Legal Brief
Michael Mann. v. National Review, CEI, et al: Plaintiff’s Opposition to CEI and National Review’s Anti-SLAPP and Dismissal Motions
Michael Mann. v. National Review, CEI, et al: Plaintiff’s Opposition to CEI and National Review’s Anti-SLAPP and Dismissal Motions See also: CEI SLAPPS Back…
Atlanta-Journal Constitution
More electric car charging stations open in Atlanta
“The EV charger credit is just a variation on the old theme of robbing Peter to pay Paul,” said Marlo Lewis, Senior Fellow at the…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week In Regulation
54 new regulations, from microwave ovens to roof trusses.
The Hill
Right seeks to further weaken NLRB
Last week, The Hill’s Congress blog published two opinion pieces, by Fred Wszolek of the anti-union Workforce Fairness Institute and Trey Kovaks of the libertarian…
The Hill
Coming to America? It’s Going to Cost You
Meanwhile, even unauthorized immigrants from Central America pay between $7,000 and $10,000 in smuggling fees to get across the border, according…
Blog
TSA’s Body Scanner Shuffle Continues, Agency Still Flouts The Law On Body Scanners
A great deal of news coverage today has been given to the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) decision to remove backscatter X-ray strip-search machines from U.S.
Newsletter
CEI Today: Obama gun control vs. the Constitution, ethanol litigation, and green advice on reusable bottles
Blog
CCAF in the news
Wednesday, I argued the case of Kazman v. Frontier Oil in Houston, which raises the issue of whether Texas law permits the “deal tax”:…
National Review
Lisa Jackson’s Gadfly
Chris Horner is the gadfly determined to force the Obama administration to live up to its professed commitment to transparency. Having exposed outgoing EPA administrator…
Politico
TSA pulls plug on ‘naked’ body scanners
The Competitive Enterprise Institute has questioned how TSA got the scanners in the first place — and if they even work. “Public and expert comments…
Free Beacon
Investing in Foreign Countries
These companies saw their tax liabilities to which they could apply a tax credit either shrink or vanish altogether as a result, said William Yeatman,…
Blog
CEI Podcast For January 17, 2013: Fighting Class Action Abuse
Lawyers are clever creatures, but they rarely use their powers for good. CEI General Counsel Sam Kazman is an exception to the rule.
Blog
Problematic Green Advice On Reusable Bottles
Environmental activists launched a campaign several years ago to demonize and promote bans on bottled water, suggesting that people find more “energy efficient” and…
Blog
Obama Promotes Constitutional Fallacies In Gun Control Push
The president's remarks about gun control yesterday promoted fallacies about the Constitution and the scope of federal regulatory power under it. Under the Constitution,…
Blog
Partisanship perverts the NLRB
The Hill When former SEIU Associate General Counsel Craig Becker left his post at the National Labor Relations Board in December 2011, he quickly…
The Hill
Partisanship Perverts the NLRB
When former SEIU Associate General Counsel Craig Becker left his post at the National Labor Relations Board in December 2011, he quickly segued into a…
The Hill
Beer Distributors Say Yes To Middlemen
The NBWA study comes less than a month after the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a conservative Washington, D.C. policy shop, launched a broadside against the…
Washington Examiner
Issa demands EPA reveal all secret email accounts
Chris Horner of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, which filed the lawsuit that led to the release of the Richard Windsor emails, criticized the EPA…
Forbes
The Logic, Illogic And Political Calculus Of The Great Gun Control Debate
Whenever you see a parade outside, you can count on politicians to jump out in front of it to demonstrate their leadership. Even better is…
Blog
Dumb And Dumber BPA “Science”
Rationalizations to support claims that the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) poses a real and serious health threat have gone from dumb to dumber! Even reputable…
Blog
Virginia’s Uranium Mining Moratorium Should Be Buried, But What About Property Rights?
The earth below the United States contains 5 percent of the world’s known recoverable uranium deposits. More than a quarter of U.S. uranium is…
Blog
Federal Regulation Update: 224 Economically Significant Rules In The Pipeline
The federal government's Fall Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions finally appeared the Friday before Christmas (the Spring 2012…
Blog
Vive la Liberte! Even France Liberalizing Its Labor Laws
It may not be enough to make Lafayette proud, but it’s good news all the same. The New York Times reports: French labor…
Blog
Bankrupting America, One Vote At A Time
Blog
Vive la Liberte! Even France Liberalizing Its Labor Laws
Openmarket.org It may not be enough to make Lafayette proud, but it’s good news all the same. The New York Times reports: French labor unions and business…
Forbes
Letter to the Editor: Circumventing the WTO is dangerous
Sir, Jean-Pierre Lehmann’s letter (“Focus on EU-US deal risks further damage to…
News Release
CEI Lawyer Fights Sky-High Class Action Attorney Fee in Groundless Merger Challenge
Washington, D.C., January 16, 2013 – Oral arguments are scheduled in Houston today in a lawsuit over a class action settlement that netted attorneys several…
West Virginia Record
Class action crusader says ‘floc’ settlement unfair
The West Virginia Record reports on Ted Frank's efforts to challenge an unjust settlement in which the attorneys proposed to get more money than the class members.
Blog
Where Did All The Environmental Protection Agency Rules Go?
The Unified Agenda of Federal Regulations has always been squishy and has never bound agencies to issue solely the rules contained within; but the decline…
Blog
Washington’s Liquor Privatization Did Increase Prices, But Also Selection And Availability
Since selling off the state-owned liquor monopoly, many Washington State residents have noticed an unfortunate development; despite what proponents of privatization promised, the cost of…
Blog
The Thievery Of Saints: Liberals Justify Wealth Confiscation In Cloak Of Moral Superiority
Blog
Europe’s Green Building Boondoggle: Benefits By 2064
A report released yesterday by the European Court of Auditors exposed the European Union’s €5 billion boondoggle into increasing “energy efficiency” in public buildings.
Newsletter
CEI Today: new EPA e-document dump, cost of carbon tax, and Virginia’s pension reforms
West Virginia Record
Will EPA Chief’s Departure Prompt Better Energy Policy?
Given that the respected Competitive Enterprise Institute had to …
Washington Examiner
New mysteries in EPA’s Windsorgate scandal
Because EPA released thousands of emails that failed to satisfy the court's order, Horner said, "this response is deeply troubling and seems to have gravely…
Washington Examiner
Obama Issued $216 Billion in New Regulations in 2012, Showing the Need For Reform
Even though these regulations may seem harmless, the costs add up. Something needs to be done about excess regulations so that the worker can take…
CNS News
Released EPA Administrator’s Non-Public Emails Called ‘Deeply Troubling’
Chris Horner of the free-market Competitive Enterprise Institute says he discovered Jackson's "false identity" while doing research for his book, "The Liberal War on Transparency.”…
Daily Caller
EPA releases more than 2,100 emails from agency chief Lisa Jackson’s ‘alias’ account
The Environmental Protection Agency released the first round of emails as in response to a lawsuit filed by a conservative group concerned that Environmental Protection…
Politico
First ‘Richard Windsor’ emails duds
DOCUMENT DUMP: EPA on Monday released the first batch of emails from EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson’s “Richard Windsor” alias email account, in response to a…
Fox News
EPA’s release of documents related to email aliases criticized as ‘deeply troubling’
The Environmental Protection Agency released roughly 4,000 pages of documents Monday in response to a request for information about possible secret emails by former Administrator…
Free Beacon
Picking Losers
William Yeatman, an energy policy expert at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, said the lawsuit illustrates the dangers of cronyism. “Whenever the government engages in industrial…
Blog
Worthwhile Pension Reform Proposal in the Old Dominion
When trying to get out of a hole, the first thing to do is to stop digging. When the hole is a state pension deficit,…
Blog
Obamacare Imposes New Fees, Cost Increases On The Public
Obamacare was sold to the public based on the fallacy that it would cut healthcare costs, but each month brings additional evidence that it…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week In Regulation
52 new regulations, from nematodes to tiltorotors.
Blog
CEI Podcast For January 14, 2013: Meet Lawson Bader
Washington Examiner
Glitches mar EPA release of first batch of ‘Windsorgate’ emails
Meanwhile, a few discs of the emails were obtained by parties to the litigation that resulted in the court order for the documents' release,…
Washington Examiner
Something for Everybody (To Hate): Rep. Wilson’s Beach House Bailout
But the bill still has some degree of serious support. In 2007, a version actually passed the House of Representatives 286-155 with co-sponsors that included…
Washington Examiner
Why All The Green Pork In A Deal Meant To Avoid The Fiscal Cliff?
When President Obama’s autopen turned the fiscal cliff deal into law, Americans might have thought that the federal government had begun to walk down the…
Washington Examiner
To fix government, reform its agencies
Another way would be legislation to have all laws/rules of executive agencies be subject to economic impact studies which would show the dollar amount and…
Washington Examiner
DOJ to Release Secret EPA E-Mails
The White House even arranged for a privately owned computer server for conducting discussions about the controversial United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC),…
Real Clear Politics
Obama Blinks: No Emperor’s New Coin
It looks like the American people have been cheated out of a precious teachable moment. Demonstrating their ability to think two moves ahead, something their…
News Release
EPA Email Release “Gravely Compounded Unlawful Activity We Have Exposed”
Washington, D.C., January 14, 2013 – At about 4:55 p.m. on Monday, the Environmental Protection Agency finally complied with a court order to deliver the…
Statesman
Senators, protect us from the EPA
According Wayne Crews of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, President Obama issued 953 “major regulations” (meaning regulations with a cost of $100 million or more, or…
Financial Post
Avoiding the ‘Basel cliff’
John Berlau of the Competitive Enterprise Institute in Washington has called the global bank rules the “Basel cliff” that could decimate many U.S. banks. Banks…
Blog
Mother Tackles Hype About Chemicals On “Stossel”
The Independent Women’s Forum’s Senior Fellow Julie Gunlock takes on hype related to bisphenol A and chemicals in general on Fox Business Network’s…
Blog
Is Liberty Innocent Until Proven Guilty?
Blog
Southwest Airlines drink voucher coupon settlement
Southwest gives away “premium drink” (i.e., “beer”) coupons worth $5 to customers who buy a Business Select ticket. Of course, not everyone drinks, and half…
Financial Post
Google Faces UK Lawsuit For Search Results
In July, Google reached a record $22.5 million (£14m) settlement with the FTC to resolve charges that Google bypassed Apple Safari browser privacy…
Financial Post
Chris Christie Won’t Be the 2016 GOP Nominee
Washington Post
Sales Tax, Gas Tax, Mileage Tax: How To Pay For America’s Roads?
On the right, many groups take issue with McDonnell's plan to rely on sales taxes for roadway funds. The Competitive Enterprise Institute, a libertarian think…
Blog
Qualified Mortgage Rule Is One Of Many Dodd-Frank Boots To Drop
The first thing that should be said about today's "qualified mortgage" rule is that it is just one of many new regulations the Consumer Financial…
Blog
How About Some Intellectual Diversity At The Labor Department?
As the cabinet turns: Hilda Solis announced this week that she will soon be stepping down from her post as secretary of labor. Solis, a…
Blog
Teaching Self-Esteem Undermines Students’ Academic Achievement
Self-control, not self-esteem, leads to success, researchers have found. Indeed, teaching self-esteem actually harms students' achievement and work ethic. "In one study, university students…
Washington Examiner
20 Windsorgate questions for Obama administration
Officials with the U.S. Department of Justice are expected to make public Monday the first batch of 3,000 of 12,000 "Richard Windsor" emails sought by…
Washington Examiner
Top EPA official used private email account to correspond with environmental groups
A second Environmental Protection Agency official stands accused of using a personal email address to shield communications with environmental activists from public disclosure. Court documents…
Washington Examiner
E-Verify: Immigration Reform’s Threat To Legal Workers
Ken Nagel thought it would be no problem to hire his daughter at his Phoenix restaurant. He had not considered that Arizona’s new employment verification…
News Release
CEI Calls on EPA to Turn Over Bristol Bay Documents to Congress
Washington, D.C., January 10, 2013 – The Competitive Enterprise Institute today called on the Environmental Protection Agency to stop stonewalling repeated requests over many months…
Blog
Getting Buchanan Wrong
Blog
James Buchanan, 1919-2013
Economics has lost one of its greats. James Buchanan has passed away at age 93. Born on a Tennessee farm in 1919, he continued working…
News Release
Gov. McDonnell’s Transportation Tax Plan a Bad Deal for Virginians
WASHINGTON, D.C., Jan. 9, 2013 — Yesterday, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell released his transportation funding plan. His proposal would eliminate the gasoline tax, making…
Forbes
A Barrage Of Legal Threats Shuts Down Whistleblower Site, Science Fraud
Cato
The Ripple Effects of Flawed Agbiotech Regulation
The modern techniques of genetic engineering—also known as biotechnology, recombinant DNA technology, or genetic modification (GM)—offer plant breeders the tools to make old crop plants…
Cato
McDonnell’s tax plan draws heat from across the spectrum
The focus on general sales tax revenues, rather than a tax on those who use the roads, also raised eyebrows. The Competitive Enterprise Institute said…
Study
A Timeline of the EPA’s “Richard Windsor” Email Scandal
Blog
U.S.-EU Trade Negotiations Will Have Some Sticking Points
A Financial Times article today focuses on possible negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement between the U.S. and the European Union and some of…
Newsletter
CEI Today: Regulation without review + impact on poor, and Basel Cliff
Blog
Guatemalan Children Starve Due To Ethanol Mandates
The New York Times reports that ethanol and biofuel mandates in the U.S. and Europe are fueling rising hunger in Guatemala, which now has the fourth-highest…
Blog
Alcohol Regulation Roundup: New Year Edition 2013
With a new year comes a new opportunity to take stock in our past endeavors and renew our goals for the future. While many a…
Cato
EPA Rejects Arizona Haze Plan
Arizona consumers can expect higher electricity costs as a result of new EPA restrictions on three Eastern Arizona power plants. Arizona state environmental officials say…
Washington Examiner
Bush officials, Environmental Defense Fund join in appeal to conservatives
Myron Ebell, who directs the Competitive Enterprise Institute's Center for Energy and Environment, dismissed the council as "one of several attempts by the environmental movement…
Washington Examiner
Ethanol mandates and starving kids in Guatemala
Our federal law requires refiners buy ethanol. This results in ethanol imports from places like Guatemala. This spurs the ethanol industry in Guatemala. This exacerbates…
News Release
Eurocrats Delay “Basel III” Albatross on U.S. Banks
WASHINGTON, D.C., January 8, 2013 – Over the weekend, a committee of international regulators and central bankers decided to slightly revise and delay the…
Blog
Feds Say Hybrid Electric Vehicles Too Quiet, Noisemakers Should Be Mandated
Green paternalists often gush about the great potential for hybrid electric automobiles to reduce negative externalities, or social costs, such as local air pollution and…
Blog
Basel III Cliff May Be Averted, But Dangers Still Loom For Main Street Banks
After numerous criticisms from U.S. community banks and lawmakers of both parties, the international committee in charge of the Basel III bank capital agreement…
Newsletter
CEI Today: EPA Lisa Jackson email scandal, BPA chemical study, and the Supreme Court on global warming
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week In Regulation
28 new regulations, from the United Soybean Board to synthetic drugs.
Forbes
Federal Regulation: The Costs of Benefits
The premise that national top-down regulation of the economy brings substantial net benefits dominates public policy. But forget the philosophical debate over laissez-faire vs. the…
New York Times
Easing of Rules for Banks Acknowledges Reality
“If Basel had been implemented this year as written, it almost certainly would have thrown the U.S. and other economies into a recession more than…
Blog
Pearce v. Acosta
A class member contacted me to complain about the settlement in Pearce v. Acosta. At first glance, it seems troubling: as described to me, the…
Forbes
Fiscal Justice Trumps Fiscal Sanity, Progressivism Marches On
In his first New Year’s Eve address since taking office, French President François Hollande—progressive poster boy and role model for class warriors the world over—defended his…
Blog
Update On D.C.’s Driverless Car Legalization Legislation
In November, I noted in The Washington Post and here on Open Market that a bill introduced in the D.C. Council contained two dangerously flawed provisions and…
Blog
Not So Rosey Facts About Green Schools
It is amazing how public officials will blindly pass mandates even when evidence is abundant to show their policies will prove costly and counterproductive. My…
Blog
Mice Study Questions BPA-Obesity Link
Science is a long-term process that only brings meaning when numerous, scientifically robust studies produce consistent results. But when it comes to politically loaded issues…
Blog
The Constitution And Broad First Amendment Freedoms Are Obsolete, Say Left-Leaning Judges And Constitutional Law Professors
The progressive Georgetown University constitutional law professor Louis Michael Seidman argued Monday in The New York Times that we should just ignore the Constitution and…
Bloomberg Business
Duane Morris, Troutman Sanders, Munger: Business of Law
Bloomberg reports on the case In re Citigroup Inc. Securities Litigation, in which Center for Class Action Fairness objected to the settlement which would grant…
Forbes
Class-Action Firms Capitalize On Wretched Market For Law-School Grads
Forbes mentions Ted Frank's objections to the marked up fee requests from lawyers who worked on the Citigroup class action lawsuit. Class-action activist…
Forbes
Lisa Jackson’s Resignation
Blog
Settlement: FTC Ends Google Antitrust Investigation
Today, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) cleared Google of accusations of "Search Bias," and inappropriately harming rivals. The investigation lasted nearly…
Blog
CEI Podcast For January 3, 2013: The Fiscal Cliff Meets The Costberg
Congress made an unsatisfying compromise deal this week to avoid falling off the fiscal cliff. But Vice President for policy Wayne Crews thinks this is…
Newsletter