Among the many ideas from Obama for creating jobs, one deserves a serious debate: a national infrastructure bank that can tap private capital and would back highway and rail projects based on merit.

To combat prostitution and sex trafficking, Sweden made it illegal to buy sexual services in 1999. Its record since then stands out amid the failures of legalized prostitution elsewhere in Europe.

The bigoted and ignorant allegations that President Obama is a Muslim call to mind slurs against past US presidents. Critics called Lincoln a Catholic and labeled Jefferson an atheist.

Readers write in about the US economy, the Iraq war, and print journalism.

The jobs outlook is not especially sizzlin' this Labor Day, as unemployment creeps up to 9.6 percent. But private-sector jobs are growing, and President Obama is wisely considering tax cuts for small business.

Even before the Israeli-Palestinian talks began Sept. 2, an attack by Hamas and a death call by a prominent Jewish rabbi have signaled that extremists want to derail the negotiations. Benjamin Natanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas need to rally the center.

The danger in the debate about the mosque near Ground Zero is that Americans start believing every Muslim thinks alike, much less that they support the 9/11 terrorists. Would that kind of group think apply to Christians or Jews?

The Republican Party has fielded more than 30 African-American candidates this year, renewing a historic alliance.

Direct Middle East peace talks got under way today in Washington.

When you hear about public employees who retire before 60 on full salaries, it's hard to work up sympathy for unions defending those pensions before state budget cutters. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka disagrees. What about CEO salaries, he asks?

Drug lords like La Barbie threaten Mexico's security with American-bought firearms, and finance their violent empires with American drug money.

A university seminar involving Palestinian, Israeli, and American students showed us that even passionate disagreement can be surmounted with a universal language of democratic moderation and mutuality.

The path of hurricane Earl up the East Coast may bring fear and panic instead of calm preparation. Coastal residents can adopt an attitude that can meet nature's challenges.

The Islamic holy month of Ramadan is a time for restraint and religious devotion, marked by fasting and charity. But in Egypt, Muslims consume three times their regular amount of food, work less, and watch more TV.