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Today’s Links: September 17, 2012
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The Teachers’ Union Strikes Back
American Thinker A short time ago, in a city not so very far away, an insidious organization hijacked an entire school system, putting the…
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Chicago Teachers Strike: A Lesson Of “Excessive Zeal And No Brains”
On September 10, 2012, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) walked out of the city’s public schools after negotiations fell through with Chicago Mayor Rahm…
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Alcohol Regulation Roundup: Back To School Edition
Alabama: Up until last year brewpubs were illegal in Alabama due to a law that prevented beer being sold on the same site where…
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Chicago Teachers Union: Overpaid Babysitters?
Openmarket.org The grand themes of the current Chicago teacher’s strike opera are broadly similar to other union-agitated public work stoppages. The union makes demands (more money, etc.) the city/company balks…
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Farms Need Workers, Not Subsidies
Reports of record farm profits has CNBC’s Senior Online Editor John Carney calling America’s agricultural labor shortage “phony,” and by implication, just an excuse…
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Disturbing Calls For Censorship In America By Professors, Journalists, U.S. Diplomats, And Egyptian Government
In response to a film that mocked Mohammed, journalists on MSNBC, a professor, and the Egyptian government called for punishment of the film's producers.
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Chicago Teachers Union: Overpaid Babysitters?
The grand themes of the current Chicago teacher's strike opera are broadly similar to other union-agitated public work stoppages. The union makes demands (more money, etc.) the city/company balks ("We can't…
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CEI Podcast For September 13, 2012: CEI Sues The EPA
The EPA has been stonewalling a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request from the Competitive Enterprise Institute since 2010. CEI has sued the EPA in…
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Today’s Links: September 13, 2012
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Unions Seek To Make Michigan A Mediterranean State
On September 5, the Michigan Supreme Court gave a green light to the so-called “Protect our Jobs Amendment” (POJA) for the November 6 ballot. The proposed…
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Today’s Links: September 12, 2012
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Copyright Bots Are Here To Stay
A string of mistaken, high-profile takedowns has caused some talk about the services video hosting sites like Ustream and YouTube use to police…
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Today’s Links: September 11, 2012
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In re Johnson & Johnson Shareholder Derivative Litigation
Alison Frankel recently asked whether it’s the end of “money-for-nothing” class actions; Ronald Barusch asks a similar question. The Center for Class Action…
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Lawmaker Bullies Employer Because Its Employee Supported Gay Marriage
Maryland State Delegate Emmett Burns (D-Baltimore), who has a long record of hostility to business (a 90 percent bad MBRG rating), gave more evidence of that…
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Federal Government: Fire Good Employees, Hire Bad Ones
The Obama administration is pressuring employers outside the financial sector to hire felons, even as its regulations force employers in the financial sector to fire "thousands…
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CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week In Regulation
51 new rules and 1,641 Federal Register pages, from storing explosives to keeping fisheries accountable.
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Collective Bargaining: Mythical Right Turned Constitutional In Michigan?
Everyone knows that our Founding Fathers’ primary motive during the revolution was to preserve collective bargaining for the carriage industries. That as Washington crossed the…
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Want 1990s Job Growth? Go Back To Clinton-Era Deregulation
As much as the term “Forward” was used at the Democratic National Convention this week, the speeches of Bill Clinton and, to an extent, President…
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Fact Checking Lilly Ledbetter’s False Speech At The Democratic National Convention
Former pay-discrimination plaintiff Lilly Ledbetter, in speaking at the Democratic National Convention on September 4, repeated the false claim that she learned about the…
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Regulation Of The Day 228: Peyton Manning’s Jersey
School officials forbid 8-year old Colorado boy from wearing his Peyton Manning jersey to school because of possible gang ties.
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Today’s Links: September 7, 2012
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CEI Podcast For September 27, 2012: The Future Of Generic Biotech Crops
Senior Fellow Greg Conko discusses his new paper, "Is There a Future for Generic Biotech Crops? Regulatory Reform Is Needed for a Viable Post-Patent Industry."…
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CEI Podcast For September 6, 2012: Modernizing Air Traffic Control
America's air traffic control system can be charitably described as an antique. Land-use and Transportation Policy Analyst Marc Scribner describes some of the problems the…
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Today’s Links: September 6, 2012
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Modernizing Air Traffic Control In The United States
In The Washington Examiner, a story citing me provides an overview of where the United States is in modernizing its air traffic control system.
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The Conventions Continue
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Today’s Links: September 5, 2012
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Massive Fraud Against Clients In Class Action Lawsuit Brought By Obama As Lawyer?
I have often written about abuses in class-action lawsuits, such as lawyers ripping off their clients, or using settlement money for ideological causes…
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Crony Capitalism In Fiction: Catch-22
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CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week In Regulation
74 new rules and 2,086 Federal Register pages, from migratory birds to cranberries.
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Science And Technology Policy And The Democratic Convention
Now it's the Democrats' turn to gather for their convention in Charlotte and one element of the platform in common with basic Republican philosophy is…
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Today’s Links: September 4, 2012
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Time for workers to take back Labor Day
Fox News On Monday, September 3, millions of Americans will celebrate Labor Day. For most, it will mean nothing more than the unofficial end…
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“Fact Checker” Repeals The Laws Of Supply And Demand: The Bias Of PolitiFact
The left-leaning, self-proclaimed "fact checker" PolitiFact ignored the most basic economic law, the law of supply and demand, in claiming that cap-and-trade legislation, which…
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International Boilermakers: Labor Union Or Business Tycoons?
The International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers strikes again -- with a slap in the face to its members. The Boilermakers…
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Today’s Links: August 31, 2012
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Regulation Roundup
Doormats banned in Leeds, exploding sausages in Canada, plus more.
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CEI Podcast For August 30, 2012: Delayed FDA Rules Should Be Scrapped
Senior Fellow Greg Conko argues that these rules should be scrapped altogether for two reasons: they will do little to improve food safety, and they…
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Regulation Of The Day 227: Returning From The Moon
When Armstrong, Aldrin, and Michael Collins returned to Earth after the Apollo 11 mission, they actually filled out a customs form.
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Diverse GOP Voices Emphasize Immigrant Contributions
[caption id="attachment_59817" align="alignleft" width="266"] Former-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice[/caption] Even as the Republican National Committee adopted a platform advocating strict immigration enforcement, several influential party…
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Conventions Cost Taxpayers Up To $136 Million
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Worker Choice vs Forced Fraternity
Openmarket.org Public support and perception of labor unions is dwindling significantly. Even Hollywood is throwing them under the bus with the new film, Won’t Back…
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In Free Speech Victory, SEC Lifts Gag Rule On Hedge Funds And Venture Capital
Today's proposed Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rule lifting the outdated ban on "general solicitation" by hedge funds and venture capitalists is a victory for entrepreneurs,…
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Worker Choice Versus Forced Fraternity
Public support and perception of labor unions is dwindling significantly. Even Hollywood is throwing them under the bus with the new film, Won’t Back Down.
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California Pension Reform Plan A Step In The Right Direction But Not Enough
California Governor Jerry Brown (D) yesterday announced a pension reform agreement, which if approved by the legislature, likely will help narrow the Golden State’s…
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Congress Should Create A Repeal Committee
David Deerson and I look at how such a committee might work in a piece over at RealClearPolicy:…
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Republican Platform Opposes Internet Gambling
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Higher Education Bubble Spawns Demographic Decline Among Educated Americans
The Washington Times takes note of the burgeoning higher education bubble in a recent editorial: The cost of a college education has…
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The “Gift Clause” Would Force Camden Police Union Bosses To Do Police Work
Openmarket.org While Camden New Jersey is being devastated by budget cuts, homicides are accumulating at record pace and unemployment is skyrocketing. Despite the city’s…
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The “Gift Clause” Would Force Camden Police Union Bosses To Do Police Work
While Camden New Jersey is being devastated by budget cuts, homicides are accumulating at record pace and unemployment is skyrocketing. Despite the city’s plight, the…
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CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week In Regulation
76 new rules and1,687 Federal Register pages, from offshore drilling to odometers.
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The Dark Ages Weren’t So Dark, And Neither Is Modernity
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Solyndra In Space?
Here we go again. It's unfortunate that so many conservatives are opposed to competitive markets in spaceflight, to the point that they are willing to…
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Obama Justice Department Recruits Lawyers With “Severe Intellectual Disabilities,” But Excludes Conservatives
Reality is often stranger than fiction. A former Justice Department lawyer, who publishes at PJ Tatler, has obtained documents from the Justice Department detailing…
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Regulation Roundup
A creative way to get around liquor permits, plus more.
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Today’s Links: August 24, 2012
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Clinton Vs. Clinton (And Obama) On Deregulation
With little success on the economic front, President Barack Obama in 2012 is embracing much of his message on the economy from 2008. And from that playbook,…
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If Demography Is Destiny, We’re Screwed (So To Speak)
"Things will get better." Such sentiments frequently fall from the lips of ever-loving economic optimists who -- while noting the current distressed condition of things…
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Colorado Voters Ready To Tell State to Follow Constitution
Openmarket.org, NewWallofSeparation.org In Colorado, Douglas County School Board members are questioning the district’s current collective bargaining system due to arcane provisions and a decaying…
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CEI Podcast for August 23, 2012: Bailouts as Corruption
Senior Fellow Matt Patterson argues that when government is big and powerful enough to dispense favors like bailouts, special interests will flock to Washington to…
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Colorado Voters Ready To Tell State To Follow Constitution
In Colorado, Douglas County School Board members are questioning the district’s current collective bargaining system due to arcane provisions and a decaying relationship with their…
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Regulation And The Green Bay Packers
The NFL has a 53-man roster limit, but it doesn't prescribe how many linemen or quarterbacks the team must carry. That's up to the GMs.
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FDA Rules Won’t Work, Will Harm Small Farmers
The FDA recently decided to delay implementing about $1.4 billion of food safety regulations until after the November election. We think the FDA should scrap…
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Two July 31 wins for the Center
On July 31, district courts substantially reduced attorney fees in two class action settlements where Center for Class Action Fairness attorneys objected. In the…
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Government of unions, by unions, for unions
The Washington Times In 2009, the U.S. government bailed out the auto industry, ostensibly to save the livelihoods of thousands of Americans who work for…
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Prominent Lawyer: Obama Administration Illegally “Eviscerates Welfare Reform”
In The Washington Times and a recent study, attorney Andrew Grossman explains in detail how the Obama administration violated the law in claiming…
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Regulation And Government “Science” Cost Us More Than Dollars
Today, the Independent Women's Forum blog highlights a new NERA Economic Consulting study (produced for Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation) on the costs…
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Tampa Express Lanes Planning Director Corrects Record Distorted By Honolulu City Planner
Over at Peter Samuel’s invaluable TOLLROADSnews, we learn that Marty Stone, director of planning for Tampa’s successful all-electronic reversible tolled Lee Roy Selmon Expressway,…
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In re Online DVD Rental Antitrust Litigation
The Class Action Fairness Act puts limitations on coupon settlements. In In re Online DVD Rental Antitrust Litigation, however, the district court approved a…
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Today’s Links: August 21, 2012
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Imagine There Are No Countries
“Imagine there’s no countries. It isn’t hard to do,” John Lennon once told us. Ignoring Lennon's grammatical error, that is exactly what University of Wisconsin-Madison…
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Fred Weekly: Assaults On Capitalism
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New Moody’s Standards Give Clearer Picture Of Public Pension Crisis
The public pension funding crisis has led to a vigorous debate over how those pension liabilities are valued and how large they are. The debate…
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CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week In Regulation
65 new rules, from offshore drilling to closed captioning.
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Is Government Motors Headed For Bankruptcy Again?
The tens of billions of dollars in taxpayer money spent on the auto bailouts did not fix the automakers' underlying problems, but rather helped…
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Regulation Roundup
Fines for inaccurate weather forecasts, illegal chocolate egg smuggling, plus more.
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West Nile Outbreak Warrants Pest Control — Pesticide Spraying Included
This year, Texas is experiencing its worst outbreak of the mosquito-transmitted West Nile virus ever. Fortunately, most people who get it won't suffer…
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Wishful Thinking About Religious Freedom And Gay Marriage
One of the reasons that social conservatives oppose gay marriage is the belief that if it is legalized in a state, private institutions, like…
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Struggle Over Union-Owned Bank Is A Sign Of Union Weakness
Shifting deposits to the union-owned Amalgamated Bank has become a leftist cause celebre, as several Democratic and progressive groups try to be seen as…
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Lastest Junk Science On BPA And Heart Disease
Earlier this week, we learned from the wonderful world of junk science that eating egg yolks is as dangerous as smoking. Now we learn…
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Today’s Links: August 17, 2012
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On Robert Pattinson, Cosmopolis, And The Folly of National Film Agencies
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CEI Podcast For August 16, 2012: Drought, Food Prices, And Ethanol
Severe drought in the Midwest has driven corn prices to record levels. Policy Analyst Brian McGraw argues that ending the federal government's ethanol mandate could…
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Regulation And The Setting Sun
Agencies are well-equipped for passing regulations, but not for repealing them. This becomes a problem as the years march on, and dusty old rules that…
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My Fox News Interview On GM’s Losses To Taxpayers And Obama’s Auto Dealer Job Shaft
On Tuesday, I was on Fox News’ “Special Report with Bret Baier” answering Doug McKelway’s questions on the Treasury Department’s upward revision of taxpayers' losses…
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California’s Unconstitutional Proposition 37
Writing in the Daily Caller, legal commentator Walter Olson says that California's Proposition 37 is bad policy that will only enrich opportunistic lawyers:…
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Time To Extinguish Flame Retardant Hype
Flame retardants are making headlines these days thanks to an “exposé” — more properly characterized as an unsubstantiated smear campaign — published as a…
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What The New York Times’ Ron Nixon Doesn’t Understand About Northeast Corridor Travel
In today's New York Times, reporter Ron Nixon has a remarkably misleading article on travel in the Northeast corridor (NEC). Three major distortions stick out:…
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Equal Pay Should Be For Equal Work, Not Unequal Work
Yesterday, I criticized the assumption that people should receive equal pay for unequal work, such as requiring the average woman to be paid exactly…
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Today’s Links: August 15, 2012
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When Wage Gaps Are Fair
When I and my wife first got married, she worked shorter hours than I did, and used her additional time outside the workplace for activities…
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In Praise Of Judicial Activism
Judicial activism is a dirty word in politics. It shouldn't be. Over at The American Spectator, David Deerson try to rehabilitate a term that has…
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Today’s Links: August 14, 2012
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Union contracts driving pension crisis
The Washington Examiner Maryland’s $37 billion public pension system earned a pitiful 0.36 percent return on its investments last fiscal year. How embarrassing is…
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Alcohol Regulation Roundup: Dog Days Edition
These days in D.C., the mercury regularly rises above the 90-degree mark right along with most of the U.S. As unpleasant as it might be…
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Supposed “Bipartisan” Consensus Can’t Waive Laws Such As Welfare Reform And Its Work Requirements
As I've noted before, the Obama administration violated the text, structure, and purpose of the 1996 welfare reform law, in claiming the authority…
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Today’s Links: August 13, 2012
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CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week In Regulation
68 new rules, from health care to Glasflugel gliders.