Worst 4/20 Ever

Plus: A listener asks the editors to steel man the case for the Jones Act, an antiquated law that regulates maritime commerce in U.S. waters.

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Worst 4/20 Ever

In this week's The Reason Roundtable, editors Matt Welch, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, and special guest Eric Boehm lament a horrible weekend for freedom, as Congress passed a collection of bad bills concerning military spending for Ukraine and Israel, a TikTok ban, and a reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

00:53—House of Representatives passes substantial bipartisan military spending aid package that includes Ukraine and Israel

22:50—New Title IX rules

34:00—Weekly Listener Question

41:03—House votes to reauthorize Section 702 of the FISA

48:29—This week's cultural recommendations

Mentioned in this podcast:

"Democrats and Republicans Unite To Give Weapons Manufacturers $59 Billion," by Matthew Petti

"Ukraine Crisis: U.S. Must Use Restraint," by Nick Gillespie

"Should America keep funding Ukraine?" by Nick Gillespie and Zach Weissmueller

"Why Sanctioning Russia Will Fail," by Nick Gillespie and Regan Taylor

"Hot Takes Are Making the Ukraine Invasion Worse," by Nick Gillespie and Regan Taylor

"Steven Pinker: What Went Wrong at Harvard," by Nick Gillespie

"Should America stop funding Israel's war?" by Zach Weissmueller and Liz Wolfe

"How much aid does the U.S. owe Israel?" by Robby Soave

"Hamas, Israel, and what it means for the U.S.," by Nick Gillespie

"New Title IX Rules Erase Campus Due Process Protections," by Emma Camp

"Laura Kipnis: How Colleges Criminalized Sex," by Nick Gillespie

"The Guardians of Free Speech," by Nick Gillespie

"If They Ban TikTok, Is Apple Next?" by Rand Paul

"TikTok Measure Passed by House Is Unconstitutional in Multiple Ways," by Elizabeth Nolan Brown

"Campus Rape Expert Can't Answer Basic Questions About His Sources," by Linda LeFauve

"How an Influential Campus Rape Study Skewed the Debate," by Robby Soave

"The Politics of Campus Sexual Assault," by Cathy Young

"Guilty Until Proven Innocent," by Cathy Young

"Why We Can't Have Nice Things: Jones Act Traffic Jam," by Eric Boehm

"Remy: Cabotage (Beastie Boys Jones Act Parody)," by Remy, Austin Bragg, Meredith Bragg, and John Carter

"Let's Scrap the Jones Act," by Andrew Heaton

"Appeals Court Rules That Cops Can Physically Make You Unlock Your Phone," by Joe Lancaster

"How the FISA Reauthorization Bill Could Force Maintenance Workers and Custodians To Become Government Spies," by Eric Boehm

Send your questions to [e-mail]. Be sure to include your social media handle and the correct pronunciation of your name.

Today's sponsor:

• Hello, liberty lovers! Are you passionate about preserving civil liberties and individual freedom? Do you want to support organizations that uphold these principles but struggle to navigate the complex world of charitable giving? Well, fear not! We have the perfect solution for you: a giving account with DonorsTrust. A giving account, also known as a donor-advised fund, is a simple, secure, and tax-advantaged way for libertarian givers like you to support the causes you care about most. With a donor-advised fund, you can make a contribution, receive an immediate tax deduction, and then recommend grants to your favorite charities over time. Plus, you retain control over how your charitable dollars are invested, ensuring they align with your values and goals. Whether you're passionate about defending free speech, protecting property rights, or promoting limited government, a donor-advised fund with DonorsTrust empowers you to make a meaningful impact. Join us in preserving liberty for future generations by opening a donor-advised fund at DonorsTrust today. To learn more and get started, visit our sponsor, DonorsTrust, at www.donorstrust.org/roundtable. Take control of your giving and make a difference in the fight for freedom. Remember, every dollar counts in the battle to safeguard our civil liberties. Let's make our voices heard together!Audio production by Ian KeyserAssistant production by Hunt BeatyMusic: "Angeline," by The Brothers Steve

• Producer: Hunt Beaty

What are we consuming this week?

Nick Gillespie

• Blocked and Reported: Episode 212: A Very Messy Breakup (with Billy Binion)

Eric Boehm

• 1774: The Long Year of Revolution by Mary Beth Norton

Katherine Mangu-Ward

• Power and Liberty: Constitutionalism in the American Revolution by Gordon S. Wood

Matt Welch

• Civilizations

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Comments

[mad.casual]

Worst 4/20 Ever

You know who else had a bad 4/20?

[Graf Fuddington von Fuddrick]

Hitler’s mom?

[Rev Arthur L kuckland]

Columbine high school?

[mad.casual]

Steel Man Case for the Jones Act: The Jones Act is in no way unique among laws or throughout history and is arguably as inextricable from people and nations as borders and leaders.

More critically: Why is Reason exceptionally and aloofly steel manning The Jones Act one way or the other? If Texas passed a law saying only Texans could man ships performing cabotage within Texas is the entire Reason team unified against Texas? Does Texas not face issues that Taxa… sorry, Massachusetts doesn’t? Does Reason think Texas shouldn’t be sovereign? Similarly, if there’s no interest in repealing The Jones Act, especially in the sense of foreign relations (as opposed to say Raw Milk) why does Reason persist in the idiocy except to serve their paymaster and make themselves look stupid?

Ultimately, this is like they typical progressive and/or atheist B.S. where people who don't believe lecture the believers on the proper way to believe. You, definitively, are not the "Plotting to take over the world and leave you alone." libertarians of yore. Especially since The Jones Act doesn't actually stop individuals from sailing between US ports. It very much makes you look like the "Plotting to take over the world, tell you what to believe and what not to believe, and how to do so." liberauthoritarians

[chemjeff radical individualist]

Perhaps Reason might think that a hypothetically fully sovereign Texas would have the legal authority to enact its version of the Jones Act, but that if it were to exercise its authority in this way, that it would be foolish to do so.

[Rev Arthur L kuckland]

Congrats on out libritarianing the reason writers.

Next up on your list of challanging tasks is singing the abc's, sleeping, and pooping.

[mad.casual]

What makes you think I limit myself to outdoing the Reason staff one task at a time?

[Dillinger]

>>Worst 4/20 Ever

if you went to phish with me instead you would have had the best 4/20 ever ... maybe the most expensive 4/20 ever too ... but the best Jerry, the best

[Earth-based Human Skeptic]

Look at it this way. (Another) $100 billion dollar spend is just $300 per capita, or $1200 for a family of four. I am sure all Americans are happy to max out their Visa cards to contribute to the cause.

[IceTrey]

Dig it.
4/20/2024
4202/02/4

[Don't look at me!]

Wow man.

[Dillinger]

love it.

[Rick James]

I'd like to see Reason Steel Man why one of its... um.. "random" readers is as obsessed with a 1920 law as Reason writers are?

[MWAocdoc]

For the same reason that a University of Massachusetts celebrity professor is still able to control the national policy on campus sexual relationships now, using fraudulent claims about irrelevant student research from 1990. Why should Americans continue to suffer from the mistakes made by credulous Americans and corrupt politicians from previous decades?

[mad.casual]

Damn straight! Why should Americans continue to suffer from the mistakes made by credulous Americans and corrupt politicians from previous decades when they can suffer a whole new slew of mistakes from *in*credulous journalists, corrupt politicians, celebrity professors, *and* foreign adversaries who’ve demonstrated a far greater means, motive, and opportunity to control national policy and destroy American lives than the credulous Americans and corrupt politicians from previous decades could’ve possibly dreamed of?

Are we going full send on repealing the Jones Act so that we can hand Russian sailors munitions intended for Ukraine and just hop for the best or is it more of a Jones Act 2.0 – It’s Totally Different When We Do It-style rendition that ensures the boats carrying munitions to Ukraine are owned and staffed by Ukrainians, notorious for their honesty and incorruptibility?

Seriously, I have no problems with reforming The Jones Act but you guys who act like “IT’S JUST CABOTAGE. EUROPE DOES IT BETTERER!” are just a laugh riot.

[American Mongrel]

Why did people invent a stupid new term for devils advocate?