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Republicans Should Favor Privatization of Liquor Sales
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A Full-Court Press on Trade? Not Likely
Today’s Washington Times has a lengthy article on the Obama Administration’s trade agenda vis-à-vis the stalled free trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia, and…
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Regulation of the Day 148: Cutting Grass in Cemeteries
In the world of regulation, no good deed goes unpunished.
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Political Pessimism, Human Optimism
If you're despairing over the state of the world, the data are a wonderful cure for pessimism.
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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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A “Chickening Out” Lesson
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Regulation of the Day 147: Breathing Fire
Jimmy’s Old Town Tavern in Herndon, Virginia has fire-breathing bartenders. Two of them are facing 45 years in prison for fire code violations.
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Is GOP Opposition to Cap-and-Trade Self-Contradictory?
Betsy Moler of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership and Phil Sharp of Resources for the Future would like Republicans to think so. After all, if…
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Mexico’s Retaliation — A Good Idea?
Cato’s Dan Ikenson posted today in favor of the trade retaliation measures announced by Mexico in response to the U.S. refusal to open its…
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Federal Register Hits 50,000 Pages
And it's on pace to hit a near-record 80,447 pages.
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Fannie-Freddie White House Sham Summit Produces Short-Sighted Solutions
After ramming through a “financial reform” bill that increases government controls on such “ants” (hat tip to House Minority Leader John Boehner’s comments–distorted by the press–in full context) as orthodontists…
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Radical Capitalism: A Noble Experiment We Ought to Try
Earlier this month, Bloomberg published an article by Boston University economist Larry Kotlikoff in which he declared that the U.S. was bankrupt and headed…
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Against derivative shareholder strike suits: Sears Holding Corporation, Robert F. Booth Trust v. Crowley
In the 1998 case of Felzen v. Andreas, the Seventh Circuit suggested that it was looking for an opportunity to take action against derivative…
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BlueGreen Alliance Forgets their Aristophanes
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) mothballed cap-and-trade legislation when it became apparent that he could not muster the three-fifths super-majority required to end a…
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Court rejects settlement in Costco fuel case
Today’s a busy day (there were filings in three different pending objections and appeals, two of them by us), but we’ll have to postpone discussion…
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Primer on Extreme Weather Mortality
The indomitable Indur Goklany — “Goks” to his friends — has just posted a primer on extreme weather-related mortality entitled, Global Death Toll From Extreme…
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You Can’t Make This Up
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Regulation of the Day 146: Airplane Child Seats
The NTSB wants to throw away 50 lives to save an estimated 1 or 2 lives.
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CEI Weekly: Congress Bails Out State Teachers’ Unions
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Yandle: Everyman’s Deficit
Clemson University economist Bruce Yandle has published a new paper that compares the federal government’s spending habits with that of the average family. Yandle…
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The Dangerous Minds of Urban Planners
Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2005 Kelo v. New London decision, significant attention has been paid to the way government interacts in the property…
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Government Spends Billions Bailing Out Foreign Firms and Countries, and Replacing American Jobs With Foreign Green Jobs
Our government spent as much money bailing out foreign firms as some countries spent on stabilizing their entire financial system. Much of the money…
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Voting the Bums Back In
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Government-Sanctioned Lying and Reparations Increase National Debt: The Pigford Class Action
There are only 36,697 black farmers in the entire country, but in a class-action lawsuit, more than 86,000 African-Americans claimed to have suffered…
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Spinning the Defeat of Cap-and-Trade
Barring the trickery of a lame duck conference committee, cap-and-trade is dead in the 111th Congress. Some blame Obama for not taking a…
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Why Government Layoffs Tripled in June
It wasn't because of spending cuts.
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Financial “Reform” Harms Farmers, While Leaving Corrupt Government-Sponsored Mortgage Giants Unreformed
Farmer Betsy Jensen explains how the so-called financial “reform” bill signed by President Obama will harm agricultural markets, and thus farmers, in today’s New…
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Not So Ancient History – How CEI (and friends) Nixed Early Action Crediting (on three separate occasions)
I’m posting three relatively obscure items by which CEI and friends killed a mischievous Trojan Horse strategy for Kyoto-style regulation variously known as credit for early action, credit for voluntary…
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Around the Country with Public Sector Unions
It’s often a sign that a problem is turning into a crisis when the public outcry over it becomes ubiquitous. That seems to be the…
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House Approves Obama’s $26 Billion Public-Employee Bailout By a Vote of 247-161
The House has just approved President Obama’s $26 billion public-employee bailout by a vote of 247 to 161. Billions will now go disproportionately to…
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Oh, the Horror! Budget Cuts Mean Pampered Artists Get Less Government Money to Insult Taxpayers
Thanks to budget cuts under England’s new Conservative coalition government, “London may no longer be ‘a beacon for controversial pieces’ such as last year’s…
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Why Mortgage Giant Freddie Mac Is Getting a Bailout: Costly Obama Policies and Giveaways
Earlier, I wrote about mortgage giant Freddie Mac’s demand for $1.8 billion more in bailouts. Why does it still need more bailout money, when…
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Amicus brief in AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion
The Ninth Circuit’s holding in Concepcion v. AT&T Mobility, barring an arbitration clause that prohibits class actions as “unconscionable,” rests upon a belief in…
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In re Yahoo! Ninth Circuit appeal
Today the Center filed the opening brief in the appeal of the In re Yahoo! settlement approval. We make a process argument—the district…
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House Panel Releases Ethics Charges Against Rep. Maxine Waters
A House ethics panel has released the charges against left-wing firebrand Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) arising out her shady dealings with OneUnited Bank. (Her…
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Government-Sponsored Mortgage Giant Seeks $1.8 Billion More in Bailouts
Mortgage giant Freddie Mac is seeking $1.8 billion more in bailouts from the federal government. This mortgage giant, and its sister company, Fannie Mae,…
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Obama Justice Department Uses Americans with Disabilities Act to Harm the Disabled, Risk Lives, and Undermine Safety
“Amazon.com . . . tried to sell a talking Kindle reader, but” the Justice Department “said it couldn’t because the button to make the…
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TCEQ to EPA: Don’t Mess with Texas
In a blistering letter published earlier in the week, the head of Texas’s environmental agency and the State’s attorney general told the U.S. Environmental Protection…
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Justice Kagan, Please Be a Judicial Activist
Over at the Daily Caller, I explain why newly-minted Justice Kagan should be a judicial activist -- but not in the way most people use…
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CEI Weekly: Lessons from the Ma Bell Era
CEI weekly is a compilation of articles and blogs from CEI's staff. This week features CEI's Ryan Radia in his film on the history of…
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131,000 Jobs Lost in July; Obama Aide Abandons Ship; Economists Criticize Obama; More Bailouts
“Non-farm job losses hit 131,000 in July,” on top of a loss of 97,000 jobs in May and June. Another Obama economic advisor is…
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Settlement approved in Dewey v. Volkswagen
Wednesday, August 4, Judge Patty Shwartz (D.N.J.) approved the Dewey v. Volkswagen settlement to which the Center for Class Action Fairness had objected. In…
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Elena Kagan Confirmed, 63-37, for Supreme Court; Divided Senate Approves Nomination in Partisan Vote
The Senate has voted 63-to-37 to confirm Elena Kagan as the next Supreme Court justice. Click here for details. The vote…
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Obama subsidizes Ford after blocking its access to credit
At the 1986 White House Conference on Small Business, President Ronald Reagan offered these famous remarks about politicians’ views on business in the 1970s. Reagan…
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Obama Pushes More Bailouts; Nobel Laureate Criticizes Obama Policies
Nobel Laureate Vernon Smith criticizes the Obama Administration’s stimulus package and skyrocketing deficit spending, saying that deficit-financed stimulus is “the problem, not the…
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Fumento on Neil Cavuto tonight on Toyota
I’m scheduled to be the lead guest on Neil Cavuto on the Fox Business Channel at 6pm tonight. Subject: The news that NHTSA is withholding…
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“Mom Who Starved Son Praised by Judge”
That’s the headline from the Associated Press. A Baltimore mother got nothing more than a suspended sentence for starving her 1-year-old son to…
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The Story of Cosmetics: The Critique
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CSR and Oil Companies: The Truth Dawns?
The environmental left is in some disarray following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. After all, BP had trumpeted for years the idea that it was…
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Manuel “Muso” Ayau RIP
Manuel Ayau, known by his many friends and admirers as “Muso,” passed away early this morning, in his native Guatemala — a country he loved and…
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Missouri Voters Overwhelmingly Reject ObamaCare’s Individual Mandate in Referendum
“Missouri voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected a federal mandate to purchase health insurance, rebuking President Barack Obama’s administration and giving Republicans their first political…
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LibertyWeek 104: Battlefield Arizona
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Left-Wing Politician Faces Ethics Charges for Improperly Using Influence to Aid Bank
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) is facing ethics charges after she improperly used her influence to get special favors from regulators, and costly taxpayer bailouts,…
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Minneapolis’ Block E: The Failure Continues
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The Environment is a Luxury Good
One of the central insights of Free-Market Environmentalism is that people treat the environment as a luxury good. They are willing to pay for it…
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Regulation of the Day 145: Unregistered Chariots
King Tut's chariot is now on exhibit in New York, but not without incident. Officials demanded to see its VIN before Allowing it in the…
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Paycheck Fairness Act Would Mandate Equal Pay for Unequal Work
The Obama administration wants to force employers to pay some people equal amounts for doing unequal work, through a deceptive bill known as the Paycheck…
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Alcohol middle-men pay lawmakers to protect industry
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Judge Lets Virginia Challenge ObamaCare’s Individual Mandate, Refusing to Dismiss Lawsuit
A federal judge in Virginia has allowed the state’s lawsuit challenging the federal individual health care mandate to proceed: “A judge on Monday…
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In defending Kagan, Media Matters embraces Bush Justice Department
Well, who woulda thunk it?! George W. Bush’s Justice Department is now considered a citadel of wisdom by the legal eagles at the liberal Media…
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Give & Take: Fifth Amendment Complicates Net Neutrality
Opponents of net neutrality, including the Competitive Enterprise Institute, have pointed to numerous grounds upon which the detrimental scheme could be challenged. These…
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The Open Internet and Lessons from the Ma Bell Era
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CEI Weekly: The History of Environmentalism
CEI weekly is a compilation of articles and blogs from CEI's staff. This week features CEI's RJ Smith in his own short film on the…
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Want to be a pro bono economic expert? In re Apple & ATTM Antitrust Litig.
When Apple introduced its iPhone into a smartphone market where it had 0% market share, it cut a deal with AT&T Mobility to make it…
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NOAA to Skeptics: We’re Right, You Can’t Deny It
A recent report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which has received wide media attention, has come to the conclusion that evidence for anthropogenic…
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Understanding the Health Care System
Check out this flow chart of what the health care system will look like once Obamacare is implemented.
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Obama Hypocritically Embraces Legal Doctrine He Earlier Attacked
In response to a lawsuit by the Obama Justice Department, a federal judge appointed by Bill Clinton has enjoined parts of Arizona’s new law…
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A tort reform advocate’s dream, my article in Forbes.com
It’s a tort reform advocate’s dream–meaning a defendant’s worst nightmare. As I write in my Forbes.com article, “California Trial Lawyers Find A Geezer Goldmine,”…
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Dewey v. Volkswagen, Water Ingress Settlement fairness hearing
A tiny percentage of Volkswagen and Audi sunroofs will leak into the vehicle unless care is taken to keep the plenum clear of debris; a…
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History of Environmentalism
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Jim Hood: Another of the Nation’s Worst State Attorneys General
Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood has a truly awful record, as today’s Wall Street Journal notes, citing his links to trial lawyers who tried…
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Bill to Regulate Political Speech Fails
It was mostly Democrats who favored the DISCLOSE Act. But Republicans are no heroes on this issue. Don't believe their posturing.
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Coalition Letter: Wine and Spirits Bill Affont to Consumer Choice
Today, CEI sent a letter to all members of Congress regarding H.R. 5034. This is the bill that would allow states to impose a…
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Chris Horner on the Politics of Cap and Trade
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Regulation of the Day 144: Underage Senior Citizens
Bob Russ is 66 years old. He was denied entry to the Oregon Brewer’s Festival because he lacked a valid photo ID to prove he…
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Hans Bader on the Nation’s Worst Attorneys General
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America’s Worst State Attorney Generals Exposed; Consumers and Businesses Ripped Off
The nation’s worst state attorney generals use lawsuits as a weapon to redistribute billions of dollars from businesses and consumers to their wealthy trial-lawyer friends…
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LibertyWeek 103: Katherine Mangu-Ward Edition
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What the Mad Men Tell Us
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Who is Elizabeth Warren and why does Big Labor Love Her?
The Dodd–Frank Financial Regulation Bill, which President Obama signed today, created yet another Czar to head yet another Executive Agency, the…
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Rockefeller Bill – Is It Good Enough?
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CEI Weekly: The Nation’s Worst Attorneys General
CEI weekly is a compilation of articles and blogs from CEI's staff. This week features Hans Bader's newest study on the worst attorneys general in…
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Automakers Face Potentially Massive Race-Discrimination Class-Action Lawsuit Thanks to Obama Administration
“Decisions on which car dealerships to close as part of the auto industry bailout — closures the Obama administration forced on General Motors and Chrysler…
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Hopes for Federal Property Insurance Expansion: Gone with the Wind
Insurance industry members are wiping there collective brow after a bill was pulled from the floor of the House of Representatives before a vote.
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Senator Pat Leahy Doesn’t Even Read Supreme Court Decisions Before Blasting Them
Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) is fond of blasting Supreme Court decisions even before reading them. In his eyes, its decisions are all part of a…
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Jerry Brown Is the Nation’s Worst State Attorney General
California Attorney General Jerry Brown is the worst state attorney general in America, as I documented in a recent study. But how was…
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Wine in Grocery Stores, Still on the Table in New York
A proposal to allow New York State supermarkets sell wine might re-emerge this year if Governor David A. Patterson can break the state’s budgetary stalemate.
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The Nation’s Worst State Attorneys General
The nation’s worst state attorneys general abuse the power of their office for political ends, undermining the rule of law. In…
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Public’s confidence in institutions at odds with Administration’s and Congressional attacks
In a new Gallup poll on confidence in institutions, Congress ranked last out of 16 institutions consumers were asked to consider. Only 11…
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Richard Blumenthal Rated Second-Worst Attorney General in America
Connecticut Attorney General Dick Blumenthal has just been rated the second-worst state attorney general in America by the Competitive Enterprise Institute in its recent…
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Economists vs. Economics
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New Jersey’s Not-So-Palatial Xanadu
The retail and entertainment development formerly known as Xanadu Meadowlands—recently renamed The Meadowlands—has been plagued with problems since the planning stage. The East…
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Will the Party of No Foil the Half-Baked Greenhouse Machiavellis?
Many have already written the obituary for the Kerry-Lieberman bill and other cap-and-trade legislation in the current Congress. In today’s Politico, however, columnist Darren Samuelsohn…
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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.”…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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.
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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,…
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