Reason.tv -

Montreal Student Riots, Quebec's Speech-Killing Bill 78, & Something Called the "Anarchopanda"

Wed, 08 Aug 2012 12:05:00 EDT

The city of Montreal has been in turmoil for much of 2012, following massive student demonstrations in opposition to a government-imposed hike on university tuitions.

While mostly peaceful, some demonstrators resorted to vandalism and blocked access to bridges and schools. Protesters were also met with violence from riot police, and accusations of brutality became a nightly occurrence.

Desperate to restore order, the Liberal provincial government of Quebec passed the emergency law Bill 78, which has effectively ended the larger protests. Hailed as a pragmatic solution by supporters who say it has rescued the city from anarchy, critics such as the United Nations' Human Rights Council have condemned Bill 78 as an egregious violation of free expression.

The upheaval caused by the protests and the government's heavy-handed reactions to them have divided Quebec society, and produced controversial and memorable figures like the Anarchopanda, a junior college professor dressed in an oversized Panda costume who intervenes between riot police and protestors in the hopes of diffusing potentially violent situations.

ReasonTV went to Montreal to explore this complex and still unresolved conflict, which raises all sorts of fundamental questions about free expression, political dissent, and governmental overreach in the name of restoring order.

About 10.30 minutes.

Produced by Anthony L. Fisher. Camera by Joshua Swain and Fisher.

Music: "The Cuchifritos Groove Instrumental {Wildabeast, 6th Sense, Jelani}" by 6th Sense (http://notherground.blogspot.com)

Go to http://reason.com/reasontv for downloadable versions and subscribe to ReasonTV's YouTube Channel to receive notifications when new material goes live.

Veronique de Rugy Talks Washington Gridlock on PBS

Tue, 07 Aug 2012 15:47:00 EDT

Reason contributor Veronique de Rugy discusses the excuses that Washington DC comes up with for not doing their jobs on PBS Nightly Business Report.

Air Date: August 6, 2012.

About 2 minutes.

Scroll down for downloadable versions and subscribe to Reason.tv's YouTube channel to receive automatic updates when new material goes live.

Stockton, California Went Bankrupt. Is Your City Next?

Tue, 07 Aug 2012 12:06:00 EDT

Stockton, California made history in June 2012 when it became the largest U.S. municipality in history to file Chapter 9 bankruptcy. It wasn't the first Golden State city to do so, and what's happening in out west is spreading to the rest of the country.

Stockton, like many U.S. city governments, spent lavishly throughout the 1990s when the real estate bubble filled public coffers with property tax revenue. Public officials approved big public works projects such as a new arena, a waterfront park and a grand, new city hall building that the city government never had the money to occupy. But even this spending pales in comparison to Stockton's crippling public employee contracts. The city is on the hook for more than $800 million in unfunded liabilities for pensions and other post-employment benefits.

"We're saddled with this debt that we don't have the revenues any more to service," says Stockton's Vice Mayor Kathy Miller.

Miller lays much of the blame at the feet of former city manager Dwayne Milnes, who she says was tired of dealing with public employee unions and who, through his loose accounting, enabled city council members to give in to nearly every union demand.

"[The information] was not always accurate. And in some cases, I think it was almost misleading," says Miller.

Milnes now runs an association representing the interests of the city's retired public employees, which opposes cuts to some of the very benefits Milnes now admits might have been a mistake to approve. Milnes believes that Stockton would be broke regardless of the decisions made in the '90s.

"When you ask who's going to tip over, it's not 'Who is providing the pension benefits?,' it's, 'Who is providing the pension benefits in an economic environment that they can't support it?'" says Milnes.

Reason Foundation senior analyst Adam Summers says that Stockton's story is becoming an increasingly common one for cities across the U.S.

"There's a real kind of moral hazard, whereby [city officials] have incentives to offer goodies to people, knowing that they won't have to bear the costs of those decisions," says Summers.

In Stockton, residents, taxpayers, and retirees are bearing the costs of short-sighted political decisions. Stockton's general fund, meant to be for basic city services such as police and fire, has been gutted by the poor fiscal decisions, resulting in a 26-percent reduction in city police. Last year, a record 58 murders took place in Stockton. This year, they've already had 34.

Stockton officials hope bankruptcy proceedings will allow the city to opt out of some of its more stifling contracts (PDF) and to avoid repaying all of the bondholders while maintaining some money in the general fund to keep its most basic city services. Such a solution might give Stockton some breathing room but most of the hard work of rebuilding the town's economy, tax base, and creditworthiness is still ahead of it.

This much is certain: With cities across the country locked into expensive long-term contracts, Stockton’s title as the largest U.S. city ever to go bankrupt might be short-lived.

About 9 minutes.

Written and Produced by Zach Weissmueller.

Scroll down for downloadable versions and subscribe to ReasonTV's YouTube Channel to receive notification when new material goes live.

Private Funding for Space Exploration? Katherine Mangu-Ward Debates Bill Nye on CNBC

Mon, 06 Aug 2012 17:02:00 EDT

Reason Managing Editor Katherine Mangu-Ward debates Bill Nye "the Science Guy" about public versus private funding for space exploration on CNBC's Street Signs. Air Date: August 6, 2012.

About 5 minutes.

Scroll down for downloadable versions and subscribe to Reason.tv's YouTube channel to receive automatic updates when new material goes live.

Honor Flight Doc Remembers World War II Heroes

Mon, 06 Aug 2012 14:30:00 EDT

In 2009, Reason's Dan Hayes produced a Veterans Day video about the Wisconsin chapter of Honor Flight, a nonprofit that flies World War II veterans gratis to Washington, D.C. to see the memorial dedicated to them. The video is a powerful statment on war, remembrance, gratitude, sacrifice, and the almost-casual heroism of the Greatest Generation.

Since that original piece, Hayes and producer Clay Broga founded Freethink Media and have created a feature-length documentary, Honor Flight, that will premiere at Milwaukee's baseball stadium, Miller Park on Saturday, August 11th. More than 28,000 tickets have been pre-sold, which means that Honor Flight may well break the world record for the largest film screening.

Hayes and Broga sat down with ReasonTV's Nick Gillespie to discuss what initially drew them to the story, how to honor soldiers without glorifying war, and why it's a great time to be an independent filmmaker.

About 7 minutes.

Shot by Joshua Swain and Meredith Bragg. Edited by Bragg.

Scroll down for downloadable versions and subscribe to ReasonTV's YouTube Channel to receive notification when new material goes live.

Matt Welch Discusses Romney in Britain and the 2012 Election on Jansing & Co.

Mon, 06 Aug 2012 12:15:00 EDT

Reason Editor in Chief Matt Welch discusses Romney accidentally revealing he had "secret" meet with Britian's top government officials and how the election may play out now we are less than 100 days away from the voting booth on Jansing & Co. Airdate July 27, 2012.

10 minutes.

Scroll down for downloadable versions and subscribe to Reason.tv's YouTube channel to receive automatic updates when new material goes live.

Celebrating the End of the Fairness Doctrine

Sat, 04 Aug 2012 08:20:00 EDT

On August 4th, 1987 the Federal Communications Commission unanimously voted to repeal the fairness doctrine, its policy requiring broadcasters to air all sides of a controversial issue. Despite its lofty name, the fairness doctrine was abolished over concerns that it had a chilling effect on free speech.

"It does sound great," says George Mason University's Thomas Hazlett, "but the fact is there is a frontal conflict between the first amendment...and the government considering whether or not the fairness of a particular report passes muster."

Hazlett sat down with ReasonTV's Nick Gillespie to discuss the fairness doctrine, its repeal, and why we are unlikely to see it instituted again.

About 9 minutes. Interview by Nick Gillespie. Shot by Joshua Swain and Meredith Bragg. Edited by Bragg.

Scroll down for downloadable versions and subscribe to ReasonTV's YouTube Channel to receive notifications when new material goes live.

Hangover Heaven: The Vegas Hangover Cure on Wheels

Fri, 03 Aug 2012 12:03:00 EDT

“When people come here, it’s not a matter of whether or not they’re going to have a hangover, it’s just a matter of how bad it’s going to be,” says Dr. Jason Burke, anesthesiologist and founder of Hangover Heaven.

Based in Las Vegas, Hangover Heaven roams the strip treating partygoers with IVs on a decked-out charter bus. Dr. Burke uses a combination of vitamins, magnesium and calcium to rehydrate patients and get toxins out of their systems after countless hours of drinking.

“This is really innovative, individualized healthcare that meets a very direct need,” says ReasonTV’s Kennedy. Kennedy subjected herself to excessive amounts of alcohol in order to properly assess the IV treatment.

“I’m feeling great,” Kennedy said after a few minutes of drip therapy. The basic treatment costs $99 and takes about 45 minutes. Dr. Burke also accepts reservations in advance.

“We probably already have 40 people reserved for this coming weekend,” says Burke.

For more about Hangover Heaven, read Greg Beato's article here.

Written and produced by Tracy Oppenheimer. Shot by Alex Manning and Oppenheimer.

About 3 minutes.

Subscribe to ReasonTV’s YouTube Channel to receive notification when new material goes live.

Cops with Machine Guns: The Killing of Michael Nida

Thu, 02 Aug 2012 08:24:00 EDT

In October 2011, the police-related shooting death of unarmed man, Michael Nida, 31, raised serious questions about the state of policing in the city of Downey, California, a suburb of Los Angeles.

Why did it raise questions? The father of four who worked in construction wasn’t shot with a handgun by one of the Downey Police Department’s officers. He was shot with an MP5 submachine gun, the same gun used by the Navy Seals.

“Why would he have a machine gun?” asks Jean Thaxton, one of Nida’s guardians since birth. “We’re not in a war zone, I didn’t think. I didn’t think this was a war zone.”

“An ordinary patrolman isn’t going to be carrying something like a submachine gun,” says Timothy Lynch, the director of the Project on Criminal Justice at the CATO Institute. Lynch says that even if they have those types of weapons, they should only be using them in rare circumstances, such as when they are confronting a heavily armed suspect.

But for decades police have been arming themselves with military equipment like M16s, grenade launchers, and armored personnel carriers.

“At first when they got it, the idea was, yeah, this is extraordinary weaponry, we’ll have it just in case we’ll ever need it.” But as decades went by, police started to use them to enforce drug warrants and then started carrying them on routine calls.

Approximately 7:30.

Written and produced by Paul Detrick. Camera by Jim Epstein, Joshua Swain and Tracy Oppenheimer.

Gavin Polone on Hollywood Hypocrites, Bad Film Subsidies, and the Future of the Industry

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 14:36:00 EDT

"In the entertainment industry, you see a lot of very preachy people, who are very 'Save the Bay,'" says Gavin Polone, a Hollywood producer, former talent agent and columnist for New York Magazine's Vulture.com. "And then, you know, they're getting on a private plane."

Polone, who's produced such memorable projects as Curb Your Enthusiasm, Panic Room, Zombieland, and Gilmore Girls, has a reputation for speaking his mind, even when what he's saying isn't popular. He sat down to speak with ReasonTV's Zach Weissmueller about the irritating and hypocritical preachiness of celebrities, why film subsidies are killing the entertainment industry and hurting the economy, the urgent need for the studios to adapt to new technology more quickly, and why he describes his politics as "more libertarian than anything else."

About 9.30 minutes. Interview by Zach Weissmueller. Shot by Sharif Matar, Alex Manning and Tracy Oppenheimer. Edited by Weissmueller.

Scroll down for downloadable versions and subscribe to ReasonTV's YouTube channel for automatic notification when new material goes live.

Atlas Shrugged Part II: Behind the Scenes

Mon, 30 Jul 2012 11:00:00 EDT

ReasonTV visited the set of Atlas Shrugged Part II, the second installment in the new film adaptation of Ayn Rand's epic 1957 novel. The movie is set to hit theaters on October 11, 2012.

About 1.30 minutes. Shot by Sharif Matar and Tracy Oppenheimer and edited by Joshua Swain.

Read Brian Doherty's account of the filming here.

Check out Reason's ever-growing playlist of videos related to Ayn Rand and the continuing interest in her life and work. The videos feature interviews and commentary from Nathaniel Branden, Barbara Branden, Yaron Brook, David Kelley, Robert Poole, biographers Anne C. Heller and Jennifer Burns, and many more.

Read Reason on Ayn Rand.

Scroll down for downloadable versions and subscribe to ReasonTV's YouTube channel for automatic notification when new material goes live.

Greg Lukianoff: How Colleges Fight Free Speech

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 00:00:00 EDT

“You can get in trouble for saying almost anything these days on a college campus,” says Greg Lukianoff, president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education.

Lukianoff’s latest book, Unlearning Liberty: Campus Censorship and the End of American Debate, discusses 11 years of free speech restrictions and the how college bureaucrats have hampered open debate and encouraged a culture of uncritical thinking.

Reason correspondent Kennedy sat down with Lukianoff at FreedomFest to discuss the book, his work at FIRE, and what students can do to fight back.    

Held each July in Las Vegas, FreedomFest is attended by over 2,000 limited-government enthusiasts and libertarians a year. ReasonTV spoke with over two dozen speakers and attendees and will be releasing interviews over the coming weeks. For an ever-growing playlist, go here.

About 4 minutes.

Shot by Tracy Oppenhiemer and Alex Manning. Edited by Joshua Swain.

Scroll down for downloadable versions and subscribe to our YouTube Channel to receive notifications when new material goes live.

Yaron Brook: Ayn Rand vs. Big Government

Thu, 26 Jul 2012 09:00:00 EDT

"People don't vote their pocketbooks, people vote what they think is right," says Yaron Brook, president of The Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights and author of Free Market Revolution: How Ayn Rand's Ideas Can End Big Government.

"So we need a moral revolution in this country, and that's how we get a free market revolution."

At FreedomFest 2012, Reason's Matt Welch sat down with Brook to discuss what Obama has meant for sales of Atlas Shrugged, why big government hurts the poor, and how Ayn Rand inspired the Tea Party.

Held each July in Las Vegas, FreedomFest is attended by around 2,000 limited-government enthusiasts and libertarians a year. ReasonTV spoke with over two dozen speakers and attendees and will be releasing interviews over the coming weeks. For an ever-growing playlist, go here now.

About 7 minutes.

Camera by Tracy Oppenheimer and Alex Manning; edited by Jim Epstein.

Scroll down for downloadable versions and subscribe to our YouTube Channel to receive notifications when new material goes live.

What We Saw at the Drug Enforcement Administration Museum

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 00:00:00 EDT

Since 1999, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has run a museum in Arlington, Virginia that showcases the agency's "tradition of excellence" and the "impact of federal drug law enforcement on the changing trends of licit and illicit drug use in American history."

Visitors can check out a replica of a '70s-era head shop, jerry-rigged works for shooting up and getting high, exhibits dedicated to the opium wars and cocaine cartels, and good, old-fashioned propaganda such as the classic movie Reefer Madness.

Take a guided tour of the place with ReasonTV correspondent Kennedy. And don't forget to exit through the gift shop and pick up DEA compression shorts by Under Armour or a K-9 plush dog stuffed animal.

Shot by Jim Epstein and Joshua Swain. Edited by Swain.

About 2.30 minutes.

Scroll down for downloadable versions and subscribe to ReasonTV's YouTube Channel to receive notifications when new material goes live.

Ron Paul and the GOP Convention

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 00:00:00 EDT

"What [Ron Paul supporters] need to do is prove to the Republican Party that they are not just a radical fringe that can be completely ignored, like in 2008, but that they are the loyal opposition, the other big wing of the party," says Reason Senior Editor Brian Doherty, author of Ron Paul's Revolution.

Doherty says that even though Paul didn't win Nebraska and will not have a prime speaking slot at the GOP Convention, Paul and his supporters will still be there in full force.

"His fans are unstoppable...There will be hundreds of them on the convention floor."

Paul has influenced the GOP unequivocally in terms on monetary policy, "an issue that had no traction whatsoever until five years ago," says Doherty, "and now he can get every Republican in the House and plenty of Democrats to vote for 'Audit the Fed' bills."

ReasonTV's Nick Gillespie caught up with Doherty at FreedomFest to discuss what can be expected from Ron Paul and his supporters heading into the convention and the future of the GOP.

Shot by Tracy Oppenhiemer and Alex Manning. Edited by Oppenheimer. About 4 minutes.

Held each July in Las Vegas, FreedomFest is attended by over 2,000 limited-government enthusiasts and libertarians a year. ReasonTV spoke with over two dozen speakers and attendees and will be releasing interviews over the coming weeks.

Scroll down for downloadable versions and subscribe to ReasonTV's YouTube Channel to receive notifications when new material goes live.