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News Releases

  • Undermining Fair Elections

    * Voting Rights: Florida Chill ALMA GONZALEZ Alma Gonzalez is spokeswoman for the Voter Protection Coalition in Florida and special counsel to the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. On an Institute for Public Accuracy news release dated July 29, 2004, Gonzalez had said: “Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents showed up at the homes of absentee voters, many of whom were minorities, and asked them if they had really voted, if they had actually sold their votes, and otherwise questioned them in an unfriendly manner while revealing their sidearms. This is unacceptable.” On August 20, New York…

  • Did the U.S. Commit War Crimes in Vietnam?

    DAVID MacMICHAEL A disabled veteran of ten years active Marine Corps service in Korea, MacMichael was a Defense Department consultant from 1965 to 1969 in Southeast Asia. During most of that period he was attached to the office of the Special Assistant for Counter-Insurgency at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok. In that capacity he reviewed classified reports from the U.S. mission in Vietnam. MacMichael said today: “Some Vietnam veterans are outraged that presidential candidate Kerry in his 1971 Senate testimony spoke of atrocities reportedly committed by U.S. military forces in Vietnam. There is more than a little substance to the…

  • Several Million Voters To Be Deprived Of Voting Rights Again?

    MIKE ALVAREZ via Jill Perry TED SELKER via Patti Richards A recent report by the Caltech/MIT Voting Technology Project for the Election Assistance Commission, an independent agency that serves as a national clearinghouse for information on the administration of federal elections, states that “four relatively simple and inexpensive steps can be taken to ensure that voting procedures in this fall’s presidential election are as accurate and reliable as possible.” The report also includes several steps that the group believes are necessary for avoiding lost votes in November. Mike Alvarez is a professor of political science at Caltech. He said: “Between…

  • Government Cover-up on WTC Health Effects?

    Suzanne Mattei Mattei is author of the just-released report “Air Pollution and Deception at Ground Zero.” Head of the Sierra Club’s New York office, she said today: “Among our findings in the report are: * “The Bush administration knew the health risks and ignored its own long-standing body of knowledge about the harmful products of incineration and demolition. It should have issued a health warning immediately on that basis. * “This is not a matter of putting a political spin on a few early press releases. What we uncovered was a long-term effort to prevent the public from knowing the…

  • Interviews Available on “Backdoor Draft”

    Attorneys for a decorated combat veteran serving in the Army Reserve are announcing Tuesday the filing of a petition challenging a “stop loss” order that requires the reservist to remain in the military beyond the term of his enlistment for possible duty in Iraq. The reservist is identified as “John Doe” for reasons of privacy. According to his attorneys, Doe’s case is the first legal challenge to the Army’s current “stop loss” program. Under the program, tens of thousands of soldiers have been prevented from retiring or leaving the military upon completing their enlistment terms so that they may be…

  • U.S. in Najaf: Putting Out the Fire with Gasoline?

    Hussain Ibrahimi Ibrahimi is the director of Iraqi Human Rights Watch in Karbala. He is with a delegation of religious leaders traveling from Karbala to Najaf. Ibrahimi said: “We want to ask for a peaceful solution to this problem, and for the fighting to stop.” Maxine Nash Currently in Baghdad, Nash is a member of the Christian Peacemaker Team, which has been active in Iraq since April 2003. They have been in communication with, and have been working with, Iraqi Human Rights Watch and Hussain Ibrahimi. Nash said today: “Tensions have been escalating here in Baghdad. There have been eruptions…

  • Venezuela Referendum: Interviews Available

    MARK WEISBROT Co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, Weisbrot testified recently before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations about Venezuela. He said today: “Polls show [Venezuelan President Hugo] Chavez ahead in the referendum [set for Aug. 15], and according to most press accounts it is because of the government’s success in expanding access to health care, education, literacy programs, and subsidized food for the poor. If he wins, it will be the first time in the region in decades that a government won a national election on the basis of what it did — not promised,…

  • Millions of Americans Not Allowed to Vote

    CHRIS UGGEN Uggen is a professor and McKnight Presidential Fellow at the University of Minnesota and co-author of the forthcoming book Locked Out: Felon Disenfranchisement and American Democracy. He said today: “Our survey of 1,000 Americans showed that 80 percent favor returning voting rights to former felons once they complete their sentences, 60 percent favor re-enfranchising parolees and probationers. In general, we find that a civil liberties view prevails over a punitive view that would deny political rights to non-incarcerated felons…. Felon voting affects elections in close Republican victories in states with very strict laws. Felon disenfranchisement is likely to…

  • Presidential Debates: Who Controls Them?

    “The general election presidential debates are the ‘Superbowl of Politics,’” said George Farah, founder and executive director of Open Debates. “And if history is any guide, Senator John Kerry and President George W. Bush will participate in debates sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), which claims to have ‘no relationship with any political party or candidate.’ But the CPD substantially undermines voter education by deceptively awarding control of the presidential debates to the Republican and Democratic nominees.” GEORGE FARAH Farah is author of the new book No Debate: How the Republican and Democratic Candidates Secretly Control the Presidential…

  • Porter Goss — Cheney Cat’s Paw?

    MEL GOODMAN Goodman, a former CIA analyst, is a senior fellow for intelligence reform at the Center for International Policy. He said today: “Goss has all the wrong credentials. He’s former CIA, a senior operations officer. An over-reliance on operations has been a big part of the problem. He’s from the Hill, so he’s a deal-cutter and a compromiser when what we need is a strategic thinker. That was George Tenet’s problem — he tried to please everyone and that’s a big part of why he was a failure. Goss was head of the House intelligence oversight committee before the…

  • Iraq Analysts Available

    JOHN QUIGLEY Professor of Law, Ohio State University. Specialist in the Mideast and in international law. “There is no basis in any Security Council resolution for unilateral military action by the U.S.” BARBARA LUBIN Executive director, Middle East Children’s Alliance More Information JEFF GUNTZEL Traveled recently to Iraq with Voices in the Wilderness, delivering medicine…

  • Iraq Sanctions: What’s the Policy?

    Whether the United States bombs Iraq or not, there are reports that the U.S. is changing its policy to a more sanctions-based approach. While many are claiming that Iraq would be rid of the sanctions if it complied with the weapons inspections, an examination of U.S. policymakers’ statements since the Gulf War suggests otherwise: April…

  • Environmentalists Urge Clinton to Live Up to Rhetoric

    With the Earth’s climate on the table as delegates from more than 160 nations gather in Buenos Aires for a global climate summit, some U.S. specialists are voicing concern that the White House is not honoring its promises. Among those available for comment: ROSS GELBSPAN Gelbspan, author of The Heat Is On: The Climate Crisis,…

  • Victories for Campaign Finance Reform in Two States Likely to Inspire Grassroots Efforts Nationwide

    Statewide ballot measures for campaign finance reform won approval Tuesday in Arizona and Massachusetts. Activists say those victories will inspire a groundswell of efforts around the country to clean up the elections process at the grassroots. “This sends a message nationwide,” said Kaia Lenhart, political director of Arizonans for Clean Elections. “There’s no doubt about…

  • Election Issues That Weren’t

    As the 1998 campaign nears its end, some observers contend that key realities of American society have remained out of focus. Several policy analysts are available for interviews on subjects they say have gone largely overlooked during this campaign season: JOHN C. BERG Director of Graduate Studies at the Government Department of Suffolk University, Berg…

  • Social Security: Economists Call for Realism

    Three economists issued statements Friday warning against unrealistic scenarios for privatizing Social Security. The researchers took aim at a new book put out this week by the Cato Institute (Common Cents, Common Dreams) which argues for privatization. They are available for interviews on Social Security policy options. RICHARD Du BOFF Professor of Economics at Bryn…

  • Pinochet Arrest Raises New Questions in Washington

    WASHINGTON — The arrest of former Chilean dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet has focused new attention on the record of his regime, which remained in power for 17 years after the 1973 coup that toppled Chile’s democratically elected government. Some pointed questions are being raised about the Washington-based Cato Institute’s current embrace of Jose Pinera, who…

  • Analysts Decry Inaction by Congress on HMO Reform

    WASHINGTON — The failure of Congress to pass legislation on health care reform before adjournment has angered many Americans. A number of doctors and health care analysts are available for interviews about Congressional inaction on a patient bill of rights to address problems with HMOs. Some of these specialists regard such a bill of rights…

  • Social Security: Would Privatization Help Minorities?

    WASHINGTON — A range of organizations today criticized rosy claims about Social Security privatization for Latinos and African Americans. At a presentation in Washington organized by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the widely cited Heritage Foundation was faulted for “technical errors” and “gross inaccuracies” in its claims that racial minorities would fare better…

  • “Surplus” and Poverty in America

    WASHINGTON — While President Clinton announces budget surplus figures today, some economists and poverty specialists are challenging the idea that poverty is receding as a national problem. Among those available for comment are: ANURADHA MITTAL Policy Director at the Institute for Food and Development Policy – Food First, Mittal said: “Extreme poverty is growing fastest…

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