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News Releases

  • 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…

  • The Senate: Looking Ahead

    The following policy analysts are available for interviews about implications of the Senate shakeup: LARRY AGRAN Agran is the mayor of Irvine, California. He said today: “It’s unwise to expect too much from the national Democratic Party. Instead of organizing nationwide against Bush’s outrageous $1.6 trillion tax-cut bonanza for the rich, the Democrats folded like a tent and agreed to a $1.35 trillion tax giveaway. With Jeffords’ switch and the Democrats in control of the Senate, we’ll soon see if the Democratic Party actually is prepared to do something about campaign finance reform, prescription drug benefits for seniors and the…

  • Analysts on Kurdish Situation

    With Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan now a prisoner in Turkey, the global spotlight is on the Kurds. In the United States, interviews are available with these analysts who can shed light on Kurdish perspectives: VERA BEAUDIN SAEEDPOUR Founder of the Kurdish Library and the Kurdish Museum, and editor of Kurdish Life and International Journal of…

  • Impeachment and “Real Issues”

    KIT GAGE National coordinator of the National Coalition to Protect Political Freedom, Gage said: “The President’s lawyers said it was fundamentally unfair that they were asked to defend him having seen only a small portion of the thousands of pages of testimony. This was secret evidence. They are right, but it is also secret evidence…

  • After Gore Announces New Anti-Drug Plan, Critics Question Some Basic Assumptions

    WASHINGTON — Hours after Vice President Al Gore announced a new White House anti-drug plan Monday, critics renewed their calls for fundamental changes in federal efforts to curb drug use. Those critics included a former counsel to the House Judiciary Committee, a prisoner who publishes a newspaper, and a sociologist. They are available for interviews:…

  • Environmentalists Critique Clinton Budget Waste

    WASHINGTON — Although the Clinton administration is hailing its new budget for record levels of spending on environmental protection and new clean air initiatives, critics said Thursday that many budget priorities actually encourage pollution and undermine a clean environment — while fleecing taxpayers. Environmentalists are sometimes accused of being “big government” boosters, but these experts…

  • Clinton’s New Budget: Behind the Rhetoric

    GREG SPEETER The executive director of the National Priorities Project, Speeter said: “The fact that we’re looking at increasing the Pentagon budget by $110 billion over the next five years, at a time when it ought to be going down, is ridiculous. Our domestic needs are increasing. We have a child poverty rate of 20.8…

  • Wider Perspectives on Senate Trial

    As the Senate trial of President Clinton continues, here are the perspectives of some analysts — available for interviews — outside the crossfire of Republicans and White House allies. TED GLICK The national coordinator of the Independent Progressive Politics Network, Glick said: “We hear a lot about polls and what people think of Clinton and…

  • Outside the Partisian Boxes: Other Views of Senate Trial

    By now, the public is very familiar with the partisan arguments over whether the Senate trial of President Clinton should continue. This week, loyal Democrats and Republicans are spinning as fervently as ever. But some other positions don’t fit into the partisan trenches. The Institute for Public Accuracy offers different perspectives on impeachment and the…

  • The Day After “State of the Union” Speech, Critics Charge Double Standard for Parents

    Some researchers said Wednesday that President Clinton’s proposal to provide a tax credit for parents who stay home to care for their children is based on a double standard. The specialists contended that Clinton’s new plan is at odds with his welfare reform policy. Among those available for interviews: MIMI ABRAMOVITZ A professor of social…

  • Assessing the “State of the Union”: Social Security, Education, Health Care

    With President Clinton’s State of the Union address focusing attention on such issues as Social Security, education and health care, the following policy analysts are available for interviews: SOCIAL SECURITY MARK WEISBROT Economist and research director at the Preamble Center, Weisbrot said: “Social Security never did need saving; proposals to `reform’ the system are driven…

  • With National Spotlight on the Senate, Campaign Finance Is a Simmering Issue

    With all eyes now on the Senate, advocates of campaign finance reform are pointing to the vast amounts of money that were required for the 100 senators to win their seats. Among those analysts available for interviews are: GWEN PATTON Archivist of the Montgomery Pioneer Voting Rights Activists at Trenholm State Technical College in Alabama,…

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