By Ron Paul
Twenty-three-month-old Alfie Evans, passed away in a British hospital on Saturday. While the official cause of death was a degenerative brain disease, Alfie may have been murdered by the British health system and the British high court. Doctors at the hospital treating Alfie decided to remove his life support, against the wishes of Alfie’s parents. The high court not only upheld the doctors’ authority to override the parents’ wishes, it refused to allow the parents to take Alfie abroad for treatment. In upholding the government’s authority to substitute its judgment for that of Alfie’s parents, the high court is following in the footsteps of authoritarians throughout history. Ever since Plato, supporters of big government have sought to put government in charge of raising children. The authoritarianism of a system where “experts” can override parents is underscored by a police warning that they were “monitoring” social media posts regarding Alfie. Alfie’s case is not just an example of the dangers of allowing government to usurp parental authority or the failures of socialized medicine. It shows the logical result of the widespread acceptance of the idea that rights are mere privileges bestowed by government. It follows from this idea that rights can be taken away whenever demanded by government officials or the popular will. Of course, most western politicians deny they believe rights come from government. They instead claim that government must place “reasonable” limits on rights to advance important policy goals, such as limiting the right to free speech to protect certain groups from hate speech, or limiting property rights to promote economic equality. But, a right by its very nature cannot be limited or abolished and still be a right. This disdain for a true understanding of rights is found among both liberals and conservatives. Both support a welfare-warfare state funded via the theft of income taxes and the indirect theft of inflation. Both support jailing people for nonviolent actions like drinking raw milk. Many politicians, regardless of ideology, support restrictions on parental rights such as mandatory vaccination laws. While claiming to support the right to life, most modern liberals not only support legalized abortion, they want to force pro-lifers to fund abortion providers. Both the right-wing neocons and left-wing humanitarian interventionists dismiss the innocents killed in US military actions as inconsequential “collateral damage.” America’s Founding Fathers rejected the idea that rights come from government. They instead embraced the view that rights are either granted by the creator or are a basic attribute of humanity. Since rights do not come from government, government has no more legitimate authority to violate our rights than does a private individual. Thus, if an individual cannot use force to make you help others, neither can the government. If an individual cannot use force to stop you from gambling online or telling un-PC jokes, neither can the government. If an individual cannot use force to stop parents from seeking medical treatment for their child, neither can the government. Widespread acceptance of natural rights and the principle of nonaggression that flows from natural rights is key to obtaining and maintaining a free society. Thus, educating people in the benefits of free markets, individual liberty, and a foreign policy of peace and free trade is key to protecting future Alfie Evanses, and other victims of the welfare-warfare state, as well as to restoring respect for the moral principles of liberty among a critical mass of the people. 
By Norm Singleton
Yesterday was the 19 Anniversary of the Columbia School shooting. Shortly after the shooting, as Congress debated what type of gun control reform to impose on the people, then Congressman Ron Paul delivered a very important speech on the real causes of gun violence and the link between a free society and a just and moral society. Sadly, Dr Paul’s speech is just as relevant today as it was 19 years ago. The knee-jerk reaction of most of the political class when confronted by a school or other type of shooting is to support new forms of gun control without asking how existing gun control laws help mass shooters by leaving the victims defenseless. They also never consider how other government policies contribute to the culture of violence. Mr. PAUL:
This article was originally published at the Campaign For Liberty.
The U.S. government is in debt $21 Trillion, an amount that can never be paid. Yet Moody’s and Fitch reaffirmed their top AAA rating on U.S. debt. Why do they do this? Do they have to? Why can’t politicians, the media, CEO’s, or anyone else, ever tell Americans the truth?
Nothing the US government tells us about Syria and the alleged chemical attack at Douma makes any sense. VA State Senator and retired US Army JAG officer Richard Black joins today's Liberty Report to draw on his experiences traveling to Syria and following the war. He does not believe what Washington is telling us and he makes a very good case for why we are being lied to.
That was quick! Just a month after President Trump vowed to get US troops out of Syria "like, soon," a visit from French President Macron has him singing a different tune. Now he's vowed to remain in Syria to prevent Iran from "controlling the Mediterranean." Macron even bragged about convincing Trump to flip flop!
By Chris Rossini
Compulsory government 'schooling' ... 'Accredited' college professors ... Government-licensed mainstream media ... Government-worshipping entertainment industry ... Empire-worshipping professional sports leagues ... The life of an American consists of bouncing around, like a pinball, in a gigantic apparatus of government propaganda. It's everywhere. But why? Why must propaganda be so pervasive? Why can't it just be a one-shot deal? Why must it be re-enforced, over and over again? Why is it never enough for government? Even Kindergarten is apparently not good enough. Why are they angling for "Universal Pre-K"? What's next? ... A government propagandist in every hospital delivery room? Well, there's a very important reason why propaganda has to be so constant, and so pervasive....We're all born free. We are all free to think whatever we want, whenever we want, and however we want. In fact, we're not only born with this freedom, it remains with us our entire lives. This freedom never ceases. Go ahead ... right now ... try to stop yourself from thinking...Just don't think. You can't do it. We think all the time, even when asleep! So not only are we free to think whatever we want, we do so every moment of our lives. In fact, that's what it means to be an individual. For no one ever has, nor ever will have, the exact same sequence of thoughts as you. We're all one-of-a-kind. We may look similar, dress similar, whatever ... but what goes on between the ears is perfectly unique and cannot be duplicated. We can also think in any direction, and change our minds at any time. One moment we like (A), the next moment we hate (A) and prefer (B) instead. Amazing. But now we have to introduce the BIG error. Some individuals seek power over others. They want to boss other people around with force. They're not satisfied with the fact that they only have exclusive control over their own thinking, and their own lives. They have a desire to try to control other people's lives. BIG mistake, but mistakes are a part of life. Obviously, since everyone is free to think whatever they want, this poses a dilemma for the power-seeker. Freedom is the enemy. Power needs conformity and uniformity. Everyone's thinking must be in-line with what the power-seeker wants. Enter propaganda. The whole purpose of propaganda is to setup barriers as to what is and what is not acceptable to think. These barriers have to be erected early, which is why compulsory government 'schooling' is a must for power-seekers. You can take away whatever you want from the power-seeker, but you're not taking away his 'schools.' That's his bread-and-butter. Once the poor kids 'graduate' from their grueling years of 'schooling,' they're greeted by Fox News and CNN. The children are adults now, and government-licensed media picks up where the schools left off. Mainstream media keeps the barriers of acceptable thought in place. Go ahead, choose between Republican and Democrat. Knock yourself out. Fight about it with your friends too, if you can. Teach your children what it means to be a good Republican or Democrat. Be passionate. As long as everyone stays within the barriers (i.e., as long as no one desires freedom) it's all good ... for those in power. On and on this goes ... from movies ... to TV shows ... to celebrities ... to sporting events. It has to be pervasive, because at any moment, a person can change their mind and start to desire freedom. At any moment, a person can think: "You know what, I don't support war anymore." "You know what, I don't believe this 'climate change' stuff anymore. Call me a 'denier,' I don't care." "You know what, I don't have a right to anything that doesn't belong to me." "You know what, don't tell me what I'm allowed to think or say, or what opinions I'm allowed to have." Freedom is dangerous stuff for power-seekers, which is why they have to constantly keep the heat on. They don't need everyone to fall for the propaganda. They know that there will always be a few people who will wake up to their natural freedom. But those few people can shoved aside as 'fringe' individuals. No need to pay attention to them. The power-seekers are perfectly fine with some people slipping through the cracks. But they do need everyone else to stay in line. They need enough people who will be too scared to peek outside the barriers. What about you? Are you courageous enough to embrace the freedom that you've been given....to think beyond the barriers that have been carefully placed before you...to think whatever you want, and then reap the results of your thinking? Are you wise enough to allow others to enjoy this same gift without seeking to mold them to your will? If so, you're one of the few who understand and enjoy the gift of freedom.
Will Russia deliver a more modern air defense system to Syria after the US-led attack earlier this month? Will NATO be weakened by increased US support for the Kurds? Trump's bombing run over Syria has produced some unintended consequences and facts on the ground.
By Ron Paul
Inspectors from the Organization for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) have finally arrived in Douma, Syria, to assess whether a gas attack took place earlier this month. It has taken a week for the inspectors to begin their work, as charges were thrown back and forth about who was causing the delay. Proponents of the US and UK position that Assad used gas in Douma have argued that the Syrian and Russian governments are preventing the OPCW inspectors from doing their work. That, they claim, is all the evidence needed to demonstrate that Assad and Putin have something to hide. But it seems strange that if Syria and Russia wanted to prevent an OPCW inspection of the alleged sites they would have been the ones to request the inspection in the first place. The dispute was solved just days ago, as the OPCW Director-General released a statement explaining that the delay was due to UN security office concerns for the safety of the inspectors. We are told that even after the OPCW inspectors collect samples from the alleged attack sites, it will take weeks to determine whether there was any gas or other chemicals released. That means there is very little chance President Trump had “slam dunk” evidence that Assad used gas in Douma earlier this month when he decided to launch a military attack on Syria. To date, the US has presented no evidence of who was responsible or even whether an attack took place at all. Even right up to the US missile strike, Defense Secretary Mattis said he was still looking for evidence. In a Tweet just days ago, Rep. Thomas Massie expressed frustration that in a briefing to Congress last week the Director of National Intelligence, the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of Defense “provided zero real evidence” that Assad carried out the attack. Either they have it and won’t share it with Congress, he wrote, or they have nothing. Either way, he added, it’s not good. We should share Rep. Massie's concerns. US and French authorities have suggested that videos shared on the Internet by the US-funded White Helmets organization were sufficient proof of the attack. If social media postings are these days considered definitive intelligence, why are we still spending $100 billion a year on our massive intelligence community? Maybe it would be cheaper to just hire a few teenagers to scour YouTube? Even if Assad had gassed his people earlier this month there still would have been no legal justification for the US to fire 100 or so missiles into the country. Of course such a deed would deserve condemnation from all civilized people, but Washington’s outrage is very selective and often politically motivated. Where is the outrage over Saudi Arabia’s horrific three-year war against Yemen? Those horrors are ignored because Saudi Arabia is considered an ally and thus above reproach. We are not the policemen of the world. Bad leaders do bad things to their people all the time. That’s true even in the US, where our own government steadily chips away at our Constitution by setting up a surveillance state. We have neither the money nor the authority to launch bombs when we suspect someone has done something wrong overseas. A hasty decision to use force is foolish and dangerous. As Western journalists reporting from Douma are raising big questions about the official US story of the so-called gas attack, Trump’s inclination to shoot first and ask questions later may prove to be his downfall. |
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