The RPI Challenge

To Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA), Russian President Vladimir Putin is a tarantula spinning a web to trap the United States. Rigging the election in Trump’s favor was just the start of his plan of conquest. In yesterday’s House Intelligence Committee hearing on Russian influence in the Trump Administration and campaign, Ranking Member Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) read from the discredited opposition research dossier on Trump and noted that it might not be true…but then again it might. So more investigations are needed. In the end, nothing new was revealed, only speculation on the part of the Members and of witness, FBI Director James Comey. It was a classic Washington dog and pony show. We look at the distraction of the House hearing in today’s Liberty Report:

The neocons may have backed Hillary Clinton for the presidency, but that doesn’t stop them from demanding the right to define our foreign policy in the Trump Administration. They get their money from the military-industrial complex and unlimited mainstream media exposure as the “experts” — even though they are always wrong. The first family of neoconservatism, the Kagans, have recently regrouped after the election and have taken to the media to demand more war footing against Russia and a return to the policy of “regime change” in Syria. It appears they are making inroads in the Trump Administration. We discuss the neocon phoenix in today’s Liberty Report:

What does Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen’s decision to raise the interest rates .25 percent mean for the US economy? The budget? What about debt versus GDP growth? We take a look at the continuing disaster of creating money out of thin air in today’s Liberty Report:

President Trump’s visit with the Saudi Crown Prince seemed to have gone very well yesterday. Despite being solidly behind Hillary in the campaign — at least in their donations to the Clinton Foundation — Saudi Arabia’s millions spent on lobbying in Washington seem to keep paying dividends. The two seemed to agree on Syria no-fly zones, on the Saudi war on Yemen, the need for a hard line toward Iran, and more. All the items on the Saudi agenda. But what about America first? We discuss in today’s Liberty Report:

The Trump Administration seems determined to provoke North Korea. Washington is sending over SEAL Team 6, Delta Forces, B-52s and B-1s, F-35s and more for a series of military exercises that will include preparing for “regime change” and for taking out Kim Jong-Un. The North Korean leader may be a paranoid, but wouldn’t such a massive show of force on anyone’s border produce some paranoia? Where is all of this headed? We discuss in today’s Liberty Report:

President Trump has reportedly expanded the authority of military officers to approve drone strikes across the many countries where the US military is engaged. This is an escalation in the pace of US military actions overseas where the recent troop increases are an increase in scope. What is the endgame of President Trump’s escalations? What will victory look like? Will this newest “surge” work where it has failed repeatedly in the past? Our view in today’s Liberty Report:

US boots are on the ground in Syria. Nearly 1,000 to be exact. Not counting CIA or contractors. President Trump has ordered several hundred US Marines onto Syrian soil (without permission) to participate in the attack on Raqqa, and he has sent several dozen Army Rangers to Manbij to try to prevent US-backed forces and Turkish-backed forces from killing each other instead of killing ISIS. The Russians have also sent troops to Manbij — at the request of the US-backed YPG forces! Is Trump’s Syria to just take all that was wrong with Obama’s Syria and double it? We discuss in today’s Liberty Report:

What is the libertarian response to the Trump era? Is it about building a “movement” or about fighting in the battle of ideas? Have the neocons been put on their back heel by the new Administration or are they still riding high? What’s our next move? Mises Institute President Jeff Deist joins today’s Liberty Report to discuss where we are in relation to the new US Administration — and to invite our viewers to continue the conversation with us at our symposium on War and Peace in the Age of Trump taking place next month in Lake Jackson, TX:

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has consistently failed miserably when tested on detecting contraband coming into airports. So what’s the government solution to a broken system? Double down! TSA has announced that it will begin taking its failures out on us, with far more aggressive and invasive pat-downs. You will notice the difference, said the TSA of its new procedures. It does not have to be this way. There is an alternative. And it’s time for Americans to stand up to these dangerous government agents who are hell-bent on depriving us of our Constitutional protections! For more on what we can do, tune in to today’s Liberty Report:

Over the weekend, President Trump Tweeted the he had just learned that former President Obama had wiretapped the campaign headquarters at Trump Towers. The mainstream media is largely ignoring the actual claims — certainly there is very little investigative journalism going on over it — but in reality this may be coming to a showdown: either President is so incredibly reckless that he would falsely accuse his predecessor of a serious crime, or former President Obama has indeed committed the most serious political crime since Watergate. What will happen? We discuss in today’s Liberty Report:

On Capitol Hill, Congressional business and campaign business is by law separate. Members or their staff must go off-site when conducting phone calls or other campaign related activities. When Senator Session said in his confirmation hearing that his campaign work did not include meetings with Russian officials he did not commit perjury, as the Democrat/Neocon alliance is claiming. But they are too lazy to have opposed Sessions on his terrible track record when it comes to civil liberties so they are determined to take down another senior member of the Trump Administration by perpetuating the laughable lie that somehow Washington, D.C. has been taken over by Putin and his KGB team. Will the Democrats and Neocons take down Sessions? We discuss the bizarre case in today’s Liberty Report:

Dr. Paul watched President Trump’s address to Congress last night with one hand on his keyboard, live-Tweeting the event with his own critique and commentary and finally giving the speech a grade from a libertarian perspective. The response to Dr. Paul’s “Tweet-storm” was overwhelming, but much of it missed the point. This is not an issue of whether one “likes” or “supports” President Trump or any other politician. It is about the policies not the people. In today’s Liberty Report, Dr. Paul looks back over some of his Tweets from last night to provide more context to the brevity demanded by that medium: