In Pursuit of Justice: Collected Writings 2000#2003

Ralph Nader

Seven Stories Press, Jun 1, 2004 - Political Science - 520 pages

Ralph Nader is one of America’s most controversial—and uncompromising— public figures. He is a man on a mission who believes that taking on the powers that be involves more than just talking about it—it also means taking action. From car safety in the 1960s to opposition to the World Trade Organization in the 1990s, Nader’s work has increased government responsiveness to citizens, served as a check against the abuse of power by big business, and shaped the political consciousness of a nation. Nader’s sense of mission is infused in all of his work, especially his weekly columns. In Pursuit of Justice, a collection of Nader’s most recent, trenchant articles written in the years immediately following the publication of The Ralph Nader Reader, Nader addresses a broad array of issues, among them: corporate crime and power, government accountability, media control, consumer rights, healthcare, congressional reform, nuclear power and energy, racial discrimination, poverty, food and drug safety, air and water pollution, fair taxation, product liability protection, union democracy, living family wage, unfair lending practices, community radio, industrial hemp, banking, pension law, telecommunications and the importance of character. Nader has even sponsored consumer initiatives to reform university governance, educational testing, daily newspapers, women's health care, legal services, and professional sports—all of which are reflected in these sharp and sometimes humorous essays.
As informative as it is pleasurable to read, section after section of In Pursuit of Justice slices through government and corporate propaganda and reveals the corruption, bias and injustice that all too often connect politics with big business, thereby impeding the pursuit of justice. Collecting more than one hundred of his most recent writings, In Pursuit of Justice conveys Nader's inimitable sense of both the global political economy and our nation's democratic promise.

Contents

• Corporate Power: 15
• War is a Racket: 17
• AEIOut of Touch: 19
• Wall Street Accountability: 21
• The SEC: 23
• Corporate AmericaTrading with the Enemy: 25
• Shed No Tears for CEOs: 27
• Corporate Freeloaders: 29
• Overspending on the Military: 30
• Pay It Back and Go To Jail: 32
• Citigroup Heal Thyself: 34
• The Secret World of Banking: 36
• Money That Corrupts: 38
• A Fine Deal for Merrill Lynch: 40
• Backwards Into the Future: 42
• Large Corporations Lack Allegiance to US: 43
• Corporate Profiteering after 911: 45
• Runaway Compensation Packages: 47
• NYSE and Greedy Grasso: 49
• Revolving Door Corporate Executives: 51
• Pension Takeaway: 53
• Corporate Crime: 55
• Microsoft Remedies: 57
• No Cheerleader for Corporations: 59
• A Groundbreaking Lawsuit against DaimlerChrysler: 60
• Curbing Microsofts Monopolistic Practices: 63
• Bill Marriott Demands Corporate Welfare: 64
• Merger Mania: 65
• Corporate Power and Measure: 67
• Media and Commercialism: 69
• Signs of Societal Decay: 71
• The Big SnApple: 73
• Commercial and Civic Values at the Neighborhood Level: 75
• Gardening: 77
• Giving Our Airwaves to the Media Moguls: 79
• MSNBC Sabotages Donahue: 80
• Corporate Appropriation of Public Resources: 82
• A Corporate State: 85
• Corporations Not Real People: 86
• McDonalds and First Fry: 88
• Corporate Sin: 90
• Online Education Pitfalls: 91
• Privatizing Public Services: 93
• Privatization of Government: 95
• Companies Can Have a Conscience: 97
• LowPower Community Radio Stations: 99
• The Danger of Standardized Tests: 100
• The Airwaves Belong to the People: 102
• Stop Marketing to Kids: 104
• Dangerous and Inefficient: 105
• Kids and Advertising: 107
• The Maternity Ward Marketplace: 109
• Power FM to the People: 111
• Channel One: 113
• Opinion Oligopoly Dittoheads: 114
• Privatizing Social Security: 116
• Environment and Health: 119
• Pharmaceutical Prices: 121
• The Energy Boondoggle: 122
• The Energy Disaster: 124
• The Blue Frontier: 126
• Government Purchasing Leverage: 128
• Zoonotic Diseases: 130
• The Quest for the Fuel Efficient Car: 131
• GM Keeps Fuel Efficiency in the Dark Ages: 133
• Why is Industrial Hemp Still Illegal?: 135
• Nuclear Plants Post 911: 137
• Senior Citizens Face High Drug Costs: 139
• Patients Rights Legislation: 141
• Closing Refineries and the Energy Crisis: 143
• Irradiation Craze: 145
• Dick Cheney and Energy Conservation: 146
• Tritium Production Nuclear Proliferation: 148
• Mad Cow Disease: 150
• Factory Farm Mergers: 152
• Environmentalist David Brower Remembered: 154
• Genetic Engineering and the Taco Bell Crisis: 156
• Exxon Hasnt Paid Valdez Spill Victims: 158
• Department of Energy Caters to the Needs of Fossil Fuel Industries: 160
• HMOsMaking a Killing: 162
• Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles: 164
• AntiEnvironment Riders: 166
• Renewable Energy Now: 168
• Car Makers and Air Pollution: 170
• Civil RightsCivil LibertiesCivil Justice: 173
• MTBE Bailout: 175
• Dont Call: 177
• Privacy Rights: 179
• The Triumvirate and Our Civil Liberties: 180
• Selling Victims Rights: 183
• Level the Playing Field for Womens Sports: 185
• The Malpractice Crisis: 187
• Trent LottWords and Deeds on Race: 189
• Predatory Lending: 191
• Insuring Medical Malpractice: 193
• Bankruptcy Reform: 195
• Payday Loans: 197
• AntiCivil Liberties: 199
• Homeland Housing: 201
• Congress Hides Votes: 203
• Protecting Consumer Privacy: 205
• Lending Ripoffs: 207
• Advancing Voter Participation: 209
• Statehood for DC: 210
• CocaCola and Race: 212
• Congress Weakens Privacy Rights: 214
• GovernmentImagination and Stagnation: 217
• The Race to the Bottom: 219
• Citizencentric EGovernment: 221
• Let Technology Work for People: 223
• Making Government Sponsored Enterprises Accountable: 225
• New Bank Failures: 227
• The Federal Reserves Power: 229
• Congress Easy on Insurance Industry: 231
• Transportation Infrastructure: 233
• New Rules Publication on Banking: 235
• FDIC: 237
• California Insurance Deregulation Debacle: 239
• Rebuild Our Infrastructure: 241
• Childrens Defense Fund: 243
• John Graham and OMB: 244
• Greenspan Speaks: 246
• DeregulationBeware: 248
• The Future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: 250
• Financial Modernization Legislation: 252
• The Insurance Lobby: 254
• Standing to Hold Government Accountable: 256
• Aviation Industry Failing to Upgrade Safety Programs: 258
• Consumer Protection Agency Still Needed: 260
• Corporate Lobbyists and Their Government Buddies: 262
• Make the Fed Follow the Rules: 263
• Consumers Seeking Airline Leg Room: 265
• Oil Companies Defraud US Government: 266
• Putting Public Works First: 268
• Corporate Welfare: 269
• Truckin Past Safety Regulations: 271
• The Corporate Culture of Violence: 273
• A Free Ride for Insurance Companies: 275
• Global and Labor Concerns: 277
• The Job Export Machine: 279
• Bush Dodges Iraq Meeting with Civic Leaders: 281
• Ignoring the Caution Signs in Iraq: 283
• The West Texas Sheriff: 285
• Outsourcing Accountability: 287
• A WorkingClass Hero: 289
• IMF Deregulation and the Tobacco Industry: 291
• GATS the WTO and Society: 293
• The Labor Party: 295
• The TaftHartley Act and Union Organizing: 296
• The Fast Food Legacy: 298
• Taking on the Corporate Government in an Age of Surrender: 300
• United Students Against Sweatshops: 301
• No Lockout No Strike: 303
• A Voice for Labor: 305
• Democrats Role in OSHA Repeal: 306
• The Need for Unions: 308
• Minimum WageTime for a Raise: 310
• Strengthen OSHA: 312
• The UNCozy with Corporations: 313
• Return to the Jungle: 315
• Business War on Labor: 317
• ThirdWorld Smoking: 318
• Free Trade in Executive Talent from ThirdWorld Countries: 321
• China and Trade: 323
• IMFWorld Bank Protest: 324
• AntiBribery Law Rarely Enforced: 326
• Seattle and the WTO: 328
• AntiSweatshop Movement: 330
• AIDS in Africa: 332
• Affordable HIVAIDS Drugs for Africa: 334
• Consumers and the Economy: 337
• USDA vs John Munsell and Safe Meat: 339
• Shelving the CSE Reforms: 341
• Binding Arbitration Traps: 343
• Consumer News: 345
• Credit Card Crunch: 347
• Tax Cuts and the Homeless: 350
• Wiping out State Protections for Consumers: 352
• The Bankruptcy Shuffle: 354
• Preempting States Rights: 356
• The Cost and Confusion of Real Estate Settlements: 358
• A Banking Agenda for the Senate: 360
• Punishing the Poor to Bail out the Credit Pushers: 362
• The Better World Travel Club: 364
• The Meat Monopoly: 366
• Cable and Telephone Industry Abuses: 368
• Lemon Laws for Computers: 369
• ATM Fees: 371
• The Poor Still Pay More: 373
• Overbilling by Utilities: 375
• Electronic Signature Problems: 376
• Microsoft Settlement Should Be Kept Public: 378
• Greenspan Doesnt Represent America: 380
• Health Care Fraud: 382
• Financial Modernization is a Consumer RipOff: 384
• Publicly Owned Local Utilities Work: 386
• Internet Retailing: 387
• Real Estate Industry Cashes in with Stealth Strategy: 389
• NoFault Car InsuranceNo Bargain: 391
• Enforce Antitrust Laws Now: 392
• How to Beat High Insurance Rates: 394
• Taxpayer Appreciation Day: 395
• The Fed as Regulatory Czar: 397
• Financial Industry Nickels and Dimes Consumers: 399
• Observations and Inspirations: 403
• Important Tidbits: 405
• Addiction Substance Abuse and the Gender Cap: 407
• So Many Calls So Few Answers: 409
• Senator Paul Wellstone: 410
• Whirlwind Wheelchairs: 412
• Consumers Get No Respect: 414
• Leaders with Fortitude: 416
• Solutions to Rising Health Care Costs: 418
• Texans for Public Justice: 419
• The Refreshing Southwest Airlines: 421
• A Community Leader: 423
• Our Nation is Obsessed with Statistics: 424
• Living Wage May Lower Street Crime: 426
• Democracy at Risk: 428
• Luxury and Excess: 430
• Gene StilpA Prop for Any Protest: 432
• Governor Davis and Civics 101: 434
• Granny D Wants to Clean Up Politics: 435
• George Sherwood the Public Citizen: 437
• Giuliani Plants Corporate Welfare: 438
• Joe DiMaggio: 440
• Detroits Snow Policy: 442
• Political Games and Shames: 445
• The Platform is the Partys Contract with the People: 447
• The Corporatist Democratic Leadership Council: 449
• The AllKnowing InstinctDriven President: 451
• A JudiciallySelected Dictator: 453
• The RoboCandidate: 456
• The Tweedledee and Tweedledum Midterm Elections: 457
• Open Letter to the Democratic Party: 459
• Holding Political Candidates Feet to the Fire on Corporate Crime: 461
• The Highway Robbery Lobby: 463
• The Exclusionary Commission on Presidential Debates: 464
• Soft Campaign Reforms: 466
• Congress Feigns Shock over Enron: 467
• Congress Needs to Clamp Down on Future Enrons: 469
• Another Insurance Bailout: 471
• Airline Giveaways: 473
• Time for New Reforms: 475
• The Tough on Crime Party: 477
• NorquistReagan Legacy Project: 479
• Bushs TaxCut Proposal: 481
• Ashcroft and the Law: 483
• Federal Inheritance Tax Giveaway: 484
• Dreary Campaigns: 486
• Limited Debates: 488
• Congress Pulls the Shades on Net: 490
• Shaking the Money Tree: 492
• Al Gore Sells Out: 493
• Index: 497

About the author

Born in Connecticut in 1934, RALPH NADER has spent his lifetime challenging corporations and government agencies to be more accountable to the public. His 1965 book Unsafe at Any Speed permanently altered the course of a reckless U.S. automobile industry and made Nader a household name. His lobbying and writing on the food industry helped to ensure that the food we buy is required to pass strict guidelines before reaching the consumer. One of Nader’s greatest achievements was his successful lobbying for a 1974 amendment to the Freedom of Information Act, which gave increased public access to government documents. Over the years he has co-founded the public interest groups Public Citizen, Critical Mass, Commercial Alert, and the Center for the Study of Responsive Law. His 2000 presidential campaign on the Green Party ticket served to broaden the scope of debate on the nation’s priorities. Named by the Atlantic as one of the hundred most influential figures in American history, Nader continues to be a relentless advocate for grassroots activism and democratic change. He lives in Washington, D.C.

Bibliographic information

• Title: In Pursuit of Justice: Collected Writings 2000#2003
• Author: Ralph Nader
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Seven Stories Press, 2004
• ISBN: 158322629X, 9781583226292
• Length: 520 pages
• Subjects: History / United States / 21st Century; Political Science / Civics & Citizenship; Political Science / Public Policy / Social Policy