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Supreme Court Grants Review in Case Challenging Obamacare as Unconstitutional
The Supreme Court today granted certiorari in the Obamacare cases brought by 26 states and the National Federation of Independent Business. The court allotted 5…
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Is the Constitution a Threat to Liberty?
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CEI Weekly: CEI Challenges Big Labor Corruption at AFP Conference
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Alcohol Regulation Roundup: Beer for Our Soldiers Edition
Not to overshadow the once-in-100-year numerically sequenced date, but today is also Veterans' Day. This isn't a great way to get free drinks at the bar…
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CEI Podcast for November 10, 2011: Eminent Domain Abuse
Land Use and Transportation Policy Analyst Marc Scribner explains why allowing the government to seize land from its owners and give it to developers is…
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When the Lights Go Out
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U.S. Sugar Program Hurts Businesses and Kills Jobs
CBS San Antonio affiliate KENS 5 reports that a San Antonio candy company, Judson-Atkinson Candy Company, has ceased operations after 110 years of…
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Today’s Links: November 10, 2011
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Fred Weekly: Occupy Wall Street
In the latest episode of “Fred Weekly,” CEI President Fred Smith discusses the Occupy Wall Street movement and why the protesters ought to be targeting…
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2011 Federal Register Tops 70,000 Pages
The next time someone complains about America's unregulated cowboy capitalism, you should ask them where such a thing might actually be found.
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Big Labor’s Ohio win doesn’t end states’ fiscal crises
The Washington Examiner Everyone knows state governments are swimming in red ink, but how deep exactly is the fiscal hole? The nonprofit watchdog group State…
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Today’s Links: November 9, 2011
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A Backdoor Tax on the Poor
For some time now, the IRS has been flirting with what's called a return-free system. It's being touted as a time-saver. But it would also…
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Cheers to Washington State Voters
Yesterday, Washington State voters passed an initiative to privatize spirit sales and facilitate a more open market. It essentially breaks up the state’s mandatory…
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Mississippi Voters Pass Initiative Restricting Eminent Domain Powers
Yesterday, voters in Mississippi overwhelmingly passed Initiative 31, which will limit eminent domain condemnations for private benefit. Despite opposition from Republican Governor Hailey…
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Barber Auto Sales v. UPS
The Center has objected to a settlement that would pay $2 million to class members (without even telling them how much of their claims…
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Smokers’ Opportunity to Quit Smoking Opposed by Blinkered Anti-Tobacco Zealots
As The New York Times' John Tierney notes, a tool to quit smoking and save lives is being blocked by anti-tobacco zealots: If you…
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Moral Hazard in Super Committee
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Today’s Links: November 8, 2011
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Liquor Privatization Would Edge Washington State Toward Freedom
Today voters in Washington State will finally have their say in whether or not to get the state out of the business of selling liquor.
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Working through the email
As you might expect, I got a lot of email from the October 31 Wall Street Journal story. Between an October 31 Ninth Circuit deadline,…
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Surface Transportation Board Rejects Misguided Push to Re-Regulate the Railroad Industry… For Now
Late last week, the Surface Transportation Board (STB) refused [PDF] to initiate a rulemaking (Ex Parte 711) proceeding that was petitioned by the shippers'…
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The Heavy-Lift Empire Strikes Back
Readers of this space will recall that there was a leak of an internal NASA document a couple weeks ago that…
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Department of Labor Sells Out Union Members for Big Labor 1%
Openmarket.org The Department of Labor (DOL) doesn’t need to loosen financial disclosure for union bosses to take advantage of union members’ dues. Yet, this is…
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Department of Labor Sells Out Union Members for Big Labor 1%
The Department of Labor (DOL) doesn’t need to loosen financial disclosure for union bosses to take advantage of union members’ dues. Yet, this is exactly…
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Bombs Don’t Build Economies
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Regulation Roundup
If you're in Helena, Montana, never tie a horse to a fire hydrant. It's against the law. Plus more.
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Obama Administration Contributes to Life-Threatening Drug Shortages Even as it Decries Them
In a recent column, Michelle Malkin explained how Obamacare price controls, FDA and DEA rules, and Obama administration policies have contributed to shortages of…
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CEI Weekly: CEI Hosts Lively Hill Briefing on E-Verify
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Government Waste Nauseates
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Today’s Links: November 4, 2011
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The Great Receding
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Hayek and Conservatives
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CEI Podcast for November 3, 2011: Scary Makeup
Senior Fellow Angela Logomasini debunks scare stories that chemicals in makeup and other household products cause cancer, neurological disorders, birth defects, and other health problems.
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Spectrum Crunch Hype is No Scam
In a recent Washington Times op-ed, Mark Hyman of the Sinclair Broadcast Group makes some compelling arguments calling for a spectrum inventory. His suggestion…
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Washington State Alcohol Intiative Takes on Three-Tier Mandates
Action this Election Day in Washington State may send tremors across America by cracking open the anti-consumer, anti-competitive alcohol regulations in that state. Initiative…
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Wealthy Chanhassen, Minnesota, NIMBYs Oppose Retail Competition, Support Development Socialism
Reading the tired, silly claims of left-wing, anti-Wal-Mart activists generally makes me yawn. But it annoys me to see some of my former neighbors from…
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The War on Ladies’ Night
Let's face it: If you're the proprietor of a bar that caters to a predominantly heterosexual crowd, it's in your financial interest to attract female…
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Alcohol Regulation Roundup: November 2, 2011
A round up of the interesting booze-related news stories from around the nation. Hint: the two best are at the end. National: Our nation’s…
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Bank of America Debit Decision Doesn’t Negate Dodd-Frank’s Costs to Consumers
Bank of America and other banks are cancelling plans to impose monthly debit card fees. This was one of the ways Bank of America, as…
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New Jersey Voters Likely to Support Legalizing Sports Betting
In just one week, New Jersey voters will have their say on whether or not the state should pursue legalizing sports betting. According to…
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“Made In China” Is Good For U.S. Economy
In yesterday’s Washington Times, Brett Decker (editorial page editor) reviews Patrick J. Buchanan’s book Suicide of a Super Power: Will America Survive to 2025?…
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Some updates
Yesterday, we filed the opening brief in our HP Inkjet Ninth Circuit appeal. Details at Point of Law. The district court approved the $0…
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Regulation is this Halloween’s Goblin
Uncle Sam may be the biggest spook to business this Halloween. A new Gallup poll of small business owners shows that “complying with government regulations”…
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Today’s Links: October 31, 2011
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Seven Billion People
Sometime today, the UN estimates that world population will hit 7 billion people. Some people are worried about how those 7 billion mouths will be…
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Yes, Regulation Does Keep Unemployment High
Over at RealClearMarkets, my colleague Wayne Crews and I argue that the law of demand holds. Hard to believe that's actually controversial, but that's Washington…
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Welcome, Wall Street Journal readers
Welcome to those of you who found this page after reading the Wall Street Journal profile. The Journal also discussed our Sirius XM…
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The Limits of Higher-Education Spending as a Stimulus; Obama’s Student-Loan Flim-Flam
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Regulation Roundup
Yet another batch of regulatory bloopers: Motorists entering Tacoma, Washington, with criminal intent are required to telephone the chief of police. It is illegal to…
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Who’s Afraid of 7 Billion? The Anti-Human Left, That’s Who
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CEI Weekly: The Fiscal Union Delusion
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Today’s Links: October 28, 2011
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Biotechnology’s 29th Anniversary!
Twenty-nine years ago tomorrow, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Eli Lilly’s and Genentech’s Humulin, making it the first ever fully…
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Today’s Links: October 27, 2011
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CEI Podcast for October 27, 2011: How Much Do Undocumented Immigrants Cost?
Policy Analyst Alex Nowrasteh debunks a flawed study that exaggerates the costs of undocumented immigration.
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In Memoriam: William Niskanen
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Today’s Links: October 26, 2011
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Can Fraud Be Immunized by Giving the Defrauder Certain Governmental Powers Over the Victims?
Can a private organization that has been delegated some government regulatory powers claim absolute government immunity against lawsuits when it engages in fraud against those…
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Hyper-Active Headlines on BPA
The journal Pediatics recently published findings from a research study suggesting that children exposed to the chemical bisphenol A (aka, BPA, which is a…
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Beware of Asking FDA to Change Itself
Every five years, Congress must reauthorize a piece of legislation called the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA), which gives the…
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Bailout for Underwater Mortgage Borrowers Is Illegal and Economically Illogical
Economist Mark Calabria says Obama’s new $7.4 billion plan to let underwater mortgage borrowers refinance at investors’ expense is illegal and won’t help the…
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Today’s Links: October 25, 2011
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The House Considers Legalizing Online Gambling
Defenders of online gambling testified before the House today to beg for their right to gamble legally. Poker Players Alliance Chairman (and former U.S.
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State Budgets Busted
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The Great Danes of Space
Wired welcomed a new author to its Science Blogs on Monday afternoon -- Kristian von Bengtson, an aerospace engineer and co-founder of Copenhagen Suborbitals.
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For the Children
The people of Illinois don’t expect their government to be corrupt; they insist on it. That’s why nary an eyebrow was raised when it recently…
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Obama-Fannie Regressive Refinance Ripoff for Taxpayers and Middle-Class Investors
President Obama is announcing his plan today to bypass Congress with new government intervention to save the housing market through the entities that destroyed it: Fannie…
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Alcohol Regulation Roundup: Ale-oween Edition
National: Phusion Projects, the makers of the now-infamous alcoholic energy drink Four Loko, have reportedly reached an agreement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
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The Simpsons and Immigration
Art Carden has an excellent column about immigration, and not just because the first third is about The Simpsons.
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Senate Bill Would Further Undermine Due Process on Campus
Historically, most colleges used a "clear and convincing" evidence standard in student and faculty discipline cases, to safeguard due process. As Nicholas Trott Long noted in…
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Public Interest Groups Challenge Misleading Government Information Used to Justify Ethanol Mandates and Subsidies
Recently, ActionAid USA and CEI filed a correction request under the Data Quality Act targeting misleading claims made by the EPA regarding the effects…
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What Does it Mean to Be Against Free Markets?
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Alcohol Myths Persist Beyond Prohibition
In a recent article for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, I make the case that many elements of Prohibition did not fade away…
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Regulation Roundup
It is illegal to slurp your soup in New Jersey restaurants, plus more.
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Pay the Americans Now, or Pay the Russians Later
I’m attending the International Symposium on Personal and Commercial Spaceflight in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Also attending is Alan Boyle, science correspondent for MSNBC, who…
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CEI Podcast for October 20, 2011: Congress Passes Free Trade Agreements
CEI Adjunct Fellow Fran Smith, coauthor of the new CEI study "Free Trade without Apology," talks about the recently passed free trade agreements with Colombia,…
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Protectionism is not a Constitutional Principle
Last week, the National Beer Wholesalers Association President Craig Purser, who happens to be a former colleague of mine, had an article in The…
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Today’s Links: October 20, 2011
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Franklin Templeton mutual fund settlement
The attorneys have asked the court to approve a settlement that would give the attorneys $2.142 million and the class $2.27 million. (Good luck finding…
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Liberal Indifference to the Jobless in the Private Sector
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid claims that joblessness is not a problem in the private sector, where huge numbers of people have lost their jobs,…
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Shuttlyndra and the Smoking Rocket
Over at Pajamas Media today, I have some interesting news on the Shuttlyndra situation, which would be a huge scandal if…
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Today’s Links: October 19, 2011
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The Imaginary Age of Austerity
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Truck Drivers Don’t Need a Revised Hours-of-Service Rule
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is poised to enact a revised hours-of-service (HOS) rule that would greatly impact commercial motor vehicle operators.
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Today’s Links: October 18, 2011
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The Unemployment Discrimination Myth
The defunct American Jobs Act, which Hans skewered so well a while back, contains a provision to end “discrimination against the unemployed.” Apparently, there…
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SEC Jumps into Cybersecurity Debate
Much of the cybersecurity focus this year has been on Congress’s efforts to mandate data breach notifications and security standards. Now the Securities and…
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Dangerous Green Hype about Cosmetics
Today, CEI releases the first of a series of studies on chemicals and the precautionary principle. Activist groups around the nation have been calling for…
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Cut the Capital Gains Tax and Government Spending to Create Jobs and Promote Technological Advances
In today’s Wall Street Journal, Amity Schlaes notes that cuts in the capital gains tax were one of the key factors that paved the…
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Soviet Planning Fails… Even in America
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Revolting Youth in Revolt
Conservatives who are enjoying a chuckle over the protesters occupying Wall Street (and an increasing number of public spaces across the country) would do well…
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Bourgeois Dignity
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The Compassion of Adam Smith
It's much more fashionable to attack Adam Smith these days than to read him. Yes, he favored economic liberalism, which wasn't exactly in style in…
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Postal Service Disputes “Principals of Fairness”
Openmarket.org Yesterday, the Government Accountability Office released a report concerning the grim financial future of the Postal Service. It may not come as a shock, but…
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Don’t Fear the Trade Deficit — Embrace it
In the evening of October 12, the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate both passed the Free Trade Agreements with Colombia, South Korea…
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Postal Service Disputes “Principles of Fairness”
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Where’s the Austerity?
Here's a letter I recently sent to The Economist:…
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Corporations Pay Lots of Taxes, and it’s Only Natural that They Should Have Legal Rights
Despite the recent demonization of corporations, corporations pay lots of taxes, including most of the nation's property taxes, notes Josh Barro. They often pay…
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White House Involved in FDA Approval of Genetically Engineered Salmon?
A couple of days ago, Talking Points Memo's Jim Kozubek reported that the Food and Drug Administration had finally decided to…