Economist , Oct. 31
(posted
Saturday, Oct. 31, 1998)
The
cover editorial predicts that in next week's election
"voters will most likely stick to old habits, returning a legislature much like
the previous one." Defying all the summer punditry, Flytrap has been a
nonfactor. ... A story scientifically explains Halloween legends.
Vampirism may be traced to the disease porphyria, which causes sunlight-averse
skin, retracted gums, and red urine--leading to the blood-drinking myth.
Several witchcraft panics "occurred in places where rye was widely cultivated,
and after weather that was propitious for the growth of Claviceps ."
Claviceps is a parasite that, when eaten, causes hallucinations.
Mother Jones , November/December 1998
(posted
Saturday, Oct. 31, 1998)
The
Mother Jones 400 lists the top individual political contributors of the past year. No. 1:
Richard M. and Helen DeVos, founders of Amway, who gave more than $1 million to
the GOP. They were rewarded with a special tax cut that saved Amway $19
million. Donors' favorite special interests were telecommunications and oil. An
accompanying story exposes how Outback Steakhouse coerced employees to
contribute to Outback's PAC. Outback then used the PAC funds to lobby against
national health care and an increase in the minimum wage.
New
York Times Magazine , Nov. 1
(posted
Thursday, Oct. 29, 1998)
The cover
story says Americans no longer want an ambitious, problem-solving government.
Our only consensus is that "government should serve the ordinary, hard-working
individual--providing safety, public goods like roads and parks and the tools
necessary to seek opportunity, like education. It should protect people from
unfair or excessive aspects of the marketplace." We lack pride in or loyalty to
our government and have no "willingness to put aside personal concerns to serve
a larger cause." ... The magazine interviews young Iranians who long for
cultural freedom. Iran's revolution, now 20 years old, leaves young Iranians
cold. They want to wear shorts, drink booze, and sing pop songs--all banned by
the government. Young people hoped Iran's new president would liberalize the
nation, but he hasn't so far.
Atlantic Monthly , November 1998
(posted
Thursday, Oct. 29, 1998)
The cover
story excerpts, with commentary, a forthcoming collection of Jack Kerouac's
unpublished letters and notebooks. Revealed are Kerouac's growing distaste for
the other beats and the beat movement, his surprising religious fervor, and a
sweet and earnest nature. A letter to his editor at Grove Press: "I cant
possibly go on as a responsible prose artist and also as a believer in the
impulses of my own heart and in the beauty of pure spontaneous language if I
let editors take my sentences, which are my phrases that I separate by dashes
when I 'draw a breath,' each of which pours out to the tune of the whole story
its own rhythmic yawp of expostulation, & riddle them with commas, cut them
in half, in threes, in fours, ruining the swing ... I know what I'm talking
about tho I may get drunk and act childish socially ... I'm an artist,
oldfashioned, devoted."
Texas
Monthly , November 1998
(posted
Thursday, Oct. 29, 1998)
A
35 th anniversary look at the Kennedy assassination includes interviews with several witnesses and photos galore. One piece
carefully debunks all the conspiracy theories: the CIA, the Mob, Fidel Castro,
LBJ, and the current vogue theory--that there were two Lee Harvey Oswalds, and
the innocent one got caught. Conclusion: There was one Oswald, and he acted
alone.
Time and Newsweek , Nov. 2
(posted
Tuesday, Oct. 27, 1998)
Time 's cover story calls Tom Wolfe's new novel, A Man in Full ,
better than Bonfire of the Vanities . (New York area Time readers
will get a Yankees cover.) The germ of the novel came when Wolfe visited a
Georgia plantation used by its rich owners for quail hunting. The result: a
book about an Atlanta businessman caught in debt. Newsweek 's review
agrees with Time 's rave. ... The Newsweek cover package predicts how life will be different for kids born
in the next millennium. A child born in 2000 will have twice the life
expectancy of one born in 1900. Also, she will be taller and less likely to
marry, will live in a far more racially diverse United States, and will eat
genetically engineered food.
Time concludes that
the 1998 Yankees are the best baseball team ever. Why? They were "as strong on
the mound and in the field as they were at bat; endowed with a bunch of superb
role players; blessed with a rare balance of speed and power; managed by a man
of calming temperament."
Newsweek explains how rap labels spread the word-of-mouth about a new
album. "Street teams"--young people hired by the label--put up posters, give
out illegal (but label-sanctioned) advance bootlegs, and request and dance
enthusiastically to the album at clubs. (The Wall Street Journal put
this story on Page 1 on June 25.)
U.S.
News & World Report , Nov. 2
(posted
Tuesday, Oct. 27, 1998)
The
cover package says Flytrap is a nonissue so far in this fall's
congressional elections: Voters aren't linking their ballots to Clinton's fate.
But, says U.S. News , the election outcomes will directly determine
whether impeachment proceeding are dropped and whether Clinton can set any
agenda in his remaining two years in office. Accompanying pieces emphasize the
closeness of races--voter turnout will be the key deciding factor.
The
Nation , Nov. 9
(posted
Tuesday, Oct. 27, 1998)
The
cover story frets that
we're overconcerned with terrorism. Yes, terrorism is serious, but it can be
countered with a bit more vigilance from our intelligence groups. Instead,
"America is now spending $7 billion a year defending itself against backpack
nuclear bombs, canisters of nerve gas and petri dishes of germ weapons planted
in crowded cities by an as-yet-unknown adversary." The
Nation
deems this a dubious money grab by defense agencies.
Weekly Standard , Nov. 2
(posted
Tuesday, Oct. 27, 1998)
The cover
story argues that California is no longer the progressive, trend-setting state
it once was. Instead, the state is growing more conservative: Even its
Democratic candidate for governor is pro-death penalty and anti-gay marriage.
California elections this fall feature old issues and old campaign tactics, not
the state's previous "genius for charting America's political future."
--Seth
Stevenson
More Flytrap
...
