MTV VJ and Radio Host Kennedy on Marijuana, The Politics of Alt Rock, and Becoming Libertarian

"Social conservatism was really bringing me down," says former MTV VJ and current host of Music in the Morning on 98.7 FM Kennedy. "And I realized, as time went on, that I wasn't a Bush conservative. I was really a libertarian."

Kennedy sat down with Reason.tv's Tim Cavanaugh to discuss efforts by the ATF to prevent gun vendors from selling firearms to medical marijuana users, the strain of right-wing political thinking running throughout alt-rock and punk of the '80s and '90s, what it's like working in Hollywood when you're not a liberal, and her political evolution from conservative to libertarian.

Interview by Tim Cavanaugh. Shot by Zach Weissmueller, Tracy Oppenheimer, and Sharif Matar. Edited by Weissmueller.

About 10 minutes long. Go to Reason.tv for downloadable versions of our videos and subscribe to Reason.tv's YouTube channel for automatic notification when new material goes live online.

Category:

News & Politics

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• Kennedy
• mtv
• 90s
• alt rock
• alternative
• libertarian
• Reason Magazine
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• Oingo Boingo
• Storm Troopers of Death
• Tim Cavanaugh
• nick gillespie

[waksibra]

She just called atheism a religion on Bill Maher. I'd really like to know how she defines religion. She seems stupid.

[tak178]

@EnergySwirl Oh look, it's a nobody on the Internet.  :P

[wealthychef]

@waksibra The trouble with the word "religion" is it's got several meanings. As an atheist, I detest when someone uses "atheism is a religion" to defend their idiotic ideas, but in the sense of "atheism is a belief system," honestly, it kind of is. It's just not dogmatic, prescriptive or proscriptive. It's more a belief in the "sanctity and power of reason uber allen." Anyhow, I don't think this woman could plausibly be called stupid.

[WeaselHalfbreed]

At 1:11, remember people, that Kennedy is so much more than that! .... only to herself, haha. Honestly though, if I had to be in a room with her for hours at a time.... she'd get a black eye and if she didn't STFU... sorry, but she'd be leaving in a bodybag. This specimin of a human being, this "Kennedy", is definitely an abomination and can only make the rounds in basement interviews and at the far end of the library QnA's.

[waksibra]

@uk6strings Atheism is a single answer to a single question. That's how the word is mostly used. I have no faith. It requires no faith to say "I don't know".

[uk6strings]

@waksibra It takes just as much faith to believe in no god than it take to believe in God, that the universe just came to be rather than intelligently designed; atheism is just as much of a beliefs system practiced throughout one's life than any other religion.

[tonydorsett33]

@waksibra She's annoying as fuk. She wouldn't let anyone get a word in edge wise. Yea, she's not very bright and likes to be loud more than make sense.

[agentdurden001]

@misschloe3353 The construct of your argument is a little off. Atheism is akin to informing people that their belief is false. Some people believe that atheism has crossed over into the realm of religion when its followers start behaving in ways that seem evangelical or fundamentalist. It is one thing to have the belief that what can be measured or observed is solely what exists, it is another to try to force that belief on others since you can't prove their beliefs to be wrong.

[amremorse]

@hannas1234 some band don't play out much for a variety of reasons. how are they gonna make any cash??? if you want a bunch of part time musicians than expect the quality to go down significantly as it has already.

[amremorse]

@Ralph64 ralph. i dunno if u noticed but there are more musicians than ever now( at least musicians releasing music) but no one knows about it. it takes massive resources to get your music to the masses. if you think you can do it single handlely, you're terribly mistaken. 90% of your time would go to marketing instead of actually playing. but i agree let them charge whatever they want, it's just nobodys payin', only kids in the 10-14 year old bracket.

[amremorse]

@HokkaidoNightfire moderation son.

[TheDeni993]

@waksibra I agree if Atheism is a religion then OFF is a tv channel