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News Releases

  • Ford-Firestone and Beyond: Car Safety and Broader Issues

    JOAN CLAYBROOK President of Public Citizen, Claybrook said today: “As lawmakers delve into the Ford-Firestone tragedy, a larger issue needs to be addressed: Rollover crashes are dangerous, but they need not be deadly. The federal regulatory agency that oversees the companies has failed the American public. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — under constant pressure from auto manufacturers — doesn’t require companies to design vehicles in a way that will help people survive rollover crashes. Indeed, the NHTSA has never set a limit on how unstable a vehicle may be. Ford and Firestone have been blaming each other for…

  • With Battle Set to Begin in Senate Today, Analysts Assess “Patients’ Bill of Rights”

    With the Senate scheduled to begin debate today on proposals for a patients’ bill of rights, there were news reports this morning that Republican leaders will seek a delay. Meanwhile, some medical policy critics contend that the proposed Senate measures are too narrow in scope. The following policy analysts are available for interviews: QUENTIN YOUNG, M.D. National coordinator of Physicians for a National Health Program, Young said today: “The heart of our problem is the takeover of health care by corporate interests. Having the right to sue an HMO is an attempt to seek justice after the HMO has inflicted…

  • Foreign Policy: Bush’s European Visit, Pentagon Papers, Vieques

    GREGORY PALAST Columnist for the London Observer, Palast said today: “There’s a sense in Europe that Bush is threatening and menacing. He’s not viewed as just a buffoon, as he is by many in the United States. Global warming, Star Wars and the death penalty are very serious issues in Europe. Bush is not viewed as having the authority to pursue his policies on these issues since he is widely regarded as having stolen the election.” More Information ANDREAS ZUMACH Based in Geneva, Zumach writes on NATO, the Balkans and the UN for Die Tageszeitung and is affiliated with a…

  • After McVeigh Execution: Feel Any Better Now?

    RICHARD MORAN Professor of sociology and criminology at Mount Holyoke College, Moran is currently working on a book about the death penalty. He has testified at dozens of death penalty sentencing hearings. Moran said today: “McVeigh was unapologetic because, like many murderers, he viewed his killing as evening the score. The death penalty is generally not a deterrent, but in the case of a McVeigh, it’s almost an encouragement; it has enhanced his status as a martyr. Most murderers believe in an eye for an eye, which is the mindset we adopt when we invoke the death penalty…. With the…

  • Death Penalty, Racism, McVeigh, FBI

    BRYAN STEVENSON Executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative and assistant professor at the New York University School of Law, Stevenson is author of the article “Deliberate Indifference: Racial Bias and Administration of Capital Punishment.” He said today: “Attorney General Ashcroft’s claim that there is no racial bias in the federal death penalty is without merit. Nearly three-quarters of the people for whom the federal government has authorized execution are black or brown, while the majority of people eligible for such authorization are white. Ashcroft totally ignores the fact that most racial bias can be found by looking at the…

  • Judicial Nominees: How Should the Senate Proceed?

    NATHAN NEWMAN Newman is chair of the Judicial Nominations Committee of the National Lawyers Guild. He said today: “With the changeover in control of the Senate, there is now the chance for a counterbalance to Bush’s attempt to pack the federal courts with right-wing appointees…. The loss by the Republicans of control of the Judiciary Committee should give the Democrats a veto on such nominations, a quite appropriate process in view of the closeness of the election, to assure that only those judges moderate enough to be acceptable to the broadest range of Americans will be confirmed.” HEIDI BOGHOSIAN Executive…

  • Beyond the Bush Daughters: Alcohol Policies Under Attack

    While many have focused on the specifics of President Bush’s daughter Jenna being charged with underage drinking at an Austin restaurant last week, some specialists in alcohol policies are urging a shift in public focus — to scrutinize key roles of the alcohol industry. The following policy analysts are available for interviews: LAURIE LEIBER Leiber is a member of the California Council on Alcohol Policy. She said today: “President Bush is asking that we treat his daughters’ citations for alcohol-related violations as a private, family matter. But underage drinking is a very public, policy matter as long as the alcohol…

  • Education Spending: Beyond the Rhetoric

    This evening, Laura Bush is scheduled to give the keynote address to the Reach Out and Read national conference in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The following analysts on education policy are available for interviews: EDWARD KEALY Executive director of the Committee for Education Funding, a coalition of over 100 educational organizations, Kealy said this afternoon: “The president has stated that the goal of his education policies would be an America where ‘no child is left behind.’ But measured against growing needs and expectations, President Bush’s 2002 education budget request falls short. When inflation and enrollment growth are considered, the president’s budget contains…

  • Bush on Public Lands: After the Photo-Op

    Today’s newspapers include pictures of President Bush as he spoke about the importance of public lands in front of some of the world’s oldest trees. The following policy critics are available for interviews: CHAD HANSON Executive director of the John Muir Project, Hanson said today: “George W. Bush’s speech from Sequoia National Park rings hollow. Surrounding that national park on all sides are national forests in which the Bush administration has vowed to increase logging levels. Bush’s new Forest Service chief, Dale Bosworth, recently pledged to do the same; and his Interior Secretary, Gale Norton, has threatened to reduce the…

  • Bush in California: Energy Blame Game?

    President Bush’s meeting with California Gov. Gray Davis today brings heightened attention to energy issues. Critics assert that the White House still fails to address key factors. Among those available for interviews: MINDY SPATT Media director of The Utility Reform Network in California, Spatt said today: “California is facing economic disaster due to a failed experiment in deregulation and price gouging by Bush’s friends in the energy industry.” More Information DAPHNE WYSHAM Coordinator of the Sustainable Energy and Economy Network, Wysham said today: “We do not have an energy crisis — we have a clear failure of deregulation and a…

  • What is a Cluster Bomb?

    WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has acknowledged using cluster bombs in the air war against Yugoslavia. Some researchers are condemning the use of this weapon. Among those available for interviews are: KEVIN KAVANAUGH A research scientist specializing in defense affairs at the Federation of American Scientists, Kavanaugh said: “Cluster bomb units — CBU-87/B, combined effects munitions,…

  • China and the Bombing Campaign

    ROBERT WEIL Author of Red Cat, White Cat: China and the Contradictions of ‘Market Socialism’, Weil said: “The anger in China is widespread and is no doubt very genuine. Either it will stiffen the Chinese government reaction to the U.S., which would have its own serious consequences; or they won’t stand up to the U.S.,…

  • Perspectives on Juvenile Crime

    While the White House Conference on Children, Violence and Responsibility has been in the spotlight, some researchers are questioning the focus of the event. Among those available for interviews are: VINCENT SCHIRALDI The director of the Justice Policy Institute, Schiraldi warned against Senate legislation to be submitted Tuesday that gives colleges access to juvenile records…

  • Some Religious Perspectives on the War in Yugoslavia

    REV. DR. JOAN B. CAMPBELL General secretary of the National Council of Churches, Campbell was co-leader with the Rev. Jesse Jackson of the recent U.S. religious leaders’ mission to Belgrade, which culminated in their winning the release of the three captured American soldiers. “The National Council of Churches is a faith-based community that reaches out…

  • Russia and Negotiations

    The following analysts are available for comment on Russia and possibilities for negotiations: DAVID KOTZ Co-author of Revolution From Above: The Demise of the Soviet System and professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts, Kotz said: “The U.S. is trying to use Russia as a club to pressure Milosevic to submit to U.S. demands,…

  • Last Night’s House Vote Makes It Official: The Bombing of Yugoslavia is Illegal

    JULES LOBEL Professor of Constitutional and International Law at the University of Pittsburgh MICHAEL RATNER Attorney, Center for Constitutional Rights Lobel and Ratner have litigated numerous cases challenging illegal wars including Dellums v. Bush, the case that forced President Bush to obtain congressional authority for the Gulf War in 1991. In a joint statement released…

  • New Attention to Unpublicized Provisions of Rambouillet

    WASHINGTON — New questions are continuing to emerge about the actual terms of the Rambouillet text. Milosevic’s refusal to sign Rambouillet was the cited reason that NATO began the bombing of Yugoslavia. Today, the Washington Post published an exchange between NATO spokesman Jamie Shea and a representative of the Institute for Public Accuracy: [The Washington…

  • Despite Denials from NATO Official, Questions Emerging

    Did Allies Demand Right to Occupy All of Yugoslavia? WASHINGTON — New questions are emerging about the actual terms of the Rambouillet accords prior to the initiation of NATO’s bombing of Yugoslavia. When NATO spokesman Jamie Shea appeared at the National Press Club in Washington yesterday, a representative of the Institute for Public Accuracy asked…

  • Is Prominent Think Tank a Bastion of Racist Theory?

    One of the most influential think tanks in the United States also houses several of the nation’s most controversial pundits on race issues. In a new analysis, researcher Deborah Toler scrutinizes what she calls the “race desk” at the American Enterprise Institute. Toler, a policy analyst with the Institute for Public Accuracy, contends that mainstream…

  • NATO: Critical Analysis

    BASIC (British American Security Information Council) BASIC can arrange interviews with Admiral Sir James Eberle, former NATO commander-in-chief; Otfried Nassauer of the Berlin Information Center for Transatlantic Security; and other NATO experts. More Information HUSSEIN IBISH Foreign policy analyst at the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, Ibish said: “The Clinton administration has made it perfectly clear that…

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