Abstract

Editorials

The article presents information on various social and political developments in the United States. The ban on intact dilation and extraction has been re-introduced in both houses of Congress in a tinny of right-wing rhetoric. In addition to the usual comments from the usual suspects the current conservative discourse features outrage that Ron Fitzsimmons, who represents a trade organization of abortion clinics, lied in an interview with Ted Koppel when he claimed that there were only 450 independent developmental evaluation's performed each year. Confirmation hearings for Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) directors are often best judged by what is not mentioned. When Anthony Lake, President Bill Clinton's former National Security Adviser, came before the Senate Intelligence Committee as the nominee for chief spook, scalp-hungry Republican members were armed with questions regarding his opposition to an extensive ballistic missile defense; the Administration's actions in Haiti; the White House's decision not to block Iranian arms shipments to Bosnia; the National Security Council officers who did not pass to Lake Federal Bureau of Investigation information on suspected Chinese efforts to influence U.S. elections; and Lake's plans to bolster morale at the agency.