Blog
Why Can’t We Have a “Three Strikes” Policy for Public Financing?
Blog
Regulation of the Day 99: Salty New Yorkers
New York City is seeking to regulate how much salt is in peoples' food. Enforcement will prove difficult; most food that New Yorkers eat comes…
Blog
This Guy Gets It
Blog
Follow the Money? That’s Exactly What Rent-Seekers Do
This fellow from New Zealand appears to think that Climategate proves that the big money is in climate skepticism. How does that work? Here’s…
Blog
New Federal Program Kills Jobs, While Costing Taxpayers Half a Billion Dollars
A federal biofuels program enacted in the name of fighting global warming and reducing dependence on foreign oil is instead killing jobs while perhaps…
Blog
“Homer doughnut. Bacon doughnut. Paradise.”
Thus says Morgan Spurlock in The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special. When I first heard that Spurlock, whose most renowned contribution to film is a leftish…
Blog
CEI Weekly: Change We Can Really Believe In
CEI weekly is a compilation of articles and blogs from CEI's staff. This week features a compelling op-ed written by CEI's Fred Smith on what…
Blog
Yes, pseudoscience writer Chris Mooney IS dishonest.
Blog
Flu Watch Jan. 8 – What Swine Flu ISN’T Doing this week
These things just keep getting briefer and briefer. Infections down, deaths down to only 14, states with widespread activity: just one. Updating you on…
Blog
The Audacity of Doom
At Bigjournalism.com, Woody Hochswender puts global warming alarmism in the context of a long tradition of doomsaying — which wasn’t invented by Al Gore…
Blog
Spiked Online on Art, Commerce, and Rebellion
Blog
Massie on the Politics of Snow
Blog
Nobel Prize Winning Economist Says Obama Policies Delaying Economic Recovery
In the Wall Street Journal, Nobel Prize-winning economist Gary Becker and others explain how President Obama’s policies are delaying and retarding the inevitable economic…
Blog
On this day in 1835…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 98: Gastrointestinal Drugs
Did you know that the federal government has a Gastrointestinal Drugs Advisory Committee?…
Blog
“We the People” on Obamacare
Somehow I missed this during the holiday season – singer, songwriter, comedian Ray Stevens’ “We the People.” It’s a country western singing-video about…
Blog
Will Congress protect the economy and the Constitution from Mass. v. EPA?
In this two–part post on MasterResource.Org, the free-market energy blog, I argue that the EPA’s proposed Tailoring Rule is a temporary, legally questionable, and…
Blog
Waxman-Markey’s impact on housing prices — more than your average postage stamp
Proponents of the Waxman-Markey (W-M) cap-and-trade bill assure us it will cost the average household less than a postage stamp a day. The Heritage…
Blog
Thinking outside the box on security
The Washington Post editorial, “In the wake of Flight 253, the TSA must get more anti-terrorist tools” makes a short-sighted argument for increasing resources for…
Blog
That Didn’t Take Long
Today is the fourth working day of the new year. The Federal Register has already exceeded 1,000 pages.
Blog
More Enron-like Behavior by Administration Officials Comes to Light
Earlier, the Washington Post reported on how the Obama administration pressured Freddie Mac not to disclose to investors and the SEC the $30…
Blog
Bastardi: Today’s frigid weather similar to 1970s when Ice Age was alarm
Accuweather’s meteorologist Joe Bastardi has a new video titled “Worldwide Cold not Seen Since 70s…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 97: Full Body Scans and Child Protection Laws
Sometimes, when two regulations love each other much, they get together and have little baby regulations. This is happening right now in Britain.
Blog
Serial Rapists Roam Free in D.C. as the D.C. Government Shields Ex-Cons from Discrimination
The D.C. government sometimes has more empathy for criminals than for their victims. In December 2007, the D.C. Council voted to…
Blog
Virginia Weighs Discriminatory Mandate on Divorced Parents
Married parents don’t have any legal obligation to pay for their adult children’s college education or living expenses. But a bill just introduced in…
Blog
An Authoritarian Climate
Certain influential forces in the environmental movement – most notably James Hansen of NASA – have expressed disquiet with the inability of democracies to deal…
Blog
Richard Epstein: “Deregulation Now”
In his Forbes.com column, University of Chicago law professor Richard Epstein offers a simple proposal for reviving the economy: “Deregulation Now.” His proposals are…
Blog
Positively bad thinking
“Anybody who ever built an empire, or changed the world, sat where you are now,” says George Clooney’s “termination engineer” to just-fired employees in the…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 96: Health Warnings on Cell Phones
These warning labels have nothing to do with letting people know that their phones can make them look like jackasses.
Blog
Public Sector Unions’ Heavy Burden on Taxpayers
As the old saying goes, when you start getting flak, you must be over the target. That seems like a good reason for the hysterical…
Blog
Congress Mulls More Credit Card Restrictions, in Legislation Likely to Backfire on Consumers
Some in Congress want to impose interest rate ceilings on credit cards and restrictions on interchange fees. Australia tried the same thing, and it…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 95: Buying Wine in Ohio
It is illegal to buy more than 288 bottles of wine per year in Ohio.
Blog
Government Uses Takeover of Mortgage Giants to Deliberately Increase Their Massive Losses at Taxpayer Expense
The Wall Street Journal notes that the Obama administration has used the federal government’s bailout of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and…
Blog
“Was Swine Flu a False Pandemic?”
No, that’s not Michael Fumento asking. It’s a pharmaceutical industry blog declaring, “That’s the contention by more than a dozen members of the Parliamentary…
Blog
Hayek on Freedom
Blog
In Case You Missed it: Lone Voice of Reason at CPSC
In 2008, Congress passed Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA), which regulates lead and certain chemicals in toys. Never mind the…
Blog
LibertyWeek 75: Credit Cards, Government-Style
Blog
Regulation of the Day 94: Plastic Shopping Bags
Washington, DC’s city government is now requiring stores to charge customers five cents for each plastic bag they use at checkout. There were 84 unsolved…
Blog
Obama’s Recent $75 Billion Mortgage Bailout Fails: Harmful to Economy, Housing, and Construction, Say Economists and Real Estate Experts
Economists and real estate experts are saying that a $75 billion mortgage bailout program designed by the Obama administration has backfired and harmed the housing market,…
Blog
Stimulus Package Forces States to Raise Taxes, Harms Economy
The federal government’s $800 billion stimulus package, which failed to cut unemployment, is now forcing states and local governments to raise taxes. The Wall Street Journal…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 93: Predatory Lending
The CCARD Act is, completely unintentionally, a wealth transfer from poor people to richer people. Congress is actively hurting the very people it intended to…
Blog
Terrorism Is Rare
Each time you board a plane, your odds of being a victim of terrorism are about 1 in 10,408,947. Your odds of being struck by…
Blog
Flu Watch Dec. 30 – What Swine Flu ISN’T Doing
It’s a holiday so we’ll make this quick. Infections have somehow managed to drop again as have deaths and hospitalizations. Just 15 deaths reported…
Blog
CEI Weekly: Looking Back on 2009
CEI weekly is a compilation of articles and blogs from CEI's staff. This week features a recap of the major events that happened in 2009…
Blog
TSA Praises Itself After Year of Security Lapses; Obama Administration Backs TSA Unionization at Public Expense
In a year-end message to Transportation Security Administration (TSA) staff, the agency praised itself for a “very good year” in airline…
Blog
Louisiana auto insurance at a crossroads
Louisiana drivers pay the third highest expenditures for auto insurance in the country (with N.J. taking second and D.C. taking the top honor). On…
Blog
Latest Victim of the State–Your Dog
Blog
Year-End Fun: Scroogenomics
Blog
Florida Attorney General Questions Constitutionality of Healthcare Bills in Congress
Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum is questioning whether it is constitutional to force people to buy health insurance, as the health…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 92: Camping at the Beach
In Oregon, it is illegal to set up a tent at most beaches.
Blog
Swine flu also unexceptional in contagiousness
With a massive amount of data indicating swine flu is vastly milder than seasonal flu, a new study in the New England Journal of…
Blog
No, yet again, cell phones do not cause cancer
If you’re getting a headache from spending to much time on your cell phone, it’s probably from yakking too much. But it’s not from brain…
Blog
MI Senate not “FAIR” and it’s a good thing
The Michigan Senate recessed last week without passing the proposed insurance reforms that would, among other things, prevent insurers from using factors such as…
Blog
For the Birds
An environmental group is suing to cancel an upcoming AC/DC concert in Austria because they think loud music poses a threat to birds.
Blog
Regulation of the Day 91: Horse Floaters
Blog
Where did all the global warming hurricanes go? (My Forbes article)
The cover of Al Gore’s new book, Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis, features a satellite image of the globe showing…
Blog
Is ObamaCare’s “Individual Mandate” Unconstitutional?
The health care bills backed by the President require that individuals buy health insurance if it is not provided by their employer. Is that unconstitutional?…
Blog
Say No to EFCA in 2010
Given the amount of palm-greasing that was required to get reluctant moderate Democratic senators to vote to end debate on Obamacare, it's unlikely that those…
Blog
LibertyWeek 74: TSA Under Fire
Blog
Progressives Against Health Care Bill for Wrong Reasons
Blog
Regulation of the Day 90: The National Poultry Improvement Plan
Having solved all the nation’s other problems, the federal government has a National Poultry Improvement Plan.
Blog
Entitlement creep exemplified (or why we’re going broke)
1965, Medicare health insurance authorized for all Americans over age 65 along with Medicaid that covers both seniors and the poor. Somehow for 190 years…
Blog
CEI Weekly: CEI Offers More for Gore Debate
CEI weekly is a compilation of articles and blogs from CEI's staff. This week features CEI's video invitation to Al Gore to debate the topic…
Blog
Michigan’s population leak
In a preview to the 2010 census, Michigan learned this week that it was one of only three states to lose members of its…
Blog
Government Expands Fannie and Freddie Bailout and Lavishes Money on their CEOs
Under the Bush administration, federal regulators took over Fannie and Freddie in the name of stopping their risky practices. But the Obama administration has increased…
Blog
EPA’s Tailoring Rule: A Temporary, Legally Dubious, and Incomplete Antidote to Massachusetts v. EPA’s Legacy of Absurd Results
Today, I submitted a comment on EPA’s proposed Prevention of Significant Deterioration and Title V Greenhouse Gas Tailoring Rule. The gist of my…
Blog
Terrorist Charged After Trying to Blow Up Plane; Government Undermines Airline and Railroad Security
An alleged terrorist from Nigeria has been charged with plotting to blow up an airliner. He carried explosives onto a plane…
Blog
Flu Watch Dec. 24 – The U.S. Epidemic is Over
The Big Scare of 2009 is over, folks. The U.S. swine flu epidemic has ended. “The proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza (P&I)…
Blog
Coverage at the Volokh Conspiracy
Todd Zywicki at the Volokh Conspiracy writes about the Center for Class Action Fairness, and commenters debate the issue.
Blog
Climategate Op-Ed in Detroit News
Here is my op-ed published in the Detroit News on December 23. Climategate: What e-mail really means Daniel Compton By now, most people…
Blog
Why Won’t Al Gore Debate?, Part 2
CEI has a gift for Al Gore, arriving just in time for the holidays. You may recall that CEI last month rushed to the cause…
Blog
Health care bill’s hidden tax on pain relievers, Pedialyte, and prenatal vitamins
Blog
Regulation of the Day 89: Purple Dye
Modern innovations such as synthetic dyes, the Minnesota Vikings, and purple M&Ms have taken away purple’s exotic reputation. But no worry. Federal regulators are doing…
Blog
The Financial Crisis Made Easy, Radio Edition
Some of OpenMarket.org’s readers may know that I’m in the middle of earning a Master’s of Journalism here in D.C. I’m concentrating in Broadcast and…
Blog
Fairchild v. AOL briefing
Additional issues arise in the response to the motion for settlement. 1) Is an email notifying subscribers of a pre-existing policy substantive injunctive relief…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 88: College Football’s Playoff System
On the other hand, legislators do less harm when they spend their time on college football rather than, say, health care.
Blog
An unhappy ending for CA’s adult film industry?
One reason people enjoy pornography (apart from the obvious benefit) is that it allows them to fantasize about activities in which they cannot or do…
Blog
Flu Watch Dec. 18 – What Swine Flu ISN’T Doing this Week
Blog
Bringing on the clowns at Copenhagen
I was intrigued with a reference in Wes Pruden’s Washington Times column today that the Copenhagen COP15 delegate from Tuvalu, weeping while pleading for…
Blog
Climategate and consensus nonsense
Cato’s Pat Michaels, one of the scientists attacked in the Climategate emails, has an excellent editorial in the Wall Street Journal today with examples…
Blog
CEI Weekly: CEI at Copenhagen
CEI weekly is a compilation of articles and blogs from CEI's staff. This week features reports from two CEI analysts, Myron Ebell and William Yeatman,…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 87: The Volume of TV Commercials
The House passed the Commercial Loudness Act on Wednesday. If it becomes law, the FCC would control the volume level of television commercials.
Blog
Barton Or Bust! How to Stop Mass. v. EPA from Wrecking the Economy
Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, announced today that he plans to introduce a “resolution of disapproval” to…
Blog
Is “several degrees” of warming “virtually certain,” as NASA claims?
Earlier this week, at an American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco, NASA unveiled new data on atmospheric greenhouse gases (GHGs), notably carbon dioxide…
Blog
Hype is More Dangerous than Chemicals in the Water
Officials at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are working hard to hype drinking water risks as they ask Congress to expand their authority under…
Blog
Horner & Horner Fight Global Warming Alarmism
Blog
FDIC Prepares for “an even-larger number of bank failures” in 2010
[T]he increase is intended to “ensure that [they] are prepared to handle an even-larger number of bank failures” in 2010.
Blog
Comprehensive Immigration Reform Helps Highly Skilled Immigrants
Section 320 of the The Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity Act of 2009 H.R. 4321 (CIR ASAP) is fantastic. It exempts…
Blog
Chavez (and Marx) a hit at Copenhagen
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez couldn’t resist another opportunity to bash capitalism — and the COP15 Copenhagen Conference on global warming gave him a perfect…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 86: Cockfighting Advertisements
If you’re thinking of sending out advertisements for a cockfight through the mail, you should be aware that a new regulation allows the postal service…
Blog
The Big Business of Illegal Gambling
Tonight at 9pm CNBC will investigate the horrors of illegal gambling . It will doubtlessly delve into the shady underground economy of gambling, where…
Blog
What Nanny Doesn’t Want You to Know
Nanny state regulators got it all wrong back in 1977 when the feds placed a warning label on the sugar substitute saccharine. They said it…
Blog
Anti-Takings Abuse Bill Introduced in the House
The Strengthening the Ownership of Private Property Act of 2009, introduced by Rep. Stephanie Sandlin (D-SD), would prevent any federal economic development funding from being…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 85: Peddlers
It is illegal to be a peddler in Wisconsin without a license. One of the requirements is five years of residency in Wisconsin. Because clearly,…
Blog
Removing Antitrust Exemption Won’t Increase Healthcare Competition
The senators wisely state in their piece that making health insurance more affordable will require more competition in the marketplace. Unfortunately, their proposal to revoke…
Blog
Summary of Comprehensive Immigration Reform: Good and Bad
Blog
The Economist on Government Employee Unions
The current issue of The Economist leads off its United States section with a story on public sector unions that breaks down the issue very…
Blog
It’s Curtains on Free Speech in Colorado
Maybe the air is a little too thin out in Colorado and the supreme court justices aren’t getting enough oxygen to their brains. Perhaps that…
Blog
CEI Weekly: Sarbox in Court, EPA Ruling on Gases, and Copenhagen
CEI weekly is a compilation of articles and blogs from CEI's staff. This week features coverage on Sarbanes-Oxley's first day in the Supreme Court. This…
Blog
Bastiat’s Broken Window Fallacy isn’t even an analogy when it comes to Obama
One can only stand back in awe. President Obama said this at Home Depot today: “The simple act of retro-fitting” — installing…