A
gunman burst into the U.S. Capitol and shot and killed two policemen.
The man, Russell Weston Jr., lived in a shack 40 miles from the Unabomber's
Montana cabin. He was wounded and captured. It appears doctors have managed to
save his life, which means he can be tried for murder in federal court and
possibly executed. The media launched into saturation-coverage mode focusing on
Weston's motive. The answer, paranoid schizophrenia, is expected to provide
Weston's insanity defense. Members of Congress rushed forward to tell reporters
how close they had come to being in the vicinity and, thereby, to possibly
getting shot. Pundits pondered the dilemma between security and public access
to government buildings. Editorialists and experts blamed: 1) opponents of gun
laws (despite reports that Weston stole the gun from his father); 2) the mental
hospital that discharged Weston after a nutty episode in 1996; and 3) the CIA
and the Secret Service, for failing to take other previous nutty episodes
seriously. (7/27/98)
            

            
Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr subpoenaed President Clinton to
testify before the Lewinsky grand jury. Pundits think Clinton could delay the
investigation by refusing the subpoena and that he might even get it quashed on
the grounds that a sitting president can't be forced to testify, but agree the
political cost of such a fight would be too high for Clinton. (See "Pundit Central"
for more.) Instead, his lawyers are negotiating with Starr over a less
embarrassing alternative. Clinton reportedly wants 1) to testify at the White
House, not at the courthouse; 2) to limit the scope of the questions; 3) to see
the questions in advance; 4) to answer in writing rather than orally; 5) to
have his lawyer present. Reports indicate Starr is willing to give Clinton the
first condition but none of the others. Editorialists think this is a fair
deal. (7/27/98)
            

            Japan's
ruling Liberal Democratic Party selected Foreign Minister Keizo Obuchi
to lead the LDP and thereby become prime minister. The previous prime minister
resigned after voters seriously weakened the LDP's control of Parliament
because the economy is in shambles. Obuchi promised to fix the economy by
cutting taxes and reforming the banking system. The pessimistic spins: 1)
Obuchi can't turn around the government and the economy, because he is a dull
consensus-builder; 2) even if Obuchi were dynamic, the LDP has lost so many
seats it must now compromise with other parties to get anything done. The
optimistic spin: It will take a dull consensus builder to compromise with the
other parties and get something done. (See "International
Papers" for reactions from Japan.) (7/27/98)
            

            

               White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry announced he will leave this
fall. Pundits agree this means the White House thinks President Clinton is out
of the woods in the Lewinsky scandal, so his aides can finally depart for
lucrative private sector jobs without looking like rats deserting a sinking
ship. White House reporters, who depend on the press secretary's good graces,
lauded McCurry's candor, nobility, and unfailing good humor in service to his
country and commenced sucking up to his designated successor, Joe Lockhart.
Editorialists, who do not depend on the press secretary's good graces, pointed
out that McCurry has helped Clinton stonewall the Lewinsky scandal to death
while deliberately remaining ignorant of tawdry facts in order to preserve his
image of candor and nobility. (7/27/98)
            

            

               Nigerian military ruler Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar has called elections
for early next year and pledged to relinquish power to a civilian government by
May. American editorialists protested the transition is too slow, but Nigerians
count themselves lucky, since previous "transitions" have been slower and
illusory. The spins: 1) The transition is a fraud, because Nigerian dictators
always lie. 2) This time it will be different, because Abubakar seems like a
nice guy. 3) Abubakar is such a nice guy he must be a puppet for other, meaner
generals who will cancel or annul the elections if they don't get their way.
(7/22/98)
            

            Update
on the Tawana Brawley defamation trial : 1) The Rev. Al Sharpton, who has
been found liable for defaming Prosecutor Steven Pagones by accusing him of
raping Brawley, refused to apologize and depicted the defamation suit as an
attempt to silence a brave civil rights martyr, i.e., himself. 2) Brawley may
face cross-examination in the damages phase of the trial, now that the judge
has ruled that one of the defendants can call her as a witness. The superficial
spin: It's not fair to let her testify, since she failed to appear in previous
hearings. The sophisticated spin: The defendants were counting on the judge to
bar her testimony so they could claim she was being silenced. Instead, the
judge is calling their bluff. (7/22/98)
            

            Update
on the Monica Lewinsky investigation : 1) Prosecutors are interrogating
Secret Service officers before the grand jury, reportedly about Clinton's
liaisons with Lewinsky and his meetings with his attorneys. Clinton's chief
Secret Service bodyguard, Larry Cockell, has been relieved of duty while he
faces questioning. 2) A judge has reportedly ordered Independent Counsel
Kenneth Starr to show why he shouldn't be held in contempt of court for
allegedly leaking to the press. This would force Starr's prosecutors to answer
questions and release documents, possibly derailing his investigation. 3) U.N.
Ambassador Bill Richardson told senators it was "very normal" for him to
interview Lewinsky personally for a low-level job at the request of a White
House aide. The senators reportedly bought it. (For an analysis of the
Lewinsky endgame, click .) 
               (7/22/98)
            

            The
online virgins 
               scam has unraveled. "Mike" and "Diane," two
supposedly 18-year-old virgins who were going to surrender their virginity live
on the Internet, have confessed they aren't 18, aren't virgins, and aren't
planning to have sex. In a press conference before angry reporters at a condom
shop, they defended their stunt, saying it was meant to be "a moral lesson" and
"the biggest public service announcement ever" on behalf of safe sex and
abstinence. The company that was hired to transmit the event to computer users
says it was a money-making hoax. "Mike" and "Diane" said they hoped the event
would launch their careers. They announced their real names, which

                  Slate
                has mysteriously forgotten. (7/22/98)
            

            The
government is soliciting public reaction to a proposed national health
identification system . The simplest version would allow each person's
medical records to be accessed by inputting his or her Social Security number.
Some doctors and insurers say it will help doctors get past information about
their patients and will help administrators manage billing information for
insurance purposes. Critics on the left and right joined the American Medical
Association in denouncing it as a threat to privacy. The Chicago Tribune
called it unnecessary, "frightening," and a violation of doctor-patient trust.
The government hopes to construct the database in a way that will satisfy
privacy advocates, but this seems impossible, since they 1) oppose precisely
the easy access meant to justify the database and 2) think insurers will use
the information to discriminate against costly patients. (7/21/98)
            

            Conservative and gay
rights activists have launched dueling ad campaigns about the ex-gay
movement . The conservatives, borrowing from recent remarks by Senate
Majority Leader Trent Lott, argue homosexuality is an unhealthy lifestyle from
which many former gays have successfully recovered. The gay rights groups claim
the ex-gay movement is a public relations front for conservative efforts to
discriminate against gays. (For an analysis of the strategic implications of
the debate, click .) 
               (7/21/98)