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Civilian control over the military is a long established democratic tradition in our country. It was the military that was believed by our founding fathers to be susceptible to plunging our country into foreign adventure. Presently, however, the boondoggles, crimes and recklessness of draft-dodging George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and former Air Force pilot, Donald…
Richard Cohen, the finely-calibrated syndicated columnist for the Washington Post, wrote a column on October 28, 2004 which commenced with this straight talk: “I do not write the headlines for my columns. Someone else does. But if I were to write the headline for one, it would be Impeach George Bush’.” Cohen stated the obvious…
Will this country ever again see the likes of a Senator from Wisconsin—William Proxmire—who passed away this month at age 90? He came to the Senate, replacing Senator Joseph McCarthy, in 1957 and left in 1989. He was the legislators’ legislator. No one worked harder, studied more, listened to more Congressional witnesses or cast more…
Senator Proxmire was the legislators’ legislator. No one worked harder, studied more, listened to more witnesses or cast more votes in the Senate without being absent. He was honest, diligent, intelligent, congenial, forthright and sensitive to the needs and rights of the American people. In an age of big money corrupting politics, Senator Proxmire was…
Senator Richard Shelby December 13, 2005110 Hart Senate Office BuildingUnited States Senate Washington, D.C. 20510 Dear Senator Shelby: I understand that very shortly Sen. Frist intends to slip into the Defense Appropriations bill a sweeping proposal that would immunize the drug industry from liability in the event of a pandemic outbreak. This provision was not…
Independent candidates and the American people are indebted to former United States Senator and five-time presidential candidate, Eugene McCarthy, for his many attempts to make the election process for both candidates and voters more free and open. He was a pioneer in bringing litigation to challenge the absence of ballot access laws for Independent candidates…
There are times when unchallenged commercial greed morphs into institutional insanity. I am referring to the overall advertising-saturated, trivialized performance of the media conglomerates’ utilization of our public airwaves 24 hours a day and their dominance of the ever-expanding scores of cable channels. Take a test. If you are an average consumer of TV or…
On my desk one morning I found a 378-page tome whose name is “Real Simple” with an intriguingly worded “Life Made Easier” subtitle. It was the week when the members of the American Anthropological Association were meeting in Washington, DC. Too bad there wasn’t a copy of “Real Simple” by each of the anthropologists’ hotel…
November 30, 2005 Postmaster General John E. PotterU.S. Postal Service475 L’Enfant Plaza, S.W.Washington, D.C. 20260 Dear Postmaster General Potter: As you know, Parcel Post was introduced almost a century ago to better serve the American people. (Lest we forget, it was introduced because parcel delivery companies’ adherence to strictly profit generating principles was denying good…
Testimony of Ralph NaderBefore the Committees on Finance and Revenue, and Economic DevelopmentDistrict of Columbia City CouncilNovember 28, 2005 Members of the Joint Committees, thank you for giving me the opportunity to present testimony. I would ask that my testimony be made part of the official record of this hearing. Last year in the District,…