ustxtxb_obs_1997_05_09_50_00018-00000_000.pdf

its \\k\\ Labor Intensive Radio Radio of the union, by the union and for the union. Hosted and produced by union members dedicated to bringing the voice of labor to the Austin airwaves. Tumday5 6:30-7:00 p.m. MOP 911 FM P.O. Pox 49340 Au5tin, TX 78765 G but not Narrow Pick up your FREE copy at over 200 locations in Austin & Houston. For further information call 512.476.0576 or 713.521.5822 zz.tate IMAGINE CRUISING DOWN THE AUTOBAHN WITH 256 HP UNDER THE HOOD, TOP DOWN, FIFTH GEAR, ENGINE WIDE OPEN, SCENERY A BLUR. THAT’S THE FEEL OF INTERNET ACCESS THROUGH THE NEW EDEN MATRIX. ea.k. a.. Iteit getiv4e. DIAL-UP ISDN ACCESS FOR JUST $18.50/MONTH FULLY DIGITAL PRI PHONE LINES WIDE OPEN CAPACITY TECH SUPPORT WITH A PULSE The Eden Matrix www.eden.com 106 E. SIXTH STREET, SUITE 210 AUSTIN, TX 78701 VOICE: 512.478.9900 FAX: 512.478.9934 SUBSCRIBE TO THE TEXAS OBSERVER 307 West 7th Street Austin, Texas 78701 ,7 4 “Justice,” from page 3 And in the House, the top ten recipients of Texans for Lawsuit Reform money in the past election cycle were: Republican Arlene Wohlgemuth The report also reveals that the tort-reform PACs work like drug pushers, preying on the weak and the young: candidates in close races and freshman. The $854,826 spent by Texans for Lawsuit Reform is easiest to follow, and 89 percent of the money the single-issue PAC invested in close races went to Republicans. The same PAC directed 98 percent of the $417,945 it invested in this year’s legislative freshman class to Republicans. Texans for Public Justice’s report, Tort Dodgers, has been largely ignored by the media, perhaps because they perceive it to be the work of an advocacy group or perhaps because major corporate media themselves are owned by conglomerates with a vested interest in protection from personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits. Yet it is no more than a thorough analysis of numbers found in Texas Ethics Commission candidate and campaign filings, and it continues and corroborates earlier work done by the Dallas Morning News and this publication. To anyone who wants to disabuse his neighbor of the naive notion that the assault on the state’s civil justice system is a broad grassroots movement of concerned citizens, this 21-page report is an essential resource. It would also be useful to anyone who cares to sit in the gallery and wager on how any representative or senator may vote on the tortreform measures that make it to the floor this session. Money, in the end, is the best handicapper at the Capitol. L. D. 18 THE TEXAS OBSERVER MAY 9, 1997