The Bill Walton Show

Written by: Bill Walton
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  • Summary

  • Bill Walton sits down with experts and interesting people to discuss how to achieve economic prosperity and human flourishing. Every week, commercial free
    (c) 2017-2018, Rappahannock Ventures, LLC
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Economics Political Science Social Sciences
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Episodes
  • Episode 284: The CIA and FBI are Beyond Repair

    Episode 284: The CIA and FBI are Beyond Repair
    Nov 25 2024

    When former CIA station chiefs admit that only 50 out of 1,500 clandestine service officers are truly effective, you know something's deeply wrong with our intelligence agencies. In this explosive conversation, Mike Waller, senior fellow at the Center for Security Policy and author of "Big Intel: How the CIA and FBI Went from Cold War Heroes to Deep State Villains," reveals how our premier intelligence agencies have lost their way - and what must be done to fix them. The timing couldn't be more critical. With Donald Trump proposing a new Department of Government Efficiency led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, Waller's blueprint for reform deserves serious attention. His conclusions are stark: The FBI, whose very existence rests on shaky legal ground (Congress never actually created it), needs to be dismantled and its legitimate functions redistributed. The CIA, plagued by cultural Marxism and woke policies, should be dissolved and rebuilt from scratch. But this isn't just about problems - it's about solutions. Waller provides a detailed roadmap for reform, identifying which functions to preserve, which to eliminate, and how to rebuild these agencies to serve their original purposes. Whether you work in national security, care about government reform, or simply want to understand why our intelligence agencies keep missing major world events - from the fall of the Soviet Union to the origins of COVID-19 - this conversation is essential listening.

    Timestamps:

    00:00 Start

    2:25 Waller's stark assessment

    3:25 The FBI's questionable origins

    6:45 Cultural transformation since Obama era

    13:45 Shocking revelation from former CIA station chiefs

    19:24 FBI's broken chain of command

    24:35 Promotion requirements

    31:15 Intelligence failures

    41:05 Ideological capture

    45:53 Inefficient intelligence gathering

    47:56 Reform strategy

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    50 mins
  • Episode 283: A Global War on Freedom: How the US Corporate Transparency Act and the EU Digital Services Act Threaten Liberty

    Episode 283: A Global War on Freedom: How the US Corporate Transparency Act and the EU Digital Services Act Threaten Liberty
    Nov 4 2024
    In a riveting conversation with Peter Mcilvenna of the UK’s Hearts of Oak, we describe what may be the most aggressive US domestic surveillance program since the Patriot Act – and its disturbing connection to a global censorship agenda. The story that emerges isn't just about US regulation; it's about the systematic and coordinated dismantling of economic and expressive freedoms on both sides of the Atlantic. The New American Surveillance State Remember Reagan's famous warning that the nine most terrifying words were "I'm from the government and I'm here to help"? Today's version might be: "I'm from the federal government, give up your personal data, and as long as you don't step out of line, we will keep you safe." The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) represents an unprecedented federal power grab: Massive Scope: 33 million small businesses, employing 61.7 million Americans, must submit to federal surveillance Selective Targeting: Only businesses under $5 million revenue and fewer than 20 employees are affected Draconian Penalties: $591 daily fines and up to 2 years in prison for non-compliance Strategic Exemptions: Giants like BlackRock, Amazon, and Big Tech escape scrutiny Global Data Sharing: Your information gets shared with 170 countries through the shadowy Egmont Group. The Historical Echo We've seen this movie before. Remember the IRS targeting scandal, where conservative groups with words like "tea party" and "patriot" faced extra scrutiny? The CTA creates a similar vulnerability for small businesses. As Mcilvennapoints out, it paves the way for an anti-second amendment bureaucrat to search the database for businesses with "gun," "firearm," or "freedom" in their names? A Digital Iron Curtain While the CTA surveils American businesses, the EU Digital Services Act (DSA) creates a parallel threat to free speech, with the power to levy fines of up to 6% of a company's global revenue – including revenue from unrelated businesses. This means Elon Musk's SpaceX could be penalized for X's content moderation policies, a clear attempt at financial coercion. "It is ridiculous and chilling," Mcilvenna notes "Musk's other companies have nothing to do with the platform policies of X. It is simply an unhinged coercive measure designed to break Musk." Mcilvenna describes how UK political operatives, through organizations like the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), are actively working to "Kill Musk's Twitter" while strengthening ties with various political campaigns. This isn't just UK domestic policy – it's part of a coordinated international effort to control both commerce and communication. Why This Matters Now The January 1, 2025 deadline for CTA compliance is approaching, while the DSA's censorship machinery is already in motion. This combination creates an unprecedented threat and the window for action is narrowing, but resistance is building: - Multiple states have challenged the CTA's constitutionality - Business associations are filing lawsuits - Popular movements across Europe are pushing back against censorship - Independent platforms are fighting for survival As Peter Mcilvenna warns, "This needs to be a front and center issue to protect over 33 million small businesses from an egregious overreach by the Federal government." Timelines: 00:03 - Introduction: Peter Mcilvenna's connection to Lord Thatcher's administration and Brexit 01:28 - Corporate Transparency Act introduction: Trump's veto and subsequent revival 05:19 - Federal overreach: Small businesses must register by January 1st deadline 08:56 - FinCEN's expanded role beyond traditional financial crimes enforcement 10:55 - BlackRock & large corporations exempt from CTA requirements 14:31 - Egmont Group: International sharing of business data across 170 countries 18:06 - Digital Services Act targeting speech censorship in UK 21:38 - Labour Party operatives working with US political campaigns 23:17 - CCDH attacks on free speech platforms 26:07 - EU threatening 6% global revenue fines against Musk's companies 29:20 - Rise of populist resistance movements across Europe 37:30 - Push for CTA to become central campaign issue for 2024
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    45 mins
  • Episode 281: Are We Passing the Israel Test

    Episode 281: Are We Passing the Israel Test
    Oct 8 2024

    In this compelling and wide ranging episode of The Bill Walton Show, host Bill Walton engages with the great economic, technology and futurist thinker George Gilder to talk about his provocative book, The Israel Test.

    In The Israel Test George provides much needed context for today’s war in the Middle East. His theory about the root causes of the conflict dramatically reframes the issues and makes it clear why we need to support Israel in this defining moment in History.

    Despite comprising only 4% of the Middle East's land area, Israel has cultivated a preeminent high-tech economy, functioning as a liberal democracy with free elections, a critical press, and robust human rights protections—including for its 2 million Arab citizens, who enjoy the same civil liberties as Jewish citizens.

    The Israel Test posits that one's reaction to others' success—whether through admiration and emulation or envy and hostility—reflects broader attitudes toward capitalism and free enterprise. Historical and contemporary instances of antisemitism, can be attributed in part to envy over Jewish excellence in so many fields and Israel’s extraordinary achievements and its pivotal role in global innovation.

    George explains “the heart of the Israel Test is how you react to people who excel you in intellect, creativity, wealth, accomplishment. Do you admire them, and emulate them, and learn from them or do you envy, and hate them, and try to tear them down? And this is really the test of capitalism or test of free enterprise, is whether you regard your competitors as expanding opportunities for you and exploring the frontiers of creation for you in the image of your creator, or whether you regard them as somehow a menace to your future.”

    Smart people are society’s most valuable resource, yet the modern egalitarian movements relentlessly undermines recognition of individual talent and achievement.

    George reminds that “we are all dependent on a small minority of geniuses really, who opened the horizons of the future for the rest of the world. And in recent history, a disproportionate number of them have been Jewish.”
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    1 hr and 3 mins

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