New York Times Magazine, Feb. 28

(posted Thursday, Feb. 25, 1999)

A piece argues that Newt Gingrich serves as both whipping boy and ghost for the dispirited Republican Party. Gingrich is blamed for the party's sinking popularity, but leaders still practice his brand of antagonistic, moralistic politicking. ... New physiological research into fear has found it surprisingly and unfashionably reminiscent of Freudian notions of the unconscious. Irrational anxiety, suggests the research, is learned, permanent, involuntary, and inaccessible to the conscious mind. ... A writer visits rural Utah communities where polygamy has long been officially outlawed but is quietly tolerated. Now angry former wives are organizing outreach groups, and vast polygamous clans are facing charges of pedophilia and sexual abuse.

Time and Newsweek, March 1

(posted Tuesday, Feb. 23, 1999)

The first lady is flirting with a Senate run, and the newsweeklies flirt right back with cover stories and ample advice. Newsweek's ebullient cover story calls Hillary Clinton "the hottest commodity in American public life," urging her to run because: 1) She has sacrificed enough of her own ambitions for her husband's career; 2) she's a born policy wonk; and 3) it would strengthen the Clintons' marriage. In a sidebar, George Stephanopoulos dissents: The New York press will eat her alive, the Senate's a grind ("you won't fly on Air Force One or ride in escorted motorcades"), and she'd eventually make an even better presidential candidate. Time's cover story is more restrained: New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani ("makes Ken Starr look like a patsy") would rip her to shreds, and it's not clear she even wants to run. The White House may be floating the idea simply to dissipate the last whiffs of the impeachment scandal. Sidebar advice from Geraldine Ferraro and Dick Morris: Wait for the Illinois race in 2004.

Newsweek chronicles Osama bin Laden's evolution from wealthy Saudi scion to hunted terrorist/Islamic fundamentalist icon. Bin Laden first formulated his doctrinaire philosophy of jihad at a religious Saudi university, refined it among American-backed Islamic rebels in Afghanistan in the '80s, and used an international, Sudan-based terrorist network to launch it in the '90s. ... Is Madeleine Albright a great diplomat or merely a competent one? A Time article suggests that Kosovo will be a litmus test for the "Albright Doctrine," which consists of carefully nursed personal relationships backed up by American military might.

U.S. News & World Report, March 1

(posted Tuesday, Feb. 23, 1999)

The world is aging, frets the cover story. Life expectancy is climbing, fertility is sliding, and the cost of supporting the elderly could cause a global recession. The first casualty is Brazil, whose fat public pension program is eating up government resources. ... A piece suggests that Americans aren't seduced by Republican offers of a generous federal tax cut. Polls show that Americans are willing to shun instant gratification to accomplish long-term goals such as repaying the federal debt or revamping Social Security. ... The magazine reports that Ouija boards are passé; today's teen-age girl turns to her witch handbook for spiritual advice. One popular version includes the Bad Bus Driver spell, the Un-Ground Me spell, and the Just-Say-No spell.