AltWeeklies Wire
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
Americans Aren't the Only People Who are Due Due Processnew
I really hadn't planned on writing about this decision. It seems so utterly obvious why Guantanamo Bay detainees deserve due process; I just figured it would be argued, re-argued and over-argued a million times in the opinionsphere before I could ever publish a single word about it. Instead, I watched and listened as the right-wing blubbermongers blubbered on about how the court's decision puts the rights of foreign terrorists above the safety of Americans.
San Diego CityBeat |
Edwin Decker |
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
Nachtmystium Unsettles Black-Metal Formulas on its New Albumnew
In the same way that no one thinks of Ride the Lightning as just a thrash album or Remission as just a metalcore album, on Assassins the riffs are so fierce and the choruses so memorable that it doesn't matter what flavor of metal it is. It's just metal.
Washington City Paper |
Brent Burton |
06-26-2008 |
Reviews
Don't Bet Against Rupert Murdoch's Success with 'The Wall Street Journal'new
The real question in the "war" between the Times Co. and Dow Jones is which entity is better equipped in the next decade to both make money and publish, in whatever form, a quality product. My money is on the Murdoch family.
New York Press |
Russ Smith |
06-26-2008 |
Media
'Wanted': Can We Get a Believable Scenario, Please?new
If you were to remove every implausible moment from Wanted you would be left staring at a white screen.
Dig Boston |
David Wildman |
06-26-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Timur Bekmambetov, Wanted
Times New Viking Rejects the Indie Rock Crownnew
One part pop-music classicism and one equal part DIY static, Times New Viking has been credited with reorienting underground rock away from the dance punk and self-indulgent freak folk that has dominated to a rawer, more immediate sound.
Dig Boston |
Nick Feeley |
06-26-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Political Parties Need to be Tossed Onto the Scrap Heap of Democracy's Failuresnew
There are already factions within the two major parties struggling for influence. We'd surely like to see more cross-pollination among them on various policy issues based not on what they think is in the long-term interest of their factions, but on what they think is in the long-term interest of the majority of the public -- or, what was once known as the middle class.
San Diego CityBeat |
Editorial |
06-26-2008 |
Commentary
Island Mighty: A Brief History of Tiki Drinksnew

You might have had some vague notion that fruity rum drinks and kitschy island decor originated in some long-ago era, like the '60s. Try 1934. Includes recipe for a Shrunken Skull.
Dig Boston |
Barbara West, Hanky Panky and Pinky Gonzales |
06-26-2008 |
Food+Drink
Dr. Joycelyn Elders: Legalize Medical Marijuananew

Now almost 75, this sharecroppers' daughter from Arkansas continues to lecture across the country on sex education, universal health care and public health approaches to dealing with illegal drugs.
They Shoot Gays, Don't They?new

Despite recent advances, the LGBT community must realize that our collective work is far from done, not only on the marriage issue, but also when it comes to fairness and equality for LGBT people in so many other areas: custody cases, employment discrimination, school protections, asylum cases, as well as anti-bullying protections and hate crimes.
Julianne Moore is the Only Saving Grace of 'Savage Grace'new
Even when playing an oversized personality such as Barbara Daly Baekeland, Moore keeps her focus, coming across as not just a jet-set harpy but also a woman plagued with insecurities about her class and sexuality, willing to lash out at the closest people within reach.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Curt Holman |
06-25-2008 |
Reviews
Pixar Does the Robot for 'WALL-E'new
WALL-E the robot, not unlike all of Pixar's movies, is an efficient, state-of-the-art construct that's somehow all heart on the inside.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Curt Holman |
06-25-2008 |
Reviews