Two word balloons come from the White House. The first asks, ‘Have you guys learned anything from the Scooter Libby debacle?’ to which the second replies, ‘Yeah … we should have politicized the Justice Department much earlier … so he would have been prosecuted.’ Editorial cartoon by Bruce Beattie. [full story]

Seventy-five years ago, Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis famously declared that states should be "laboratories of democracy," free "to remold, through experimentation, our economic practices and institutions to meet changing social and economic needs." His insight has been confirmed repeatedly through the years, with innovative states fashioning smart new approaches to everything from welfare reform to pollution to privacy concerns. Now, however, the United States is in the middle of an enormous policy debate over ... [full story]

  An academic stands at a podium equipped with microphones in a room with weather charts and computers. In the caption he says: 'We're predicting 7-10 hurricances ... and 12-15 trips to buy hurricane supplies.' Editorial cartoon by Bruce Beattie.  [full story]

  A man fills his vehicle gas tank. The gas pump makes a ticking sound and the meter says: '$73.29.' The top of the man's head resembles a bomb with a fuse. It is ticking. Editorial cartoon by Gary Markstein.  [full story]

As they say, the devil is in the details. That is certainly the case with the immigration compromise being debated in the Senate. It's strange. Usually, the closer one looks at legislation, the clearer it becomes. Not with this compromise. In this case, the closer you look, the more questions arise. We should say up front that we still welcome this bill as a good start. Americans have spent the last seven years thirsty for ... [full story]

Any short-term hope for creation of the independent state to which Palestinians have so long aspired is, for now, dying in the bloody chaos of the Gaza Strip. For that, Palestinians have themselves to blame. Israel's withdrawal of all its settlements and soldiers from Gaza in 2005 was to have been stage one of a larger Israeli pullback from Arab lands captured in the 1967 Six-Day War. Even Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, a hard-liner and ... [full story]

In all the consternation over former President Jimmy Carter's outspoken criticism of the Bush administration's foreign policy, one fact shouldn't be lost: Carter had a point. To quote Carter, "as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history." Former presidents usually don't speak harshly about their successors, which is why Carter has backtracked since his remarks to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette were published last Saturday. ... [full story]

If you were expecting the famous "Wear Sunscreen" commencement address - a giant shout-out to its author, Chicago Tribune columnist Mary Schmich - forget it. Come to think of it, most of you were 7 or 8 years old when she first delivered it, which explains the puzzled expressions. So never mind, though wearing sunscreen is good advice. You don't want to show up wrinkled for your 20th reunion, do you? That's not the last ... [full story]

The perfect is often the enemy of the good. But the "grand bargain" immigration deal now being debated in the U.S. Senate demonstrates that unreasonable hysteria about immigration can be the same kind of enemy. Simply, this deal is bad business. It replaces employers' knowledge of their own needs with a so-called merit-based system that supposes the federal government is omniscient on this score. Depending on which amendments are successful as the Senate debates the ... [full story]

We'd like to believe that the problem with violence in society is tied largely to television and that censoring the images we see on TV will solve the problem, particularly as it relates to children. But we know better. The Federal Communications Commission, however, does not. The federal agency insists that strict regulations against violence on television are needed and that government is best suited to impose those rules and regulations, according to a report ... [full story]

Daimler's fire sale price of $7.4 billion for Chrysler - it bought the company for $36 billion in 1998 - speaks volumes about the challenges facing the North American automotive industry, as well as its direction for the future. In reality, after a series of payments and loans between the two companies, Daimler will pay Cerberus, a private equity firm, about $650 million to get rid of Chrysler. Daimler can't afford to keep Chrysler because ... [full story]

Insurance commissioners in at least 39 states are investigating the use of illegal tactics to sell private Medicare plans. People with mental disabilities and dementia have been sold health insurance they didn't want and didn't need, state officials have said. In some cases, miraculously, salespeople appear to have sold policies to the dead. The New York Times and Washington Post reported this week that at least 22 states have received complaints about fraudulent signatures on ... [full story]

For five months now, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has been pummeled with one disturbing account after another of a dysfunctional Justice Department under his leadership. Yet, with President Bush's obdurate backing, Gonzales refuses to acknowledge his profound mistakes, much less step aside for the good of the Justice Department. At what point will the attorney general, if not the president, take stock of the enduring damage Gonzales has inflicted, and put the country's welfare ahead ... [full story]