Economist, Sept. 5
(posted Saturday, Sept. 5, 1998)
The cover editorial reassures readers that a global depression is highly unlikely as long as the American economy stays strong. Since the United States can still lower interest rates or cut taxes to prevent a slump, there is little to worry about. The essay takes pains to note that current woes are not the fault of the free market system and that protectionism and regulation are not the answers. ... An article describes the modernization of the perfume and air freshener industries. While companies once mined scents from natural sources such as "the anuses of a mongoose-like African animal called a civet," they now use computers and chemical synthesis to create new scents: After sampling odors and digitizing their chemical makeup, scent-creators change various elements to derive a new smell. ... The obituary mourns the death, at 84, of Otto Wichterle, inventor of the soft contact lens. The Czech Wichterle, at one time a political prisoner of the Nazis, discovered a polymer that lets the lens remain moist while in contact with the eye. His technique, invented in 1961, was bought by Bausch and Lomb. Although 100 million people use soft contact lenses today, Wichterle wore glasses his whole life.
New York Times Magazine, Sept. 6
(posted Thursday, Sept. 3, 1998)
The cover story criticizes Kenneth Starr's unwavering pursuit of the president. Starr's pedantic, religious, exacting personality led him to drag out a case that other prosecutors would have ended quickly. Starr tidbits: He's not brilliant but is the hardest-working man in the legal system, he wanted desperately to be a Supreme Court justice, and his "tin ear" for politics has hurt him in previous cases. ... A story defends Joyce Maynard, whose forthcoming memoir describes her affair with J.D. Salinger. Maynard may be self-obsessed, but what writer isn't? If Salinger had written about her, "who would shed a tear for the violated privacy of Joyce Maynard, purveyor of minor novels and contributor to women's magazines?" (For more on Maynard and her memoir, see "The Book Club" in Slate.) ... An essay argues that treatment is our best bet in the drug war. Treatment is cheaper and far more effective than interdiction, but Clinton won't spend money on it for fear of looking soft on drugs. (See this Slate "Dialogue" for more on the subject.)
Time and Newsweek, Sept. 7
(posted Tuesday, Sept. 1, 1998)
Time's Russia cover package focuses on the role of incoming Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin, portraying him as sympathetic to Communist interests. (Minor problem: After Time went to press, Communists, who control Parliament, blocked Chernomyrdin's confirmation. Russia 1, Old Media 0.) Newsweek's Russia coverage includes sketches of the new Russian political players plus a profile of shady oligarch Boris Berezovsky.
Newsweek's cover piece examines a new book claiming that parents have a scant role in shaping their children. In fact, it's genetics and your peers that make you who you are: How your parents raise you matters little. (The New Yorker wrote about this topic a month ago.) Newsweek buys the argument in part but maintains that good parenting is still important.
A Newsweek essay titled "So Much for Globalization" argues that the failure of democracy and free markets in Russia will mark the end of the world's faith in globalization. Eight pages later, a tribute to Princess Diana emphasizes her embodiment of, yes, globalization: "Globalization has become the decade's most overused word, but at its heart, it embodies a real truth: technology has made this a planet of shared experiences."
The New Yorker, Sept. 7
(posted Tuesday, Sept. 1, 1998)
A piece describes the breakdown of President Clinton's "communications machine." Clinton's advisers, who used to protect him by spinning and covering up his wrongdoing, have turned skeptical. The president is suddenly alone. ... A profile of thriller novelist Stephen King finds him surprisingly ordinary: a salt of the earth guy who cooks his own dinners, plays tennis with his son, marvels at bank cards, and harbors a passion for books. (The piece is pegged to the publication of Bag of Bones, King's first novel under his new, extremely lucrative contract with Scribner.)
Weekly Standard, Sept. 7
(posted Tuesday, Sept. 1, 1998)
The cover story on the 30th anniversary of 1968 reprises the standard Standard line that the anti-establishment kids of the '60s have grown up to be hypocrites. The anti-draft protestors who trumpeted "Power to the People" were college-educated elitists themselves, and these rebels of yesteryear now embrace the system as today's leaders. ... Also on the theme of lefty hypocrisy, a piece derides the "steep decline of liberal moralism." How is it, the piece asks, that liberals who relentlessly vilified Nixon have suddenly decided that Clinton's lying is irrelevant?
New Republic, Sept. 14 & 21
(posted Saturday, Aug. 29, 1998)
A story says Democrats are wrong to fear that a Clinton resignation will lead to disastrous midterm election results. Republicans lost many seats after Nixon's resignation because of a struggling economy, not because of Watergate. It's too late for strong GOP candidates to emerge this year, and voter turnout won't be depressed by Clinton's departure. Thus, Clinton should go. ... The "TRB" column scolds pundits for claiming Clinton is no longer effective: "Since when do we kick presidents out of office because they are no longer effective?... Harry Truman was a laughingstock in Washington after 1948, but he stayed in office. ... Perhaps no duck was lamer than Ronald Reagan after Iran-Contra, yet resignation was never a serious issue."
--Seth Stevenson