The Militant - December 10, 2001 -- The Great Society

Vol.65/No.47 December 10, 2001

The Great Society

BY HARRY RING
Don't trust Uncle?--A poll conducted for USA Today asked people if they agreed that "to make it easier to combat terrorism," the feds should be given the right to tap and intercept their e-mail without a court order. A thumping 54 percent "strongly disagreed,'' and 19 percent "somewhat disagreed."

Barren bins--Italian cops held a big rig for 10 hours after spotting the word, laden, on its papers. Explosive experts circled the truck until someone realized it was German for "load."

Assistant civilizers--In England and Wales, 11,167 prisoners are jammed two to a cell designed for one.

Learning experience--In England and Wales, a study sponsored by the National Union of Teachers found that nearly 60 percent of trainees quit within three years after entering the profession. The principal reasons turned up in the study were workloads, pupil behavior, and government "initiatives." [cutbacks?].

Don't stop us if we said it before--Those who have already read The Working Class and the Transformation of Learning would be miffed if we failed to urge you to read this illuminating and, yes, sparkling booklet by Jack Barnes.

Kind of a ho-hum routine--"In past months members of the Ball State University Police Department [in Muncie, Indiana], have been the focus of a state police probe...[for] failing to arrest a drunken police officer [and] beating a student who was having a diabetic seizure"--Muncie Star Press

Problems, what problems?--"The fact that you have a number of incidents that have occurred in a small time frame, makes it appear that there is a problem."--Ball State U. prez Blaine Brownell.

Emergency action--The Idaho Board of Health & Welfare voted against a 30-year cleanup plan proposed by the feds to clean up the toxic waste in the Coeur d'Alene Basin. The board favors a five-year moratorium on the $359-million cleanup plan so it can monitor the blood levels of adults and children.

Brought to you by Flat Earth Society--The Alabama Board of Education voted unanimously to continue adding stickers to biology textbooks warning students that evolution is a "controversial theory" they should question.

Thought for the week--"According to the Energy Department, the United States released 1,583 million metric tons of carbon from fossil fuel burning in 2000, or 47 million metric tons more than in 1999."--News item.

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