If anybody wants to buy wholesale copies of the book to resell or give away, please email wholesale@libertarianinstitute.org to set it up. They're about 6 bucks each after shipping. Minimum order 50 I guess?
Grant Smith discusses the Israeli government's occupation of Palestine and its treatment of the Palestinians. There seems to be growing recognition that Israel is presiding over a form of apartheid, including a 2017 UN report attesting to that fact, and a small plurality of Americans, according to a recent survey, who believe America should cut aid to Israel over human rights abuses. But Smith also recognizes that government policies here and abroad often follow a "ratchet" effect—that is, small changes can be made pretty easily in one direction, but almost never get rolled back once...
Scott talks to Larry Wilkerson, former army Colonel and Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell, about America's involvement in Asia, both during his time in the federal government and today. Wilkerson calls America's exploits over the last few decades a part of "The Great Game," a reference to the conflict between global powers like the British and Russian Empires over territory in the Middle East and the rest of Asia. This competition for hegemony never really ended, he says, although the players and stakes have changed to some extent. These days, the U.S. competes with China and...
Last week, myself and a great group of antiwar veterans, led by BringOurTroopsHome.us testified before a committee of the Texas Senate in favor of new Defend the Guard legislation proposed by Rep. Bryan Slaton. (Admittedly, my statement was not so well received as a similar one was in Montana the week before that. But lessons were learned and the other guys did great, so it looks like it will pass out of committee and on to Calendars, at least.) Thank you very much for considering this important legislation. I'd like to mention something that is becoming a real crisis in this country, and...
Scott interviews Jacob Sullum about the trial of Derek Chauvin for the death of George Floyd. Sullum highlights two important features of the prosecution's case so far: the first is that paramedics testified to Floyd's already being dead when they showed up, and the second is an argument about Floyd's possible drug overdose. Sullum explains that while the level of fentanyl found in Floyd's system during the autopsy might be high for a normal person, it was actually on the extreme low end of what can cause an overdose, especially for a habitual opioid user. These factors make it unlikely that...
Daniel Davis talks to Scott about the possibility of war with China. Davis fears that despite what would seem to be common sense arguments against ever fighting such a war, that's the direction that the American military establishment is heading in. The war planners in Washington seem to think that even though the U.S. and China both have large nuclear arsenals, we could fight a conventional war without either side resorting to nukes. This is the height of foolishness, says Davis, but even if we did somehow avoid nuclear war, China could probably defeat the United States easily using only...
Jack Matlock, America's second-to-last ambassador to the Soviet Union, talks to Scott about relations with Russia today. He stresses that the real ideological differences that once divided America and the USSR don't stand in the way anymore, and we need not continue to have a hostile relationship with a country that for the most part means us well. In fact, given that Russia, like America, has a huge stockpile of nuclear weapons, friendly cooperation between the two countries is far more important than any small issues like claims of election interference and personal insults between...
Matthew Hoh comes back on the show to talk about Afghanistan. President Biden said in a recent press conference that due to logistical difficulties, America is unlikely to meet the May 1 withdrawal deadline laid out in the Doha agreement signed under President Trump. Hoh points out that there shouldn't really be logistical difficulties in getting about 3,000 American troops out of Afghanistan in a month (not to mention the many months both presidents have had already)—really, this is political cover to avoid pulling America out once and for all. No president has been willing to do so so far,...
