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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,…
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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.
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Horner & Horner Fight Global Warming Alarmism
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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.
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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,…
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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…
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Summary of Comprehensive Immigration Reform: Good and Bad
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Santa to move headquarters to Palm Springs!
Or somewhere new, anyway. By necessity. So says Al Gore. In a speech at the Copenhagen climate summit he declared: “These figures are fresh.
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Schools call off Taliban debate
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Regulation of the Day 84: The Size of Holes in Swiss Cheese
Talk about attention to detail. The federal government regulates the size of hole in Swiss cheese.
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LibertyWeek 73: Understanding ‘Obamanomics’
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Washington Post Back to Pushing Avian Flu Panic
Remember avian flu? Until swine flu came along, that’s what was going to wipe out mankind.
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Obama Summit: President’s goals of more loans and more heavy-handed regulation in conflict
Statement of John Berlau, director, Center for Investors and Entrepreneurs, Competitive Enterprise Institute: President Obama’s twin goals of more bank loans and more heavy-handed regulation…
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Objection to Yahoo! “Sponsored Search” settlement
In In re Yahoo! Litigation, Case No. CV06-2737 CAS (FMOx), plaintiffs’ lawyers seek approval to settle a class action over alleged problems in…
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Honda Civic Hybrid class action settlement objection
In True v. American Honda Motor Co., Case No. 07-cv-00287 VAP (OPx), trial lawyers seek to settle consumer fraud litigation over mileage claims…
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On the Nature of Change: Calm Down!
Most people are convinced that we shall die in either fire or ice. The proportion crying each variety of wolf varies according to the fashion…
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Regulation of the Day 83: Citations
The Code of Federal Regulations contains a regulation on how to cite the Code of Federal Regulations.
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Financial Fiasco
I recently finished reading Swedish economist Johan Norberg's book about the financial crisis, aptly titled Financial Fiasco. It's both short and informative. Six chapters and…
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Flu Watch Dec. 11 – What Swine Flu ISN’T Doing this Week
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Utopia and totalitarianism — Revel’s new book
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Marcus Aurelius: Emperor, Philosopher, Economist
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World Meteorological Organization blows hot air on global warming
“The decade of 2000 to 2009 appears to be the warmest one in the modern record, the World Meteorological Organization reported in a new analysis…
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The Intoxicating Effects of Privatization
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Lots of vituperative comments to Palin’s WaPo op-ed
Sarah Palin’s op-ed in the Washington Post yesterday on ClimateGate and the Copenhagen conference has spawned a blizzard of comments from Post readers. Almost…
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Regulation of the Day 82: Veterinarians
Did you know that the federal government is in the veterinary accreditation business? It’s true.
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Innovations like “Living Stories” will help keep much of legacy media in business
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MD doesn’t stand in Casino’s way
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Tarp the TARP and give small biz relief from Sarbanes-Oxley and other burdensome regs
Statement of John Berlau, Director of CEI’s Center for Investors and Entrepreneurs, on extending TARP for small business and on Rep. Barney Frank’s plans to…
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EPA moves to bypass climate change legislation
While climate experts were off at the Copenhagen summit working on their tans (in sunny Copenhagen), the EPA pulled a fast one. As the Washington…
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GW alarmists continue their exploitation of children
This, I think, has to go down as one of the creepiest “editorials” written by global warming alarmists recently. Clive Hamilton, ABC News in…
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Poll: Used Car Salesmen More Ethical than Congress
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Antitrust as Corporate Welfare for Aggrieved Competitors
Wayne Crews and I have an article in today's American Spectator about the antitrust crusade against Intel. An FTC picking winners and losers is not…
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Regulation of the Day 81: Porn
A proposed rule in California would reclassify adult film actors as being subject to certain employment regulations. The unintended consequences are potentially fatal.
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In-Flight Rent-Seeking
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Regulation of the Day 80: Falconry
The Code of Federal Regulations contains 12,834 words worth of rules concerning falconry, of all things.
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Did Deregulation Cause the Great Recession?
Over at RealClearMarkets, I explain why the answer is a resounding no. Over 30,000 total new rules passed during the Bush years. Hardly any were…
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File this under “Shocked, shocked!”
“Experts predict flu pandemic could be mildest on record” declares the Washington Post headline. Unless, that is, you use the old definition of pandemic…
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All the Former Vice President’s Men: ClimateGate
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LibertyWeek 72: Champagne Wishes and Climate Change Dreams
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AOL Footer case – Fairchild v. AOL objection to proposed settlement
Four plaintiffs represented by three law firms sued AOL for including advertising in the footers of emails and failing to make it sufficiently easy for…
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Regulation of the Day 79: Auctioneers in Alabama
It is illegal to conduct an auction without a license in Alabama. Violators can be punished with fines of up to $500. Applicants must pay…
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PCAOB case in the WSJ — Kazman quoted
CEI’s Sam Kazman has a great quote on the PCAOB case in James Freeman’s article today in the Wall Street Journal. Although the case,…
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False Claims by Government in Supreme Court Case: PCAOB Agency Is More Powerful and Independent Than Government Claims
The members of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), an agency being challenged in the Supreme Court on December…
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More Biased Press Coverage of the Supreme Court and Its Ledbetter Decision
Press coverage of the Supreme Court is sometimes marred by ideological bias. Liberal court reporters sometimes distort what Supreme Court justices say, or the facts of Supreme…
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“WHO Should Just Give Up on the Flu Scare,” my National Post piece
The folks who dubbed the swine flu piglet a pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO), just won’t let up. “It is too early to say…
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Don’t Worry about Trade Deficits
I run an ongoing trade deficit with my local grocery store. I import food from them every week. They have never purchased a thing from…
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Peekaboo! PCAOB More Powerful and Less Accountable than Government Claims
On December 7, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear Free Enterprise Fund v. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. The case, brought by CEI and Jones Day…
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RGGI: A tax is a tax is a tax
President Obama and other cap-and-trade advocates assured us they had “learned from Europe’s mistakes” and would auction all emission permits rather than hand them out at no charge to favored…
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Flu Watch Dec. 4 – What Swine Flu ISN’T Doing this Week
The epidemic has plunged so far that it’s on the borderline of no longer being one. An epidemic, that is. It’s right on the…
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What about a “second wave” of swine flu?
Mr. Fumento, I read your articles religiously. You recently attacked swine flu as hysterical overreaction. Is it really? You talk about a bell curve…
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“Big Media” Critics Miss the Big Picture on Comcast-NBC Deal
Media watchdogs are having a fit this week over the announced agreement between Comcast and NBC Universal. Under this deal, Comcast will hold 51%…
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CEI Weekly: Climate-Gate Continues
CEI weekly is a compilation of articles and blogs from CEI's staff. This week features the continued coverage of ClimateGate, the leaked email scandal, on…
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Regulation of the Day 78: Green Energy Subsidies
If green energy is commercially viable, then it doesn't need any subsidies. If it isn't, no amount of subsidy will make it so.
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ClimateGate gets even more bizarre
ClimateGate is serious. When prominent climate scientists fudge results, refuse FOIA requests, take steps to restrict publication of dissident views, etc., it’s serious business,…
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NAAQS Petition Confirms Mass v. EPA Is Bottomless Well of Absurd Results
Yesterday, the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) and 350.org petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for carbon…
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“Show Me the Warming,” my piece in Forbes Online
From the thousands of email and other documents that comprise “Climategate,” this is one of the most interesting: It’s a “travesty” that “we can’t account…
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Tweeting for Liberty
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Following the scientific method: an example
Experiments in science that don’t reinforce scientists’ hypotheses can be vitally important in understanding complex systems. Serious scientists don’t fudge the results or hide…
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Daily Show’s Jon Stewart on Climategate rejection of “inconvenient” data
After playing a news clip stating, “University scientists say raw data from the 1980s was thrown out” Daily Show host Jon Stewart declared, “Why…
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Scholarships to Study Free-Market Ideas
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Regulation of the Day 77: Banning Toys in Happy Meals
Roberto Zabrido, a government official in Spain, is “adamant that the Happy Meal and its ilk pose a risk.” The solution? Legislation!…
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Myron Ebell Debates Climategate on Fox News
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Where did the global warming-caused hurricanes go?
Whoa! Did we just have a hurricane season? Doesn't seem that way. "2009 hurricane season ends quietly with fewest storms since 1997," declares on headline.
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Cap and Trade Takes a Big Hit in Australia
Breaking news: At a meeting of the Liberal Party’s Members of Parliament today, Malcolm Turnbull was turned out as Leader and replaced by Tony Abbott…
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Injustice Delayed
Tomorrow, December 1st marks the day when banks and other credit processing companies would have had to be in full compliance with Unlawful Internet Gambling…
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Regulation of the Day 76: Generic Medication for Farm Animals
If you put chlortetracycline powder in your farm animals’ drinking water to prevent disease, please be aware that a new federal rule now allows you…
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LibertyWeek 71: The Politics of Booze
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“Would ObamaCare Reduce Innovation?”: Health Care Bill Would Cause Preventable Deaths
“Would ObamaCare Kill Medical Innovation?” That’s the question posed by health care expert Michael Cannon. His answer is yes: “President Obama’s…
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How Capitalism and Property Rights Saved the Pilgrims From Starving
Law professor llya Somin notes a “lesson of the original Thanksgiving: that the Pilgrims nearly starved to death because…
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The Economics of Black Friday
Non-price costs such as crowds and long lines should be factored into your shopping habits. Otherwise you just might be getting ripped off.
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CEI Weekly: Unearthed E-Mails Point to Data Manipulation
CEI weekly is a compilation of articles and blogs from CEI's staff. This week features the release of leaked emails suggesting that renowned climate researchers…
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Global warming email scandal: Will the real Kevin Trenberth please stand up?
It has become evident that the planet is running a “fever” and the prognosis is that it is apt to get much worse. “Warming of…
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Post Promotes Pig Pandemic Panic . . . and promotes and promotes . . .
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Why Hiding Computer Code Is Lethal to Climate Science
This post is a follow up to my previous on why Climategate is the real war on science. My earlier post commented on Willis…
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Climategate — the Real War on Science?
The huge pile of emails purloined or leaked from the Climate Research Unit (CRU) last week does indeed “give every appearance of testifying to concerted…
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Nanny State to the Poor: No Soup for You!
As reported in the American Council and Science and Health‘s daily email, “Morning,” nanny state regulations in New York mean that there is less…
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The Heart of Climategate–the “fudge factor”
You can download the entire zip file of the uncovered emails and documents here but it is 61mb of text. The…
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The Little People of the Superstate
Almost like answering Henry Kissinger’s famous question–Who do I call if I want to talk to Europe?–the 27 states of the EU have selected the…
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Real Climate Spin
Real Climate.Org is chief defender of "consensus" climatology on the Internet. One of its enduring missions has been to defend the dubious, indeed discredited "Hockey…
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Happy Birthday, Carl Sagan
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Moderates Criticize Health Care Bill As It Advances in Senate; Experts Gave Bill A “Failing Grade”
On Saturday, the Senate voted 60-to-39, along party lines, to press towards passage of a massive health care bill, by blocking a…
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LibertyWeek 70: Climate-Gate Bursts Forth
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“Toxic” Feast: Turkey with Stuffing?
Worried about chemicals in your food? Well then, you had better not eat this Thanksgiving or …ever again! Greens constantly tell us not to…
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Chris Horner Calls for Investigation of ‘ClimateGate’
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What Would Rudy Say?
A college professor once described what he called the “Rudy’s Test” to his class. The Rudy’s test involves going into Rudy’s (a bar) sitting…
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Lack of global warming is “hot” issue
“Climatologists baffled by Global Warming Time-Out” declares the headline in Germany’s Spiegel online. “Global warming appears to have stalled. Climatologists are puzzled as to…
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