In the Public Interest

On May 29, 1979, Maryland Gov. Harry Hughes “reluctantly” (say his aides) signed House Bill 161 into law. As a result, more motorcyclists who could have survived crashes will die every year in the state. For House Bill 161 repeals the requirement that adults wear protective head gear if they operate or ride a motorcycle.…

An important group always has been missing during the decades of interactions between the broadcast­ing industry, the FCC and the Con­gress. The missing group is what these three parties always are deliber­ating about. But they seem uninter­ested in providing it with a well-equipped right of access. The group of course is the television and radio…

If influential Republican Senators Howard Baker of Tennessee, Ted Stevens of Alaska and Paul Laxalt of Nevada followed their words with action, they could save consumers between $68 billion and $94 billion in oil prices between 1979 and 1985 and hand President Carter a stunning defeat that millions of inflation-pressed Americans would applaud. In recent…

It could have been one of those rare White House scenes that speaks a million words to a receptive public. It could have been, but it wasn’t. A few days ago, a group of top auto executives met privately with President Carter to complain about federal fuel efficiency standards for cars of the early 1980s0…

Sen. Alan Cranston, D-Calif., ordinarily is a soft-spoken person as well as one of President Carter’s chief congressional supporters. But two weeks ago he demanded that the president fire Energy Secretary James R. Schlesinger “at once,” calling him “ineffective, insensitive and at times an embarrassment to the president and Congress.” Senate Democratic Whip Cranston joined…

The phone rang early Monday morning after the largest citizen demonstration in Washington since the anti-war and civil rights marches. It was the White House calling the May 6 Coalition which sponsored that day’s anti-nuclear overflow gathering by the U.S. Capitol. Would the coalition send some people to meet with President Carter before noon? What…

I’ve been reading through Jimmy Carter’s pre-presidential statements on energy recently. They offer quite a contrast to his present unabashed endorsement of the craven power of big business in the past months. Here are some samples then and now: June 26, 1975–“At this time this nation has no comprehensive national energy policy for the benefit…

It’s springtime on the college campus. A few springs ago students streaking naked across the quadrangle received front page and TV network news coverage. The popularity of a recent movie, “Animal House,” further reinforced the public’s image of college students returning, after the turbulence of the ’60s, to the traditional folds of prolonged adolescence, beer…

“But what can people do?” cried the hand-wringing veteran radio talk show host in frustration. He had just been through a fast-paced give and take with his very upset listeners about high prices, dangerous products and the abject refusal of politicians to stand tall. The answer to that question is quite decentralized. Each person has…

In San Jose, Calif., three VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) workers helped organize a food co-op in a lower-income neighborhood. They also are developing a store on wheels to reach elderly and handicapped people. In the Harvey, Ill., VISTA, Joe Horan helped a community group form a consumer committee which reached an agreement with…