BY HARRY RING
No ticket to Heaven? - Donate $1 million or more to the
Papal Foundation, Inc. Get a medallion, a gold pin, and a
certificate. Plus a visit with Pope John Paul in his private
library. A California real estate dealer pledged $15 million
and got two visits with the Pope.
P.S. Make a more modest donation to the Socialist Workers Party-Building Fund. Admittedly, all you get in return is a warm thanks and the knowledge that you're helping to advance the fight for a rational society.
Lord love a lumpen - "Lord Hemphill has made a strong case for reform in the Upper House without opening his mouth. Since he inherited his title in 1957, he has not uttered a single word in the chamber. Hemphill, however, has attended 101 days in the last session, allowing him to claim up to L 14,140 (more than $21,000.)" - The Times, London.
Practically stable - "Indonesia's inflation rate drops to 45 percent" - News headline.
`Int'l crisis? Doesn't affect us' - "Profits generated by the Fortune 500 companies declined for the first time in seven years in 1998 as U.S. companies suffered the effects of the economic crisis in Asia, Russia and Latin America." - Associated Press.
Obviously needs a budget -Dorothy Olsen, 82, and her spouse are among those hit by the closing of the HMO in their California area. The HMO provided prescription medicines as well as doctors' care. Says Olsen: "We live on $1,503 a month Social Security. Without the HMO, my prescriptions cost $1,200 a month."
See, you're not forgotten - A group of Denver-area home builders plan to put a half billion in a "high-end" development, with units mostly priced at $700,000 to $750,000. Some homes will go for up to $2.5 million. "Eventually," a spokesman added, "we'd like to have some product in the $400,00 to $540,000 range."
Funny how these things work out - Last year, a Taiwanese company illegally dumped 8,500 tons of mercury-contaminated waste in a field outside a Cambodian resort town. Cambodia wants to be rid of it. The Safety-Kleen Corp. wants to add it to its waste dump in California's Imperial Valley, about five miles from the Salton Sea. It's also near a low-income, largely Latino, community. Some call it environmental racism.
`Reinforcements now appearing...' - A reader, en route to San Francisco, jotted down this bit of conversation between a passenger and a flight attendant: Passenger: "Do you like music? F.A: "Music? What kind of music?" P: What's your favorite song? F.A: "That's easy. `Solidarity,' my union song."