Activism Highlights

Occasionally criticized for "invading" or "colonizing" New Hampshire, the Free State Project is simply "trying to keep New Hampshire awesome!," according to the organization's president Carla Gericke. As the movement's self-described "bus driver," Gericke is trying to bring 20,000 people to the Live Free or Die state to build a model community for libertarians. Matt Welch sat down with Gericke to talk about the project, why they chose New Hampshire, and the local response to anarchist toenails.

California wants to ban foie gras, but what's so controversial about it? "Foie gras is universally cruel," says animal rights activist and founder of the Animal Protection and Rescue League Bryan Pease. Mark Pastore, owner of Incanto restaurant in San Francsico, believes that animal activists, who have threatened him and Incanto's chef Chris Cosentino, bullied their way into a legislative victory through intimidation and inflated rhetoric.

The federal government is in the midst of a crackdown on medical marijuana dispensaries across the state of California. This is despite repeated claims from President Obama and his Department of Justice that they would not devote federal resources to circumventing state medical marijuana laws. Reason.tv talked to Aaron Sandusky, who’s long battled the city of Upland’s sordid handling of medical marijuana dispensaries, before and after he was raided.

"People say, 'What do these people want?, 'Where is the list of demands?' You know, it's like an embryonic movement," says journalist and filmmaker Sam Slovick. "You can't throw a crayon into daVinci's baby crib and tell him to paint the Mona Lisa, it's not there yet?" Slovick is the writer and director of the documentary Occupy LA: Scenes from the New Revolution. He sat down with Tim Cavanaugh, to talk about the documentary and how Occupy LA became the largest occupation.