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.
Enough with all the complaints that United States President Donald Trump has not denounced racism sufficiently. What a president should do is stand up for the Constitution and ensure the government does not violate individual rights. One of those rights is the right to be racist.
Issue two.
In last week’s episode of Five Minutes Five Issues, while discussing President Trump’s declaration that he may use a “military option” against the Venezuela government, I said, “Nobody is even suggesting Venezuela poses any threat to America.”
Then, this week, two “somebodies” from the Trump administration did suggest it.
In a joint press conference with the president of Columbia, US Vice President Mice Pence said this:
A failed state in Venezuela will drive more illegal drug trafficking, with its murderous criminal consequences, radiating outward. A failed state in Venezuela will drive more illegal migration, compromising our borders, damaging our economies. And ultimately, a failed state in Venezuela will endanger the wellbeing of all who call this hemisphere home.
Also, when host Chris Wallace asked at Fox News why a “civil war” or “terrible situation” in Venezuela is “our problem” and could justify US military intervention, US Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo gave the following answer:
Oh, look, Venezuela could very much become a risk to the United States of America. The Cubans are there. The Russians are there. The Iranians, Hezbollah are there.
This is something that has a risk of getting to a very, very bad place. And so, America needs to take this very seriously.
Pence and Pompeo’s statements are reminiscent of the lead up to the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, when George W. Bush administration officials ran from microphone to microphone to promote fear of the Iraq government and scare Americans into supporting war.
Issue three.
You have likely read some of Ron Paul Institute Academic Board Member Eric Margolis’ informative articles regarding conflicts and politics around the world.
Here is something you may not know about Margolis. Allan Hall reported at the Daily Mail that Margolis was the major financial backer for saving this month “[t]hree lions, two tigers, two Asian black bears, two Husky dogs, and two hyenas.” The animals had experienced dire conditions at an Aleppo, Syria zoo devastated in the country’s ongoing war.
Hall reports that, after many other animals had died in the zoo, these surviving animals have made it to a sanctuary in Jordan.
Issue four.
In a Monday press release, the World Health Organization (WHO) said there have been half a million suspected cholera cases in Yemen this year. The WHO notes that the rapid spread of the disease in Yemen is due to “deteriorating hygiene and sanitation conditions and disruptions to the water supply across the country.” Further, treating cholera is inhibited by a shortage of medical supplies, medical facilities, and medical workers in the country.
The US-supported war on Yemen has created the conditions for this calamity. As I said when talking about cholera in Yemen in the June 17 episode of Five Minutes Five Issues, “Diseases can be as destructive as bullets and bombs in war.”
Issue five.
In the July 8 episode of Five Minutes Five Issues, I said the August 15 US Senate special election primary in Alabama “could disturb many US politicians and powerbrokers” should former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore win.
On Tuesday, Moore came in first with 39 percent of the vote.
Moore will compete next in a run-off election against second-place finisher Luther Strange, who the state governor appointed to the Senate to temporarily fill the seat vacated when Jeff Sessions left to become US Attorney General. Strange was also endorsed by President Trump.
Commenting on the primary election results, Moore said, “The attempt by the silk-stocking Washington elitists to control the vote of the people of Alabama has failed.”
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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.