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If Obamacare Is Repealed, Conventional Wisdom is Defeated
After Obamacare was passed into law, those who articulated conventional wisdom argued that “repeal” would be impossible. Instead, we heard that the best anyone could…
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Afternoon Links: January 31, 2011
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Obamacare Struck Down by Florida Judge; Properly Applies Severability Principles to Invalidate Whole Law
A judge in Florida just declared the health care law known as “Obamacare” unconstitutional, ruling it void in its entirety. Judge Vinson rightly…
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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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Regulation of the Day 162: Breaking Wind
The southeast African country of Malawi is about to make farting illegal. The government there is trying to “mould responsible and disciplined citizens.”…
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Morning Media Summary
Tech: Without Internet, Egyptians find new ways to get online: “”When countries block, we evolve,” an activist with the group We Rebuild wrote…
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TSA Shuts Door on Private Airport Screening Program That Exposed TSA’s Inefficiency
The Transportation Security Administration has shut the door on a private airport screening program that was making the inefficient agency look bad by outperforming it…
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Fannie Mae Backers Unrepentant Despite Its Fraud and Colossal Bailout
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were bailed out at a cost to taxpayers of between $148 billion and $363 billion. Their recklessness…
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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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Regulation of the Day 161: Crossing the Street
Three states are proposing to make it illegal to listen to your iPod while crossing the street. Legislators in California, New York, and Oregon are…
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Afternoon Links: January 28, 2011
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Short-Term Problems
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The American Subsidy is Coming to an End
Two items on the front page of yesterday’s Washington Post: “Record U.S. Deficit Projected this Year” and “Two lawmakers from Michigan propose billions in incentives for…
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CEI Weekly: Obama Confirms Fears of More Spending in his State of the Union
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DOJ Wants Access to Your Data!
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Morning Media Summary
Tech: Facebook posts mined for court case evidence: “It’s the latest litigation tactic in the online age: U.S. lawyers are trying to mine…
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Helming the IRS is Like Being Mayor of the Worst City in America
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U.S. Government: Too Big to Fail?
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Democratic Process: Not How the Future is Won
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Afternoon Links: January 27, 2011
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Full Employment, Motherhood, and Apple Pie
These are not good economic times for labor unions, whose membership continues a long decline in the private sector. However, they remain a potent…
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Thundersnow and the Nightmare Commute
Last night’s Surprise Snowpocalypse froze traffic in place for upwards of 13 hours. Check out this visual above for where the traffic accumulated, from…
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Marketing and Transit Shelters
Here’s a great example of private entrepreneurship making public life a little sweeter. Caribou Coffee has launched a new campaign in Minnesota, touting warmed…
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The Supreme Court is NOT Pro-Business
Once again ruling against America’s employers, the Supreme Court Monday broadened the reach of the 1964 Civil Rights Act’s ban on retaliation. It overturned…
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SUGAR Act Would Phase Out U.S. Sugar Program
Sweet news on the sugar front. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and newly elected Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) have introduced a bill to phase out…
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Morning Media Summary
Tech: Facebook phones to be unveiled next month: “London-based City A.M. is reporting that Facebook, in conjunction with Taiwanese phone manufacturer HTC, will…
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Afternoon Links: January 26, 2011
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Obama’s State of the Union Address: More of the Same on Trains
For the second year in a row, President Barack Obama has fretted over the “faster trains” of Europe and China in his State of…
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Bush’s Third Term Continues
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Obama’s State of the Union: A Blueprint for Crony Capitalism and Costly Educational Failures
In his State of the Union address, President Obama called for even more spending on his cronies — what he euphemistically referred to as…
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Alcohol Regulation Roundup: January 26, 2010
Texas: Despite the fact the two-thirds of Dallas voters approved a ballot measure last November allowing grocery stores in the…
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Obama State of the Union Flunks Fact Check; More Wasteful Spending and “A Million Points of Trite”
The Associated Press fact-checked Obama’s State of the Union address last night, and found it to be misleading in many ways: “The ledger…
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Morning Media Summary
Tech: DOJ seeks mandatory data retention requirement for ISPs: “The U.S. Department of Justice and an organization representing police chiefs from around the…
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Special interests propel harmful legislation and block needed reforms
The Examiner At the end of The Wizard of Oz, the great and powerful wizard is revealed to be a little man behind a curtain,…
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Afternoon Links: January 25, 2011
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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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What’s Expected on Trade in the State of the Union Address
In his State of the Union address tonight, President Obama will finally set out his agenda and timetable on three pending free trade agreements…
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Congress Considering “Kill Switch” for Capitalism
Introduced last summer, a bill affording President Obama executive power over private Internet companies in the event of a “national cyberemergency” is returning this year,…
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State of the Union Live-Blogging
CEI's Ryan Young live-blogs President Obama's State of the Union address. Coverage will begin shortly before the speech at 9:00pm EST.
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Thoughts on the State of the Union and Education in America
In the Washington Examiner, I discuss some of the president’s anticipated proposals in his State of the Union address today. The president is…
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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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Morning Media Summary
Tech: Two-thirds of U.S. Internet users lack fast broadband: “Two-thirds of U.S. Internet connections are slower than 5 Mbps, putting the United States…
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Afternoon Links: January 24, 2011
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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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Our Journey Down Hayek’s Road
As the president lays out his vision for the country in his State of the Union address tomorrow, it’s important to keep a simple question…
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The State of the Union Address in Five Words
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Morning Media Summary
Tech: Opps: No copied Java code or weapons of mass destruction found in Android: ?Sometimes the sheer wrongness of what is posted on…
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Alcohol Regulation Roundup: January 24, 2011
In national news: The Federal Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) is proposing a bill that would require all producers of beer, wine, and spirits…
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What Should POTUS Say During SOTU?
Freedom Action‘s Myron Ebell, while he isn’t optimistic, answers on a POLITICO forum: In an ideal world, President Barack Obama would use his…
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South Carolina Attempts to Ban Alcoholic Energy Drinks
We throw around the term “nanny state” a lot, but to put in plain English, nanny-state regulation differ from other types of governance in that…