You have never heard of Brian Chontosh. That’s a shame. Not for Brian Chontosh, who I suspect couldn’t care less. But for you.In March of last year, Chontosh was a 29-year-old Marine lieutenant. He was leading his platoon on Highway 1, just outside Baghdad, when his troops came under heavy fire. He ordered his vehicle […]

For months, President Bush and his top advisers have seen the transfer of Iraqi sovereignty as a crucial turning point in the effort to create a functioning democracy in the country long brutalized and subjugated by Saddam Hussein.By secretly moving up the date by 48 hours, they prevented insurgents from trying to stop the transfer. […]

When Senator Joe Biden sat down with Jacques Chirac last December, the French president was feeling friendly. “How can I help you?” Chirac asked.“Well, Mr. President, you can start by answering a question,” Biden replied. “Has your desire to see George Bush defeated been overcome yet by your desire to promote France’s interests?”Chirac, taken aback, […]

Enough, it said. No more.That was the subject line. When I opened the e-mail, I found myself gazing upon a severed head held aloft by an anonymous hand.I had intended to spare myself such images. Viewing them felt too much like submitting to terrorist manipulation. But I should have known better. Technology being what it […]

The devastating question that was asked of the vacuous Gary Hart during the 1984 Democratic primaries was “Where’s the beef?” In that spirit, John Kerry could be asked today: “Where’s the misery?”Desperately trying to prove that economic conditions in a booming economy that has created nearly a million jobs in the past three months justify […]

The 2004 Democratic National Convention will be held in Boston, from Monday, July 26, to Thursday, July 29, with an expected 35,000 people attending, including 6,000 delegates, 15,000 members of the media, area dignitaries, diplomats and foreign honored guests.Two years ago, according to the Boston Herald, Boston pundits ranted about how the coming convention would […]

I ran smack into the Zeitgeist on page 60 of the current TV Guide.Turn there and you find yourself in the middle of a breathless “Where are they now?” on a bunch of reality show contestants. This includes Ryan Sutter and Trista Rehn, who became America’s sweethearts after falling in “love” on an ABC reality […]

That old well-meaning cliche “never again” might be due for retirement. It is what we tell ourselves after every massive slaughter, whether it’s the Holocaust or Cambodia or Bosnia or Rwanda. Now, with a new genocide building in Sudan hard on the heels of the 10th anniversary of Rwanda – which brought pious expressions of […]

I hate to wade back into the culture wars forced upon us by Bill Clinton’s unjustified impeachment, but since many right-wingers have leapt to pummel the former president on his book tour, those of us not blinded by hate, ideology and a lust for power should at least pitch in with a rebuttal. To that […]

Portland city workers will be able to buy their prescription drugs from a Canadian company soon.The move will save the city’s 2,800 workers money because drugs in Canada are significantly cheaper than they are here in the United States. Nonetheless, the city is making it easier to do – and in fact promoting – an […]