In the Public Interest

Last week, Open Debates (see Opendebates.org), a nonprofit, non-partisan organization, whose purposes I support, filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) against the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) which was created and is controlled by the Republican and Democratic Parties. Open Debates charged, with documentation, that the CPD is not non-partisan but is…

From the failed savings and loan bailout racket to the stately giant redwood trees of Humboldt County, California, the story of the predator corporation Maxxam — Pacific Lumber someday may make a movie on corporate arrogance and abuse. The storyline has taken a bizarre twist today, some years after Maxxam bought out a family-owned lumber…

We pass by them without a murmur of salutation or gratitude. Yet we could not function without them. We would never do their work, yet they are among the lowest paid laborers in our country. Their numbers are growing fast. There are millions of them. They are the cleaners of America. They clean our airports…

Each day the news becomes more ominous regarding the spread of a “bird flu” or avian influenza through nine east Asian countries. Millions of chickens have died from this disease and millions more have been slaughtered to stop the spread to humans. For now, humans can contract this flu by direct contact with the fowl’s…

 In reading the latest news reports of uncontrollable corporate greed, I recalled the cover of Fortune Magazine about 2 years ago which headlined the runaway compensation packages of the big corporate bosses and why nothing would be done about it. Also recalled was the Business Week cover story in the year 2000 titled “Too Much…

You have heard, no doubt, about Michael Jackson’s troubles, but have you heard about a new Presidential Citizens’ Debate Commission being established that could give Americans more choices and voices when they watch these debates later this autumn? Probably not. This is the trouble with the media’s sense of what is news and what is…

T.S. Elliot once wrote, “April is the cruelest month. . . .” He wasn’t referring to the unfilled promise of The New York Auto Show – which is featuring “advances” in automotive engineering this week at the Javits Convention Center in New York City. But anyone who has visited this event knows – the distance…

Rising consumer debt- much of it fueled by deceptive credit card operations, predatory lending and other “easy credit” schemes-is casting a dark cloud across the national economy. The numbers paint a sad picture of low, moderate and middle income citizens caught in impossible burdens of debt plus mounting fees and late charges. In the Public…

Perusing through a history book as a college student, I came across a jolting declaration in a footnote by one of the most highly decorated soldier of the twentieth century. He said: “I spent 33 years in the Marines, most of my time being a high-class muscle man for big business, for Wall Street and…

Imagine a businessman, consumer advocate and whistleblower all in one person. He is John Munsell, owner of the family business Montana Quality Foods, Inc. Mr. Munsell charged that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) tried to drive him out of business because he exposed the department’s failure to act on evidence that the giant ConAgra…