On the Record

■ 1990 wasn’t all bad. Last year, for the first time in the fifty years Freedom House has been tracking such things, more of the world’s 5.3 billion people were free (39 per cent) than not free (33 per cent). Another 28 per cent, including for the first time the USSR, are listed as “partly free.” Five nations that made the switch in ’90: Chile, Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Namibia. . . . Rep. Helen Bentley (R., Md.), impressed by successes of RFE/RL in Central Europe and Soviet Union, is introducing bill in Congress for formation of a Radio Free Asia, to broadcast to captive nations of Indochina. … In a moving ceremony in Warsaw just before Christmas, Ryszard Kaczorowski, president of Polish government-in-exile, presented Lech Walesa with the red presidential banner, the seals of state, and the original text of the Polish Constitution of 1935, which a predecessor had smuggled out of Poland after the Nazi invasion in 1939. “We never thought we would be the ones to see such a historic moment,” said Kaczorowski’s wife, Karolina. . . . The once-Stalinist former French Congo abandoned its Marxist ideology in December and has now legalized opposition political parties. . . . Back in the States, Sen. Jesse Helms (R., N.C.), is moving to link most-favored-nation status for the Soviet Union to hands-off policy by Moscow on Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. … In Moscow, TASS reports that Mikhail Gorbachev, apparently bowing to pressure from the military, is increasing Soviet defense budget by $50 billion instead of cutting military spending in 1991 as he had announced six months ago. . . . And Boris Yeltsin insists, as he put it at a December news conference, that “Gorbachev was a Communist, is a Communist, and will always be a Communist.” . . . Without question a spark went out of international politics in 1990 with the departure of Margaret Thatcher from the world stage. No one else could have said, when outvoted 48 to 1 at a Commonwealth conference, “I feel sorry for the 48.” Or have quelled UPI’s persistent White House correspondent Helen Thomas with the comment: “No time for silly questions like that now, dear.”

■ First impressions: Conservatives were pleased (and surprised) by Republican Gov. William Weld’s inaugural address. Weld talked turkey about balancing budget, cutting expenses, and unleashing business in Massachusetts, and steered clear of social issues. . . . Newly elected Sen. Paul Wellstone (D., Minn.) making waves in Washington, first for his unprovoked attacks on Jesse Helms, next for his refusal to have Minnesota’s senior senator, David Durenberger (R.), escort him at swearing-in ceremonies, as is customary. Wellstone asked Walter Mondale to do the honors. . . . Massachusetts loss of one House seat in ’92 means Bay State could lose Joseph Kennedy Jr. or possibly Joe Moakley, a key player in cutting aid to El Salvador. Another possibility: the merging of Chet Atkins, Barney Frank districts. A departure of either would be good news. . . . Ned Helms, head of New Hampshire Democratic Party, is having difficulty getting big-name Democrat for party’s main fundraiser in February, indicating continued reluctance of any Democrats to take on George Bush. . . . Wall Street Journal’s Jim Perry says Gov. Douglas Wilder of Virginia could run for President next year as a “budget-slasher.” . . . According to Human Events George McGovern is talking about a 1992 run. . . . Millard Fillmore Society (named for the nation’s most mediocre President) has awarded its 1990 Mediocrity Award to Roseanne Barr for her rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

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■ 1990 wasn’t all bad. Last year, for the first time in the fifty years Freedom House has been tracking such things, more of the world’s 5.3 billion people were free (39 per cent) than not free (33 per cent). Another 28 per cent, including for the first time the USSR, are listed as “partly free.” Five nations that made the switch in ’90: Chile, Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Namibia. . . . Rep. Helen Bentley (R., Md.), impressed by successes of RFE/RL in Central Europe and Soviet Union, is introducing bill in Congress for formation of a Radio Free Asia, to broadcast to captive nations of Indochina. … In a moving ceremony in Warsaw just before Christmas, Ryszard Kaczorowski, president of Polish government-in-exile, presented Lech Walesa with the red presidential banner, the seals of state, and the original text of the Polish Constitution of 1935, which a predecessor had smuggled out of Poland after the Nazi invasion in 1939. “We never thought we would be the ones to see such a historic moment,” said Kaczorowski’s wife, Karolina. . . . The once-Stalinist former French Congo abandoned its Marxist ideology in December and has now legalized opposition political parties. . . . Back in the States, Sen. Jesse Helms (R., N.C.), is moving to link most-favored-nation status for the Soviet Union to hands-off policy by Moscow on Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. … In Moscow, TASS reports that Mikhail Gorbachev, apparently bowing to pressure from the military, is increasing Soviet defense budget by $50 billion instead of cutting military spending in 1991 as he had announced six months ago. . . . And Boris Yeltsin insists, as he put it at a December news conference, that “Gorbachev was a Communist, is a Communist, and will always be a Communist.” . . . Without question a spark went out of international politics in 1990 with the departure of Margaret Thatcher from the world stage. No one else could have said, when outvoted 48 to 1 at a Commonwealth conference, “I feel sorry for the 48.” Or have quelled UPI’s persistent White House correspondent Helen Thomas with the comment: “No time for silly questions like that now, dear.”

■ First impressions: Conservatives were pleased (and surprised) by Republican Gov. William Weld’s inaugural address. Weld talked turkey about balancing budget, cutting expenses, and unleashing business in Massachusetts, and steered clear of social issues. . . . Newly elected Sen. Paul Wellstone (D., Minn.) making waves in Washington, first for his unprovoked attacks on Jesse Helms, next for his refusal to have Minnesota’s senior senator, David Durenberger (R.), escort him at swearing-in ceremonies, as is customary. Wellstone asked Walter Mondale to do the honors. . . . Massachusetts loss of one House seat in ’92 means Bay State could lose Joseph Kennedy Jr. or possibly Joe Moakley, a key player in cutting aid to El Salvador. Another possibility: the merging of Chet Atkins, Barney Frank districts. A departure of either would be good news. . . . Ned Helms, head of New Hampshire Democratic Party, is having difficulty getting big-name Democrat for party’s main fundraiser in February, indicating continued reluctance of any Democrats to take on George Bush. . . . Wall Street Journal’s Jim Perry says Gov. Douglas Wilder of Virginia could run for President next year as a “budget-slasher.” . . . According to Human Events George McGovern is talking about a 1992 run. . . . Millard Fillmore Society (named for the nation’s most mediocre President) has awarded its 1990 Mediocrity Award to Roseanne Barr for her rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”