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The Supreme Court seemed to signal interest this week in taking up a challenge launched by Hawaii against big oil companies to hold them liable for climate change, and some Democrats are suggesting the high court is "captured" for the fossil fuel industry. The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Justice Department to weigh in on a petition to hear a lawsuit brought by the City of Honolulu against major fuel companies including Sunoco, Exxon and Chevron, claiming the companies’ products cause greenhouse gas emissions and global warming without warning consumers about the risks. The city employed a series of...

Did you get here Googling "exotic wood raids?" Is this not what you expected? I'm sorry. Settle in for some hot public policy.Last we checked in with Gibson, the famed Tennessee guitar maker had been raided twice by armed federal agents, who seized almost $500,000 in exotic wood imported from India and Madagascar and shut down production. The ebony and rosewood in question have been used for decades to make the instrument's fingerboards and are integral to their style and sound, the company said. (Great video background from Reason, here.)This week, Gibson settled with the government in a "criminal enforcement...

New Yorkers feel the pinch, call for tax on richMore than three-quarters of New Yorkers say they are feeling the pinch from pricey food and gas prices, and 80% were in favor of a so-called "millionaire's tax," according to recent polls. Elisabeth Butler Cordova August 06. 2008 3:13PM The deteriorating economy continues to weigh heavily on New Yorkers’ minds, according to two polls released Wednesday. With a remarkable one-month increase of 9%, 81% of New York residents say they are feeling the effects of rising food prices, according to a new Siena Research Institute survey. About 78% of New Yorkers...

Maybe bohemian New York has a fighting chance after all.This morning came the news that the United States has nearly two million artists — more than the numbers of lawyers, doctors, police officers or farm workers — and that many of them, no surprise here, are struggling. We also learned that Representative Anthony D. Weiner, Democrat of Brooklyn and 2009 mayoral aspirant, wants to make it easier for fashion models to get visas to work in the United States.Senator Charles E. Schumer — who before being elected to the Senate in 1998 held the House seat that Mr. Weiner now...

WASHINGTON — With gasoline prices topping $4 a gallon, Senate Democrats want the government to grab some of the billions of dollars in profits being taken in by the major oil companies. The Democrats' energy package also would: — Make oil and gas price gouging a federal crime, with stiff penalties of up to $5 million during a presidentially declared energy emergency. — Authorize the Justice Department to bring charges of price fixing against countries that belong to the OPEC oil cartel. — Require traders to put up more collateral in the energy futures markets to curb speculation.

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - President Hugo Chavez said Sunday that foreign oil companies operating in Venezuela must pay taxes he insists they owe, or else leave the country. "The companies must pay what they owe,'' Chavez said during his Sunday television and radio show. "If they don't pay, they must leave.'' Chavez said that many private oil companies have been evading taxes for years, and they must be charged retroactively with interest on any debts. Officials have said that many declare losses to avoid paying income tax. "It's not possible that an oil company can come here, pay 1 percent...

Two Minuteman Project volunteers — men who described themselves as members of the neo-Nazi National Alliance — pose near the Mexican border with a handmade sign bearing an image identical to that on Alliance pamphlets and billboards. The men told fellow volunteers that a total of at least six Alliance members had joined the Minuteman effort in order to recruit new Alliance members and to learn where to conduct their own "Mexican hunts" once media attention flagged. The men carried assault rifles in their vehicle and boasted that they were scouting "sniper positions." DOUGLAS, Ariz. | April 22, 2005 --...

He displayed the same bright smile and wore a sharply tailored suit. And when he took the microphone, the crowd erupted into cheers of "Kerry! Kerry!" But it wasn't exactly clear last night whether Democratic Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts was yesterday's news or tomorrow's candidate. In town for a Democratic fund-raiser to help pay some of the roughly $2 million in costs the party has incurred in its legal fight over Christine Gregoire's election as governor, Kerry joked about his loss last fall, which came when Ohio's electoral votes swung to President Bush.

Fortuna, Calif. -- The Pacific Lumber Co. announced Tuesday it would close its Fortuna sawmill, after what the company described as "one of the most difficult seven months in the company's history." Pacific Lumber President and CEO Robert Manne said the company had been unable to harvest at sustainable levels and to get harvest plans approved by all state agencies in a timely manner.

SALEM -- Gov. Ted Kulongoski, as part of his effort to attack global warming, wants to make Oregon the 10th state to adopt California's tougher auto emission standards. The governor has decided to bypass the Legislature and will form a task force to figure out how to adopt the standards, which would also raise fuel efficiency. His spokeswoman, Holly Armstrong, said Monday that Kulongoski expects to have the rules in place by year's end. "He has long been committed to adopting these standards," said Armstrong. "It's always been about how to do this, not whether to do this." The new...

OLYMPIA — The state Legislature kicked off three months ago amid widespread predictions that the Democrats in charge would increase taxes, spend more money, and cater to the demands of political allies. The predictions were right. The Legislature passed a $26 billion operating budget, a nearly $3 billion increase over the current one, and an $8.5 billion transportation package — the largest in state history. To pay for it all, lawmakers made it more expensive to smoke, drink, drive and, for some people, to die.

OLYMPIA--Breaking a legislative logjam on Sunday, state lawmakers approved a 9.5-cent increase in the state gasoline tax that will start with a 3-cent rise in July. Much of the 16-year, $8.5 billion spending package will be spent on "mega-projects" in the Puget Sound area, including replacement of Seattle's Alaskan Way viaduct, repairs to Interstate 405 and work on the state Highway 520 floating bridge. Gov. Christine Gregoire called lawmakers who voted for the package "courageous," braving a tough tax vote to fix some of the state's most serious hazards. It undoubtedly helped that Gregoire had threatened Sunday morning to veto...

OLYMPIA--Racing through the final day of this year's legislative session, state lawmakers Sunday approved a two-year, $26 billion operating budget that steers money toward schools, public employees, health care and higher education. "This budget reflects what the people of the state are asking us to fund," said Sen. Mark Doumit, D-Cathlamet. "It's an investment in our state's future." "I'm happy with it," said Rep. Timm Ormsby, D-Spokane. "It will make a big difference in the lives of kids, families and vulnerable people." The budget passed the House 56 to 42 and the Senate 25 to 22. Republicans complained they had...

OLYMPIA, Wash. — The state House passed an $8.5 billion transportation package today, a day after Republicans derailed it. The measure, which includes a 9.5 cent gas tax hike, passed on a 54-43 vote. It was defeated Saturday when leaders could only muster 45 votes, five shy of the bare minimum needed for passage. A revote was taken today, and applause broke out on the floor after it was approved. The package passed through the Senate earlier in the week with modest bipartisan support, but it melted down in rancor in the House on Saturday. Democratic leaders have been saying...

OLYMPIA—On April 20, Governor Christine Gregoire issued a press release highlighting the state being a finalist for Harvard’s “Innovation in Government Award.” Washington was nominated for the award because of its use of the priorities of government (POG) budget model in crafting a no-new-taxes budget in 2003. Then-Senator Dino Rossi used POG to write the 2003-05 budget, which he prioritized within available revenue despite facing more than a $2 billion budget deficit. Gregoire’s release read in-part: “Washington’s pioneering budgeting method—which follows a process to prioritize state services within available resources—is among 18 government initiatives from across the nation to emerge...

The spate of slayings over the first three months of the year has prompted Assemblyman Louis Manzo, D-Jersey City, to introduce a bill which would make it possible to confiscate a home or car in which an illegal firearm is found - even if the gun doesn't belong to the owner. "Simply put, we cannot afford to lose another life, at a time when it has become a daily routine to read about another life lost in our neighborhoods as a result of gun violence," Manzo says in a letter asking state Assembly Speaker Albio Sires, D-West New York, to...

House Ways and Means Chairman Bill Thomas is ...[snip].. floating the idea of mating President Bush's Social Security proposals with a tax reform featuring a European-style value-added tax -- - snip - The VAT, for the uninitiated, is essentially a hidden sales tax that originated in France and has become a favorite of legislators around the world because of its ability to stealthily raise large sums of revenue with a minimum of public outcry. - snip - VAT proponents may reply that European revenues from general consumption taxes -- which nearly doubled to 7.5% of GDP in 2002 from 4.1%...

A UK economist has proposed an innovative solution to global warming that's sure to spark controversy: Tax the unborn to provide financial incentives for today's citizens to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Andrew Oswald of the University of Warwick is calling for "Global Warming Bonds" to reward companies and people who reduce greenhouse gas emissions now. The catch is that the bonds would be paid by taxes on future generations. "Carbon dioxide emissions now get more attention than ever, but the focus has been on getting lots of countries to attend meetings and sign up to treaties," says Oswald. "That is...

THE DAVOS QUESTION: HELP OTHERS OR HELP YOURSELF?Feb 10, 2005 - FreeMarketNews.comby staff reportsThe International Center for Economic Growth (ICEG) has recently concluded its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. The organization whose stated mission is: “To encourage sustainable and equitable economic opportunity and to find effective solutions to human development challenges.” They hope to do this by “leading economic policy and reform, changing civil society, and investing in the poor.” Bill Bonner of the Daily Reckoning asks whether one should fault those in attendance for their idealism. Should they not be given credit for trying to improve things? His answer...

...Bottom line: The industry's shareholders long ago were reduced to the role of cutouts, allowed to keep collecting a small piece of the pie so politicians can go on posing as scourges of "Big Tobacco" even as government has become, effectively, the "beneficial owner" of the major tobacco companies.... New York State has a court fight on its hands over its punitive exactions from such companies, which were not party to any lawsuit and never did anything wrong. Georgia has cracked down too, whacking innocent brands for benefit of local employer Brown & Williamson. And the state of Wisconsin even...