A Thanksgiving Message to All 57 States  —  My fellow Americans in all 57 states, the time has changed for come.  With our country founded more than 20 centuries ago, we have much to celebrate - from the FBI's 100 days to the reforms that bring greater inefficiencies to our health care system.

Eating the Irish  —  What we need now is another Jonathan Swift.  —  Most people know Swift as the author of “Gulliver's Travels.”  But recent events have me thinking of his 1729 essay “A Modest Proposal,” in which he observed the dire poverty of the Irish, and offered a solution: sell the children as food.

The Instability of Moderation  —  Brad DeLong writes of how our perception of history has changed in the wake of the Great Recession.  We used to pity our grandfathers, who lacked both the knowledge and the compassion to fight the Great Depression effectively; now we see ourselves repeating all the old mistakes.

Obama's poll numbers point to his defeat in 2012  —  We're fast approaching the halfway point in Barack Obama's term.  With Nov. 2 behind him, everything the president does will be calculated to boost, or at least not harm, his chances of re-election in 2012.

G.O.P. and Tea Party Gains Are Mixed Blessing for Israel  —  WASHINGTON — When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel came to the United States recently for another round of tense talks with the Obama administration, he got a decidedly warmer welcome from one of the rising Republican stars …

North Korea says on ‘brink of war’ as US, South Korea prepare for military exercises  —  North Korea kept up its harsh rhetoric Friday, indicating that it saw upcoming military exercises as fresh provocation.  US Gen. Walter Sharp toured the island area attacked by the North on Tuesday.

Administration: Health law can survive without individual mandate  —  Obama administration officials this week told a federal judge that even if the healthcare reform law's individual mandate is ruled unconstitutional, other parts of the law should be allowed to stand.

For Obama's 2012 campaign, aides debate a Chicago headquarters  —  When President Obama kicks off his reelection campaign sometime in the next few months, senior advisers say, it is virtually certain that his headquarters will be located in Chicago.  —  But should it be?

EU rescue costs start to threaten Germany itself  —  The escalating debt crisis on the eurozone periphery is starting to contaminate the creditworthiness of Germany and the core states of monetary union.  —  Chancellor Angela Merkel would risk popular fury if she had to raise fresh funds …

U.S. envoy concerned over WikiLeaks plan to release more documents  —  (CNN) — Officials are concerned that whistle-blower organization WikiLeaks could release more documents, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq told a group of journalists Friday.  —  “We are worried about additional documents coming out,” Ambassador James Jeffrey said.