David Boaz on Liberty vs. the Alt-Right

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Berkeley, California—The home of the “Free Speech Movement” became a center of attention last year when writer and professional provacateur Milo Yiannopoulos ignited protests on campus – testing the city’s tolerance of viewpoints outside the progressive orthodoxy. Libertarians, for the most part, have found common cause with these speakers in opposing the new threats to free speech. As Anthony Fisher of Reason has pointed out, groups like Antifa have resorted to violence against innocent parties, and labeled anyone to the left of Bernie Sanders as “fascist.” Unfortunately, the left-wing reaction has caused some libertarians to over-sympathize with members of the so-called “alt-right,” whose aims are also opposed to a free society. David Boaz is Executive vice president of the Cato Institute and author of The Libertarian Mind, The Libertarian Reader, and Libertarianism: A Primer. He visited Berkeley in February to give a warning to students who might be seduced by the alt-right, and to explain why the reactionary philosophy is incompatible with libertarianism. While libertarians have reason to be frustrated by the status quo, there is a danger of this anger congealing into hatred. “Ultimately,” Boaz says, “libertarianism is about peaceful cooperation―markets, civil society, global trade, peace, so it just isn’t angry enough for some people.” He joins Bob this Sunday (4/22, 8-9am PACIFIC) to make clear how alien the alt-right’s thinking is to a truly libertarian mind. Join the conversation at any time by calling (424) BOB-SHOW.

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ICE in the Age of Trump

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California businesses find themselves wedged between a rock and a hard place. The rock is the Federal Government's recent crackdown on undocumented workers – a head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) says his agency plans to quadruple the number of unannounced visits to work sites, and a recent raid in the Bay Area shows he's serious. The hard place is California's law criminalizing cooperation with ICE when no warrant is presented. State and local leaders are determined to defend their sanctuary status, including Oakland Mayor Libby Shaaf, who announced the upcoming raid on Twitter. This led President Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions to retaliate with a lawsuit against the state's directives opposing the Federal Government. Of course, illegal immigrants themselves are left in the ultimate predicament by our schizophrenic politics. Republicans are telling them to "Get in Line! And Stay Out!", while Democrats seem content to keep them as second-class citizens in legal limbo between naturalization and deportation. Mitch Jeserich hosts the award-winning Letters & Politics show on KPFA radio, where he frequently hosts discussions on immigration from a left-leaning perspective. He joins Bob to debate the philosophical differences between libertarians and left-liberals when it comes to immigration, and the constitutionality of the Trump administration's challenge to California's sanctuary state status.

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An Intellectual Discussion of Sexual Harassment with Richard Epstein

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Each week, the list of celebrities accused of sexual assault seems to grow longer. Bill Cosby, Bill O'Reilly, and now Harvey Weinstein are just a few of the mighty who have fallen from grace. But while none of these three men has yet to be officially convicted of a crime, the market's retribution has been swift. O'Reilly lost his show, Weinstein lost his job, and Cosby lost his reputation as the benign, sweater-wearing father figure that America so loved. On college campuses, criminal proceedings are being jettisoned (for different reasons) in favor of Title IX discrimination hearings, which lower the standard for guilt to a "preponderance of evidence." Reason Magazine's Robby Soave has documented numerous instances in which campus tribunals have functioned as kangaroo courts – ruining the lives of innocent men and women under the banner of civil rights.

Of course, it goes without saying that sexual harassment deserves to be treated seriously. Richard Epstein returns to the show to bring his full intellect to bear on this hairy subject. He and Bob will discuss the threat to free speech posed by the Federal Government's broad guidelines on harassment issued to universities under Title IX legislation. They seek to define appropriate remedies for sexual harassment, and the market's role in punishing bad behavior. Bob will ask what culpability the enablers of sexual harassment possess for saying nothing when "everyone knew" about certain individuals' abusive behavior. Finally, Epstein will explain how anti-discrimination legislation often creates new forms of discrimination. It's time for an adult conversation about sexual harassment.

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