In the Public Interest

In the outpouring of materials about national and global environmental crises, the concise booklet reports of the Washington-D.C. group known as Worldwatch stand out. Founded by the agricultural economist, Lester Brown, Worldwatch’s most recent Paper *86 covers the tragedy of “Environmental Refugees: A Yardstick of Habitability.” What is an environmental refugee? The 10,000 former residents…

The Presidential election is over and once again the issues of corporate power and abuses were overwhelmingly ignored in a dispiriting bipartisanship. This political taboo is, of course, the ultimate tribute to corporate power as well as a rejection of Jefferson’s belief that representative government should be a counter to the “monied interests.” But in…

In the week before the Presidential elections, Ronald Reagan made these three decisions: (1) Reagan pocket-vetoed the Whistleblowers Protection Act which provided safeguards for federal employees who speak out against corruption, waste or other wrongdoing in their agencies and departments. Existing law is too weak and many courageous civil servants, who have blown the whistle,…

No presidential candidate has blown more opportunities to score points with the voters against an incumbent (Reagan-Bush) government than has Michael Dukakis. In both debates, Dukakis seemed unwilling or unable to use the common language of common observation of today’s Washington. Let’s demonstrate with a few salvos based on what the newspapers have been reporting…

The ancient Greek physician, Hippocrates, said: “Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food.” In those days, there was little else to rely on. So over the centuries, until the era of synthetic drugs commenced in the 19th century, a folklore of food medicine developed all over the world. Until recently, organized medicine…

The National School Lunch Program feeds about 27 million children. For the many poor among them, this is the only purportedly balanced meal they will have all day. But just how balanced are these meals which are supposed to provide one third of the Recommended Dietary Allowances for calories and essential nutrients. Public Voice, a…

Of all the sagas of deterioration in consumer products that have opened the door to the success of importers in our country, none is more inexcusable than the decline of the Cadillac. During the past fifteen years, this premier model has been plagued with a variety of serious defects only exceeded by the technological stagnation…

William Grieder writes a regular column in Rolling Stone Magazine that analyzes political and economic issues having little to do with rock music and bands. In the August 11th issue, he reports on a burgeoning bank fiasco that may suck up more of your tax dollars than you can begin to guess. Grieder, who authored…

George Bush does not believe that the American people are interested in seeing Presidential debates this fall. His opponent, Michael Dukakis, wants to have four debates with the Vice-President. So, after numerous sessions between their respective negotiators, Dukakis and Bush will have only two debates, one on September 25th in North Carolina and the other…

Prominent scientists are warning that increasing combustion of oil, gas and coal is feeding the dreaded Greenhouse Effect — the warming of the planet with awesome consequences for climate and sea levels. Government economists are pointing to the inexorable climb of oil imports — nearing the 50% of domestic consumption level — to the United…