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Soda Jerk Michael Bloomberg Strikes Again (Nanny of the Month, May 2012)

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 00:00:00 EDT

May 2012 offered up an embarrassment of riches for Nanny of the Month.

Among the strongest contenders were the buttinsky pols in Fort Lee, New Jersey, who banned texting while walking (what's next, chewing gum?). And then there's the Los Angeles City Council, which pushed an ineffective-yet-annoying ban on plastic bag with the help of testimony by former Seinfeld and current Veep star Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Louis-Dreyfus gave an impassioned speech against the bags as "outrageously expensive" (we thought for a minute she was talking about the laugh lines in her short-lived series, Watching Ellie).

But there's only one nanny of the month and for May 2012, it's got to be New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has proposed limiting the serving size of sugary beverages such as soda pop to 16 ounces or less. The ban would cover restaurants, movie theaters, street vendors, ball parks, and a plethora of other places. In the past, Bloomberg has banned smoking, trans fat, school bake sales, and more. So it's not exactly surprising that he's focusing on cup size now. But it's still appalling.

About 90 seconds.

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

Watch previous "Nanny of the Month" episodes here.

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New Yorkers Sound Off on Bloomberg's Drink Ban

Thu, 31 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg outlined a plan Wednesday to ban the sale of sugary soft drinks larger than 16 ounces at restaurants, movie theaters, street carts and other venues.

Reason.tv's Anthony Fisher took to the streets to ask New Yorkers what they thought about Bloomberg and the ban.

Approximately 2 minutes.

Camera by Kaplan Akincilar. Produced by Anthony Fisher

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John Stossel on Journalism, How he became Libertarian & his new book "No They Can't"

Mon, 07 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT

"Some guy came up to me said, 'Are you John Stossel?...I hope you die soon,'" recounts Fox Business Network host and Reason contributor John Stossel. Thankfully Stossel found a more civil audience when he stopped by Reason's Washington, DC office to promote his new book No, They Can’t: Why Government Fails But Individuals Succeed.

During a lively Q&A session, Stossel took questions from the audience about his book, his time as a consumer reporter, and the power of the internet to communicate libertarian ideas.

About 6.30 minutes. 

Camera by Joshua Swain, Meredith Bragg and Jim Epstein. Edited by Swain.

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Nick Gillespie Discusses New ADA Pool Regulations with Erin Burnett

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 00:00:00 EDT

Reason.tv editor in chief Nick Gillespie appeared on CNN's OutFront with Erin Burnett to debate trial lawyer Justin Leto about new regulations requiring private companies to install handicap lifts into pools, and whether this regulation would help bring equality to America's disabled or simply benefit the trial lawyers. Air Date: March 15, 2012.

Approximately 5.30 minutes.

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Remy: Missing You - The Incandescent Light Bulb Song

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 15:00:00 EST

Remy mourns the impending loss of his beloved incandescent light bulbs with a song set to familiar music.

Written and performed by Remy and produced by Meredith Bragg.

About 2.30 minutes. Go to Reason.tv for downloadable versions.

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Visit the links below for more Reason's coverage of the impending light bulb ban:

Let There Be Light: The Dim Bulbs in Congress Have Condemned Me To Pee in the Dark

Blue Light Special: Psst... Wanna Buy A Light Bulb?

Light Bulbs vs. The Nanny State

For more Remy & Reason.tv vids go here.

For even more Remy, go to his YouTube page.

Lyrics to "Missing You: The Incandescent Light Bulb Song"

Seems like yesterday
we used to rock the show
I flip the switch
you rock the glow

So far from being
only luminescent
notoriously
incandescent

but looks ain't always
what they seem to be
Congress taking
you away from me

this new bulb
costs 10 times more
need a haz-mat crew
when it hits the floor

and the future can't
wait to see
what they look like
in my vanity

Ridiculous

Night they took
my friend
Try to block it out
but it plays again

they say the change is
what we need to make
got salmonella from
my Easy Bake

give anything to hear
half your breath...
I know you're still living
you life after death

Every time I see
Every time I read
Every time I breathe
exposed Mercury
I'll be missing you...

It's kinda hard
with you not around
new bulb warms up
in like a half an hour

watching us as
we pray for you
every day we
pray for you

until the day
we meet again
in the dark
is where I'm reading fried

give anything to hear
half your breath...
I know you're still living
your life after death

Somebody tell me why...
If that new light
bulb is so amazing
Then why don't people just go buy that light bulb?

[End]

Bernie Sanders' War on Chinese Bobbleheads!

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 14:00:00 EDT

In the midst of a massive fiscal crisis, a take-no-prisoners budget battle, a historically long recession, and two (make that three) wars, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) knows what really matters.

He's pushing the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. to only sell bobble-heads, T-shirts, snow-globes, and other souvenirs that are made in America. After getting a letter from and taking a meeting with the self-described Green Mountain State socialist, the folks at the Smithsonian have agreed to increase the amount of domestically produced junk for sale in their gift shops. They're even constructing a new gift shop solely to products manufactured in America that will be called the Price of Freedom.

During a recent trip to the National Mall, Reason.tv found that such nativist grandstanding plays well with the man in the street, but CATO policy analyst Sallie James says protectionism doesn't come cheap. In fact, top-down attempts to keep Americans in low-level manufacturing jobs is a great way to ruin the economy, whether we're talking about Founding Father thimbles or higher-end electronics.

Produced by Joshua Swain, with help from Meredith Bragg, and hosted by Michael Moynihan.

Approximately 3 minutes.

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Porker of the Month for February 2011: Rep. Jerrold Nadler!

Wed, 23 Feb 2011 12:00:00 EST

Reason.tv presents Citizens Against Government Waste's Porker of the Month for February 2011:

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY)!

Rep. Nadler is pushing full steam ahead on a $53 billion spending spree for High Speed Rail projects. This of course is after the 8 billion spent on High Speed Rail in the stimulus bill. Both barely begin to cover the estimated $500 billion dollars required for the plan, which many state governments have already rejected due to the massive cost.

Congratulations Rep. Nadler, you are Citizens Against Government Waste's Porkers of the Month for February, 2011!

"Porker of the Month" is written and produced by Austin Bragg. Approximately 2 minutes.

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

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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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Will Net Neutrality Save the Internet?

Fri, 17 Dec 2010 15:00:00 EST

Advocates say that "Net Neutrality" will "save the Internet."

But does the Internet need saving?

Net Neutrality is a proposed set of regulatory powers that would grant the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) the ability to control how Internet service providers (ISPs) package their services. Proponents argue that such rules are necessary to ensure that ISPs treat all data on the Internet equally and don't slow or even restrict access to various websites and other parts of the Internet.

However well-intentioned, the practical effect will be to limit consumer choice and grant the federal government unprecedented power over the Internet, all in the name of fixing a problem that doesn't exist in any meaningful way . Indeed, examples of the behavior that Net Neutrality will combat are few and far between.

Approximately 4 minutes. Produced and animated by Austin Bragg. Written by Zach Weissmueller.

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In Defense of Payday Lending

Wed, 10 Nov 2010 11:50:00 EST

Few industries are more reviled than payday lending, which primarily services the working poor by offering short-term loans at high interest rates. Payday customers borrow an average of $350 for a period of two weeks, or until their next paycheck comes in. The money is handed over on the spot, once the payday store can verify that the customer has a job, earns enough to afford the loan, and hasn't recently defaulted with another vendor. Payday loans are in high demand: There are 22,000 payday storefronts in the United States and in 2009 they loaned a combined $35 billion.

And yet the industry is fighting for its survival. Montana just voted to make it illegal for the payday-loan industry to operate profitably, so lenders are loading their wagons and wheeling out of “The Land of the Shining Mountains." They’ve already moved on from Oregon, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Arizona, Georgia, and Washington, D.C, because of similar regulations. The annualized interest on payday loans runs about 400 percent, but the reality is that payday firms see returns closer to 10 percent, or about the same as other less-demonized financial service providers.

Now there’s a danger the federal government will quash the rest of the U.S. payday industry. The Frank-Dodd Financial Reform bill, passed in July, created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which posseses the power to regulate paydays at the national level for the first time. The vaguely written law doesn’t allow the CFPB to cap interest rates, but regulators have the latitude to enact other rules that would obliterate profits, such as limiting the number of payday loans a customer can take out over a set period of time.

Payday critics, such as the Center for Financial Responsible Lending (which declined our interview request) argue that payday stores “trap” their customers and practice what “amounts to legal loan sharking.”

Reason.tv’s Nick Gillespie looks at payday loans—why people depend on them, why they’re expensive, and the assumption at the core of every attack on the industry: that the working-poor are too stupid to manage their own money.

The story features payday antagonist Gary Rivlin, the author of the recent book Broke USA; George Mason law professor Todd Zywicki, who has studied paydays; and Greg Fay and Saran Goubeaux of Hometown Cash Finance, a small chain of payday stores in Ohio.

Two studies are citied in this story: the Federal Reserve’s 2007 look at the effect of booting paydays out of George and Virginia, and the 2007 Vanderbilt-Oxford University study that reveals that, contrary to the claims of industry critics, paydays aren’t exceptionally profitable.

For more info, read Katherine Mangu-Ward’s October 2009 feature story on payday lending in Reason Magazine, and her Wall Street Journal review of Rivlin’s Broke USA.

Approximately 5 minutes.

Produced by Jim Epstein, with help from Dan Hayes, Josh Swain, and Michael Moynihan.

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UPS vs. FEDEX: Ultimate Whiteboard Remix (Original Cut)

Fri, 22 Oct 2010 10:30:00 EDT

Starting with MSNBC, Reason has started airing commercials on cable news channels with the goal of bringing a new audience to Reason.com and Reason magazine

For our first TV spot, we chose a slimmed-down version of our popular and acclaimed 2009 video, "UPS vs. FEDEX (Ultimate Whiteboard Remix)", which was nominated for a digital National Magazine Award and explores the way in which federal labor classifications lead firms to jockey for political favors rather than customer satisfaction.

See the new 60 second version of the Ultimate Whiteboard Remix as seen on MSNBC here.

You may have heard the UPS is in quite the political fight with FEDEX. Though both are package-delivery companies, they're governed by totally different federal labor rules. As a result, UPS's workforce is much more heavily unionized than FEDEX's—and more than twice as expensive.

So now UPS is trying to get FEDEX reclassified under federal law as a way of screwing a competitor. That's horrendous, but it also makes a sick kind of business sense. And it also reveals the real villain: A government that is big enough to absolutely, positively guarantee it can screw any business. Overnight.

"UPS Vs. FEDEX" was produced by Meredith Bragg and Nick Gillespie (who also hosts). Approximately two minutes long.

This video is based on "Using Unions as Weapons," by Mercatus Center economist Veronique de Rugy, which appeared in the October 2009 print edition of Reason. Read that article here .

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The Ins and Outs of Hoarding Ferraris: Q&A with Daniel Ben-Ami

Sun, 10 Oct 2010 00:00:00 EDT

Who the hell's against economic progress?

Author Daniel Ben-Ami tackles that question in his new book, Ferraris For All, which looks at how concerns over inequality, the environment, and excessive greed slow economic growth and hurt the poor. A regular contributor to the British online magazine Spiked, Ben-Ami believes these rationales are partially a cover for the real agenda of the super rich: keeping all the wealth (and Ferraris) for themselves.

Reason.tv's Nick Gillespie sat down with Ben-Ami to talk about the repercussions and ulterior motives of growth skepticism.

Approximately six minutes. Shot by Dan Hayes and Meredith Bragg. Edited by Josh Swain.

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The Great Philly Beer Bust or, Step Away From The Unlicensed Ale or I'll Shoot!

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 12:00:00 EDT

Back in March, the owners of Philadelphia's popular and upscale Memphis Tap Room found their place swarming with Pennsylvania state police searching for "unlicensed beer." As reported by the Philadelphia Daily News:

Although the bar owners had bought the beer legally from licensed Pennsylvania distributors and had paid all the necessary taxes, the police claimed that nobody had registered the precise names of the beers with the state Liquor Control Board - a process that requires the brewers or their importers to pay a $75 registration fee for each product they want to sell in Pennsylvania.

Based on a complaint from someone the State Police refuse to identify, three teams of officers converged last Thursday on the three bars, run by Leigh Maida and her husband, Brendan Hartranft. Checking their inventories against the state's official list of more than 2,800 brands, the cops seized four kegs and 317 bottles, totaling 60.9 gallons of beer, according to police calculations

Reason.tv's Nick Gillespie recently sat down at the scene of the crime with the Tap Room's Hartranft to talk about the long reach of nanny state alcohol laws that just seem crazy, especially in the city that birthed the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

The Great Philly Beer Bust shines a dark light on how capricious enforcement of stupid regulations undermines life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Or at least a perfectly chilled Monk's Cafe Sour Flemish Red Ale.

Approximately 7.30 minutes long. Shot by Dan Hayes and edited by Josh Swain.

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Cocktail Shakedown: The New War Against Classic Mixed Drinks

Fri, 02 Apr 2010 07:00:00 EDT

Beat a raw egg white into a citrusy cocktail and you get a meringue-like effect, frothy and delicious. The resulting beverage—technically classified as a flip or fizz—is irresistible, not just to cocktail connoisseurs but to regulators and food cops.

On January 19, 2010 one of New York's cocktail hot spots, the Pegu Club, got in trouble with city health department officials for serving just such a drink.

Despite warnings printed on the menu, and raw egg white listed in the ingredients, a health inspector busted a bartender for failing to verbally inform a customer of the risky ingredient. Pegu Club had to yank the Earl Grey MarTEAni from the menu, restoring it only after the health department backed off serious penalties and a court summons.

America is in the midst of a cocktail renaissance. A cadre of elite mixologists in New York, Portland, D.C., and other creative-class cities is bringing back classics and offering new twists on old techniques. Yet retrograde health inspectors and bureaucrats are cracking down on innovation from coast to coast. Indeed, a San Francisco bar ran afoul of regulations by having the audacity to make its own bitters.

Todd Thrasher is an award-winning mixologist at PX Lounge in Alexandria, Virginia. In this video, he speaks with Reason.tv about the perils of doing booze business in Virginia, the virtues of free choice at the bar, and the relationship between freedom and innovation. All while mixing up a swank fizz cocktail for his interlocutor, Reason Senior Editor Katherine Mangu-Ward.

And for those inclined to play the home version of Reason.tv, here's the recipe for Melanie's Pisco Pipe Dream:

1.5 oz Pisco
.75 oz coconut Water / coconut milk mixture
.75 oz sweetened Meyer lemon juice
.25 oz citrus vinegar
white of one egg
1 tsp powdered sugar

Put all contents in a shaker and dry shake (without ice) for 30 seconds. Add ice, and shake for 1 minute, double strain into a coupe glass and garnish with Meyer lemon-black pepper reduction. Relax and enjoy responsibly.

Shot by Dan Hayes and Meredith Bragg, who also edited the piece. Approximately 8 minutes long. Scroll down for embed code and downloadable versions. Subscribe to Reason.tv's YouTube page and receive automatic notification when new material goes live.

Reason.tv's Nanny of the Month for October 2009

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 07:00:00 EDT

No matter what it is—cigarettes, trans fat, incandescent light bulbs—chances are some nanny wants to ban it. And this past month was no exception.

Last month, the top prize for biggest buttinsky went to the Alabama state Supreme Court, for upholding a ban on sex toys and devices specifically designed to stimulate human genitals. Because, well, you know, the government really does have a right to regulate your most private parts.

Who is the Nanny of the Month for October 2009? The runners up include:

The Fairfax County, Virginia police for arresting Eric Williamson after a woman saw him making coffee naked—in his own home.

Then there's the Los Angeles City Council, which extended its ban on new fast food restaurants in South LA.

But there's only one Nanny of the Month, and this time it's...

Click above to learn the awful truth.

Nanny of the Month is produced by Ted Balaker. Director of Photography is Alex Manning, and researchers are Paul Detrick, Hawk Jensen, Tannen Wels, and Zach Weissmueller.

Approximately one minute. Scroll down for embed code and downloadable versions.

Tune in next month for more examples of just who is trying to mind your own business.

Subscribe to Reason.tv's YouTube channel by clicking here.

Light Bulbs vs. The Nanny State

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

In September, the European Union banned the sale of 100-watt incandescent light bulbs, with lawbreakers facing up to $70,000 in fines. Over the next few years, bans on lower-wattage bulbs kick in. In the United States, similar legislation comes into play in 2012. The idea is to kickstart the market for compact fluorescent lights (CFLs), which use less energy than conventional incandescents. Although CFLs present any number of problems (even beyond a much higher initial cost), governments all over the globe are determined to make them the new standard.

Invented in its modern form by Thomas Edison in 1879, the light bulb became synonymous with a brilliant idea. Now, it seems, it's just one more symbol of a nanny state that increasingly dictates more choices in our public and private lives.

"Light bulbs vs. The Nanny State" is produced by Meredith Bragg and Nick Gillespie. Approximately two minutes. Scroll down for embed code and downloadable versions.

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Throw-Pillow Fight

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 07:00:00 EDT

Should moving a throw pillow get you fined or jailed?

With all the artistry and attitude, it's no wonder design shows are so much fun. But are the people on those shows putting your life, and even the president's life, at risk?

Natasha Lima-Younts can't see how she's putting anyone's life at risk. She's been an interior designer for more than 20 years. She started her own business, and hired dozens of employees. She has an extensive portfolio and magazine features about her work. What she doesn't have is a state license. That doesn't bother Yount's client Angie Stoeker, who loves what Younts has done with her home, but it does bother those who push for licensing laws.

Alabama politicians once threatened unlicensed designers with jail time—moving a throw pillow could get you a year behind bars—and 22 states plus the District of Columbia regulate interior designers. Industry groups lobby for such laws because they say unlicensed designers put lives at risk. "Every decision an interior designer makes affects the health, safety, and, welfare of the public," says the the American Society of Interior Designers. Another group implies that "confusing floor patterns" and other items installed by unlicensed interior designers cause 11,000 deaths per year.

Reason.tv's Nick Gillespie went looking for dead bodies, and for an explanation for why the state of Florida launched a legal case against Younts. State regulators demand that she obtain a license, a license she says she doesn't need, a license that could cost her six years and hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Do licensing laws protect consumers from death and destruction or, as the Interior Design Protection Council argues, do they protect licensed designers from competition? Should Younts be stripped of the career it took her decades to build? Should President Obama be worried about his interior designer, the unlicensed Michael Smith? Jump into the throw-pillow fight and decide for yourself.

"Throw-Pillow Fight" is written and produced by Ted Balaker. Director of photography is Roger Richards.

Starbucks vs. the Little Guy

dan.hayes@reason.org (Dan Hayes) — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz recently announced that the company would close 600 of its approximately 12,000 American stores in the coming year, sending 12,000 managers and baristas to the unemployment line.

But as Starbucks contracts, many independent coffee shops are growing, beating the coffee giant in an upscale market it helped to create.

As anti-corporate crusaders are now discovering, instead of advocating for legal prohibitions on chain stores or attempting to zone the offending businesses off of Main Street USA, mom-and-pop shops can successfully combat the coffee behemoth by using old-fashioned market competition.

reason.tv's Michael C. Moynihan and Dan Hayes investigate.

Christopher Hitchens: Bah, Humbug on Christmas

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 10:53:00 EST

On Monday, December 17, reason hosted a "Very Special, Very Secular Christmas Party" at its Washington, D.C. headquarters.

The evening's special event was a dramatic reading of Tom Lehrer's "Christmas Carol" by Christopher Hitchens, author of God Is Not Great, Why Orwell Matters, No One Left to Lie To, and many other books.

"It may have struck you, ladies and gentlemen, that there's a big relationship between this marvelous time of year and living in a one-party state," Hitchens told the overflow crowd of 250. "You can't go anywhere without listening to the same music. You can't go anywhere without hearing the name of the Great Leader, and his son, the Dear Leader....All broadcasts, all songs, all jokes, all references are, just for that magic few weeks, just exactly like living in...North Korea."

We at reason celebrate the holidays in many different ways (some of us not at all) and extend our best wishes to all for a joyous and happy new year.