Episode 200 Show Notes- Are We Really Free People? A Tale of Two America’s
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Episode Description
This week, Professor Giordano asks the all-important question of whether we really are free people? We constantly preach to the world about the core American political philosophies of liberty and freedom, yet domestically, these principles are being challenged on all fronts. Nearly every Constitutional Amendment is being undermined. There are two very different visions of America. The American people must decide which vision of America they want to live in.
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Show Transcript- Are We Really Free People? A Tale of Two America’s
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Intro
Welcome everyone to the 200th episode of The P.A.S. Report Podcast.
I hope you are doing well. I cannot believe this is the 200th episode. It seems like just yesterday I started the podcast. When I first started this podcast, I didn’t expect much. I didn’t expect it to grow so quickly, but because of you, here we are. The encouragement you’ve given me has been the driving force behind.
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Episode Breakdown
Now, let’s get right to it. For the 200th episode of The P.A.S. Report Podcast, I want to start off by asking, perhaps, the single most important question we could ask. The question is are we really a free people? I want you to really think about that question for a second.
We constantly preach to the world about the core American political philosophies of liberty and freedom. We constantly talk about the rights of the people and the idea of democracy. But do we need to begin to look internally? Do we need to get our own house in order before we preach to others?
Let’s face it, we as a country are divided as ever. Now, what’s interesting about this divide, it’s not really Democrat vs. Republican. It’s not necessarily right vs. left. It’s much bigger than that, and it is much more profound. It goes far beyond the normal ideological differences we may have.
And that’s why it is important to approach this episode with an open mind, because something big is brewing, and there are two very different visions for America right now.
So, in this episode, I’m going to analyze the question of whether we are really as free as we think. Then, I’m going to begin to get into the two different visions for America, and you need to decide which America you’d rather live in.
Are We Really Free?
So, have you had time to really ask yourselves how free we really are? In order to really examine that question, we need to break down what liberty and freedom actually mean.
That’s the interesting part. Since I was a little child, and since most of you were children, we’ve always talked about liberty and freedom. We’ve always valued those concepts. Many of us went through an education where we were constantly told that these are core principles of the United States. Of the American political philosophy.
Yet, many of us have no idea how to define these all-important concepts. If we really valued these core concepts so much, shouldn’t the definitions have been constantly reinforced throughout the years? Shouldn’t we be able to easily define them?
In any event, I’ll provide a refresher. Liberty is the natural condition of human beings wherein men and women exercise their free will responsibly in accord with the dictates of right reason and natural law.
Freedom is our ability to exercise our liberty without being hindered, restrained, targeted, or punished.
That’s it. It’s fairly easy to define. It’s fairly easy to understand.
While it’s easy to define and understand, since our country’s inception, there’s always been a conflict between liberty vs. order. There’s always been a question about the proper balance between liberty and order. Some have argued that too much liberty can lead to anarchy and chaos, and others argue that too much order leads to a police state.
It’s a balancing act, and there have been times in our history where we’ve leaned towards order and other times where we’ve leaned towards liberty. However, throughout the last century, we’ve seen this increasing push for order. We’ve seen this increasing push towards obedience and compliance, and so, are we really free?
Well, in order to answer this question, we have to take a look at how far we’ve moved on a variety of fronts. So, we’re going to start with the First Amendment.
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First Amendment Being Undermined
The most important Amendment, the First Amendment, is under continued assault and has been completely undermined over the last several years.
Take a look at the coordination between the government and the big tech oligarchs in order to censor millions of Americans, control the narrative, and end debate on a variety of topics.
Over the last several weeks, I have spoken about this at length so I’m not going to rehash it here, but the Biden administration has openly admitted to flagging social media post for the big tech giants to censor. They have now weaponized phrases like disinformation and misinformation in order to target political opponents. See, only the posts that go counter to certain narratives are deemed misinformation and disinformation.
Essentially, we are witnessing the implementation of speech controls throughout society. What you can and cannot say will be determined by the powers that be. There are certain topics that are very restricted where you have to carefully craft your post, so it won’t get censored.
This is all designed to control the debate. While this only exists on certain issues right now, like the coronavirus and the 2020 elections, how soon before it expands to other topics or issues?
And remember, this has been in development for years. In fact, Richard Stengel, a former Obama administration official, calls the idea of freedom of Speech a “design flaw.” (USA Today) He argues that because the internet amplifies voices, people should not be able to express their thoughts or opinions if that speech is deemed unacceptable by the powers that be. Stengel epitomizes the ruling class and what they think of the people. Freedom of Speech was just fine when only the ruling class had megaphones. However, since the internet gave voice to ordinary individuals, now Freedom of Speech is a problem.
He epitomizes the ruling class and believes people should not be able to express thoughts or opinions that may go against a particular narrative. Remember, these are the people who will judge what is deemed acceptable or unacceptable speech.
When it comes to censorship, these power-hungry fools are calling for massive censorship of anything that goes against their narrow-minded point of view. In a piece written by Harvard Law Professor Jack Goldsmith, he argues, “in the great debate of the past two decades about freedom versus control of the network, China was largely right and the United States was largely wrong” as “significant monitoring and speech control are inevitable components of a mature and flourishing internet, and governments must play a large role in such practices to ensure that the internet is compatible with society norms and values.” (The Atlantic)
This coordination between the government, the corporate giants, and big tech is not just concerning. It’s frightening.
Freedom of the Press
But it’s not just control of speech. It’s also control of the press. One of the hallmarks of a free society is a free press, but what happens when the government and the press become one in the same. For years, there was this wall between these institutions, and the press served as the fourth estate to be the watchdogs against government abuse.
Real journalists were able to put aside their personal political beliefs in a search for truth. Reporting on government abuse could make a journalist’s career. Then something happened. We witnessed a transformation in the press, and journalists throughout the industry morphed into full-blown political activists pushing an agenda as opposed to exposing the truth.
You have a number of big media outlets that work in tandem with the ruling class, and while the media worked hard to expose political corruption, now they openly and blatantly cover it up. That’s because of the revolving door between those who work in government, leave government service, join the media outlets as contributors and pundits, and then go back to work for the government.
The media has become indistinguishable from the government so how can we expect them to be honest purveyors of the news?
But that’s just part of the problem. We also have a government that has no qualms about monitoring members of the press and use tools within our law enforcement and intelligence communities to surveil members of the press they don’t like. Again, this is another troubling trend that has been going on for years and gets virtually ignored. At the very least, this has happened in the last four administrations.
Ask yourself, why would the government, and some of the most powerful agencies within the government, spy on members of the media? What would be the purpose or reasoning? Of course, these entities will say it’s to find leakers, but with all the leaks throughout the years, ask yourselves how many people have been prosecuted for leaks? It’s when you ask that question, you realize it has nothing to do with prosecuting leakers.
So, what other purpose would they have to spy on members of the media? Is it to instill fear in journalists? Is it for potential blackmail purposes? Who knows? It would be nice if we had a press that would actually ask questions. It would be nice if we had a Congress that actually provided oversight. It would be nice if officials who engage in the spying were actually held accountable.
We are now witnessing an all-out effort to take down those media outlets that do not conform to a particular narrative. The ruling class narrative. There are those who have begun to organize and coordinate campaigns to get media outlets de-platformed. If a media outlet can’t generate revenue, they’re out of business. It’s a nefarious tactic, and unfortunately, it works. They apply maximum pressure to the big tech platforms, and they relentlessly target advertisers until the revenue sources dry up.
And now you have the most frightening aspect of press controls where activists and officials within government are openly calling for news outlets to be taken off the air, particularly Fox News, and to a lesser degree, Newsmax.
This is insane and what they do in authoritarian countries. We don’t like what you’re saying so we’re going to pull your broadcasting license. Just the threat alone should send chills you’re your spine. It’s amazing how you have media outlets like CNN and MSNBC spewing nothing but propaganda clearly intending to push an agenda, and never once have I called for them to be taken off the air.
While no media outlets have been shut down just yet, the calls have grown louder, and if we don’t nip this in the bud now, it is only a matter of time before this actually happens.
Keep all this in mind and recognize freedom of the press is teetering on the brink.
Freedom of Religion
It’s not just freedom of speech and freedom of the press that’s under assault. It’s also freedom of religion. Over the course of the last 18-months, it was the government that dictated when, where, and how, we can practice our faith.
We all witnessed that during the lockdowns. Again, it goes further because people aren’t paying attention to bills that are being introduced.
Sticking with the First Amendment, what about Freedom of Religion. Once again, we don’t really have to look that hard. Just search the Do No Harm bill that was introduced in the 115th Congress and reintroduced in the current Congress. (Do No Harm)
This bill amends the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993. Now the Religious Freedom Restoration Act created a legal pathway for religious institutions to challenge government mandates, and the rules were quite simple. Three questions are asked. Has the federal government substantially burdened a person’s faith? If so, does the government have a compelling reason to burden the person’s faith? And has the government used the least restrictive means to achieve its goals?
If it was determined that a yes could be answered to these questions, the court would rule that the government mandate infringes on religious institutions.
The Do No Harm Bill strips away these exemptions from religious institutions.
The Right to Petition the Government
Let’s move on to the right to petition the government for redress or grievances. This is one of the fundamentals of all the freedoms enshrining our ability to stand up and speak out against government overreach, against policies that we feel violate our basic rights.
Over the last few years, we have witnessed those in power completely dismiss any concerns by We the Peasants, unless of course, it’s social justice or climate change.
Consider how you have been chastised to follow all of the coronavirus mandates even as those who put those mandates in place, have disregarded their own decrees. Just think about how former President Obama could have a huge party because he mingles with the sophisticated aristocracy, unlike the peasant class we belong to.
If you raised questions about the authoritarian decrees like masks, lockdowns, school closures, businesses, or anything else, you were ostracized as a selfish human being who wants to see people die. There was no debate. You weren’t allowed to question government policy. It was simply this is what the government wants to do, and this is what the government is going to do. If you don’t like it, too bad. Just shut up and obey.
None of these mandates were debated in the state legislative branches of Congress. They weren’t debated by those we elected to directly represent us. Instead, the legislatures abdicated their responsibilities and allowed the executive branches to operate with impunity.
If you were a business owner and dared to operate in order to keep your business afloat, you were punished. You may have gotten your permit pulled. You may have had to pay a hefty fine, and in some cases, you may have been arrested.
And it’s not just limited to the coronavirus or federal policy. Look at the school boards. Parents are raising legitimate concerns about Critical Race Theory and Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity programs. And how are those parents treated? They’re accused of being racist. They’ve had their microphones cut off. The Boards have shut down the meetings, and in at least one case I know, a few parents were arrested because they wouldn’t leave when the school board abruptly ended the community meeting. Some unions have been targeting any parents who express opposition to these curriculums. When you think about it, what country is this?
Then you have the National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism that deems anti-government and anti-authority sentiment unacceptable. They don’t define what constitutes anti-government or anti-authority, but if the last few years are any indication, it’s any opposition to the government and its policies.
Essentially, our First Amendment is under assault and continues to be undermined, but it’s not the only Amendment being undermined.
The Right to Privacy
Take the Fourth Amendment and our right to privacy. This to has been systematically undercut, and much of it began almost 20-years ago with the start of the War on Terror. The government has been conducting mass surveillance on just about every American by collecting all their electronic communications. No warrant is necessary, and it’s all done in secret.
The top intelligence officials routinely denied this was happening, until Edward Snowden and Glenn Greenwald revealed just how widespread and corrupt the program was. While some reforms have taken place, the government can still collect a staggering amount of information on Americans, including their electronic communications.
It’s not just the NSA. In fact, federal courts have chastised the FBI, and have stated that the FBI has routinely violated American’s Constitutional rights when it comes to the FBI’s surveillance activities. The federal courts have found that the FBI is illegally accessing the NSA repository for information on American citizens without obtaining warrants.
This is all publicly available information, yet where’s the punishment? Why hasn’t anyone been held accountable for this gross abuse? Where the hell is Congress who is supposed to be providing oversight?
But the government is also pretty sneaky, and they figured out a workaround. They have enlisted private corporations to serve as the government’s eyes and ears. They routinely collect information on their customers and then provide it to the government whenever the government makes a request. They don’t require the government to have a warrant. They freely turn the information over to the government. Not all corporations are doing this, but too many are, including big tech, but also financial institutions as well.
This is all laid out in the National Strategy. It’s not like it’s a secret.
Private Property
Another area where we see a clear violation of Constitutional rights is when it comes to private property. Last week, the CDC Director, Rochelle Walensky, issued the authoritarian decree to extend the eviction moratorium with the blessing of President Biden. This is clearly unconstitutional. First of all, in our government’s simplest form, under Article 1, Section 1 of the United States Constitution, it clearly states that all legislative powers, all law-making abilities, shall be vested in a Congress consisting of the House of Representatives and the United States Senate.
It doesn’t say that legislative powers shall be vested in the CDC director. It doesn’t say that legislative powers be vested in the President. It says Congress, and since Congress passed the eviction moratorium in the first place, only Congress has the power to extend it, and it is still Constitutionally suspect on whether Congress even had the authority to put an eviction moratorium in place.
What’s amazing is that the President himself all but admitted that Director Walensky’s order is unconstitutional. In perhaps one of the most cynical displays in American politics, the Biden administration put the new order in place believing that by the time the Supreme Court hears the case, the moratorium won’t be necessary anymore. Talk about the blatant disregard for the process. Blatant disregard for our institutions, and their roles and responsibilities. Blatant disregard for the system of checks and balances. This is a big middle finger to the Constitution.
And I’ll argue that an eviction moratorium is a clear violation of the 5th Amendment where landlords are being deprived of their own property. Understand that most landlords aren’t Uncle Pennybags from the Monopoly game. Most landlords aren’t these major corporate entities. Most landlords are ordinary people who work hard for their money. They are renting out a basement or a floor in their house. They may have taken out mortgages on their primary home to purchase a rental property.
Essentially, what the eviction moratorium has done is it created a vehicle where some people just stopped paying rent. When those people stop paying rent, it’s not like the landlord just gets to stop paying the mortgage. It’s not like the landlord gets to stop paying for insurance. It’s not like the landlord gets to stop paying property taxes. The landlord is still on the hook for all those bills.
And even when the moratorium does finally come to an end, what do you think is going to happen? Do you think all these people who stopped paying rent over a year ago are going to just cut a check to the landlord for the back rent they owe? It’s going to be a disaster, but we now set a precedent that essentially government gets to determine how you manage your own property.
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Indefinite Detention
Now let’s examine the lack of equal application of the law and what took place last summer, and in some places like Portland, continues to persist to this day. We saw last summer that you can riot, loot, commit assault, arson, and destroy property with impunity. But only if you’re doing it in the name of social justice. Most were never arrested, and even if someone was arrested, the odds are that the charges were dropped.
Now let’s look at how the January 6th rioters are being treated. This is the largest coordinated law enforcement investigation in the history of the United States. And I want you to understand that this is in no way defending the actions of anyone who destroyed or vandalized property. Anyone engaged in that behavior deserves to be prosecuted.
However, that’s not what’s happening. There are many people who never engaged in any violent behavior, who never committed any acts of vandalism or destroyed property, who are being arrested and detained.
Many of those who’ve been arrested have had bail requests denied, essentially leading to indefinite detention. We also know of several people who have been confined to solitary confinement for months.
This indefinite detention and solitary confinement clearly violate these individuals’ Constitutional Rights. This is a clear violation of the 5th, 6th, and 8th Amendments. Equal application of the law has now been weaponized for political purposes.
Freedom of Movement and Freedom of Association
Other rights that have been infringed upon are the ideas of freedom of movement and freedom of association. See our founders were geniuses, and they understood that as time goes on, the governments naturally become more powerful by restricting people’s fundamental liberties that weren’t specifically listed in Amendments 1-8.
At the behest of the anti-federalists, they included the 9th Amendment which states, “The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”
Throughout the years, the Supreme Court has validated this and found that unenumerated rights such as the freedom to travel and the freedom to associate with individuals fall within the parameters of the 9th Amendment. Interestingly enough, they have also ruled that the 9th Amendment includes our right to keep personal matters private and our right to make important decisions about our health and our bodies.
Since all these ties in with each other, let’s take a look at the government infringed on freedom of association. Consider that throughout the coronavirus, the government has routinely restricted people from associating with one another. Now, at the beginning of the coronavirus, when it comes to large gatherings, we accepted that because it made sense. You didn’t want hundreds of people gathering indoors and potentially spreading the virus.
But see, when you give a little to the government, they try and take more and more. We respected the initial order, but then the government became far more restrictive. It came to a point where the government was trying to issue decrees that no one from outside your household was allowed in your house, and in order to enforce this highly unconstitutional decree, some pathetic officials were encouraging neighbors to rat each other out. Truly disgusting.
But when it came to freedom of movement, it was even worse. Consider that the government determined which businesses were essential and which ones weren’t. They determined where you can and cannot go. Think back to a year ago and think how the roads were barren. Think about how the government was able to effectively stop most movement by the people unless it was to protest for social justice and to destroy cities.
And they’re still not done trying to control movements. Look at all the talk about vaccine passports. There are so many calling for vaccine passports to gain access to restaurants, bars, sporting events, grocery stores. You name it, and they want a vaccine passport to gain access to any aspect of outside life. These people even want to put the unvaccinated on no-fly lists as if they’re some sort of terrorists.
Think logically, for the last year we’ve been able to travel on planes. For 6-months before the vaccine came out, we were able to sit shoulder to shoulder and travel on planes for hours at a time. Now, they want the unvaccinated on no-fly lists. Just think about how authoritarian these people are.
It’s About Saving Lives
So, I’ll ask the question that I started off with- are we really a free people in the United States? Is America still the beacon of liberty and freedom it once was? The answer is complicated. It certainly can be, but unfortunately, we are heading down a path to authoritarianism. I just showed how just about every single one of the Amendments under the Bill of Rights is being violated. I didn’t talk about the 2nd Amendment, but that’s coming down the pike if we continue on this trajectory.
And when you question these pathetic tyrants, the public virtue signalers will scream that it’s about saving lives, and if you disagree with them, then you don’t care about human beings. You’re a horrible and selfish person.
If it really was about saving lives, I can say the government should do a whole host of things in the name of saving lives. IF it’s about saving lives, why not ban cigarettes, the single largest preventable death. It has the potential to save 485,000 each year.
If it was really about saving lives, why not ban alcohol. That has the potential to save 88,000 people per year.
Why not ban fast food? How many people die from obesity-related illnesses each year? In fact, obesity was one of the largest, if not the largest contributor to COVID deaths. So if it’s really about saving lives, then why not ban fast food and all the other processed food that Americans consume each and every day?
When I ask those questions, the public virtue signalers always come back and say, “Well, those people made an individual choice and decided to make bad lifestyle choices.”
But that’s a bunch of nonsense. The person that was killed by the drunk driver didn’t make the choice for that person to drink. The second that drunk driver gets on the road, they put other people’s lives in jeopardy.
What about the person who was exposed to secondhand smoke for a good part of their life, and develops cancer? I mean I grew up in an era where the parents would smoke in the car with the windows rolled up. Being at family parties, there was a cloud of smoke as all the kids were playing. They didn’t make the decision to smoke, yet they have to pay for it.
Or what about right now. We keep hearing the hospital is running out of hospital beds for COVID patients. So, imagine all those people who made bad lifestyle choices, aren’t they impacting others who didn’t?
What about the alcoholic or the obese person that dies at the age of 45, and their children then may need government assistance to survive? Isn’t that an obligation the taxpayers have to bear the burden?
I’m not really advocating for any of these things. I understand that free societies carry risks, and as a free society, I am willing to accept those risks. If you want to reduce risk, then become a police state.
Closing
We are living through a period where there are two completely different visions for the United States, and there is no middle ground. As I said before, it’s not a Democrat vs. Republican divide.
This is a divide between government authoritarianism vs. liberty and freedom. There is no middle ground, and you need to pick which side you’re on. Ordinary Americans can no longer sit on the sidelines.
One vision for America is the increasing push for government control and authority. It’s the idea that individuals are no longer capable of taking care of themselves or doing what’s in their best interest, and so the government must be the ones to make the decisions and take care of the people.
Essentially, the people become the products of the State, and the State is ultimately responsible for the people’s well-being. Sure, you may have more safety. You may have more security, but ultimately, you’re a prisoner to the State. You have no real control over your life. You have no real control over your decisions and the choices you make. Essentially, you have no control over the outcome of your life.
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Of course, many of these people would push back on me and say that we are in the middle of a crisis. They’ll scream there’s a pandemic going on, but do you notice they never say when enough is enough. I asked a question the other day. I asked what can’t the government do in a crisis? What are the limits of government power in a crisis? Not a single person provided an example of what they would consider government going too far. Not a single one.
See according to these people, the government’s power is unlimited when it comes to a crisis, but I want to remind everyone of history. History is replete with examples of free societies devolving into authoritarian societies during a crisis, and what happens when the crisis passes? Do you think that liberty and freedom are automatically restored, or do you think the society remained authoritarian? If you guessed the latter, you are correct.
The other vision is based on the individual. That the government exists to ensure equality of opportunity, but ultimately, we are the ones who decide the choices we make. We decide our outcome. It’s a society where we are reliant on ourselves and are not prisoners to the State and those who are in power. A society where anyone can achieve the impossible. A society where your future isn’t preordained by some government pencil neck, and no matter where you start from, you can achieve through grit, determination, and perseverance.
I know which vision I choose. The question is which one will you choose, and I’ll break these visions down even further within a week or so.
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