The Democrats' Sept. 11?The New Republic urges the party to use Katrina to its advantage.
Updated Friday, Sept. 9, 2005, at 4:15 PM ETNew Republic, Sept. 19
Noam Scheiber cites a New York Times piece that followed a middle-class white family and an extremely poor black family as they attempted to get out of New Orleans and concludes that the poor "lack the basic life skills, social networks, and general sense of agency that even the slightly more affluent—working-class people—take for granted." He argues that poor people don't just need money; they also need to know how to open bank accounts, and other "life-skills," such as how to apply for jobs. … A piece about the rebuilding of New Orleans argues that "the same attachments to place and lifestyle that militate so strongly against relocating New Orleans are the exact forces that will stand in the way of any effort to radically refashion the city as well." … An article insists that Katrina plays on Democrats' domestic policy strengths and urges the party to use the event to their advantage in the same way that Republicans used Sept. 11.—B.B.
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StumbleUponEconomist, Sept. 10
The magazine argues that Katrina has altered the world's opinion of America's competency and "the most astonishing and most shaming revelation has been of its government's failure to bring succour to its people at their time of greatest need." The piece assigns most of the blame to President Bush, lambastes the Department of Homeland Security, and insists that Bush should "persuade Congress to regurgitate the pork in the transport bill" in order to finance levee reconstruction. … Another article notes that the latest Volcker Report absolves U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan of personal blame for the oil-for-food scandal but condemns his lack of leadership. The magazine argues that firing Annan isn't the answer, "since the UN is not a firm, sacking Mr Annan over the oil-for-food programme would send the wrong signal: that it is his person and not—as the Volcker report stresses—the structure of the organisation that is at the root of the problem."—B.B.
Reason, October 2005
The cover showcases a debate about corporate social responsibility among Whole Foods CEO John Mackey, economist Milton Friedman, and T.J. Rodgers, CEO of Cypress Semiconductors. Mackey defends corporate philanthropy, insisting that he wants his company to create value for "customers … employees, investors, vendors, communities, and the environment." Citing Adam Smith's Theory of Moral Sentiments, he claims that "to extend our love and care beyond our narrow self-interest is antithetical to neither our human nature nor our financial success." Friedman argues that Whole Foods practices philanthropy only in order to attract investors turned off by the idea of "soulless corporations." Further, he suggests that "Whole Foods has no special competence in deciding how charity should be distributed." Mackey responds that Friedman "is right to argue that profit making" is inherently good, but that all corporations don't have to exist for this sole purpose.—B.B.
Rolling Stone, Sept. 22
Douglas Brinkley files a dispatch from Hunter S. Thompson's August memorial service. Thanks to actor and fellow Kentuckian Johnny Depp, Thompson's wish of being blasted into the hereafter via a canon shaped like a "gonzo" fist (two-thumbed, red, holding a peyote button) was fulfilled. And so America's favorite rake was accompanied to eternity with the strains of "Spirit in the Sky" and the apt words of his longtime law-enforcement fixer Sheriff Braudis, "Goodbye, Hunter ... motherfucker." … The cover serves up an interview with the aging Rolling Stones. Mick Jagger offers the following insights: He's never been stricken with a serious illness, unlike his bandmate Charlie Watts, who successfully battled throat cancer; despite the overt partisan lyrics of their latest single "Sweet Neo Con," Jagger thinks that the Middle East policies of both American political parties suck; and touring, despite its pampering, can get really boring.—Z.K.
Nation, Sept. 26
An article advises the people of New Orleans to reclaim reconstruction efforts in their city, given that money allocated to relief efforts tends to benefit the political and moneyed elites. A community-spearheaded reconstruction effort would help the neediest, the article says. … The culprit of the misery in the Gulf Coast is not only the Bush administration but a legacy of a congenital distrust in government fostered by Ronald Reagan, accuses an editorial. The disaster renews the debate about the government's role in protecting and reconstructing the lives of disaster survivors and shines a spotlight on the disparity in services available to those who are black and poor. What the country truly needs "is a relocation and reclamation project in Washington, D.C., in addition to the massive one beginning in Katrina's wake." —Z.K.
Paris Review, Summer 2005
The first issue under new editor Philip Gourevitch features Salman Rushdie on the cover and a long interview with the writer inside. Jack Livings talks to him about nearly everything, from his new novel Shalimar the Clown, to the fatwa, to his ad-man days in London and his early, failed novels. Rushdie is of the school that develops characters then finds that they take their own directions. Of Saleem, Midnight's Children's narrator, he says, "I kept trying to force him to be more active, to take charge of events—and it just didn't work. ... I had a kind of wrestling match with him, which I lost." … An excerpt from Chinese dissident poet Liao Yiwu's book Interviews With People From the Bottom Rung of Society offers this revealing account from a toilet manager: "[In the '70s] peasants didn't have access to fertilizers, so human waste was precious. ... Each time we brought a shipment [of waste] to the commune we'd beat drums and gongs and decorate the trucks with red flowers. When they saw our trucks approaching the peasants would hold large welcoming ceremonies."—B.W.
Men's Vogue, Fall 2005
The première issue hit newsstands this week with a focus on style and lifestyle, not—like its sister publication—fashion. Tom Shone profiles George Clooney at work on his sophomore directing effort, Good Night and Good Luck, a biopic about radio news legend Edward R. Murrow. Clooney is alone among his peers at the top of the acting game, he writes, in his willingness to take risks with his pocketbook and his career. … A.A. Gill ridicules and celebrates the stubborn rituals of the British country house shooting party, particularly the tweed costume: "[It's] that peculiarly English thing: studied, posed, rubbish."—B.W.
New York Times Magazine, Sept. 11
On the fourth anniversary of Sept. 11, the cover story looks at how the war on terror has affected Osama Bin Laden and his followers. It suggests that future attacks may come not from al-Qaida or even on Bin Laden's orders, but from people inspired by Sept. 11 to create their own isolated cells and carry out hard-to-investigate bombings of their own. "[T]he spectacle of 9/11 was meant to serve, among other things, as an enormous recruiting poster." … An article about how Bin Laden slipped by American forces in Tora Bora suggests that he escaped with the help of another anti-Soviet resister who received money from the United States during the Cold War. Meanwhile, a member of the Northern Alliance and an Afghan exile who were both recruited to help track down Bin Laden were preoccupied with other things: "[O]n more than one occasion they and their fighters, instead of fighting Al Qaeda, shot each other's men."—T.B.
New York, Sept. 12
An article chronicles the Wall Street Journal's launch of its less stodgy Saturday edition, the Weekend Journal. Courting such arriviste faves as Lexus and Ralph Lauren as advertisers, the venture's steward was Joanne Lipmann, who consequently, with less than two months before the Sept. 17 launch, jumped ship to the perk-ridden environs of Conde Nast. The wade into the uncharted waters of leisure and consumer reporting, an editorial staff hemorrhage, and low morale over salaries and corporate mismanagement has one Dow Jones shareholder remarking, "It is so broken that the only choice is to give a new owner a chance to fix it." …The magazine's fall movies preview cavalcade is ushered in with a sullen-looking Gwyneth Paltrow on the cover. Paltrow, promoting the upcoming release of Proof, shot two years ago, said she was quitting Hollywood last year. Her tone has softened slightly, but she vows to take work only if the movies are "things that (a) I would want to see, and (b) that would enrich me as a human being."—Z.K.
Mother Jones, September/October 2005
The cover story highlights an overlooked problem in post-invasion Iraq. Many of the nation's top scientists, who may possess the knowledge necessary to develop weapons of mass destruction, are unaccounted for. Scientist Mahdi Obeidi was brought to safety in America only after several weeks of pleading, a brief stay with the Army, and an extensive debriefing in Kuwait. Of the estimated 2,000 scientists Saddam had working on WMD, some are reluctant to come forward for fear of being labeled terrorists, thrown in jail, or killed. More ominously, others may have gone to Iran, Syria, or other rogue nations. … An article reveals that a former Oklahoma legislator who pushed for the use of the lethal injection as a humane alternative to the electric chair regrets the part he may have played in making execution more palatable. Soon to be ordained as an Episcopalian priest, Bill Wiseman says the memory of what he did is "like an old wound."—T.B.
Time, Newsweek, U.S. News and World Report, Sept. 12
Katrina: Time's Joe Klein notes that "the Chinese believe that natural disasters signal the fall of empires" and claims that the combination of 9/11 and Katrina "send a signal that America's remarkable late-20th century run may not be perpetual." He suggests that New Orleans "should spark a reconsideration of what has become a casual disdain for the essentials of governance and our common public life." Both Time and Newsweek strongly criticize President Bush's response. Newsweek writes, "Up to now, the Bush administration has not hesitated to sweep aside the opinions of lawyers on such matters as prisoners' rights. But after Katrina, a strange paralysis set in. For days, Bush's top advisers argued over legal niceties about who was in charge." Both magazines also have compelling images of the disaster. U.S. News defends the president: "In truth, however, while the response from Washington may have been sluggish at first, the crisis was decades in the making." But columnist Roger Simon asserts, "[Bush's] laggardly, confused, and inadequate response will have political repercussions that will outlast his presidency."
Katrina and the economy: Calling the hurricane a "painful lesson in economical geography," Newsweek examines the impact that the storm will have on the economy as a whole and emphasizes that everything will depend on "how quickly America's energy-industrial complex repairs itself." The magazine notes, "Costlier energy could adversely affect consumer spending, corporate profits and inflation—or all three. ... The most obvious danger is that there will be other disruptions that compound today's scarcities: another damaging hurricane; a terrorist act in the Middle East." Time is generally optimistic but reports on Katrina's negative impact on Detroit, where the major car manufacturers depend on SUV sales. It also explains why items like coffee, bananas, and paint will be more expensive. ... U.S. News doesn't foresee a recession but quotes an expert who thinks "the economy will lose 500,000 jobs in September as a result of the storm."
Rehnquist: Newsweek offers a retrospective on Rehnquist's life and celebrates his character but reiterates that recently retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor was the most critical presence on the court. The magazine notes, "[Rehnquist] was never able to create 'the Rehnquist Court,' certainly not the way Earl Warren had shaped a court in his name. The court has moved to the right since Warren's days, but not very far right, and it has consistently upheld some liberal precedents on social issues like civil rights and abortion." In an online-only piece, Time's Matthew Cooper calls Bush's nomination of John Roberts as Rehnquist's replacement "a smart political move for a beleaguered president." He throws out the list of usual suspects who might be nominated for Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's seat and writes, "One White House official says that there's close scrutiny of Larry Thompson, who served as Number two in the Ashcroft Justice department. As African-American, Thompson's nomination might help ease racial tensions in the wake of the New Orleans disaster."—B.B.
The New Yorker, Sept. 12
New Orleans native Nicholas Lemann looks back on the other hurricanes his family and his city survived. Lemann lists failures human—the government, the police—and systemic—the electric grid, the sewers—and guesses that "we will find out that society and nature were co-conspirators in the tragedy." He also ponders the way conversations vacillate between major and minor issues, admitting he is "preoccupied with" the family's burial plot. "I've always assumed that I would be buried there—but I guess not." ... An article examines how Rick Warren, author of the best-selling The Purpose-Driven Life, used Hawaiian shirts, easy-to-digest sermons, and door-to-door techniques to build a church of 20,000 dedicated followers who meet weekly in small groups to pray, discuss faith, and keep each other motivated to do good works. According to Warren, "There is only one thing big enough to handle the world's problems, and that is the millions and millions of churches spread out around the world."—T.B.
American Prospect, Sept. 10
An article names William Kristol, Thomas Friedman, Christopher Hitchens, Victor Davis Hanson, and Charles Krauthammer as this war's Goebbels. Rather than holding the administration's feet to the fire over such issues as Abu Ghraib and the insurgency, the writers have become shills for the administration, the article charges, blaming them for having "misrepresented supposition as fact, excused the misconduct of administration officials, and neglected to consider the predictable consequences of the war they promoted." What makes their crimes so egregious, according to Harold Myerson, is that the quintet sold this "war of choice" to the American public who felt validated sending their loved ones off, "halfway around the world to fight a nemesis that they didn't really know was a nemesis."—Z.K.
Nation, Sept. 12
An editorial chastises Democrats for squandering the anti-war momentum Cindy Sheehan and her supporters have constructed with their haunting presence in Crawford, Texas. Rather than focusing on methods to ensure victory in Iraq, Democratic machers "should be following the example of those on both sides of the aisle who are calling for withdrawal." The piece reports that an "unofficial Congressional hearing" is being organized by California Rep. Lynn Woolsey, who believes, "Everything about his war has been a ruinous debacle … there is only one solution: Bring the troops home." ... An article casts a critical eye toward the Army's recruitment methods post Sept. 11. Recruiters are told to volunteer for many activities at the high schools they're assigned to, and some have been caught helping recruits hide criminal records. Others are accused of lying about student-loan repayments; the article calls the Army "desperate."—Z.K.
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