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Dirty Diapers

March 10, 1992
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It is time to add new claims concocted to capitalize on the environmental ethic to the junk heap of corporate America’s marketing claims.Like many Madison Avenue claims, most of them are half-truths, or half-solutions. Unfortunately, environmental problems demand more than corporate America’s wasteful, business-as-usual offerings painted a friendly shade of green. The battle being waged…

Postmaster Frank Resignation

February 29, 1992
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Postmaster General Anthony Frank departs his position on March 10 and leaves behind a bizarre trail of behavior and priorities. Last year, viewers watching the Dave Letterman show were treated to the sudden appearance of Mr. Frank on the edge of the stage set. Letterman introduced him and kept him standing on the sidelines while…

Bush – NH – Domestic Short Sightedness

February 24, 1992
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Since the Red Menace is now, not the Soviet bloc, but the wildly surging national debt ($4 trillion), $400 billion annual federal deficits, the debts of states, municipalities and the huge debt burdens of many leveraged, large corporations, the next few generations will have quite a legacy to remember their forebears by every day. Paying…

Gag Orders – Personal Injury Suits Involving a Product or Condition of Pub Hazard

February 14, 1992
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“Lives would be saved if people knew.” That was the bell-ringing sentence in the testimony a year ago by Barbara Arbuckle, 27, before a state legislative hearing in Washington state that was considering a bill to end gag orders and sealed settlements in personal injury lawsuits involving a product or condition of public hazard. Ms.…

Sun Day 1992

February 10, 1992
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In two months, citizens from across the United States will gather in town halls, along riversides, and in public parks to challenge the corporate energy giants that have inflicted global climate change, oil spills, air pollution, acid rain, and radioactive emissions and waste on the earth and its inhabitants. April 22, 1992 is Sun Day,…

Texas Product Liability

February 3, 1992
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Houston — An astonishing display of backroom dealing between usually contending parties has surfaced through the ooze of Texas politics in Austin — the state capital. For ten months, the tobacco, liquor and drug lobbies have been secretly negotiating with a small handful of plaintiffs’ trial lawyers over how much to weaken the rights of…

Bush’s Economic Proposal

February 2, 1992
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The conservative Washington Post editorial page called George Bush’s economic proposals in his state of the union speech “The Lollipop Budget.” It indeed did appear to have something for almost everybody at first glance. But at second glance the speech was vintage patrician Bush. He asked no sacrifices from the rich and powerful except one.…

Dixville Notch, NH

January 27, 1992
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Dixville Notch, NH — I finally visited Dixville Notch, population — 40 people with around 28 voters. You may remember that every four years, the voters of Dixville Notch cast their ballots for the Presidential Primary by 12:01 a.m. on election day. By 12:05 a.m. they are counted, the voting is complete and the nation…

“Leave No Child Behind” George Bush Sr and Children

January 20, 1992
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“One thing I’m going to do,” the gentleman said to a large audience, “is to raise the level of public debate on how best to help our children. I’m going to talk and talk and talk until our country is working together to reach our children.” That was George Bush speaking, while campaigning for the…

Corporate Welfare

January 12, 1992
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Lo, the poor taxpayer! At all levels of government, thousands of companies are feeding at the taxpayers’ trough. Washington has become a burgeoning accounts receivable for large corporations on welfare. So numerous and diverse and circuitous are these programs — subsidies, bailouts, giveaways, loan guarantees, tax expenditures (tax breaks), inflated contracts, product promotion, protections from…