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Cutting Corners and Nickel-and-Diming Customers
In macroeconomics, the “circular flow of income” refers to the continuous flow of money between producers and consumers in the economy. Producers provide goods and…
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FTC declares mergers to be union-busting
In a classic case of regulatory creep, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has recently asserted jurisdiction over labor unions and collective bargaining. The agency is…
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This week in ridiculous regulations: Baby formula waivers and phonorecords
The 2023 Federal Register became the second-largest ever, dating back to 1936. A new CEI study makes the case for reforming administrative law…
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200 More Obamacare Waivers Granted
204 more waivers of Obamacare’s onerous mandates have been issued over the past month, bringing the total to at least 1,372. As…
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Regulation of the Day 176: Cooking a Burger
In North Carolina, it is illegal to cook a burger to an internal temperature under 155 degrees.
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Feds Say “Prepare for a Zombie Apocalypse!”
Who says bureaucrats don’t have a sense of humor? The Wall Street Journal‘s Health Blog points to a…
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USDA’s War on Potatoes
The Wall Street Journal reports today that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is proposing to “eliminate the ‘white potato’ — defined…
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There is No More Fat to Trim from Government Budgets, Part 3
The USDA is spending $2 million to take pictures of what San Antonio school children eat for lunch.
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Hormones in Milk: They Do a Body Good
Today's Washington Post Food section contains a number of articles following up on the Post's "The Future…
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Clinic for Porn Actors Closes, AIDS Group Rejoices
After years of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation trashing them in the media, the Adult Industry Medical Foundation (aka AIM) has closed its doors for good,…
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Biofuels Policy — Death and Disease Follow
The inestimable Indur Goklany has an important new report on biofuels and developing countries. “Could Biofuel Policies Increase Death and Disease in Developing Countries?”…
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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…
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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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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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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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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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Human Achievement of the Day: Mosquito-Zapping Lasers
It’s hard to deny that lasers are cool, but a lasers that can blast mosquitoes out of the sky, protecting us from the malaria spreading…
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Compensate Donors for Giving Their Organs
My letter to the editor in today’s Washington Post: The Feb. 24 front-page article “New kidney transplant rules would favor younger patients” reported…
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$240 Billion Tobacco Deal Challenged in Supreme Court in S&M Brands v. Caldwell
Back in 1998, the states settled their lawsuits against the big tobacco companies in a deal called the tobacco Master Settlement Agreement -- the biggest…
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Lessons from Four Loko: Don’t Be Too Good
That lawmakers are still wringing their hands about the alcoholic (formerly caffeinated) drink, Four Loko, reveals that their fears have nothing to do with…
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Remembering Jack Calfee
The sad news of Jack Calfee’s death came out of the blue yesterday morning. I first met Jack about two decades…
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The GOP and the Health Insurance Mandate
With the health insurance individual purchase mandate looking more vulnerable than ever, Democrats are trying desperately to get some mileage out…
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Obamacare Struck Down by Florida Judge; Properly Applies Severability Principles to Invalidate Whole Law
A judge in Florida just declared the health care law known as “Obamacare” unconstitutional, ruling it void in its entirety. Judge Vinson rightly…
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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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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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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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Potato Diet Improves Man’s Health; Obama Administration Bans Potatoes from WIC Program
Chris Voigt lost 21 pounds and improved his health by living on a potato-only diet for 60 days. Potatoes are more nutritious…
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Food Safety Modernization Act Passes; Unconstitutional Provision Supposedly Removed
The Food Safety Modernization Act was passed again by Congress on Sunday, apparently without a provision that earlier drew criticism for violating the Constitution by having a…
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Nanny-Statist CSPI Sues to Ban Happy Meals at McDonald’s
An ill-informed left-wing group, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, is suing McDonald’s in California to ban toys from Happy…
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V.A. Judge Rules Against Obama’s Health Care Law
A Virginia federal judge has declared federal health care legislation unconstitutional. In response to the decision, which was handed down earlier today, CEI General…
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New Fast Food Restaurants Banned in South Los Angeles
New fast-food restaurants are now banned in South Los Angeles. Say goodbye to many entry-level jobs in that poor urban area. The cockamamie idea behind this ban is…
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Energy Drink Ban? What’s Next?
Lynne Nowick, a legislator in Suffolk County, New York, wants to ban energy drinks for anyone under the age of 19 years old. Why?…
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Court Rejects Obesity Class-Action Against McDonald’s
A New York court has refused to certify a class-action lawsuit against McDonald’s by people claiming it made them obese. As Ted Frank notes,…
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Senate Leaders Violate Constitution in Pushing Through Costly Food Safety Modernization Act
The House and Senate passed different versions of the Food Safety Modernization Act, which would ratchet up costly regulations of farms and food processing. (Greg…
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It’s World AIDS Day; Is it the “Forgotten Epidemic”?
World AIDS Day has rolled around again, amid charges by C. Everett Koop that “HIV is no longer on the public’s radar screen, and…
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CEI Podcast — November 30, 2010: Food Safety, Washington-Style
CEI Senior Fellow Greg Conko looks at the major provisions of the food safety bill that the Senate is voting on today.
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Federal Government Subsidizes Obesity and Wealthy Urbanites
In the Washington Examiner, David Freddoso explains how the federal Department of Health and Human Services spent $766,000 of your tax dollars to help…
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Obesity Letters Assume Parents Can’t See Their Children
A school district in Arizona is implementing a controversial program that has the world talking: they will be weighing students and sending notes home…
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Why You Should CARE About the Ban on Four Loko
Late yesterday evening, the maker of Four Loko announced it was removing caffeine from the popular alcohol beverage. This came following media-driven hysteria, state…
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Four Loko Crackdown: FDA Set to Ban Caffeinated-Alcohol Drinks
It looks as though the FDA is now set to ban the small but growing market for so-called alcohol-energy drinks, such as Four Loko and…
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Be Thankful for BPA-Lined Canned Goods this Thanksgiving
Well-meaning environmentalist Mindy Pennybacker, author of Do One Green Thing: Saving the Earth Through Simple, Everyday Choices, offers some sagely foolish advice…
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Product Bans Are More Dangerous than Four Loko
How many people follow up a heavy night of drinking with some coffee? How many restaurants serve coffee and desert right after dinners where diners…
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Feminist Porn Director Supports Freedom of Individual Choice
Porn actress, director, and self-described “kinky feminist,” Madison Young, spoke out in an interview with Salon.com about her feelings in the condom debate that…
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Ignorant Food Snobbery: Judge Orders McDonald’s to Pay Obese Employee $17,500
From The New York Times: A Brazilian court ruled this week that McDonald’s must pay a former franchise manager $17,500 because he gained 65…
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An Alcohol-Caffeine Ban Won’t Work
The genie is out of the bottle. Mixing energy drinks and distilled spirits has become a popular trend in the U.S., particularly, among college age…
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Sen. Grassley’s Selective Crusade Against Conflicts of Interest
Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Ia.) has been on a tear lately, badgering the Food and Drug Administration about whether it's doing enough to crack down on…
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Supreme Court Case May Wipe Out Vaccine Industry
Back when Congress knew how to pass good legislation, in this case in the mid-1980s, it took most cases involving vaccine liability out of the…
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Medical Trial and Error
The Atlantic has an interesting profile of medical researcher John Ioannidis, who famously concluded in a groundbreaking 2005 study that the scientific conclusions of most…
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Restricting What People Eat, Based on the Ignorance of Food Snobs
There are increasing calls for the government to restrict salty food and fast-food restaurants, and tax fast food, to curb obesity. This is especially true…
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Top Scientist Calls “Scam” Geron Human ESC Experiment
To much celebration and media play, the first human trial of embryonic stem cells has begun. With a grand total so far of one…
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McDonald’s 6-Month-Old Burger is a Triumph, Not a Terror
To prove a friend wrong, New York artist Sally Davies left a happy meal out on her counter for six months. Yesterday, several media…
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If You Like Your Health Plan, You May Lose It Anyway
Another major employer, 3M, has decided to “eventually stop offering its health insurance plan to retirees, citing the federal health overhaul as a factor.”…
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Obamacare May Force McDonald’s to Drop Health Coverage for Employees
Michelle Malkin points out that “McDonald’s has notified the feds that it may be forced to drop health insurance for some 30,000 workers due…