I was stuck at the airport in Chicago last week when my flight to Portland was delayed, so I had plenty of opportunity to catch up with U.S. reporting of world news. I read coverage in the New York Times, the Washington Post, several local outlets and blogs, and then...

In the age of the so-called "war on terror," some dates are imprinted indelibly in the collective memory of Americans: September 11th, of course, but also July 7th and March 11th. Few people, however, would attach any significance to dates like October 12th, April 11th, November 9th, or November 20th,...