The Open Market Blog

• By: Hans Bader
• 02/19/2008

The Supreme Court has refused to revive the ACLU’s lawsuit against the government for warrantless surveillance of communications with suspected terrorists. Ironically, the ACLU’s…

• By: Hans Bader
• 02/19/2008

Harvard, my alma mater, discriminates against Asians in admissions. Asians are less likely to be admitted at any GPA or SAT score than members of…

• By: Ivan Osorio
• 02/19/2008

Fidel Castro officially stepped down as Cuba’s head of state this morning, allegedly for health reasons. This will fuel speculations over whether he’s already dead…

• By: Lene Johansen
• 02/19/2008

The USDA started off this week with a historic recall after an investigation revealed violation of food safety regulations in a California meat processing…

• By: Eli Lehrer
• 02/18/2008

I’m an eBay fanatic: clothes, shoes, furniture, razor blades, makeup for my wife, books and even a car — I’ve found them all on…

• By: Hans Bader
• 02/18/2008

Helen Smith writes about how California privacy laws kept police from searching for potential suspects in the killing of a psychologist.  Overlawyered discusses the…

• By: Hans Bader
• 02/15/2008

To pay for transportation spending, Virginia’s legislature and governor gave regional transit authorities in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads the power to levy a new…

• By: Hans Bader
• 02/15/2008

House leaders blocked consideration of a bill that would extend the federal government’s power to monitor overseas terrorists and communications with them from the U.S.,…

• By: Hans Bader
• 02/14/2008

Privacy deserves protection, but not to an extreme — particularly when it comes at the expense of civil liberties, public safety, and the rights of…

• By: Hans Bader
• 02/14/2008

“In a test of the American Dream, Adam Shepard started life from scratch with the clothes on his back and twenty-five dollars. Ten months later,…

• By: Hans Bader
• 02/14/2008

Ordinances that ban smoking in commercial establishments increase drunk driving fatalities, apparently by encouraging smokers who want to go out drinking to travel further…

• By: Ivan Osorio
• 02/14/2008

A Weather Channel segment on compact fluoresecent light bulbs that aired today makes the point that because compact fluorescents emit less heat, they can save…

• By: Hans Bader
• 02/14/2008

The Wall Street Journal applauds the Senate’s passage of a bill that would continue to allow the government to use warrantless wiretaps to monitor…

• By: Hans Bader
• 02/14/2008

At Hamline University, a college student who expressed conservative views on gun control and affirmative action was recently suspended and ordered to undergo a “…

• By: William Yeatman
• 02/14/2008

CEI has long warned that the fuel-from-food craze threatens the world’s poorest citizens by making it harder for them to feed themselves. If you…

• By: Hans Bader
• 02/13/2008

The District of Columbia justifies its complete ban on handguns and functional firearms (even for self-defense), which is being challenged in the Supreme Court, as…

• By: Hans Bader
• 02/13/2008

Federal and state discrimination laws have been interpreted by the courts as banning speech that creates a “hostile work environment” for members of protected classes.

• By: Hans Bader
• 02/13/2008

Sometimes an excuse for something is worse than the action itself. That's true of a recent court ruling rejecting a teenager's First Amendment challenge…

• By: Hans Bader
• 02/13/2008

President Bush just signed the so-called “stimulus” package. As we explained earlier, it will do nothing to promote economic growth, and it actually…

• By: Richard Morrison
• 02/13/2008

The President is signing the $168 billion economic stimulus package today, in hopes of averting a recession triggered by, among other things, rising mortgage…

• By: Hans Bader
• 02/12/2008

Berkeley police, who routinely protect left-wing anti-war protesters, apparently won’t provide the same protection for demonstrators who support our troops. Anti-war demonstrators are attacking…

• By: Eli Lehrer
• 02/12/2008

Doug, I agree with your criticisms of the about the problems with the Swedish health care system. But, of course, we have pretty much…

• By: Hans Bader
• 02/12/2008

The Senate has voted to grant immunity to phone companies that assisted the federal government’s antiterror surveillance program. Those companies are now being sued…

• By: Hans Bader
• 02/12/2008

A retired teacher has revealed that he was illiterate until age 48. John Corcoran "graduated from college and taught high school for 17 years…

• By: Doug Bandow
• 02/12/2008

Liberty-minded Europeans can only look on with increasing frustration as policy becomes increasingly centralized in Brussels. It’s not just the regulations — goodness knows the…

• By: Doug Bandow
• 02/12/2008

Remember, I’m from the government and I’m here to help you. Especially when it comes to health care. Just look at Sweden. Reports Investor’s…

• By: William Yeatman
• 02/12/2008

The Wall Street Journal today ran a top-fold, front page news item about how China’s insatiable demand for energy has stimulated a boon in…

• By: Richard Morrison
• 02/12/2008

Cord’s recent C-SPAN appearance, debating the issues surrounding the proposed Microsoft / Yahoo deal (and by extension any big tech buyout or merger) is…

• By: Eli Lehrer
• 02/12/2008

My former boss, Bill Frist, has a very interesting piece in today’s Miami Herald. A quote: Chronic diseases, such as diabetes, emphysema, high…