Register Today for Reason in DC, October 26 & 27! (Hear Come da Judge! Edition)

Here Come Da Judge! Here Come Da Judge!…

Judge Andrew Napolitano, that is, the staunchest defender of civil liberties in the country and the author of the damning new (damn new?) book, A Nation of Sheep. Read reason's great interview with the self-professed "born-again individualist" here.

The judge is coming to Reason in DC, two days of drink, food, and public policy (in that order), which takes place at the Washington Ritz-Carlton and reason's spectacular DC HQ. It's the Woodstock of libertarian wonkery and you are invited, assuming you pay the entry fee of $500 (includes all speakers and meals; details below).

The judge, who appears daily on Fox News, will be joined by the likes of MTV's Kurt Loder (now ripping up the joint as a movie critic there; check out his great dissection of Michael Moore's Sicko here), former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, Nobel Prize winner Vernon Smith, former reasoner Matt Welch, plus a ton of speakers from reason itself: Nick Gillespie, Jacob Sullum, Ron Bailey, Radley Balko, and more.

The conference concludes with the DC premiere of The Drew Carey Project, a set of pioneering videojournalism clips that puts the sitcom star and Price is Right host at the forefront of the new New Journalism--and in the thick of the most important policy debates of the day. Go to Reason.tv to check out the first video.

More info from an earlier advert is below. See you at Reason in DC!

Join MTV's Kurt Loder, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, Fox News' Judge Andrew Napolitano, former House Majority Leader Rep. Dick Armey, Nobel laureate Vernon Smith, and many more great speakers in October when Reason Foundation, the nonprofit publisher of reason and reason online, brings its unique "Free Minds and Free Markets" approach to public policy to the nation's capital.

Magazine and foundation staffers Nick Gillespie, Ronald Bailey, Jacob Sullum, Radley Balko, Robert W. Poole Jr., Adrian Moore, David Nott, and others will also be speaking.

Former reasoner Matt Welch will be on hand to discuss his great new book, McCain: The Myth of a Maverick.

The event is co-sponsored by The Donald and Paula Smith Family Foundation and will take place the D.C. Ritz Carlton.

It begins with lunch on Friday, October 26 and concludes Saturday night at Reason's new Washington office with the D.C. launch party of the Drew Carey Project--our upcoming videojournalism series starring Drew Carey.

Go here for more on speakers.

Go here for a full program.

Go here to register.

Comments

[hiddencosts]

It costs $500 to attend. Why don't you include the price in your post, or on the flyer you send out advertising the event?

This "hide the price" technique is used pretty frequently these days. Does it work? What's the theory? What is supposed to be the advantage of not including the price up front?

Or, who made you to do it that way? (A recent MBA graduate, perhaps?)

Nice event, anyway. I just might go.

[JasonC]

I have nothing to add except that I can't believe Kurt Loder still works at MTV.

[CowDog]

"Join MTV's Kurt Loder, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, Fox News' Judge Andrew Napolitano, former House Majority Leader Rep. Dick Armey, Nobel laureate Vernon Smith, and many more great speakers"

Damn, that was good for a laugh.

[stephen the goldberger]

Kurt Loder's still alive?

[TLB]

Here's a recent article mentioning Mary Peters. Somehow I doubt that Reason will be asking her about that; might get in the way of "liberty" or something.

[Ben]

Wow! That is one heck of a line-up of rarified and dignified defenders of liberty, free markets, and free minds!

However, the only name not in bold perhaps should be the only one in bold...Vernon Smith.

And, to start off with Kurt Loder?! Quite the selling point!

[ed]

No love for Loder here. Why? Easy target?

[Waquoit]

I still laugh when I remember when the late CREEM Magazine would refer to the guy as Kurt "Rear" Loder.

[tarran]

ed, speaking for myself, I wrote off Kurt in the late '80's, early '90's when he delivered the cheesiest apologia I ever recall listening to. He was commenting on MTV News concerning some supermodel dating some scuzzy member of Guns 'n Roses. His thesis was that supermodels are attracted to the "spirituality and inner beauty of musicians". I couldn't believe that anyone with any brain could read a "news" commentary along those lines and not die from a loss of self-respect.

I was pleasantly surprised by the sensibility in some of his more recent columns. I didn't expect him to have it in him.

[Stevo Darkly]

Hey! I just realized that if Mary Peters married Dick Armey, she'd be ... oh, shit, Mary Armey. I was reaching for a "Dick Peters" joke there. It's late.

But if Kurt Loder married Elaine Chao and he took her last name, you'd have to introduce him as, "Ladies and gentlement ... Kurt Chao!" And everyone would hit the floor, because they'd think you'd just fired a gun into the crowd. Then they'd all stand up and brush themselves off and be embarrassed.

That would be cool.

[VM]

psst. Stevo, my Friend. It's late 🙂

Mary Arm(e)y - first and last name anagrams!

[Jake Boone]

Here's a recent article mentioning Mary Peters.

Remember, kids! If it's on WorldNetDaily, it must be true!

[Daze]

Why would that article reflect badly on Mary Peters? Confused here.

[A Bitterer Pol]

Gives Kimono,

Mary Peters through the anagram machine could be "Master Prey".

[Timothy]

Isn't Kurt Loder like 500 years too old to be on MTV?

[BakedPenguin]

Why would that article reflect badly on Mary Peters? Confused here.

Because Lonewacko knows the NaftaSuperhighway's gonna let UglyMexicans and their JobTakin'Products into the country.

[J sub D]

A Bitterer Pol: Thanks for introducing me to another useless, cool, and fun website.

[A Bitterer Pol]

J sub D,

You're welcome. And congratulations on having a name that cannot be anagramed.

[kwais]

So what is y'all's take on the NAU-SPP stuff circulating the nets?

I get about 100 emails a week from a dude I know, who is convinced there is a conspiracy to take our sovereignty or some such. I really don't put a lot of weight into them because of some of his opinions on other stuff.

[kwais]

oh, and if I've already asked before and forgot the answer, I apologize.

[Marcvs]

Is Kurt Loder the one who claimed to invent podcasting? I vaguely remember something about that, but don't care enough to google for it.

[JasonC]

That was Adam Curry, I think.

[hey!]

But if Mary Peters married Drew Carey, she'd be Mary Carey

[Frank Booth]

Phew! we call all breathe a sigh of relief, for Eric DONDEROOOOOO is not currently being sodomized by a half dozen tequila-soaked and cocaine-crazed Tijuana prison dwellers, he's safely in california, according to his site. Although, he may still be being sodomized by a half dozen avacado-scarfing patchouli-reekers for all we know. He's deep undercover.

[ed]

This Dondero thing is oft presented here but never substantiated. We underlings don't get it and don't care to get it. We humbly suggest said Dondero pimps lay off and get a real job.

[sage]

I just got the package in the mail talking a little more in detail about the Drew Carey project. What a great idea it is.

From what I've read about him, it seems as though he's a big fan of Reason. I was wondering not only if he visits H&R, but if he's a regular poster here...

If you're reading this, Mr Carey, I have but one request for you: Don't fuck this up. You might be the most recognizable libertarian out there, so you must put a positive light on this movement. And keep doing "Who's Line." That show's pretty damn funny.

[sage]

An Open Letter to the Ron Paul Faithful

(I'm passing this along for your amusement.)

Dear folks,

You guys are good. Real good. You are truly a force on World Wide Web and I tip my hat to you.

That's based on my first hand experience of your work regarding our CNBC Republican candidate debate. After the debate, we put up a poll on our Web site asking who readers thought won the debate. You guys flooded it.

Now these Internet polls are admittedly unscientific and subject to hacking. In the end, they are really just a way to engage the reader and take a quick temperature reading of your audience. Nothing more and nothing less. The cyber equivalent of asking the room for a show of hands on a certain question.

So there was our after-debate poll. The numbers grew ... 7,000-plus votes after a couple of hours ... and Ron Paul was at 75%.

Now Paul is a fine gentleman with some substantial backing and, by the way, was a dynamic presence throughout the debate , but I haven't seen him pull those kind of numbers in any "legit" poll. Our poll was either hacked or the target of a campaign. So we took the poll down.

The next day, our email basket was flooded with Ron Paul support messages. And the computer logs showed the poll had been hit with traffic from Ron Paul chat sites. I learned other Internet polls that night had been hit in similar fashion. Congratulations. You folks are obviously well-organized and feel strongly about your candidate and I can't help but admire that.

But you also ruined the purpose of the poll. It was no longer an honest "show of hands" -- it suddenly was a platform for beating the Ron Paul drum. That certainly wasn't our intention and certainly doesn't serve our readers ... at least those who aren't already in the Ron Paul camp.

Some of you Ron Paul fans take issue with my decision to take the poll down. Fine. When a well-organized and committed "few" can throw the results of a system meant to reflect the sentiments of "the many," I get a little worried. I'd take it down again.

Sincerely,

Allen Wastler
Managing Editor, CNBC.com

Questions? Comments? Write to [e-mail].

[sage]

And I just saw Carey's first video. Well done. We need to be able to recommend these on digg though. I didn't see a link for that.

But very well done.

[wayne]

Let me take this opportunity to say that I agree with Bob when he posts his, "...time to eat crow, assholes" entry.

[kwais]

so, um, we are recycling threads now?

[Buddhist Server Squirrels]

All your post belongs to us.