RealClearInvestigations' Picks of the Week
Sept. 3to Sept. 9
Featured Investigation
In 2007 and again in 2015 Senate Democrats have tried to do away with mandatory arbitration to settle consumer disputes, pushing to make class-action lawsuits the preferred path to resolution - and, not coincidentally, a path to big paydays for trial lawyers.Twice the effort went down to defeat. But, as James Varney reports for RealClearInvestigations,much of what Democrats failed to accomplish through legislation is on the verge of becoming law through regulationissued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. This has left some people scratching their heads, since the CFPB's ownstudy showed that successful arbitrations, on average, returned more to individual consumers than the average class-action lawsuit. The latter, however, did often result in big paydays for trial lawyers, the study found. More mystifying to some is theapparent inability ofSenate Republicans tostopit -- a further sign of their disunity and ineffectiveness despite the GOP's electoral sweep last year. Varney writes: Privately, conservatives despair about missing what should have been "a layup" for a Republican majority. But the GOP's razor-thin edge in the Senate can't stand up to defections and it appears the leadership is reluctant to bring the regulation's repeal to a vote, lest the party suffer another embarrassing setback. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a lawyer by training (like many in the Senate) and a moderate, has said he would vote in favor of the regulation, and a handful of other GOP senators are reportedly waffling. "My instinct is that we haven't seen action on this in the Senate yet because they're either bogged down with other things, or the votes just aren't there," said RafaelMangual, a project manager with the free-market Manhattan Institute. "The latter would be very disappointing indeed." Read Full Article Other Noteworthy Articles and Series Silicon Valley is the New Political Power in D.C.
Guardian
America's five biggest tech firms have increased their lobbying presence in Washington so much that they now outspend Wall Street 2 to 1. Silicon Valley executives, like others from the private sector, now routinely move in and out of senior government positions through the capital's infamous "revolving door." The tech giants have learned from the Microsoft antitrust suits of the 1990s: Not having influence on Capitol Hill can be very bad for business. Interactive Tool: If North Korea Nukes a U.S. City
NUKEMAP, Daily Caller
Aninteractive tool created by AlexWellerstein, a nuclear historian, allows users to see the impact of a nuclear blast on any city anywhere in the world. The casualty numbers are, according to the creator, not definitive. But using this tool, you can get an idea of the devastation if North Korea's new bomb were detonated in the air a little under a mile above an American city or town. Holocaust Museum Pulls Syria Study Absolving Obama
Tablet
A major United States Holocaust Memorial Museum study of the Obama administration's Syria policy was put on hold after portions given to the American Jewish magazine Tablet were greeted with shock and harsh criticism by prominent Jewish figures. The study apparently excuses U.S. government inaction in the face of mass murder, including the gassing of civilians. Grading the Bugle Boys of Company B
RealClearInvestigations
Military bands have been stirring the spirits of soldiers and citizens alike since the RevolutionaryWar. But now the government watchdog agency isblaringa sour note: It wants the Pentagon to justify their combined price tag north of $400 million a year. Can you measure the value of patriotic inspiration? Your Jeans Are Ruining the Earth
Vice
Americans throw away 13 million tons of clothing each year, but the environmental impact of blue jeans is especially large, even though we keep them longer. It can take up to 2,000 gallons of water to make one pair -- enough to fill 20 bathtubs. Plus another 1,000 gallons just to grow the cotton used in the jeans. Not to mention washing them to make them look fashionably beat-up. Investigative Classics: Rise of the Ku Klux Klan, 1868
RealClearInvestigations
The original Ku Klux Klan was started in Tennessee almost immediately after the Civil War by defeated Confederates from the heavily Democratic South opposing Reconstruction, forced upon them by Radical Republicans. Here is a selection of contemporary accounts and commentaries. | 
