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20:51:23 05/24/12
Scott Walker Will Survive Wisconsin Recall: Reason-Rupe Poll Results
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Scott Walker Will Survive Wisconsin Recall: Reason-Rupe Poll Results
Will Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) get bounced from power for busting public employee unions? And what message does the June 5th recall election against Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett (D) hold for other states struggling to balance their budgets? For the coming showdown between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney? The latest Reason-Rupe Poll reports from the Badger State. Passed last year, Walker's controversial Act 10 restricted collective bargaining rights for many public employees, causing the backlash that led to the recall election. Walker says such actions were necessary to contain costs and balance a budget facing a multi-billion-dollar shortfall. His opponents say that Walker is paying for tax cuts to the wealthy by cutting salaries and spending that help middle-class residents. The Reason-Rupe Poll surveyed 700 Wisconsin residents during May 14-18th and found that while a large majority (71 percent) want public employees to contribute more to cover their health benefits, residents are not clearly against collective bargaining per se (51 percent want to see it "limited"). Fully 57 percent thought that police and firefighters - exempted under Walker's plan - should also pay more their benefits. Although more residents support Barack Obama (46 percent) than presumptive GOP candidate Mitt Romney (36 percent), 50 percent want Scott Walker to keep his current job, with just 42 percent favoring Tom Barrett. "A quarter of those who plan to vote for Scott Walker have a favorable ... From: ReasonTV Views: 265 41 ratings Time: 02:49 More in News & Politics
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17:37:11 05/23/12
Haiti's Pepe Trade: How Secondhand American Clothes Became a First-Rate Business
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Haiti's Pepe Trade: How Secondhand American Clothes Became a First-Rate Business
"Haiti has practically become a trash can," says Ketcia Pierre-Louis, "where everything people in other countries don't need comes here." Pierre-Louis is a businesswoman and affiliate of the Croix-des-Bouquets Chamber of Commerce, just outside of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Like many critics of imported second-hand clothing, which is known locally as "pepe," she believes the practice undercuts domestic businesses and industries. Some have even called for the government to ban the practice. But Haiti's pepe trade is decidedly a business%mdashnot a charity. In fact, it starts with Haitian Americans buying goods at US thrift stores and shipping products to Port-au-Prince and other ports. Pepe may include hand-me-downs, but the clothing is high-quality, stylish, and cheap. More important, average Haitians prefer the choice of wearing such apparel%mdashand brands like Polo, Lacoste, and Converse%mdashto not having access to such products at all. Far from turning Haiti into a trash can, the market in pepe shows how buyers and sellers enrich each other through exchange. Produced by Tate Watkins and Jon Bougher. Approximately 4 minutes. Visit www.reason.tv for HD, iPod and audio versions of this video and subscribe to Reason.tv's Youtube channel to receive automatic notification when new material goes live. From: ReasonTV Views: 2851 112 ratings Time: 04:03 More in News & Politics
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16:49:24 05/22/12
Joel Stein on His "Stupid Quest for Masculinity"
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Joel Stein on His "Stupid Quest for Masculinity"
"I went into the book thinking that being a man, in reality, was about being loyal, and being present, and being honest," says Joel Stein, author of the new book, Man Made: A Stupid Quest for Masculinity. "And then I found out that's bullshit. Being a man is about being kneed in the face by [mixed-martial-arts fighter] Randy Couture." Stein sat down with Reason's Tim Cavanaugh to discuss Man Made, for which he embarked on a journey to become more manly so that he can properly raise his newborn son. In writing the book, Stein hunted for the first time, became a day trader, endured Army boot camp, and wrestled Randy Couture. "Each of these things I did actually made made me manlier," says Stein. "It gave me...more of a code to live by and it made me more confident, more capable." About 6:30 minutes. Shot by Paul Detrick, Tracy Oppenheimer, and Zach Weissmueller. Edited by Weissmueller. Visit reason.tv for downloadable versions and subscribe to Reason.tv's YouTube channel to receive automatic notifications when new material goes live. From: ReasonTV Views: 5406 250 ratings Time: 06:35 More in News & Politics
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15:37:52 05/21/12
DC Capitol Hemp Shutting Down: Obama's War on Drugs to Blame
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DC Capitol Hemp Shutting Down: Obama's War on Drugs to Blame
"The government is forcing a form of censorship on us," says Adam Eidinger, co-owner of Capitol Hemp, a two-store chain in Washington, DC that is closing its doors for good on August 1, 2012. "They are saying you can't talk about certain subjects if you're going to sell pipes." Capitol Hemp sells clothing and soaps and a vast array of glass and other types of pipes. Police raided Capitol Hemp last fall after an undercover cop reported "unnatural and deceptive" behavior at the company's Adams Morgan branch. What raised the cop's suspicions? According to the police report, employees corrected his use of the word bong and changed the subject whenever he brought up marijuana. The store's book selection, which included titles on drug legalization, was also cited as proof that the place was really a criminal enterprise. Under current law, drug paraphernalia is illegal, even absent traces of verboten substances. But since anything - from rolling papers to apple cores to beer cans - can be used to smoke pot, federal prosecutors end up relying on "context" to determine when a pipe is just a lawful pipe and not a contraband bong. The government seized over $300000 of merchandise from Capitol Hemp. After the feds reduced the charges in such a way that a jury trial in federal court was not an option, Capitol Hemp agreed to a deal in which it will "voluntarily" shut down in exchange for the full return of its seized merchandise. When it reopened its doors after the raid, Capitol Hemp ... From: ReasonTV Views: 6762 219 ratings Time: 02:47 More in News & Politics
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13:11:08 05/19/12
The Swing Vote: Why Independents Will Decide the 2012 Election
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The Swing Vote: Why Independents Will Decide the 2012 Election
"In the past four years, two and a half million people have left the Democratic and Republican parties," explains Linda Killian, author of the new book The Swing Vote: The Untapped Power of Independents. Not only are these voters sick of the two dominant parties, Killian believes they are increasingly determining electoral outcomes. "They voted for Barack Obama, they voted for the Democrats in 2006, [but] they swung 19 points in voting for the Republicans in 2010." Killian sat down with Reason.tv's Nick Gillespie to examine what makes a swing voter, their growing importance, and if their socially tolerant and fiscally responsible viewpoints should buoy libertarians. Runs about 6.40 minutes Produced by Meredith Bragg. Camera by Meredith Bragg and Josh Swain. Visit www.reason.tv for downloadable versions and subscribe to ReasonTV's YouTube Channel to receive automatic updates when new material goes live. From: ReasonTV Views: 6956 191 ratings Time: 06:41 More in News & Politics
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15:34:26 05/18/12
What is an Astronaut's Life Worth?: An Interview with Robert Zubrin
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What is an Astronaut's Life Worth?: An Interview with Robert Zubrin
"You're saying that you're going to give up four billion dollars to avoid a one in seven chance of killing an astronaut, you're basically saying an astronaut's life is worth twenty-eight billion dollars," says astronautical engineer and author Dr. Robert Zubrin. Zubrin, the author of a popular and controversial article in Reason's space-centric February 2012 Special Issue, argues that the risk of losing one of the seven astronauts who repaired and rescued the Hubble Space Telescope was well worth it. "If you put this extreme value on the life of an astronaut...then you never fly, and you get a space agency which costs seventeen billion dollars a year and accomplishes nothing." NASA's role, according to Zubrin, should be in the pursuit of ambitious missions such as "opening Mars to humanity," rather than a bloated, safety-obsessed bureaucracy. "The mission has to come first." Runs about 3.50 minutes. Produced by Anthony L. Fisher. Camera by Meredith Bragg and Josh Swain. Go to Reason.tv for downloadable versions and subscribe to ReasonTV's YouTube Channel to receive automatic updates when new material goes live. From: ReasonTV Views: 8782 218 ratings Time: 03:53 More in News & Politics
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15:30:10 05/17/12
3 Lies About the Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker Recall
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3 Lies About the Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker Recall
Don't believe the lies about the Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker recall! Please help us get the word out by voting up this story on Reddit: www.reddit.com Ever since he took on Wisconsin's teachers unions and denied them collective bargaining rights, Republican Gov. Scott Walker has been Public Enemey No. 1 for public-sector unions all over the country. Walker faces a recall election on June 5th and may well be chased out of the governor's mansion after just one year in office. Is Walker the heartless budget-cutter his opponents claim - slashing spending, cutting taxes, and driving Wisconsin's economy into a sinkhole? Hardly. Here are three lies at the heart of the Wisconsin Recall. Lie #1: Gov. Walker Cut Spending Gov. Walker has cut the rate at which Wisconsin's state budget is growing, but he hasn't actually cut spending. In fact, the state's biennial budget is scheduled to increase by about 3 percent on Walker's watch, rising from $62.6 billion (2009-11) to $64.3 billion (2011-13). A big reason for that bump is that Walker's budget includes a historic increase in state spending on Medicaid, after the federal government cut its contribution to the state-run health insurance program for the poor. Walker has been widely vilified for a 7 percent cut in state aid to schools over two years, which he says will be paid for by cost-saving measures such as requiring teachers to kick in more for their pensions and healthcare. But the bottom line is that Walker hasn't actually cut ... From: ReasonTV Views: 15677 418 ratings Time: 03:30 More in News & Politics
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15:40:17 05/16/12
Outraged Fullerton citizens react to Kelly Thomas beating tape
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Outraged Fullerton citizens react to Kelly Thomas beating tape
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. Go to www.reason.tv for HD, iPod and audio versions of this video and subscribe to Reason.tv's Youtube channel to receive automatic notification when new material goes live. For more Reason coverage of the Kelly Thomas case, go here www.google.com From: ReasonTV Views: 12701 380 ratings Time: 03:14 More in News & Politics
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17:01:17 05/15/12
Why We're Entering the Age of Ron Paul
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Why We're Entering the Age of Ron Paul
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. Go to reason.tv for downloadable versions of all videos and subscribe to Reason.tv's YouTube Channel to receive automatic ... From: ReasonTV Views: 18282 571 ratings Time: 04:43 More in News & Politics
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16:05:46 05/14/12
Sex Politics and the GOP as We Know It: An Interview with Nancy Cohen
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Sex Politics and the GOP as We Know It: An Interview with Nancy Cohen
"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 Go to Reason.tv for downloadable versions and subscribe to Reason.tv's YouTube Channel to receive automatic notifications when new material goes live. From: ReasonTV Views: 5884 317 ratings Time: 04:27 More in News & Politics
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04:56:26 05/13/12
Moms Say, "No More Drug War!"
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Moms Say, "No More Drug War!"
"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 US 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. Visit reason.tv for HD, iPod and audio versions of this video and subscribe to Reason.tv's Youtube channel to receive automatic notification when new material goes live. From: ReasonTV Views: 14095 536 ratings Time: 02:58 More in News & Politics
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14:51:43 05/12/12
Tom Easton on Dodd-Frank: "A Terrible Law"
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Tom Easton on Dodd-Frank: "A Terrible Law"
"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. Go to www.reason.tv for downloadable versions and subscribe to Reason.tv's YouTube Channel to receive automatic notifications when new material goes live. From: ReasonTV Views: 5687 192 ratings Time: 04:15 More in News & Politics
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15:25:30 05/11/12
Is Austerity to Blame for Europe's Economic Woes?
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Is Austerity to Blame for Europe's Economic Woes?
From Nobel laureate Paul Krugman to the free-market-friendly Economist magazine 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. Go to Reason.tv for downloadable versions and subscribe to Reason's YouTube channel to receive automatic notification when new material goes live. From: ReasonTV Views: 10808 308 ratings Time: 06:57 More in News & Politics
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17:04:28 05/10/12
The Vampire Economist and the Moral Molecule: Q&A with neuroeconomist Paul Zak
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The Vampire Economist and the Moral Molecule: Q%A with neuroeconomist Paul Zak
In his new book, The Moral Molecule: The Source of Love and Prosperity, neuroeconomist Paul J. Zak discusses his research on oxytocin, what he calls 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. Go to reason.tv for downloadable versions and subscribe to ReasonTV's YouTube Channel to receive automatic updates when new material goes live. From: ReasonTV Views: 6055 241 ratings Time: 05:35 More in News & Politics
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18:50:21 05/09/12
Brian Doherty on Why Young People Love Ron Paul
[LESS INFO] 1 VIEWS | ADDED 18:50:21 05/09/12
Brian Doherty on Why Young People Love Ron Paul
"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." www.amazon.com 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 (youtu.be Approximately 3 minutes. Produced by Sharif Matar. Camera: Matar and Tracy Oppenheimer. Go to Reason.tv for downloadable versions of all videos and subscribe to Reason.tv's YouTube Channel to receive automatic notifications when new material goes live. From: ReasonTV Views: 14986 707 ratings Time: 03:17 More in News & Politics
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15:39:07 05/08/12
Cafe Hayek's Don Boudreaux Brings Sanity to the "Half-Witted" Media
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Cafe Hayek's Don Boudreaux Brings Sanity to the "Half-Witted" Media
"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 5000 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 ... From: ReasonTV Views: 6920 199 ratings Time: 06:50 More in News & Politics
03/18/10