Bad news for the economy: EPA refuses review of CO2 "endangerment" finding

July 30, 2010

Author: Ted Hadzi-Antich On July 28, 2010, EPA denied the petition by Pacific Legal Foundation to reconsider the agency's "endangerment" finding under the Clean Air Act, a finding that lays the groundwork for stringent regulation of greenhouse gases and could impose a crippling impact on the American economy.  The denial w ...

Unheeded words of wisdom

July 30, 2010

Author: Timothy Sandefur In a recent blog post I mentioned that liberals, no less than conservatives, ought to be very wary of expanding government power under the commerce clause. It turns out that Walter Lippmann (no conservative, he) made the same point eloquently at the very time that the Supreme Court was expanding that power: … ...

Are all health care mandates created equally?

July 30, 2010

Author: Luke A. Wake The federal government has only those powers specifically enumerated in the Constitution. The Constitution allows the federal government to regulate interstate commerce, including both economic activities and non-economic activities affecting interstate commerce. But, the mandate to purchase health insurance is not a regulation ...

California court rulings for Coastal Commission favor costly permiting process

July 29, 2010

Author:  Paul Beard Imagine this scenario:  Your city grants you a permit to build on your land.  The permit is appealed—say, by some disgruntled neighbor—to a state land-use agency with limited authority to review locally approved projects.  You sue the state agency on the ground that it lacks the authority i ...

There's no such thing as a free birthday cake

July 29, 2010

Authors: Lana Harfoush & Anne-Marie Dao Saturday marks what would have been Milton Friedman’s 98th birthday. What gift would you give a man of so many achievements? A Nobel Prize recipient in Economics, an inspiring force for many nations’ leaders, and a beloved professor at the University of Chicago, Friedman personally touched the ...

Spending, choice, and coercion

July 29, 2010

Author: Timothy Sandefur A reader commenting on yesterday’s post about our lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of ObamaCare asked an interesting question, the answer to which can help illuminate the limits of federal power under the Constitution. “Since the federal government can mandate that hospitals receiving federal monies (e. ...

Bringing fresh eyes to California air regulation

July 29, 2010

Author:  Damien M. Schiff A year ago June, PLF filed a lawsuit on behalf of a coalition of California construction and transportation businesses challenging the outdated appointments of members of the Scientific Review Panel on Toxic Air Contaminants (SRP).  The SRP is a group of scientists who advise the California Air Resources Board ...

Press conference: state fines businessman for selling "worm poop" fertilizer

July 29, 2010

WHEN: Thursday, July 29, 2010, 2:00 p.m. PDT. WHERE: California State Capitol, West Steps, Sacramento. WHO: George Hahn, entrepreneur from Cardiff by the Sea, CA, and inventor of Worm Gold, Timothy Sandefur, principal attorney with Pacific Legal Foundation. WHAT:Press conference to protest the State of California’s $100,000 fine against entre ...

Why PLF is challenging Obamacare: drawing a line in the sand

July 28, 2010

Author: Luke A. Wake Yesterday PLF announced the filing of Sissel v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services et. al. The suit challenges the PPACA's mandate that individuals must purchase health insurance against their will on Commerce Clause grounds. Yet some people are wondering what makes our suit different from the Attorney Generals� ...

Title IX has outlived its purpose

July 28, 2010

Author: Joshua Thompson Over at ESPN.com, Gregg Easterbrook, has this excellent piece on the latest ridiculous Title IX ruling.  Here's a snippet: Imagine telling marchers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., in 1965 that by 2010, "civil rights" would be privileged college kids complaining about sports schedules, wh ...