New York, Nov. 28 A journey through New York’s many and multiplying Dunkin’ Donuts inspires its adventurer. The number of New York Dunkin’ Donuts has doubled in three years and more are in the works, the growth fueled by the chain’s growing emphasis on coffee. The anti-Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts relies on low prices and predictable taste—”[t]he goal is simply for every cup to taste identical”—to draw in the masses. The article sees benevolence in the franchise. “Dunkin’ Donuts is doing a public service—providing caffeine to the class of New Yorkers that is rapidly disappearing from this BlackBerry-packing, Prada-wearing megalopolis.”… A lengthy guide to the competitive world of New York City kindergarten gives tips on securing a coveted spot. The overriding message is, “Don’t panic.” A top-tier kindergarten does not clinch a Harvard acceptance, nor does a second-rate one condemn your child to flipping burgers. “[T]he panic and excitement over kindergarten admissions is analogous to, say, half of New York trying to squeeze into the same hypertrendy restaurant on a Saturday night,” the article says.—T.B.
Harper’s, December 2005 A piece explores the similarities between Thomas Jefferson’s personal Bible and the Gospel of Thomas, a gnostic text thought to date from the earliest Christian times and found in 1945, hidden in jugs buried under Egyptian cliffs. Noting that Jefferson “took a pair of scissors to the King James Bible,” cut out all the miracles, and claimed that the pasted-together remains contained the “diamonds from the dunghill,” the essay argues that, “by pulling the kingdom of God out of the sky and transposing it onto this world, Thomas’s Jesus returns us, in effect, to Jefferson’s agrarian America, where the farmer intuits the laws of God through the laws of nature.”… Another article reviews the media circus in New Orleans after Katrina and finds, “The national press found its integrity, briefly, in the muck of New Orleans,” but soon, “broadcast news returned to its default setting as the pornography of disaster.” The piece concludes by lauding the New Orleans Times-Picayune: “the local newspaper’s value to the people it serves has never been more manifest.”—B.B.
Mother Jones, December 2005 * As part of an issue devoted to the religious right, one piece evaluates the two recent Supreme Court decisions about displaying the Ten Commandments in government buildings by examining the Founding Fathers’ views about secularism. The article claims that the Constitution’s deliberate omission of God “poses a formidable problem” for the religious right, “requiring the creation of tortuous historical fictions that include both subtle prevarication and bald-faced lie.” It argues that, “The degree to which a secular approach to government was accepted in early 19th-century America was demonstrated by Congress’ refusal to abandon Sunday mail service, which it had mandated in 1810.”… Another article examines conservative Catholics who oppose the death penalty: “As more Catholics question the death penalty, the split from their brethren on the Christian right is becoming more pronounced, changing the politics of a bedrock issue.”—B.B.
National Review, Dec. 5 An article endorses the Alito nomination with gusto, branding him “a spectacularly well-qualified nominee—among the best-ever qualified ever.” Although liberals may kvetch about his abortion, civil rights, and federalism beliefs, the article considers their fears “feeble.” The author predicts that Alito’s confirmation is a slam dunk with the support of moderate Republican Sen. Arlen Specter, who, “has recognized that Alito’s intellect and other manifest qualifications outweigh the significant difference he and Alito have on judicial philosophy.”… A profile of Michael Steele, the lieutenant governor of Maryland, looks at his chances to win the Senate seat being vacated by the retiring Paul Sarbanes. Other likely contenders are Kweisi Mfume and Benjamin Cardin. Steele is not shying away from a fight, “Because I’m not running against anyone. I’m running for something.”— Z.K.
The New Yorker, Nov. 28 An article traces the tumultuous history of Roe v. Wade. Judiciary and legislative bodies have engaged in a tug-of-war over Sandra Day O’Connor’s “undue burden” test, fetus viability, and more. Parental-notification laws and bans on “partial birth abortion” are the latest frontier in challenges to abortion rights. But “through thirty-two years, and the appointment of seven justices by Republican presidents, Roe has endured,” the article says, perhaps suggesting a long life for the decision. … An article characterizes the clash between “Katrina’s refugees” and the residents of Bayou Black, a neighborhood in Terrebonne Parish, La. Initially welcomed into a local shelter, the refugees’ pasts, replete with violence and poor education, left Bayou Black natives suspicious. After residents wrestled with “the belief that ghettoizing a disadvantaged population is morally wrong” and “the conviction that the disadvantaged population might be a lot happier” elsewhere, they shut down the shelter as another storm threatened Louisiana.—T.B.
Weekly Standard, Nov. 28 An article about the “College, Not Combat” measure passed by San Francisco voters earlier this month condemns the “counter recruitment movement” attempting to remove military recruiters from high schools. The article calls for prominent Californian politicians such as Sen. Barbara Boxer and Rep. Nancy Pelosi to denounce the nonbinding measure. “It is a serious attack on fundamental American notions about citizenship and deserves a more serious response from elected officials than it has received,” the article says. … Another article hopes that the White House begins “[a] massive declassification effort” to counter Democrat criticisms of the prewar WMD intelligence. This move could give anti-war activists more ammunition, such as when a document declassified in 2004 contained “dissenting views” in the footnotes. Still, the tactic would “let the public judge for itself,” possibly defusing accusations of “administration deception,” the article says.—T.B.
Time and Newsweek, Nov. 28 Iraq: Newsweek’s Howard Fineman pens a précis about the Beltway dust-up that surrounds Rep. Jack Murtha’s claims that the Iraq war is “flawed policy wrapped in an illusion.” Although it’s arguable whether Murtha’s remark will nudge President Bush to the precipice of the “tipping point” on Iraq, the aftermath has resulted in a newfound infamy for the little-known congressman from Pennsylvania. Jonathan Alter weighs in on the debate over whether the United States should stay the course in Iraq, prodding policymakers to come up with a “third way” option since “the stakes in Iraq are higher than in South East Asia 40 years ago.”… As Iraq approaches its Dec. 15 elections, Time reviews the tenure of Interim Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari. The article predicts that “the next head of government will inherit rampant corruption, stagnant oil exports, a crumbling infrastructure, deadly insurgencies (on Friday and Saturday alone, five suicide bombings killed more than 120 people), an Iraqi army riddles with factional militiamen and a police force suspected of conniving in sectarian violence.”
Cover stories:Newsweek devotes its cover to Charles Darwin and the debate over intelligent design. A profile reveals that Darwin knew publishing his beliefs of evolution radically contradicting the origins of life offered up in the Bible would garner the same reception as “confessing a murder.” An article on the growing debate over including the theory of intelligent design in addition to evolution in school curriculums concludes, “in a country where 80 percent of the population believe God created the earth, skirmishes will, no doubt continue between proponents of evolution and those who reject the idea that man reached the opt of the tree of life pretty much by accident.” Time’s cover checks in on the Katrina recovery. One article reveals that New Orleans is far from healed. Says one public administration expert, “You’re looking at a 10-year recovery, not two years.” Another piece checks in with five families who were displaced by the hurricane.—Z.K.
Correction, Nov. 30, 2005: This write-up originally incorrectly identified the current Mother Jones as the December/January issue. This issue covers December alone. (Return to the corrected sentence.)
