Attn, DC Reasonoids: Happy Hour on Tuesday, January 16!

Reason's Nick Gillespie, Radley Balko, Kerry Howley, and David Weigel invite you to come out at 6.30PM next Tuesday, January 16, to the Upstairs Bar at Dragonfly and celebrate the publication of our February 2007 issue featuring stories such as:

Divided We Stand: What to expect from the long-awaited, much-anticipated return of gridlock.

Peace on the Border: Why anti-immigration conservatives fell flat in 2006.

Pot Clubs in Peril: Are San Francisco zoning boards a bigger threat to medical marijuana than the DEA?

Quotations from Chairman Milton: More than three decades of wisdom from the late champion of liberty, culled from the pages of Reason.

We the Living Dead: The convoluted politics of zombie cinema.

Joining us will be special guest stars Jacob Sullum, Reason senior editor; Alex Pareene of Wonkette; and Megan McArdle, global agenda correspondent for The Economist and proprietress of Asymmetrical Information. Details:

Reason Happy Hour
Tuesday, January 16, 6.30PM to whenever
The Upstairs bar at Dragonfly, 1215 Connecticut Avenue, NW, near the intersection of Connecticut, N, and 18th Streets

If you would like to get automatic emails about Reason Happy Hours, please send a note to [e-mail].

Comments

[Guy Montag]

Couldn't you guys find a place where smoking tobacco is still legal, like, oh . . . Virginia?

[cinnabob]

I'm with Guy here. Besides the principle of the matter, bars in cities that have just put bans into effect tend to smell of moldy beer and vomit.

[lunchstealer]

I'm with Guy here. Besides the principle of the matter, bars in cities that have just put bans into effect tend to smell of moldy beer and vomit.

Is this a case of an underlying smell that was always there suddenly becoming apparent after the pall of cigarette smoke is lifted?

[:-]

Is the February cover a Freudian slip, or does the art director believe that the Democrats literally won all of Congress?

[zeiner the lurker]

Does anybody know what would happen if the bar starts allowing people to smoke? If it's only a fine, let people donate a few bucks to cover the fine and have an all out smoke-a-thon (as long as the owners are cool with it of course). Just a suggestion.

[mediageek]

FWIW, I thought the cover was nicely done. Would like to know who made it and what 3d program they used to do the render.

[buck]

So why do so many Reason writers live in the DC area, one of the most heavily regulated cities in America?

[Josh]

Did anti-immigration conservatives really fall flat in 06, or just the ones with (R) next to their names.

[Jose Ortega y Gasset]

My vote is to meet at the bar where Virginia police are bothering the owner. I think that would make for an interesting evening indeed. And the only way I would drive to the hideous depths of DC is if I could buy Thoreau a cold drink.

[mw]

I'd like to attend, but unless you guys move to the West Coast, it is unlikely I'll make the commute. This is actually a repost of a comment I made upstream about the "Divided Government" cover story - but that thread has devolved to a Ohio Buckeye support group, so I am reposting here, then I give up.

I found the article to be a good retrospective and rehash of views that have been expressed at Reason and elsewhere repeatedly over the last year on the topic of Divided Government. There is nothing new in the article, and it is conspicuously missing any notion of the ramifications of the divided government meme for the '08 presidential election.

Assuming that the divided government benefits hold true to form (as oulined by Niskanen), and a divided government result remains as desireable in '08 as it did in '06, there are some important elements of that election to consider.

Specifically, it seems unlikely that the Democrats will be able to screw up as badly in two years as it took the Republicans six to acheive, so it is doubtful that the Democrats will lose their significant majority in the House. Although the Senate majority is razor thin, structural factors give the Democrats a big advantage in '08. Of the 33 Senate seats contested in 2008, 21 are held by Republicans and 12 by Democrats. Simple numbers - the Republicans have a lot more at risk, and will be playing defense. The Democrats have many more opportunities to take seats than Republicans. Advantage Democrats.

Conclusion: The only way to maintain a divided government in '09, is to elect a Republican President in '08.

If we then layer on the fact that GWB is hell bent on making sure the war is even more unpopular and a bigger issue in '08 than it is now, one wonders whether any Republican can be elected President in '08. Turns out there is exactly one Republican presidential hopeful who has been on the right side of the war since '03. That, IMO, makes him the only electable Republican in '08.

And that makes Chuck Hagel the Divided Government Presidential Candidate of choice.

[Terry]

When are you going to have a happy hour in Los Angeles?

[Julian Sanchez]

Well, when it warms up a little, we can always angle for a bar with an outdoor deck area, like 18th Street Lounge or (shudder) Local 16, though they're apt to be in high demand for that very reason.

[Guy Montag]

I call the "coat corner" exclusively as the Evil Goon corner! No Franklins, joes or Weigels, no cheese, no Zinfindel, no tri-colours, no white cloth allowed.

If it is like last ime, I will be the guy in a suit and tie. Might add a Serratelli if it is not raining so folks can spot the right spot.

Unfortunatly, that spot is the longest treck to the "smoking area" on the street.

I wish the earlier question about Reason folks living in DC could be answered by "because they are slaying the beast from within" but I think it is just about the METRO service and a Segway friendly environment..

[Guy Montag]

Addendum: Evil Goon Corner is real languages only! No 'gallic' and no 'french'.

[martin]

Julian, hope you'll show up anyway.

Zeiner, nice try, but nogo. In DC you can get mugged, assaulted and your house broken into multiple times and not much happens. But don't you dare to park near a sign or, heaven forbid, show free will and light up in a bar. Gubmint will descend on you to make you fork over some serious money.

[buck]

I wish the earlier question about Reason folks living in DC could be answered by "because they are slaying the beast from within" but I think it is just about the METRO service and a Segway friendly environment..

Seriously, I'd love for Reason writers to take this one up - as much as they whine about the government, I'd bet most of them choose to live in heavily regulated/taxed areas.

Why isn't anybody living in rural Idaho where you really can probably do whatever you want without government interference?

[Guy Montag]

Seriously, I'd love for Reason writers to take this one up - as much as they whine about the government, I'd bet most of them choose to live in heavily regulated/taxed areas.

Why isn't anybody living in rural Idaho where you really can probably do whatever you want without government interference?

Well, I can't really hit them on where they choose to live, it is their choice. I chose to move closer to DC from the suburbs because I did not like my commute time (and saw no hope in the stupid HOV regulations being eliminated and easing that).

Now, I did stop just short of the river (I live in an Arlington, VA community very close to the DC border) because I prefer to keep my firearms in my home in whatever safe state I decide for them to be in, not the DC version. Plus I like to store some ammunition for them in my home without a $500/rd. fine waiting for the first time it is discovered by a cop or a nosey neighbor.

Even though I do not own a pistol, I like the fact that my concealed carry permit is good in VA. Down side, a lot of the places I go are federal property, so if I had a pistol it would have to stay home or in my vehicle anyway.

Plus all of the other stupid regulations in DC, like the hassle of owning a vehicle registered in another State, etc.

This is not to say that Arlington, VA is not overly regulated either, I just happen to be insulated from it pretty well as my condo association makes the county regulations pretty much invisible. I actually do have a say in the association and a much louder voice than if I were in a single-family home having to deal with the county.

The only experience I have had with a 'reporter' type in discussing this topic was mentioning that she should escape from DC to the United States side of the river, which she took as some comment on the ethnicity of her neighborhood in DC. When corrected on the intent she decided to fish with a different lure. She fashions herself to be some sort of conservative, but her comments seemed more like fishing for racism and only succeeded in exposing her own. (she does not yet write for Reason, but who knows)

Anyway, the last Reason gathering none of this came up directly, but I detected the slight hint of urban bias with some of the folks I met. Probably my own perceptions about city people as I did not hear any direct evidence of this.

[buck]

Thanks, Guy. Interesting perspectives.

What I'm getting at, however, is that many Reason-types seem to start with the idea that taxes, laws, and regulations are bad things by definition so they don't give any credence to the idea that such things at least sometimes enhance the quality of life in urban areas.

[Vincente]

I'll drink to divided government. Preferably Bombay Sapphire Martini, while discussing a smoke-a-thon on Earth Day.

And Guy, I have recently escaped the District for Arlington County as well. Night and bloody day's difference in just over a week. I hear they actually solve murders over here, too, and kids don't decide to pelt random civilians with bricks. Freedom is on the March.

V

[Guy Montag]

And Guy, I have recently escaped the District for Arlington County as well. Night and bloody day's difference in just over a week. I hear they actually solve murders over here, too, and kids don't decide to pelt random civilians with bricks. Freedom is on the March.

A wanna-be car jacker got shot on Crystal Drive not long after I moved here. Not sure by who (cop or civilian) but that was the last attempt I have heard about.

Downside, the panhandlers around here, the few I have seen, are a lot noisier and insistant then when they stay in DC. Sort of like the woman on King Street in Alexandria who has been "pregnant" for about seven years and will follow you for blocks telling her story. If you see her give her a good walk, she appears to need the exercise as badly as me.