The Boston Globe

New Englanders grow up imbibing certain creation myths, most of which relate to how unbelievably historic we are. It all started here, and entire businesses -- the vending of tricorne hats, for example -- depend on the tight control of information relating to the beginnings of America -- the Revolution, and the Salem witch trials before that, and at the dawn of time, the Pilgrims, hacking their way into the forest primeval. Everything trails in their wake; or so we… more

Looking back well over two decades ago, it is impossible to isolate a defining moment in a dark-horse, long-shot, improbable presidential campaign in the nation's first primary. There were so many months of travel, so many hands to shake, so many questions to answer in so many living rooms and restaurants across New Hampshire that the temptation is to treat it all as a long-ago blur of memory.

Yet events and circumstances do still stand out these many years later: the… more

If there is a quagmire in Iraq, it was created more than a decade ago when the United States instituted a flawed system governing the use of contractors to perform governmental functions. Now, despite Iraqi fury at Blackwater USA, some of whose employees are accused of fatally shooting Iraqis, Washington is so reliant on the firm that it dare not order it from the field.

The heavy dependence on private contractors in the military is relatively recent. In the Gulf War… more

Congress approved a $20.2 billion boost in financial aid for college students yesterday, a package that backers said would be the single largest increase in federal tuition funding since World War II.

The bill, which President Bush is expected to sign, raises the maximum Pell grant for low-income students from $4,050 to $5,400, and temporarily slashes interest rates on student loans by half.

It also establishes debt-forgiveness programs for graduates who enter certain poorly paid fields such as law… more

SECRETARY OF STATE Condoleezza Rice said the United States wants to send $63 billion in military aid and weapons to the Middle East to "bolster forces of moderation and support a broader strategy to counter the negative influences of Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, Syria, and Iran."Talk about wriggling in quicksand. Having destroyed Iraq to save us from horrors that did not exist, Rice now wants to save us from Iran's future nukes by selling American weapons of mass destruction.… more

After the shootout at Islamabad’s Red Mosque, the pro-democracy demonstrations against Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf in the months preceding it, and Islamists’ rallies and suicide bombings following it, the United States finds itself in a familiar situation, aligned with a general who grabbed power in a coup but has become politically isolated, perhaps beyond repair. The difference is that Pakistan is now a more dangerous place than it was under the three prior military strongmen, Ayub Khan, Yahya Khan, and… more

Middle East peace policy has tanked, despite a flurry of diplomatic activity to block out that reality. The approach of backing Fatah against the democratically elected Hamas majority went horribly wrong in Gaza, so President Bush and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel met in Washington, and there was a summit of the Egyptian, Jordanian, Israeli, and Palestinian leaders in Sharm.

The message: It’s working, one more push and Fatah wins. Except it isn’t working. Sure, the desire to keep trying… more

Telecommunications giants and entrepreneurs are squaring off over a valuable chunk of airwaves often touted as the last beachfront property in the wireless world.

With a slice of radio spectrum valued as high as $20 billion coming up for auction, academics, consumer advocates, and small businesses are pushing federal regulators to set rules that ensure that the space is used to foster innovation and not simply sold to the major wireless carriers...Few people think about the electromagnetic… more

The proposed $25 billion sale of student lending giant Sallie Mae yesterday to a group including two private-equity firms, Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., caps a period of upheaval in the $85 billion college-loan market...Sallie Mae's shares had fallen this year as it faced growing competition, a settlement with the New York attorney general over its practices, and a proposed reduction of the federal subsidies that threatens its core business model. Here's how the… more

THE REPORTS OF squalor and neglect uncovered at Walter Reed Army Medical Center have been vivid -- wounded soldiers, often crippled, heavily medicated, or brain-damaged, left to fend for themselves throughout the sprawling, overcrowded facility, in rooms with mouse droppings, cockroaches, and moldy, crumbling walls.But what has given an extra edge to the outrage has been the suspicion that Walter Reed is not the exception but the rule, the most galling symbol of a badly broken system... more