Indian immigrants' son new La. governor  —  BATON ROUGE, La. - U.S. Rep. Bobby Jindal easily defeated 11 opponents and became the state's first nonwhite governor since Reconstruction, decades after his parents moved to the state from India to pursue the American dream.

Suicide Is Not Painless  —  IT was one of those stories lost in the newspaper's inside pages.  Last week a man you've never heard of — Charles D. Riechers, 47, the second-highest-ranking procurement officer in the United States Air Force — killed himself by running his car's engine in his suburban Virginia garage.

Malefactors of Megawealth  —  Paul Krugman is a justly renowned professor of economics and international affairs at Princeton University.  His abundant accolades include the John Bates Clark Medal, awarded biannually to an outstanding economist under the age of 40 — a distinction said to be predictive of …

The real war on children  —  On Thursday, Congress attempted to override President Bush's veto of the SCHIP expansion.  SCHIP?  Isn't that something to do with health care for children?  Absolutely.  And here is Bay Area Democratic Rep. Pete Stark addressing the issue with his customary forensic incisiveness:

Tomorrow's Neocon Today  —  In March of 2005, I wrote a post at the Centrist Coalition, in which I predicted that Hillary Clinton would be the frontrunner for the 2008 Democratic Presidential Nomination.  In that post, I criticized her both for her support for the Iraq War and her pandering to social conservatives.

State Department Struggles To Oversee Private Army  —  The State Department Turned to Contractors Such as Blackwater Amid a Fight With the Pentagon Over Personal Security in Iraq  —  Last Christmas Day in Baghdad, U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad received a furious phone call from Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi.

U.S. to build watchtower at Iran-Iraq border  —  Structure to target smuggling of shipments that authorities allege are illegal arms for war  —  ZURBATIYA, Iraq - About 300 trucks cross the border here every day, ferrying fruit, rugs and building supplies from Iran - and, if U.S. authorities are to be believed, illegal weapons.

A tale of two polls  —  It could be an episode of Paul Harvey's "The Rest of the Story."  Mitt Romney was announced from the podium Saturday afternoon as the winner of the Family Research Council's "Values Voter Straw Poll," narrowly edging Mike Huckabee.  —  But it turns out that the 5 …

Next Challenge in Iraq  —  Let's assume that the numbers from Iraq are right and that there has been a significant reduction in violence there.  Let's even agree that the Bush administration's strategy is finally showing some success.  Isn't that an argument for accelerating the transfer …

Victory Is Within Reach in Iraq  —  Should we declare victory over al Qaeda in the battle of Iraq?  —  The very question would have seemed proof of dementia only a few months ago, yet now some highly respected military officers, including the commander of Special Forces in Iraq …

FBI working to bolster Al Qaeda cases  —  The U.S. is concerned that evidence obtained from CIA interrogations will be inadmissible at war-crimes tribunals.  —  WASHINGTON — The FBI is quietly reconstructing the cases against Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and 14 other accused Al Qaeda leaders …

Yankees  —  The record-breaking autumn heat wave finally broke—just in time for Mr. Global Warming to snare the Nobel Peace Prize.  Hot!  —  Hillary  —  The good times keep rolling.  But even her aides say it won't be as easy as the CW now suggests.  —  Thompson

His Meteoric Days Gone, Quiet Dean Leads Party  —  There has never been a Democratic chairman with as much firsthand knowledge about running for president as Howard Dean.  —  Four years ago, at this stage in the race, he was flying high.  Now, Mr. Dean is being sued by Democrats in Florida …

5 Myths About Rendition (and That New Movie)  —  With hearings in Congress, legal cases bouncing up to the Supreme Court and complaints from Canada and our European allies, the issue of rendition is everywhere.  There's even a new, eponymously titled movie in a theater near you …

Iran's Nuclear Envoy Resigns; Talks in Doubt  —  Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, viewed by the West as a moderating influence in Tehran, resigned before crucial talks with Europe this week over Iran's nuclear program, signaling that officials here may have closed the door …

Obama Should Repudiate and Cancel His Gay Bash Tour, and Do it Now  —  Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama ripped a page straight from the Bush campaign playbook with his announced upcoming three date barnstorm tour through South Carolina with notorious gay basher, gospel singer Donnie McClurkin.