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?

Thanks to a non-profit investigative journalism organization we now know that the Pentagon paid British PR firm more than half a billion dollars over five years to create false propaganda designed to push the US story line on the Iraq war. How much of it was aimed at the Iraqis and how much came back to propagandize us? We don’t know. We do know that war brings fantastic profits to the well-connected. More on this blood money in today’s Liberty Report:

The mainstream media portrays the fight for Aleppo as one between Syrian President Assad and the people, painting Assad as someone killing his citizens for the fun of it. In other words, as they did with Iraq and Libya, etc. the mainstream media again happily takes up the role of mouthpiece of the US government. The reality is quite different, in fact. Today’s Liberty Report speaks with independent journalist Vanessa Beeley, who has recently returned from an investigative trip to Syria including in Aleppo. What’s really going on there? Tune in!

In an interview with a prominent German newspaper, the commander of al-Qaeda’s Nusra Front in Aleppo, Syria claims that the US government and its allies are providing it with weapons and training. It may seem preposterous, but the US did the same thing with the mujahideen in Afghanistan after the 1979 Soviet invasion. And we all know what that led to… History repeats? Today on the Liberty Report:

Although we obviously take no position on who should be (or should not be) the next US president, the issues that we face in foreign policy, civil liberties, and monetary policy are of great concern to us. Last night’s debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton is of interest because of what was said, what was not said, and what should have been said. Today’s Liberty Report looks at the issues rather than the candidates:

What would former Congressman, former Reagan Budget Director, successful investor, and leading advocate for US non-interventionism David Stockman advise a President Trump to do to fix the mess we are in? Stockman joins today’s Liberty Report to discuss his new book, “Trumped! A Nation on the Brink of Ruin… And How to Bring It Back.” Trump is known as a “deal-maker” — Stockman offers him a great “Peace Deal” he could make that would save us billions and keep us far safer than we are today. Sounds like a great deal!

After untold billions of dollars in US training and equipment, the Iraqi army is not capable of taking the city of Mosul back from ISIS control. Part of the problem is that the multi-sectarian Iraqi army is not so keen on fighting an ISIS that includes Sunni elements of the old Iraqi army among other things. What does that mean? The Pentagon has told the White House it needs even more troops as “advisors” in advance of the expected battle. Already more than 6,000 US troops remain in Iraq. This new infusion will make at least 6,500 and that many contractors as well. And if Mosul is “liberated”? Some warn that may be the beginning of the second Iraqi civil war. More today in the Liberty Report:

These days you will often see a particularly bad vote in the House of Representatives opposed by four or five Members. It used to be one, Ron Paul. Much of the credit goes to Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who is building on Dr. Paul’s Congressional Liberty Caucus and adding Members. How is the fight for peace and liberty going on Capitol Hill? There are some surprising victories these days. Today’s Liberty Report sits down with Rep. Massie (who recently joined our Board of Advisors) for a look at recent victories, information on what is on the horizon, and how we can all make a difference by communicating our views to our Representatives:

The apparent attack on a humanitarian convoy in the rebel-held part of Aleppo seems to be the final nail in the coffin of the latest ceasefire in Syria. The US blames the Russians for what it calls an “airstrike” on the aid convoy, but the Russians deny that they or the Syrians bombed the convoy. Was it a rebel provocation, like the gas attack at Ghouta in 2013? How do the Russians or Syrians benefit by attacking a UN aid convoy just as the world is watching Aleppo? A briefing on three important events in Syria in today’s Liberty Report:

The Oliver Stone film “Snowden” is predictably being nit-picked by the denizens of the establishment, nevertheless those with a better understanding of what it means to live in a free society are calling it an important opportunity for average Americans to get a look at what living in a surveillance state looks and feels like. Thanks to NSA spying, the government collects virtually every bit of possible information on all of us, storing it for a later date so as to use against us if we run afoul of the powers that be. Today’s Liberty Report is joined by former State Department official and whistleblower Peter Van Buren to consider how dramatically the world has changed since 9/11 and what we can do to work against encroaching tyranny.

US National Security Advisor Susan Rice met with her Israeli counterparts yesterday to sign an historic aid deal that will see $38 billion dollars shipped from US taxpayers to the Israeli military. In a press conference, Rice claimed that, “[t]his MOU is not just good for Israel—it’s good for the United States. Our security is linked…” Today’s Liberty Report is joined by former CIA officer Philip Giraldi to discuss how closely “linked” is US national security with Israeli security. Also, we discuss what a huge boon this will be for US defense contractors, who will supply all the military items to Israel: