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{{Tobaccowiki}}'''The Independent Institute''', (TII) is a [[think tank]] that was founded in 19851986 by [[David J. Theroux]], seems to be not as independent as who was also the president of the name suggeststhink tank. <font color=brown>Don't confuse it with the [[Independence Institute]] which was established in Colorado with funding from [[Joseph Coors]].</font> The New York Times had Independent Institute has been a vocal opponent of the "war on drugs", immigration restrictions, corporate welfare, censorship, the neoconservative ("Bush Doctrine") of pre-emptive war, restrictions on September 18reproductive rights, and the death penalty. Some of their analysts oppose the dominant view of scientists of the need for urgent action to curb greenhouse gas emissions. However they are also part of the libertarian think-tank phenomenon and in (about) 1992 the Institute under [[Robert Higgs]] took over the administration of the tobacco industry's [[Cash for Comments Economists Network]] from [[Robert Tollison]], 1999 an article by Joel Brinkley called [[James Savarese]] and the [[Center for the Study of Public Choice]]. <table width="30%" bgcolor="eeeedd" border=1 rules=all cellpadding=5 align=right><tr bgcolor="cccccc"><th>RELATED ENTRIES</th></tr><tr><td>[[The Independent Institute/Personnel]]</td></tr><tr><td>[[Independent Institute (Doc Index)]]<tr><td>[[David J. Theroux]] &#8216nbsp;Unbiased&#8217; Ads [[Robert Higgs]]</td></tr><tr><td>[[Cash for Comments Economists Network]]</td></tr></table>=== TII, Microsoft Money and Oracle's Private Investigators === In May 1999 The Independent Institute published the book ''Winners, Losers and Microsoft Came at : Competition and Antitrust in High Technology'' by Stan J. Liebowitz and Stephen E. Margolis. A media release promoting the book stated that the book "makes a compelling case that the real danger to American high technology leadership is a Pricetoo powerful, too intrusive government which believes it knows consumer preferences and needs better than they do."[http://www. independent.org/store/book_detail.asp?bookID=50] On June 2, 1999 The Independent Institute "sponsored" full-page advertisements - titled ''Open Letter on Antitrust Protectionism'' - in the ''Washington Post'Ads' had and the form of a letter ''New York Times''. The ads were signed by 240 academic economists and claimed "experts" headline-grabbing cases against Microsoft, Intel, Cisco Systems, Visa and MasterCard, along with a flurry of merger investigations now under way, would appear to demonstrate the need for a vigorously enforced antitrust policy that will create checks and purported balances to be eliminate consumer harm. However, consumers did not ask for these antitrust actions — rival business firms did. [http://www.independent.org/pdf/open_letters/antitrust.pdf] (Pdf) (See accompanying [http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=483 media release]). The advertisement also promoted ''Winners, Losers and Microsoft: Competition and Antitrust in High Technology''. The same day, TII held a scholarlymedia conference in Washington D.C. unveiling the advertisements as well, unbiased view co-inciding with the resumption of why the government anti-trust trial involving Microsoft. A little over three months later ''New York Times'' reporter Joel Brinkley revealed that the advertisements had gone overboard been paid for by [[Microsoft]]. Public relations manager for the company, Greg Shaw, told Brinkley that "we thought this was an important, substantive letter, and we were interested in contributing to making it visible. In our view, the letter speaks for itself." [http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/09/biztech/articles/18soft.html] Based on internal TII documents "provided to The New York Times by a Microsoft adversary associated with the computer industry who refused to be further identified", Brinkley revealed that Microsoft "has secretly served as the institute's largest outside financial benefactor in its case against the last year." [http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/09/biztech/articles/18soft.html] Brinkley reported that while the Institute's Theroux had "long acknowledged" Microsoftas a funder of the think tank, he downplayed the company's role as being "just one of 2,000 members" which had paid an annual membership fee of roughly $10,000 a year. In reallityTheroux told Brinkley that all Microsoft gained was "free copies of our publications, according discounted tickets to our events" and denied that articleMicrosoft had any role with the newspaper ads which he said were "were paid for out of our general funds." [http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/09/biztech/articles/18soft.html] However, TII internal documents revealed that Microsoft had not only paid contributed $203,217 for the adsyear to that June, but was in fact making it the single largest donor contributor. Brinkley calculated that Microsoft's contribution amounted to approximately 20% of the funds in that year from external sources,excluding $304,725 that Theroux contributed to his own foundation. [http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/09/biztech/articles/18soft.html] One of the documents provided to Brinkley was a bill for $153,868.67 covering the cost of the ads plus Theroux's travel expenses from San Francisco to Washington for the news conference. The Independent Institutebill was sent to Microsoft's John Kelly. When asked by Brinkley about the bill Theroux confimed that Microsoft had paid for the ads but claimed it made no difference. "The academic process we use is independent of sources of revenue," he said. [http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/09/biztech/articles/18soft.html] When contacting the academics to sign on to their advertisement, TII did not disclose Microsoft's funding. One of the At least one academic who signed the ad disagreed. Simon Hakim, an economist at Temple University told Brinkley "He should have told us. I would not have participated if I had known. It's not right to use people as a vehicle for special interests," he said. [David Jhttp://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/09/biztech/articles/18soft. Theroux]html]Nor did Stan Liebowitz, one of the co-authors of the founder TII published book ''Winners, Losers and president Microsoft'', know of this institutethe company's funding though he stated "it doesn't matter to me." [http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/09/biztech/articles/18soft.html] The day after Brinkley's article appeared, confirmed in his reply that they received money Theroux issued a media release focussing on the origin of the documents from a Microsoftadversary and claiming they had been "stolen". However, Theroux did not dispute the specific funding amounts referred to. He stated that was &plusmn; 8% of their total revenues "our final year-end records do not agree with the numbers he had been provided by his source" and claimed that at the media conference he had stated that the Microsoft was not their largest supporterfunding amounted only to 7%. "It now appears the final figure is about 8%, a statistically insignificant difference, and far less than the 20% figure Mr. Brinkley claimed in his article," Theroux claimed. [http://independent.org/newsroom/article. Despite asp?id=1069] In June 2000 the ''Wall Street Journal'' revealed that the the Independent Institute's funding documents had been obtained by by staff of [[Jacob SullumInvestigative Group International]], a private investigation firm hired by Microsoft's denailrival Oracle. The WSJ reported that while Theroux suspected they had been stolen, it later turned out those familiar with the operation hinted that Microsoft paid $203,217 to they were obtained by rifling through the think tank'The Independent Institute' in 1999 which made Microsoft the largest supporters office trash. [http://wwwnews.urielwzdnet.com/reasonfdn2100-9595_22-502575.htmhtml] == Environmental Issues ==Much of the Anti-Global Warming rhetoric published by The Independent Institute is the work of a few persons, and one stands out, both in quantity of releases, as well as notoriety, [[Richard VedderS. Fred Singer]] who ran the climate-denial tobacco-funded organisation [[Science & Environmental Policy Project]] is Senior Fellow (SEPP).  Other analysts at The the Independent Institute agreed that the environment was a pressing concern, including the issue of greenhouse gas emissions. Where they dissented from current environmental theory is in their proposed methodologies for remediation; they propose strong private property and free market solutions rather than regulation, a libertarian model for environmentalism. {{Template:AntiEnvironmentalArchives}} == Tobacco Industry ==[[Robert D. Tollison]], [[Richard E. Wagner]] and [[Thomas Gale Moore]] is a Member are members of the Board of Advisors at The the Independent Institute, [[Gary M. Anderson|Gary Anderson]], [[Robert Ekelund]], [[Dwight R. Lee]], [[Mark Thornton]] and [[S. Fred Singer]] are Research Fellows and [[Richard Vedder]] is a Senior Fellow . Both  All of the above have a long history of working for the [[Tobacco Institute]] (TI) and/or [[Philip Morris]] and all nine were also a members of the 'Academic Advisory Board' for the pro-tobacco junk science report '[[Science, economicsEconomics, and environmental policyEnvironmental Policy: a critical examinationA Critical Examination]]' published by the [[Alexis de Tocqueville Institution]] (AdTI) on August 11, 1994. AdTI received money from both TI and Philip Morris. (''See:'' [[AdTI-Funding]]) == Funding ==On its website TII states that it "receives no government funding. Instead, it draws its support from a diverse range of foundations, businesses and individuals, and the sale of its publications and other services." [http://www.independent.org/aboutus/] The Institute does not list its contributors on its website, stating their rationale for this is in compliance with the [http://www.independent.org/membership/donorsbill.asp Donor's Bill of Rights]. However, the Donor's Bill of Rights does not require secrecy. However, some funders of the Institute have been identified. These include:*[[Philip Morris]] contributed a donation of $10,000 in 1997 [http://www.pmdocs.com/getimg.asp?if=&DOCID=2063351196/1220&PGNO=2063351215] and a donation of $25,000 in 1998. [http://www.pmdocs.com/getimg.asp?DOCID=2065243965/3979&PGNO=2065243972]*[[Exxon]] donated $10,000 in 1998 [http://web.archive.org/web/20011031010631/www.exxonmobil.com/contributions/public_info.html]; $5,000 in 2000 and 2001, $10,000 as [[Exxon Mobil]] in 2002 [http://www2.exxonmobil.com/files/corporate/public_policy1.pdf]; $10,000 in 2003 and $30,000 in 2005. [http://www.exxonsecrets.org/html/orgfactsheet.php?id=46]*The San Francisco Foundation contributed $10,000 in fiscal year 2000 (July 1, 1999-June 30, 2000) ([http://www.sff.org/giving/advised.html]) According to Media Transparency, TII has received $718,000 (unadjusted for inflation) between 1995 and 2005. [http://www.mediatransparency.org/recipientgrants.php?recipientID=1119] Grants have included those from: *The [[John M. Olin Foundation]] gave in 1996 to The Independent Institute $40,000 for "The promotion of two books: The Diversity Myth, by [[David O. Sacks]] and [[Peter a Thiel]]; and The Melting Pot, by [[Richard K. Vedder]] and [[Lowell E. Gallaway]]" and in 1998 another $25,000 for "The Institute's book program". *The [[David H. Koch Charitable Foundation]] gave in 1995 - 2001 in total $160,000 for "General Operating Support".*The [[Earhart Foundation]] gave in 1998 - 2001 in total $46,095 to support editor Dr. [[Robert Higgs]].*The [[Castle Rock Foundation]] gave in 2002 for "General operating support" $25,000. ==Personnel==The number of personnel involved in the Independent Institute as Directors, Senior Fellows, Research Fellows and others is so extensive that it has been posted to a separate page. See [[The Independent Institute/Personnel]] == Contact info:<blockquote>==The Independent Institute<br> 100 Swan Way, Oakland, CA 94621-1428<br> Orders: 1-800-927-8733<br> Phone : (510) 632-1366<br> Fax : (510) 568-6040</blockquotebr> web site: [http://www.independent.org http://www.independent.org] == Related Links == ===Funding===*[http://www.mediatransparency.org/search_results/info_on_any_recipient.php?recipientID=1119 Independent Institute, Oakland, CA], ''Media Transparency'', 2002*[http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=7991 Charity Navigator rating of The Independent Institute, August 28, 2006] ===TII, Microsoft and Anti-Trust Law===*Dominick T. Armentano, ''[http://independent.org/store/book_detail.asp?bookID=31 Antitrust and Monopoly]'', The Independent Institute, 199. ISBN 0-945999-62-3*Stan Liebowitz and Stephen Margolis, ''[http://independent.org/store/book_detail.asp?bookID=50 Winners, Losers, & Microsoft: Competition and Antitrust in High Technology]'', The Independent Institute, 1999. ISBN 0-945999-80-1 (Hardback); ISBN 0-945999-84-4 (Softback).*David CallahanThe Independent Institute, "[http://www.washingtonmonthlyindependent.comorg/newsroom/featuresarticle.asp?id=483/Open Letter on Antitrust Protectionism]", June 2, 1999*Joel Brinkley, "[http:/9911/www.callahannytimes.thinkcom/library/tech/99/09/biztech/articles/18soft.html The Think Tank As Flack, How 'Unbiased' Ads for Microsoft and other corporations use conservative policy groupsCame at a Price]", ''Washington MonthlyNew York Times'', September 18, 1999 .*David J. Theroux, "[http://independent.org/tii/news/990919Theroux.html Winners, Losers & Microsoft - Strikes a Sensitive Nerve, Response to New York Times Article]", ''The Independent Institute'', September 19, 1999 .*David Callahan, "[http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/1999/9911.callahan.think.html The Think Tank As Flack, How Microsoft and other corporations use conservative policy groups]", ''Washington Monthly'', September 1999.*Uriel Wittenberg, "[http://www.urielw.com/deception2.htm The IndependentInstitute]", Uriel Wittenberg, 1999.*[[Jacob Sullum]], "[http://reason.com/sullum/110399.shtml Flack Catcher]" , ''ReasonOnline'', November 3, 1999.*Uriel Wittenberg, "[http://www.urielw.com/deception2areasonfdn.htm Flack Journalist’s Defense Confirms Flackhood]", Uriel Wittenberg, May 27, 2000.*Declan McCullagh, "[http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,37022,00.html MS Espionage: Cash for Trash]", ''Wired News'', June, 15, 2000.*Declan McCullagh, "[http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,37039,00.html Who's Digging Up MS Dirt?]", ''Wired News'', June 16, 2000.*Ted Bridis, and Mylene Mangalindan, "[http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-502575.html Oracle-MS flap -- how it happened]", ZDNet News, June 28, 2000. (This was originally published in the ''Wall Street Journal'').*Ted Bridis, and Mylene Mangalindan, "[http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-502575-2.html?tag=st.next Oracle-MS flap -- how it happened Part ii]", ZDNet News, June 28, 2000. (This was originally published in the ''Wall Street Journal'').*The Independent Institute, "[http://www.independent.org/newsroom/news_detail.asp?newsID=44 Statement from The Independent Institute on Oracle’s Sponsorship of Smear Campaign:] Facts Refute Oracle CEO’s Wild Claims that Institute is a 'Front Group' that Received 'Secret Funding' from Microsoft", Media Release, June 28, 2000.*Declan McCullagh, "[http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,37278,00.html/ "'Twas Oracle That Spied on MS"] ''Wired News - '', June 28, 2000.*"[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB962239292410510916.html Larry Meets Terry]", ''Wall Street Journal Online'', June 29, 2000.*David Theroux, "[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB96224764316024205.html?mod=Review-Outlook "A Challenge to Oracle"], Letter to the Editor, ''Wall Street Journal'', June 29, 2000.*The Independent Institute, "[http://www.independent.org/issues/article.asp?id=385 Institute Responds to 'Trust Us, We're Experts' Authors' Fantasy]", Media Release, February 7, 2001.*John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton, "[http://www.mediachannel.org/views/oped/trustus.shtmlTrust Us, We're Anti-Antitrust]", ''Media Channel'', February 14, 2001. ===TII Reports on Environmental Issues===*Roger E. Meiners, Bruce Yandle, "[http://www.independent.org/publications/article.asp?id=289 The Common Law Solution to Water Pollution - The Path Not Taken]", The Independent Institute, Research Report, April 1, 1992*David J. Theroux, "[http://www.independent.org/publications/article.asp?id=1447 Property Rights v. Environmental Ruin]", Independent Institute, Research Report, August 1, 1994*Randy T. Simmons, "[http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=260 Markets Key to Saving Our Endangered Species]", Independent Institute, Research Report, January 1, 1995*Jane S. Shaw, "[http://www.independent.org/pdf/tir/tir_07_1_shaw.pdf Private Property Rights, Not Ideologies, Are the Crux]"(PDF), The Independent Review, Volume 7 Number 1, Summer 2002*Tracy Wates, "[http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=431 Banking in Endangered Species]", Independent Institute&#8217;s ResponseCommentary, September 23, 2002*Jeffrey R. Clark and Dwight R. Lee, "[http://www.independent.org/pdf/tir/tir_08_4_clark.pdf Global Warming and Its Dangers]"(PDF), May The Independent Review, Volume 8Number 4, Spring 2004*Franklin Lopez, "[http://www.independent.org/pdf/tir/tir_09_3_2_lopez.pdf Sustainable Development and Institutional Failure: The Case of Ecuador]"(PDF), The Independent Review, Volume 9 Number 3, Winter 2005*Mark Pennington, "[http://www.independent.org/pdf/tir/tir_10_1_2_pennington.pdf Liberty, Markets, and Environmental Values: A Hayekian Defense of Free-Market Environmentalism]"(PDF), 2000The Independent Review, Volume 10 Number 1, Summer 2005 <tdo>search_term=Independnet Institute</tdo>[[Category:Tobacco documents organizations|Independent Institute]][[Category:Think tanks]][[Category:United States]]