Economist , Aug. 9
(posted
Saturday, Aug. 9)
The
cover editorial takes a dim view of America's giddy stock
market. In order to justify today's stratospheric share prices, profits and
productivity must grow at improbably high rates for an impossibly long time.
(For Slate's similarly pessimistic take, see Michael Kinsley's "The Stock Market
Chicken-Counting Orgy.") A related article notes that the skyrocketing stock market is
a worldwide phenomenon: Equity markets are booming in Europe and Asia, too,
thanks to low interest rates. The Economist celebrates the
100 th birthday of aspirin, the world's first synthetic drug and
still one of the best. Latest bit of good news: Aspirin now seems to prevent
bowel cancer, in addition to relieving pain, quelling inflammation, and
preventing strokes and heart attacks.
New
Republic , Aug. 25
(posted
Friday, Aug. 8)
The cover
story deplores the overdiagnosis of learning disabilities: LD advocates say
that as many as 50 million Americans are learning-disabled; critics say that
students claim impairment to extract special treatment from schools (extra
tutoring, extra time on tests, etc.). The disabilities include such dubious
afflictions as "dysgraphia"--that is, bad handwriting. A piece argues that
black Americans espouse paranoid myths (that the CIA sells crack in the inner
cities, for example) because it's easier for them to believe that white America
is trying to destroy them than to believe that white America doesn't care about
them. The "TRB" column suggests that William Weld could revive the Republican
Party and position himself as a 2000 presidential contender by fighting Jesse
Helms over Weld's nomination as ambassador to Mexico. (For Slate's less
flattering view of Weld, see Franklin Foer's "Assessment."
Also check out the "Frame Game" on Weld vs. Helms.)
Vanity Fair , September 1997
(posted
Friday, Aug. 8)
VF
traces Andrew Cunanan's bloody trail from San Diego to Minneapolis to Chicago
to Miami. He favored hard-core S&M, belonged to a fraternity of rich,
mostly closeted gay men called Gamma Mu, dealt drugs to support his lavish
lifestyle, and lied to everyone about everything. A Harold Ickes profile says
the ex-Clinton staffer is cruel, bullying, and smart. Clinton may have tossed
him aside, but Ickes is retaliating by cooperating with campaign-finance
investigators. Also, a pair of articles on celebrity marriage. One piece mocks
Larry King for marrying too often, depicting him as needy, lonely, and
desperate for attention. The other claims that the marriage of Rudy Giuliani
and actress/TV journalist Donna Hanover is a façade: The New York mayor has
been conducting an affair with his communications director for the past three
years, and Hanover will separate from him after this fall's election. The story
chastises New York media for ignoring the story, saying they fear alienating
the vindictive Giuliani.
New
York Times Magazine , Aug. 10
(posted
Thursday, Aug. 7)
The cover
story reports on Robert McNamara's visit with his old North Vietnamese
counterparts. McNamara accepts some blame for the war; the Vietnamese don't. A
story recounts how a long-shunned medical researcher is finally winning
acceptance for his unconventional theories on heart disease, and suggests that
new ideas in medicine are often slighted when they don't stand to make money
for drug companies. A piece profiles Manhattan's real-estate barons. They're
being challenged by a new, faceless breed of property investors, but they're
not worried.
Newsweek and Time , Aug. 11
(posted
Tuesday, Aug. 5)
Newsweek hypes as
"exclusive" a new bimbo eruption. A former aide to White House counsel Bernard
Nussbaum tells the magazine that, in 1993, another White House employee,
Kathleen E. Willey, told her that she had been groped and kissed by the
president. Paula Jones' lawyers have subpoenaed Willey to establish Clinton's
"pattern of behavior."
Newsweek offers its
eighth medical cover story of the year. "The Hidden Causes of Heart Attacks"
identifies a new villain, the amino acid homocysteine, which damages "arterial
walls if it reaches high concentrations in the blood stream." Newsweek
advises a prevention regimen of multivitamins, especially vitamins B-6 and
B-12. ( Time published a piece on homocysteine last week.) Other risk
factors for heart disease include low birth weight and infections like
gingivitis.
Forget about saving the
whales: Time reports that the overfishing of sharks for fins (an Asian
delicacy) and cartilage (mistakenly thought to prevent cancer) has brought
several species to low population levels.
Both
magazines analyze the budget deal. A Newsweek columnist notes that the
budget would have balanced itself quicker if Congress had done nothing new.
U.S.
News & World Report , Aug. 11
(posted
Tuesday, Aug. 5)
The
cover
story offers a News You Can Use analysis of the budget deal's tax cuts: You
benefit if you are middle class and have kids, or are rich and own stock. A
report details how a new coal-mining technique, which decapitates
mountains, has scarred West Virginia's scenery, destroyed property, and created
floods. An earnest analysis of women in the military advocates that the Pentagon use
the techniques that helped integrate blacks into the services.
Weekly Standard , Aug. 11
(posted
Tuesday, Aug. 5)
The cover
story lauds Jesse Helms as (next to Reagan) "the most important conservative of
the last 25 years." Helms is "misunderstood," "an able and resourceful
executive," "the easiest boss in Congress," and "a kindly, courtly gentleman
who loves kids." "Helms's gutsiest decision has been to confront the homosexual
movement." (For Slate's take, see "The Old
Carolinians.") An editorial criticizes the Clinton administration for
threatening to withhold federal aid from the University of Texas and the
University of California, both of which have enacted race-blind admissions
policies. And an article opposes the use of statistical sampling for the next
census, arguing that the samplers will favor Democrats.
The
New Yorker , Aug. 11
(posted
Tuesday, Aug. 5)
A long
profile of Soviet refusenik-turned-Israeli Cabinet member Natan Sharansky
examines the struggle of moving from sainthood to practical politics. An
editorial argues that the balanced-budget compromise is not a compromise, since
both sides granted each other all the spending and tax cuts they wanted, and
hence will not balance the budget. An article profiles John Doerr, a Silicon
Valley venture capitalist in search of the next big technological
revolution.
