Ralph Nader's Blog, page 27

Congress – Collectively Less Than An Inkblot

By Ralph Nader September 10, 2021 Bruce Fein, constitutional law specialist who has testified before Congress approximately 200 times, calls Congress “an inkblot.” Let’s see if he is exaggerating. 1. Congress has abdicated its duties and constitutional authorities to the president regardless of party affiliation. Presidents start wars, spend unauthorized money recklessly, defy congressional subpoenas,…

Statement on Acadia Spring Water Safety

For Immediate Release September 3, 2021 In the summer of 2019, there was a mass recall of bottled water sold under the store brand Acadia across New England. A bottling facility, Spring Hill Farm Dairy, was responsible for the packaged water with elevated levels of toxic, man-man chemicals known as PFAS. Despite this finding, many…

Microchip, Macro Impact, Micro Vision

By Ralph Nader September 2, 2021 Let’s say you’re looking to invest some savings in the expanding micro-chip industry and a friend hands you the 2021 Annual Report of the Delaware (chartered) Corporation, Microchip Technology, a firm based in Chandler, Arizona. You’re a studious type and want to know what the company is producing before…

A Beacon Rises from Capitol Hill

By Ralph Nader August 26, 2021 The idea didn’t come from a newly arrived Harvard or Yale Congressional staffer. They mostly feel sufficiently anointed to the ways of Capitol Hill – getting along with style while going along for ambition. Jacob Wilson, hailing from Pomona College in California, has a different definition of self-respect, and…

The Fall of the House of Cuomo – Lessons Unlearned

By Ralph Nader August 20, 2021 The resignation of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo invites comparisons, historical context, and proposals for the future. First, the comparisons: Former President Donald J. Trump must be chuckling. As the worst sexual predator to rule the White House, he must be wondering about the “weak” (his word) loser who…

“Nobody is Above the Law” – Except The “Big Boys”

By Ralph Nader August 14, 2021 Law schools should have courses on the expanding immunities of government and corporate officials from criminal prosecution and punishment. Guest lecturers, speaking from their experience, could be Donald J. Trump, George W. Bush (criminal destruction of Iraq), Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, the Sackler Family of…

Fallacies of Political Labelism

By Ralph Nader August 6, 2021 Alexander Burns is a leading political affairs analyst for the New York Times.  Unfortunately, even he has accepted the ill-defined political labelism swallowed wholesale by his journalistic colleagues. Words to describe Democratic politicians as “moderate,” “centrist,” “center-left,” “center-right,” “leftist,” or House Democratic Caucus Chair, Hakeem Jeffries’ recent denunciatory nomenclature…

Statement by Ralph Nader on the Passing of AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka

Richard Trumka took the hard road from working in the coal mines to heading the United Mine Workers and becoming president of the AFL-CIO. He was the voice of organized and unorganized labor all over the country. A constant reader of labor history and social justice books, he knew full well about the burgeoning damage…

Collapsing Federal Corporate Crime Enforcement

By Ralph Nader July 30, 2021 As the size and severity of the corporate crime wave surges, Congress is asleep at the switch. The mostly captive Capitol Hill Gang has sat on an antiquated federal criminal code, starved the budget of regulatory health, safety, and consumer/labor protection agencies, and let corporate crooks routinely get away…

Inside Bezos – A Five-Year Old Boy – Outside, A Cunning Extraterrestrial Profiteer

By Ralph Nader July 23, 2021 Jeff Bezos touched down after his 10 minutes, 10 second vertical 66 mile zoom above Earth. He felt so on top of the Earth that he agreed to one-on-one interviews with a gaggle of salivating reporters. Looking over a list of their names, he spotted journalist Greg Galaxy and…