Cash payments in focus as Iranian vessels confront US ships

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Cash payments in focus as Iranian vessels confront US ships

U.S. issues new Iran travel warning

DISCLAIMER: THE FOLLOWING "Cost of Freedom Recap" CONTAINS STRONG OPINIONS WHICH ARE NOT A REFLECTION OF THE OPINIONS OF FOX NEWS AND SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON AS INVESTMENT ADVICE WHEN MAKING PERSONAL INVESTMENT DECISIONS. IT IS FOX NEWS' POLICY THAT CONTRIBUTORS DISCLOSE POSITIONS THEY HOLD IN STOCKS THEY DISCUSS, THOUGH POSITIONS MAY CHANGE. READERS OF "Cost of Freedom Recap" MUST TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR OWN INVESTMENT DECISIONS.

US NAVY PATROL BOAT FIRES WARNING SHOTS AT IRANIAND VESSEL IN PERSIAN GULF THIS WEEK  

Steve Forbes: When you have abject appeasement, which Barack Obama has been practicing since 2009 when he turned his back on the revolutionaries trying to overthrow it, appeasement gets you contempt. We pay ransom. Americans can't go to Iran because they're going to be kidnapped there and other bad spots. In terms of the Iran nuke deal, Iran violated it the day they signed it and continue to this day. Iran tries to dominate the Middle East. Russia goes along with it. We're seen as a non-player, pitifully weak.

Bruce Japsen:  Well, some of these confrontations -- and we don't know the latest one, you know, involving some small boats going to our big fighter vessels. Got to question the wisdom of that on the Iranians’ part, or even if they were rogue forces. Points to me why the nuclear deal was a good one. It's an unstable region, and we don't want anybody over there having access to nuclear weapons.

Mike Ozanian: Iran has already violated the nuclear agreement we had with them. This all smells to me a lot like the carter administration, David. He paired back military spending, Russia started to walk all over us, went into Afghanistan. We had no more respect around the world as a strong military force. I think that's where president Obama has brought us.

John Tamny : It's fairly clearly a ransom payment. How we know that is the State Department's own directive, that Americans shouldn't travel there anymore. Simply because the State Department doesn't want to pay more ransoms to get hostages out. The precedent has been set. I'll point out it's not -- the Obama administration is not the first one to pay for -- to get hostages out. Seemingly, every administration has sadly been doing it for a while.

Elizabeth MacDonald :  Other hostages, as well. Some of them have dual citizenship. Listen, this is a really dangerous gamble, giving Iran the cash. It gives them incentive, basically, to take people. It endangers more Americans because Iran wants $2 billion, estimated, in frozen assets. They want that money. They have said, we want also the U.S. to pay $10 billion or whatever it is for American hostilities. Here's the thing, the White House will say, whatever Iran does is an aberration. It's harassing our ships. Unauthorized act.

Carries Sheffield: Absolutely, it does. Part and parcel on her shoulders. In fact, in Philadelphia, at the convention, this was a major theme in her speech. I get credit for the Iranian deal. I blame Hillary for the Hillary deal. It's squarely on her shoulders as head of secretary of state. And the Obama administration knew that this money that, you know -- the money flowing in would be used for terrorism. They don't care. Hillary Clinton did not stand up and push back against this problem.

NEW FOCUS ON ENTITLEMENTS AND CAMPAIGN POLICIES AS WELFARE REFORM LAW TURNS 20

Elizabeth Macdonald:  What Bill Clinton did was say, listen, you have to work to get some of the welfare benefits. Listen, we want to help the single mom raising a family. Absolutely. But watch what FDR said. Essentially, when you have welfare without work, it basically creating spiritual disintegration and destroys the national fiber, the human spirit. People want a hand to get a job, not a handout. Makes them less capable of taking care of themselves. They don't want just a lifeline.

Bruce Japsen:  John Kasich had an editorial in the New York Times talking about how the Congress in 2005 unraveled it. Hillary is also for raising the federal minimum wage and also for infrastructure, which would help some of these working families. Even Citigroup came out with a report this week and said they liked what candidates were saying about infrastructure. They thought Donald Trump would cause a global recession.

Steve Forbes: Yes. Just goes to show, helping people is a two-way street, which we used to know before the Great Depression. You helped somebody. In return, they helped themselves. That's why charity before the depression worked so well. That's why the welfare reform worked so well. Yes, you get assistance when you're on your back. In turn, you provide work for yourself and your family and community.

Carrie Sheffield: Contributed to single parenthood. We have to get rid of those incentives. About FDR, the spirit was perverted by the time it got to LBJ. He started his war on poverty, which incentivized not working and the disintegration of the low income family. Fortunately, Bill Clinton did come around and worked with the republican congress. I think what we're hearing from his wife is because of Bernie. I think Bernie is pushing her to the left.

Mike Ozanian:  I don't know about that, David. What i know is to pay for this pandering that Hillary is doing, she has to -- she's put out a tax plan. According to the National Policy Center it's going to cost taxpayers between $400 billion and $500 billion. To put it in perspective, those tax increases are bigger than the entire economy of Israel, Norway or Hong Kong.

John Tamny: That's the thing. Bill was for shrinking government. He did it with a Republican Congress. Hillary wants to increase its footprint by $1 trillion. He signed NAFTA and she says she won't sign trade agreements. He signed a capital gains cut. She wants to increase the penalty placed on investment success. She says he is an economic expert which is odd she's running against his economic policy.

FCC AND SEVERAL PRICATE COMPANIES JOIN FORCES TO BLOCK ROBOCALLS

Carrie Sheffield:  You're right. They are infuriating, drive us nuts. Sometimes government and private sector can work together, space exploration, disease eradication, medicine development. We want to increase productivity, right?

John Tamny: No. The federal government was not created to protect us from annoyance. A federal government that can protect us from annoyance can do annoying things.

Elizabeth Macdonald : I like it. When the calls hit your cell phone, they use up the data usage and you're charged for it. I think it is okay.

Steve Forbes: They're scams everywhere, the mail, e-mail robocalls. Not all are bad. I've done some for a candidate. Sometimes i see a source of enlightenment and education.

Bruce Japsen: Definitely. That's what i use. I ask the robocaller, or the telemarketer, can i have your phone number and call you back later? That usually ends the call.

Mike Ozanian: Absolutely, David. If you have the government, all any robocaller has to do is make a donation to the Clinton Foundation and they'll be exempt.

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Elizabeth MacDonald: (SBLGX)

Mike Ozanian:  (AXP)