Weekly Report - War Abroad and Authoritarianism at Home

0:00Hello, everybody, and thank you for tuning in to the weekly report. War abroad at authoritarianism at home. War is the hell of the state. That phrase, coined by Randolph Bonn, explains why opposition to war is a priority of many libertarians. War allows governments to increase spending, taxes, and regulations in order to feed the war machine. Wars can justify measures that remain in place long after the war is in. A example of this is the income tax withholding that was created to fund World War II. The use of war as a justification for increased interference in the market is reason enough

1:03for libertarians to oppose war. However, war also enables the government to violate liberty during the civil war. President Lincoln suspended habeas corpus, shut down newspapers, and instituted a military draft. The draft was also used in World Wars I and II, as well as Korea and Vietnam. During the World War I, Congress passed the Seticians Act, outlawing criticism of the government. Wide spread violation of liberty or a hallmark of the ongoing war on terror, an infamous example of war being used to justify violations of liberty is the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. Given this history, it is not surprising that the Iran war may lead to crackdowns on

2:09free speech. Following criticisms of the media's coverage of the Iran War by President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Federal Communications Commission, FCC, Chairman Brendan Carr, made a post on Twitter telling broadcast networks that the FCC has the power to revoke their broadcast licenses if they do not fulfill their responsibility to act in the public interests. This was clearly a threat to revoke the license of any broadcast network whose coverage of the war displeases the Trump administration. Threatening to use the FCC's power to shut down broadcast networks that the President dislikes is a blatant violation of the First Amendment by Chairman Carr.

3:10My car may think that he can get a court to approve revoking a broadcaster's license for its war coverage by claiming it is endangering national security. This would hardly be the first time the government's use national security as an excuse to censor its critics. Once the U.S. is waging the Iran War in collaboration with Israel and the Trump administration supports defining criticism of Israel as anti-Semitism. It is not out of the realm of possibility that opposition to the war will be labeled as anti-Semitic hate speech and be banned. Times of American troops are being deployed to the Middle East. With no end to the war in sight and the U.S. military taking on the task of ensuring

4:15oil tankers have safe passage through the strait of our moves, the U.S. military may soon need a major increase in troops. White House Press Secretary Caroline Levin has refused to rule out the possibility that President Trump may reinstate the draft. The fiscal year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act makes implementing the draft easier than ever before by automatically registering every 18-year-old man with the Selective Service. The draft assumes rights or gifts from the government that can be revoked at the whim of government. Violations of liberty come along with wars. Therefore, opposition to wars unrelated to the legitimate security needs in the country

5:17must be a priority for all who value liberty. Thanks for listening.