Time, June 25 An article investigates the increasingly inventive tactics of Iraqi insurgents. Some improvised explosive devices are now made from “electronic deritus”—TV remotes, toy walkie-talkies, and washing-machine timers. Other tactics include concealing explosives “in loose rubble, then [stacking] human feces on top” so soldiers are less likely to investigate closely. They also use cadavers as bait, “dumping them on the street and detonating them when a military or police patrol stops for an inspection.” One official says, “They know that we can’t just leave a body to rot in the street.”… Michael Kinsley writes that for Americans younger than 40, the ban on gays in the military must be “simply weird.” Children “grow up today with gay friends, gay parents, gay parents of friends, and gay friends of parents” and see depictions of gays and lesbians in popular culture. The fact that GOP candidates voiced their support for the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in last week’s debate proves that their party “has stood still as history has gone charging past.”—M.S.
New York Times Magazine, June 17
The cover article looks at the use and misuse of medicinal opioids, focusing on the story of former Dr. Ronald McIver, “a crusader for high-dose opioids.” McIver is currently serving 30 years in prison for the overprescription of Oxycontin, which may have killed one patient. Balancing the costs and benefits of opioid usage is difficult because among medical professionals and laymen alike, “pain is discussed amid a swirl of ignorance and myth,” despite the one in five Americans who suffer from chronic pain. In the DEA’s battle to insure harsh penalties for criminals, “pain patients are the collateral victims.” … An article looks at “gold farming,” the market selling virtual goods from online games like World of Warcraft, an industry based mostly in China that brings in $1.8 billion annually. “[O]n the surface, there is little to distinguish gold farming from … any of the other industries that have mushroomed across China to feed the desires of the Western consumer. The wages, the margins, the worker houses, the long shifts and endless workweeks—all of these are standard practices.”—A.B.
Economist, June 16 An opinion piece considers the direction of science in the 21st century. Scientists now are finding that RNA may serve as a kind of cell “operating system,” and, as such, “biologists have gone from thinking that they know roughly what is going on in their subject to suddenly realizing that they barely have a clue.” Though it is “too early to be sure” if biotechnology is the cutting-edge of science, the ascendancy of genetic engineering, climate change, and new discoveries about the role of RNA suggest”there is a good chance that it will be.”… An article looks at the star power of presidential candidate Barack Obama. Although Obama is a skilled orator, can attract large crowds, and “it probably helps that he is black,” polls indicate that his charisma probably won’t help him win the nomination. His approach to big issues, like foreign policy and energy, is sometimes vague, and, ultimately, “his inexperience is worrisome, and the source of Mrs. Clinton’s greatest advantage over him.”— K.E.
New Republic, June 18 The cover story profiles Justice Anthony Kennedy, the sole swing voter in the Supreme Court. “The Hamlet of the Supreme Court” is known for agonizing over his decisions, relying on emotion rather than “empirical evidence,” and changing his mind at the last minute. His self-appointed task “to align the messy reality of American life with an inspiring and highly abstracted set of ideals” is informed by fictional tales of morality rather than “real conflicts among real people.” Still, Kennedy is given credit for being “a moderate, decent, fair-minded person rather than a judicial ideologue.”… A column argues that the student-loan scandal was the “direct result of anti-government mania.” As president, Bill Clinton tried to abolish the private lenders and hoped to replace them with loans issued by the government, but his efforts were foiled. Conservatives touted the subsequent success of private lenders “as proof of the superior efficiency of the free-enterprise system,” but it was merely the result of “superior graft.”— A.B.
Atlantic, July/August The cover story examines China’s manufacturing sector. Outsourcing to Chinese factories has provided jobs for millions of workers and has been good for American companies, too—Chinese workers who make $1,000 a year are helping American “designers, marketers, engineers, and retailers making $1,000 a week (and up) earn even more.” Still, Americans should “be wary about eventual effects” of China’s influence, as integration of the two economies means “further strain on the already weakened sense of fellow feeling and shared opportunity that allows a society as diverse and unequal as America’s to cohere.”… An article explores secularization in America and growing religious sentiment in Europe. Traditionally, “American politics is driven by faith-based disputes,” while “European debates take place under a canopy of unbelief.” But a backlash against the religious right in America, and a new class of European Muslims and more “assertive” Catholics, may close the “religious gulf between the continents.” These trends, though, “shouldn’t be exaggerated,” as American secularists are “an embattled minority, while Europeans remain strongly invested in prevented faith from intruding into politics.”— K.E.
New York, June 18 A profile compares legendary editor and celebrity-culture queen Tina Brown with the subject of her forthcoming book—Princess Diana. Brown “grew up privileged” in England, and Diana was her first big story at British society magazine Tatler. Diana has “been a kind of doppelganger for Brown since the beginning of her career.” But though Brown says writing the book “filled up a hole” in her life, she isn’t aspiring to “being the Kitty Kelly of Diana.”… Columnist James J. Cramer reveals that in 1996, Rupert Murdoch indicated that he was pursuing the Wall Street Journal. Though many media critics have openly worried about what Murdoch would do to the paper, Cramer doubts he will do “anything that fundamentally tarnishes the brand” and predicts that Murdoch will make the online Journal even more profitable. But the real force behind Murdoch’s pursuit? “He loves the editorial page. … I think he would like to elect a president, Kane style, with it.”— D.S.
Newsweek, June 18 Newsweek’s cover story looks at the growing burden of Alzheimer’s disease on America. “It is an emotionally wrenching journey that millions of baby boomers share now that so many of their parents are living past 80.” It is estimated that by 2030 the disease will “cost Medicare $400 billion, almost as much as the entire current Medicare budget.” There are also hidden risks for families dealing with the disease: “caregivers are more likely to neglect their own medical care and show high levels of stress hormones and diminished immune response—all of which lead to an increased risk of heart disease and cancer.”…”The New War on Hillary” asks “what is it about Hillary that so many people hate?” The percentage of people who find “arguably the most-investigated woman in contemporary American life” unfavorable is “unprecedented for a non-incumbent presidential candidate.” It may have started with the “miscalculation” in her husband’s presidency that “America was ready for a new kind of empowered, ambitious political spouse.” Her unpopularity may help her unite one group, though—conservatives. “Nothing riles up the Republican base like Clinton-bashing.”—A.B.
Weekly Standard, June 18 A cover story examines former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson’s bid for the Republican presidential nomination. Thompson, who, “according to several polls,” is second behind Rudy Giuliani, was something of an unknown just three months ago. Thompson’s “zero-to-sixty presidential run” has largely been fueled by grass-roots efforts and prodding from Republican Party higher-ups. Rep. Adam Putnam, the third-ranking Republican in the House, said he had seen in Thompson an “ability to create an excitement in our grassroots that none of the other candidates have been able to do thus far.” Some Republican insiders, though, claim Thompson’s campaign has had trouble raising funds, although Thompson advisers “dismiss” this. … William Kristol, in an opinion piece, urges President Bush to pardon Scooter Libby. Libby’s 30-month prison sentence is “unfair and vindictive,” but the president, who has declined to intervene, “doesn’t seem to have much sympathy for Libby.” If Bush chooses not to pardon Libby, it would be a “foolish and unjust choice,” and evidence of a “short-sighted, selfish, and petty desire to avoid some additional criticism.”—K.E.
