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The massive multibillion dollar corporate subsidy bills for synthetic fuels (mostly from coal and shale oil) that are roaring through a panic-stricken Congress hide a far more insidious objective than wasting taxpayer money. An all-out attack on citizen rights to challenge these uneconomic and environmentally harmful boondoggles is designed to be part of this package…
The family of Mother Hilda would not consider a nursing home for her when she became house-ridden from rheumatoid arthritis 15 years ago when she was 70 years old. It was out of the question four years ago when, she became partially bedridden. And it also was out of the question when a year and…
Two Americans, one anonymous and one not, have recently initiated two interesting ideas to advance consumer muscle in a corporate-dominated economy. The first idea is contained in a letter which, aided by ubiquitous copying machines, has been spreading rapidly throughout the country. Whoever the writer may be, she or he has struck a chord with…
Suppose you are a senator or representative mulling over what to do about the Big Oil companies. Your constituents are demanding that something be done about gas lines, sky-high gasoline prices, refineries operating well below capacity, gasoline being diverted by U.S. oil companies from their West Indies refineries to Europe, official figures showing crude oil…
A nursing home was out of the question for the family of Mother Hilda when she became houseridden from rheumatoid arthritis 15 years ago when 70 years old. It was out of the question four years ago when she became partially bedridden. And, it also was out of the question when 1 1/2 years ago…
Toby Cagan had a lemon — a Chrysler lemon called an Aspen. This in itself is not unusual, given that company’s horrendous recall record of late. What is unique is that Toby Cagan fought back and won. Right from the start, Ms. Cagan’s 1977 Aspen showed its colors. Stalling, a difficult steering column, sticky windows…
On May 29, 1979, Maryland Gov. Harry Hughes “reluctantly” (say his aides) signed House Bill 161 into law. As a result, more motorcyclists who could have survived crashes will die every year in the state. For House Bill 161 repeals the requirement that adults wear protective head gear if they operate or ride a motorcycle.…
An important group always has been missing during the decades of interactions between the broadcasting industry, the FCC and the Congress. The missing group is what these three parties always are deliberating about. But they seem uninterested in providing it with a well-equipped right of access. The group of course is the television and radio…
If influential Republican Senators Howard Baker of Tennessee, Ted Stevens of Alaska and Paul Laxalt of Nevada followed their words with action, they could save consumers between $68 billion and $94 billion in oil prices between 1979 and 1985 and hand President Carter a stunning defeat that millions of inflation-pressed Americans would applaud. In recent…
It could have been one of those rare White House scenes that speaks a million words to a receptive public. It could have been, but it wasn’t. A few days ago, a group of top auto executives met privately with President Carter to complain about federal fuel efficiency standards for cars of the early 1980s0…