In the Public Interest

The Reagan Hangover – Exxon Spills & Deforestation

Historians may some day call these years the Reagan Hangover, but it took only a casual reader of newspapers to see the current consequences of Mr. Reagan’s unceasing and servile compliance with massive corporate delinquencies. The Exxon supertanker oil spill of ten million gallons of devastation to Prince William Sound and beyond in Alaska is…

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The Savings and Loan Bailout Pledge

In all that has been written about the gigantic savings and loan bank scandals, one observation is uniformly held by all parties and positions in ‘Washington — criminal fraud and insider abuse were the overwhelming factors in the insolvencies. Two weeks ago, the General Accounting Office (GAO), an investigative arm of the Congress, reported that…

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The Home Book

There was a kind of quizzical expression on Larry King’s face as he started interviewing me about our latest publication called “The Home Book.” It was as if to say: “why the home?” Fair question. The home is so familiar, yet so unknown. So much time is spent there, yet so little discovery is brought…

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TMI’s 10th Anniversary

On March 28, 1989, the tenth anniversary of the nation’s most serious nuclear accident will be observed by anti-nuclear groups around Three Mile Island (TMI) near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The events will serve to remind Americans that “those who ignore the lessons of history will be condemned to repeat them.” Who has learned the lessons of…

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Fire-Safe Cigarettes

The fire-safe cigarette may be on its way to market in a few years. Such an event would reduce the nearly 2000 fatalities and many more burn injuries that flow from the 46,000 fires which cigarettes start, due to careless or tipsy smokers, each year. What has revived hope for such a cigarette is a…

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Shoes, Shoes, Shoes

Shoes should not be designed to increase the risk of falling. Indeed, there is an industry-developed standard, published by the American Standards Institute, which requires a minimum of traction for the sole and heel. But this standard is a voluntary one and, anyhow, few consumers know about it. So when the shoe manufacturer places style…

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Pay Grab IV — Victory and Aftermath

On February 7th, Senator Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., rose on the floor of the Senate to say these words: “This is the hour that many of my colleagues hoped would never arrive. A strategy that many had counted on to put the President’s pay recommendations into effect without a vote in the other body has unraveled.”…

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Pay Grab III — The House Strike

In a fit of cowering frenzy, the bipartisan cabal of Speaker Jim Wright and Republican leader, Bob Michel, have shut down the House of Representatives until February 8th when they expect to get their Pay Raise of 51%. Forcing the House of Representatives to go on strike and lock out Representatives from raising this or…

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Pay Grab II

The showdown over the Reagan Salary Grab for top government officials of 51% or a $45,000 raise will reach a climax on February 8th. If both the House and Senate do not vote it down, by then, members of Congress, federal district court judges and top government officials will go to $135,000, plus many benefits,…

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Let’s Look at Reagan’s Record

The bands are ‘a playing, the flags are ‘a waving and the taxpayers are ‘a paying for Ronald Reagan’s finale and departure, as they have paid for the past eight years of fiscal and political profligacy. Elaborate publicity events, planned by White House public relations, are taking the media by storm. Nor are the supine…

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