July 2003

Never mind the bell-bottoms By Shannon Zimmerman
Was Led Zeppelin really a proto-punk outfit in hippie garb? With the million-selling live box set "How the West Was Won," Jimmy Page wants you to think so. (07/31/2003)

Woods on fire By Amy Reiter
Actor James Woods says he hates to talk about politics -- yet can't seem to help himself. In a let-it-rip interview, he defends Bush, calls Clinton a "liar," and sounds off on everything from his sex life to the war with Iraq. (07/31/2003)

The Fix
Aerosmith show to "be like sex," the man who discovered Elvis leaves the building, and Stalin hated John Wayne! Plus: Nicole Kidman wins in court. (07/31/2003)

"A blink of an eye, and a million killed" By Suzy Hansen
Author Aidan Hartley talks about his new book, "The Zanzibar Chest," the horrors of Somalia and Rwanda, and when you know war has become genocide. (07/31/2003)

Tom the Dancing Bug By Ruben Bolling
Post-War Pundit: Pick a side, and roll the dice! (07/31/2003)

Procrastinator's special
Salon Premium charter rates extended 15 more days before prices increase. Lock in today's rates for life. (07/31/2003)

Monkey gone to heaven By Larry Smith
In Part 2 of Salon's series on Ecstasy, a controversial study on E's effects on the brain creates fear; a breakthrough moment in MDMA's therapeutic use sparks hope; and Generation X ponders its drug days ahead. (07/31/2003)

King Kaufman's Sports Daily
The last words on the Tour de France: Mea culpa! Plus: Readers weigh in with more great sports movies. (07/31/2003)

Are we safer now? By Eric Boehlert
The war on Saddam has made the U.S. less secure, say foreign-policy experts. (08/01/2003)

Joe Conason's Journal
Bush still bullish on finding weapons, as his poll numbers continue to sink. What to call the scandal? Exaggergate? Prevarigate? (07/31/2003)

Guitar grifter? By Cary Tennis
Her beloved says he plays bass with a well-known rock band -- but her friends think he's a fraud. (07/31/2003)

Letters
Readers sound off on RFID surveillance and terrorist flight simulators. (07/31/2003)

"Gigli" By Charles Taylor
Critics can't help trashing the new Jen-and-Ben vehicle, but it deserves credit for its refreshingly frank sexuality. (07/30/2003)

Queer and present danger By Heather Havrilesky
America's first gay dating show, "Boy Meets Boy," doesn't break down stereotypes so much as familiarize you with the quirks and prejudices of your own gaydar. (07/30/2003)

The Fix
Bush talks about sin, Baryshnikov to dance into "Sex and the City," and Ben and J.Lo will never work together again! Plus: JFK's boxers a hit in Ireland. (07/30/2003)

Bestsellers
Seabiscuit's back on top and more in this week's bestselling books courtesy of Powells.com. (07/30/2003)

The K Chronicles By Keith Knight
Have I ever mentioned that my middle name was Edgar? (07/30/2003)

The ultimate mood kill
As he made his way down to my belly, I felt something strange on my left breast. (07/30/2003)

X'ed out By Larry Smith
You're in a love puddle. You're smiling. You're high on Ecstasy. You touch your friend's hair. Wow. You can't stop touching it. Her hair is incredibly soft. You keep smiling. Now it's a few years later. You take E again. You grind your teeth, the hangover lasts a week. It's no fun. What happened? (07/30/2003)

King Kaufman's Sports Daily
When the "Seabiscuit" violins fade, these sports movies will provide hours of schmaltz-free entertainment. (07/30/2003)

The classified truth By Robert Scheer
Even the censored version of the 9/11 report makes it clear the U.S. focused on the wrong nation. (07/30/2003)

Letters
Readers weigh in on rabid young Republicans and the ongoing construction of a massive Israeli security wall. (07/30/2003)

Joe Conason's Journal
American personnel are more devoted to linking Osama to Saddam than to finding and "neutralizing" him. (07/30/2003)

Popping the question By Cary Tennis
Things are great with my boyfriend, but he won't talk about marriage. (07/30/2003)

Prowling the ruins of ancient software By Sam Williams
Famous programs from just a generation or two ago are in danger of disappearing from human ken, forever. (07/30/2003)

Farewell to a jazz cosmopolitan By Jay Weiser
Benny Carter wasn't dark or depressed and didn't die of a smack overdose. Instead, the saxophonist, composer and bandleader had the longest and most varied career in jazz history. (07/29/2003)

The Fix
Howard Stern tells Kate Hudson where to go, Arnold can't make up his mind, and Britney gets ready to kick off. Plus: James Gandolfini stops traffic in Queens! (07/29/2003)

Letters
Readers respond to Laura Miller's essay on Mormon crimes and to an interview with Ann Coulter. (07/29/2003)

WayLay By Carol Lay
The buck stops there. (07/29/2003)

God's hip language By Steven Kotler
The Kabbalah Centre has turned centuries' worth of impenetrable Jewish mysticism into a self-help fad for Madonna, Winona and 200,000 others. (07/29/2003)

King Kaufman's Sports Daily
The NFL sends a clear message by fining Lions president Matt Millen for not interviewing a minority coaching candidate: Token gestures are better than honesty. (07/29/2003)

Brentwood bombshell By David Talbot
At a meeting of Hollywood and progressive supporters in her West L.A. home, Arianna Huffington gets ready to run for governor. Her goal: Take Sacramento and shake Washington. (07/30/2003)

"Ain't I a Woman?" By Laura Miller
Sojourner Truth's impromptu personal oratory gave women's rights a voice of fire. (07/29/2003)

The world press on Liberia Compiled by Laura McClure
A Liberian in exile comments on Monrovia's grim waiting game. (07/29/2003)

The Democratic Weaselship Council By Joan Walsh
If Democratic centrists want to repeat Bill Clinton's success, they should stop attacking fellow Democrats as "far left" and concentrate on uniting the party against Bush. (07/29/2003)

Joe Conason's Journal
The White House prepares to bet on terrorism -- assassinations, bombings and other unnatural disasters -- until someone wisely calls the whole crazy scheme off. (07/29/2003)

Delusional funks By Cary Tennis
My husband has decided his penis is too small and he can't stop obsessing about it. It's hurting our marriage! (07/29/2003)

What's wrong with American men and women? By Ann Marlowe
My skillful Turkish bed mate told me, in vivid detail. (07/29/2003)

Meet the spam Nazi By Brian McWilliams
What does a former white-power activist do after being drummed out of the movement? He turns to peddling penis-enlargement pills. (07/29/2003)

"I don't believe in the American dream" By David Ng
Spanish director Carles Bosch talks about his epic documentary "Balseros," which follows seven Cuban refugees who came to the U.S. by raft in 1994 -- and found their new homeland to be something less than paradise. (07/28/2003)

The Fix
Bravo the new boy station? Michael Caine to hang with Will and Grace, and the new Harry Potter director says Bush is like Voldemort. Plus: Arnold says he won't run. (07/28/2003)

This Modern World By Tom Tomorrow
Could the Time Machine have saved Iraq from its liberators? (07/28/2003)

Lynda Barry
Broken branches (07/28/2003)

To be young, single and ordained
Readers respond to "So a Priest Walks Into a Bar," by Astrid Storm, and "The Hot Chick's Lament," by Amy Reiter. (07/28/2003)

Bush I vs. Bush II By Michelle Goldberg
As the deficit yawns and Iraq becomes a quagmire, old-guard Republicans are increasingly worried about where George W. Bush is leading the country. (07/28/2003)

King Kaufman's Sports Daily
The Patrick Dennehy tragedy has nothing to do with sports, yet it may still reveal some of the corruption endemic to college athletics. (07/28/2003)

Beautiful young shock troops for Bush By Michelle Goldberg
At a weekend pep rally in Washington, a thousand college Republicans clap, cheer and party -- and reveal a troubling dark side. (07/29/2003)

Joe Conason's Journal
Apparently, conservatives think the White House was justified in lying about the motives for war. (07/28/2003)

Help me be strong By Cary Tennis
I'm in love with a man I work with. We're both married with kids but we don't want to break up our families. (07/28/2003)

Don't sweat the small stuff By Joyce McGreevy
A $5 trillion deficit? Bring it on, says our man at the OMB. (07/28/2003)

Latter-day sinners? By Laura Miller
Three new books -- including Jon Krakauer's latest -- take a look at some dark moments in the history of Mormonism and the violent effects of sexually rooted religious hysteria. (07/26/2003)

When security becomes apartheid By Ferry Biedermann
To stop suicide bombers, Israel is erecting a 26-foot-high barrier to wall off the occupied territories. But the wall is causing daily hardship -- and annoying President Bush. (07/26/2003)

Letters
Readers weigh in on Dean vs. Kerry, and grounding the flying nun. (07/26/2003)

"Buffalo Soldiers" By Stephanie Zacharek
Miramax delayed Gregor Jordan's film about bored U.S. soldiers in mid-'80s Germany because of Sept. 11. Its honest portrait of the military won't seem any more flattering now. (07/25/2003)

"Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life" By Andrew O'Hehir
This sequel is better than its predecessor, which isn't saying much. No matter -- the dazzlingly talented Angelina Jolie makes it a thrill ride worth taking. (07/25/2003)

"Seabiscuit" By Charles Taylor
Director Gary Ross yearns to make this saga of the racehorse who transfixed Depression America into a Hollywood classic. But unlike the awkward real-life Seabiscuit, his version is pretty -- and lacks a soul. (07/25/2003)

The Fix
Jayson Blair gets an assignment, Julia Child and Charlton Heston get awards and Woody Allen gets Winona. Plus: Playboy features "The Women of Starbucks"! (07/25/2003)

Ann Coulter, woman By David Bowman
The right's she-devil talks about why she loves the Grateful Dead, what Tolstoy and Dostoevsky taught her about life, and how she meets men. (07/25/2003)

The hot chick's lament By Amy Reiter
The babes in the off-Broadway show "Pieces (of Ass)" think they have something profound to say about sexuality, objectification and identity. For the most part, they don't. (07/25/2003)

King Kaufman's Sports Daily
Lance Armstrong's a marvel, but Americans don't care about the Tour de France because it's antithetical to our national character. (07/25/2003)

Life of the party? By Garance Franke-Ruta
The conservative wing of the Democratic Party calls him another McGovern -- but Howard Dean might be more in touch with today's electorate than his critics. (07/25/2003)

Grounding the flying nun By Dave Lindorff
Activists on the left and right -- including a 71-year-old Milwaukee nun and an art dealer who told other passengers that President Bush "is dumb as a rock" -- have long complained they were being hassled by airport security. After months of silence, the federal government says: It's true. (07/25/2003)

The Liberia waiting game By Laura McClure
Can the Bush administration bring itself to commit U.S. troops in Africa on purely humanitarian grounds? (07/25/2003)

Arianna vs. the Terminator? By Tim Grieve
By most accounts, California Gov. Gray Davis' days are numbered. Beyond that, pundits say, the October recall vote is totally unpredictable. (07/25/2003)

Grunt vision goggles Cartoon by Mark Fiore
See Iraq as it really is -- without those murky politics! (07/25/2003)

Joe Conason's Journal
The blacked-out sections of the congressional 9/11 report say a lot. So does the way the White House conceals key memos through its "executive privilege." (07/25/2003)

Am I selfish? By Cary Tennis
She loves me and wants to marry me, but I want out because she lacks the ability to intrigue me. (07/25/2003)

My daughter's reality show By Stephanie Lehmann
I was cool, I watched "Sex and the City" with my 14-year-old daughter. But then she asked, "Can Ben sleep over?" (07/25/2003)

Ask the pilot By Patrick Smith
The mile-high snooze: Should pilots be allowed to nap? Also, airline cuisine and class warfare. (07/25/2003)

Above the law (& order) By Heather Havrilesky
By portraying a real courtroom with a dramatist's broad strokes, Dick Wolf's courtroom reality series "Crime & Punishment" paints criminal justice in two shades: Black and white. (07/24/2003)

Dylan in darkest America By Stephanie Zacharek
In "Masked and Anonymous," this summer's strange and brilliant must-see film, an aging troubadour is the last gleam of hope in a corrupt and dictatorial nation. (07/24/2003)

The Fix
Alec Baldwin wants animals to enjoy life, Washingtonian wants Dems to have more facial hair, and Colin Farrell wants to date everyone! Plus: New poll says Americans trust Eminem more than Bush. (07/24/2003)

Bestsellers
"Kate Remembered" and more in this week's bestselling books courtesy of Powells.com. (07/24/2003)

Tom the Dancing Bug By Ruben Bolling
Honest George's Car Lot. (07/24/2003)

Mob scene By Leigh Anderson
Hundreds of people are gathering at random Manhattan locations for 10 minutes and doing ... well, nothing. Is it performance art or just a bunch of hipsters with too much time on their hands? (07/24/2003)

Letters
Readers respond to "Casualties of Victory," by Stephanie Booth. Plus: Thoughts on nanny cams and comic books. (07/24/2003)

Letters
Readers respond to "A Green Revolt Against Bush," by Glenn Scherer. Plus: A reader explains why Jessica Lynch should return her Bronze Star. (07/24/2003)

King Kaufman's Sports Daily
Latrell Sprewell's escape from New York could give his career a happy ending. Plus: New England rejoices as the Sox get over on the Yanks for once. (07/24/2003)

Bush's lies vs. Clinton's lies By Nicholas Thompson
Lying about war is more serious than lying about sex -- which is why the president's free ride is coming to an end. (07/24/2003)

The world press on Uday and Qusay Compiled by Mark Follman
Guardian: Uday was a monster even by the standards of Saddam Hussein's Iraq. (07/24/2003)

From the penthouse to the big house By Tina Brown
Sam Waksal, Martha Stewart's convicted friend, talks about trading his New York high life for seven years of hard time. (07/24/2003)

Bush's biggest whopper By David Corn
The president's 16-word stretcher about African uranium was nothing compared to his lie about the links between Osama and Saddam. (07/24/2003)

Joe Conason's Journal
Could the government have prevented 9/11? Early reports on a congressional investigation offer muddled answers. (07/24/2003)

Craving an oasis By Cary Tennis
I need to glimpse a world where I can be happy and healthy in a relationship with a romantic partner -- or the world in general. (07/24/2003)

Everything is watching YOU By Farhad Manjoo
We're well on our way to a world where every product has a tiny radio transmitter embedded in it. Privacy activists are not happy, but big corporations are licking their lips. (07/24/2003)

London underground By Sarah Coleman
Today's most eclectic director, Stephen Frears, talks about his hot new thriller "Dirty Pretty Things," Britain's new immigrant reality and the strange case of Tony Blair. (07/23/2003)

The Fix
Spike TV goes to the Playboy Mansion, Beckham goes whip shopping and Clinton haters won't go away. Plus: Kid blabs about Salma and Edward. (07/23/2003)

Our man in tights By Allen Barra
In "Robin Hood: A Mythic Biography," author Stephen Knight explains why the 700-year-old prince of thieves is still our hero. (07/23/2003)

The K Chronicles By Keith Knight
One day at ye olde comic con (07/23/2003)

The plan that backfired
I wanted her to loosen up, so I got her drunk. And it was working too -- we talked dirty, we made out. And then the inevitable happened. (07/23/2003)

So a priest walks into a bar By Astrid Storm
I'm young, female and I wear a white collar. Dating can be a living hell. (07/23/2003)

Letters
Readers respond to an interview with Todd Gitlin. Plus: Two core members of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity explain their July 15 resignation from the activist group. (07/24/2003)

King Kaufman's Sports Daily
Old-school NFL training camps are for coaches who believe in the bunk of team chemistry. Plus: Summer reading for baseball nuts. (07/23/2003)

Congress to Big Media: Not so fast By Eric Boehlert
The backlash against the FCC's media consolidation scheme is growing -- and could claim the head of chairman Michael Powell. (07/23/2003)

New life for little radio? By Eric Boehlert
Opposition to Big Media could invigorate low-power FM radio. (07/23/2003)

Desperate for a U.S. invasion By Laura McClure
Hidden in a candlelit basement in Monrovia, a Liberian aid worker waits for President Bush to stop the chaos and death overtaking his country. (07/23/2003)

The witch hunt against the BBC By Robert Scheer
David Kelly is only the first victim of the government's revenge against the BBC. (07/23/2003)

Coddling the tax-shelter thieves By Arianna Huffington
In the end, it's not the big, bad taxman that corporate tax cheats are pulling a fast one on. It's you and me. (07/23/2003)

Joe Conason's Journal By Joe Conason
Did the White House break the law when it outed a CIA operative? (07/23/2003)

Patterns of behavior By Cary Tennis
I'm worried about my emotionally vulnerable friend who is involved with a recovering alcoholic. (07/23/2003)

Dealing with it By Charles Taylor
The new Mandy Moore vehicle isn't a great movie, but its honesty about teen sexuality is good enough to frighten some adults. (07/23/2003)

Air Osama By Joshua Tompkins
The newest flight simulation video games are so realistic that a terrorist can learn how to fly a jumbo jet without ever leaving his laptop. (07/23/2003)

Rebel from the yeshiva By Suzy Hansen
Director Eitan Gorlin on "The Holy Land," his controversial film about a rabbinical student running wild in Jerusalem, and why some Jews don't like its explosive portrait of late-'90s Israel. (07/22/2003)

The Fix
Arnold wants to do Terminator 4, Sidney Blumenthal wants his own mag, and the U.S. wants to protect Elvis' recording studio. Plus: Design Martha's cell and win a prize! (07/22/2003)

Story Minute By Carol Lay
When is a lie worthy of hanging a "gate" on it? (07/22/2003)

Casualties of victory By Stephanie Booth
On May 1, President Bush congratulated the armed forces on the "triumph" in Iraq. But that's no consolation to the family of Micheal Dooley, who was killed in Iraq on June 8. (07/22/2003)

King Kaufman's Sports Daily
Yes, Kobe Bryant is innocent until proven guilty. That's how it's supposed to work. And what was that girl doing there? The readers weigh in. (07/22/2003)

The Bill of Rights By Roger K. Newman
More than an indestructible wall limiting the power of government, the Bill of Rights is a testament of hope. (07/22/2003)

The world press on the U.N. in Iraq Compiled by Laura McClure
Asia Times: Turning to the U.N. may be the only way Bush can save his presidency. (07/22/2003)

Joe Conason's Journal
Iraq's impact on national politics can be measured in polls -- or by the panicky reaction of Rush Limbaugh. (07/22/2003)

Sibling rivalry By Cary Tennis
My husband loves my sister -- he said so in his online diary! (07/22/2003)

Congress to bikers: Get a car By Katharine Mieszkowski
A house subcommittee has voted to cut all funding for bike paths and other pollution-free transportation programs. (07/22/2003)

The Fix
Reality version of "Beverly Hillbillies"? High school behavior on the Hill, and Mini-Me to marry tall drink of water. Plus: Design Martha's cell and win a prize! (07/21/2003)

"Charlie Wilson's War" By Charles Taylor
In George Crile's thrilling tale of good intentions gone wrong, one boozing congressman convinces the U.S. to support the Afghan mujahedin -- many of whom 20 years later want to see us dead. (07/21/2003)

This Modern World By Tom Tomorrow
Ignore all those carping liberal weenies! Everything's under control ... isn't it? (07/21/2003)

An excerpt from "Y: The Last Man" By Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra, Jose Marzan, Jr.
What's worse than death, destruction and the fall of civilization as we know it? Try the end of rock 'n' roll. (07/21/2003)

Last man standing By Sheerly Avni
I finally got the kick-ass girl action movie I've been waiting for my whole life. Too bad it's a comic book -- and stars a guy. (07/21/2003)

A green revolt against Bush By Glenn Scherer
In an embarrassing rebuke to the White House, a group of Republican and Democratic governors is embracing the Kyoto accords on global warming. (07/21/2003)

King Kaufman's Sports Daily
Kobe Bryant is lucky: In our minds, he's that rare defendant who's innocent until proven guilty. (07/21/2003)

Joe Conason's Journal
Predictably, pro-war pundits are hastening to the president's rescue. But beneath the usual bluster can be heard a bleat of fear. (07/21/2003)

What do I owe him? By Cary Tennis
My abusive husband is dying and I have a lover. How good do I have to be? (07/21/2003)

Homage to Blogalonia By Eric Weinberger
George Orwell's wartime columns have much in common with today's blogs: They were often trivial and idiosyncratic, but bore within them the seeds of something greater. (07/21/2003)

It's talk-show gridlock! By Heather Havrilesky
Watch as bastions of alterna-Jays and wannabe-Daves try to out-snark each other! Thrill as Tom Green battles the late-night TV glut, armed only with a pair of googly eyes and a mile-wide sociopathic streak! (07/19/2003)

The man who would be Carson By Heather Havrilesky
From Jimmy Kimmel to Colin Quinn to Ellen DeGeneres, there are too many untested talents joining the talk-show fray. J. Keith van Straaten may be the most experienced host of them all. So why isn't he on the air yet? (07/19/2003)

Letters
Readers respond to stories on the deepening postwar quagmire, anger in the U.S. intelligence community and the Pentagon's own private spy shop. (07/19/2003)

Anyone but Bush By Laura McClure
Veteran activist Todd Gitlin speaks out about MoveOn, ANSWER, the Greens -- and how progressives need to emulate the self-discipline of the right to win in 2004. (07/19/2003)

"Bad Boys II" By Charles Taylor
Necrophilia, explosions, destroyed motor vehicles, gratuitous T&A and Martin Lawrence and Will Smith doing their lame Abbott-and-Costello act. What's not to hate? (07/18/2003)

"Northfork" By Stephanie Zacharek
The Polish brothers' latest American fever dream -- a mythic tale of 1950s Montana -- is full of memorable images and sound. Too bad it flows as slow as cold syrup. (07/18/2003)

"Johnny English" By Stephanie Zacharek
Loose-limbed ostrich Rowan Atkinson has his moments in this undercooked British spy farce, but it's mad king John Malkovich who steals the show. (07/18/2003)

"Dirty Pretty Things" By Andrew O'Hehir
This neo-noir set in multicultural London is director Stephen Frears' grandest film in a decade -- and features the worst toilet scene since "Trainspotting." (07/18/2003)

"How to Deal" By Stephanie Zacharek
Young women actually have sex! At least they do in this refreshing coming-of-age tale of teen love and angst, starring Mandy Moore and the marvelous Allison Janney. (07/18/2003)

The Fix
Bill Clinton shares his big enchilada, Heidi Klum shares seduction secrets and the U.S. gov't shares celebrity gossip with the Arab world. Plus: Nigella makes out in Venice! (07/18/2003)

Flower girl By Anne Lamott
Weddings are an act of faith, and you hope that for a brief period of time, the love and commitment of two people will bring everyone together. (07/18/2003)

King Kaufman's Sports Daily
On the theology of sports: How Pete Rose can prove the existence of God -- or not, depending on what you already believe. (07/18/2003)

From heroes to targets By Michelle Goldberg
The U.S. occupation of Iraq has turned into a daily debacle, say experts, because the Washington ideologues who planned the war were living in a fantasy. (07/18/2003)

Spooked by the White House By Mark Follman
A CIA veteran says a growing faction of the U.S. intelligence community is furious over the way the administration corrupted the system -- and that the nation's security is at grave risk. (07/18/2003)

Damage Control Inc. Cartoon by Mark Fiore
The political fallout professionals you can count on! (07/18/2003)

Joe Conason's Journal
How many conspiracy theories will the apparent death of a missing U.K. Defense Ministry advisor spawn? (07/18/2003)

Black garters and riding crops By David Bowman
Photographer Ellen von Unwerth talks about her new S/M fantasy book, "Revenge," in which the wicked baroness finally gets what's coming to her. (07/18/2003)

Honesty or selfishness: You be the judge By Cary Tennis
My husband told me that he and my friend are attracted to each other -- two days after my father died! (07/18/2003)

Ask the pilot By Patrick Smith
How do jumbo jets fit into shrimp-size airports? And just what is the state of the pilot's love life? (07/18/2003)

Letters
Tales from the front lines: Former telemarketers respond to Farhad Manjoo's "The Day the Dinnertime Phone Calls Stopped." (07/18/2003)

Letters
A nation united against telemarketers: Readers respond to Farhad Manjoo's "The Day The Dinnertime Phone Calls Stopped." (07/18/2003)

Barbie, Starbucks and freedom By Farhad Manjoo
Much of the "illegal art" in a major copyright-infringement exhibition is just plain silly. But the giant corporations that dominate our culture want to squash it anyway. (07/17/2003)

The Fix By Amy Reiter
Brokaw for president! Did J.Lo downsize her prime asset for "Gigli" poster? Toby Keith shaves down for summer. Plus: Is Madonna changing her name? (07/17/2003)

Taxi! Get me outta here By Suzy Hansen
In two books by Strawberry Saroyan and Meghan Daum, the young media chick protagonists get chewed up and spit out by New York. (07/17/2003)

Tom the Dancing Bug By Ruben Bolling
Judge Scalia: The Lone Wolf of Law (07/17/2003)

Putting Mary Poppins under surveillance By Amy Reiter
More and more parents are using secret cameras to spy on the people who care for their kids. Are these "nanny cams" benign tools for concerned moms and dads -- or outrageous invasions of privacy? (07/17/2003)

King Kaufman's Sports Daily
"There are other, better idiots out there." Readers rage against Rush Limbaugh's new football gig. (07/17/2003)

John Kerry turns the fire hoses on Bush By Nicholas Thompson
It was billed as a blazing attack on the president's national security policies. But the Democratic contender's New York speech was tougher on Bush's firefighters budget than on his growing Iraq debacle. . (07/17/2003)

Disgracing America, failing Iraq
Sen. Edward Kennedy: Bush's lies have undermined America's prestige and credibility around the world. (07/17/2003)

Eye of the Tigris By Tina Brown
Can Britain's man in Iraq save Tony Blair -- and the legacy of International Clintonism? (07/17/2003)

Joe Conason's Journal
Spy vs. spy: Tenet fingers a Bush security official. How high up the White House chain of command will the fingerpointing go? (07/17/2003)

High highs, low lows By Cary Tennis
I'm a flaky, creative type. Should I be with someone like me or someone more stable? (07/17/2003)

The mystery-meat lobby bites back By Katharine Mieszkowski
Slapping country-of-origin labels on food products would benefit the global environment as well as American producers. So why did Congress just gut the new labeling bill? (07/17/2003)

Say it ain't so, Willie By Kate Haulman
Gentle, gray-bearded Willie Nelson comes out as a post-9/11 vigilante with his and Toby Keith's creepy new hit "Beer for My Horses." (07/16/2003)

The Fix
Madonna falls into the Gap, Mel Gibson and Sting pay for The David's bath and Arnold says he still has a cute bum. Plus: Gay florist needed for new TV show! (07/16/2003)

Woman of the year By Stephanie Zacharek
A. Scott Berg's entertaining biography of Katharine Hepburn is intimate, thoughtful and considerate. But rushing it out two weeks after her death feels ghoulish. (07/16/2003)

Bestsellers
Chuck Palahniuk and more in this week's bestselling books, courtesy of Powells.com. (07/16/2003)

The K Chronicles By Keith Knight
Life's little victories (07/16/2003)

Subscribe now before prices increase
In just 17 days, Salon Premium prices will rise. Subscribe today and lock in lower prices for life. (07/16/2003)

Paradise in the parking lot, Part 2
The cad speaks! Will last week's villain emerge as this week's hero? (07/16/2003)

King Kaufman's Sports Daily
The good news is that the new, improved All-Star Game was a dandy. The bad news is that Bud Selig was hoping that would happen. (07/16/2003)

John Bolton vs. the world By Nicholas Thompson
His job is to keep a hawk eye on dovish Colin Powell. And he's helped turn Bush foreign policy into an ideological hammer. (07/16/2003)

Cheney must go
In a letter to President Bush, a group of CIA veterans charge the vice president drove the U.S. to war with a "campaign of deceit" -- and call for his head. (07/16/2003)

Rumsfeld's personal spy ring By Eric Boehlert
The defense secretary couldn't count on the CIA or the State Department to provide a pretext for war in Iraq. So he created a new agency that would tell him what he wanted to hear. (07/16/2003)

Yellowcake-gate By Arianna Huffington
What price will President Bush have to pay for his 16-word scam? (07/16/2003)

Joe Conason's Journal
Former Sen. Gary Hart says President Bush "didn't do his job" before 9/11. Plus reader responses to Bush's latest baffling reason for the war in Iraq. (07/16/2003)

Dreamy obsession By Cary Tennis
I can't stop thinking about my first love, even though I know I chose the right man to marry. (07/16/2003)

Diary of a college girl, Part 3 By Jessica Grose
I was drunk and horny so I decided a one-night hookup wouldn't violate my ambiguous vows. Then things got messy. (07/16/2003)

Love in the age of spyware By William Shunn
Their affair was nurtured by a robot and watched by millions -- but its ratings were shaky. (07/16/2003)

What we're listening to By Salon's staff
Fountains of Wayne, Ashanti, Damien Rice and more of our favorite music. (07/15/2003)

Dire straights By Heather Havrilesky
Bravo's "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" offers a whole new flavor of wicked fun for the makeover genre -- and brings the shame of being hetero out of the closet once and for all. (07/15/2003)

The Fix
Jon Stewart wants Angelina Jolie's child! Hollywood saved by Hugh Hefner! Frank Rich says Jayson Blair not sexy enough! Plus: Daniel Day-Lewis was into leather. (07/15/2003)

Story Minute By Carol Lay
AriSpeak 4.0: Just a little too late. (07/15/2003)

Letters
The joy and agony of parenting: Readers respond to "Gods and Monsters" and "Will She Be My Daughter?" (07/15/2003)

Lynda Barry
From ghost to ghost (07/15/2003)

Letters
Readers respond to "The Trouble With Howard Dean," by John B. Judis. (07/15/2003)

King Kaufman's Sports Daily
New ESPN hire Rush Limbaugh will bring the same level of insight to football that he brings to politics. In other words, the real fans get screwed again. (07/15/2003)

"The Fifth Modernization" By Andrew Leonard
Eleven years before Tiananmen Square, a courageous Chinese worker dared to call for democracy. He was imprisoned for 15 years, but his message defies iron bars. (07/15/2003)

The world press on the U.S. intelligence scandal Compiled by Laura McClure
Saudi Arabia: If Blair goes down, he'll take Bush with him; Kenya: How do the parents of dead GIs feel about White House lies? (07/15/2003)

Joe Conason's Journal
President Bush's astonishing new reason for the war with Iraq: Saddam wouldn't let weapons inspectors in. (07/15/2003)

Where's my mojo? By Cary Tennis
I used to be the sexiest kitten on my block, but now I'm more likely to say, "Not tonight, dear." What happened? (07/15/2003)

The day the dinnertime phone calls stopped By Farhad Manjoo
Spurred by an irritated public, politicians have signed the death notice for telemarketing. But the end of sales calls will deliver another blow to the staggering economy. (07/15/2003)

Letters
Readers respond to Laura Miller's essay on Hayao Miyazaki, "Wizard of Light and Shadow." (07/14/2003)

Besieged by "Friends" By Heather Havrilesky
In AMC's "Hollywood in the Muslim World," we find a populace struggling to maintain its identity against the creeping invasion of American entertainment. (07/14/2003)

The Fix
Kate Hepburn says No! to Michael Jackson, the queen says Yes! to Pierce Brosnan, and Ari Fleischer says "bull" to the press. Plus: Al Pacino goes with the glow on HBO. (07/14/2003)

Letters
Why do adults love Harry Potter? Readers respond to Charles Taylor's essay "A.S. Byatt and the Goblet of Bile." (07/14/2003)

This Modern World By Tom Tomorrow
Foreign policy made E-Z! (07/14/2003)

Will she be my daughter? By Jon Lowry
Social Services took 4-year-old Gina out of her abusive home and placed her with me and my wife. We want her to stay with us forever, but it's up to the courts to decide. (07/14/2003)

Living with death in Mozambique By Diana Reiss-Koncar
As AIDS blights the future of one of the world's poorest countries, ordinary people -- including sex workers -- are fighting back. (07/14/2003)

King Kaufman's Sports Daily
Karl Malone and Gary Payton joining the Lakers proves that even a strict salary cap can't keep the rich from getting richer. (07/14/2003)

Joe Conason's Journal
While there may not be a prosecutable crime in the Niger yellowcake deception, there is undoubtedly an ongoing coverup. (07/14/2003)

I have a craving By Cary Tennis
I'm a happily married man, but a close friend and I confessed to a mutual attraction. What do I do with this hunger? (07/14/2003)

How to keep your job By Joyce McGreevy
Staying off the unemployment lines doesn't have to be a chore, just as long as you follow these fun 'n' easy steps! (07/14/2003)

Beyond good and evil in Baltimore By Heather Havrilesky
HBO's morally complex, richly textured series "The Wire" is not just the best thing on TV -- it's a Homeric epic of modern America. (07/12/2003)

"Novelistic" TV By Kerry Lauerman
Bestselling author George Pelecanos explains to Salon what lured him to the mysterious world of "The Wire," and what makes the show different from the formulaic -- and sometimes racist -- offerings on network TV. (07/12/2003)

The Democrats' brewing civil war By Michelle Goldberg
Deans, Greens and liberals say the party needs to scream the anti-Bush truth at the American people. New-Democratic centrists say Americans just aren't that left-leaning. The schism is wide, and it's going to get wider. (07/12/2003)

"I Capture the Castle" By Stephanie Zacharek
In this charming coming-of-age tale set in 1930s England, two sisters fall for the new American owners of their home -- perhaps to save their family from financial ruin. (07/11/2003)

"The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" By Charles Taylor
Despite Sean Connery and some impressive 19th century gloom, this big-screen translation of Alan Moore's culty comic-book series falls to earth with an incoherent splat. (07/11/2003)

The Fix By Amy Reiter
Michael Jackson, Jesus? Johnny Depp, father of the year? Harry Truman, anti-Semite? Plus: Ashton says London paper made up quotes -- and so does the reporter who "wrote" the story. (07/11/2003)

Our Kennedy curse By Amy Reiter
Why do we care about these people so much? Our reporter braved Kennedy chronicler Edward Klein's Manhattan reading to find out. (07/11/2003)

Gods and monsters By Marion Winik
To my 3-year-old daughter, I am love incarnate. To my teenage sons, I'm nothing but a servant-jailer. Is it any wonder I feel schizophrenic? (07/11/2003)

King Kaufman's Sports Daily
Smacking a racing sausage (snort!) on its oversize melon with a baseball bat (ha!) is no laughing matter. Certainly not. (07/11/2003)

The trouble with Howard Dean By John B. Judis
As a social liberal and fiscal moderate, he's lured students, professionals and the antiwar left. But he's more George McGovern than Bill Clinton. (07/11/2003)

The Moussaoui nightmare By Eric Boehlert
The so-called 20th hijacker looked like a slam-dunk case for federal prosecutors. Now everything has changed. (07/11/2003)

Letters
The herd responds to "A Nation of Scared Sheep," by Louise Witt. (07/12/2003)

Joe Conason's Journal
National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice's response to CIA leaks over the Niger deception still doesn't answer the public's question: Did Bush knowingly mislead us or not? (07/11/2003)

A good mother By Cary Tennis
I have four kids, so should I break with my sometimes violent boyfriend? (07/11/2003)

Ask the pilot By Patrick Smith
The strange tale of World Airways' decapitated DC-10. Also: What airline has the best barf bags? (07/11/2003)

Letters
Why help India's middle class, when U.S. white-collar workers are becoming an extinct species? Readers respond to Brian Behlendorf's "How Outsourcing Will Save The World." (07/11/2003)

Top tobacco companies face more pressure By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO
(07/11/2003)

Wizard of light and shadow By Laura Miller
At last American audiences are being spirited away by the wondrous and subtle visions of Hayao Miyazaki. He's more than an eccentric Japanese fabulist -- he's the greatest animator the movies have ever seen. (07/10/2003)

The Fix
Ari Fleischer a gangsta rapper? David Duchovny the next Big? Amy the next Britney? Plus: First baseman fined for slapping sausage! (07/10/2003)

The most hated man in Hollywood By Heather Havrilesky
Tinseltown culture sprang forth from the sharp, charismatic and often vengeful head of Lew Wasserman. (07/10/2003)

Tom the Dancing Bug By Ruben Bolling
Australo-Pithecene's Night Out, or Why don't you see more hominids from the Pliocene epoch in restaurants? (07/10/2003)

"Keep the wise, wild and courageous columns coming!"
Readers rush to the defense of Anne Lamott. (07/10/2003)

Is Iran next? By Mark Follman
Tehran is a year or two away from acquiring nuclear weapons. Is the Bush administration willing to go to war -- again -- to stop it? (07/10/2003)

King Kaufman's Sports Daily
Sean Hannity and Joe Scarborough see a double standard! They want Dusty Baker's head! Plus: Salon's more, uh, balanced readers weigh in on blacks, whites and heat. (07/10/2003)

My date with the Bushies By Michelle Goldberg
In which a young Brooklyn writer goes in search of savvy, cosmopolitan Manhattan residents who admire the president. (07/10/2003)

Abs-olution By Tina Brown
Kerry Kennedy and Arnold Schwarzenegger have the family formula down: Play to win and look good doing it. (07/10/2003)

Joe Conason's Journal
Our allies change their tune on WMD -- while our leaders prepare a fall guy. (07/10/2003)

Searching for my soul mate By Cary Tennis
My parents have been madly in love since they were 19, and every time I meet a girl I look for that kind of spark. (07/10/2003)

Life, without possibility of e-mail By Katharine Mieszkowski
California prison officials don't want felons to have anything at all to do with the Internet -- not even a printout of a Web site. (07/10/2003)

"Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" By Stephanie Zacharek
Shiver me timbers! Johnny Depp's outrageously coiffed buccaneer steals the show in an awkward pirate epic that's jampacked with energy, ambition and spectacular effects. (07/09/2003)

The Fix
Does Bob Dylan read obscure Japanese literature? Does Stephen Hawking go to strip clubs with Colin Farrell? Does Tucker Carlson mean what he said about eating his shoes? Plus: Johnny Depp takes us for a ride! (07/09/2003)

Summer's big catfight By Heather Havrilesky
While the rest of the networks' reality fare wilts in the heat, a mix of Bible thumping, boa constrictors and the evil genius of Tyra "Tyrant" Banks makes "America's Next Top Model" a refreshing surprise. (07/09/2003)

Bestsellers
"Seabiscuit" and more in this week's bestselling books, courtesy of Powells.com. (07/09/2003)

The K Chronicles By Keith Knight
The Colossal Colon Tour: Lookin' out fo' yo' ass! (07/09/2003)

Paradise in the parking lot
I called him from my cell right after he dropped me off. "I'm masturbating," he said. I'd found my true love. (07/09/2003)

"You insult your son's moral intelligence"
Salon readers blast Anne Lamott's decision to make her son go to church. (07/09/2003)

King Kaufman's Sports Daily
The Internet smartens up us dumb baseball fans. Plus: Don't ask, Dontrelle. (07/09/2003)

A nation of scared sheep By Louise Witt
Why don't Americans care that Bush may have lied to them about Iraq? The answer lies deep in our reptilian brains. (07/09/2003)

A fragile peace By Aluf Benn
As Israelis and Palestinians shake hands in front of the cameras, it's as if the years of bloodshed were just a bad dream. But both sides have a long way to go before the nightmare is over. (07/09/2003)

Turning against the "liberators" By Nir Rosen
As they roast in the Baghdad summer, Iraqis who had learned to survive under Saddam find the American juggernaut incomprehensible -- and increasingly oppressive. (07/10/2003)

A diplomat's undiplomatic truth: They lied By Robert Scheer
The U.S. may have found the smoking gun that nails the culprit responsible for the Iraq war. Unfortunately, it's in Dick Cheney's office. (07/09/2003)

Letters
U.S. apathy and the bloody chaos in the Congo: Readers respond to "Millions Die, Bush Is Silent," by Laura McClure. (07/09/2003)

Total recall By Arianna Huffington
Gov. Gray Davis gamed the system, and now the system is about to strike back. (07/09/2003)

Joe Conason's Journal
Does Donald Rumsfeld really believe no one remembers what he was saying about Iraqi weapons before the war? (07/09/2003)

At an impasse By Cary Tennis
My girlfriend doesn't want to have sex unless we're engaged, and I don't want to be an emotional doormat. (07/09/2003)

Barry White, RIP By Charles Taylor
The sexy singer's "Never, Never Gonna Give You Up" was the "We Shall Overcome" of the bedroom. (07/09/2003)

GOTO considered joyful By Rachel Chalmers
On his proto-blog archive, the words and spirit of the late computer scientist Edsger Dijkstra live on, inspiring new generations of geeks. (07/09/2003)

Men in tights (and why we love them) By Charles Taylor
Since the days of Douglas Fairbanks and Errol Flynn, swashbuckling heroes have brought much-needed joie de vivre to a cynical Hollywood. Can "Pirates of the Caribbean" revive that glorious tradition? (07/08/2003)

The Fix
Did the Kennedys have a "thrill-seeking gene"? What were Antonin Scalia and Peter Jennings chatting about, eh? Plus: Eminem plans to go all soft and mushy on us! (07/08/2003)

Letters
Readers respond to Joe Conason's review of "Treason" by Ann Coulter. (07/08/2003)

A.S. Byatt and the goblet of bile By Charles Taylor
The author's recent New York Times Op-Ed shows that she doesn't understand why so many of us love Harry Potter. Maybe it's just too much fun. (07/08/2003)

Story Minute By Carol Lay
White House hubris: Bring 'em on! (07/08/2003)

Shaken and stirred By Kera Bolonik
Memoirist and reformed alcoholic Augusten Burroughs talks about his $63,000 bar bill, why it's hard to be a drunk when you're allergic to alcohol, and how hard it is to have sex when you're sober. (07/08/2003)

King Kaufman's Sports Daily
The reaction to Dusty Baker's racially ignorant comments has been just about right. (07/08/2003)

The African press on Bush's visit Compiled by Laura McClure
From Kenya: "Bush's singular achievement has been to make America resented in Africa." (07/08/2003)

"I cannot praise a fugitive and cloistered virtue" By Gary Kamiya
In "Areopagitica," Milton made a magisterial case not just for freedom of speech, but for freedom of soul. (07/08/2003)

Joe Conason's Journal
The White House finally comes clean on one devastating WMD deception -- but it is still spinning the full story. (07/08/2003)

Transition tricks By Cary Tennis
Can we be friends if I've broken his heart? (07/08/2003)

Sober sex By Augusten Burroughs
In rehab I realized that I was a sexually experienced virgin who had never done it without a martini -- or 19. (07/08/2003)

How outsourcing will save the world By Brian Behlendorf
The growth of white-collar jobs in developing nations is essential to global peace and prosperity. (07/08/2003)

Letters
"Welcome to class warfare": A roundtable discussion of global labor issues in which readers respond to Katharine Mieszkowski's "White-collar Sweatshop." (07/08/2003)

"Swimming Pool" By Stephanie Zacharek
Sunshine, murder and Charlotte Rampling join forces in Francois Ozon's French-country-house thriller. But the real attraction is the topless Ludivine Sagnier. (07/07/2003)

The Fix
MSNBC fires Michael Savage after he tells caller to "get AIDS and die." Ann Coulter a babe? Posh Spice an actress? Plus: Pete Best's mom was the seventh Beatle! (07/07/2003)

This Modern World By Tom Tomorrow
Action McNews: I can't stand it anymore! (07/07/2003)

Lynda Barry
Whiter Biter (07/07/2003)

King Kaufman's Sports Daily
Baseball has "fixed" the All-Star "problem" by making the game "meaningful." But how much can an All-Star Game mean if it includes Armando Benitez? (07/07/2003)

Ex anxieties By Cary Tennis
I'm going to see my ex at a wedding for the first time in two years. How should I behave? (07/07/2003)

The future was so bright By Andrew Leonard
Wired's techno-idealism jolted America before it flamed out. Gary Wolf's new book vividly recalls the magazine's wild and woolly saga, but leaves the big question hanging: Was it right? (07/07/2003)

Has she no shame? By Joe Conason
Of course not, and now we know why: In her new book "Treason," Ann Coulter reveals that her role model is Joe McCarthy. And her grasp of facts is even worse than her judgment. (07/04/2003)

Because I'm the mother By Anne Lamott
My son hates church, but I make him go anyway. It's good to do uncomfortable things -- it's weight training for life. (07/04/2003)

Confusion and outrage on the right By Michelle Goldberg
Recent gay-rights victories have left family-values conservatives stunned and fuming -- and demanding that a nervous Bush take their side. (07/04/2003)

Millions die, Bush is silent By Laura McClure
The Congo's descent into a vortex of murder and destruction is the globe's worst human crisis. But as he travels in Africa this week, the president will ignore it. (07/04/2003)

The Exterminator III Cartoon by Mark Fiore
Locate Democratic life forms. Neutralize. (07/04/2003)

Film's not dead, damn it! By Stephanie Zacharek
Interviews with some of today's leading cinematographers -- the real magic-makers of the movies -- suggest that George Lucas' overhyped "digital revolution" is mostly marketing buzz. (07/03/2003)

The Fix By Karen Croft
Rudy Giuliani is a work of art, Lucy Liu is getting dates again and the latest in reality shows: It's all about making meatballs! (07/03/2003)

Tom the Dancing Bug By Ruben Bolling
Billy Dare, boy adventurer: Suddenly, a suburban Chicago high school! (07/03/2003)

Italy's sex slaves By Laura Fraser
Young women from Africa and Eastern Europe are lured to Italy with the promise of good jobs and a new life. But when they get there they are beaten, raped and forced into prostitution. (07/03/2003)

King Kaufman's Sports Daily
The Cleveland Indians are fourth in a weak division, but they rule the Neifi Index. (07/03/2003)

The world press: Stories from Iraq and Afghanistan Compiled by Laura McClure
Maclean's: When the Taliban fell, women were supposed to get a better deal. It hasn't happened. (07/03/2003)

The rise of the fabloids By Tina Brown
Celebrity coverage that's cheap, star-friendly and makes Ashton Kutcher look like he has a Y chromosome. (07/03/2003)

What do I do? By Cary Tennis
I found out that my dad is cheating on my mom. Should I say something to them or stay out of it? (07/03/2003)

Blogland's man of the people By Farhad Manjoo
The Web has found its candidate for president, and his name is Howard Dean. (07/03/2003)

"Legally Blonde 2: Red White & Blonde" By Charles Taylor
Reese Witherspoon's Elle Woods goes to Washington to valiantly fight for her Chihuahua. Meanwhile, her film's suffering from sequelitis. (07/02/2003)

The cyborg who ... governed me? By Andrew O'Hehir
In what may be the weirdest campaign curtain-raiser in history, Arnold Schwarzenegger returns as a decrepit robot in "Terminator 3." (07/02/2003)

The Fix By Amy Reiter
Eminem's wife: I'm innocent! Do brunettes really have more fun? Plus: The Kennedy-Cuomo split gets uglier. (07/02/2003)

Bestsellers
Potter, Potter and more Potter in this week's bestselling books courtesy of Powells.com. (07/02/2003)

The K Chronicles By Keith Knight
People who shouldn't be trusted. (07/02/2003)

Freedom isn't free
Celebrate Independence Day by subscribing to independent Salon. (07/03/2003)

The curse of underwear ignorance
Encountering my thong, he yelped, "Your underwear doesn't cover your butt!" Right then, I knew my dream of great sex would not come true. (07/02/2003)

Letters
Readers rush to defend their beloved Beckham. (07/02/2003)

King Kaufman's Sports Daily
College sports: They're hot, they're sexy, they're dead. Plus: What's a "visible minority"? (07/02/2003)

The Republican fall guy in California By Robert Scheer
California Republicans should blame Bush, not Davis, for their state's economic woes. (07/02/2003)

Africa's Saddams By Arianna Huffington
President Bush's Iraq talking points center on human rights, but his African flyover shows his rhetoric has no meaning. (07/02/2003)

Joe Conason's Journal
How George W. Bush lost a cushy job given him by political friends a decade ago. Plus: Pondering the meaning of "Bring 'em on." (07/02/2003)

Diary of a college girl, Part 2 By Jessica Grose
After losing my virginity and suffering a miserable, histrionic breakup, my new boyfriend's Cusack-esque brand of sedation and comfort was ideal -- for a while. (07/02/2003)

The ballad of Jack and Oksana By Cary Tennis
My friend is married to a beautiful Russian woman, but I see a train wreck in their future. (07/02/2003)

White-collar sweatshops By Katharine Mieszkowski
"Globalization" is becoming a dirty word to U.S. tech workers, increasingly angry and anxious as their jobs disappear overseas, never to return. (07/02/2003)

Building the perfect diva By Shannon Zimmerman
With "Dangerously in Love," Beyonce Knowles serves up a sultry solo debut oozing with '70s-style R&B. She's got real diva-superstar potential -- but is that a blessing or a curse? (07/01/2003)

What we're listening to By Salon's staff
Richard Thompson, the Black Keys, Roxy Music Live, the Pernice Brothers and more. (07/01/2003)

The Fix
"South Park" dudes to fight terrorism and celebrities, Bruce Springsteen history to be destroyed, and Reese doesn't go to Washington. Plus: Watch out -- Robbie Williams wants a wife! (07/01/2003)

The natural By Allen Barra
The re-release of Kevin Baker's 1993 novel "Sometimes You See It Coming" puts the best baseball novel ever written back in play. (07/01/2003)

Story Minute By Carol Lay
The unnamed Democrat. (07/01/2003)

Flagrante T-shirt-o By Elizabeth Spiers
A Brooklyn entrepreneur prints shirts proclaiming that the wearer had sex with everyone from the Strokes to Anna Wintour -- and New York is eating them up. (07/02/2003)

King Kaufman's Sports Daily
Is David Beckham overrated and overpaid? Only if you think athletes shouldn't make what they're worth. (07/01/2003)

Goofus Al and Gallant George By Eric Boehlert
In 2000, the media hounded Al Gore over alleged minor exaggerations. So why does it give Bush a pass when he doesn't tell the truth about life-and-death matters like Iraq and tax policies? (07/01/2003)

The presses must roll By Gary Kamiya
The Supreme Court's Pentagon Papers decision barred an imperious president from blocking publication of explosive government documents about an ill-conceived war. Today, journalists may not be so brave -- or judges so vigilant. (07/01/2003)

Introducing "Documents of Freedom"
From Milton to China's Democracy Wall, Salon's new series honors the milestones of human liberty. (07/01/2003)

Joe Conason's Journal
How the Web kick-started Howard Dean's campaign. Plus: The Urban Outfitters founder is a Rick Santorum fan. (07/01/2003)

I was duped By Cary Tennis
No one told me how disappointing and boring married life is! (07/01/2003)

The free research movement By Farhad Manjoo
The Public Library of Science aims to break the stranglehold that expensive academic journals have over federally funded research -- and start a scientific revolution. (07/01/2003)