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What to expect in the New Year? Ron Paul has some ideas. Tune in to our year-end Liberty Report! And Happy New Year!!!
A year-end edition of "Ask Ron Paul," where we turn to our viewers to pose the questions. We had a good crop of questions this time around!
By Adam Dick Look to the war on drugs to understand why the United States has become “a prison state,” says Lew Rockwell in a new video interview with Future of Freedom Foundation President Jacob Hornberger. And, says Rockwell, look to educational efforts and state governments’ “nullification” of US drug laws for indications why drug prohibition will end. While Rockwell notes there are powerful interests fighting to perpetuate the war on drugs, Rockwell also declares in the interview his optimism that educational efforts will help increase public support for ending drug prohibition. Pointing to states “nullifying” US government anti-drug laws through actions including medical and recreational marijuana legalization, Rockwell says “we have every reason to be optimistic” that the drug war “will eventually come to an end.” Rockwell, who is the founder and CEO of the Ludwig von Mises Institute, also discusses in the interview how legalizing choice regarding drugs and ending drug prohibition would yield, as did ending alcohol prohibition decades ago, many benefits. Rockwell concludes: Choice is good. Choice is good for the economy, good for us as individuals. It’s good for civilization as a matter of fact. Watch Rockwell’s complete interview here: This article originally appeared at The Ron Paul Institute, of which Lew Rockwell is an Advisory Board member.  Legendary Pentagon analyst and whistleblower Chuck Spinney joins today's Liberty Report to explain the budget nightmares a President Trump will face at the Pentagon. Why do these weapons systems cost so much and perform so badly? Chuck knows...and tells.
By Ron Paul
Straightening out the U.S. government is no small or easy task. It may not even be possible given its sprawling size and bureaucratic structure. Are Trump's many supporters about to be disappointed? I discuss on Fox Business. The Electoral College system has been in the news in this very unusual election season. In a season of shocks, one of the biggest ones was an electoral college vote for Ron Paul, cast by Texas elector Bill Greene. Why did he do it and what does it mean for the future of the Electoral College?
By Chris Rossini
Try to think of a time in your life when the U.S. government was not militarily involved somewhere in the world. It's a sad fact that a vast majority of us can't recall such a time. Check out this chronological list U.S. military interventions throughout the years. That's a very disturbing list, don't you think? You just scroll, and scroll, and scroll down the page until you reach Syria and the modern day. When war is all that a population knows to exist, the idea of peace becomes an anomaly. We all know that people are habitual. We cling to our habits (good and bad) and resist the unknown where change can occur. Well, in America the unknown has become peace! How sad to think that the idea of peace actually terrifies so many people both in and out of government. One can at least understand why governments would want to avoid peace. As Randolph Bourne famously pointed: "War is the health of the state." During times of war, government capitalizes on the fear that it generates and concomitantly seizes unbelievable powers for itself. We can at least see the benefit to government and those with a lust for power and the ability to dominate others. But what's in it for the people? Here we can quote Samuel B. Pettengill who said:
War -- after all, what is it that the people get?
Why -- widows, taxes, wooden legs and debt.
Sounds like a raw deal for the people. And yet, Americans have sat idly by, and have turned a blind eye to an incredible list of military interventions over the years.
More war, less liberty .... More war, less liberty .... If it happens over an administration or two, it can be spun as government losing its way to a few bad apples. But 100+ years of more war, less liberty? That's a system! If you have a fixation or desire to dominate others (and lots of people do), such a system seems almost too good to be true. You'd climb any mountain to clutch the reins of such a system. It's like taking candy (or in this case, liberty) from a baby. Let's look at how the lust for power behaves when it's presented with the mere option of peace. Here are a few lessons of history: 1774 - Prior To The American War of Independence England's Lord North proposed to King George III the idea of sending a commission to the American colonies to negotiate and possibly resolve the disputes. However George III, in a memo dated Dec. 15, 1774 squashed the idea, by saying: “I am not so fond of sending Commissioners to examine into the disputes…I do not want to drive [the colonies] to despair, but to submission, which nothing but feeling inconvenience of their situation can bring their pride to submit to.” (emphasis added) 1861 - Prior To The War for Southern Independence Confederate President Jefferson Davis appointed three commissioners to negotiate with the Union. They would reach Washington on Mar. 5, 1861, the day after Abraham Lincoln’s inauguration. Davis had stated that the South simply wanted to be left alone and constituted no threat to the existing government in Washington: “We seek no conquest, no aggrandizement, no concession of any kind…all we ask is to be let alone.” Lincoln refused to see the commissioners, refused to negotiate any peace terms, and furthermore, refused to recognize the Confederate government. 1941 - Prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor The Japanese, in an unprecedented diplomatic move, offered to send Prince Fumimaro Konoye, the Prime Minister, and a member of the royal family to the U.S. to negotiate personally with FDR in a desperate effort to preserve peace. FDR flatly refused such a meeting. 2003 - Prior to the the invasion of Iraq Reported by McClatchy: Intermediaries for ousted dictator Saddam Hussein made numerous attempts to open secret contacts with the Bush administration to head off a U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, but the administration rebuffed or ignored the efforts... Saddam wanted to avert a war and was ready to discuss allowing U.S. inspectors and U.S. troops into Iraq to verify his contentions that Iraq was not secretly stockpiling weapons of mass destruction... 2011 - Prior to the the invasion of Libya From Breitbart: A report based on recently released Hillary Clinton emails indicate that, as Secretary of State, Clinton refused to take a Skype call from Moammar Qaddafi’s son Saif, in which he was allegedly looking to broker a peace deal...The email suggested that “a peaceful resolution is still possible that keeps Saif on our side without bloodshed in Benghazi.” ---- There is a tremendous amount of upside to war for those who are in power. It provides them with an opportunity to swipe away liberties at an exponential pace. The populace will give up virtually everything. Is it any wonder that those in power run away from even the prospect of peace? We're soon about to have a new president, and he's coming into office with a lot of expectations. The outgoing president had high expectations as well. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, but ended up invading 7 countries. He also became the very first U.S. President to be at continuous war during his entire 8 years in office. Will this new president keep the boots of war firmly pressed against American throats? Will he continue the asphyxiation of the American Dream? So far, when it comes to the insane idea of confronting a nuclear Russia, he has shown admirable qualities of restraint and cordial behavior. Will that continue through his presidential term? Or will he keep the century old American tradition of military adventurism overseas? The world is much bigger than Russia. There are plenty of other places that America can mire itself. There are other nuclear powers (like China) where trouble can be fomented. The president-elect has already shown that he has a bone to pick with the Chinese. Are we merely exchanging trouble with one nuclear power for another? Let's hope that Donald Trump doesn't repeat the mistakes of history. Let's hope that he doesn't become just another bad example for future generations to study. Wouldn't it be nice for Americans to someday be born into a life of liberty and peace? That was the original idea in the 'land of the free'. A return to a foreign policy of non-interventionism and peace is desperately needed.    By Ron Paul
In the spirit of New Year’s, here are four resolutions for president-elect Trump and Congress that will enable them to really make America great again: 1) Audit the Fed….and then end it: The Federal Reserve Bank's easy money polices have eroded the American people’s standard of living and facilitated the growth of the welfare-warfare state. The Fed is also responsible for the growth in income inequality. Yet Congress still refuses to pass Audit the Fed, much less end it. During the campaign, then-candidate Donald Trump promised that Audit the Fed would be part of his first 100 days agenda. Unfortunately, he has not spoken of auditing the Fed or another aspect of monetary policy since the election. President-elect Trump should keep his promise and work with Congress to pass Audit the Fed and finally let the American people know the truth about the Fed’s conduct of monetary policy. Then, of course, end the Fed. 2) Bring the troops home: President Barack Obama has not only failed to withdraw American forces from Afghanistan and Iraq, he has further destabilized the Middle East with reckless interventions in Egypt, Libya, and Syria. The Obama administration has also brought us to the brink of a new Cold War. President-elect Trump has criticized the 2003 Iraq war and promised to end nation-building. However, he has also made hawkish statements such as his recent endorsement of increased US military intervention in Syria and has appointed several hawks to key foreign policy positions. President-elect Trump also supported increasing the Pentagon’s already bloated budget. America cannot afford to continue wasting trillions of dollars in a futile effort to act as the world’s policeman. Rejecting the neocon polices of nation-building and spreading democracy by force of arms is a good start. However, if Donald Trump is serious about charting a new course in foreign policy, his first act as president should be to withdraw US troops from around the globe. He should also veto any budget that does not drastically cut spending on militarism. 3) Repeal ObamaCare: ObamaCare has raised healthcare costs for millions of Americans while denying them access to the providers of their choice. Public dissatisfaction with ObamaCare played a major role in Donald Trump’s election. Unfortunately, since the election president-elect Trump and the Republican Congress have talked about retaining key parts of Obamacare! While it is reasonable to have a transition to a new healthcare system, Congress must avoid the temptation to replace ObamaCare with “ObamaCare lite.” Congress must pass, and President Trump must sign, a true free-market health care plan that restores control over healthcare to individuals. 4) Cut Taxes and Spending: President-elect Trump and Congressional leadership both favor tax reform. However, some leading Republicans have recently said they will not support any tax reform plan that is not “revenue neutral.” A true pro-liberty tax reform would reduce government revenue by eliminating the income tax. Fiscal hawks concerned with increasing federal deficits should stop trying to increase tax revenues and join with supporters of limited government to drastically cut federal spending. Congress should prioritize ending corporate welfare, reducing military spending, and shutting down unconstitutional federal agencies like the Department of Education. If President Trump and Congress spend the next six months passing Audit the Fed, ending our militaristic foreign policy, repealing ObamaCare and replacing it with a true free-market health care system, and cutting both spending and taxes, they will begin to make America great again. If they fail to take these steps, then the American people will know they have been fooled again. We can be certain that another major financial crisis will arrive at some point. What is less certain is how people will react when the inevitable happens. A lot will depend on the dominant ideas that people are embracing at the time. On today's Myth-Busters, Ron Paul discusses some of the possible 'fixes' that will be offered up by pundits, "economists," and governing elites.
Student debt skyrockets. College costs are through the roof. What's the source of the problem? The solution?
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