Latest Articles

Consumers Will Suffer the Hangover From Trump's Ethanol Binge
Paying a political debt, the president doubles down on a misguided policy.

October 18, 2018  •  Washington Examiner

President Trump announced earlier this week that he intends to take actions to increase the mandate to add ethanol to fuels. Currently, refineries producing transportation fuel must demonstrate each year that they have blended certain volumes of renewable fuel into gasoline or diesel, or else acquire expensive credits from others who do so.

The Trump administration's action, which would require formal rulemaking, would direct the EPA to allow gasoline with 15 percent ethanol to be distributed year-round, reversing the current ban during summer months.

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The FDA Doubles Down on Failed Animal Biotechnology Regulation
Regulators had already decimated this biotech sector; this new policy will make it even worse.

October 16, 2018  •  Daily Caller

It seems some bureaucrats in the Trump administration didn't get the memo about scientific, evidence-based regulation being good for innovation, the economy, the environment and public health.

FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb has doubled down on his agency's failed policy for regulating an entire sector of biotechnology — the production of genetically engineered animals.

In a May speech, he embraced the Obama administration's proposed expansion of the agency's ill-conceived, 2009 policy for the regulation of such animals — to include the use of the most innovative, precise and predictable gene editing techniques such as CRISPR-Cas9.

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Bureaucrats Turn 'Dark Regulatory Matter' Into Law, But Is It Constitutional?
Allowing government officials too little discretion can lead to rigidity in decision-making, while too much lends itself to regulatory excess.

October 11, 2018  •  Investors Business Daily

The Dark State is real and ubiquitous, but it is neither new nor necessarily sinister. In some respects, it is inherent in our system of government.

Although our government was conceived as three interdependent, coequal branches, it has evolved into an administrative state run mainly by a gargantuan Executive Branch and various independent agencies to which Congress delegates many functions.

The most prominent of these is the power to promulgate formal rules, or "regulations," which require publication, OMB approval, and public comment. In one way or another these regulations control almost every aspect of our commercial and personal lives.

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Eco-Bullying Crosses the Pond
Activists' abuse of Freedom of Information laws is spreading to Europe

October 8, 2018  •  Daily Caller

Some bad ideas have originated in America. Reality television, spray-on cheese, pineapple pizza, and deep-fried Hostess Twinkies come to mind. But the most obnoxious of all may be eco-activist campaigners armed with Freedom of Information Act requests, or FOIAs, who pervert the intention of the law in order to undermine sound science, academic scholarship and the free exchange of ideas.

They're about to make a menace of themselves in Europe

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Fit to Serve?
Perhaps it's time to consider cognitive and psychological testing of politicians.

October 3, 2018  •  City Journal

Congress continues to rank dead-last in the most recent Gallup poll of public confidence in institutions. It's no surprise: when representatives and senators aren't squabbling, posturing, and at one another's throats, such as during Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court confirmation hearings, they're saying and doing things that strain credulity. It's no coincidence that insulting the intelligence of members of Congress is such a staple of American folk wisdom. "Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself," quipped Mark Twain. "When Congress makes a joke it's a law, and when they make a law, it's a joke," said Will Rogers.

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