Economist , Sept. 20
(posted
Saturday, Sept. 20)
The cover editorial and a 48-page survey of the world economy
reject the conventional wisdom that the era of big government is over. The
share of government spending in the gross domestic product of industrial
countries has risen steadily throughout the century, up to the current 46
percent. Exceptions: Hong Kong and Singapore, which got rich with small
bureaucracies. A story on Bill Weld's blocked nomination blames not Jesse Helms
("now in his fifth rumbustious term") but the Senate itself. Archaic rules let
one passionate senator win out over reasoned argument. Also, an article says
China's new military cuts are in troop size, not spending. China, like most of
East Asia, seeks high-tech weaponry.
New
Republic , Oct. 6
(posted
Friday, Sept. 19)
One
reason New Republic editor Michael Kelly was fired is that his "TRB"
columns were too tough on Al Gore. But this week's TRB, headlined "Impeach
Gore," is not as harsh as it seems. It argues that an independent counsel lets
both sides hide behind legal technicalities. Impeachment hearings would never
oust Gore, but they would reveal the truth. The cover story on John Sweeney
advises the AFL-CIO president to be more militant. Sweeney is too often
subservient to the White House and the Democratic National Committee. To remain
relevant, labor must take risks and build its membership (current growth rate:
less than 2 percent per year). Also, an article says right-wingers are becoming
socially conscious, establishing conservative-minded mutual funds and
boycotting products. Cheerios are out: General Mills gives to Planned
Parenthood.
New
York Times Magazine , Sept. 21
(posted
Thursday, Sept. 18)
The cover
story on Harold Ickes compares the former Clinton aide to his FDR-aide father.
Each Ickes kept absurdly copious notes, and was doggedly loyal to his boss.
Despite the fact that he was dismissed and abandoned by Clinton, and despite
the fact that he turned his notes over to the Thompson committee, the younger
Ickes maintains "unshakable" faith in Clinton. An article on Oliver Stone says
he has eschewed political diatribe in his forthcoming film U-Turn and
his planned sequel to Mission: Impossible . Instead, Stone seeks
mainstream clout. Also, a story refutes the notion that learning-disabled kids
get too much attention. Schools that are looking for places to save money are
tossing most LD-diagnosed kids into regular classes, where they are not
assigned the rote drills they need if they are to learn how to read.
Time and Newsweek , Sept. 22
(posted
Tuesday, Sept. 16)
Newsweek devotes the cover package to Mother Teresa, asking when she
will be sainted. (Canonization can take more than 100 years.) The pope may
waive several necessary steps, but Mother Teresa must still be credited with a
posthumously performed miracle. (She'd better get cracking.) Time 's
cover story credits America Online CEO Steve Case with
simplifying the Internet for consumers and notes that AOL's acquisition of
CompuServe's subscribers tightens its domination of the online market. The Di
news continues as both mags chronicle the life and final drunken hours of Di
driver Henri Paul. (Time has more details, even listing his brand of liquor,
Ricard pastis.) Newsweek looks at how children deal with death: "A child
who has lost a parent feels helpless, even if he's a future King of England;
abandoned, even in a palace with a million citizens wailing at the gates." And
Time discounts the warnings of anti-nuke activists who claim
that the 72 pounds of plutonium on NASA's soon-to-be-launched Saturn explorer
poses a health hazard. The radioactive fuel is safely encased, and will not
pollute the atmosphere if the spacecraft explodes. ( The Nation
disagrees; see below.)
U.S.
News & World Report , Sept. 22
(posted
Tuesday, Sept. 16)
The
cover
story credits Julia Child with "invent[ing] modern life." How? The
celebrity chef launched the gourmet-food craze, made American cooking
respectable, empowered housewives, and legitimized public television. And she's
a lot of fun, too. A reporter visits Little Rock's Central High School 40 years after
integration and finds a new kind of segregation: White students take honors
classes, black students take regular classes. The reason: White parents press
their kids onto the honors track, black parents don't. An article heralds the rise of the worm industry ("vermiculture"):
Worms are a cheap, environmentally sound way of turning garbage into
fertilizer.
The
New Yorker , Sept. 22
(posted
Tuesday, Sept. 16)
Sex
Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren chronicles his wild '70s life, focusing on Sid
Vicious' 1978 arrest for his girlfriend's murder. Among many highlights:
McLaren fences sound equipment stolen by the Sex Pistols from David Bowie's
house; McLaren rejects William Kunstler as Vicious' defense attorney because he
listens to "Bob Dylan or Joan Baez--possibly even Joni Mitchell"; McLaren tries
to sanitize Vicious' image by finding him a "librarian" girlfriend. An article
on the insanity defense recounts the miserable story of Edward Allen, the child
of a wealthy New York family who's now on Oklahoma's death row for murdering
his wife. Allen, who defended himself, tried to prove he was insane, but the
jury didn't buy it. A piece describes--only half in jest--"Diana's Relics."
Among them: "the pearl choker," "the Elvis dress," and "the cardigan with
running reindeer." Unlike other saints' emblems, Diana's relics can be bought
in stores. Also, The
New Yorker breaks with tradition by
publishing photographs of contributors.
Vanity Fair , October 1997
(posted
Tuesday, Sept. 16)
An
article on the JonBenet Ramsey case presents evidence that strongly suggests
her parents killed her. But the district attorney's office has botched the case
by cooperating with the parents' attorneys, so it's unlikely that charges will
ever be filed. The "New Establishment 1997" ranks "the 50 most powerful players
of the Information Age." Bill Gates is first, Rupert Murdoch second. (Only two
women are listed, at No. 47 and No. 48.) On the cover: Nicole Kidman. She's
cagey about her new movie, Stanley Kubrick's mysterious Eyes Wide
Shut .
Weekly Standard , Sept. 22
(posted
Tuesday, Sept. 16)
The cover
editorial and article rip Al Gore. The editorial calls him a sleazeball based
on the fund-raising evidence. The article says that while Gore doesn't seem
rattled by the allegations, he should be. Even his allies are anxious. The
Standard accuses the United Way of political correctness (a capital
crime!): The charity has shifted funding from dull-but-worthy projects like CPR
training to programs that are supposed to support "ethnic communities." Also,
an article savages Diana for not doing her duty. She wanted money, popularity,
pleasure, and leisure, but not the obligations that came with her title.
The
Nation , Sept. 29
(posted
Tuesday, Sept. 16)
An
article says Rudy Giuliani is not as good as he seems. Crime may be down, but
public schools are as lousy as ever, and the unemployment rate is one of the
highest in the nation. Two editorials oppose NASA's plutonium-laden mission to
Saturn (see Time , above). An explosion of the spacecraft within the
Earth's atmosphere would spread toxic particles, endangering millions. An essay
by Mother Teresa basher Christopher Hitchens likens the nun to Princess Di:
Both used the poor and sick as "accessories" in "the service and the pursuit of
the rich and powerful."
--Compiled by Seth Stevenson and the editors of Slate .
