On one hand we have the Washington Post reporting that the CIA has determined that the Russians have hacked the US election to put Donald Trump in the White House. The evidence is secret, but the CIA and the Post wouldn’t lie, would they? Then we have global warmongering Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R-NC) demanding that the US take action against Russia in retaliation for the “hack” that was reported by the Washington Post based on a secret briefing by the CIA. On the other hand we have Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, whose organization published the leaked DNC documents, saying that the Russians were not behind it. Whistleblower Ed Snowden has said that the NSA most certainly knows the identity of the DNC leakers/hackers. So who do we believe – Assange and Snowden or McCain and Graham? More in today’s Liberty Report:

As head of the US Southern Command, Gen. John Kelly was in charge of the US military involvement in the drug war in Central and South America. He blames the liberalization of marijuana in some US states for the ongoing failure of the drug war, even though the drug war has drug on for decades and marijuana decriminalization is a very recent phenomenon. Will the general take his military approach to the drug war to his domestic position as the next Secretary of Homeland Security? We look at the general and his views in today’s Liberty Report:

NATO’s desperate search for a purpose after the fall of the Soviet Union has left a swath of destruction through places like Libya, which it “liberated” nearly six years ago. Now NATO wants to take in tiny Montenegro, a corrupt, poor, Balkan statelet with a total of 2,000 troops. The reason? To further provoke Russia and to open the door to more NATO expansion perhaps to Georgia, Moldova, and even Ukraine. This week the US Senate will vote on Montenegro’s NATO membership. Will president-elect Trump ask them to hold off on this ill-advised move? We discuss in today’s Liberty Report:

Gen. James “Mad Dog” Mattis will make his way from the board of directors of major defense contractor General Dynamics back to the Pentagon as Defense Secretary under incoming president Donald Trump. Like his predecessor, current Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, Mattis comes by way of the military-industrial complex. Unlike Carter he was a four star general in the US Marine Corps. Asked about the three biggest threats to the US, Gen. Mattis responded, “Iran, Iran, Iran.” He is convinced that Iran and ISIS are in league together, a position not borne out by facts. Should we be concerned over a “mad dog” in charge of the Pentagon? More in today’s Liberty Report:

The telephone call between president-elect Donald Trump and Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen created quite a buzz over the weekend. It appears that it was not a spontaneous mutual congratulations call, as first reported, but rather a project long in the works among Trump’s more China-hawkish advisors. If the message to China over the unprecedented telephone call was not clear, Trump’s Tweetstorm afterward left little for the imagination. The incoming administration appears to intend to confront China. How strongly? To what end? To whose benefit? We discuss in today’s Liberty Report:

Are the alphabet soup international organizations like the IMF, UN, etc. about to go by way of the horse and buggy? Likewise, is the nation-state, where “patriotism” is tied to nothing more than the geographic accident of one’s birth? And is the “deep state” really a threat? Famed investor Doug Casey and his associate, Nick Giambruno of International Man, join today’s Liberty Report from Argentina with their take:

Over the past week, the Syrian military has re-taken more than 40 percent of the territory in east Aleppo that had for several years been controlled by the rebels. Most believe that this last large population center not controlled by the government will soon return to government control. After this, the nearly six year insurgency would likely soon be completely defeated. Meanwhile Secretary of State John Kerry is reportedly desperately attempting to make an agreement with the Russian government to halt the Syrian army advance into rebel-held east Aleppo. The Obama Administration fears a new US policy toward Syria would be launched by the incoming Trump Administration and is eager to preserve a flicker of the regime-change project in Syria. What happens next? Tune in to today’s Liberty Report:

Though its main source remains anonymous, the Washington Post claims to have uncovered a vast conspiracy of more than 200 alternative news outlets — such as the Drudge Report, Zero Hedge, the Ron Paul Institute, and others — who have worked as Russian propaganda tools to defeat Hillary Clinton and elect Donald Trump as the next president. Kooky…or dangerous? Our take in today’s Liberty Report:

Ron Paul lays out the case for legalizing all drugs and ending the war on drugs in a new interview released Tuesday. The chairman of the Ron Paul Institute and former Republican House of Representatives member from Texas tells interviewer Jacob Hornberger of the Future of Freedom Foundation that the war on drugs is really a “war on liberty.” Paul elaborates that the drug war is a war on people making their own choices and taking responsibility for their choices.

Paul further argues in the interview that the war on drugs “has been extremely successful for those who want to build an authoritarian government, a centralized government, and a police state.” This, Paul suggests is a necessary result of prohibition because only via authoritarianism can government “make people behave better by not using drugs.” Paul says “the case could be made” that the drug war is “the most — or close to being the most — significant event for the undermining of true civil liberty.” Supporting this conclusion, Paul comments on the high incarceration rate in America, much of which is related to the drug war.

While Paul points to the enormous harm the war on drugs has caused, including increased violent crime, he is optimistic about the future. “People are waking up,” says Paul. The process starts with education, explains Paul, who states, “first the ideas have to change and then the policies will follow.” Paul also notes states exercising “nullification” by enacting laws removing themselves from participation in portions of the drug war. “We will see a lot more of that,” Paul predicts.

In response to states’ liberalization of marijuana laws, Paul observes that “the federal government has thrown up their hands.”

This trend of state and local governments opting out of portions of the drug war is particularly strong in regard to marijuana laws. In line with Paul’s comment that policy changes follow changes in ideas, states’ actions to roll back the war on marijuana, which have largely been accomplished via popular votes for ballot measures, have progressed as public support for marijuana legalization — now the majority view in America — continues to grow.

Watch Paul’s complete interview here:

We’ve spent the year urging fixes to what is wrong with our foreign, domestic, and monetary policy. In today’s Liberty Report we prefer to discuss things we are thankful for. Dr. Paul recollects his childhood, how he is grateful for the opportunities he has had through his life, and more. We are thankful also for our Liberty Report viewers. Watch the episode here:

What does the Trump era hold for the liberty movement? For those who are pursuing peace and prosperity over the war and poverty of the neocons and elites? Do we have anything to cheer? Future of Freedom Foundation’s Jacob Hornberger joins today’s Liberty Report with his take:

Is there a silver lining in the recent presidential election for those who value liberty, peace, and prosperity? The answer is a surprising “yes” – but only if we play our cards right. Mises Institute president Jeff Deist joins the Liberty Report to discuss the pros and cons of the current political landscape: