The Cato Institute and partners have released a new survey of global economic and civic freedom. The results are not too good for those who adhere to the philosophy of American Exceptionalism: the US is not even in the top 10 when it comes to economic and personal freedom. Despite the many problems with indexes of this kind — we cannot agree with many of the criteria and others are skewed in one or another direction — it is healthy to pause and look at our own deficiencies. Today’s Ron Paul Liberty Report does just that:

The neocons — and their left-interventionist allies — have been planning regime change in Syria since at least 2006. Last week’s launch of Russian military strikes on ISIS and al-Qaeda at the request of the Syrian government has very quickly changed their plans. Now they are pushing President Obama to escalate, including directly against the Russians! Today’s Liberty Report looks at the increasingly dangerous situation and takes apart some of the media lies:

What do the recent school shooting in Oregon and the US bombing of a hospital in Afghanistan have in common? President Obama is taking advantage of one tragedy to push for more government control of our guns. The other tragedy shows us that what we really need is more control over government guns. More today in the Liberty Report:

According to a recent Gallup Poll survey, the majority of Americans do not trust the mainstream media. Among younger Americans the numbers for the MSM are even worse. According to the Washington Post, this is a “terrible thing” because it means publications like the Washington Post are less able to serve as “referees” guiding us through what we should think about events and what we dare not think. Today in a special edition of the Liberty Report, we look at the declining mainstream media and the alternatives:

With Russian planes bombing ISIS and al-Qaeda targets this week, the air traffic on a piece of land smaller than the state of Oregon is getting crowded. The danger of a tragic accident that could escalate in unknown directions is ever-greater. The US and its Gulf allies are warning the Russians against bombing the terrorists without also trying to overthrow Assad. Saudi Arabia is warning Russia against civilian casualties in Syria even as the Saudis have killed nearly 3,000 innocent Yemeni civilians over the past five months. US-paid NGOs are pumping out the anti-Russian propaganda. What could possibly go wrong? Today’s Liberty Report is on the Syrian powder keg:

The massive wave of migrants flooding Europe is a man-made catastrophe, to be sure. It is the product of US and EU interventionist foreign policy and the obsession with regime change that is particularly pernicious in Washington. Hungary was originally blamed for trying to hold back the floodgates, but as Austria and Germany saw what was coming it appears Hungary was trying to do them a favor. Today’s Liberty Report is joined by UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage to discuss the impact of the migration crisis on the EU and also whether a UK referendum on EU membership has any chance of passing:

More than 50 intelligence officers from the Defense Intelligence Agency have formally complained that their work is being altered before it is sent to senior Obama Administration officials — and even to the president himself. Concerns over the effectiveness of the year-long new US war in Iraq and Syria are being covered up and a more rosy picture is being painted. The media has largely ignored this replay of the kind of lies fed the run-up to the 2002 Iraq war and, as could be expected, Congress is totally uninterested. Today’s Liberty Report is not uninterested, however. Ron Paul’s take below:

Voters in Spain’s Catalonia region will go to the polls on Sunday to elect a new parliament. Parties favoring secession from the Spanish state appear poised to make significant gains or even end up in majority. EU officialdom is furious at the move, and both German and British leaders have openly condemned any secessionist impulse among Catalans. Why so much fear over self-determination, which is after all a basic human right? What does it mean if an individual or even a group cannot determine for itself with whom or what it prefers to associate? Today’s special edition of the Ron Paul Liberty Report takes a look at tomorrow’s vote with an eye on real human rights:

Are the Russians coming to Syria to save the day? After more than a year of US bombing, ISIS seems to not have suffered much. Meanwhile the US maintains that it officially still demands regime change in Syria, even as US Secretary of State John Kerry hinted last week that it might accept Assad in power as part of a transitional government. In Washington’s corridors of foreign policy power, the neocons and left-interventionist political appointees are in full battle with more seasoned diplomats. The Obama Administration seems at war with itself. RPI Director Daniel McAdams joins RT’s Crosstalk to discuss latest developments in Syria:

What is the greatest threat to the American people? In a new poll taken by the Gallup organization we learn that half the country sees its own government as most threatening to life and liberty. Another poll taken last year showed strong libertarian leanings among the young people of this country. Might this signal a turning point for the warfare-welfare state? Today’s Liberty Report takes a look at the trends:

Why is the US government bringing back old, discredited claims like “Assad gassed his own people”? And why are its representatives like US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power trying to propagandize the American people with cooked up tales of Russian military action in Syria? Today’s Liberty Report takes a look at the possible shifting sands of US policy in Syria: