In the Public Interest

Next month, the autobiography of Maggie Kuhn, founder of the Gray Panthers, comes to the bookstores. She gave her life the title “No Stone Unturned” and, verily, her grasp of the many dimensions of necessary change for a better society reflects that comprehensiveness. There has never been anyone quite like Maggie Kuhn in American history.…

Congress makes sure that it outfits itself with the best of most things. With nearly 25,000 staff aides and 535 members of the national legislature, there are gleaming new office buildings, latest office equipment, recreational gyms, cafeterias, and plush, “snap your fingers” services. Wallowing in its perks, Congress cannot even put on a show of…

Call them Susan and Roger, to protect their privacy. I met them twenty-five years ago in Washington, D.C. and their journalistic output, as contributors various trade publications was prodigious. They worked hard, were incorruptible and had an intricate sense of humor as they chronicled their way through Washington’s world of lobbying. They also smoked heavily.…

He was a curiously, automatic minion even then in the Seventies. The scene was the House Commerce Committee voting on several amendments to the consumer protection office bill designed to watchdog federal regulatory agencies that fail to uphold consumer protection laws. Each time, this young legislator took the cue from the business lobbyists and voted…

His name is Jerry Brown and he’s running for President. The two-time Governor of California visited us in mid-August brimming with energy and a message. As if breaking free from the invisible chains of past wealthy campaign contributors who make candidates prance and preen in fashionable Beverly Hills salons, he wants his soon to be…

J. Danforth Quayle wants to earn the $45,000 a year raise that President Bush secured for him through Congress. So he is applying his limited talents, on behalf of the big business lobby, to make life less safe and more painful for many Americans. The mechanism for Quayle’s hunt is an entity called the President’s…

August Erspamer, a retired 75 year old chemist, is the father of a son who is a schizophrenic patient at the Augusta Maine Mental Health Institute for 19 years. The elder Erspamer is a diligent, caring father. After meeting the Sandoz Pharmaceutical company, he is also a very indignant man on a crusade. He believes…

A tiny inch and a half news item in the July 21, Sunday New York Times brought forth once again the difference in news coverage of tragedies in the West compared to those in the Third World. The Associated Press news bite reported that “An unidentified disease that is fatal in six days has killed…

Well, here they go again. They won’t do anything about the massive government deficit, the massive giveaways, bailouts and scandals, but just before midnight Thursday, 53 Senators voted to raise Senate salaries by $23,200 to reach $125,100 a year plus generous benefits, perks and pensions. Senator Robert Byrd (D-W) gave three reasons for this hike…

Credit reports are becoming a major controlling process over the lives of millions of Americans. This is especially true when these reports contain inaccuracies, are used improperly or are employed in major invasions of privacy along with losses of employment, credit and insurance opportunities. There are three major credit bureaus in the United States. One…