A new episode of Five Minutes Five Issues posted on Saturday. You can listen to it, and read a transcript, below. You can also find previous episodes of the show at Stitcher, iTunes, YouTube, and SoundCloud.
Listen to the new episode here:
Read a transcript of the new episode, including links to further information regarding the topics discussed, here:
The Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity welcomes you to Five Minutes Five Issues.
Starting in five four three two one.
Hello, I am Adam Dick, a Ron Paul Institute senior fellow.
Let’s start.
Issue one.
In the January 4 episode of Five Minutes Five Issues, I said it is “smart to have a wait-and-see perspective” in regarding to President Donald Trump’s announcement that all United States troops will leave Syria. In a CBS Face the Nation interview broadcast on Sunday, Trump said US troops will remain in Syria for an indefinite period. Trump explains reasons for keeping US troops in Syria include because “we have to protect Israel” and “we’re protecting the world.” He also said that, should all troops be removed from Syria, they can be quickly put back in.
Issue two.
In Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s (D-HI) speech last week announcing her Democratic presidential primary candidacy, some of her comments suggest she is a supporter of nonintervention overseas.
In 2015, Gabbard spoke regarding foreign policy in her speech at a Christians United for Israel conference. Comments in that speech suggest Gabbard’s foreign policy may be more interventionist than that of President Donald Trump. In comparison with Trump, Gabbard seems in that speech as antagonistic toward Iran, at least as devoted to Israel, more devoted to the Kurds, and much more devoted to the “they attack us because we are free” perspective on terrorism that has been at the heart of the Global War on Terror.
Issue three.
With the ongoing reduction through the last few years in state and national restraints on hemp farming, the growing of the crop has become increasingly popular in America. Vote Hemp’s latest US Hemp Crop Report estimates around 78,000 acres of hemp were grown in 23 states in 2018. This follows an increase from around 10,000 acres in 15 states in 2016 to around 26,000 acres in 19 states in 2017.
Issue four.
Last week, Marianne Williamson announced her candidacy for the Democratic presidential primary. Williamson is receiving much less attention than other candidates, in part because she has never held political office and because the American political establishment is not comfortable with her.
Williamson may do better in the presidential race than many people expect. As she demonstrated in her announcement speech, Williamson is among the best political orators in America. Her passionate and flowing speaking style reminds me of Dennis Kucinich, who is a Ron Paul Institute Advisory Board member, when Kucinich ran for president.
Williamson is best known for writing books, most not about politics. A mere book writer cannot be a strong contender for the presidency, people say. A few years back people reacted similarly to Donald Trump, a real estate developer and reality TV show host. Like Trump, Williamson, if she is allowed on the presidential primary debate stage, will stand out. She will impress people with her dynamic and unique presentation.
Issue five.
Much of state and local government roll backs of the war on drugs have occurred in regard to marijuana. This makes sense given that marijuana is the illegal drug people are most likely to have used or to know people who have used, as well as the illegal drug that is generally thought to be about as dangerous as alcohol, or even less dangerous.
The city of Denver already has legal medical and recreational marijuana thanks to statewide ballot measure votes in Colorado. Soon it may also have decriminalized psychedelic mushrooms. Keith Coffman reported last week at Reuters that election officials have confirmed that sufficient signatures from voters have been submitted for a ballot measure decriminalizing psilocybin, the illegal component of psychedelic mushrooms, to be included on the Denver city ballot in May.
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That’s a wrap.
Transcripts of Five Minutes Five Issues episodes, including links to related information, are at the Ron Paul Institute blog.
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