November 9, 2015

Roy Spencer, Climate Skeptic, wants RICO Investigation of Environmentalists

At a recent Cato Institute event titled, “Preparing for Paris: What to Expect from the U.N.’s 2015 Climate Change Conference,” climate skeptic Roy Spencer raised eyebrows when he said that environmentalists should be investigated under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) because of the energy policies they push. Thomas Wysmuller, owner of Colderside.com,
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June 10, 2015

Edison Electric Institute Elects New Leaders But Policymakers Are Unlikely To See Innovative Ideas

Nick Akins

Nick Akins, president and CEO of American Electric Power, was announced as the elected chairman of the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) yesterday at the association’s annual meeting in New Orleans.  EEI is the national trade association representing investor-owned electric utility companies. Joining Akins on EEI’s leadership team as vice chairmen will be these four industry
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November 5, 2014

Gerrymandering Rigged the 2014 Elections for Republican Advantage

The drafting of the Constitution. The House of Representatives was designed to be a voice of the people.

In the midterm elections, Republicans appear to have won their largest House majority since the Hoover administration. Republicans won on the weakness of Democratic candidates, a poor resource allocation strategy by Democratic party leaders, particularly DCCC chair Steve Israel, and an election narrative that did little to inspire base Democratic voters. That being said, in
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September 3, 2014

“Back to the Future” for career colleges: What we have to do to regain credibility

Many for-profit colleges get about 90 percent of their revenue from federal financial aid. For-profit schools have 13% of U.S. students by nearly half of all student loan defaults.

In this guest post, Raul Valdes Pages addresses his colleagues in the for-profit college industry. Raul Valdes Pages was the founder and CEO of Denver Technical College, a for-profit school offering associate, bachelor and master’s programs. He also has served as CEO of Sextant Education and marketing manager and vice president at DeVry. He is
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July 28, 2014

Disgraced Coal Baron Don Blankenship Rebrands As A Libertarian Activist

Don Blankenship receives a shoe shine at the Mandalay Bay hotel.

Among visitors to Freedom Fest, a libertarian convention in Las Vegas, you might miss the aging Don Blankenship amid other middle aged attendees and a swarm of college students in three piece suits. Blankenship, wearing a bowling shirt and tan slacks, moves from panel to panel carrying a tote bag filled with free schwag — of
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June 16, 2014

Senator Tim Scott Attempts to Build Support for Offshore Oil Drilling Legislation With Pictures of Windmills

tscott

How do you sell offshore oil drilling to a public that has grown skeptical after years of spills and deadly disasters? U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) has a website promoting the four pillars of his policy agenda. On energy, the Scott site features the Southern Energy Access Jobs Act (SEA Jobs Act), which would reverse
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May 12, 2014

Pro-Keystone XL Consulting Firm May Have Violated Ethics Laws

One of the many consulting firms retained to build support for the Keystone XL, a controversial pipeline to bring oil sands in Canada to gulf coast refineries, failed to disclose its activities as federal appears to have required. Through a records request, Republic Report has found that the Alberta government hired a public relations company called Feverpress to
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April 30, 2014

VIDEO: Heartland Institute Reluctantly Stands by Denial of Cigarette Smoking Risks

bast1

Before the Heartland Institute became famous for its leading role in climate change denial, the group spent many years working to defend the tobacco industry. Just as the group is now known for its over the top attacks on climate scientists, Heartland once played a large role in criticizing public health experts and others calling
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