The “S” word - secession - seems to be brought up with more and more frequency lately. Most recently we have seen counties in rural Virginia exploring the possibility of seceding from the state and joining West Virginia. We are seeing similar movements in Northern California and rural counties in Oregon. While those are wonderful developments, the larger question regarding secession is the idea of entire states seceding from the United States and essentially establish their own nation.

The idea of state secession picks up steam with every passing year as the federal government - the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches AND the federal bureaucracy - continues to enlarge its power base well beyond its enumerated powers in the Constitution.

In this episode, I will introduce you to the concept of secession, discuss some of the current and past secession movements and walk you through three reasons why secession is not only desirable but necessary. In Episode #88 we will discuss how secession is justified and rebut most of the arguments against it.

Show Notes:

American Secession: The Looming Threat of a National Breakup, F.H. Buckley

Mises Institute:

• Secession in Virginia Woudl Defuse State's Conflict Over Guns
• Why Governments Hate Secession
• Three Reason Why More Secession Means More Freedom
• Why Rothbard Wanted Radical Decentralization

Tom Woods Podcast:

• Ep. 52 - Secede!
• Ep. 82 - Walter Williams on Nullification, Secession, and More
• Ep. 196 - Secession, the South, and the Modern State Donald Livingstone
• Ep. 261 – Progressive Case for Secession
• Ep. 326 – What Tom Told the Washington Post about Secession
• Ep. 796 – Secession is moronic
• Ep. 1332 – Should Libertarians Support Secession?
  
• Ep. 1565 – Decentralization and Secession: Jeff Deist on the Only Way Forward
  
• Ep. 1575 – American Secession: Potential of National Breakup?

The Brion McClanhan Show:

• Episode 169 – Secession and Reconciliation
  
• Episode 293 – How Would Secession Work?

Secession is for Morons

Secession is a Solution for Deep Political Division

Ron Paul: Thoughts on Secession

Credit Suisse: The Success of Small Countries

Greater Idaho Conservatives Oregon want 22 Rural Counties Secede and Become Part Idaho

Truth Quest Podcast:

• Episode #19 - The Truth About Elections and Washington, D.C.
• Episode #23 - The Truth About Nullification
• Episode #88 - The Truth About Secession - Part II

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We cover a lot of ground in this episode: starting with President Trump’s call for a prohibition of late-term abortion in his State of the Union Address. We then move on to discuss the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade opinion. Then we discuss some very instructive verbal jousting on Facebook about abortion and, finally, we address the misnomer known as "Pro-Choice”.

Buckle your seat belts and don't be shy letting me know if you think my analysis goes astray.

Show Notes:

Truth Quest Podcast Episodes

• Episode #2 – The Truth About Abortion – What about the Baby?
• Episode #16 – The Truth about the Supreme Court 
• Episode #23 – The Truth About Nullification
• Episode #33 - The Truth About Abortion – Part II - Mental Gymnastics
• Episode #46 - The Truth About Roe v. Wade - Sick and Twisted
• Episode #47 - The Truth About Roe v. Wade - What They Don't Tell You
• Episode #85 - The Truth About the State of the Union Address

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If you ask the average American their impression of Edward Snowden, you are likely to hear him portrayed as a villain; he is a traitor to the country and should be tried for treason. A growing minority, however, view him as a hero for exposing the illegal and unconstitutional mass surveillance program which was implemented shortly after the terrorist attack on September 11.

In this episode, we examine the Snowden saga with an eye toward what it teaches us about the Constitution.

Show Notes:

My Life as a NewYork Times Reporter in the Shadow of the War on Terror

Presidents Surveillance Program Worked with Private Sector to Collect Data After Sept 11

Edward Snowden and Turnkey Tyranny

Edward Snowden on the Joe Rogan podcast

Permanent Record, by Edward Snowden

Truth Quest Podcast Episodes:

• Episode #3 – The Truth About the Constitution
• Episode #37 – The Truth About the Bill of Rights
• Episode #42 - The Truth About Julian Assange
• Episode #46 - The Truth About Roe v. Wade - Sick and Twisted
  
• Episode #47 - The Truth About Roe v. Wade - What They Don't Tell You
  

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Welcome to the inaugural Truth Quest Podcast month in review. In this short episode, we walk through the biggest news items from last month, September 2019.

Show Notes

Truth Quest podcasts:

• Episode #27 - The Truth About the Federal Reserve - An Intro
• Episode #28 - The Truth About the Federal Reserve - The Results
  

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Recently the Supreme Court issued an opinion regarding the Trump Administration’s effort to put a citizenship question on the 2020 census. We've been told by leading Democrats that the inclusion of the question is an effort to marginalize minorities, scare immigrants and, as Nancy Pelosi said, “making America white again.”

But what is the truth (and history) of this question and the census?

Show Notes:

• Trump's Citizenship Question Isn't Controversial: Obama Deleting It Should've Been
• The American Public Overwhelmingly Supports a Citizenship Question on 2020 Census Comments
• Poll: Majority Say the Census Should be Able to Include Citizenship Question

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It bothers me immensely when politicians and talking heads propose intellectually lazy and dishonest policies that they know will do more harm than good. Then your friends, family and the faceless, and often nameless, folks on social media jump on the bandwagon. Their prescriptions are not based on principles (or so I thought) rather, they appear to be based on party (or group think).

I am no longer willing to cut these folks any slack because they can easily spend a few minutes on an Internet search and read multiple sides of any argument or policy. They can easily spend a few minutes trying to determine what the truth is.

Why then does this phenomonon exist? Why do those who subscribe to this form of public policy advocacy resort to low-ball tactics when it comes to the treatment of their ideological foes? You know: name-calling, violence, vilification, shutting down the speech of dissenters, mocking, de-platforming, boycotting, and censorship!

After much reflection and study, I believe these people are, indeed, principle-driven. That principle is winning - - - winning at all costs. Nothing else explains this behavior.

Show Notes:

William Watkins – The New Absolutes

Pritical Thinking - Amazon

Pritical Thinking - eBooks

Michael Malice - The New Right

Truth Quest Podcast Episodes:

• Episode #4 - The Truth About Minimum Wage
• Episode #7 -The Truth About Climate Change
• Episode #31 - The Truth About Socialism - Part I
• Episode #32 - The Truth About Socialism - Part II
• Episode  #33 - The Truth About Abortion - Mental Gymnastics

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Do you ever question the amount of time and energy spent fretting about the politics coming out of Washington D.C.? The Founding Fathers never thought that the average American would spend much time pondering the goings-on in D.C. After all, the federal government's power was constitutionally restricted. In this brief episode, I suggest an alternative to our seemingly unending focus on all things D.C.

Show Notes:

• Washington D.C. is Beyond Reform, Focus on Your State

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Order a copy of Shawn's books - Pritical Thinking, The Proverbs Project, The Termite Effect.

This episode is available on Thinkspot and YouTube.

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The reason the American healthcare system is in such a mess is because of decades of government intervention and the third-party payer system. If we reduce government involvement and bring back capitalistic, free market principles, conditions will improve; it’s almost guaranteed. In a nutshell, real healthcare reform can be accomplished by encouraging a patient-centered, market-based system that eliminates or, at least, minimizes government involvement in the system.

True to the title of this episode, I will walk you through some concrete examples of how the American healthcare system can be reformed.

Show Notes:

How to Reform Health Care in America

When Health Insurance Works: A Look Inside Switzerland's Healthcare System

Repealing Obamacare Won't Fix the Healthcare Mess

The Evil-Mongering of the American Medical Association

Fee.org

• Healthcare Sharing Ministries
• Three Ways Regulations Make Healthcare More Expensive
• Why Doctors Should be Certified Like Airline Pilots

Mises.org

• Stop Hating High Deductible Health Plans
• The Problem with Government Licensing Schemes
• Not Every Health Condition is Insurable
• How to Rollback Bad Health Care Laws

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There are a lot of things wrong with the Obamacare law passed in 2010. Besides the fact that the law is unconstitutional, I outline four other things that are wrong with it:

#1 - The way the law was drafted

#2 - The way the law was passed

#3 - The way the law was upheld by the Supreme Court

#4 - The consequences of the law

Show Notes:

• If Obamacare Is Constitutional, then Why Did the Founding Fathers Bother with a List of Enumerated Powers?
• Healthcare is Not a Federal Power
• Would You Prefer Privatization or a Death Panel?
• Obamacare and the Odious Anti-Constitutionalism of Chief Justice John Roberts
• Good Morning Liberty Podcast - Obamacare Back in Court: What's Happening and What Needs to be Done?

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Order a copy of Shawn's books, Pritical Thinking,The Proverbs Project, The Termite Effect.

The video of this episode is available on Thinkspot, YouTube and on BitChute.com.

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