Common Cause Magazine articles from December 1993

Common Cause Magazine archives from December 1993

Drug treatment on demand. (costs of drug treatment versus neglect)(No Sacred Cows)
December 22, 1993... The unlikely prospect of drug addicts and alcoholics organizing as a potent lobbying force may explain why substance abuse treatment - a relatively inexpensive way to help solve a raft of economic, social and health problems - keeps...

Man bites dog. (Hawaii Rep Neil Abercrombie seeks closure of Bellows Air Force Station)(No Sacred Cows)
December 22, 1993... It's gotta be a first: The Pentagon wants to keep an Air Force station open, and a member of Congress tries to shut it down. Most times when the Pentagon proposes to save taxpayers millions by phasing out unneeded facilities, elected...

Old ambassadors never die. (John Negroponte confirmed as Clinton envoy to Philippines despite Iran-Contra role)
December 22, 1993... On September 28, just two weeks after hearing him testify, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously endorsed John Negroponte as U.S. ambassador to the Philippines. Negroponte's smooth sailing stands in stark contrast to the...

It ain't necessarily so. (political jargon and media cliches) (Cover Story)
December 22, 1993... It seemed like a good idea at the time. Not just a lame excuse, it's an explanation of fads, those evanescent trifles that waft through our culture but thankfully lack staying power: hula hoops, Nehru jackets, streaking, Pong, the Michelangelo...

The making of a candidate: how Oliver North went from vilifying Congress to running for the Senate. (Cover Story)
December 22, 1993... It looks like something right out of the democracy-in-action section of a civics textbook. On a Friday night in October at a suburban Washington hotel, some 250 eager college students have gathered to see one of their heroes, paying $10 each...

One nation, indecisive: sure voters want change. We just don't want to pay for it. (pollsters Kevin Phillips and Celinda Lake) (Cover Story) (Interview)
December 22, 1993... The currents began to shift in 1989. Less than 10 months after conservative Republican George Bush was sworn in and began pursuing his status-quo agenda, New Jersey elected a reform-minded governor, Democrat Jim Florio. The next year Floridians...

No good deed goes unpunished. (political courage - ex-Gov. Jim Florio; Gov Lowell Weicker Jr.; Gov Lawton Chiles) (Cover Story)
December 22, 1993... How Americans yearn for leaders who dare to shun polls, cancel the focus groups and just do what's right. Without raising taxes, that is. Ponder the tales of three governors who campaigned for "change" - Democrat Jim Florio of New...

Is it fact? Or is it fiction? (sensationalism in TV news; realism in movies) (Cover Story)
December 22, 1993... From Hollywood to the 6 o'clock news, it's getting harder and harder to tell. "Everything looks real, and therefore it is real; in any case the fact that it seems real is real, and the thing is real even if, like Alice in Wonderland, it...

The bond merchants: Wall Street makes millions on municipal bonds, but guess who pays? (underwriting and political campaign funds)
December 22, 1993... Orange County, Fla., just outside Disney World, is a company town, dependent on the tourist industry the same way another community might be linked to an auto plant or a high-tech conglomerate. It is a largely middle-class place where people...

Banking on the inner city: reverse redlining pays off for a network of alternative lenders. (includes related article)
December 22, 1993... On July 15 Joseph Holland stood on the South Lawn of the White House with the president, vice president, members of Congress and the press. With all eyes upon him, the 37-year-old lawyer recounted the opening of his Ben & Jerry's franchise -...

Washington's fear of reform. (Congressional campaign finance reform) (Editorial)
December 22, 1993... One year ago, voters had just elected a new president and the largest number of new members of Congress in decades. Most of the freshman representatives had campaigned as agents of change, and hopes for a wave of reform were high. But while...