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Should the U.S. Government Nationalize “Broken” Banks?
Such is the title of the latest BusinessWeek.com debate. Taking the “con” side is CEI’s own Eli Lehrer, who argues (in part): Long-term…
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LibertyWeek 28: Don’t Forget Your Limousine Tax
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Stimulus Plan Repeats Mistakes That Spawned Great Depression
The European Union is threatening a trade war over provisions in the $800 billion “stimulus” package backed by Obama and Congressional leaders. The Great…
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Appetite for Creative Destruction
Duff McKagan of Guns n’ Roses fame is going to be writing on financial matters at Playboy.com. What makes this more interesting than the…
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Stimulus Watch Launches Today
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Springsteen clashes with Obama advisor on Wal-Mart
In between playing at the Lincoln Memorial for Barack Obama’s inaugural concert and performing the half-time show last night at the Super Bowl, Bruce Springsteen…
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Renewable Energy Jobs Will Have To Wait
The porcine stimulus bill passed by the House contains $15 billion in capital investments and loan guarantees for renewable energy projects and new electric transmission…
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English Arch-Druid wants to limit you to two children
Two children should be limit, says this British green “guru.” What makes him a guru? Saying outrageous things that others should do, but not…
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Opposition to “Stimulus” Package Rises
Opposition to the $800 billion stimulus package continues to rise, and polls show support for it has fallen to 42%. Independent swing-voters oppose…
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Activist Jim Boulet RIP
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All Pregame all the Time
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Len Nichols of NAF on Incentives in Health Care
12:52pm Len Nichols of the New America Foundation is driving down the same “Middle Road” that the last panel plotted out. So far,…
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Ranking geo-engineering strategies, or “climate hacks” to cool Earth down
Numerous approaches have been described to cool what some insist is a warming world (though not over the past few years). In any event, not…
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Heart Docs & Health Reform: What about Regulation?
I’m listening now to a panel discussion at the America College or Cardiology Health System Reform Summit. The panel’s topic: “Health Care Reform: State Models…
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What’s Stupid About Bottled Water?
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Increasingly Lost Property Rights
Most people probably think “wetlands” should be wet. But not in the view of federal bureaucrats. Land can be perfectly dry–indeed, never have the slightest…
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FACT Check the Internet’s Future
The Future of American Communications (FACT) working group funded by the Media Democracy Fund released its official report on the 26th of January. The report,…
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Tree Hugger Ads for Bottled Water?
You gotta love it. I searched the greenie website Tree Hugger today for the term “bottled water.” Guess what came up on the top of…
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What’s Stupid about Bottled Water?
Politicians, greens, and other alleged do-gooders keep saying that if you like bottled water, you must be stupid maybe even reckless! Chicago has even imposed a…
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James Hansen: Ideologue or Scientist?
James Hansen of NASA is one of the leading climate alarmists, and possesses a scientific credibility lacking in the Goracle. But Hansen really has become…
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We’re Here from the Government to Hurt You (the Toymakers)
That old line about “we’re here from the government to help you” always garners a laugh. But small toymakers are crying. Investigative columnist Timothy…
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What NASA Thinks of James Hansen
James Hansen of NASA has become one of the leading climate alarmists. Quite simply, the world is about to end. That being the case, industry…
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Tim Carney: How Stimulating
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Unions Stall on EFCA, Advance Elsewhere
The Democratic Congress’s failure to pounce instantly to pass the so-called Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), also known as the “card check” bill, presents a…
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How to Sell a Bunk Bill: Marginalize the Opposition
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SEIU Split in California?
Ousted officials from a Bay Area local of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) announced yesterday that they were forming a new union, and…
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Obama Distorts Ledbetter v. Goodyear Case, In Signing Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
In signing his first bill into law, Obama didn’t let facts get in the way of a good story, or milking a political wedge issue.
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Update on Green Stimulus: It Still Stinks
Both chambers agree with President Barack Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s staff that the government should shower winners in the renewable energy industry with…
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COP, America’s Financial Paper Tiger
The Congressional Oversight Panel (COP) recently issued a report on the TARP. This report represents the second in a monthly series of reports to be…
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Smoke for Me, But Not for Thee
Bars and restaurants here in Washington, D.C. have operated under a smoking ban for a little over two years now. As many bar owners…
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That Was Fast: Stimulus Passes House
The House of Representatives has just passed the $800-billion stimulus package which President Obama hopes to make a centerpiece of his administration’s early economic…
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Billy Powell, RIP
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LibertyWeek 27: Blago in Absentio
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Chris Horner on Al Gore’s Global Warming Testimony
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CA Restaurant & Bar Owners (not drinkers) Will Feel the Pinch of Nickel Tax
February 1st 2009 is the day that California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s per-drink tax increase will go into effect throughout the state. The tax…
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Al Gore, the lobbyist
In a letter dated January 26th, 2009 Al Gore’s company Generation Investment Management sent a coalition letter along with other institutional investors representing $1.7 trillion…
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Liveblog of Al Gore Climate Hearing
No TV station seems to be covering this live, but you can watch here. Kerry in his introduction says “if there was a…
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200 Economists Oppose the Stimulus Plan
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Is the TARP Unconstitutional?
Also at Heritage today, FreedomWorks chief economist Wayne Brough described his organization’s legal analysis of the constitutionality of the Troubled Assets Relief Program. “There…
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DeMint’s Smaller-Government Stimulus
This week, Senator Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), in response to President Obama’s stimulus plan, announced his own alternative stimulus package, which David Weigel, at the Washington…
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Clinton: World “Exhaling” Under Obama?
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Kiss Off to Consumers
The appropriations portion of the House stimulus bill is not the only legislation with bad ideas. The House Energy and Commerce Committee has also marked…
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Green Pork
In addition to tens of billions of dollars in the House stimulus bill for infrastructure and other projects to create jobs, there are also funding…
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When the Irreversible Effects Meet the Immovable Policy
Apparently, global warming is now irreversible. Or, at least, it is if you don’t consider any of the policy options that might, you know,…
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Stimulus Bill Triggers Legislative Logjams, Perpetuates Credit Crisis
Obama’s stimulus package is the problem, not the solution. No one wants to make any hard decisions until they see what goodies they may get…
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White House Distorts Ledbetter v. Goodyear Ruling, in Backing Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
The White House is making false claims about the Supreme Court’s Ledbetter v. Goodyear decision. In that case, the Supreme Court enforced the…
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Stimulus to Hunger
Great. Now USDA head Tom Vilsack is saying the US ethanol industry needs to be protected in the borrow-and-spend bill, and beyond:…
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Land of Liberty? No Longer in Belmont, California
I’ll confess that I’ve quietly applauded the spread of no smoking establishments. I don’t believe the government should ban smoking in restaurants, bars, and airplanes, but I’ve enjoyed…
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The Thrilling Feeling of Spending Other People’s Money
There’s nothing quite like using someone else’s credit card. No wonder the Washington Post headlined a front-page article today: “Stimulus Bill Sends Thrill Through…
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Stay Put, Now Go
Today, Spiked Online features two worthwhile pieces on two different ways in which environmental correctness can be deployed to disguise class snobbery — against two…
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Geithner confirmed — but with bipartisan “nays”
The U.S. Senate voted to confirm Timothy F. Geithner tonight, but the vote was closer than expected with more “nays” than any previous nominee of…
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Apparent Hold on Solis Nomination
The confirmation of Rep. Hilda Solis (D-Calif.) as Labor Secretary has run into an unexpected delay, as an unidentified Republican senator appears to have…
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John Berlau on the Geithner Confirmation
As Timothy Geithner receives 34 No votes on his confirmation, John Berlau reflects on how Geithner can right his wrongs. He can start by calling…
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Krugman is Wrong – Again!
Boy, that wacky Paul Krugman. The newly-crowned Nobel laureate (they should be allowed to wear a laurel wreath everywhere they go, so we’d know of…
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Chris Horner on President Obama’s Global Warming Policy
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Robbing Driving Peter to Pay Train-Riding Paul
Facing a budget shortfall, officials of South Florida’s Tri-Rail commuter train are seeking help from the state — or rather, from drivers who rent cars…
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No Consensus for “Stimulus” Among Economists
Contrary to claims by the Obama administration, there is no consensus among economists for a “stimulus” package, much less the trillion-dollar pork-filled “…
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Consumer Product Safety Law Backfires, Killing Thousands of Jobs
A consumer-product safety law recently passed by Congress will drive up the price of children’s clothes and toys and put thousands of small toymakers…
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Incoming Attorney General Eric Holder Is Hostile to Civil Liberties
Eric Holder, Obama’s choice for attorney general, is hostile to civil liberties. He has previously expressed veiled support for using the misnamed…
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Birth of the Digital New Deal: An Inventory of High-Tech Pork-Barrel Spending
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Gateway Neutrality: Just A Taste
Right behind the broadband stimulus goldmine within the Obama administrations stimulus plan sits Sec. 3102 (E). Sec. 3102 (E) is a fairly simple bit…
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Regulating Our Way to Recovery
Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Tucked in the massive stimulus bill passed by the House Appropriation Committee is a $4.5 billion appropriation for…
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CEI Cited on Geithner Nomination
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LibertyWeek 26: Inauguration Trepidation
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TV Transition follies: Plaguing consumers then and now.
Looks like the “digital television transition” to abandon analog and make high-definition broadcasts the standard is not going to happen as planned, but is…
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Public Lose Interest in Global Warming
Andrew Revkin of the New York Times has just posted a piece on Dot Earth that discusses a recent poll by the Pew…
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Shock, Shock–Politics Infects Federal Bail-Out
Who would have imagined that the honorable Barney Frank, head of the House Financial Services Committee and chief culprit in the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac disaster,…
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John Berlau on Timothy Geithner’s Tax Troubles
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The New Green Economy?
I’ve spent a while crunching the numbers relating to energy and environment spending in the stimulus bill. The bill will spend about $80 billion on…
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Avoiding Political Erectile Dysfunction
According to the Congressional Budget Office, “Bailout to Nowhere” money for the proposed new infrastructure stimulus won’t be spent within the next two years–far too…
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Trillions for Nothing
Barack Obama claims his plan “will likely save or create three to four million jobs.” The House gave us a glimpse of what we’re…
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The Not So Good, the Bad, and the Really Ugly
Not all stimulus programs are created equal. If the goal of the latest economic bailout package that Congress is considering is as President Elect Obama…
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Waste Not, Want Not … Or Else!
The British government is looking after its people, in a motherly sort of way. It plans to send government officials door-to-door to tell people not to…
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New Federal Regulation Hits a Full Stop
According to press reports, President Barack Obama has ordered a full stop to all pending federal regulations. Funny, I didn’t hear anything about that…
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Marlo Lewis on California’s Global Warming Regulation
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Milton Friedman counters Kennedy inaugural–and Obama’s
Before President Barack Obama gave his inaugural address, it had been reported that he was heavily studying John F. Kennedy’s speech at…
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HIGH NOON PASSES–Global Warming Doesn’t Show Up At The Inaugural
Well, the noon temperature in Washington DC at the President Obama’s swearing-in was 28 degrees F., eight degrees colder than when Bush…
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Barack Obama’s ‘Digital Lines’ to Nowhere
When Barack Obama said in his inaugural address, "We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce…
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Marlo Lewis on California’s Global Warming Regulation
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Obama Inaugural Speech Spurns Notion of Apologizing
Listening to President Obama’s inaugural address today, I was struck by his rhetoric with respect to “apologizing for our way of life.” It was…
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Why Good Men Don’t Become President Anymore
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The Daddy Knows Best Inaugural Address
Fatal conceit alert! Here’s the text of the Inaugural Address, with some comments from your humble servant. For everywhere we look, there is work…
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President Barack Obama Already Dealing with Global Warming
Anyone who lives in the nation’s capital knows that it has been FREEZING, with well below average temperatures. Even today, inauguration day, started out with…
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Bad Economic Metaphors: Priming the Pump
President Obama faces the immediate challenge of getting funds again flowing through the financial system. And, apparently, his advisors are relying on “pump priming”—pouring…
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Whither Union Transparency?
As Barack Obama is sworn in as the nation’s 44th President today, Rep. Hilda Solis (D-Calif.) will likely be the next Secretary of Labor. As…
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Departing President Bush to Establish “Freedom Institute”
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Britain Prays for Obama Miracle
With a trillion dollar national debt, a currency crisis and their own bank bailout having conclusively failed, Britain is on the edge of bankruptcy. That…
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A Tide Turning?
Very interesting new poll from Rasmussen that suggests a significant reversal in public opinion over the causes of global warming. Forty-four percent (44%) of…
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HIGH NOON–Inauguration Global Warming Temperature Watch
When President Bush leaves office today, will the capital be warmer or colder than when he was sworn in eight years ago? It’s not scientifically…
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Economic Hype We Can Believe In?
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Stimulus Bill Lacks Bold Ideas for Reform
USATODAY.com reports that the stimulus plan has swelled to $850 billion but lacks the bold ideas that are needed for the economy to truly…
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The Dishonesty of Poltical Adjectives
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Land Grab Bill: Senators Check Principles at the Door
I have heard several Republican congressional leaders say that the party has learned its lesson from their disastrous losses in the past two elections. From…
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$6 Billion For Broadband, Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And LOL At The Recovery Act
Speeding its way across the Internetz today are copies of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Eager policy analysts, lobbyists, and grassroots organizations…
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Barack Obama and the Price of Change
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PEOTUS Behavioral Targeted Advertising Adventure
The prevention of regulation and the Rule of Law pounding its mighty fist within a medium or sector of business is generally something that is…
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VIDEO: Barack Obama and the Price of Change
How much will President Obama’s plans for economic stimulus and other federal spending cost the American taxpayers? We do the math.
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Telecom Lobbyists in the DTV Henhouse?
With the election of a new president and new Democratic majorities in Congress, the era of corporate influence is over in Washington, D.C. Or, at…
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John Berlau on Tim Geithner’s Qualifications
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