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February 18, 2015 The Right Honourable Stephen Harper, P.C., M.P. 80 Wellington Street Ottawa, ON K1A 0A2 Dear Prime Minister: Many Americans love Canada and the specific benefits that have come to our country from our northern neighbor’s many achievements (see Canada Firsts by Nader, Conacher and Milleron). Unfortunately, your latest proposed legislation—the new anti-terrorism…
February 13, 2015 Jeff Smisek, CEO United Airlines, Inc. PO Box 06649 Chicago, IL 60606-0649 Dear Mr. Smisek, Two stories have come to public attention about your airline, which invites some serious introspection by you and your fellow executives who make millions of dollars a year. The first appeared in the January 23, 2015 edition…
The number of large foundations has been consistently increasing. Some of these foundations are bulging with billions of dollars in assets that could be contributed to nonprofit “good works.” It is potentially the golden age of philanthropy, but unfortunately many areas of recognized need are too often ignored by foundation boards and their executives. Organizations…
Over the years, discussions about who the mainstream media gives voice to and who it excludes are far too general. Editors bristle at the notion that they are anything but fair and objective. Sure, they concede that reporters miss stories, but appearances of bias or censorship, they say, are more likely due to laziness. Well,…
The President’s State of the Union Addresses are rarely focused. They are written by numerous speechwriters and put through many drafts, each reflecting the urgings by interested parties to have their issues mentioned. Often, this makes the speech sound like a grab bag of lists. But once up on the teleprompter before a joint session…
In May of 2014, financial firm Credit Suisse AG pled guilty to serious criminal charges. The giant bank aided and assisted approximately 22,000 wealthy U.S. taxpayers (whose names Credit Suisse AG escaped having to send to the Justice Department for law enforcement) for over a decade in filing false income tax returns and other documents…
It is a new year and I’d like to propose a new American tradition: making Birth Year legacy gifts to lift our country’s future. Many Americans born in the same year – say from 1924 to 1944 – could form a unique affinity group to conceive and fund endowed institutions that improve our country’s “life,…
Relations between Cuba and the United States have been tumultuous since Castro took control in January 1959 from the dictator Fulgencio Batista. Fidel Castro and Fidelistas won a revolution and were determined to keep it at all costs. While the United States government was determined to do whatever was necessary – invasion, espionage, assassination attempts…
December 22, 2014 President Barack Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20500 Dear President Obama: The end of the year and the completion of an unproductive session of Congress is an appropriate time to suggest some important matters for your close attention for next year. Your visit to the National Institutes…
1. The Invisible Soldiers by Ann Hagedorn (Simon & Schuster, 2014). Ann Hagedorn, a former reporter for the Wall Street Journal tells the troubling story of the corporatization of America’s national security—a “bold, new industry of private military and security companies,” embedded deeply in and sometimes outnumbering our armed forces and always pressing for more…