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FreedomWorks' Matt Kibbe on the Hostile Takeover of The GOP

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 00:00:00 EDT

"We understand that Republicans helped get us into this fix," says FreedomWorks president and CEO Matt Kibbe, who has been instrumental in supporting Tea Party challengers within Republican primaries. "It's a little bit like Groundhog Day: I feel like we keep teaching Republicans the same lessons over and over again"

Kibbe's newest book, Hostile Takeover: Resisting Centralized Government's Stranglehold on America, calls for a grassroots rebellion against the "upper management" of government.

"The phrase Hostile Takeover actually comes from an op-ed [former Rep.] Dick Armey and I wrote leading up the the 2010 election where we argued we had to beat the Republicans before we beat the Democrats."

Reason's Nick Gillespie caught up with Kibbe at FreedomFest to discuss the book, the power of the Tea Party, and the marquee races to watch in 2012.

Shot by Tracy Oppenhiemer and Alex Manning. Edited by Meredith Bragg. About 4:30 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.

Matt Welch Discusses Libertarianism on the Rise at Freedom Fest with RT

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 00:00:00 EDT

Reason editor in chief Matt Welch appeared on RTAmerica to discuss the events at Freedom Fest, the increasing popularity of Gary Johnson, and how the media doesn't take libertarianism seriously. Air Date: July 12, 2012.

Almost 10 minutes.

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How Washington Learned to Love Video Games

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 00:00:00 EDT

The Smithsonian American Art Museum's exhibit, The Art of Video Games, is the latest sign that official Washington has finally learned to love Pac-Man, Super Mario Brothers, and their digital spawn. A mere two decades ago, members of the nascent gaming industry were hauled before Congress and publicly scolded for promoting violence, sexism, racism, and even crimes against humanity. As Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) stated in his opening remarks at a 1993 hearing, "Instead of enriching a child's mind, these games teach a child to enjoy inflicting torture."

But then a funny thing happened: As video games became ever more popular, brutal, and artistic, violent crime in America was declining precipitously. As parental and legislative panic over violence—both real and imagined—subsided, the gaming industry blossomed into the multibillion dollar business it is today.  

The video game hysteria of the 1990s followed a predictable cycle, explains University of Southern California sociologist Karen Sternheimer: "Ever since the first nickelodeon [movie theater] opened there are people who were afraid of the impact of popular culture and tried to regulate them right away."

 And just like film, rock music, and comic books before them, video games are no longer merely tolerated, but embraced by Washington, from the formation of a new congressional caucus to the placement of campaign ads on XBox games to the entombing of a Commodore 64 behind plexiglass at the Smithsonian.  

"This exhibition could not have happened at any other point in history than right now," declares Smithsonian curator Chris Melissinos. "For the first time we have gamers raising gamers. I believe, from this point forward, you are going to see a greater more rapid appropriation and acceptance of video games as anything from art to a worthwhile pursuit."

Roughly 5:30 minutes.

Produced by Meredith Bragg and Nick Gillespie, who narrates. Camera by Paul Detrick, Tracy Oppenheimer, and Bragg.

The Art of Video Games exhibition is on display from March 16, 2012 through September 30, 2012.

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Walter Cronkite wasn't the Most Trusted Man in America? Q&A with author Joseph Campbell

Tue, 26 Jun 2012 00:00:00 EDT

"It's safe to say that Walter Cronkite was not the most trusted man in America, and it's safe to say he was not even the most trusted man among newsmen," says American University Professor Joseph Campbell, author of Getting it Wrong.

Campbell says the 1972 survey that gave Cronkite the title of "Most Trusted Man" compared Cronkite with prominent politicians of the time, not newscasters, and so he "inevitably came out on top." He says CBS then used the survey results to promote the network.

"It was a way to tout Walter Cronkite as a source to go to for election coverage among the three networks," says Campbell.

Campbell sat down with ReasonTV's Nick Gillespie to discuss Cronkite and other myths propelled by the media.

Approximately 6 minutes.

Shot by Jim Epstein and Tracy Oppenheimer, and edited by Oppenheimer.

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The Swing Vote: Why Independents Will Decide the 2012 Election

Sat, 19 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT

"In the past four years, two and a half million people have left the Democratic and Republican parties," explains Linda Killian, author of the new book The Swing Vote: The Untapped Power of Independents. Not only are these voters sick of the two dominant parties, Killian believes they are increasingly determining electoral outcomes. "They voted for Barack Obama, they voted for the Democrats in 2006, [but] they swung 19 points in voting for the Republicans in 2010."

Killian sat down with Reason.tv's Nick Gillespie to examine what makes a swing voter, their growing importance, and if their socially tolerant and fiscally responsible viewpoints should buoy libertarians.

Runs about 6.40 minutes

Produced by Meredith Bragg. Camera by Meredith Bragg and Josh Swain.

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Matt Welch Discusses Attacks Ads, Super PACs, and Alienated Independents with Jansing & Co.

Fri, 18 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT

Reason Editor in Chief, Matt Welch appeared on Jansing & Co. to discuss the fine line between campaign and super PAC ads and whether the increase in attack ads from Obama and Romney will further alienate independents and moderates. Air date: May 18, 2012.

Approximately 12.50 minutes.

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What We Saw at Occupy Wall Street's May Day Protest in NYC (feat. Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello)

Wed, 02 May 2012 09:00:00 EDT

Occupy Wall Street held a "General Strike" to commemorate May Day in New York City. Led by Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, the "Guitarmy" of a few thousand people noisily marched 28 blocks down Fifth Avenue toward Union Square Park.

Reason.tv was on the scene to speak with Morello, USMC Sgt. Shamar Thomas (who became a viral video sensation after screaming at NYPD officers during an OWS protest last year), rival zombie marchers, and a few self-described lefties who've just had it with President Obama.

Runs about 5 minutes.

Produced by Anthony L. Fisher, with camera by Nathan Chaffetz, Sean McElwee and Fisher.

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Kennedy, Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch Talk 2012 Presidential Race

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 10:00:00 EDT

"Could Gary Johnson be the Ross Perot of 2012?" asks Reason Contributor Kennedy.

Reason.tv's Nick Gillespie and Reason's Matt Welch joined Kennedy for a discussion about the future of the "libertarian moment," now that the Presidential race has come down to "two guys who love to spend money."

Other topics discussed: the Obama Administration's "strong suggestion" that private companies drug test their employees, income inequality in the wake of the Buffet Rule's failure, and Sen. Richard Lugar's "fantastic legs."

About 6.30 minutes.

Produced by Anthony L. Fisher. Camera by Josh Swain, Meredith Bragg and Jim Epstein.

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Why Democrat vs. Republican is the Wrong Way to Look at the 2012 Election: Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch at Reason Weekend

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 08:00:00 EDT

"We had a non-Obama president recently, his name was George W. Bush, it wasn't all puppy dogs and rainbows," says Reason's Matt Welch. "Being Republican is not enough to counter Obama. Mitt Romney is not offering an alternative to Obama," adds Reason.tv's Nick Gillespie.

From Newt Gingrich's inexplicable campaign chatter about a taxpayer-subsidized colony on the moon to Mitt Romney's refusal to discuss any specific spending cuts he would implement as president, Republicans continue to offer no real substantive alternative to President Obama's spendthrift economic policies.

Welch and Gillespie, the co-authors of "The Declaration of Independents: How Libertarian Politics Can Fix What's Wrong with America," hosted the discussion "Why Democrat vs. Republican is the Wrong Way to Look at the 2012 Election" at Reason Weekend, the annual donor event held by Reason Foundation (the nonprofit that publishes this website).

Runs about 30.41 minutes.

Produced by Anthony L. Fisher, shot by Josh Swain and Fisher.

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Don't You Dare Try to Feed the Homeless in Bloomy's NYC (Nanny of the Month, March 2012!)

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 00:00:00 EDT

This month Alabama lawmakers were itching to make it a criminal offense to annoy people online (isn't that what the interweb is all about?), and a national poll exposed the split personality of Americans who pretend to support individual responsibility, all the while cheering bans on smoking, transfats and the like.

But this month top dishonors go to the man who is perhaps the busiest busybody of them all, the big-city mayor who decided to halt private donations to his city's homeless shelters (after all, who can be sure that such donations wouldn't fill homeless people with fatty or salty food?!).

Presenting Reason.tv's Nanny of the Month for March 2012: New York City Mayor Meddlin' Mike Bloomberg!

Approximately 87 seconds.

"Nanny of the Month" is written and produced by Ted Balaker. Opening animation by Meredith Bragg.

To watch more Nanny of the Month episodes, go here: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2DD00E99B83A258A

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Remy: Health Care Mandates vs Pizza Toppings

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 00:00:00 EDT

Internet sensation Remy explains how pizza can tell us a lot about health care mandates.

Written and performed by Remy and produced by Meredith Bragg.

About 2.30 minutes. Scroll down for downloadable versions. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to get automatic updates when new material goes live.

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For a complete playlist of Reason.tv's health care coverage, go here

For more Remy & Reason.tv vids go here

For even more Remy, go to http://youtube.com/goremy

For more information about state by state minimum coverage mandates, visit www.cahi.org

Brian Doherty Discusses Ron Paul's Next Move after Super Tuesday on RT

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 00:00:00 EST

GOP candidate Ron Paul didn't win a any states on Super Tuesday but as Reason senior editor Brian Doherty explains on RT that Ron Paul has succeed in establishing a thriving, activist community for his libertarian ideas that will influence future political debates to come. Airdate: March 7, 2012.

10.10 minutes.

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Remy: Cough Drops-The Mandate (featuring Sandra Fluke)

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 00:00:00 EST

Remy crashes Sandra Fluke's Congressional testimony to demand a mandate for his cough drop addiction.

"Remy: Cough Drops-The Mandate" is one of a series of collaborations between Remy and Reason.tv. To watch Remy's other videos, go to youtube.com/goremy.

Approximately 1:50 minutes. Lyrics by Remy. Video shot and produced by Meredith Bragg.

More from Reason on Sandra Fluke and the cost of contraception:

Make the Pill Cheaper by Making it Over the Counter

Sandra Fluke's Protection Racket

It's Like Totally Different When a Liberal Blowhard Guy Calls a Conservative Woman a Twat!

Download the mp3 and HD versions at below, and subscribe to Reason.tv's YouTube channel.

Lyrics:
Yeah and listen up peeps, you better check the deal
We got another mandate we gone straight reveal
And if you don't listen up, we be walking out
Yeah you know cough drops what we talking about

Take a look at this graph, you gonna holler with fear
Cough drops costing me a hundred dollars a year
I'm talking Halls, Ludens, to keep me alive
It's like a dog-fighting ring, I need Vicks to survive

It's preventative medicine, suppressing my cough? Word.
I need a vote from each of you--oh, that's kind of awkward
Cough drops are so tasty--how is it allowed?
Yeah, this guy knows what I'm talking about.

Cherry, honey lemon, or the mentho-lytus
Directly to my house's where I suggest you ship this
They come in all kinds of colors and flavors galore
Even sheep sk--wait, I think this one's yours

I appreciate the testimony, very profound
We need to verify this policy is morally sound
And there's one reasonable way to see if it should be allowed
And it's to probe you internally, can somebody get me a towel?

My apologies for the gentleman across the aisle
He doesn't understand mandates, he hasn't been here a while
I see no reason we shouldn't pass your request
Just let me double check, yep, it passes our test

This is not about "men's health," this is not a prescription
Mandate Men's Health, 12 month subscription
Your party has no respect for individual rights
Now come on up here, I'd like to check your insides

Well I guess it's safe to say this has kind of devolved
Maybe it's not the best idea to have these people involved
So I think I'm gonna bounce, put this one on the shelf
Hit up the drug store--get some cough drops myself.

Why Gay Marriage is Winning

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 01:00:00 EST

With Washington state recently legalizing same-sex unions and Maryland about to follow suit, gay marriage hasn't been on this big a roll since Bert and Ernie first shacked up on Sesame Street. When Maryland finalizes its bill, seven states and the District of Columbia will sanction the practice.

But before you bust out the appletinis and Indigo Girls CDs to celebrate, consider that just last year in Maryland - a deep-blue, Democratic-majority state when it comes to politics - gay marriage went down faster than George Michael in a public restroom due to resistance from socially conservative African Americans in the Democratic Party. Indeed, while 71 percent of white Democrats in the Old Line State favor gay marriage, just 41 percent of black Democrats do.

So what's different this time around? Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley and other pro-marriage legislators took a page from New York's gay playbook and reached around to sympathetic Republicans to seal the deal.

Inconceivable even a generation ago, gay marriage is well on its way to becoming mainstream as a growing majority of Americans now favor it. The only question is when, not if, folks such as Maryland residents Justin and Phillip Terry-Smith will join heterosexuals in the joys of getting married - and divorced - happily ever after.

About 2.30 minutes. Produced by Joshua Swain. Written by Nick Gillespie and Kennedy, who also hosts.

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Shikha Dalmia Discusses how Ayn Rand was an Illegal Immigrant on WSJ.com

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

Reason Foundation's senior policy analyst Shikha Dalmia appeared on Wall Street Journal's video blog to discuss Ayn Rand's early history in America as an illegal immigrant as well as how immigration policy is playing a decisive role in the GOP race. Air Date: Feb 16, 2012.

Approximately 6.39 minutes.

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Former MTV VJ Kennedy on Her Libertarian Evolution

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

As current drive time radio host on KYSR in Los Angeles and former MTV VJ Kennedy explains it, early reactions to her political leanings were pretty consistent. "Your name is Kennedy, and you're a Republican, and you're on MTV? What?!"

At Reason Weekend 2012, Reason Foundation's annual donor event, Kennedy sat down with Reason's Nick Gillespie to discuss her transformation from Dan Quayle fetishist to hardcore libertarian, a Republican tattoo, and her recent fight with HBO's Bill Maher over atheism.

About 28 minutes. Filmed by Joshua Swain and Anthony Fisher. Edited by Meredith Bragg.

http://www.facebook.com/Kennedynation

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"Romney is an echo, not a choice when it comes to Obama" - Nick Gillespie on Freedom Watch

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

Reason.tv editor in chief Nick Gillespie appeared on Freedom Watch to discuss the love/hate relationship Republicans has with Mitt Romney and whether Ron Paul can challenge the future status quo of the GOP. Air Date: February 13, 2012.

About 3:47 minutes.

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Mike Riggs Discusses MegaUpload, Niall Ferguson, & Tim Tebow on Alyona's Happy Hour

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

Reason Associate Editor Mike Riggs appeared on the Alyona Show's Happy Hour to discuss the torrent site BTJunkie voluntarily shutting down after learning MegaUpload's fate, genetically modified babies, Niall Ferguson's comments on war with Iran, and Tim Tebow's political side. Airdate: Feb 6, 2012.

8.44 minutes.

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Peter Suderman Talks Romney Flip Flops on Freedom Watch

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

Reason Associate Editor Peter Suderman appeared on Freedom Watch to discuss Mitt Romney's book, No Apology, and Romney's record of flip-flops on healthcare. Air date: 2/1/2012.

Approximately 5:29 minutes.

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3 Reasons Not to Get Worked Up Over Super PACs

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST

Everybody and their brother – even Stephen Colbert - is freaking out about “super PACs,” which are an outgrowth of the Citzens United decision in 2010.

Traditional political action committees (PACs) are subject to federal limits on how much money donors can give in specific election cycles. Super PACS allow groups such as nonprofit corporations and unions to spend unlimited money on political speech as long as they don’t coordinate their activity with the official campaign of a given candidate.

But for all the bellyaching, here are three good reasons not to get worked up over super PACS.

1. Billionaires don’t need them to influence elections.

In the wake of an anti-Mitt Romney documentary from Winning Our Future, a group tied to billionaire Sheldon Adelstein,The New York Times fretted that the film – which has had little or no effect on Romney’s candidacay – “underscores how [Citizens United] has made it possible for a wealthy individual to influence an election.”

Actually, it’s always been legal for rich people to spend what they want as long as they make “independent expenditures” that aren’t coordinated with official campaigns. Billionares don’t need super Pacs to get their message out. But super PACS may just let the rest of us have our say.

2. Super PACS Go Negative – and That’s a Good Thing!

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), whose campaign finance legislation was rendered moot by Citizens United, complains that super Pacs not only flood elections with money but flood it with negative messages. McCain, who lost a run for presidency, admits that negative campaigning works, but doesn’t like the tone.

Yet study after study shows not only that negative advertising works with voters, but that negative ads actually contain more information than gauzy paeans to American and the virtues of the candidates who pay for such spots.

3. Super PACS Take Power Away From the Parties.

There’s no question that super PACs seek to benefit some candidates by taking aim at others. Adelstein, the moneybags behind the anti-Romney documentary, is known to be a Newt Gingrich fan.

But as long as super PACs don’t coordinate with candidates or official party apparatchiks, they take messaging out of the hands of party leaders and spread it around elsewhere in a way that has got to be more representative of more views of more voters.

Super PACs are the latest casus belli in the push for controlling specifically political speech in the name of making elections fairer. There’s no doubt that they are a loophole arising from the last round of campaign finance reform and the attempt to limit the amount of money politicians would have to raise to get their message out.

It’s time to recognize that the only way to stop creating new loopholes is by ending the always ineffective laws designed to lower the cost office-seekers need to spend to buy our votes.

About 3 minutes long. Written and narrated by Nick Gillespie. Produced by Meredith Bragg.

Go to Reason.tv for downloadable versions of our videos.

Reason on campaign finance.

Matt Welch Discusses the Buffett Rule and His Favorite Beatles Songs on Varney & Co.

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:00:00 EST

Reason magazine Editor in Chief, Matt Welch appeared on Varney & Co. to discuss Warren Buffett's confusion between income tax and capital gains tax and why debt is not a revenue problem but a spending problem. Welch also reveals his favorite Beatles' songs. Air date: January 26, 2012.

Approximately 2.34 minutes.

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Tim Cavanaugh Discusses Gingrich and Political Sex Scandals with Thom Hartmann

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:00:00 EST

Reason Senior Editor Tim Cavanaugh to discuss Gingrich's proposed open marriage with then-wife Marianne Gingrich and Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) prostitution scandal with Thom Hartmann. Air Date: January 20, 2012.

Approximately 11.29 minutes

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Can a White Libertarian Man Represent Chinatown in Congress?

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:00:00 EST

Meet Dan O'Connor, a self-described libertarian Democrat who wants to represent New York's District 12 - which includes Chinatown and parts of Queens and Brooklyn - in Congress.

O'Connor spent six years living in China, so he feels a connection to the inhabitants of Manhattan's Chinatown, who he says share his views that taxes and regulations on businessess are too high, immigration laws too onerous, and school-choice programs too small. Those positions play well in the rest of the district across the East River too, he says. So does his belief that defense spending should be cut and troops brought home, that the Federal Reserve should be audited, and that politicians should be term-limited. Indeed, should O'Connor manage to unseat the Democractic incumbent, Nydia Velazquez, in September's primary, he's pledged to serve no more than four terms.

O'Connor faces an uphill struggle, for sure. Reason's Matt Welch spoke with him at last summer's FreedomFest in Las Vegas, and his ideas are striking for their uniqueness among office seekers calling themselves Democrats. This interview in no way represents an endorsement, but there's no doubt O'Connor is an interesting character with whom to spend a few minutes.

His website is here.

About 4 minutes. Shot by Jim Epstein and Zach Weissmueller and edited by Joshua Swain.

Held each July in Las Vegas, FreedomFest is attended by around 2,000 limited-government enthusiasts and libertarians a year. Reason.tv 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.

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Matt Welch Explains Why the Tea Party and Libertarians Cant Support Mitt Romney on Fox's Cavuto

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 00:00:00 EST

Reason Magazine Editor-in-Chief Matt Welch appeared on Fox Business Channel's Cavuto to discuss whether libertarian and other small government conservatives would support Mitt Romney if he got the Republican nomination. Matt thinks we still have alternatives to the big government conservative, who he thinks can't and wont really cut any spending.

Air Date: 1/13/2012.

Approximately 5 minutes.

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3 Takeaways from the New Hampshire Primary

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:00:00 EST

Mitt Romney won a decisive victory in the New Hampshire primary last night, the second-largest margin of victory for a non-incumbent in over 30 years. But will Ron Paul's second place finish turn this into a two-man race? Can Romney win on electability alone?

Reason Magazine Editor in Chief Matt Welch gives three quick takeaways from the New Hampshire primary.

About 3 minutes long.

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3 Reasons Conservatives Should Cut Defense Spending Now!

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST

The Congressional Budget Office projects that if we keep spending the way we have been, federal debt held by the public will grow from around 60 percent of GDP to a whopping 82 percent of GDP over the next decade, with no end in sight. That’s the sort of borrowing that can ruin a country's economy.

Conservative Republicans are happy to talk about cutting spending on the poor, education, and cowboy poetry readings, but they insist that spending on defense and homeland security be increased.

Given that spending on defense and homeland security accounts for a whopping 20 percent of the government’s budget, that’s a non-starter. As with every other legitimate function of government, we need to squeeze spending down to the lowest level possible that still gets the job done.

Here are three reasons conservatives – and all other red-blooded Americans – should cut defense spending now.

1. War is Over! Didn’t we just win – or at least end – the war in Iraq? And aren’t we winding down in Afghanistan? After World War II, Vietnam, and the end of the Cold War, military spending got cut, as it should have been.

More to the point, spending on the military and homeland security grew by 90 percent in inflation-adjusted dollars since 2000. If al Qaeda and most international terrorists groups have been largely vanquished, we should not just be bringing the troops home, but dollars too.

Unless, that is, conservatives want to seriously argue that nearly doubling outlays for the past decade haven’t yielded results that would allow us to dial down defense spending.

2. What price safety? The United States already accounts for about 45 percent of the planet’s military outlays – more than the next 14 countries combined. Most of those countries are our allies as well, so we should be able to stay safe while reducing our military spending.

It’s a conservative truism that government programs, even ones that are sanctioned by the constitution, tend to be bloated, inefficient, and incompetent. Surely that same logic applies to the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security. In fact, Republican Reps. John Mica and Paul Broun marked the 10th anniversary of the Transportation Security Administration with a report that concluded that after spending $56 billion in security measures, flying is no safer now than it was before the 9/11 attacks.

If conservatives can’t find wasteful spending and useless programs in defense and homeland security to cut, they’ve got bigger problems than terrorists to deal with.

3. Attacking the Military-Industrial Complex is a Republican Virtue – And Good Politics. It was a Republican president – the war hero Dwight Eisenhower – who sounded the alarm about the military-industrial complex’s insidious ability to grow and grow like a cancer on the American body politic. And right now, it’s Democrats such as Defense Secretary Leon Panentta leading the cry for a blank check despite admitting that there are tons of duplicative programs in his department.

In his proposed 2011 budget, President Barack Obama actually calls for bigger spending on defense and homeland security than the Republicans do. Obama’s recent announcement that he may trim some planned increases over the next decade doesn’t change that.

Americans are rightly tired not just of dubious, inconclusive wars that have led to the death of thousands of Americans and hundreds of thousands of others. A growing number of us are tired of out-of-control spending by a Washington elite that is totally out of touch with everyday Americans.

If conservatives want to push forward on reducing spending on Medicaid and other domestic programs, they should show that they take their own limited government philosophy seriously by pushing for defense cuts between now and the 2012 elections.

About 3 minutes long. Scroll down for downloadable versions of all our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel to receive automatic notifications when new material goes live.

Nick Gillespie is editor in chief of Reason.com and Reason.tv, and the co-author of The Declaration of Independents: How Libertarian Politics Can Fix What's Wrong with America. Follow him on Twitter: @nickgillespie.

Meredith Bragg is a producer at Reason.tv, a 2010 finalist for digital National Magazine Award for his video work, and an active musician and performer.

Katherine Mangu-Ward Talks A Libertarian Year in Review on Stossel

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 00:00:00 EST

Reason Senior Editor Katherine Mangu-Ward joined John Stossel, David Boaz, Jeffrey Miron, and Kmele Foster to discuss a libertarian perspective on 2011 - from the consequences of new economic regulations, U.S. foreign policy in Iraq and Libya, to the Occupy Wall Street Movement.

Approximately 21.41 minutes.

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Jacob Sullum Talks 'Dangerous' Newt on Freedom Watch

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 13:00:00 EST

Reason Senior Editor Jacob Sullum appeared on Fox News' Freedom Watch With Judge Napolitano to discuss why he thinks Newt Gingrich is a dangerous candidate for the Republican nomination for president.

Air Date: December 21, 2011.

Approximately 4:55 minutes.

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Nick Gillespie on Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld, Talks About An Occupy College Course, Expanding the TSA and Other Mistakes

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 00:00:00 EST

Reason.tv editor in chief Nick Gillespie appeared Fox News' Red Eye to discuss various topics, including Romney's gambling, the Occupy movement, the TSA and other current event disasters. Airdate: December 13, 2011.

Approximately 40 minutes.

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Peter Schiff Talks to The One Percent: "The Economy is about to implode...we're not even near the bottom yet"

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 10:00:00 EST

"You Got this Occupy Wall Street crowd that wants to have a communist revolution," says investment guru and outspoken defender of free enterprise Peter Schiff, "but hopefully we can have more of a free-market...second American revolution and understand all the pain we're about to endure is because of government. It's not because of capitalism."

Schiff caused a sensation last month when he visited New York's Zuccotti Park and argued with Occupy Wall Street protesters about the causes of and solutions to the Great Recession. In this video, he talks to "the 1 Percent," a group of wealthy individuals who gathered recently in the Bel Air home of Judd Weiss .

Regardless of his audience, Schiff's message in entirely consistent: Cronyism and government policies have distorted the economy and "we're not even near the bottom yet" in terms of the downturn.

About 6 minutes. Shot by Sharif Matar and Tracy Oppenheimer and edited by Oppenheimer.

To watch other Schiff videos and all of Reason.tv's Occupy Wall Street (and LA and DC!) videos, go here.

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Peter Schiff at Occupy Wall Street (OWS): Uncut, Unfiltered, Unleashed!

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 10:00:00 EST

Back by popular demand, it's Peter Schiff at Occupy Wall Street. And this time, he's uncut, unfiltered, and unleashed!

Last week, Reason.tv released an 18-minute video of investment guru, radio show host, and unflappable defender of capitalism Peter Schiff as he spent three hours among the Occupy Wall Street protesters in Manhattan's Zuccotti Park. Standing next to a sign reading "I Am The 1%, Let's Talk," Schiff debated, argued, and occasionally found common ground with the Occupiers.

In response to the overwhelming demand for more Schiff at OWS, we're happy to release all the audible footage we've got - almost two hours worth. Beyond his ability to answer all questions, the most amazing thing is how Schiff wins the hearts and minds of many Occupy diehards by explaining the differences between cronyism and capitalism, the need for sound money, and why the government can't be trusted to regulate the very banks it bailed out.

About 1 hour, 45 minutes. Go to Reason.tv for downloadable versions of our videos and subscribe to Reason.tv's YouTube channel for automatic notification when new material goes live online.

Check out Schiff's Euro Pacific Capital.

Listen to his radio show online at www.schiffradio.com

Buy his latest book, How an Economy Grows and Why it Crashes.
Produced by Anthony L. Fisher. Camera by Nathan Chaffetz.

For Reason's coverage of the Occupy movement in New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and elsewhere, go here.

For a playlist of Reason.tv's always-expanding video coverage of the Occupy movement, go here.

California vs. The Feds: Obama's DOJ Cracks Down on Medical Marijuana

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 00:00:00 EST

The federal government is in the midst of a crackdown on medical marijuana dispensaries across the state of California.

This is despite repeated claims from President Obama and his Department of Justice that they would not devote federal resources to circumventing state medical marijuana laws.

"The law has been hijacked by profiteers who are motivated not by compassion, but by money," said Melinda Haag, one of California's U.S. Attorneys, at a DOJ press conference on October 11, 2011.

Aaron Sandusky, owner of G3 Holistic, a group of medical marijuana dispensaries in California's Inland Empire, is one such target of the DOJ's crackdown on medical marijuana "profiteers." The DOJ sent him a letter promising to shut down his operations within 14 days. And they followed through.

Reason.tv talked to Sandusky, who's long battled the city of Upland's sordid handling of medical marijuana dispensaries, before and after he was raided.

"We all want the same thing," said Sandusky. "We want to see less crime. That's why we have these places."

Sgt. Glenn Walsh and Agent Mark Brewster, both members of the California Narcotic Officer's Association, believe that the stepped up enforcement from the DOJ is a positive development.

"There's no avenue in the law, whatsoever, to accommodate the sales of marijuana," Brewster said.

Walsh concurs, arguing that California's Prop 215 and SB 420 allow for the collective cultivation of medical marijuana but do not allow for a single cent to exchange hands during that process.

"If it's my land, and I want to help you cultivate marijuana [on it], I can do that," said Walsh. "You cannot, however, reimburse me for any expenses."

The prospect of cultivating and distributing a legal product to a large demand base without any money changing hands seems far-fetched to medical marijuana growers and sellers like Sandusky, who himself invested hundreds of thousands of dollars and years of his life in a grower's facility before it was raided and destroyed in early November.

"They seized all of our assets, all of my personal assets," said Sandusky. "I have sixty dollars in my pocket. That's it."

The DOJ has issued threatening letters to dozens of dispensaries across the state and plans to continue shutting them down one by one. While some in the government work to shield Obama from criticism on the issue, the President has so far remained curiously silent on the crackdowns.

About 10 minutes, 30 seconds. Written and Produced by Zach Weissmueller. Associate Producer is Tracy Oppenheimer. Shot by Paul Detrick, Oppenheimer, and Weissmueller.

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Keeping New Hampshire Awesome: Q&A with the Free State Project President Carla Gericke

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 00:00:00 EST

Occasionally criticized for "invading" or "colonizing" New Hampshire, the Free State Project is simply "trying to keep New Hampshire awesome!," according to the organization's president Carla Gericke. As the movement's self-described "bus driver," Gericke is trying to bring 20,000 people to the Live Free or Die state to build a model community for libertarians.

Reason Magazine Editor in Chief Matt Welch sat down with Gericke to talk about the project, why they chose New Hampshire, and the local response to "anarchist toenails."

Approximately 6 minutes. Shot by Zach Weissmueller and Jim Epstein, and edited by Joshua Swain.

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For more Reason coverage on the Free State Project, check out Operation Free State and Reason.tv's interview with director of Libertopia Christina Heller.

Occupy Thanksgiving: A Message of Hope, Redemption, and Dada

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 12:00:00 EST

In a time of 9 percent unemployment, a faltering global economy, toxic levels of political rancor, and the release of Twilight: Breaking Dawn, is there anything left to be thankful for?

Reason offers a message of hope, redemption, and dada.

About 30 seconds. Produced by Meredith Bragg and Nick Gillespie.

Key moments in Thanksgiving history:

1621: Pilgrims in Plymouth Plantation, Massachusetts and Wampanoag Indians celebrate a harvest feast that is generally acknowledged as the precursor to Thanksgiving.

1675-1676: About 40 percent of Wampanoag tribe killed by colonists and other Indians during King Phillip's War.

1777: During Revolutionary War, Continental Congress makes first Thanksgiving proclamation, declaring December 18 a day that no work should be done or fun should be had, thus paving the way for the contemporary tradition of spending time with family and watching dull NFL games featuring the Detroit Lions. The original declaration instructs "That servile Labor, and such Recreation, as, though at other Times innocent, may be unbecoming the Purpose of this Appointment, be omitted on so solemn an Occasion."

1863: Abraham Lincoln sets the last Thursday in November as the date for a national holiday dedicated to the idea that even with the Civil War raging, things had been going pretty well when you got right down to it: "Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years, with large increase of freedom."

1915: Preacher William Simmons and 15 others revived the Ku Klux Klan by burning a cross on Georgia's Stone Mountain on Thanksgiving, tying the event to the Atlanta opening the following week of D.W. Griffith's pro-Klan movie, The Birth of a Nation.

1924: First Macy's Day Parade held in New York City featuring live animals on floats. After multiple episodes of tigers and bears eating beauty queens and local politicians, the animals are replaced in 1927 with balloons of Felix the Cat and other characters.

1939: In a bid to lengthen the Christmas retail season, Franklin Roosevelt unilaterally declared Thanksgiving would take place on the third Thursday in November rather than the last, thus giving rise to what was derided as "Franksgiving" and what lives on as Black Friday. In 1941, federal legislation declared Thanksgiving would be celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November, marking the last time that Congress passed a law that didn't cost future generations a lot of money.

1987: Ronald Reagan initiates the custom of publicly pardoning a turkey on Thanksgiving; lives to regret it when George H.W. Bush succeeds him as president. Subsequent presidents pardon two turkeys each holiday, because two is twice as good as one.

2009: President Barack Obama fattens turkeys with stimulus dollars, predicts swift end to surprisingly persistent economic downturn that he inherited from previous occupant.

2011: In a bid to appeal to GOP voters, free-falling Republican presidential candidate Gov. Rick Perry of Texas refuses to review clemency requests and approves the execution of innocent turkeys. For the purposes of school-lunch programs, federal government declares pizza a vegetable and pepper spray a condiment for educational institutions.

Sources: Wikipedia, 10ZenMonkeys.com, Fevered Imagination.

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3 Reasons We Shouldn't Bail Out Student Loan Borrowers

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 13:00:00 EST

"3 Reasons We Shouldn't Bail Out Student Loan Borrowers" is written and narrated by Nick Gillespie and produced by Meredith Bragg.

About 3.33 minutes long. Go to Reason.tv for downloadable versions and subscribe to Reason's YouTube channel to receive automatic notifications when new material goes live.

As the cumulative total of student loan borrowing approaches $1 trillion dollars, calls to forgive some or all of that debt are mounting. Federally guaranteed student loans make up more than half that total and Barack Obama is pushing to cap the amount any borrower must pay back in a given year and forgive outstanding balances after 20 years.

Among Occupy Wall Street protesters, calls to bail out student loan holders are arguably the single-most voiced demand and sites such as Forgive Student Loan debt beat the drum for immediate and widespread relief.

But forgiving student loan debt is a very bad idea for at least three reasons.

1. These loans are voluntary. All borrowers are excrutiatingly well-informed of how much they’re borrowing and how much they’re going to have to pay back.

About half of all college students take out loans and when they do, every lender clearly spells out exactly how much you’re on the hook for and what your monthly payments are going to be after you leave school.

Critics say that 18-year-olds don’t understand what they’re getting into and shouldn’t be held accountable for their decisions. But that’s an argument against letting kids attend college, not against letting them borrow against future earnings to get a degree that will increase lifetime earnings by somewhere between about $280,000 and $1 million.

2. The amounts being borrowed are hardly overwhelming. While the cumulative total of all college-related debt is huge – approaching a trillion dollars, it’s bigger than credit-card debt – it’s not so big for individuals. The typical college graduate who borrowed money to attend graduatesowing about $25,000. They’ve got a minimum of 10 years to pay back that amount and the repayment schedule can be extended and modified for a wide variety of reasons.

The monthly payment for $25,000 in student loans at going rates comes to around $290 a month. That’s not chump change. But given that the that college grads have unemployment rates that are less than half the national average and that the average salary offer for graduating seniors is almost $50,000, the loan amount isn’t so bad either.

3. Bailouts are never a good idea. Like Tea Party activists, Occupy Wall Street protesters are right to rail against bailouts for big banks and financial institutions that are politically connected. But student loan forgiveness advocates are wrong to perpetuate yet another cycle of bailouts. It’s never right to socialize losses while privatizing gains. That’s what the banks did – they risked their money on stupid investments and then got made whole at the expense of taxpayers. Student loan forgiveness is simply another version of the same swindle. And it offloads the costs of other people’s decisions onto taxpayers, who guarantee federally backed student loans.

College is an important decision – and it’s made even more expensive by heavily subsidized loans. But letting people off the hook for loans they made with full knowledge of the costs will not only dissuade anyone from lending to students with no collateral other than their future work output. It will make it that much harder to argue against the next call for bailouts from the next group of special interests.

Nick Gillespie is the editor in chief of Reason.com and Reason.tv and the co-author with Matt Welch of The Declaration of Independents: How Libertarian Politics Can Fix What’s Wrong with America. Follow him on Twitter by going here.

Pension Reform and Union Shenanigans in San Diego

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 10:00:00 EST

"Carl DeMaio, the councilman who's the primary author of [the comprehensive pension reform ballot measure] could be the Howard Jarvis of the pension reform movement."

--Chris Reed, San Diego Union Tribune

On November 8, 2011, San Diego's Comprehensive Pension Reform ballot measure qualified for the June ballot. Like so many other cities around the country, San Diego is facing a fiscal crisis. Currently, the city's pension fund budget is facing an unfunded liability of over $2 billion. The Comprehensive Pension Reform ballot measure, if it passes in June, will switch new public employees to 401(k)-style plans, put an end to "pension spiking" and cap pensionable employee compensation for five years.

As mayoral candidate Carl DeMaio puts it, "all eyes are on San Diego" because San Diego could become a national model for pension reform.

The labor unions didn't sit back and watch the signature gathering process. Instead, they created a fake organization that took out ads warning people that their identities could be stolen if they sign a petition and sent burly men to initimidate people at signature gathering locations.

Approximately 6.5 minutes.

Produced by Paul Feine and Alex Manning.

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Libertarian To Be Elected? An Interview with Libertarian City Councilman Ed Coleman

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 09:00:00 EST

"The numbers are looking pretty good that I'm going to officially win as a libertarian this time," says Indianapolis City Councilman Ed Coleman.

Coleman is currently running for re-election to Indianapolis City Council in November, and hopes to continue his libertarian policies as an official member of the Libertarian Party, after leaving the Republican Party during his previous term.

At FreedomFest 2011, Reason's Matt Welch sat down with Coleman to talk about which issues he has already tackled while in office, and what he plans to do during his next term, if elected.

Held each July in Las Vegas, FreedomFest is attended by around 2,000 libertarians and advocates of limited government. Reason.tv 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 4 minutes. Shot by Zach Weissmueller and Jim Epstein and edited by Tracy Oppenheimer.

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Peter Schiff Represents "The 1%" at Occupy Wall Street

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 12:55:00 EDT

Last week, Reason.tv followed investment guru, radio show host, and unflappable defender of capitalism Peter Schiff as he spent three hours among the Occupy Wall Street protesters in Manhattan's Zuccotti Park.

An unapologetic member of "the 1 Percent," Schiff argued with all comers for the better part of an afternoon.

Schiff is no ordinary observer. As the prinicipal of the financial firm Euro Pacific Capital, he's a full-fledged and unapologetic member of "the 1 Percent." As an outspoken radio show host and commentator, he not only predicted the housing crash and financial crisis, he railed bank and auto-sector bailouts as they were happening. Schiff believes that capitalism offers is the only hope for young, frustrated people to have a vibrant and prosperous future. So he went to Occupy Wall Street to engage and debate the protesters.

Touring the Occupy Wall Street scene in New York with a sign that read "I Am the 1%, Let's Talk," Schiff spent more than three hours on the scene, explaining the difference between cronyism and capitalism, bailouts and balance sheets, and more.

"The regulation we want is the market," said Schiff. "That's what works."

Schiff describes himself as "sympathetic" to the plight of the OWS protesters, but thinks their anger is misdirected at legitimate business interests and should be better at the White House, Congress, the Federal Reserve, and the crony capitalists they've bailed out.

Check out Schiff's Euro Pacific Capital at www.europac.net

Listen to his radio show online at www.schiffradio.com

Buy his latest book, How an Economy Grows and Why it Crashes, at http://www.amazon.com/How-Economy-Grows-Why-Crashes/dp/047052670X

Produced by Anthony L. Fisher. Camera by Nathan Chaffetz.

Runs about 19 minutes. Go to Reason.tv for downloadable versions of our videos and subscribe to Reason.tv's YouTube channel for automatic notification when new material goes live online.

For a two-minute version, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZr9c1zYaOE

For Reason's coverage of the Occupy movement in New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and elsewhere, go to http://reason.com/topics/occupy-wall-street

Here's a playlist of Reason.tv's always expanding video coverage of the Occupy movement: http://www.youtube.com/user/ReasonTV#grid/user/3E65B192ADEB84BD

"Wal-Mart Doesn't Hold a Gun to Your Head!": Peter Schiff at Occupy Wall Street

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 12:54:00 EDT

"Did a corporation end slavery, or did the government end slavery?!?!"

That's the sort of question investment guru and radio show host Peter Schiff fielded as he debated Occupy Wall Street (OWS) protesters last week in New York's Zuccotti Park.

Schiff is no ordinary observer. As the prinicipal of the financial firm Euro Pacific Capital, he's a full-fledged and unapologetic member of "the 1 Percent." As an outspoken radio show host (listen online here) and commentator, he not only predicted the housing crash and financial crisis, he railed bank and auto-sector bailouts as they were happening. Schiff believes that capitalism offers is the only hope for young, frustrated people to have a vibrant and prosperous future (get information on his latest book, How an Economy Grows and Why it Crashes, here). So he went to Occupy Wall Street to engage and debate the protesters.

Touring the Occupy Wall Street scene in New York with a sign that read "I Am the 1%, Let's Talk," Schiff spent more than three hours on the scene, explaining the difference between cronyism and capitalism, bailouts and balance sheets, and more.

"The regulation we want is the market," said Schiff. "That's what works."

Schiff describes himself as "sympathetic" to the plight of the OWS protesters, but thinks their anger is misdirected at legitimate business interests and should be better at the White House, Congress, the Federal Reserve, and the crony capitalists they've bailed out.

If you dig this video, check out a 20-minute-long video from Schiff's day at Occupy Wall Street in which the unflappable defender of true capitalism spars with an eclectic mix of protesters and gets at least some of them to reassess where the blame for financial crisis really lies. That's at YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGL-Ex1CD1c

Produced by Anthony L. Fisher. Camera by Nathan Chaffetz.

Runs about 3.20 minutes. Go to Reason.tv for downloadable versions of our videos and subscribe to Reason.tv's YouTube channel for automatic notification when new material goes live online.

For Reason's coverage of the Occupy movement in New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and elsewhere, go here.

Here's a playlist of Reason.tv's always expanding video coverage of the Occupy movement.

Matt Welch Discusses How the Tea Party and OWS Share Common Goals on The Alyona Show

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 00:00:00 EDT

Reason Magazine Editor in Chief Matt Welch argues that Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party movements have more in common than their supporters think; such as anti-corporatism, disappointment with both political parties, and distrust to the status quo on RT's The Alyona Show. Air Date: October 21, 2011.

About 8 minutes.

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Occupy Wall Street Protester: "I got some money and I should be taxed more."

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 10:00:00 EDT

"I'll tell you a secret. I got some money and I should be taxed more."

That's what an Occupy Wall Street protester told Republican presidential candidate and former two-term Gov. Gary Johnson (R-N.M.) as he toured Manhattan's Zuccotti Park on the evening of Tuesday, October 18.

"I actually inherited money when George W. Bush decided to have no estate tax," the protester continues, "and I think that is totally outrageous. So I decided to keep 20 percent for myself and give 80 percent away. But I think if we rely on the kindness of strangers that the poor will keep getting screwed, so civil libertarians don't work for me for the poor."

Video produced by Reason.tv's Anthony Fisher.

About 30 seconds long. Go to Reason.tv for downloadable versions of our videos and subscribe to Reason.tv's YouTube channel for automatic notification when new material goes live online.

For Reason's coverage of the Occupy movement in New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and elsewhere, go here.

Why We Still Like Ike: Biographer Jim Newton on Dwight Eisenhower's Underrated Presidency

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 09:00:00 EDT

“He took it on himself to lower the sense of crisis in the country,” L.A. Times editor Jim Newton says of the subject of his new book Eisenhower: The White House Years. “He was going to sort of calm the country down.”

Yet while his self-effacing leadership, his skepticism about calls for collective action, his lack of sentimentality and his cautious stewardship of the federal budget all make Dwight Eisenhower seem far removed from contemporary Washington, Newton makes the case for Ike’s presidency as a modern, progressive phenomenon.

Among other things, Eisenhower signed a landmark interstate highway act, expanded executive authority, aggressively supported overseas coups and presided over the historic civil rights changes of the 1950s. He also left office with a budget surplus after inheriting a large deficit from Harry Truman.

Newton sits down with Reason.com's Tim Cavanaugh to talk about President Eisenhower’s time in the oval office, a time that Newton calls one of “enormous change in the United States and really an effective presidency”.

President Eisenhower would have celebrated his 121st birthday this Friday, Oct. 14.

Topic include: “The Middle Way”; Eisenhower as a television president; the military industrial complex, Cold War politics and the role of Ike’s brothers in shaping his presidency.

Shot by Paul Detrick, Zach Weissmueller and Sharif Matar. Edited by Tracy Oppenheimer.

Photographs courtesy of Eisenhower Presidential Library, Abilene, Kan.

About 10 minutes. Scroll down for downloadable versions and subscribe to Reason.tv's YouTube Channel to receive automatic notifications when new material goes live.

Remy's Occupy Wall Street Protest Song

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 10:00:00 EDT

As the Occupy Wall Street movement spreads like a, well, financial contagion through global markets, intergalactic Internet sensation Remy and Reason.tv give the movement its anthem.

Written and performed by Remy and produced by Meredith Bragg.

About 2.45 minutes. Go to http://reason.tv for downloadable versions. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to get automatic updates when new material goes live.

For Reason's coverage of Occupy Wall Street, including video coverage from lower Manhattan, go here.

Follow Reason on Twitter.

For more Remy & Reason.tv vids, go here.

For even more Remy, go to his YouTube channel.

Lyrics to the "Occupy Wall Street Protest Song"

Come gather round people
come and join your hands
we're taking Wall Street
and we're making demands
and we're heeding the call
and we're crying for help
only 1% of us have wealth

but first we need posters
we need to make signs
but to do so it seems
that we need some supplies

We need poster board
I can't make it myself
but it's 10 cents a sheet
at the store it's on sale
an example of economies of scale
it's so evil

They're saying that freedom
has done little to stop
Corporations from keeping
the wealth at the top
But at what point in history
would a kid and a king
both have clean water to drink?

George Washington was
the richest man of his age
But he lost all his teeth
at a very young age
Because they didn't have Scope
and they all crapped in trays
we're not wealthy?

now there's fountains on streets
from which clean water pours
Four dollar generics
at all big box stores
a sultan and student
both have iPhone 4s
it's not fair

Come gather young people
come on everyone
and I'll tell you a tale
of a fortunate son

He's born in a country
and given vaccine
and rendered immune
to all kinds of disease
the Kardashians are on
all his TVs
it's not perfect

Banks don't need bailouts
on that we agree
so let's start up a group
and let's take to the streets
because if we do that then
you know what that means
we're racist.
[End]

What We Saw at the Occupy Wall Street Protest

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 09:17:00 EDT

Down with banks, student-loan debt, and expensive elections! Up with barter...capitalism...and...Mitt Romney?!?!

On October 4, 2011, Reason.tv visited the Occupy Wall Street protests at Liberty Square in Lower Manhattan, on Day 18 of the ongoing demonstration.

The crowd was relatively small at about 300, and included educated but unemployed workers, college students and recent graduates, homeless drifters, performance artists, 9/11 truthers, and a not-insignificant number of journalists.

The "leaderless" movement is made up of more than a dozen smaller groups, such as the "Information" group with Macbooks hooked up to generators who maintain the "OccupyWallStreet" Twitter feeds and liveblogs, a "People's Library" consisting mostly of donated leftist literature, and a well-stocked kitchen where organic vegetables are sliced for communal salads.

Student loan debt, campaign finance reform, and general anger with the sluggish economy were the more frequent grievances aired, but the demonstrators are hardly monolithic in their passions or opinions. Among the boilerplate anti-capitalist rhetoric included a lifelong Democrat professing his support for Mitt Romney, an unemployed aviation mechanic declaring his continued support of capitalism and disgust at corporate welfare, and a homeless man expressing skepticism that any of the protestors would remain in the park if just "one bad wind" rolled through the area.

Also in the crowd was Republican New York City Councilman Daniel J. Halloran, who took all questions from the assembled crowd, and even won them over after forcefully denouncing taxpayer bailouts of corporations and eminent-domain abuse.

Though the message of Occupy Wall Street is muddled and the future of the protest remains unclear, similar "Occupy" demonstrations are popping up in cities all over the United States, and the quasi-anarchist community residing in Liberty Square shows no signs of relinquishing its post.

About 6 minutes. Produced by Anthony L. Fisher, camera by Nathan Chaffetz.

Reason's Matt Welch recapped the list of demands of the self-professed "99%," which include free college education for all and a minimum wage of $20/hr.

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Interview with Reason Cartoonist Peter Bagge

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 09:00:00 EDT

Peter Bagge is the pre-eminent libertarian cartoonist. An intelligent, anti-authoritarian streak runs throughout his canon, especially in his hit comic book from the 1990s, HATE , a hilarious and politically incorrect series focusing on the semi-autobiographical slacker-misanthrope Buddy Bradley. Bagge frequently contributes his own brand of "cartoon journalism" to the pages of Reason magazine where he also serves as a Contributing Editor.

Bagge discusses how he came to define his libertarian political worldview at a young age, and laments his frustration at being an artist who's political views are frequently mischaracterized as "right wing" by other artists, simply for failing to be in lock-step with the rest of the predominatly progressive-left art world.

He also discusses a recent Reason assignment which took him within the walls of a women's prison, and how the experience led him to question his own preconceived notions about the drug war and involuntary incarceration for drug users.

His funny, outrageous and often introspective anthology of Reason cartoon journalism, "Everyone is Stupid Except Me (And Other Astute Observations)" is available from Fantagraphics.

Shot by Alexander Manning. Interview by Nick Gillespie. Edited by Anthony L. Fisher

About 5 minutes.

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CATO's David Boaz on What America Can (and Shouldn't) Learn From the French Revolution

Sat, 24 Sep 2011 11:00:00 EDT

Is America poised for another revolution?

David Boaz, Executive Vice President of The CATO Institute, isn't betting on it.

"35 years ago, when I was a college student," Baoz reminisced, "the first libertarian speaker I ever heard said 'We are going to have hyper inflation. Buy gold and guns. That's the only thing that will save you.' And our political system averted that disaster."

At FreedomFest 2011, Reason's Nick Gillespie sat down with Boaz to discuss revolution (American and French), the way out of the current fiscal crisis and the recent rise of liberty-loving youth.

Approx. 6:50 min. Shot by Zach Weissmueller and Jim Epstein and edited by Meredith Bragg.

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Gov. Gary Johnson: Cut Spending by 43% - and Cut Social Issues from GOP Agenda

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 08:00:00 EDT

According to the latest CNN/ORC survey, former two-term Gov. Gary Johnson (R-N.M.) is polling at 2 percent, neck-and-neck with pizza magnate Herman Cain and ahead of former Gov. John Huntsman (R-Utah) and Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.).

Yet while Cain, Huntsman, and Santorum will mix it up with Gov. Rick Perry (R-Texas), former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-Mass.), and Reps. Michelle Bachmann (R-Minn.) and Ron Paul (R-Texas) at the next GOP candidates debate on September 7, Johnson has been told to stay home once more. This latest exclusion has prompted writers at National Review, which isn't particularly amenable to Johnson's libertarian-leaning platform, and elsewhere to wonder what's going on with the selection process.

While Johnson may not make it to the Republican debate at California's Ronald Reagan ranch, Reason.tv's Nick Gillespie caught up with him at FreedomFest in July to talk tax reform, cutting federal spending across the board by 43 percent (the amount currently being financed by debt), and how focusing on social conservatism could reduce the GOP to minor-party status.

Shot by Jim Epstein and Zach Weissmueller, and edited by Epstein. About 4 minutes.

Held each July in Las Vegas, FreedomFest is attended by around 2,000 limited-government enthusiasts and libertarians a year. Reason.tv spoke with over two dozen speakers and attendees and will be releasing interviews over the coming weeks. For a playlist of videos released so far, go here.

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For more Reason coverage on the GOP 2012 field, go here.

Matt Welch Discusses Hurricane Hype, Obama's Jobs Plan, and Ugliness on America's Nightly Scoreboard

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 00:00:00 EDT

Reason Editor in Chief Matt Welch appeared on Fox Business Network's America's Nightly Scoreboard to discuss the media's reporting on Hurricane Irene, Obama hiring economist Krueger, and whether ugliness should be classified as a disability. Airdate: August 29, 2011.

Approximately 15.23 minutes

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Anthony Randazzo Discusses Congress and the Fed's Blame Game on the Alyona Show

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 00:00:00 EDT

Reason Foundation's Director of Economic Research Anthony Randazzo discusses Ben Bernanke accusing Congress for a poor fisical policy and the plans for the foreclosured houses the government bought on The Alyona Show.

Approx. 10 minutes.

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Romney Edges Perry in New Reason-Rupe Poll

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 11:00:00 EDT

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney holds a 20 percent to 18 percent edge over Texas Gov. Rick Perry among Republicans and Republican-leaning voters in the latest Reason-Rupe Public Opinion Survey.

Two potential candidates not currently in the race, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (12%) and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (8%), placed third and fourth among Republicans asked to name whom they would favor if the GOP primary were held today. They were followed by Rep. Michele Bachmann (8%), Rep. Ron Paul (7%), Herman Cain (4%), Newt Gingrich (3%), former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (2%, but no longer in the race), former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman (1%), former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum (<1%), and former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson (<1%). Approximately 16% of Republican voters are undecided.

This Reason-Rupe poll surveyed a random, national sample of 1,200 adults by telephone (790 on landlines, 410 on cell phones) over August 9-18, 2011. The overall results have a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. The GOP presidential primary poll question surveyed 419 adults who self-identified as Republican and "lean-Republican"; that specific question has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

Reason-Rupe Republican Primary Presidential Poll

Responses to "If you were voting today in the 2012 Republican presidential primary, which one of the following candidates would you favor?"

Mitt Romney 20%
Rick Perry 18%
Sarah Palin 12%
Rudy Giuliani 8%
Michelle Bachmann 8%
Ron Paul 7%
Herman Cain 4%
Newt Gingrich 3%
Tim Pawlenty 2%
Jon Huntsman 1%
Rick Santorum <1%
Gary Johnson <1%
Undecided 16%

Below is a chart of recent national polls listing various GOP hopefuls, updated to reflect the new Reason-Rupe findings:

The above chart shows that Perry’s numbers soar when Palin and Giuliani are not included in the list of candidates (they were not listed in either the Rasmussen or Gallup polls). This suggests Perry may regain a lead over Romney if it becomes clear that Palin and Giuliani will not join the race.

Tea Party favorites Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul came next with 8 percent and 7 percent of respondents respectively. This is especially interesting since Paul and Bachmann came within 152 votes of each other at the Ames Iowa Straw Poll, with Bachmann winning. Paul consistently does well in straw polls, leading many pundits to contend this simply is a result of his being better able to mobilize supporters to come out to events. However, these new Reason-Rupe poll findings suggest that Paul’s competitive standing with Michelle Bachmann extends well beyond his strong showing in Iowa.

Approval Ratings for Congress, President Obama; Support for Third-Party Presidential Candidates

The Reason-Rupe poll of 1,200 adults also finds an overwhelming 81 percent of Americans disapprove of the job Congress is doing while just 14 percent approve. Forty-seven percent of Americans approve of the way President Obama is handling his job, with 48 percent disapproving. The president’s bigger problem may be that 42 percent of Americans say they “definitely will not” vote for him in 2012, while 25 percent say they “will definitely” vote for him, and another 29 percent will consider voting for him.

But voters may not want to limit their 2012 presidential options to just President Obama and the eventual Republican nominee. Nearly 73 percent of Americans say they “will” or “may” consider voting for an independent or third-party candidate in 2012. And in a three-way race like the 1992 presidential election, in which Ross Perot got 19 percent of the vote and Bill Clinton won with 43 percent of the vote, the Reason-Rupe poll finds there would be significant support for a candidate who is “conservative on economic issues and liberal on social issues.” Forty-eight percent of voters say they’d support such a candidate while 37 percent would not. The Tea Party could also make things very interesting if it were to run its own presidential candidate instead of supporting the GOP nominee. Nearly 37 percent of voters say they’d consider voting for a Tea Party candidate for president, 15 percent are undecided, and 49 percent say they wouldn’t support him or her.

Full Poll Online

The Reason-Rupe survey is online here and here (pdf). The poll was conducted for Reason Foundation by NSON Opinion Strategy.

This is part of a series of Reason-Rupe public opinion surveys dedicated to exploring what Americans really think about government and major issues. This Reason Foundation project is made possible thanks to the generous support of the Arthur N. Rupe Foundation.

About Reason Foundation

Reason Foundation is a nonprofit think tank dedicated to advancing free minds and free markets and publisher of the critically-acclaimed Reason magazine and its website www.reason.com. For more information, please visit www.reason.org.

Video interview conducted by Michelle Fields and edited by Josh Swain. Go to Reason.tv for downloadable versions of our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel to get automatic notification when new material goes lives.

Anthony Randazzo Discusses President Obama's Jobs Plan on Cavuto

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 00:00:00 EDT

Reason's Director of Economic Research Anthony Randazzo appeared on Cavuto to discuss President Obama's upcoming jobs plan. Air Date: 8/17/2011.

Approximately 4 minutes.

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Jacob G. Hornberger on Obama, Foreign Policy, and Civil Liberties

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 04:30:00 EDT

At FreedomFest in July, Reason's Matt Welch talked with Jacob G. Hornberger, founder of The Future of Freedom Foundation. Hornberger explains why he thinks that Obama is no better than Bush when it comes to foreign policy and civil liberties. He explains why libertarians should help shape the debate and why there has never been a better time to make that argument.

Shot by Zach Weissmueller and Jim Epstein. Edited by Sharif Matar. About 2.30 minutes.

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Remy: Raise The Debt Ceiling Rap

Sat, 30 Jul 2011 00:00:00 EDT

We may not be able to address our current debt ceiling woes, but we can at least put them to a good beat.

"Raise the Debt Ceiling" is the third of a series of collaborations between Remy and Reason.tv. To watch Remy's other videos, go to http:youtube.com/goremy

Visit the links below for more Reason coverage on the debt, deficit and government spending:
Five Facts About the Debt
The Facts About the Debt Ceiling
Reason.com Topics: Government Spending

Music and lyrics by Remy. Video shot and produced by Meredith Bragg.

Download the mp3 and HD versions at http://reason.tv, the video channel for Reason magazine and http://reason.com

Fox News' Juan Williams on School Choice

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 11:05:00 EDT

At FreedomFest 2011, Reason's Matt Welch spoke with Fox News' Juan Williams about his passion for school choice reform, which Williams describes as the "civil rights issue of our time."

Williams is the author of the new book Muzzled: The Assault on Honest Debate, which recounts in part his controversial firing from National Public Radio. He's also the author of the critically acclaimed 1988 history of the civil rights movement, Eyes on the Prize.

Williams says he first came to the issue of education reform in the 1990s, when he was astonished by the level of dropout rates in inner-city schools, which disproportionately affects low-income and minority students. He credits George W. Bush for coining the phrase "the soft bigotry of low expectations" to describe the educational status quo and remains surprised by the lack of widespread outrage from parents whose children are stuck in such failing schools. Still, he believes that the forces of school choice are making huge headway in breaking up a public school monopoly that fails to serve students and parents.

Shot by Jim Epstein and edited by Anthony L. Fisher. About 5 minutes long.

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Peter Suderman on Discusses Fake Budget Cuts on Freedom Watch

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 00:00:00 EDT

Reason Associate Editor Peter Suderman appeared on Freedom Watch to discuss the how the government has pretended to cut spending by including non-existent war spending and excluding entitlement obligations. Air date: 7/26/2011.

Approximately 4.51 minutes.

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Veronique de Rugy: Tells the Facts about the Debt Ceiling

Tue, 19 Jul 2011 00:00:00 EDT

Editor’s Note: Reason columnist and Mercatus Center economist Veronique de Rugy appears weekly on Bloomberg TV to separate economic fact from economic myth.

Myth 1: If a deal is not reached by August 2, the U.S. will default on its debt.

Fact 1: The Treasury Department can prioritize payments in order to avoid a default.

The Treasury Department is due to pay off $30 billion in maturing short-term debt. But we also know that the Treasury has the ability to prioritize its payments and pay that particular $30 billion out of the $172 billion it collects in tax revenue. As the Bipartisan Policy Center has calculated, after paying $30 billion in interest payments in August, Treasury could, if it ceased all other functions (see page 13 of this document), also pay for Social Security, Medicare, unemployment benefits, and payments to defense contractors. Technically speaking, there is no need to default in the absence of a debt ceiling agreement.

This is not an ideal solution and it entails some significant risks (mainly timing difficulties), but it could be done if necessary.

In addition, the Treasury could sell some of its assets in order to pay the bills. That’s an expensive option at this point, since it would probably mean selling them at a low price, but these are not normal times and a fire sale beats a default.

Myth 2: If the debt ceiling isn’t raised the government won't be able to pay Social Security benefits.

Fact 2: There are approximately $2.6 trillion dollars in the Social Security Trust Fund. Those assets can be used to pay benefits. Furthermore, there is already trillions of dollars of interagency debt that counts toward the $14.29 trillion debt limit. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner could convert that interagency debt into publicly-held debt, preventing not only a technical default but also preventing any delay in government payments.

President Barack Obama has suggested that if the Treasury prioritized payments in order to prevent default on the debt, it might do so on the backs of seniors by not sending out their Social Security checks. This is a particularly troubling rhetorical move by the White House. As the president and his advisers know, there are ways for the government to pay these benefits—messy ways, yes, but still viable—in the absence of a debt-ceiling agreement. That’s what the president should be saying rather than trying to scare seniors.

According to a Bipartisan Policy Center report, incoming revenue on August 3 will amount to $12 billion. At the same time, the government is scheduled to spend some $32 billion—most of it in the form of Social Security checks. How do we make up the difference?

First, remember how Social Security works. Starting now, the difference between payroll-tax revenue and Social Security benefits is made up by redeeming the IOUs in the Social Security Trust Fund. In order to pay back this IOU, Treasury has to borrow the money, which increases the debt held by the public by the same amount. In other words, if Treasury were to redeem the needed Social Security bonds and issue new marketable Treasury bonds to make good on them, it would be a one-for-one swap.

There is a potential glitch, however, having to do with whether Treasury has the authority to use payroll tax money to pay benefits rather than to “invest.” According to Washington Post “Fact Checker” Glenn Kessler, the Treasury has done it before:

There is a technical wrinkle involving the fact that payroll taxes that are collected are supposed to be immediately turned into Treasury securities, but there could be ways around that, such as putting the monies in a noninterest bearing account, as during the 1985 debt crisis. “Although some of the Secretary’s actions appear in retrospect to have been in violation of the requirements of the Social Security Act, we cannot say that the Secretary acted unreasonably given the extraordinary situation in which he was operating,” the General Accounting Office later concluded....

Still, during the 1996 debt limit crisis, Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin announced that Treasury did not have sufficient funds to pay Social Security benefits. Congress rushed to pass a special law that said the Social Security benefits did not count against the debt limit. Was this designed to pressure the Republican-led Congress, or had even a shrewd operator like Rubin run out of options? However, Congress later that year passed a law, 121-104, that codified Treasury’s authority to use Social Security trust funds to pay benefits and administration expenses in the event a debt ceiling is reached, which could give the administration the authority they need in the current crisis.

The Congressional Research Service has also explored this question in a series of reports this year. The answer is unfortunately inconclusive and buried in a footnote: “Under normal procedures Treasury pays Social Security benefits from the General Fund and offsets this by redeeming an equivalent amount of the trust funds’ holdings of government debt. In order to pay Social Security benefits, and depending on the government’s cash position at the time, Treasury may need to issue new public debt to raise the cash needed to pay benefits. Treasury may be unable to issue new public debt, however, because of the debt limit. Social Security benefit payments may be delayed or jeopardized if the Treasury does not have enough cash on hand to pay benefits.”

Myth 3: The Treasury cannot use the Social Security Trust Fund to delay a default past August 2.

Fact 3: While the Treasury cannot use money from the Social Security Trust Fund, it can “disinvest” from other trust funds to pay for benefits.

Treasury can “disinvest” from some of its trust funds. Here’s how it works according to the legislative director of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees.

Each day, the U.S. Treasury takes in several billion dollars for federal trust funds. For Social Security, these dollars come in the form of employer and employee payroll taxes. Federal employee and Postal Service contributions to the CSRDF [Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund] also inject cash into the Treasury. Usually, this cash is immediately invested in nonmarketable government securities—to remain available to finance future benefits. But if a debt limit breach appears imminent, the Treasury Department could “underinvest” this revenue as it arrives. The trust funds would be given a temporary IOU that does not count against the debt ceiling, and the withholdings would be used to pay off the government’s cash obligations until an increase in the debt ceiling could be settled.

The Treasury Department could also make cash available from the trust fund by “disinvesting” some of the money used to buy government bonds. Under this approach, bonds held on behalf of trust funds would be converted to cash earlier than normally needed. Like the “underinvestment” option, cash from this transaction would be used to pay federal obligations on a temporary basis.

The disinvesting approach is a temporary accounting device that would help maintain the Treasury’s cash flow.

According to the Government Accountability Office, the use of “disinvestment” to pay for benefits has been used during a previous debt-ceiling crisis:

In the past, Treasury has taken a number of extraordinary actions such as temporarily disinvesting securities held as part of federal employees’ retirement plans to meet the government’s obligations as they came due without exceeding the debt limit, until the debt limit was raised.

In fact, it happened during the last big debt-ceiling crisis in 1995-1996. According to the GAO, Treasury managed to remain technically under the debt ceiling and incurred about $138.9 billion in additional debt that normally would have been subject to the ceiling by disinvesting $46 billion in Civil Service fund securities in November 1995 and February 1996. The Treasury also suspended the investment of $14 billion in fund receipts in December 1995 and exchanged about $8.6 billion in Civil Service fund securities for Federal Financing Bank securities.

These actions, of course, are nothing more than short-term budget gimmicks. But they would allow the U.S. to avoid defaulting on the debt. Once these options are exhausted, however, there will be nothing left to do but raise the debt ceiling or dramatically cut government spending.

Contributing Editor Veronique de Rugy is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

Katherine Mangu-Ward Discusses the Debt-Ceiling Debate on Freedom Watch

Tue, 19 Jul 2011 00:00:00 EDT

Reason Senior Editor Katherine Mangu-Ward appeared on Freedom Watch to discuss whether the debt-ceiling debate is more a deterrence for the economy's recovery rather than a safe guard against rampant government spending as Moody’s recently suggested. Airdate: July 18, 2011.

Approximately 7.19 minutes.

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Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.)

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 00:00:00 EDT

Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Arizona) has represented the Diamondback State's sixth congressional district since 2001, cutting a pro-immigration, pro-trade, limited-government, anti-spending path that contrasts sharply with the mainstream of the Republican Party.

Flake's campaign against "earmarking," or larding up bills with giveaways for legislators' home districts, brought national attention to this issue and inspired some important rule changes. He has been a lonely voice in the House calling for an end to the U.S.-imposed travel ban on Cuba . And in a state that has shocked much of the country with its intolerance toward both documented and undocumented immigrants, Flake has consistently argued for reducing obstacles to legal immigration and establishing more effective guest worker programs.

Now Flake has his eye on the Senate seat being vacated next year by the retiring Republican Jon Kyl. While there's plenty of competition for his House job, Flake is so far alone in the race for Arizona's junior Senate seat.

A former head of the Goldwater Institute and practicing Mormon, Flake is a leading voice for freer markets and more personal freedom within the Republican Party.

Late in June, Flake sat down with Reason Senior Editor Tim Cavanaugh to discuss these matters and more.

Approximately 28 minutes

Shot by Zach Weissmueuller, Paul Detrick and Alex Manning. Edited by Meredith Bragg.

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Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch Discuss their New Book "The Declaration of Independents" on The Alyona Show

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 00:00:00 EDT

Reason Magazine Editor in Chief Matt Welch and Reason.tv's Nick Gillespie discussed their new book The Declaration of Independence and how the rise independent voters and political decentralization is making American life better on RT's The Alyona Show. Air Date: June 30, 2011.

About 12 minutes.

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Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch Discuss Their New Book The Declaration of Independence w/ Dylan Ratigan

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 00:00:00 EDT

Reason Magazine Editor in Chief Matt Welch and Reason.tv's Nick Gillespie discussed their new book The Declaration of Independence and how the rise independents and libertarianism are reshaping America's polticial landscape with MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan. Air Date: June 24, 2011.

Approximately 8.07 minutes

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Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch Join Stossel on the Declaration of Independents

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 00:00:00 EDT

Reason.tv's Nick Gillespie and editor in chief of Reason Matt Welch joins Stossel in a special episode dedicated to the upcoming book The Declaration of Independents: How Libertarian Politics Can Fix What's Wrong with America. Featuring interviews with the authors, plus Kurt Loder, Grant McCracken, Kennedy, and Andrew Breitbart, this hour-long program covered politics–and anti-politics–in a way rarely seen on cable television. Air Date: June 23, 2011.

About 45 minutes.

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Mayor Ed Koch on rent control, his sexuality, Andrew Cuomo, and how he helped save New York

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 09:00:00 EDT

In 1978, New York City was crumbling and the leading indicator of America's seemingly irreversible decline. The South Bronx, once a thriving middle-class neighborhood, had became a national symbol of urban horror. From 1960 to 1980, New York's murder rate tripled. Out-of-control spending had brought the city to the brink of bankruptcy, leading to a state takeover of its finances. The city's subway was plauged by crime, graffiti, and equipment breakdowns.

On July 13th, 1977, the city reached its nadir when a 24-hour blackout gave way to mass looting. Bushwick, a working-class neighborhood in Brooklyn, was practically burned to the ground.

Then in 1978, Edward Irving Koch became New York's 105th Mayor.

A veteran congressman from Manhattan, Koch’s chutzpah was exactly what the city needed. A self-proclaimed "liberal with sanity," Koch took on special interests, he put the city’s finances back in order, and showed that it was not only possible to govern but to have fun doing it.

Koch gained a national reputation by being the quintessential New Yorker: A Bronx-born ethnic whose disparaging remarks about life outside the city may well have sunk his 1981 bid for the governor’s mansion in Albany. Long presumed to be gay, Koch kept mum about his personal life while pushing for social tolerance. His symbolic and practical role in the Big Apple's multi-decade renaissance is as huge as his appetite for publicity.

Since losing his bid for a fourth term in 1989, Koch has been a tireless dilettante. He’s written books and hosted his own radio show. He was Judge Wapner’s first replacement on the People’s Court. He started a nonprofit to clean up corruption in the state capital. He turned his passion for film into an avocation as a movie reviewer, first for a community paper called the West Side Spirit, and now on the YouTube Channel, The Mayor at the Movies.

Reason.tv's Nick Gillespie sat down with Mayor Koch at his office in Midtown in April 2011 for a wide ranging discussion about rent control, the Tea Party, Donald Trump, his sexuality, whether Gov. Andrew Cuomo coined the phrase "Vote for Cuomo not the Homo," his memories of World War II, and how he "gave New York City back its morale" (as the late Sen. Daniel Moynihan put it).

Approximately 18 minutes.

Produced, shot, and edited by Jim Epstein, with help from Lucas Newman. Additional camera by Anthony Fisher.

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Ranking Freedom in the 50 States

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 00:00:00 EDT

Which state is most free when it comes to personal, social, and economic issues?

"Freedom in the 50 States: An Index of Personal and Economic Freedom" provides one answer to just that question. Political scientists Jason Sorens (University at Buffalo) and William P Ruger (Texas State) looked at everything from drug policy to civil union statutes to business regulations and tax rates to rank each state across multiple dimensions.

Published by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University appraise each state in the union on their economic, social and personal liberty to come up with their final ranking. Maybe Jean-Paul Sartre was right about hell being other people: At the top of the list are a lot of states where almost nobody lives and at the bottom are states where just about everybody lives.

Reason Magazine senior editor Katherine Mangu-Ward sat down with Sorens and Ruger, to talk about their results, their methodology and why New York City may not be as free as New Yorkers believe.

Shot by Josh Swain, Jim Epstein and Meredith Bragg; Edited by Meredith Bragg.

Approximately 9:20 minutes.

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Tim Cavanaugh Talks CA Budget on LA's Fox 11

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 11:00:00 EDT

Tim Cavanaugh, Reason columnist and Hit & Run contributor, talks to FOX 11 Los Angeles about CA lawmakers passing the state budget. Air date: June 14, 2011.

Approximately 3:57.

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MSNBC vs Sarah Palin vs The Flag vs Sanctimonious B.S.

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 09:00:00 EDT

MSNBC is taking a hard line against Sarah Palin for using the American flag to move merchandise and line her pockets. The "Lean Forward" network claims that Palin's use of the flag in various circumstances "runs afoul" of the federal codes discouraging such displays for commercial and advertising purposes. "She drapes herself in the Stars and Stripes and makes millions of dollars in the process," charges Martin Bashir.

You betcha. And we can only guess that when MSNBC wraps itself in the Red, White, and Blue - and it does - they're doing it for charity.

Read the backstory here.

Produced by Meredith Bragg. About 1 minute.

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Independents Day is June 28 This Year!

Tue, 24 May 2011 16:00:00 EDT

Coming June 28: The Declaration of Independents: How Libertarian Politics Can Fix What's Wrong With America, by Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch.

The Declaration of Independence talks about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness - not the pursuit of politics. Something has gone horribly wrong with a country where we've got more choice at the coffee shop than we do at the ballot box. The Declaration of Independents charts how to bring the same sort of innovation and personalization that has made our private lives richer and more satisfying to the last bastions of government power such as education, health care, and retirement. Written by Reason's Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch, The Declaration of Independents is a rollicking tour of how we got to be freer when it comes to personal identity, creative expression, the workplace, and more. And it's an operator's manual on how to create a liberatory politics for the 21st century.

"This is the up-to-date statement of libertarianism," says New York Times columnist, George Mason University economist, and Marginal Revolution blogger Tyler Cowen. "Not warmed-over right-wing politics, but real, true-blooded libertarianism in the sense of loving liberty and wanting to find a new path toward human flourishing."

"An enthusiastic, entertaining libertarian critique of American politics, brimming with derision for the status quo and optimism for the future and confident of the right direction." Kirkus Reviews

The Declaration of Independents comes out on June 28. Pre-order your copy in hardcover or as an e-book from your favorite bookstore by clicking here.

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Shikha Dalmia Discusses U.S. Foreign Policy with the Middle East after Arab Spring on Russia Today

Tue, 24 May 2011 00:00:00 EDT

Senior policy analyst at Reason Foundation Shikha Dalmia appeared on Russia Today to discuss how the U.S. foreign policy is in disarray and, as the rest of the world, has been unprepared for the uprisings in Libya, Syria and the entire the Middle East. Air Date: May 23, 2011.

Approximately 6.39 minutes.

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LA Rally: Don't Believe What Teachers Tell You

Fri, 20 May 2011 09:00:00 EDT

Teachers unions say California must not roll back annual increases in public school spending. And they're not too careful about facts when they make that case.

Teachers frequently claim, for example, that California is in either 49th or 50th place among the 50 states in per-pupil spending. In fact, the Golden State is 31st in per-pupil spending.

Teachers also say the Golden State could solve its chronic budget shortfalls by raising tax rates on the rich. But California is already unusually dependent on taxes collected from high earners. This is why revenue collections can drop sharply during recession, while spending -- which has increased 37 percent since 2001 -- continues to grow at rates exceeding inflation and population growth.

Last Friday, May 13, teachers all over Los Angeles left school early to attend a Downtown rally. Reason TV tagged along to find out what other whoppers teachers are telling (outside the classroom, that is).

Approximately 4:16 minutes.

Filmed by Zach Weissmueller and Paul Detrick; Edited by Detrick.

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Anthony Randazzo Discusses if the GOP is Serious on Cutting Spending with Judge Napolitano

Wed, 11 May 2011 00:00:00 EDT

Director of Economic Research at Reason Foundation Anthony Randazzo appeared on Judge Napolitano's Freedom Watch to discuss if the GOP is serious about cutting spending and the debt or whether these are empty promises to keep Tea Party support. Air Date: May 9, 2011.

Approximately 5 minutes.

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Anthony Randazzo Discusses the Debt Ceiling on The Alyona Show

Wed, 11 May 2011 00:00:00 EDT

Director of Economic Research at Reason Foundation Anthony Randazzo appeared on Russia Today's The Alyona Show with co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research Dean Baker to discuss the postponed debt ceiling debate and how the politics may not cure the debt. Air Date: May 10, 2011.

Approximately 9 minutes.

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Matt Welch Discusses Poll Results from the Reason-Rupe Survey on Freedom Watch

Mon, 09 May 2011 00:00:00 EDT

Reason Magazine editor in chief Matt Welch appeared on Judge Napolitano's Freedom Watch to discuss poll results from the new Reason-Rupe Survey measuring the public's view on reducing the debt and cutting spending and what effect this will have on the next election. Air Date: May 6, 2011.

Approximately 3.28 minutes.

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Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch Preview Their Book, "The Declaration of Independents"

Thu, 05 May 2011 00:00:00 EDT

At Reason Weekend 2011, held earlier this year in Laguna Niguel, California, Reason's Matt Welch and Nick Gillespie previewed their forthcoming book The Declaration of Independents: How Libertarian Politics Can Fix What's Wrong With America.

The book is a rollicking tour of how we got to be freer when it comes to personal identity, creative expression, the workplace, and more. And it's an operator's manual on how to create a liberatory politics for the 21st century.

"This is *the* up-to-date statement of libertarianism," says New York Times columnist, George Mason University economist, and Marginal Revolution blogger Tyler Cowen. "Not warmed-over right-wing politics, but real, true-blooded libertarianism in the sense of loving liberty and wanting to find a new path toward human flourishing."

"An enthusiastic, entertaining libertarian critique of American politics, brimming with derision for the status quo and optimism for the future and confident of the right direction." Kirkus Reviews

Pre-order at your favorite online bookstore and in your preferred format by going to http://declaration2011.com

Approximately 42 minutes. Shot by Alex Manning and Paul Detrick; edited by Meredith Bragg.

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Reason-Rupe Poll: 96% Worry About Federal Debt, 74% Want Spending Cap...

Tue, 03 May 2011 09:00:00 EDT

Los Angeles (May 3, 2011) — As the federal government rapidly approaches the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling, 96 percent of Americans say it is important to reduce the national debt, according to a new Reason Foundation-Rupe poll. Of those surveyed, 69 percent believe reducing the national debt is “very important.”

With the debt piling up, it is also clear that taxpayers do not trust the federal government to live within its means. In fact, the Reason-Rupe survey finds 74 percent of Americans support implementing a spending cap that would prohibit the government from spending more money than it takes in during a fiscal year. Only 19 percent oppose a government spending cap.

The most popular policy prescription for reducing the national debt is spending cuts: 45 percent of people say Congress should bring down the debt by reducing spending without raising taxes. Another 16 percent favor reducing the debt primarily through spending cuts, but are open to some tax increases; 14 percent prefer an equal emphasis on spending cuts and tax increases; 8 percent want to reduce the debt primarily through higher taxes with some spending cuts; 4 percent say current spending levels should be maintained and taxes should be raised as needed; and 1 percent of Americans say we shouldn’t do anything about the debt.

Open-Ended Questions on the Economy and Spending

The Reason-Rupe poll included several open-ended questions that allowed respondents to voice concerns and share their own ideas. When asked to name the biggest problem facing America today, 30 percent say the economy, 23 percent name jobs and unemployment, and 10 percent cite government spending, debts and deficits.

When given the opportunity to name any government program they’d like to spend less money on 22 percent of Americans suggest cutting military and defense spending. Welfare (10 percent) and foreign aid (10 percent) were the other most-named cuts. When asked, open-ended, what the government should spend more money on, 39 percent say education, 16 percent focus on helping the poor and needy, and 13 percent single out health care.

2012 Presidential Election

With the 2012 election season ramping up, frustrated voters appear ready to look beyond Democratic and Republican candidates. Eighty percent say they will or may consider voting for a third-party or independent presidential candidate in 2012. And an even higher number of independents (89 percent) and GOP voters (86 percent) say they will or may consider candidates outside of the two major political parties.

The willingness to look beyond Democrats and Republicans stems, in part, from voters’ lack of trust in them. When asked which political party they trust to govern responsibly, the leading answer was “neither,” at 35 percent, followed by Democrats at 31 percent and Republicans at 23 percent. The survey also found 58 percent of voters believe they’d either see “no difference” or be “better off” if Congress were only in session every other year.

Taxes

Having recently filed their federal income taxes, 56 percent of Americans support replacing the current complicated tax system with a flat tax. Forty-four percent also favor, and 36 percent oppose, giving up the mortgage interest deduction and other tax breaks if it results in a simpler system with lower overall tax rates. One tax change that respondents are against is a national sales tax. Just 33 percent of Americans support replacing federal income taxes with a national sales tax.

When asked about the amount of federal, state, local and property taxes they pay, 51 percent of Americans say they pay too much in taxes, 41 percent believe they pay about the right amount and 4 percent think they pay too little.

Public Sector Benefits and Pensions

Half of all respondents say that public sector workers receive better benefits that those with similar jobs in the private sector, but only 37 percent support cutting those public employee benefits to help balance state budgets.

Drug Legalization and Medical Marijuana

Forty-one percent of the country supports legalizing small quantities of marijuana for personal use, while 44 percent opposes legalization. And in the wake of federal raids on medical cannabis dispensaries in states where medical marijuana has already been legalized, 69 percent of Americans say each state should be allowed to regulate medical marijuana use within its borders.

Full Poll Online

The complete Reason-Rupe survey is online at http://reason.com/poll. That site also includes ongoing analysis of the poll results by director Emily Ekins.

This Reason-Rupe poll surveyed a random, national sample of 1,200 adults by telephone (859 on landlines, 341 on cell phones) from March 24 to April 9, 2011. The results have a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. The poll was conducted for Reason Foundation by NSON Opinion Strategy.

This is the first in a series of Reason-Rupe public opinion surveys dedicated to exploring what Americans really think about government and major issues. This Reason Foundation project is made possible thanks to the generous support of the Arthur N. Rupe Foundation.

About Reason Foundation

Reason Foundation is a nonprofit think tank dedicated to advancing free minds and free markets and publisher of the critically acclaimed Reason magazine and its website http://www.reason.com/. For more information, please visit http://www.reason.org/.

For press inquiries, contact Chris Mitchell.

Reason.tv interview conducted by Nick Gillespie; filmed and edited by Meredith Bragg. Go to Reason.tv for downloadable versions of all our videos and subscribe to Reason.tv's YouTube channel to receive automatic notification when new material goes live.

Nick Gillespie Discusses Libertarian-Leaning Republican Candidates for Presidency with Judge Napolitano

Wed, 27 Apr 2011 00:00:00 EDT

Reason.tv's Editor-in-Chief Nick Gillespie joined Judge Napolitano and discussed the increasing number of libertarian-leaning Republican candidates for presidency in 2012 following the start of Gary Johnson and Ron Paul's campaigns. Airdate: April 26, 2011.

Approximately 4.33 minutes.

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Brian Doherty Discusses Ron Paul's Potential Presidential Run on The Alyona Show

Wed, 27 Apr 2011 00:00:00 EDT

TheAlyonaShow on Apr 26, 2011

Ron Paul has announced that he'll be launching an exploratory committee and flirting with a presidential run for 2012. But while the 75 year old Paul has long been considered a political outsider here in Washington, and a long shot presidential candidate, you have to wonder if the timing could be right. Reason Magazine's Brian Doherty discusses if Paul could actually have a shot.

Aproximately 6.23 minutes.

Reason Magazine Ad -- Quotes and Covers

Fri, 22 Apr 2011 00:00:00 EDT

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The first issue is yours free if not completely satisfied.

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Produced by Nick Gillespie and Meredith Bragg

Approx. 15 seconds

Music by Jason Shaw @ audionautix.com

Atlas Shrugged's Makers Speak!

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 14:00:00 EDT

Released April 15, 2011, Atlas Shrugged Part I has been predictably panned by reviewers and wildly embraced by audiences.

At the movie-review site Rotten Tomatoes, just 8 percent of critics give a thumbs up, compared to 85 percent of moviegoers. Such a sharply split reaction mirrors the reception of Ayn Rand's original and controversial novel too. Appearing in 300 theaters, the movie's weekend take on a per-screen basis was a strong $5,640, good enough for third overall behind major-studio releases Rio and Scream 4.

How do the folks behind Atlas Shrugged Part I feel about it all?

On April 16, at Reason Foundation's annual Reason Weekend, Nick Gillespie interviewed producers John Aglialoro, Harmon Kaslow, and Mike Marvin, and actor Matthew Marsden (he plays James Taggart) live in front of about 100 people. They talked freely about the challenges of making the film on a tight budget and an even tighter deadline; how Rand's politics play in Hollywood (spoiler alert: poorly!); where the inspiration for the film came from; how the train and other memorable scenes were shot; and whether there's any truth to the rumors that Atlas Shrugged Part III will be a musical...

And then they answer audience questions, including when to expect Parts II and III...

Go here for IMDB's page on the movie.

And go here for Reason's one-stop shop for all our Atlas Shrugged Part I coverage and video.

About 40 minutes. Shot by Paul Feine and Paul Detrick; edited by Detrick.

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Matt Welch Discusses Averting Government Shutdown on Freedom Watch

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 00:00:00 EDT

Reason Magazine editor in chief Matt Welch appeared on Judge Napolitano's Freedom Watch to discuss the government avoiding shut down and what the next moves are for Obama and the Republican House. Air Date: April 11, 2011.

Approximately 7.40 minutes.

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Why Aren't the Rich Paying 50 Percent in Income Taxes?

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 10:00:00 EDT

Tax Day (April 18) is fast approaching, which means anxiety and night sweats for about 99 percent of us.

And bitching and moaning by those at the top of the income pyramid about how they aren't forced to pay even more in taxes. (The top 1 percent of filers pay about 40 percent of income taxes).

Secretary of State and cattle-futures queen Hillary Clinton, super-investor Warren Buffett, and best-selling author Stephen King have all recently carped about how rich folks like them should be paying more in taxes. King recently told a Florida rally, "As a rich person, I'm paying 28 percent in taxes. What I want to ask you is, why am I not paying 50?"

But when it comes to the country's balance sheet, the U.S. doesn't have a revenue problem or a tax-rate problem. We've got a spending problem. Since 1950, revenue from all sources has averaged around 18 percent of Gross Domestic Product, despite top tax rates that have fluctuated from over 90 percent to the high 20-percent range. Regardless of all efforts to jack up revenue (or reduce it), that's what the government can expect to work with.

Yet spending has averaged about 20 percent of GDP - and is currently at a whopping 25 percent of GDP, a figure not seen since World War II. President Obama's budget plan forecasts spending at 23 percent of GDP over the next decade while Rep. Paul Ryan's GOP plan calls for 20.5 percent. There's your deficit right there, folks.

But King, Clinton, and Buffett - and you, too - can always pay more to retire federal debt held by the public. Just go to Treasury Direct and make a voluntary donation to reduce the national debt held by the public. So far in calender 2011, Treasury has pulled in an $125,000! Which means there's only about $8.99 trillion to go.

Written and produced by Meredith Bragg and Nick Gillespie. About 2 minutes.

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Final Countdown to Government Shutdown!

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 00:00:00 EDT

The following video contains shocking scenes of the dire consequences of a federal government shutdown.

Viewer discretion is advised.

Produced by Meredith Bragg and Nick Gillespie. Written by Gillespie. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel to receive automatic notifications when new material goes live.

Tired of both political parties? Try Reason!

Fri, 18 Mar 2011 12:00:00 EDT

Sick of Democrats, Republicans, and politics as usual? Then it's time for some Reason in your life.

A yearly subscription to Reason Magazine is only $14.97 for an entire year.

Keep the first issue for free if you're not completely satisfied.

Start your subscription to Reason Magazine today!

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Or go here: reason.com/subscribe

End the Fed: Filmmaker Tad Lumpkin Animates the Financial Crisis

Fri, 11 Mar 2011 12:00:00 EST

"Any time you give unlimited capacity to print money, then the government's going to grow," says filmmaker Tad Lumpkin.

Lumpkin created the animated feature The American Dream, which is available on YouTube, to explain U.S. monetary policy and its consequences in a way that would be accessible to a mass audience. Although some in the media, and at the Federal Reserve, blame a lack of regulation for the financial crisis, Lumpkin argues that the Fed itself is the primary cause for the collapse of the housing sector.

Lumpkin sat down with Reason.tv's Tim Cavanaugh to discuss the folly of central banking, why Ron Paul is an important political force, and why it's time to end the Fed.

Shot by Zach Weissmueller, Hawk Jensen, and Alex Manning. Edited by Weissmueller.

Approximately 9:40 minutes.

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Cutting Government Spending: An Interview with Puerto Rico Governor Luis Fortuno

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 00:00:00 EST

Since coming into power in 2009, Gov. Luis Fortuño (R-Puerto Rico) has cut government spending by 20 percent, lowered taxes and raised the territory’s bond status to its highest rating in 35 years – all during a punishing economic climate.

Gov. Fortuño sat down with Reason Magazine Editor in Chief Matt Welch to discuss Puerto Rico’s turnaround, federal immigration policy, the drug war, education reform, his support of statehood and a possible future in mainland politics.

Interview by Matt Welch. Shot by Jim Epstein and Meredith Bragg. Edited by Bragg.

Approximately 29 minutes.

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Matt Welch Discusses Boehner's Attack on Social Security and Medicare on Freedom Watch

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 00:00:00 EST

Reason Magazine Editor in Chief Matt Welch discusses if Boehner's will take on Social Security and Medicare next fiscal year and the continuous government intervention in the banking industry on Freedom Watch With Judge Napolitano. Air Date: March 4, 2011.

Approximately 8 minutes

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Tim Cavanaugh Discusses the Wisconsin's Crisis with MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan

Tue, 01 Mar 2011 00:00:00 EST

Reason columnist Tim Cavanaugh debates the blame of Wisconsin's budget crisis should rest on government bank bailouts and public union pensions and discusses how federal spending on infrastructure does not boost the economy on MSNBC's The Dylan Ratigan Show.

Air Date: February 28, 2011.

Approximately 8.30 minutes

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Veronique de Rugy Debunks Obama's Budget Proposal on Bloomberg

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 00:00:00 EST

Last week the White House unveiled President Barack Obama’s Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Request. According to Budget Director Jack Lew, the administration has come up with a plan for a “sustainable” deficit. In her weekly appearance on Bloomberg TV, Reason columnist Veronique de Rugy explains the truth about Obama’ s budget by separating economic fact from economic myth.

Myth 1: Under President Barack Obama’s 2012 budget, we will “live within our means”.

Fact 1: Debt and spending will continue to grow and deficits will continue to persist under the president’s Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Request.

Myth 2: The president’s budget reduces 2012 discretionary spending by 5 percent. This will bring domestic discretionary spending to the lowest level since Dwight Eisenhower was president.

Fact 2: Domestic discretionary spending has been decreasing steadily as a proportion of total spending due the growth of mandatory entitlement spending. Moreover, many of the “cuts” in the president’s budget are actually just budgetary gimmicks.

Myth 3: The president’s budget accurately reflects economic and politic reality.

Fact 3: The president’s budget incorporates unrealistic assumptions about both the U.S. economy and the implications of the president’s policy choices. Our fiscal situation is far more dire than the president’s budget lets on.

Myth 4: Budget cuts proposed by Republicans will eviscerate the American middle class.

Fact 4: The Republican cuts may be bigger than the president’s cuts but they still barely scratch the surface of our overspending problem.

For additional information, see de Rugy’s article “The Truth About Obama’s 2012 Budget.”

Nick Gillespie Appears on Fox News Red Eye

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 00:00:00 EST

Reason.tv editor in chief Nick Gillespie appeared Fox News' Red Eye to discuss various topics, including Wisconson's union protest, Middle East uprisings, Jeopardy's latest robotic-winner and a new beer marketed to the gay community. Airdate: February 18, 2011.

Approximately 40 minutes.

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Buzz Bowl I: Four Loko vs Joose

Thu, 03 Feb 2011 13:45:00 EST

Reason.tv presents the Bud Bowl of a new generation!

Two drinks, one field, and numerous mixtures of alcohol and caffeine that "cause" young people to engage in risky behavior.

It's The Battle of the Binge: Buzz Bowl I

Who will come out on top? Four Loko? Joose? Or will it be Senator Schumer (D-NY) and the FDA?

Approximately 1.5 minutes.

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Porker of the Month for January 2011: Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), and John Kerry (D-Mass.!

Thu, 27 Jan 2011 12:40:00 EST

Reason.tv presents Citizen's Against Government Waste’s Porkers of the Month for January 2011:

Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), and John Kerry (D-Mass.!

After the wasteful development work on the alternate engine for the Joint Strike Fighter was in danger of losing funding, these three urged the Pentagon to release even more taxpayer funds for redundant technology no one wants.

Congratulations Senators, you are Citizen's Against Government Waste's Porkers of the Month for January, 2011!

"Porker of the Month" is written and produced by Austin Bragg. Approximately 1.5 minutes.

For more info on Citizens Against Government Waste and the Porker of The Month, visit cagw.org.

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Matt Welch Responds to Obama's Speech on the Tucson Shooting on RT's The Alyona Show

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 00:00:00 EST

Reason Editor in Chief Matt Welch appeared on Russia Today's The Alyona Show to discuss Obama's unifying address to the nation after the Tuscon shooting and his avoidance in blaming "heated rhetoric." Airdate January 13, 2010.

Approximately 7.29 minutes.

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Joel Klein on School Choice

Fri, 21 Jan 2011 00:00:00 EST

As chancellor of New York City's Department of Education from 2002-2010, Joel Klein oversaw dramatic changes to the largest school system in the country. He worked hard to increase choice and accountability by increasing the autonomy and accountability of principals and championing charter schools. He also fought (with mixed success) to make it easier to hire and fire teachers and to eliminate onerous work rules.

Reason.tv’s Nick Gillespie sat down with Klein at the National Summit on Education Reform in Washington, D.C., to talk about school choice and the obstacles to reform.

This interview is part of National School Choice Week, an initiative to raise awareness of how competition and choice can transform public education.

Approximately 3.35 minutes. Filmed by Jim Epstein and Meredith Bragg, and edited by Joshua Swain.

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What Happened to the Antiwar Movement?

Thu, 20 Jan 2011 00:00:00 EST

Even as President Obama maintains close to 50,000 troops in Iraq and continues to escalate and expand the war in Afghanistan, the antiwar movement in America continues to shrink (PDF).

So, what happened?

Reason.tv visited two antiwar protests—one left-leaning, one libertarian—in an attempt to answer that question. Author and historian Thaddeus Russell and Reason Senior Editor Brian Doherty also weigh in.

War, it seems, is a bipartisan venture, which is reflected by the fact that Democrats have a favorable view of Obama's foreign policy, despite its remarkable similarity to George W. Bush's foreign policy. And though there have been rumblings of antiwar sentiment from some on the Right, Republicans remain strongly in favor of an interventionist foreign policy.

Although public sentiment is turning against the war in Afghanistan, the always-shifting withdrawal deadlines and the unwillingness to touch defense spending mean that this bipartisan war is likely to continue far into the future.

Approximately 7 minutes. Written and Produced by Zach Weissmueller. Senior Producer: Ted Balaker.

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The Week in Stupid

Tue, 18 Jan 2011 00:00:00 EST

Immediately following last week's tragic events in Tucson, television pundits fell over each another to assign blame. According to the professional talking heads--and despite any actual evidence--the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords could be pinned on the Tea Party, Ayn Rand, gold enthusiasts, Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, heavy metal, marijuana, and/or the "heated rhetoric" of cable news. Reason.tv trawls the archives and compiles the dumbest responses from America's dumbest pundits.

Approximately 1.43 minutes.

Written by Michael Moynihan. Edited by Moynihan and Joshua Swain.

Michael Moynihan Discusses the Tucson Shooting on CBC

Tue, 11 Jan 2011 00:00:00 EST

Reason Senior Editor Michael Moynihan on CBC's Power & Politics with Evan Solomon discussed whether the alleged politically motives behind the Tuscon shooting is a media creation and whether "toning down" heated rhetoric would have prevented the tragedy. Airdate: January 10, 2011.

Approximately 10 minutes.

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5 Rules for Coping with Tragedy

Tue, 11 Jan 2011 00:00:00 EST

Tragedies like the mass shooting in Tucson at a public event organized by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) are horrifying enough on their own, but they also have a way of bringing out the worst in reporters and politicians.

In fact, knee-jerk reactions often leave us with misconceptions and bad policies that stick around long after the healing has begun.

And so Reason.tv presents: 5 Rules for Coping with Tragedy

Approximately 2.45 seconds

Produced by Ted Balaker; written by Balaker and Nick Gillespie.

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Grading the Governors in 2010

Mon, 10 Jan 2011 00:00:00 EST

How would you grade your governor?

Chris Edwards, the CATO Institute’s director of tax policy studies, has analyzed and graded the fiscal records of 45 state governors. The only A Students: S.C.’s Mark Sanford (R), La.’s Bobby Jindal (R), Minn.’s Tim Pawlenty (R), W.Va.’s Joe Manchin (D). Otherwise there were 15 B’s, 8 C’s, 11 D’s and 7 F’s.

CATO has been releasing its Fiscal Policy Report Card for over the past 20 years, tracking state and local budget’s ballooning from the 1990’s to the 2000’s and an increase of A’s and F’s as governors struggle to find the best way to recover from years of overspending and mismanagement.

Approximately 9.30 minutes.

Shot by Jim Epstein and Meredith Bragg. Edited by Bragg.

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Nick Gillespie Discusses the GOP and the Debt Ceiling with Judge Napolitano

Fri, 07 Jan 2011 00:00:00 EST

Reason.tv editor-in-chief Nick Gillespie appeared on Jude Napolitano's Freedom Watch to discuss whether the new Congress will keep it's promises to the Tea Party and cut spending or will the GOP continue to resort to big government for solutions. Air Date: January 6, 2010.

Approximately 3.32 minutes.

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Countdown to Disappointment: Don't expect the new Congress to cut spending

Tue, 04 Jan 2011 10:00:00 EST

Is it too soon to declare the new Congress a failure?

Ever since their midterm election triumph, Republicans have talked tough about cutting spending. Here’s hoping they make good on those promises, but they spouted the same tough talk after their 1994 election triumph and look what happened.

Back then the GOP revolutionaries targeted more than 200 programs for complete and utter elimination. They scored some minor victories (adios helium fund!), but a decade into their “revolution” (and after they gained a Republican president) inflation-adjusted spending on the combined budgets of the 101 largest programs slated for elimination actually increased by 27 percent. And since then total federal spending has continued to soar, so why should we take Republicans seriously this time?

The countdown to disappointment starts now.

Approximately 82 seconds.

Written and produced by Ted Balaker. Music by Ambient Teknology (Magnatune Records).

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Nick Gillespie, Matt Welch, and Katherine Mangu-Ward Explain Libertarianism on Freedom Watch

Mon, 20 Dec 2010 00:00:00 EST

Reason.tv and Reason.com Editor in Chief Nick Gillespie, Reason Magazine Editor in Chief Matt Welch, and Reason Senior Editor Katherine Mangu-Ward appeared on a discussion panel for an entire episode of Freedom Watch With Judge Napolitano to talk about what it means to be libertarian and how best to apply libertarian principles in today's politics. Airdate: December 17, 2010.

Approximately 33 minutes.

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A Joe Biden (War On) Christmas

Sun, 19 Dec 2010 20:00:00 EST

Why does Vice President Joe Biden hate Christmas? And why is he badgering one of the most beloved, kind-hearted cartoon characters in the world?

Has it really come to this?

Make your own Joe Biden holiday mashup. It's easy like Sunday morning talk shows.

1 part beloved animated Christmas special
1 part Joe Biden YouTube clips.
2 parts fever dream.
Mix until completely out of context.
Serve.

A Joe Biden (War on) Christmas is written by Meredith Bragg and Nick Gillespie. Script consultant: Austin Bragg. Produced by Meredith Bragg.

Approximately 1.30 minutes. Not brought to you by Almost Home Cookies and Peter Paul Cadbury. Scroll down for for downloadable versions; subscribe to Reason.tv's YouTube channel to receive automatic notification when new material goes live.

Related video: Reason.tv Salutes Joe Biden, Real Man of Genius (original release date: February 24, 2009)

Veronique de Rugy Joins Parker Spitzer to Discuss Obama's Tax Cut Deal

Thu, 09 Dec 2010 00:00:00 EST

Reason monthly columnist and Mercatus Center economist Veronique de Rugy appeared on CNN's Parker Spitzer to discuss Obama's deal on tax cuts and how his presidency is continuing Bush-era policies. Airdate: December 8, 2010.

Approximately 8.23 minutes.

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Obama Gets Busted on Mythbusters!

Mon, 06 Dec 2010 14:30:00 EST

Super-fan President Barack Obama makes a guest appearance on a very special episode of Mythbusters this week.

But will he still like Jamie and Adam after they bust his first two years in office?

Check out this super-secret Reason.tv trailer for this Wednesday's show.

Approximately 45 seconds long. Written by Austin Bragg, Nick Gillespie, and Meredith Bragg. Produced by Meredith Bragg.

After the promo, click through the on-screen hyperlink for sources or go here.

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Have California Democrats Turned Their Backs on Social Justice? A Conversation with Chris Reed

Mon, 29 Nov 2010 09:00:00 EST

Democrats are supposed to work towards the goal of social justice, right? So why is it that so many policies supported by California Democrats end up harming poor people and minorities?

Reason.tv's Paul Feine sat down with journalist Chris Reed to talk about public employee unions, welfare reform, Walmart, the drug war, and environmental regulations.

Chris Reed is an editorial writer for the San Diego Union-Tribune and a talk show host on KOGO 600 AM, San Diego's News & Talk Station.

Approximately 9 minutes. Produced by Paul Feine and Alex Manning.

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The Long-Term Meaning of the Mid-Term Elections

Tue, 16 Nov 2010 12:00:00 EST

Just how libertarian is the Tea Party? Do GOP gains in the midterm elections mean voters like Republicans or are angry at Obama? Are any of the newly elected pols serious about cutting spending?

On November 11, 2010, Reason's Matt Welch and Nick Gillespie, authors of next year's The Declaration of Independents: How Libertarian Politics Can Fix What's Wrong With America, led a freewheeling discussion with The Winston Group's Kristen Soltis and the Institute for Humane Studies' David Kirby about whether we've just witnessed the first act of a Republican revolution, a speed bump on the road back to Democratic power, or the beginning of something truly strange and new in American politics.

Approximately 47.44 minutes.

Shot and edited by Jim Epstein, Meredith Bragg, and Josh Swain.

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Michael Moynihan on The Alyona Show Discusses Sen. Demint's Anti-Libertarian Comment

Mon, 15 Nov 2010 00:00:00 EST

Appearing on Russia Today's The Alyona Show, Reason Senior Editor Michael Moynihan takes issue with Senator Jim Demint's comment that one "can't be a fiscal conservative and not be a social conservative." Airdate 11/12/2010.

Approximately 6.46 minutes.

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Help Reason Make More Politicians Cry

Thu, 11 Nov 2010 16:54:00 EST

Not enough politicians are crying. Please help us make more politicians weep.

Since 1968, our hardcore libertarian journalism, policy analysis, and commentary has exposed government waste, fraud, and corruption.

Your tax-deductible donation to Reason Foundation, the nonprofit that publishes Reason magazine, Reason.com, and Reason.tv will help us make more politicians cry.

For just $100 - far less than your share of the $1 million earmark for the Central Kitsap Wastewater Treatment Facility Methane Recapture Improvements in Washington state - you'll get a year's subscription to Reason magazine, one of six books, and your choice of a Reason t-shirt.

If you can't afford $100, then give what you can here.

Because not enough politicians are crying. Yet.

3 Reasons This Election Didn't Change A Thing

Wed, 03 Nov 2010 01:00:00 EDT

There's no question that the Republicans painted the map red during the 2010 midterm elections, picking up control of the House of Representatives, gaining share in the Senate, and picking up a good chunk of statehouses seemingly all over the place.

The Republicans won big due to huge voter displeasure with the state of the economy, President Obama's policies of the past two years, and (especially) the Democrat-controlled Congress. But does the shift in power matter? Here's three Reasons the GOP wave won't change a goddamn thing:

1. We're still on the fast track to the poor house. When the GOP ran the show with George W. Bush, they spent like drunken sailors (apologies to drunken sailors). Things have only gotten worse since 2008 but the GOP's much-ballyhooed (at least by themselves) Pledge to America only pledges to spend the least bit less than the Dems.

The Pledge conspicuously exempted defense and entitlements from spending cuts, thereby taking more than 60 percent of outlays off the table and making it impossible to seriously cut spending. Triumphant GOP spokespeople sounded the same message on Election Day, generally refusing to offer up specifics about spending cuts.

2. Nobody's talking about foreign policy and ending the warfare state. In constant dollars, defense spending has basically doubled since 2000 and is projected to stay at levels hundreds of billions of dollars above what it was before the Cold War ended. Perhaps more important, neither President Obama nor his party's leadership has even begun a meaningful conversation about foreign policy. The same goes for the Republicans, who constantly exempt defense spending, one of the very largest annual items in the federal budget, from serious scrutiny, much less significant cuts. President Obama is following George W. Bush's painfully slow withdrawal plan from Iraq and has tripled down in Afghanistan without clarifying U.S. goals and leaving lots of wiggle room when it comes to supposed deadlines for leaving. The only folks more hellbent on maintaining an unexamined status quo than the president are the Republicans.

3. The only people worse than liberals on social issues are conservatives. President Obama and the Democrats spent more time hectoring Americans to eat our vegetables than they did repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," pushing immigration reform, or ending drug prohibition. But don't look for the new crew in D.C. or your state capitol to push social tolerance anytime soon. If anything - and despite all the limited-government rhetoric - they'll be even worse when it comes to expanding individual autonomy and increasing lifestyle choice.

The one up side to the midterms? Only that we don't have to worry about another election for two woefully short years.

"3 Reasons This Election Didn't Change a Thing!" is written and produced by Meredith Bragg and Nick Gillespie (who also hosts).

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The Madness of Barack Obama or, How Can a GOP Landslide "Return" Us to Failed Policies of the Past if They've Never Really Left?

Mon, 01 Nov 2010 09:00:00 EDT

President Obama says, "The definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." He's on the campaign trail warning voters about "returning to the very same policies that failed us during the last decade."

If he's talking about bailouts, ineffective stimulus packages, and massive government spending, then we won't be returning to them because we've never left in the first place. The continuities between George W. Bush and Barack Obama and their parties are far more disturbing than the differences.

Approximately 55 seconds.

Written and produced by Ted Balaker. Music by Ambient Teknology (Magnatune Records).

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What We Saw at the Stewart-Colbert Rally to Restore Sanity

Sat, 30 Oct 2010 18:00:00 EDT

Reason.tv was on hand for the Rally to Restore Sanity And/Or Fear hosted by Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert at the National Mall in Washington on Saturday, October 30, 2010.

The crowd was huge, the weather fine, the signs memorable, and the people...well, let's just say they were there too. Some were apolitical and just out for a fun day, some were big fans of Comedy Central's best-known personalities, some were inadvertent dadaists, and more than a few defined sanity strictly in terms of heartily agreeing with themselves.

Approximately 6 minutes long. Shot and edited by Jim Epstein and Meredith Bragg, with assistance from Josh Swain. Interviews by Michael C. Moynihan and Nick Gillespie. With help from June Arunga.

For Reason.tv coverage of other recent DC rallies (inlcuding Glenn Beck's Restoring Honor Rally, the 9/12 Freedom Works Rally, and One Nation Working Together Rally), go here.

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Author Jeremy Lott on William F. Buckley Jr.'s Faith and Politics

Tue, 19 Oct 2010 00:00:00 EDT

In William F. Buckley Jr., Reason contributor Jeremy Lott delves into the famed public intellectual's life, politics and Catholicism. From the founding of National Review to his opposition to civil rights legislation to his embrace of pot legalization, Lott details how Buckley's religion hugely shaped his political principles.

Lott, the author The Warm Bucket Brigade (a history of the vice presidency) and In Defense of Hypocrisy, sat down with Nick Gillespie to discuss Catholicism, communism, and Buckley's late-life rebranding of himself as a "libertarian journalist."

They also talked about Lott's new gig as editor of the website, RealClearReligion.org, a just-launched sister site to the immensely popular and influential RealClearPolitics.com.

Approximately 10 minutes.

Shot and edited by Meredith Bragg.

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Nick Gillespie on Red Eye

Wed, 13 Oct 2010 00:00:00 EDT

Nick Gillespie, editor in chief of Reason.tv and Reason.com, appeared on FOX News' Red Eye. Air date: Oct. 11, 2010.

Approximately 30 minutes.

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Nick Gillespie Talks "Fringe Candidates" on CNN's Parker Spitzer

Tue, 12 Oct 2010 00:00:00 EDT

Reason.tv's Nick Gillespie appeared on CNN's newest talk show, "Parker Spitzer," to discuss the emergence of so-called "fringe candidates" in the Republican Party. He also talked about voter anger directed at government spending, the irrelevance of Karl Rove in today's politics and Obama's lack of economic vision. Air date: Oct. 11, 2010.

Approximately nine minutes.

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Nick Gillespie Explains Free-Market Economics on CNN's Parker Spitzer

Tue, 12 Oct 2010 00:00:00 EDT

Reason.tv's Nick Gillespie appeared on the Political Party segment of CNN's newest talk show, "Parker Spitzer." The panel discussed whether or not politicians are worse now than ever before, whether it's government or markets that cause monopolies and whether or not Gillespie is a "mouthpiece for plutonomy." Air Date: Oct. 11, 2010.

Approximately 10 minutes.

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Nick Gillespie Discussess the Midterm Elections on Fox Business

Tue, 12 Oct 2010 00:00:00 EDT

Nick Gillespie, editor in chief of Reason.tv and Reason.com, appeared on Fox Business Channel's Varney and Co. to discuss the Midterm elections and what, if anything, will change with more Republicans in congress. Air date: Oct. 12, 2010.

Approximately 5.30 minutes.

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Tim Cavanaugh Discusses CA Budget Delays on Fox 11

Fri, 08 Oct 2010 11:00:00 EDT

Tim Cavanaugh, Reason columnist and Hit & Run contributor, talks about the California state budget delays and puts them in historical context. He appeared on FOX 11 Los Angeles. Air date: Oct. 6, 2010 on KTTV.

Approximately 2:46.

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3 Reasons Obama's Education Vision Deserves an F

Thu, 07 Oct 2010 15:00:00 EDT

President Barack Obama is making his bid to be "the education president." At the start of NBC's recent Education Nation summit in New York, Obama appeared on the Today Show and touted what he claimed were a wide-ranging set of reforms to improve America's K-12 schools.

Yet Obama's education vision deserves an F for at least three reasons:

1. Money Talks. Obama says that the educational system needs new ideas and more money. Despite a doubling in inflation-adjusted per-pupil spending since the early 1970s, student achievement is flat at best. But Obama is placing most of his bets on the money part. While he brags constantly about his Race to the Top initiative, in which states competed for $4 billion to fund innovative programs, he's spent more than $80 billion in no-strings-attached stimulus funds to maintain the educational status quo.

2. Choice Cuts. Candidate Obama said that he'd try any reform idea regardless of ideology. Yet one of his first education-related moves after taking office was to aid his Senate mentor, Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), in killing a successful and popular D.C. voucher program that let low-income residents exercise the same choice Obama did in sending his daughters to private school.

3. The Unions Forever. The two largest teachers unions, The American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association, overwhelmingly supported Obama with their votes and their contributions. Some 95 percent of the groups' campaign contributions go to Democratic candidates and the NEA, spends more money on elections that Microsoft, ExxonMobil, Walmart, and the AFL-CIO combined. No wonder Obama's big talking point is that he wants to add 10,000 more teachers to public payrolls despite the fact that there are already more teachers per student than ever.

Reforming education may not be politically easy, but the solution is pretty simple: Give parents and students more ability to choose - and exit - schools. This works for every other sort of business and it works for higher education, too. There's no reason to think it wouldn't work for K-12 education.

And sadly, there's absolutely no reason to think that Obama will embrace that sort of change.

Written and produced by Meredith Bragg and Nick Gillespie, who also hosts. Approximately 2.30 minutes. Scroll down for iPod, HD, and audio versions. Subscribe to Reason.tv's YouTube channel for automatic notification when new videos go live.

For more "3 Reasons" videos, go here.

Tim Cavanaugh Talks Borrowing to Balance the Budget on Fox 11

Thu, 07 Oct 2010 11:00:00 EDT

Tim Cavanaugh, Reason columnist and Hit & Run contributor, discusses the details of the new California budget, which may rely heavily on borrowing despite the wishes of the voters. He appeared on FOX 11 Los Angeles. Air date: Oct. 6, 2010 on KTTV.

Approximately 2:39.

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Michael Moynihan Discusses The Merits of Non-Voting on Stossel

Wed, 06 Oct 2010 12:00:00 EDT

Reason Magazine and Reason.com Senior Editor Michael Moynihan discusses the merits of non-voting with John Stossel and Andy Bernstein, executive director of voter registration group Headcount on Stossel on September 30, 2010.

Approximately 9:08.

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Tim Cavanaugh Talks Budget Fight On Fox 11 LA KTTV

Wed, 06 Oct 2010 12:00:00 EDT

Tim Cavanaugh, Reason columnist and Hit & Run contributor, discusses the recent battles between Republicans and Democrats trying to pass the California budget. He appeared on FOX 11 Los Angeles. Air date: Oct. 5, 2010 on KTTV.

Approximately 4:08.

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What We Saw and Who We Talked With at the One Nation Working Together Rally in DC

Sun, 03 Oct 2010 06:00:00 EDT

Reason.tv reports from the "One Nation Working Together" rally for "Jobs, Justice, and Education" on Saturday, October 2 in Washington, D.C. The event was organized by the NAACP, the AFL-CIO, the American Federation of Teachers, the Service Employees International Union, and other progressive outfits.

Reason's Nick Gillespie talked with Rep. Charles Rangel, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, the AFT's Randi Weingarten, MSNBC's Ed Schultz, comedian-activist Dick Gregory, Electronic Frontier Foundation co-founder Mitch Kapor, and other luminaries (including somebody who looked a helluva lot like Neil Young).

Click to learn what they had to say about the economy, the Tea Party, President Obama's tenure, whether the stimulus worked, race relations, and whether the United States is better off than it was in the 1960s.

Approx. 5 minutes. Shot and edited by Jim Epstein, with help from Josh Swain.

Reason.tv attended the 'One Nation Working Together Rally' on the National Mall on October 2, 2010. The crowd, representing a broad cross section of political left, included groups like the United Auto Workers, United Steel Workers, Service Employees International Union, the NAACP, anti-war activists, the American Federation of Teachers, the International Socialist Organization, and many liberal and progressive groups.

Priority issues for attendees were jobs, the cost of higher education and the economy. Though the crowd was evenly divided about President Obama's first two years in office, it seemed as though everyone agreed that it's time to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Interviews by June Arunga and Kmele Foster. Shot and edited by Dan Hayes.

3D Fiscal House of Horrors!

Thu, 30 Sep 2010 06:30:00 EDT

As the United States grapples with the grisliest economic downturn in decades, many politicians seem strangely unable or unwilling to stop their zombified shuffling toward a full-blown fiscal FUBAR.

President Barack Obama pushes for yet more stimulus spending and the Republican leadership pledges to stay mum on the prospect for serious spending entitlement reform until at least election day.

Given the decade-long spending binge that started under George W. Bush and a Republican Congress and has accelerated under Obama and the Democrats, America's balance sheet hasn't been this scary since World War II.

The only way to tell this story is in 3D: Debts, Deficits, and Despair!

Spending has reached has record highs. So have deficits and national debt. And public-sector compensation at all levels continues to rise like the living dead at the witching hour. The worst part? If current trends continue, we ain't seen nothing yet!

The following videos lay out in gory detail just how heart-stopping the situation is. So watch the warning video first, check your pulse, and continue on - if you dare!

To experience the full horror, subscribe to Reason magazine now and receive our special 3D November issue, which includes a pair 3D glasses and, more important, practical plans to cut spending now.

These videos are best viewed in high-definition. Immediately after clicking play, click on the 360p button on the lower-right hand corner of each video and select 720p for the best resolution.

A Warning from Sen. Mike Gravel (D-Alaska)

Out of a sense of common decency - and a court order - former Alaska senator, I Like Mike star, and recidivist presidential candidate Mike Gravel warns viewers prone to seizures, high blood pressure, and politically induced rage to exit their browsers now. If you do choose to continue and feel your head about to explode at any time, he counsels, don't be afraid to scream with everything you've got. The life you save may be your own. And your country's.

I Spend on Your Grave!

How did the federal budget become more terrifying than Rahm Emmanuel in a locker-room shower? It's not complicated. Since World War II, government revenues have averaged about 18 percent of Gross Domestic Product. Government expenditures, alas, have rarely kept close to that number (this year alone, it will be close to 26 percent of GDP). The result is as predictable and grisly as a curvaceous college co-ed entering the last house on the lane: red ink that threaten to drown us all.

Night of The Living Debt

What's spookier than Sen. Harry Reid guest-starring in The Vagina Monologues? The balance sheet from hell better known as the national debt. In 2009, the federal deficit was $1.4 trillion, or over 12 percent of GDP and the highest level since World War II. The federal debt, which is made up of all the annual deficits plus interest on borrowed money, is around 45 percent of GDP and is projected to be 90 percent of GDP by 2020. Which means the government will be sucking more money out of your pocket and the larger economy to pay for bailing out GM and Citigroup today.

Attack of The Killer Compensation

Here's a tale more fear-inducing than Michelle Obama at a fat farm. Chew on this: In more than eight of 10 occupations, federal workers make more in straight salary than their private sector counterparts. A federal janitor makes $6,000 more than his private-sector counterpart and a federal nurse makes $11,000 than her counterpart. And federal workers on average get four times more in benefits such as health care and retirement. At the state and local level, public-sector workers take home more than their private-sector equivalents, too (Michigan public-sector workers, for instance, take home 47 percent more in total compensation than their private-sector analogues). The result of such taxpayer-funded largess? An economic living death on the installment plan!

The End?

Is this the end of the American experiment? Certainly, the trend lines are as difficult to change as they are unsustainable. Yet the situation can be reversed. Reason's November issue - also in 3D! - contains true tales of budgetary restraint and right-sizing.

Subscribe to Reason now and read how the U.S., New Zealand, and Canada all cut spending quickly and effectively. Read how to spin off the government-sponsored money-sucks Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. And read Reason staffers' recommendations for slashing ineffective, redundant, or wasteful government programs.

For a taste of the issue, read Reason Editor in Chief Matt Welch's essay, appropriately titled "Scary Monsters." And for copies of the charts presented in the videos above, go here now.

Reason.tv's 3D Fiscal House of Horrors is written and produced by Meredith Bragg, Austin Bragg, and Nick Gillespie.

Progress Party Leader Siv Jensen on Norway's Myths and Realities

Wed, 29 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EDT

In a country of exceptionally high rates of personal taxation and home to one of the world's most generous welfare states, Norway's Progress Party, which describes itself as a "classical liberal" organization committed to "personal freedom," is something of an anomaly. But it is an increasingly powerful anomaly, now ranking as the country's second biggest political party.

In August, Progress Party leader Siv Jensen sat down with Reason senior editor Michael C. Moynihan and explained that Norwegians are growing tired of "regulation, bureaucracy, and high taxes" and why the Scandinavian health care model is bad for America—and Scandinavia.

Approximately 5 minutes. Shot by Jim Epstein and Meredith Bragg. Edited by Josh Swain.

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What We Saw at the 9/12 Tea Party Rally in DC

Sun, 12 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EDT

On September 12, 2010 in Washington, D.C., FreedomWorks sponsored its second annual 9/12 rally, based on the theme of "Remember in November." Among the speakers were FreedomWorks' Dick Armey and Matt Kibbe (go here for Reason.tv's interview with them about their best-selling Give Us Liberty: A Tea Party Manifesto); former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson (go here for an interview about his Our America initiative); "Tito the Builder," a Colombian immigrant and contractor who is an outspoken defender of free enterprise; Deneen Borelli of Project 21 and Tom Borelli of the Free Enterprise Project; and new media impresario Andrew Breitbart of Big Government.

This year's event drew a smaller but arguably more intense crowd than last year's demonstration. Attendees' attitudes toward President Barack Obama and the Democratic Congress were sharply negative and sometimes strayed from the Tea Party's traditionally narrow focus on curbing federal spending to issues such as illegal immigration and race relations. Yet there was no mistaking the main thrust of the day's event, which was, as Matt Kibbe stressed, that "November 3 is even more important than November 2." As Andrew Breitbart put it, "The beauty of the Tea Party movement is watching it hold Republicans accountable...These people are not going to stop holding their government and elected officials accountable, especially those that claim to represent their values."

Approximately 5.30 minutes. Shot and edited by Dan Hayes and Jim Epstein. Interviews by Michael C. Moynihan and Nick Gillespie.

Watch Reason.tv's coverage of last year's 9/12 rally here and Glenn Beck's August 28, 2010 "Restoring Honor" rally here.

The Road to CanadaCare? Sally Pipes on The Truth About ObamaCare

Thu, 09 Sep 2010 09:50:00 EDT

Now that they've passed ObamaCare, can we see what's in it?

Sally Pipes, president and CEO of the Pacific Research Institute and author of The Truth About ObamaCare sits down with Ted Balaker to discuss what's really on the way courtesy of the recent health care overhaul: higher costs, decreased access to care, and the looming spectre of a single-payer system in America.

Pipes, who hails from Canada, worries that ObamaCare has set the U.S. on a path toward a Canadian-style system. She weighs in on if and how ObamaCare could be repealed and what should replace it.

Approximately six minutes.

Interview by Ted Balaker. Shot by Alex Manning and Paul Detrick. Edited by Austin Bragg.

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Nanny of the Month (Aug 2010): Police Chief Busts Guy Who Keeps Drunks Off the Street

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 09:15:00 EDT

Did you hear about the Oregon health inspector who shut down a seven-year-old girl's lemonade stand? How about the California mayor who put the kibosh on a three-year-old's vegetable stand?

Sure they're both big-time buttinskys, but this month top honors go to the top cop who busted a guy who was offering free rides to keep drunk drivers off the road.

Presenting Reason.tv's Nanny of the Month for August 2010: Quincy, Illinois Police Chief Rob Copely!

"Nanny of the Month" is written and produced by Ted Balaker. Associate Producer: Alex Manning; Animation: Meredith Bragg.

Approximately one minute.

To watch previous Nanny of the Month videos, go here.

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What We Saw at the Glenn Beck Rally in DC

Sat, 28 Aug 2010 15:00:00 EDT

On August 28, 2010, Fox News host Glenn Beck held his "Restoring Honor" rally at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. The aim of the event, explained the lachrymose TV personality, was to "come celebrate America by honoring our heroes, our heritage and our future."

As the Washington Post reports,

"For too long, this country has wandered in darkness, and we have wandered in darkness in periods from the beginning," Beck said, at times pacing at the memorial. "We have had moments of brilliance and moments of darkness. But this country has spent far too long worried about scars and thinking about the scars and concentrating on the scars.
"Today," he continued, "we are going to concentrate on the good things in America, the things that we have accomplished - and the things that we can do tomorrow. The story of America is the story of humankind."

Despite the presence of former Gov. Sarah Palin and many Tea Party trappings, the event was not political, or at least not in any conventional sense. Rather, the speakers called for bringing religion into the public square and using it as the guiding force in all aspects of American life.

Reason.tv was on hand to take in the day and talk with some of the thousands of people who showed up (crowd estimates were unavailable at the time of this writing, though the crowd felt thinner than the one at last year's Tea Party rally). Most of the people we talked to were openly skeptical of politicians of both major parties and agreed strongly with the religious bent of the rally, often arguing that some sort of religious orientation was necessary for what that saw as a return to national greatness.

"What We Saw at the Glenn Beck Rally in DC" was shot by Jim Epstein with help from Josh Swain. Edited by Epstein and Meredith Bragg. Hosted by Nick Gillespie.

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Union Jobs vs. Children's Lives: Which side are you on?

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 06:00:00 EDT

Congress has passed a $26 billion aid package that is intended to save the jobs of thousands of teachers, nurses, and other public-sector employees. To critics who call the measure a "special interest" bill, President Barack Obama says , "I suppose if America's children and the safety of our communities are your special interest, then it is a special interest bill."

In politics everyone claims to be on the side of the children, but who really is? Pat DeLorenzo is a parent whose daughter suffers from epilepsy. Like roughly 10,000 other epileptic schoolchildren in California, eight-year-old Gianna suffers from the type of prolonged seizures that, without immediate attention, can result in brain damage or death. After witnessing the response of teachers and school nurses to one of his daughter's life-threatening seizures, Pat DeLorenzo now believes that teachers and nurses care more about protecting union jobs than saving epileptic children.

DeLorenzo feared the worst when he receive a call from his daughter's school, informing him that she had suffered a seizure. Gianna survived that day, but DeLorenzo was outraged that school administrators had not given his daughter Diastat, a drug that stops seizures before they do permanent harm and is FDA-approved for use by laypeople. Today many schoolchildren must wait until an ambulance brings them to a hospital before they receive Diastat. That's much too long, says DeLorenzo who supports, SB 1051, a California bill that would allow trained non-medical volunteers to administer Diastat at schools.

Epilepsy advocates like the Epilepsy Foundation and physicians groups like the California Medical Association have lined up to support the bill. Unions representing teachers, nurses, and other public employees have lined up in opposition, claiming the bill would put children in danger. Their solution: hire more school nurses.

"The unions are not on the side of the kids," says DeLorenzo who believes unions are more interested in expanding their ranks than protecting epileptic children.

"It's exactly the opposite," says Gayle McClean, southern section president of the California School Nurses Organization and a member of the California Teachers Association. "We care deeply for children and we want them to receive the most appropriate care and that means they need a licensed medical person caring for them."

Sacramento lawmakers sided with unions and have refused to bring the bill up for a vote. The bill will officially expire on August 31.

"Union Jobs vs. Children's Lives" is written and produced by Ted Balaker. Field Producers: Paul Detrick and Zach Weissmueller; Additional Camera: Austin Bragg, Production Associate: Sam Corcos.

Approximately 7.30 minutes.

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Where Do Libertarians Belong? A Reason Event Featuring Brink Lindsey, Matt Kibbe, and Jonah Goldberg

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 09:00:00 EDT

Should libertarians forge alliances and risk being compromised, or preserve their purity and risk irrelevance? Which political groups are worth rooting for, collaborating with, or just sprinting away from?

On July 12, 2010, Reason hosted a debate on "Where Libertarians Belong" with Cato Institute Vice President Brink Lindsey, FreedomWorks President Matt Kibbe, and Jonah Goldberg of National Review Online and the American Enterprise Institute.

The event was based on Reason's August/September cover forum (click here to subscribe), in which Lindsey argued for the abolition of the historical right-libertarian alliance in "Right Is Wrong," Goldberg warned against the lure of "The Non-Existent Center," and Kibbe defended the Tea Parties in "Drink Your Tea."

Approximately 50 minutes. Shot by Dan Hayes, Jim Epstein, and Josh Swain. Edited by Jim Epstein.

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Protest in Bell: City Residents Say "Enough!"

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:00:00 EDT

Should a city manager from one of Los Angeles County's poorest cities earn twice as much as President Obama?

Residents from the working-class town of Bell erupted in outrage after learning that their city pays its officials some of the highest local-government salaries in the nation, including City Manager Robert Rizzo who takes home nearly $800,000 per year.

Rizzo has resigned, as have some of Bell's other top-earning government officials. But on Monday evening frustrated residents gathered at a city council meeting to demand more resignations and an end to what they regard as widespread corruption.

Reason.tv spoke with protesters furious with high taxes, cronyism, and inflated public-sector compensation.

Approximately 3 minutes. Produced by Ted Balaker and Tim Cavanaugh, who also hosts. Camera by Zach Weissmueller and Sam Corcos. Edited by Weissmueller.

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Nick Gillespie Discusses "Libertarian Vogue" with Judge Napolitano

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 11:15:00 EDT

Reason.tv's Nick Gillespie joins an all-star libertarian panel with John Stossel and former Reason Editor in Chief Virginia Postrel on Judge Napolitano's Freedom Watch to discuss the libertarian influence on contemporary American politics, on July 17, 2010.

Approximately 6 minutes.

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It's The Love Boat...For Ideas!

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 16:00:00 EDT

Regular readers of Reason.com and Reason.tv and subscribers to the print edition of Reason already know that we're shoving off on our first-ever cruise in February 2011. Get more shiver-yer-timbers details here.

Among the Reason staffers who have already been shanghaiied into participating are Matt Welch, Jacob Sullum, Ron Bailey, and Nick Gillespie.

Our special guest stars include best-selling author Matt Ridley, whose latest tome is The Rational Optimist, and Patri Friedman, the visionary behind The Seasteading Institute. More speakers will be announced soon...

Here's what you'll get on the Reason cruise:

Moderated panel sessions featuring Reason editors and guest speakers, along with plenty of discussion.

Special additional sessions hosted by our cruise partner, The Seasteading Institute.

Many chances to meet and spend time with our editors and special guest speakers.

Exclusive parties and dining with our editors and guest speakers. You will dine with your fellow Reason cruise attendees, so that you have the chance to meet many of your fellow freedom lovers.

Admission to Reason seminars and ad-hoc sessions

Admission to numerous Reason cruise private cocktail receptions.

Admission to Reason group excursions.

Port charges, taxes, fuel surcharges, and government fees.

Accommodations and all meals.

We set sail from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on January 30 next year and return, god willing, February 6, after visiting exotic ports of call in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Antilles. We'll be shipping out on Celebrity Cruise's Solstice, a big mother of a ship every bit as unsinkable as the Titanic and James Cameron's career put together. Double occupancy cabins start at around $1,500 per person and spaces are limited.

So come aboard, we're expecting you! Go to ReasonCruise.com for details.

Video produced by Meredith Bragg.

The Reason iPhone App

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 09:00:00 EDT

If you want to watch the inevitable trainwreck that is politics unfold, there's an app for that.

If you like your acerbic political commentary with a touch of '70s rock nostalgia, there's an app for that.

If you want to email your disaffected congressional leaders, there's an app for that.

And if you want to find out whose ass to kick...there's an app for that.

Free Minds and Free Markets. Free in the App Store now.

The Reason iPhone App keeps you up to date with the latest news and views from the Reason staff wherever you are.

Compatible with the iPhone, iPhone 3GS, and iPod Touch, the Reason App downloads and syncs Reason's content to your device in real time.

The Reason app is free and available at iTunes. Download it now!

Features include:

Access to fresh content from Hit & Run, Reason.com (including Brickbats), Reason.tv, and Reason.org;
Simple Save and Share functionality for all text and video content;
Smooth navigation between and within sections;
Secure Donations page.

Video produced by Austin Bragg.

Sign Up For Reason's First-Ever Cruise, February 2010, Featuring Matt Ridley & Matt Welch, Nick Gillespie, Jacob Sullum & Ron Bailey

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 15:38:00 EDT

Regular readers of this site and subscribers to the print edition of Reason already know that we're shoving off on our first-ever cruise in February 2011. Get more shiver-yer-timbers details here.

Among the Reason staffers who have already been shanghaiied into participating are Matt Welch, Jacob Sullum, Ron Bailey, and Nick Gillespie.

Our special guest stars include best-selling author Matt Ridley, whose latest tome is The Rational Optimist, and Patri Friedman, the visionary behind The Seasteading Institute. More speakers will be announced soon...

Here's what you'll get on the Reason cruise:

Moderated panel sessions featuring Reason editors and guest speakers, along with plenty of discussion.

Special additional sessions hosted by our cruise partner, The Seasteading Institute.

Many chances to meet and spend time with our editors and special guest speakers.

Exclusive parties and dining with our editors and guest speakers. You will dine with your fellow Reason cruise attendees, so that you have the chance to meet many of your fellow freedom lovers.

Admission to Reason seminars and ad-hoc sessions

Admission to numerous Reason cruise private cocktail receptions.

Admission to Reason group excursions.

Port charges, taxes, fuel surcharges, and government fees.

Accommodations and all meals.

We set sail from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on January 30 next year and return, god willing, February 6, after visiting exotic ports of call in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Antilles. We'll be shipping out on Celebrity Cruise's Solstice, a big mother of a ship every bit as unsinkable as the Titanic and James Cameron's career put together. Double occupancy cabins start at around $1,500 per person and spaces are limited.

So come aboard, we're expecting you! Click through for details or go to ReasonCruise.com!

C-SPAN Founder and CEO Brian Lamb Full Interview

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 08:00:00 EDT

In 2003 Reason named C-SPAN Founder and CEO Brian Lamb one of our 35 Heroes of Freedom for “turning a surveillance camera on the den of iniquity known as the U.S. House of Representatives.” Lamb sat down with Reason.tv editor Nick Gillespie for a wide-ranging -- and distinctively non-stoned faced -- discussion about the network, his views on politics, and a possible alternate career choice as a drummer for Merle Haggard.

Approximately 40 minutes. Produced, shot and edited by Meredith Bragg, Dan Hayes and Joshua Swain.

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

C-SPAN Founder and CEO Brian Lamb Interview (Short Version)

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 08:00:00 EDT

Approximately 6 minutes. Produced, shot and edited by Meredith Bragg, Dan Hayes and Josh Swain. Click here to watch the full 40 minute interview.

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3 Reasons Why Obama Should Kick His Own Ass

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 15:00:00 EDT

President Barack Obama made news on The Today Show when he talked about kicking some ass over the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

If he is interested in punishing those responsible for what is shaping up as one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history, he should think about giving himself a boot.

While BP is ultimately responsible for the spill (and for cleaning it up), the federal government is a major player in the problem for at least three reasons:

1. It owns the property on which the oil well is located.

2. It regulates offshore drilling. And

3. In order to protect small players in the drilling industry, it capped economic damages from this sort of spill at just $75 million, a way-too-low cap that encourages risky behavior.

"3 Reason Why Obama Should Kick His Own Ass" is written and produced by Meredith Bragg and Nick Gillespie, who also hosts.

Approximately 2:30 minutes.

Go to Reason.tv for iPod, HD, and audio versions and more information.

Subscribe to Reason.tv's YouTube channel for automatic notification when new material goes live.

Is Hillary Clinton Right That The Rich Aren't Paying "Their Fair Share" in Taxes?

Sat, 29 May 2010 20:00:00 EDT

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently said that "the rich are not paying their fair share" of taxes in the United States and other developed countries.

Is she right? It depends on what you consider fair. Using 2006 data, The New York Times found that the richest 20 percent of households were paying 26 percent of their income to the federal government in the form of income, payroll, corporate, and excise taxes. The average for all familes? 21 percent.

And there's this: "In 2006, the top quintile of households earned 55.7 percent of pretax income and paid 69.3 percent of federal taxes, while the top 1 percent of households earned 18.8 percent of income and paid 28.3 percent of taxes."

Paying in a lot more than you get out? That doesn't seem fair.

The rich are different than you and me; they've got more money. And they pay more taxes.

Politicians are different too--they rarely say what they really mean. Perhaps what Secretary Clinton means is that the rich can always pay more than they're already paying.

That would explain why she and the president are lobbying to let the Bush tax cuts expire at the end of the year, a policy that would raise all sorts of taxes on all sorts of people.

Which doesn't sound all that fair either.

Produced by Meredith Bragg and Nick Gillespie.

Go here for documentation and graphs.

Is The Tea Party Movement Racist?

Wed, 05 May 2010 14:00:00 EDT

Yesterday, the Washington Post reported that the Tea Party movement is "struggling to overcome accusations of racism," some of which has been perpetuated in its editorial pages. Yesterday's New York Times, home to the most obsessively anti-Tea Party editorial page in America, was stunned to discover that "at least 32 African-Americans are running for Congress this year as Republicans, the biggest surge since Reconstruction, according to party officials."

Previously, The Times reported that Tea Partiers are, on average, people with a high levels of education and higher than average incomes. So it would seem that they aren't, as some editorialists and pundits contend, simply a gang of subliterate militia men or, as actress Janeane Garofalo recently told MSNBC's Keith Olbermann, a subsection of the white power movement.

Wandering the recent Tax Day tea party in Washington DC with Reason.tv's Meredith Bragg, we saw some stupid signs--though none that could be considered offensive or racist. We talked to some people that claimed President Obama was both a Czarist and Bolshevik. We spoke to a former star of Saturday Night Live who has previously claimed that president might, in fact, be the anti-Christ. Or a communist. Or both. There were those who fretted that the United States were morphing into a Stalinist state. And there were countless protesters concerned that the Obama administration was spending recklessly, interested in auditing the Federal Reserve, and seething about the General Motors bailout.

So did we find that the Tea Party was motivated by race, by the fact that we now have a black president? Did it seem as if their stated concerns about health care reform and a ballooning national debt simply a smokescreen, designed to concealing a racist agenda? Here is what we found.

Produced by Michael C. Moynihan and Meredith Bragg. Edited by Meredith Bragg. Approximately 2 mins.

Anthony Randazzo Discusses Potential FED Appointees on RT's Alyona Show

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 15:00:00 EDT

The Reason Foundation's Director of Economic Research Anthony Randazzo discusses the difficult choices President Obama will make filling three empty seats in the Federal Reserve on Russia Today's "The Alyona Show" on March 3, 2010.

Approximately 6 minutes.

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And watch Reason Saves Cleveland With Drew Carey: How to fix the "Mistake on The Lake" and other once-great American cities, an original six-part documentary series.

Katherine Mangu-Ward Discusses Whether President Obama is a Radical on Russia Today

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 08:30:00 EDT

On April 9, 2010, Reason senior editor Senior Editor Katherine Mangu-Ward appeared on Russia Today's The Alyona Show as part of a panel to discuss whether President Barack Obama is a radical and other political issues of the week.

Approximately 8 minutes.

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Jesse Walker Discusses Paranoia and Extremism on RT's The Alyona Show

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 14:30:00 EDT

On March 15, 2010, Reason Managing Editor Jesse Walker appeared on Russia Today's The Alyona Show to discuss the paranoia of centrist politics in the U.S.

Approximately 6.30 minutes.

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Matt Welch Joins Judge Napolitano to Explain The Battle between The Tea Party and The GOP

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 07:02:00 EDT

On Fox News' Freedom Watch, Judge Napolitano asks Reason Editor in Chief Matt Welch, if The Tea Party Movement is having an affect on The Republican Party on Feburary, 23 2010.

About 7 minutes.

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Matt Welch Talks About Ron Paul's Influence on CPAC on Russia Today

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 07:00:00 EDT

On February 22, 2010, Reason Editor in Chief, Matt Welch , appeared on Russia Today to discuss Ron Paul's win in the polls at CPAC and the future of libertariaism in the mainstream.

Approximately 6 minutes.

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Obama and Free Trade: Q&A With Jagdish Bhagwati

Fri, 09 Apr 2010 09:00:00 EDT

Free trade is never more necessary—or vulnerable—than in times of economic distress. The current global downturn is no exception. Protectionist barriers have shot up all over the world, including the United States. Earlier this year, Congress killed a pilot program allowing Mexican trucks to transport goods across America and included “Buy America” provisions in the stimulus bill banning foreign steel and iron from infrastructure projects funded by the legislation. More disturbingly, President Barack Obama, after chiding Congress for flirting with protectionism, initiated his own ill-advised affair by imposing a 35 percent tariff on cheap Chinese tires.

If the world manages to avoid an all-out trade war of the kind that helped trigger the Great Depression after the U.S. imposed the Smoot-Hawley tariffs in 1930, it will be in no small part due to the efforts of one man: Jagdish N. Bhagwati, an ebullient and irreverent 76-year-old professor of economics at Columbia University. Bhagwati has done more than perhaps any other person alive to advance the cause of unfettered global trade.

A native of India, Bhagwati immigrated to the United States in the late ’60s after a brief stint on the Indian Planning Commission, where he learned first-hand the insanity of an economic approach that tried to modernize a country by cutting it off from world trade. Since then, he has devoted his efforts, both in academia and in the popular press, to showing that there is no better way of improving the lot of both advanced countries and the developing world than through free trade. His path-breaking contributions to trade theory have put him on the short list for a Nobel Prize in economics.

Though a dogged trade advocate, Bhagwati is anything but dogmatic. He is a free spirit who draws intellectual inspiration from many disparate ideological camps. A self-avowed liberal, he is also something of a Gandhian social progressive, though Gandhi himself supported economic autarky. Bhagwati works with numerous Third World NGOs on a host of human rights issues. Yet he has no problem taking on these groups—or his famous student, Nobel laureate Paul Krugman—when they question the benefits of trade. In fact, he devoted his 2004 magnum opus, In Defense of Globalization, to a point-by-point rebuttal of these critics. Although he doesn’t vote Republican because he dislikes the party’s nationalistic jingoism, he readily declares that Democrats pose a far bigger threat to international exchange than Republicans.

Last summer, Shikha Dalmia, a senior analyst at the Reason Foundation, interviewed Bhagwati in his New York office. For a transcript of that interview, go here.

This video interview was filmed on the same day and conducted by Dalmia, Reason Associate Editor Damon W. Root, and Reason.tv's Dan Hayes, who shot and edited the video. Approximately 6 minutes.

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Is California Too Big to Fail? Q&A with The FlashReport's Jon Fleischman

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 07:00:00 EDT

Is California "too big to fail" or is a Golden State bankruptcy in the cards?

Reason'tv's Ted Balaker sat down with Jon Fleischman, founder and publisher of the FlashReport, to talk about California's ongoing fiscal meltdown, and how, after a barrage of bipartisan tax hikes and spending sprees, California's political class has yet to learn its lesson.

Shot by Hawk Jensen and Paul Detrick. Edited by Alex Manning.

About 9 minutes long. Scroll down for iPod, HD, and audio versions of this video.

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John Stossel on Fox Business Talks about Cleveland's Bad Rap

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:00:00 EDT

On March 16, 2010, John Stossel appeared on Fox Business to promote his upcoming interview with Drew Carey and Reason.tv Editor in Chief, Nick Gillespie, on fixing 'the Mistake on the Lake.'

Approximately 5.20 minutes.

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And come back to Reason.tv March 15 through March 19 for the debut of Reason Saves Cleveland With Drew Carey: How to fix the "Mistake on The Lake" and other once-great American cities, an original six-part documentary series.

John Avlon: "How the Lunatic Fringe Is Hijacking America"

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:29:00 EST

"Politics is the last place where we're supposed to be satisfied between Brand A and Brand B," says John Avlon, author of the engaging new book Wingnuts: How The Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America.

Hyper-partisans and rhetorical extremists on the left and the right—characters such as Reps. Alan Grayson and Michele Bachmann, commentators such as Keith Olbermann and Glenn Beck—are not simply polarizing the debate, argues Avlon, who is a regular presence on CNN and a columnist for The Daily Beast.

Far more importantly (and destructively), they are obscuring the fact that the U.S. electorate is, in the main, proto-libertarian. Independents are the fastest-growing group of voters, says Avlon and, "They tend to be fiscally conservative and socially liberal to libertarian." Avlon is also the author of Independent Nation: How Centrism Can Change American Politics.

Reason.tv's Nick Gillespie sat down with Avlon in Reason's D.C. offices. Filmed by Dan Hayes and Meredith Bragg; edited by Bragg. Approximately 10 minutes.

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Virginia Postrel: Glamour, Politics, & Voter Expectations

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:30:00 EST

Glamour is "not just about movie stars," says Virginia Postrel.

The Editor in Chief of Deepglamour.net and former Editor in Chief of Reason magazine points out that glamour, which originally meant a literal magic spell "that promises to to transcend ordinary life and make the ideal real," is especially powerful when applied to the world of politics.

Reason.tv's Ted Balaker sat down with Virginia Postrel to find out how glamour fuels voters' expectations, which modern political figures are glamourous (Barack is, Sarah isn't), and why glamour is both an advantage and a burden.

Interview by Ted Balaker. Shot by Hawk Jensen and Paul Detrick. Edited by Paul Detrick.

Music: "You Got Something" by Grayson Wray (Magnatune Records).
About eight minutes. Scroll down for embed code and downloadable versions.

Postrel, an organ donor and cancer survivor, talks to Reason.tv about health care reform here.

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Gov. Gary Johnson on His Economic Vision For "Our America"

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:00:00 EST

On Tuesday, February 9, in the midst of one of the biggest snowstorms in recent Washington, D.C. memory, former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson and Harvard economist (and Reason contributor) Jeff Miron talked about economic revitalitization and Johnson's views on immigration, war, and other issues at the heart of the new organization Our America.

Reason.tv's Nick Gillespie intros the speakers and moderates audience Q&A. Shot by Dan Hayes and Meredith Bragg; edited by Bragg. Approximately 35 minutes. Scroll down for downloadable iPod, HD, and audio versions.

For more Reason.tv with Johnson, go here.

To watch Miron make the "case for doing nothing" (that is, actually letting markets work) during the 2008 financial crisis, go here.

Katherine Mangu-Ward Discusses Republicans and Democrats on Russia Today

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EST

On February 4, 2010, Reason Senior Editor Katherine Mangu-Ward appeared on RT's The Alyona Show as part of a panel to discuss the marketing strategies of the Democratic and Republican parties. Approximately 13 minutes.

Treat Me Like a Dog

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST

When it comes to health care, who gets treated better—man or man's best friend? Of course, it's hard to make an apples-to-apples comparison when you're comparing four-legged patients to people, and there are many ways in which human care tops pet care. But pet owners told Reason.tv there are some ways where it would be a step up to be treated like a dog.

Pet owners like the convenience of animal care; they also like the client-focused atmosphere. "I think one of the things that human health care can learn from veterinary medicine is the client service side of things, the relationship side of things," says Dr. Peter Weinstein, executive director of the Southern California Veterinary Medical Association. Various reasons explain why people often find animal care so pleasant, says Weinstein. One reason—animal care workers love what they do. Another reason—competition.

Weinstein notes that vets work hard to differentiate themselves from their competitors because "there are a large number of vet hospitals, many located very closely to one another." And vets know even more competitors could emerge because less red tape makes it easier to open an animal hospital. Weinstein recalls opening his clinic, which offered everything from X-rays to operations: "I believe it was 12 weeks from the time I signed the lease to the time I saw my first client. Try doing that with human health care."

It would take at least 20 times as long to open a comparable human hospital in California. It can take even longer in the 34 states with "certificate of need" (CON) laws, where state agencies—not consumers—decide how many hospitals there should be. These laws even allow existing hospitals to hold up plans for new hospitals. "The existing hospitals go in front of these government agencies and say, 'we don't need any competitors; we're taking fine care of the people,'" explains Reason magazine's Ronald Bailey. Recently, certificate of need—often called CON law—provoked a showdown in Tennessee where frustrated residents resorted to protests and petition drives to pressure the state to green-light a new hospital.

Weinstein is happy veterinarians don't have to deal with anti-competitive CON laws, "In veterinary medicine we could have two practices right next to each other and then it's the consumer deciding to whom they want to go." Consumer choice and competition—maybe we could use more of that in human health care.

"Treat Me Like a Dog" is written and produced by Ted Balaker, who also hosts. The director of photography is Alex Manning, the field producer is Paul Detrick and the animations were done by Hawk Jensen.

Approximately six minutes. Scroll down for embed code and downloadable versions.

To see Reason.tv's health care play-list, go here.

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Dramatic Olbermann vs. Dramatic Chipmunk

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 11:00:00 EST

No one is more self-dramatizing on cable news than male hysteric, unsolicited janitor of Cooperstown, and Countdown host Keith Olbermann, who includes more special effects during his Castro-length "Special Comment" segments than Mikhail Kalatozov did in I Am Cuba (one cinematically exemplary rant remains Commandante O's multi-camera denouncement of Hillary Clinton during the 2008 campaign).

When Olbermann is not ripping "tea-baggers" (get it, har har har) or slagging honest reporters such as Miami Herald TV critic and Reason contributing editor Glenn Garvin (who committed the unpardonable crime of reporting that Olbermann donned a Bill O'Reilly mask and did Nazi salutes in front of a room full of TV critics), he is courageously taking a stand in favor of English-only at schools, judging Rupert Murdoch's Fox News as "worse than Al Qaeda," and extolling Sen. All Aboard Amtrak, Joe Biden, who embodies the Holy Trinity of Olbermannia: "passion, detail and eloquence."

Countdown—it's like Rupert Pupkin finally did get a talk show that could broadcast far past the paneled walls of Mom's basement and reach most of the neighborhood—is must-see TV, as riveting as a nail gun powered by nuclear energy on steroids, the sort of can't-turn-away-from-car-wreck-like commentary usually associated with CNN hosts who have actually been in car wrecks (like this guy and this one).

And yet, even (or perhaps especially) in Obama's America, where Dick Cheney is still making millions of ill-gotten gains by keeping unemployment high and sending troops to the Middle East and Central Asia to secure Haliburton's ultra-lucrative tapioca concessions, there are signs that this world was never meant for one as beautiful as Olbermann.

"Has the countdown begun for the end of 'Countdown with Keith Olbermann'?" asks The New York Post. "With his ratings in free-fall, and his hateful histrionics reaching new highs, even Olbermann's former supporters on the left are tuning out." Indeed, The Los Angeles Times reports, "In the most desirable TV demographic of 25-54, which Keith will soon outgrow himself, 'Countdown' lost 44% of its audience from the beginning of President Obama's term until this year."

As a public service, and before Keith Olbermann joins the likes of failed talk show hosts such as Jerry Lewis, Chevy Chase, J.D. Hayworth, and former ESPN colleague Craig Kilborn, it's worth remembering just how damn good Olbermann was before he lost the pop on his bat and could no longer backpedal with the sun in his eyes.

Like some small-screen, basic-cable Capt. Queeg without the strawberry fetish, Olbermann was staying up late and counting and recounting his vote for the Worst Person In The World (surprise! Bill O'Reilly won again!) while the rest of us were tearing it up on the playing fields of ~~Princeton~~ the Xbox version of NCAA Football. While the rest of us were arguing about politics, going to work every day, paying our taxes, protesting stupid policies...who was standing guard over this fat, dumb, happy country of ours, eh? Not us. Oh, no, we knew you couldn't make any money ~~in the service~~ in cable TV. So who did the dirty work for us? ~~Queeg~~ Olbermann did! And a lot of other guys. Tough, sharp guys who didn't crack up like ~~Queeg~~ Olbermann.

Before he descends to that green room below, the one where you have to do your own makeup and bring your own Evian (which is really tap water poured into a bottle you found behind the local 7-11) and use a Johnny-on-the-Spot (or better yet, just hold it until your 30-second spot is over and you can use the can in the nearby Waffle House, as gross as it is), gaze upon Olbermann throwing down against the single most dramatic figure on this damnable series of tubes we've come to rely on even more than latter-day Eric Sevareids and low-rated, histrionic opinion journalists.

And as Olbermann fades from memory even though he's still on the air, like Diagnosis: Murder or DeGrassi Junior High, The Joe Franklin Show, and Oliver North's War Stories, all of which may well be producing new episodes, ask yourself: Didn't he take it to the chipmunk (which is not really a chipmunk, we know) like a pro? Go tell the Spartans, or at least Roger Ailes, that this was one Cool Hand Luke who could really take a punch!

For downloadable iPod, HD, and audio versions of "Dramatic Olbermann vs. Dramatic Chipmunk" scroll down. Watch the video at Reason.tv YouTube channel (subscribe to it and you'll get automatic notificatins whenever new material goes live!). Approximately 13 seconds long; produced by Meredith Bragg and me.

Nick Gillespie is the editor in chief of Reason.tv and Reason.com.

Matt Welch on MSNBC with David Shuster

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 12:30:00 EST

On February 3, Reason's Matt Welch appeared on MSNBC to discuss President Obama's flagging support among the American people. Thrill to Matt being misidentified as a "Republican strategist" and be inspired when he points out that Obama's policies, many of which simply continue awful programs initiated by George W. Bush, are genuinely unpopular.

3 Reasons Not To Sweat The Citizens United Ruling

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 07:00:00 EST

No recent Supreme Court ruling have evoked more liberal fury than Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, a campaign-finance case involving government censorship of a political documentary called Hillary: The Movie. The Federal Election Commission prevented the anti-Hillary Clinton film from being shown on television just before the 2008 Democratic primaries, a decision that was upheld by lower courts. Siding with The First Amendment, the Court struck down laws regulating independent political advertising by for-profit and non-profit corporations before an election even as they reaffirmed rules about disclosure and disclosures for ads and against direct corporate giving to candidates.

Critics fear that corporations will now overwhelm the political marketplace with commercials and advertisements that will program citizens to vote for whatever agenda "the corprations" want at a given moment.

MSNBC's Keith Olbermann railed against the decision, calling it "a Supreme Court-sanctioned murder of what little democracy is left in this democracy" and comparing it to the notorious Dred Scott decision, which ruled that blacks had no rights under the Constitution. His fellow corporate media host at MSNBC, Rachel Maddow, exclaimed, "If you are a regular person who has ever made a campaign donation before, forget about ever having to do that again. What's the point?"

Cyberlaw theorist Lawrence Lessig has called for a consitutional amendment to roll back the Citizens United ruling and President Barack Obama called out the Supreme Court during his 2010 State of the Union address, proclaiming to a standing ovation:

The Supreme Court reversed a century of law that I believe will open the floodgates for special interests, including foreign corporations, to spend without limit in our elections.

Is there any truth to some hyperbolic, doomsday scenarios? In a word, no. The Citizens United ruling increases freedom of political speech, not simply for powerful, politically connected corporations like Citigroup, AIG, and the companies that run The New York Times and other media outlets, but for small-pocketed nonprofits such as Citizens United too. If you want to get bent out of shape about something, direct your ire at a massive and constantly growing government that has its hands in virtually every aspect of economic and social life in America.

"3 Reasons Not to Sweat The Citizens United Ruling" was written and produced by Meredith Bragg and Nick Gillespie, who also hosts.

For Reason.com's archive on the Citizens United case, go here.

Approximately 3.30 minutes. Scroll down for downloadable versions.

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Obama's Doublethink Doubletalk (State of the Union Remix)

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 09:00:00 EST

George Orwell defined doublethink as "the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them.

When it comes to war, spending, and more, President Barack Obama's 2010 State of the Union address showed that doublethink is alive and well in Washington, D.C.

Approximately two minutes. Written and produced by Paul Feine.

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Obama's Surprising Jobs Program Success

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:00:00 EST

During his first State of the Union address President Obama highlighted the jobs created during his first year in office. And it is clear that the president's policies are putting Americans back to work--especially bankruptcy attorneys, repo men, and government workers.

Written and produced by Ted Balaker. Director of Photography: Alex Manning; Associate Producer: Paul Detrick.

Approximately 40 seconds.

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Timothy P. Carney Analyzes "Obamanomics"

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 11:23:00 EST

In his new book Obamanomics: How Barack Obama is Bankrupting You and Enriching His Wall Street Friends, Corporate Lobbyists, and Union Bosses, Timothy P. Carney explains that Barack Obama's "progressive" rhetoric masks good old-fashioned crony capitalism, in which the favored few and politcally well-connected get all sorts of benefits paid for with public dollars. Whether the area is Wall Street, health care reform, union organizing, or K Street lobbying, the same pattern is everywhere: using the government's power to distribute goodies and rig markets.

A columnist at the Washington Examiner and a non-partisan reporter, Carney also lays into the Republican Party for its massive contribution to the problem when it wielded power. Carney provides a game plan to take the country back and restore truly free markets that will benefit everyone.

Reason.tv's Nick Gillespie interviewed Carney in December 2009. Shot by Dan Hayes and Meredith Bragg; edited by Bragg.

Scroll down for embed code and downloadable versions. You can watch this video at Reason.tv's YouTube Channel (subscribe now). Approximately 9 minutes.

Worst. Decade. Ever.

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 10:30:00 EST

Hands down, the '00s were the worst political decade at least since the 1990s.

Reason.tv looks back at the (lack of) personalities, the scandals, and the screw-ups that made us all want to forget the first 10 years of the 21st century.

Approximately 2.10 minutes. No politicians were hurt in the making of this video.

Produced by Meredith Bragg and Nick Gillespie.

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For an alternate take on The Aughts, read Jesse Walker's Five Reasons For Optimism.

Don't Break What's Working in Health Care

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 10:00:00 EST

When it comes to health insurance reform, California State University, Northridge economist Glen Whitman emphasizes, "We have to make sure we don't just fix the parts that are broken. We also have to make sure we don't actually break the parts that are working very well. And it turns out that one of the areas that America is really great at is innovation."

Reason.tv's Ted Balaker sat down with Whitman to discuss his new Cato Institute policy analysis, coauthored with Raymond Raad, "Bending the Productivity Curve: Why America Leads the World in Medical Innovation."

Whether it's Nobel laureates in medical fields or the most important recent medical innovations, Whitman and Raad find that the U.S. has contributed more than any other nation, and in some cases, more than all nations combined. Whitman cites some key factors that account for America's innovative ways, and warns that if America adopts a more centrally planned health system we may not only innovate less but we might not know what innovations we're missing.

Interview shot by Alex Manning and Hawk Jensen; it was edited by Manning. Approximately 10 minutes.

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Related video: "Would ObamaCare Kill Medical Innovation?"

Nick Gillespie on Fox's Cavuto, 12/8/2009, Talking Jobs & Unemployment

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 09:00:00 EST

On December 8, 2009, Reason's Nick Gillespie appeared on the Fox Business Channel's Cavuto to discuss President Barack Obama's "jobs summit," stimulus, deficit spending, and related plans to create more employment.

In the long run, we're all dead, said John Maynard Keynes. "But," asks Gillespie, "how do we pay for our funeral?"

Watch this video at Reason's YouTube channel.

ObamaCare and Mission Creep

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 09:02:00 EST

From the war in Iraq to the space station, government programs almost always end up costing much more than they were supposed to. They also usually end up doing more than they were supposed to. Would ObamaCare be any different?

Some say ObamaCare would lead to death panels, even euthanasia classes. Now supporters of President Obama's health care overhaul are fighting back against such charges. And the president himself warns: "If you misrepresent what's in this plan, we will call you out."

But you don't have to side with those who warn of euthanasia classes to recognize that government programs often end up doing all kinds of things that weren't in politicians' original plans. Call it mission creep. Politicians pass a program, and then the scope of the program grows and changes.

It's happened with everything from state-level health insurance plans to the Troubled Asset Relief Program. TARP's original mission was spelled out in its name—the government would purchase troubled assets from financial institutions. However, just over a year later TARP's mission has exploded, and billions in TARP funds have gone to bail out General Motors, Chrysler, and struggling homeowners. TARP money may even fund another stimulus.

"The Best Laid Plans of ObamaCare" is written and produced by Ted Balaker, and hosted by Nick Gillespie. Director of Photography: Alex Manning; Associate Producer: Paul Detrick

Approximately 2.30 minutes.

What this video at Reason.tv's YouTube Channel.

Watch the companion video, "Would ObamaCare Cover Sticker-Shock Treatment?."

From Poverty to Prosperity: Arnold Kling, Nick Schulz, and Economics 2.0

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Reason.tv's Nick Gillespie talks with economist Arnold Kling and journalist Nick Schulz about their new book, From Poverty to Prosperity (Encounter), which charts the fantastic increase in overall wealth despite recent economic troubles.

Taking a longer view that stretches back decades and even centuries, Kling and Schulz argue that we've entered the era of Economics 2.0, in which the key issue is innovation, transformation, and growth, not the divvying up of existing goods and services.

Schulz, the editor of the The American, and Kling, author also of the new Unchecked and Unbalanced, worry about a politics that is dangerously out of synch with the way the economy actually works.

Approximately 10 minutes. Shot by Dan Hayes and Meredith Bragg; edited by Bragg.

Watch this video at Reason.tv's YouTube channel.

Nick Gillespie on Fox's Freedom Watch, November 17, 2009

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 10:01:00 EST

Reason.tv's Nick Gillespie appeared on Fox News' Freedom Watch With Judge Andrew Napolitano to discuss the legality and efficacy of the federal government's bailout of General Motors.

Original airdate: November 17, 2009.

Watch this at Reason.tv's YouTube site by going here.

If We Can Put a Man on the Moon...Then Why Does Government Screw Up Just About Everything Else?

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 10:00:00 EST

In If We Can Put a Man on The Moon... (Harvard Business Press), former Reason Foundation privatization analysts William D. Eggers and John O'Leary analyze why large-scale government projects typically go so wrong—and how to change a culture that almost demands such failure.

The response to Katrina, the Iraq war, NASA since the moon landing, Boston's Big Dig—it isn't difficult to list examples of utter, often tragic failures in the public sector. The key to avoiding such debacles, say Eggers and O'Leary (who bring a wealth of public and private-sector experience to the material) is to first make sure that government should be doing a given project in the first place. From there, both policymakers and the bureaucrats who will administer a given program need to understand and anticipate all sorts of traps into which they can, and all too often, do fall into.

Approximately 9 minutes. Interview by Nick Gillespie. Shot and edited by Meredith Bragg.

To watch on YouTube, go here.

For embed code and downloadable versions, scroll down.

A True Tale of Canadian Health Care

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 05:00:00 EST

Many advocates of health-care reform are admirers of Canada's state-run, no-opt-out, single-payer system. Indeed, in 2003, President Barack Obama voiced enthusiasm for such a health-care program.

Proponents of Canadian-style health care should meet Cheryl Baxter, a Canadian citizen who waited years for hip-replacement surgery, only to be told that her operation would not happen any time soon. Instead of waiting, Baxter did what an increasing number of Canadians are doing: She flew to a clinic in the United States, paid out of pocket, and had a life-altering surgery in a matter of weeks rather than years.

Baxter's experience doesn't just throw damning light on Canadian health care. The sort of clinic she went to in Oklahoma suggests a different way of delivering health care in the United States, too: A simple fee-for-service model in which providers openly advertise their prices, service, and reputation. Rather than a frustrating, complicated mess of intermediaries such as employers and insurance companies, U.S. health-care reformers should think about bringing medicine into line with the same dynamics that help deliver great service at great prices throughout most other parts of the economy.

While Canadian health care is certainly cheaper than its U.S. counterpart (health care spending in Canada is about 10 percent of GDP versus 16 percent in the United States), it is not necessarily better or more equitable. As a recent National Bureau of Economic Research comparison concluded, "Americans are more likely to report that they are fully satisfied with the health services they have received and to rank the quality of care as excellent." Not only do Americans have far greater access to basic diagnostic tools ranging from mammograms to CT scans, the researchers found "the health-income gradient is actually more prominent in Canada than in the U.S." That is, wealthy Canadians receive far better care compared to low-income Canadians than rich Americans versus poor Americans.

"A True Tale of Canadian Health Care" was produced by Dan Hayes and Peter Suderman. Interviews were filmed by Alex Manning and the segment is hosted and scripted by Nick Gillespie. Approximately 5.11 minutes.

Reason.tv would like to thank the Independence Institute for arranging and underwriting travel to Canada for Suderman and Manning.

For other Reason.tv videos on health care, go here.

Reason.tv's Nanny of the Month for November 2009

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 06:00:00 EST

Smoking, fast food, giant inflatable blue gorillas—no matter what it is, chances are some nanny wants to ban it. And this past month was no exception.

Reason.tv's October 2009 Nanny of The Month Award went to New York State Sen. Jeff Klein for his efforts to rid the Empire State of fish pedicures.

Who is the Nanny of the Month for November 2009?

The runners up include the California Energy Commission for banning big-screen TVs unless they conform to stringent new energy standards and the Food and Drug Administration, which is waging war against caffeinated booze drinks.

But can be only one Nanny of the Month, and this time it's ...

Click the video to learn the awful truth.

Nanny of the Month is produced by Ted Balaker. The director of photography is Alex Manning and the associate produce is Paul Detrick. Approximately 1.17 minutes.

This video is also available at Reason.tv's YouTube channel (subscribe now!).

And make sure to tune in next month for more examples of busybodies minding your own business.

Would ObamaCare Kill Medical Innovation?

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 06:00:00 EST

As health care reform inches closer to reality, a massively important question becomes even more pressing: Will ObamaCare kill the sorts of medical innovation that makes the United States the leader in bringing new treatments, technology, and procedures to market?

"America is the only industrialized nation that doesn't have a national health plan," says Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.), former Gov. Howard Dean (D-Vt.), and countless others who want the United States government to guarantee health coverage to all.

Protesters at a recent rally in downtown Los Angeles demanded universal coverage. They told Reason.tv that America is a cruel land where profits come before people.

"It's disgusting!" said one woman. "There should be no profits in health care!" What about those who argue that profits drive medical innovation? "I think that's kind of sick," declared another protester, who wants the U.S. to be more like Canada, where government policy keeps drug prices, and drug company profits, lower than in America.

Many regard the profit motive as cruel, but might it actually produce compassionate results? After all, America has generated vastly more medical innovations than other nations. Included in the long list is the innovation that saved the life of Dave Christensen, construction supervisor, husband, and father. After being diagnosed with cancer, Christensen was lucky enough to be given a then-experimental drug that probably wouldn't have been developed or brought to market in any other country in the world.

If America follows the lead of the rest of the world and clamps down on profits in health care, who will make tomorrow's wonder drugs?

"Drug companies that take big risks may make big profits," says Reason.tv's Nick Gillespie, who hosts the video. "But I say, Good for them. If they're saving lives, I hope they make a killing."

"Would ObamaCare Kill Medical Innovation?" runs about seven minutes. Producer-Writer: Ted Balaker; Producer: Hawk Jensen; Director of Photography: Alex Manning; Associate Producer: Paul Detrick.

Special thanks to the Independence Institute for arranging and underwriting travel to Canada.

Scroll down for embed code and downloadable versions.

To subscribe to Reason.tv's YouTube channel, go here.

Rand-O-Rama: The Long Shelf Life of Ayn Rand's Legacy

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST

Few authors have ever achieved the popularity that the novelist and essayist Ayn Rand (1905-1982) did. With the publication of The Fountainhead in 1943 and Atlas Shrugged in 1958, Rand became a full-blown cultural phenomenon, selling millions of books and inspiring countless readers—ranging from former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan to Playboy founder Hugh Hefner to actress Angelina Jolie—with her moral defense of capitalism. A refugee from Soviet Russia, Rand argued that capitalism was the best way of organizing society not simply because it was more efficient than communism but because it allowed the individual to fill his or her potential. A self-declared "radical for capitalism," Rand emphatically rejected collectivism of all stripes and embraced "man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute."

Decades after her death, Rand's work is hotter than ever. In an age of massive government intervention into every aspect of the economy and personal lives, sales of her books are way up and a movie version of Atlas Shrugged is in the works. References to Rand are everywhere from Mad Men to The Colbert Report to The Simpsons and there's even a new critical appreciation, as evidenced by two new biographies, Ayn Rand And The World She Made and Goddess of The Right.

Approximately four minutes long and produced by Meredith Bragg and Nick Gillespie, "Rand-O-Rama" analyzes the 21st-century Rand renaissance.

It is part of the Reason.tv series Radicals For Capitalism: Celebrating the Ideas of Ayn Rand. Go here for more information, other videos, and related materials.

Budget Deficits For Dummies: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love $1.4 Trillion

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:00:00 EDT

The U.S. budget deficit for fiscal year 2009, which ended in September, was a record-shattering $1.4 trillion, equal to about 10 percent of Gross Domestic Product. In case you're wondering, the previous record had been set in...2008.

$1.4 trillion dollars is a lot of money and it's hard to get your mind around that figure. One way to appreciate the sum is to think of it in terms of all the things that you could buy with that dough. The budget deficit, for instance, would pay for more than 1.2 billion nights at Rep. Charles Rangel's vacation condo in the Dominican Republic. And that's just for starters.

Don't worry if you have trouble doing the math, because you'll get another chance next year. The Obama administration has just released its estimate for the fiscal year 2010 budget deficit. The number? Another $1.4 trillion.

Approximately 1.30 seconds. Written and produced by Meredith Bragg and Nick Gillespie.

Barack Obama Wins 2009 Nobel Peace Prize...

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:00:00 EDT

If the world was stunned to learn that President Barack Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, it will be even more amazed by all the awards that are still coming his way.

A Reason.tv Rapid Response video. Approximately two minutes.

Written and produced by Meredith Bragg and Nick Gillespie.

Subscribe to Reason.tv's YouTube Channel.

A Mystery in Which Everyone is Guilty

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EDT

A loose monetary policy that created lots of cheap money, government interventions into the housing market, and the hubris of Wall Street firms deemed "too big to fail" combined to send the world economy into a tailspin, argues Swedish author Johan Norberg.

Reason senior editor Michael C. Moynihan sat down with author Norberg to discuss his latest book Financial Fiasco: How America's Infatuation with Homeownership and Easy Money Created the Economic Crisis, an overview of what caused the current financial crisis (and what did not) and how politicians of all parties and all ideologies helped make the problem much worse.

Approximately 10 minutes. Shot by Meredith Bragg and Dan Hayes. Edited by Dan Hayes.

Nick Gillespie on Fox News' Freedom Watch

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 12:00:00 EDT

Reason.tv's Nick Gillespie appeared on Fox News' Freedom Watch with Judge Andrew Napolitano on Wednesday, September 23 and discussed tea party protests, the death of conservativism, and the future of libertarian politics.

Approximately 10 minutes. Edited by Meredith Bragg.

Matt Welch on The Newshour with Jim Lehrer

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 12:00:00 EDT

On Wednesday, September 16, Reason Editor in Chief Matt Welch appeared on PBS' The Newshour with Jim Lehrer to discuss whether criticism of Barack Obama's politicial agenda is, as former President Jimmy Carter has asserted, due to racial animosity.

Approximately 15 minutes. Edited by Meredith Bragg.

LP Chairman William Redpath Tells All

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 10:00:00 EDT

At July's FreedomFest in Las Vegas, Reason magazine Editor in Chief Matt Welch sat down with the chairman of the Libertarian Party William Redpath to discuss what went right (and wrong) in the LP's 2008 electoral season, how the government's response to economic tumult is shaping policy, and the hopes for a freer, more individualistic society.

"Some people say, 'Don't you get kind of depressed sometimes,'" jokes Redpath, "and I say, "We'll have a libertarian society someday, when it's imposed on us by the Chinese government....Ultimately, if our politicians don't have the cojones to step up and make the tough decisions they need to make, our foreign creditors are going to make them for us."

Approximately 10 minutes. Shot and edited by Dan Hayes.

Nick Gillespie on Fox News' Freedom Watch with Judge Napolitano

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 11:00:00 EDT

On Wednesday, September 9, Reason.tv's Nick Gillespie appeared on Fox News' Freedom Watch with Judge Andrew Napolitano (read his Reason archive here and watch his great talk from Reason in DC here).

Among the topics: Why Congress treats the Constitution like a pair of stretch pants, the real reasons health care reform is unpopular, and the power of dissent in a free society.

Approximately 12 minutes. Edited by Dan Hayes. Scroll down for downloadable versions and embed code.

Richard Viguerie on the Future of Conservatism

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EDT

Richard Viguerie is known as "the funding father" of conservatives for his pioneering use of computerized direct-mail fundraising campaigns. Lately, he's become a strong critic of the Republican Party, saying that they deserved to lose Congress after casting off any pretense to being the party of limited government. A strong Ron Paul supporter during the 2008 election season, Viguerie also runs the popular site Conservative HQ.

A former secretary of Young Americans for Freedom, Viguerie continues to challenge his long-held beliefs, writing an anti-death penalty story for the liberal religious journal Sojourners this past summer.

Viguerie sat down with Reason magazine Editor in Chief Matt Welch at Freedom Fest in July to discuss what went wrong during the Bush years and what's going wrong under President Barack Obama.

Live From The September 12 Taxpayer March on Washington

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 11:00:00 EDT

Are the Tea Party protesters a small group of radical freakazoids or a large crew of taxpaying regular joes who are fed up with government spending, Democrats and Republicans, and business as usual?

Reason.tv fanned out through the crowd and the backstage of the September 12 Taxpayer March on Washington, the controversial anti-government protest that drew somewhere between 75,000 and 1 million people, according to press reports.

We talked with folks from all over the country and snagged interviews with speakers and media including Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), CNN's Jeff Greenfield, actor Steven Baldwin, Freedom Works' Matt Kibbe, and many more.

What we found was a group of people united in their calls for less government spending and their disgust at the Republican and Democratic pols who made it all happen.

Interviews by Nick Gillespie, Matt Welch, and Michael C. Moynihan. Shot and edited by Dan Hayes and Meredith Bragg. Approximately 6 minutes.

For more Reason coverage of the protest, go to Reason.com.

No American Should Have to Choose Between Health Insurance and Getting Drunk

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT

President Obama's prime-time health insurance speech underscored an important point: No American should have to choose between health insurance and paying rent, between health insurance and getting groceries--or getting drunk, getting designer jeans, or protein powder.

We hear so much about hardworking Americans who need health insurance, but what about the rest of us? Millions of uninsured Americans could afford health insurance, but it would mean giving up some really cool stuff. Support President Obama's plan to cover all Americans, because no American should have to choose between health insurance and protein powder.

Approximately 1.10 minutes. "Tough Choices" is written and produced by Ted Balaker. Director of Photography is Alex Manning.

For more information on the uninsured, go here.

Jerome Tuccille on "Gallo Be Thy Name"

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 12:00:00 EDT

When Reason.tv last checked in with author Jerome Tuccille (in July 2008), it was to discuss a new edition of his classic libertarian-movement memoir, It Usually Begins with Ayn Rand.

Now Tuccille is back with a new book that explores the lives and times of Ernest & Julio Gallo, the California brothers who went from relative obscurity to being the biggest winemakers in the world.

Gallo Be Thy Name: The Inside Story of How One Family Rose to Dominate the U.S. Wine Market is a mesmerizing story of true crime, murder, Prohibition, family drama, and capitalism. It is also an engrossing social history of the last 100 years of America and explains how we went from a nation that gulped Thunderbird, Ripple, Boone's Farm and other Gallo-created plonk to a country of refined Chardonnay and Zinfandel sippers.

Approximately 10 minutes. Interview by Nick Gillespie; shot by Meredith Bragg and Dan Hayes and edited by Meredith Bragg.

Scroll down for embed code, and iPod and audio versions.

The Next Great Leap Backwards For Consumer "Rights"

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 13:30:00 EDT

Is your mortgage confusing to you? Are you bewildered by credit card offers? Do you crave the simplicity of "plain-vanilla" financial vehicles whose complete terms can be read in less than four minutes?

Be careful what you wish for: The Obama administration and members of Congress are pushing legislation that will create a new agency, The Consumer Financial Protection Agency, whose job would be to simplify and police all manner of financial transactions, from what sorts of mortgages could be offered to what sort of credit cards would be in your wallet to whether Wall Street could create new ways of buying and selling stocks. In the name of making your life easier and avoiding the next financial meltdown, the CFPA might just harshly limit how you spend your hard-earned (and dwindling!) dollars.

Would the CFPA do anything other than add another layer of bureaucracy and regulation on top of what already exists? Are consumers too bewildered by competing credit cards to make a rational choice? Reason.tv's Nick Gillespie recently sat down with George Mason University law professor, Volokh Conspiracy blogger, and Mercatus Center scholar Todd Zywicki to get answers.

"The agency is one of the centerpieces of the Obama regulatory reform act[s]," says Zywicki, "It goes far beyond how we've thought about consumer credit regulation for the past 30 or 40 years." More importantly, it will do nothing to address pernicious incentives that encouraged banks and consumers to take on more debt than was prudent.

Approximately 9.44 minutes. Scroll down for embed code and downloadable versions. Shot by Dan Hayes and Meredith Bragg and edited by Dan Hayes.

Wayne Allyn Root Wants to Empower "The Citizen Revolution with God, Guns, Gambling, & Tax Cuts"

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 11:00:00 EDT

During Freedomfest, the annual mega-conference held in Las Vegas each July, Reason magazine Editor in Chief Matt Welch sat down online-gambling enthusiast, 2008 Libertarian Party vice-presidential nominee, and Conscience of a Libertarian author Wayne Allyn Root.

In a fast-paced and wide-ranging conversation Root examines the failure of the Barr-Root ticket to generate enthusiasm even among LP members, why online gambling (though admittedly a "minor" issue) is the gateway drug to increasing the number of small-government voters, and why California's political and economic meltdown is the model for a series of rolling "economic catastrophes" that will hit the rest of the country over the next few years.

Approximately seven minutes long. Shot and edited by Dan Hayes.

Scroll down for embed code and downloadable versions.

More fun with Wayne Allyn Root: While running for the LP nod in 2008, Root, along with Bob Barr and Sen. Mike Gravel, discuss the "Future of Libertarian Politics" in the Reason DC HQ. Watch it here or click below:

What Do You Get When You Cross Ronald Reagan and Woody Harrelson?

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:00:00 EDT

Recently, Reason.tv's Ted Balaker sat down with California State assemblyman and U.S. Senate candidate Chuck DeVore.

While the Republican is aiming to Democratic incumbent Sen. Barbara Boxer, Devore discusses bipartisan state and federal spending sprees. California remains mired in permanent fiscal crisis because the state spends "every last penny and then some," say DeVore, while noting "the unprecedented increases in state spending under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger."

The novelist and former soldier addresses the historic Bush-era spending binge, but says the "big thing is the order of magnitude shift" under President Obama. "So instead of a multi-billion dollar program, now we're on to trillions."

Other topics include: ObamaCare, foreign policy, California's lax welfare-to-work rules, why the tea party movement is here to stay, and what it's like being a pro-hemp politician in conservative Orange County, California.

Producer is Ted Balaker, director of photography is Alex Manning, field producer is Hawk Jensen, and associate producer is Paul Detrick.

Approximately 8.30 minutes. Scroll down for downloable versions and embed code.

"Weedman: The Remarkable Journey of Jimmy Divine"

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 12:00:00 EDT

Reason.tv's Nick Gillespie recently sat down with John McCaslin, the co-host of radio's America's Morning News (listen online here), a writer for The Washington Times, and the author of the new book Weed Man: The Remarkable Journey of Jimmy Divine.

Weed Man tells the story of Jimmy Moree, who literally stumbled into drug smuggling when he tripped over a bale of marijuana that had washed ashore on a Caribbean island. Moree, soon to be nicknamed "Jimmy Divine" rapidly became the biggest pot smuggler of them all in the 1970s and his story, expertly told by veteran newsman McCaslin, is a potent tale of drug policy, racially charged social relations, substance abuse, law enforcement perfidy, and much more.

In this interview, McCaslin discusses the likely future of drug policy under President Barack Obama (whose drug czar just announced that "legalization is not in the president's vocabulary" and that "marijuana is dangerous and has no medicinal value") and the rampant hypocrisy among DC pols when it comes to using illegal substances.

Approximately nine minutes. Shot by Dan Hayes and Meredith Bragg; edited by Meredith Bragg.

Scroll down for embed code, and downloadable iPod, HD, and audio versions.

Liberal and Conservative Agree on Bill of Rights...

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:00:00 EDT

Liberal and Conservative Agree on Bill of Rights...

Liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans may disagree on all kinds of things, but based on the way they govern, they've reached a consensus that the Bill of Rights is just way too long.

Indeed, with the exception of the Third Amendment (the one about quartering of troops), is there any aspect of the Bill of Rights that they both support without reservation?

Had enough of left and right? Maybe you're ready for some Reason.

Subscribe to Reason.tv's YouTube channel.

"Had Enough of Left and Right?" is directed by Courtney Moorehead Balaker and written by Ted Balaker. Director of photography is Alex Manning; associate producer is Nate Chaffetz. Starring Kyle Roper as the liberal Democrat, and Paul Detrick as the conservative Republican. Voiceover by Rin Palmer.

What if Government Ran Healthcare? (Sprint Ad Remix)

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 06:00:00 EDT

As the debate over health care reform gets underway, Reason.tv asks, What if government ran health care?

Approximately one minute. Produced by Meredith Bragg, Austin Bragg, and Nick Gillespie.

128 Days Later: It Can Always Get Worse

Wed, 27 May 2009 11:00:00 EDT

For all the talk about President Barack Obama's historic first 100 days in office, too little attention has been paid to what could happen next...

Now, from the horror masters behind The Auto Bailout, The Stimulus Package, and White House Poetry Night comes a story of true terror...

128 Days Later: It Can Always Get Worse.

Written and produced by Meredith Bragg, with Nick Gillespie. From a concept suggested by Katie Hooks and Jeff Winkler.

To embed this video on your site and subscribe to Reason.tv&'s YouTube channel, go here.

Fox News Channel Red Eye Host Greg Gutfeld on Media Bias, Liberal Intolerance, and Why Drugs Really, Really, Really Need to Be Legal

Mon, 18 May 2009 12:00:00 EDT

Before he became the host of Fox News Channel's rollicking late-night show Red Eye in January 2007, Greg Gutfeld had worked at magazines as varied as The American Spectator, Prevention, Men's Health, Stuff, and Maxim UK. And, as the fortysomething California native once told Reason.tv, he applied for—and was rejected with extreme indifference—a job at Reason.

Gutfeld appeared recently at Reason Weekend, the annual event held by the nonprofit that publishes this website, where he was interviewed by Reason Senior Editor Katherine Mangu-Ward on topics ranging from media bias to intolerant liberals to the health benefits of smoking to the reason why the drug war is the dumbest thing imaginable. With the possible exception of Bill Maher.

Approximately 30 minutes. Warning for viewers prone to high-blood pressure, heart palpitations, and sour-puss syndrome: Gutfeld mixes humor, outrage and language salty enough to cure a side of bacon. Proceed at your own caution.

Downloadable audio podcast, iPod, and HD versions below.

Hasta La Vista, Arnold!

Thu, 14 May 2009 08:00:00 EDT

He was the perfect political superhero, sent to rescue California from spend-happy politicians at just the right time. And yet Arnold Schwarzenegger’s reign as governor has turned into a disaster flick that could spell catastrophe for the Golden State—and the whole nation.

In 2003's historic recall election, the former Mr. Olympia pummeled dozens of candidates—from incumbent Gray Davis to former child actor Gary Coleman to porn star Mary Carey—on the road to Sacramento. He promised to abolish the odious car tax hike implemented by Davis. And to balance the budget, cut taxes and spending, and make California more business-friendly.

"He promised to stop the crazy deficit spending, cut up the credit cards, live within our means. And he did exactly the opposite. Schwarzenegger increased spending faster than we saw under Gray Davis," says Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.), who was a state senator—and one of Arnold's challengers—six years ago.

Now the Golden State faces yet another spending-induced catastrophe. California could simply go broke by July. Sacramento reacted to the latest crisis by passing a massive tax increase in February, squeezing another $1,100 from the average family. Even the dreaded car tax, the issue that catapulted Arnold to office, is back.

How could it all have gone so horribly wrong, especially after it looked so wonderfully right? Well, it turns out there's a force in California politics that's much more powerful than the Governator: a culture of spending pushed by public-employee unions, money-grubbing corporate-welfare cases, and more.

Sadly, California and Schwarzenegger are hardly alone in spending well beyond their means. As many as 40 states face whopping deficits that are only going to get worse as the recession continues.

If country-wide trends do start in California, Rep. McClintock worries about what's in store for our nation. "As high taxes, high borrowing and high spending destroy California’s economy, Californians are moving to those 49 other states. If we allow the same policies to destroy our country where are we going to go?"

"Hasta La Vista, Arnold" is written and produced by Ted Balaker. Director of Photography is Alex Manning and Associate Producer is Paul Detrick.

Barack Obama & the DC School Voucher Program

Mon, 04 May 2009 12:00:00 EDT

Mercedes Campbell is one of the 1,700 students in the Washington, D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, a school-voucher program authorized by Congress in 2004. The program gives students up to $7,500 to attend whatever school their parents choose. For kids like Mercedes, who now attends Georgetown Visitation Prep, the DC voucher program is a way out of one of the worst school districts in the country.

"It's different, now that I go to Visitation," says Mercedes. "I approach things differently. It's like a whole new world, basically."

The program is wildly popular with parents and children—there are four applicants for every available slot—and a recent Department of Education study found that participants do significantly better than their public school peers. Indeed, after three years in private schools, students who entered the program at its inception were 19 months ahead in reading of applicants unlucky enough to still be trapped in D.C.'s public schools.

Yet working with congressional Democrats and despite his pledge to put politics and ideology aside in education, the Obama administration has effectively killed the program through a backdoor legislative move. "[Education] Secretary [Arne] Duncan will use only one test in what ideas to support with your precious tax dollars," says the president. "It's not whether it's liberal or conservative, but whether it works."

That sort of doublespeak has left many Obama supporters not just puzzled but outraged. Certainly, Mercedes is. "Out of everything else they can shut down or everything else they can advocate for, they want to take this one thing away?" Adds her mother, Ingrid, "We voted for you, we walked, we went to the parade, we stood freezing. Why?...Can you get this tape over to Obama and have him answer our questions? Why, sir, why?"

That's the question that will be asked on Wednesday, May 6, from 1P.M. to 2P.M., at a D.C. rally to reauthorize the voucher program. For more details, go here.

"Barack Obama and the DC School Voucher Program" is approximately 5.30 minutes long and was produced by Dan Hayes and Nick Gillespie.

For a YouTube version, go here.

Introducing the DMV Automotive Repair Center!

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Stop worrying about the warranty on your GM or Chrysler automobile.

President Obama has announced that your warranty will be backed by the US Government. Now, getting service will be as easy as a trip to your local DMV office

Introducing the Department of Motor Vehicles Automotive Repair Center!

The DMV Automotive Repair Center was written and produced by Ted Balaker with Alex Manning and Paul Detrick.

Barack W. Bush?

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Amongst liberals, libertarians, and even some conservatives, there has considerable "hope" that a Barack Obama presidency would radically transform Bush administration policies regarding the "war on terror." And, on certain issues, the new administration has delivered a measured amount of "change." But were Obama's executive orders banning torture and closing down the prison at Guantanamo Bay, signed on his first two days in office, just a head fake? Were they designed to placate a certain segment of his base, while actually continuing—or even expanding—many of Bush administration terrorism policies?

Podcast here.

Fox News' Jane Hall on Dirty Politics, Lazy Reporting, & Much More

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 12:00:00 EDT

In conjunction with The Interactive Media Studies Program at Miami University of Ohio, reason's Nick Gillespie co-taught a class last fall called "Poltics, Culture, and New Media."

The course explored the theory and practice of new media, especially as it relates to cultural and political journalistic outlets. In alternating weeks, the course took place in classroom spaces on the Miami University campus and Reason's D.C. offices, where Gillespie, a Ph.D. in literature and a 20-year veteran of journalism, led web-based videoconferences with journalists, authors, and policy analysts.

On December 3, Gillespie hosted a videoconference with American University communications professor Jane Hall, a regular on Fox News Channel's "News Watch" and a veteran of The Los Angeles Times and other publications. A frequent commentator on radio and television, Hall has appeared on The Charlie Rose Show, CNN, NPR, C-SPAN, and many other places. Her 2005 research on media self-censorship during the first Gulf War was lauded by the Columbia Journalism Review as "an important new study."

Approximately one hour. Shot by Dan Hayes, edited by Roger Richards.

Go here for audio podcast.

Watch other discussions in this series:

Legendary political operative Roger Stone on new media and old campaign tricks (September 17, 2008).

reason Editor in Chief and McCain: The Myth of a Maverick author Matt Welch (October 1, 2008).

The Onion's Joe Garden on Bringing the Funny in the Age of Obama (October 15, 2008).

Andrew Ferguson on Abe Lincoln, Twits on Parade, and New Media (October 29, 2008).

Nick Gillespie: Why You're Living in the Libertarian Moment

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 11:00:00 EDT

On Saturday, February 21, Reason.tv and Reason.com Editor in Chief Nick Gillespie addressed a crowd of 200-plus attending the second annual International Students for Liberty conference, held in Washington, D.C.

Titled "Why You're Living in the Libertarian Moment And What You Can Do to Keep and Expand Your Freedom" and featuring a slideshow set to Sid Vicious's version of "My Way," Gillespie's talk argued that we are more free than ever despite massive increases in government spending, regulation, and controls over the past several decades. Due to huge growth in wealth, technology, and social liberalization, more individuals are more free to pursue their lives on their own terms than ever before.

However, warned Gillespie, for these positive trends to continue it is imperative that the zero-sum game of politics be kept in as small and limited sphere as possible. In an age of bailouts and big spending, it is vitally important to stop thinking of politics in terms of right vs. left or conservative vs. liberal. The best way to analyze public policy and social organization is in terms of choice vs. control. Does a given idea expand the ability of people to pick and choose among various ways of living?

The future of freedom, argued Gillespie, rests upon the shoulders of today's libertarian-minded youth, who must convince their peers to reject the played-out politics of the past and embrace a vision of an open-ended future empowered by "free minds and free markets." And it is up to students to invent the next great, decentralizing, DIY technology like rock 'n' roll and the Internet.

It is important to engage politics, said Gillespie, but it is even more important to remember that real life exists far beyond the petty strictures of the next election or zoning board meeting. "Live your life as a work of art and an act of discovery. Create your own identity, your own community, and your own meaning."

Approximately 40 minutes. Shot and edited by Dan Hayes.

For an audio podcast, go here.

International Conference on Climate Change: Rep. Tom McClintock on the contradictions of green policy

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 09:00:00 EDT

At the 2nd annual International Conference on Climate Change, Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) warns against that "radical global warmongers are now enacting" in the Golden State and elsewhere.

In 2006, he notes, California called for a 25 percent reduction in man-made carbon dioxide emissions by 2020--something that could not be accomplished even by junking every car on the state's roads. At the same time, the state legislature called for $40 billion in infrastructure improvements, an undertaking that will release massive amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere.

Such contradictory policies are common when it comes to agriculture, winemaking, ethanol and more, says McClintock, and will lead to a greatly weakened economy in California and elsewhere, all in the name of fighting exaggerated effects of climate change.

Read Reason science correspondent Ronald Bailey's dispatches from the conference here.

Watch highlights of Czech and European Union President Vaclav Klaus' opening address here.

The Washington, D.C. Tea Party

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 14:00:00 EST

On Friday, February 27, John O'Hara of the Heartland Institute and JP Freire of The American Spectator organized a Washington, D.C. tea party to protest the runaway spending and tax hikes recently unveiled as part of Barack Obama's stimulus package and fiscal year 2010 budget.

Reason.tv's Dan Hayes was on the scene, talking with the organizers and participants about the state of the economy and how the government should respond to the recession.

Real Man of Genius: Joe Biden

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST

Approximately 1.30 minutes.

Reason on Joe Biden here.

The Reason.tv Talk Show, Episode 10

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 14:00:00 EST

Reason.tv's Michael C. Moynihan and Nick Gillespie recently sat down with Julie Stewart, founder and head of Families Against Mandatory Minimums, and Mark Hemingway, a staff reporter at National Review Online.

In a wide-ranging and freewheeling discussion, Stewart and Hemingway discussed the rise of mandatory drug sentencing laws, right-wingers and marijuana use, conservatives vs. libertarians, just how bad President Barack Obama might turn out to be, and much, much more.

Approximately 20 minutes. Shot by Dan Hayes and edited by Roger Richards.

Go here for audio podcast.

Reason Among the Shoe Throwers

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST

Reason.tv Editor in Chief Nick Gillespie hits the streets in Washington D.C. to ask Obama supporters why they were throwing shoes at a giant inflatable George W. Bush and what their biggest hopes and fears are for the Obama Administration.

Shot and edited by Dan Hayes. Approximately 3 minutes.

Hopes and Fears for Barack Obama's Presidency

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 09:00:00 EST

As Barack Obama gets sworn in, Reason's Ron Bailey, Nick Gillespie, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Michael C. Moynihan, Anthony Randazzo, Damon W. Root, and Matt Welch explain their biggest hopes and worst fears for the next four years.

Approximately 4 minutes; shot and edited by Dan Hayes.

Obama and the Winds of Change (Deja Vu Remix)

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST

Barack Obama promised to bring change to Washington, D.C. How's that working out so far?

Politics & Culture in Obama's America

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST

At Reason Goes Hollywood, our 40th anniversary bash held November 14-15, 2008 in Los Angeles, Reason magazine Editor in Chief Matt Welch led a discussion with Reason Foundation Vice President of Research Adrian Moore and Big Hollywood's Andrew Breitbart about what's next in politics and culture in Obama's America.

Go here for an audio podcast version.

Perspectives on the Financial Market Crisis at Reason Goes Hollywood

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST

At Reason Goes Hollywood, our 40th anniversary bash held November 14-15 in Los Angeles, no topic generated more heat than the financial crisis and the government's seemingly endless (and endlessly revised) bailout plans.

In this hour-long panel, Reason's director of government affairs Mike Flynn leads a wide-ranging and intense discussion about just how bad the bailouts will be in the short- and long-terms—and whether the worsening economy might actually make some limited-government reforms more possible than not. Joining Flynn are Mercatus Center economist and Reason columnist Veronique de Rugy, former Los Angeles Times online editor and Reason contributing editor Tim Cavanaugh, and Reason Foundation director of government reform Len Gilroy.

Go here for an MP3 podcast.

And go here for a one-stop link to all of Reason's materials on the bailout.

Where's Sock Puppet's Bailout?

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST

Live from Congress, the infamous Pets.com mascot, Sock Puppet, comes to lobby Washington for a bailout.

Approximately two minutes and 20 seconds.

To embed this video at your website, go here.

"Where's Sock Puppet's Bailout?" was written and produced by Ted Balaker.

Roger Stone on New Media and Old Campaign Tricks

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 10:00:00 EST

In conjunction with The Interactive Media Studies Program at Miami University of Ohio, reason's Nick Gillespie is co-teaching a class called "Poltics, Culture, and New Media."

The course explores the theory and practice of new media, especially as it relates to cultural and political journalistic outlets. In alternating weeks, the course takes place in classroom spaces on the Miami University campus in Reason's DC-based offices, where Gillespie, a Ph.D. in literature and a 20-year veteran of journalism, leads Web-based videoconferences with journalists, authors, policy analysts.

On September 17, the class talked with legendary and notorious political operative, Roger Stone.

Click above to watch the hour-long conversation, which was filmed and edited by reason's Dan Hayes (himself a Miami alum).

For an audio podcast version of this conversation, go here.

Saving Social Security

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Worried about the viability of Social Security? Unless you're already collecting it, you should be!

Follow the animated adventures of Sonny, exactly the sort of youth who is set to get screwed by a system designed during The Great Depression, when workers were plenty and retirees rare.

In Epsiode 3, "Policy Warrior," Sonny, John McCain, and Barack Obama compete in various game show contest and learn that a few tweaks aren't going to save anybody's retirement account.

Created by Lineplot Productions.

Episode 2 of the series Saving Social Security is titled "Boom Baby Boom" and explains the demographic death grip that will force major cuts in benefits or massive increases in taxes (or both) to pay for the nation's mandatory savings plan.

Watch episode 1, "Pimp My Walker," by clicking below:

Jason Riley on Immigration: LET THEM IN ALREADY!

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 01:00:00 EDT

The title of Jason L. Riley's new book helps explain why it has proven so controversial: Let Them In: The Case for Open Borders.

Let Them In is as exhaustively researched as it is eminently readable. Riley, a member of The Wall Street Journal's editorial board runs through the six biggest anti-immigration arguments at play in today's heated political world—and finds them wanting.

Riley sat down earlier this summer with reason.tv's Nick Gillespie to discuss the leading myths about the causes and effects of immigration.
For a longer 25 minute version. Click on the video below.

To download MP3s of the short and long versions of these interviews, go here.

The Wall

Wed, 28 May 2008 05:00:00 EDT

At a time when pundits and politicians of all stripes endorse securing the border between the United States and Mexico, reason.tv travels south to see what's really going on—and what the human and monetary costs are of amping up border patrols.

Building a wall along the border with Mexico is a great idea—if America wants to be like China and the former East Germany. In the 13th episode of reason.tv's acclaimed and controversial Drew Carey Project, our host suggests there are better ways to ensure American security while also promoting free trade with our neighbor to the South.

"One way out of this mess would be to simply allow peaceful workers to enter our country through legal ports of entry," says Carey. "If we did that we could stimulate our economy, bring a huge underground labor market out into the open and we could put unscrupulous smugglers out of business. More importantly, we'd free up border patrol resources that could be used to fight criminals and terrorism."

Watch previous Drew Carey Project episodes here.

How the Wall Street Journal's Op-Ed Page Gets Made: Q&A with Robert Pollock

Mon, 12 May 2008 15:00:00 EDT

Former reason intern Robert Pollock has been the editorial features page editor at The Wall Street Journal for more than a year. The Buffalo native sat down recently with reason.tv to talk about how he came to his libertarian beliefs; how the mainstream media is toeing the Journal's line on capital gains taxes; why The Washington Post is the Journal's competition and why The New York Times' editorial pages have a "hectoring" tone; how the GOP turned its back on its small-government philosophy; why America needs more immigrants; and much more.

This 10-minute interview was conducted by reason.tv Editor Nick Gillespie and filmed by reason.tv's Dan Hayes.

The Age of American Unreason: Nick Gillespie Q&A with Susan Jacoby

dan.hayes@reason.org (Dan Hayes) — Thu, 01 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

On C-SPAN's Book TV, reason's Nick Gillespie recently sat down with Susan Jacoby, author of the new book The Age of American Unreason, to talk about anti-intellectualism on the right and left, trends in popular culture, and what Jacoby sees as a dangerous decline in the level of academic and political discourse.

From C-SPAN's description of the book:

In "The Age of American Unreason," Susan Jacoby offers a critique on American society and says that the combination of anti-intellectualism and anti-rationalism in American culture is becoming a serious problem. In the book she focuses on issues including society's addiction to mass media, ineffective educational systems, and religious fundamentalism.

It's a spirited and intense conversation between a cultural pessimist and a cultural optimist that lasts for about an hour.

Christopher Hitchens: How The New York Times Sets the Political Agenda

dan.hayes@reason.org (Dan Hayes) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 15:25:00 EST

On Wednesday, February 6, journalist and best-selling author Christopher Hitchens spoke to the students participating in the Washington Center for Politics & Journalism's "politics and journalism semester" in Washington, D.C.

Presented by the center's founder and executive director, Terry Michael, Hitchens' comments cover a lot of territory in his inimitable style. Watch the video to learn how The New York Times sets the political agenda, why The Washington Post still carries horoscopes, and how media bias really operates.

Discuss this video at reason's Hit & Run blog.

Ron Paul on Glenn Beck's Show, December 18

Thu, 20 Dec 2007 11:03:00 EST

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) appeared on the December 18 edition of the Glenn Beck Show on CNN's Headline News.

Beck had Paul on for a whole hour and here's about 10 mins of snippets.

MC Rove ...

ted.balaker@reason.tv (Ted Balaker) — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 18:39:00 EST

Obama Girl, The Singing Senators--they're all included in Tommy Christopher's "Top 10 Political Music Moments." (Thanks to MO for the tip.)

But seriously, exercise caution if (like me), you're new to MC Rove. It changes you, man.

Wouldn't be surprised to find viewers videotaping themselves watching K-Rove do his thang, as so many wincers have done in response another infamous vid. (Every man has his muse.)

Rove's spasms make Madeleine's macarena feel downright tolerable (btw, how did that not make the list?).

Ron Paul Fans in Philadelphia

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 15:08:00 EST

I spent Saturday with Ron Paul supporters in Philadelphia before, during and after the biggest rally of his presidential campaign--an estimated 4000-5000 people on Independence Mall.

In this clip, Paul supporters (and one detractor) explain what they like/dislike about the man.

In this clip, a horde of Paul fans march from the rally through the streets of Philadelphia.

In this clip, some of those Paul supporters protest at the old Federal Reserve building.

Teaching Kids How City Hall Really Works

gillespie@reason.com (Nick Gillespie) — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 11:02:00 EST

Eric Dondero hips us to a pretty funny ad for Travis Irvine, who ran for mayor of Bexley, Ohio, and actually pulled in the mid-single digits in this week's elections.

Gillespie on Bill Moyers Journal

Sun, 07 Oct 2007 15:42:00 EDT

Earlier this year, Reason Editor-in-Chief Nick Gillespie appeared on PBS's Bill Moyers' Journal where he discussed the religious right, the Republican spending explosion, how libertarians will decide the next presidential race, radical Islam, and more.

	Moderated panel sessions featuring Reason editors and guest speakers, along with plenty of discussion.
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