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Forty years ago this week, President Lyndon B. Johnson, in a ceremony at the White House, which included me, signed into law the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966. Thus, for the first time, the giant auto industry was no longer exclusively able to decide the margins of casualties in crashes. It…
September 15, 2006 President George W. BushThe White House1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NWWashington, DC 20500 Dear President Bush, We join with the thousands of Americans who are calling on you to intensify your efforts to end the slaughter in Darfur. This genocide unfolding before our eyes stands in danger of worsening drastically in coming weeks, if…
It is fortunate for Wall Street’s institutionalized criminals and looters of investor assets that Ben Stein likes acting. Because that leaves this skilled x-rayer of corporate fraud and greed with less time to produce more of his incisive articles in major media outlets like the New York Times or Barron’s. And even less time to…
The chronically no-fault White House and its no-fault President were on their no-fault roll again around the country. George W. Bush, the Commander-in-Chief of the politics of non-faultism—went on another redundant symbolic trip to Katrina land. There, near the wreckage that even now is much of New Orleans, he announced: “I take full responsibility for…
Dear Governor Schwarzenegger: Six states — Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, North Dakota, and West Virginia — have already passed laws that support growing industrial hemp and it is time for California to clear the way for California farmers to start growing this important crop. There is a surprising number of major corporations who use large…
George W. Bush—the master of fabricated distractions—as with the false pretense invasion of Iraq—has turned the national television news media away from the United States. So it was a sobering reversal of direction to watch ABC’s August 24th Primetime Special Edition “Out of Control: AIDS in Black America.” It marked the 25th anniversary of the…
Dear Mr. Steinbrenner: So you want to be the man who tears down “the House That Ruth Built.” And for what? More profit. Neither you, nor the city government you pressured, nor anyone else should ever do this to a place so rich in history and tradition as Yankee Stadium. Would the city ever tear…
I first came across the name of John Kenneth Galbraith during my student years at Princeton where I picked up his book American Capitalism. Wondering why it was not on any reading list for my economics course, I put the question to the professor. He replied: “It’s really not about economics. It’s about political economy.”…
The widespread destruction of a defenseless Lebanon—its civilians, its life-sustaining public services, its environment—is a grim and indelible testament to your consummate cruelty and ignorance. Nearly two weeks ago when your tardy Secretary of State met with the Israeli Prime Minister, the message she carried was summarized in a large headline across page one of…
1. The Battle for the Soul of Capitalism by the legendary founder of the Vanguard mutual funds — John C. Bogle (Yale University Press, 2006). Hurling honesty and insight against the fraud and greed of mutual funds and the financial industry in general. He wants reforms. 2. The People’s Business — Controlling Corporations and Restoring…