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JANUARY (pg. 285-290). FEBRUARY (pg. 290-294). MARCH (pg. 294-300). APRIL (pg. 301-306). MAY (pg. 306-311). JUNE (pg. 311-316). JULY (pg. 316-324). AUGUST (pg. 324-333). SEPTEMBER (pg. 333-338). OCTOBER (pg. 338-345). NOVEMBER (pg. 345-349). DECEMBER (pg. 349-354). INDIA (pg. 354-379). IN THE PERSIAN EXPEDITION (pg. 379). DECEMBER, 1856 (pg. 379). CENTENARIANS (pg. 380).

The Bush administration's fiscal policies have put the budget on an unsustainable path, jeopardizing the entirety of federal domestic programs. Two economists show how politically untouched options - tax increases, restraint in spending on defense and health care, and abandonment of balanced budget rhetoric - will become inescapable choices when financial markets reject the extent of prospective federal borrowing implied by current policies. Reprinted by permission of M.E. Sharpe, Inc.

Roderick Hart may be among the few Americans who believe that what politicians say in a campaign actually matters. He also believes that campaigns work. Even as television coverage, political ads, and opinion polls turn elections into field days for marketing professionals, Hart argues convincingly that campaigns do play their role in sustaining democracy, mainly because they bring about a dialogue among candidates, the press, and the people. Here he takes a close look at the exchange of ideas through language used in campaign speeches, political advertising, public debates, print and broadcast news, and a wide variety of letters to the editor. In each case, the participants choose their words differently, and this, according to Hart, can be a frustrating challenge to anyone trying to make sense of the issues. Yet he finds that the process is good for Americans: campaigns inform us about issues, sensitize us to the concerns of others, and either encourage us to vote or at least heighten our sense of the political world. Hart comes to his conclusions by using DICTION, a computer program that has enabled him to unearth substantive data, such as the many subtle shifts found in political language, over the past fifty years. This approach yields a rich variety of insights, including empirically based explanations of impressions created by political candidates. For example, in 1996 Bill Clinton successfully connected with voters by using many human-interest words--\"you,\" \"us,\" \"people,\" \"family.\" Bob Dole, however, alienated the public and even undermined his own claims of optimism by using an abundance of denial words--\"can't,\" \"shouldn't,\" \"couldn't.\" Hart also tracks issue buzzwords such as \"Medicare\" to show how candidates and voters define and readjust their positions throughout the campaign dialogue. In the midst of today's increased media hype surrounding elections, Americans and the candidates they elect do seem to be listening to each other--as much as they did in years gone by. Hart's wide-ranging, objective investigation upends many of our stereotypes about political life and presents a new, more bracing, understanding of contemporary electoral behavior.

We say the camera doesn't lie, but we also know that pictures distort and deceive. In Picture Perfect, Kiku Adatto brilliantly examines the use and abuse of images today. Ranging from family albums to Facebook, political campaigns to popular movies, images of war to pictures of protest. Adatto reveals how the line between the person and the pose, the real and the fake, news and entertainment is increasingly blurred. New technologies make it easier than ever to capture, manipulate, and spread images. But even in the age of the Internet, we still seek authentic pictures and believe in the camera's promise to document, witness, and interpret our lives.

MATSON Cut To Bar Interior, Annunciation, Berkeley Hills, Tight Lines * Sasha Matson, cond; Peter Kent, Becky Bűnnel, Joel Derouin, Clayton Haslip, Ben Hudson, Marina Manukian, John Wittenberg (vn); Roberto Cani, Briana Brandy, Andrew Duckies, Daniel Oguri, Cameron Patrick, Kari Prescott (va); Erika Duke-Kirkpatrick, Paula Hochalter, Cameron Stone (vc); Phil O'Connor (cl); Andrew Parnther (bn); Jeff Bandy (cbn); Marisa Benedict (tpt); Scott Higgins (perc); Mark Gasbarro (kbd); Amy Schulman (hp) * STEREOPHILE 022-2 (49:73) Composer Sasha Matson's newest recording is a mesmerizing collection of four instrumental works for string chamber orchestra entitled Tight Lines. The central composition is Matson's four-movement suite for string orchestra and keyboards, Tight Lines, which takes its title from a quote by former President George H. W. Bush in which the phrase is used as a good luck greeting. Just as the sport of fly fishing conjures up a kind of Zen oneness with nature, Matson's music creates the interior world of the angler, the interplay of man, fish, and the elements, and the rhythmic impulses suggested by the sport.