CEI Daily Update

Issues in the News

1. Legal

Judge Roy Pearson loses the lawsuit in which he claimed $54 million in damages from his dry cleaner over a lost pair of pants.

CEI Expert Available to Comment: Special Projects Counsel Hans Bader on why Judge Pearson should be disciplined for bring such a frivolous suit:

D.C. officials wrongly believe Mr. Pearson is shielded from discipline by the First Amendment, whose freedom-of-petition clause protects a citizen’s right to bring non-frivolous lawsuits. But they are wrong, both because Mr. Pearson’s suit has frivolous elements and because he is a public employee and thus is held to a higher standard than ordinary citizens. While ordinary citizens can’t be punished for suing, public employees often can. A public employee like Mr. Pearson can be disciplined if his suit undermines his employer’s mission or interests or if it is so petty that it does not involve a matter of public concern.

2. Environment

Stonyfield Farm CEO Gary Hirshberg helps launch a project ranking consumer product companies’ environmental scores based on their “carbon footprint.”

CEI Expert Available to Comment: Adjunct Analyst Steven Milloy on the climate activists’ credibility gap:

Global warming hysteria and the concept of the carbon footprint, in particular, have been debunked many times in this column already. Suffice to say, the ClimateCounts survey commands no credibility here, and consumers who shop based on the survey’s recommendations may as well consult with an astrologist to guide their purchasing decisions.                                                    

3.  Safety

A fire at a Charleston furniture store claims the lives of nine firefighters.

CEI Expert Available to Comment: Senior Fellow Eli Lehrer on why the Charleston disaster is so unusual:

Nine firefighters perished as a terrible inferno swept through Charleston’s Sofa Super Store this past Monday evening. Their families, the city of Charleston, and, indeed, the whole nation, have every reason to mourn. Their bravery deserves recognition, and the particular nature of the tragedy deserves careful study. Overall, however, the event is a highly atypical—occurrence in the United States’ enormously successful campaign against fire.

Blog feature: For more news and analysis, updated throughout the day, visit CEI’s blog, Open Market.

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