Thomas Jefferson got so many things correct in his draft of the Declaration of Independence. From the opening to the conclusion, the blueprint for a free and prosperous confederation of independent states was laid out. Many things have gone wrong since then…but in many areas we have made progress! In today’s Liberty Report, Ron Paul breaks down where we are some 241 years after that fateful day…

What makes legendary film-maker Oliver Stone tick? How is he able to reach millions with such powerful messages? What motivated him to make his most recent and very controversial “The Putin Interviews,” which is driving the neocons and Washington elites crazy? Today’s Liberty Report catches up with Stone from his Paris hotel room for a very lively and spirited conversation. You will not see this kind of interview on the mainstream media, which has been in “attack” mode since the film came out. Watch it here — and don’t miss Stone’s surprise ending!

What does Saudi King Salman’s surprising succession shake-up earlier this month tell us about stability in the kingdom? Perhaps more than we might think. The new crown prince, bin Salman, is the warhawk architect of the genocidal war on Yemen and the strange blockade of Qatar. The young crown prince is very close to the Trump family and is very well-regarded in Israel. And he hates Iran. Will internal unrest over a failing economy and foreign military adventurism spell doom for young bin Salman? We look at the evidence in today’s Liberty Report:

According to a new Gallup survey, over the past eleven years Americans’ satisfaction with the level of freedom in the country has declined by 16 percent. The US freedom ranking in the world has dropped from 11th to 71st. No other wealthy democracies have experienced such a decline. What’s behind it? The Snowden revelations? Endless wars? Financial system? Our take in today’s Liberty Report:

Last night the White House released a shock statement that the Syrian government was about to use chemical weapons “again” on its citizens and that the United States would launch a massive response. At the time, the AP reported that neither the State Department nor the Pentagon or intelligence agencies seemed to know anything about it. US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley warned that any attack on citizens of Syria would be automatically blamed on Assad (as well as Russia and Iran). It seems Trump is ready for a massive attack on the Syrian government — coincidentally just a day after a major piece by Seymour Hersh showed that the US intelligence community knew that the April “chemical attack” was no such thing but that Trump launched 59 Tomahawk missiles anyway. Trump constantly accuses CNN of purveying “fake news,” but he has shown himself to also be a master at fake news. Something they have in common. More in today’s Liberty Report:

Seymour Hersh’s shocking new investigative report shows that US intelligence knew there was no Assad chemical attack in April, but that President Trump was so influenced by media images (which may have been faked) that he fired 59 Tomahawk missiles into Syria anyway. Meanwhile, rank and file Democrat Members of Congress are growing frustrated over their leadership’s continuing obsession with Russia as public opinion shifts on the issue. Republican Members are pushing for more Russia sanctions. Political shifts, on today’s Liberty Report:

The Senate recently passed a new round of sanctions on Iran and Russia (98-2), with House concurrence likely by a similar margin. Then out of nowhere came concerns over a money/tax bill originating in the Senate instead of the Constitution-mandated House. Is Congress suddenly concerned about the Constitution? Don’t believe it. The delay in House action on the bill is being seized by Democrats as yet more proof that Trump and the Republican Party are in the pay of Putin and thus will not pass new sanctions. What’s really at play in the delay? Tune in to today’s Liberty Report:

House Speaker Paul Ryan delivered his “major” policy speech this week on the need to pass Republican tax reform. He promised it would be passed this year. As Dr. Paul points out in today’s Liberty Report, there’s virtually no chance tax reform will result in less government. The government will lower taxes on some people but to do so it will have to raise taxes on others. And the poor? They get hit with the most cruel tax of all: the inflation tax that comes with endless money-printing. And the military-industrial complex? They will not be tightening their belts. On the contrary…

What does former NSA analyst turned whistleblower Edward Snowden have to tell us about liberty? About trading a little freedom for government promises of security? Does he feel that his historic release of government documents showing how the NSA spies on all of us, constantly, without a warrant, has had a positive effect on freedom? Tune in to this very special episode of the Ron Paul Liberty Report, where we speak to Snowden on these and so many more issues:

A US Navy F-18 shot down a Syrian military aircraft over Syrian territory Sunday, marking the first time the US has engaged in air to air combat since the US attack on Yugoslavia in 1999. US claims that the Syrians were targeting US-backed rebels were undermined by reporting by the generally pro-rebel Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which stated that according to its sources on the ground the Syrian aircraft was not attacking US-backed anti-government forces. The Russians, who also had military aircraft near the shot down Syrian jet, claim the US did not provide warning via the hotline to prevent accidents between the US and Russia. As a result, the Russian defense ministry announced that it would track any flying object flying in its area of operations as potential targets. How high will this new tension rise? Tune in to today’s Liberty Report:

Defense Secretary James Mattis was grilled before the Senate yesterday, with Sen. McCain expressing his frustration that there is no new strategy yet to “win” in Afghanistan. Mattis promised a new approach by July, but the real question is that after the 2009 surge of 100,000 US troops, what kind of victory might be achieved by yet another surge, this time of perhaps 5-6,000? In today’s Liberty Report we point out that victory is not possible because Washington doesn’t even have a clear view of what it might look like. How many more billions of dollars wasted? How many thousands more lives lost?

Shortly after President Trump returned from his Middle East trip, Saudi Arabia and other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) broke diplomatic relations with fellow GCC member Qatar and established a blockade around the tiny country. The Saudi pretext was that Qatar supported terrorism and interfered in the affairs of other countries — something the Saudis do in spades. President Trump initially signaled support for the Saudi move, but his Secretary of State and Defense Secretary, likely understanding that the largest US military base in the Middle East is in Qatar, have urged the countries to patch up their differences. US interventionism has backed us into a corner in that corner of the world. We discuss options in today’s Liberty Report: