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Ralph Nader

2012-03-12T12:35:23Z

BrianCranston: /* See Also */

[[Image:Ralph Nader.jpg|right|thumb|Ralph Nader <br>(photo from Harvard Kennedy School of Government)]]
'''Ralph Nader''' (born February 27, 1934) is an iconic legend of the the consumer rights movement. Nader's accomplishments have become part of the fabric of American public life.<ref>[http://www.salon.com/bc/1999/01/26bc.html Citizen Nader], Brilliant Careers, ''Salon.com''</ref> Nader has been called one of America's most effective social critics.{{cn}} He ran unsuccessfully for President of the United States in 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008.

Nader burst on to the scene in 1965 with his book ''Unsafe at Any Speed'', an indictment of the auto industry for producing unsafe vehicles. The book led to congressional hearings and a series of automobile safety laws were passed saving countless lives. Since 1966, Nader has been responsible for at least eight major federal consumer protection laws such as the motor vehicle safety laws, the Safe Drinking Water Act; the launching of federal regulatory agencies such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the [[Environmental Protection Agency]] (EPA), and the [[Consumer Product Safety Administration]]; the recall of millions of defective motor vehicles; and access to government through the [[Freedom of Information Act of 1974]].

Nader is an outspoken critic of multinational corporations and of a dangerous convergence of corporate and government power and its impact on developing nations, labor, and the environment.

==Unsafe at Any Speed==
Nader's 1965 publication, ''Unsafe at Any Speed'' was an exposé of the safety features of the Chevy Corvair. Nader's campaign against the Corvair showed that he believed not only that the Corvair was dangerous but that [[General Motors]] (GM) knew it was. Nader convinced liberal [[Connecticut]] Senator [[Abraham Ribicoff]] into investigating whether GM had lied about what it knew in testimony before Congress. Nader alleged that he had inside sources and documents that would reveal this conspiracy. Ribicoff assigned staff to the case, and they spent two years chasing down Nader's leads. None of them panned out. The investigators found no evidence that GM knew of the Corvair's safety flaws.<ref>http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20040308&s=chait030804</ref> The failure to confirm Nader's suspicions enraged him. "He could not let go of the Corvair issue," one of the staffers would later say. "He was fixated. And, if you didn't accept or believe the same things he did, you were either stupid or venal."<ref>http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20040308&s=chait030804</ref>

In 1971, Nader pressured one of his associates, Lowell Dodge, to doctor his study ''Small on Safety: The Designed-in Dangers of the Volkswagen.''{{fact}} Nader insisted that Dodge rewrite the conclusion of the study so that it began, "The Volkswagen is the most hazardous car in use in significant numbers in the U.S. today." Objecting that "the conclusion is not reflected in the data," Dodge left the project, allowing others to take credit as principal authors. "I have always carried around considerable guilt about what I regard as the extreme intellectual dishonesty of that conclusion," he later concluded. <ref>http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20040308&s=chait030804</ref>

Nader sued GM and won $425,000, which he used to found liberal activist organizations that helped push through a staggering series of consumer and environmental reforms, most of them in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

==Presidential candidacy==

Nader's most successful run for President was in 2000, when, as the Green Party's nominee, he garnered 2.7% of the popular vote, and was blamed by many liberals for the loss of [[Al Gore]] to [[George W. Bush]], the reasoning being that most of the people who voted for him would have preferred Gore to Bush, and that thus Nader's candidacy may have tipped the election in Bush's favor.<ref>http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0626-04.htm</ref>

In Nader's 2004 presidential run, a concerned Democratic party successfully sued Ralph Nader off the ballot in 19 states. In Pennsylvania alone, not just one lawsuit in one court but twelve suits in twelve separate courts simultaneously. <ref>[http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/842], PA Ballot Access Laws and 2004 Nader Candidacy, June 28, 2005</ref> While he was still the most successful third party candidate, he managed barely a seventh of his 2000 performance, at just 0.38% of the popular vote. He ran again in 2008 and performed slightly better than in the previous election, this time getting 0.5% of the vote, despite running in even fewer states than he did in 2004.

==References==
<references/>

==See Also==
[[Previous Breaking News/Ralph Nader|Articles about '''Ralph Nader''' from previous "Breaking News"]]
{{2008 presidential candidates}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nader, Ralph}}

[[Category:Third Party Politicians]]
[[Category:Liberals]]

Essay:Greatest Conservative TV Shows

2012-03-12T12:30:45Z

BrianCranston: /* Debatable Whether Conservative */

Here are some of the greatest conservative television shows:

# ''Family Ties'': a [[conservative]] teenager (played by Michael J. Fox) tries to enlighten his [[liberal]], ex-hippie, underachieving<ref>The father was criticized by the son for working for less money at a public television station, rather than in free enterprise.</ref> parents.
# ''The Office'': mockery of liberal ideology and [[political correctness]] in an office setting, without a liberal [[laugh track]]. The main character repeatedly encounters contradictions and absurdities as he tries to conform to liberal expectations. The show was most popular when its humor was conservative, and has declined in quality and popularity as its conservative humor has been diluted. Steve Carell played the main character for 6 years and was denied an Emmy by liberals every time, despite being by far the funniest actor on television.
# ''The Apprentice'': liberals stopped watching when they realized that [[Donald Trump]] might be conservative.
# The ''Six Million Dollar Man'': capitalism at its finest - technological advances improving life.
# ''The Cosby Show'': promoting good family values.
# ''Bonanza'' - Western - being a good neighbor and pursuing just causes
# ''[http://www.amctv.com/videos#type=all&filter=rb-video-browser-num_items%3D10%26module_id_base%3Drb-video-browser%26rb-video-browser-show%3D4182%26rb-video-browser-content_type%3D&page=1&post_id=71306 The Rifleman]'' - Western - fair play and giving people a second chance
# ''Ozzie and Harriet'' - long running comedy show epitomizing 1950s stable families and family values
# ''American Idol'': allowing the best of the public to come to the fore, musically.
# ''24'': Jack Bauer shows us how to beat Islamic terrorists.
# ''Star Trek'': emphasized morality, honor, abiding by a strict code of conduct, and problem solving in a science fiction setting that inspired real world innovations; a strong cultural celebration of excellence. Portrayed the Cold War struggle as a conflict between the democratic Federation (USA) and the authoritarian, collectivist Klingons (the Soviet Union), correctly forecast the eventual winner.
# ''The Waltons'': a family with strong Christian values overcomes hardship in rural America and extends charity to strangers while also honoring military service.
# ''The Lawrence Welk Show'': a clean, family oriented variety show that appealed to Midwestern values.
# ''Chuck'': emphasizes family values, honor, and a respect for our nation's servicemen.
# ''Little House on the Prairie'': A show that celebrates family values and the courage of the pioneers who made our country what it is today.
# ''Touched by an Angel'': a popular drama about an angel in human form who visited troubled people in crisis, it was a highly ranked series for four seasons and ran for a remarkable nine seasons.
# ''Life is Worth Living'': Emmy Award winning show hosted by Archbishop [[Fulton Sheen]]. Between 10 & 30 million people watched the show weekly on moral issues of the day.
# ''7<sup>th</sup> Heaven'': Show about a Christian minister's family, that dealt with moral and controversial themes, which are approached from a socially and politically conservative Protestant Christian point of view. It was the longest-running family drama in U.S. television history.<ref>[http://www.timewarner.com/corp/newsroom/pr/0,20812,1028153,00.html]</ref>
# ''Life Goes On'': Follows the experiences of a young man with Down Syndrome and recognizes the dignity of people with developmental disabilities and the joy and love they give to their families and others.
# ''Dragnet'': starring Jack Webb as Sgt. Joe Friday and his partner(s) solving actual cases from the files of the Los Angeles Police Department. Great use of law enforcement jargon by the officers while educating the public on the Rule of Law. Showed fine examples of moral conduct, honor of self/others and sacrifice for the good of the public.
# ''Parking Wars'': Demonstrates the offensiveness of overbearing government bureaucracy while maintaining a respect for law officers.
# ''Pawn Stars'': Shows how two parties can **mutually and fairly benefit** from a negotiated free-market transaction, independent of any government "assistance"
# ''The Bob Newhart Show'': a mockery of how crazy people become in a secular world.
# ''Hawaii-Five-O'': Even in what might be expected to be a lazy, hazy paradise, the law is still the law.
# ''Daniel Boone'': As the famous title music sang, "he fought for America, to make all Americans free".
# ''MacGyver'': The main character uses Yankee ingenuity to solve various problems and escape the clutches of his enemies. Eschews violence until absolutely necessary.
# ''Walker, Texas Ranger'': starring [[Chuck Norris]]
# ''NCIS'': Show about Navy Cops, was voted ''America's favorite tv show in 2011''
# ''Mission: Impossible'': emphasizes teamwork, friendship, professionalism. Posits that American ingenuity and exceptionalism can overcome any obstacle
# ''Storage Wars'': emphasizes [[capitalism|capitalist]] and [[free market]] values. Plus on another level, it illustrates the importance of [[conservative values|personal responsibility]]; the lockers that are being auctioned off belonged to people who decided not to pay their bills.
# ''The Prisoner (1968)'': Classic British TV show about a secret agent who is sent to a strange "village" in order to determine the reasons for his resignation. The Prisoner is a metaphor for the Individual against the Collective.
# ''Yes, Minister!'' and ''Yes, Prime Minister!'': Classic British sit-com about the political machinations of being a cabinet member in the British government, and then eventually as Prime Minister. A recurring theme is that of the struggle of politicians to make the desired changes against the bureaucracy.
# ''Storm Chasers'': demonstrates core conservative values such as courage and a thirst for practical, scientific knowledge
# ''Cops'': the good guys protecting the public from criminals.
#''The Pretender'': pro-life, and with a message of charity and self-sacrifice as personal responsibility.
#''Dick Van Dyke Show'': pro-marriage and pro-religion, and launched the career of Mary Tyler Moore
# ''The Donna Reed Show'': ABC situation comedy (1958-1966) of an upper middle-class family in Hillsdale (state not given), with Donna Reed in the role of Donna Stone, wife of a pediatrician, played by Carl Betz.
# ''Wagon Train'': NBC/ABC western (1957-1965) with conservatives Ward Bond and John McIntire playing trailmasters Seth Adams and Chris Hale, respectively; the struggle of pioneers seeking a fresh start in the American West.
# ''Wanted: Dead or Alive'': CBS western (1958-1961) with Steve McQueen as a kind-hearted bounty hunter Josh Randall, dedicated to the enforcement of the law
# ''Who Do You Think You Are?'' : NBC in USA (in other countries also) with famous people showing how to research relationships and histories of our ancestors. We owe them so much, whether horse thieves or royalty, they gave us our lives, and in some cases fought in the American Revolutionary War.
(please add to list)

== Debatable Whether Conservative ==

# ''The Twilight Zone'': a recurring theme is that the selfish and the self-centered eventually lose what they sought to gain.
# ''The Beverly Hillbillies'': though silly, the show is powerful in illustrating how material possessions are not what define a person.
# ''King of the Hill'': despite cartoonish nature, shows the struggle of a hardworking, traditional American family against "alternative" modern cultural movements
# ''Antiques Roadshow'': shows the very real (financial and historical) value of handcrafts and traditional, old-fashioned things and memorabilia.
# ''The Larry Sanders Show'': a dark comedy based around the background of a [[Hollywood]] talk show, showing a great deal of liberal and celebrity hypocrisy and mocking them for their behavior.
# ''Breaking Bad'': a previously law-abiding chemistry teacher gets involved in the drug trade and destroys himself and his family. Each immoral decision leads him further along the path of destruction. The evildoers all suffer for their actions. However, the show also promotes liberal values by portraying drug users in a sympathetic light and by subtly criticizing the American Health Care Industry.

== See also ==

*[[Essay:Greatest Conservative Movies]]
*[[Essay:Greatest Conservative Songs]]

== References ==

<references/>
[[Category:Essays]][[Category:Television]]
[[Category:Conservatism]]