Economist , March 1
(posted
Saturday, March 1)
The
cover editorial--headlined, of course, "Hello, Dolly"--rejects
alarmist The Boys From Brazil theories about cloning, declaring that
"careful application of biotechnology" can be enormously beneficial: "The fact
that new technologies feel scary or strange should not be enough to rule them
out." A related article praises the utility of genetically engineered
animals, and notes that scientists have been using them for almost 20 years.
Also, a story concludes that East Asia's economies are in excellent
shape, despite recent drops in their growth rates. And the Economist
interviews President Clinton about foreign policy: He says the United States
"can't afford to isolate China."
New
Republic , March 17
(posted
Friday, Feb. 28)
"The Madness of Speaker Newt" chronicles Gingrich's decline:
Newt's Republican "revolutionaries" are abandoning him; his advisers are
recriminating over who's to blame for his collapse; and potential successors
are jockeying for position. Gingrich's own mood swings prompt one anonymous GOP
congressman to quip that "a good dose of antidepressants might help, if he
isn't on them already." A pair of articles catalog Mexico's drug
corruption--especially its crooked drug czar--and scold the Clinton
administration for ignoring it. Also, TNR publishes an appreciation of
teachers' union chief Albert Shanker, whose advertorials appeared in the
magazine for a quarter-century.
Harper's , March 1997
(posted
Friday, Feb. 28)
An
article deplores modern libraries for buying too many expensive, hard-to-use
computers and too few books: "Unique, anomalous, unconventional knowledge" is
being lost. (And the worst part: Libraries aren't even silent anymore!) Another
article calls the rebuilding after the 1991 Berkeley Hills fire an
"architectural disaster." Grotesque, overdesigned mansions have risen where
beautiful, modest houses once stood. Also, a writer spends a sunless winter in
Greenland: She drinks a lot.
New
York Times Magazine , March 2
(posted
Thursday, Feb. 27)
The cover
story tours Africa and finds it a dangerous, but salvageable, mess. On the one
hand, anarchy engulfs Sudan, Zaire, and other nations, and this chaos helps
spread nasty diseases (malaria, cholera, AIDS, etc.) around the world. On the
other hand, leaders who are--by African standards--democratic, uncorrupt, and
competent have taken over former military dictatorships such as Uganda. A bit
of Western investment could stabilize these promising countries. Also, an
English professor writes about getting fired and becoming a carpenter. And the
Sophisticated Traveler supplement journeys to Tibet, Memphis, and San
Diego, among other locales.
Time and Newsweek , March 3
(posted
Tuesday, Feb. 25)
A "Special Report" tag
adorns both newsweeklies' cover stories on Deng Xiaoping. Similar obituaries and "whither China?" pieces paint Deng as a hard-nosed
pragmatist and marvel at China's economic growth, but caution that the country
is still beset by poverty, corruption, pollution, etc. Newsweek 's bigger
package offers a book excerpt from Sinophile Henry Kissinger on the history of
U.S.-China relations that lionizes Deng and Mao Tse-tung (and, of course,
Kissinger). Hong Kong Gov. Christopher Patten advises the Chinese government
that the colony's prosperity stems from its freedom. Newsweek also
depicts new Chinese head of state Jiang Zemin as a law-and-order moralist who
is much less comfortable with capitalism's excesses than Deng was. Time
says that Jiang will probably face a challenge to his authority at next fall's party
Congress.
Johnny Depp, star of the new
movie Donnie Brasco , is much praised by both magazines: He eschews
conventional roles, yet still scores at the box office.
Also in
Time , an article claims that the stock market is not
overvalued, because the American economy is in glorious shape. And a 16-page
"Global Business Report" profiles a dozen titans of
capitalism (Andy Grove, Hans Tietmeyer, Ned Johnson, et al.).
U.S.
News & World Report , March 3
(posted
Tuesday, Feb. 25)
"Space
Jam" surveys the burgeoning satellite industry. The 1,000-plus
communications satellites that Motorola, Hughes, Teledesic (Bill Gates and
Craig McCaw), and others are launching will drive down the cost of
telecommunications and make television, telephone, and Internet service
affordable to billions of people in undeveloped nations. The package of
Deng
stories echoes the CW that he liberated China's economy while imprisoning
democracy. Also, U.S. News notes that 60 percent of U.S.
pregnancies are unplanned, then slams doctors for downplaying effective
contraceptives such as Depo-Provera, Norplant, and IUDs.
Weekly Standard , March 3
(posted
Tuesday, Feb. 25)
The cover
story calls for "A Return to National Greatness." After blaming liberals for
destroying the United States' expansive optimism and conservatives for
weakening Americans' faith in national government, the article says that the
country can revive its spirit with a grand national mission. It's vague on what
that mission would be: "It almost doesn't matter what great task government
sets for itself, as long as it does some tangible thing with energy and
effectiveness." Also, Robert Bork, rehashing an argument from his current book,
explains why the Constitution should be amended to restrict judicial power. And
an editorial about Kenneth Starr claims that the Clinton White House is
"essentially dishonest in a way even Dick Nixon's never was. ... Can
anyone doubt that if Bill Clinton had Oval Office tapes, he would expect Bruce
Lindsey to burn them?"
The
Nation , March 10
(posted
Tuesday, Feb. 25)
The
cover story proposes
that the AFL-CIO fund (to the tune of $300 million) a national progressive
newspaper--a factory-floor counterpart to the Wall Street Journal . The
paper would report the real news about economic inequality, farm workers, and
health care, zealously investigate corporate executives, and open its editorial
pages to the likes of Cornel West, Molly Ivins, and Robert Kuttner. Also, the
Robert Rubin backlash. Two weeks ago, the New Republic praised the
Treasury secretary for his social liberalism. Now The Nation lambastes
Rubin as a conservative who favors bank deregulation that will hurt the
poor.
National Review , March 10
(posted
Tuesday, Feb. 25)
An
article gloats that the Clinton administration has not returned to its
old liberal ways. Clinton's major policy (balancing the budget) and key
advisers (Erskine Bowles, Rahm Emanuel) are conservative. His education
initiatives are dismissed as "micro-liberal." The cover story rips Sen. Orrin
Hatch for his alleged left-wing tendencies and says he's too closely aligned
with Ted Kennedy. Hatch, who is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is
berated especially for going easy on Clinton's "activist" judicial nominees.
Also, the National Review continues its coverage of the Bob
Dornan-Loretta Sanchez election controversy: An article suggests that there is
enough evidence of fraud (voting by illegal aliens, double voting) to merit new
balloting.
The
New Yorker , Feb. 24 and March 3
(posted
Tuesday, Feb. 18)
The
special issue on "Crime and Punishment" contains more of the former than the
latter. An article on the roots of violence argues that nearly all violent
people have brain damage--often caused by childhood abuse--that makes them
incapable of controlling their rage, and reprises liberal ideas about crime's
environmental causes. An article lionizes Jack Maple, the eccentric cop who
devised New York City's crime-tracking program. He is credited with much of the
city's crime drop. A story explores a new phenomenon of urban juries: Black
women jurors are causing mistrials by refusing to convict black men despite
overwhelming evidence of guilt. As for "punishment," a convict in Virginia
describes the deterioration of prison conditions.
--Compiled by David Plotz and the editors of Slate .
