Colin Powell

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Just a reprieve? Unless Republican leaders learn from the past, another Iraq is in our future

In terms of foreign policy, the Republican Party remains unapologetically committed to Bush/Cheneyism
In his address to the nation Tuesday evening, discussing the end of American combat operations in Iraq, Barack Obama took great pains to be apolitical, nonjudgmental, and even gracious toward his predecessor.
By EDITORIAL | September 01, 2010

Ledge Lessons

We love you, stressed-out college kids! So relax, and remember how good you have it.
As advocates of higher education and living as long as medically possible, we were sad to read that, according to new-media-powerhouse Web site the Daily Beast, Greater Boston is home to not one but five of the most stressful colleges in the United States.
By CHRIS FARAONE | April 28, 2010

Deep impact

Ron Currie Jr. has a blast with the apocalypse once more
In the most memorable piece in Waterville author Ron Currie Jr.'s 2007 debut short story collection, God is Dead (Viking), God is reincarnated as a Dinka woman in a refugee camp in Sudan, who enlists a jive-talking Colin Powell in an effort to find a young boy.
By CHRISTOPHER GRAY | July 01, 2009

Terror masala

Bollywood’s colorful, multi-genre musicals serve up their most interesting character yet: the singing, dancing terrorist.
After living in fear of terrorism for more than half a decade, it’s something of a relief to sit in the dark at the Somerville Theatre and . . . laugh at it.
By SEETHA NARAYAN | December 02, 2008

Rise of the political bogeyman

Impotent on the issues, the GOP turns to scare tactics. Be afraid!
The Republicans appear headed to a second straight national pummeling, which will leave it marginalized in the federal government and an increasing number of state houses. Many party faithful are already noting the need for the GOP to move back toward the moderate center to survive. But the conservatives with microphones are heading down a very different path — and their followers, who now dominate the Republican Party, are going right with them.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | November 03, 2008

Wacko patrol: America's 25 scariest conservatives

The Phoenix ranks the individuals who will hold the most sway over the right-wing message machine in 2009, and beyond.
Imagine what will happen once the relatively sane folks now running the White House and the Republican National Committee pack up and go home?
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | November 03, 2008

Long national nightmare

What if all the pundits, pollsters, and press are (gasp!) wrong about Obama’s chances?
Last night, I woke up in a sweat. I’d had a very bizarre dream.
By STEVEN STARK | October 29, 2008

By | January 01, 0001

The Quiet Power of Jack Reed

Without seeking the spotlight, the senator and his star continue to rise
As he closes out his second six-year term in the Senate, perhaps the most elite club in politics, Reed is the subject of ongoing speculation about his future.
By IAN DONNIS | August 13, 2008

Breaking the press

Democrats need to look past the media's feel-good coverage of Obama and deal with the realities of the campaign
The narrative of this campaign was supposed to be how a triumphant Obama rode discontent against the Bush administration to an overwhelming victory.
By STEVEN STARK | August 13, 2008

Victory at last

Letters to the Boston editor, June 27, 2008
It may at first seem like hyperbole for Harvey Silverglate to call the Boumediene decision the most important of his lifetime. But it is important to acknowledge how deeply surreal and atavistic these cases have become.
By BOSTON PHOENIX LETTERS | June 25, 2008

What happened to Bush’s responsibility for the war?

Iraq
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know how the American effort in Iraq was badly botched from the start.
By IAN DONNIS | March 26, 2008

Reignite your rage

Bush’s War almost tells the whole story
It’s tempting, five years into the Iraq War, to regard that conflict with fatalistic resignation.
By ADAM REILLY | March 18, 2008

Ridge to the future

The guessing game about his running mate has begun, but if Obama’s the opponent, one man can secure the white house for McCain
With the Republican nomination officially settled, the speculation about John McCain’s choice of a running mate has already begun.
By STEVEN STARK | March 12, 2008

Shameless

Mitt Romney is a liar, and Republican voters deserve better.
Members of the GOP must reject the shameless, dishonorable, dishonest former governor of Massachusetts, Willard Mitt Romney.
By EDITORIAL | January 09, 2008

A tragicomedy of errors

In an excerpt from his new book, The Fall of the House of Bush, author Craig Unger details how Bush is, well, screwing up the world
It was not until after George W. Bush and Dick Cheney were narrowly re-elected that many Americans began to realize that the Iraq War represented a dangerous moment in American history.
By CRAIG UNGER | November 20, 2007

Good Stuff

URI finds humor at the White House
News and exposés about the Iraq war have been draining us mosquito-style over the years.
By BILL RODRIGUEZ | October 16, 2007

Disillusioning reality

The weight of public opinion will not get us out of Iraq. Plus, a huge boost for the arts.
It took the United States four years to get out of Vietnam.
By EDITORIAL | September 12, 2007

Killing the deity

Waterville author takes atheism one step further
In God is Dead ’s title story, God is searching — for unapparent reasons — for a boy named Thomas Mawien.
By CHRISTOPHER GRAY | September 05, 2007

Mayor mistake

Letters to the Boston editor, August 24, 2007
Stark’s argument falls flat and fails to explain the threat Bloomberg poses.
By BOSTON PHOENIX LETTERS | August 22, 2007

Rudy's mayor problem

Giuliani’s campaign-trail fortune could lay in the hands of New York City’s pesky other Hizzoner, Michael Bloomberg
The biggest threat to Giuliani’s campaign can be summed up in two words: Michael Bloomberg.
By STEVEN STARK | August 08, 2007

Bacevich’s war

The politics of personal tragedy
Eight days after 9/11, NPR broadcast a commentary by Andrew J. Bacevich, a Vietnam War veteran, former Army colonel, and professor of international relations at BU.
By ADAM REILLY | January 29, 2009

Leftward ho!

How liberal can the Herald’s editorial page get?
The Daily Worker has nothing to fear — yet.
By ADAM REILLY | June 06, 2007

Darfur: The only hope

It is time for corporations and investors to disinvest in Sudan
The genocide in Darfur continues.
By EDITORIAL | May 16, 2007

Ducking the question

Snowe and Collins don’t discriminate against gays, so why are they letting the military get away with it?
Maine senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins are — relatively speaking — gay friendly.
By TONY GIAMPETRUZZI | May 09, 2007

Bush's secret army

Meet the American mercenaries of Blackwater, who fight outside of the law and take direction from the radical Christian right
The 9/11 attacks provided a catalyst: an unprecedented justification to forge ahead with a radical agenda molded by a small cadre of neoconservative operatives.
By JEREMY SCAHILL | March 21, 2007

Presidential toteboard: To run, or not to run

As saviors or spoilers, would-be candidates could still change the ’08 race
In virtually every election cycle, there is a group of candidates who linger on the sidelines, unable to decide whether to enter the race.
By STEVEN STARK | March 21, 2007

Letters to the Portland editor: February 2, 2007

Peace needs our help
In addition to my flip comment that I personally didn’t have a clue about how to solve the horrific human tragedy we call the Iraq War, I provided Sara Donnelly with several comments in our ten-minute conversation that were constructive potential solutions.
By LETTERS TO THE PORTLAND EDITOR | January 31, 2007

Flashbacks: November 24, 2006

The Boston Phoenix has been covering the trends and events that shape our times since 1966.
These selections, culled from our back files, were compiled by Dan Peleschuk, Ian Sands, and Eva Wolchover.
By FLASHBACKS | November 21, 2006