The Militant (logo)  
   Vol. 69/No. 50           December 26, 2005  
 
 
Great Society
 
Swat them again, sisters and brothers—Liechtenstein is a tiny European country of 33,000 touching the borders of Austria and Switzerland. The population is but 33,000 and three-quarters are Catholic. A ballot proposition was approved legalizing abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, ending a situation in which women obtaining abortion faced one year in prison. People of Liechtenstein delivered a jolt to the church hierarchy. An archbishop led a campaign in support of a counterproposal to stamp out all abortions and birth control. This was voted down at the polls with a slam dunk NO vote of 81 percent.

Nothing’s perfect—According to federal numbers, last year there were more then 3,000 rail crossing crashes between trains and motor vehicles. The feds imposed fines on the rails in nine cases. The balance was left to various state and local authorities. A concerned member of Congress concluded there was a need for safer rail crossings.

The arms of mercy—Some seriously ill homeless people are taken to hospitals for treatment. Those who recover are discharged. How? In at least three Los Angeles hospitals, the authorized practice is: have them put in cabs and “dumped” back on the bitter pavements called skid row. This criminal practice has, so far, been identified with the mammoth “non-profit” Kaiser Permanente and two Los Angeles county facilities—King/Drew and the University of Southern California Medical Center. More exposures of other hospitals that engage in “dumping” are expected.

British student looked “terrorist”?—Walking on a foot-bridge approach to Southampton University was a student who had been hired to take some photos for a local map. But to a squad of cops, Matthew Curtis with a camera looked dangerous. He was pulled aside and carefully searched. On release, Curtis told reporters, “I couldn’t believe my ears when…they said they were warning me under the Terrorism Act. I doubt very much that bin Laden…is plotting to blow up a small bridge.”

Note to readers—“The Great Society” will now be appearing twice a month. Keep sending in those clippings!  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home