Economist , July 12 (posted Saturday, July 12) An 18-page survey concludes that Russia is an appalling mess. The economy has shrunk for eight consecutive years, and the vast majority of Russians are struggling. The good news (sort of): Russians are too demoralized to start a violent revolution. The Economist anoints a populist economic reformer named Boris Nemstov as Russia's great political hope. The cover editorial and story say the rise of multi-party democracy in Mexico will stabilize the country politically but may slow free-market reforms. A piece applauds the phaseout of America's agricultural price supports, while warning that newly liberated American farmers seem to be taking too many risks: If crops fail, there could be a wave of farm failures. New Republic , July 28 (posted Friday, July 11) Secretary of Defense William Cohen may be thoughtful and bright, argues the cover story, but he's timid about using America's military might (in Bosnia, especially) and unwilling to make hard decisions about Pentagon budget cuts. TNR 's late hit on Robert Reich's self-serving memoir points out how powerless cabinet secretaries are. (For Slate's take, see Jonathan Rauch's "Robert Reich, Quote Doctor.") An article asks why NASA sends American astronauts to the rickety Russian space station Mir: It's incredibly dangerous, generates no worthwhile scientific data, and costs U.S. taxpayers $100 million a year. New York Times Magazine , July 13 (posted Friday, July 11) A TV-insider cover story recounts the tribulations of ABC Entertainment President Jamie Tarses, the first woman to head a network entertainment division. Tarses, who revitalized NBC with shows like Friends , was supposed to do the same for struggling ABC. She hasn't, and is on the verge of losing her job. Her failure is blamed on immaturity. The magazine profiles hot young physicist Lee Smolin: His "evolutionary" theory posits that black holes give birth to alternate universes, and that our universe itself was created in the black hole of another universe. If true, the theory could unify relativity and quantum mechanics. Also, a photo essay about aging prison inmates. Vanity Fair , August 1997 (posted Thursday, July 10) A long story on Robert Kennedy's 10 children rehashes their familiar troubles (Joe's divorce, Michael's babysitter affair, etc.). It concludes that Ethel Kennedy indulged her brood, and that Michael Kennedy probably did not sleep with the babysitter until she was 16, a legal age. A piece predicts that the Bancroft family, which controls Dow Jones, may oust CEO Peter Kann because of the miserable performance of the company's stock. The article depicts Kann as an ineffectual pushover and his wife, Karen House, a reporter-turned-Dow Jones exec., as a monster who terrorizes her Wall Street Journal underlings. A story says that legal publisher Steve Brill will launch a glossy, hard-hitting media-criticism magazine called Content . Mel Gibson is on the cover: The puff inside implies, unpersuasively, that he has a deep, dark soul. Time and Newsweek , July 14 (posted Tuesday, July 8) Nearly identical issues. Both Mars cover stories dwell on the can-do practicality of NASA's engineers: Pathfinder was built and launched for a fraction of the cost and in a fraction of the time required for earlier Mars missions. The stories applaud the upcoming flurry of Mars expeditions (eight launches in eight years), with Newsweek concluding that they will undoubtedly determine whether Mars ever hosted life. Both magazines preview the Senate fund-raising hearings that start this week, predicting much partisan bickering and few revelations. In Time , a Republican fund-raiser proposes a 12-step campaign-finance reform. Most notable step: immediate electronic reporting of all contributions. The magazines compete to publish the gushiest James Stewart obituary ( Time headline: "A Wonderful Fella"; Newsweek headline: "The All American Hero"). Also in Newsweek , a funny story about Spice Girls imitators. The all-girl band has spawned Spicy Girls, Nice 'n' Spicey, and Spiced Girls, among other copycats. And an article says that boxing's reputation is so bad that not even the Mike Tyson debacle could make it much worse. U.S. News & World Report , July 14 (posted Tuesday, July 8) The cover story exalts Dr. Laura Schlessinger, the radio therapist/world-class noodge, for her moral absolutism. Dr. Laura's immense popularity (20 million listeners) indicates a sea change in America's public morality: "The me-first era is over," and self-sacrifice and personal responsibility are in (at least for other people). Dr. Laura herself comes off as a somewhat cruel, mostly good-hearted, totally overbearing nag. A long article investigates "attachment disorder," a psychological malady that affects neglected east European toddlers adopted by Americans. Outwardly normal, the afflicted children are anti-social monsters: One adoptive mother has been charged with murdering her uncontrollable son. A piece tinged with Schadenfreude says that Starbucks may be growing too fast. It's opening a store every other day, but has been accused of predatory practices and mistreatment of coffee pickers, and may have oversaturated markets such as New York and Washington, D.C. The New Yorker , July 14 (posted Tuesday, July 8) A long story explores the sad, paranoid world of Mike Tyson and recounts the Holyfield fight in all its ludicrousness. Tyson is depicted as selfish, anxious, and thoroughly confused by the world around him. Highlights: the description of Tyson's entourage (ex-cons and sleazeballs) and a visit with Muhammad Ali, who declares that Tyson "don't have it." An essay argues that immigration is not the great economic boon its advocates claim, because virtually all economic benefits go to the immigrants themselves, not to native-born Americans. Immigration also threatens to divide America into two nations: one multicultural and young, the other white, older, and resentful. A writer catalogs the six phyla of screen aliens, which include "the small, gray, hairless, chinless, big-eyed waif" à la Close Encounters and "the comic-relief plush toy" such as Alf. Also, a moderately scatological piece celebrates the idea of disgust. Weekly Standard , July 14 (posted Tuesday, July 8) The cover story credits the economic boom to Alan Greenspan, America's capitalists, and Michael Milken (his junk bonds enabled undercapitalized but bold firms to take over and streamline stodgy companies). Deregulation, globalization, and productivity increases make it likely that the good times will last, but world events may not cooperate. An article mocks "cosmic capitalists," the geeky techno-entrepreneurs who wear shorts, repeat the word "vision" like a mantra, and prognosticate madly about the world's information-rich Edenic future. The editorial deplores the Supreme Court's anti-assisted-suicide decision for being insufficiently anti-assisted suicide. The Nation , July 21 (posted Tuesday, July 8) The Nation 's liberalism clashes with its libertarianism: The cover package wonders if the First Amendment needs to be revised to limit commercial speech (campaign contributions, cigarette ads, etc.). Ten writers opine, and there's no consensus. The civil libertarians (Floyd Abrams) warn of a slippery slope: If Philip Morris' commercial speech is constrained, limitations on the New York Times ' commercial speech are likely to follow. Others argue that noncommercial speech must be given special protection by the state. Also, Gore Vidal condemns the anti-sex moralism of the Wall Street Journal , concluding that America has degenerated into a theocracy.