against fast-track approval of future traderntreaties, Gephardt has switched colorsrnagain: in a speech to the Council on ForeignrnRelations in March, Gephardt arguedrnthat he was “misunderstood andrnmisrepresented” as an isolationist and arnprotectionist. According to the New YorkrnTimes, he assured the G F R that he is arn”progressive internationalist,” and thatrnhe supports the Clinton administration’srnrequest for $18 billion in new fundingrnfor the International Monetary Fund.rnGephardt’s misstep left only one candidaternin either party who is willing to runrnthe race against the free-traders: PatrnBuchanan.rn• Get Big or Get Out: In recent years,rnas Borders, Barnes & Noble, and otherrnmega-chain bookstores have expandedrninto mid-size markets, independentrnbookstores—at least those that didn’t immediatelyrnthrow in the towel — havernfound that publishers and distributorsrnwere less interested in dealing withrnthem. For some time, there have beenrnrumors that the mega-chains receivernpreferential treatment —and cheaperrnprices. Now, the American Booksellersrn.Association hopes to prove those rumorsrntrue. In March, they filed an antitrustrnlawsuit against Barnes & Noble and Borders.rnAccording to the Associated Press,rnAvin Mark Domnitz, executive directorrnof the ABA, argued that the lawsuit is arnstruggle for “the existence of independentrnbooksellers.” Look for the cappucino-rnsipping lovers of liberty to denouncernthe lawsuit, and to rally to the defense ofrnthe economic imperialists.rn• Hands Across Yugoslavia: Formerrnpop idol Cat Stevens, who gave uprnsinging when he converted to Islam 21rnyears ago, has relented and released hisrnfirst CD, I Have No Cannons That Roar.rnIts 11 tracks are performed by Stevensrn(who now goes by the name Yusuf Islam)rnand Bosnian Muslims. The proceedsrnwill be sent to charities ministering tornMuslims in Bosnia. Judging by therntracks, however, this is no anti-war album.rnThe title song was written by thernIrfan Ljubijankic, foreign minister forrnthe Bosnian Muslims, who was killedrnwhen his helicopter was shot down by arnSerbian rocket. Sung by Bosnian MuslimrnDino Merlin, the track includes thernwords, “I’ll surrender you to no one else,rnmy mother Bosnia, my love.”rnO B I T E R DICTA: Randolphians (andrnfellow travelers), start making your plans.rnThe Ninth Annual Meeting of the JohnrnRandolph Club will be held in Dallas,rnSeptember 18-20. Watch this space forrnmore details.rnChronicles contributor Janet ScottrnBarlow has launched a website featuringrnher commentar}’ on current events. Entitledrn”Out Here: Commentary fromrnMiddle America on Politics and Culture,”rnthe site can be accessed atrnwww.Out-Here.org.rnThe poetry of Emanuel di Pasqualernreturns to our pages this month. Hisrnwork has appeared in the AmericanrnPoetry Review, The Nation, the ChristianrnScience Monitor, and the SewaneernReview, and has been collected in a volumernentitled Genesis. We are alsornpleased to reprint Rudolph Schirmer’srn”Stanzas in the Valley of the Fallen.”rnThis poem, engraved on a bronzernplaque, was presented to the Basilica ofrnSairta Cruz del Valle de los Caidos, therngreat monument to all who died in thernSpanish Civil War. Mr. Schirmer alsornpresented a copy of the poem to PopernPaul VI at a special audience. In acceptingrnthe poem, the Pontiff told Schirmer,rn”I shall pra}’ for your poem and forrnpeace.”rnOur art this month flows from therncreative hands of Igor Kopelnitsky, arnRussian artist living in Brooklyn. Sincerncoming to the United States in 1990, Mr.rnKopelnitsky has illustrated for the NewrnYork Times, the Daily News, and thernWashington Post, as well as for Chronicles.rn1998 League oftfie Soutfi Summer Instituternf Jime 1 4 – 1 9 ^ 1 9 9 8 (Sunday evening through Friday noon)rnCamp St. Christopher, Johns Island,rnSouth Carolina (near Charleston)rn40 slots availablernFirst-class resort accommodations on the beachrn(double occupancy).rn$425 for students, $495 non-studentsrn(room, board, tuition included)rnSeminars on Southern history, literature,rnpolitical philosophy, theology, and art by some ofrnthe South’s finest unreconstructed scholars,rnincluding Thomas Ykminq, VonaidLivingsUntjrnCfydc Witson, James Kwkr^ among others.rnExcursion to historic Charleston included.rnkrnFor further information, write The League of the South, P.O. Box 40910, lYiscaloosa, Alabama 35404rnor call ( 2 0 5 ) 5 5 3 – 0 1 5 5 . Space is limited, so contact us as soon as possible to reserve your place. J =^3E1rnJUNE 1998/9rnrnrn