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Heather Donahue on Growing Marijuana, Life After 'Blair Witch,' and the Beauty of 'Grey' Markets

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:00:00 EST

"To me, the 'canna-business,' it's a great example of community-level capitalism working well," says Heather Donahue, Hollywood actress-turned-marijuana farmer and author of the new book Grow Girl.

Donahue sat down with Reason.tv's Tim Cavanaugh to discuss why she left acting only a few years after her iconic role as "Heather" in the Blair Witch Project and how she ended up cultivating marijuana in a small Northern California community known as "Nugget Town."

Although Donahue favors legalization of marijuana and acknowledges the terrible toll that prohibition has taken, she also thinks that California's medical marijuana market has flourished in the legal "grey area" that currently exists.

"By creating this grey area, you're actually creating a system that works," says Donahue. "This is a system on a human scale, and that's part of why it works so well."

Approximately 9:43 minutes. Interview by Tim Cavanaugh. Shot and edited by Zach Weissmueller.

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Who's Lethal? Police or Tasers

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:00:00 EST

On May 10, 2011, 43-year old Allen Kephart died after having a Taser applied to him multiple times by three San Bernardino, California, sheriff's deputies during a routine traffic stop in Lake Arrowhead.

"I feel that my son was murdered, I feel that something has to be done about law enforcement," says Alfred Kephart, who filed a wrongful death lawsuit in San Bernardino Superior Court, August 30, 2011.

High profile police related deaths like Allen Kepharts' are pushing activists, families and courts to question whether Tasers or officers are to blame, but the answer to that question is a tricky one.

Numerous studies and reviews from the National Institute of Justice, Amnesty International and the Police Executive Research Forum have come to different conclusions on Tasers and how officers use them. A study in the American Heart Journal even revealed that studies funded by Taser International were "substantially more likely to conclude Tasers are safe."

Former federal prosecutor Laurie Levenson says that when it comes to Tasers, safety depends on the circumstances in the case.

"We can remember back to the Rodney King case and in fact they did try to use a Taser there and it didn't work, where we had police using so much force, it was almost lethal," says Levenson. She points out that often questions of force from officers using Tasers come up after minor traffic violations.

According to Peter Bebring , staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, that is because when police are led to believe Tasers can't cause harm, they "are more likely to use them in circumstances where they would never consider using more serious force, like a gun."

Those types of circumstances led the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in October 2011, to look at more incidents involving Tasers and policing, one being the Tasing of a woman eight months into her pregnancy. The court found that when police use a stun gun it may be a violation of Constitutional law.

In the year 2000, around 5,000 law enforcement, correctional and military agencies were using Tasers, by 2011, that number climbed to 16,000.

About 6:33 minutes. 

Written and produced by Paul Detrick. Associate producer is Tracy Oppenheimer.

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Remy: Grandma Got Indefinitely Detained (A Very TSA Christmas)

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 10:00:00 EST

In seasons past, Grandma only had to worry about getting run over by a reindeer. With "Grandma Got Run Over by TSA," web sensation Remy gets us in the holiday mood with a song about Christmas, Homeland Security, and the joys of civil rights abuses.

"Grandma Got Run Over by TSA" is one of a series of collaborations between Remy and Reason.tv. To watch Remy's other videos, go here.

Approximately 2:25 minutes. Music by Remy. Video shot and produced by Meredith Bragg.

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Lyrics:

Grandma got indefinitely detained now
coming home to visit Christmas Eve
You could say she had a right to counsel
but some folks in the Congress disagree

she was flying home to our house
when she got checked by TSA
thought she might be Abdulmutallab
when they looked at her X-ray

Her hair had recently been colored
she paid cash for her Christmas gifts
two things apparently the Congress
says just might make you a terrorist

Grandma got indefinitely detained now
coming home to visit Christmas Eve
you could claim there's no right to due process
but check the 5th amendment and you'll see

they say they need to have these powers
to help protect this free country
but if it takes these steps to do so
what is it we are protecting?

Now she's an enemy combatant
as if that makes any sense
the only thing that she's combating
is her unpredictable incontinence

Grandma got indefinitely detained now
trying to come visit Christmas Eve
they took her rights in order to...protect rights..
the most genius plan ever in history

Grandma got indefinitely detained now
never made it home on Christmas day
she always wanted to live in Miami
at least now she's 90 miles away

Ending the Global Drug War: Voices from the Front Lines

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 11:05:00 EST

“Ever since the War on Drugs, everything has hit the fan,” says Romesh Bhattacharji, former Narcotics Commissioner of India. Rather than continue the unnecessary and costly drug war, Bhattacharji advises the United States to simply "Relax, take it easy, [and] tolerate.”

Last month, at the Cato Institute’s “Ending the Global War on Drugs” conference, Bhattacharji’s sentiments were echoed by ex-drug czars, cops, politicians, intellectuals, liberal and conservative journalists, and even the former President of Brazil. Reason.tv attended the event and spoke with a number of the featured speakers, including: 

Glenn Greenwald, Salon.com

Mary Anastasia O'Grady, Wall Street Journal

Tucker Carlson, The Daily Caller

Luis Alberto Lacalle Pou, Speaker of the House of Deputies, Uruguay

Leigh Maddox, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition; University of Maryland School of Law

Enrique Gomez Hurtado, former Senator, Colombia

Larry Campbell, Senator, Canada

Romesh Bhattacharji, former Narcotics Commissioner, India

Eric Sterling, Criminal Justice Policy Foundation

Harry G. Levine, Queens College (N.Y.)

Juan Carlos Hidalgo, Cato Institute

About 6.15 minutes.   Produced and Edited by Anthony L. Fisher. Camera by Joshua Swain, with help from Seth McKelvey.   Graphics by Meredith Bragg.

For more Reason coverage on the Drug War, go here.   For Cato Institute Drug War coverage and research, go here.

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Assassinations, Spying and The Constitution: ACLU President Susan Herman Talks Big Government Taking Liberties

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:10:00 EST

"All of our elected representatives have to hear from a broad cross section of liberals, libertarians, conservatives--people who just say, 'This is too much big government. We want our government back," says American Civil Liberties Union President Susan Herman, author of the new book Taking Liberties: The War on Terror and the Erosion of American Democracy.

How much has the police state expanded since 9/11, and is there any way to stop it? Herman sat down with Reason.tv Editor-in-Chief Nick Gillespie to discuss the this and other questions surrounding the state of liberty in America. Herman notes that while there have been a few minor changes in policy, for the most part there's been a remarkable continuity between the Bush and Obama administrations in terms of their disregard for civil liberties. She also discusses the recent assassination of American citizen Anwar Al-Awlaki and the ACLU's role in representing Al-Awlaki's father in court.

Interview by Nick Gillespie. Edited by Zach Weissmueller.

Approximately 17 minutes.

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"Shut Up. You Don't Get a Lawyer!": The Defense Authorization Act Guts Civil Liberties

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 00:00:00 EST

"It is not unfair to make an American citizen account for the fact that they decided to help Al Qaeda to kill us all and hold them as long as it takes to find intelligence about what may be coming next," says Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) in support of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). "And when they say, ‘I want my lawyer,’ you tell them, ‘Shut up. You don’t get a lawyer.'"

No recent piece of legislation has been more controversial than the NDAA, which passed the Senate last week and includes provisions that apparently grant the president unlimited power to detain American citizens arrested in connection to terrorism. The House approved its version of the NDAA earlier this year, so the legislature must hammer out differences and present a final version to President Barack Obama. For his part, Obama has threatened to veto the legislation not because it tramples on civil liberties but because it subject executive actions to congressional oversight.

Earlier this fall, Reason's Matt Welch talked to Laura Pitter, counterterrorism adviser for Human Rights Watch. "The terms in the bill are so vague that it can really be applied to anyone the U.S. deems is an enemy,” says Pitter, who underscores that federal courts are far more effective and efficient when it comes to prosecuting terrorism-related cases. Since the 9/11 attacks, she notes, federal criminal courts have resolved over 400 terrorism-related cases while military commissions have prosecuted just six cases.

Approximately 5 minutes.

Camera by Meredith Bragg and Joshua Swain; produced by Swain.

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LAPD Stands Down on Occupy LA

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 09:00:00 EST

For days, OccupyLA had been told to evacuate its camp outside Los Angeles City Hall by 12:01 a.m. on Monday, November 28. Throughout Thanksgiving weekend, the deadline approached and tension increased.

When the police-led evacuation didn't happen, the movement moved into the streets where they were met by members of the Los Angeles Police Department armed with batons, helmets, and other riot gear.

Reason.tv spoke with Occupiers and fans of the movement from inside the encampment at City Hall and followed the police developments into the morning. There was no clearing of the Occupy camp this time, but Los Angeles authorities have said they are determined to clear the space sooner or later.

About 3:30 minutes.

Written, shot, and narrated by Paul Detrick.

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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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Occupy Wall Street Removed from Zuccotti Park by NYPD (11/15/2011)

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 10:30:00 EST

Around 1 a.m. on November 15, the New York Police Department forcibly removed Occupy Wall Street protesters (OWS) from their months-long encampment in Zuccotti Park. Depending on how you feel about OWS, the clearing of the privately owned park was either long overdue or a violation of First Amendment rights. A new policy allows protesters to gather in the park, but they cannot sleep or camp there.

Reason contributor Michael Tracey captured live footage as the NYPD forced OWS participants out of the park and away from adjacent areas. This four-minute video is taken from about 35 minutes of footage and includes an interview with a protester explaining how the original clearing of the park took place. "Even like the legitimate press," he explains, "like CNN, they [the NYPD] wouldn't allow them in there."

Watch also NYPD Cop Punches Protester, similarly taken from Tracey's footage.

And check out our ongoing OWS videos and coverage here.

About 4:20 minutes. Shot by Michael Tracey; edited by Meredith Bragg.

Follow Tracey on Twitter at @mtracey

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Mike Riggs Discusses Local Governments vs. the Occupy Movements on the Alyona Show

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 00:00:00 EDT

Reason Associate Editor Mike Riggs appeared on the Alyona Show to discuss recent encroachments by local governments to stall Occupy movements from excising freedom of speech and assembly in their cities. Airdate: November 1, 2011.

6.20 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.

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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The Top Threats to Civil Liberties After 9/11

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 11:00:00 EDT

"The government has no right to pick through your private information just because that's technologically possible," says American Civil Liberties Union policy counsel and former FBI agent Mike German. "The laws are now so lax that they can."

German sat down with Reason.tv to discuss the top threats to civil liberties after 9/11. They range from new interpretations of the Fourth Amendment to law enforcement's fascination with vast empires of data to "fusion centers" that pool sources among intelligence agencies and local police.

About 6.30 minutes.

Produced by Paul Detrick. Shot by Joshua Swain. Edited by Detrick and Tracy Oppenheimer.

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What We Saw at the 2011 Seattle Hempfest

Fri, 02 Sep 2011 09:30:00 EDT

In 1991, 500 people gathered in Seattle to listen to music and "learn the truth about the most misunderstood plant on the planet." 20 years later, hundreds of thousands of people attend the Seattle Hempfest each summer.

Reason.tv made the trip to Hempfest, a 3-day political rally, concert and arts fair, in August, 2011. This is what we saw.

Approximately 3 minutes.

Shot by Paul Feine & Alex Manning; edited by Paul Feine.

Music by Troubaduo. http://troubaduo.com/

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PBS Travel Guru Rick Steves: Smoking Pot is "My Civil Liberty"

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 00:00:00 EDT

"I'm a hardworking, tax-paying, kid-raising, church-going citizen of this country," say author and PBS travel host Rick Steves, "and if I work hard all day long and want to go home and relax with a joint, that is my civil liberty."

Reason.tv caught up with Steves at Seattle Hempfest in August, where he spoke with Nick Gillespie about marijuana laws and whether his outspoken defense of legalization has effected his books sales, tour bookings, and television career.

Seattle Hempfest is an annual event that started in 1991 as a protest against the prohibition of marijuana, the commercial cultivation of non-psychoactive hemp for a variety of uses, and related issues. For 20 years, tens of thousands of people gather each summer to listen to speakers and bands and to show their support for legalizing pot and hemp products.

About 4.15 minutes. Shot by Alex Manning and edited by Meredith Bragg.

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Fighting Youth Discrimination

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 00:00:00 EDT

Are young people being discriminated against?

Founded in 1968, the National Youth Rights Association (NYRA) says yes and works to educate the public on how laws intended to protect young people instead treat them as second-class citizens.

Reason.tv sat down with NYRA’s president Jeffrey Nadel to discuss how drinking, curfew, and other laws punish young adults. Nadel points to New Jersey’s Kyliegh’s law as an example of how the unintended consequences of many laws aimed at protecting youth actually endanger them. The law requires drivers under the age of 21 to have a red decal on the license plates of the vehicles they drive, ostensibly to allow law enforcement to be more protective of them. But the decals have instead lead violent drivers to target those cars; infractions by younger drivers also come with harsher penalties for typical traffic violations. Instead of one-size-fits-all policies that punish responsible youth, Nadel says that decisions about alcohol consumption, work hours, and even voting should be more tailored to individuals, regardless of age.

For more on Kyleigh's Law, read Reason magazine's June 2011 story "Dead Kids Make Bad Laws." And on lowering the drinking age, check out Reason.tv's "21: Is It Time to Lower the Drinking Age" and Reason magazine's "Back to 18."

Interview by Michelle Fields. Shot by Jim Epstein and Joshua Swain; edited by Swain.

Approximately 4.18 minutes.

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You're Killing Me! Was a police-related jailhouse death an accident or a homicide?

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 09:00:00 EDT

The recent police-related deaths of 43-year-old Allen Kephart in Lake Arrowhead, California and 37-year-old Kelly Thomas in Fullerton, California have sent shockwaves through the their respective communities. Indeed, both are being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The death of Thomas, a homeless schizophrenic beaten into a coma by Fullerton police, is also being investigated by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. His case is not the first time Orange County law enforcement has been accused of applying excessive force to a mentally ill homeless man.

In October 2007, 28-year-old Michael Patrick Lass was living on the streets of Santa Ana when police stopped him for having an open container of alcohol. At the time of his arrest he was alcohol-dependent, schizophrenic, bipolar, and had a history of seizures.

The altercation that led to Lass's death took place at the Orange County Central Jail, where Lass was sentenced to serve five days after pleading guilty to public intoxication. The day Lass would have been able to leave he felt ill and asked for medical attention. Lass was ordered to leave his cell and after repeatedly looking over his shoulder while being directed by a deputy, he was tackled to the ground and a melee ensued.

“He wasn't fighting or anything and he was already in a contained area, locked in a contained area,” Lass's father Frederick, says of the incident. “Immediately there was a second deputy there, a third deputy, a fourth, a fifth, and on and on it went. There was so many deputies that you couldn't count how many deputies were there.”

Lass was shocked with a Taser nine times and the county's autopsy said he had multiple contusions on his body, “involving the head, neck, torso and extremities.” The struggle was captured on film. “I can remember viewing the film and at one point while they are beating him Michael tells them, 'You're killing me.' Literally: 'You're killing me',” says Frederick Lass.

Frederick Lass sued Orange County and six deputies involved in the incident. Although neither was found liable in that case, Orange County later revised its Taser policy so that deputies would not be able to use Tasers on restrained suspects unless they display "overtly assaultive behavior."

While an improvement, the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California says the policy didn't go far enough. Executive Director Hector Villagra sent a letter to Sheriff Hutchens in January 2009 urging still-stricter use of Tasers, pointing to five people who have died since 2005 after being stung with the weapon.

Like the cases of Allen Kephart and Kelly Thomas, the death while in custody of Michael Patrick Lass raises troubling questions about police procedures - and the power of surveillance videos to shine a bright light on the workings of the criminal justice system.

The following video includes graphic violence and viewer discretion is advised.

Written and produced by Paul Detrick. Camera: Paul Detrick, Zach Weissmueller, and Alex Manning; edited by Detrick.

Special Thanks: Frederick Lass.

Music by Audionautix.com.

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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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The Government's War on Cameras

Thu, 26 May 2011 09:00:00 EDT

Who will watch the watchers? In a world of ubiquitous, hand-held digital cameras, that's not an abstract philosophical question. Police everywhere are cracking down on citizens using cameras to capture breaking news and law enforcement in action.

In 2009, police arrested blogger and freelance photographer Antonio Musumeci on the steps of a New York federal courthouse. His alleged crime? Unauthorized photography on federal property.

Police cuffed and arrested Musumeci, ultimately issuing him a citation. With the help of the New York Civil Liberties Union, he forced a settlement in which the federal government agreed to issue a memo acknowledging that it is totally legal to film or photograph on federal property.

Although the legal right to film on federal property now seems to be firmly established, many other questions about public photography still remain and place journalists and citizens in harm's way. Can you record a police encounter? Can you film on city or state property? What are a photographer's rights in so-called public spaces?

These questions will remain unanswered until a case reaches the Supreme Court, says UCLA Law Professor Eugene Volokh, founder of the popular law blog The Volokh Conspiracy. Until then, it's up to people to know their rights and test the limits of free speech, even at the risk of harassment and arrest.

Who will watch the watchers? All of us, it turns out, but only if we're willing to fight for our rights.

Produced by Hawk Jensen and Zach Weissmueller. Camera by Jim Epstein and Jensen. About 7.30 minutes.

Read Reason magazine's January 2011 cover story, "The War on Cameras" and the companion piece "How to Record the Cops." For Reason.com coverage of the war on cameras, go here.

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Remy: Do The TSA Pokey Pokey

Fri, 20 May 2011 09:00:00 EDT

The Transportation Security Administration - with a little help from Reason.tv and international web sensation Remy - have produced an instructional video outlining proper airport screening measures.

"Do the TSA Pokey Pokey" is the second of a series of collaborations between Remy and Reason.tv.

Music written and performed by Remy. Video produced by Meredith Bragg.   About two minutes.

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Check out our previous collaboration: "Why They Fought "

To watch Remy's other videos, go to here   

For Reason's coverage of the TSA, go to here

"Do the TSA Pokey Pokey"

You put your shoes in this
you put your bag in that
you put your personal items
in a tiny plastic bag
I do the pokey pokey
and I touch you all around
That's what it's all about!

Hi, I'm from the TSA. The only government agency that can check the status of both your flight and suppository. Not familiar with TSA security regulations? Well come on!

You put your arms like this
you spread your legs like that
we send the pictures back
and maybe to the internet
I do the pokey pokey
and I touch you all around
That's what it's all about!

and while we check out pictures of your naked body, we're also checking out the contents of your bag. Hmm, looks like somebody's about to wage a jihad--against plaque!

Please put your shoes in this
Please go take off your shoes
it seems we can't communicate
with anything that's wearing shoes
I do the pokey pokey
and I touch you all around
That's what it's all about!

And if you're not comfortable with the government taking naked pictures of your body, no problem. Here's how you opt out!

You put your rights in that
your dignity in this
we pat you up and down
cuz you don't want the naked pics
I do the pokey pokey
and I touch you all around
That's what it's all about!

And here at TSA we're always employing the latest in terrorist profiling procedures. Like these!
we touch your you kid like that

We grope your kid like this
we touch them up and down
cuz they might be terrorists
I do the pokey pokey
and I touch you all around
That's what it's all about!

You're welcome America!

Katherine Mangu-Ward Discusses Anti-Sharia to Anti-Junk Food Bills on The Alyona Show

Thu, 12 May 2011 00:00:00 EDT

Reason Senior Editor Katherine Mangu-Ward appeared on Russia Today's The Alyona Show to discuss the various topics of the proposed anti-Sharia bill in Tennessee, new federal guidelines for marketing food to children, and the arresting of a facebook-ing teenager for 'disorderly conduct.'

Approximately 6.28 minutes.

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Radley Balko Discusses Recording the Police with Stossel

Fri, 22 Apr 2011 00:00:00 EDT

Reason Senior Editor Radley Balko appeared on Fox Business' Stossel to discuss how technology has made it easier for people to film police misconduct and how cops have declared a war on cameras. Air date: April 21, 2011.

Approximately 8.25 minutes.

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Nick Gillespie Debates U.S. intervention in Libya on CNN's In The Arena

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 00:00:00 EDT

Reason.tv editor in chief Nick Gillespie debated editor and publisher of The Nation Katrina vanden Heuvel on the U.S. military intervention in Libya and how America should address international needs without bombs or troops on CNN's In The Arena. Airdate: March 29, 2011.

Approximately 9.16 minutes.

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Remy: Why They Fought

Thu, 24 Mar 2011 08:00:00 EDT

As American warplanes patrol the skies of Libya and American boots win the peace in Afghanistan, Iraq, Korea, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, Spain, Cuba, the Netherland Antilles, and more than 140 other countries, the international Interwebs recording sensation Remy unveils this timely song reminding all of us back on the home front about why they fight.

"Why They Fought" is the first of a series of collaborations between Remy and Reason.tv. To watch Remy's other videos, go here.

Download the mp3 here.

Music written and performed by Remy. Video produced by Austin and Meredith Bragg.

About 2 minutes.

Read Reason's foreign policy coverage here.

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"Why They Fought"

Since the birth of this great nation
Men and women have fought and died
To protect the very freedoms
In which we all have so much pride

And as they spilled their blood at Gettysburg
Saving freedom's what they sought
And if you asked a dying patriot
He'd tell you that they fought...

For random screenings at the airport
With the TSA all nagging
While we place our toiletries out in
Transparent plastic baggies

And if you asked them why they fought and died
They'd all give the same answer
So you could get pics taken of your junk
While slowly getting cancer

Ask any single one of them
it won't be no surprise
That's why they fought and died...

They braved the cold at Valley Forge
Facing sacrifice and pain, yeah
There was typhoid, measles, dysentery
Plus being in Pennsylvania

But they went off to fight the British
To save this independent nation
And with their final words they'd say
They died so our taxation

Could be on property and income
With withholding of our wages
With a silly complex tax code
Over 16,000 pages

And if you ask them why they gave their lives
They'd say their only wish is
So you could fill out seven forms
To prove that pencil was for business

Ask any single one of them
it won't be no surprise
That's why they fought and died...

Well they gave their lives
So we could save up for a mortgage, woo!
And they stormed that sandy beach
So we could pay our neighbors' too!

They fought and died in fields with pride
And gave us all we'd hope for
To save us all from tyranny--
And also from 4 Loko

Ask any single one of them
it won't be no surprise
That's why they fought and died...

The Tea Party Goes to Washington: Rand Paul on the intellectual bankruptcy of both major parties

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 11:00:00 EDT

Rand Paul (R-Ky.) took an unusual path to his seat in the United States Senate: Though his father, the libertarian Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) has spent decades in office, Rand Paul had never previously held public office before winning in 2010. Throughout his campaign, Paul fils identified more with the Tea Party than with the Republican Party, and he ran against the hand-picked candidate of one of the most powerful Republicans in America, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). After trouncing both his primary challenger and the Democratic nominee, Paul did not mention the GOP once in his victory speech last November, saying instead, "Tonight, there's a Tea Party tidal wave."

Since entering office, the freshman senator has quickly proven himself to be the most interesting and radical voice on Capitol Hill, proposing immediate budget cuts 500 percent steeper than anything else Republicans have contemplated, speaking eloquently against the PATRIOT Act and runaway defense spending, and going bonkers against nanny-state regulations in the home. He's even taken on the sainted 19th-century Kentucky statesman Henry Clay ("the Great Compromiser") in a speech that caused McConnell to leave the room. And this all happened just in Paul's first two months in office.

Now the freshman senator has a new book out, The Tea Party Goes to Washington, that discusses his political journey, the intellectual bankruptcy of both major parties, and the urgency of our clear and present fiscal crisis. Reason's Matt Welch and Nick Gillespie interviewed Sen. Paul in his temporary Senate office in March 2011.

Interview produced by Meredith Bragg with Josh Swain and Austin Bragg.

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How to Deal with Cops: Q&A with Steve Silverman of Flex Your Rights

Tue, 08 Feb 2011 09:00:00 EST

"Asserting your Constitutional rights is not a trick in any way," says Steve Silverman of Flex Your Rights. "What the police officers do is a trick."

Silverman started Flex Your Rights in 2002 after spending years working with college students who lost scholarships because of minor drug busts. Since then the organization has produced two popular videos, Busted: The Citizen's Guide to Surviving Police Encounters and 10 Rules For Dealing with the Police, both of which have millions of views on YouTube and have been screened in classrooms and communities around the country.

Silverman sat down with Reason.tv's Tim Cavanaugh to discuss the best tactics to employ during a police encounter and to explain why it is in your best interest to refuse to consent to a search, even if you have nothing to hide.

Approximately 9 minutes.

Interview by Tim Cavanaugh. Shot by Hawk Jensen, Paul Detrick, and Austin Bragg. Edited by Zach Weissmueller.

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Nick Gillespie Debates Security versus Freedom on RT's The Alyona Show

Wed, 26 Jan 2011 00:00:00 EST

Reason.tv's Nick Gillespie debates American Center for Law and Justice's Jordan Sekulow if public security takes precedence over personal freedom in an age of terrorist attacks on Russia Today's The Alyona Show . Airdate January 24, 2010.

Approximately 9.10 minutes.

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What's the Biggest Threat to Free Speech?

Thu, 16 Dec 2010 12:00:00 EST

What's the biggest threat to free speech? Reason.tv asks a cavalcade of politicians, journalists, filmmakers and content creators ranging from former Gov. Gary Johnson (R-N.M.) to Fox News' Greg Gutfeld to The Atlantic's Megan McArdle to adult filmmaker John Stagliano to new media magnate Andrew Breitbart to call their shot.

Featured (in order of appearance):

Andy Levy, Fox News’ Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld

Gov. Gary Johnson, Our America Initiative

Roger Stone, Political Strategist, Blogger, The StoneZone

John Stagliano, Evil Angel Productions

Cyan Banister, CEO, Zivity.com

Robert Corn-Revere, Davis Wright Tremaine

Kevin D. Williamson, Deputy Managing Editor, National Review

John Tierney, Science Columnist, The New York Times

Robert A. George, Editorial Writer, The New York Post

Kristin Davis, "Manhattan Madam" and NY Gubernatorial Candidate

Andrew Breitbart, Big Hollywood/Big Government/Big Journalism

Tunku Varadarajan, Editor, Newsweek International & NYU Professor

Rob Kampia, Executive Director, Marijuana Policy Project

Scott Ross, Editor, NBC's PopcornBiz

S.E. Cupp, New York Daily News and The Daily Caller

Bob Bowdon, Director, The Cartel

Tony Ortega, Editor in Chief, The Village Voice

Fred Smith, President, Competitive Enterprise Institute

Joe Garden, Features Editor, The Onion

John Papola, Producer-Director, “Fear the Boom and Bust”

Megan McArdle, Business and Economics Editor, The Atlantic

Greg Gutfeld, Fox News’ Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld

The interviews were conducted on December 9, 2010, at The Box, a nightclub on Manhattan's Lower East Side. They took place during a Reason event designed to celebrate our work - and those of others across the political and ideological spectrum - in defense of free expression.

Interviews conducted by Michael C. Moynihan and filmed and edited by Jim Epstein. Approximately 3.30 minutes.

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Radley Balko Talks Cops and Cameras on Freedom Watch

Thu, 16 Dec 2010 00:00:00 EST

Reason Senior Editor Radley Balko appeared on Fox Business' Freedom Watch With Judge Napolitano to discuss the right of citizens to record police officers and the negative consequences that may result from potential state bans of that practice.

Air date: December 15, 2010.

Approximately 6 minutes.

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44 Ways to Say "TSA" ... What do those initials really stand for?

Fri, 19 Nov 2010 09:00:00 EST

Giving the TSA the respect it deserves.

Warning: Immature Subject Matter. Viewer discretion is advised

Approximately 75 seconds

"44 Ways to Say 'TSA'" is produced by Ted Balaker, edited by Austin Bragg, and written by Balaker, Bragg, Hawk Jensen, Alex Manning, Jacob Sullum, and Zach Weissmueller.

Related videos:

Con Air 2010 (TSA Remix) This holiday season, we're all convicts

Coming to an Airport Near You: Prison-style strip searches?

We're the TSA and You Can Count on Us! (to overreact to tiny threats and ignore big ones)

Visit reason.tv to download HD, iPod, and audio versions of this and all our videos, and subscribe to Reason.tv's YouTube channel to receive automatic notification when new content is posted.

Con Air 2010 (TSA Remix) ... This holiday season, we're all convicts

Thu, 18 Nov 2010 09:00:00 EST

Cameron Poe is back, and he's getting an enhanced pat down (just like you).

This holiday travel season, we're all convicts.

Approximately 30 seconds.

"Con Air 2010 (TSA Remix)" is written and produced by Ted Balaker.

Related video: Coming Soon to an Airport Near You: Prison-style strip searches?

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Matt Welch joins John Stossel & Rep. Ron Paul to discuss the recent elections, libertarianism and Senator-elect Rand Paul

Fri, 05 Nov 2010 10:00:00 EDT

Reason Magazine Editor in Chief Matt Welch appeared on Fox Business Channel's Stossel program to talk with host John Stossel, the Wall Street Journal's Kimberly Strassel, and Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) about the midterms, Tea Parties, Rand Paul, and Prop. 19. Airdate: November 4, 2010.

Approximately 12 minutes.

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Learning from Allen Ginsberg

Wed, 22 Sep 2010 12:00:00 EDT

Beat-icon Allen Ginsberg is getting a resurgence of attention, 13 years after his death at the age of 70. A movie based on the story behind Ginsberg’s signature poem, “Howl,” opens this Friday. It stars James Franco as the young poet embroiled in a 1957 obscenity trial over the poem, which ended in a landmark win for free speech. The movie is already garnering praise for animated sequences (made partially in Thailand) that put images to Howl’s words. Director Rob Epstein noted that Ginsberg, a fan of Eastern religions, “would appreciate us outsourcing to a Buddhist country.”

And an exhibition of Ginsberg’s photography, "Beat Memories," played to enthusiastic crowds all summer at Washington-D.C.’s National Gallery of Art. Ginsberg had both a unique eye and unique access to a generation of literary heroes, snapping classic portraits like Jack Kerouac smoking on a fire escape and William Burroughs standing next to a sphinx at the Museum of Natural History.

Reason.tv’s Nick Gillespie looks at why Ginsberg—a champion of gay rights, free speech, nonviolence, and drug legalization—still has a lot to teach us.

Approximately 2.30. Produced by Jim Epstein and Nick Gillespie

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Anyone Care About Economic Liberty Anymore? George Thomas on the 14th Amendment

Fri, 10 Sep 2010 12:00:00 EDT

"To take the original meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment seriously is to take economic liberties seriously," says George Thomas, an associate professor of government at Claremont McKenna College.

Thomas notes that, for most of our nation's history, there wasn't a rigid distinction between civil and economic liberties. The Bill of Rights treated them all as fundamental rights, and, as can be seen in the famous passage, the Fourteenth Amendment continued this tradition: "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

Thomas explains that the separation between civil and economic liberties began during the Franklin Roosevelt era, when various economic liberties seemed to be written out of the Constitution. He shows how recent Supreme Court decisions, such as in Kelo v. City of New London, which granted governments wider economic domain powers, and McDonald v. Chicago, which extended the Second Amendment right to "keep and bear arms" to states and localities, figure in to how America defines and protects fundamental rights and economic liberties.

Approximately 10 minutes.

Interview by Sam Corcos. Shot and edited by Hawk Jensen.

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Reason Magazine's Radley Balko on Stossel on Sex Offender Registries

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 06:00:00 EDT

Reason Senior Editor Radley Balko discusses unintended consequences of sex offender registries with John Stossel on July 29, 2010.

Approximately 4:49.

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A Drug Raid Goes Viral: Radley Balko on the Missouri SWAT Raid Video

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 11:30:00 EDT

What happens when video of a routine police procedure is posted online? In the case of a Missouri SWAT raid, outrage, anger, and a viral sensation viewed over 1.2 million times.

Reason Magazine Senior Editor Radley Balko sat down with Nick Gillespie to discuss the raid, the video, and the fallout.

Approximately 10 minutes. Shot by Meredith Bragg and Dan Hayes. Edited by Bragg.

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Adam Bellow on The New Threats to Freedom

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 00:05:00 EDT

Adam Bellow is a well-known figure in publishing circles and the author of the best-selling In Praise of Nepotism. He's also the editor of the collection New Threats to Freedom, just published by the Templeton Press.

New Threats (visit the book's website here) includes contributions from figures such as Christopher Hitchens ("Multiculturalism and the Threat of Conformity"), David Mamet ("The Fairness Doctrine"), Glenn Reynolds ("Liberty and Complacency"), Anne Applebaum ("The Decline of American Press Freedom"), and Reason staffers Katherine Mangu-Ward ("The War on Negative Liberty") and Michael C. Moynihan ("The Anticapitalists").

In his introductory essay, "Where Have All The Grownups Gone?," Bellow calls for a reinvigorated debate about the meaning and necessity of freedom in a world that is a generation past the Cold War. Reflecting on figures such as Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and his own father, the Nobel Prize winning novelist Saul Bellow, he writes,

Many of us assumed that there would always be such people on hand to make the case for freedom and democracy. The loss of many of these outsized intellectual and literary figures in the first decade of this century leaves one wondering whether there are still any grownups around.
But here is a sobering thought: merely to ask the question is to assume responsibility for embracing the task oneself. Resistance doesn't come out of nowhere; it has to be fostered the old-fashioned way, word by word, through magazines and books, think-tank panels, conferences and seminars. We are the grownups now, and we owe it to the next generation to provide a model of how to be serious about ultimate questions.

Reason.tv's Nick Gillespie sat down with Bellow just before a May 17, 2010 panel discussion on the book featuring Bellow, Reason's Katherine Mangu-Ward, Stephen Schwartz ("Shariah in the West"), and Christine Rosen ("The New Behaviorists").

To watch the full panel discussion, go here.

Approximately 4.45 minutes. Shot and edited by Dan Hayes, Meredith Bragg, and Josh Swain.

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New Threats to Freedom: A Reason Event Featuring Adam Bellow, Stephen Schwartz, Christine Rosen, and Katherine Mangu-Ward

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 00:03:00 EDT

On May 17, 2010, Reason sponsored a panel discussion on the new collection New Threats to Freedom featuring editor Adam Bellow ("Where Have All the Grownups Gone?"), Reason's Katherine Mangu-Ward, Stephen Schwartz ("Shariah in the West"), and Christine Rosen ("The New Behaviorists").

In his introductory essay, Bellow calls for a reinvigorated debate about the meaning and necessity of freedom in a world that is a generation past the Cold War. Reflecting on figures such as Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and his own father, the Nobel Prize winning novelist Saul Bellow, he writes,

Many of us assumed that there would always be such people on hand to make the case for freedom and democracy. The loss of many of these outsized intellectual and literary figures in the first decade of this century leaves one wondering whether there are still any grownups around.
But here is a sobering thought: merely to ask the question is to assume responsibility for embracing the task oneself. Resistance doesn't come out of nowhere; it has to be fostered the old-fashioned way, word by word, through magazines and books, think-tank panels, conferences and seminars. We are the grownups now, and we owe it to the next generation to provide a model of how to be serious about ultimate questions.

Approximately 27 minutes. Shot and edited by Dan Hayes, Meredith Bragg, and Josh Swain.

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For a 4.45 minute interview with Adam Bellow, go here.

Nanny of the Month for June 2010: Ladies' Night Foe James Kirkpatrick!

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 09:10:00 EDT

Busybodies in Illinois are itching to bag baggy pants, and—Holy handcuffs, Batman!—in Los Angeles they're throwing the Caped Crusader behind bars!

But there can be only one Nanny of the Month, and this time it's the state bureaucrat who's thumbing his nose at the great Kool & the Gang anthem by cracking down on bars and restaurants that offer ladies' night (it discriminates against men, you see).

Presenting Reason.tv's Nanny of the Month for June 2010: Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Rights James Kirkpatrick!

Go here to watch previous Nanny of the Month videos.

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

Approximately one minute.

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Judge Napolitano on Lies The Government Told You & His New Fox Business Show (1 of 2)

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 08:35:00 EDT

The fiercely libertarian Judge Andrew Napolitano talks with Reason.tv's Nick Gillespie about his latest book, Lies The Government Told You, and his new show on Fox Business, which debuts Saturday, June 12, at 10 A.M. ET.

Approximately 10 minutes. Shot by Dan Hayes and Meredith Bragg.

This is part 1 of 2. For the other part of the interview, go here.

Reason articles, posts, etc. by and about Napolitano here.

Judge Andrew Napolitano on Lies The Government Told You & His New Fox Business Show (2 of 2)

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 08:00:00 EDT

Approximately 10 minutes. Shot by Dan Hayes and Meredith Bragg.

This is part 2 of 2. For the other part of the interview, go here.

Reason articles, posts, etc. by and about Napolitano here.

The Rise of America's Surveillance State: Q&A with "Watchers" author Shane Harris

Thu, 03 Jun 2010 11:00:00 EDT

In his new book The Watchers: The Rise of the America's Surveillance State , Washington, D.C., reporter Shane Harris chronicles 25 years of the intelligence community's efforts to "connect the dots" on terrorist threats in the United States.

Harris explains why we should have caught the Christmas Day bomber, how one promising electronic surveillance system was wiped out due to privacy concerns, and what it's like to be a spy in the age of Google.

In his day job, Harris covers electronic surveillance, intelligence, and counterterrorism for National Journal.

Reason Senior Editor Katherine Mangu-Ward interviewed Harris in February 2010. Shot by Dan Hayes and Meredith Bragg; edited by Bragg.

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

Nanny of the Month for May 2010: Anti-Raw Milk Federal Lawyer Stephanie Rose

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 07:00:00 EDT

Got milk? Only if Uncle Sam allows it.

Runners-up for Reason.tv's Nanny of the Month for May 2010 features a proposed ban on drive-through restaurants in the hometown of In-And-Out Burgers, one of America's most beloved drive-through restaurants, and the mayor of Kure Beach, North Carolina, whose got his undies in a bunch over thong bikinis.

But there can be only one Nanny of the Month and this time it goes to the federal lawyer who wants to give raw milk drinkers a raw deal, and who really, truly believes that Uncle Sam can control what you shove in your pie hole.

Presenting Reason.tv's Nanny of the Month for May 2010: U.S. Attorney Stephanie Rose!

Watch previous Nanny of the Month videos here.

"Nanny of the Month" is written and produced by Ted Balaker. Associate producers are Alex Manning and Zach Weissmueller, and animation is created by Meredith Bragg.

Approximately 1.15 minutes.

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L.A. May Day

Fri, 07 May 2010 06:00:00 EDT

Concern, fear, and outrage over Arizona's controversial new immigration law set passions high for the estimated 60,000 marchers at what is reportedly the nation's largest May Day event. Reason.tv took to the streets to get a firsthand view of the demonstrators and their concerns.

Filmed and edited by Hawk Jensen. Approximately 5 mins.

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Boobquake! Live from Dupont Circle

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 00:00:00 EDT

On Monday April 26, 2010 at Dupont Circle in Washington DC a small group, read 5-7 women, participated in Boobquake, an event coordinated online through facebook and twitter to respond to a Islamic cleric comments that "women dressing immodestly" potentially led to earthquakes.

"Many women who do not dress modestly ... lead young men astray, corrupt their chastity and spread adultery in society, which (consequently) increases earthquakes," Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi was quoted as saying by Iranian media. Sedighi is Tehran's acting Friday prayer leader.

Oh and for the record, there was an earthquake off the coast of Taiwan earlier today.

Here's a short video explaining the event.

Welcome to Oaksterdam!

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 07:00:00 EDT

Located in the pot-friendly "Oaksterdam" section of Oakland, California, Oaksterdam University aims to teach its students the fundamentals of growing and marketing marijuana.

The curriculum covers everything from law and politics to business and horticulture. The university also provides training for entrepreneurs in the pot industry as well as several dispensaries, a Bulldog Coffeeshop, and a gift shop. University founder Richard Lee tells Reason.tv that he and other Bay Area activists were inspired by the example of Amsterdam, a city with some of the most liberal marijuana policies in the world. As he put it, "We went to Amsterdam and said you know, hey, we can do this here; it shows it can work.”

Oaksterdam University is one of the major sponsors of the “Tax and Regulate” initiative that will be on the ballot in California this November. If passed, marijuana would be legalized and regulated like alcohol.

Produced by Paul Feine; shot by Alex Manning, edited by Hawk Jensen and Alex Manning.

Approximately 8 minutes long.

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21: Is It Time to Lower the Drinking Age?

Wed, 07 Apr 2010 07:00:00 EDT

The drinking age in the US has been 21 for more than 20 years.

Today, we all take the drinking age for granted, but should we? In fact, the US is one of only four countries in the world with a drinking age as high as 21—the other three are Indonesia, Mongolia and Palau.

Is the policy working to reduce health and safety issues related to youthful alchohol abuse? Is enforcing the drinking age the best use of scarce public resources? What are the unintended consequences of alcohol prohibition for 18-20 year olds?

Organizations such as Mother Against Drunk Driving (MADD) argue that the drinking age is an effective policy and that the answer to ongoing alcohol related problems for 18-20 year olds is more education and better enforcement.

John McCardell, president of Choose Responsibility, and 135 university presidents and chancellors across the country believe it's time to take a fresh look at the drinking age. The former president of Middlebury College and the new head of Sewanee/University of the South, McCardell says our current system encourages unsupervised binge drinking.

Reason.tv went to the University of Wisconsin-Stout in Menomonie, Wisconsin to get a first-hand look at the war on underage drinking.

Produced and hosted by Paul Feine; shot and edited by Alex Manning. Approximately 10 minutes long. Scroll down for downloadable iPod, HD and audio versions of this and all our videos. Subscribe to Reason.tv's YouTube page and receive automatic notification when new material goes live.

Damon Root with Judge Andrew Napolitano on January 20, 2010

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:00:00 EST

Reason's Damon W. Root appeared on Fox News’ Freedom Watch with Judge Andrew Napolitano on January 20, 2010 to discuss the Second Amendment, federalism, and the Chicago gun case.

Jessica Corry: Republican Mom for Pot Legalization!

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 10:01:00 EST

Jessica Peck Corry is a Denver-based attorney, public policy analyst, and political strategist. She has been called one of Colorado’s most influential women by the Denver Examiner and named one of Colorado’s top political "movers and shakers" by the Colorado Statesman.

Reason.tv interviewed Corry on November 10, 2009. On the same day, she spoke to students at the Washington Center for Journalism and Politics on "The Politics of the Drug War" with the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Law's Keith Stroup. Stroup's interview is available here. The whole panel, hosted by Reason contributor Terry Michael, can be viewed here

Shot and edited by Reason.tv's Dan Hayes. Approximately 6 minutes.

Terry Michael, Jessica Corry, and Keith Stroup Discuss Marijuana Policy

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 10:01:00 EST

On November 10, 2009 Reason.tv caught up with the National Organization of the Reform of Marijuana Law Co-founder Keith Stroup, attorney Jessica Peck Corry and Reason contributor Terry Michael. They spoke to students at the Washington Center for Journalism and Politics on "The Politics of the Drug War." Shorter interviews with Stroup and Corry can be viewed here and here.

Shot and edited by Reason.tv's Dan Hayes. Approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Keith Stroup, Co-Founder of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 10:00:00 EST

Keith Stroup is an attorney and founder of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

Reason.tv conducted this short interview with Stroup on November 10, 2009. On the same day, he spoke to students at the Washington Center for Journalism and Politics on a panel called "The Politics of the Drug War" with Jessica Peck Corry. Corry's interview is available here. The whole panel discussion, hosted by Reason contributor Terry Michael, can be viewed here.

Shot and edited by Reason.tv's Dan Hayes. Approximately 6 minutes.

We're the TSA and You Can Count on Us! (to overreact to tiny threats and ignore big ones)

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

We're the Transportation Security Administration. We're working hard to make sure you enjoy a safe flight. And while we cannot apprehend every terrorist, you can count on us to do what we're trained to do whenever there's a security breach--overreact to tiny threats.

Overreact to tiny threats; ignore the big ones. That's what we do, and we do it better than anyone.

Written and produced by Ted Balaker.

Approximately one minute.

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.

Scroll down for downloadable versions of this video.

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

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.

Obama, You're No Stranger to the Bong

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 07:00:00 EST

Thank you, President Obama, for keeping your campaign pledge to end raids on medical marijuana dispensaries that are legal under state laws in California and elsewhere. Thank you for reversing an inhumane policy established by the Clinton administration and continued by the Bush administration.

Given the experience you and other elected officials have had with illegal drugs and your willingness to challenge the status quo, now is the time to reconsider decades of prohibitionist drug policies that have succeeded only in massively increasing the toll of human misery, violence, and hypocrisy. As with alcohol prohibition, the drug war intensifies and exacerbates every negative outcome it is ostensibly designed to combat.

President Obama, do the right thing and end the war on drugs.

"Obama, You're No Stranger to the Bong" was written, performed, and edited by Paul Feine; special thanks to Alex Manning.

Return to the Gulag

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST

Jon Utley was two years old in Moscow when his father, Arcadi Berdichevsky, a Russian trade official, was sent to a labor camp by the Soviet secret police. His mother, Freda Utley, escaped with Jon to England and then to America.

In 2004 and 2006, Utley, a well-known journalist, embarked upon a search to learn of his father's fate. This documentary traces Utley's journey through former labor camps and cities in northern Russia and his final uncovering of the horrible truth at the dreaded camp city of Vorkuta within the Artic Circle.

Directed by John J. Michalczyk, Return to the Gulag is a small but revealing window into Russia's turbulent 1930s.

Reason.tv is proud to present this Etoile Production, which was funded by The Freda Utley Foundation and the Jacques Salmanowitz Program For Moral Courage in Film at Boston College. Thanks also to the Fitzgerald Griffin Foundation.

For more information about the documentary, visit http://fredautley.com/Berdichevsky.htm.

For a DVD version of this program ($15 donation, plus shipping), please go to the website of The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation or email vocmemorial@aim.com.

Reason.tv at Sundance: Shouting Fire!

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 09:30:00 EST

Martin Garbus' client list spans from Nelson Mandela to Don Imus. He defended comedian Lenny Bruce against obscenity charges and argued for neo-Nazis' right to march in the predominantly Jewish town of Skokie, Illiniois.

Garbus is featured in the new documentary Shouting Fire: Stories from the Edge of Free Speech. The film is directed by his daughter Liz Garbus, and screened at the Sundance Film Festival.

Reason.tv's Ted Balaker caught up with Martin Garbus at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

Killer Chic

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 06:29:00 EST

Gisele Bundchen wears him on the runway, Johnny Depp wears him around his neck, and Benicio Del Toro becomes him in the new, highly acclaimed, two-part epic film from Steven Soderbergh, Che. Ernesto "Che" Guevara, the revolutionary who helped found communist Cuba, is the celebrity that celebrities adore. And be it Madonna, Rage Against the Machine, or Jay-Z, musicians really dig Che.

It’s something that baffles Cuban jazz legend Paquito D’Rivera. “Che hated artists, so how is it possible that artists still today support the image of Che Guevara?” Turns out the rebellious icon that emblazons countless T-shirts actually enforced aesthetic and political conformity. D’Rivera explains that Che and other Cuban authorities sought to ban rock and roll and jazz.

“Che was an inspiration for me,” D’Rivera tells reason.tv. “I thought I have to get out of this island as soon as I can, because I am in the wrong place at the wrong time!” D’Rivera did escape Cuba, and so far he’s won nine Grammy awards playing the kind of music Che tried to silence. But D’Rivera says Che’s crimes didn’t end with censorship. “He ordered the execution of many people with no trial.” Che served as Castro’s chief executioner, presiding over the infamous La Cabana prison. D’Rivera says Che’s policy of killing innocents earned him the nickname—the Butcher of La Cabana.

“We’re rightly horrified by fascist murderers like Adolph Hitler,” says reason.tv’s Nick Gillespie. “Why aren’t we also horrified by communist killers?” Certainly, Che’s body count isn’t anywhere near Hitler’s. But what about someone Che idolized, someone whom he might have liked to wear on his chest?

“Che, Castro, all the communist regimes idolized only one thing that Mao personifies—violence.” Kai Chen grew up in China under the reign of Mao Zedong. Although he won gold medals for China’s national basketball team, Chen’s was far from the celebrity life of an NBA star. Says Chen, “You have no right to talk, and you have no right to think.”

The punishment for questioning Mao’s authority was often death. The Black Book of Communism estimates that Mao is responsible for the deaths of 65 million people—a figure that dwarfs even Hitler’s body count. “Mao is a murderer,” says Chen. “The biggest mass murderer in human history.”

And yet, like Che, Mao’s image is becoming an increasingly popular way to move merchandise. You can buy Mao t-shirts, mugs, caps—you name it. Near Chen’s Los Angeles home there’s even a restaurant called Mao’s Kitchen. “Can you imagine a restaurant called Hitler’s Kitchen?” asks Gillespie.

Neither D’Rivera nor Chen understands why communist killers are considered Chic, but each finds his own way to have the last laugh on these anti-capitalist icons.

"Killer Chic" is written and produced by Ted Balaker. Director of Photography is Alex Manning.

Closing music, "Che Guevara T-Shirt Wearer," courtesy of The Clap. Listen to the whole song here.

Victory at San Tan Flat!

Thu, 15 May 2008 07:00:00 EDT

When Drew Carey and reason.tv last checked in on San Tan Flat, a family-oriented restaurant in Pinal County, Arizona the father-and-son owners Dale and Spencer Bell were fighting against a ridiculous, anachronistic, and anti-business ban on outdoor dancing. Check that video out here.

What a difference a video—and ongoing litigation courtesy of the libertarian public-interest law firm the Institute for Justice—makes! As The Arizona Republic reports:

Pinal County Superior Court Judge William O'Neil overturned a decision from the county Board of Supervisors that said the country-Western-themed restaurant was operating an illegal dance hall by allowing patrons to dance to live music on its back patio.

The judge's ruling brings closure to the conflict between the county and restaurant owner Dale Bell, who have been at odds for more than two years after San Tan Flat neighbors complained about noise coming from the property.
The saga of San Tan Flat drew national attention, prompting commentary from actor Drew Carey and conservative Washington Post columnist George Will. The case also received several comparisons to the 1984 Kevin Bacon film Footloose, in which a small town bans rock music and dancing.

Saving An Innocent Man From Death Row

Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Reason Senior Editor Radley Balko discusses the Cory Maye story, the war on drugs. the militarization of police, and more.

Back to Mississippi Drug War Blues: The Case of Cory Maye

Mississippi Drug War Blues

Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Update (November 20, 2009): On Tuesday of this week, the Mississippi State Court of Appeals ordered a new trial for Cory Maye. This is heartening news for Maye, who has been in prison since December of 2001. Defense attorney Bob Evans said of the decision, "I am, needless to say, delighted. I'm just ecstatic. We hoped against hope all along that this would happen." Reason senior editor Radley Balko, who has written extensively about the case, had this to say: "At worst, he's guilty of poor judgment under some pretty traumatic circumstances. He had no criminal record, wasn't a drug dealer and has been a model prisoner. Cory Maye isn't a threat to society. Let him go back to Monticello to be a father."

Update (February 9, 2009): We're proud to announce that Mississippi Drug War Blues: The Case of Cory Maye, by writer-producer Paul Feine and editor-producer Roger M. Richards, was awarded the Best Documentary Short prize at the 2009 Oxford Film Festival in Oxford, Mississippi.

Mississippi Drug War Blues originally aired on May 7, 2008.

At 11p.m on December 26, 2001 police in Prentiss, Mississippi raided the residence of Cory Maye, a 21-year-old father who was at home with his 18-month-old daughter Ta'Corriana.

The cops were looking for drugs and smashed through the back door. In the ensuing chaos, Maye hunkered down with his daughter in a bedroom and when the police broke down that door, he fired three bullets, one of which killed Officer Ron Jones. Maye testified in court that the police did not identify themselves until after they had entered his residence; indeed, he testified that they did not identify themselves until after he had fired his shots. Once they did, he said he put his weapon on the floor, slid it toward police, and surrendered.

The police, who refused to talk with reason.tv, tell a different story. They claim that they identified themselves multiple times before entering Maye's house and bedroom, and that there was no way Maye couldn't have known who they were. A jury rejected Maye's case that he was acting in self-defense and he was sentenced to death for the murder of Officer Ron Jones.

"Mississippi Drug War Blues" is a story about the intersection of race (Maye is black and Jones was white); the war on drugs; the disturbing increase in the militarization of police tactics; and systemic flaws in the criminal justice and expert-testimony systems.

It is a tragedy in which one man is dead and another may spend his life in prison.

It is the subject of an October 2006 story in reason by Senior Editor Radley Balko, whose coverage of the case led to Cory Maye receiving new legal representation and his death sentence being changed to life in prison. To read the original story, please go here.

In September 2006, Cory Maye's new legal team of Robert Evans and lawyers from the Washington, D.C.-based firm of Covington and Burling was given two days to argue their post-trial motion that his guilty verdict should either be overturned or that he should be granted a new trial.

After the hearing, the judge ordered a new sentencing trial, determining that Maye's trial attorney was competent during the guilt phase of his trial, but incompetent during the death penalty phase. He ruled against all of the remaining defense arguments, including concerns about confidential informant Randy Gentry, discrepancies in police testimony, the venue for the trial, and problems with controlling precedent in the state with respect to self-defense.

Prosecutors eventually agreed to drop their pursuit of the death penalty. Earlier this year, Maye was again sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Because of the delays associated with acquiring new representation, Cory Maye's case in May 2008 is still in the early stages of his appeal. His legal team anticipates the case will be heard in the fall.

If the Mississippi State Court of Appeals denies Maye relief, he'll then appeal to the Mississippi State Supreme Court. If he's again denied relief, he'll begin his federal appeal process in the United States District Court in the Southern District of Mississippi, and then to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

In early 2008, a state district court judge in Mississippi denied attempts by Maye's attorneys to bring in Dr. Steven Hayne for questioning (Hayne, who performed the autopsy of Ron Jones, was a key witness for the prosecution). Maye's lawyers had hoped to question Hayne under oath about recent revelations about Hayne's questionable autopsy procedures and questionable credentials, first reported in reason, then touted by the Innocence Project and its Mississippi chapter. Maye's lawyers plan to raise their concerns about Hayne in the appeal.

Cory Maye is currently housed in Unit 32, the high-security wing at Mississippi's Parchman Penitentiary. His daughter Ta'Corrianna lives in Covington, Louisiana with her mother Chanteal Longino. His son Cory, Jr. lives in Jackson, Mississippi.

Bob Barr: Why I Want To Be President

dan.hayes@reason.org (Dan Hayes) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 07:00:00 EDT

Libertarian Party presidential hopeful Bob Barr recently visited the reason D.C. HQ to talk about why he's running for the nation's highest office. The main reason? The erosion of civil liberties and evisceration of the Constitution under George W. Bush. In this no-question-left-unasked interview conducted by reason's David Weigel and filmed by reason's Dan Hayes, Barr explains why he voted for The PATRIOT Act and the authorization of force in Iraq (two votes he regrets greatly); what federal cabinet-level departments he would axe; why he changed his mind about the drug war; what the future holds for the LP; and much more.

So pull up a chair and spend about 15 minutes with the former GOP congressman from Georgia who now works with the ACLU and the NRA.

For more of the theme music, go here.

Porn Star Politics

paul.feine@reason.tv (Paul Feine) — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 18:06:00 EST

Hustler magazine publisher, Larry Flynt, has been pushing the envelope of taste, and fighting for his right to do so, since the 1970s. In a 1988 landmark Supreme Court case, the court held that Flynt had the right to publish a parody ad in which evangelist Jerry Falwell--an outspoken critic of Flynt--describes his "first time" as having been with his mother, "drunk off our God-fearing asses," in an outhouse. The justices held that a parody of a public figure is protected under the 1st Amendment even if it is "doubtless gross and repugnant."

In that case alone, Flynt spent $3 million fighting for our first amendment rights (thanks, Larry!) and, amazingly, he and Falwell eventually became close friends.

Today, Hustler continues to explore the intersections of porn and politics. This video provides a rare look at US politics through the eyes of porn stars.

Paul Fan Video v. Clinton Fan Video: Tattoos, Handcuffs, Defiance Beat Hair Nets, Rubber Gloves, Spunkiness

jsullum@reason.com (Jacob Sullum) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 13:53:00 EST

Keith Halderman unfavorably compares that cringe-inducing Laverne and Shirley ode to Hillary Clinton with Aimee Allen's catchy Ron Paul song (above). While I have my doubts about rhyming grave with state, and I'm not sure why the IRS is putting duct tape over Allen's mouth (maybe because she tried to sell books by Irwin Schiff?), her effort is undeniably superior: original, pointed, and sexy, as opposed to an embarrassing retread of a song that was bad enough to begin with. But inasmuch as Allen is a professional songwriter and performer, while the Hillary fan who thinks the senator has what it takes to make all our dreams come true is (I'm assuming) not, the comparison is not exactly fair. There's a much more telling contrast between the war and civil liberties themes of Allen's video and the stop-the-invading-landscapers message of campaign commercials like this one.

In the April issue of reason, which subscribers will receive soon, Dave Weigel explains why Paul's "lunge for the Minuteman vote didn't work."

Update: The Aimee Allen video seems to have been removed from YouTube, although it's still available here. You can find the audio of her song on YouTube, illustrated by various still images (here and here, for example), but it's not quite the same.

Update to the update: The video is back up on YouTube. The issue seems to have been the implied connection to the Paul campaign. It is now labeled "Aimee Allen: *Unofficial* Ron Paul Revolution Video."

Napolitano at Reason in DC

dan.hayes@reason.org (Dan Hayes) — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 15:00:00 EST

Fox News legal analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano is among the fiercest defenders of individual rights. Both in his daily appearances on the country's most-watched cable news network and in a series of books (most recently, A Nation of Sheep), Napolitano consistently and defiantly argues that the only legitimate government is that which respects its citizens rights in all cases.

In late October, Napolitano gave the keynote address at the conference Reason in DC, where he delivered a spellbinding speech that blended a masterful understanding of American history with a blazing outrage at the excesses of the new security state. "Who [is] the greatest violator of the Constitution?" asks Napolitano. "George W. Bush has shown less fidelity to the Constitution than any president since Abraham Lincoln."

Click above to view the Judge's speech (approx. 40 minutes).

Medical Marijuana

Thu, 01 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EDT

“I think it’s clear by now that the federal government needs to reclassify marijuana. People who need it should be able to get it – safely and easily,” says The Price Is Right and Power of 10 host Drew Carey in a new Reason.tv video examining medical marijuana and the war on drugs.

One of the most outrageous consequences of the war on drugs is the federal crackdown on medical marijuana, which is used by patients to help treat the effects of cancer, glaucoma, HIV-AIDS, chronic pain and nausea, and other severe symptoms associated with serious illnesses. Medical marijuana prescribed by a physician is legal in 12 states, yet federal agents are raiding state-approved dispensaries and preventing patients from having safe access to this drug.

In Episode 2 of Reason.tv's Drew Carey Project, Drew takes a look at patients who need and use medical marijuana in California, and how the federal government is making their lives even worse.

Episode 1 of Reason.tv's Drew Carey Project, Gridlock, is here.