It’s the nation’s oldest entitlement program and one of its most beloved. Yet it’s also a fiscal and demographic disaster that desperately needs to be reformed right now for at least three reasons.
1. Social Security is broke.
2. Social Security is a terrible investment.
3. Social Security Screws Younger Workers.
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On July 4th, hundreds of protesters gathered on Pershing Square in downtown Los Angeles as part of a nationwide rally organized by Restore the Fourth, a self-described non-partisan movement demanding an end to the “unconstitutional surveillance methods employed by the US government.”
“We’ve talked to libertarian groups, we’ve talked to Republican and Tea Party groups, we’ve talked to Democratic groups,” explained rally organizer Xander Snyder. “If you are an American and you believe in the backbone of America – which is The Constitution – then you believe in what the Fourth Amendment has to stand for.”
ReasonTV was on the scene to cover the rally and talk with participants about their concerns.
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June’s Nanny of the Month winner from Reason.TV, as well as the runners-up, are all politicians who want to clamp down on your freedom of speech. Some want to criminalize speech to combat bullying. Others are trying to curb trash-talking at sporting events. But the clearcut Nanny of the Month winner, New Mexico State Rep. Mary Helen Garcia, has proposed punishing harsh speech directed at journalists, academics, celebrities, politicians, and the like, if the speech results in “substantial emotional distress.” Talk about an open-ended invitation to censorship.
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“People are under the impression that the Internet is sort of anonymous by default,” says Karen Reilly, development director of the Tor Project. “They don’t know how many digital trails they’re leaving behind.”
As the latest NSA scandal has alerted the public to the threat of widespread government surveillance, Reilly shows us how to restore our privacy in the digital world. Reason TV editor Nick Gillespie spoke with Riley about Tor, a set of software encryption tools that empowers people to use email and surf the web anonymously.
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“If there’s one thing that [the National Security Agency (NSA)] values, it’s secrecy,” says Electronic Frontier Foundation staff attorney Mark Rumold. “They’ve been allowed to operate in ways that aren’t always consistent with the public’s understanding of the laws and the Constitution or even other parts of the executive branch’s interpretation of the laws.”
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has filed a lawsuit over a ruling by the secretive Federal Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC). That ruling found parts of a classified Department of Justice (DOJ) surveillance program to be in violation of the Fourth Amendment. The court’s decision only became public after a letter from the NSA to Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) mentioned it.
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Boston cops are so eager to bust DIY indie-rock shows that they won’t simply wait to respond to noise complaints that might arise. Instead they’re going online posing as punk rockers to bust bands before they perform. It’s part of a citywide effort to crack down on basement and warehouse shows spurred by a recently passed nuisance control ordinance. H/T Reason.TV
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“People who play video games have much better computational skills, much better logic skills, much better search and cognitive skills than kids who don’t,” says Nolan Bushnell, author of Finding the Next Steve Jobs, founder of Brainrush, and the entrepreneur often described as the “father of video games.”
ReasonTV’s Tracy Oppenheimer caught up with Bushnell at the 2013 Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, CA to discuss how video games can revolutionize education as well as Bushnell’s role in exploring this new frontier.
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Government surveillance never sounded so smooth. Song written and performed by Remy. Video produced by Meredith Bragg. H/T Reason.TV
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Over on V and 11th Street NW in Washington, D.C., a residential building under construction looks exactly like a giant middle finger pointed straight at the White House.
“A lot of people take pictures, they watch, they laugh,” said the resident of a building down the block. “They keep looking at this building.”
Kennedy from Reason.TV reports.
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“Where are all these serious Democrats who believe in civil liberties?” asks Jeremy Scahill, author of Dirty Wars, the provocative book that is now an award-winning documentary. “They’re nowhere.” Scahill talked with Reason’s Matt Welch about how congressional Democrats have abdicated their moral standing when it comes the domestic and foreign aspects of the war on terror. And how unexpected champions such as Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) have stepped up in their absence.
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