Economist , Dec. 20 and Dec. 27
(posted
Saturday, Dec. 20)
A Christmas double issue.
The lead editorial stresses the severity of Asia's financial problems and
asserts that they could well spread to the rest of the world. The
Economist 's solution? As always, the free market: Asian governments
shouldn't block capital flows or choke the money supply. An article says
current forecasts of ecological doom are greatly exaggerated. Environmentalists
have long predicted the imminent exhaustion of fossil fuels, but there are more
oil reserves now than ever. (See
Slate
's "The Motley Fool"
on how technology is aiding oil exploration.) A story says Americans are
getting fatter (54.4 percent of adults are overweight, 22.5 percent are obese).
The causes: Americans eat more, exercise less, and increasingly tolerate
tubbiness. (Read
Slate
's "Dialogue" on
fat.) Also, a story looks at what the world laughs at. Blondes and Bill
Gates are globally funny, but regional humor persists. A newly rich Russian
crashes his Mercedes and starts wailing about the car: " 'How can you worry
about your car,' asks a passer-by, 'when your arm is ripped off?' The Russian
looks at his stump and bawls: 'My Rolex!' "
New
Republic , Jan. 5
(posted
Friday, Dec. 19)
A story
rages at William Bennett's assertion that the average life expectancy for gay
men is 43 years. The figure is false, the source of the figure is a wacko, and
Bennett's conclusion that homosexuality should be discouraged is abhorrent.
(For
Slate
's take, see "William Bennett, Gays,
and the Truth.") The Republican Party's opposition to Bill Lann Lee and
skepticism about immigration have alienated once-friendly Asian voters, says an
article: George Bush won the Asian vote by 27 points in 1992, but Bob Dole won
it by only five points in 1996. A story questions the heroism of the
much-honored "Hollywood Ten." These blacklist victims, who refused to squeal on
colleagues, were untroubled by Stalin's murderous reign and benefited from the
capitalist system they denounced.
New
York Times Magazine , Dec. 21
(posted
Thursday, Dec. 18)
The cover
story questions the motives of conservatives fighting persecution of Christians
overseas. These activists and evangelists (e.g., the Family Research Council's
Gary Bauer) accuse secular human-rights organizations of class bias (the
seculars back Tibetan Buddhists but not Christians oppressed by China).
Human-rights groups hate the implied assertion of Christianity's supremacy. An
article profiles a scientist who fights cancer with the common cold virus.
Also, a story exposes the incredible power of Mexico's drug lords. Drug
traffickers and narcopoliticians are buying police forces and murdering nosy
journalists.
Time and Newsweek , Dec. 22
(posted
Tuesday, Dec. 16)
Princess Di decorates the
covers of both magazines' year-end photo issues. (Question: Does this
disqualify Di from Time 's Woman of the Year honor next week?)
Newsweek 's photos are better and more numerous. The mags share several
identical images (starving North Koreans, Hale-Bopp, Evander Holyfield's
mangled ear).
Newsweek publishes
obits for the victims of this annus horribilis . Deng Xiaoping and Willem
de Kooning get a paragraph each; Di gets a few pages. Also, Newsweek
trashes Disney's forays into professional-sports ownership. The Anaheim Angels
and Mighty Ducks offer entertaining sideshows (mascots, food courts, dancers)
but the teams stink, and fans say that's all that matters.
Time runs two anti-emotion articles. An essay accompanying the year-end photo roundup labels this
the "Show Us You Care" year, mocking the outpourings of feeling at Di's
funeral, at the Promise Keepers rally, and on countless talk shows. Another
essay argues that healing racism requires civility and
restraint, not the self-expression of a "national conversation."
U.S.
News & World Report , Dec. 22
(posted
Tuesday, Dec. 16)
The
cover story counters the popular wisdom that millionaires are the
leading philanthropists. In fact, middle-class donors are increasingly active
and generous. Community groups like the Cleveland Foundation are "the
fastest-growing element of philanthropy," and let small donors make powerful
collective gifts. An article finds a new use for DNA technology: One scientist wants
to determine if Thomas Jefferson fathered black children (a long-standing
controversy). Soon we'll know for sure. Also, more
praise for Los Angeles' new Getty Center. The museum tries to incorporate
all L.A.'s subcultures, and features interactive exhibits to keep kids
interested.
The
New Yorker , Dec. 22 & 29
(posted
Tuesday, Dec. 16)
A special
fiction issue, The
New Yorker 's second this year, includes
stories by Nick Hornby and Alice Munro. Ken Kesey writes a short sketch about
drinking on skid row. The magazine profiles the difficult, brilliant James
Thackara, who has written an 1,100-page novel about World War II and likens
himself to Tolstoy. He finished the book in 1988 but hasn't yet published it.
Why? His manuscript needs editing--the parts that aren't genius are wooden--and
he refuses to be edited.
Weekly Standard , Dec. 22
(posted
Tuesday, Dec. 16)
The cover
story calls Family Research Council head Gary Bauer "Washington's most
formidable conservative." Ralph Reed's retirement from the Christian Coalition
has made the pugnacious Bauer the leading social-conservative activist. He has
won plaudits for his tough anti-China stance. He probably won't run for
president (a persistent rumor), but he will force Republican candidates to heed
his demands. A piece about the Kyoto summit argues that we would do better to
clean our "microenvironments" than to deal with greenhouse gases: Ensuring
supplies of clean water and food is a much more fundamental project than
hashing out unenforceable international pollution laws. An article says the
American Library Association is encouraging Internet porn: The association,
citing the First Amendment, refuses to endorse "content filters" for
Web-equipped library computers.
The
Nation , Dec. 29
(posted
Tuesday, Dec. 16)
The
cover story salutes university presses. Less profit-motivated
than major publishers, university presses put out the regional titles and
modest books that the trade presses ignore. One criticism: University presses
aren't the mouthpieces for the academic left that they used to be. An editorial signals The Nation 's early support for Richard
Gephardt's 2000 presidential run. While acknowledging Gephardt's weaknesses
(he's a "career politician" posing as a "populist tribune"), the piece claims
Gephardt has a Democratic agenda--something the White House lacks.
Wired , January 1998
(posted
Tuesday, Dec. 16)
The
fifth-anniversary issue includes rosy essays from various cyberpundits: One
predicts an Internet population of 1 billion people by 2000. Another argues
that the past five years have been the greatest in human history (due to
advances in health and quality of life). Also, the "State of the Planet 1998"
section features a series of bizarre images overlaid with haikus from the
editors or quotes from people such as Laurie Anderson, Noam Chomsky, and Andy
Grove. (For example, a picture of a woman with tubes coming out of her head is
captioned, "Technology is the campfire around which we tell our stories.")
--Seth
Stevenson
