Economist , April 19
(posted
Saturday, April 19)
The
cover editorial welcomes the idea of a tobacco settlement because
it would protect children and compensate victims without crippling a legitimate
business. Anti-smoking advocates are much chastised for their zealotry. A
related article contends that a $300 billion settlement could
improve tobacco companies' finances by cutting legal fees and
eliminating future liability. A piece
notes the growth of the private police industry: Security guards and
rent-a-cops now outnumber police officers 3-to-1. A review of seven books about Hong Kong suggests that its best days
may be ahead.
New
Republic , May 5
(posted
Friday, April 18)
An
article denounces the recent TV-spectrum giveaway. The federal government could
have raised $70 billion from auctioning the frequencies, but the TV
broadcasters lobbied their way to a freebie. The massive cover book review
praises Justice Antonin Scalia for changing the course of American
jurisprudence from "common-law constitutionalism" to "originalism," then blasts
him for betraying his own principles: Scalia has abandoned neutrality and now
decides cases based on his own political views. Also, a piece discusses the
aging of America's prison population. Geriatric cons cost three times as much
as young prisoners (extra medical expenses, mostly), and their recidivism rates
are incredibly low. Even so, prison officials rarely parole the older
inmates.
New
York Times Magazine , April 20
(posted
Thursday, April 17)
The cover
story argues that work has become like home and home has become like work.
Thanks largely to total quality management, employees now feel appreciated and
relaxed at the office. They find home (that is, child care) exhausting. The
upshot: Workers don't care much about parental leave and flex time. "Everybody
Else's College Education" challenges the prevailing notion that higher
education is expensive and elitist: In fact, 80 percent of students attend
public colleges, and their tuition averages less than $3,000 per year. Also, a
photo essay by Sebastiao Salgado depicts Brazil's landless peasants.
Time and Newsweek , April 21
(posted
Tuesday, April 15)
Time publishes its
second annual roster of America's 25 "most influential people."
Newsweek --what a coincidence!--lists "100 Americans for the Next
Century." Time 's culture-heavy lineup includes Tiger Woods, Rosie
O'Donnell, "Babyface" Edmonds, Don Imus, Trent Reznor, and Dilbert (of the
comic strip). Madeleine Albright, Colin Powell, and Robert Rubin also make it,
and the most inspired pick is National Enquirer editor Steve Coz.
Newsweek 's list, which is not the cover story, offers bite-sized
profiles of young and middle-aged comers, from dancer Savion Glover to former
Justice Department honcho Jamie Gorelick to AOL chief Steve Case to the editor
of Slate. The Time and Newsweek lists overlap: Woods, Henry Louis
Gates Jr., Web entrepreneur Kim Polese, and X-Files creator Chris Carter
rate a mention on both.
Newsweek 's cover
story on fat argues that being fit is more important than being thin. Fat
people who exercise regularly are healthier than thin people who don't. Not all
fat is equal: A paunch is more dangerous than chubby hips and thighs. A
positive profile of presidential son/Texas Gov. George Bush says that he is a
likely contender for the presidency in 2000, but only if he succeeds in
reforming Texas' taxes.
Also in
Time , "The Joy of Text" claims that more Americans are reading books,
thanks to book clubs, books on tape, and Oprah Winfrey. But publishers' profits
are falling. And an article describes the peculiar National Liberation Army,
which seeks to overthrow the fundamentalist government of Iran. Based in Iraq,
the 30,000 member army includes 10,000 women soldiers; 70 percent of the
officers and the commander are women, too.
U.S.
News & World Report , April 21
(posted
Tuesday, April 15)
The cover
story, "Born Bad?," argues against genetic determinism. Genes are
important, but a child's environment largely determines how those genes are
expressed: Nature and nurture can't be separated. The article warns that belief
in genetic determinism could lead to a revived, dangerous eugenics movement.
U.S. News notes the surging popularity of anti-government militias: Watchdogs identify 858 groups (380 of
them armed) and estimate membership at 50,000. Militia tactics include clogging
courts with liens, refusing to pay taxes, and "seceding" from the United
States. Also, a piece charts the decline of California's Homestead High
School, the alma mater of computer whizzes Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak: Thanks
largely to California's education cuts, the state's once-magnificent public
schools are slipping.
The
New Yorker , April 21
(posted
Tuesday, April 15)
The
New Yorker excerpts former Labor Secretary Robert Reich's
insider memoir, Locked in the Cabinet . Reich recalls the minimum-wage
fight, bemoans the influence of Wall Street on the federal budget, and
fantasizes a conversation with Alan Greenspan that ends with the Fed chairman
calling him a "Bolshevik dwarf." Wang Shuo, China's most popular novelist, is
profiled: The satirist just relocated to the United States because the Chinese
government banned his works. A funny essay on sex books finds them too
cheerful, too open-minded, and too popular.
Weekly Standard , April 21
(posted
Tuesday, April 15)
The
editorial advises Congress not to renew China's MFN status. Clintonian
conciliation does not impress the Chinese, but economic punishment will. The
cover story tars Democratic superlawyer Richard Ben-Veniste for alleged
misbehavior during the Whitewater investigation. It claims that in early 1996,
Ben-Veniste, then Democratic counsel to the Whitewater Committee, blocked
inquiries about Webster Hubbell's hiring by the Lippo Group. The problem?
Ben-Veniste now represents Truman Arnold, a businessman who also hired Hubbell.
Also, an essay criticizes libertarians for their unwillingness to censure bad
behavior such as drug use.
Esquire , May 1997
(posted
Tuesday, April 15)
The
anti-anti-divorce backlash continues. Two weeks after the New Republic 's
pro-divorce cover story, Esquire offers "Divorce Is Good for You." The
author, a man on the verge of divorce, describes how separation has rescued him
from a loveless, oppressive marriage and supplied him with freedom. Divorce is
"not the right thing, perhaps, but the necessary thing." His "Ex-Wife-to-Be"
contributes an opposing view: She writes that she's lonelier and more regretful
than she ever imagined she could be. Also, a writer joins a blackjack ring that
wins millions of dollars in Vegas casinos. He reveals some of their
card-counting and team-betting tricks. And a lovey-dovey profile of
conservative media diva Arianna Huffington.
Vanity Fair , May 1997
(posted
Friday, April 11)
This
month's billionaire profile is Sir James Goldsmith, the corporate raider turned
politician. Violently opposed to the European Union, Goldsmith is spending $30
million to underwrite his anti-EU Referendum Party in the upcoming British
election. Much is made of his peculiar family: He keeps a wife, an ex-wife, and
a mistress. An article on crime novelist Patricia Cornwell finds her obsessive,
vengeful, and paranoid, and confirms that she had a lesbian affair with an FBI
agent (who was nearly murdered by her husband). An appreciation of art critic
Robert Hughes says he observes America better than anyone since de Tocqueville.
Also, Vanity Fair hypes its own: A long excerpt from a biography of
Claire Booth Luce focuses on her stint as VF 's managing editor. (The
magazine was "Condé Nast's prize gift to the haut monde .")
--Compiled by David Plotz and the editors of Slate .
