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Republican Platform Opposes Internet Gambling
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CEO of Land-Based Casino Morally Opposed to Online Gambling
File under Hypocrisy 101. Sheldon Adelson, the CEO and Chairman of Las Vegas Sands Corp., which owns some of the largest casinos in…
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Will the Super Committee Legalize Online Poker?
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Police Celebrate Seized Online Gambling Funds
Roughly one week ago, an article appeared in The Odenton Patch covering an Anne Arundel County Police Department press conference where our benevolent…
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Felix Salmon on Internet Gambling
He writes: But it’s insane to legalize an activity on the grounds that some tiny fraction of the people doing it are very successful…
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Freakonomics Author Steve Levitt on Internet Poker
Steve Levitt, author of the well known pop-economics book Freakonomics, has a recent post explaining his opposition to the crackdown on Internet gambling.
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Internet Poker Shut Down in United States
Today the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York released criminal charges against a number of online poker websites operating in the United…
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Michigan Demonstrates Clean Energy “Success”
In what should be a satirical piece from The Onion, Reuters has an exclusive interview with former Michigan Governor Granholm who boldly proclaims that…
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Obama’s Support of Brazil
President Obama was in Brazil over the weekend: “The United States doesn’t simply recognize Brazil’s rise; we support it enthusiastically,” Obama said in Brasilia,…
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New Hampshire Experiments with Lower Cigarette Taxes
File this under "Adventures on the Laffer curve." The New Hampshire House is seeking to lower its cigarette tax from $1.78 per pack to…
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Peer-to-Peer Visa Payments Coming to the U.S.
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Labor Unions Join Fight Against EPA Regulations
This is a few days old, but it's worth mentioning: "EPA Tangles With New Critic: Labor." The labor unions were supportive of the…
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Pro-Ethanol Legislation Introduced in the Senate
Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) introduced legislation last week to provide more support to the biofuel industry. This would counter a…
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Unintended Consequences, Low Flush Toilets
In yet another example of why prudence is necessary on the behalf of law makers, who might have a little more faith in the market…
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Bill Introduced to End Ethanol Tax Credit
Via The Hill’s Energy blog: “The ethanol tax credit is bad economic policy, bad energy policy and bad environmental policy. The $6 billion we…
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WSJ Revisits Ethanol
The Wall Street Journal interviewed Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack who suggested the ethanol industry might be able to wean itself off of federal…
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What Comes with Public Sector Collective Bargaining
The left has been successful in framing Governor Walker's efforts to end collective bargaining rights in the public sector as an assault on…
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Goverment Waste: From the Horse’s Mouth
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House De-Funds Ethanol in Budget Bill
During the annual National Ethanol Conference, where ethanol rent-seekers enthusiasts from around the country gather to discuss achievement of the still-out-of-reach goal of…
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Government Motors Joins Anti-Ethanol Crusade
This might make things interesting, as the past few years have demonstrated the extent to which certain aspects of G.M. have clout in Washington:…
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Defending the Incandescent Light Bulb
Jim DiPeso, writing at The Daily Green, does not care much for Freedom Action’s campaign to overturn the impending ban on…
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Anti-Ethanol Legislation Begins Popping Up
Two bills have recently been introduced that intend to block efforts made to increase U.S. consumption of ethanol. The first, from Rep. John Sullivan…
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Biofuels and Rising Food Prices
The ethanol industry is, again, being hammered by the media. This time its The Washington Post, publishing an op-ed by Tim Searchinger, a professor at…
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Natural Gas Vehicles and the EPA
Much has been written in the media lately about EPA regulations that intend to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Might the EPA start by considering something…
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TSA Given Approval To Unionize
As the New York Times says, this is a debate that has been brewing for potentially a decade: the “right” for Transportation Security Administration…
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Egypt and Global Oil Supplies
The ongoing situation in Egypt has U.S. elected officials in a huff over volatile oil prices, as significant amounts of oil are shipped to the…
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More Presidential Hopefuls Embracing Ethanolism
As the Wall Street Journal noted earlier this week, potential 2012 GOP presidential nominees are making the rounds in Iowa singing the praises of…
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New EPA Report Confirms Biofuel Policy Harms Environment
A draft EPA report released a few days ago largely confirms what we already know, that conventional biofuels produced on a large scale in the…
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California Businesses Vote With Their Feet
According to this report, 204 businesses left California for greener less green pastures in 2010. That is up from the 51 businesses which left in 2009. This…
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Newt Gingrich Panders to Corn Belt, Eyes 2012 GOP Bid
Today, Newt Gingrich spoke at the Iowa Renewable Fuel Association Annual Summit. Here is a link to his speech. Remember, Gingrich is no dummy,…
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Biofuels and the Military: Reality Strikes Back
Lots of news bits over the past few years have covered the military’s PR effort to produce a significant amount of biofuels for…
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Regulations and Small Business
A theme of President Obama’s State of the Union speech tomorrow is the idea that we need to make America more competitive in the global…
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EPA Approves Increased Ethanol Blend
Today the EPA gave initial approval of E15 blends for use in vehicles made in or after 2001, an extension of an initial ruling…
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New York City Taxi Alliance Opposes Competition
From their webpage, we see a press release denouncing Mayor Bloomberg’s decision to allow livery cars (limousines, personal hired cars, etc.) to pick…
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EPA to Re-Brand Mortality Risk Reduction
A recent paper published by the EPA provides up to date governmental thoughts on attempts to put a value on a statistical life (VSL)…
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Clarifying For Media Matters
Media Matters for America is an organization dedicated to “comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media.” They didn’t, in my opinion,…
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When the Green River Runs Dry
Jobs created become jobs destroyed. Two recent articles highlight the struggle that renewable energy companies run into when taxpayer subsidies are tightened. The first,…
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Troubles in Central Planning: New York City Cabs
Via the New York Times, an article with empirical evidence that regulatory incentives encourage cabs to disappear around 5pm, just when they are needed…
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New Jersey Quietly Approves Online Gambling Bill
Yesterday the New Jersey Assembly voted to approve a bill that would allow for residents of New Jersey to participate in some forms of…
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The Fate of the Renewable Fuel Standard
As this article in Wired notes, the U.S. has effectively hit the “blend wall” for domestic ethanol production in the short term. Given current…
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Declining Access to Non-Ethanol Fuel
Via EENews ($ubscription required), and a letter (PDF) from Senator Inhofe and Senator Snow to the EPA on the declining availability of pure…
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Update on D.C. Metro Bag Inspections
Last night, a crowded audience gathered at the WMATA headquarters to discuss the recent decision to begin randomly screening passengers bags for potential explosives. It…
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Paris Contemplates SUV Ban
Paris is looking to potentially ban “gas-guzzling” vehicles from city limits. The proposal, still in its infancy, lacks important details but nonetheless appears to…
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Ethanol and NASCAR
The ethanol industry earlier this year teamed up with NASCAR in order to better promote expensive, highly subsidized, not so environmentally friendly…
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Compare and Contrast Biofuel Predictions
From the Ethanol Producer Magazine: For years, cellulosic ethanol has been five years away from commercial viability. With several companies making significant progress in…
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Update on D.C. Metro Bag Checks
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Pennsylvania State Lottery Commission Opposes Internet Gambling
When a government agency is threatened, it will inevitably lash out in efforts to keep the government jobs safe and the tax money flowing. This…
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Security Theater, D.C. Metro Edition
Everyone wants our transportation systems to be safe. But safety must also be balanced with respecting the privacy of citizens, and not wasting money on…
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There are No Victors in Trade Wars
Today the World Trade Organization issued a decision confirming that the United States did not break any of its obligations with China over the…
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The Extension of Ethanol Subsidies
Despite opposition from academics, environmental organizations, libertarian organizations, editorial boards across the country, and dozens (PDF) of other…
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Senator Grassley Supports Selective Tax Increases
A press release from Senator Grassley (R-Iowa), “U.S. Sen Grassley: Tax revenue doesn’t grow on Christmas trees”: The mid-term elections delivered a clear message. Americans…
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The Censuring of Charles Rangel
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Bob Barr Still Supports Ethanol Subsidies
In a piece on The Hill’s Congressional Blog, former Republican congressman and the 2008 Libertarian Party presidential candidate Bob Barr expresses support for the…
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Obama’s Federal Pay Freeze That Wasn’t
No one seems happy with President Obama’s announcement that he plans to freeze pay rates of the federal work force. The right claims that…
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Unions Still Hampering Free Trade
Watching politicians stammer on in attempts to justify short-sighted policy never gets boring. The interview referenced by Wall Street Journal columnist Mary Anastasia O’Grady…
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A New Course for Wild Tigers
A New York Times editorial highlights a struggle faced by the wild tiger, noting its population is down to approximately 3,200 from a high…
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Al Gore Backtracks on Corn Ethanol
Whoops. Turns out Gore thinks he made a mistake; it wasn’t such a good policy in the first place. Who would have known that politicians,…
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Obesity Letters Assume Parents Can’t See Their Children
A school district in Arizona is implementing a controversial program that has the world talking: they will be weighing students and sending notes home…
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TSA Regulations Likely Increase Travel Deaths
As air travel becomes increasingly expensive or more inconvenient, travelers on the margin will choose driving rather than flying. For example, the TSA began requiring…
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Charles Rangel: Swamp Still Full
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Last Call for Ethanol: Biofuel Lobby Out in Full Force
With 2011 a month and a half away, the ethanol industry is pushing full steam ahead for a renewal of the tax credit and tariff…
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Spitzer, Seoul, and Wall Street
Eliot Spitzer, who occasionally publishes over at Slate, wrote yesterday about President Obama’s “disastrous Asia trip” and decried America’s fall from grace as a world leader.
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TSA versus America
The TSA doesn’t have very many friends these days. Do they deserve any? In an interview (halfway down on the left sidebar), John…
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Confessions of a Gasoline Call Girl
Marc J. Rauch, Executive Vice President/Co-Publisher of The Auto Channel, posted a lengthy diatribe on the American Petroleum Institute’s recent lawsuit on the EPA’s approval…
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A New Face for High-Fructose Corn Syrup
Via The Huffington Post, an update on Big Corn’s quest to continue fueling our tasty beverages: The makers of high fructose corn syrup want…
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Hillary Clinton Angers Greens
A number of environmental groups asked Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to remove herself from the decision process in whether or not the TransCanada oil-sands…
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Ethanol Mandates Meet Reality
The EPA again lowered its projection in meeting the 2011 “mandate” on cellulosic ethanol. (Is it really a mandate when the end result meets 1.5…
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Willfull Ignorance from Ethanol Proponents
A study soon to be released by the Department of Energy, titled “Empirical Data and Decomposition Analysis of U.S. Corn Use for Ethanol Production…
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Billboard to Nowhere
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Marlo Lewis on Hyundai’s Zero Emission Advertisment
Hyundai’s newest advertisement features their attempts at producing a “green” commercial. One of Hyundai’s slogans is “Prepare to want one,” yet as Marlo Lewis notes…
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Ethanol Shills Never Tire
This time it’s retired general Wesley Clark. The language is anything but honest, and unfortunately very convincing to the average reader. It’s an $821-million-a-day…
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Ethanol in The Wall Street Journal
The editorial staff at The Wall Street Journal have not been kind to ethanol over the past months. They ran two editorials (one in July…
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The Chevy Volt: Just Another Hybrid
It turns out GM wasn’t being completely honest when they touted the Chevy Volt as an all electric vehicle. From Edmunds: GM Lied: Chevy…
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Ethanol and Energy Efficiency
The U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack spoke today at the National Press Club on the future of biofuels in the United States. His…
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China Might Halt Rare Earth Exports
The New York Times reports: “China Said to Halt Some Mineral Shipments.” HONG KONG — China, which has been blocking shipments of crucial minerals…
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China Mocks U.S. Over Subsidy Investigation
An update to Friday’s post: Bloomberg (and the The New York Times) reported this weekend on China’s response to U.S. accusations…
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“Illegal” Green Energy Subsidies
In a move that surprised no one, The New York Times reported today that the U.S. agreed to go ahead and formally investigate…
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Food vs. Fuel? Part Deux
Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture lowered its estimate on yields from 2010 corn crops to 12.7 billion bushels for 2010…
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Ethanol: Following the E10 to E15 Debate
The ethanol industry was patiently waiting for the EPA to approve an increase from 10 percent ethanol blends to 15 percent in gasoline. They…
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An Unpaid Internship at the White House
@whitehouse on Twitter alerted me this morning that applications for internships at the White House are due by October 3. I couldn’t help but look…
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Bob Barr, [un]Principled Supporter of Ethanol
Bob Barr, the 2008 Libertarian Party presidential nominee, had a piece in yesterday’s Huffington Post titled Extending Ethanol Tax Credit Makes Sense. It’s…
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Biofuels and Tax Expenditures
One of the claims that the renewable energy groups continue to make, as their tax credits approach the chopping block, is that the U.S. is…
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The Ethanol Industry and Competition
Growth Energy, an ethanol trade group, released a blog post yesterday titled “In An Open Market, All Fuels Can Compete.” The…
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America’s Failed Domestic Ethanol Policy
I had a piece in yesterday’s Washington Times critiquing U.S. ethanol policy. My main points: Price subsidies are generally bad–they encourage overconsumption and distort…
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Internet Gambling Catches Second Wind
Pokerati.com reports that Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is working on a new bill (one of many in the past year) to legalize…
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Higgs and the Expanding State
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States Expand Gambling as Feds Attack It
Last week the Tax Foundation called attention to state initiatives to expand the lottery system. To cover lost revenues from the recession many states…
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Biden announces retirement (savings program)
Vice President Joe Biden announces retirement (savings program). If only we were so lucky. (In reality, it doesn’t matter. As he recently said,…
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Obama Targets Kyl’s (Nanny State) Obstructionism
In his 2010 State of the Union address, President Obama blasted colleagues for placing holds on political appointees and other obstructive tactics: Neither party should…
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TSA Security Playset
The Playmobil Security Check Point has experienced a new surge in popularity (so much so that it is currently out of stock) on Amazon in…