Yesterday was the 15th anniversary of President George W. Bush signing the PATRIOT Act into law. It was supposed to be only a temporary measure to address the emergency situation caused by the attacks of 9/11. Fifteen years later it has been re-authorized many times and last year some of its worst parts were codified into law in the USA FREEDOM Act. From the War Powers Resolution, to the FISA Court, to the “reform” USA FREEDOM Act, bills that were designed to rein in government abuses end up just giving government more power. Is there anything we can do about it? RPI Senior Fellow Adam Dick joins today’s Liberty Report to discuss:

Virginia State Senator Richard Black was curious about why the US seemed to be attacking only secular countries in the Middle East. Why attack Libya? Why Syria? So he decided to go over to Syria and see for himself. After meeting Syrian president Assad and speaking favorably about the situation with Christians under his rule, Sen. Black earned himself a place on ISIS’s “enemy list.” For not taking the Washington line that “Assad must go” he also earned a place on the Washington Post’s “enemy list.” Are we on the wrong side in Syria? Today, with Sen. Black, on the Liberty Report:

The compliant mainstream western media are playing the US/Iraqi assault on ISIS-held Mosul as a great liberation of the people. Atrocity stories of life under two years o fISIS control are all over the media. But what of life under five years of al-Qaeda rule over east Aleppo? Not a word. The media only reports US government tales of Syria and Russia targeting hospitals and schools and aiming for civilians. The hypocrisy is incredible. But what of the battle for Mosul? Will it finally give the US interventionists the victory they have found elusive thus far in the 13 year war? Don’t hold your breath. More in today’s Liberty Report:

If you do what Washington says, they send you money. If you don’t, they send you bombs. Now that Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte has claimed he wants to pivot away from the US and toward China, can he expect some of those bombs? Or perhaps just a CIA-sponsored coup? What if this realignment could serve to end the foolish mutual defense treaty the US has had with the Philippines since the 1950s? Wouldn’t it be better if young Americans didn’t face the possibility of being killed while fighting for Philippine fishing rights in the South China Sea? More on the shift and what it means in today’s Liberty Report:

In last night’s presidential debate, Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton accused the Russians of manipulating the US electoral system to get Republican candidate Donald Trump elected president. She claimed:

We have 17 intelligence agencies, civilian and military, who have all concluded that these espionage attacks, these cyberattacks, come from the highest levels of the Kremlin, and they are designed to influence our election.

She went on to say that if elected, Trump would be “Putin’s puppet.” In other words, that the president of the United States would be an agent of a foreign power. Is there any truth to the claim? You might be surprised how much we learn when delving into foreign manipulation of elections. Join us in today’s Liberty Report:

Despite the salacious coverage in the media of sex, lying, corruption, etc., there are actually some important issues we face for the future that we are not hearing in the presidential campaigns What do the major candidates have to say about the military budget? About the drug war? About executive branch power grabs? Not much. We’re not expecting a sudden focus on the real issues in tonight’s debate so we are going to ask the questions that should be asked tonight but probably won’t…in today’s Liberty Report:

The US mainstream media is falling all over itself telling us how critical it is to attack Mosul, Iraq. The city of a million inhabitants has been under ISIS control for the past two years and the fight against ISIS will get a major boost if the terrorist group is expelled. How funny that the media sings a radically different tune when it comes to another town also under siege by terrorists. Aleppo in Syria has been held by al-Qaeda terrorists for twice as long as Mosul has been held by ISIS terrorists, but while the New York Times screams that no human cost is too great to liberate Mosul they at the same time accuse the Syrian government and its allies of wantonly slaughtering civilians in Aleppo. How to explain? The US mainstream media feels it is their duty not to report facts and dig up the truth behind government obfuscation, but to be complicit in government obfuscation of facts. A sad state. We look at the battle for Mosul in today’s Liberty Report:

What motivates terrorists to attack the US and US targets overseas? US foreign policy primarily characterized by US bombs fired by drone into countries primarily in the Middle East. This has been Ron Paul’s contention for years. Now we see that the FBI agrees. On today’s Liberty Report we discuss a recent article about a leaked FBI internal counter-terrorism study and its (not so) surprising conclusions. Will Washington listen to the work of its own agency and work to change its foreign policy?

In a leaked 2013 speech by Democratic Party presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, the candidate told the audience that it is necessary to take a public and a private position on each issue. It is an indication of the attitude of the elites, particularly the neocons, that the public cannot be told what their leaders are really up to on any issue. So the question is whether she had a “public” and “private” position on Syria? ISIS? Saudi Arabia? We discuss in today’s Liberty Report:

Both presidential candidates spoke a good deal about Syria, Russia, Iran, Libya, and foreign policy in general. After they finished the exercise in mutual character assassination, that is. But which is more important, character or issues? And why are the candidates seemingly so ill-informed about basic aspects of the war in Syria? Bad advisors? Propaganda? We take a look at the second debate in today’s Liberty Report:

Are laws regulating how long you can keep up a political sign on your property a restriction of free speech? Texas businessman Michael Kleinman thought so after the state told him to remove his “Ron Paul 2012” sign after the election. According to Texas’ “beautification” laws, political signs must be removed 10 days after an election and cannot go up more than 60 days before the election. Kleinman was fined by the state but he fought back. For four years. And this summer he finally won. We’ll look at his story and free speech in today’s Liberty Report:

Anyone hoping for a sign of change in US foreign policy was surely disappointed by last night’s vice presidential candidate debate. Both Democrat Tim Kaine and Republican Mike Pence made their foreign agenda clear: war. From a no fly zone in Syria to punishing “aggressive” Russia, the only disagreement was how on who could be the most warlike. In today’s Liberty Report we look at the vice presidency as an institution. It is more important than the “bucket of warm spit” as claimed by former US Vice President John Nance Garner. Eight US presidents have died in office, their vice presidents taking over for them. Significant figures like Theodore Roosevelt, LBJ, Harry Truman. What does it say that the two major party vice presidential candidates are so alike?