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CEI Weekly

March 12, 2010 

>>CEI Against Climate Change Policy

>>On Tuesday, the two articles on the front page of the Washington Times' Commentary section were written by CEI analysts William Yeatman and Chris Horner, both criticizing proposed funding of green jobs by the Obama administration.

>>Additionally, CEI's Chris Horner also appeared on Fox's America's Newsroom, to debate the US' role in the IMF's Climate Fund which would pay for climate programs.

>>Shaping the Debate

Real Competition Among Health Plans

John Berlau and Jonathan Moore's article in the Politico

Avoid Land Grabs while Downsizing Detroit

Marc Scribner's article in the Detroit News

FCC Summit Pushes Broadband for all, Spending Unused Stimulus

Wayne Crews and Ryan Radia's citation in the Washington Examiner

DOE E-Mails To Wind Energy Lobbyists Cast Cloud Over Green Jobs Proposals

Chris Horner's citation in the Investor's Business Daily

>>Best of the Blogs

 Climate Alarm Declining - Gallup

by Marlo Lewis

Gallup’s annual update of Americans’ attitudes on things environmental found that 48% of Americans believe the seriousness of global warming is generally exaggerated, up from 41% in 2009, and 31% in 1997, when Gallup first posed the question.

The Hidden Costs of Health Care Reform: “Obamacare Is A Budgetary Disaster”

by Hans Bader

The health care bills backed by President Obama will cost $2.3 trillion, not the $900 billion Obama claims, and will be a “budgetary disaster” that drives up the national debt, explains health care expert James C. Capretta.  The Obama administration managed to hide $1.4 trillion in costs generated by the health care reform bill though a series of budgetary “gimmicks” that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is required to treat as valid in scoring the bill’s enormous cost.

Lagerfeld, Chanel - Jumping the Shark with Global Warming Fashion?

by Christine Hall

Did Karl Lagerfeld jump the shark with his fall-winter 2010-11 ready-to-wear collection for Chanel? The collection was described by the AP as global warming in theme, and subsequently scorned on Newsbusters.  The show featured icebergs reportedly flown in from Sweden (whoa! with the carbon footprint!) and some extreme costume elements - like an antler-and-ear headdress - that would only appeal as street-wear to a Lady Gaga or Bjork.  Ridiculous and unwearable?  Certainly. 

>>LibertyWeek Podcast

Episode 83: What Would Reagan Do?

Richard Morrison, Jeremy Lott and Marc Scribner collaborate to bring you episode 82. We cover the ever-growing deficit, the Reagan legacy, Cablevision v. ABC, the RNC’s fundraising strategy and David Paterson on scandal watch.

 >>Support CEI

Like what you read?

The Competitive Enterprise Institute’s 25-year record of success is made possible by our over 3,000 supporters. Make sure to stop by www.cei.org/support and make a donation to continue your support or become a supporter. Curious about all the possible ways to donate to CEI? Contact Al Canata at acanata@cei.org or 202-331-2280 to find out more.  



Obama's Reconciliation Lie:  Less than one week ago, President Obama stood before an assembled audience of hand- picked sympathizers on healthcare reform at the White House and called on Congress to pass his healthcare reform package into law... again.

Apologists for Global Warming Alarmists Respond to ClimateGate:  Apparently the U.S. National Academies of Science is preparing to push back against the damage that has been done to the cause of global warming alarmism and The New York Times is prepared to weigh in with "news" that boosts the sullied reputation of alarmists.

Union Paybacks Advance Through Obama Administration:  While addressing the National Press Club (NPC) in January, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka predicted The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) would pass in "the first quarter of 2010," but declined to say if his organization would support a compromised version.

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CEI Weekly

February 26, 2010 

>>CEI Studios First Hit Music Video

CEI's Marlo Lewis performs on his guitar, "How I was not Al Gored into Submission." It's made its way onto the web pages of Townhall.com and the American Spectator.

>>Shaping the Debate

Environmental Protection Agency Takes Heat on Climate Rule

Sam Kazman's citation in the Politico 

FCC Aims to Haul Digital Have-Nots Across the Divide

Ryan Radia's citation in TechNewsWorld

Barack Obama's Climate Change Policy in Crisis

Myron Ebell's citation in the Telegraph

FCC Calls for Faster Internet in the U.S.

Michelle Minton's article in Opposing Views

>>Best of the Blogs

Credit CARD Act Penalizes Thrift and Entrepreneurship

by John Berlau

Today, the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009 goes into effect. While the law, passed last May, is being hailed as a boon for consumers, it’s already causing a slew of unintended consequences. Congress should carefully consider how the CARD Act will harm consumers and entrepreneurs and revise the law’s flawed provisions.

Dangerous Green Hysteria May Impact Food Safety

by Angela Logomasini

According to a story in the Washington Post of Feb. 23, food and packaging companies are having a difficult time trying to find and employ alternatives to the chemical Bisphenol A (BPA). Companies use BPA to make hard clear plastics and epoxy resins used in a wide range of applications. Yet companies are now spending millions trying to rid the world of this innocuous and valuable chemical all because of green activist hype about its risks.

Regulation of the Day 119: Bake Sale

by Ryan Young

New York City’s public schools spent $18,365 per student in the 2007-2008 school year. That spending has been growing at more than double the rate of inflation over the last decade. Instead of firing teachers for incompetence (and sometimes worse), the district re-assigns bad teachers to “rubber rooms,” where they do nothing except receive their full salary. Maybe play Scrabble or surf the Internet. But mainly sit around and get paid.

>>LibertyWeek Podcast

Episode 81: CPAC 2010 in Review

Richard Morrison, Jeremy Lott and Marc Scribner collaborate to give you episode 81. We cover the political adventures of CPAC 2010, Toyota’s chilly reception in Washington, the crackdown on credit cards, rising uncertainty about sea levels and the peeping laptops of high school officials. 

CEI Weekly

February 19, 2010 

>>CEI and Allies Challenge EPA Global Warming Regulations

This week, CEI's Sam Kazman and other allies filed a lawsuit challenging the EPA's plan to regulate emissions under the Clean Air Act and filed a petition with the EPA, asking it to reconsider its decision. Read the full story at CEI.org.

>>CEI Co-Sponsors CPAC 2010

This year's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is taking place this weekend in Washington DC. CEI's Fred Smith and other policy analysts will be speaking and participating in forums during the whole weekend. To see where to catch them and get more information on CPAC, click here.

>>Shaping the Debate

Texas, Skeptics Seek Court Review of EPA's 'Endangerment' Finding

Sam Kazman's quote in the New York Times

Big Firms Drop Support for US Climate Bill

Myron Ebell's quote in the Guardian

Tom ‘I, Me, Mine’ Friedman Responds to the Global Warming Deniers, Hilarity Ensues

Christopher Horner's op-ed in Big Journalism

>>Best of the Blogs

Obama Defends Misguided Spending Stimulus on One-Year Anniversary

by Wayne Crews

Today on the anniversary of Porkulus, President Barack Obama and his staff are defending the massive spending stimulus and sweeping financial, health care, energy efficiency, “green job” and other interventions. We have called instead for a major “Deregulatory Stimulus” to reject endless political stimulus and liberalize the economy. Meanwhile, alongside trillions in spending, regulations now exceed $1.2 trillion a year and are growing at the rate of over 3,000 new rules a year. 

Of Snow, Shovels, and Property Rights

by Michelle Minton

Imagine that you brave the cold to complete the laborious task of carving out a parking space on some snow encrusted street. How pissed off would you be if you come home from work to discover that some other motorist decided to take advantage of your effort and park their car in the space you created? Does the labor you put into “creating” the space in the snow give you a right to that stretch of public parking? In some cities like Boston, MA you have a legal right to reserve cleared parking spots with lawn chairs or cones, but in DC it isn’t so

Scientist at Center of Email Scandal Admits No Recent Warming

by Michael Fumento

I noted that Kevin Trenberth, a lead author of the warmist bible, the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report—told Congress two years ago that evidence for manmade warming is “unequivocal.” He claimed “the planet is running a ’fever’ and the prognosis is that it is apt to get much worse.” Yet in one of the released emails he admitted that data showed there was no warming “at the moment.” Now Professor Phil Jones, director the University of East Anglia Climatic Research Center and the central figure in the ‘Climategate’ affair, has conceded there’s been no ‘statistically significant’ warming. Naturally he said it was a “blip” and not a trend

>>LibertyWeek Podcast

Episode 80: Say Bayh Bayh

Host Richard Morrison and co-hosts William Yeatman and Marc Scribner sort through the political fallout from Sen. Evan Bayh’s surprise retirement. They also pick through the mess that is the U.S. Senate, finding both good and bad. Also coming under the microscope are the latest developments in the ever-growing Climategate scandal, and Kevin Smith’s troubles with Southwest Airlines.

 >>Support CEI

Like what you read?

The Competitive Enterprise Institute’s 25-year record of success is made possible by our over 3,000 supporters. Make sure to stop by www.cei.org/support and make a donation to continue your support or become a supporter. Curious about all the possible ways to donate to CEI? Contact Al Canata at acanata@cei.org or 202-331-2280 to find out more.  

White House "Panic Week":  Barack Obama's "Panic Week" has come and gone, but did his White House learn anything from the historic repudiation of his leftist agenda? Putting the question another way, has Obama made the necessary course corrections or is he still refusing to hear the message that America is sending him so loudly and clearly?

Climategate Ignored in Coverage of SEC Ruling:  Global warming alarmism took some big hits toward the end of the last year with "climategate" and the collapse of treaty talks in Copenhagen. This might explain why front page coverage of the topic has fallen off quite dramatically in recent weeks. But there's an interesting New York Times piece in the business section concerning "interpretitive guidance"  the Securities and Exchange Council (SEC)  issued to help companies determine when they should disclose potential risks related to climate change.

Book Review:  In Search of Self-Governance by Scott Rasmussen:  No one has his finger more firmly planted on the American people's pulse than public opinion pollster Scott Rasmussen. His popular Rasmussen Reports have taking polling to a new level of accuracy, prompting Washington Examiner columnist Michael Barone to observe, "the best place to look for polls that are spot on is RasmussenReports.com."

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