America’s Second City is now first in traffic congestion. Recently, the Texas Transportation Institute named Chicago the nation’s most congested city, booting perennial congestion king Los Angeles from the dreaded top slot. And if you think gridlock is bad now,
At FreedomFest in July, Reason’s Matt Welch talked with political consultant and Fox News contributor Dick Morris about the school choice movement. Morris argues that past reforms – such as increased spending, changes in curriculum, and standardized testing, have failed
On July 30th, 2011, teachers, parents and advocates such as actor Matt Damon, author Jonathan Kozol, and historian Diane Ravitch gathered for the Save Our Schools Rally outside the White House. The purpose of the event: “To put the public
A little more than a year ago, Rawesome Foods, a health food co-op based in Venice, California was the target of an armed raid by several agencies, and the resulting video went viral. On August 3, 2011, Rawesome experienced another
They’re cracking down on food trucks in St. Louis and busting those who bust a sag in Collinsville, Illinois, but the nation’s top nanny is the Detroit-area scold who just can’t stand front-yard vegetable gardens. Last year a Georgia man
The US Food and Drug Administration recently unveiled nine graphic warning labels that will appear on US cigarette packs in 2012. Some of the more gruesome labels include images of diseased lungs and tracheotomy holes. According to the FDA, these
At FreedomFest 2011, Reason’s Matt Welch spoke with Fox News’ Juan Williams about his passion for school choice reform, which Williams describes as the “civil rights issue of our time.” Williams is the author of the new book Muzzled: The
There’s no way to appreciate fully the contributions of Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman (1912-2006), who would have turned 99 years old this weekend, to the growth of libertarian ideas and a free society. This is the man, after all,
Can the police detain you for taking pictures of a routine traffic stop? Police in Washington D.C. say they can. In 2010, photographer and student Jerome Vorus was detained and questioned by police after he photographed a traffic stop in
FreedomFest is the biggest annual conference for libertarians, held in July in Las Vegas. About 2,000 believers in free minds and free markets came out to see featured speakers such as Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), former New Mexico governor and
The Battle For Brooklyn, a documentary about one man’s fight to stop a private developer from using eminent domain to take his home, recently opened in select theaters in New York City after a successful film-festival run. In 2003, billionaire
Did you hear about Carmageddon? It turns out the apocalyptic shutdown of the nation’s busiest freeway, the 405, wasn’t apocalyptic at all. Media hyped the billion dollar construction project for weeks, claiming it could “back up traffic as much as
All anybody in Washington can talk about these days is the debt limit or debt ceiling – the total amount of money the federal government is authorized to borrow at any given time. After a decade in which spending increased
Washington, D.C. is considering a bill that would require every cab driver in the city to own a special permit called a medallion. The total number of medallions would be capped at 4,000, which would reduce the current number of
On May 11, 43-year old Allen Kephart died after being tased multiple times by three San Bernardino, California sheriff’s deputies during a routine traffic stop. Kephart, a quiet and well-liked member of the tight-knit mountain community around Lake Arrowhead, allegedly
This Fourth of July weekend think about what truly represents freedom: Old Glory, the Liberty Bell, and an ice-cold glass of lemonade. This month’s lineup of busybodies includes two regulars: the FDA, which is slapping new, more graphic, possibly counterproductive,
Guns drawn, a SWAT team kicks in the door of a private business. Are the cops there for drug dealers? Mafia mobsters? Terrorists? No, the long arm of the law is out for the real dangerous contraband: raw milk and
In 1978, New York City was crumbling and the leading indicator of America’s seemingly irreversible decline. The South Bronx, once a thriving middle-class neighborhood, had became a national symbol of urban horror. From 1960 to 1980, New York’s murder rate
On June 24, 2011, thousands gathered outside New York City’s Stonewall Inn, anxiously awaiting the New York State Senate’s vote on legalizing gay marriage. When news came that the bill had passed on a narrow 33-29 vote, the crowd erupted
Here’s Reason.tv Producer Jim Epstein’s account of what happened: On June 22, 2011, I attended a meeting of the D.C. Taxi Commission for a story I’m currently working on about a proposed medallion system in the district. About 30 minutes
As Barack Obama announces the beginning of troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, a far bigger issue – one that goes to the heart of American history and government – remains unaddressed. “That the President has the right to start a war
Stephen Cox sat down with Reason.tv to talk about libertarian literature and why prisons are the best example of a failure in planning societies. Cox is a professor of literature at the University of California, San Diego, as well as
Note: This video contains graphic images of violence and mature language. Viewer discretion is advised. “No Knock Raid,” written and performed by Toronto-based musician Lindy, is a searing indictment of one of the most aggressive, ubiquitous, and mistaken tactics in
Swedish economist Johan Norberg is the host of the new documentary Free or Equal, which retraces and updates the 1980 classic Free to Choose, featuring Milton and Rose Friedman. Like the Friedmans, Norberg travels the globe to look at the
Welcome to Ask a Libertarian with Reason’s Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch. They are the authors of the new book The Declaration of Independents: How Libertarian Politics Can Fix What’s Wrong With America. Go to http://declaration2011.com to purchase, read reviews,
Welcome to Ask a Libertarian with Reason’s Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch. They are the authors of the new book The Declaration of Independents: How Libertarian Politics Can Fix What’s Wrong With America. Go to http://declaration2011.com to purchase, read reviews,
About 15 years ago, Grant McCracken went to a shopping mall to interview teenagers about their identities. He found that the old rigid categories of “preppie,” “jock,” and “nerd,” had given way to a much longer list: There were surfer/skater
A few weeks back, Hollywood movie stars and groups such as the Creative Coalition stormed Washington, D.C. to lobby for increased taxpayer funding of the arts. Most memorably, Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey told Hardball‘s Chris Matthew that Abraham Lincoln was
MSNBC is taking a hard line against Sarah Palin for using the American flag to move merchandise and line her pockets. The “Lean Forward” network claims that Palin’s use of the flag in various circumstances “runs afoul” of the federal
May’s biggest busybodies are taking it to poker players and teen tanners, but the nation’s top nag has lovers of pink-in-the-middle burgers seeing red. In a stunning blow to all that is juicy and delicious, the Tar Heel state actually
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
Teachers unions say California must not roll back annual increases in public school spending. And they’re not too careful about facts when they make that case. Teachers frequently claim, for example, that California is in either 49th or 50th place
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
What’s the real definition of socialism? How is it distinct from regulation and a social welfare state? Why are intellectuals still enamored of a system that brought us Stalin, Hitler, and more recently Hugo Chavez and Kim Jong-Il? And what
Federal spending will top $3.6 trillion this year, but what’s your share? The Government Cost Calculator is a new online tool that can be found at MyGovCost.org. A project of the California-based Independent Institute, it allows you to plug in
In the 1930s, John Maynard Keynes, the most influential economist of the last century, and future Nobel laureate Friedrich Hayek engaged in a legendary battle of ideas about the role of the government in ending and causing economic downturns. Last
Even before Osama Bin Laden was killed by U.S. soldiers, his brand of anti-modern, anti-pleasure Islam was under attack by Bollywood, India’s pop culture juggernaut that boasts a global audience of 3 billion people. As Reason Foundation Senior Analyst Shikha
As the federal government rapidly approaches the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling, 96 percent of Americans say it is important to reduce the national debt, according to a new Reason Foundation-Rupe poll. Of those surveyed, 69 percent believe reducing the national
This month’s slate of busybodies includes the FDA whose agents embarked on a year-long sting operation to bust an Amish company for selling raw milk. And then there are the killjoys at New York’s Department of Health who were poised
Retail giant Walmart is planning to open its first stores in New York City and Washington, D.C. That’s got local politicians and activists up in arms. “Walmart, keep your plantation because there are no more slaves,” says New York City