When U.S.-led NATO forces attacked the Taliban in Afghanistan six years ago, most of the world stood behind the effort. Clearly, al-Qaida forces there and their enabler, the Taliban-controlled government, deserved punishment for the cowardly Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The intervening six years have not been easy going for the military and the rebuilding effort, and the reasons are fairly clear. First, the Taliban, with a safe haven in western Pakistan, still is able to ... [full story]

Some people say the dumbest things, including some that are racially charged. For those who are uncomfortable talking about race, there is a tendency to play down the racial component to such comments. That misses the point. These types of remarks may be offensive on their face, but they are doubly so when they play on racial stereotypes, reopen wounds or trivialize dark chapters in history. Often, the remarks are harmless, and the people who ... [full story]

Voters and politicians talk a lot about health care reform these days, usually about reducing the number of uninsured - 47 million Americans and growing fast. Reducing those numbers is important, but it's just one piece of the very complicated puzzle that is health care in America. Indeed, reducing the number of uninsured may be the easiest part of the puzzle to solve. Whether the system that emerges involves Massachusetts-style coverage mandates and tax credits ... [full story]

A year ago Thursday, President George W. Bush announced his "New Way Forward" in Iraq. By the most important measurement - huge reductions in U.S. and Iraqi deaths - it has been a remarkable success. We say that as a newspaper that has been critical of the American misadventure in Iraq since Day 1, and despite our skepticism of a year ago about the troop "surge" and policy shifts involved in the "New Way Forward." ... [full story]

U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., former U.S. Sen. John Edwards, a man in a top hat holding a paper that says 'polls' and a man in suit labeled 'media' are gathered around a fresh grave with a tombstone that says: 'Hillary for president.' A dirt-covered Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., taps the media guy on the back, shows him a paper that says: 'N.H. win.' She says: 'Ahem.' Editorial cartoon by Marshall Ramsey. [full story]

A balding man in suspenders, a tie and wearing a button that says 'pollster' has a downward arrow forming his lips that is labeled: 'credibility.' He cries as he reads a paper titled: 'Projections all wrong.' Caption says: 'Who's crying now.' Editorial cartoon by Scott Stantis. [full story]

A city is labeled: 'Anywhere U.S.A.' From the buildings come seven voices, each saying: 'I'm about change ...' Another voice says: 'The candidates have arrived ...' Editorial cartoon by Gary Markstein. [full story]

A man labeled 'candidates' talks to a homeowner in front of a house with a sign that says: 'For sale, reduced, reduced even more.' Candidate says: 'What can I do to make you vote for me.' Homeowner says: 'Buy my houe.' Editorial cartoon by Gary Markstein. [full story]

The U.S. Supreme Court building is shown with hypodermic needles forming its columns. From inside a voice says: '... and what if they execute the WRONG GUY ... Would that be cruel or unusual?' Editorial cartoon by Bruce Beattie [full story]

In the first of 2 panels, a newsman talks into a microphone. He says: 'Hillary won after that appearance where her eyes teard up a little...' In panel 2 he says: 'We now have reports of candidates chopping onions and learning how to pull out their nose hairs.' Editorial cartoon by Bruce Beattie. [full story]

The United States seems to be edging closer to recession. In Washington, this bad news provides a convenient excuse for politicians to engage in two of their favorite activities: cutting taxes and spending money. From the White House to Capitol Hill, cries are rising for an economic "stimulus package" - a burst of spending, tax-cutting or both, designed to prime the economic pump. Unfortunately it would also throw the country deeper into debt, which is ... [full story]

The number of airline passengers will double in the next decade or so and an upgraded air traffic control system is needed to handle the surge. One projection shows up to 1.2 billion air travelers a year, all scrambling to squeeze through an antiquated federal control structure that's already blamed for delays. The number of take-offs and landings will increase and, without traffic control upgrades, gridlock looms. The Federal Aviation Administration has launched an innovative ... [full story]

There is a reason the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is so well-known, and it's not flattering: The judges of the San Francisco-based appellate court have a long, unique history of rewriting law to indulge their personal ideologies. This predilection is so ingrained and so likely to result in absurdities that it is common for the U.S. Supreme Court - even though it has a strong ideological divide - to unanimously overrule the 9th ... [full story]