MCViewPoint

Opinion from a Libertarian ViewPoint

Boris Johnson Says Ukrainian Nationalists Prevented Zelensky From Making Peace With Putin in 2019

Posted by M. C. on March 19, 2025

The reason Johnson’s statement is so important is he is admitting that war could have been prevented.

At the Institute, we have thoroughly documented all the opportunities to end the war in Ukraine that were rejected or prevented, not by Putin, but Zelensky, Ukrainian neo-Nazis, or Ukraine’s Western backers.

-Kyle Anzalone

In a conversation on the TRIGGERnometry podcast, former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson explained that Ukrainian President Zelensky attempted to make a deal with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in 2019, but was prevented from doing so by Ukrainian nationalists.

“You got to remember that Zelensky is not an unreasonable guy. He got elected really as a peacenik. [In] 2019, he tried to do a deal with Putin, as far as I can remember, his basic problem was that, you know, the Ukrainian nationalists couldn’t accept the compromise.”

The event in question was documented by Alex Rubinstein and Max Blumenthal:
 



“Back in October 2019, as the war in eastern Ukraine dragged on, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to Zolote, a town situated firmly in the ‘gray zone’ of Donbas, where over 14,000 had been killed, mostly on the pro-Russian side. There, the president encountered the hardened veterans of extreme right paramilitary units keeping up the fight against separatists just a few miles away.

Elected on a platform of de-escalation of hostilities with Russia, Zelensky was determined to enforce the so-called Steinmeier Formula conceived by then-German Foreign Minister Walter Steinmeier which called for elections in the Russian-speaking regions of Donetsk and Lugansk.

In a face-to-face confrontation with militants from the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion who had launched a campaign to sabotage the peace initiative called ‘No to Capitulation,’ Zelensky encountered a wall of obstinacy.

With appeals for disengagement from the frontlines firmly rejected, Zelensky melted down on camera. ‘I’m the president of this country. I’m 41 years old. I’m not a loser. I came to you and told you: remove the weapons,’ Zelensky implored the fighters.

Once video of the stormy confrontation spread across Ukrainian social media channels, Zelensky became the target of an angry backlash.

Andriy Biletsky, the proudly fascist Azov Battalion leader who once pledged to ‘lead the white races of the world in a final crusade…against Semite-led Untermenschen,’ vowed to bring thousands of fighters to Zolote if Zelensky pressed any further. Meanwhile, a parliamentarian from the party of former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko openly fantasized about Zelensky being blown to bits by a militant’s grenade.”




The reason Johnson’s statement is so important is he is admitting that war could have been prevented.

At the Institute, we have thoroughly documented all the opportunities to end the war in Ukraine that were rejected or prevented, not by Putin, but Zelensky, Ukrainian neo-Nazis, or Ukraine’s Western backers.

Be sure to read Ted Snider’s weekly articles, often discussing the sabotaged peace opportunities in Ukraine. And of course, the most thought retelling of events, Scott Horton’s Provoked.

To ensure that we can continue to debunk NATO propaganda, donate to the Institute today. If you make a significant contribution to our ongoing spring fund drive, you can receive a signed copy of Scott’s book.

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The Looming Collapse of Saudi Arabia | Thomas Sowell

Posted by M. C. on March 14, 2025

Thomas Sowell

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The Marine Corps Informs Senate That Ukraine War Is Impacting Readiness

Posted by M. C. on March 14, 2025

The US is struggling to supply a provincial kleptocracy.

I can’t wait to do battle against China and Russia simultaneously!

https://www.zerohedge.com/military/marine-corps-informs-senate-ukraine-war-impacting-readiness

Tyler Durden's Photo

by Tyler Durden

The United States Marine Corps has warned that the constant support it has provided to Ukraine’s military over the last three years of war has significantly drained its own supplies and could impact war readiness. This was the testimony of the second highest-ranked Marine, Gen. Christopher Mahoney (assistant commandant of the Marines), to a Senate subcommittee on Wednesday.

“The Marine Corps has provided over $2 billion [replacement cost about $5 billion] in equipment and munitions to the Armed Forces of Ukraine via PDA presidential drawdown authority],” Mahoney said in his opening statement.

Image: Department of Defense

Replacement and reimbursement for these inventory losses are needed to rebuild the depth of magazine needed to gain and maintain lost proficiency,” the General added.

He emphasized that “significant challenges” remain the meet production demands needed to replenish Marine Corps arms and equipment handed over to Ukraine:

“Though some funds have been reimbursed through PDA replenishment funds, the defense industrial base (DIB) faces significant challenges in meeting production demands for replenishment.”

Mahoney continued, “New procurement lead times delay replenishment, as existing programmed deliveries take priority. To mitigate impacts, the Marine Corps has adjusted training allocations and inventory management.”

See the rest here

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Tariffs are Theft

Posted by M. C. on March 12, 2025

Tariffs are paid by US businesses that wish to sell the imported product. In other words, the cost for products with foreign content is paid by US.

The Ron Paul Liberty Report

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The War Machine Is Always Hungry-Kyle Anzalone

Posted by M. C. on March 11, 2025

“The military industrial complex demands about $50 billion per year in war. As soon as we quit spending $50b per year in Afghanistan, we started spending $50b per year in Ukraine. Watch where the next $50b per year goes when we stop sending it to Ukraine. The MIC is always hungry.”

The Debrief – Libertarian Institute

America’s best lawmaker, Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, offered a key foreign policy insight rarely ever uttered by a US politician. Washington, he said, always keeps at least one war going in order to feed the sprawling Military-Industrial Complex – which stands to rake in vast sums of taxpayer money from deadly conflicts abroad.

In a banger social media post on Monday morning, Massey wrote:

“The military industrial complex demands about $50 billion per year in war. As soon as we quit spending $50b per year in Afghanistan, we started spending $50b per year in Ukraine. Watch where the next $50b per year goes when we stop sending it to Ukraine. The MIC is always hungry.”

His observation is important. Sure, we can pressure the War Party to wind down an intervention every now and then; however, the White House is constantly agitating for the next one, keeping the war machine well fed.

In the halls of power in Washington, virtually everyone calling to end US involvement in Ukraine or the Middle East is only doing so to allow the Pentagon to prepare for a coming war with China over Taiwan.

We need real reform in the US foreign policy establishment, which must abandon all pretensions to Empire. It’s time to close the hundreds of overseas bases, bring the troops home, and stop squandering trillions of Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars on disastrous foreign adventures.

At the Institute we are dedicated to this mission. We see a bright future possible for America if we can break the hold the MIC has long had over our government. Help us make it a reality.

In the News
• After Washington’s successful decade-long effort to remove Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from power in Damascus, Senator Lindsey Graham says the US-backed jihadists that now rule the country are causing more concern than ever.

• Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that President Donald Trump’s proposal to remove all Palestinians from Gaza and build refugee cities in other Arab states is gradually coming together.

Liberty Listening
 
On Conflicts of Interest, I discuss the latest from Ukraine and the Middle East, including President Donald Trump’s efforts to pressure his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky to finally hold elections after a lengthy wartime hiatus.

• Regular Institute contributor Bill Buppert delves into the murky world of private military contractors on the latest episode of WarNotes.

Read more at the Institute
 
Can Putin Be Negotiated With? Yes

In my latest op-ed, I argue that the war in Ukraine could’ve been ended through a negotiated settlement long ago. It’s not clear Washington truly wants that, however.

“Before the invasion and in the early months of the war, Putin made serious offers to both Washington and Kiev to allow eastern and southern Ukraine to remain under Kiev’s control if the country agreed not to join NATO.

The Joe Biden administration outright refused to negotiate on those terms, even if they were acceptable to Kiev. Preventing those talks from occurring first provoked the Russian invasion, then prevented it from ending within a few months.”
No Donald Trump, America Was Not ‘Always Free’

The great Jim Bovard pushes back on recent comments from Trump insisting the USA has always been a bastion of individual liberty, recounting a number of grave exceptions to that claim.

“Americans are indoctrinated in government schools to presume that our national DNA practically guarantees we will always be free. But few follies are more perilous than presuming that individual rights are safe in perpetuity. None of the arguments on why liberty is inevitable can explain why it is becoming an endangered species. Presuming that freedom is our destiny lulls people against political predators.

Sorting out the absurdities in Trump’s “always be free” assertion is like peeling a political onion.”
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A Lone Voice of Principle in a Sea of Hypocrisy

Posted by M. C. on March 11, 2025

It is the same Republican Party that weaponized debt concerns under Obama, only to balloon spending under Trump, Biden, and every administration before them. They do not fear big government; they fear accountability.

Massie’s vote is a reminder that true liberty will never come from the two-party duopoly. He is carrying the spirit of Ron Paul and the founding principles of this country on his back while the GOP, the self-proclaimed “party of limited government,” turns against him. 

From The Libertarian Party Newsletter

While Republicans campaign on promises of fiscal conservatism, Thomas Massie has once again proven he is one of the only members of Congress who truly means it. By standing firm and pledging to vote against the latest Continuing Resolution (CR), Massie refuses to play along with the never-ending expansion of government that both major parties enable. 

Yet instead of being applauded, he is now under attack. Not just from Democrats, but from his own party and even Donald Trump himself.

Stand with us as we stand with Thomas Massie! >>>

This is the same Donald Trump whose supporters just celebrated mass audits of government waste, fraud, and abuse, yet now advocate for kicking the can down the road and continuing to fund that very corruption.

It is the same Republican Party that weaponized debt concerns under Obama, only to balloon spending under Trump, Biden, and every administration before them. They do not fear big government; they fear accountability.

Massie’s vote is a reminder that true liberty will never come from the two-party duopoly. He is carrying the spirit of Ron Paul and the founding principles of this country on his back while the GOP, the self-proclaimed “party of limited government,” turns against him. 

Libertarians recognize this betrayal for what it is: a warning that the Republican Party will always cast aside its most principled members when they become inconvenient.

Support the Party of Principle today >>>

Massie is not just one Congressman; he represents every American who believes in real fiscal responsibility and the fight for limited government. When they attack him, they attack all of us. 

The Libertarian Party stands in unwavering support of Massie’s commitment to principle. We will not back down, and we will not forget those who have exposed themselves as frauds.

To the Republicans who pretend to be the party of smaller government: If you have no place for Thomas Massie, then you have no place for liberty.

In Liberty, 

Steven Nekhaila 

Chairman, Libertarian National Committee

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Why The Middle Class Exists

Posted by M. C. on March 11, 2025

Great summary! This is a lesson straight from an Austrian economics text book. It seems to me that the destruction of the US middle class is being offset by the rise in the Chinese middle class.

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Watching Another US-Enabled Atrocity Unfold-Kyle Anzalone

Posted by M. C. on March 10, 2025

In the coming weeks and months, it will be important to learn the history of the Syria War and Washington’s role – first and foremost its support of crazed al-Qaeda head-choppers, the “moderate rebels.”

But no one in Washington cares about Syrians, nor do their mouthpieces in the corporate press. If they are paying attention to the killing, it’s likely to prime Americans for yet another intervention.

The Libertarian Institute

https://mailchi.mp/libertarianinstitute/this-week-at-the-libertarian-institute-olhmx6gn9t-5848831-7hv9eay4br-5849109?e=de2d0eded6

Over the weekend, the jihadists that Washington and its Mideast partners installed in Damascus predictably began mass killing based on ethnicity.

Antiwar.com’s Jason Ditz broke down the deadly rampage:

“The fighting erupted Thursday, when the militias launched an organized attack on an HTS-run checkpoint near Jableh. It quickly escalated, and now the reported death tolls are enormous. The Associated Press is reporting over 600 killed, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) is saying over 1,000 deaths are believed to have happened. Currently, 125 militia fighters and 148 government forces loyal to the HTS have been confirmed killed, though those numbers are expected to rise, as the fighting continues across the region.

The majority of the deaths though, potentially the vast majority, are Alawite civilians, as HTS forces from the Defense Ministry and Interior Ministry have been carrying out revenge killings en masse in several locations. At least 745 civilians have been killed in summary executions over the past three days, though that number is expected to continue to rise as the incidents continue.”

It should come as no surprise that HTS (Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an umbrella group of jihadist militants led by Syria’s official al-Qaeda affiliate, Jabhat al-Nusra) is now killing massive numbers of Alawite civilians. Over a decade ago, the Syrian opposition adopted the slogan “Christians to Beirut, Alawites to the grave.” Alawites are now filling mass graves.

As our director Scott Horton hates to say: “It didn’t have to be this way.”

Horton and many guests on the Scott Horton Show long warned that this would be the outcome of the CIA’s Timber Sycamore program. Under the Obama administration, CIA Director John Brennan sent hundreds of millions of dollars in arms to Syria’s extremist-led opposition fighting to oust Bashar al-Assad. At the same time, Turkey allowed jihadists – many of them veterans of the war against the US occupation in Iraq and the NATO regime change against Gaddafi in Libya – crossed the border into Syria to join the “civil war.”

The obvious result of the policy was that the opposition became dominated by Syrian al-Qaeda (the group led by Abu Muhammad al-Jolani, the current leader of post-Assad Syria), as well as the marginally more radical Islamic State.

While Trump finished crushing ISIS and ended Brennan’s treasonous support for al-Qaeda, he continued an economic war to strangle Assad. By not allowing Assad, along with his Russia and Iranian allies, to eradicate al-Qaeda, he permitted al-Jolani to remain in Syria.

Joe Biden – or whoever was running the White House during his administration – seems to have returned to Obama’s policy of backing the terrorists.

See the rest here

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What About the Price of Beef?

Posted by M. C. on March 10, 2025

Is there a magic wand to solve the problem of high beef prices, as well as high pork and chicken prices? Actually yes, begin by returning to the gold standard or at least don’t allow the Fed to target interest rates or increase the money supply. Remove the wild swings in the market and make investment more certain. The second day, release vast amounts of federally-controlled land and eliminate the ethanol program that diverts corn into our gasoline. Peace in Ukraine and the Middle East would unleash more food and fuel for the human population and this translates to improvements for the people directly impacted and to the general world population.

Mises WireMark Thornton

In September 2023, we looked at the high price of beef and how big government has been bad for the American family budget. With stock indexes even higher, the situation for beef consumers is even worse.

In the US, the price of hamburger meat ended last year near a record high of $5.60 per pound. Just 5 years earlier—prior to covid—it was $3.88 per pound. From the early 1980s to 2000, hamburger meat averaged $1.50 per pound. That means that over that 40+-year period, hamburger meat is four times as expensive.

While that seems like a big increase—and it is—the rate of increase is only slightly higher than what the government claims has been the increase in consumer prices in general over the entire period as measured by their Consumer Price Index or CPI. So, beef has been a fairly accurate barometer of the impact of government and Federal Reserve policies undermining the household economy. The most rapid increase in beef prices and consumer prices in general have come in the aftermath of the Trump-Biden covid spending sprees and, of course, the vast money printing by the Federal Reserve unleashed in 2020. 

Like most businesses, raising cattle and related businesses have faced significant increases in costs due mostly to inflationary forces. Grains used to feed cattle are impacted by monetary inflation. There was a huge upward spike in grain prices from the Fed’s covid monetary inflation. Often blamed on Russia’s invasion of grain-producing Ukraine, grain prices actually peaked around the time of the invasion, leveled off, and even subsequently declined as the world economy contracted. Even though grain prices have retreated, herd size must have come under enormous pressure with the covid inflation as grain price surged, herd size retreated. Beef consumption also retreated in the post-GFC inflationary contraction.

With prices relatively high, and grain prices and herd sizes having retreated, beef producers are in a temporary sweet spot, but consumers and others along the supply chain, such as processors and wholesalers remain soured. It is a tough competitive business, subject to the cycles of uncertainty.

Another largely-unnoticed inflationary impact on beef supply and prices is the Fed monetary policy.

See the rest here

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Libertarian Party Response to President Trump’s Address

Posted by M. C. on March 5, 2025

The United States resembles a massive ship, its passengers, distracted by entertainment, outrage cycles, and partisan bickering, oblivious to the perilous course it is on. The bridge has been commandeered by individuals who are either incompetent, insane, or intentionally steering toward disaster. A few discerning voices attempt to alert the masses, pleading for action before it’s too late. Yet, convincing people to act before impact is the hardest part; most won’t care until the iceberg is tearing through the hull.

A government that can impose, restrict, and direct the economy at will is not a free government, it is a centralized command structure, no different in nature from the regimes we claim to oppose abroad. 

That said, we do applaud the move to withdraw from the World Health Organization, a globalist bureaucratic entity that seeks to supersede American sovereignty, dictate pandemic response, control travel, and determine what constitutes disinformation. The WHO does not serve the American people; it serves its own interests and those of the governments that fund it. 

A government that can impose, restrict, and direct the economy at will is not a free government, it is a centralized command structure, no different in nature from the regimes we claim to oppose abroad. 

From the desk of LNC Chair Steven Nekhaila

President Trump’s recent address to Congress was a spectacle designed to project strength and success. However, beneath the surface of his grand declarations lies a troubling reality that libertarians cannot ignore. 

The United States resembles a massive ship, its passengers, distracted by entertainment, outrage cycles, and partisan bickering, oblivious to the perilous course it is on. The bridge has been commandeered by individuals who are either incompetent, insane, or intentionally steering toward disaster. A few discerning voices attempt to alert the masses, pleading for action before it’s too late. Yet, convincing people to act before impact is the hardest part; most won’t care until the iceberg is tearing through the hull.

Help us right the ship >>>

Trump boasts about signing nearly 100 executive orders in 43 days and taking over 400 executive actions, a record he proudly compares to the likes of George Washington. But libertarians don’t measure success by the number of decrees issued from the Oval Office. This is just another example of executive overreach, where laws are no longer written by Congress but dictated by a single individual. 

Every administration expands its power, setting a dangerous precedent for the next. The solution is not finding the “right” president but dismantling the unchecked authority of the office itself. A government that can impose, restrict, and direct the economy at will is not a free government, it is a centralized command structure, no different in nature from the regimes we claim to oppose abroad. 

That said, we do applaud the move to withdraw from the World Health Organization, a globalist bureaucratic entity that seeks to supersede American sovereignty, dictate pandemic response, control travel, and determine what constitutes disinformation. The WHO does not serve the American people; it serves its own interests and those of the governments that fund it. 

The Libertarian National Committee has already passed a resolution urging the United States to withdraw, recognizing that decisions affecting Americans should be made by Americans, not unelected international bodies. This is one of the rare instances where an administration has taken a step in the right direction by reducing Washington’s entanglements, and we encourage more moves toward decentralization and the restoration of self-governance. 

Help us continue advocating for withdrawal from the WHO and other globalist bureaucratic entities >>>

Trump frames his economic policy as a victory for national sovereignty, but his approach remains rooted in protectionism, particularly through new tariffs on foreign aluminum, copper, lumber, and steel. He claims these will restore American industry, but tariffs do not punish foreign nations, they punish American consumers by increasing prices and fueling inflation. 

Protectionism does not create prosperity; it breeds inefficiency, raises the cost of living, and invites retaliatory tariffs that cripple American exports. 

If the president is truly committed to economic growth, he would remove barriers to trade, eliminate corporate welfare, and stop Washington from dictating the marketplace. Instead, we get the same old mercantilist policies repackaged under a new banner, proving once again that both parties believe in government interference, they just argue over which industries should receive special treatment.

The creation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed by Elon Musk, is presented as a bold step in eliminating waste. Yet Congress, which cheered this move, is the very entity that approved reckless spending in the first place, and continues to do so. If waste, fraud, and abuse are uncovered, the budget should be cut accordingly, not just redirected to new government pet projects.

Help support our Local DOGE initiative and other projects to take our freedoms back >>> 

If DOGE is serious about accountability, it should start with the Pentagon, which has failed every audit and continues to funnel trillions into black budget programs without oversight. The military-industrial complex is the final boss of government waste, and it will not go down without a fight. Until politicians are willing to take on the untouchable defense contractors, all talk of fiscal responsibility is just another con.

The immigration crisis is another example of politicians refusing to address the root cause of a problem they helped create. Trump celebrates the lowest border crossings on record, attributing it to military deployment and increased enforcement, but like every administration before him, he ignores the fact that our legal immigration system is fundamentally broken. It is not just a problem of law enforcement, it is a problem of policy. 

A good immigration system would remove perverse government incentives while streamlining legal pathways, ensuring that those who wish to contribute to America can do so without jumping through an impossible bureaucratic maze. Instead, politicians of both parties use immigration as a wedge issue, blaming enforcement or leniency while failing to reform the system itself. 

The result? A nation that oscillates between border chaos and heavy-handed crackdowns, with no lasting solution in sight. 

Help us continue to voice Libertarian solutions >>>

Trump also takes credit for banning Critical Race Theory, reversing DEI mandates, and enforcing federal recognition of only two genders. While libertarians might agree that these policies should not be mandated, the federal government should not be wielding power over cultural battles at all. 

The state should not be in the business of dictating social values, whether left-wing or right-wing. Cultural issues should be left to individuals, families, and communities to decide, not decreed by executive order. The same conservatives who decry Washington’s influence in their lives should be the first to recognize that government-mandated culture wars, no matter the side, are a dangerous road. 

On the foreign policy front, we applaud attempts to end the war between Ukraine and Russia, which has brought the world to the brink of nuclear catastrophe while costing countless lives on both sides. However, peace will not be achieved by continuing Washington’s interventionist policies and military entanglements. 

We encourage the withdrawal from NATO and other entangling alliances that serve only to drag the United States into conflicts that have nothing to do with our national security. A true “America First” policy is one of non-interventionism, not simply choosing which wars to fund. 

We must end all military aid, including to Israel and Taiwan. They are more than welcome to purchase weapons from our private sector, but not a single tax dollar should be spent arming foreign nations while Americans struggle under the weight of inflation and debt.

Help us push a true America First, non-interventionist foreign policy >>>

We also find common ground in deregulation and reducing bureaucratic overreach. Trump pledged to eliminate ten regulations for every new one introduced, freeze federal hiring, and fire government employees who refuse to return to in-person work. 

While we oppose rule by executive order, slashing the bureaucracy and ending Washington’s micromanagement of the economy is something libertarians have long championed. We also recognize that lifting restrictions on domestic energy production, while avoiding subsidies, allows for a free-market energy sector rather than one strangled by government mandates. 

Trump ends his speech with a triumphant declaration: “The Golden Age of America has only just begun.” But no Golden Age has ever been built on endless government spending, protectionism, and executive overreach. 

The real Golden Age of America was built by free individuals, entrepreneurs, and risk-takers, not by politicians and bureaucrats. If America is to reclaim its prosperity, it will not be through tariffs, executive orders, or grand government initiatives, it will come from getting government out of the way and allowing innovation, voluntary exchange, and personal responsibility to flourish. 

Trump’s speech, like those before it, is a performance designed to pacify the public while government continues its reckless spending, overreach, and control. The real issue is not whether a Republican or Democrat stands at the podium, it is the size and power of the state itself. 

No president will save us because the problem is the presidency, the bureaucracy, and the entire machine of centralized control. Libertarians stand for something different: a government that exists only to protect rights, not to dictate lives, if it is fit to exist at all. 

America’s ship is headed for an iceberg, and the passengers are still dancing on the deck. If we wait for politicians to change course, we will sink. The answer is not a new captain, it is taking back the ship and restoring liberty before it is too late. 

In Liberty, 

Steven Nekhaila

Chairman, Libertarian National Committee

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