The Jason Stapleton Program

It would appear the conflict in Syria is quickly escalating into a proxy war. The U.S. is now funding armed militants to fight Assad and ISIS while Russia gives weapons and equipment to Assad to fight U.S. backed fighters as well as ISIS. It's a goat rope of epic proportions.But that hasn't stopped presidential hopeful Marco Rubio from advocating for greater U.S. involvement. But this time he went "full monty" on us.In an interview on CNBC, he suggested the U.S. institute a "no fly zone" or what he referred to as a "safe zone" that would be protected by U.S. airpower. When pressed on the risk that Russia would challenge the NFZ Rubio assured the host that Russia would not, but if they did..."We would have a problem".Do you think so Rubio? Do you? It's this kind of total ignorance and ineptitude our would-be leaders showcase on almost a daily basis that gives me pause. It's scary to think he might one day control the greatest Army on earth.JasonSupport the show.

If you don't know the answer to the question posed in today's title, then you most likely have not been listening to this show for very long. An article in the Financial Times this week sparked some anger deep down in my belly when it supposed that part of the reason we have such a low labor participation rate may have to do with the fact that we don't offer paid maternity leave for woman.That is quite possibly the dumbest reason I've ever heard to advocate for mandatory paid leave.In today's show, I break down the truth behind the numbers, and I give you some great ammo for anyone who suggests mandating such benefits might be a good idea.We also talk Russia and the rising cost of health care. Don't miss the show today. It's a must listen!JasonSupport the show.

There was huge news out of D.C. just after we finished the broadcast yesterday. Apparently Maccarthy is stepping down and withdrawing his name from consideration as speaker of the house.Rumors are flying that Maccarthy had an affair with a congresswoman from North Carolina. Whether it's that or he just simply didn't have the vote, he's out. That leaves John Boehner left to fill the void of speaker until a replacement can be found.All of this is a direct result of the Tea Party, who's roughly 40 congressmen have successfully made being an establishment Republican difficult if not impossible. WELL DONE!What is the takeaway from this? What can we as libertarians learn from the success of the Tea Party? We'll discuss it today.I've also found an interesting story on a gay, black, yoga class that excludes whites. I thought we'd talk a little about that, and I think you might find my perspective interesting.JasonSupport the show.

I'm going to get a little heat for this episode. That's okay, it needed to be said. Ben Carson recently came out with some statements about what he would do if confronted with a mass shooter. He said he would charge the gunman. That's easy to do while wearing a suit and talking to reporters. But charging the machine gun nest is a lot harder to do when you've got bullets cracking over your head. It brings up an important point about human nature. As much as we would all like to believe we're John Rambo, must men are cowards. Most men when placed in the situation of the Oregon students would have reacted the same way. Duck, hide and prey you don't end up a statistic. As much as Dr. Carson might like to believe he's a hero, it really is impossible to know how you would react until the bullets start flying. I'm also going to talk to day about the difference between agreement on the "issues" and agreement on "principle".  Many times as libertarians we will find ourselves in agreement on an issue with those we would otherwise oppose. It's critical we don't fall into the belief that our ideas and interests are aligned. Knowing the principle behind your position on an issue helps you keep your mind right about why you choose to align yourself with.JasonSupport the show.

I'm going to start off by telling you this is not my best episode. It's frustrating to know you haven't produced your best work but with over 200 episodes to date I can't expect to blow the roof off every single time. With that said I think we had a great discussion in the first segment on eminent domain based around Trumps comments on Fox's "Special Report".  In other news you might also be surprised to learn that a NY state prison debate team defeated the national champion Harvard debate team. It's shows us that not only are those we lock up capable of greatness, but those we hold up to be our "best and brightest" are not always so.Finally we'll talk about Hillary and her new scandal. Apparently, they found emails between her and one of her secretaries showing the State Department colluded with 60 minutes to plant questions in one of their shows in an attempt to portray state in a more favorable light. All that on the show today, don’t miss out. JasonSupport the show.

News out today is creating some drama in the currency market. U.S. exports continue to grow adding to the risk that America may be joining the currency wars.If you're a regular listener to this show that should come as no shock to you. We've been talking about the rather precarious situation the U.S. is in right now and the very real risk that we might see additional action by the Fed to keep America's strengthening dollar in check.I also spend some time today talking about the Oregon shooting. If you remember I spent a lot of time a couple days ago talking it there from the perspective of protecting individual sovereignty but today I want to approach it from the perspective of desired outcome. Would reducing gun ownership reduce crime? Not, would it reduce gun crime. If you took away all the guns you would most definitely see a reduction in gun crime. But would it stop the mass killings and violence we've seen in recent years from active shooters in schools and on college campuses? All that and a brief discussion on the labor unions in California who are trying to get an exemption for the $15/hr minimum wage hike that advocated for. It truly is criminal.JasonSupport the show.

This morning it was announced that an agreement had been reached between the 12 countries negotiation the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.I've spoken out against this plan many times in previous episodes but this agreement means the U.S. congress will now have 30 days before an up or down vote will need to be taken to approve the deal.If you remember back a few months I explained to you the TPA or "Trade Promotion Authority" congress passed that allows the president to simply receive an up or down vote on any trade deals rather than congress being able to offer amendments or changes. I hate to say it but I think it's a virtual certainty that the deal gets passed. There are just to many big dollar donors who have influence in Washington these days. But even if they didn't we've got a whole other list of problems coming out of the U.N. which recently announced they would be starting the new Strong Cities Initiative aimed at getting cities to adopt new international standards for combating a variety of extremists.  If that sounds scary to you it should. If not, just give today's show a listen.JasonSupport the show.

Sorry gang, not much time to write today. I've got to hop on a call in just a couple of minutes.With the shooting in Ohio I felt today was as good a time as any to discuss the benefits of gun ownership in a free society. (There's more of them than you think.)We also found out today that the government will run out of money sooner than expected. That means raising the debt ceiling...again. In typical progressive fashion Nancy Pelosi was seen sprinting to a microphone to begin crafting the message in her favor.All that and more today!JasonSupport the show.

I want to talk to libertarians for a moment. More specifically I want to talk to those of you who have potentially been blinded by hardliners or are hardliners yourself. Now before I start, let me just say that I am quite sure I’m going to upset some people with what I’m about to say. I don’t care; it needs to be said. So get your feelings hurt if you want. But I need to clarify a few things.I’ve received a couple of emails, a private message on FB and even a post to the private FB group chastising me for my discussion on taxation.The first one came from someone who ridiculed me for saying I had not found a way to provide for a common defense without taxation. (something I lamented by the way)I also got a very hate filled FB post on the same issue where the author incorrectly made the assumption that I was advocating for and supporting such a tax.Then I got a private FB message from a self-described Tom Woods Fan. I know many of you are fans of Tom, as am I. this fan was ridiculing my discussion this week about the different tax plans offered by the candidates.Let me try to explain this for those of you who are too hard headed to see beyond the rhetoric you’ve been fed.I don’t like taxes. I think taxes are theft. I think you have a right to the fruit of your labor. That nobody has any claim to it. No one should be allowed to compel you against your will to provide for good or another or the common good of a group.Is that clear enough? good.Now let’s talk about reality. The reality is that taxation is a way of life here in America. And although I’d love to see all taxation illuminated that option is not on the table. Not only is it not on the table, but it's also never going to be on the table. In the last 500 years can anyone point to a society that operated without some form of community contribution?So other than stating for the record that taxes are theft, and we shouldn’t steal, what good does it do to simply refuse to discuss any option that limit or reduce the injustice being perpetrated by our government?Libertarians have for years chosen to disengage from government, from activism and from politics itself. Just this week Tom had his 500th episode in which he invited on Lew Rockwell who worked with Ron Paul. And Lew, God love him, poo-pooed the idea of libertarians getting into politics. While at the same time admitting Ron as done more to advance the ideas of libertarianism than virtually anyone else in modern America.I love Lew, but I just think he’s wrong. You talk about men like Mises, like Rothbard, and what they’ve done for the advancement of libertarian ideas but let me ask you a question. Who outside of a diehard libertarian knows who Murray Rothbard is? Who, other than your committed libertarian has read Man, Economy and State? Nobody!What I'm trying to do here is take the libertarian ideal and move it mainstream. To take the ideas and principles of liberty and deliver it to an audience that is hungry to hear it. And that means being willing to discuss how we get from where we are now to where we want to be. You’ve got a lot of libertarians out there right now who are living in a fantasy world. Worse yet their living in a nightmare waiting for our entire political and economic system to come crashing down. Some of them are even hoping for it to happen.That ain't me.And I’m not suggesting that you need to go out and run for office. What I am saying is that if you have the option of a progressive tax or a flat tax, the flat tax is better. It’s better for economic reasons, and it’s better for libertarian reasons.There are plenty of places you can go to hear the standard libertarian line and listen to someone bash government, call our troops “Stupid animals” and paint grand visions of how perfect life would be if we all lived in a libertarian society. (if people weren’t all so stupid.)That is not this show. It’s not ever going to be this show. This is a show about hope about principles and about creating a roadmap for getting from where we are now to a free’er more peaceful society.Support the show.

I think the second half of today's show is maybe the best segment we've ever done. We've been talking for the last few days about global markets, central banks and the mounting standoff in the middle east between Russia and the U.S. I know a lot of you are trying to piece together what all this means to you and how it affects your daily life.So in today's show I explain exactly how your life is, and is going to be affected by the changing tides around the world. It's coming to a head and each day I grow more concerned about the future of our liberty here at home and the prospect for peace around the world.Give the show a listen and leave me a comment.JasonLinks of interest:Carl Icahn: http://carlicahn.com/Support the show.