Latest News:
CFIF Urges Congress to Oppose Burdensome Regulation of the Internet
The Center for Individual Freedom this week joined with other national free market organizations to send a letter to the House of Representatives warning members against burdensome regulation of the Internet...[more]
Obama Wants More Supervision Of Everyone… Except Big Labor
Senator Barack Obama rests his entire campaign upon the claim that he is a “post-partisan” candidate who trumpets the slogan “change we can believe in.”...[more]
Greenpeace Founder: We Must Go Nuclear
Speaking before an audience in Boise, Idaho last week, Greenpeace Founder Dr. Patrick Moore confirmed that there is no proof that humans are causing global warming, and he wisely advocated a dramatic shift toward reliance upon nuclear power...[more]
Changing Marketplace, Global Competition Require New Type of Airline
The U.S. airline industry has experienced a tumultuous flight in recent years, with 150,000 jobs and more than $29 billion lost since 2001. And now, with fuel prices rapidly on the rise, many carriers are further struggling to keep up with costs and appease disgruntled passengers...[more]
McCain Stands Up For Free Trade
Youngstown, Ohio Speech Against Self-Destructive Protectionism Is A Refreshing Show Of Wisdom...[more]
The Center for Individual Freedom today published a full page ad in the Wall Street Journal calling on President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to “Send a Clear Message to Mongolia: Eliminate Corruption and Protect Private Property — Or Risk Losing U.S. Foreign Aid.”...[more]
The Waiting Game and the Stalling Game
It is never a surprise when games are played on Capitol Hill. But as fun as it is for the politicians to play the stalling game on judicial confirmations -- especially since everyone knows the name on the mailbox at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue will change in less than a year -- it is excruciating for the American people, the courts and the would-be judges who, as a result, are being forced to play the waiting game...[more]
Condescending Remarks Reveal Obama’s True Feelings About Faith, Firearms and Working-Class Voters...[more]
American Taxpayers Call on Congress to Stop Unconditional Debt Relief
The Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) this week announced that its supporters and activists, along with other concerned taxpayers, have sent nearly 30,000 letters to Congress in the last week urging their Representatives to vote against H.R. 2634, the Jubilee Act for Responsible Lending and Expanded Debt Cancellation...[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]
If Barack Obama is elected President of the United States, he is going to send ugly, burly men to your house and confiscate your guns, which will be melted down and reformed into windmills. All civilian ammunition will be transferred to Yucca Mountain, to be stored with nuclear waste...[more]
Al Gore Equates Global Warming with World War II and Civil Rights Movement, While Europe Announces Cap-and-Trade Failure...[more]
CFIF, American Taxpayers Call on President Bush to Protect Western Interests in Mongolia
Nearly 35,000 Letters Sent to President Bush Expressing Concern about Backsliding on the Rule of Law, Infringement of American Property Rights and Increased Corruption...[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]
McCain Should Reject Dangerous Cap-and-Trade Legislation
Despite a slowing economy that may slump toward recession, unrelenting global warming alarmists continue to press carbon cap-and-trade proposals...[more]
Class Action Convict Turns to Ethical Education?
A little more than two weeks ago, a federal judge sentenced William Lerach to two years in prison for paying kickbacks to investors so they would be on-call plaintiffs for the disgraced and all-but disbarred class action king's securities lawsuits...[more]
Obama and Clinton: Celebrating Economic Illiteracy
While Senators Obama and Clinton continue to scratch, claw and bloody each other like Soviet and Hungarian waterpolo players at the 1956 Olympics, they are racing to the bottom in their dangerously anti-free market rhetoric...[more]
CFIF Joins Coalition Expressing "Deep Concern" About Lack of Action on Judicial Nominees
Last week, the Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) joined a coalition of 60 organizations — led by our friends at the Committee for Justice — in urging the Senate Judiciary Committee to act on President Bush's judicial nominees...[more]
Why Is President Bush Attempting to Fund The Dangerous Law of the Sea Treaty?
As President Bush counts down his final year in office, Americans naturally wonder whether he'll use his remaining time to advance conservative principles despite a hostile Congress, or instead seek to create a "legacy" in the minds of the literati...[more]
Internet Freedom Jeopardized by Over-Regulation
The Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF), a leading constitutional and free market public policy organization, today voiced its opposition to the recently released "Net Neutrality" bill sponsored by Representatives Ed Markey and Chip Pickering...[more]
An Open Letter to Congress: Don't Fall for "Stimulus" Fairy Tales
In a letter sent to every member of the U.S. House and U.S. Senate, the Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) this week joined two dozen organizations in urging caution regarding the so-called "economic stimulus" plan currently being considered in Congress...[more]
Giuliani's Tax Cut Proposal: A Legacy Worth Preserving
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who became an American hero on 9/11 and regularly led the race for Republican nominee for President, withdrew from the race this week after Florida failed to resuscitate his candidacy...[more]
By John Yoo: War is a continuation of politics by other means, the German strategist Carl von Clausewitz famously observed in his 19th-century treatise, "On War." Clausewitz surely could never have imagined that politics, pursued through our own courts, would be the continuation of war...[more]
Mrs. Clinton Wins — and Loses — in Michigan
Competing head-to-head with the nationally televised Democratic Presidential Candidate Debate and the results of the Michigan Republican Presidential Primary Tuesday night, Hillary Clinton's blowout 15-point win in the Michigan Democratic Presidential Primary got far less attention than it should have...[more]
Tax Rate Cuts, Not Tax Rebates, Stimulate the Economy
As the risk of American economic recession increases and portions of the economy soften, politicians in Washington and along the campaign trail climb over themselves with stimulus proposals...[more]
By Henry I. Miller: Feinstein's bill to ban some chemicals in toys might help rats, but it's bad for people...[more]
John Edwards: Demagogue to the End
n both his Iowa and New Hampshire prime time TV concession speeches, and probably on the stump as well, Democrat presidential candidate John Edwards has, with manifest stage anger drawn deeply from the well of his trial lawyer heart, lashed out regarding the case of Nataline Sarkisyan...[more]
McCain to Pharmaceutical Innovators: Drop Dead
Senator McCain Slurs Pharmaceutical Industry as "The Big Bad Guys" During Debate, Calling His Commitment to Free-Market Principles into Further Question...[more]
U.S. Senators Filibuster Their Way to Freer Elections
For years now we've been lamenting the partisan obstruction of President George W. Bush's nominees...[more]
Government May Have Overreacted in Prosecution of Border Agents, Judge Says
A federal judge this week said U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton's office may have "overreacted" in its prosecution of Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean...[more]
Illegal Alien Drug Smuggler in Border Agents' Case Arrested for Smuggling Drugs
Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila, the illegal alien drug smuggler whose testimony on behalf of the U.S. government led to the conviction and imprisonment of Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, has been indicted and arrested on charges of smuggling more than 750 pounds of marijuana into the United States...[more]
Help Wanted: FBI and CIA Hiring Illegal Aliens
Who knew that among the U.S. jobs that must be filled by illegal aliens are FBI agent and CIA spy? ...[more]
Other Than That, Mrs. Clinton, How Did You Like the Debate?
Televised presidential debates matter, even though most of them are initially watched by fewer people than watch miracle magic household cleanser infomercials...[more]
Protecting Our National Sovereignty
By Senator John Cornyn: Our state, and our country, are struggling to keep up with the effects of globalization — the increasingly free flow of ideas, information, goods and capital across borders and around the world...[more]
"HillaryCare" for Cars: Render Them Less Safe and Punish American Automakers
On Monday, Hillary Clinton ostentatiously demanded that automakers increase their fuel efficiency standards some 60% by 2020, and to a preposterous 55 miles per gallon by 2030, merely 23 years from now...[more]
On Thursday, November 1, Pedro Cotes, the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, announced that he would seek an injunction in state court to stop the Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) from running its television ad in Pennsylvania...[more]
The Night Hillary Clinton Blew It
It may well be that there are now so many so-called third rails of American politics that they constitute a third-rail field, a tightly laid grid to fry the hair of any national candidate who missteps...[more]
Congress Should Not Chase Away Critical Overseas Investment Dollars
In a world that becomes more economically interconnected each passing day, American lawmakers simply cannot afford to suffocate American companies' access to overseas direct investment...[more]
A Comedic Campaign Finance Conundrum
Who's afraid of a little comic relief in the 2008 presidential election? Well, the Federal Election Commission should be...[more]
Does Foreign Investment Pose a Threat to National Security?
As the world economy grows increasingly interdependent, an interesting public policy question is developing about whether foreign investment in U.S. companies is a threat to national security...[more]
CFIF Urges Senate to Pass a Clean and Permanent Extension of the Internet Tax Moratorium
In an open letter to the United States Senate, the Center for Individual Freedom this week joined other national organizations in urging swift consideration of S. 156, the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act...[more]
On Thursday, October 24, by a vote of 59-38, the Senate confirmed Judge Leslie H. Southwick to a lifetime seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit...[more]
The Manky Numpties of Congress
"Manky numpties" is wonderfully expressive Scottish slang used here to mean useless morons, substituting for profanity ever so vile...[more]
U.S. House Temporarily Extends Internet Tax Moratorium, Misses Opportunity to Make it Permanent
The U.S. House of Representatives this week overwhelmingly passed a four-year extension to the moratorium that prevents states and localities from taxing Internet access...[more]
U.S. Senator and U.S. Congressman Accuse Democratic National Committee of Racial Discrimination
All hell broke loose last week when U.S. Senator Bill Nelson and U.S. Congressman Alcee Hastings, both Democrats of Florida, accused the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and party chairman Howard Dean of racial discrimination...[more]
The Global War against Islamist Terrorism
Americans are a uniquely impatient people. We find yesterday to be a long time ago. We buy Sunday newspapers on Saturday, next year's models of cars are out this year, and we rush to the future, receiving Christmas catalogues in September...[more]
Why a Subprime Bailout Would Be Unfair and Unwise
Everywhere you turn, the news media anguishes about the uptick in subprime delinquencies and the possible consequences to the larger economy...[more]
Free-Market Organizations to FCC: Price Controls for "Special Access" Services = Bad Public Policy
In a letter sent today to each commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and key Members of Congress, 16 state and national free-market organizations expressed opposition to government-mandated price controls in the broadband enterprise marketplace, including special access services...[more]
FreedomCast: Hillary's Unhealthy Plan
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton this week unveiled a health care plan, estimated to cost about $110 billion per year, to provide coverage for 47 million uninsured Americans through federal subsidies and tax hikes...[more]
The Tiresome Clinton Time Warp
Between increasingly-frequent campaign fundraising scandals, the resurrection this week of HillaryCare, personal demonization of political enemies and looming tax increases, it's all like a collective nightmare returning to haunt America...[more]
CFIF Joins Coalition in Urging Extension of Internet Tax Moratorium
With the current Internet tax moratorium set to expire on November 1, 2007, the Center for Individual (CFIF) this week joined more than 35 national and state organizations, representing millions of taxpayers, in urging Congress to make permanent the Internet Tax Freedom Act...[more]
Senate Condemns MoveOn.org for Its Attack on General Petraeus and American Troops
While you wouldn't know it from the ongoing media drumbeat, it has been more than a week since MoveOn.org ran its now-infamous ad in the New York Times implying that General David Petraeus, America's top military leader in Iraq, is a traitor...[more]
European Protectionism Targets American Companies, Worldwide Innovation
Unable to defeat American companies in the open marketplace, protectionist European bureaucrats are instead resorting to litigation and regulation to kneecap American companies and protect their own... [more]
Liberals Spit on a Soldier. Again.
Liberal anti-war zealots employ all manner of sleazy tactics in their effort to undermine the war in Iraq, but routinely assure us that they "support the troops, honest." ...[more]
When the Hsu Fits Mrs. Clinton
Clinton scandals are never small and rarely boring, wafting across the land with the frequency of mist upon the South China Sea*...[more]
Is America Preparing to Surrender on Kyoto?
If at first you don't succeed, make matters even worse and try, try again. At least, that appears to be the logic of self-described "global-warming diplomats" who met last week in Austria to concoct their latest scheme to damage world economies in pursuit of a sham solution to a fabricated climate crisis...[more]
While most Americans were busy trying to wring the last vestiges of fun from their summer, the Wall Street Journal was beginning enterprising reporting on what appears to be a campaign finance scandal that augers to be no fun at all for the presidential campaign of one Hillary Rodham Clinton...[more]
Judge Leslie Southwick
and the Lamentable Loop of Liberal Lies
The more the judicial nominees change, the more the liberal lies remain
the same. Unfortunately, that is the lamentable lesson being learned by Mississippi
Judge Leslie Southwick as the President's third nominee to fill a long-standing
vacancy on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit...[more]
An Open Letter to the President
and Congress:
Taxpayers Oppose Hike in Federal Gas Tax
In an open letter to President Bush and Congress, the Center for Individual
Freedom (CFIF) this week joined 55 other national and state organizations in
opposing any increase in the federal excise tax on gasoline...[more]
FreedomCast: Karl Rove’s Retirement and Executive Privilege
Recently, Caleb Burns, an associate with the law firm of Wiley Rein LLP,
joined CFIF’s Renee Giachino to discuss the battle brewing over executive
privilege. ...[Read more and
listen to the interview here.]
The 'Making Energy Less Affordable Act'
As the U.S. House of Representatives considers numerous legislative proposals on a national energy policy, more than two dozen state and federal organizations, including the Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF), this week expressed "grave concerns" about specific proposals and the direction of the debate...[more]
HillaryCare Exposing
Itself as a Catastrophe
State Experiments with Socialized Medicine Already Failing . Socialized
medicine doesn't work, and state experiments toward that end are proving it'd..[more]
Mr. President, It's Time to Free Border Agents Ramos and Compean
The Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security this week held a long overdue hearing to "examine the prosecution of Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean," the two border patrol agents who were sentenced last October to a combined 23 years in prison for pursuing an illegal alien drug smuggler...[more]
Obstructionist Senate Democrats Throw Iraq War Veteran Under the Bus
Anti-war liberals persistently - but implausibly - protest that they "support the troops" despite hysterically opposing the war effort itself. Well, now Senate Democrats, most of whom fall within the anti-war description, have a chance to put their money where their mouth is. Unfortunately, they are instead exposing the absurdity of their claim...[more]
FreedomCast:
Summer Temperatures Heat Up Debate on Iraq
Recently, Colonel David Hunt, Fox News military correspondent and author
of On the Hunt: How to Wake up Washington and Win the War on Terror, joined
CFIF's Renee Giachino to discuss his book, the War on Terror, Iraq and homeland
security. ...[Read
more and listen to the interview here.]
McCain's "Straight Talk Express" Hits the Ditch
Poor John McCain. Several weeks ago, his presidential campaign was revealed to have raised only $24 million, far less than the other major contenders for the Republican nomination, and had only about $2 million on hand...[more]
Congress Presses Private Equity Tax Hikes: Why You Should Care
Congress, including some who are usually more reliable anti-tax members, now seeks to raise taxes on private equity partnerships, partnership performance fees and venture capital. But why should everyday Americans care? ... [more]
Breaking News: Illegal Aliens Still Work Among Us
Despite the defeat of the Amnesty for Illegal Aliens and Assorted Other Outrages bill in the U.S. Senate, the scope of the problem has diminished not one iota. The American people did not just want egregious legislation killed; they also want the federal government to mount credible, transparent efforts to begin reducing the systemic problem...[more]
Liberals Aim to Resurrect So-Called "Fairness Doctrine" to Silence Conservative Voices
Although the forces of free speech secured a limited victory in this week's Wisconsin Right to Life decision, the tentacles of liberal censorship remain furiously busy...[more]
U.S. Senate Rejects
Amnesty, 53-46
Learn how your Senators voted now. …[vote
tally]
CFIF Urges Congress to Oppose Extreme
New Mileage Regulations
In a letter to all Members of the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives,
the Center for Individual Freedom this week joined with the American Conservative
Union, Frontiers of Freedom and America's Independent Trucker's Association
in urging Congress to oppose increases in Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE)
standards. …[Read the letter here
(.pdf).]
Back to the Trenches Against
Amnesty
A new amnesty bill is before the U.S. Senate. It's the same as the
last amnesty bill. Brian Darling of the Heritage Foundation calls it "Nightmare
on Amnesty Street."...[more]
Congratulations. Your country thanks you, for successfully interrupting something far more offensive than the names you have, in most cases, incorrectly been called...[more]
CFIF Joins Coalition in Airing Concerns About Senate Energy Legislation
In a letter sent to all U.S. Senators this week, the Center for Individual Freedom joined more than two dozen state and national free-market organizations to air concerns about S. 1419, the Renewable Fuels, Consumer Protection, and Energy Efficiency Act of 2007, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Among other issues, the letter points out that the bill should be titled the "Making Energy Less Affordable Act." ...[Read the full text of the letter now (.pdf).]
Hey Congress: Don't Muck With Our Trucks
Recently, CFIF Director of Legal and Public Affairs Timothy Lee joined Renee Giachino, to discuss how increased fuel economy standards in bad public policy and what can be done by concerned drivers, auto enthusiasts and all who believe it is wrong for Washington to meddle with the rights of automobile owners to buy and operate the vehicles they want and need. ...[Read more and listen to the interview here.]
White House Caves on Climate Change, While China Thumbs Its Nose
Last week, President Bush issued a stunning and disheartening capitulation toward global warming hysterics by pledging to reduce America's "greenhouse gas" emissions. "The United States takes this issue seriously," he said in announcing the disappointing reversal of White House policy...[more]
CFIF Urges
Congress to Make Internet Tax Moratorium Permanent
In a letter to all members of the U.S. House of Representatives
and U.S. Senate, the Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) this week joined more
than two dozen state and national free-market organizations in urging Congress
to make permanent the current moratorium on Internet taxes...[more]
CFIF Cautions FCC Against Burdensome Internet Regulations
In a letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin Martin, the Center for Individual Freedom this week responded to a — notice of inquiry — soliciting comments about the FCC's Internet policy...[more]
Senate Ignores Public Opposition to Amnesty Bill
The mother of all political miscalculations by the U.S. Senate — the latest amnesty-for-llegal-aliens bill — is a train still creaking dangerously along its broken and discredited tracks...[more]
CFIF
Launches 'Free My Ride' Grassroots Campaign in Opposition to Extreme New Mileage
Regulations
As Congress prepares to consider comprehensive energy legislation,
including the imposition of extreme new mileage regulations, the Center for
Individual Freedom (CFIF) this week launched a massive new grassroots campaign
called Free My Ride...[more]
President Bush Must Defy Russian Coercion and Domestic Opponents
Steadfast in his advocacy of missile defense to date, President Bush is under increasing pressure to betray President Reagan's revolutionary peacekeeping brainchild...[more]
CFIF to FCC: Keep
Radio Spectrum Auction Free and Fair
CFIF joined with other national free-market organizations in urging the
FCC to ensure that the upcoming auction of 700 MHz of radio spectrum remains
free, open and fair. Furthermore, the letter encourages the FCC to reject a
proposal by the company Frontline, which would impose "network neutrality"
regulations and restrict those who may bid for the spectrum…[Read
the letter here (.pdf)]
The Political Beast that Will Not Die... Unless You Kill It
According to news reports, many members of Congress, mostly Senate supporters of so-called Comprehensive Immigration Reform (yes, amnesty), are "surprised" at the veritable gusher of citizen outrage against it...[more]
Like Father, Like Son: A Legal Legacy Lost?
Isn't it funny how history — even recent history — repeats itself in spite of the oft-cited aphorism that it's important to learn from history so we don't repeat it. More realistically, famed lawyer Clarence Darrow once noted, "History repeats itself; that's one of the things wrong with history." And, so it is with the Presidents Bush, father and son...[more]
2010 Tax Hikes: A Ticking Time Bomb
Last week, both the Senate and House of Representatives approved the majority Democrats' budget proposal, which contains over $200 billion in tax hikes, the largest in American history. Under their budget, this decade's astoundingly successful tax cuts will be allowed to expire in 2010, at which time rates will surge to recession-era levels as Congress stands by and watches...[more]
FreedomCast: Ordinary Citizens are Being Shut Up and Shut Out of the Political Process
Recently, Steve Simpson, a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice, joined CFIF Corporate Counsel & Senior Vice President Renee Giachino to discuss campaign finance laws versus free speech and the First Amendment...[Read more and listen to the interview here.]
Stunning Political Victory against Illegal Immigration
Remember the liberal, pro-amnesty for illegal aliens mantra following the 2006 elections? The one that had it that politicians in any way critical of illegal immigration lost because of that stance...[more]
President Caves to Environmentalists in Expanding Failed Fuel Economy Scheme
President Bush this week ordered increased Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, exacerbating an already-defective fuel economy program...[more]
Thailand: Undermining America's Economic Strength?
When Thailand's Minister of Health Mongkol Na Songkhla arrives in Washington next week, President Bush and Congress must recognize the harmful consequences and dubious nature of his agenda...[more]
Want Energy Independence? Drill Offshore, Go Nuclear.
Politicians and commentators on the left incessantly seek cheap political points by advocating "energy independence." The only problem is that they clearly don't mean it...[more]
Little "Sunlight" on the Dianne Feinstein Conflict-of-Interest Controversy
When last week we wrote of Dianne Feinstein's potential conflict-of-interest regarding her previous positions on the U.S. Senate's Military Construction Appropriations Subcommittee (MILCON), the issue was bubbling up from its humble beginnings as a long article published last January by Peter Byrne, a free-lance investigative reporter...[more]
CFIF to Congress: Oppose Efforts to Silence Grassroots Communications
In a letter to all Members of the House of Representatives, the Center for Individual Freedom joined a coalition of 40 national grassroots organizations in urging Congress to oppose H.R. 2093, legislation that would severely regulate all communications aimed at motivating grassroots citizens to communicate with Members of Congress on issues and legislation pending before them...[Read the full text of the letter here (.pdf).]
Dianne Feinstein and the Most Ethical Congress in History
We don't know about anyone else, but we wake up every morning saying to ourselves, "If we were as rich as Dianne Feinstein, we wouldn't get anywhere near even a whiff of conflict of interest."...[more]
CFIF Applauds Florida Legislature's
Passage of Video Choice Bill
The Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) today applauded the Florida
Legislature's passage of the "Consumer Choice Act of 2007," predicting that
the largest beneficiaries of more competition in the marketplace will be consumers
across the state...[more]
Bush Signs Questionable Harmonization Accord with E.U.
This week, President Bush, European Commission (E.C.) President Jose Manuel Barroso and German Chancellor Angela Merkel executed an accord that aims to harmonize trans-Atlantic policies...[more]
As Liberals Amplify Anti-War/ Anti-Troop Rhetoric, Your Voice is Making a Difference
Two weeks ago, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi undermined U.S. foreign policy with her unauthorized trip to Syria to meet with that country's president, Bashar al-Assad — a known supporter of terrorism, including the insurgency in Iraq...[more]
Where in the World Is Don Imus, Now That We Really Need Him?
Strange, isn't it, that in the time period immediately following the dismissal
of Don Imus by CBS and NBC, the world is just chock full of Imus fodder, with
no room whatsoever for the gratuitous throwaway rap that got him in trouble?...[more]
CFIF Encourages Governor Sonny Perdue to Sign Consumer Choice for Television
Act Into Law
Following the Georgia House's lead, the state Senate last week overwhelmingly
passed the Consumer Choice for Television Act, which, if signed into law, will
result in long-overdue lower prices and more choices for cable TV consumers
across the state...[more]
Nancy Pelosi: The Terrorists' New Sweetheart
When last week we left silky-headed Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, she was whoofing the treacherous air of foreign relations and deciding she likes it, she really likes it. So does Syrian ophthalmologist-turned-despot Bashar al-Assad, who sat knee-to-knee with Pelosi as she chatted him up about world peace...[more]
Did Nancy Pelosi Violate the Logan Act?
Did Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (and others) violate that act during a much-publicized, self-authorized trip to Syria? The answer, like the law itself, is simple and straightforward: Yes...[more]
The
McCain Record
Arizona's senior senator is not a consistent defender of individual freedom.
By Pat Toomey: Political candidates often attempt to burnish their economic policy credentials on the campaign trail. As part of an effort to provide a fair and thorough analysis of the real economic records of the major presidential candidates, the Club for Growth is issuing a series of white papers on these candidates...[more]
FreedomCast: Physicians Organized to Fight for Medical Malpractice Reform
Recently, Ken Kilpatrick, Education Director for the Politically Active Physicians Association (PAPA), sat down with CFIF Corporate Counsel & Senior Vice President Renee Giachino to discuss the nation's medical malpractice crisis and why the real victims of this crisis are the patients...[Read more and listen to the interview here.]
Congress Becomes Big Labor's Obedient Subsidiary
Why Not Unionize the Military While We're at It?...[more]
CFIF Opposes Congressional Efforts to Muzzle Grassroots Voices
In a letter sent to all Members of the House Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights & Civil Liberties, the Center for Individual Freedom this week joined 17 other organization from across the political spectrum in opposing strict regulations designed to muzzle grassroots communications...[more]
Last week, Washington's Culture of Corruption went from just plain disgusting to full-out scary...[more]
Congress's Warped Answer to Taxpayer-Funded Pensions for Crooked Politicians
Too often, our federal elected officials forget that the power they assume is given to them by the people they represent. Therefore, it is no surprise that "We the People" rightly have little patience or tolerance when our elected leaders abuse that power for personal or political gain...[more]
An Unfortunate Sign the Federal Judiciary is Out of Touch
Too bad you're not a federal district judge. After all, if you were, you would receive and, in fact, be entitled to every one of those benefits and more -- for the rest of your life ... "during good Behaviour."...[more]
Conservatives to McCain: Abandon Plans to Further Muzzle Political Speech!
While Sen. McCain Prepares Legislation Aimed at "527" Organizations, Nearly 20 Advocacy, Legal and Public Policy Organizations Express Opposition...[more]
FreedomCast: Will Tougher Ethics Rules and Earmark Transparency Reform Congress?
Recently, Peter Sepp, Vice President of Communications for the National Taxpayers Union, joined CFIF Corporate Counsel & Senior Vice President Renee Giachino to discuss ethics reforms, Congressional pensions and what more Congress can and should do to curb its Members’ ethical transgressions…[Read more and listen to the interview here.]
Turning Up the Heat on Global Warming Skeptics
The most recent target of the Al Gore Brigade is one George Taylor. Taylor is the "State Climatologist" of Oregon, a title created by Oregon State University (OSU) and not the state, although the state legislature created the state climate office at the school...[more]
Deficit Down 58% Over Past Three Years - Who Knew?
President Bush presented his proposed 2008 budget this week, and it offers both good news and bad news...[more]
But a book released a week ago Tuesday, on the same day President Bush delivered the State of the Union Address, reminds conservatives why his most important and lasting legacy may be the federal courts, and specifically, the U.S. Supreme Court...[more]
Unnecessary Regulation of the Internet Is Harmful to Consumers
"Over regulation will delay innovation, stifle growth," says Free Market Advocacy Organization...[more]
CFIF Launches McCain '$traight Talk?' Blog
As Senator McCain Seeks to Further Muzzle Political Speech, New Blog Tracks the Presidential Hopeful's Ongoing Refusal to Commit to Speech Limitations He Works to Impose on the American People...[more]
"If You Can't Beat Microsoft, Sue 'Em" -- In Europe
Competitors Again Exploit European Antitrust Rules to Undermine Microsoft's Windows Vista...[more]
Harry "Mr. Real Estate" Reid and the Most Ethical Congress in the History of the World
If only Donald Trump were as good at real estate as Harry Reid, the boy could have made something of himself...[more]
Senator McCain to Conservatives: SHUT UP!
McCain responds to Questions about Presidential Public Financing by Vowing to Further Muzzle Political Speech. Americans -- Especially Conservatives -- are Still Wondering Whether the Senate's Chief 'Campaign Finance Reformer' Plans to Live by the Same Political Speech Limitations He Seeks to Impose on Everyone Else...[more]
Last week the two brave border agents began serving a combined 23 years in prison for what Congressman Tom Tancredo described as "doing their job" - pursuing an illegal alien trying to smuggle nearly 800 pounds of marijuana into the United States...[more]
HAS SENATOR McCAIN'S 'STRAIGHT-TALK EXPRESS' TAKEN A U-TURN?
Conservative Group Asks the Senate's Chief 'Campaign Finance Reformer' to Clearly Announce Whether He Plans to Abide by the Limitations of the Presidential Public Financing System...[more]
Don't Tell Al Gore - It Just Snowed In Phoenix
Don't tell Al Gore, but it snowed in Phoenix, Arizona this past week. In fact, this month has been the coldest January in Phoenix since 1979...[more]
Congress Seeks to Silence Its Critics, Chill Grassroots Activism
What if "We the People" were severely restricted from becoming informed and speaking out in the legislative process?...[more]
"Net Neutrality" - Corporate Welfare and Price Controls Have a New Name
Do you trust government to regulate the Internet, which has flourished precisely because government has left it alone?...[more]
A Congressional Fix for Unintended Patent Law Consequences
Suppose for a moment what would happen if banks started seizing the homes of all individuals who unintentionally pay their mortgages one day late. Or worse, what if the government automatically seized the homes of everyone who is 24 hours late in paying their property taxes - whether the missteps were the homeowners' fault or not...[more]
Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don't: Troop Proposal Reveals Liberals' Latest Hypocrisy
For years, liberals have hectored President Bush for not committing enough troops to Iraq. Now, peanut-gallery liberals pivot 180 degrees and browbeat him for proposing precisely that...[more]
FreedomCast: A Call for President Bush to Pardon Former Border Patrol Agents
On September 19, 2006, Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean were sentenced to a combined 23 years in jail for what Congressman Tom Tancredo described as "doing their job," pursuing an illegal alien drug smuggler. Recently, Andy Ramirez, Chairman of Friends of the Border Patrol, joined CFIF Corporate Counsel and Senior Vice President Renee Giachino to discuss the importance of supporting the border patrol and its agents, the legal case against Agents Ramos and Compean and what must be done to restore fairness to these agents and their families...[more]
Big Labor's Latest Target: The Secret Ballot
With Democrats assuming control of Congress this week, Big Labor is targeting one of America's most basic institutions - the secret ballot...[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]
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]
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]
John Bolton's Resignation: Another Really Good Man Done Gone
John Bolton waited patiently - for more than a year - while the U.S. Senate blocked his confirmation as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. The President gave him a recess appointment, so he went and did his job and did it well...[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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
Debunking the Myths on Trans Fat, Global Warming and Other Junk Science
Recently, Steve Milloy, Founder of junkscience.com, joined CFIF Corporate Counsel and Senior Vice President Renee Giachino to discuss the irresponsible claims made by the junk science community. In his interview, Mr. Milloy covers a diverse range of scientific themes in an effort to help us recognize the suspect science being disseminated in support of issues ranging from global warming to trans fat...[Read more and listen to the interview]
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]
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]
"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]
Europe vs. America, and Why Elections Matter
This week's favorable Justice Department decision on the AT&T/BellSouth merger again contrasts the European and American approaches toward business affairs...[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]
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]
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]
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]
CFIF Joins Letter Applauding President's Environmental Plan
Innovation and technology, not cap and trade policies, will address environmental issues and protect the economy...[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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
The Battle against Asbestos Lawsuit Abuse Gains Momentum
Frivolous asbestos litigation is crippling our judicial system and large swaths of our economy. Across the country, hundreds of thousands of asbestos lawsuits have been filed, 8,400 companies are defending themselves, 75 companies have been bankrupted by a flood of frivolous claims, tens of thousands of Americans have lost their jobs, and retirement savings have been eviscerated...[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]
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]
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]
The partisan minority in the U.S. Senate used to content itself with obstructing the President's nominees...[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]
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]
Congressman Tom Tancredo: A Discussion on Illegal Immigration and What Congress Should Do About It
Recently, Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO) joined CFIF Corporate Counsel and Senior Vice President Renee Giachino to discuss our nation’s illegal immigration crisis and his new book, In Mortal Danger: The Battle for America's Border and Security... [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]
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]
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]
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]
Senate Must Fix Broken Asbestos System
The Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) this week joined more than 100 organizations representing veterans, healthcare providers, small businesses, lawmakers and concerned citizens to demand the Senate vote on a The Fairness in Asbestos Injury and Compensation Act (FAIR Act). The FAIR Act would finally allow victims to receive fair compensation by bypassing courtrooms and the federal government's assertion of immunity from prosecution...[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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
CFIF Adds Its Voice to New Ad Campaign Against Regulating the Internet
The Center for Individual Freedom this week joined several other conservative and free-market organizations on a new ad campaign renewing our demands that Congress resist calls to regulate the Internet...[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]
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]
CFIF Praises Senators Specter and Leahy for New and Improved FAIR Act for Asbestos Victims
"We applaud Senators Specter and Leahy for reintroducing the FAIR Act," said CFIF President Jeffrey Mazzella. "This vital legislation will ensure that real victims of asbestos exposure are fairly compensated. Just as important, it will put an end the baseless claims that have inundated our nation's civil justice system."...[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]
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]
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 Joins Coalition of Free-Market and Grassroots Groups Urging "No New Internet Regulations"
"America's technological preeminence is threatened by those who want the government to move in and regulate what entrepreneurs, investors, and visionaries have created," the ad reads. "We oppose network neutrality and any other form of regulation or taxation of the Internet. And we're ready...to fight to keep the Internet free," the ad continues...[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]
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]
PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH'S ADDRESS TO THE NATION ON IMMIGRATION
On Monday, May 15, 2006, President George W. Bush delivered a primetime televised address to the nation on the issue of immigration. What follows is the text of the President's speech...[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]
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]
Statement of CFIF President Jeffrey Mazzella on the Committee's Passage of the Communications Opportunity, Promotion, and Enhancement Act of 2006...[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]
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]
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]
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]
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
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]
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]
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]
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]
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 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]
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]
Center for Individual Freedom Urges Senate to Enact Cable Franchise Reform
"Current regulatory climate is preventing competition in the marketplace and hurting consumers," says CFIF Presiden...[more]