A new episode of Five Minutes Five Issues posted on Thursday. 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 July 15 episode of Five Minutes Five Issues I talked about American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Executive Director Anthony D. Romero’s Washington Post editorial arguing policy proposals of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump threaten respect for the United States Constitution. I quoted the conclusion of Romero’s editorial, including his comment that the job of the ACLU would be “to muster all the legal arguments we can to derail and deter the presumptive Republican nominee’s patently anti-civil-liberties proposals should he become our nation’s 45th president.”
In response to Romero’s editorial, I asked: “Will the ACLU come out with a similar editorial regarding Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on the eve of the Democratic National Convention? She is no friend of the Constitution either.”
Now, in the final 30 days of the presidential race, the ACLU has published a report presenting Clinton as an advocate for liberty. Here is a quote from the report’s introduction: “As her political career has evolved, the former first lady, senator from New York, and secretary of state has become a strong defender of Americans’ civil rights and liberties in most respects.”
Issue two.
Pew Research Center poll results released Wednesday indicate that 57 percent of Americans support legalizing marijuana, with 37 percent in opposition. This is a big change from ten years back when a Pew poll found 32 percent in favor and 60 percent opposed. We can expect that over time the margin of support for legalization will continue to grow given that legalization support is strongest for the youngest group polled — people 18 to 35 years old — and is a minority choice for only the oldest group polled — people age 71 and older.
Issue three.
Murtaza Hussain and Cora Currier reported this week at The Intercept on a secret Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) study that “found that anger over U.S. military operations abroad was the most commonly cited motivation for individuals involved in cases of ‘homegrown’ terrorism.” The 2012 study “surveyed intelligence analysts and FBI special agents across the United States who were responsible for nearly 200 cases” involving what the report terms “homegrown violent extremists.”
Some people say we need to fight them over there so we don’t have to fight them here. However, as many people in the FBI, intelligence agencies, and the military understand, US foreign intervention provides motivation for attacks in America.
Issue four.
Jolie McCullough noted Tuesday in the Texas Tribune that Texas, which tends to be the state that executes the most people, will this year have the lowest number of executions in the last 20 years.
Nationwide, a Pew Research Center poll released last month indicates that support for the death penalty is at a four decade low, with 49 percent of people in favor and 42 percent opposed.
Issue five.
I talked last week in Five Minutes Five Issues about the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) delaying its planned quick listing of the plant kratom in Schedule 1 of the Controlled Substances Act after the plan was met with public and congressional opposition.
This week the DEA announced it is withdrawing its quick scheduling plan, creating a public comment period through December 1 regarding kratom scheduling, and requesting that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expedite a “scientific and medical evaluation and scheduling recommendation.”
Kratom remains legal for the short term, but there is no guarantee beyond that.
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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.