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Articles by Capitol Confidential

Google Caught with Hand in Cookie Jar

There is one thing you can say about Google – they don’t give a damn. They don’t care about intellectual property rights. They don’t care about privacy of their users. And they don’t appear to care about the law in

Administration Environmental Policy Out in the Ozone

Last week, Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) and a number of other Congressmen with states who rely heavily on energy production for economic stability, sent a letter to EPA head Lisa Jackson expressing some concerns over her agency’s impartiality. At the

Google Juggernaut Rolls On

Brian Hall made an insightful observation about the growth and power of Google – one that is worth discussing. Hall notes that Google has stopped innovating and is using its power to copy, emulate, bully, threaten and manipulate. The news

A Textbook Case of Government Waste and Stupidity

With a finite – and as far as most Democrats are concerned, insufficient – supply of taxpayer funds out there, its always interesting to see the choices that politicians with the power to spend the money make. Take Kentucky Attorney

A 'Marxist' Agenda Against a Freedom Center

An article in The Tucson Weekly reported that the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation, among other conservative foundations, have made significant donations to the University of Arizona’s FreedomCenter. Most people would commend the Koch Foundation for their generous financial commitment

California's 'Amazon Tax' Already Proving a Bust

California recently instituted as part of its budget solution an “Amazon Tax” aimed at forcing out-of-state, online retailers with no physical presence in the Golden State to collect and remit sales tax in respect of goods sold to Californians where

Google Ramps Up Political Giving…to Liberal Groups

As Google dives head first into the world of K-Street lobbying, political giving and greasing the wheels of the Beltway favor factory, disclosure report obtained by Big Government show that the company has not strayed from its liberal core despite

Obama Admin's Bid to Regulate Itself Out of Recession

Despite a small glimmer of hope from last Friday’s unemployment rate drop to 9.1%, business leaders know nearly all other economic figures continue to point to an anemic recovery or worse, a double-dip recession. In reaction to the jobs numbers,

Google's Anti-Privacy Hits Keep on Coming

European courts brought more bad news to Google’s recent reign of error as Switzerland’s top Court ruled that Google’s Street View mapping service violated the privacy of its citizens forcing Google to blur faces and license plate numbers before putting

FAA Shutdown Because Dems Want to Protect Pork

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has basically been shut down thanks to the Senate Democrats addition to pork. 4,000 FAA employees have been furloughed until further notice. 70,000 construction workers must now sit on their hands as all airport construction

Academic Freedom? Not if You're a Conservative…or a Koch

Florida State University (FSU) President Barron recently sent a letter to the Faculty Senate Committee asking the body to review the Koch Foundation agreement with the university and its implementation. The final report, which was released last week, went beyond

Google Continues to Spy on Unsuspecting Citizens

News that Google’s Street Car Program collected locations of millions of cell phones, laptops and other Wi-Fi devices from around the globe has raised further privacy concerns about the policies of the corporate Giant. Google’s Street Car program was ostensibly

Obama Taking Heat over Proposed Fuel Economy Standard

The Obama administration recently proposed raising corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards affecting cars and light trucks sold in America to 56.2 miles per gallon by 2025. However, in a surprising development, the administration is now taking heat from Democratic

Soros Making More Cash With Congress

As the Administration’s push for alternative fuels grows stronger, Congress is set to consider H.R. 1380, which would create very generous tax credits to manufacturers who retrofit existing work vehicles to run on natural gas rather than on that terrifying

Drill More to Bring the Deficit Down

The recent debt ceiling debate has prompted increased focus on deficit reduction, with President Obama and congressional leaders proposing various cuts and tax increases aimed at moving the budget towards balance. As has become typical, for President Obama and his

Obama-backing Democrat CEO Slams Obama

CEOs from 3M, Boeing, and Intel have previously blasted President Obama for the horrendous business climate his adminstration’s job-killing policies have created. But it now appears that another CEO has joined the group, this time a prominent Democrat who has

Congress, Internet Privacy and Google

Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-CA), the chairwoman of the subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade, has opened hearings on the issue of privacy and the Internet. Not surprisingly the poster child for privacy violations — Google–came up often. Google’s policy

The Left's Assault on Investment Will Bring Down Our Economy

The debt negotiations raging on in Washington have given Democrats a rare chance to do two of their favorite things at once: (1) Blame straw men for the problem, and (2) Declare class warfare and bloviate about the need for

Michigan Next to Cut Cigarette Tax?

As states around the country continue to face ongoing projected budget deficits, many elected officials are advocating consumption tax hikes in an effort to close budget holes (see Dayton, Mark and Democrats, Minnesota). However, New Hampshire recently cut its cigarette

Amazon Tax Headed to California Ballot?

In the aftermath of the California legislature passing and Gov. Jerry Brown signing into law an “Amazon Tax,” it looks like taxpayers unhappy about the Golden State’s pursuit of the almost certainly unconstitutional measure may get an opportunity to kill

A Tale of Two Prosecutors

We are not generally known here to spend a lot of time defending Socialists, but we are in the business of calling things as we see them and to rooting hard to see justice prevail. Normally when you hear of

Google's Grand Data Heist?

Google has built an empire by collecting, storing and using the personal data of their users. Every email sent through Gmail; every document created with GoogleDocs; every purchase made with Google Wallet; every thing users do is stored on Google’s

'Amazon' Tax: California Budget Gimmickry Fail

In its quest to close a gaping budget hole, the California legislature recently passed and Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law an “Amazon Tax,” as previously threatened. But in a fresh rebuke to the state, Amazon has declared that they

Court Set to Stop Net Neutrality?

There is a good chance net neutrality regulations might be stopped before they are ever allowed to take effect, according to Republican Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Robert McDowell. Broadcasting & Cable reports: Republican FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell says he

Obama Intentionally Targeting Job-Creating Schools

Over the last month, Barack Obama has toured a number of community colleges and job training facilities promoting what he believes is the next great job-creation and employment strategy: training young people graduating from high school and adult workers who

White House: Smart Cars and Leafs for Thee

Over the weekend, news broke that the White House intends to push for fuel efficiency standards that would require cars and light trucks sold in the U.S. to average 56.2 miles per gallon of gasoline by 2025. The latest effort

The Debt Limit Increase Fix Is In

Don’t believe all of the public fighting by Republican and Democrat leaders over the past week on increasing the debt limit. My sources on Capitol Hill tell me that many conservatives believe that the fix may be in on a

Liberal Republicans Push 100% Hike in Fuel Efficiency Standards

Via Roll Call: A collection of 15 Republicans — all former Members of Congress, governors or Environmental Protection Agency administrators — called on the president Wednesday to set aggressive auto emission and fuel efficiency standards beginning in 2017. “I’m just

Tales of a Failed State: More Problems with California's 'Amazon Tax'

As we have previously reported, it looks like the proposed “Amazon tax” scheme being pursued by California liberals is going to do severe damage to the state’s already hurting economy and affect a broad swath of internet-based businesses known as

Google Suddenly Values Privacy – Their Own

News today that the FTC is preparing to issue civil subpoenas as part of a broad anti-trust inquiry into Google’s business practices comes on the heels of a similar–and perhaps more in depth– threat from Congress. In a letter sent

Sen. Paul Calls TSA Official 'Clueless'

Most Americans Agree with Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) that citizen’s right to travel is being violated by the federal government every day. Searching of toddlers, infants and the elderly is a waste of resources and a concrete example of the

Cut, Cap, and Balance or Else!

The debt limit increase debate is heating up and conservatives have put together one fascinating proposal as a means to get spending cuts in consideration for a debt limit increase: The Cut, Cap, and Balance Pledge. Conservatives seem to be

House GOP Moves to Defund FCC Net Neutrality Efforts

According to National Journal, the House GOP was set Thursday to take a second shot at stopping the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from implementing net neutrality. The House Appropriations Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee took up a fiscal 2012

Mr. Speaker, Stop the Sham Patent 'Reform'

Sources on Capitol Hill have told Big Government that the House Leadership is pushing for a fast-track vote on radical Patent Reform legislation and the bill could come to the floor as early as this Wednesday. The bill is an