Ralph Nader's Blog, page 64

Letter to Energy Secretary Steven Chu

March 28, 2011



Secretary Steven Chu

U.S. Department of Energy

1000 Independence Ave., SW

Washington, DC 20585



Dear Secretary Chu:



Now after several requests spanning two years, will you meet directly with the following environmental groups with solid standing who are critical of nuclear power’s economics, safety and safeguards?* You are the President’s chief cabinet member on energy matters and as such have met more than once with nuclear industry representatives and have written in favor of this technology.
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Obama's March Madness

President Obama’s pick of Kansas to win the “March Madness” collegiate basketball tournament ended with their defeat by Virginia Commonwealth University this past Saturday. He must know how the Jay Hawks are feeling because he is entangled in his own March Madness that will continue after this month ends.
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League of Fans Proposes Eliminating Athletic Scholarships to Help Restore Integrity on College Campuses

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ken Reed, League of Fans Senior Issues Analyst

ken.reed@leagueoffans.org



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 toward restoring academic integrity in intercollegiate sports by eliminating the athletic scholarship.
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Nuclear Nightmare

The unfolding multiple nuclear reactor catastrophe in Japan is prompting overdue attention to the 104 nuclear plants in the United States—many of them aging, many of them near earthquake faults, some on the west coast exposed to potential tsunamis.
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Letter to Vice President Joe Biden on Wisconsin Protests

Dear Vice President Biden:



Word has reached us from reliable sources that the unions in Wisconsin tendered an invitation sometime last week or earlier for you to appear at one of the growing rallies in Madison protesting the legislative straitjacketing of public employee unions. Since you have just returned from trips to Russia and other autocratic nations where you talked about facilitating more democracy and competitive elections, it was no surprise for us to hear from our sources that you were eager to go to Madison. After all, you like to call yourself a “union guy”.
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PBS-NPR-Leaning Right

The tumultuous managerial shakeup at National Public Radio headquarters for trivial verbal miscues once again has highlighted the ludicrous corporatist right-wing charge that public radio and public TV are replete with left-leaning or leftist programming.
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Selling Out Injured Baby Rights

New York State's Governor Andrew Cuomo will be judged harshly by history if he doesn't reverse his position supporting limiting the legal rights of brain damaged babies. Imagine a life-time $250,000 cap on pain and suffering and families having to endure a burdensome and humiliating struggle to get medical bills paid as they arise from an insurance funded entity.


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'Mad as Hell' in Madison

The large demonstrations at the state Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin are driven by a middle class awakening to the spectre of its destruction by the corporate reactionaries and their toady Governor Scott Walker.


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Time to Topple Corporate Dictators

The 18 day non-violent Egyptian protests for freedom raise the question: is America next? Were Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine around, they would likely say “what are we waiting for?” They would be appalled by the concentration of economic and political power in such a few hands. Remember how often these two men warned about concentrated power.
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Civic Institutions Essential for Egypt’s Democracy

Colman McCarthy, a former Washington Post writer and founder of the Center for Teaching Peace, must be very happy with the news from Egypt. For twenty-five years, McCarthy has been persuading high schools and colleges to adopt peace studies in their curriculum (for more information, contact him at cmccarthy@starpower.net). Now he has another example of a largely non-violent revolution—led by young people of all backgrounds—successfully ousting a dictatorial regime.


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