Ralph Nader's Blog, page 26

New Book Shines Ways to Rebound Our Historic Postal Service

By Ralph Nader November 11, 2021 The preventable plight of the U.S. Postal Service, with its over 30,000 post offices, is an important issue for all Americans.  When President Donald J. Trump’s donor and henchman Louis DeJoy became postmaster general in 2020, he started to dismantle the agency.  Thousands of citizens responded by participating in…

Remarks by Ralph Nader regarding the filing today in federal district court in Chicago of the deal between the lawyers for Boeing and the lawyers for the bereaved families.

“It is a strange settlement without Boeing having to guarantee any dollars whatsoever. Plaintiffs gave up even the right to even argue for punitive damages in the Ethiopian manslaughter crash. They had to abandon discovery and depositions of former CEO Dennis Muilenburg and current CEO Dave Calhoun. Plaintiffs had to surrender their freedom of speech,…

Lament of a Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio Yankee Fan

By Ralph Nader November 5, 2021 Another World Series – the twelfth in a row – without the New York Yankees, the richest franchise in the Major Leagues. The reason for this fall of the once formidable Yankee baseball dynasty is not difficult to discern. It is inept, smug management starting with the 23-year reign…

“On Liberty” – Judge Learned Hand’s Wisdom from 1944 More True Today

By Ralph Nader October 29, 2021 When I was in Law School, among the most revered legal opinions were those by Judge Learned Hand of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. They were precisely reasoned, not verbose, and reflected a very cultivated sense of justice, in the judgment of my law school…

GOP Senators Reduced to McConnell Mush!

By Ralph Nader October 22, 2021 “Mush” barks McConnell and forty-nine Republican Senators, as if tied to a dog sled obey. The malicious McConnell – easily the most powerfully brutish, corporatist, citizen-blocking, lawless, corrupt Senator in modern American history – doesn’t even bother polling his Senators for their yea or nay on a myriad of…

Reporter’s Alert: Part VI

By Ralph Nader October 14, 2021 Reporters at major newspapers and magazines are hard to reach by telephone. Today it is increasingly hard to converse with them about timely scoops, leads, gaps in coverage, and corrections to published articles. We started an online webpage: Reporter’s Alert. From time to time, we use Reporter’s Alert to present suggestions for…

Solar Energy on the Frontlines and Old-Fashioned Clotheslines

By Ralph Nader October 7, 2021 Solar energy comes to Earthlings in many ways. Ancient Persians used passive solar architecture. East Africans about the same time funneled cool ocean wind through tunnels to cool themselves. Now at long last, solar energy is outpacing new fossil fuel and nuclear facilities on price, environmental safety, and speed…

How the “Polarized” Political Parties Work Together Against the Public Interest

By Ralph Nader October 1, 2021 “Polarization” is the word most associated with the positions of the Republicans and Democrats in Congress. The mass media and the commentators never tire of this focus, in part because such clashes create the flashes conducive to daily coverage. The quiet harmony between the two parties created by the…

Teach Youngsters About Corporatism’s Harms

By Ralph Nader September 24, 2021 If you think elementary, middle, and high school students know too little history, geography, and government, try asking them about the corporations that command so many hours of their day, their attention, what they consume, and their personal horizons. Howard Zinn published A Young People’s History of the United…

What Gives with Newspapers’ Graphic Artists?

By Ralph Nader September 17, 2021 The old saying that “art follows function” is being reversed by print newspaper editors alarmed over the shorter attention spans of readers who are moving to online news outlets. As a result, newspaper editors have ushered in a golden age for graphic artists giving them huge chunks of newspaper…