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Additional briefing in the HP Inkjet Printer coupon settlement case
The briefing by the settling parties in support of final approval seemed exceptionally poor, though I admittedly have never been in a position where I’ve…
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Tim Carney Knows How Washington Works
Tim's latest column is a must-read. Lobbying wouldn't be such a booming business if regulation wasn't, too.
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The Economics of Toilet Seats
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Morning Media Summary
Tech: Gov will spend 400k pounds to destroy ID card data: “The cost of destroying the personal data collected under the ill-starred programme…
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Why Cell Phones are Banned on Airplanes
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Yes, Obamacare is a Government Takeover of the Health Care System
In Tuesday’s Washington Post, Glenn Kessler looked at Republican claims about Obamacare, such as the claim that it “is a ‘government takeover’ of the health…
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New York City Taxi Alliance Opposes Competition
From their webpage, we see a press release denouncing Mayor Bloomberg’s decision to allow livery cars (limousines, personal hired cars, etc.) to pick…
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CEI Podcast for January 20, 2011: The Future of Space Policy
CEI Adjunct Scholar and space policy expert Rand Simberg explains why NASA stagnated after its early success in bringing man to the moon.
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Afternoon Links: January 20, 2011
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Vincent Vernuccio on Unions’ Public Image
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxnvlndMyjY 285 234]…
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Merit-Based Pay Benefits Baltimore
A milestone achievement has occurred in Baltimore: teachers with the recently negotiated contract will receive merit-based pay. This is a striking difference from the…
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An Incrementalist Approach to Transportation Extremists
Architecture writer Karrie Jacobs has a new article up at Metropolis magazine’s website, “The Incrementalists,” in which she derides the supposed slow-and-steady course chartered…
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Morning Media Summary
Tech: Starbucks launches largest mobile payment program in the US: “Starbucks has started accepting mobile payments. Customers can use the Starbucks Card Mobile…
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Six Painless Ways to Cut Federal Red Tape
President Obama signed an Executive Order this week that will initiate a "government-wide review of the rules already on the books to remove outdated regulations…
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Afternoon Links: January 19, 2011
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King Ignores His “Principles”
UAW’s president Bob King has already blatantly disregarded his “Principles for Fair Union Elections.” In his effort to unionize foreign automakers, it is clear the…
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Harper’s vs. UAW
When can one expect leftists to oppose unionization of a business? When it’s their own. That’s the case at Harper‘s magazine right now, where some…
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Don’t Believe Everything You Think!
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EPA to Re-Brand Mortality Risk Reduction
A recent paper published by the EPA provides up to date governmental thoughts on attempts to put a value on a statistical life (VSL)…
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Stossel and O’Reilly on Sports Betting
Stossel hits the nail on the head in his recent blog post. Apparently, Bill O’Reilly reached out to him for feedback on the issue…
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Morning Media Summary
Tech: FCC signs off on Comcast’s bid to control NBC Universal: “Federal regulators signed off on Comcast Corp.’s bid to control NBC Universal,…
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Will UAW Seek Foreign Help to Unionize American Workers?
America has a vibrant and successful auto industry — just largely outside of Detroit. For years, many foreign automakers’ American divisions have been successful at…
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Afternoon Links: January 18, 2011
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NLRB Litigates for Less Freedom
n another demonstration of the overreaching power of the federal government, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is preparing to sue Arizona, South Carolina, South…
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NLRB Litigates for Less Freedom
In another demonstration of the overreaching power of the federal government, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is preparing to sue Arizona, South Carolina, South…
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Repeal Senseless and Job-Destroying Volcker Rule from Dodd-Frank
On Tuesday, the Financial Stability Oversight Council may issue its recommendations for implementing the Volcker Rule, the provision of the Dodd-Frank financial legislation that bans so-called proprietary trading…
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Morning Media Summary
Tech: Facebook: Goldman Sachs excludes US investors from deal: “Investors from outside America will be able to take part in…
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Smartphone Searches, Encryption, and the Constitution
The smartphone is arguably one of the most empowering and revolutionary technologies of the modern era. By putting the processing power of a personal…
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How the President Can Foster the “Civil and Honest” Debate He Called For
In his speech in Tucson, where federal Judge John Roll was murdered, President Obama said that “only a more civil and honest public discourse can…
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D.C. Installs Private Car Charging Station
Remember when the Prius first hit the market, and the D.C. Beltway authorities opened the HOV lanes to electric cars as an incentive to switch?…
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Smears and Hypocritical Calls for “Civility” Follow Tucson Shooting
Even though the Tucson shooter was mentally unbalanced, did not listen to talk radio or Fox News, and liked The Communist Manifesto, several…
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CEI Weekly: The Government Continues to Attack Personal Choice
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Afternoon Links: January 14, 2011
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Alcohol Regulation Roundup: January 14, 2010
Gulf States: Laws in some Gulf States get in the way of charity aimed at helping victims of Hurricane Katrina. This article…
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Clarifying For Media Matters
Media Matters for America is an organization dedicated to “comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media.” They didn’t, in my opinion,…
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WikiLeaks Backs Censorship in Response to Tucson Shootings
In a press release, WikiLeaks has blamed Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin, and other conservatives for the Tucson shootings, and called for them to…
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Morning Media Summary
Tech: Google Release Chrome 8.0.522, Pays $14,000 in Bug Bounties: “Google has released version 8.0.552.237 of its Chrome browser, which includes fixes for…
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Secret of Lawmaking: It’s All in the Enforcement
Lawmakers are quick to DEMAND ACTION when circumstances change. But when it comes to encouraging citizens’ good behavior, sometimes the secret is in simply enforcing…
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Kids These Days Are More Financially Responsible Than You
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The Meaning of Civility in the Aftermath of the Tucson Shootings
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Victory: court rejects Classmates.com settlement
We’d like to think our objection had at least a little to do with the end result. This decision is not a big surprise…
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When the Green River Runs Dry
Jobs created become jobs destroyed. Two recent articles highlight the struggle that renewable energy companies run into when taxpayer subsidies are tightened. The first,…
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Quick Comparison: Financial Advice from Two Sides of an Age Gap
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Morning Media Summary
Tech: Person Tweeting Death Wish for Palin Now Wants Privacy: “Now YouTube is threatening to pull the video because one of the people…
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Benefits of Cutting White Pages Distribution
After asking why so many states get involved in TelCo activity (requiring that phone books get distributed in hard copy, even over phone companies’ vigorous…
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Tab Rally 1/12/11
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CEI Podcast for January 12, 2011: Public-Private Partnerships
Land-use and Transportation Policy Analyst Marc Scribner talks about his new CEI Issue Analysis, "The Limitations of Public-Private Partnerships."…
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US Loses Ground in 2011 Index of Economic Freedom
The U.S. dropped from 8 to 9 on the just-released “Index of Economic Freedom” put out by the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street…
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Afternoon Links: January 12, 2011
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The Political Climate is Too Dull and Conformist Already
There is a lot of cynical and dishonest blather right now about the need to dial down America’s political rhetoric because of the shootings…
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Why Do States Still Require Phone Books to Be Delivered?
Did you know that some states require companies to deliver phone books to state residents? Never mind the fact that most people don’t use phone…
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Villaraigosa: Brown’s Elimination of Redevelopment Agencies “a Non-Starter”
Pro-smart-growth, “green” Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is upset with Governor Jerry Brown’s remarkably sensible decision to shut down the state’s 425 redevelopment agencies, including…
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Troubles in Central Planning: New York City Cabs
Via the New York Times, an article with empirical evidence that regulatory incentives encourage cabs to disappear around 5pm, just when they are needed…
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Employee Rights at the Discretion of Unions
The AFL-CIO has filed a formal complaint against Roquette for the ongoing lockout of union employees. The union claims that Roquette refused their terms of…
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Morning Media Summary
Tech: Verizon iPhone Could Double U.S. Mobile Games Industry This Year: “Earlier today, Verizon and Apple finally confirmed what everyone knew was coming:…
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Press coverage of the Bachman case
In Litigation Daily, Forbes.com, and the Washington Times. Also Amy Alkon’s blog.
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Afternoon Links: January 11, 2011
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New Jersey Quietly Approves Online Gambling Bill
Yesterday the New Jersey Assembly voted to approve a bill that would allow for residents of New Jersey to participate in some forms of…
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Americans Resist Blame Game Over Arizona Shooting, Poll Suggests
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Morning Media Summary
Tech: Iceland protests to U.S. over Twitter data demand: “Iceland called in the U.S. ambassador in Reykjavik on Monday to register its displeasure…
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Pub Poker on the Table in Wyoming
There are many bars in Washington, D.C., where one can find a free poker tournament. Such events draw in a diverse crowd of customers and…
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Bachman v. A.G. Edwards coupon class action settlement appeal
Our unsuccessful objection to the Bachman v. A.G. Edwards settlement, which consisted almost entirely of time-restricted non-transferable $8.22 coupons, received press coverage…
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Thoughts on the Tucson Shootings
In the Washington Examiner, I have a commentary entitled “Shootings Obscure America’s Generally Bland and Timid Political Culture.” In The Wall Street Journal, law…
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Commonsense Proposals for Sustainable Government
In the midst of federal and state deficits at record levels, politicians are attempting to run the government similar to a business. Elected officials are…
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Afternoon Links: January 10, 2011
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Autism Doctor a Fraud, But Hardly Alone
“A deliberate fraud.” That’s what the British Medical Journal, one of the world’s most prestigious periodicals, has written of the study…
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Dime a Drink Tax in Maryland will Hit Everyone
Though it is touted as a “dime a drink” increase on alcoholic beverages, the proposal in Maryland to raise the excise tax on alcohol…
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The Fate of the Renewable Fuel Standard
As this article in Wired notes, the U.S. has effectively hit the “blend wall” for domestic ethanol production in the short term. Given current…
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Morning Media Summary
Tech: Twitter endorsements face OFT clampdown: “How does a celebrity declare their affiliations to certain brands in fewer than 140 characters? Many may…
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Dodd-Frank Financial “Reform” Violates Property Rights and Equal-Protection Guarantees
Last week, I described how the Dodd-Frank financial “reform” law passed last summer violates constitutional separation-of-powers safeguards by giving unaccountable bureaucrats the…
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Four Radicals Renominated to Federal Judgeships
On Wednesday, President Obama renominated four radicals to federal judgeships, even though their nominations previously died in the Senate. A week earlier, he made six controversial recess…
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SEIU Arbitrates Life or Death
In two recent reports revolving around the Service Employee International Union have shown their callous disregard for human life, in the name of contract negotiations…
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Dodd-Frank Violates Separation of Powers and Constitutional Checks and Balances
In a recent edition of the Washington Post, former White House counsel C. Boyden Gray noted that the sweeping Dodd-Frank financial “reform” law passed…
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Afternoon Links: January 7, 2011
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Committee Name Change Puts Big Labor on Offensive
In the midst of the Republican takeover of Congress labor union officials have been vigilant to the changes that are sure to come concerning labor…
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Alcohol Regulation Roundup and Update on Four Loko: January 7, 2011
Update on Four Loko: After being pulled off of shelves by FDA decree, the wholesalers who purchased of alcoholic energy drinks such as…
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Fred Smith: Government Force vs Personal Choice
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CEI Weekly: Enviros Stubbornly Ignore Climate Evidence
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Morning Media Summary
Tech: Hackers find new way to cheat on Wall Street – to everyone’s peril: “High-frequency trading networks, which complete stock market transactions in…
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CEI Podcast for January 6, 2011: D.C.’s Plastic Bag Tax
Warren T. Brookes Journalism Fellow Kathryn Ciano talks about Washington, DC's five-cent tax on plastic bags.
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Committee Name Change Puts Big Labor on Offensive
In the midst of the Republican takeover of Congress labor union officials have been vigilant to the changes that are sure to come concerning labor…
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More Signs of Incompetence in Washington, D.C. Transit System
In the latest sign of dysfunction at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (“Metro”), the struggling subway system has appointed a supervisor of escalators…
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Junk Scientist’s Autism Research “An Elaborate Fraud,” Reports British Medical Journal
Yesterday the British Medical Journal found that Andrew Wakefield, who authored “studies” linking autism with measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines, had committed “an elaborate…
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What Government Unions Want: One, Two, Many Californias
That the large Republican gains in the 2010 midterm elections pose a setback for organized labor’s agenda is hardly news. What will be newsworthy is…
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Afternoon Links: January 6, 2011
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More News on Ohio Bedbugs
Bed Bugs have become such a problem in Ohio — as CEI noted earlier this week — that the state is now using Medicaid funds…
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Declining Access to Non-Ethanol Fuel
Via EENews ($ubscription required), and a letter (PDF) from Senator Inhofe and Senator Snow to the EPA on the declining availability of pure…
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Morning Media Summary
Tech: HHS is Paying Google with Taxpayer Money to Alter ‘Obamacare’ Search Results (Updated): “The brazenness of the Obama administration never ceases to…
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Oral argument scheduled in the Bluetooth case
The Ninth Circuit has scheduled oral argument in the Bluetooth case for Monday, February 7, 9 a.m., in the federal courthouse in Pasadena. (Five other…
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D.C. Bag Tax Falls Short of Stated Revenue Goals
Last New Year’s saw the beginning of D.C.’s infamous bag tax, a 5-cent tax on each plastic shopping bag consumers take away from stores. In…
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New York Snow Debacle Shows: It’s Government Unions vs. Taxpayers
The longstanding alliance between Democratic politicians and government employee unions has come under increasing strain, as I recently noted in a Washington Times op…
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Afternoon Links: January 5, 2011
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Media Continue Spreading High-Speed Rail Misinformation
Following the Obama administration’s decision to revoke Ohio and Wisconsin’s High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail (HSIPR) Program funding that was included in the American Recovery…
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The Market for Responsible Drinking
The alleged reason for many alcohol regulations — such as labeling mandates — is that consumers lack resources or ability to monitor and control…
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Morning Media Summary
Tech: CES 2011 Predictions: 7 Trends To Watch At The World’s Biggest Tech Show: “Las Vegas is currently gearing up for the Consumer…
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EPA Bed Bug Protection for Elderly “Not Enough”
Outgoing Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland says EPA’s response for help in the state’s battle against bed bugs is simply “not enough.” He petitioned the…
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Afternoon Links: January 4, 2011
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Update on D.C. Metro Bag Inspections
Last night, a crowded audience gathered at the WMATA headquarters to discuss the recent decision to begin randomly screening passengers bags for potential explosives. It…
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Freedom of Speech on Alcohol Labeling
After posting my Washington Times op-ed on wine-labeling mandates yesterday, I came across Diageo’s — the premium drinks company — press release that highlights…
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Morning Media Summary
Tech: Court OKs searches of cell phones without warrant: “The California Supreme Court allowed police Monday to search arrestees’ cell phones without a…