Reason.tv at HempFest 2011: Rick Steves, Dennis Kucinich, Dale Gieringer

In August, Matt Welch and I traveled to Seattle for Hempfest, the world's largest annual pro-marijuana event, Seattle's Hempfest, to talk about how themes in our book The Declaration of Independents: How Libertarian Politics Can Fix What's Wrong With America, intersected with drug policy reform.

Reason.tv producers Paul Feine and Alex Manning were also in attendance at the August happening, which draws tens of thousands of people and celebrated its 20th anniversary this year.

We shot four videos at the event, including one that captures the sweep and character of the the festival and straight talk from PBS travel guru Rick Steves, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), and activist Dale Gieringer about the need for change to laws that arrest 800,000 people a year for possession of marijuana.

Click above to watch the four vids in a YouTube playlist. Videos produced by Paul Feine, Alex Manning, Nick Gillespie, Meredith Bragg, and Zach Weissmueller. Total run time is about 15 minutes.

Go to Reason.tv for more videos and downloads of our material. And subscribe to our YouTube Channel to receive automoatic notification when new stuff goes live.

Comments

[Au H20]

Even the editors aren't safe from the squirrels.

[Sparky]

The next headline to appear will be: Fucking Squirrels, How Reason Staff is not Infallible. Or maybe: The Internet, How the Fuck Does It Work?

[Citizen Nothing]

Or teh dope?

[Citizen Nothing]

Gillespie is all like "Wow, man. I already posted this four minutes ago? Really? I am so wasted..."

[Hank]

POST IT AGAIN!

[Lord Humungus]

third time is the charm.

[The Other Kevin]

While you are waiting for the morning links, please enjoy the plethora of other articles. Only a couple of them are duplicates. We don't expect the typical H&R commenter to notice at this time of the morning.

[wylie]

Ok, not only are they not taking my advice with that vid (stop replaying it) but now it's getting double posted.

[The Other Kevin]

While you are waiting for the morning links, please enjoy this "find the difference between these posts" puzzle. This one has a difficulty level of ****.

[John]

And to top it is off, I think this is about the fourth time they have put up the Hempfest post. It not good enough just to re-post it. No, it must be re-posted twice.

[wylie]

Dude, it's like, just really important to emphasize how much potheads love hoolahoops. Like, totally vital, man.

[Nipplemancer]

It's obvious that Reason is in the pocket of Big Hoola-Hoop

[Citizen Hudsucker]

You know...for kids!

[SugarFree]

QUAD RE-POST! YOU CAN WITHSTAND ITS RAW POWER!

[Robert]

I don't mind. It's eye candy.

I just wish they'd post the picture of the bald guy with the grin. Very soothing to me. They were doing that a lot in the spring.

[Sparky]

I got two so far:

Videos produced by Paul Feine, Alex Manning, Nick Gillespie, Meredith Bragg, and Zach Weissmueller. Total run time is about 15 minutes.

changed to:

Click above to watch the four vids in a YouTube playlist. Videos produced by Paul Feine, Alex Manning, Nick Gillespie, Meredith Bragg, and Zach Weissmueller. Total run time is about 15 minutes.

AND
Reason.tv at HempFest 2011: Rick Steves, Dennis Kucinich, Dale Gierin

changed to:

Reason.tv at HempFest 2011: Rick Steves, Dennis Kucinich, Dale Gieringer

[Mike Laursen]

You are on something much more stimulative than the hemp, aren't you?

[Sparky]

I'm just high on life man.

[Nipplemancer]

one post at 9:34, the other at 9:43. it's like a sign or something.

[db]

Tell him about the Twinkie.

[Au H20]

So, Gillespie, who is your dealer? Because that is some fine chronic you are smoking to make these posts.

[Sparky]

What are the odds that right now in the reason offices:

1. Nick's computer is lying in a ruined heap next to his desk.
2. The halls are echoing with howls of rage.
3. Welch wet his pants and is now clumsily trying to get morning links up.
4. Interns are hiding under desks.

[Cowboy]

4. Interns are hiding under their desks forts made of unsold copies of Declaration of Independents

FTFY

[Lord Humungus]

+100

[Sparky]

You think they have some fine hemp blankets throw over the stacks of books?

[Au H20]

No, here's what happening...

Nick: Woah.... Matt, I love the new bong man. Where'd you get it?
Matt: Remember when we went to hemp fest man? Got this baby there for only 40$.
Nick: No way man! We should tell everyone about hempfest. That was a rocking time.
Matt: Dude, I got this OG Kush at hempfest.
Nick: NO WAY!
Matt:....
Nick:....
Matt: Weren't we supposed to be doing something this morning?
Nick: Dude, we already posted a link to our book.
Matt: Oh, good. Thats good man. Pass the pipe. You wanna watch some Planet Earth?
Nick: Rock on, man.

Fin

[Fist of Etiquette]

Goddamn hippies.

[kinnath]

As long as we're waiting for the morning links:

Ron Paul: A Texas thorn in Rick Perry's side

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-50.....03544.html

[Fist of Etiquette]

I am mourning links.

[Lord Humungus]

I go to a meeting this morning, fully expecting the Morning Links when I return. BAH!!

[hmm]

Well, if you're gonna post anything twice stoned hippy chick hoolahooping is as good a double post as I can think of. Unless ya'll wanna break out lobster girl.

[Sparky]

OK, it's story time.

So I'm driving in to work today and listening to the radio. They're talking about the Indian men and the woman from Ohio who were dragged off their plane and strip searched. As they're talking about it, the multiple hosts are saying how this makes them feel safer, honestly. They take a few calls, most of the people calling in support fully what was done. Here are summaries of some gems:

Man: Well what do you expect on 9/11? If you look like that you should expect something like this to happen. I feel safer.

Man2: Hey, this is a free country. Those people can feel free to not fly. I feel safer.

Man3: Are you kidding? What kind of racists are accusing people they don't know of being terrorists just because they went to the bathroom?
Host: Dude, you're such a tool. We live in an age now where you have to report everything you're suspicious of and you should always be suspicious of brown people. I feel safer. *click*

[John]

The host really said the last bit?

[Sparky]

Those weren't his exact words but that's basically what he was saying.

[John]

Unbelievable. But then there are few lower forms of life than the morning drive DJ. I swear they manufacture those clowns at some corporate radio factory. Every city I have ever lived in had the exact same cast of characters.

[Sparky]

I tell ya, I was seconds away from ripping out the radio before my fingers stumbled into the tuner and sanity was restored.

The show is usually pretty good but when they get going on things like this it makes me rage.

[JW]

You need to get satellite radio or a MP3 player.

Life's too short.

[Cowboy]

Wasn't Walton and johnson was it?

They're pretty entertaining and have some libertarianish ideas, but man the racism and bigotry come.out hard whenever. Brown people are mentioned.

[Sparky]

No. It's a rock station out of Boston. The hosts are pretty hardcore right-wingers. Anyone in the Massachusetts area might be able to guess based on the story.

[hmm]

This video needs more hippy beating. While I can't endorse the state beating hippies I can see the therapeutic value of such an activity.

[H man]

Nick is not here.

[Sparky]

No man, this IS Nick.

[Lord Humungus]

btw, a followup from John's post yesterday:

Scarlett Johansson 'threatens to sue anyone who publishes nude pictures hacked from her iPhone'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....-sued.html

[Warty]

They're not good pictures, but man does she have a nice body.

[John]

It is as good as I thought it would be. Very natural and not skeletor looking like most Hollywood starlets. And she might as well just stop worrying. Everyone who wanted to see them has seen them and downloaded them to their harddrive. They are never going away. She is young, has a great body and the shots are tasteful. It is not like they are beaver shots or something. It is really no big deal.

[JW]

That is a smoking hot ass.

[Lord Humungus]

and finally the legal profession doing what they do best.

Strip or starve: Cash-strapped lawyer turns to exotic dancing to pay her debts
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....debts.html

if my wife was a little younger this would be a good way to pay of her student loans.

[JW]

I must really thank the British Empire some day for their occupation of the Indian subcontinent.

[hmm]

You lazy Reason people could just post an open Morning links thread... The denizens of H&R are more than capable of entertaining themselves.

[Warty]

For db: Rendezvous With Anus

KITTY!!!

[John]

I saw that this morning. Poor kitty.

[SugarFree]

They never asked Willow what she did to survive on the streets, nor did she ever offer. When she cried out in the night over the memories, her family just held her and thanked Bastet that she found her way back to them.

[Warty]

Calicos are all crazy. She enjoyed it all.

[John]

They are. I had one. She was a one person cat, me and that was it. She would have pushed any other human off of a ledge and flipped her tail and gone back to her nap.

[Sparky]

It's because of the inbreeding. I've had several calicoes throughout my life, every one crazier than the last.

[John]

The only thing crazier is a Siamese. There you are bringing the crazy. I love them. Totally unpredictable and sometimes downright dangerous.

[JW]

I inherited a Himalayan from an ex, years ago. It went obese after getting fixed and violently hated every living thing on this planet, except for me.

Except for that last part, it was a good proxy for its former owner.

[Sparky]

"All our pets are microchipped," Squires said. "If I could microchip my kids, I would."

You'll understand when you have children...

[John]

Children don't need microchips. That is what leashes are for.

[Warty]

Do you ever see those child-leashes they have now? They're hilarious and terrible.

[SugarFree]

Whatever. Call me when they finally have bark collars for brats.

[John]

I totally believe in them. Better that then losing track of them or dragging them around by their hand the whole time. You try walking around with your hand over your head for a few hours. You will be begging for a leash. And it has the added bonus of being the ultimate threat for their rest of their lives. Is there a better threat for a mouth 13 year old (since you can't hit them in public anymore) than, "if you don't start behaving we are getting out the leash like you were four again"?

[S M Playa]

Many 13-year-olds like The Leash.

Just sayin'.

[Sparky]

I'd report child abuse on these parents. They should not have that kid outside the house without his Thudgard.

[hmm]

I found my husky after over a year. Friend saw one of the yellow notes at a local Walmart for a found husky that was over a year old and called my mom. She called the number and it turned out to be my dog. She knew it was him before even going to get him, the guy said he had to put him outside because he kept sleeping in the bathtub...

[John]

http://www.blogger.com/comment.....0539978608

An outrageous ordinance proposed in Madison, Wisconsin:
Downtown Alcohol Policy Coordinator Mark Woulf said police wanted the ability to enter house parties with visible kegs, especially in situations where kegs could entice more people to come and make parties "even more out of control."

[Warty]

That's just beyond the pale. Our ancestors would have murdered the city council over that and then would have been hailed as heroes.

[John]

We are unworthy of our freedoms these days. At some point yeah, the only answer is for people to start burning down city hall with the council in it.

[JW]

There's never a Killdozer around when you need one.

[Rich]

Downtown Alcohol Policy Coordinator

There's *one* problem right there.

[hmm]

Sounds like a good reason to put a keg on every porch. Can you have a class action lawsuit for 4th violations? Cause it would be awesome to see the residents of a city bankrupt their government with one.

[CoyoteBlue]

China to Euros begging for rescue:
"Your women. I want to buy your women. The little girl, your daughters... sell them to me. Sell me your children!"
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fin.....escue.html

[P Brooks]

They're talking about the Indian men and the woman from Ohio who were dragged off their plane and strip searched. As they're talking about it, the multiple hosts are saying how this makes them feel safer, honestly.

I wonder if those people would still feel "safer" if they knew the F-16s "escorting" the plane are there to shoot it down.

[Those People]

I wonder if those people would still feel "safer" if they knew the F-16s "escorting" the plane are there to shoot it down.

Well, if shooting down the plane saves just one life ....

[H man]

Since no morning links Via Radley Balko

Police officer who shot former NFL player shoots another man.

http://www.mercedsunstar.com/2.....cking.html

[JW]

Hey man, loose cannons are pretty high maintenance. Results are what matter; you need to cut them some slack.

[P Brooks]

I'm surprised the People's Republic of Madison even bothers with the pretense of visible evidence of unmutual behavior. They should just ban locks and give the police unfettered power to conduct their inquiries at any time for any reason.

[P Brooks]

Downtown Alcohol Policy Coordinator

What are the chances this position is funded with some sort of federal block grant?

[John]

I would say near 100%.

[hmm]

Another rogue trader at UBS.

http://www.reuters.com/article.....5I20110915

[John]

How is your auditing and loss control so bad you let one guy lose you two billion dollars?

[hmm]

Too busy with internal auditors complying with government regulations. I'd be willing to bet that 90% of internal audits for large banks is for regulation violation and not to monitor employee action. Unintended consequence?

[John]

Good point. I have never worked in the industry so I don't know. But your explanation seems pretty reasonable.

[hmm]

That's easily an argument for one of the reasons Enron occurred. When you spend all day just making sure you're meeting the insane regulations imposed by governments you have little time to monitor your employee actions. All the traders for Enron were rogue, every fuckin' one of them.

[Old Mexican]

In August, Matt Welch and I traveled to Seattle for Hempfest, the world's largest annual pro-marijuana event, Seattle's Hempfest, to talk about how themes in our book The Declaration of Independents: How Libertarian Politics Can Fix What's Wrong With America, intersected with drug policy reform.

And judging by the dancing girl in the video, it becomes clear that Matt and Nick were there strictly for journalistic purposes.

[Nike Dunk High]

thanks