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Wasteful Education Spending Continues Despite Laughable Claim that Spending has Been Cut to the Bone
As Heather MacDonald notes, California state universities still are wasting plenty of money despite dishonestly claiming to have cut spending "to the bone”:…
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Free Speech versus Compelled Praise for Diversity
Can the government force those it licenses to parrot its praise for "diversity"? The Colorado Department of Human Services Child Care Division thinks so, issuing…
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British Social Workers Tear Apart Happy Families, Seize Children from Loving Parents
In Britain, social workers and child-protective services are tearing apart happy families, and seizing children from loving parents "for no good reason," notes Christopher…
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The President’s Health Care Fables
The president pushed the health care bill through Congress using a series of fables -- health insurance horror stories…
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Obama Administration Funds Special-Interest Groups, Wipes Out Jobs, Refuses to Cut Wasteful Spending
The EPA has donated millions to the very environmental groups that routinely sue it. Then, when they sue it, it gives them millions…
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$130,000 in Stimulus Funds Spent for Book on “White Privilege” that Attacks Colorblindness
The Omaha Public Schools spent $130,000 in federal stimulus funds to buy a diversity manual for 8,000 teachers, administrators, support staffers -- even…
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Fannie Mae Played a Bigger Role in the Financial Crisis than Previously Thought
In the Wall Street Journal, Peter Wallison, who prophetically warned against the risky practices of mortgage giant Fannie Mae, describes the key role…
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Obama Makes Deficit-Reduction Deal Harder by Appearing to Plot to Use Tax Increases for Spending, Rather Than Debt Reduction
Publicly, President Obama has suggested a grand bargain to get America's staggering budget deficits under control, a deal in which Republicans would agree to…
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Justice Department’s Witch Hunt Against Banks Will Harm Economy
The Justice Department is now extorting multimillion dollar settlements from banks, by accusing them of racial discrimination because they use traditional, non-racist lending criteria…
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Stimulus Dollars Funded Mexican Coffin Industry through “Operation Fast and Furious”
Not content with just using American tax dollars to subsidize foreign "green jobs" that replaced U.S. jobs, the Obama administration used stimulus dollars…
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Unemployment Rises, Driven Up By Failed Government Policies
U.S. employment growth ground to a halt in June, with employers hiring the fewest number of workers in nine months . . . Non-farm…
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Obama Administration Creates New Debts to Pay Off Trial Lawyers Even as it Demands Increase in Debt Ceiling
The Supreme Court ruled in Alexander v. Sandoval (2001) that outside the employment context, people bringing discrimination lawsuits under the civil-rights laws generally have…
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Wasteful Stimulus Spends $7 Million Per Household to Get Montana Residents Broadband Access
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Virginia’s Child Support Guidelines Likely to Become Grossly Excessive for Most Households
Virginia seems likely to increase its child-support obligations on non-custodial parents, based on flawed methods of calculating child-rearing costs that overstate child-rearing costs. As I…
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To Many in the Media, A “Peaceful” Protester Must Support Big Government
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Liberal Judges: Equality Violates Equal Protection Clause; Taxpayers to Pay More Due to Ruling
Last week, a divided Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, which amended Michigan's constitution in 2006 to ban racial…
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Failed Stimulus Spending Erodes America’s International Competitiveness, Wipes Out Wealth
In the Daily Caller, Chris Edwards has an interesting article about why government spending doesn’t “stimulate” the economy over the short-run or the long-run. Rather than…
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Federal Appeals Court Upholds Obamacare’s Individual Mandate in Divided 2-to-1 Vote
The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the individual mandate contained in the 2010 healthcare law by a 2-to-1 vote, claiming that…
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Senate Judiciary Committee Pushes False Claim that Supreme Court is “Pro-Business”
The Senate Judiciary Committee is bashing the Supreme Court today as pro-business in a hearing that began at 10:30 a.m. Two of the…
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Food Stamp Nation
"Millionaires are now legally entitled to collect food stamps as long as they have little or no monthly income. Thirty-five states have abolished asset tests…
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Supreme Court: California’s Ban on Violent Video Game Sales to Minors Violates Free Speech
California's ban on the sale or rental of violent video games to minors has been struck down by the Supreme Court as a violation…
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More Proof That Unions Don’t Improve Schools
Schools in right-to-work states (where unions are weak) are getting better and better over time compared to schools in heavily-unionized states. As Walter Russell Mead…
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Supreme Court Overturns Certification of Class-Action Lawsuit Against Wal-Mart in Multi-Billion Dollar Lawsuit
Yahoo! News reports that "the Supreme Court has ruled for Wal-Mart in its fight to block a massive sex discrimination lawsuit on behalf of…
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In Journalism, Scaremongering Pays — Or, Is Ethical Journalism an Oxymoron?
As legal commentator Ted Frank notes, ABC was rewarded for deliberate scaremongering and deceptive reporting that created needless fear and anxiety among Toyota owners…
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Government-Subsidized Murder: Cannibal Ph.D Candidate Studies Homicide at Taxpayer Expense
"While pursuing a PhD in “homicide studies” at the British taxpayers’ expense, a man with a long history of criminal violence became a…
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Wisconsin Supreme Court Upholds Collective Bargaining Law, Reversing Court Ruling Striking It Down
In a 4-to-3 vote, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has upheld the state's new law limiting collective bargaining with government-employee unions. As the Heritage Foundation's…
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Voodoo Economics Behind Government Demand for Mortgage Write-Downs by Big Banks
In 2010, Obama administration allies proposed a trillion-dollar bailout for those lucky mortgage borrowers whose loans were owned by the government-backed mortgage giants Fannie…
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More Free Speech Violations in New Mexico? Prior Restraint Against Billboard Likely
Last year, a New Mexico court issued a domestic-violence restraining order against David Letterman on behalf of a deluded woman who had never met…
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Yet Another Way That Obamacare Is Unconstitutional: The Arguments in Florida v. HHS
In the Washington Examiner, I discuss the brief I recently filed on behalf of Minnesota and North Carolina legislators challenging Obamacare, which…
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Obama Administration Votes Against England, Supporting Argentine-Backed Resolution on the Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are English-speaking and have been part of the United Kingdom for generations. Although Argentina unsuccessfully tried to conquer them in 1982, they…
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Why Cross-Examination Rights Matter in Campus Sexual Harassment Cases under Title IX
As part of its broader attack on safeguards against false accusations, the federal Education Department is urging colleges to strip students and faculty of…
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Failures of Auto Bailouts Hidden by Deceptive Accounting and Bogus Jobs Figures
Mounting evidence shows that the auto bailouts weren't worth it. They have been far more costly, and less successful, than claimed, as even liberal…
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Liberal Economist Peter Diamond Withdraws from Contention for Federal Reserve
MIT’s Peter Diamond has withdrawn his nomination to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. I earlier explained how Diamond’s nomination by…
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Even Liberal Washington Post Casts Doubt on Auto Bailouts
"Only 16 percent of executives in the auto industry" support the Chrysler bailout, according to the Washington Post’s editorial today. I think the bailout…
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Yet More Proof that the Supreme Court is Not Pro-Business
The Supreme Court has ruled against the Chamber of Commerce's challenge to an Arizona law punishing businesses that hire illegal aliens by taking away…
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Barney Frank Used Influence with Fannie Mae, the Failed Mortgage Giant Bailed Out by Taxpayers
Former House Banking Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) tenaciously opposed efforts to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored mortgage…
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Lots of Waste, Fraud, and Abuse in the Stimulus, Which Will Cost $43 Billion More Than Expected
The Congressional Budget Office says the stimulus package will cost $43 billion more than estimated. The stimulus package is full of waste, fraud, and…
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The Auto Bailouts: Still A Huge Loss for Taxpayers, and a Failure in Stemming Unemployment
Columnist Shikha Dalmia explains how the auto bailouts are a huge money loser for taxpayers and the economy as a whole, despite recent earnings…
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Education Department’s Gainful Employment Rule Was Based on Falsehoods
Earlier, CEI issued a study on an Education Department rule that is likely to backfire on students: the so-called "gainful employment rule" that is…
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Mind-boggling Increase in Tuition Since 1960 Even as Students Learn Less and Less
There has been a truly mind-boggling increase in college tuition since 1960. For example, law school tuition has risen nearly 1,000 percent after adjusting…
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3,700 Tax Cheats Got Stimulus Contracts
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New Jersey Supreme Court Orders Even More Spending on Mismanaged School Districts in Abbott v. Burke
Thanks to New Jersey’s Supreme Court, that state’s hopelessly-mismanaged (and sometimes corrupt) urban school districts will be getting even more money. In a 3-to-2…
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200 More Obamacare Waivers Granted
204 more waivers of Obamacare’s onerous mandates have been issued over the past month, bringing the total to at least 1,372. As…
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Stimulus Wiped Out a Million Private Sector Jobs
The economy may be slowly recovering, but that’s in spite of — not because of — the recent orgy of federal spending. Two economics professors,…
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Government Role in Causing Financial Crisis Much Bigger than Thought
Analysts who once downplayed the government's role in causing the financial crisis now have changed their tune, concluding that government regulations that promoted risky loans…
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Republicans Filibuster Left-Wing Lawyer’s Nomination to Key Appeals Court; Block Confirmation of Goodwin Liu
"Goodwin Liu's nomination to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals appears to be done for" thanks to a Republican filibuster, says David Freddoso of…
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Obama Administration Undermines Safeguards for Teachers and Students
In the Washington Examiner, I explain how the Education Department is both undermining protections for falsely-accused students and teachers, and reducing the accuracy…
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Vote Expected Soon on Judicial Nomination of Left-Wing Law Professor Goodwin Liu
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has filed a cloture petition on the pending nomination of Berkeley Law Professor Goodwin Liu to the Ninth Circuit…
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Greenland Flourishes Due to Global Warming and Climate Change
Alarmists have been decrying the effects of global warming on Greenland for years, even though Greenland was greenest during the Medieval Warm Period, and Greenland’s Vikings,…
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CEI Files Another Amicus Brief Challenging Obamacare
Debate over the constitutionality of the massive health care law passed in 2010 has focused on its "individual mandate": the requirement that individuals buy health…
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Temporarily Buoyed by Japanese Earthquake, General Motors Looks for Profit Overseas
"GM sees China as a road to profit," reports the Washington Post today. "GM last year sold more cars in China than in the…
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Obama Subsidizes Job-Killing Outsourcing, While Attacking Job-Creating Outsourcing
In his 2008 campaign, Obama demagogued about “outsourcing,” but his own policies have outsourced thousands of American jobs, at taxpayer expense, as I…
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Ideologies Undermine Attorney-Client Relationship, National Sovereignty, and Protection Against Crime
At the Washington Examiner, I discuss the implications for the attorney-client relationship of a law firm’s decision to dump a client after signing…
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Paul Ryan Attacked Because His Father Died Early, Resulting in Survivor Benefits
At the age of 16, Congressman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) suffered the death of his 55-year-old father. Because of his father’s early death, the government made…
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Education Department Financial Aid Rules Backfire, Harming Students
The Education Department tried to restrict the use of financial aid by for-profit colleges by barring them from getting more than 90 percent of their…
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Peter Diamond’s Nomination to Fed Benefits from Double Standard
Liberal economist Peter Diamond is likely to be confirmed to a powerful position, despite issues far more severe than those that blocked the confirmations of…
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Political Correctness Roundup: School Officials Attack Easter, Thanksgiving, and “White Privilege”
A Minnesota school district is "laying off 94 teachers” even while spending thousands of dollars to send "a delegation" of teachers to an annual “White Privilege Conference”…
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Senator Jim Webb Flunks Legislation 101: Says Congress Can’t Change the Law
Congress can always change the law if it chooses. For example, it passed the 1991 Civil Rights Act, which overturned many Supreme Court decisions interpreting…
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Education Department Undermines Due Process and Accuracy in Campus Sexual Harassment Cases
On April 4, the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) sent the nation’s school officials a letter urging them to water down…
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Education Department Changes Burden of Proof in Sexual Harassment Cases Under Title IX
The Education Department is trying to change the burden of proof that many colleges and universities use in disciplinary proceedings over sexual harassment, despite court…
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Education Department “Dear Colleague” Letter Shreds Presumption of Innocence in Harassment Cases, Ignoring Supreme Court
To promote due process, some college disciplinary systems recognize a strong presumption of innocence, requiring clear-and-convincing evidence of guilt for discipline. That practice is now…
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Meritless, Massive Class Action Lawsuit Against Wal-Mart Should Be Dismissed
As a lawyer who used to bring class-action discrimination lawsuits for a living, I am puzzled by press sympathy for the massive, meritless class-action lawsuit…
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Big Company With Ties to White House Paid No Taxes; GE Also Got Corporate Welfare and Bailout on Special Terms
“The top corporate tax rate in the United States is 35 percent, one of the highest in the world,” but General Electric, whose CEO was…
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Judge Orders More Spending on New Jersey’s Education-Industrial Complex
New Jersey spends more money on education than almost any state, resulting in the nation's highest property taxes (and arguably the highest…
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Wisconsin Judge’s Strange Ruling Blocking Limits on Collective Bargaining Surprises Legal Observers
Wisconsin legal observers were “surprised last week when Madison-based judge Maryann Sumi issued a temporary restraining order blocking implementation of Gov. Scott Walker’s bill…
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Obama Administration Understated Deficits by $2.3 Trillion; Resists Spending Cuts Needed to Stem Deficits
The Congressional Budget Office reported last week that the Obama administration understated budget deficits “by more than $2.3 trillion over the upcoming decade,”…
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Free Speech, Privacy, and Federalism are Casualties as Obama Administration Exploits Bullying Issue
The topic of bullying is in vogue, and President Obama is taking advantage of that: "President Barack Obama has acknowledged he was taunted as…
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Obama Administration Undermines Free Speech and Due Process in Crusade Against Harassment and Bullying
The Obama administration’s recent push against “bullying” resulted in a letter to school officials that undermines both free speech and due process. On October 26,…
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The Obama Administration’s “Open Government” Empty Rhetoric
Liberal "open government" advocates are giving the president a medal for supposedly promoting "government transparency." He shares their liberal ideology, but not their alleged…
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America Doesn’t Need More College Graduates at Taxpayer Expense
President Obama says that “the best economic policy is one that produces more college graduates.” No doubt this is best for colleges, which have been…
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Federal Government and State Attorneys General Push Arbitrary Mortgage Bailout
Back before the election, intellectuals with ties to the Obama administration proposed a trillion-dollar bailout for some (but not all) underwater mortgage borrowers, as…
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Obama Administration Tries to Rip-Off Retirees in New Mortgage Bailout
The Obama administration is now working with state attorney generals to rip off pension funds to bail out mortgage borrowers who don’t even need help.
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Obamacare’s Costs Rise, as Obama Backers Get Preferential Treatment
The cost of Obamacare continues to explode and exceed its sponsors’ predictions. HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has now admitted to double-counting in the Obamacare…
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Connecticut Legislation Seeks to Unconstitutionally Restrict Political Speech by Employers
A Connecticut legislator is seeking to restrict the speech of employers on “religious or political” topics in pending legislation (House Bill 5460). The bill…
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Did Wisconsin Police Violate the First Amendment through Selective Enforcement of Limits on Protests?
Ordinarily, protesters who tried to occupy the Wisconsin Capitol Building would be swiftly arrested and removed. But this weekend, police in Madison, Wisconsin, not only…
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Bogus Statistic from Wisconsin Union Backers Spreads Despite Repeated Debunking
"A lie can make it half way around the world before the truth has time to put its boots on" -- like a…
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Wisconsin Union Backers Defame Virginia and Spread Bogus Statistics
Virginia schools have better-than-average test scores. Virginia obviously doesn't rank an abysmal 44th in the nation on SATs and ACTs, as…
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Senate Democrats: House’s Modest 2% Budget Cut Is Too Big
The budget deficit for Fiscal Year 2011 is projected to be a staggering $1.645 trillion, out of a budget of $3.819 trillion. The…
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$240 Billion Tobacco Deal Challenged in Supreme Court in S&M Brands v. Caldwell
Back in 1998, the states settled their lawsuits against the big tobacco companies in a deal called the tobacco Master Settlement Agreement -- the biggest…
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No, Wisconsin’s Budget Deficit Wasn’t “Manufactured” by Walker and the GOP
Wisconsin is one of the most heavily taxed states in the country, and its government employees are paid much better than the state’s…
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Egyptian Military Seeks to Reverse Economic Reforms
The military government that replaced Egyptian ruler Hosni Mubarak is now moving to reverse recent reforms that gave Egypt solid economic growth in the last several…
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Obama Fans the Flames in Wisconsin, Seeking to Block State Budget Reforms
State employees are paid better than people in the private sector. But government-employee unions refuse to make sacrifices to help close huge state…
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Obama Instigating Disruptive Wisconsin Protests to Protect Union Privileges
In the Washington Examiner today, I discuss how Obama and his allies are helping orchestrate the disruptive Wisconsin protests that have shut down many…
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Obama’s Budget Philosophy: Life Is Short, Eat Dessert First
If a motto summed up the Obama administration, it might be, “Life is short. Eat dessert first.” President Obama’s policies are all about self-indulgence in…
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New York Times Repeatedly Makes False Claims About Supreme Court and Court Rulings
In The Atlantic, former ACLU board member Wendy Kaminer discusses the New York Times’ refusal to correct repeated falsehoods in its editorials about the…
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Education Cuts Needed; Massive Spending Fuels Waste, Deficits
Education expert Neal McCluskey earlier lamented the failure of House Republicans to propose meaningful cuts in education spending, “despite the fact that the ivory…
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The Pitfalls of Unionizing the TSA
Robert Verbruggen wrote recently about the downside of unionizing the TSA in the National Review, taking issue with the Obama Administration’s decision to allow the…
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What’s In Store for Egypt After Mubarak’s Departure?
Recently, Egypt’s pro-American dictator, Hosni Mubarak, was forced to resign after 30 years in power, and forced to give way to a military-controlled government. Victor…
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PolitiFact: Obama Made False Claims About Health Care, Taxes, and Court Rulings
PolitiFact, which earlier took Obama’s side about whether Obamacare is a government takeover of health care, now is criticizing President Obama for making…
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Obama Administration Hid Role of Politically-Correct Discrimination in Spawning Fort Hood Massacre
Discrimination and politically-correct blinders can be deadly. It was obvious in the aftermath of the Fort Hood shootings that the killer was inspired by Islamic…
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Another TSA Nightmare
The writer Andrew Ian Dodge shares his painful experience at the hands of the TSA at this link. The TSA inflicted prolonged pain on…
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The End of the Imaginary Age of Civility
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Egyptian Riots Fueled by Ethanol Subsidies and Biofuel Mandates
As world food prices hit a record high, protests in Egypt demand the removal of the country’s pro-American dictator, Hosni Mubarak. No one can…
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Ruling Striking Down Health Care Law Was Not “Judicial Activism”
On Monday, a federal judge in Florida struck down Obamacare as unconstitutional. Judge Vinson concluded that the law’s cornerstone — a requirement that…
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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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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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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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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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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…