The Freedom Report

Can A Man Strike A Woman In Self Defense? (PODCAST)

The entire world is talking about the video released by TMZ showing rapper Jay Z being assaulted by his wife Beyonce's sister named Solange. Jay Z was attacked in an elevator at the Standard Hotel, while his wife Beyonce stood by and watched. Luckily, the bouncer was able to subdue the psycho sister-in-law, holding her back while she launched flurries of punches and kicks at the superstar. So why didn't Jay Z strike her back? Is there a sexist double standard between the genders over who can commit violent assault?

Sarah Miller, TLR contributor

Newly minted Libertarian Republic contributor Sarah Miller joins the Freedom Report podcast today to talk about the dustup and the issues of gender violence. Miller debates whether or not there's a double standard, comparing the fight to when Rihanna was beaten by her boyfriend Chris Brown and the ensuing media hullaballoo. If Jay Z had beaten Solange like Brown had beaten Rihanna, would this have been a totally different story?

Also, what are the privacy implications of having every single life event of ours recorded on camera? Is there no privacy anymore? How should people behave knowing that there is a good chance that anything we do could be seen by millions of people overnight? Miller takes this on, as well as delves into the issue of revenge porn and her own dirty indiscretions on the Freedom Report podcast.

Do The States Have A Right To Establish An Official Religion? (PODCAST)

Today's episode of The Freedom Report podcast discusses the recent Supreme Court decision that ruled it constitutional for townships to hold public prayers as an opening to their government meetings. The Town of Greece, New York v. Galloway upheld the constitutionality of non-coercive sectarian invocations at city council meetings. 

The majority opinion by the court read: The town made reasonable efforts to identify all of the congregations located within its borders and represented that it would welcome a prayer by any minister or layman who wished to give one. That nearly all of the congregations in town turned out to be Christian does not reflect an aversion or bias on the part of town leaders against minority faiths. So long as the town maintains a policy of nondiscrimina­tion, the Constitution does not require it to search beyond its borders for non-Christian prayer givers in an effort to achieve religious balancing....

In today's show we discuss the issue of whether the constitution forbids the individual states from establishing a state religion, and what the First Amendment to the Constitution really means. 

Satanic Black Mass: Bold Move or Bad Idea? (PODCAST)

The Satanic Temple announced that they cancelled their planned black mass ceremony that was scheduled for Monday, May 12th on Harvard's campus. Word came in late that they ended up meeting at a Chinese restaurant to carry out the event, but there's no word on whether or not they actually went through with it.

The publicity stunt did exactly what was intended though, stirring up the religious community and rallying thousands of devoted Catholics to write angry letters, giving the Temple more publicity than they've seen since they decided to put a statue of Satan at the Oklahoma Courthouse. The placing of the statue is a response to the Ten Commandments being promoted at the government building, but was it a necessary act of free speech? 

All that and more on this especially offensive episode of The Freedom Report podcast! 

Was Mitt Romney's Loss A Good Thing For The GOP? Ft. Richard Viguerie (PODCAST)

Conservative icon Richard Viguerie joins the Freedom Report to discuss the civil war in the GOP. A staunch critic of Mitt Romney, Viguerie tears into the big government Republicans in his new book "Takeover: The 100 Year Battle for the Soul of the GOP." Known as the "funding father" of the modern conservative movement, Viguerie lays out a battle plan for the true limited government conservatives to wrest control of the GOP away from the establishment. 

Viguerie draws on his vast knowledge and experience in politics, discussing the "dark days" for conservatives when Barry Goldwater had lost, when there was no Fox News and no Tea Party. Now, he says, there is a stronger movement that could theoretically take over the Republican party by 2017 if they take heed and follow his advice. 

All that and more on the Freedom Report podcast! 

The Koch Brothers: Climate Killers or Libertarian Heroes? (PODCAST)

Senator Harry Reid is on the attack against the Koch Brothers, claiming that they are one of the leading causes of climate change. But are the brothers Koch really the terrifying supervillains that he's trying to paint, or are they anti-establishment libertarian freedom fighters?

Liberal activists have been painting the narrative for years that Charles and David Koch are the evil conspirators behind much of the shenanigans they claim to despise. But what if I told you that the kind of trouble the brothers Koch are causing are things such as ending the war on drugs, reducing military intervention and donating $10 million dollars each to the ACLU to fight the PATRIOT Act?

All that and more on this episode of the Freedom Report podcast!

Should The U.S. Intervene In Nigeria To Protect Girls From Sex Trafficking? (PODCAST, POLL)

The government of Nigeria has accepted aid from the United States to track down and rescue the more than 300 girls who have been kidnapped by the terrorist group Boko Haram. President Barack Obama said that the U.S. will "do everything we can" to help Nigeria. “Obviously, what’s happening is awful and, as a father of two girls, I can’t imagine what the parents are going through,” Obama said.

Boko Haram, which loosely translated means,“Western education is forbidden,” are responsible for hundreds of killings across Nigeria. In February, gunmen stormed a school, locked a boys' dormitory and burned more than 40 boys alive, but international media outrage was sparked only recently when the group's terrorist leader Abubakar Shekau stated publicly that he would sell young girls "in the marketplace."

Shekau is reportedly extremely intelligent, resourceful and possessing a photographic memory. Attempts to capture him up until this point have largely failed.

Every single female U.S. senator sent a letter to President Obama calling for intervention on behalf of the girls. “As the women of the United States Senate, we are writing to you today deeply disturbed by the abduction and mistreatment of more than 200 girls by the terrorist group Boko Haram,” the letter read.

So should the U.S. intervene to help stop sex trafficking, or is it none of our government's business? Why does it always seem that whenever there is some injustice around the world that everyone relies on Team America: World Police to step in and mop up the mess? What is even the point of the United Nations?

Are Islam and Libertarianism Compatible? Ft. Imad ad-Dean Ahmad (PODCAST)

President of the Minaret of Freedom Institute Dr. Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad joins the Freedom Report podcast to discuss the ideology of libertarianism and the religion of Islam. Dr. Ahmad answers questions related to current events surrounding the creation of a separate Palestinian state, the comments about Israel and apartheid by Secretary of State John Kerry, as well as the rights of women. 

Can The GOP Beat The 'War On Women' Narrative With Free Market Feminism? Ft. Cathy Reisenwitz (PODCAST)

Cathy Reisenwitz stopped by The Freedom Report podcast to discuss the issues of free market feminism and how the Republican Party could benefit from taking some of the issues that she champions. Her latest column at Reason.com explains why rich women have great access to low cost childcare but poor women have to pay out the nose. Could that and a host of other issues be the key to turning the "War on Women" against the Democrats?

Also, Cathy takes a moment out to "check her privilege," because apparently she's been thinking she's a badass, when she's really just a b*tch. Her words friends, not mine. But in another piece, Reisenwitz discusses the perils of iconoclasm and leaping into the limelight before you've got your ducks in a row. Cathy discusses why she's got "big fish in a little pond syndrome."

Also, it's the tenth anniversary of "Mean Girls," and Cathy answers the question of whether women are their own worst enemies. Also, TRIGGER WARNING: we talk about trigger warnings. So, tune in, subscribe on iTunes, and don't forget to come back every single day to your home for economic freedom and personal liberty at The Libertarian Republic dot com.

 

Israel Vs. Palestine - Can There Ever Be Peace In The Middle East? (PODCAST)

Secretary of State John Kerry is in hot water after comments were released that he made suggesting that Israel could become an apartheid state. Texas Senator Ted Cruz took to the airwaves to blast Kerry as an anti-semite for suggesting that if Palestinian Arabs don't receive the same political rights as Jews, then the country would effectively be apartheid.

Meanwhile, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky has introduced the Stand With Israel Act of 2014, much to the chagrin of columnists who'd like to tar him with the anti-semite brush. So what would his bill do effectively? Is it explicitly libertarian? We discuss that, as well as debate the issue of peace in the Middle East.

Also, The Libertarian Republic held a non-scientific poll of our readers to test their feelings about the Jewish State. Do readers of TLR support the state of Israel, or do they wish them ill will? In this podcast we go over the results of our reader poll and dissect & analyze why we believe readers responded the way they did. The results might surprise you, so don't miss a minute of this fascinating dialogue with associate editor Ian Huyett and editor of The Libertarian Republic, Austin Petersen.

So, do you support the State of Israel? And if so, does that mean you support the sending of foreign aid? Is it possible to support Israel's people, but not her government?

Listen in and consider both sides of the issue on this episode of The Freedom Report podcast!

Are All Men On Airplanes Potential Pedophiles?

A reporter for the Brisbane Times wrote that she knows she's sexist, but that she doesn't want her kids setting next to a man on an airplane. She writes that men are reportedly responsible for 92% of all sexual assaults, but since she says she'd rather be safe than sorry, shouldn't she be terrified of the 8% of female pedophiles as well? 

This episode of The Freedom Report takes a look at the issue of men being asked to move away from children on airplanes. The assumption is that since most men are the ones convicted of sexually assaulting children that airlines should take the initiative to move men away. But using that logic, can we then say that since most suicide bombing terrorists are Muslims, should we ban Muslims from airlines?  Oh, that's offensive you say? 

All that and more on the Freedom Report podcast!