(posted Thursday, Jan. 9)
"Saigon: The Sequel" chronicles the sybaritic life of the young American businessmen in Vietnam who drink heavily, bed the local beauties, and sell, sell, sell. A kiss-up profile catches Steven Jobs on the cusp of his return to Apple: He's a visionary; he's a calm family man; and his NeXT operating system really could save Apple. Also, an essayist kvetches about pro football: There are too few stars, too many injuries, and too much coaching.
(posted Tuesday, Jan. 7)
Bill Gates is on the cover again. Time explores his "Private World," and finds him smarter, more competitive, and more logical than the rest of us. Among the (semi-) juicy details: Bill's father calls him "Trey" because his name is William Gates III; "Trey" believes computers will attain human intelligence; he studies bioengineering for fun; he doesn't go to church because, "in terms of allocation of time resources, religion is not very efficient. ... There's a lot more I could be doing on a Sunday morning." An article argues that even if Newt Gingrich keeps the speaker's job, his power has diminished considerably. And a story on why the Green Bay Packers--not the Dallas Cowboys--are America's Team.
(posted Tuesday, Jan. 7)
The cover story--"Should She Be Heard?"--gives credence to Paula Jones' sexual-harassment allegations against President Clinton. (See Stuart Taylor Jr.'s similar piece last October in SLATE.) The magazine doubts that the Supreme Court will let the case go to trial while Clinton is president, but believes the court will allow pretrial "discovery" and depositions. (An oddity of the story: Its authors, Michael Isikoff and Evan Thomas, also appear as named sources in the piece.) An article explains why America has both a shortage of jobs and a shortage of workers: The unemployed lack the skills to do the available jobs, or they don't live where the jobs are. Also, Newsweek says that the teaching methods of ebonics make sense.
(posted Tuesday, Jan. 7)
A soft-science cover story, " The Senses," claims there's a lot more to the five senses than meets the eye (nose, ear, etc.). Among the new research findings: Faulty hearing may cause autism; massage spurs growth in children; and people do see colors differently. Also, a package on the right-to-die Supreme Court case. The longest article praises Dutch euthanasia practice, but doubts that America can duplicate it: The Dutch are much less litigious, much more homogenous, and much closer to their doctors than Americans.
(posted Tuesday, Jan. 7)
An article condemns Social Security alarmism. Echoing similar stories in The Nation and the New Republic, "Spooking the Boomers" argues that Social Security is basically solvent for another 75 years. It depicts entitlement critic Pete Peterson as a Chicken Little (but acknowledges that Medicare is a disaster). John Gregory Dunne contributes a long true-crime story about a 1993 triple murder in rural Nebraska: Transvestites, sociopaths, and Willa Cather feature prominently. Also, a profile of Sam Wagstaff, the benefactor, discoverer, and lover of Robert Mapplethorpe.
(posted Tuesday, Jan. 7)
A back-to-Congress issue. An editorial insists that Newt Gingrich should remain as speaker because his "alleged misdeeds" are minor, and because ousting him would weaken the party. The GOP should play tit-for-tat by siccing investigators on Richard Gephardt and David Bonior, the editorial concludes. Editor William Kristol proposes "An Agenda for the 105th Congress": Republicans should hit the Democrats for favoring judicial activism, opposing school choice, and coddling China. An article warns that Clinton's small-scale health-care proposals (requiring companies to insure fired workers, mandating insurance for kids) are setting the stage for a "sudden and dramatic takeover of the nation's health-care system." And the Standard boards the Philip K. Dick bandwagon, praising the drug-crazed sci-fi novelist for--what else?--his support of family values.
(posted Friday, Jan. 3)
The cover editorial rejects nuclear disarmament as too risky for the West: It still needs nukes to cow Iraq, North Korea, Iran, etc. "[Disarmament] remains wrong, because man remains vile." A related story advises the United States and Russia to protect their weapons-grade uranium from rogue states. Another bemoans the proliferation of ballistic and cruise missiles and asks if America and Europe should deploy anti-missile defenses (answers: America, maybe; Europe, probably). Also, a long article praises telephone and Internet smut. Digital pornographers are pioneering new technology; mainstream businesses will follow their lead. And Hong Kong Gov. Chris Patten muses on the future of Asia.
(posted Friday, Jan. 3)
The magazine considers the decline of Washington, D.C.--the city. The five-story package, "Democracy's End," tours D.C. hell: ill-equipped firefighters, desperate schoolteachers, incompetent cops, corrupt bureaucrats, and hopeless politicians. The editorial says that while Gingrich's ethical offenses may be less than Clinton's, Gingrich should still resign as speaker. An article argues that ABC may have deserved to lose the Food Lion case: Its hidden-camera tactics are too sleazy for legitimate journalism.
(posted Tuesday, Dec. 31)
The cover story warns that global free trade is leading humankind toward an "unbearable chaos" of inequality, mass unemployment, and reactionary politics. The remedy? Governments should promote employment and help raise wages for the poor, thus encouraging bottom-up economic prosperity. A related editorial inveighs against a proposed global trade pact known as the "Multilateral Investment Agreement," calling it a windfall for transnational corporations. Also, a creepy story about a rash of sex murders in the maquiladoras, the Mexican factories along the Texas border.
--Compiled by David Plotz and the editors of S LATE.