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It was the most extraordinary citizen organizing feat in recent White House history. Over 1200 Americans from 50 states came to Washington and were arrested in front of the White House to demonstrate their opposition to a forthcoming Obama approval of the Keystone XL dirty oil pipeline from Alberta, Canada down to the Gulf Coast.…

The all-consuming Washington, D.C. wrangling over debts and deficits, spending and taxing is excluding a large reality of how these financial problems can sensibly and fairly be addressed. These blinders in Congress and the White House come from fact-starved ideologies–mostly from the Republicans–and fear-fed meekness–mostly from the Democrats. Both are furiously dialing for commercial campaign…

What could start a popular resurgence in this country against the abuses of concentrated, avaricious corporatism? Imagine the arrogance of passing on to already cheated working people and the jobless enormous corporate losses? This is achieved through government bailouts and tax escapes. History teaches us that the spark usually is smaller than expected and of…

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Ken Reed, League of Fans Senior Issues Analyst [email protected] Initiative Would Positively Impact High School and Youth Sports As Well WASHINGTON, D.C. As the NCAA’s Final Four draws near, League of Fans, a Ralph Nader sports reform project, today called for our nation’s colleges and universities to take a bold step…

The Institute welcomed lawyer, consumer advocate, and former U.S. Presidential candidate Ralph Nader as its first Visiting Fellow in March, 2011. Mr. Nader held a press conference and gave a lecture titled “Canadian Independence: Salvation or Sacrifice to Canada-U.S. Relations” to approximately 400 guests on March 15, 2011. A book sale and signing followed the presentation. Mr. Nader’s complete…

It is astonishing how many Democrats in the past three months have been making the worst case scenario for their prospects in the November mid-term Congressional elections. Do they believe that the most craven Republican Party in history needs their help in such a self-fulfilling prophecy? The arguments that the Democratic pundits, along with some…

Katsuko Nomura—a builder of consumer, labor, cooperative and women’s rights groups for over 55 years in Japan—passed away this month at the age of 99. She was one of the most remarkable civic leaders anywhere in the world. With her range of activities, she could be called a world citizen. To recognize her indomitable spirit…

Bell, California, a working-class town of some 38,000 ten miles outside of Los Angeles, is a unique place. Its local government has proven to be citizen-proof, media proof, city-council proof and even leak-proof from inside its self-enriching top officialdom. Get this: Bell city manager. Robert Rizzo resigned a month ago after a Los Angeles Times…

Like a fresh wind coming down from Alaska — the state he represented as a U.S. Senator from 1969 — 1981, Mike Gravel is determined to start a debate about the fundamentals of democracy in his quest for the Democratic Party’s nomination for President. People who heard his address before the Democratic National Committee a…

Two state court jury verdicts against two banks–one in California and one in Texas–are sending national tremors through the merchants of debt. In El Paso, Texas, a jury awarded the Farah Manufacturing Co., a large clothing firm, $19 million to be paid by the State National Bank and other lenders. The trial, which took eight…