Barry Goldwater died. Conservatives lionized him as a pioneer of
conservatism before his time. Liberals congratulated him for repudiating the
religious right in later years. Pundits, starved for candor among today's
politicians, gladly overlooked Goldwater's lousy civil rights record as they
waxed nostalgic about his blunt-spokenness. President Clinton, recognizing that
unfashionableness has become fashionable, joined in the praise of Goldwater's
integrity and independence. (6/1/98)
            

            World
nuclear powers are scrambling to defuse the India-Pakistan arms race .
After Pakistan reportedly detonated six bombs in retaliation for the five
detonated by India last month, Indian political leaders 1) suggested India
would resume its "voluntary moratorium" on nuclear tests; 2) proposed a
no-first-use treaty with Pakistan; and 3) urged talks on a "nondiscriminatory"
world treaty to limit the nuclear programs of all nuclear powers. The good
news: India is trying to defuse its arms race with Pakistan. The bad news: The
known nuclear powers will never agree to a nondiscriminatory treaty. Instead,
they will ask India and Pakistan not to put their nukes on missiles. The
liberal pessimistic line: Sanctions won't solve the proliferation problem. The
conservative pessimistic line: Treaties won't solve it, either. The nonpartisan
pessimistic line: We'd better try something, because the alternative--mutual
nuclear deterrence--nearly led to U.S.-Soviet disaster early in the Cold War
and is likely to be even less stable in the case of India and Pakistan. For
a review of the state of wordplay before the Pakistani tests, click .

               (6/1/98)
            

            Newt
Gingrich ignited a storm of controversies in Israel . Two weeks after 1)
calling U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright "the agent of the
Palestinians," he 2) "slapped" President Clinton by saying non-Israelis have no
right to judge Israel's security needs; 3) told Israel's parliament that the
U.S. Congress backs Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu in his rejection of
Clinton's latest peace plan; 4) reportedly urged Netanyahu in a private meeting
to defy Clinton's plan (though the Clinton administration could not confirm the
report); and 5) declared Jerusalem Israel's "united and eternal capital,"
contrary to U.S. policy. Pundits called Gingrich's comments absurd,
undiplomatic, reckless, destructive, disloyal, McCarthyist, and a cynical play
for campaign money from American Jews. Gingrich replied that Clinton's aides
were trying "to attack me when I am overseas trying to be helpful."
(5/29/98)
            

            
Comedian Phil Hartman was shot to death , evidently by his wife, Brynn,
in a murder-suicide. Friends were baffled. Early speculation focused on
Hartman's alleged affairs, his demanding career, and his wife's history of
substance abuse. The Washington Post , while recalling the drug-induced
premature deaths of fellow former Saturday Night Live stars John Belushi
and Chris Farley, distinguished Hartman as well-liked and emotionally stable.
Most interesting factoid: Brynn Hartman's real name was Vicky Joe Omdahl.
(5/29/98)
            

            The
Federal Trade Commission is preparing an antitrust suit against Intel .
The alleged offenses: abusing its monopoly power and using pressure tactics
against uncooperative computer makers. Future charges may include predatory
pricing and anti-competitive contracts. Analysts linked the suit to the Justice
Department's case against Microsoft. Wintel critics cheered the assault. Cynics
joked that once again, the government is tackling a high-tech monopoly just as
it is beginning to lose its grip on the market. The Washington Post
reported that FTC staffers will now get "to share the spotlight" after "stewing
that they let Microsoft become a Justice Department trophy."
(5/29/98)
            

            
Springfield, Ore., buried two children killed by their classmate Kip Kinkel in
last week's cafeteria massacre . Politicians and experts debated the
meaning of it all. For a review of the arguments, click .
(5/27/98)
            

            Voters
in Northern Ireland approved a peace plan . Among other things, the plan
appeases Catholics by including Northern Ireland in an all-Ireland council, and
it appeases Protestants by abolishing the Irish Republic's constitutional claim
to the majority Protestant North. Editorialists cheered the vote as a rejection
of past violence and an embrace of peace and cooperation. (5/26/98)
            

            Judge
Norma Holloway Johnson ruled that Secret Service agents cannot refuse to
testify before the Lewinsky grand jury about the president's behavior. She
rejected the argument, advanced by the Secret Service and by President
Clinton's surrogates, that this would endanger presidents by causing them to
evade the Secret Service personnel who are supposed to protect them.
(5/26/98)
            

            
Pro-democracy parties won the first legislative elections in Hong Kong
under Chinese rule. The naive spin: The democrats won. The half-sophisticated
spin: The democrats get ripped off, because the Chinese rigged the election so
that only half the legislature's seats were available. The rest are chosen by
organizations from which most voters are excluded. The fully sophisticated
spin: Despite getting ripped off, the democrats have secured a political base
from which to harass and embarrass the Chinese. (5/26/98)
            

            The Supreme Court
refused to hear a challenge to a South Carolina child-endangerment law that
has been used to prosecute pregnant women who imperil their fetuses by using
illegal drugs. The challenge by pro-choice groups was based on narrow
arguments, but the media are spinning the court's action as a victory for fetal
rights. (5/26/98)