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'F Nader' plate too racy for Iowa

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DES MOINES, Iowa, June 1 (UPI) -- A Corvair enthusiast in Iowa who used his license plate to insult Ralph Nader has been told that the "F Nader" message has to go.

The Iowa Department of Transportation issued the plate to John Miller five years ago, the Des Moines Register reported. Apparently, it took officials quite a while to decide that the "F" is short-hand for a naughty word.

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The department decided to take action after they received a letter from Joel Paulson of Ames about the plates.

"'F NADER' is obviously this Corvair owner's response to Ralph Nader's charge against the Corvair. I don't believe I should have to explain to my children about 'F NADER,'" Paulson wrote.

Nader, who has run as a third-party candidate for president in most recent elections, first gained national recognition in the 1960s with his crusade against the rear-engine Corvair and his book "Unsafe At Any Speed."

Miller said he did not intend the plate as a slur, describing it as an in-joke among Corvair fanciers. But he has been ordered to turn the plates in with the promise of a free vanity plate of his choosing or a $50 refund and a standard plate.

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