Blog
President Obama Signs Dodd-Frank Financial “Reform” Bill: 2315 Pages of Special-Interest Payoffs
President Obama today signed into law the Dodd-Frank financial “reform” bill, the “most sweeping overhaul of U.S. financial market regulations since the Great Depression.”…
Blog
Phony “Toyota deaths database.” My article in Forbes magazine
In the Toyota witch hunt, nothing has been more damning than those deaths we’re told Toyota sudden acceleration “allegedly caused” or, depending on whom you…
Newsletter
Elena Kagan’s Nomination, Obama Signs Financial Regulation Bill and Defending the Right to Work
The Senate Judiciary Committee approves the nomination of Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court. Today President Obama will sign recently-passed financial regulation bill into…
Op-Eds
Obama’s Latest Monstrosity
The 2,315 page Dodd-Frank financial regulation bill that President Obama will sign today should not be called “financial reform.” Instead the bill, which…
Op-Eds
Too safe for our own good?
Myths about the risks of various products and activities can themselves be harmful to your health. They include the belief that greater regulation is synonymous…
Citation
The Nation’s Worst Attorneys General
Cafe Hayek
Ryan Young explains some differences between economists and economics
News Release
Lift Government Barriers to Encourage Competition and Innovation
Washington, D.C., July 21, 2010—Tomorrow the Senate Commerce Committee will mark up the “America COMPETES Act,” possibly adding an amendment that would create a 15-member…
News Release
House Privacy Bill Endangers Privacy Competition, E-Commerce
Contacts: Ryan Radia, 202-331-2281 Richard Morrison, 202-331-2273 House Privacy Bill Endangers Privacy Competition, E-Commerce Government…
News Release
Extending Unemployment Benefits Will Increase Unemployment, Hurt Economy
Washington, D.C., July 21, 2010—The Senate today approved an extension of federal unemployment benefits to a maximum of 99 weeks. This move is likely to…
Blog
Ninth Circuit appeal over cy pres: Nachshin v. AOL
Tuesday, the Center filed its opening brief appealing the approval of a class action settlement against AOL. We focused our appeal on the…
American Spectator
Economists vs. Economics
Has the financial crisis ruined economics? Not only did economists fail to predict it, nobody seems to have a clue how to right the…
Blog
Judiciary Committee Approves Elena Kagan’s Supreme Court Nomination, 13-to-6
The Senate Judiciary Committee has just approved Elena Kagan’s Supreme Court nomination by a vote of 13-to-6. You can find my personal assessment…
Study
Union Pensions in Crisis
Full Document Available in PDF Union pensions are in trouble, and financial watchdogs such as Moody’s…
Newsletter
National Security, Federal Red Tape and Private Government in Florida
The Washington Post reports that 854,000 people have top-secret security clearances. The Federal Register for 2010 now exceeds 40,000 pages. Just outside of Florida’s Walt…
Legal News Line
Michigan, SC Permits Insurers to Factor Credit Scores
Blog
Federal Register Hits 40,000 Pages
The Federal Register’s page growth has been accelerating as the year has progressed. It is currently on pace for 76,536 pages.
Blog
854,000 People Have Top-Secret Security Clearances; Huge, Politically-Correct Security Apparatus Expands
The Washington Post reports that 854,000 people have top-secret security clearances. America’s security apparatus is huge and incredibly costly. Despite all these resources,…
Blog
LibertyWeek 102: Collective Insanity
Legal News Line
Union Hiring Unemployed to Walk Picket Lines
Vincent Vernuccio on Fox Business, Varney and Company http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/4285533/unions-hire-unemployed-to-walk-picket-lines/?playlist_id=87060 …
Seattle Times
U.S. Tech Firms’ China Presence Furthers Internet Freedom
On July 9, China renewed Google's license to operate in that country, leading critics to condemn the firm for acceding to China's oppressive policies. But…
Seattle Times
Vincent Vernuccio on Non-Union Union Pickets
Competitive enterprise institute Labor Policy Counsel Vincent Vernuccio explains potential union pension bailouts. …
Seattle Times
Have We Really Been Stimulated?
They use the phony statistic ‘saved’ or ‘created.’ To say saved or created, who knows if this job would have been eliminated if you…
Seattle Times
Have We Really Been Stimulated
The Lansing State Journal reported last week that the federal stimulus has been working. The White House projects the spending act created or saved between…
Blog
Blowout Prevention Act – Will Rs Get Buyer’s Remorse? (Modified July 18, 2010)
Last week, the House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously approved H.R. 5626, Chairman Henry Waxman’s Blowout Prevention Act. Here’s the version of the bill…
Blog
Senate Passes Financial “Reform” That Leaves Corrupt Bailout Recipients Unreformed, While Harming the Public
Yesterday, the Senate passed a so-called financial reform bill by a vote of 60-to-38, making it all but certain to become law. The bill…
Comment
CEI Comments to the FCC in the matter of Framework For Broadband Internet Service
Full Document Available in PDF Reclassifying the transmission component of…
Blog
Earthquake Hits Washington, D.C. Area; Politicians Seek to Expand Bailouts and Subsidize Earthquake Insurance
A mild earthquake hit the Washington, D.C. area this morning at around 5 a.m. It broke a jar of grapefruit marmalade that fell…
Newsletter
Financial Regulation, the Gulf Oil Spill, and Privacy on Facebook
Congress passes the Dodd-Frank financial regulation bill. The New York Times chronicles the economic fallout from the BP oil spill. Pundits argue that Facebook is…
Blog
No, NHTSA didn’t blame all Toyota’s troubles on driver error
I can’t count how many people sent me items about how NHTSA says the whole Toyota Tempest has now been determined by the government to…
Blog
CEI Weekly: The Lady Gaga Economy
CEI weekly is a compilation of articles and blogs from CEI's staff. This week features Wayne Crews' op-ed in The Daily Caller entitled "The Lady…
Seattle Times
Michigan a Right to Work State?
Oakland County Sherriff Mike Bouchard, who is running for the Republican nomination for governor, called for making Michigan a right to work State in a…
Seattle Times
Financial Reform Bill: Bureaucratic Absolutism
Seattle Times
More Muscle for Big Merchants
It’s usually not that easy for big retail chains to win battles on Capitol Hill — particularly if they are trying to secure a benefit…
Blog
Dodd-Frank is not “financial reform,” it’s more Big Government lunacy
The 2,315 page Dodd-Frank financial regulation bill should not be called “financial reform.” Instead, it should be called what for what it is: pages and…
Newsletter
Law School, Air Conditioning and Media Criticism
Elizabeth Wurtzel, of the Brennan Center for Justice, makes the case for abolishing the bar exam for law students. Author Stan Cox argues against the…
Seattle Times
Obama’s New Financial Regulation Bill Strangles America’s Economy with Red Tape
The 2,315 page Dodd-Frank financial regulation bill that passed the Senate 60-39 on Thursday and will be signed by President Obama next week should not…
Seattle Times
Who Won Big in the Financial Bill – More Muscle for Big Merchants
It’s usually not that easy for big retail chains to win battles on Capitol Hill — particularly if they are trying to secure a benefit…
Seattle Times
Dodd-Frank is not “Financial Reform,” it’s More Big Government Lunacy
The 2,315 page Dodd-Frank financial regulation bill should not be called “financial reform.” Instead, it should be called what for what it is: pages and pages of…
Seattle Times
Does the FTC Really Protect Consumers?
Spectator
Frankly, More Sense is Spoken by His Plants
Spectator
ClimateGate ‘Whitewash’ Helps ‘Clear’ Scientists, U.S., International Media Claim
Spectator
ClimateGate ‘Whitewash’ Helps ‘Clear’ Scientists, U.S., International Media Claim
News Release
Statement by John Berlau on Passage of Dodd-Frank Financial Regulation Bill
The 2,315 page Dodd-Frank financial regulation bill should not be called “financial reform.” Instead, it should be called what for what it is: pages…
Letters
Senate Should Reject Dodd-Frank
Full Document Available in PDF The so-called financial “reform” legislation, agreed to by House and Senate Democrats in Conference, and…
Blog
Abolish Law School, Keep the Bar Exam
Elizabeth Wurtzel argues that the bar exam should be abolished because many illustrious lawyer-politicians flunked it on their first try. I disagree. Passing the…
Blog
EPA, Not Jones Act, Blocked Dutch Skimmers
It was apparently the EPA, not the Jones Act, that blocked Dutch skimmers from cleaning up the oil spill in Louisiana in late April:…
Letters
Double Taxation Working Group
Full Document Available in PDF We are writing to express our appreciation for your efforts to protect Americans from tax increases that…
Blog
Responding to Media Matters
This ad hominem attack deserves a rebuttal. The Daily Caller was kind enough to run mine this morning. I hope you will take a few…
Newsletter
Financial Regulation, Immigration and Climate Legislation
The Senate prepares to vote on a financial regulation bill. A Heritage Foundation report finds that deportation of undocumented immigrants has fallen during the Obama…
News Release
Privatize American Cities? Learning Lessons from Disney’s Experiment with “Private” Government
Washington, D.C., July 14, 2010 – Would governments do a better job of governing if some were privatized? A new case study by the Competitive…
Spectator
What is Government’s Role in Fighting Obesity (Letter to the Editor)
Daily Caller
Author Responds to Media Matters’ Attack
One of the best parts of getting published is getting feedback from readers. Some point out supporting arguments I may have missed. Others make opposing…
Blog
A post for Fed Jur buffs only
Parties in a class action agree to submit to the jurisdiction of an Article I magistrate under 28 U.S.C. § 636(c). Then they settle the…
Blog
“[Cap-and-trade] is not in my vocabulary” — Reid
“Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will bring a sweeping energy and climate bill to the floor as early as the week of July 26, including…
Blog
Mommy, Are We Beyond Petroleum Yet?
No, Sylvester, not even close! As noted in a previous post, on Earth Day (April 22), a Navy F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet became the first…
Blog
Bank Failures Rise; Banks Shuttered at a Faster Rate in 2010 Than in 2008 and 2009; Financial “Reform” Adds to Banks’ Woes
“This past Friday, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) shuttered another four US banks,” notes Neil Hrab in the Washington Examiner. “That makes 90…
Newsletter
Climategate, Wine Regulations and the Jones Act
A recent report appears to clear scientists involved in the “Climategate” scandal of most wrongdoing. Congress sidelines a bill that would have created new restrictions…
Blog
Heritage Foundation Wrong on Obama Immigration Enforcement
The Heritage Foundation’s Matt Meyer wrote here that the Obama administration’s year old worksite audit program is resulting in “far fewer deportations of illegal immigrants.” …
Blog
Cell Phones Don’t Cause Cancer
Over at the Daily Caller, I debunk the fear that long-term cell phone use can cause brain tumors.
Daily Caller
Teaching ‘Stuff’ About Ecology
Blog
Dewey v. Volkswagen, Water Ingress Settlement objection response briefing
Today we filed our response brief; plaintiffs largely ignored the arguments we made earlier and instead made ad hominem complaints about some quotes…
Study
Florida’s Reedy Creek Improvement District
Could private government help fix Florida's property insurance system?…
Products
Pests over People?
Just because coal is an inanimate object doesn’t mean President Obama’s war on coal avoids human casualties. I witnessed the collateral damage to coal-dependent…
Products
Green Energy Is Race We Want To Lose (Letter to the Editor)
The story says “China overtook the United States for the first time last year in the race to invest” in clean energy — as if…
Blog
LibertyWeek 101: Urban Beekeepers Unite!
Blog
CEI Weekly: LibertyWeek Turns 100
CEI weekly is a compilation of articles and blogs from CEI's staff. This week features the 100th episode of CEI's podcast, LibertyWeek. CEI Founder Fred…
Newsletter
Banning Pets, Vampire Attacks and Consumer Credit
The City of San Francisco proposes a ban on pet sales. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received some bizarre claims, including a woman’s…
Blog
Readers Contest Factcheck.Org’s “Oil Spill, Foreign Help, and the Jones Act”
FactCheck.org argued that the Jones Act, which ordinarily bans both foreign ships and foreign crews from working in U.S. waters, did not interfere with foreign…
Daily Caller
Let Congress Sweat It Out
Many of the so-called solutions the green movement proposes consist of turning back the clock and relying on technology we left behind decades, even…
Daily Caller
With Debt, Deficit Come More Red Tape
Daily Caller
Climategate Burned by Reality
Daily Caller
Attorney General Darrell McGraw Named Fifth Worst State AG by Competitive Enterprise Institute
Daily Caller
Cell Phones Don’t Cause Cancer
Could your cell phone be killing you? A lot of people seem to think so. Some activists say that talking on your phone for…
Washington Examiner
With Debt, Deficits Comes More Red Tape
The Washington Examiner highlights Wayne Crews's study on the size of the federal regulatory state. But debt and deficits aren't the only monstrously…
Blog
Robert Booth Trust v. William Crowley, Sears Holding Corporation shareholder derivative lawsuit
If you’re a Sears Holding Corporation (SHLD) shareholder like me, there’s a pretty big chance that you got a letter in the mail informing you…
Blog
Federal Alcohol Bill Hits a Snag
Kane’s Beverage News Daily (need subscription) reports today that a “well-placed lobbyist” in the industry informed them that hearings on HR 5034 –the…
Blog
Outlawing Pet Sales or Outlawing Pets?
The nanny statists not only want to to take care of you, they want to make sure every hamster in the world gets fair treatment. …
Newsletter
A Beer Stimulus, Comcast Merger Questions and Urban Beekeeping
A proposed “Beer Stimulus Bill” would reduce the federal excise tax that small brewers must pay. Yesterday lawmakers conducted a field hearing questioning “Who Benefits?”…
Washington Examiner
The Lady Gaga Economy
The Lady Gaga phenomenon conquered the Today Show this morning, with what must have been the largest crowd they’ve had in their summer…
Washington Examiner
The Greenhouse Protection Racket
“Are you gonna come along quietly, or do I have to let the California Air Resources Board (CARB) muss ya up?” That was pretty…
Washington Examiner
CEI’s Myron Ebell Says “Professional Whitewash” of Climategate Will Not Succeed
News Release
Michigan Supreme Court Decision on Insurance Rates a Win for Consumers
The Supreme Court of Michigan this week reversed an initiative of Gov. Jennifer Granholm which would have barred insurance companies from considering the credit ratings…
Denver Daily News
Markets Should Drive Xcel, Not Social Values
Xcel Energy is getting a lot of grief over its new “tiered” rate increase Ń a.k.a., the air-conditioner tax Ń but the criticism is…
Blog
New “stimulus plan” brewing in Congress
It is actually less of a “stimulus” plan and more of a “get government out of the way and stop inhibiting growth” plan. A bi-partisan…
Blog
Ebell in NYT on new Climategate report — “Establishment circling the wagons and defending their position”
CEI’s Myron Ebell was quoted on the front page of the New York Times today – “above the fold” – discussing the University of…
Blog
Unintended Consequences of Unemployment Benefits
This letter of mine ran in today's New York Times in response to Paul Krugman's July 4 column.
Denver Daily News
State Needs New Leadership on Insurance Policies
It’s sometimes hard to picture your insurance company as a caped hero sweeping in to rescue you in times of crisis. Yet, that is what…
Ecomerce Times
Opposition Pipes Up as Comcast/NBC Deal Goes Back to the Exam Table
Ecomerce Times
Gene Lyons: Climategate Gets Burned by Reality
New York Times
Facing Tough Economic Realities (Letter to the Editor)
Paul Krugman is at a loss to explain why some people oppose extending unemployment benefits. One reason people hold such an opinion is that…
Blog
In Defense of Urban Beekeeping
Beekeeping is an ancient human practice, with some anthropological evidence suggesting that primitive forms of honey bee domestication go back more than 4,000 years. Apiarists…
Blog
“Cell Phone Fear in San Francisco,” my article in Forbes.com
The king is dead. More accurately, Larry King is hanging up his suspenders after 25 years on TV interviewing essentially everybody who was anybody. His…
Blog
Automakers’ new problems – vampires and bears
Toyota complaints keep pouring in to the National Highway Safety Administration, and some are pretty darned bizarre. But most are less so than a Colorado…
Newsletter
EPA’s Gangster Style, LibertyWeek Turns 100 and Comparing BP to Enron
The Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration gain the auto industry’s support for new fuel economy standards. The LibertyWeek podcast records…
Blog
LibertyWeek 100: The Venerable Fred L. Smith, Jr.
New York Times
Bad Immigration Laws Are for Repealing, Not Enforcing
Immigration reform is at a crossroads. When Arizona passed its anti-immigration law in the spring, it said it was doing so because the federal government…
New York Times
Will 2010 be the Year States say Enough is Enough?
For decades, government employees at every level have received steadily increasing compensation—including salary, pensions, and health care benefits—thanks to the political clout of public employee…
New York Times
Climategate Burned by Reality
News Release
Global Warming ‘ClimateGate’ Investigation Yields Whitewash Report
Washington, D.C., July 7, 2010 – In the wake of the recent, notorious “ClimateGate” scandal, the university at the epicenter of the scandal has…