Economist, April 4

(posted Friday, April 2, 1999)

The cover editorial bluntly criticizes NATO's cautious intervention strategy for Kosovo ("horribly wrong") and urges the West to assume control of the region. The piece acknowledges that this will be difficult "from the air alone" but doesn't directly recommend ground troops. Another editorial berates President Clinton for foreclosing the ground troop option, thus goading Slobodan Milosevic into further obstinacy and tying NATO's hands. ... An article calls Microsoft President Steve Ballmer a "tyrant," a "little boy," and a poor choice for the position. Ballmer is neither restrained nor tech-savvy enough to lead the company through its current legal and business challenges.

New Republic, April 19

(posted Friday, April 2, 1999)

The cover story claims that New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani has become a victim of his own achievements. Because his crime crackdown has succeeded, further reductions in lawlessness are coming at the cost of increased friction with innocent citizens. Racial hysterics and Dinkins Democrats exploit incidents like the Diallo murder to sully the mayor's success. ... An analysis claims that Republicans have abandoned foreign policy principles. The GOP was gearing up to criticize Clinton for coddling dictators, but the Kosovo bombing short-circuited this argument. So now some Republicans are criticizing Clinton for attacking a dictator, claiming that humanitarian interventions exhaust U.S. resources. ... An article argues that military exchanges with China are foolhardy. Officials insist the exchanges help dispel Chinese perceptions of American military weakness and give our guys a peek at China's military. But there is no real reciprocity of access, and we find ourselves hosting such dubious guests as generals who perpetrated the Tiananmen Square crackdown.

New York Times Magazine, April 4

(posted Thursday, April 1, 1999)

The cover story examines "The Last Counterculture": the Catholic priesthood. It attributes the plummet in the number of men entering the priesthood to pedophilia scandals, disillusionment with celibacy, and "the increasingly secular nature of American life." Contemporary seminarians try not to disengage from mainstream America, but they are disgusted with a popular culture that celebrates contraception, premarital sex, and godlessness. ... A profile of Dan Quayle suggests that his presidential run is all about proving he's not an idiot. The theme of his campaign--also the subtitle of his memoir--is that he's "America's most misjudged public figure." Though there is some Quayle revisionism--Larry King told him, "You're not a joke like you once were"--he is still widely considered unelectable.

Time, Newsweek, and U.S. News & World Report, April 5