Blog
CEI Podcast for April 14, 2011: Avoiding a Government Shutdown
Blog
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…
Blog
“We Are One” Unless You’re New
Openmarket.org Alert to non-unionized workers out there, be wary of joining a union during contract negotiations. Recent news has shown a plethora of contract negotiations…
Blog
“We Are One” Unless You’re New
Alert to non-unionized workers out there, be wary of joining a union during contract negotiations. Recent news has shown a plethora of contract negotiations where…
Blog
Los Angeles (City) Won’t Refuse Permits for Condomless Porn
After years of fighting and failed attempts to force Los Angeles County to require condom-usage on adult film sets, AIDS activists were finally successfully…
Blog
Morning Media Summary
Blog
Happy Tax Freedom Day
Blog
China Bans Time Travel
In further proof that communists never won the culture war in China, they merely shut down culture altogether, the Chinese government decided this week to…
Blog
Obama Tax Plan “Machetes” Small Business and Entrepreneurs
Blog
Democrats Fight over Power, not Economics
Blog
STB Should Ignore Calls to Re-regulate Railroads
Yesterday, I filed a comment letter with the Surface Transportation Board (STB) on behalf of CEI regarding the board's request for comments prior to…
Blog
TSA Gropes 6-Year-Old Girl
Sometimes people wonder why I favor abolishing the TSA outright. Here's one reason.
Blog
Morning Media Summary
Blog
Much Ado about Nothing: Budget Cut Edition
Blog
The Environmental-Industrial Complex
Sometimes the green part of green regulations isn't the environment. It's money.
Blog
Should Helicopter Parents Stop Hovering Over Their Kids?
Blog
School Forces Kids to Eat Cafeteria Lunch or Go Hungry
A public elementary school in Chicago has banned brown bag lunches. Little Village Academy Principal Elsa Carmona says the purpose of the ban is to…
Blog
China Had a Quarterly Trade Deficit — And it was Hardly Noticed
Here’s a bit of news that didn’t get too much attention — China had a first quarter 2011 trade deficit. It’s the country’s first quarterly…
Blog
Morning Media Summary
Blog
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…
Blog
Court reduces fees after CCAF objection to HP settlement
In January, we discussed a Center for Class Action Fairness objection to a coupon settlement involving HP inkjet printers. That settlement turned out to…
Blog
Cuts in Agricultural Subsidies Gain Support
“Farm Subsidies: Sacred Cows No More” is the headline of the WSJ April 9 article. Agricultural subsidies, in a period where budget cuts are…
Blog
U.S. Swipes at Colombia’s Sovereignty with Onerous Labor Requirements
AEI’s Claude Barfield posted an insightful comment on the new labor requirements the U.S. foisted on Colombia in connection with the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade…
Blog
Morning Media Summary
Blog
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…
Blog
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%…
Blog
CEI Weekly: Paul Ryan’s Budget Will Cut Spending But Won’t Reform Washington
Blog
Morning Media Summary
Blog
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…
Blog
WaPo Freaks the Heck Out Over Gov’t Shutdown
Blog
Morning Media Summary
Blog
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. …
Blog
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…
Blog
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…
Blog
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…
Blog
Morning Media Summary
Blog
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.,…
Blog
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…
Blog
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…
Blog
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…
Blog
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…
Blog
3 Numbers: Why a U.S. Economic Meltdown is Inevitable
Blog
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…
Blog
Morning Media Summary
Blog
Saving for Retirement? Mission: Impossible
Blog
Health Department Lives By Its Own Rules?
Blog
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…
Blog
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…
Blog
Morning Media Summary
Blog
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…
Blog
Morning Media Summary
Blog
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…
Blog
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…
Blog
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 --…
Blog
Morning Media Summary
Blog
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…
Blog
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…
Blog
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…
Blog
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…
Blog
Morning Media Summary
Blog
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.
Blog
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…
Blog
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…
Blog
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.
Blog
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…
Blog
Dilbert on Green Technology!
Blog
Morning Media Summary
Blog
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…
Blog
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…
Blog
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,…
Blog
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…
Blog
Morning Media Summary
Blog
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…
Blog
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…
Blog
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…
Blog
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…
Blog
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,”…
Blog
CEI Weekly: CEI Warns Against Hysterical Response to Japanese Crisis
Blog
Morning Media Summary
Blog
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…
Blog
Morning Media Summary
Blog
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…
Blog
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…
Blog
Morning Media Summary
Blog
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…
Blog
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…
Blog
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,…
Blog
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,…
Blog
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…
Blog
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…
Blog
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…
Blog
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…
Blog
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…
Blog
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…
Blog
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.
Blog
Peer-to-Peer Visa Payments Coming to the U.S.
Blog
CEI Weekly: How Washington Ruined Your Washing Machine
Blog
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…
Blog
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…
Blog
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.