ArticleIP_1478.txt

   
   
      
         
            

            The
White House released videotapes of President Clinton's coffees with
political donors. The tapes were made by White House television crews (i.e.,
recorded in the open) and cover only the first few minutes of each coffee
(i.e., introductions and small talk). The White House says the tapes show
nothing illegal. Questions: 1) Why is the audio missing from the most important
clip--the coffee at which John Huang allegedly made an introductory pitch for
campaign contributions? One investigator calls this "a Rose Mary Woods
problem," referring to the infamous 18-and-a-half-minute gap on Richard Nixon's
secretary's tape. 2) Why were the tapes turned over only after Senate
investigators specifically asked for videotapes--and only hours after Attorney
General Janet Reno cleared Clinton of alleged campaign-finance
violations--despite previous congressional subpoenas demanding all records
relevant to Clinton's fund raising? Republicans now are raising the possibility
of obstruction of justice and demanding that Reno reconsider her decision to
clear Clinton. Regardless of the tapes' content, pundits are looking forward to
another orgy of Clinton-Nixon comparisons. (10/6)
            

            
Hundreds of thousands of men attended the Promise Keepers national
assembly in Washington. The assembly called on men to accept Jesus Christ;
confess their selfishness and sexual sins; and take leadership in their
families, churches, and communities. Critics accused the group of advocating a
return to patriarchy. Several members of Congress showed up, and President
Clinton applauded the men for promising "to reassume their responsibilities to
the families." The media's buildup to the assembly focused on gender
controversies--but the assembly focused more on racial reconciliation, the
attendees behaved humbly, and the speakers forswore political plans or motives.
The press finally acquitted the Promise Keepers of the charge that they are
divisive and leveled the more serious charge that they are boring. (Slate's
Tucker Carlson was at the rally--check out his "Dispatch."
Also read this "Dialogue" between Time 's Ron Stodghill and U.S. News
& World Report 's Marci McDonald.) (10/6)
            

            Israel
botched an assassination attempt on a Hamas leader . According to various
reports, Israel 1) infuriated Jordan by infiltrating that country and staging
the attack there; 2) infuriated Canada and other countries by forging Canadian
passports for the Israeli agents; 3) bungled the attack, leading to the agents'
arrest; 4) was forced to release the founder of Hamas (who was serving a life
sentence) and other Hamas prisoners from Israeli jails and to supply an
antidote for the lethal nerve toxin used in the attack, in order to assuage
Jordan's anger; and 5) aroused such fury at Israel and sympathy for Hamas that
Yasser Arafat reportedly will have to release the Hamas prisoners he has
rounded up and reopen Hamas institutions. Domestic and foreign critics called
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a terrorist and a fool and added that
the attack was so stupid and potentially calamitous that he's lucky he screwed
it up. (10/6)
            

            Now
they tell us: 1) George Bush's diary tapes (not to be confused with
Clinton's White House tapes) show him admitting that he "blew it" when he
picked Dan Quayle as his running mate, according to a new book. Bush's
spokesman says Bush was referring to how the selection was managed, not to
Quayle himself. 2) The same book says that at the 1980 Republican convention,
Ronald Reagan told a friend: "I have strong reservations about George Bush. I'm
concerned about turning the country over to him." 3) According to another book,
Lyndon Johnson's White House tapes (not to be confused with Bill
Clinton's White House tapes) indicate he suspected Fidel Castro of complicity
in President Kennedy's assassination but feared that a U.S. military response
would trigger nuclear war. (To listen to some of the LBJ tapes, click here.) 4) Reagan's
doctors told the New York Times that he showed no signs of
Alzheimer's disease during his presidency. The alternative explanation for his
mental lapses: indifference to detail. 5) At a forum on mental illness this
weekend, George McGovern said he shouldn't have dumped Sen. Tom Eagleton from
his ticket in 1972. (10/6)
            

            

               Algerian atrocity watch : Militants 1) decapitated or cut the throats of
12 children and 26 adults in one village; 2) similarly massacred 22 children
and 15 adults in another village; 3) slaughtered 20 teen-agers and young adults
at a wedding; and 4) attacked a school bus and killed the driver and 16
children, some of whom were shot through the head. (10/6)
            

            
Miscellany: Ralph Nader is launching a campaign against
Microsoft , alleging "a strange type of monopolistic practice" that controls
"content and innovation" rather than price. Sun chairman Scott McNealy and
Silicon Valley attorney Gary Reback will speak at an anti-Microsoft conference
organized by Nader. Sen. John McCain , R-Ariz., is threatening NBC
with hostile legislation or obstruction of its affiliates' license renewals
unless NBC adopts the new sex-and-violence ratings system. CBS News is
offering up to $1,000 for news tips, but the network says it's OK because
only journalists (not "the subjects of stories or anyone connected to them")
are eligible. The Los Angeles Times says bowling is all the rage in
China. (10/6)
            

            Paint
traces may indicate that Princess Diana's car collided with a black Fiat
just before the fatal crash. Signal-light fragments found at the scene also
bolster the second-car theory, coinciding with eyewitness testimony that a car
and a motorcycle, possibly carrying a photographer, weaved in front of Diana's
car just before the crash. The bodyguard who survived the crash has recovered
partial memory of events before the crash, but evidently can't answer whether a
Fiat struck Diana's car. Doctors say he might eventually recover his memory of
the crash itself. (10/3)
            

            
President Clinton announced plans to block imports of food and
vegetables from countries with weak food-inspection systems. Consumer
advocates said the measures are too weak (they don't set the same standards
abroad that apply here). Free-trade advocates said they are too strong (they
may prompt retaliatory measures from affected countries). Analysts said they
are driven by political rather than safety concerns (the plan may garner votes
for Clinton's fast-track trade negotiating proposals among congressmen fearing
influxes of contaminated food). The public is expected to welcome the measures.
(10/3)
            

            
Conservative activists are taking charge of the Paula Jones case . Jones
accepted financial support from the Rutherford Institute, which has assisted
fundamentalists in various legal fights. At Rutherford's recommendation, Jones
also hired a Dallas law firm that has defended pro-lifers, student prayer, and
the Texas sodomy law. Analysts see this as bad news for Clinton on the
settlement front (since Jones' new lawyers seem eager to go to trial) but good
news on the PR front (since it plays into the White House line that Jones is a
puppet of Clinton's enemies). Reporters noted that in her press conference,
Jones spoke only when given permission by her adviser, Susan
Carpenter-McMillan. (For more on Carpenter-McMillan, see Slate's "Assessment.")
(10/3)
            

            Bosnian
Muslims reportedly are arming for an overwhelming assault on Bosnian
Serbs . A NATO commander told the New York Times , "The question no
longer is if the Muslims will attack the Bosnian Serbs, but when," and that
"the only way to prevent such an attack ... is for the peacekeeping mission to
extend its mandate" beyond the deadline by which U.S. forces are supposed to
pull out. The Times speculated that NATO officials leaked the bad news
to persuade Congress not to pull out the troops. The paper also concluded that
the U.S. policy of equipping and training Muslim forces may not be such a
bright idea. (10/3)
            

            Scott
Krueger, an MIT fraternity pledge, died of alcohol poisoning after a
frat party. This has rekindled the concern and outrage sparked a few weeks ago
by the similar death of a pledge at Louisiana State University. The high-minded
spin: The two cases underscore an epidemic of binge drinking in frats and
colleges in general. The naughty spin: How could this have happened at MIT,
where, unlike LSU, the kids are supposed to be smart? (10/1)
            

            The
U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops called for acceptance of
homosexuality . The bishops said homosexual orientation "cannot be
considered sinful," because it "is experienced as a given." The catch: Gays
must remain "chaste," which means avoiding "genital sexual involvement" with
same-sex friends. The bishops called their position old news, but gay Catholics
found the shift in emphasis significant. (10/1)
            

            Senate
Majority Leader Trent Lott proposed to amend the McCain-Feingold bill to
ban unions from funneling dues to political activity without workers' explicit
consent. Analysts agreed that he's using the amendment to make the bill
unpalatable to Democrats so they'll kill reform and the blood will be on their
hands. Editorialists admired and reviled his diabolical shrewdness. Critics
argued workers can quit a union if they don't like its political activities and
that any debate about regulating union money should be taken up separately.
Even if enough Republicans join Democrats to kill the amendment, more would be
needed to defeat the filibuster that has already been promised. (For Slate's
take, see "Chronicle of a Death Foretold," by Jacob Weisberg.)
(10/1)
            

            More
miscellany: Capitalizing on frayed relations between British Telecom and MCI,
WorldCom outbid BT by offering $30 billion for MCI. New York Lt. Gov. Elizabeth
"Betsy" McCaughey Ross switched from the Republican to the Democratic
Party. Republicans were glad to get rid of her. Democrats gave her only a
perfunctory welcome. Ex-Rep. Mary Rose Oakar, D-Ohio, will plead guilty
to evading campaign-finance laws. Hooters settled a discrimination
lawsuit by shelling out $3.75 million and agreeing to hire men--as support
staff, not as waiters, thereby preserving the tradition of Hooters Girls.
(10/1)
            

            Pop-art icon Roy
Lichtenstein died . Obituaries generally celebrated him for countering
texture and esoteric expression with irreverence and ironic wit, and for being
an all-around nice guy. The Washington Post said he "made the vulgar
chic" and "the ersatz ... authentic." (10/1)