December 2003

Sports 2003: The year of behaving badly By King Kaufman
To be a fan you had to look past the surface-level depravity to see the true, deep, real depravity underneath. But every once in a while, there were rewards. (12/31/2003)

I Like to Watch: 2003 By Heather Havrilesky
Faraway explosions, lots of hot bods, and assorted juvenilia: The year TV pandered to us like never before. (12/30/2003)

This Modern World By Tom Tomorrow
Clear-eyed realists agree: Dean can't win! (12/29/2003)

The 10 best movies of 2003 By Stephanie Zacharek, Charles Taylor and Andrew O'Hehir
From the eccentric, intimate "Lost in Translation" to the epic nobility of "Return of the King" to the rough-hewn affirmation of "In America," Salon critics Stephanie Zacharek, Charles Taylor and Andrew O'Hehir list 2003's best films. (12/27/2003)

Italian leader reports Vatican Christmas threat Associated Press
(12/27/2003)

"The Company" By Charles Taylor
Robert Altman's surpassingly beautiful ballet movie feels lighter than air -- but in fact it's the great director's most tender and memorable film in years. (12/25/2003)

"Monster" By Stephanie Zacharek
Charlize Theron pours herself into the body and mind of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Patty Jenkins' devastating directing debut. (12/25/2003)

"House of Sand and Fog" By Andrew O'Hehir
Jennifer Connelly and Ben Kingsley are brilliant in this brutal, tragic (and slightly overheated) saga of the darkest of American nightmares -- real estate. (12/25/2003)

"Cold Mountain" By Stephanie Zacharek
Anthony Minghella's pretty, star-studded adaptation of the bestselling Civil War romance never makes it above freezing. And, gee, didn't those Southern whites have it rough? (12/25/2003)

Tom the Dancing Bug By Ruben Bolling
War profiteering. (12/25/2003)

The K Chronicles By Keith Knight
High alert. (12/24/2003)

God is not a right-wing zealot By Leslie R. Guttman
The Rev. Albert Pennybacker is a Bible Belt preacher with a drawl who's urging people to support "basic religious values." But he's no Jerry Falwell clone. (12/24/2003)

King Kaufman's Sports Daily
Salon's 2003 Sports Person of the Year: LeBron James. (12/24/2003)

Joe Conason's Journal
Democrats deserve coal this year -- and give the opportunistic Joe Lieberman an extra shovel's worth. (12/24/2003)

The man who loved women By David Bowman
Photography collector and editor Peter Fetterman talks about the naked woman as landscape -- and why women look hotter reading Proust. (12/24/2003)

The return of the Internet By Farhad Manjoo and Katharine Mieszkowski
In 2003, Howard Dean scored big with the Web, while India took advantage of online communications to grab thousands of white-collar jobs from the West. The Net, it turns out, still matters. (12/24/2003)

The "Jewsploitation" craze By Baz Dreisinger
Jonathan Kesselman's "The Hebrew Hammer" is the manifesto for a hip, hype-driven "new Jewishness." But here's a news flash: American Jews aren't actually black, and anti-Semitic stereotypes aren't automatically funny. (12/23/2003)

WayLay By Carol Lay
The spider hole. (12/23/2003)

Letters
"The issue of sex and race is still a toxic one for South Carolina." Plus: Why Jews shouldn't have Christmas envy. (12/23/2003)

Parenting through art direction By Christopher Healy
A certain breed of parent is happily buying postmodern rugs, art deco lamps and vintage sports posters for their children. But who are these items really for? (12/23/2003)

George Clooney (and his dad) vs. George W. Bush By Patrick Crowley
With the help of his son from Hollywood, Nick Clooney is campaigning for a congressional seat in a conservative Kentucky district. How far can star power carry them? (12/23/2003)

Judge says Pentagon can't force anthrax vaccine on GIs By Eric Boehlert
The surprise decision means President Bush may have to sign a special order to force wary soldiers to take the controversial vaccine. (12/23/2003)

Joe Conason's Journal By Joe Conason
George Will offers a "Sopranos"-style defense of his shoddy ethics, and the Washington Post lets it slide. (12/23/2003)

Flirting with danger? By Tracy Quan
I'm frustrated with my husband's low sex drive, but should I cheat on him with a man who has a wife and a girlfriend? (12/23/2003)

Video gaming and its discontents By Jane Pinckard
Was 2003 the year of the great online multiplayer gaming flameout, or the year when a whole new approach to computer games finally gained real momentum? (12/23/2003)

Songs of the flesh By Laura Sinagra
As Tori Amos' new greatest-hits collection demonstrates, the ultimate tortured '90s alt-girl has always used her solipsistic body-obsessions as a way to find the world. (12/22/2003)

The Year of the Liar By Heather Havrilesky
From weapons of mass destruction to Jayson Blair, we trusted them -- and they punk'd us. Why do we keep coming back for more? (12/22/2003)

"Lord of the Rings" is for boys ... By Stephanie Zacharek
A New York Times critic falls for lazy gender-typing. (12/22/2003)

"The Cheating Culture" By Heather Havrilesky
David Callahan explains why Americans lie more now than they did in the '50s, '60s or '70s. (12/22/2003)

This Modern World By Tom Tomorrow
We're with the Patriotism Police, and we'd like to ask you a few questions. (12/22/2003)

Being a girl By Natalie Pearson
Searching for a father figure, I finally found a man I could trust. He lavished attention on me -- it just wasn't the right kind. (12/22/2003)

Joe Conason's Journal By Joe Conason
Why the Taliban are laughing at Saddam's capture. Plus: Conrad Black's slush fund for conservative pundits. (12/22/2003)

Two virgins By Tracy Quan
We are both in our 20s and virgins. What should I consider before making love for the first time? (12/22/2003)

SCO, open source and the world By Sam Williams
While a small Utah company launches a frontal assault on free software, the rest of the globe is saying: Gimme some of that! (12/22/2003)

The long road to Longhorn By Scott Rosenberg
Who knows what Microsoft's whiz-bang new Windows will look like by the time it's ready, in 2006 or beyond? In the meantime, the bloggers of Redmond will provide progress reports. (12/22/2003)

Gameboys By Jeff Alexander and Tom Bissell
Sublime fairways, menacing Orcs and a convicted murderer who may well steal your soul. A guided tour through the best -- and most appalling -- holiday video games. (12/20/2003)

Coffee-table cornucopia By Laura Miller and Kerry Lauerman
With the aid of our last-minute holiday gift book guide, fill your loved ones' stockings with Gary Larson, exotic scents, mosque architecture, the moons of Jupiter and the jolliest Santa of them all -- North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il! (12/20/2003)

How Saddam should have died By Ferry Biedermann
The head of the captured dictator's tribe is embarrassed by Saddam's failure to die like a man -- but other Iraqis say if they could get their hands on him, he'd be lucky if they just drank his blood. (12/20/2003)

Using Hillary against Howard By Josh Benson
Dean-bashers say Sen. Clinton's hawkish talk about Iraq this week was a rebuke to the Democratic front-runner. At least they hope it was. (12/20/2003)

"The Fog of War" By Charles Taylor
Errol Morris tries to pin down Vietnam War chess-master Robert McNamara, and the results are fascinating -- also troubling, deeply confusing and way too artistically precious. (12/19/2003)

"Calendar Girls" By Stephanie Zacharek
Helen Mirren and a cast of middle-aged Yorkshire roses doff their Laura Ashley duds for charity. It's a sweet, sexy fable, even if it runs out of oomph too early. (12/19/2003)

"Mona Lisa Smile" By Stephanie Zacharek
Those costumes! Those actresses! All those daring and unconventional ideas! Oh, wait -- this beautiful, mindless '50s women's-college flick doesn't have any of those. (12/19/2003)

The greatest week in rock history By Eric Boehlert
Thirty-four years ago this week, the Beatles, Stones, Zeppelin, Temptations, Santana, Crosby Stills and Nash, and Creedence Clearwater all shared top billing on the Billboard album chart. There's never been another lineup quite like it -- and there will never be again. (12/19/2003)

The Fix By Karen Croft
George Clooney needs a date, Pamela Anderson doesn't eat at buffets and Barbara Walters is fascinated by Gen. Franks. Plus: Will Janet Jackson sing at the Super Bowl? (12/19/2003)

'Joice to the world By Anne Lamott
On a visit to San Quentin, I learned that no one is beyond the reach of divine love -- despite society's way of stating the opposite. (12/19/2003)

Expiration date By Cary Tennis
Two weeks after I get physical with guys, they always dump me. (12/19/2003)

King Kaufman's Sports Daily
NFL Week 16: Our long national fake cellphone call is over. Now, pro football moves to Saturday, an improvement over that day's usual fare. (12/19/2003)

What did Bush know and when did he know it? By Eric Boehlert
9/11 Commission chairman Thomas Kean's suggestion that the administration could have prevented the terror attacks may signal a new, aggressive approach. (12/19/2003)

Joe Conason's Journal
As the legal protections for journalists' sources begin to crumble, there's fallout across the political spectrum, from the Wen Ho Lee case to the Valerie Plame affair. (12/19/2003)

Ask the pilot By Patrick Smith
Orville and Wilbur Wright and a selection of the greatest moments in commercial aviation. Plus, the true significance of Dec. 17. (12/19/2003)

Letters
Who will be left to buy your products, Mr. Outsourcing Man, when all the good jobs are gone? Readers respond in droves to Katharine Mieszkowski's "Moving to India Is Not a Luxury. It Is a Necessity." (12/19/2003)

The Fix By Karen Croft
Nicole Kidman tells Diane Sawyer what to do, Madeleine Albright jokes about Osama and Orlando says he does it for the women. Plus: Scarlett Johansson is all over the Golden Globes. (12/18/2003)

What to Read
Peter Carey's rip-roaring yarn of poetic fakery, a ribald near-masterpiece from Patrick McCabe, Tiny Tim all grown up and investigating murders, and the rest of the season's best fiction. (12/18/2003)

"Call Me the Breeze" by Patrick McCabe
A brilliant, hallucinatory fable of LSD, pies, "psychobilly" rock, IRA violence and Travis Bickle-style love in the sinister country-and-western Ireland of the '70s. (12/18/2003)

"Old School" by Tobias Wolff
Sure, you may have read prep-school novels before. But few books in any genre offer this immediacy, this intimacy, this feeling of truth. (12/18/2003)

"Mr. Timothy" by Louis Bayard
Dickens' formerly cute Tiny Tim is all grown up now, in this tale of murder and mystery in foggy Victorian London -- a long way from those sappy Cratchit Christmases. (12/18/2003)

"Double Vision" by Pat Barker
A war correspondent, an injured widow, the vicar's daughter and a mysterious cross-dresser haunt this memorable tale of rural England and the ghosts of violence. (12/18/2003)

Tom the Dancing Bug By Ruben Bolling
Introducing Skull Stalker: He kicks ass! (12/18/2003)

Mom, why don't we have a Christmas tree? By Abigail Pogrebin
I want to make Hanukkah as fun for my kids as Christmas -- so that my daughter can tell well-meaning salespeople, "Actually, Santa's not our guy" without embarrassment. (12/18/2003)

She flew away By Cary Tennis
My girlfriend moved to Australia to nurse her father, and now she doesn't want to come back. (12/18/2003)

American gothic By Rebecca Traister
The revelation that Strom Thurmond fathered a child with his 16-year-old black maid raises a host of thorny questions about race, sex, power -- and media silence. (12/18/2003)

Kucinich: Voters need "a second opinion" on Dean By Mark Hertsgaard
In an interview with Link TV and Salon, the Ohio congressman slams the Vermont doctor on national healthcare, and says Bush is a bad president but shouldn't be impeached. (12/18/2003)

Letters
Readers respond to "'This Is Not America,'" by Michelle Goldberg, and "Fill 'er Up -- With Taxpayer Dollars," by Mark Follman. (12/18/2003)

Cheney's energy crisis By Amanda Griscom
The Supreme Court may give the veep an out from his Energy Task Force mess. (12/18/2003)

Halliburton does it right! Cartoon by Mark Fiore
Got a rebuilding job? This is the crew for you! (12/18/2003)

In desperation, John Kerry goes too far By Joan Walsh
After a year of wavering and waffling on the Iraq war, the Massachusetts Democrat is taking cheap shots at front-runner Howard Dean. It isn't a pretty sight. (12/18/2003)

Joe Conason's Journal
Safire & Co. peddle an apparently bogus memo as "proof" of a Saddam/al-Qaida connection. But the blame for 9/11 may lie closer to home. (12/18/2003)

E-mail me way hard, baby By David Bowman
An Israeli philosophy professor says that online love can be more powerful than off-line because, after all, sex is about the brain, isn't it? (12/18/2003)

Watch out for "Old Europe": She can bite By Barry Lando
If the decision to cut France and Germany out of Iraq reconstruction money leads Europe to retaliate, hundreds of thousands of U.S. jobs will be at risk. (12/18/2003)

"The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King" By Andrew O'Hehir
The final chapter completes "The Lord of the Rings" series in thrilling style -- and restores faith in the idea that popular entertainment can soar to majestic heights. (12/17/2003)

The Fix By Karen Croft
Smoking Gun celebrates the year in scandals, the pope gives thumbs up to Mel Gibson, and Madonna gives thumbs up to Wesley Clark. Plus: Why did Julia Roberts stop smiling? (12/17/2003)

Bestsellers
Dan Brown stays in the top spot, this week with "The Da Vinci Code." Sue Monk takes No. 2, while "The Bitch in the House" makes the top 20 -- all on this week's list, courtesy of Powell's. (12/17/2003)

The K Chronicles By Keith Knight
Which way does your Christmas tree lean? (12/17/2003)

The state of your unions
Salon's readers share their tales of newlywed angst, post-divorce shock and bridesmaid blues. (12/17/2003)

Presumed innocent By Cary Tennis
I've been writing to a prisoner I thought was innocent, but I found out he confessed to the crime. Should I stop writing? (12/17/2003)

King Kaufman's Sports Daily
Shorts are bunched up nationwide over a receiver's cellphone celebration, but where is the outrage over a team president using a homophobic slur? (12/17/2003)

Celebrated authors demand that the CIA come clean on JFK assassination By Jefferson Morley
Gerald Posner, Norman Mailer and Don DeLillo back lawsuit to open secret files on CIA mystery man tied to Lee Harvey Oswald. (12/17/2003)

We got him -- now what? By Robert Scheer
Bush and his allies are celebrating the capture of Saddam Hussein, but they may come to regret it. (12/17/2003)

Message to Dems: Get one By Jeremy Heimans and Tim Dixon
Even with Saddam's capture, Bush is still vulnerable on Iraq. But Democratic candidates must begin articulating why, before it's too late. (12/17/2003)

Right Hook By Mark Follman
Getting giddy over Saddam: Taranto says bring on the millions of angry Arabs; Frum declares God wants Bush reelected. Plus: Why Saddam is the next Che Guevara. (12/17/2003)

Is this the neocon century? By Michelle Goldberg
Richard Perle, one of the intellectual architects of the Iraq war, offers an acerbic defense of his ideology. (12/17/2003)

Wesley Clark: Restore unity with Europe
The Democratic candidate says Bush's token alliances with Tonga and the Marshall Islands are no substitute for key European allies in the global fight against terror. (12/17/2003)

Joe Conason's Journal
Rush, George's li'l brother, Ol' Strom and the indelible stench of hypocrisy. (12/17/2003)

Wanting more By Tracy Quan
I've given myself pleasure, but orgasms during intercourse with a man I love are elusive to me, even after 13 years of marriage and a lover. (12/17/2003)

"Moving to India is not a luxury. It is a necessity" By Katharine Mieszkowski
American workers won't like what venture capitalist Ravi Chiruvolu says about why his tech start-ups are built using Indian workers. But they'd better listen. (12/17/2003)

Letters
Boycott male-fantasy movies! Women, drop the double standard! Hey, who'd choose Jack over Keanu anyway? Readers take issue -- several issues -- with Charles Taylor's review of "Something's Gotta Give." (12/16/2003)

Middle-aged woman wallops Tom Cruise! By Rebecca Traister
The menopausal romance "Something's Gotta Give" beats "The Last Samurai" at the box office. Do chick-flick fans dare hope that the tide of guns, honor and big-ass boats is ebbing? (12/16/2003)

The Fix By Karen Croft
Viggo has a squeeze, Shannen forgives the Paris Hilton incident -- maybe -- and Ewan McGregor gives away his sex secrets. Plus: Who has the best manners? (12/16/2003)

WayLay By Carol Lay
100 years of aviation history? That's nothing ... (12/16/2003)

Little people By Lisa A. Hedley
In a new book, author Dan Kennedy explores dwarfism -- and the emotional and practical consequences of having a child who is different. (12/16/2003)

Where's my Dean Meetup man? By Cary Tennis
We kissed and I told him I loved him and now he isn't calling me. Did I say too much? (12/16/2003)

"This is not America" By Michelle Goldberg
In Miami, police unleashed unprecedented fury on demonstrators -- most of them seniors and union members. Is this how Bush's war on terror will be fought at home? (12/16/2003)

King Kaufman's Sports Daily
Mark Cuban answers -- quickly. Plus: George Steinbrenner rules with an obsessive hand. And: Lacrosse strike! (12/16/2003)

Imagining Saddam's trial By Barry Lando
The deposed dictator might call Donald Rumsfeld and a host of American leaders -- as defense witnesses. (12/16/2003)

Joe Conason's Journal
As U.S. investigators turn up the heat on Saddam for proof he had WMD, it's Tony Blair who's really sweating. When will American politicians borrow some guts from their Brit counterparts and demand real answers about why we went to war? (12/16/2003)

I like dresses! By Tracy Quan
I've been a straight cross-dresser my whole life, but how many women will accept this about me? (12/16/2003)

Blaster and the great blackout By Bruce Schneier
It's impossible to prove that a malicious worm caused last summer's power outage, but one thing's clear: Ordinary computers are the weakest link. (12/16/2003)

Wrongful termination for coal-mining official? By Phillip Babich
A congressional committee wants to know if mining safety official Jack Spadaro is being fired for his whistle-blowing activities. (12/16/2003)

When an Arab is also a Jew By Christopher Farah
As the powerful new documentary "Forget Baghdad" makes clear, life is complicated for Israeli Jews haunted by their memories of a secular, multicultural Iraq. (12/15/2003)

Cockney rebel By Amy Reiter
Michael Caine talks about playing an aging Nazi in "The Statement," why he hates nude scenes, what he learned from Laurence Olivier, and whether he'll ever win that best-actor Oscar he wants. (12/15/2003)

The Fix By Karen Croft
Bill O'Reilly says we should play rap music to torture Saddam, Nicole Kidman wants J.Lo's butt, and will Peter Jackson direct "The Hobbit"? Plus: Jack Nicholson reveals hidden talents! (12/15/2003)

When books kill By Aidan Doyle
Movies and video games get blamed for acts of senseless violence all the time. But some famous murderers got their ideas from literature. (12/15/2003)

This Modern World By Tom Tomorrow
You think this is the worst crisis this country has ever been through? (12/15/2003)

Two guys By Cary Tennis
I am seeing two men -- one I'm falling for and another who is a better choice. (12/15/2003)

Letters
"Idiot! Balderdash! Poppycock! Rrrrgh!" Readers get aggressive about Christopher Healy's story on yelling, "psychological aggession" and child rearing. (12/15/2003)

Clark: Howard Dean can't win By Josh Benson
Wesley Clark says Dean lacks national security credibility -- and throws cold water on the idea of a Dean-Clark dream ticket. But after Saddam Hussein's capture, will his own war-critic stance work against him? (12/15/2003)

Joe Conason's Journal
Why an international tribunal may be the only place to try Saddam. (12/15/2003)

A chance to make up for Guantanamo and the PATRIOT Act By Mark Follman
The head of Amnesty International USA says Saddam's capture offers Bush a model opportunity to conduct international justice. (12/15/2003)

Dean talks tough on terror
The Democratic front-runner pledges that "addressing the threats of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction will be America's highest priority in my administration." (12/15/2003)

The affair By Sabina Balou
What you want to know is how it feels to make love to someone when both of our wedding rings are off. (12/15/2003)

Oh, Wholly Blight (with apologies to St. Luke) By Joyce McGreevy
And it came to pass, that The Recovery would come upon the land, but still Joe and Marie did not have jobs. (12/15/2003)

Saddam Hussein captured in Iraqi hideout By Hamza Hendawi
The former dictator "will face the justice he denied to millions," Bush declares, as Baghdad celebrates. (12/14/2003)

"God has given us victory!" By Jen Banbury
Joyous Iraqis celebrate Saddam's capture, but no one knows if the tyrant's videotaped humiliation will end the guerrilla rebellion. (12/14/2003)

Dean: Saddam doesn't change my mind about Iraq By Mark Follman
Displaying the graciousness of a front-runner, the Democratic candidate gives Bush a pass for a day on Iraq -- but keeps pummeling him on everything else. (12/15/2003)

Janeane Garofalo responds
The actor/activist says Damien Cave unfairly trashed the "Tell Us the Truth" tour. (12/13/2003)

The queen of Jerusalem By Christopher Farah
In the wake of the Six-Day War, a young Palestinian woman won an Israeli-sponsored beauty pageant. Organizers promised her glamour, international fame and modeling contracts. Instead, she wound up in Flint, Mich. -- bitter and cynical. (12/13/2003)

Babe against Bush By Rebecca Traister
Eleanor Vast-Binder talks about taking it off in order to turn voters on -- against the president. (12/13/2003)

BushCo issues latest orders to media lickspittles By Rich Procter
Memo to U.S. press corps: Your coverage of "President Gives American Troops the Bird" was adequately fawning and obsequious. But failure to continue to grovel will be severely punished. (12/13/2003)

"Something's Gotta Give" By Charles Taylor
Why must every character in American films who revels in sexual pleasure realize he's been leading an empty life? Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton do their best, but can't redeem this irritatingly moralistic romantic comedy. (12/12/2003)

"The Statement" By Charles Taylor
Michael Caine is brilliant as a French Nazi collaborator hidden by the Catholic Church. Too bad Norman Jewison's film is a stiff, limping bore. (12/12/2003)

"Girl With a Pearl Earring" By Charles Taylor
Vermeer's famous painting comes semi-alive in this stultifyingly tasteful adaptation of a ludicrous book. Go to the museum instead. (12/12/2003)

"Stuck on You" By Stephanie Zacharek
Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear play conjoined twins with a burger franchise and a dream, in this surprisingly gentle, low-key holiday confection from the Farrelly brothers. (12/12/2003)

The Fix By Karen Croft
Cher was tricked into playing herself, Posh says Beckham looks like Christ and a man flies across the ocean for a date with Halle Berry. Plus: Happy birthday, Frank! (12/12/2003)

He's a lover -- and also a hater By Virginia Vitzthum
Dale Peck, the madman critic famous for his trash jobs on Moody, Eggers and Franzen, talks about forgiving his abusive father in his new "fictional memoir" and wonders why we can't all get along. (12/12/2003)

What gives? By Cary Tennis
Why do women give us their business cards, tell us to call them, and then never go out with us? (12/12/2003)

Black, white and pink all over By Christopher Farah
More than a year after the New York Times printed its first same-sex wedding announcement, gay couples debate the need to declare their love in the most public way possible. (12/12/2003)

King Kaufman's Sports Daily
NFL Week 15: Upcoming "playoffs" are expected to result in an undisputed "champion." (12/12/2003)

Fill 'er up -- with taxpayer dollars By Mark Follman
Congressional watchdog Henry Waxman attacks Dick Cheney's former employer Halliburton for pumping up the price of gas in Iraq. (12/12/2003)

Wanted: Bad sex writing!
Using Bill "tongue moving rapidly" O'Reilly as your model, ferret out the best of the worst descriptions of the procreative act and send it to us. (12/12/2003)

Ask the pilot By Patrick Smith
The mystery of Air Force One en route to Baghdad -- could it have happened as the White House claimed? (12/12/2003)

Raking muck in "The Sims Online" By Farhad Manjoo
What happens when a virtual newspaper covering virtual events runs afoul of a real corporation? (12/12/2003)

I Like to Watch By Heather Havrilesky
It's time for a malpractice complaint against "ER." Plus: Trista and Ryan's big pink fiasco. (12/11/2003)

The Fix By Karen Croft
The cheerleader marries the fireman, Robbie Williams takes off his clothes (again), and Liza has a brand new gig. Plus: Viggo speaks out on leadership. (12/11/2003)

Tom the Dancing Bug By Ruben Bolling
"Cold War Strategies on the Highway," or "Outspent Into Oblivion" -- a diatribe in six panels. (12/11/2003)

BECAUSE I SAID SO!! By Christopher Healy
A new study says that yelling at your children -- even if you're trying to protect them -- is "psychological aggression." (12/11/2003)

When Harry met Sally By Cary Tennis
We are platonic friends, but I get jealous when he tells me about his girlfriends and happy when he breaks up with them. (12/11/2003)

King Kaufman's Sports Daily
America held hostage, Day 5: The college football championship crisis. The readers write. (12/11/2003)

Out of the shadows By Jen Banbury
Armed only with ancient film, scraps of paper, broken buildings and an irrepressible passion to create, Baghdad's artists are emerging from the long darkness of Saddam. (12/11/2003)

Dearly deported By Eric Boehlert
Just months after Zeferino Colunga Sr. lost his GI son in Iraq, the government arrested him and sent him back to Mexico. (12/11/2003)

A rising sense of injustice By Sidney Blumenthal
Al Gore's endorsement of Howard Dean gives voice to Democratic voters' outrage over the 2000 election -- and the spineless conduct of their party since then. (12/11/2003)

Splitting airs By Amanda Griscom
Bush's latest clean-air proposals are better than nothing, but not by much. (12/11/2003)

Letters
Readers respond to recent articles on anthrax vaccinations, President Bush's lies about Iraq, veterans against the Iraq war, and Greens vs. Dems. (12/11/2003)

Inside Santa's workshop Cartoon by Mark Fiore
Yes, Virginia, there is a sweatshop in China! (12/11/2003)

Joe Conason's Journal
Bush has accused Dean of "shooting from the hip" -- a phrase that aptly describes what the Pentagon did today. (12/11/2003)

Ooooh, Tannenbaum! By Michelle Richmond
Every year I remember my first erotic encounter with a Christmas Tree Boy. (12/11/2003)

Global trade = global warming By Kumar Venkat
Free trade may help struggling economies -- but the trucks and planes needed to move goods around the world will flood the atmosphere with carbon dioxide. (12/11/2003)

Shafted By Phillip Babich
J. Steven Griles, the No. 2 man in Bush's Interior Department, has spent a lifetime undermining the federal government on behalf of Energy Inc. (12/11/2003)

"Big Fish" By Stephanie Zacharek
Tim Burton's latest whimsical holiday treacle features Albert Finney and Ewan McGregor in a saga of a tall-tale-spinnin' Southerner who won't shut up. (12/10/2003)

Letters
Movie fans protest: Stephanie Zacharek is wrong about "The Last Samurai"! Beatles fans protest: Thomas Bartlett is wrong about "Let It Be ... Naked"! (12/10/2003)

The Fix By Karen Croft
Hefner's black books for sale, Nicole invites Tom's girlfriend for Xmas and Nixon disses Reagan. Plus: Whither New York magazine? (12/10/2003)

Bestsellers
Dan Brown rules the world! Well, not quite -- but his books do take the No. 1 and 2 spots. It's a start. Plus: Stephen King writes scary things about Buicks -- all on this week's list, courtesy of Powell's. (12/10/2003)

Murder in midwinter By Charles Taylor
In our roundup of the season's best mysteries, a cracking new Dalziel-Pascoe yarn, echoes of a forgotten murder, S.J. Rozan's appealing private-eye duo, and the bleak brilliance of Ruth Rendell. (12/10/2003)

The K Chronicles By Keith Knight
Babies and the stomach virus, up-close and personal. (12/10/2003)

The state of your unions
Salon readers write about love and marriage, heartache and divorce -- fighting over spatulas, compromising on a cat, and surviving adultery. (12/10/2003)

Letters
"Judy Steinberg Dean is irrelevant to her husband's campaign." Plus: Readers respond to "Mommy Mail" and Salon's marriage series. (12/10/2003)

To breed or not to breed By Cary Tennis
We agreed before we married that we didn't want children. Now she's changed her mind! (12/10/2003)

King Kaufman's Sports Daily
George O'Leary returns to college football, and that's no lie. Plus: Mark Cuban, the smartest owner in American team sports. (12/10/2003)

The quiet fall of an American terrorist By Frederick Clarkson
In late 2001, antiabortion fanatic Clayton Waagner used packets of bogus anthrax to shut down scores of clinics nationwide. When he was convicted last week, the press was notably absent. (12/10/2003)

A shot in the dark By Eric Boehlert
The U.S. military requires troops to take controversial anthrax shots and court-martials them if they refuse. But critics say the vaccine is too dangerous -- and with Saddam's bioweapons nowhere to be found, needless. (12/10/2003)

Bitter medicine By Eric Boehlert
A reaction to vaccinations, including anthrax, probably killed 22-year-old Rachael Lacy -- and her grieving father thinks the Army has a lot of questions to answer. (12/10/2003)

Democrats play nice By Josh Benson
The candidates gather at a major debate and, with the exception of a jilted Joe Lieberman, go easy on Dean. (12/10/2003)

Stealing FDR's dime By Robert Scheer
Dismissing FDR as simply a "liberal icon" who must be replaced by Reagan on the dime diminishes both presidents -- as Nancy Reagan clearly knows. (12/10/2003)

Right Hook By Mark Follman
Fox News' Oliver North claims liberal media inspires terrorists; U.S. Army says Iraqis need "a heavy dose of fear and violence." Plus: Why Reagan was too busy to fight AIDS. (12/10/2003)

Joe Conason's Journal
Right-wing pundits Frank Gaffney and David Horowitz are accusing fellow conservative Grover Norquist of ties to dangerous Islamists. But since Norquist is good pals with Karl Rove, what does that tell us about the president's political guru? (12/10/2003)

I love my wife, but ... By Tracy Quan
We don't have enough sex, so I'm considering going to a prostitute. How do I deal with the guilt? (12/10/2003)

What's in your body's chemical cocktail?
Insecticide? Flame retardant? PCBs? Dioxin? If you're curious, maybe it's time to get biomonitored. (12/10/2003)

Letters
Why does Salon continue to ignore the vegetarian low-carb-diet community? Readers respond to Katharine Mieszkowski's "Vegans vs. Atkins." (12/10/2003)

A pop princess, unspoiled By Baz Dreisinger
Alicia Keys beats the odds, avoiding a Lauryn Hill flameout (or a Britney travesty) with the simple and joyous retro-soul of her new album. (12/09/2003)

Norman Lear responds
Yes, he's a progressive, says the famed TV producer -- but his campaign to turn out the youth vote is nonpartisan and open to conservatives and liberals alike. (12/09/2003)

The Fix By Karen Croft
Letterman has wedding suggestion for Ben and Matt, Ozzy injured in England, and shoppers say they want Carson! Plus: Diane Sawyer sits down with George and Laura. (12/09/2003)

WayLay By Carol Lay
The Ample Life: Real reality is much more fascinating than a couple of blond bimbos on a binge! (12/09/2003)

What it means to be old By Ed Kashi and Julie Winokur
An extraordinary new book of photographs captures the diversity of America's elderly -- the giddy newlyweds, ballroom dancers, road-trippers, as well as the neglected and infirm. (12/09/2003)

Hating the holidays By Cary Tennis
All I want for Christmas is a kind, intelligent man. I'm starting to doubt it will ever happen. (12/09/2003)

King Kaufman's Sports Daily
Did Deion Sanders almost sort of make a sly reference to gays in football, right there on TV? Plus: The perfect plan to fix the BCS. (12/09/2003)

Now playing in 2,600 home theaters: Bush's lies about Iraq By Michelle Goldberg
Director Robert Greenwald's "Uncovered" reveals the deceptions and distortions used to sell the invasion. And from the limousine liberals at Moby's bash in NYC to the regular folks in Billings, Mont., antiwar and anti-Bush audiences are eating it up. (12/09/2003)

Gore goes with Dean By Josh Benson
The other campaigns -- including that of Gore's former running mate, Sen. Joe Lieberman -- are caught off-guard. (12/09/2003)

San Francisco's Greens vs. Democrats grudge-match By Joan Walsh
Bill Clinton stumps for mayoral hopeful Gavin Newsom, who Matt Gonzalez backers call a "racist liar." Will the real left win this race? (12/09/2003)

Joe Conason's Journal
Whatever the reasoning behind Gore's endorsement of Dean, it's unlikely that petty animosity toward the Clintons or personal ambitions were important factors. (12/09/2003)

Loose lips By Tracy Quan
I love my man, but his kisses leave me cold. How can I teach him how to turn me on? (12/09/2003)

Bioterror hysteria: The new "Star Wars" By Alan Goldstein
The federal rush to find antidotes for biological weapons is diverting essential funding from the fight against truly scary enemies -- like cancer. (12/09/2003)

The rake's progress By Amy Reiter
Sixties heartthrob Omar Sharif reflects on a life of wine, women and gambling; discusses his new film, "Monsieur Ibrahim"; and explains why God was unfair in making him so handsome. (12/08/2003)

The Fix By Karen Croft
Laura Bush rocks out to "Sex Machine," Rosa Parks to sue Outkast, and Ben blames J.Lo for his sagging career. Plus: Oprah says Letterman's a bad boy. (12/08/2003)

Jesus of the tenements By Dave Eggers
Dave Eggers introduces Edward Lewis Wallant's "The Tenants of Moonbloom," a lovely allegory of 1950s urban life that might be the greatest New York novel you've never read. (12/08/2003)

This Modern World By Tom Tomorrow
The small cute dog in the Oval Office -- and other strange tales from Parallel Earth. (12/08/2003)

Don't be afraid By Cary Tennis
I scare guys, who say that I seem too sexually experienced -- but I'm not! (12/08/2003)

Dr. Dean, medicine woman By Rebecca Traister
Judith Steinberg Dean is a cipher onto which every woman -- whether high-powered careerist or stay-at-home mom -- can project herself. And like the rest of her husband's campaign, she's almost too good to be true. (12/08/2003)

King Kaufman's Sports Daily
Any way you look at it, USC belongs in the national championship game. Unless "you" are the BCS. (12/08/2003)

Howard Dean blasts the GOP's "politics of fear"
The Democratic presidential candidate condemns Republicans' divisive campaign tactics and vows to restore healthcare, education and jobs for "ordinary" Americans. (12/08/2003)

John Kerry slams Bush's "raw deal" for America
"Coddling big oil, serving up tax giveaways for the wealthiest, and opening up doors for the lobbyists and for the polluters: That's the only mission accomplished by George W. Bush." (12/08/2003)

Joe Conason's Journal
Al Gore's endorsement of Howard Dean may shock Joe Lieberman and John Kerry, but it's a principled stand by a man who's changed profoundly since 2000. (12/08/2003)

Vegans vs. Atkins By Katharine Mieszkowski
Animal-rights activists claim that low-carb, meat-heavy diets are killing people. Are they raising legitimate health concerns -- or are they just rabid anti-carnivores? (12/08/2003)

Flu shot shortage may raise sales of flu-fighting nasal spray By Stephen Manning
(12/08/2003)

The power of prophecy By Laura Miller
Mike Nichols' HBO production of Tony Kushner's "Angels in America" brings the most glorious, most thrilling and most painful work of contemporary American theater into the living room. (12/06/2003)

"Honey" By Charles Taylor
This hackneyed hip-hop dance flick boasts some flashes of inspiration -- and a smokin' Missy Elliott. But we're still waiting for the great rap musical. (12/05/2003)

Wish upon a star By Damien Cave
Bush-bashers are hoping that entertainment celebrities will turn out crucial first-time voters. But the audiences aren't sold. (12/05/2003)

"The Last Samurai" By Stephanie Zacharek
Tom Cruise learns about honor, twirls those pointy sticks with the poise of a drum majorette, and seeks spiritual enlightenment in this deadly boring would-be epic. (12/05/2003)

The Fix By Karen Croft
It's Clinton and Stephanopoulos -- together again! Jayson Blair tries to sell his story and Bono tries to get money from Bush. Plus: Viggo Mortensen gets poetic in L.A. (12/05/2003)

Safe area America By Christopher Farah
Graphic novelist Joe Sacco goes back to Sarajevo with his powerful new book "The Fixer" -- and talks about why the entire U.S. population should be tried for war crimes. (12/05/2003)

Tough love By Cary Tennis
I'm involved with a woman who has a serious physical condition. Should I stay, even though it's difficult? (12/05/2003)

Advent 2003 By Anne Lamott
On Thanksgiving, my quirky, tender family got over our discomfort and came together so that Sam could meet his half-brother, and therefore come to know a bit more about who he is. (12/05/2003)

King Kaufman's Sports Daily
NFL Week 14: Now, it gets serious. No joking around in the sports bars, people! There are division titles on the line. (12/05/2003)

Is Dean stoppable? By Josh Benson
Every candidate has a winning scenario -- but six weeks before the first vote, Dean looks invincible. What are the odds anybody can beat him? (12/05/2003)

Letter from an Army vet
A disabled Vietnam-era vet visits a Minneapolis V.A. hospital and discovers that many fellow vets oppose the Bush administration's war in Iraq. (12/05/2003)

Joe Conason's Journal
The Republican effort to replace FDR's profile on the dime with an image of Ronald Reagan may not garner the dying ex-president the praise they intend. (12/05/2003)

Soft shoulder By Glen Helfand
"Curve" offers a curiously ambivalent look at female nudes -- from cheesecake feminist critique to women-as-sushi. (12/05/2003)

Letters
Readers tell Tracy Quan: You don't have to choose between a man and a vibrator. (12/05/2003)

Ask the pilot By Patrick Smith
How JetBlue will save Eero Saarinen's wonderful JFK legacy. And just how does a jet engine work? (12/05/2003)

I Like to Watch By Heather Havrilesky
What qualifies as Pretty Damn Funny? "South Park" -- but, sadly, not "Arrested Development." Plus: The most demonic behavior ever captured on reality TV. (12/04/2003)

The Fix By Karen Croft
Hip-hop rules the Grammys, Alice Cooper lies down next to Hugh Hefner, and even the Boss can't save the Bottom Line. (12/04/2003)

Tom the Dancing Bug By Ruben Bolling
Super-Fun-Pak Comix: Pavlov's Dogs, Non-Recurring Characters, and more! (12/04/2003)

Body heat By Cary Tennis
Can men become attracted to women who aren't their physical ideal? (12/04/2003)

Here comes the (freaked out) bride By Whitney Joiner
Author and therapist Sheryl Paul explains why wedding planning turns some people into quivering messes. (12/04/2003)

King Kaufman's Sports Daily
Join Adopt a Timeout today: The clock stoppage you save may be the one your favorite team's coach squandered in the third quarter. (12/04/2003)

Night raid in Baghdad By Jen Banbury
"Twenty-three hours of boredom and a minute of hell": Our reporter joins U.S. troops on a mission to find guerrillas. (12/04/2003)

High drama in Milan By Amanda Griscom
Negotiators at the U.N. Kyoto Protocol conference have been treated to rumors of deliberate sabotage and shady backroom deals, all in the first two days. (12/04/2003)

Drudge does the Democrats a favor By Tim Grieve
A misrepresentation by the right-wing gossipmonger draws hundreds of high-powered Hollywood liberals to a beat-Bush meeting Tuesday night. (12/04/2003)

"The Simple Life" goes to Guantanamo Cartoon by Mark Fiore
How will the fair and lovely American Justice cope with the unfamiliar Camp Gitmo? Let the laughs begin! (12/04/2003)

Joe Conason's Journal
In a gross abuse of authority for political gain, the State Department has insisted that Wesley Clark's scheduled testimony against Milosevic be closed to the press. (12/04/2003)

Asian fetish? By Tracy Quan
I'm attracted to Japanese women but I feel like a sex offender walking down the street holding hands with my girlfriend. (12/04/2003)

That 1994 feeling By Scott Rosenberg
RSS delivers a long-promised Internet dream -- getting you the information you want from the people you want without hassle or bother. (12/04/2003)

Burning down the house By David Bowman
A definitive new box set will proclaim the eclectic greatness of Talking Heads when the ugliness between David Byrne and Tina Weymouth has long been forgotten. (12/03/2003)

The Fix By Karen Croft
Are Jack and Diane fools for love? Is J.Lo going to star in the next Jackie Collins bodice ripper? How does Tom Cruise look in mud? Plus: How much beer can Colin Farrell drink? (12/03/2003)

Bestsellers
Da "Da Vinci Code" stays put at No. 1, while "Life of Pi" moves up to the second spot. Plus: Bees, dogs, burgers, Michael Crichton and Chuck Palahniuk -- all on this week's list, courtesy of Powell's. (12/03/2003)

The real fellowship of the ring By Steven Hart
How J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis' all-night argument about God paved the way for both "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Chronicles of Narnia." (12/03/2003)

The K Chronicles By Keith Knight
Viva Las Vegas! (12/03/2003)

Ring of fire By Cary Tennis
Should I move to be closer to someone who could burn me to a crisp? (12/03/2003)

The state of your unions
Salon readers share stories of their marriages -- first times, second tries and never agains. (12/03/2003)

King Kaufman's Sports Daily
The dumbest controversy in Belgium. Plus: The dumbest team in America? More like the firedest coach. And: Good basketball reading. (12/03/2003)

The liberation tango By Robert Scheer
Having failed to find WMD, Bush is desperate to discover something even more elusive in Iraq: A representative government that won't threaten U.S. interests. He won't. (12/03/2003)

Right Hook By Mark Follman
The Weekly Standard insists Saddam helped al-Qaida; Den Beste says U.S. now more likely to use nukes. Plus: Conservatives beat down Abercrombie's "porn for kids." (12/03/2003)

Joe Conason's Journal
The inventive logic of the neocons' only certified Iraq expert is darkly comical -- and, unfortunately, influential. (12/03/2003)

Machine-takeover syndrome By Tracy Quan
Since my girlfriend started using a vibrator, it's hard for me to get her off. Must my John Thomas suffer the fate of John Henry? (12/03/2003)

Letters
Don't assume free trade really means free: A response to critics of the Miami FTAA protesters. (12/03/2003)

The enigma of Earth Station 5 By Mathew Honan
Can a file-trading network that promises total anonymity and is based in the Palestinian Territories escape the wrath of the entertainment industry? (12/03/2003)

Dirty white girl By Shannon Zimmerman
On "In the Zone," Britney Spears gets in touch with her inner perv for fun and profit. But mostly, of course, for profit. (12/02/2003)

Letters
"All heroes are tarnished." Readers weigh in on slavery and our Founding Fathers. Plus: Others respond to a review of Michael Korda's "Horse People," and an interview with Studs Terkel. (12/02/2003)

WayLay By Carol Lay
Meet Bush-Bot 2004, our digitally corrected president! (12/02/2003)

Mommy mail By Katy Read
The schmaltzy paeans to motherhood that crowd my in-box are supposed to be "inspirational." But what they're really saying is it sucks to be me. (12/02/2003)

Holiday heartaches By Cary Tennis
My ex -- who broke up with me two months ago -- will probably be at a New Year's party I want to attend. Should I go and risk seeing him? (12/02/2003)

Hollywood searches for a Democratic star By Tim Grieve
Howard Dean took an early lead in entertainment-industry fundraising, but Wes Clark is making a run among the moguls and stars who backed Bill Clinton. (12/02/2003)

King Kaufman's Sports Daily
Tuesday Morning Quarterback columnist Gregg Easterbrook on blogging, anti-Semitism, cheerleaders and the entertaining game of football. (12/02/2003)

Ads: Bush No! Democratas Si! By Josh Benson
Another Democratic group launches TV ads against the president, aimed squarely at Hispanic voters. (12/02/2003)

The world press on Iraq Compiled by Laura McClure
Asia Times goes on the job with a Taliban recruiter; Gulf News calls Bush's surprise visit "sneaky and panicked." (12/02/2003)

Joe Conason's Journal
Led by DeLay and Hastert, the Republicans are trying to gerrymander themselves into perpetuity. (12/02/2003)

Roll over, Confucius By Lisa Movius
As the sexual floodgates open in China, the biggest taboo left is talking about sex. (12/02/2003)

Letters
Free trade and protest: Salon's readers flock to both sides of the barricades and respond to Marisa Handler's "Notes of an Activist" series. (12/02/2003)

"Let it Be ... Naked": Nudity isn't always pretty By Thomas Bartlett
The Beatles' last release has been de-Spectorized, but the original sounds better -- soupy strings and all. (12/01/2003)

The Fix By Amy Reiter
Did media try to snoop on Jackson investigators? Plus: Barbra, Brolin and Arianna push Bush "Lies" book. (12/01/2003)

The Fix By Karen Croft
Marilyn Manson offends the Swiss, Judi Dench disses Harvey Weinstein, and will "M*A*S*H" be revisited? Plus: The hottest online hit -- "The Meatrix"! (12/02/2003)

This Modern World By Tom Tomorrow
Zen Master George says: Everything you know is wrong. (12/01/2003)

Get off your knees, Monica By Rebecca Traister
I've always rooted for the former intern because she paid a hefty price for the same kind of dumb mistake all my friends and I have made. But she needs to stop with the GQ spreads and get a life. (12/01/2003)

Letters
"I deserve not to suffer and so does every other woman." Readers sound off about menstrual suppression. (12/01/2003)

Does my boyfriend have a drinking problem? By Cary Tennis
Once he starts, he never wants to stop. But he doesn't drink in the mornings or at work! (12/01/2003)

MoveOn moves up By Michelle Goldberg
O'Reilly, DeLay and the GOP have declared war on it. But the online citizen movement grows richer and stronger by the day. (12/01/2003)

King Kaufman's Sports Daily
No to poetry! Yes to Notre Dame! No to hypocritical college sports reformers! Maybe on the Lions and Cowboys getting a scheduling break! The readers write. (12/01/2003)

Joe Conason's Journal
In the U.K., even conservatives criticize Bush's foreign policy decisions. (12/01/2003)

Letters
Abercrombie & Fitch's sexy Christmas catalog and its hiring practices raise temperatures. Plus: Reaction to Ask Tracy. (12/01/2003)

It's an uninsured life! By Joyce McGreevy
A Christmas carol for our times. (12/01/2003)