House Members Offered ‘Russian Hacking’ Briefing — Two Weeks After Obama Expelled Russian Diplomats

US House Member Justin Amash (R-MI) announced Wednesday on Twitter that the Obama administration has agreed to the request Amash and fellow House Member Walter Jones (R-NC) made to President Barack Obama on December 19 that a classified briefing be provided for all Congress members concerning evidence being used to support claims that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 US presidential election to help Donald Trump’s campaign.

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Five Minutes Five Issues: Africa Deployments, 2016 Executions, Maine Marijuana, Less Prisoners, Vermont Pardons

A new episode of Five Minutes Five Issues posted on Saturday. 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.

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Rep. Dana Rohrabacher Goes to Moscow

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) has plans to bring a congressional delegation to Russia. Rohrabacher is quoted in a Wednesday article by Robert Costa in the Washington Post as saying a purpose of the trip is to discuss with Russian officials “how we can work with the Duma.” The Duma is a legislative body of the Russian government.

Rohrabacher, as chairman of the Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats Subcommittee of the Foreign Affairs Committee, has a significant role in the United States House of Representatives regarding US relations with Russia. In this position, Rohrabacher has on occasion forcefully made the case for easing tensions between the US and Russia. For example, in March of 2015, Rohrabacher, speaking during a meeting of the subcommittee concerning Ukraine, criticized the US government’s effort “to basically defeat and humiliate Russia.” He argued that the US goal should instead be “to do what is right by Ukraine and bring peace to Ukraine.”

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Libertarian Party Chairman Denounces Ron Paul’s Support for States’ Rights

Speaking with host Marc Clair in a Lions of Liberty Podcast interview released last week. Libertarian National Committee Chairman Nicholas Sarwark denounced Ron Paul’s support for states’ rights. Sarwark made the comments after, twenty-five minutes into the interview, the conversation turned to discussing Paul who has run for president three times, including once as the Libertarian Party nominee. Sarwark says that Paul “had policy prescriptions that were straight-up wrong and anti-libertarian.” Continuing, Sarwark calls Paul’s support for states’ rights “not a libertarian position.”

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Five Minutes Five Issues: Punishing Russia, Israel Brouhaha, Marijuana Delay, Troops Suicides, Torture Report

A new episode of Five Minutes Five Issues posted on Saturday. 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.

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Listen Live Saturday to My Fairbanks, Alaska Radio Interview

On Saturday, I will return to Alaska airwaves as a guest on Fairbanks, Alaska talk radio show Patriot’s Lament. The interview with hosts Joshua Bennett and Michael Anderson on KFAR 660 AM will start at 10:00 a.m. Pacific time.

You can listen to the interview live here. And you can call in to the show at (907) 458-8255.

Given my times as a guest on the show before, I expect to participate in an hour or more of lively discussion on Saturday regarding a wide variety of topics. With the interview occurring on New Year’s Eve, there will be some looking back at events of this year and some predictions for the year that is about to begin.

Why Lew Rockwell is Optimistic the Drug War Will End

Look to the war on drugs to understand why the United States has become “a prison state,” says Lew Rockwell in a new video interview with Future of Freedom Foundation President Jacob Hornberger. And, says Rockwell, look to educational efforts and state governments’ “nullification” of US drug laws for indications why drug prohibition will end.

While Rockwell notes there are powerful interests fighting to perpetuate the war on drugs, Rockwell also declares in the interview his optimism that educational efforts will help increase public support for ending drug prohibition. Pointing to states “nullifying” US government anti-drug laws through actions including medical and recreational marijuana legalization, Rockwell says “we have every reason to be optimistic” that the drug war “will eventually come to an end.”

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Five Minutes Five Issues: Faithless Electors, ‘Russian Hack,’ Avenue Strategies, Pelosi Vote, Electoral College

A new episode of Five Minutes Five Issues posted on Friday. 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.

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Ron Paul: Purported Russian Hack in US Election is Insignificant Compared to What US Does Overseas

“I think it’s politics more than anything else,” says former House of Representatives Member Ron Raul (R-TX) regarding calls for an investigation of purported hacking by the Russian government influencing the United States presidential election. Interviewed Wednesday on Fox Business, Paul continues that, even if Russia did what is alleged, Paul does not think it “made any difference.”

Paul — providing perspective on the matter — notes that the US government is interfering with elections around the world “all the time.” Paul also suggests reviewing the history of US government involvement in foreign countries, including “how many countries we invaded, how many people we have killed in order to have our guy in.” Looking to this history, Paul concludes, “we don’t have much room for condemning anybody else.”

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