Removing objects....

A quote from "A short practice of surgery", Bailey and Love 1943 :

"Ther variety of foreign bodies which have found their way into the rectum is hardly less remarkable than the ingenuity displayed in their removal.

A turnip has been delivered PR by the use of obstetric forceps.

A stick firmly impacted has been withdrawn by inserting a gimlet into its lower end.

A tumbler, mouth downwards, has several times been extracted by filling the interior with a wet plaster of Paris bandage, leaving the end of the bandage extruding, and allowing the plaster to set. "

Surely there's also a chapter on removing foreign objects from the rectums of politicians. Cheap shot but it's so frustrating. This little jibe was prompted by an unpublished internal government report into welfare recipients concluding that 1/6 recipients "enjoyed" being on welfare and had no intention of getting a job. The minister who announced the report, Mal Brough, said ( and I paraphase ) "...well clearly it's not good to have a group labelled due to the behaviour of a minority within that group ("dole bludgers") but lets face it, that's what the community calls them...", or something like that.

I mean, if you really felt it was wrong to label in such a way, Mal, why didn't you say that 5/6 of welfare recipients are fine upstanding members of the community who met their contract with the government in receiving welfare. And surely the government has some responsibility in welfare recipients being unemployed in the first place. What a cop out Mal. Whose interests does that report serve. Not only that, quoting from an "unpublished" report! This is just unsubstantiated bigotted propaganda.

It's so frustrating.....

Posted to Medicdotes by oliver at May 22, 2002 12:02 AM