You did not misread that headline. The story is incredible. The government (the ATF to be specific) manufactures a crime, finds some hapless Joe, down on his luck and convinces him to commit said crime. When Joe attempts the deed the ATF swoops in to arrest him and the court is forced to hand down decade-long sentences for a manufactured crime.

It's a disgusting abuse of police power, and I'll share the full story with you today on the show.

But first, we discuss a topic I've mentioned several times on the show. During the crafting of ObamaCare, the insurance companies wanted assurances that they would be protected if the governments enrollment numbers turned out to be off. (Shocker I know) So they lobbied for and received a safety net.

Under the law, if insurers perform worse than expected they will be saved by a defacto bailout by the federal government. Where exactly is this money going to come from you might ask? That's another shocker, and I'll explain everything in today's episode.

Check it out!

Well, I'm back from vacation and what a week to be gone. Over the holiday, we had a downed Russian fighter taken out by Turkey, and we saw another terrorist act perpetrated on a planned parenthood in Colorado. And those are just the two stories I had time to get to today.

In today's episode, I'm going to present some compelling evidence that Turkey is secretly buying oil from ISIS, and we'll discuss the possibility Turkey shot down the Russian plane to prevent it from bombing oil caravans shipping oil out of Syria into Turkey.

I'll also talk to you about what all this means to America. Two U.S. senators are now calling for 20k ground troops to be deployed to Iraq and Syria to aid in the ground offensive to defeat ISIS and oust Assad.

This is a repeat of the Iraq invasion, and it stinks. All of this is backdropped by the government's constant pressure to strip the liberties of U. S. citizens from them by claiming it needs more power to protect us.

It's scary business.

Jason

It's a mixed bag today with news coming out that an Islamic group had raided a hotel in Mali, killing at least 18 and taking 190 hostages. (or at least that's the story as of this writing)

I also take some time to talk about an article written by some progressive blasting red states for taking a disproportionate percentage of tax dollars about what they pay in. The author apparently doesn't understand the hypocrisy in advocating for the direct wealth transfer from rich to poor for things like Medicaid while criticizing the transfer of wealth from state to state.

Then we move on to discuss the federal government's plan to raid the 4 trillion dollar reserve at the Fed to pay for the new highway and transit fund.

It's an interesting episode to say the least. Check it out.

I've been warning about this day since 2012. Today United Healthcare announced it will likely be leaving the exchange after taking heavy losses in 2015 and projecting future losses next year.

This all stems from a system that was broken from the beginning and has just gotten worse as the years have gone one.

What does this mean for millions of people who now get subsidized insurance on the exchange? Tune in today to find out.

We are also getting a lot of reports of potential terrorists trying to sneak across our southern border. Just today I read two reports out of Breitbart about incidents in Texas and Arizona which I have to admit gets my spidey senses up a bit.

It's an odd coincidence, given our current debate over border security and our recent fight over refugee immigration that we would now be getting multiple reports of middle eastern nationals trying to sneak into the country.

Anyway, it's an exciting show. Check it out.

I am typically amused by Bernie Sanders and his seeming inability to do basic addition and subtraction but today he seems to have hit a new low.

Over the span of roughly 30 seconds he both assured us that he would not tax anyone in the bottom 99% and then quickly promised to raise taxes on everyone.

You wonder what kind of person would take a man like Bernie Sanders serious. Then you take a look at some of the stuff our young people are consuming in college, and it makes a little more sense.

It turns out the University of Vermont (Bernie's home state) recently concluded a "white's only" retreat where those who 'self-identify' as white had a chance to talk about how their whiteness affects others and where they could vent their shame in a "safe space".

It's both a funny and downright scary episode today everyone. Give it a listen.

Well, I warned you it was going to happen. I said there were going to be people who tried to use your anger and desire for revenge to convince you now is the time to redouble our efforts in the middle east.

Last night I was out on a late night coffee run, and Mark Levin was on the radio. What I heard from him didn't surprise me but it did anger me. So today I want to walk you thought his logic, and then tear it apart.

I also spend some time on the U.S. immigration issue, specifically the refugee debate and the fight between the federal and state governments.

It's well worth a listen.

Jason

Some of you know I released an open letter to the Paris tragedy this weekend. If you haven't had a chance to read it you can do so here: http://www.jasonstapleton.com/how-do-you-kill-an-idea/ or if you prefer I'm going to read it today on the show.

France has already launched airstrikes against ISIS positions in Rocca and will likely continue its bombing campaign along with more ground troops shortly.

I can only wonder if this was the desired outcome by those who committed the attacks in Paris. It would seem as though they were coaxing France into deeper conflict.

Today I'm going to take you though the response from many in power and discuss their reaction and intentions.

My mind and heart weigh heavy today as I see this world conflict unfolding. I fear we are in for a great deal more bloodshed.

After I finished yesterdays show I was trolling Facebook looking for good stories and chatting with some friends in the private FB group (http://www.jasonstapleton.com/facebook), and I came across a video where Neil Cavuto was interviewing a young college student.

This young woman was advocating for three things.

1. "Free" college tuition for all students.

2. That all past student debt be forgiven.

3. A $15/hr minimum wage.

The video is a MUST WATCH, and I've included the exchange here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zmji36q8E4o

Today on the show I break down this interview as we discuss just how frustrating it is to debate with someone who denies reality.

But we have a great deal to learn as libertarians from the way Neil conducted this interview and how we can begin to change the minds of those we disagree with, even when they deny reality.

Then it's on to a more philosophical discussion about who owns government housing and what you should be free to do if you live in one of these rental properties. I think you'll like the discussion.

Enjoy!

"Today's liberal is tomorrow's perfect slave." That was a quote from Stephen on Twitter in response to today's discussion on college students.

To say it is deeply disturbing to watch the future decision makers of this country display a total lack of rational thought is putting it mildly. Gone are the days when our halls of higher learning were filled with men of character, and young men and women were challenged to question their beliefs.

These days if you try to suggest a student look at an issue like race from another perspective you're labeled a racist, or a bigot and the student being challenged is likely to complain about feeling "unsafe" before demand a "safe space" where they can hold whatever view they like without the risk of logic being introduced.

If we need to see where this leads we need only look across the pond to Germany where police recently raided the houses of 10 people suspected of using "hate speech" on social media.

This is not an uplifting episode, but it's one you need to hear. Listen now.

Any of you who listen to this show regularly knows that I have been highly critical of Rand Paul, particularly his debate performances.

Well, last night Rand hit a grand slam home run. He had me jumping out of my chair and pacing the room as he ran a clinic on the libertarian philosophy.

It should come as no surprise when Rand takes a jump in the pools. Last night the man child was gone and what we saw as a strong, articulate and confident leader. I could not have been more excited.

Today we'll cover highlights of the debate for those of you who just couldn't suffer through another 2 hours of political tomfoolery.

Give the show a listen and don't forget to share this page on Facebook and Twitter!

Jason