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Scott speaks with William Hartung from the Quincy Institute about ways the arms industry is ripping off American taxpayers. They take a close look at a few cases such as the F-35 and the Littoral Combat Ship. Both weapons systems don’t work, but have made the manufacturers and their friends a lot of money. Scott and Hartung also take a step back and examine the overall dynamics of the military-industrial-congressional complex and how they use threat inflation and bad economic arguments to keep the money flowing into their pockets.  

Discussed on the show:

• “How the Arms Industry Scams the Taxpayer” (Antiwar.com)
• The Iron Triangle by Gordon Adams
• Scott’s interview with Michael Tracey

William Hartung is a Senior Research Fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft and the author of Prophets of War: Lockheed Martin and the Making of the Military-Industrial Complex. Find him on Twitter @WilliamHartung.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: The War State and Why The Vietnam War?, by Mike Swanson; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and Thc Hemp Spot.

Shop Libertarian Institute merch or donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal or Bitcoin: 1DZBZNJrxUhQhEzgDh7k8JXHXRjYu5tZiG.

Alejandro Beutel, formerly of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, discusses MPAC’s exposé on “America’s Top 25 Pseudo-Experts on Islam;” Daniel Pipes’s 2004 op-ed in which he justifies the WWII internment of Japanese Americans and calls for similar measures against Muslims; the “national security hucksters” who train law enforcement groups on the supposed dangers of Islam; successful anti-Islam propaganda from Danish cartoons to Innocence of Muslims; and how US Middle East hegemony, combined with perceived attacks against Islamic culture, provokes protests that Western media uses to frame all Muslims as anti-American crazies.

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Eric Margolis, author of American Raj, discusses the assaults on US embassies in Libya and Egypt; the anti-Islam movie Innocence of Muslims that was apparently financed by an Israeli American; the shared propaganda techniques of Nazi Germany and today’s pro-Israel extremists; why Jews should be wary of inciting bigots into Islamophobic rages; Churchill and FDR’s coverup of “Uncle Joe” Stalin’s massacre of Polish officers in 1940; and why WWII wasn’t the “necessary” war we’re all led to believe.

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Anthony Gregory of the Independent Institute discusses why American conservatives are changing their minds about the War on Drugs; the hypocrisy of drug-warrior presidents (especially Obama) who previously used illegal drugs themselves; why the Democratic Party is no friend to civil liberties and the Bill of Rights; and how unjust drug laws are largely responsible for institutionalized racism and The New Jim Crow in America.

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John Feffer of Foreign Policy in Focus discusses “The Dumbing Down of American Foreign Policy;” how Obama (as bad as he is) could be much worse on Iran and Israel; the Iranian cancer patients effected by sanctions; Obama’s refusal to spend political capital to back up his big talk on Palestine and nuclear weapons abolition; how liberal internationalism provides a facade for the military-industrial complex; changes in N. Korea policy over the last few administrations; and Ben Swann’s eye-opening interview of Obama.

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Sheldon Richman of the Future of Freedom Foundation discusses the controversial voice vote on “God and Jerusalem” at the Democratic National Convention; more evidence that democracy has no place in American party politics; successive Republican and Democratic administrations that pay lip service to Israel by declaring Jerusalem the true capital – while the US embassy stays put in Tel Aviv; and Obama’s surprisingly strong stance against an Israeli-led war on Iran.

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Andy Worthington, author of The Guantanamo Files, discusses his article “Eleven Years after 9/11, Guantánamo Is a Political Prison;” the many Gitmo prisoners still held despite being long-ago cleared for release; why liberals give Obama a pass on his broken promise to close the prison; Attorney General Eric Holder’s decision not to prosecute Bush-era torture; and how a corrupted US justice system invites terrorist blowback.

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Charles Goyette, author of Red and Blue and Broke All Over, discusses the perfect storm of economic hardships due to hit early next year; the meaning of “fiscal cliff;” why China’s US treasury bond holdings are more legitimate than the Fed’s; the multi-trillions spent on national security since 9/11; the bipartisan refusal to cut spending on empire; the effect of rising interest rates on government debt servicing; and the ridiculous headline-driven equity markets.

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John Whitehead, lawyer and founder of The Rutherford Institute, discusses his client Brandon Raub’s forced incarceration in a psychiatric ward for posting political opinions and song lyrics on Facebook; the low standard of proof needed to lock someone up in a mental institution; why veterans are being specially targeted by law enforcement; questionable practices at the VA; and why our court system is about maintaining order, not upholding justice.

Transcript: read more…

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