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Oct. 20, 2023 - Ron Paul Liberty Report
27:49
Is Venezuela joining the American Empire?

With major U.S. interventions in Ukraine and Israel, one must not forget that America interferes in the affairs of nations all over the world; with U.S. taxpayers on the hook for all of it. Meddling in Venezuela was in and out of the news this week. The U.S. agreed to decrease economic sanctions in exchange for Venezuela holding elections under international supervision, and of course, oil. Is this the proper role for the U.S. government?

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Venezuela's Complex Future 00:04:20
Hello, everybody, and thank you for tuning into the Liberty Report.
With us today, Chris Rossini, our co-host.
Chris, welcome to the program.
Good morning.
Great to be with you, Dr. Paul.
Very good.
Today, we're going to be talking about Venezuela.
They're joining us.
They might be ready to become part of our empire.
Who knows?
But all of a sudden, they're our friends.
We were running out of friends around the world.
I guess we had to go to Venezuela to look for one.
But that's a difficult, complex story, and we will be talking about it.
One thing I know about Venezuela, and I think we ran out of oil, and we had to go to the Venezuelans to give us some oil.
But they also have a gold mine down there, and it's supposed to be a significant amount of gold.
So maybe we have that lined up.
But anyway, that is an important issue, what's going on in Venezuela and why the sanctions were relieved.
So I want to, though, talk a little bit about gold.
It's up significantly right now, near 2000, and it's very robust.
But people would say, wow, wow, why didn't we talk about it?
Well, we talk about it on this program all the time.
And I've worked with Birch Gold for a long time, telling people, watch out, watch out.
But, you know, even though the gold has jumped significantly, in one way, I have mixed feelings about what will happen soon if we continue to do the silly things around the world.
And then there's a big crash and a big rush to gold.
And when that happens, when maybe gold would double in one day, who knows what could happen?
That would indicate the conditions are so severe.
So it may be that gold bugs will say, hey, this is wonderful because this is what's happening.
But then we'd have to deal with some severe problem.
Does that mean that you shouldn't protect yourself in gold because it might be rock and roll and it might be a mess and a messy situation?
No, it indicates that you have to still plan for the conditions that come when governments spend too much money and print too much money and they have a world reserve currency and it disturbs the market.
And then when you develop an empire and you want to run the world like we have, it can lead to a lot of problems.
This is the reason I work with Birch Gold is because they have anticipated and know that gold is significant.
No, it's not a perfect answer to all our problems.
I think that comes from an era, in an area where people have to learn and support the cause of liberty.
And the temporary reprieve and preparation for those tough times, as far as I'm concerned, comes with understanding precious metals.
And like I say, that's why I work with Birch Gold.
And they offer some material for you to see if you want to get more information.
And all you have to do is, you know, text a number, Ron, 989898.
And they'll send you some material and they can transfer your funds that you have now and in regular stock company companies.
And that can be done gracefully without dealing with taxes and a lot of other things.
But this is very important because I think if you're into gold, and I've been into gold, so to speak, ever since I anticipated and watched the gold, you know, when it be closed back in the 70s, but I'm still fascinated with it because it's an interesting subject, the monetary system throughout all history.
But it's also beneficial because I always learn from different people.
So that's why we offer this material.
If you want to catch up and stay abreast on what's going on with gold and how you can literally invest in the metal itself, the best thing for you to do right now would be text Ron 989898 and they will send you some material and help you out on that because it is one of the important issues.
Supply Issues Drive Prices Up 00:08:20
You know, there's a lot of ways we can prepare for a disastrous time and a lot of people are anticipating it.
And I think there's a lot of different ways, but monetarily and health-wise, it's the precious metals that the best way to go.
So once again, the number to go to, the text number is Ron 989898 and get some material from Birch Gold.
And Chris, we want to go ahead and talk a little bit now about Venezuela.
It's sort of pretty weird of what's going on here.
All of a sudden, Venezuela, they're our best friends, or we want to be friends again.
And it might be because our policies have failed.
But the irony, the big irony, Chris, that I see here is the Biden administration and the Republican administration in many areas are pretty bad too.
But I think there's no doubt that the Biden administration is real evil when it comes to having a policy dealing with oil and gasoline and the products like this.
So they have done so many dumb things.
Prices have soared.
Inflation does that.
Plus policy, closing down pipelines and getting involved in eliminating drilling.
But of course, then we started saying, well, we're short of oil and prices are going to go up.
Oh, we'll take the money from the special, you know, the strategic petroleum reserve in case we have a big emergency.
Oh, no, we'll use it now to keep the prices down.
So we've done all these things.
And now we're saying, you know, with the radical environmentalists controlling things and cutting off looking for oil and producing oil in this country, which used to be the world top producer, they all of a sudden say, we got to be careful.
We need more oil.
Do they talk about relieving sanctions on this?
You know, the American people, oh, no, we're going to move away from sanctions on Venezuela.
We need their oil.
I mean, it is so crazy.
How is that going to satisfy the radical environmentalists?
That's not going to satisfy them.
But the whole thing represents the silliness and the ridiculousness of the policies that we have internationally, putting on sanctions and punishing people and threatening them with violence.
And as long as they, you know, if they don't do what we want them to do.
So we're in the midst of it.
And that's also what's going that overall problems are the reason why we're in such a mess in the Middle East today.
But today, Chris, I want to talk a little bit more about Venezuela because I think it's such an example of how ridiculous our policies are.
That's right, Dr. Paul.
And, you know, as Americans, we're, you know, most people, unfortunately, they still watch the media and they're shown what they're supposed to be shown, whether it's Ukraine, Israel.
But let us not forget that our government interferes all over the world.
And just because you're not being shown, and this Venezuela was in and out of the news very quickly, most people, I'm sure, haven't even heard of it.
But let's not forget that our government is the busybody of the world.
They're the California and New York of the world, unfortunately.
And so, yeah, so Venezuela, that's another country that has been in the crosshairs, one of the black eyes of the Trump administration.
And, you know, relatively speaking, and it's a very low bar.
He was much better on foreign policy than everyone else, but he did back a coup in Venezuela that failed with Juan Guaido.
Some people, I'm sure, will remember that.
So that coup failed, and they went with economic sanctions, which are economic war, as we always talk about in this show.
And as always, it is the average people of that country that pay for the price and us too, because we pay for the empire.
But yeah, the average Venezuelan suffers from economic sanctions.
And that has is what has occurred.
It's good, I guess, if that some of the sanctions on oil are being removed.
That's a good thing.
Not all sanctions are being removed, just the ones that are going to help the United States.
They want oil.
And they had to come up with something, I guess.
And apparently, Venezuela is going to hold elections under international supervision.
So it's the whole democracy and freedom thing angle.
So we'll see how this goes.
We'll talk about democracy a little bit in the show, too.
Very good.
You know, the bottom line for most of the consumers is, you know, how much am I paying for gasoline at the pump?
And how much is my electric bill?
And they usually stop there, but there are so many variables.
You know, first of all, one of the things that defines the value, the cost of our energy and oil is the supply and demand.
You know, if there's a lot of production and this can compensate for the demand and keep prices stable in a free market.
So the supply and demand of oil, but that's been interfered with tremendously under Biden, you know, by decreasing production here at home.
And with the supply not being altered that much around the world, you could expect prices to go up and have shortages.
But they also, there's a problem of regulations.
You know, Biden comes in with all these regulations.
So if he puts the regulations on, of course, they're going to cost money, cause a shortage, interfere with supply and demand.
And that's a big contributing cause for what we have to face.
And most of that stuff is applied for us.
So the other thing that most people know about and are aware of it to a degree is that is the inflation of the money supply because the value goes down and costs are going up.
So that's involved there.
So it isn't as complex as, well, we just need the government to send us a check to tide us over for our electric, you know, our fuel bill.
So this is something that could be made much worse by the government.
And believe me, it has made it that much worse.
So I think it's important that people do understand this so that we can get to the bottom of it.
And it's interference.
It's interference by our government.
And isn't it so ironic that we put all these sanctions on countries around the world?
And, you know, we did it to Russia and other countries.
And they did suffer to a degree, but a lot of them did quite well.
You know, they went around it.
And what I see, Chris, is that these sanctions and limitations have backfired on us.
Here we are begging for more oil.
We're putting all these sanctions On other countries, and it just may be that the American consumer is suffering the most.
And certainly, the inflation is going to be due to her American consumers because it's the dollar that's being used, and the prices will go up.
And it'll be our middle class that gets hit.
So, as bad as the has these sanctions have hurt a lot of people around the world, and the Venezuelan people suffered from this.
But for us to be so bold and say, Well, they're having clean elections right now, and this is pretty, pretty good, and there's going to be election reforms.
So, we need to back off a little bit.
Now, they're backing off because there's too much political resentment against not having all these regulations by the far left.
Leaders Tell Business to Mind Its Own 00:15:00
That will change because eventually people will wake up and say, Why are we doing this?
So, in other words, Chris, my bottom line for this little spiel is that all these regulations and do-good movements to spread democracy on the world backfires.
And right now, the American people are suffering and they're going to continue to suffer from it.
Yeah, and this whole freedom and democracy thing, you know, we've heard it so many times, and people unfortunately have equated the two: that freedom and democracy are the same.
It's not, democracy is a way of choosing leaders.
But I always contend that it's not the important part, it's not how leaders are chosen, but what the leaders can do.
And that's the important part.
You know, in America, our leaders are supposed to follow the law, the supreme law of the land, the U.S. Constitution.
They all put their hand up and swear that that's what they're going to do.
And unfortunately, it becomes their first official lie while in office because they don't follow it.
You know, they only follow it when they are forced to and they can't get away with what they want to do.
And, you know, so it doesn't really matter how you're choosing your leaders.
What matters is, are they going to take away your liberties?
Does it matter if it's a democracy, if they're going to take away all your freedom?
You know, I say that it doesn't.
You know, before I'll say 1913, before the income tax, most people didn't even have any connection with the federal government, maybe the post office.
But once that income tax and that hand went into every pocket of every person in the country, now everybody's tied to that federal government.
And, you know, if the leaders followed the laws, it really wouldn't matter who they were.
It wouldn't matter if it's Trump, Biden, Obama, Hillary, because they're following the law.
Who cares who they are, what their views are?
They have to follow the law.
But since they don't, you know, that's a big problem, whether it's a democracy or not.
And think about our democracy these days.
You know, I don't vote in Republican or Democrat, but I'm an observer, and I see that both sides now don't accept that the other person won.
They didn't accept that Trump won.
They, you know, claim Putin pulled the lever for everybody.
And Trump also, when Biden won, claims that he didn't win.
So, you know, if you can't even, if and that's where it gets dangerous when neither side will accept that the other won.
So that's why this whole democracy equals freedom is a myth.
And, you know, obviously, with decade after decade of failed wars bringing democracy to the Middle East and here and there, it all failed.
They all just, you know, we go and bomb them and they kick us out because they're sick of us.
You know, it's, it's, it's, we should be worrying about our own leaders in our own home following the rules.
That would be a much better thing than trying to spread freedom and democracy.
So simple and clear, and yet so confusing that we never give it serious consideration.
And I think the problems that we give to and develop and give it to ourselves, they're not complex either.
So it's the use of arbitrary force and telling other people what to do.
And the solutions can be simple too.
Just quit doing it.
Things would be better.
Blanken, the Secretary of State this week, made a comment about Venezuela.
And he said that the Treasury Department in Osmond was, quote, consistent. with our longstanding commitment to provide sanctions relief in response to concrete steps toward competitive elections and respect for human rights and fundamental freedom.
Oh, I see.
Now they're being good Democrats, you know, an American type of freedom.
So it's moving right along.
And I keep thinking, but it wasn't going to be complete and total.
But because we're doing this, and I keep thinking, they're having competitive election.
Well, you know, there's a few people in this country that still are concerned about our election.
One of those individuals is myself, because there's so much evidence that I think counting, you know, the elections go very well.
A lot of people vote, but to count the votes and find out whether they're legal votes is a different story.
So I think for us to be the model of the world, and, you know, I was watching politics and listening about politics since 1948 when Johnson stole the Senate race in Texas, which led his ability to become president of the United States.
So I don't think we're the example for the rest of the world.
And respect for human rights, sure.
Well, we have a Department of Justice and FBI.
Oh, they're clean and they are responsible individuals and everybody gets a fair shake in the courts.
And if you're unlucky and you get and you're a tourist at the Capitol on January 6th, that's beside the point.
You should be careful where you're walking.
So for us to be bragging about that and say, thank goodness they're like us now.
Well, I don't know, but we have a long way to go before we can be the example of the world.
And they claim also that the Venezuelan and their leaders now are saying that they're saying that they have made some progress and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
But I just don't see how that can work when it's all fiction.
I think it's so much talk, which is generally the case in what the politicians do.
And in this case, it is really weird that we're using our rhetoric on how wonderful we are.
And, you know, I've talked that way many times about setting examples.
They say, well, if you don't send our troops out there and lecture them and put on sanctions, how are they going to become like us and believe in freedom?
I would say that if it's worth its salt, if freedom is worth its salt, like in our early history, that our Constitution was well respected and known around the world.
And it was an example, imperfect as it was, it was an example for the rest of the world to move in the direction of more personal liberty.
So yes, you can have an influence, but this is not the way to do it.
It's for us to look inward and do the job instead of regulating our companies and then telling you Venezuela what they can do until we need their oil.
And then we'll say, well, we won't have as many, we won't punish you so much.
We won't put as many sanctions on there.
To me, it's one of the most ridiculous ideas of international policy that you can think about.
And that's also the reason why I think our standing around the world is being diminished.
Very good, Dr. Paul.
I will finish up with my closing thoughts.
Yeah, we're talking about Venezuela today, and I'm going to be very honest.
I know very little about Venezuela.
I know very little about their politics, their government.
Why is that?
Because I am an American.
That's not my government.
My government is the American government.
And when you watch the Liberty Report, our job is to keep our government in check, you know, and point out when they are violating the Constitution, which they make it very easy for us to do.
Now, I'm not just an American.
I'm also a member of the Rossini family.
You know, in my neighborhood, there are families.
When I look down this way, this way, there are families and homes.
And if you go a few doors down, I don't even know their names.
And I don't know what goes on in their household.
I don't know if the father is a dictator or if the mother is the matriarch and tells everybody what to do.
I don't know if they sit around a dinner table and have a democracy and vote on everything that happens in that household.
It's not my business to do that.
And if I was to go a few doors down, like our government does around the world and tell them this is how you're going to live, they would kick me out.
And that's what other countries do to our government.
They kick us out.
And I would do the same if another family came and tried to tell our family how to live.
You know, it's not everything is supposed to be your business or my business.
We have to handle what has been given to us, what is in front of us to handle.
But that is a very hard thing, especially for America, especially after 100 years.
You think that the whole world is your oyster that you have to go and fix according to how you think it should be fixed.
And it's a grand illusion that does not work.
It has bankrupted us.
It has caused immeasurable suffering around the world, including our standard of living going down the drain.
So enough is enough.
We have to take care of what is in front of us, what is actually in our power to control, and we would be in a much, much better America.
Very good, Chris.
You know, I think this issue deals with the subject of free trade.
Free trade scares a lot of people.
They argued and talked about that even when our country was being established.
A lot of people think that if you have free trade, everybody will take advantage of us.
Yes, yes, if there's a declared war and an endorsement of a war that the people had a say in through their Congress, yes, there could be.
And I would accept the idea that, of course, if you're declared war, that there could be some restriction.
But basically, ever since 1945, this just goes on and on.
We have price controls and tell people what to do.
But I see this, it's an economic and a foreign policy issue, but it's also a fundamental freedom principle, too, that deals with free trade.
I believe that when people work and earn money, it's their money.
It's not the government to be able to tell us what we can spend and how we can spend it.
And I think that means that the people are not slaves to the government and are guided and told what they can do.
But they do this and if they get told what to do, what they can buy.
Well, we have to protect industries.
We have to protect the shoe industry or the car industry, which we've done over the years.
But what they're doing is interfering with those individuals who earned money.
It's in the bank and they want to buy a pair of shoes or some other item.
And they say, well, I want to buy some shoes from China.
Oh, no, no, no, that's bad.
That's bad.
So you have to take away the civil liberties of the individual on how he spends his money.
So free trade is based on people being allowed to spend their money where they make the make the best deal.
And I think with the exception of a declared war that in these other areas, you can boycott, you can do a lot of things.
You know, everybody's complaining about China.
They have all this money and they're investing and doing all this.
But, you know, where did China get all this money?
They got it from us.
Because we buy their stuff and what you want to do, eliminate it and tell everybody what they can buy and sell.
But that's essentially what we're in and that's why we get this management style, that if people don't do as whack, exactly as we, the empire, uh operators, tell them to, we'll put on sanctions, financially or or in trade, and that leads to trouble, it leads to hostility and we're in a mess because our economy is not nearly as strong as they pretend it to be, and we're on a road to disaster.
When you think about deficits and a national debt of 33 trillion trillion dollars, this this is this can't last, so it it should be.
Go back to the freedom of the individual to live his life as he so choose, and that would include the fact that, not only in economic area, you're allowed to do that.
Everything, social and religious as long as you're not hurting other people, you can do what you want.
Oh, you can't do that.
They might do something bad.
Well, you know, doing something bad is very arbitrary, because sometimes restricting people to live their own life as they please is doing something very bad, and also, and very importantly is uh, we should stay out of the business of telling other countries how they should run their affairs and that we shouldn't be in these international bodies.
You know whether it's uh.
The League OF Nations was rejected, the United Nations came in and let me tell you you could be a long list of how the, the United Nations, has aggravated things.
They didn't prevent a war within a short, very short period of time.
First thing trumpet did.
It says we're going to war in Korea.
Oh oh yeah oh, you're not allowed to do that.
You need a declaration.
Oh no, this is not exactly a war, this is a police action and it's been on and on.
And just thinking about how much killing has been going on since World War Ii, without because we avoid this whole subject of using the constitution uh, as a guideline on how we should run our operations.
But I believe there's a lot of people waking up.
I think Covet backfired on the people who put on the sanctions, because the American people are wary of that and they know what could come again.
So in the same way with the uh inflation.
But there's a lot of ignorance out there too, because they've been pumped up with propaganda coming out of our universities and the establishment and, believe me uh, people get.
People will respond to being scared and intimidated, and that's what our government does.
Scare them to death, that's right, and make them fearful and they, they will obey, and if you don't do it, call them unpatriotic.
They won't go along with the wars if you don't send money To every country, both sides of all the wars, then you're unpatriotic.
You're not defending our interests.
Well, I know how to defend our interests, whether it's personal taxes of the individual or us as a country.
It's just mind our own business.
We don't need to be the policeman of the world.
And even in recent years, presidents have run on that issue.
We shouldn't be the policeman of the world.
And when they get in office, that's exactly what they want to do.
So I think we know what the idea is.
The founders knew about it.
We have a guideline.
All I want to do is encourage people to look seriously at a non-interventionist society in the area of economics, personal liberty, and in foreign policy.
I want to thank everybody for tuning in today to the Liberty Report.
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