Op-Eds
The Coming War on Vitamins
A consumer walking down the aisle of a local drugstore can choose from a wide variety of supplements, vitamins and nutrients for his or her…
Blog
Killed by Regulations: New Century Brewing, RIP
Add another name to the list of the dead as a result of actions taken by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). I certainly feel a…
Blog
Alcohol Regulation Roundup: July 19, 2011
California: In an attempt to lower the rates of minors drinking alcohol, a bill is being pushed that would prevent grocery store patrons from…
Blog
Another Shot at Pennsylvania Liquor Privatization
Ah, Pennsylvania: home sweet home. The state known for its soft pretzels, Hershey’s chocolate and Sylvester Stallone statues. Unfortunately, it has also…
Op-Eds
FTC Ban on Junk Food Ads Would do More Harm than Good
The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) supposedly voluntary guidelines for marketing food products to children, if adopted, would undermine free speech, seriously hinder small businesses, consumer…
Blog
Michelle Obama’s 1700 Calorie Hypocrisy
I am no fan of ad hominem attacks, especially when it’s the President and his administration that deserve true criticism for their policies. So, when…
Comment
CEI Comments to FTC Regarding the Proposed Nutritional Principles and Guidelines for Food Marketing to Children
Full Document Available in PDF The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) is non-profit organization…
Blog
Alcohol Regulation Roundup: Independence Day Edition
Hopefully, this Independence Day weekend you liberated some nice libations from their containers. As Founding Father Ben Franklin said, “there can’t be good living where…
Op-Eds
Time to Kill the Michigan Alcohol Monopoly
In the June 2011 issue of the Michigan Beer and Wine Wholesalers Association (MBWWA) newsletter, President Michael Lashbrook reaffirmed his organization’s endorsement of…
Blog
Improve Americans’ Physical and Fiscal Health: Cut Out the FDA
President Obama made a big show about cutting “red tape” government regulations that kill jobs and hurt the economy. In addition, members of the…
Blog
Bed Bugs Now With Super Bug: Still Just a “Nuisance,” EPA?
As my colleague Angela Logomasini noted in a post in January, the EPA has rebuffed the desperate pleas of lawmakers and residents to un-ban…
Blog
New Bill Would Tax Online Gambling
Yet another online gambling bill to add to the pile, Rep. Jim McDermott introduced the igaming taxation and regulation bill that he unsuccessfully…
Knowledge Problem
Distortionary Effects of Three-Tier Liquor Regulation, Wisconsin Edition
Blog
More States, Politicians Jump on the Internet Gambling Bandwagon
The oncoming legalization of online poker charges ahead this week with more lawmakers “seeing the light” or at least the potential revenue dollars that online…
Blog
Alcohol Regulation Roundup: June 10, 2011
Reporting from around the nation on the ridiculous, the sad, and the sometimes positive news about the state of alcohol regulations. National: BuyaBeerCompany.com, a…
Blog
Breaking Up is Hard to Do for Michigan Brewers
If you thought leaving a spouse was tough, just be thankful that you're not a brewery in need of a divorce from your dead-beat distributor.
Blog
Wisconsin Proposal Hurts Craft Beer, Protects Big Brewers
In the battle between international brewing giants SABMiller and ABInBev, Wisconsin craft brewers could bear the heaviest burden. On May 31, the state legislature’s Joint…
News Max
Insider Report
Blog
New York City Health Officials: No Fun for Adults
Last year we watched as the FDA used its regulatory might to institute a de-facto ban on alcoholic energy drinks like Four Loko, Joose,…
Blog
Alcohol Producers in Texas Must Unite For their Right to Produce
As discussed in my latest "Alcohol Regulation Roundup" post, a representative for brewing giant, Anheuser-Busch (AB-InBev) testified at a Lone Star State Senate…
Blog
Black Friday All Over Again: Feds Seize More Online Poker Domains
This week thousands of poker fans and players will gather at the Rio Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas for the much anticipated 42nd Annual…
Blog
Alcohol Regulation Roundup: May 23, 2011
Alabama: Small vineyards in Alabama support a bill that would allow them to self-distribute up to 24,000 barrels a year, allowing them to compete…
Blog
Online Poker Showdown: States Step Over Feds to Legalize iGaming
In the wake of a federal clamp-down on Internet poker, states are forging ahead with their efforts to explicitly legalize, regulate, and tax online…
Blog
Delaware to Erase a Remnant of Prohibition?
On April 6, a remarkable bill was quietly introduced in the Delaware state house. If it passes and is signed into law,…
Blog
Colorado Governor Hickenlooper Overturns Low-Alcohol Ban
Blog
Fighting for its Life: Absolute Poker Makes a Deal with Feds
In 2002, four fraternity brothers from the University of Montana founded an online gambling platform that became one of the most popular online casinos for…
News Max
Feds’ Online Poker Shutdown Assaults Internet Freedom
On April 15, a day now known as “Black Friday”, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) effectively shut down three major online poker websites by…
Blog
Alcohol Regulation Roundup: May 9, 2011
While some states seem to never change at all, this Monday's Alcohol Regulation Roundup highlights some pleasant possibilities on the horizon.
Blog
Clinic for Porn Actors Closes, AIDS Group Rejoices
After years of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation trashing them in the media, the Adult Industry Medical Foundation (aka AIM) has closed its doors for good,…
Letters
Coalition Letter to the House Judiciary Committee: Rein in the DOJ
Full Document Available in PDF Dear Member, We are a coalition of consumer advocates and free market organizations,…
News Max
DOJ’s Poker Shutdown: Holding on to Americans’ Money
While the American online poker community is still reeling from the federal government’s recent crackdown on online gambling websites, it’s worth considering the significance of…
Blog
Alcohol Regulation Roundup: April 27, 2011
National: Seventeen state attorneys general are asking Pabst Brewing Co. to lessen the alcohol content of its new “Blast” product. Blast, the 12 percent…
News Max
Obama Axes the Right to Play Internet Poker
Last week, while many people reported their income to the Internal Revenue Service, others suddenly found their source of income shut off. On a day…
Brazil Poker Pro
Internal Reasons for “Black Friday”
Free Republic
MINTON: Obama axes the right to play Internet poker
Free Republic
Online Poker Shutdown — What’s Really Behind the Department of Justice’s Decision?
April 15, which is usually Tax Day, is also a day when many Americans voice annoyance toward their government as they file their onerously confusing…
Minnesota Poker Magazine
Online Poker Shutdown—What’s really behind the Department of Justice’s Decision?
Minnesota Poker Magazine
Lower the Drinking Age for Everyone
Alaska state representative Bob Lynn (R., Anchorage) is asking the long overdue question: Why do we consider 18-year-olds old enough to join the military, to…
New York Daily Record
Online gambling laws challenged
Hot Air
It’s time to lower the drinking age
Common Wealth Magazine
The Download: Getting Bolder on the Environment
Blog
Los Angeles (City) Won’t Refuse Permits for Condomless Porn
After years of fighting and failed attempts to force Los Angeles County to require condom-usage on adult film sets, AIDS activists were finally successfully…
Blog
Alcohol Regulation Roundup: April 6, 2011
Nation: Wine shipping is once again being threatened by federal legislation threatening to overturn Supreme Court decisions that clearly made it illegal for states…
Blog
Alcohol Regulation Roundup: March 29, 2011
With April Fool's Day just around the corner, you might think that I'm pulling one over on my readers with the some of the laws…
National Geographic
Earth Hour 2011: When Is It? What’s the Point?
Despite Earth Hour's growth since its introduction in Sydney in 2007, not everyone's on board. (Related: "Earth Hour 2009: A Billion to Go Dark…
National Geographic
This Saturday Celebrate, Don’t Lament, Human Achievement
Human beings must exploit the environment. It is how we survive—and thrive. We don’t have claws or fur. We don’t live in trees or burrow…
Blog
TTB Should Allow, Not Mandate Nutritional Labels
Last month I penned an article for BigGovernment.com in which I asserted that some large alcohol producers were in favor of the nutritional label…
National Geographic
Voluntary Nutritional Labeling on Alcohol Is the Best Recipe
Last month, I discussed the negative impacts that a nutritional label mandate would have on small producers of alcohol beverages, such as craft brewers. Another side…
Blog
Alcohol Regulatory Roundup: St. Patrick’s Hangover Edition
While you guzzled green beer and nursed the subsequent hangover, politicians and other interested parties were busy creating or preventing regulatory headaches of their own.
Blog
Human Achievement of the Day: Print-on Skin
Imagine being able to simply spray new skin onto wounds, scars, or burns as if they never happened? We may be one step closer…
Blog
Bidding Bon Voyage to Nationalized Wind Insurance
According to several Gulf Coast legislators, the idea of adding wind insurance to the National Flood Insurance Program is not going to happen anytime soon.
Blog
Human Achievement of the Day: Nanospiders in Your Blood
In his writings, noted futurist and inventor Ray Kurzweil has said that he believes human technology will one day reach a point where the human…
Blog
Human Achievement of the Day: Tree-Bombing Planes
As our frenemies over at Treehugger wrote last October about how Lockheed Martin had come up with an ingenious idea for its 2,500…
Blog
Alcohol Regulation Roundup: Fat Tuesday Edition
Happy Fat Tuesday, everyone! While you enjoy that frosty alcoholic beverage, enjoy this latest round of alcohol-related regulatory actions throughout the nation:…
Blog
Human Achievement of the Day: Turning Plastic Waste Back into Oil
This “human achievement of the day” is a true example of why we at CEI and many others around the world choose to celebrate the…
Blog
Human Achievement of the Day: Mosquito-Zapping Lasers
It’s hard to deny that lasers are cool, but a lasers that can blast mosquitoes out of the sky, protecting us from the malaria spreading…
Blog
Human Achievement of the Day: Flying Cars
Whenever some new, ground-breaking technology makes headlines there is invariable the observer who seems only mildly impressed and then asks when we’re going to get…
Blog
Human Achievement of the Day: Mobile Phone Credit Card Processing
It’s a hot summer day, you pass by a lemonade stand and you think "An ice-cold lemonade would really hit the spot," but you have…
Blog
Human Achievement Hour 2011: March 26, 8:30pm
It's that time once again to show your support for human achievement by not participating in the World Wildlife Fund's dark-ages hour, where people…
Blog
Lessons from Four Loko: Don’t Be Too Good
That lawmakers are still wringing their hands about the alcoholic (formerly caffeinated) drink, Four Loko, reveals that their fears have nothing to do with…
Blog
Alcohol Regulation Roundup: February 24, 2011
Kansas: The Kansas Federal and State Affairs Committee approved legislation that would phase in the sale of full-strength beer, wine and liquor in grocery…
Blog
Alcohol Regulation Roundup: February 23, 2011
Alabama: After passing through the state Senate and House, Tuscaloosa voters approved a bill that legalizes Sunday sales of alcohol within…
Post - Gazette
Alcohol industry balks at counting calories
Letters
Coalition for Competitive Insurance Rates coalition letter on Obama’s FY 2012 Budget
Full Document Available in PDF We are writing to express our concern about a proposal within…
Blog
Alcohol Regulation Roundup: February 10, 2011
Massachusetts: State Representative Alice Peisch filed legislation this week (HD 2759), which would amend the state’s outdated laws from the 1970s that make it…
Blog
Alcohol Regulation Roundup: February 9, 2011
Connecticut: Two days after Super Bowl Sunday, Connecticut lawmakers held a hearing on one of the most contentious issues this session:…
Post - Gazette
Nutrition Labeling Mandate Will Cost Jobs and Hurt Small Brewers
Last month, President Barack Obama signed a highly publicized Executive Order demanding a government-wide review of existing laws to remove regulations that stifle job creation…
Blog
Free Online Porn Still Legal in California
A three panel judge in California concluded that adult websites that “give it away for free” are not engaging in predatory pricing. According to…
ACSH
Proposed energy drink ban should make folks jumpy
ACSH
Empire State or Nanny State: Suffolk should not ban energy drinks
In New York State, 18-year-olds need to show ID to buy cigarettes, get married, and vote. Now one lawmaker wants to make them show ID…
NCPA
Alcohol Tax Could Backfire
Blog
Alcohol Regulation Roundup: January 26, 2010
Texas: Despite the fact the two-thirds of Dallas voters approved a ballot measure last November allowing grocery stores in the…
Blog
Alcohol Regulation Roundup: January 24, 2011
In national news: The Federal Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) is proposing a bill that would require all producers of beer, wine, and spirits…
Blog
South Carolina Attempts to Ban Alcoholic Energy Drinks
We throw around the term “nanny state” a lot, but to put in plain English, nanny-state regulation differ from other types of governance in that…
NCPA
Assault on Alcohol
A dime a drink may not sound that bad, but the deceptive name of Maryland’s proposed new beverage tax hides its real impact on local…
Blog
Stossel and O’Reilly on Sports Betting
Stossel hits the nail on the head in his recent blog post. Apparently, Bill O’Reilly reached out to him for feedback on the issue…
Study
Let Market Forces Regulate Internet Gambling
In June 2010, the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was implemented after years of delays. The law regulates banking and credit processes related…
Study
Phase Out the National Flood Insurance Program
Study
Liberalize Homeowners, Automobile, Life, and Commercial Insurance Regulation
Study
Develop Smart Policies to Help Homeowners Deal with Natural Catastrophes
Blog
Alcohol Regulation Roundup: January 14, 2010
Gulf States: Laws in some Gulf States get in the way of charity aimed at helping victims of Hurricane Katrina. This article…
Poker Listings
Washington Post Article Defends Poker as a Game of Skill
Poker Listings
The Online Poker Players Next Door
Ask any professional poker player after a losing night what happened, and very rarely will he attribute the outcome to bad luck. There is an…
Blog
Pub Poker on the Table in Wyoming
There are many bars in Washington, D.C., where one can find a free poker tournament. Such events draw in a diverse crowd of customers and…
Blog
Dime a Drink Tax in Maryland will Hit Everyone
Though it is touted as a “dime a drink” increase on alcoholic beverages, the proposal in Maryland to raise the excise tax on alcohol…
Blog
Alcohol Regulation Roundup and Update on Four Loko: January 7, 2011
Update on Four Loko: After being pulled off of shelves by FDA decree, the wholesalers who purchased of alcoholic energy drinks such as…
Blog
Alcohol Regulation Roundup: January 3, 2011
A brand new year with brand new wacky regulations on alcohol consumption: Alabama: Is there such a thing as too much beer? While I…
Poker Listings
Choosing the Right State Insurance Commissioner Matters
“And what manner of man dares to assume the post of insurance commissioner?” LA Weekly columnist Hillel Aron asked recently. It is an important question…
Blog
Driver Monitoring Increases Accuracy, Lowers Insurance Costs
Believe it or not, insurance companies do not want to overcharge you. They want to charge just the right amount — as little as possible…
Blog
Alcohol Regulation Roundup: December 28
Much a like a family that you don’t get to choose, let’s make a quick holiday visit to the states around the nation and their…
Blog
Alcohol Regulatory Roundup: December 21st
Maryland: Lawmakers will likely pass a measure next year allowing direct shipping of wine to Maryland residents. Vineyards, especially smaller wine makers, claim that…
Blog
New York Energy Drink Ban Hearing at 2:30 on Tuesday
Blog
Alcohol Regulatory Roundup: December 20, 2010
While most lawmakers have checked out for the holiday vacation already (mentally and/or physically), there are still some movers and shakers out there getting frothed…
Blog
Congress Set to Fail Online Poker Players
As I have written about before, Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) introduced a bill earlier this month that would legalize a limited form of online…
Blog
Online Poker is Not Illegal: U.S. Courts
U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff of New York sentenced convicted felon Anurag Dikshit, the co-founder of PartyGaming.com, to a meager year of probation and indicated his…
Blog
An Update on State Alcohol Regulations
Here is another installment in the roundup of news regarding the weird and wacky state of alcohol regulation in the U.S.: California: The “sangria…
Blog
Alcohol Regulation Roundup
As alcohol regulations vary state-by-state and constantly shifting here is a quick roundup of booze news from around the states: In federal news, following…
Blog
Energy Drink Ban? What’s Next?
Lynne Nowick, a legislator in Suffolk County, New York, wants to ban energy drinks for anyone under the age of 19 years old. Why?…
The New American
Harry Reid Pushing to Legalize Online Gambling
Blog
Why Insurance Rates Rise in Calm Seasons
This year’s hurricane season, which officially ended at the beginning of this month, was the third most active season on record for the Atlantic. However,…