order existed for "something like this."

"And at this point you can't confirm or deny whether that exists?" host Chuck Todd asked.
read on...

NATO’s scaremongering about ‘Russia threat’ to Baltic States ‘is all about money’

Thursday March 2, 2017

The US security establishment is trying to justify its existence, says Daniel McAdams of the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity, commenting on a new report which lists how NATO can help the Baltic States counter Russian "hybrid warfare."

The American global policy think-tank, the RAND Corporation, published a report that claims NATO should do more to counter the potential Russian threat and strengthen the Baltic countries' forces. The US government-funded body issued a report titled, “Hybrid Warfare in the Baltics: Threats and Potential Responses.”

The document raises concern over “Russian use of “hybrid warfare” best understood as covert or deniable activities, supported by conventional or nuclear forces, to influence the domestic politics of target countries.”
read on...

Winning Wars?

Tuesday February 28, 2017

“We have to start winning wars again,” President Trump told the nation’s governors today. No, Mr. President, America must stop military interventionism. As you have said America spent trillions and trillions of dollars overseas when we should have been spending it here at home, to create jobs and rebuild infrastructure, for example.
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Al-Qaeda Gets An Oscar

Monday February 27, 2017

Hollywood is all about fake. That is what movies are - fake depictions of a fake reality that only exist in the mind of scriptwriters, directors and a usually gullible audience. (Disclosure: I do like some movies.)

Hollywood has never been shy of plagiarizing. Every idea, tale of cinematographic trick that made a splash somewhere - and is thereby a potential money generator - will get copied again and again. Every successful make gets a remake. And another one.

In 2015 the promoting host of the Miss Universe franchise "misread" the name of the winner. He announced "Columbia" when the chosen winner was "Philippines." After a few minutes he "corrected" himself. That "mistake" brought a lot of additional media attention - and financial value - to the event owner.
read on...

Five Minutes Five Issues: Poland Troops, Marijuana Crackdown, Jail Time, Mohammed’s Letter, Symposium Speakers

Sunday February 26, 2017

A new episode of Five Minutes Five Issues is out. You can listen to it, and read a transcript, below. You can also find previous episodes of the show at Stitcher, iTunes, YouTube, and SoundCloud.
read on...

US Ambassador to UN Nikki Haley: We Must Sanction Assad Over Chemical Weapons!

Friday February 24, 2017

Recently, we had a look at the ways President Trump's Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, is making her predecessor, Samantha "humanitarian bomber" Power, look like a model diplomat by comparison. It turns out Haley's ghastly performance at the UN thus far is no fluke. Each time she opens her mouth she spews not the kind of foreign policy that President Trump campaigned on, but rather the boot-in-the-face know-nothingness that we have grown accustomed to in recent years.
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Ron Paul Rewind: Discussing Foreign Policy with Alan Colmes

Friday February 24, 2017

Radio and television talk show host Alan Colmes, who died on Thursday, interviewed Ron Paul several times over the years. Colmes’ interviews with Paul were always interesting, in large part due the research, thoughtfulness, and intelligence Colmes could be counted on to demonstrate in his questions and comments. Watch here Colmes interview Paul in 2015 regarding foreign policy and Paul’s book Swords into Plowshares: A Life in Wartime and a Future of Peace and Prosperity...
read on...