The Jason Stapleton Program

Barring some unforeseen circumstance (like Hillary being indicted or Trump being struck by lightning), it would appear we are going to have a Trump/Clinton general election. What some considered to be impossible just a few months ago has now become a reality.Even I thought it was highly unlikely that Hillary would make it out of the primaries. With all her baggage from Benghazi to the email scandal, I thought there's no way she would survive. I assumed she would be radioactive to the democrat party.Never discount the stupidity of the American voter. We now have a potential felon and an orange colored mud-slinger leading the race for the White House. It's like a car crash you can't tear your eyes away from. I think what's must sad it's it is truly a reflection of our country. The movie Idiocracy comes to mind. America is coming apart, and all anyone seems to care about is the spectacle of it all.The other thing we're going to cover on the show today is a recent conversation in the private FB group. The question of military service comes up frequently in libertarian discussions. Many former servicemen and women become libertarian because of their experience in the military. But there is a small segment of libertarians who view those in the military as evil tools of the State. They are seen as a kind of caricature, a group to be demonized.Today I give you my thoughts as both a libertarian and a former Marine on military service and how we should treat those who have served and are serving.Support the show.

We're back in the studio today following a weekend in DC. I have to say it's great to be back. Both Darren and I are introverts and even a few hours in a crowd will burn both of us out. Now that we're back in the studio it's business as usual and I thought today would be the perfect day to discuss the recent Libertarian debate.There are plenty of plusses and minuses to talk about in what has become the first real Libertarian debate of the election. Overall I have to give props to the team in Mississippi. They took a minuscule budget and were able to put on a pretty good show.As far as candidates were concerned I was looking mostly at messaging and delivery. There are many who believe we've got a chance to make the main stage of the national debate this year. I'm not as confident as some, but I work from the assumption that we might actually do it. If that were the case who do you think would best represent and articulate the Libertarian ideas to a growing group of outraged and disenfranchised Americas?That's what I'm going to talk about today. Give it a listen. I think you'll enjoy it.Support the show.

This is a special Saturday show which we broadcasted live, I'm getting it out to you now because I'm still traveling back from D.C. We had a lot to discuss...Amash and Massie round table discussion, reaching the jaded right and left who have left those establishment parties and want something new, and much more.The republicans put forth their own budget to be "better" than Obama's, but only 300 billion less than his. Fiscal conservatism? Not really. And this is just another reason people are jaded by these establishment parties.Also a special guest who is getting liberty actors and writers into mainstream.It's a jam packed show straight from D.C. at Students for Liberty!-JasonSupport the show.

That's right everyone! Darren and I are down at the Student's for Liberty event here in Wasington D.C. - the belly of the beast! I've never felt so much legalized stealing atmosphere until today. But we're here defending the message of liberty!More republican debates to cover and the arguing match between just about all the candidates, especially Rubio and Trump reminds me of a bunch of little kids, arguing over who started the fight. It's appalling!I really want to focus today on the topic that so many establishment entities and media will tell you; just hold your nose and vote our guy because the other side is so much worse.Really?! That's what we've come to, AGAIN?This is the kind of thinking that get's us what we've always gotten. Aren't you tired of being lied to? Aren't you tired of being made a fool by empty promises? Don't you hate when you can barely tell someone who you voted for last election because you know how horrible it is?Of course, nobody likes that, so it's time to make principled decisions and move another notch closer to more liberty! And if it happens to be my own name written in, then so be it. I won't waste my vote on the lesser of two evils, I stand with liberty, and I hope you will too.JasonSupport the show.

In the private FB group, I've seen a lot of posts from people saying they're going to bit the bullet and vote for Trump. I've even heard some libertarians say they're going to vote for Sanders! Now, I think you should vote your conscience and I'm never going to criticize someone for doing that, but it makes me wonder how effective my message has been.How many times have we talked about how dangerous and potentially tyrannical a Trump presidency would be? I've outlined what I felt was a very solid case using Trump's own words. And don't get me started on Sanders. I could fill an hour every day correcting the madness that guy spews on a daily basis.For all the work I've done, people are still contemplating a vote for what they believe is the lesser of two evils. Let's stop that foolishness now. Let's stand on principle and cast aside the notion that this is a team sport. This is about principle not party to coin the overused political slogan and today on the show I'll share more on why I think a vote cast in principle is better than one cast to block an opponent.We'll also take a look at Japan. They recently moved to negative interest rates and you won't believe what the population is doing in response. (Well you would if you listened to this show because I predicted it.)Finally, we'll take a look at the damages trade barriers like tariffs, and bureaucratic red tape has on an economy by analyzing recent moves in the British pound as they contemplate leaving the EU.Lots of great stuff all week this week. The last thing, I'll be gone tomorrow as Darren, and I travel to Students for Liberty. We'll be broadcasting live from there Friday and I'm hoping to find some great interviews to share with you.JasonSupport the show.

Just before the show started today, President Obama trotted out to the microphone to make another pitch for closing Gitmo. It was one of many campaign promises he failed to deliver on over the past seven years. Things, like ending racial division and restoring our reputation around the globe, were also shortcomings.What I'm really impressed with is the president's ability to lie without so much as a facial tick. In his speech he blamed partisan politics and economics as reasons, he couldn't get the job done. But we know that's not true.On the show today, I'll talk about Gitmo, our options and the truth about Obama's record. Then it's over to a couple of other stories including the Uber driver shootings and a story about what could be the craziest place to work in America.I've been getting a little tired of the doom and gloom stories lately. Unfortunately, there's plenty of bad news to go around, so I hope you excuse my deviation into some lighter topics. Trust me there's plenty of serious news to go around, and I'll make sure you're well prepared to talk about it.JasonSupport the show.

I know, it sounds stupid. Really stupid. How on earth could we get ourselves into a situation where we're fighting ourselves. But as is usually the case the truth is far simpler than some would want us to believe.The stomach for war is weak in America. Americans don't want to see any more young men go off to fight and die in the middle east. But they're happy to spend tax dollars to "battle ISIS" by funding militia groups. The war in Iraq, Syria and Libya has become a proxy war. We pay other people to fight for us.Now some of those militia groups we've funded have begun fighting each other. Laugh if you want but it's your money their wasting. Let's not forget we've got video of John McCain bragging about funding ISIS, the group he referred to at the time as the "moderate rebels".There is nothing we can look to in the middle east to be proud of. It's all bad. Our policy and strategy since 2003 have been a disaster. Not only that but every single Republican in the race is advancing the idea that what we need is more of the same. Not a single on of them has a plan different from the one currently being executed. Some of them, like Rubio, want policies so outrageous they are virtually certain to end in a world war.Republicans need to start using their heads before we're plunged into another decade of scorched earth.Support the show.

Now I know how very dangerous a statement like that is. But I'm sick and tired of listening to a religious figurehead bash capitalism and embrace his version of social justice. Does he not recognize that capitalism has created more wealth and more opportunity for more people than any other system in our history? Does he not realize that poverty declines in every corner of the earth that capitalism is allowed the thrive?And what about the socialist mantra he cites? Can he not look at history and see the incredible damage done to the "common man" by socialist ideas and principles? On this, there is simply no excuse for ignorance.Today on the show I'll spend some time talking about the election, the recent feud between Trump and the Pope and we'll look at some of the outrageous things the Pope has said in Gods name.We'll then turn to some current socialist policies both here in America and in France to show exactly what happens when you follow the Pope's advice on economics.JasonSupport the show.

I apologize for being out yesterday, but family duty calls when the kids get sick.If you haven't heard Apple recently put a letter on it's website from Tim Cooke, speaking about how the federal government (FBI) is demanding they create a "hackable" version of their iOS mobile software so they can retrieve data from phones used by the San Bernadino shooters.Apple has vehemently refused and alerted all of it's customers by Tim Cooke issuing this statement, its a great event when even a corporation, which has more cash on hand than the feds, tells the government "NO" we're not violating the consistution or our customer's privacy which they depend and rely on.There's a tricky way the feds are trying to justify this, using some old documents of our founding fathers, and I decided to bring on KrisAnne Hall to give us all the details as only she can.It's great episode about nullification and another push by academia for Less Cash in society, no doubt due their precious government grant money laying on the line.Another great episode, make sure you listen all the way through!-JasonSupport the show.

There's a lot happing in the world today. You've got the Scalia death and the fight for the nominee to replace him. You've got the leading Oil exporters trying to broker a deal to cap oil production, Donald Trump is threatening to sue Ted Cruz and Monopoly just came out with it's new "Ultimate Bankers Addition".They all seem like random news stories, but each one of these stores adds to our understanding of the world as a whole. When viewed only as isolated events you miss the bigger picture.I am constantly asking new listeners to go and download the last ten episodes of the show. I do this because this show is designed to help you understand how the pieces fit together and provide you a complete picture of the world in which we live.Today, each of the news items in the stack has a direct tie to something else we've talked about in the last ten episodes. It is the clearest evidence I can provide to make the case for the ten episode challenge.EnjoySupport the show.