The Scott Horton Show from The Libertarian Institute

David Vine makes the case that the U.S.'s roughly 800 military bases in over 130 countries are harmful not only to those countries' interests, but to America's own self-interest as well. His movement seeks to bring together people from all parties to force political change in Washington.

Discussed on the show:

"Left-Right Alliance for Closing U.S. Military Bases Around the World" (Institute for Public Accuracy)

"11/5/18 Stephen Walt on a Realist Foreign Policy" (Libertarian Institute)

OverseasBases.net

David Vine is a professor of Anthropology at American University and the author of Island of Shame: The Secret History of the U.S. Military Base on Diego Garcia. He also writes for the New York Times, Washington Post, and The Guardian, among others. Follow him on Twitter @davidsvine.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Kesslyn Runs, by Charles Featherstone; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; Zen Cash; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

Journalist George Joseph talks to Scott about the significant ramp up in federal gun prosecutions during Jeff Sessions' tenure, and continuing even now that he's gone. The idea behind his program was to target the "trigger-pulling" criminals, but in reality it targets a lot of people with previous drug possession charges, who might normally be able to own a gun, but are now forbidden from doing so because of their records. Many of the cases have even already been adjudicated at the state level, and are simply being brought up again at the federal. Scott and Joseph think this is probably unconstitutional, but it seems unlikely that any judges will care enough to stop it.

Discussed on the show:

"Jeff Sessions Left Behind A Record-breaking Gun Prosecution Machine" (The Appeal)

Shooting of Philando Castile

George Joseph is a staff writer for The Appeal. Follow him on Twitter @georgejoseph94.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Kesslyn Runs, by Charles Featherstone; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; Zen Cash; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

Hunter DeRensis joins the show to talk about his recent article for the American Conservative Magazine. He cites Stein's law, named for economist Herbert Stein, which says that if something can't go on forever, it will stop. This seems obvious, but people frequently avoid its conclusions when looking at an issue like the American empire. DeRensis worries that the U.S. is too extended and too far in debt to keep going on our current track for much longer. At some point the big crash simply has to come.

Discussed on the show:

"The Coming Bankruptcy of the American Empire" (American Conservative)

Ben Stein

Herbert Stein

Hunter DeRensis is an editorial assistant at the American Conservative and a student at GMU. Find him on his website or on Twitter @HunterDeRensis.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Kesslyn Runs, by Charles Featherstone; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; Zen Cash; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

Max Blumenthal talks about the Azov Battalion, a U.S.-backed Neo-Nazi group in Ukraine, and their efforts to train and educate American sympathizers. Once funded by the Obama administration, the group now wields some real power in their region and hopes to spread their ideology in ours. For all their talk about the rise of white supremacy, Blumenthal explains, the U.S. media refuses to cover this scandal because it undermines Obama's policies. Scott mentions that much of the strife in Eastern Europe today is ultimately America's fault, because we pushed expansion of NATO into Russia's backyard. No one should be surprised when tensions with Russia are at their highest since the cold war—but this is yet another thing we're not allowed to talk about. Even Israel, of all countries, doesn't seem to care that much about Neo-Nazism, because if anything, it could cause a threatened diaspora to support the Jewish State even more strongly.

Discussed on the show:

"US-Funded Neo-Nazis in Ukraine Mentor US White Supremacists" (Consortium News)

Orange Revolution

Azov Battalion

"Putin's Imaginary Nazis" (Politico)

"Ukraine’s Got a Real Problem with Far-Right Violence (And No, RT Didn’t Write This Headline)" (Atlantic Council)

Gulf of Tonkin incident

Petro Poroshenko

Manchester Arena bombing

Pact of Steel

Jamal Khashoggi

Tulsi Gabbard

"2017 Was the Year I Learned About My White Privilege" (foreignpolicy.com)

Boland Amendment

Iran–Contra affair

Director and writer of “Killing Gaza,” Max Blumenthal is a senior editor of the Grayzone Project and the author Goliath, Republican Gomorrah, and The 51 Day War. Follow Max on Twitter @MaxBlumenthal.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Kesslyn Runs, by Charles Featherstone; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; Zen Cash; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

Tom Woods comes back on the show to promote his flagship product, Liberty Classroom, an adult enrichment program designed to correct "educational malpractice". Scott Horton Show listeners can use the promo code "HORTON" to take $200 off the master membership, which includes all the courses Tom did for the Ron Paul Home School curriculum. Scott will also throw in a signed copy of Fool's Errand.

Liberty Classroom features courses in history and economics taught by prominent libertarian scholars like Bob Murphy, Kevin Gutzman, and Jeff Herbener, and many others.

Tom Woods is the host of the Tom Woods Show and the author of numerous books, including Real Dissent. Follow him on Twitter @ThomasEWoods.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Kesslyn Runs, by Charles Featherstone; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; Zen Cash; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

Ramzy Baroud comes back on the show to talk about the continuing injustice suffered by the Palestinian people at the hands of the Israeli government. The death toll of protestors shot by Israeli gunmen is now over 200, with thousands more wounded. Many Americans look at the situation and think that Israel has every right to defend its border. But Baroud explains that that's not how we should be thinking about it—Israel is basically laying siege these people, controlling their movements along with everything that comes in and out of their territory. If it were as simple as Israel defending their own border, Baroud asks, why do so many American Jews support the Palestinians and oppose Israel?

Discussed on the show:

"Why Is Israel Afraid of Khalida Jarrar?" (Counterpunch)

Attica Prison riot

Israeli nation-state law

"Airbnb removes Israeli West Bank settlement listings" (BBC)

"In first, UK university divests from firms supplying Israel army" (Middle East Monitor)

Ehud Barak

"The Israel Lobby in the U.S." (YouTube)

The Jewish Home

SkatePal

Ramzy Baroud is a US-Arab journalist and is the editor-in-chief of the Palestine Chronicle. He is the author of My Father Was A Freedom Fighter: The Untold Story of Gaza. His new book is The Last Earth: A Palestinian Story. Follow Ramzy on Twitter @RamzyBaroud and read his work at RamzyBaroud.net.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Kesslyn Runs, by Charles Featherstone; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; Zen Cash; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

Scott interviews Ray McGovern about James Clapper's new memoir, Facts and Fears: Hard Truths from a Life in Intelligence. They touch on Clapper's role in the buildup to the Iraq War, which he now admits, including one all-too-predictable phenomenon: Once a certain amount of time and money had been invested in mapping and other intel efforts in the Middle East, it became impossible to shut them down. Now determined to justify their own existence, these agencies were happy to provide whatever intelligence their superiors insisted they should be finding, including possible evidence that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. McGovern warns that people like Clapper, as well as Donald Rumsfeld and new CIA director Gina Haspel, should take care when traveling abroad; some foreign governments have indicated that they are willing to arrest and indict them for their violations of international law, even though the U.S. seems unlikely to.

Discussed on the show:

Facts and Fears: Hard Truths from a Life in Intelligence

National Imagery and Mapping Agency

Ahmed Chalabi

Downing Street memo

"Clapper’s Credibility Collapses" (Antiwar.com)

"Ray McGovern Questions James Clapper" (YouTube)

Shock and Awe

Ray McGovern is the co-creator of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity and the former chief of the CIA’s Soviet analysts division. Read all of his work at his website: raymcgovern.com.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Kesslyn Runs, by Charles Featherstone; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; Zen Cash; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

Gareth Porter rejoins the show to talk North Korea, the New York Times, and the insidious influence of arms contractors on United States foreign policy decisions. Porter explains how easy it is for journalists to make claims like "North Korea has an illicit nuclear program" without needing to provide hard evidence. Most people don't pay close enough attention to be able to question claims like that, but they can easily be used as evidence for the need for military intervention. Much of the media, claims Porter, hates that President Trump might help to bring about peace in Korea because they're unwilling to give him credit for anything positive. Scott and Porter shift to discussing the dangers of the military-industrial complex in general, an institution that has been empowered by the transition of the pentagon from a huge government bureaucracy, to really more of a business. And just like any rent-seekers, arms manufacturers lobby for policies that will make them the most money. In this case that means more war from the United States.

Discussed on the show:

David E. Sanger

"What the New York Times Got Wrong About North Korea" (National Interest)

Joint ComprehensiveS Plan of Action

"North Korea ‘Deception’: NYT Malpractice or Laziness?" (American Conservative)

Center for Strategic and International Studies

"America’s Permanent-War Complex" (American Conservative)

Eisenhower's Farewell Speech

"US: Lockheed Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" (Corpwatch)

Committee for the Liberation of Iraq

"Top Secret America" (Washington Post)

"10/17/18 Ben Freeman on the Saudi Lobby" (Libertarian Institute)

"Yemen crisis: 85,000 children 'dead from malnutrition'" (BBC)

Gareth Porter is an investigative historian and journalist on the national security state, and author of Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare. Follow him on Twitter @GarethPorter and listen to Gareth’s previous appearances on the Scott Horton Show.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Kesslyn Runs, by Charles Featherstone; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; Zen Cash; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

John Feffer joins the show for an update on the peace talks between North and South Korea. He optimistically describes the nascent process of dismantling parts of the DMZ, including guard towers and mine fields, and also establishing a no-fly zone there. As usual, the American media is happy to ignore all of this. Feffer reminds us that South Korean President Moon Jae-in is really the driving force behind the negotiations, but he seems happy to give lots of credit to President Trump, who probably really only deserves a little credit. All of this progress toward peace is reversible, explains Feffer, but one positive sign is that land prices around the DMZ have started to increase, signaling belief from entrepreneurs that the land will soon be usable.

Discussed on the show:

"Is Korea’s Cold War About to End?" (Foreign Policy In Focus)

September 2018 inter-Korean summit

David E. Sanger

CSIS on Korea

"How ‘The New York Times’ Deceived the Public on North Korea" (The Nation)

Agreed Framework

Six-party talks

Proliferation Security Initiative

Axis of evil

John Feffer is the co-director of Foreign Policy In Focus and author of the dystopian novel Splinterlands. Follow Feffer on Twitter @JohnFeffer.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Kesslyn Runs, by Charles Featherstone; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; Zen Cash; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

Patrick Martin, of the World Socialist Web Site, comes back on the show for an update on his last appearance. 11 of the democratic candidates he mentioned last time won their congressional races, and 7 more came very close, which he says is a fairly strong performance but probably not quite the one they had hoped for. These new representatives all come from backgrounds in the military or intelligence agencies, and instead of using their experience as a principled basis for opposing war, they are strong supporters of the U.S.'s military endeavors abroad. Martin laments the generally sad state of affairs on the American left when it comes to compromising on war, even among many so-called socialists.

Discussed on the show:

"10/10/18 Patrick Martin on the Military Wing of the Democratic Party" (Libertarian Institute)

"Mehring Books publishes The CIA Democrats" (World Socialist Web Site)

VoteVets.org

WithHonor.org

Ray McGovern

Tulsi Gabbard

Max Shachtman

Alternative for Germany

Patrick Martin is the senior national political writer for the World Socialist Web Site, where he is the author of numerous articles.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Kesslyn Runs, by Charles Featherstone; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; Zen Cash; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.