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On paper, the European Monetary System still exists, even if it is barely a shadow of its former self. Until August 2, 1993 the participants in the Exchange Rate Mechanism were so tied together that the variations in their currencies were limited to a maximum of 4.5 percent. Now, except for the mark and the Dutch guilder, they can fluctuate by as much as 30 percent. Whatever face-saving words officials may use, currencies are floating. Euroenthusiasts will object that the arrangement is, in principle, provisional and that this is not the first setback on the road toward Europe's integration.

This article focuses on the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), where actress Jane Alexander had been appointed as the new chairwoman, by the U.S. President Bill Clinton. The President's low involvement, coupled with the fact that ten of the twenty six slots on the NEA's advisory National Council on the Arts remain vacant suggest that the arts--and, more important, artistic freedom of expression--are not a high priority at the White House. The NEA documents should serve as a warning to the White House. President Clinton must now demonstrate that, unlike his predecessor, he is committed to restoring the agency to its place as a catalyst for the best art and unrestricted freedom of artistic expression.