A
heat wave across the United States has killed more than 100 people,
mostly in Texas. Dallas is beginning its third straight week of temperatures
exceeding 100 degrees. Death Valley has reached 124. Illegal immigrants,
homeless people, and old folks who are stuck indoors without air conditioning
are in the greatest danger. Oklahomans have prayed for divine intervention to
no avail. The secular explanation meteorologists have offered for the heat
wave--"a persistent anomaly"--is no more satisfying. The bad news: There's no
relief in sight for the South. The worse news: The heat is spreading over the
Northeast. The good news: We're doing a lot better than Papua New Guinea, where
a 23 foot tsunami killed an estimated 3,000 people July 17 and left their
corpses to be devoured by crocodiles. (7/20/98)
            

            
Military officials have proposed to relax their policies against
adultery . The proposed changes, prompted by embarrassment over the Kelly
Flinn affair and other recent adultery scandals, would reduce the number of
prosecutions (by prosecuting only those cases in which the adultery has
demonstrably damaged troop morale) and the severity of the discharge imposed on
violators. Analysts have identified four schools of thought, in ascending order
of laxity: 1) The Marine Corps, which is resisting the loosening of standards
because, in the words of a spokesman, "If you can't trust the Marine next to
you to remain faithful, how can you trust him on the battlefield?" 2) The Army,
which, unlike the other services, thinks officers should be allowed to
fraternize with enlisted personnel who are not in their chain of command. 3)
Military law critics who prefer the civilian standard, under which adultery is
rarely prosecuted. 4) President Clinton. (7/20/98)
            

            
               The
Food and Drug Administration approved thalidomide as a treatment for
leprosy complications. Everyone assumes doctors will prescribe it more often
for AIDS complications. The real news isn't the approval, which was decided
upon months ago, but the elaborate new regime of warnings and restrictions,
which are designed to prevent a recurrence of the birth defects thalidomide
caused in the 1960s. Analysts credit the new rules to collaboration between the
drug's manufacturer (Celgene) and thalidomide victims. Optimists call it a
model of cooperation and prudent regulation. The media are taking the
opportunity to write once again about stumps and flippers. (7/17/98)
            

            

               Lockheed Martin dropped its takeover of Northrop Grumman rather than
continue to fight a federal antitrust suit. The Justice and Defense departments
had argued the merger would imperil national defense by reducing competition.
The charitable economic spin: DOD has reversed its policy of encouraging
defense industry mergers. The cynical economic spin: Thanks to DOD's
encouragement, every company small enough to merge legally has done so, leaving
a few behemoths. The charitable political spin, from the Washington
Post : It's "a huge victory for the government's re-energized antitrust
efforts." The cynical political spin, from Lockheed's CEO: Lockheed backed down
from the fight not because it respects the government's authority but because
the government is "our biggest customer." (7/17/98)
            

            

               Madison Square Garden hired Marv Albert as a radio and TV sportscaster.
Last year, he pleaded guilty to assault for biting an ex-lover, whom he also
allegedly forced to commit sodomy. Albert had worked for MSG for two decades
before going to NBC. The spins, in order of ascending cynicism: 1) MSG is being
loyal to Albert because Albert was loyal to MSG. 2) Albert has paid his debt
and acknowledged that "what I did was wrong." 3) As the Washington Post
puts it, "The road to redemption is getting shorter and shorter." 4)
Redemption? MSG president Dave Checketts suggested Albert's notoriety would
boost the ratings. (7/17/98)
            

            A jury
ruled that the Rev. Al Sharpton and two other "advisers" defamed former
Prosecutor Steven Pagones by accusing him of raping Tawana Brawley in 1987.
This confirms a 1988 grand jury report that exonerated Pagones and suggested
the Brawley "rape" was a hoax. Brawley and the advisers are black; Pagones is
white. The advisers called the defamation case an attempt to silence those who
challenge the white establishment and "to punish three men who have clearly
given their lives and their careers to help people who could not help
themselves." Editorialists called the verdict an affirmation that the truth
matters more than 1) ideological fantasy and 2) self-promotion camouflaged by
ideological fantasy. The softhearted spin: Sharpton will suffer the worst
damage because, ironically, he is the only one of the advisers to have sought
to moderate his public image. The hardhearted spin: Sharpton continues to
rationalize rather than recant or repent. (7/15/98)
            

            The
International Monetary Fund and other lenders agreed to add $17 billion to
the Russian bailout . In exchange, Russia agreed to clean up its budget
practices and reform its financial system to attract private investment. News
of the deal boosted Russian markets. The spins, in order of ascending cynicism:
1) Russia has failed to deliver the reforms it promised in exchange for
previous loans. 2) If we don't lend the extra money, there will be financial
meltdown, chaos, and maybe a coup. 3) That nightmare scenario is just what
Yeltsin wants us to envision. 4) Russia's Parliament is too irresponsible to
approve the necessary reforms. 5) The U.S. Congress is too irresponsible to
extend further credit to the IMF to support the bailout. (7/15/98)
            

            Linda Tripp resumed her
testimony before the Lewinsky grand jury, two days after Tripp's lawyers
appeared on several weekend TV shows to portray their client as a good citizen
who was forced to tell prosecutors about President Clinton's philandering and
Lewinsky's efforts to cover it up. (For a dissection of the Tripp camp's
spin, click .) 
               (7/14/98)