Newsnotes (April 1973)

An ear for an ear

Slobadan Vasic bit the ear off his good friend, Dane Zlatar, when a drinking party in Sremska Mitrovica, Yugoslavia got out of hand. When Dane declined to accept Slobadan’s public apology, Slobadan whipped out a knife and slashed off one of his own ears. The two are now friends again.

Another example of the same logic was reported within days of the above incident, when Rep. Edward Koch (D-N.Y.) announced that he favors reinstatement of capital punishment in some cases. Koch said that he would insist that death be applied “equitably,” and not just to members of minority groups.

Higher and higher

The National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse reports that marijuana is the country’s third most popular “recreational drug,” after alcohol and tobacco. A Commission survey based on interviews with 3,291 persons indicates that there are 13 million marijuana smokers in America, as compared to 80 million drinkers and 57 million tobacco smokers. The survey also shows that millions of Americans have tried stronger drugs at least once.

While marijuana use is still frowned on by the authorities, the Wisconsin State Legislature has passed by acclimation in both houses a resolution commending a group dedicated to the promotion of habitual drunkenness. The group, “The Warren Gamaliel Harding Memorial Foundation,” was incorporated as a non-profit organization to honor the 29th U.S. President, who had a reputation as a heavy drinker. The motto of the Foundation is: “Conviviality, fraternity and ebriosity.”

And speaking of great Presidents, a bi-partisan committee called “Citizens for Nixon ’76” is planning a campaign to repeal the 22nd Amendment, which limits U.S. Presidents to two terms in office. The committee claims a channel to Nixon, but a White House spokesman has asserted that he doesn’t “know a damn thing about that group.”

Bottomglobes and bureaucrats

The nation-wide government effort to make sex a dirty word again proceeded apace recently as New York’s highest court ruled valid a penal code statute holding that a person who “promotes obscene material…is presumed to do so with knowledge of its content and character.” The case involved two Manhattan bookstores which handle general publication, the New Yorker Book Store and the East Side Bookstore—both of which, incidentally, carry Outlook. The managers were found guilty of selling ZAP Comic No. 4, hardly hard-core porn.

New York Civil Liberties Union head Ira Glasser commented that “a book dealer now might hesitate before carrying a Mailer book…I think the result is unfortunate because it means a person running a bookstore with thousands of items, 99% of which aren’t even pornographic, has to know the contents of everything in the store. Obviously, that’s impossible.”

Meanwhile, in Germany, bureaucracy is taking to girdling bottomglobes—at least if Dr. Walter Weber has his way. Weber, a psychotherapist and psychologist, has proposed that Hamburg’s Reeperbahn hookers be given West German government civil service status, and that the government take over the sex palaces and give the girls regular hours, social security and pensions.

Fly me

The Stewardesses for Women’s Rights, organized to change the “sex symbol” image of their jobs, introduced their new symbol at a recent conference attended by 75 stewardesses from 10 cities. The stewardesses are reportedly still debating whether or not to add an “equal” sign to their logo.

Predictably, some support among the girls, particularly the older ones, has surfaced. One said that, “We are a biological necessity for civilization. There are two million single foreign workers in this country, and if it weren’t for us, no woman in Germany would be safe.” Other “biological necessities,” however, had other ideas. “I believe in free enterprise,” one said. “We are, like they say, professional people, not clerks. I’ve done all right without the government butting in.”

One madam summed up the whole matter succinctly: “We get inexperienced beginners for the most part. When they learn their profession, they move up to better houses. Now tell me this, would I have to give each one a civil service examination before I engage her? Figure that out, my good friend. And stop grinning.”

Why not fire him?

The New York City Board of Ethics has ruled that Fire Lieutenant William MacLaughlin of Ladder Co. 2 cannot sell the city a device he has invented and patented, because he is a city employee. The device, called a “K-Tool,” could help save lives and property in fires by enabling firemen to force locks and obtain speedy entry into “any house or apartment.”

The “K-Tool” is reportedly being sold in 40 other cities at the price of $46 per unit, and the reports indicate that MacLaughlin has offered it to New York City for $40 per unit. MacLaughlin has been on the force for 13-1/2 years, and spent eight of them perfecting the device.

The Fire Department, which has field-tested the “K-Tool” with “very good results,” may appeal the Board of Ethics Ruling. Fire Chief John T. O’Hagan, explaining that the device is “very necessary” since no similar tool is available, has stated that, “We don’t see why we should be penalized because one of our own men invented it.”

The agony and the ecstasy

A 76-year-old Jacksonville man, Nathan Zamostansky, has been charged with felonious possession of more than five pounds of marijuana, as a result of over 150 marijuana plants being found by vice squad investigators in his vegetable garden. Zamostansky, who said he was growing the marijuana to alleviate the pain of cancer in his dying years, was not jailed due to his age and physical condition.

In California, not only are drug users jailed, but inmates are drugged. “Violence-prone” state prison inmates are given methaqualone, better known on the street by the brand names Quaalude and Sopor, in order to “relax individuals who have a high violence potential.” The sedative is considered addictive by some medical authorities.

But then maybe California inmates need those downers. Larrance Hand, a 42-year-old San Quentin inmate, has filed a suit alleging that the prison’s recent employment of two women correctional officers subjects him to “cruel and unusual punishment”—especially since one of them looks like his wife. He also objects that his privacy is invaded by having women guards watch him as he bathes and takes care of his personal needs.

When Johnny comes marching home again

Frank H. Smith of Hartford, Connecticut has just received a letter from State Adjutent General John F. Freund, congratulating him on his release from a successful tour of active duty and urging him to consider the opportunities available in the Connecticut National Guard.

Smith, who is 74 years old, was discharged in December 1918, one month after the armistice ending World War One.