Libertarian professor and intellectual - and presidential candidate for the Libertarian Party - Michael Rectenwald joins today's Liberty Report to discuss the mood of the country from his vantage point on the campaign trail. What are the main obstacles on the path to liberty and how might they be overcome?
In a fascinating exchange US Rep. Matt Gaetz probed US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin about the role of the estimated 1,000 US troops involved in building a floating pier to deliver aid to Gaza. Austin insisted that they were not "boots on the ground" although he admitted they would be armed and would respond to incoming fire. Injecting US troops into a warzone requires a Congressional vote, Gaetz warned Austin. Also today: Pro-life activist meets US "justice" system. Finally: Cheating on mail-in ballots? Say it ain't so!
Not only did the massive $100 billion foreign aid bill passed by Speaker Johnson earlier this month contain not a penny to protect US borders, it turns out the bill contained a $3.5 billion "slush fund" to actually help facilitate MORE migration into the US. Will conservatives finally turn on him? Also today...Russia claims to have shot down six ATACMS missiles in attempted Ukraine attack on Crimea. Good news for the US military-industrial complex! Finally today: Government "anti-Semitism monitors" on all college campuses?
By Ron Paul
President Biden’s campaign will continue using the popular social media site TikTok even though the president supported a provision in the military aid bill he recently signed forcing TikTok’s parent company ByteDance to sell TikTok within 270 days. If ByteDance does not sell TikTok within the required time, TikTok will be banned in the USA. Biden’s continued use of TikTok to reach the approximately 150 million American TikTok users, is not the only example of hypocrisy from politicians who support the TikTok ban. The TikTok ban was driven by claims that, because ByteDance is a Chinese company, TikTok is controlled by the Chinese government and, thus. is helping the Chinese government collect data on American citizens. However, the only tie ByteDance has to the Chinese government is via a Chinese government controlled company that owns a small amount of stock in a separate ByteDance operation. Furthermore, ByteDance stores its data in an American facility not accessible by the Chinese government. Just days before passing the TikTok ban, the same Senate that is so concerned about TikTok’s alleged violations of Americans’ privacy passed the FISA reauthorization bill. This bill not only extended existing authorities for warrantless wiretapping and surveillance, it made it easier for government agencies to spy on American citizens. It did this by requiring anyone with access to a targeted individual’s electronic device to cooperate with intelligence agencies. Supporters of banning TikTok also cited concerns over the site’s “content moderation” policies. These policies reportedly forbid postings embarrassing to the Chinese government such as some related to the 1989 Tiananmen Square confrontation or the Free Tibet movement. TikTok, like most social media platforms, engages in content moderation. The TikTok ban was supported by Democrats, including President Biden, who have a history of “encouraging” social media companies to censor Americans from using social media to spread “fake news.” Fake news is defined as anything that contradicts the Democrat or “woke” agenda, including the truth about covid origins, dangers, and treatments; whether democracy was really threatened on January 6; and the full story of Hunter Biden’s business dealings. One major reason behind strong bipartisan support for the TikTok ban is the wish to engage in a cold war with China. ByteDance’s Chinese connection makes it a convenient target to help foster anti-Chinese sentiment. Sadly, the anti-Chinese hysteria is a bipartisan phenomenon and has even infected some politicians who take sensible positions on US intervention in Ukraine. Another major reason banning TikTok has strong bipartisan support is that the site is being used by many young people to share information on the Israeli government’s action in Gaza. The head of the Anti-Defamation League was actually caught on tape complaining about the “TikTok problem.” This use of TikTok made TikTok a target for the many politicians who think the First Amendment makes an exception for speech critical of Israel. The silver lining in the TikTok ban is it is waking up more Americans, especially young Americans, to the threat the out-of-control welfare-warfare-surveillance state poses to their liberty and prosperity. This provides a great opportunity to spread the ideas of liberty and grow the liberty movement.
In yet another example of the Democrats and their uniparty partners the Republicans seeking to narrow the foreign policy authority, Congress is reportedly seeking to create a ten year funding agreement with Ukraine that the next three future presidents will find nearly impossible to break. So much for voting. Also today, the Biden Crime Family strikes again?
Freedom of Speech was included as the First Amendment for a reason. It's that important! Without the ability to speak freely and protest against the government, liberty is lost. Unfortunately, as with so many things when government power expands too far, freedom of speech becomes politicized. "Free speech for me, but not for thee." Both Left & Right will embrace censorship and cracking down on peaceful protests, if they believe it will help them "win." But once freedom of speech is sacrificed, the only "winner" is government power. Both the Left & the Right lose their liberties.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a video yesterday attacking the student protests in the US against Israel's actions in Gaza and demanding that US authorities crack down on those exercising free speech. House Speaker Mike Johnson echoed Netanyahu's condemnation of the protesters and called for the National Guard to be sent in. Has he ever heard of "Kent State"? Also...Texas governor Gregg Abbott sent troops to crack heads at a University of Texas protest. Free speech on the ropes?
In a bizarre rant after Senate passage of the huge $95 billion foreign aid bill, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell blamed journalist Tucker Carlson for Republican opposition to the overseas giveaway. The top Senate Republican implied that Carlson's reporting on rampant corruption in Ukraine makes him a "Russian asset" rather than a journalist. Also today: The McConnell/Schumer uniparty bulldozes America. Finally: merit makes a comeback at US universities.
NATO's purpose - if it ever had one - is now long since passed. The Cold War has ended and the over-blown scare of global communism has receded. So what is NATO's purpose in our era? Is it time for a radical restructuring? Also today - the Ukraine aid bill will likely be signed into law today and the military-industrial bonanza will be on. But will more weapons make a difference? Finally - is Trump secretly mad at Speaker Johnson?
According to a new article by Seymour Hersh, CIA Director William Burns traveled to Kiev earlier this year to ask Zelensky to stop skimming so much off the top of US aid money. Apparently his top generals were angry that he was skimming more than they were! Meanwhile Congress voted to send $60 billion MORE to the corrupt regime. With the money approved, calls are now going out for Western TROOPS to be sent to Ukraine. Also today: Trump's alleged "hush money" is "election interference"?
|
Archives
May 2024
|