The Gun Owner's Bible
Economist
, June 26
The
cover story makes grand but familiar observations
about the Internet's impact on business. ("New technologies have always changed
the world in unforeseeable ways.") Predictions: Blue-chip companies will use
the Internet to transform themselves; business-to-business e-commerce will
flourish; and companies will outsource everything but their core functions.
... The magazine spoofs recent juvenile-crime legislation with a set of
10 "gun commandments." No. 4: "Honour thy father and thy mother, or they will
blow thy head off." No. 5: "Thou shalt not kill, except when provoked. But if
thou dost, remember that thy gun had nothing to do with it."
George
, July 1999
A
dishy piece names the 10 worst bosses in Congress. Sens. Arlen Specter, R-Pa.,
and Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., throw things; Rep. Mark Sanford, R-S.C., makes
staffers buy him lunch but doesn't reimburse them; and Sen. Robert Torricelli,
D-N.J., welcomes new aides with a threat to ruin their lives if they ever wrong
him. ... Linda Tripp's children take to the pages of the magazine to
defend mom: "My mother truly tried to be a friend."
New
Republic
, July 12
The
cover review of a new Madeleine Albright biography
argues that she had a personal stake in the Kosovo conflict because Slobodan
Milosevic represents the two evil forces that shaped her childhood: communism,
which her father claimed drove him from his beloved Czechoslovakia, and ethnic
hatred, which led to the Holocaust in which three of her grandparents perished.
(See A.O. Scott's "" of Albright in
Slate
.) ... An
article calls purported moderate George W. Bush a closet
conservative. One example: When Congress passed a law giving states money to
cover children without medical insurance, Bush proposed insuring fewer kids
than the law allowed, even though Texas has the second-highest percentage of
uninsured citizens. ... A piece argues for a communitarian reading of the Second
Amendment. It makes a tricky distinction: The individual does not have an
inviolable right to bear arms, but the people collectively do have a right to
arm themselves against tyranny.
New York Times
Magazine
, June 27
The
cover story chronicles how the Soviets lost the race to the moon. The space
program was competing with the military, and the Soviet bureaucracy pitted
space scientists against each other rather than encouraging them to cooperate.
Ironically, the Soviets might have beaten the Americans had their quest been
centrally planned. ... Democratic presidential candidate Bill Bradley is
all aura, according to a profile. The former senator, Rhodes scholar, and New
York Knick is promising big ideas but does not offer any. In person he is
crotchety and condescending. ... An article scoffs at the rise of the
credentialed artist. Applications to Masters of Fine Arts programs are rising.
The academies provide aspiring artists with community but encourage trendy,
theory-laden art.
Time
, June 28
The
cover story claims mass killings in Kosovo were part of a
systematic Serb effort to crush the Kosovo Liberation Army and rid Kosovo of
Albanians. The plan, called Operation Horseshoe, was devised by a high-ranking
general and carried out by teams of paramilitaries, special police, and
nationalistic locals. In one massacre, an 11-year-old girl watched her father
being marched off and later found his charred body. She buried his remains to
spare her mother the gruesome sight. ... An article says Republicans
gave Al Gore a potent campaign issue by killing gun control in the House. Even
better for the veep, Gov. George W. Bush signed a Texas law forbidding
class-action lawsuits against gun manufacturers, a bill opponents called the
National Rifle Association Protection Act.
Newsweek
, June 28
Newsweek 's Kosovo massacre story runs inside. The cover
package celebrates the century in entertainment with anecdotes told by
stars and their hangers-on: Ira Gershwin's brother-in-law describes how he
manufactured ketchup (he said "to-may-toes," but his suppliers said
"to-mah-toes"); Little Ricky remembers what it was like to grow up as Lucy and
Desi's TV son; Barbra Streisand claims she was never a shrew on the set; a
Titanic producer tells how Kate Winslet improvised an enduring moment in
cinema--spitting in the face of co-star Billy Zane, etc. ... The Kosovo
story details a massacre in which local nationalist Serbs and
paramilitaries murdered at least 21 members of one family. A woman was
gang-raped, butchered, and left to bleed to death, shorn of her limbs. During
the rampage, a mother told her children to pretend they were dead, unaware that
two out of four already were. The woman's 2-year-old nephew cried out; he was
silenced with a shot to the head.
U.S. News
& World Report
, June 28
The
annual retirement guide
celebrates the rise of the
"shareholder nation" but notes the downside of investment mania: profound
ignorance. Only one-third of investors know that when interest rates increase,
bond prices drop. ... An article criticizes the stagy kickoffs of the Bush and Gore
campaigns. Bush arranged focus groups to evaluate his speaking style, while the
Gore organization hired a drama coach. ... A piece says political contributors think like investors, not
like ideologues. Because donors want a guaranteed return, they favor Bush over
his primary opponents, and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., over Elizabeth Dole. In
the worst-case scenario, at least McCain can peddle his influence in Congress,
while Dole is unemployed.
Weekly
Standard
, June 28
The
cover story rehabilitates Watergate crook Chuck Colson. Born again while
serving his Watergate sentence, Colson founded a prison ministry. His Prison
Fellowship draws inmates to Bible study and seminars in 83 countries and has
made Colson one of America's most powerful Christian conservatives. ...
An article identifies George W. Bush's Achilles' heel: abortion. His effort to
straddle the pro-choice/pro-life debate reveals a lack of moral leadership,
invites media scrutiny, and allows primary opponents to attack him from the
right.
Forbes
, July 5
Bill
Gates, surprise, tops the annual list of the world's 200
wealthiest billionaires (265 billionaires didn't make the list). Gates'
fortune appreciated by 76 percent to $90 billion. Two other Microsofties--Paul
Allen and Steve Ballmer--make the Top 5. Warren Buffett keeps second place at
$36 billion. Cause for most envy: 34-year-old Michael Dell ranks sixth with
$16.5 billion. ... An article peeks into Institute Le Rosey, a high
school for the international elite. The $40,000 per year boarding school boasts
a 2-to-1 student-faculty ratio and a high concentration of royalty. For three
months in winter the school moves to a chalet in Gstaad, Switzerland, so
students may learn how to ski with aristocratic ease.
