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American Apparel Almost Bankrupt; Supply and Demand Alive and Well
American Apparel has started dumping shares, so stock up on your leggings and Ts now. Explanations are below, if you’ll try for a moment to…
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Senate Repeals Obamacare’s 1099 Mandate — OTC Drug Rules Should be Next
Although the U.S. Senate voted along partisan lines to defeat repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act — also known as Obamacare —…
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Why Have a Legal System at this Point?
In the recent court decision declaring Obamacare unconstitutional, the Judge wrote the following on page 75 of the opinion: “[T]he award of declaratory relief is…
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Free Online Porn Still Legal in California
A three panel judge in California concluded that adult websites that “give it away for free” are not engaging in predatory pricing. According to…
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Morning Media Summary
Tech: News Corp. Launches Digital Daily: “News Corp. on Wednesday unveiled The Daily, a tablet newspaper that Chairman Rupert Murdoch described as “the…
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Ethanol and the Egyptian Riots
Ethanol subsidies helped cause the Egyptian riots, contributing to the “skyrocketing food prices” that triggered “the massive unrest now occurring in Egypt,” argues economist…
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More Presidential Hopefuls Embracing Ethanolism
As the Wall Street Journal noted earlier this week, potential 2012 GOP presidential nominees are making the rounds in Iowa singing the praises of…
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Afternoon Links: February 2, 2011
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Thomas Sowell on the Value of Consumer Choice
One of Thomas Sowell’s greatest insights is that in public policy, there are no solutions, only trade-offs. That extends to deciding what to spend money…
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Suspend Obamacare’s 1099 and OTC Drug Rules Pending Supreme Court Action
Monday’s decision by Florida federal judge Roger Vinson striking down the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act — also known as Obamacare — in its…
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The GOP and the Health Insurance Mandate
With the health insurance individual purchase mandate looking more vulnerable than ever, Democrats are trying desperately to get some mileage out…
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Morning Media Summary
Tech: Google accuses Microsoft on search data: “Google has accused arch-rival Microsoft of plagiarising its internet search results in an attempt to narrow…
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FCIC Report Perhaps Too Communicative
Because I so often write letters — which are not always published — I thought I’d share them here. Here’s one to the WSJ regarding…
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Smart-Growthers Still Upset by Introduction of Newfangled Horseless Carriages
As somewhat of an anti–“smart growth” groupie, I try to keep up with their various online writings. Everyday, it’s like finding buried treasure. Take yesterday,…
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Nanny of the Month (Jan 2011)
Reason.TV has come out with their “Nanny of the Month” for January 2011. Apparently, New York’s problems are fixed because a politician is advocating in…
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On Mountaintop Mining Veto, EPA Is Guilty of Environmental Hyperbole
On January 13, the Environmental Protection Agency vetoed the issuance of a Clean Water Act permit by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to the…
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Long Island Nanny-State Lawmakers Need to Get Priorities Straight
As Suffolk County residents face serious challenges, county lawmakers continue to waste time and tax dollars considering nonsensical “nanny-state” regulations. Today they are holding hearings…
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Morning Media Summary
Tech: 200GB to 25GB: Canada gets first, bitter does of metered Internet: “Metered Internet usage (also called “Usage-Based Billing”) is coming to Canada,…
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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…