A new episode of Five Minutes Five Issues posted today. 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 show here:
Read a transcript of the show, 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 March of 2014 I wrote an article “The TSA PreCheck Extortion Racket” for the Ron Paul Institute in which I expressed concern that the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) PreCheck program, with its $85 fee, fingerprinting, and background check, will be made “a requirement for all travelers.”
Long lines and delays at airports are big TSA-created burdens that threaten to worsen this summer. What does the TSA say passengers can do to limit the inconvenience? The TSA’s answer was reported Monday by Jad Mouawad of the New York Times: “sign up for PreCheck.”
Issue two.
We’ve seen this happen many times before. Police abuse or even kill an individual. Then the police and other government officials tell a story that explains the police followed standard procedures or acted in self-defense. Later, details become public, and the purported justification evaporates.
This sequence of events seems to be occurring in Wisconsin now. In December, Neenah, Wisconsin police shot dead Michael L. Funk outside the motorcycle store Funk co-owned. Funk, armed with a pistol, had just escaped from an apparent hostage-taking. That day, the police department issued a press release stating that Funk “did not comply with officers’ instructions to drop the firearm and was subsequently shot at by one or more officers on scene.”
Last week, video of the shooting was made public. In the video there is no indication that Funk threatened the police or that police said anything to Funk, much less told him to drop his gun, before firing. And here is a twist: Funk was a plaintiff in a lawsuit against defendants including the Neenah Police Department. The lawsuit sought $50 million in damages related to a police raid on the same motorcycle shop three years earlier.
Issue three.
In August, businessman Donald Trump and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush stood next to each other in the center of 10 candidates at a Republican presidential debate. Moderator Bret Baier asked for any candidate to raise his hand who would not pledge “support to the eventual nominee of the Republican Party.” Only Trump raised his hand to reject the pledge.
Now Bush is saying he will not endorse or even vote for Trump no matter what. Sure, it is irresponsible to make a blanket pledge to endorse whoever ends up being the Republican presidential nominee. But that is Bush’s pledge, and Bush is breaking it.
Issue four.
On Thursday, Mary Matalin, who became a prominent pundit after working for George H.W. Bush’s 1988 presidential campaign, announced in a Bloomberg interview that she has changed her party registration from Republican to Libertarian. Says Matalin, “the Libertarian Party continues to represent those constitutional principles that I agree with.”
Really?
Has Matalin had a big change in her political philosophy? Has the Libertarian Party really jumped the shark? Does Matalin’s explanation just not hold water? As Christopher Mele writes in a New York Times article about Matalin’s change in party registration, “Ms. Matalin is probably best known for her appearances on television as a staunch defender of Republican policies.”
Issue five.
It turns out that the Barack Obama administration’s consideration of making public 28 pages of a congressional report on September 11, 2001 attacks in America that were classified by the George W. Bush administration has stirred up some spooky opposition. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John Brennan said Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press that the 28 pages include “inaccurate” information and that the 28 pages, if made public, would be used by people to point to Saudi Arabian involvement in the attacks.
Fine. How about the Obama administration makes public the 28 pages and a CIA rebuttal? Then people can look at both and make up their own minds.
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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.
Five four three two one.
Reprinted with permission from the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity.