Economist , Sept. 5
(posted
Saturday, Sept. 5, 1998)
The
cover editorial reassures readers that a global depression
is highly unlikely as long as the American economy stays strong. Since the
United States can still lower interest rates or cut taxes to prevent a slump,
there is little to worry about. The essay takes pains to note that current woes
are not the fault of the free market system and that protectionism and
regulation are not the answers. ... An article describes the modernization of the perfume and air
freshener industries. While companies once mined scents from natural sources
such as "the anuses of a mongoose-like African animal called a civet," they now
use computers and chemical synthesis to create new scents: After sampling odors
and digitizing their chemical makeup, scent-creators change various elements to
derive a new smell. ... The obituary mourns the death, at 84, of Otto
Wichterle, inventor of the soft contact lens. The Czech Wichterle, at one time
a political prisoner of the Nazis, discovered a polymer that lets the lens
remain moist while in contact with the eye. His technique, invented in 1961,
was bought by Bausch and Lomb. Although 100 million people use soft contact
lenses today, Wichterle wore glasses his whole life.
New
York Times Magazine , Sept. 6
(posted
Thursday, Sept. 3, 1998)
The cover
story criticizes Kenneth Starr's unwavering pursuit of the president. Starr's
pedantic, religious, exacting personality led him to drag out a case that other
prosecutors would have ended quickly. Starr tidbits: He's not brilliant but is
the hardest-working man in the legal system, he wanted desperately to be a
Supreme Court justice, and his "tin ear" for politics has hurt him in previous
cases. ... A story defends Joyce Maynard, whose forthcoming memoir
describes her affair with J.D. Salinger. Maynard may be self-obsessed, but what
writer isn't? If Salinger had written about her, "who would shed a tear for the
violated privacy of Joyce Maynard, purveyor of minor novels and contributor to
women's magazines?" (For more on Maynard and her memoir, see "The Book Club" in
Slate
.) ... An essay argues that treatment is our best bet
in the drug war. Treatment is cheaper and far more effective than interdiction,
but Clinton won't spend money on it for fear of looking soft on drugs. (See
this
Slate
"Dialogue" for
more on the subject.)
Time and Newsweek , Sept. 7
(posted
Tuesday, Sept. 1, 1998)
Time 's Russia cover
package focuses on the role of incoming Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin,
portraying him as sympathetic to Communist interests. (Minor problem: After
Time went to press, Communists, who control Parliament, blocked
Chernomyrdin's confirmation. Russia 1, Old Media 0.) Newsweek 's Russia
coverage includes sketches of the new Russian political players plus a profile
of shady oligarch Boris Berezovsky.
Newsweek 's cover
piece examines a new book claiming that parents have a scant role in shaping
their children. In fact, it's genetics and your peers that make you who you
are: How your parents raise you matters little. ( The New Yorker wrote
about this topic a month ago.) Newsweek buys the argument in part but
maintains that good parenting is still important.
A
Newsweek essay titled "So Much for Globalization" argues that the
failure of democracy and free markets in Russia will mark the end of the
world's faith in globalization. Eight pages later, a tribute to Princess Diana
emphasizes her embodiment of, yes, globalization: "Globalization has
become the decade's most overused word, but at its heart, it embodies a real
truth: technology has made this a planet of shared experiences."
The
New Yorker , Sept. 7
(posted
Tuesday, Sept. 1, 1998)
A piece
describes the breakdown of President Clinton's "communications machine."
Clinton's advisers, who used to protect him by spinning and covering up his
wrongdoing, have turned skeptical. The president is suddenly alone. ...
A profile of thriller novelist Stephen King finds him surprisingly ordinary: a
salt of the earth guy who cooks his own dinners, plays tennis with his son,
marvels at bank cards, and harbors a passion for books. (The piece is pegged to
the publication of Bag of Bones , King's first novel under his new,
extremely lucrative contract with Scribner.)
Weekly Standard, Sept. 7
(posted
Tuesday, Sept. 1, 1998)
The cover
story on the 30 th anniversary of 1968 reprises the standard
Standard line that the anti-establishment kids of the '60s have grown up
to be hypocrites. The anti-draft protestors who trumpeted "Power to the People"
were college-educated elitists themselves, and these rebels of yesteryear now
embrace the system as today's leaders. ... Also on the theme of lefty
hypocrisy, a piece derides the "steep decline of liberal moralism." How is it,
the piece asks, that liberals who relentlessly vilified Nixon have suddenly
decided that Clinton's lying is irrelevant?
New
Republic , Sept. 14 & 21
(posted
Saturday, Aug. 29, 1998)
A story
says Democrats are wrong to fear that a Clinton resignation will lead to
disastrous midterm election results. Republicans lost many seats after Nixon's
resignation because of a struggling economy, not because of Watergate. It's too
late for strong GOP candidates to emerge this year, and voter turnout won't be
depressed by Clinton's departure. Thus, Clinton should go. ... The
"TRB" column scolds pundits for claiming Clinton is no
longer effective: "Since when do we kick presidents out of office because they
are no longer effective?... Harry Truman was a laughingstock in Washington
after 1948, but he stayed in office. ... Perhaps no duck was lamer than Ronald
Reagan after Iran-Contra, yet resignation was never a serious issue."
More Flytrap
...
--Seth
Stevenson
