Summary:Following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. government placed more severe sanctions on Russia than it had on any major power since 1941. It kicked Russia out of the SWIFT system, seized its FOREX assets, and demanded the rest of the world cease trade with Russia (which even some European allies were unable to...
Summary: The U.S. media propaganda about Ukraine has been over the top and unrelenting. But like all nations at war, Russia and Ukraine are engaging in propaganda as well. Is there any way to determine what, if anything, is real? Tom provides some tips and takes a look at how the media portrayed Zelensky before...
Summary: We constantly hear how politically divided Americans are, so much so that perhaps a national divorce might be necessary. While that would be a good thing, it turns out Americans aren’t as divided as they may believe. Additional Reading: Repressive Tolerance by Herbert Marcuse Common Sense by Thomas Paine Where Do Conservatives and Liberals...
Summary: Republicans, Democrats, and the media all incessantly invoke “our democracy,” a political system that doesn’t exist. Almost nobody talked like this for the first century and a half under our Constitution and one should be suspicious of the motives for doing so now. Additional Reading: United States Presidents’ Inaugural Speeches Where Do Conservatives...
Summary: When U.S. foreign policy backfires, which is pretty much all the time, it’s easy to blame the sitting president. But if Americans truly want a different foreign policy, they need to understand how the DC empire runs. Additional Reading: Blaming elites is childish; It’s time to put aside childish things Read Donald Trump’s ‘America...
Summary: The U.S. media has presented a uniform, uncritical view of the war in Ukraine. Gilbert Doctorow draws on his decades of experience living and working in Russia to separate the facts from the fiction. Guest bio: Gilbert Doctorow is an independent political analyst based in Brussels. He chose this third career of ‘public intellectual’...
Summary: Austrian economist Robert Murphy, Ph.D. joins Tom to discuss Klaus Schwab and the Davos crowd, the ramifications of academic error, and his new book, Understanding Money Mechanics. Guest bio: Robert P. Murphy is a Senior Fellow with the Mises Institute. He is the author of numerous books: Contra Krugman: Smashing the Errors of America’s...
Summary: Mark Crispin Miller taught a course on propaganda for over 20 years at New York University, until merely suggesting his students look into the research regarding the effectiveness of masks in mitigating the spread of respiratory viruses. This led to a backlash that eventually resulted in the course being canceled. How convenient for the...
Summary: President Biden has announced a ban on Russian oil imports into the United States. He acknowledges this will hurt American consumers but promises to ease as much pain as possible by punishing American gasoline providers. We’ve been here before. Additional Reading: The Government Declares War on Market Prices Just When We Need Them Most...
Summary: Now that the Covid-19 restrictions are being lifted, people are likely thinking they can get back to pursuing happiness. But what is happiness and how does one go about attaining it? In his new book, How and How Not to Be Happy, J. Budziszewski applies his lifetime of study to answering those questions, while...