Free to Offend Nevada Policy

More than 18 months in, we’re still living under the same state of emergency that brought us the infamous “fifteen days to slow the spread” nonsense.
Nevada Policy’s Robert Fellner joined the show to talk about the governor’s never-ending emergency powers, the atrociously mixed messages coming from “experts” in government, and what (if anything) we should try to be optimistic about in the months and years ahead.

In 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court made a groundbreaking decision in support of First Amendment rights: It ruled that government-sector unions are not allowed to force public-sector workers into paying dues or “agency fees” against their will.  

Mark Janus was the government sector employee who stood up to one of the nation’s largest and most powerful public-sector unions and brought the lawsuit. His assertion was simple: No union should be able to force workers to financially support organizations, causes or political activity with which they disagree.  

Mark joined the program this week to talk about how his groundbreaking court case unfolded—and what’s next for ensuring the freedom of workers across the nation.  

Higher education isn’t exactly the bastion of free ideas and critical thinking it once was.
In fact, it is among the most intolerant landscapes in modern America for anyone who doesn’t toe the progressive line on things like “anti-racism.”
Cornell Professor William Jacobson, founder of LegalInsurrection.com, joined the show to talk about how this culture of intolerance in academia and ideologies like “Critical Race Theory” are causing lasting damage.   

Despite being controlled by Democrats, the 2021 legislative session proved to be a graveyard for (largely bipartisan) criminal justice issues.  

Things got even worse when, in the last days of the session, Senate Majority Leader (and current Clark County Deputy District Attorney) Nicole Cannizzaro proposed a bill that looked more at home in Rudy Guilliani’s “stop-and-frisk” New York City than a Democrat-run Nevada legislature.  

Executive Director of the ACLU of Nevada Athar Haseebullah joined the program to talk about how that bill resulted in opposition from a truly remarkable coalition of ideologically diverse groups—including the NRA, police unions, progressive activists and even the ACLU. Athar also give his perspective on the state of justice reform in Nevada.  

Sam Toll, a Nevada journalist and Libertarian activist, joined the program for a wide-ranging conversation on the state of modern journalism, partisan politics and the opportunity that exists to build a real liberty movement in Nevada’s current political landscape.   

When otherwise wonky policy issues seem to be showing up on shows like South Park, Bobs Burgers and even Spongebob Square Pants, it would seem like popular culture might actually “get it” on that issue. In fact, it would seem at that point like pretty much everyone “gets it.”  

So, what about politicians?  

Shoshana Weissmann, from R Street Institute, joined the program to talk about one such policy issue that has found popularity in unlikely pop-culture circles, and how it is now finally starting to break through political barriers as well. That issue is the completely mundane (and kinda boring-sounding) policy area of Occupational Licensing—something that generates a surprising amount of shared passion and activism among otherwise unlikely political bedfellows.