An Open Letter to President George W. Bush:
No Tax Hikes for Social Security!
Instead of tax hikes, the letter calls for market-based solutions, such as personal retirement accounts, as a more effective means to solving the Social Security crisis...[more]
Illegal Immigration and the Limitations of "Basic Pilot"
This week, Department of Homeland Security agents, as many as 1,000 of them, raided Swift & Company meatpacking plants in six states, arresting approximately 1,300 individuals suspected of a variety of immigration violations...[more]
From Winston Churchill to Kofi Annan: Still Believe in Darwinism?
In 1946, Winston Churchill gave his heroic "Iron Curtain" speech in Missouri. This week, sixty years later, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan delivered his own speech in Independence, Missouri...[more]
Justices Understand Brown, Others Don't
The Supreme Court of the United States won't issue its decisions in two cases challenging whether public school districts can use race in assigning students to elementary or high school until next year, possibly as late as the end of the term in June. But if Monday's oral arguments were a preview of how the justices will rule, then it seems the High Court won't give in to the unprincipled protesters outside the courthouse who claimed that race should matter for some but not for others...[more]
Justice Breyer Finally Concedes Judicial Activism
It turns out that your worst suspicions regarding activist judges are true...[more]
On Sunday, November 26, the Washington Post ran a hysterical opinion column by environmental activist Laurie David, the same woman who produced Al Gore's movie "An Inconvenient Truth," founded StopGlobalWarming.org and serves as a Natural Resources Defense Counsel trustee...[more]
CFIF to Congress: No Congressional Pensions for Felons
"While the desire to 'close ranks' in support of perks may be strong, giving Congressional pensions to felons does not pass the 'smell test'..." with most taxpayers across the country...[more]
Charlie Rangel Does His Best John Kerry Impression
"You know, education, if you make the most of it, if you study hard and you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, uh, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."...[more]
Safeguarding the Second Amendment
Recently, Cam Edwards, the host of Cam & Company heard nationally on NRAnews.com and Sirius Satellite Radio, joined CFIF Corporate Counsel & Senior Vice President Renee Giachino to discuss the most current issues surrounding the Second Amendment and the number of ways Americans can take a more active role in the defense of it...[more]
Florida 13: Trying to Duplicate Election 2000
Florida 13, as the congressional district along Florida's central gulf coast is designated, does not yet have a new congressperson...[more]
Chicken Little Environmentalists' Latest Claim: Total Marine Extinction By 2048
In their latest sky-is-falling prediction, Chicken Little environmentalists predict extinction of the earth's marine species by 2048...[more]
The Cost of Missing Tuesday's Deadline
While Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and the candidates whom he handpicked were experiencing the thrill of victory last week, the Republicans whom Schumer and Company routed weren't the only ones feeling the agony of defeat. Indeed, the Democrats' takeover of the Senate -- not to mention the House of Representatives -- on Tuesday was just the final defeat for several judicial nominees who had been thwarted by Schumer for years...[more]
Transforming Appreciation into Action
How can those of us who never served in our military possibly demonstrate our gratitude, appreciation and reverence for the men and women who wore the uniform and fought the fights to protect our freedom?...[more]
Rumsfeld Resigns: Who is Robert Gates?
Just one day after the midterm elections, in which many Americans cast their votes in part against the Administration's policy and slow progress in Iraq, President Bush announced the resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld...[more]
Cheer up, conservatives. Far from rejecting conservative principles, voters across America have resoundingly affirmed them. And they sent a harsh admonition to those who choose to neglect them...[more]
CFIF Endorses Congressman Mike Pence for Republican Leader of the House of Representatives
"Indiana Congressman Mike Pence provides Congressional conservatives with a critical opportunity to reclaim the principles of limited government, fiscal responsibility, free enterprise and ethical leadership," says CFIF President...[more]
Liberally Flaunting the Voters in Michigan
While the President of the University Michigan was listening, she didn't care what the voters had to say -- at least not if it wasn't what she wanted to hear...[more]
Red Cross at Unfortunate Crossroads — Again
This week, in an announcement that was very likely timed to get little attention, the American Red Cross suggested that it intended to reform itself – again. This time, the emphasis will be on changes to the charity's board, reducing its number and diminishing the power of its chairman, in an effort to improve effectiveness...[more]
Here's some help. After you vote for liberals, they will vote to raise your taxes. If not this one, then that one, local, state and federal. If not openly, then by stealth...[more]
Short-Term Punishment, Long-Term Consequences
If you're disappointed with the job Congress is doing, you're far from alone. According to the latest Wall Street Journal-NBC News poll, Congress' approval rating fell to a 14-year low in mid-October, with only 16 percent of registered voters approving, while a whopping 75 percent disapprove...[more]
Center for Individual Freedom 2006 Voters Guide
The Center for Individual Freedom is not permitted to recommend or endorse candidates for federal office. We are free to urge you to vote...[more]
Looming Supreme Court Vacancies: Reason Enough to Vote November 7
Five – that is how many U.S. Supreme Court Justices will reach age 70 or older between this November 7 and the next nationwide election in November 2008...[more]
This week, an organization calling itself the Better World Campaign release a new poll. The headline of the press release oddly declared, "Majority of Americans Believe in the United Nations."...[more]
There is no more fundamental distinction in journalism than the one between fact and opinion. The longstanding general rule is that reporters should limit themselves to the facts and attribute opinion so that the public can decide for itself what the information means, while editorial writers, columnists and commentators may freely offer their opinion so long as it is indicated as such under the banner of the editorial page, viewpoints section, or news analysis heading...[more]
Dingy, Dirty, Really Disgusting Harry Reid
(and the Bipartisan Culture of Corruption)
Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is Minority Leader of the U.S. Senate, and you're not. Harry Reid lives in the Ritz-Carlton in Washington, and you don't. Harry Reid flipped a $400,000 real estate purchase into a 175 percent profit, and you didn't. Harry Reid gave $3300 in Christmas bonuses to Ritz-Carlton service staff out of campaign funds, and you can't...[more]
U.N. Selects New Secretary General
Late last week, as expected, the U.N. General Assembly formally endorsed the Security Council's recommendation that South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon become the world body's eighth Secretary-General...[more]
"We the undersigned organizations wish to, once again, express our support for Senate legislation to correct this injustice during the final session days of the 109th Congress," the letter continues...[more]
Fact: So-Called “Record” Deficit Is One-Third Below Historic Average
Apparently pioneering the adage that "you can fool enough of the people enough of the time to regain political power," liberal politicians and commentators constantly allege a "record" budget deficit...[more]
Just when the 2006 midterm elections were starting to get really good – deep, deep, deep in the mud – John McCain began to put the pedal to the metal for 2008...[more]
Allowing Illegal Votes From the Bench
Illegal immigration might not be popular among American voters, especially in the Southwest, but two judges sitting on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit have decided the way to fix that is to let the illegal aliens vote...[more]
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By Cary Cardwell: “Jury tampering, collusion and witness intimidation…” A tale of civil injustice in South Texas...[more]
Remember January 2000? The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit an all-time high, to much celebration amongst the mainstream media...[more]
Blood on Their Hands: Death Penalty Abolitionists Bear Burden of Persuasion, Not Proponents
Capital punishment proponents often feel reflexively tentative and apologetic in discussing the issue. After all, abolitionists have sanctimoniously characterized proponents as "mean-spirited" and "hard-hearted" in defending the practice...[more]
When their legislation led to the creation and dominance of so-called 527 organizations in federal elections, the two Senators sought to squelch the speech of those organizations and their members, too...[more]
Mars and Pluto Climates Warming, Al Gore Scours for Extraterrestrial SUVs
Mars and Pluto are undergoing their own periods of global warming, according to multiple scientific studies. This has important implications for our own planet, and for Al Gore and liberal environmentalists as well...[more]
Bush Conspiracy Forces Lower Gasoline Prices
If lowering taxes to stimulate the economy were not enough, just look at what President Bush has done for us now. In one of the widest ranging conspiracies in history, requiring a worldwide labyrinth of coordination with everyone who has anything whatsoever to do with the price of crude oil...[more]
Looking for Leadership at the United Nations
This week, the U.N. Security Council continued the process of selecting a new Secretary General to replace the thoroughly disgraced Kofi Annan whose term expires at the end of the year...[more]
Government Excess: Soon You Can Find Some of It Yourself
Whether conservative or liberal, Republican or Democrat, few can argue with a straight face that there isn't massive waste when it comes to the federal government spending our taxpayer dollars...[more]
Union Members: New Disclosure Rules Reveal Where Union Bosses Spend Your Hard-Earned Wages
For the first time, federal disclosure rules are shining sunlight upon union spending priorities, and many rank-and-file members won't like what they reveal. Fortunately, they can do something about it...[more]
Just as Plamegate was starting to get really interesting – this time based on facts rather than speculation – most everyone decided to take a hike, including all those "investigative reporters" who seemed, strangely, to be out of leaks, the one true fuel of "investigative reporting."...[more]
Safeguarding the U.S. Economy is Vital to National Security and Winning the War on Terror
Five years have passed since terrorists viciously attacked our country on September 11, 2001. While U.S. intelligence, along with that of our allies, have been diligent in preventing another attack on U.S. soil since that frightful day, the reality is we know the terrorists plan to strike again...[more]
Counting Down to a Colorblind Constitution
Our unstated reference, of course, was to the High Court's decision three terms ago allowing the University of Michigan to prefer certain students for admission to law school based on their skin color. The justices decided to uphold race-based affirmative action by the barest of majorities, 5-4, with perennial swing voter Justice Sandra Day O'Connor being the margin of victory...[more]
Book Review: How American Politics Have Changed Forever
These days, it seems that there are as many books about politics as there are opinions. And the more hysterical, the better. After all, hysterical sells. It's rare in such an environment that a book comes along that manages to present a thoughtful point of view that won't be irrelevant in 9 minutes...[more]
The day after September 11, 2006, Islamic terrorists attempted to attack the U.S. Embassy in Damascus, Syria...[more]
E.U.'s Anti-Microsoft Vendetta Finally Provokes Consumer Backlash
European consumers and small businesses are suffering the effects of the European Union's continuing vendetta against Microsoft, and they're finally speaking up about it...[more]
With Friends Like These in the Judicial Confirmation Battle...
Time and time again, we have criticized Democrats for their unprincipled position of pushing politics where it doesn't belong -- onto the federal bench. But now, we find that a couple of Republicans are just as wrong in their "principled" refusal to play politics where it is both expected and appropriate -- in the U.S. Senate...[more]
Chafee Derails Bolton Confirmation Bid
Hope had been renewed when Senator George Voinovich reverse his position and announced that he would support Bolton's confirmation...[more]
Tax Snapshot: Wealthier Americans Actually Pay More than Their Fair Share
You've heard it from liberals a million times: the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, which resuscitated America's economy following the 2000-2001 Clinton/Gore recession, were "tax cuts for the rich," and that "the rich don't pay their fair share in America." Reality is quite different...[more]
Like every city in America, Washington, DC has key highway corridors that commuters use each day on their way to work and home again. One of these is Interstate 66. It is a key route for workers who live west of town in the Virginia suburbs to make their way into their offices each day...[more]
The Freedom Not to Be Rich and Famous
Imagine that you are exceptionally accomplished at something, anything, perhaps uniquely so, but you want neither fame nor fortune for your accomplishment. You freely gave your accomplishment to the world, now you just want to be left alone to accomplish more or, if you choose, do nothing whatsoever...[more]
The True Villains of Plamegate:
Nothing to See Here, Folks. Move on Along
So. Richard Armitage did it. Not Karl Rove, not Lewis Libby, not the President, not the Vice President...[more]
U.S. Border Patrol Attacked by Illegal Immigrants and Liberal Advocates — for Simply Doing Their Job
On August 7, 2006, illegal immigrant Adan Pineda-Doval, 20, rolled a Chevrolet Suburban packed with twenty-one (yes, twenty-one) illegal immigrants while fleeing U.S. Border Patrol agents, killing eleven and injuring ten others...[more]
More U.N. Sex Abuse in the Congo
Reuters reported last week: "The United Nations is investigating a suspected child prostitution ring involving its peacekeepers and government soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the U.N. mission said on Thursday."...[more]
The Cost of Scamnesty: $126 Billion
When the Center for Individual Freedom began calling the U.S. Senate immigration bill scamnesty, some thought we were just engaging in over-the-top rhetoric. Now, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has not called the bill scamnesty; it has proved it...[more]
Disagreeing With Professor Tribe...
From a political perspective, those comments should have surprised no one. After all, Professor Tribe has been no friend to President George W. Bush or his expansive interpretation of presidential power during the War on Terror. But, from a legal perspective, the comments were nothing short of shocking. [more]
All the Fiction That's Fit to Print
We understand that opinion rather than truth reigns supreme on editorial pages, but that does not mean fact should be replaced by fic ime and time again, the editors of the New York Times have proven they neither comprehend nor follow this basic proposition of good journalism, and this week provided the latest example...[more]
A Thousand Cell Phones Is Not a Family Plan
While many of us were focusing on the Israeli-Hezbollah war and the spectacular arrests in the British Islamo-fascist terrorist plot, events were unfolding at home that are as weird and puzzling as they are potentially disturbing...[more]
Look Out World! Here Comes Katie
For years, network news has been on the slide. Viewership is down. Interest is down. Credibility is down...[more]
Can the U.N. Keep the Peace in Lebanon?
Last week, the fabled United Nations Security Council passed a resolution which, it is hoped, will end the fighting between Israeli troops and Hezbollah terrorists in southern Lebanon...[more]
It's Time for Some Government Accountability
After all, at least private entities must answer to shareholders, the public, board members, owners, accountants, customers, numerous government agencies, or other authorities. Moreover, private companies must publish detailed and accurate financial statements, under penalty of government prosecution, as well as frivolous class-action lawsuits... [more]
With the admission by Reuters that two Israeli/Hezbollah war photographs by Adnan Hajj were faked...[more]
This past weekend thousands of lawyers and judges who have converged on Hawaii for the American Bar Association's annual convention witnessed a PDA -- a public display of agony, that is...[more]
When It Comes to Cable Service, Competition Is the Answer
Fights over and about the tools we use to communicate are nothing new in Washington. Through the late 1980s and 1990s, long-distance giants fought with local telephone companies in Congress...[more]
Forcibly Disarming Law-Abiding Americans during Disaster: It Can Happen to You
Do you recall the wrenching sense of sympathy as you watched helpless people of all races, ages and incomes trapped amidst the destruction, literally clawing and scratching for their lives, families, pets and homes?...[more]
December 8, 1941: FDR Urges Churchill To Exercise "Restraint" and "Proportionality" Against Germany
"It is extremely important that Britain exercise restraint in its acts of self-defense," he told reporters following his address to Congress, which successfully requested a declaration of war against Japan...[more]
Border Security: Voting Against It, Before Voting For It
Just three weeks after voting against it, the U.S. Senate this week overwhelmingly voted to begin funding the 370-mile border fence and 500-mile vehicle barrier called for in the "comprehensive immigration reform" legislation passed by the body in May...[more]
The partisan minority in the U.S. Senate used to content itself with obstructing the President's nominees...[more]
Stanley Fish Is Right on Academic Freedom
Stanley Fish, author, university professor, "public intellectual," is a prodigious, original, unorthodox thinker. Even when one disagrees with him, his arguments are honorably and thoughtfully propounded as he unleashes his chicken upon your egg...[more]
U.N. Secretary General Selection Continues
On Monday, with on-going fighting in the Middle East as a backdrop, the U.N. Security Council took its first look at the candidates to succeed Kofi Annan as Secretary General...[more]
Attention U.S. Congress: Make Budget Justifications Public!
In an open letter to the U.S. Senate this week, the Center for Individual Freedom joined more than 50 state and national free-market organizations encouraging support of efforts to make the budget justifications for all federal departments available to the public...[more]
Wal-Mart Ruling Confirms Importance of Conservative Judges, but Battle Continues
Judge Motz, a Reagan appointee, has struck down Maryland's infamous “Wal-Mart Law,” which singled out Wal-Mart and required it to spend at least 8% of its payroll on health benefits...[more]
Self-Inflicted Wounds: U.S. Tax Laws Jeopardize Global Competitiveness
Believe it or not, America now has the highest corporate tax rate in the industrialized world...[more]
France Attacks iPod and Intellectual Property Rights
What will French lawmakers think of next? Legislating that Italian soccer players disclose to French goalies where they intend to kick the ball in future World Cup playoffs?...[more]
Trial Lawyers Redefining "Justice"
An item in the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA) is asking its members to approve a name change for the organization to the "American Association for Justice."...[more]
President Calls on Senate to Pass Line-Item Veto and Eliminate Wasteful Spending
President Bush this week discussed the annual Mid-Session Review released by the Office of Management and Budget. Included among the good news that the deficit this year is going to be significantly less than previously predicted was his call for the United States Senate to pass the Legislative Line-Item Veto legislation recently approved by the House of Representatives...[more]
The European Commission (EC), in all its zeal to control competition worldwide by targeting successful U.S. corporations, has once again shown its anti-American stripes, disregard for fairness and contempt for intellectual property rights...[more]
If you think the Left doesn't discriminate based on race then you haven't been paying attention to judicial confirmation process for the past few years...[more]
Patrick Fitzgerald, Your Country Has Another Job For You
In every public controversy of any magnitude, so much rubbish gets uttered and written that it is frequently necessary to refocus on the essential facts. The New York Times' publication of details of a classified, secret U.S. government program to track terrorist financing is a case in point...[more]
For Every Action, an Equal and Opposite Reaction... Except at the U.N.
On Tuesday, North Korea test-fired as many as seven missiles, including one ICBM capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to the continental United States, in defiance of international warnings...[more]
Last week, the Senate fell one vote shy of passing a constitutional amendment that could have led to a ban on desecrating the American flag. Whether such a constitutional amendment is a good or bad approach is not the subject here...[more]
Partying Like It's 1999: State Politicians Repeating 1990s Budget Indiscretions
As the nation's robust economy generates federal, state, and local revenue windfalls (thank you, Bush tax cuts), state governments are regrettably repeating their disastrous 1990s budget indiscretions. Unless taxpayers demand change, they will ultimately pay the price...[more]
Is America Still A Nation With Honor?
We celebrated our Nation's 230th birthday this week with fireworks and flare. But was it with honor? Does America still exemplify honor on its land and overseas?...[more]
Environmentalists Ask Supreme Court to Impose Kyoto Agenda: Lawsuit Would Regulate what You Exhale
Environmentalists, repeatedly rejected by the democratic process and unable to pass the Kyoto Protocol or their radical agenda, are doing what liberals invariably do when defeated in the marketplace of ideas: turning to the courts...[more]
Judicial Nominations and a Possible Supreme Court Retirement
Summer officially started last week, which typically means things inside the beltway slow down as the heat rises. Not so this year. Among hot items on Congress' plate are a constitutional amendment on flag burning, a line-item veto bill and summer hearings on illegal immigration...[more]
The War Against Terror and The New York Times
Many on the left snickered last week when the U.S. Attorney General announced arrest of the Miami terrorists-in-training. Not exactly the brightest boys on virgin quest, not Osama, not significant. No? The Justice Department acknowledged that they were "aspirational" rather than "operational," but rolled them up anyway. Good...[more]
Attention U.S. Senate: GSE Over-Regulation Unnecessary
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and other Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) that support affordable housing in this country have been a hot topic in the nation's capitol for some time...[more]
The extreme measures that schools employ to protect themselves from liability mean preventing kids from doing things they might enjoy, especially if those things involve the slightest risk...[more]
Securing the Legacy of the Rehnquist or the O'Connor Court?
Conservatives have had little to celebrate when the Supreme Court of the United States has handed down its most important decisions over the last four terms...[more]
John Kerry's Boffo New Comedy Act
Just when we think John Kerry's political comedy cannot possibly get any funnier, it does. The man is a master, soon to be recognized in France with the same awed appreciation heretofore reserved only for Jerry Lewis...[more]
U.N. Gun Control Summit Attacks Second Amendment and Firearms Worldwide
Lest one assume the U.N. merely seeks trans-global standards, consider the following press release: "Member states should ... bring their own national legislation into compliance with the Council's measures."...[more]
NAM Executive Vice President Discusses Asbestos Litigation Reform and the FAIR Act
Earlier this month, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution Act (the "FAIR Act"). The stated purpose of the bill is to "create a fair and efficient system to resolve claims of victims for bodily injury caused by asbestos exposure."...[more]
Property Rights: One Year After Kelo
So the number of eminent domain actions in the last year is more than half the total from the previous five years combined. That's shocking. And it demonstrates that Justices O'Connor and Thomas were correct in their dissents. The Kelo decision has unshackled governments to take private property with only the flimsiest of rationales...[more]
CFIF Urges Passage of Line Item Veto Act of 2006
With the federal budgets expanding at an alarming rate, a record deficit and future obligations jeopardizing our nation’s very economic foundation, the Center for Individual Freedom this week sent a letter to all Members of the House of Representatives urging swift passage of H.R. 4890, the Legislative Line-Item Veto Act of 2006. H.R. 4890 is a good and necessary first step in the ongoing battle to end Congress’s obsession with carelessly spending taxpayer dollars on pork-barrel projects...[more]
Fox News Channel's Eric Shawn: 'How the U.N. Sabotages America's Security'
Eric Shawn is the author of a new book entitled The U.N. Exposed: How the United Nations Sabotages America's Security. Recently, Mr. Shawn joined CFIF Corporate Counsel & Senior Vice President Renee Giachino on "Your Turn – Meeting Nonsense With Common Sense" to discuss his book...[more]
Okay, we get it, CSPI thinks trans fat is bad -- and thinks everyone else should think so, too. And, yes, the lawsuit was inflammatory and designed to make national headlines -- which it did -- but where's the injury?...[more]
Big Tofu has an agenda. Protect you from yourself. That means no steaks. No cheeseburgers. No fried chicken. No Chinese take-out. For God's sake – don't even think about whole milk...[more]
Turning the Tables on Abusive Tort Lawyers
And in Texas, a grand jury has commenced a criminal investigation based upon the findings of federal Judge Janis Graham Jack, who one year ago issued a blistering opinion against fraudulently-manufactured silicosis suits by lawyers, physicians and x-ray services...[more]
Get Ready for November's Democrat Landslide
Get ready for Democrats to retake the House and Senate come November. You know you should because the mainstream media has been telling you to for weeks now. You see the signs everywhere, for yourself...[more]
Another Chance for a Colorblind Constitution
Three years ago, a bare majority of the Supreme Court of the United States further delayed Dr. Martin Luther King's dream that his children would one day live in a nation where they would "not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character" when five justices ruled colleges and universities could admit students based on their race...[more]
Adobe v. Microsoft: A Developing Litigation Paradigm
Adobe's decision to sue Microsoft, a fellow American company, before the EU's European Commission (EC) is just the most recent example of this disturbing trend. It threatens consumers everywhere, invites further judicial interference with the free market, and portends increased European encroachment into American business and legal affairs...[more]
Electing a New U.N. Secretary General: Episode One
Current Secretary General Kofi Annan, the king of corruption and ineptitude himself, will step down at the end of the year...[more]
CFIF Joins Effort Demanding Full Accounting of Federal Grants
Americans should not be forced to navigate the treacherous waters of bureaucracy just to find out who is receiving their tax dollars...[more]
From California, the Bellwether that Wasn't; the One that Could Be (We Hope)
Republican Brian Bilbray beat Democrat Francine Busby, by a four-point margin. Thousands of words of analysis, interpretation and spin will be issued, none of which (including ours) will alter the fact that Republican Brian Bilbray beat Democrat Francine Busby, in a race that was probably wrongly portrayed as a bellwether leading up to November's real elections...[more]
Politically Incorrect Advice for Women Graduates
The U.S. Department of Education recently reported a gender graduation gap, with more women than men graduating from four-year colleges in the United States...[more]
Government Spending and Congress' Obsession With 'Pork'
Recently Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) released its annual report, dubbed the "Pig Book," which lists nearly 10,000 items put into appropriations bills for this fiscal year that it says weren't scrutinized during normal congressional procedures or required to meet grant requirements...[more]
On the heels of these embarrassing revelations, Nature magazine now obliterates the core assertion of Gore's new movie and globetrotting global warming crusade -- that climate change is an unnatural and irrevocable phenomenon...[more]
Of Fences and Felonies and Political Suicide
Two current Washington controversies highlight, to the extent that most rational citizens require, the bizarre disconnect between many in Congress and the American people...[more]
U.N. Attacks Freedom of the Press
Just in case you ever had any doubt that the United Nations will only be happy once it has rolled back our freedoms one at a time, news came last week that the world body has now turned its attention to the freedom of the press...[more]
CFIF Calls On Congressmen Sensenbrenner and Conyers to Withdraw 'Net Neutrality' Legislation
As the House Judiciary Committee prepares to mark-up legislation sponsored by Chairman James Sensenbrenner and Ranking Member John Conyers that seeks to regulate the Internet under the guise of "network neutrality," the Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) today called on Committee members to consider the unintended and harmful consequences of the legislation...[more]
With All Due Respect, Mr. President...
We want to encourage the legal immigration that has made this country what it is, while preserving the standards, character, culture, language and identity of this country and its ability to move forward with economic and social stability...[more]
CFIF Exclusive: UN Mismanagement Plagues Aid Program in Western Sahara
For at least five years, a UN humanitarian program responsible for providing food to refugees in western Algeria has been beset by mismanagement and corruption, according to documents obtained by the Center for Individual Freedom...[more]
Those are the primary findings of a five-person investigative committee after reviewing "allegations of academic misconduct against" embattled University of Colorado ethics studies professor Ward Churchill. The 125-page report was publicly released on May 16...[more]
Understanding Prices at the Pumps (Part II)
The U.S. House of Representatives recently voted 389-34 to make gasoline "price-gouging" a federal felony. The Wall Street Journal followed the vote with an editorial acknowledging that the "irony here is that if there is any extortion or swindling going on in the oil marketplace, Congress is the guilty party...[more]
Free Speech Restored in Louisiana
After nearly two years of litigation, the Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) won an important free-speech decision last week when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that Louisiana's campaign finance law does not restrict or regulate independent political issue advertising...[more]
A Layman's Guide to Understanding Gasoline Prices
These days it may be easier to predict with accuracy the weather for the next morning than the price of gasoline at the pumps. Indeed, if the price at the pump drops evens a penny it's newsworthy, as gasoline prices hover around $3 per gallon in many places across the country...[more]
Liberal Lies About Kavanaugh's Credentials
Senate Democrats and their liberal puppet masters are proving once again that their attacks on President George W. Bush's judicial nominees amount to nothing more than political partisanship and electoral sour grapes -- not that anyone needed any more evidence of that fact...[more]
McCain Declares War on the Constitution (Again)
After all, just look at the comment that McCain made during an interview just two weeks ago, and consider its implications. McCain's comment reveals his willingness to impose his view of what constitutes "clean government" even though it means setting aside a fundamental right clearly and explicitly defined in the Constitution...[more]
The General Is a Spook: Get Over It
Political America – red and blue – is puzzling. Devoid of logic, consistency and originality, politicians daily run so fast to be interviewed by the media that what they say seems like nothing more than bees buzzing around the hive, absent the public benefit of honey production...[more]
CFIF Joins More Than 50 Organizations to Urge U.S. Senate to Protect Private Property Rights
Last summer, the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Kelo v. City of New London, Connecticut, significantly expanded the eminent domain power of states and localities as the Court ruled it constitutional for the government to take private property and hand it over to private developers...[more]
Book Review: U.N. Endangering Our Security
Fox News correspondent and anchor Eric Shawn thought he had seen everything. After all, he had been on the police beat in New York City. He'd covered presidential campaigns and major news events around the world...[more]
Plagiarism for Fun, Fame and Profit
As an organization devoted to individual freedom, we must also be devoted to personal accomplishment that enhances freedom. Today's lesson, then, is plagiarism...[more]
Phyllis Schlafly on Immigration Reform
May Day came and went in the United States with American businesses and consumers taking less of a beating than a piñata at a child's birthday party. Protesters left their employment positions and took to the streets demanding special rights and amnesty for illegal aliens in an attempt to show how immigrant labor affects the American economy...[more]
Fairness Coming to Florida's Civil Justice System
With time running out in many state legislative sessions to pass much-needed litigation reform, thankfully the Florida legislature wasted no time this session in passing a law that will eliminate the concept of "joint and several" liability...[more]
It's a Bird. It's a Plane. No, it's...Little Chuckie Schumer
When Lolita Grabovitch complained yesterday to Trump Tower neighbor Esther Shoppingale about the rapidly escalating price of Jimmy Choo to-die-for pedipretties, she never fathomed that congressional care would come so quickly...[more]
Another Constitutional Lesson for Capitol Hill
That seems pretty self-explanatory to us. In other words, Chairman Specter, who is firmly ensconced in the legislative branch, the Congress of the United States, cannot infringe on the power granted by the Constitution to another separate and independent branch of the government, the judiciary, the Supreme Court of the United States...[more]
The Food Police Go to the States
When we think about the men who gathered in Philadelphia in 1787 to craft our Constitution, we usually picture the greatest men of their age, putting aside self interest and struggling to shape the blueprint of a nation. This is a worthy and honorable portrait and in many ways, an accurate one...[more]
Congresswoman McKinney's Crash Course on the Constitution
The Congresswoman proved both last month when, according to a police report, she assaulted a Capitol Hill police officer "with [a] closed fist" after he tried to stop her from rushing right through a House office building's security checkpoint without showing her congressional credentials. But that's only the beginning of this story...[more]
Georgia Gets Tough on Illegal Immigrants
The State of Georgia has done what the U.S. Congress (thanks largely to political gamesmanship in the Senate) cannot. It has produced signed, sealed and delivered legislation to deal with the state's burden of illegal immigration...[more]
Reviving the Property Rights Outrage
Last June, the Supreme Court's decision in the now-infamous Kelo case struck a judicial blow to Americans' constitutional right to own property without fear of government seizure...[more]
Bringing Competition to Cable Television
The lack of competition in the cable markets is causing quite a stir in Congress and state legislatures as cable and telephone lobbyists and local government officials trade words over the best and most economical way to get video services to consumers...[more]
CFIF Responds to Attack on Agriculture and Food Industries
Schlosser's radical proposals would restrict the choices available to American consumers and undermine individual freedom and accountability...[more]
Fast Food Nation Author's Message Does Not Belong in Our Children's Schools
Eric Schlosser's bestselling diatribe, Fast Food Nation, against the fast food industry is a monumental self-contradiction built on inconsistencies and misleading statements reported as facts. He is releasing a version targeting middle-school aged children this spring...[more]
Center for Individual Freedom Delivers More Than 3,000 letters to Majority Leader Boehner
CFIF has been a longtime advocate of keeping the Internet free of regulation and taxation. Two weeks ago, the organization conducted an Internet letter writing campaign on the issue of network neutrality...[more]
During a recent visit to Cyprus, Rosett dropped by the home of Benon Sevan – the key protagonist in the massive U.N. Oil for Food scandal. But to appreciate the irony and implications of the encounter that resulted, one must recall the back story...[more]
Changing Leadership in the White House and Congress
Some have argued recently that former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's decision to retire was in part to help the GOP. A similar argument has been made to justify the changing of the guard in the White House Chief of Staff office...[more]
Memogate Lives: Olati Johnson and Columbia Law School's Dancing Dean
On March 28, David M. Schizer, Dean of the Columbia Law School, wrote a letter to the editor of the New York Sun. That was followed by a note to a blog therightcoast.blogspot.com — by Professor Avery Katz of Columbia Law School. Both were responding to a March 24 column in the New York Sun by Curt A. Levey, General Counsel of the Committee for Justice, who questioned the involvement of Lee Bollinger, now President of Columbia University, in the Columbia Law School faculty appointment of Olati Johnson...[more]
Rich v. the Rich: Eminent Domain Goes Golfing
"Nothing is to prevent the State from replacing any Motel 6 with a Ritz-Carlton, any home with a shopping mall, or any farm with a factory."...[more]
Editor's Note: Senate Judiciary Committee Scandal Resurfaces
In the past week, the Senate Judiciary Committee scandal generally referred to as "Memogate" has resurfaced, with an intriguing new twist...[more]
The Washington Post v. Justice Ginsburg
It's shocking, quite frankly, when an editorial published by the Washington Post tackles a constitutional issue more judiciously than a sitting Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States...[more]
Do You Want Morgan Spurlock Speaking at Your Child's School?
The Morning Call explains that Spurlock "mocked ethnic groups and joked about the 'retarded kids in the back wearing helmets' and teachers smoking pot in the balcony...[more]
The Case of Abdul Rahman: Tolerance is a Cornerstone of Freedom
Shortly after 9/11, U.S. forces descended on Afghanistan and helped overthrow the oppressive Taliban regime whose primary governmental policy was a strict adherence to the most draconian elements of Muslim religious law...[more]
The Honorable Judge Pickering Talks About the Politics of Judicial Confirmation and the Culture War
According to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee's website, as of March 17, 2006, the nomination of 33 judges for federal circuit and district court positions remain pending in either committee or on the floor. A total of 45 vacancies are reported, with 18 listed as judicial emergencies...[more]
Feingold v. the Law: Legal Precedent Trumps Political Posturing
As regular readers well understand, the Center for Individual Freedom has strong opinions regarding any number of legal issues, most rooted in our understanding of and appreciation for the U.S. Constitution...[more]
David Horowitz Exposes the 101 Most Dangerous Academics in Americ
David Horowitz, the leader of the academic freedom movement and author of the Academic Bill of Rights, questions whether parents really know who is teaching their children...[more]
CFIF Ad Campaign Warns Against Regulating the Internet
The Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) this week launched a series of print ads in an effort to derail Congressional action that will lead to regulation of the Internet...[more]
The Contract With America… Renewed Republican Study Committee Promises to Balance the Budget
It’s no secret that many conservative leaders in Congress seem to have forgotten the very reasons they came to Washington in the first place – to fight for lower taxes, smaller government and more individual freedom. As Heritage Foundation President Edwin J. Feulner recently put it, “We [have] strayed from both the principles of Ronald Reagan of just 25 years ago and from the vision of our Founding Fathers.” ...[more]
Kofi, Mark and the Ritz Carlton
This week, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan announced that he was promoting his Chief of Staff, Englishman Mark Malloch Brown, to the post of Deputy Secretary General...[more]
Academic Nonsense and Judicial Sensibility
We have no doubt that some of America’s brightest legal minds work in the ivory towers of our nation’s law schools. But you wouldn’t know it from the case a self-described “association of 36 law school and law faculties” -- many of which were unwilling to be publicly identified -- pushed all the way to the highest court in the land...[more]
Is America performing to its greatest potential? Are too many decisions being made in haste? Has permissive parenting and lower standards of expectation caused an academic crisis among our children?...[more]
The Bipartisan Incumbent Protection Act, Part Two
Senator John McCain (R-AZ) just doesn't get it. Elections are for the voters, not the politicians...[more]
It's the U.N.'s wildest dream come true. France, Brazil, Chile and even the United Kingdom have taken the first steps toward implementing a global tax on airline travel...[more]
Cartoon Controversy No Laughing Matter
The Danish School of Journalism released an online study this week showing that 143 newspapers in 56 countries have reprinted the controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed...[more]
The First Amendment vs. ... 'The Simpsons'?
If we were ranking Americans' civil liberties, we'd have to say that the five freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment (freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly and petition for redress of grievances) would rate at the top in terms of their importance...[more]
New CFIF Ad Urges National Cable Competition Law
"We want Congress to hear the voices of consumers weary of waiting for a choice in emerging video technologies while paying annual rate increases to cable for no good reason,"...[more]
The First Amendment's Lifeline
Is Buckley dead? That's the question the justices of the Supreme Court of the United States will consider next week...[more]
The Need for Asbestos Litigation Reform
CFIF Corporate Counsel & Senior Vice President Renee Giachino recently debated a representative from the National Taxpayers Union on the Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution Act (the "FAIR Act"), which is currently being considered in the United States Senate...[more]
Sailing Off the Edge of the World
It's time for everyone to take a deep breath. The current kerfluffle about the operation of U.S. seaports is revealing, yet again, the profound impact of 9/11. And none of us should like what we see in ourselves...[more]
The Intersection of War and Business
America's armed forces are always looking for creative ways to recruit and retain troops. It is reported that over the last several months the Army has eased enlistment restrictions in an effort to meet its recruiting goals...[more]
Prosecuting the Press, Round Two
It's been almost a year to the day since a federal appeals court ruled that a federal prosecutor could not only force a reporter to testify about her confidential news sources, but could do so without having to tell the reporter, her attorney or the public why...[more]
This week, The New York Times finally caught onto a story that U.N. experts and others in the press have been focused on for months - the world body's upcoming selection of its next Secretary General...[more]
Fifth of Americans Believe They Are Being Wiretapped!?!?
Millions upon millions upon millions of your fellow countrymen and countrywomen are either paranoid or suffer delusions of grandeur (it's a terrible burden to be too unimportant to be wiretapped) or both...[more]
Pointing the Finger in the Demise of America's Constitutional Liberties
A former Capitol Hill lawyer and White House official says Congress, bureaucrats and activist judges are destroying American's constitutional liberties...[more]
The Judges War Continues, and It Must
Those of us who care about the proper role of judges and their correct interpretation of the Constitution must not get complacent after the tremendous successes we have witnessed over the past five months...[more]
It's Time to Draw the Line for Liberty
All over the world, Muslims are setting fire to things great and small because a few cartoonists in Denmark dared caricature Muhammed. This latest spate of violence has invigorated an important debate about civil liberties...[more]
Low-Fat Diets Fat-Headed, Studies Show
The Nanny State took an explosive one up its credibility this week. Once again, science confronted propaganda, and, once again, science won...[more]
Tax Talk From Inside the Beltway
A conversation with John Berthoud, President of the National Taxpayers’ Union...[more]
What a sleaze," you say to your spouse, responsibly reflecting your concern against the culture of corruption before reading further (as intended, a cynic might observe). "Renting an apartment from a lobbyist? How low can these people go?"...[more]
The End of the World Is Near Bill Clinton Says So
Bill Clinton, speaking last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that mother of all junkets for rich folks who take themselves very seriously, said that GLOBAL WARMING bothered him a bunch...[more]
A Farewell to Justice O'Connor
There wasn't enough room on the front pages of many -- dare we say most -- newspapers Wednesday for all the news, including a proper acknowledgment of and farewell to Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Dwarfed by President George W. Bush's State of the Union address...[more]
Senator Biden's Needle in a Haystack
"The system's kind of broken," the Senator said. "[We should] just go to the Senate floor and debate the nominee's statements, instead of this game."...[more]
Lessons Learned from Alito's Confirmation Hearings
Our newest member of the U.S. Supreme Court, Associate Justice Samuel Alito, can finally exhale. Much to the chagrin of many Democrats and their cronies, Judge Samuel Alito was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on January 31 by a 58 to 48 vote to retiring Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor...[more]
A Small Step for Political Speech, a Giant Leap for the First Amendment?
If you believe the Supreme Court press corps, then the campaign finance decision handed down this week was a shot across the bow of McCain-Feingold -- a precursor to returning political speech to its most free status...[more]
BB&T Corp.: Our Bucks Won't Fund Eminent Domain Seizures
According to John Allison, Chairman and CEO of BB&T Corporation, "The idea that a citizen's property can be taken by the government solely for private use is extremely misguided; in fact, it's just plain wrong." ...[more]
Alito Hysteria at the New York Times
Today, thus, we come to ponder editorials, specifically two lead editorials this week (January 23 and January 26), both foaming-at-the-mouth hysterical in opposition to the confirmation of Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. Ralph Neas and Nan Aron don't go that far over the edge...[more]
Asthmatics Beware: The Government May Ban Your Inhaler
Eco-terrorists have struck again. Not in the dead of night, to be pursued by diligent agents of the FBI, but right out in the open, in a public meeting, under the auspices of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)...[more]
The Rebirth of Hope for a Nation
It's funny how, every now and again, a confluence of unrelated events will have a profound affect that no one could have anticipated. But in early 1981, that's exactly what happened, and every American is still benefiting to this day...[more]
Florida Supreme Court Sends Students Back to (Public) Schools
Florida's Supreme Court recently ruled 5-2 to strike down the state's Opportunity Scholarship Program, more commonly referred to as school vouchers, which are continually given to students in the state's failing schools...[more]
Happy 300th Birthday Ben Franklin
On January 17, 2006, America celebrated the 300th birthday of Founding Father Ben Franklin. Much has been written about Ben Franklin and his many accomplishments. Ben Franklin was a printer, writer, scientist, inventor, civic leader, revolutionary, and international diplomat...[more]
Justice Delayed: The Unconscionable Treatment of Judge Alito
It's now common knowledge that Judge Alito will ultimately be approved in committee by a 10-8 party-line vote. Absent what Democrats themselves consider to be an unlikely ability to dig up a silver bullet, he will be confirmed by the full Senate...[more]
Justice O'Connor's Last Decisive Indecision?
It wasn't that the Ayotte decision could be Justice O'Connor's last that made it noteworthy. Nor was it that the Ayotte decision was the Supreme Court's first on abortion in more than five years. In fact, it wasn't what Justice O'Connor said or decided in Ayotte, rather it was what she didn't say or decide...[more]
Film Review: The U.N.'s Long History of Broken Promises
But the film's most powerful moments are interviews with two victims of U.N. failure. The first is Eugenie Mukeshimana, a survivor of the Rwanda genocide. She recounts how she and her husband hid in separate houses as rampaging Hutus, bent on genocide, went from house to house, hacking her friends and neighbors to death with machetes...[more]
Hydrogen as an Alternative Fuel to Rising Gas Prices in a Looming Future Energy Crisis
Gas prices are rising once again, with some predicting we will be paying over $3.00 per gallon at the pumps again this summer. As long as Congress continues to thwart efforts to reduce our nation's dependence on foreign oil and bows down to environmentalists who oppose drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), Americans are left to search for alternatives to paying higher prices at the pumps and in home heating bills...[more]
Grave Concerns: The Inquisition of Samuel Alito
They are gravely concerned that he might be a racist. They are gravely concerned that he might be a crook. They are gravely concerned that he might be for big guys over little guys. That he might be against immigrants, women. That he might have a fetish for strip-searching 10-year-old girls...[more]
But that hasn't prevented the Democrats from insisting upon hour after hour of "questions," during which the presence of Judge Samuel Alito has been rarely necessary other than to provide the Democrats with the opportunity to make their unfounded accusations in person...[more]
What's In the Barrett Report? Why Should You Care?
Whether you wish to or not, whether you should or not, you are soon to read and hear a great deal about the National Security Agency data-mining program, initiated after 9-11, that without warrants monitored al-Qaeda electronic communications, some with Americans...[more]
Anyone trying to find answers to the questions about America's continued presence in Iraq and the ongoing war against terror should sit down and talk with Tony Blankley of The Washington Times and one-time press secretary to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich...[more]
What's Right Is Wrong, What's Left Is Right
Not that anyone needed more evidence that the so-called "mainstream media" suffers from a liberal bias. But if we did, we would only have to look so far as the recent coverage of President George W. Bush's choice to be the next justice of the Supreme Court of the United States...[more]
Current Events: Guest Commentary
Let's declare 'energy freedom' on Oct. 1
By Sen. Jim DeMint: Did you know that in just a few short weeks on Oct. 1, Americans could be celebrating American Energy Freedom Day? That's the day the bans on oil shale and offshore drilling for oil and natural gas will expire...[more]
Democrats Impede U.S. on Energy
By Rick Santorum: Every politician knows Americans want relief at the pump for their own sake and the sake of the broader economy. The Senate's continued inaction on this issue provides an insight into how the two parties hope to appeal to anxious voters and, more important, how they view high energy prices...[more]
What I Heard at the Petraeus-Crocker Hearings
Seeing the mission through
By John Cornyn: America’s top military commander and chief diplomat in Iraq reported Tuesday that we are making significant progress there. They added that we cannot afford to squander our gains by losing our resolve. But was anybody really listening?...[more]
House Should Pass Bipartisan Senate Bill to Protect America
By Senator John Cornyn: Last May, three U.S. troops were kidnapped in Iraq, south of Baghdad, by al Qaeda terrorists...[more]
By Henry I. Miller: Feinstein's bill to ban some chemicals in toys might help rats, but it's bad for people...[more]
By Bruce Herschensohn: At this writing, President Bush has yet to deliver his speech regarding future U.S. policy in Iraq, including his analysis of the Iraq Study Group's recommendations. Our enemies have already given their analysis...[more]
By Cary Cardwell: “Jury tampering, collusion and witness intimidation…” A tale of civil injustice in South Texas...[more]
Diplomatic Divorce: Why America Should End Its Love Affair with the United Nations
By Thomas P. Kilgannon: Former New York City mayor Ed Koch once called the United Nations "a cesspool." In fact, it is worse than that. The United Nations of today is the world's largest terrorist cell. It is a place where terrorist nations meet, hold membership, and promote their agendas. It is an institution through which they spread hate and encourage violence. This behavior is carried out on American soil and subsidized by American taxpayers...[more]
By Dan Gainor: It was the summer of love all over again. Only this time we didn't have hookah pipes, tie-dyed shirts and the Doors singing "People Are Strange." All journalists had was their love for one man – Al Gore – and this summer he and the media both proved the song was right...[more]
France Fails the World... Again
By Ray Seilie: The European Union, led by France and its small but vocal farming lobby, has scuttled the Doha Round of WTO negotiations, preserving artificial trade barriers and harming consumers throughout the world...[more]
Murderers Deserve Jail Time, Not Therapy
By Ray Seilie: Apparently it is now okay to commit murder, as long as a voice in your head told you to do it...[more]
By James K. Glassman: Using trade to help poor countries makes sense. But a large chunk of the benefits of GSP access go to countries which aren't really poor and which, in some cases, actively oppose American interests, including sound global trade policy...[more]
The ABA's Affirmative Action Tyranny
By Ray Seilie: The American Bar Association (ABA), flagrantly abusing its government-protected monopoly over the legal profession, is shoving affirmative action down the throats of law school administrators throughout the nation, even where state laws explicitly prohibit race-based admissions standards...[more]
Liberals Protest, "Don't Question Our Patriotism!" Actually, We Will
By Ray Seilie: A recent Gallup Poll confirms what conservatives have long suspected, and what liberals knew but concealed: liberals are less patriotic than conservatives...[more]
By Dan Gainor: Since Hurricane Katrina swept ashore on the Gulf Coast, we've heard seemingly countless reports of "record high" gas or oil prices. From the beginning of September last year, the big three networks - ABC, CBS and NBC - have told us about record high gas or oil prices close to 100 times...[more]
UN Taxation of Americans - A Persistent Problem
By Paul M. Weyrich: The United Nations continues advancing a global taxation agenda. Americans who believe in national sovereignty are indebted to Clifford Kincaid for his diligent monitoring of an important issue that "mainstream" news media long has ignored...[more]
Civics Education 101: The Case for Good Citizenship
By Alan B. Bookman: Nearly 44,000 Florida residents willingly – in fact, quite happily – recently faced a challenging test of their knowledge of our government and its history, and they all passed. You may be surprised to learn the test takers were all immigrants to the United States taking the examination for citizenship...[more]
By Congressman Paul Ryan: U.S. taxpayers deserve to have Congress justify how it spends their money. This is the simple idea behind giving the president a modified, constitutional version of the line-item veto...[more]
By Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist: Many people in Washington have long known a dirty little secret about tax-cut measures: When done right, they actually result in more money for the government...[more]