New at Reason
Nick Gillespie talks free speech, new media, and the Nanny State with MTV's Kurt Loder.
Comments to "New at Reason":
John-David | January 29, 2008, 9:19am | #
Good interview. I just wish I could see Loder's name without hearing "Peace Sells" in my head.Warren | January 29, 2008, 9:50am | #
Born in Ocean City, New Jersey, in 1945, Loder is...Old. That's what he is. The man is old enough to draw social security. Loder just illustrates MTV's place in the establishment.
Do the kids watch MTV anymore? I thought it was all about iPods and MySpace these days.
Warty | January 29, 2008, 10:32am | #
I just wish I could see Loder's name without hearing "Peace Sells" in my head.You're a fag, that's what you are.
Danny | January 29, 2008, 10:41am | #
Third paragraph: "optimisticin" is missing a space.Jack Klompas | January 29, 2008, 10:50am | #
I wish he would have called people out by name when talking about Warner-contract-signing rebel rockers. Messrs. de la Rocha, Morello, and Vedder come to mind pretty quickly.J sub D | January 29, 2008, 11:01am | #
I don’t know if you remember the Time magazine that had Bono on the cover and asked, “Can Bono Save the World?” Well, the answer is no.That's a money quote.
Kolohe | January 29, 2008, 11:09am | #
Old. That's what he is. The man is old enough to draw social security. Loder just illustrates MTV's place in the establishment.To be fair, Loder has always played the part of the token old dude.
Now if, for instance, Martha Quinn was still on, she would definitely be out of place.
Kurt and Nick: two guys in their forties (fifties?) still wearing their High school letterman's jackets and going to the post-game keggers. Pathetic.
highnumber | January 29, 2008, 11:19am | #
Born in Ocean City, New Jersey, in 1945, Loder is...Kurt and Nick: two guys in their forties (fifties?)
Joe Allen: poor reading comprehension or poor math skills?
J sub D | January 29, 2008, 11:27am | #
Joe Allen: poor reading comprehension or poor math skills?C) Both of the above.✔
J sub D | January 29, 2008, 11:31am | #
Old. That's what he is. The man is old enough to draw social security. Loder just illustrates MTV's place in the establishment.Yep. When you're young you should never listen to old people. They know nothing that's relevant about your life, your art, or your politics.
I didn't swallow that B/S when I was 16.
Randolph Carter | January 29, 2008, 11:49am | #
wow Kurt Loder is older than my dad.Warren | January 29, 2008, 11:49am | #
I didn't swallow that B/S when I was 16.No? Well look what happened to you.
The fact is, young people don't listen to anyone outside their immediate peer group.
If I had paid more attention to my peers I wouldn't be such a dork. But I was too busy reading Rand to give a fuck about Joey Ramone.
That doesn't really matter does it? TMI?
J sub D | January 29, 2008, 11:57am | #
The fact is, young people don't listen to anyone outside their immediate peer group.You're missing the adjective stupid in that statement. I'll assume it was an editing error.
shrike | January 29, 2008, 12:34pm | #
Government rationing of a limited amount medical care is the elephant in the room for sure, as Loder states. No one will discuss curbing Medicare - which we all have to pay for.There is no private solution when the ultra high-cost elderly are all on a public payment system at the expense of the taxpayer.
Medicare is out of control - not Social Security. Any actuary will tell you that.
parse | January 29, 2008, 1:18pm | #
Again, don’t trust anything celebrities say. They’re not going to save anybody’s world. Not even their own, often.So I shouldn't listen to Bono--but I should listen to Kurt Loder telling me not to listen to Bono? I guess you can trust celebrities, as long as they are B-list celebrities.
Loder seems to have an opinion. I find it boring myself, but if you’re 65 years old, you might find it rousing. I have no need for it.
freeassociate | January 29, 2008, 1:49pm | #
If he really believes old media is dead, why does he still work for them?Does anyone discuss the dopey naivete of market religionists like Loder? (Sorry, I guess that is the slant of this entire website). Is he really suggesting that the current problems w/health care in America lie entirely at the feet of government regulation, not the HMOs?
Finally, worrying about government censorship and surveillance is uh, so 20th century. Markets can censor. And companies can find it very profitable to surveil--ie collect data--their consumers. Oh, and then they might just sell or share it to governments...
R C Dean | January 29, 2008, 1:57pm | #
Markets can censor.Actually, they can't. Only a state can censor. Individuals are free to remove or block messages from property they own, but cannot do so on property they don't own, and cannot punish an individual for propagating a message they disagree with (absent some contractual relationship with the individual allowing such punishment) and so cannot comprehensively bar the distribution of a message.
Publius | January 29, 2008, 2:05pm | #
I never knew Kurt Loder was so independent in thought, but I am thankful for it. Nor did I realize he was over 60. Wow, that guy looks pretty good. But seriously, where are the other celebrity voices speaking out against the police state and government tyranny?Where are the individuals in this country?
Kwix | January 29, 2008, 3:59pm | #
parse | January 29, 2008, 1:18pm | #He didn't say you shouldn't listen, he said you shouldn't trust. In other words, do your own research and come to your own conclusions. You know, free thought, reasoning, analysis, that sort of thing. With a name like parse, I'd have thought you would know how to, well, parse a sentence.Again, don’t trust anything celebrities say. They’re not going to save anybody’s world. Not even their own, often.So I shouldn't listen to Bono--but I should listen to Kurt Loder telling me not to listen to Bono?
Steve Verdon | January 29, 2008, 5:25pm | #
If he really believes old media is dead, why does he still work for them?Two things.
1. A paycheck.
2. He didn't say it was dead, but that its outlook was grim.
The idea here is that nothing is static or permanent. Hell, on the front page there is a link to a video about how markets share many similarities with evolutionary theory. So even if "old/big media" "dies out" it will be replaced by something. Evolutionary theory tells you this, economics tells you this. Not a hard lesson to grasp. Why so many actually have a hard time with it, I don't know.
Does anyone discuss the dopey naivete of market religionists like Loder? (Sorry, I guess that is the slant of this entire website). Is he really suggesting that the current problems w/health care in America lie entirely at the feet of government regulation, not the HMOs?
HMOs were a response to rising costs. Those rising costs are at least due in part to Medicare--i.e. subsidizing health care for some of the largest users of health care, and also from how health care benefits get preferential tax treatment--i.e. subsidized. A basic result of economics is that when you subsidize something you get more of it. Again, pretty simple to understand, why some people have a hard time with this, I don't know.
Finally, worrying about government censorship and surveillance is uh, so 20th century. Markets can censor. And companies can find it very profitable to surveil--ie collect data--their consumers.
So don't be their consumer. However, try not paying your taxes. The government will hunt you down, confiscate your property and then confine you. Not too many firms can do that.
Oh and censoring is different that surveiling someone. So your whole point is rather...well confused.
My only beef is with Loder is that markets are also a rationing mechanism. This is something many people on the Left don't seem to grasp. They like the idea of rationing, they just don't want the price system to do it. The idea that somebody who is less benign than their "Benevolent Social Dictator" could come to power and could make a really ugly mess of things just doesn't seem to factor into their calculus.
Steve Verdon | January 29, 2008, 5:29pm | #
But seriously, where are the other celebrity voices speaking out against the police state and government tyranny?They are too busy supporting issues and causes where we will have less options and/or freedoms. Like global warming. They want to control what kind of car you drive, what kind of energy you use in your house, what appliances you buy, etc. Nevermind that the most obvious and effective method of reducing consumption of say gasoline is to put a (pigouvian) tax on it.
As Loder said, don't trust celebrities, especially on issues that require reason, logic and evidence. We pay actors, singers, musicians, etc. to be emotional, not logical and fact based.
Martha Quinn's secret admirer | January 29, 2008, 6:57pm | #
Now if, for instance, Martha Quinn was still on,Oh my, talk about bringing back memories! I had the biggest crush on her when I was 13 and we finally got cable (about '83). Turns out she still looks pretty damn good even at 48. Hard to imagine that was 25 years ago already...
Joe Allen | January 30, 2008, 7:53pm | #
Why yes, my reading and math skills have deteriorated, but I quit trying to pretent I'm cool years ago, unlike Mr. Loder and Mr. Gillespie.And yes, Martha Quinn is still quite a hottie.
Faze | February 1, 2008, 7:01pm | #
Whoa -- On the Mr. Softee tuck ban in New York: the very good Mr. Loder thinks this is nanny stateism, but if you've ever had one of those suckers park in front of your building, playing its tinny theme song at ghetto-blasting volume from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m., you would swear to vote for Hillary Clinton if she promised to draw and quarter the driver in the public square. Mr. Softee trucks are an urban nightmare, and a major quality of life issue.L.J. Williamson | February 2, 2008, 1:06pm | #
For an MTV/Rolling Stone guy, Loder makes surprisingly uninformed comments about the Beatles -- and it's typical baby boomer blind-eyed crap. He says that even old people liked the Beatles -- certainly true NOW, but not an accurate generalization for the early and mid- sixties -- and also seems to think they derived their music out of thin air, rather that borrowing from other sources as all musicians do. At their inception, the Beatles were influenced by skiffle and other musical forms. Really, this picture of seniors in 1969-era old folks homes holding hands with teenagers and singing "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" or perhaps "Helter Skelter" is a romantic one, to be sure, but Loder has got to be kidding if he thinks the Beatles somehow united the world. Culture is more fragmented today because we have more choices, not because we have crappier musicians. Loder betrays his geezer-ism with his comments.