Ralph Nader's Blog, page 28

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…

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…