The Jason Stapleton Program

Yeah, I know it's not Friday but I won't be in the studio tomorrow, so I thought we would bump up this segment since everyone seems to enjoy it so much. Jason

It is my great honor to welcome Constitution Party Nominee Darrell Castle to the show today. We've had the chance to talk with several third party nominee's over the last year, and I think this will be another insightful discussion. I know a lot of you have been perplexed about who to vote for this year. Castle is not a libertarian, but he does hold some very libertarian positions. He also holds some contradictory ideas and this interview is going to give you a chance to judge him for yourself and decide if he meets your standard of electability. You can visit Darrell's website here: http://castle2016.com/home/

Over the weekend we managed to get some insight into Hillary Clinton's health, and it's not good. Apparently, it's not allergies as her campaign stated earlier but pneumonia. And who knows if that's even truthful? How can we trust anything that comes out of Clinton's PR machine? I've got the video, and I'll talk through the facts, fiction, and speculation. As usual, the media is mostly missing the point. From there we'll move on to Europe where Brexit has renewed an EU push for its own military. If it meant we disbanded NATO and America could get the heck out of that treaty, I'd say go for it. Unfortunately, that's not where we're headed. It's an additional army the EU wants not a disbanding of NATO. We also have fears in the middle east and the South China Sea as Iran, Russia, and China all appear ready to challenge the United States as the toughest kid on the block. I fear we're headed toward another gruesome and costly war. It doesn't appear anyone in Washinton is opposed to the future slaughter of American soldiers. Finally (if I have time) I'm going to discuss a great piece from Mises.org about interest rate policies and quantitative easing. It's a full show today as we go around the world. Listen in, then share it with a friend. Jason

Another week gone already. That means it's time for another "Ask Me Anything" Friday session. A time when you can submit your question and if it's good I'll answer it during the show. There are no restrictions today. We don't have to talk about politics or economics. We can talk about family, business, success, anything that's important to you.

Then he made things worse by admitting he needs to "get smarter." It's rare that I find myself running the Gary Johnsons defense. Most of the time I find myself criticizing him, his comments and positions but this morning on Morning Joe, Gary was caught by Mike Barnicle in a gotcha question designed to trip him up. The question succeeded and Gary came off looking foolish. It could have happened to anyone and Gary could have done several things to mitigate the damage. Instead, he made the issue worse by opening his mouth again to reporters. I've got all the clips, and I'll go through all of it with you. This could be the nail that puts the Johnson/Weld coffin on the ground. *** I got an interesting link from a listener about a book claiming algorithms that determine sentencing and mortgage rates are racist. On its face this seems ridiculous but under close inspection, you discover that it is, in fact, ridiculous. I'll give you the whole story today. Jason

The day after Cruz dropped out of the race back in May I've been telling you to watch Mark Levin as he worms his way around to supporting Donald Trump. Keep in mind Levin was a self-described "never-trumper." yet yesterday he indicated he would vote for Trump come election day. It's proof yet again; you need to watch what people do not what they say. Jason

Hillary has been struggling with a nagging cough. I'm not sure if it's a serious heath problem or simply the fact that she's a 70-year-old woman who's giving 2-3 speeches a day. Either way, she's having trouble getting through appearances and even talking to the press. The bulk of today's episode is focused around the idea of agencies. Hillary recently put out a plan to keep drug costs down that includes vesting power in another unelected agency to fine companies deemed as "exploitative" or "unfair". This comes alongside the recent announcement that ITT technical institute will close it's doors after 50 years in business. The announcement came shortly after news that the federal government would cut off access to federal loans and require ITT to put up nearly 40% of its revenue as collateral against student loans. Our government was never designed to be gigantic, corrupt behemoth that it's become. Come with me as we explore the dangers of unelected, unchecked world of government agencies.

Right again! I want you all to realize how hard it is to keep my ego in check when I keep being proven right. :-) Several new studies show there is likely no link between Zika and the birth defect microcephaly (shrunken head). The New England Journal of Medicine is finalizing a study that followed 12,000 pregnant women who were infected with Zika. Not a single case of microcephaly was reported. Once again, just like ebola, swine flu, bird flu and every other virus that was supposed to spark the next pandemic, we find out it was much to do about nothing. The money flows from government to researchers who then create a panic that government must sweep in to solve, not unlike the way our banking system works. *** We also had numbered out today, and again the analysts misted the mark. They expected 180,000 jobs and got 151,000. This has sent some confusion into a market that was starting to think the Fed was serious about raising rates. Expectations about a rate rise have dropped, but I'm not so sure I agree. Yesterday we talked about some odd selling of gold around the $1300 psychological level. This smells funny to me and reeks of an inside tip. I would not be shocked at all now to see a rate rise of a quarter point. Then again it could be nothing. *** Today is also Friday which means we've got Q&A, the segment where I answer your questions live on the air. It's the perfect way to end the week. Finally, don't forget we have no show on Monday since it's labor day so get out there and celebrate some labor! I'll talk to you again Tuesday. Jason

It's days like today that I'm really proud of our show. I've been trying to keep you apprised of the recent struggles of Deutsche Bank. I've you've been listening for more than a couple days you know they are on the verge of collapse and are all but begging the German government for financial support. Now we find out that they've been unable to satisfy a request for gold delivery by a client of Xetra-Gold for whom they are a sponsor. I know you have a lot of questions about who Xetra-Gold is and why Deutsche is refusing to pay. I'm going to go over all of it today on the show. What I will tell you now is, if you think your gold is safe in the bank, you might want to reevaluate your savings arrangement. I've got a feeling you're going to see more cases of this in the future. *** The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a ban on gun sales to people with a medical marijuana card. It looks like the progressives have found another way to violate your 2nd Amendment protections and They've got the courts backing them up. *** Finally, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson is considering reclassifying our nation's elections as "critical infrastructure" thus putting it under the purview of the federal government. It's just the latest attempt by the Feds to centralize power in D.C. It's up the States to stop them now. This is why we need to have a heavy focus on local and state elections. Without support at the local level, we'll never get enough momentum to fight back against this type of unrelenting assault. Jason

This is incredible the U.S. government is outraged at the recent decision by a European court forcing Apple to pay 14.5 billion dollars in back taxes. Keep in mind; our government has been complaining about companies offshoring money for years. We've even talked on this show about the new tax schemes Republicans are concocting to try and force companies to pay what Washington thinks they owe. Now you've got a European court who took action and rendered a verdict, and the Treasury Department is outraged. It shows you just how concerned our government is with going after tax avoiders. And don't misunderstand. I think it's great that Apple pays very little in taxes. I wish every man and woman in America had the resources to fight back against the theft of their wealth. But the government's outrage tells me they care less about "fairness" and more about collecting them money for themselves. I've also got some great news today about the election. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said he's considering declaring the election process "critical infrastructure" and bringing it under the purview of DHS. Does anyone else have a problem with the government being able to take over anything by calling it "critical infrastructure" or "in the national interest?" I know I do. We'll hit all of that today and maybe even some talk about Trump and Hillary. Listen and share! Jason

Obama is now claiming his has the authority to sign the multinational Pairs Climate Agreement without the approval. You might be asking yourself where the president get's his authority to enter the U.S. into an agreement that obligates its citizens financially without congresses approval. Well, it just requires you use a little nuance. According to the White House, the Paris agreement isn't a "treaty" which would require the approval of 2/3rds of Congress. Instead, it's an "executive agreement" for which there is a clear legal precedent. What the President is doing is criminal. It is a violation of the constitution and a clear effort on the part of the president to act as a dictator. There was a time when Congress (the representatives of the people and an equal branch of government) cared about their oaths and would stand against this kind of power grab. Those days have long past. Our Congress more closely resembles the Senate of Rome where senators gain and maintain power by handing out favors and who will eventually turn all power over to their modern day Ceasar. Our current situation reminds me of the Chinese curse "May you live in interesting times." Let's hope it's not as bad as it seems, but let's prepare as though it is. Jason

It's been a while since we did a show on foreign policy but we've had some pretty significant developments in the last week or so, and I want to work through the situation with you. First, we'll discuss the Iranian situation. They buzzed our ships last week, and a lot of Americans saw this as a provocation designed to entice us into a fight. Was it? Beats me but I know it's reasonable to assume if we hadn't been trolling 15 miles off the coast of Iran that the encounter might not have happened. Then there's Turkey. The foiled coup has resulted in nearly 100,000 people having been fired or arrested as Erdogan cleans house. Not only did our Government say nothing about the lack of due process and human rights violations our own Vice President was in Turkey last week guaranteeing our support. It's a crazy world. The answers to our problems are not easy, but we need to stop pretending like the policies that got us into this mess are going to get us out. We need an entirely new foreign policy platform if we're ever going to turn the tide of war and suffering in the middle east.

I knew Jackson Hole was going to be a goat rope, but if you listen to the talking heads on the financial networks today, you're amazed they can keep anything strait. The Fed is again signaling it's leaning toward a rate hike. "Leaning" is the optimal word. What exactly does that mean? In a word, nothing. We don't know if she's saying it in an attempt to boost confidence or because she's looking to give the Fed some breathing room before the next downturn. One thing I'm sure of, she's not looking to raise rates because the economy is heating up. All indications show inflation is near zero and GDP has been revised down again this month. We'll talk about all the latest financial new PLUS...I answer a listeners critique of me! Great way to end the week, Jason

Not only have central banks been buying trillions of financial assets from every corner of the globe but a new post from zerohedge.com exposes it's not just the federal reserve buying U.S. stocks. According to recent SEC filings the Swiss National Bank now owns more than 60 billion dollars worth of U.S. stocks. Some of you might be wondering what they're doing and why. We'll explore all of your questions on today's show. Also, we'll also discuss WikiLeaks and their constant self-promotion. Frankly, it's getting a little old, hearing about all the bombshell documents they're holding on to, but all we ever see are week email correspondence that does little more that create speculation. Lot's of great talk today plus some updates on the Louisiana disaster and the Republican politician we reported on yesterday.

Bloomberg just did an excellent piece on Baltimore. I'm sure many of the cities residents will be shocked to learn that they have been under 24-hour surveillance, seven days a week since January. The video was incredible to watch. You can see it here: https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-baltimore-secret-surveillance/ The video also brings to light what some would consider a disturbing new trend in government. The birth of an around the clock surveillance state. Now there's nothing illegal about what Baltimore is doing. You have no expectation of privacy when you leave your home, and this new technology has certainly helped police and prosecutors find and punish some dangerous criminals. But admitting you have no expectation of privacy is not the same thing as accepting government (or anyone else for that matter) has permission to track your every move. If I private citizen did what the city of Baltimore was doing they could be charged with stalking. Yet, the ends justify the means in the cities eyes. We're going to take some time today and talk through the pro's and con's of a program like this, and I may even play a little devils advocate to get the wheels turning in your head. Enjoy!