ADri11978 RAIN Pa!1ell suits, determining a person's standing to sue, erosion of state and federal immunity to being sued, freedom of information acts, etc. A good background to figure out how to get your voice heard. -TB For the People, Joanne Manning Anderson, 1977, $5.95 from : Addison-Wesley Reading, MA 01867 I don't really like the idea of consumerism. It seems that in this resource-scarce world people should learn to consume less, not push Detroit (or whoever) to make the damn things better. But of course, we must learn to use things well. This book is a consumer action handbook done by Ralph Nader's Public Citizen. It's a good primer to get in to organizing health care products (drugs, doctors and nursing homes), utilities, the food system and the media. Another step in teaching each other to take action against the negative forces that can control our lives. - LdeM Military Maneuvers ($5) Military Maneuvers/Update ($1) Weapons for the World/ Update 1977 ($3) The Economic Impact ofMilitary Spending (price not listed) from : Council on Economic Priorities 84 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10011 U.S. Government military expenditures now make up about 5-112 percent of our total GNP. Sales of our most sophisticated military hardware to other countries by our defense contractors (often with little congressional knowledge or control) now run $10-12 billion per year. We're told that the foreign arms sales are necessary to pay for our imported petroleum, and that reduction in DOD expenditures would adversely affect employment and income as well as national security. This series of studies by CEP suggests another interpretation : Military Maneuvers .analyzes interchange of personnel between the DOD and its contractors; MM/Update reviews congressional response to that "potential" conflict of interest; Weapons for the World/Update gives a company-by-company overview of foreign military sales; and The Economic Impact ofMilitary Spending adds another voice to the list of studies showing that almost an y alternative use of our money would provide more Jobs and income. War production may be "good business"-but not good policy for our economy, lives, national security or peace of mind. -TB rnrnw~ TIrn~ . Four Arguments for the Elimination of Televisio1l, Jerry Mander, 1978, $4.95 from : William Morrow and Company 105 Madison Ave. New York, NY 10016 News from Nowhere, Edward Jay Epstein, 1973, $2.95 from: Random House 201 E. 50th St. New York, NY 10022 When people ask me now about what they can do to solve the ills of the world I tell them : "Get rid of your television set." They are usually a bit shook up at the thought of actually doing something, but if you're serious about any changes, this is a good place to start. It will give you five new hours a day to figure out and do all sorts of other things. It will make you healthier and less anxious. It will give you the time and attention to focus on yourself and the people and things around you with enough intensity to learn the next steps (0 take. It will free you from a barrage of advertisement and by cutting the size of the audience that networks sell to advertisers, it will reduce the funding of TV. And it will cut out a lot of confusion. TIrnrn~ The good things on television aren't worth it. If they are well-done, it means they're neither controversial or significant enough to be important, as the Fai rness Doc trine requires presentation of all sides of controversial issuesguaranteed to result in a muddled program. Advertising pressures also prevent coverage of significant issues, as does pressure from local stations that might cancel network shows and lower the audience that can be sold to advertisers. Even 24 hours a day of "good things" means more diversion from the really important things TV can't or won't cover. Both these books give you plenty of justification for giving your tube the axe. Mander's book, although somewhat melodramatically written, lays out the essential effects of TV on human health, its tendency to warp our sense of reality, and its furthering of centralization and control. News from Nowhere lays out more clearly and in more detail the whys and wherefores by which TV news is forced into a bizarre caricature of reality. When you get rid of your tube, don't do it quietly. Let them know. We've heard rumors of people leaving the smashed remains of their TVs on the steps of their local station with a goodby note explaining all. On to freedom' - TB
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