The Citizens’ Utility Board, or CUB, is a model approach for bringing together large numbers of diffuse consumers into a voluntary organization, which can then pursue a common citizen/consumer agenda in banking, insurance, housing or dozens of other arenas. I call it the “silicon chip” for the citizen movement because it is a low-cost, high … Read more
Let’s say you’re inclined to vote for Donald Trump largely because you dislike Hillary Clinton and are fed up with government messing up and serving Wall Street over Main Street. You’ve heard all the things said about Trump and it doesn’t make any difference because he says with absolute confidence that he is going to … Read more
If there is one glaring omission among the daily declarations of both empty suit Donald Trump and hawkish Hillary Clinton, it is the strategy for peace. They’ll tell us they want to do more than President Obama is doing to go after ISIS. They’ll tell us they want a more robust military without calling for … Read more
RALPH NADER – BREAKING THROUGH POWER: IT’S EASIER THAN WE THINK Politics & Prose Bookstore Saturday, October 1, 2016 at 1 p.m. 5015 Connecticut Ave NW Washington, DC 20008 One of The Atlantic’s hundred most influential figures in human history, Nader has been instrumental in the founding of scores of citizens groups as well as in the … Read more
Are the people ready for democracy? This question was leveled by monarchs, despots and authoritarian rulers post-World War II when stirrings for freedom in less developed countries blossomed. We often heard apologists for the western colonial powers—the British, French, Portuguese, etc.—say that the Indians, the Arabs and the Africans were not “ready for democracy.” By … Read more
To have a democratic society that brings out the best in its citizens, people have to show up — to vote, to attend city council meetings, rallies, marches and other serious gatherings that reflect the public interest. They also need to support progressive candidates and run for office. Showing up is half of democracy. We … Read more
Fifty years ago this month (on September 9, 1966), President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety laws that launched a great life-saving program for the American People. I was there that day at the White House at the invitation of President Johnson who gave me one of the signing … Read more
Watch the speech here.
The Center for Study of Responsive Law announces a four-day conference in Washington, D.C. The Breaking Through Power gathering commemorates the 50th anniversary year of Unsafe at Any Speed, which unleashed fresh civic energies and sparked the creation of numerous advocacy organizations and led to major consumer, environmental and worker safety protections. The theme of … Read more
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has recently advanced a clean energy plan which mandates that New York transition half of its energy needs to renewables by 2030. By regressive contrast, New York’s Public Service Commission (PSC) has approved enormous subsidies for three aging nuclear power plants―Ginna, Nine Mile Point and FitzPatrick―located in Upstate New York. … Read more
Saturday July 30th from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, and Sunday July 31st from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM Several local authors will be making an appearance to sign their books: Guilford resident Patricia Klindienst, signing The Earth Knows My Name: Food, Culture, and Sustainability in the Gardens of Ethnic Americans – 12:30 PM, Saturday … Read more