Krugman's detour on ‘Roadmap’ to solvency  —  Despite watching European welfare states collapse under the weight of their own debt, those running Washington are leading us down precisely the same path.  With the debt surpassing $13 trillion, we can no longer avoid having a serious discussion …

How to Lose an Election Without Really Trying  —  COULD George W. Bush be a kind of Gipper-in-reverse and win yet one more for the Democrats?  Clearly this White House sees him as the gift that will keep on giving.  The 2010 campaign against the Bush administration is in full cry, with President Obama leading the charge.

Further thoughts on the higher education bubble  —  Back at the beginning of the summer, I had a column in this space in which I predicted that higher education is in a bubble, one soon to burst with considerable consequences for students, faculty, employers, and society at large.

Ted Olson: Same-sex marriage is a conservative value  —  The attorney at the center of successfully arguing that California's Proposition 8 is unconstitutional calls Judge Vaughn Walker's ruling an example of “judicial responsibility.”  —  Ted Olson told Fox News' Chris Wallace Sunday that it's not …

Battles Around Nation Over Proposed Mosques  —  While a high-profile battle rages over a mosque near ground zero in Manhattan, heated confrontations have also broken out in communities across the country where mosques are proposed for far less hallowed locations.

Feliz Cumpleaños, and Adiós  —  Her critics used to paint her as a scary Marxist.  Now they cast her as a spoiled princess.  —  During the campaign, she was caricatured on the cover of The New Yorker as a fist-bumping, gun-toting Black Panther.

A Muslim victim of 9/11: ‘Build your mosque somewhere else’  —  I have no grave site to visit, no place to bring my mother her favorite yellow flowers, no spot where I can hold my weary heart close to her.  All I have is Ground Zero.  —  I watched as terrorists slammed United Flight 175 …

Mexico drug cartels thrive despite Calderon's offensive  —  Nearly four years after President Felipe Calderon launched a military-led crackdown, the cartels are smuggling more narcotics into the U.S., amassing bigger fortunes and extending dominion at home.  —  Three federal police agents …

In Atlanta, a two-faced NOM: songs of unity while trashing same-sex families  —  We arrived here in Atlanta curious about what direction NOM would go today.  Our arrival came on the heels of NOM refusing to allow us or openly affectionate same-sex couples into their rally in St. Louis …

Virulent anti-Middle East rhetoric grips the US right  —  Having become a captive audience to the “clash of civilisations” rhetoric espoused by neo-conservatives and America's Christian right, US Republicans have dug a deep hole for themselves concerning the Middle East and Islam.

Minerals Service Had a Mandate to Produce Results  —  NEW ORLEANS — On March 5, 1997, an obscure federal official with a puckish grin entered a hotel ballroom here and greeted 1,000 jittery oilmen on what would prove a landmark day.  —  For years, fading interest in the Gulf of Mexico …