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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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Constipated Colombia Pact
Pres. Obama has made expanding U.S. exports a centerpiece of his economic plan. In his January State of the Union Address, he noted that "95%…
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CEI Weekly: Paul Ryan’s Budget Will Cut Spending But Won’t Reform Washington
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Morning Media Summary
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My Response to Simon Johnson’s Defense of Price Controls Benefiting Big Retailers
Two weeks ago, I wrote a post blasting 17 Republican senators who voted last year for Dodd-Frank's Durbin Amendment, which puts below-cost price controls…
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WaPo Freaks the Heck Out Over Gov’t Shutdown
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Morning Media Summary
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Elitist WaPo Rant Against “Extreme Couponing,” Affordable Food
A Washington Post reporter today heaped scorn on "Extreme Couponing," a TLC show about people who go to great extremes to clip and use coupons. …
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ReasonTV video on Protectionism at the Smithsonian
ReasonTV just produced an eye-opening video regarding how easily politicians can utilize rhetoric to create economically absurd policies. In the video below, Bernie Sanders works…
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Alcohol Regulation Roundup: April 6, 2011
Nation: Wine shipping is once again being threatened by federal legislation threatening to overturn Supreme Court decisions that clearly made it illegal for states…
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Michigan Demonstrates Clean Energy “Success”
In what should be a satirical piece from The Onion, Reuters has an exclusive interview with former Michigan Governor Granholm who boldly proclaims that…
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Morning Media Summary
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Unions Use Civil Rights for Own Ends
Openmarket.org Yesterday, AFL-CIO held nationwide events to promote the solidarity between the union protests over collective bargaining and the rights Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,…
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Paul Ryan’s Budget Proposal is Half the Answer
This morning, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) unveiled a bold proposal to trim trillions off America’s bloated budget. It represents the only serious proposal out there…
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Unions Use Civil Rights for Own Ends
Yesterday, AFL-CIO held nationwide events to promote the solidarity between the union protests over collective bargaining and the rights Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and…
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A Smoke-Free Backroom Deal
In their March 11 article, “Tobacco Money,” discussing the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA), the Tulsa World editorial writers asked the question, “so what’s…
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Entrepreneurship Dips: The New York Times Admits Small Business is Important
Yesterday's NYT cautions that "jobs are scarce" in small business as American entrepreneurship declines: Here's the explanation the NYT includes from the pessimistic chart's…
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3 Numbers: Why a U.S. Economic Meltdown is Inevitable
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CEI Podcast for April 5, 2011: Reforming the Railway Labor Act
Russ Brown, a vice president at the Labor Relations Institute and a CEI Adjunct Analyst, talks about recent changes made to the Railway Labor Act…
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Morning Media Summary
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Saving for Retirement? Mission: Impossible
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Health Department Lives By Its Own Rules?
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Union Officials Exploit Tragedy to Increase Membership and Dues
Openmarket.com Union officials have a long history of propagating tragedy to enforce their pro-union agenda. Big Labor is able to accomplish this effect as efficiently…
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Union Officials Exploit Tragedy to Increase Membership and Dues
Union officials have a long history of propagating tragedy to enforce their pro-union agenda. Big Labor is able to accomplish this effect as efficiently and…
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Morning Media Summary
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House Rejects Obama-Backed, Pro-Union Amendment to FAA Reauthorization Bill
This afternoon, the House passed the FAA Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2011. Perhaps the most contentious issue debated was a provision of the legislation that…
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Morning Media Summary
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April Fools Day and the New York Times
I recently treated myself to the new iPad, which arrived this week, and was looking forward to reading the NY Times this morning with that…
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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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Gail Giggles at Consumer Choice in the NYT
Gail Collins has a truly inane opinion piece in the NYT today, in which she excoriates those people -- Tea Partiers and libertarians --…
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Morning Media Summary
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Food Inflation is Here!
Next time someone tells you that only the left side of the aisle cares about feeding hungry Americans, remind them that it's green special interests…
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Rep. Levin Wants to Stall Trade Pact — Colombia Needs to Change its Laws, He Says
Okay -- another big roadblock for the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, and not surprisingly, it’s coming from Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.), ranking member on the…
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Stop the Sweet Deal for Sugar, Says Senator Lugar
There's a great op-ed by Senator Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) in The Washington Times today telling how Big Sugar’s sweet deal harms consumers, leads to job…
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Speaking at University of Cincinnati April 1
I’m apparently a “leading advocate for class action reform.” An impressive roster of speakers is going to have to sit through my lunchtime…
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Morning Media Summary
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Six Pages of Legislation, 1,000 Pages of Regulation
HHS is about to issue over 1,000 pages of new regulations stemming from a 6-page section of last year's health care bill.
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Virginia Sells Naming Rights to Highway Rest Stops
Faced with budget shortfalls and a steep $20 million annual operating cost, this week Virginia decided to sell naming rights to its 42 highway…
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Alcohol Regulation Roundup: March 29, 2011
With April Fool's Day just around the corner, you might think that I'm pulling one over on my readers with the some of the laws…
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Delaware DOT Removes a Public Menace
One wonders just how many regulations this rogue basketball hoop violated in the 60 years it spent terrorizing an unsuspecting Delaware neighborhood.
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NVIDIA hearing held March 28
As I discussed on our Facebook page yesterday, I wasn’t given our full ten minutes to argue in the hearing, while Milberg and NVIDIA took…
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Dilbert on Green Technology!
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Morning Media Summary
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CEI Podcast for March 28, 2011: Human Achievement Hour
Human Achievement Hour founder Michelle Minton talks about the annual celebration of human creativity and innovation that happens at the same time every year as…
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Maine Gov. LePage Looks to Reform for Balanced Budget
Governor Paul LePage and Maine have skirted the public attention present in Wisconsin, Ohio, and Michigan that have proposed budget reform bills. Maine has proposed…
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March Madness
In the closing days of March, not only are sports fans a bit crazy, so also are the electorate. Consider the German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg,…
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Geo-Engineering?
Seismologists have long feared that “BIG” earthquakes might trigger other “BIG” earthquakes (a view that warms the cockles of catastrophist’s hearts who immediately connected global…
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Morning Media Summary
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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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Senators Seek to Censor Mobile App Stores, Disregarding Public Safety and the Constitution
In the latest example of big government run amok, several politicians think they ought to be in charge of which applications you should be able…
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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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CEI Weekly: CEI Warns Against Hysterical Response to Japanese Crisis
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Morning Media Summary
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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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Morning Media Summary
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The Hidden Costs of State Workers’ Early Retirement
Open Market Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin could not have foreseen how his Budget Reform Bill may backfire and contribute to larger pension liabilities. A…
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The Hidden Costs of State Workers’ Early Retirement
Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin could not have foreseen how his Budget Reform Bill may backfire and contribute to larger pension liabilities. A structural…
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Morning Media Summary
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TTB Should Allow, Not Mandate Nutritional Labels
Last month I penned an article for BigGovernment.com in which I asserted that some large alcohol producers were in favor of the nutritional label…
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U.S. Property Rights Protections Continue to Decline
This morning, I attended the Property Rights Alliance’s launch presentation of the 2011 International Property Rights Index. Overall, the United States declined to…
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Obama’s Support of Brazil
President Obama was in Brazil over the weekend: “The United States doesn’t simply recognize Brazil’s rise; we support it enthusiastically,” Obama said in Brasilia,…
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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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High-Speed Rail Follies: International Edition
Over at the excellent NewGeography.com, Wendell Cox has an article about the battle over high-speed rail investment in Britain. As we've seen in the…
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New Hampshire Experiments with Lower Cigarette Taxes
File this under "Adventures on the Laffer curve." The New Hampshire House is seeking to lower its cigarette tax from $1.78 per pack to…
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CEI Podcast for March 21, 2011: How Washington Ruined Your Washing Machine
CEI General Counsel Sam Kazman talks about how ever-stricter energy efficiency regulations are making washing machines more expensive and less effective than they used to…
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Liquor Wholesalers Enlist Mormon Lawmaker
Alcohol wholesalers have enlisted Mormon Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) to lead their quest for passage of anti-competitive liquor legislation during the 112th Congress [see…
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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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Alcohol Regulatory Roundup: St. Patrick’s Hangover Edition
While you guzzled green beer and nursed the subsequent hangover, politicians and other interested parties were busy creating or preventing regulatory headaches of their own.
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Peer-to-Peer Visa Payments Coming to the U.S.
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CEI Weekly: How Washington Ruined Your Washing Machine
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CEI Podcast for March 17, 2011: Are Biotech Crops Coming to Kenya?
CEI Senior Fellow Greg Conko discusses his recent trip to Kenya where he met with members of Parliament and other officials about the best way…
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Labor Unions Join Fight Against EPA Regulations
This is a few days old, but it's worth mentioning: "EPA Tangles With New Critic: Labor." The labor unions were supportive of the…
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Are Text Messages an Antitrust Issue?
Text messages cost 20 cents to send, even though they use a fraction of a penny of bandwidth. What gives? Antitrust authorities want to know.
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Florida House Subcommittee Approves Dress Code Bill
There are a few reasons to be bothered by the Florida dress code bill that just passed a State House Subcommittee. First, it’s unnecessary.
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Steve LaTourette Wants More Federally Funded Transit (Highway-User Robbery)
Rep. Steve LaTourette (R-Ohio), vice chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure’s Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies, essentially told…
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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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Morning Media Summary
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Interchange — Will 16 Republicans Again Back Durbin’s Price Controls? (Corrected)
Correction: In the original post, I erroneously included Sen. Mike Crapo twice, when I meant to include Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) as one of the pro-price…
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The War on Scent Continues
Nevada's legislature is considering restricting or banning pesticides, potpourri, air fresheners, candles, and pretty much anything with a scent in public places.
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Rail Transit and Transportation Waste
Over the weekend, I appeared on Fox Business Network’s “Tom Sullivan Show,” along with John Charles of the Cascade Policy Institute, to discuss…
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An End to Fannie and Freddie?
As has become tradition after a chamber or two changes hands, Congress is currently grappling over the extent of proposed budget cuts with the threat…
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What *The Economist* Got Right, Got Wrong About NYC Bike Lanes
New Yorker econ writer John Cassidy created quite a stir last week with this blog post that attacked bike lanes in New York City.
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Morning Media Summary
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Wisconsin tolls the bell for public-employee unions
The Examiner Nothing so pleases the ear as the howl of liberals getting a taste of their own medicine. Take the liberal outrage over Wisconsin…
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Regulation of the Day 167: Wearing Perfume
Portland, Oregon is banning city government employees from wearing perfume or cologne at work.
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Reply brief filed in NVIDIA case
Our earlier post continues to update the docket, most notably with our reply brief filed today. It’s hard to believe that multiple millionaire…
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Pro-Ethanol Legislation Introduced in the Senate
Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) introduced legislation last week to provide more support to the biofuel industry. This would counter a…
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Human Achievement of the Day: Print-on Skin
Imagine being able to simply spray new skin onto wounds, scars, or burns as if they never happened? We may be one step closer…
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Bidding Bon Voyage to Nationalized Wind Insurance
According to several Gulf Coast legislators, the idea of adding wind insurance to the National Flood Insurance Program is not going to happen anytime soon.
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Legislating the Way to Prosperity
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Morning Media Summary
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CEI Weekly: Wisconsin Republicans Vote to End Collective Bargaining
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Unintended Consequences, Low Flush Toilets
In yet another example of why prudence is necessary on the behalf of law makers, who might have a little more faith in the market…
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A Tsunami is Not a Stimulus
Tragedy struck Japan this morning. It will be some time before we know just how many lives the tsunami took, and how much damage was…
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$6 Billion More in Cuts
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Morning Media Summary
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