AltWeeklies Wire
Taking a Shot at the Supreme Courtnew
This past week's Supreme Court ruling, invalidating Washington, DC's handgun ban, demonstrates just how far afield "movement conservatism" has taken our country.
Boston Phoenix |
Editorial |
07-03-2008 |
Civil Liberties
Conservatives are Missing the Mark on Obama's Vulnerabilitynew

Say what you want about Obama, he's no radical. So if the company he keeps continues to be the GOP's principal criticism through to November, it will ensure Obama's election. They'd be better off to stick to the flip-flop.
Boston Phoenix |
Steven Stark |
07-03-2008 |
Commentary
50 States, 50 Bandsnew

We picked the all-time best band, all-time best solo artist, and best new(ish) band from each of the 50 states (plus a set from DC). We say the all-time best band to come out of Connecticut was the Carpenters. Michigan? The Stooges. Massachusetts? The Pixies. Care to argue about it?
Boston Phoenix |
Michael Brodeur, Carly Carioli and Lance Gould |
07-01-2008 |
Music
'Traces of the Trade' Examines One Woman's Blood Moneynew
While searching her family's proud genealogy, a New England filmmaker discovered that her ancestors sold slaves.
Boston Phoenix |
Gerald Peary |
06-26-2008 |
TV
In Praise of Ultimate Fightingnew
This is a dangerous year for America. Next year will be worse. Can it be a coincidence, I ask rhetorically, that we have all of a sudden become very interested in watching highly trained men smack the shit out of each other? In choke-outs, elbow strikes, and roundhouse kicks to the head?
Boston Phoenix |
James Parker |
06-26-2008 |
Sports
The 2008 Muzzles: Collegiate Divisionnew
In reality, college campuses are home to some of the most outrageous cases of censorship.
Boston Phoenix |
Harvey Silverglate |
06-26-2008 |
Civil Liberties
Tags: civil liberties
The 2008 Phoenix Muzzle Awardsnew

Freedom of expression may be guaranteed by the Constitution, but it's an idea we have to fight for every day. We round up the past year's most conspicuous enemies.
Boston Phoenix |
Dan Kennedy |
06-26-2008 |
Civil Liberties
John Howard is Climbing the Ranks of Mixed Martial Arts, One Chokehold at a Timenew
While MMA is bogged down by the confusing number of competing organizations that govern it, John "Doomsday" Howard remains Boston’s brightest hope in a brutal sport that, of late, has earned unprecedented levels of attention.
Boston Phoenix |
Jonathan Seitz |
06-26-2008 |
Sports
Is Anybody Paying Attention to McClatchy's Powerful Guantanamo Expose?new
With this past week's publication of a series on the Kafka-esque detention of thousands of foreign nationals following 9/11, the hybrid McClatchy–Knight Ridder DC operation is enjoying its biggest achievement to date.
Boston Phoenix |
Adam Reilly |
06-26-2008 |
Media
The Era of TV Advertising in Presidential General Elections is Overnew

To the extent that TV ads have ever had an impact in a general election, that influence has been sharply diminished by the Internet and TiVo Ages. The proof is in the pudding. Remember those great ads from the Bush-Kerry race only four years ago? How about Clinton-Dole or Bush-Gore? Of course you don't.
Boston Phoenix |
Steven Stark |
06-26-2008 |
Commentary
Debating the High-School 'Pregnancy Pact' Won't Make Teen Pregnancy Surge Disappearnew

There are limits to what social programs and education can accomplish. Teen pregnancies -- desired or not -- will never disappear. But, as the nation's 15-year successful track record indicates, they can be controlled.
Boston Phoenix |
Editorial |
06-26-2008 |
Sex
Is Being Naked in the Public Square a Crime?new
In the finest Puritan tradition, Middlesex District Attorney Gerald Leone is crusading to save Harvard Square from the shock and awe of the nude human form. The next act of this absurd political-theater production will return to Cambridge District Court this Friday, at considerable expense to taxpayers.
Boston Phoenix |
Harvey Silverglate and James F. Tierney |
06-26-2008 |
Civil Liberties
One of Our Drummers Is Missingnew
Musician Vicente Lebron, born in the Dominican Republic, but has lived in the US for 38 years. During that time, he's traveled freely with his band, the Either/Orchestra. He has a Green Card. But now he's detained and held incommunicado by Homeland Security.
Boston Phoenix |
David S. Bernstein |
06-26-2008 |
Civil Liberties
Tags: civil liberties
Control Freaks: 'Get Smart' Favors Dumb Slapstick over Cold War Tensionnew
The spy spoof trades cold-war tension for dumb slapstick.
Boston Phoenix |
Tom Meek |
06-19-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Peter Segal, Get Smart
How US Terror Policy is Ruining Your Summer Concert Seasonnew

Summer concert season has just begun, but some of your favorite acts won't be coming to a city anywhere near you -- they'll be stranded in visa purgatory.
Boston Phoenix |
Jason O'Bryan |
06-19-2008 |
Music