In the Public Interest

Twenty years ago, Dr. Carl Jensen, professor of communication studies at Sonoma State University in California, launched “Project Censored” in a valiant effort to make the American public more aware of the media’s “self censorship” which leaves the nation’s information plate so empty and unsatisfying. In the place of stories that should have provided the…

The growing corporate dismantling of our democracy flouts the lessons of history that demonstrate the critical role of countervailing powers to big business greed and power. Let’s look at some ways that our country has developed to curb and discipline business abuses. 1. The antitrust laws were passed between 1890 and 1914 to prohibit anti-competitive…

The corporate takeover of childhood is what marketing specialists euphemistically call “the integrated product marketplace.” That means tying together, through one conglomerate after another, television programming, advertising, music video, videogame, MTV, movies, food, cosmetics, clothing and other products to envelop children, by age groups, in a corporate product world. Even the schools are now objects…

Republicans in Congress never tire of exuding their fulminations against Big Government. They also never tire of their sham, for they are the leading supporters of that Big Government — such as the Federal Reserve and corporate welfare payouts — that caters to the endless demands of Big Business. Big Business is Big Government. How…

The recent orgy of forcing taxpayers to subsidize the multi‑millionaire owners of sports corporations shows no signs of abating as cities grovel to outbid one another. The bids normally range between $200 million to $400 million packages and the give­away contracts do not require any share of profits or any other kind of payback to…

On March 26th, the voters of California defeated three proposals on the ballot that would have destroyed or restricted the legal protections of injured motorists and other people swindled of their savings or harmed by defective products. About fifteen million dollars of computer, insurance and financial industry monies bankrolled these “democracy destroyers” behind a barrage…

Republicans in Congress are in a struggle with President Clinton over H.R. 956, a bill to federalize and restrict the state-based legal rights accorded injured persons who take the perpetrators of their harm to court. This legislation is by no means the full package that its business backers, including the insurance and tobacco industries, have…

Without exception the most authentic breath of fresh air running for the U.S. Senate on a major party ticket is Pat Quinn. He is battling to defeat Cong. Richard Durbin, a true corporate Democrat, in the Illinois Senatorial primary this month. Quinn is a remarkable man. As a citizen activist, he sparked a referendum in…

The waves of commercialism sweeping over the nation’s institutions of higher learning are becoming larger and more frequent. Many years ago, Universities and colleges were wary of business turning their institutions into partners, joint ventures and other deals. Now, more and more of these academies are actively bidding for business partnerships and encouraging their professors…

Suddenly basic economic and trade issues are front and center in national politics. Discussions of job security, stagnant wages, corporate ethics and flights of factories to Mexico are pushing out the endless renditions of balanced budgets, deficits and arcane tax proposals as the hot button issues. Belatedly, politicians and pundits are discovering that jobs and…