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Governor Mitchell DanielsOffice of the GovernorStatehouseIndianapolis, Indiana 46204-2797February 7, 2006Dear Mitch,Assuming you were quoted accurately in The New York Times (February 5, 2006) your “dream” may turn out to be the public’s nightmare. It may be indeed like the Louisiana Purchase, only Indiana is the France of this deal. Assuming the figures quoted in The…
It was, to use Yogi Berra’s phrase—déjà vu all over again. George W. Bush’s energy program in his State of the Union speech echoed the many similar promises made by his presidential predecessors going back to Ronald Reagan. Promises that were either vague or if specific, distant from realization. What irony to pledge to become…
What will it take for George W. Bush and Dick Cheney to be held responsible for a multitude of political crimes, recklessness, prevarications and just plain massive ongoing mismanagement of the taxpayers government? The first step is to aggregate these travesties so they add up to a more comprehensive judgment. Then, together they confront us…
Dear Friends, Our mother — our teacher who inspired us, who raised our horizons for justice in our world, who showed by example — passed away peacefully at her home on January 20th, 2006 in her one hundredth year. Every day more and more of you have contacted us to express sorrow and remember her…
The Abramoff scandal has spurred one of the episodic “reform” moments on Capitol Hill. Republicans and Democrats are competing to offer ethics reform packages that ignore entirely their past entanglement in the very activities they now seek to regulate or eliminate. Not all of these reforms are toothless, and if enacted and enforced, some may,…
The right wing columnist for the Wall St. Journal, Daniel Henninger, in a mocking column on the Democrats’ performance during the Samuel A. Alito Jr. nomination hearings called them “intellectually exhausted and politically befuddled.” Overall, with some exceptional moments, his description was not that far off the mark, though he also could have applied this…
Senate Judiciary CommitteeUS SenateWashington DC 20515 Dear Senators, As a long time observer of how Supreme Court nominees evade questions, I have two suggestions to make at the outset of the hearings. That Judge Samuel Alito be asked two questions: 1. Judge Alito, would you tell the Committee what is the criteria you are adopting…
A small conference was held on January 6th in Washington, DC about a big concern for tens of millions of American workers — the loss of free time due to the omnivorous demands of their workplace obligations. The gathering, which met to press for public policies which will give workers a better work/life balance, was…
PDF version of this letter Ralph NaderRobert WeissmanP.O. Box 19312Washington, D.C. 20036 January 5, 2006 Justice Antonin ScaliaSupreme Court of the United StatesWashington, D.C. 20543 Dear Justice Scalia, We are writing to inquire as to how the application of Bill of Rights and related constitutional protections to the artificial creations known as corporations can be…
It is hard to imagine the rise of the modern consumer movement without the leadership, resourcefulness, and sheer persistence of Ralph Nader, a self-described “public citizen” who has been at the forefront of scores of progressive campaigns over the past thirty years. Born in Winsted, Connecticut, and educated at Princeton and Harvard Law School, Nader…