History is filled with examples of failed attempts to 'conquer the world.' Americans seceded from the greatest military power that the world had ever seen, in the British Empire. America would be different. It would be the 'land of the free.' And for a while, it was different. Never have so many individuals had so much freedom, and never was so much prosperity created by a single nation.
But alas, the ideas of 'conquering the world,' took over and the downward slide began. As the dustbin of failed empires waits for its newest member, the American people must re-learn and re-implement the ideas of Liberty.
President Biden exhibited poor diplomacy (again); this time by calling Chinese President Xi a "dictator," while Xi was still here in the U.S.! Whether Xi is or isn't a "dictator" really has nothing to do with Americans. That's an issue for the Chinese citizens to work out for themselves. It's their government, not ours.
America's foreign policy should be based on the policy of the Founders of our nation: "Peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations; entangling alliances with none." We aren't even remotely close to such a policy; and it's costing us dearly. As our nation fails at being "the world's policeman," our livelihoods and standards of living are declining rapidly.
"Get off yer butt!" US Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) challenged Teamster President Sean O'Brien to a fight during a Senate Committee Hearing. Idiocracy? Or a novel way to pay down the debt: pay-per-view Senate brawl hearings! Also today, Nikki Haley demands that you show her your papers! Finally, the fascism of corporate/government collusion on censorship continues.
Ukraine, Russia, Gaza, Israel... As the entire world seemingly goes up in flames, there is at the same time an antiwar movement struggling to break free. Censorship from the media and the "censorship industrial complex" is trying to strangle the messengers and bury the message. Antiwar.com News Editor Dave DeCamp joins today's Liberty Report to discuss coalition-building and getting the message out.
By Ron Paul
Bloomberg Intelligence recently released an analysis showing that a year of interest payments on the national debt now exceeds one trillion dollars. This should have been a wake-up call to Congress and the Biden administration, but it was largely ignored. The political and financial elites’ continued failure to acknowledge the dangers posed by the ever-growing national debt is exemplified by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s comment that America can, and must, fund both the Ukraine war and the Israel war. As a former Fed Chair, Yellen no doubt thinks it does not matter how much the US government spends as long as the Fed can monetize the debt. Monetizing federal debt requires the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates low. These low rates incentivize government, businesses, and private citizens to take on large amounts of debt. This may not be a problem as long as the central bank keeps rates low. However, once the central bank raises rates, many individuals, businesses, and even governments will be unable to manage their debt. Businesses will also learn they were misled by low rates into making unwise investments, creating a short-term boom, a bubble, and a crash. The most pernicious Fed-created bubble is the government bubble. The Fed’s willingness to facilitate continued increased spending on war and welfare leads to massive deficits. The increased spending and the low interest rates necessary to monetize the debt will inevitably lead to a bursting of the government bubble, followed by a major economic crisis. The only reason the government bubble has not yet burst is the dollar remains the world’s reserve currency. However, the dollar could soon lose that status. A collapse of the US dollar empire would benefit people in countries like Ukraine and Israel because it would allow them to work for peaceful relations with their neighbors instead of having their interests sacrificed for the profits of the US military-industrial complex. Some American politicians claim military spending is justified because it creates US manufacturing jobs. This ignores the fact that a dollar spent creating weapons of war is a dollar that cannot be spent creating products that meet consumers’ needs and wants. The fact that the Fed’s modest interest rate increases were difficult for many individuals and businesses suggests that we are nearing an end to the fiat money era that began in 1971 when Richard Nixon severed the last link between the US dollar and gold. The only way to avoid a dollar crisis followed by an economic meltdown is for Congress to stop pouring money into a futile attempt to run the world and instead pursue a policy of peace and free trade with all. This will not only benefit the American people, but people around the globe. Ending the warfare state will free up resources that can be used to support those truly dependent on government programs while we unwind the welfare state and transfer to local charities and religious institutions responsibility for aid to those in need. It is no coincidence that America’s transformation from a constitutional republic into a welfare-warfare state that seeks to control the people’s lives and run the world was not completed until the creation of the IRS and the Federal Reserve. The American people’s liberty and prosperity will never be safe from power-hungry politicians and self-anointed world saviors until the income tax is repealed and the Fed is audited and ended.
While the once-beautiful San Francisco normally looks like an open air sewer and drug encampment, for the upcoming Asia-Pacific summit meeting featuring China's Xi Jinping city officials have rolled out the street cleaners to save the embarrassment. Once the foreign leaders are gone...it'll be back to poo and hypodermics! Also today: Venezuelan refugees opt to return to Venezuela after spending time in Chicago. Finally, simmering tensions in Syria and Iraq - is a blow up on the way?
Debt literally takes down empires. The U.S. government was never meant to be a militarized empire, since freedom and empire are mutually exclusive. But alas, the decisions to become an empire were made before any of us were born. In typical fashion, the U.S. government has overextended itself militarily around the world, engaging in endless wars. Those wars come at a severe cost, as our standard of living at home deteriorates. Debts cannot be endless. Ultimately, the interest payments will overwhelm. The U.S. government is now paying $1 Trillion in interest payments alone.
All of a sudden the Republican Party has returned to its 2002, neocon-dominated warmongering. The pseudo-debate last night signaled the return of the neocons and their disastrous warfare-welfare philosophy. Also today: Biden faces internal revolt over his Gaza policy as US troops hit harder and harder in Syria.
White House: 'Many Thousands' Of Innocents Killed In Gaza...But Weapons To Israel Will Continue!11/8/2023
The White House admitted through National Security Council spokesman John Kirby that "many thousands" of innocent civilians have been killed in Gaza and that many more civilians would continue to be killed...but it refused to slow down weapons shipments or caution Israel over the death toll. Also today, only four House Republicans stand up for free speech in the censure of Rep. Rashida Tlaib.
Coming off a disastrous Middle East trip, at which he was shunned at every stop, Biden's Secretary of State Tony Blinken returned to a "dissent" memo signed by numerous State Department officials opposing current US policy. With poll numbers sagging for Biden - and even worse for Kamala - what's Team Biden's next move? All out war?
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