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Why We're Entering the Age of Ron Paul

Wed, 16 May 2012 09:00:00 EDT

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) will no longer be actively campaigning in forthcoming primaries for the Republican presidential nomination. But the libertarian politician's legacy - including controversial yet popular stands on everything from auditing the Federal Reserve to withdrawing troops from abroad to radically cutting government borrowing and spending - is just getting started.

Paul, says Brian Doherty, a Reason senior editor and author of the new Ron Paul's Revolution: The Man and the Movement He Inspired, "is leaving in his wake a set of institutions, and a set of hundreds of thousands of energized intelligent youngsters who are unquestionably going to shape American politics moving down the line."

Doherty argues Paul's long-term effect on the GOP will be similar to that of Barry Goldwater, the Arizona senator who, despite a crushing electoral loss to Lyndon Johnson in 1964, energized and transformed the Republican Party into the limited-government force that elected Ronald Reagan in 1980.

"His fans understand that Ron Paul is not just out to win an election," says Doherty. "Even if the [party bosses] shut the door in his face at the Republican convention as they did in 2008,...the ideas he injected into the party [and politics] are not going away anytime soon."

About 4:40 minutes. Produced by Sharif Matar, with camera by Matar and Tracy Oppenheimer.

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Outraged Fullerton citizens react to Kelly Thomas beating tape

Wed, 16 May 2012 08:00:00 EDT

The May 15 city council meeting in Fullerton, California was packed with outraged citizens ready to voice reactions to newly released security camera footage showing police brutally beating Kelly Thomas to death at a bus depot. Thomas was a 37-year-old schizophrenic drifter who died after a July, 2011 altercation with six police officers in which he was tasered, beat with batons, and hit repeatedly in the face.

Cpl. Jay Cicinelli will face charges of involuntary manslaughter and excessive force, while officer Manuel Ramos will face charges of involuntary manslaughter and second-degree murder.

At the city council meeting, Ron Thomas, Kelly Thomas's father, called for the arrest and termination of another officer involved with the incident, officer Joe Wolfe, whom he says also murdered his son.

It was announced at the meeting that Kelly Thomas's mother would accept a settlement from the City of Fullerton totaling $1 million.

Written and produced by Paul Detrick.

Approximately 3:13 minutes.

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For more Reason coverage of the Kelly Thomas case, go here .

Brian Doherty Talks Ron Paul's Delegate Strategy on PBS Newshour

Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT

Reason Senior Editor Brian Doherty appeared on PBS Newshour to discuss Ron Paul's so-called "delegate strategy" for the primaries and what the ultimate goals of the Ron Paul Revolution might be.

Approximately 9 minutes

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Lucy Steigerwald Confiscated Cell Phones at an Obama Donor Dinner with Alyona

Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT

Reason Associate Editor Lucy Steigerwald discusses moms spraying Lysol on dancing teens, George Lucas building low income housing, and the Obama campaign confiscating donors' cell phones on the Alyona Show's Happy Hour. Airdate: May 15, 2012.

6.34 minutes.

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Tim Cavanaugh Talks California Budget Mess on Fox 11

Tue, 15 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT

Tim Cavanaugh, Managing Editor of Reason.com, talks to FOX 11 Los Angeles about California's increased spending despite proposed cuts. Air date: May 14, 2011.

Approximately 2 minutes.

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Sex Politics and the GOP as We Know It: An Interview with Nancy Cohen

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT

"The reason we've gone crazy, in a word, is sex," says Nancy Cohen, author of Delirium: How the Sexual Counterrevolution is Polarizing America.

Cohen explains how sexual fundamentalists became the gate keepers of election 2012. "That is why we're seeing someone like Santorum, who is really a fringe candidate," Cohen says, "and it's also why Mitt Romney has been forced to talk about birth control and abortion much more than he would want to".

Reason.tv's Tracy Oppenheimer sat down with Cohen to discuss the rise of sexual fundamentalism in America and how it helped shape today's Republican Party and political system.

About 4:30 minutes.

Shot by Paul Detrick, Zach Weissmueller and Sharif Matar; edited by Tracy Oppenheimer

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Moms Say, "No More Drug War!"

Sun, 13 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT

"Mothers throughout history have come forward for the sake of their children," says Gretchen Burns Bergman, executive director of Parents for Addiction Treatment and Healing (PATH). "We're coming forth saying that the drug war has been more damaging to our families than the drugs themselves."

The Woman's Christian Temperance Union is well-known for helping push forward Prohibition in the United States. But perhaps less well-known are groups such as the Women's Organization for National Prohibition Reform, who were instrumental in the effort to repeal the 18th Amendment.

In that the tradition, Moms United to End the War on Drugs gathered on the steps of the Los Angeles Superior Courthouse to deliver a message this Mother's Day: no more drug war. Reason.tv was on the scene to talk with mothers who'd had their families torn apart by U.S. drug policy.

"You don't realize the drug policies in this country until they have an effect on you," says Lorraine Rebennack. "And when you lose a child, your life is never the same. Nor is your family."

Produced by Zach Weissmueller.

Approximately 3 minutes.

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Tom Easton on Dodd-Frank: "A Terrible Law"

Sat, 12 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT

"I think there's growing understanding of how terrible this law really is," says The Economist's Tom Easton of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010.

Dodd-Frank was passed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, and Easton is one of the very select few who have read the entire sweeping bill. He asserts that "the single most indicting read on Dodd-Frank, is to read Dodd-Frank itself."

To those who feel that the financial crisis was caused by a lack of regulation, Easton counters, "the argument that there needs to be more regulations (on banks) is frankly ludicrous if you look at how they were regulated before."

Runs about 4.14 minutes.

Produced by Anthony L. Fisher.

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Is Austerity to Blame for Europe's Economic Woes?

Fri, 11 May 2012 11:00:00 EDT

From Nobel laureate Paul Krugman to the free-market-friendly Economist to former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, all sorts of experts are charging that financial austerity measures are killing the great economies of Europe. "Austerity Is So Wrong!" reads the headline of a Krugman piece at The Daily Beast that argues against cutting government spending during weak economic times.

But the critics of austerity have got it all wrong, says Mercatus Center economist and Reason columnist Veronique de Rugy. For starters, many European countries haven't cut spending at all and, among the ones that have, most have made relatively minor trims while also hiking taxes. That's known as "the balanced approach," notes de Rugy, and it almost never works to reduce debt-to-GDP ratios or get economies moving again. Yet critics of cutting government spending in a weak economy ignore academic research showing that significant spending cuts, structural reforms to entitlements, and loosening labor regulations are proven ways to reduce debt loads and get countries moving again.

De Rugy talked with Reason's Nick Gillespie about austerity and its discontents—and what the United States could learn from Germany's economic reforms made earlier this century.

About 7 minutes long. Produced by Jim Epstein; camera by Epstein and Meredith Bragg.

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The Vampire Economist and the Moral Molecule

Thu, 10 May 2012 09:00:00 EDT

In his new book, The Moral Molecule: The Source of Love and Prosperity, neuroeconomist Paul J. Zak discusses his research on oxytocin, aka the "moral molecule." For the past 10 years, Zak has been conducting the same kind of trust games that are common in experimental economics, but with a twist. Before and after the trust games, Zak has been taking blood samples with the goal of gaining a better understanding of how and why people trust others.

Zak's work on oxytocin, which Genome author Matt Ridley calls "one of the most revealing experiments in the history of economics," helps economists understand why people are often generous to complete strangers and why those complete strangers so often reciprocate. The key, Zak explains, is oxytocin. Our brains release oxytocin when we hug others, when we receive gifts and when we are trusted. Because elevated oxytocin levels in the blood make us more likely to trust others, oxytocin plays an essential role in all human interactions, including the process of wealth creation. As Zak puts it, "You can't induce your brain to release oxytocin, you can only give it to somebody else. If you give this gift, our biology has set us up so that people will return it to us."

Approximately 5.5 minutes.

Produced by Paul Feine & Alex Manning.

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Anthony Randazzo Discusses France and Greece Austerity with Alyona

Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT

Reason Foundation Director of Economic Research Anthony Randazzo discusses game changing election in France and Greece and what it can mean for austerity and the European economy on the Alyona Show. Air Date: May 7, 2012.

Approximately 11 minutes.

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Anthony Randazzo Discusse Restoring Trust in Mortgage Backed Securities on Fox Business

Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT

Reason Foundation Director of Economic Research Anthony Randazzo appeared on Fox Business to discuss how to increase private investment in mortgage-backed securities. Air Date: May 8, 2012.

Approximately 4 minutes.

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Brian Doherty on Why Young People Love Ron Paul

Wed, 09 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT

"This is no longer just a set of weird ideas that individuals scattered across the country believe in," explains Reason's Brian Doherty, "this is a movement now."

Doherty's new book, Ron Paul's rEVOLution: The Man and the Movement He Inspired, charts the rise of the 76-year-old Texas congressman and GOP presidential hopeful to national prominence. Why does the unassuming politician and obstetrician command such a huge following among young voters? "After a lifetime of feeling lied to by every politician they see," says Doherty, "here's a guy that they know who is speaking the truth as he sees it."

A week ago, Doherty spoke with Reason about Ron Paul's central but largely unacknowledged role in creating the Tea Part movement. Watch that here.

Approximately 3 minutes.Produced by Sharif Matar. Camera: Matar and Tracy Oppenheimer.

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Cafe Hayek's Don Boudreaux Brings Sanity to the "Half-Witted" Media

Tue, 08 May 2012 11:00:00 EDT

"Many years ago my family ordered me to remove my shoes before sitting down to watch the evening news," recalls George Mason University economist Don Boudreaux in his new book, Hypocrites & Half-Wits: A Daily Dose of Sanity from Cafe Hayek.

"Seldom had I spent 30 minutes of any given evening watching the likes of Dan Rather without my wanting to throw my shoe at his face after he uttered some absurd economic fallacy."

So the barefooted Boudreaux began writing letters instead. A decade later he's penned nearly 5,000 missives not just to network news executives but to newspapers, magazines, websites, and blogs. The highlights are collected in his new book.

Many of Boudreaux's epistles offer concise explanations of basic economics for misguided journalists. In a note to NPR's Tom Gjelten, for example, he explains why "imbalanced" trade is not something to be concerned about. In a letter to The Economist, he analogizes using price controls to tamper inflation to "trying to control the temperature of a room by rigging thermometers so that they never record readings above 72 degrees." In another letter, Boudreaux aims his pen at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company for sending him an email promoting activities in which you "give back to the community."

"Your profits aren't pirate booty," Boudreaux tells the Ritz. "[T]hey're legitimate earnings."

Boudreaux sat down with ReasonTV correspondent Kennedy for a chat about the art of letter writing, the state of economic literacy in America, and why markets as far more robust than he once thought.

You can keep up with Boudreaux's letters at Cafe Hayek, the blog he shares with economist and hip-hop impresario Russ Roberts.

Approximately 7 minutes.

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

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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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How to Fix America's Airports with Reason's Bob Poole

Sat, 05 May 2012 12:00:00 EDT

Why don't airports and airlines inovate? Bob Poole has been working on finding out why for about 20 years. He gave a presentation at Reason Weekend explaining not only why but how we can fix America's airports.

At Reason Weekend, the annual donor event held by Reason Foundation (the nonprofit that publishes this website), Poole gives a short history of air transportation in the United States. Airports are mismaneged and over regulated causing the wrong incentives in the industry, Poole shows how we can transform airports to be more market driven and adaptable in the 21st century.

Approximately 38 minutes. Filmed by Joshua Swain and Anthony Fisher. Edited by Sharif Matar.

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Brian Doherty on Ron Paul's Revolution

Thu, 03 May 2012 01:00:00 EDT

"Ron Paul invented the notion of a populist, activist, modern movement thats transpartisan" says Reason's Brian Doherty

Brian Doherty sat down with ReasonTV to talk about his new book and how Ron Paul has changed politics in America. Doherty wrote about the evolution of the libertarian movement in his 2007 book "Radicals for Capitalism: A Freewheeling History of the Modern American Libertarian Movement". He has been following and writing about Ron Paul and his movement since then. Doherty examines Ron Paul's influence in a new book out May 15, "Ron Paul's rEVOLution: The Man and the Movement He Inspired".

Brian Doherty "documents the meteoric rise of Paul from relative obscurity to national prominence, and examines the fanatically devoted political movement that has arisen around him."

Doherty spoke with ReasonTV in January while covering the Iwoa caucus to talk about Ron Paul's campaign and the movement that has been built around him primarily over the past four years.

Approximately 3:30 minutes.

Produced by Sharif Matar

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The Real Breaking Bad

Thu, 03 May 2012 01:00:00 EDT

88-year-old Bob Wallace, and his 85-year-old girlfriend, Marjorie Ottenberg fell in love 35 years ago backpacking to the tops of the highest peaks in the world.

Wallace is a Stanford educated engineer and Ottenberg is a former chemist and decades ago they came up with a water purification product for backpackers like themselves called Polar Pure out of their garage in Saratoga, Calif.

“For an old guy with nothing else to do, this is something that keeps us occupied,” says Wallace.

Today, Wallace and Ottenberg are fighting the Drug Enforcement Administration and state officials to continue to operate their business. Why? The DEA says that drug dealers are using their product to make methamphetamine.

The DEA says meth heads are interested in Polar Pure’s key ingredient, iodine crystals.

In 2007 the DEA reclassified iodine as a controlled substance and named Polar Pure in particular as a product that was of concern to the DEA. The DEA told Wallace and Ottenberg, they could continue to operate their business but they would have to pay a $1,200 regulatory fee, register with the state and feds, report any suspicious activity and keep track of each and ever person who bought a bottle of their product.

Bob says that the overhead alone would be too much to pass onto customers.

“So that’s why I didn’t bother with their rules, because I would be out of business if I followed their regulations,” says Wallace.

The same went for camping stores and online outlets that stocked Polar Pure. Instead of dealing with the new regulations they just dropped the product, effectively killing Wallace and Ottenberg's business.

“Any time you deal with a government it’s a hassle,” says Ottenberg.

A spokeswoman for the DEA told the San Jose Mercury News that Wallace was “collateral damage.”

“They are being put out of business, they are totally being put out of business,” says Stephen Downing, a former Los Angeles Police Department deputy chief and a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.

Downing says that that the DEA is the most out of control arm of the federal government today because they are given so much authority with very little oversight.

“Within the controlled substances act, the DEA is given authority chemicals as they come up,” says Downing. “To make it easy for federal enforcement people to so called, do their job and make their quotas and have their show-and-tells, they pass these regulations that impact innocent people.”

Downing also says that the metrics for stopping use and production of methamphetamine don’t make sense.

The Justice Department’s own National Drug Threat Assessment for 2011 said that the availability of methamphetamine was increasing in every region of the country and the rates of abuse were increasing as well.

About 6:47 minutes.

Written and produced by Paul Detrick. Field produced by Zach Weismuller and Sharif Matar.

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Sex and the Supreme Court: The True Story of Lawrence v Texas

Thu, 03 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT

"There are some things a state can not do to direct the moral content of your life," explains author and law professor Dale Carpenter, "and controlling your sexuality is one of those things."

In his new book, Flagrant Conduct: The Story of Lawrence v. Texas, Carpenter outlines both the backstory and the importance of the 2003 Supreme Court case that invalidated American's sodomy laws. "It revives a constitutional doctrine that protects a right to liberty and privacy and sexual autonomy for adults."

Reason Magazine's Katherine Mangu-Ward sat down with Carpenter to discuss his book, the story behind the landmark case, and how a baby shower gift became an indicator of changing attitudes inside the Supreme Court.

About 8:45 minutes.

Shot by Meredith Bragg and Anthony Fisher. Edited by Meredith Bragg.

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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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Schools Use GPS Uniforms to Track Students! (Nanny of the Month, April 2012)

Tue, 01 May 2012 07:30:00 EDT

We've got Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal demanding clean urine in exchange for welfare benefits (a bad idea that also doesn't work as advertised, but hey, at least the boozers are safe!), North Carolina regulators busting a blogger for praising the paleo diet (an offense that can get you tossed in the clink!), but this month the freakiest controllers come to us from a Brazilian city where public schools have begun tracking thousands of 4-to-14-year-olds with GPS-embedded uniforms. (At least they're not tagging the kiddos' ears!)

Presenting Reason.tv's Nanny of the Month for April 2012: The City of Vitoria da Conquista!

Approximately 80 seconds.

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

Go here to watch previous "Nanny of the Month" episodes.

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Matt Welch Discuss Obama's Campaign Strategies w/ Jansing & Co.

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 00:00:00 EDT

Reason Editor in Chief, Matt Welch appeared on Jansing & Co. to discuss Obama's latest campaign video highlighting his accomplishments and decision making, particularly the assassination of Osama bin Laden, and Obama's relationship with the Clintons. Air date: April 30, 2012.

Approximately 13.25 minutes.

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Matt Welch Discusses Apple and Corporate Taxes w/ Varney & Co.

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 00:00:00 EDT

Reason Editor in Chief, Matt Welch appeared on Varney & Co. to discuss Apple's legal methods to lower it's tax rate to 9.8%. Welch supports lowering the tax rates and simplifying the tax code to avoid corporate lobbying. Air date: April 30, 2012.

Approximately 3.35 minutes.

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Author David Brin on Dogmatic Libertarians, Transparency, and Uplifting Dolphins

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 00:00:00 EDT

"The issue should not be government. It should not be unlimited and unalloyed idolatry of personal property, which is the path that the libertarian movement has gone down," says David Brin, a science fiction writer and self-identified "heretical libertarian."

Brin sat down with Reason.tv's Tim Cavanaugh to discuss his recent critiques of the libertarian movement, which he believes is being pushed in the wrong direction by dogmatic followers of Ayn Rand and Murray Rothbard.

"Libertarians need to be reminded that, across 6,000 years, the greatest enemy of free enterprise, of market enterprise, innovation, creative competition... have always been oligarch," says Brin.

Brin also discussed the themes of his prescient book, The Transparent Society, which, among other things, predicted a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center before it happened. The interview wraps up with a discussion of the ethics of Brin's Uplift series, which imagines a future in which humans have enhanced the minds and bodies of dolphins and made them equal citizens of society.

About 10 minutes. Interview by Tim Cavanaugh. Shot by Zach Weissmueller, Paul Detrick, and Sharif Matar. Edited by Weissmueller.

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Destroying Latin America: Journalist Mary O'Grady on Populism, Protectionism, and Prohibition

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 00:00:00 EDT

"The inequality produced by liberty: This, for the socialist, is the soft underbelly of pro-market rationale and the best place to attack," says Mary O'Grady, a columnist who covers Latin America for the Wall Street Journal. "I would argue that it's the intellectual stream that prevails in Latin America, and it's the reason the region can not hope to reach its potential any time soon."

O'Grady made a presentation at Reason Weekend 2012, Reason Foundation's annual donor event. He talked about why Latin American countries are so susceptible to socialism and identified the "three P's" of "Populism, Protectionism, and Prohibition" as the primary sources of the region's biggest problems.

About 32 minutes. Filmed by Joshua Swain and Anthony Fisher. Edited by Zach Weissmueller.

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