Economist, Aug. 9

(posted Saturday, Aug. 9)

The cover editorial takes a dim view of America's giddy stock market. In order to justify today's stratospheric share prices, profits and productivity must grow at improbably high rates for an impossibly long time. (For Slate's similarly pessimistic take, see Michael Kinsley's "The Stock Market Chicken-Counting Orgy.") A related article notes that the skyrocketing stock market is a worldwide phenomenon: Equity markets are booming in Europe and Asia, too, thanks to low interest rates. The Economist celebrates the 100^th birthday of aspirin, the world's first synthetic drug and still one of the best. Latest bit of good news: Aspirin now seems to prevent bowel cancer, in addition to relieving pain, quelling inflammation, and preventing strokes and heart attacks.

New Republic, Aug. 25

(posted Friday, Aug. 8)

The cover story deplores the overdiagnosis of learning disabilities: LD advocates say that as many as 50 million Americans are learning-disabled; critics say that students claim impairment to extract special treatment from schools (extra tutoring, extra time on tests, etc.). The disabilities include such dubious afflictions as "dysgraphia"--that is, bad handwriting. A piece argues that black Americans espouse paranoid myths (that the CIA sells crack in the inner cities, for example) because it's easier for them to believe that white America is trying to destroy them than to believe that white America doesn't care about them. The "TRB" column suggests that William Weld could revive the Republican Party and position himself as a 2000 presidential contender by fighting Jesse Helms over Weld's nomination as ambassador to Mexico. (For Slate's less flattering view of Weld, see Franklin Foer's "Assessment." Also check out the "Frame Game" on Weld vs. Helms.)

Vanity Fair, September 1997

(posted Friday, Aug. 8)

VF traces Andrew Cunanan's bloody trail from San Diego to Minneapolis to Chicago to Miami. He favored hard-core S&M, belonged to a fraternity of rich, mostly closeted gay men called Gamma Mu, dealt drugs to support his lavish lifestyle, and lied to everyone about everything. A Harold Ickes profile says the ex-Clinton staffer is cruel, bullying, and smart. Clinton may have tossed him aside, but Ickes is retaliating by cooperating with campaign-finance investigators. Also, a pair of articles on celebrity marriage. One piece mocks Larry King for marrying too often, depicting him as needy, lonely, and desperate for attention. The other claims that the marriage of Rudy Giuliani and actress/TV journalist Donna Hanover is a façade: The New York mayor has been conducting an affair with his communications director for the past three years, and Hanover will separate from him after this fall's election. The story chastises New York media for ignoring the story, saying they fear alienating the vindictive Giuliani.

New York Times Magazine, Aug. 10