Economist , Aug. 23
(posted
Saturday, Aug. 23)
The
cover editorial blames the world's economic problems on
economists. They waste too much time on minutiae and too many of them have
abandoned grand free-market principles for statism. An article notes a
promising new medical procedure: "downsizing" failing hearts and lungs by
trimming tissue. The smaller organs work better. Also, the magazine says
graphite rackets (power over technique) and charmless players are ruining
tennis.
New
Republic , Sept. 8 & 15
(posted
Friday, Aug. 22)
The
New Republic to end all New Republic s. The 25-page cover package
celebrates "Zionism at 100." An immense essay by Editor in Chief Martin Peretz
traces Zionism's triumphant history, beginning with the 1897 Basel conference.
Among his several conclusions: Zionism succeeded because it favored pragmatism
and modernity over ideology and nostalgia. Seventeen other writers contribute
short essays. The main themes: 1) Israel is a model democracy; 2) Israeli
treatment of Arabs is incomparably better than Arab treatment of Israelis or
Arab treatment of Arabs; 3) Zionism signifies "the Jewish preference for power
over self-pity." (Ludicrous note: a back-page vodka promotion, one of many
Zionist-themed ads, proclaiming "Absolut L'Chaim.")
New
York Times Magazine , Aug. 24
(posted
Thursday, Aug. 21)
The cover
story tracks the promising early performance of Wisconsin's welfare reforms.
The state's new mandatory work policies, while more expensive than welfare
checks, have pushed more people into the job market and fewer into poverty than
had been expected. Critics doubt that the new workers will keep their jobs in a
recession. An article profiles best-selling guru Dr. Andrew Weil, who's trying
to persuade the mainstream medical establishment to accept alternative health
care. Doctors are dubious. An article notes the resurgence in the Western
Hemisphere of disease-bearing mosquitoes. Their near-disappearance in the '60s
reduced disease immunity, and entomologists now warn that new epidemics of
malaria, dengue fever, and encephalitis are likely. Alarming statistic:
"Mosquitoes will kill, by W.H.O. tally, roughly 1 in every 17 people currently
alive on this planet."
Harper's , September 1997
(posted
Thursday, Aug. 21)
A
two-story cover package damns and praises higher education. An essay by a
University of Virginia professor says that today's college students seek only
ironic entertainment in the classroom. Raised on the cool medium of television,
undergrads are skeptical about passionate ideas, doubtful of genius, and
intellectually timid. Even worse news: Bottom-line-obsessed universities won't
challenge this complacency because they can't afford to offend their paying
customers. The other piece glorifies an experimental humanities class for
low-income, undereducated adults. The author contends that philosophy, art, and
literature are empowering, because they teach the disenfranchised how to
challenge the elite without violence. Evidence: The once-hopeless students have
gone on to college or better jobs.
Newsweek , Aug. 25
(posted
Tuesday, Aug. 19)
A cover
story explains a movement within the Catholic Church to elevate the status of
Mary to "Co-Redeemer." She's "not just another pretty face"--and she could make
the Holy Trinity a Holy Quartet. A report highlights the potential effects of
the UPS strike on the economy. An article exposes Europe's worsening traffic
congestion. And a story speculates that Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan
may finally be subscribing to the view that the economy has whupped
inflation.
Time , Aug. 25
(posted
Tuesday, Aug. 19)
The
sensationalistic cover--"The Death of Privacy"--belies a more nuanced treatment of
privacy in the information age. The solution isn't to keep them from knowing
everything about you, but to allow you to know everything about them. An
exposé details phone scams that bilk the elderly out of $40
billion a year. And an upbeat story claims that, in the wake of last year's welfare bill,
churches are mobilizing against poverty.
The
New Yorker , Aug. 25 & Sept. 1
(posted
Tuesday, Aug. 19)
A double
issue about love. The highlight: the life story of the brilliant, weird Alfred
Kinsey (of report fame). Gay, masochistic, and happily married, Kinsey
presided, gurulike, over a utopian, sexually experimental community in Indiana.
(Revolting detail: He masturbated by sticking pipe cleaners into his urethra
and tying rope around his scrotum. He filmed this.) A piece depicts royal
mistress Camilla Parker Bowles as a smart, funny charmer who knows how to get
Prince Charles to relax. (Diana? A dim bulb.) An essay says the United States
is too consumed by sex scandals: Sexual privacy would be preferable. Also, love
letters by five famous authors (including Dylan Thomas and Simone de Beauvoir)
prove that romantic clichés are universal. And an article says that prenuptial
agreements are more popular than ever.
Weekly Standard , Aug. 25 & Sept. 1
(posted
Tuesday, Aug. 19)
Yet
another thumb-sucker about the right-wing crisis, the fourth this year. "Is
There a Worldwide Conservative Crack-Up?" includes contributions from 28
writers, including Gary Bauer, David Brock, David Gelernter, Grover Norquist,
and James Q. Wilson. The consensus: No crack-up. Conservative ideas have
triumphed, and left-wing politicians are being elected only because they have
stolen right-wing ideology. The other main theme: Conservatives must practice a
principled, moral politics, and not pander to voters as Clinton does.
Dissenting views: Two contributors propose a muscular, pro-government Teddy
Roosevelt conservatism. And the lone Democrat, pollster Stanley Greenberg, says
that center-left politicians are winning because voters think conservatives are
extremist kooks.
