The Opinion section is produced by the Editorial Department to foster discussion about key issues. The Editorial Board represents the institutional voice of the Star Tribune and operates...

Sen. Amy Klobuchar , a Democrat, that would ensure that returning U.S. military personnel get the paid-leave benefits they were promised. That includes members of Minnesota's "Red...

"Would-be stadium spenders build their house upon sand ") asked where are Mayor R.T. Rybak's programs to "give the disadvantaged a hand up in a troubled economy?" As CEO of...

It's redistricting week. That means there's been more fussing in the last 48 hours about where Minnesota politicians live than about what they think or how they vote. The new court-ordered...

So far, the Michigan Republican primary hasn't done much to clarify the race for the GOP presidential nomination, but it has increased speculation about a brokered convention, where a White...

California has made a full-blown commitment to reducing reliance on fossil-fuel energy and other limited resources.Utilities are required to use solar, wind and geothermal sources for a third of...

A few members of the Highland Park school board have gotten what they wanted - freedom from state control. But with the district unable to meet its payroll Friday, it's unclear how joyous of a...

The Michigan House of Representatives' about-face on legislation that will eliminate four of the 28 state appeals court judgeships will be seen as another win for the Snyder Administration, but...

This week, the nation's attention has returned to Michigan. Over the last few years, the fall and rise of the U.S. auto industry has drawn the national spotlight. This time, it is presidential...

With the upcoming primary on Tuesday, Michigan has become the focus of Republican presidential politics - especially for former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney, for whom a win in his home state is at...

Standard school failures Re: The Detroit News Feb. 19 editorial, "House should choose school choice:" Opponents say "they're concerned the (virtual) schools haven't been...

I could not agree more with The Detroit News and the call for an immediate, "all hands on deck" approach to tackling violence in our state's largest city ("Save the babies, stop...

As the Legislature continues its work in Olympia, the story remains the same: more deficits, more budget cuts. Interest groups are converging on the Capitol, imploring lawmakers to spare their...

WASHINGTON — You've likely heard by now that the presidential election may pivot on the unlikely "controversy" of birth control. This is the latest trope to evolve from a...

App stores and developers are lapse in helping parents protect the privacy of a child using smart phones and tablets. From Google to Apple, finds an FTC report, clear information is...

From the 1940s until 1990, the threat of 'mutual assured destruction' terrorized the superpowers into avoiding nuclear war. Would MAD work if Iran gets the...

Religious freedom in America is under attack from the right and the left. But the right of conscience is our greatest possession. If Obama genuinely supports religious liberty, he can offer his...

My three daughters recently become Girl Scouts so I knew that selling cookies was in our future. In fact, I foolishly looked forward to it. After all, what could be more...

I n poll after poll, Americans say they don’t like negative campaigning. Yet in the final week of the Florida primary, more than 90 percent of the ads broadcast were attack ads. That’s...

W ASHINGTON - The Midwest begins on the western slopes of the Allegheny Mountains, around Rick Santorum’s Pittsburgh, birthplace of the Ohio River, the original highway into the Midwest....

T wo journalists, one of them an American, were killed yesterday in Syria - among at least 65 slaughtered by the Assad regime in just one day, part of a killing spree that has now claimed at least...

You can't argue with the premise of Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina's effort to stop county managers from coercing their employees to donate to their political campaigns....

In fact, it is both, and the results aren't pretty. Belated disclosures this week from the supposedly independent "Super PACs" that support presidential candidates detail the huge new role that...

The proposed law would do this by making political speech more expensive and running a non-profit organization more difficult. Much of what the act proposes is bureaucratic disclosure of useless...

The beauty of the current birth-control conversation for Democrats is that they not only have public opinion on their side but also have cannily managed to make contraception a front-burner...

A voting solution in search of a problem ") takes the absurd position that voters should bear no responsibility in the exercise of that right. They apparently shouldn't even be so...

, Thomas Mallon's latest historical novel, captures both the metastasizing dishonesty and the ludicrousness of this great American tragedy of political ambition run amok. The book considers the...

NPR reserves the right to read on the air and/or publish on its website or in any medium now known or unknown the e-mails and letters that we receive. We may edit them for clarity or brevity and...

By 2007, the Nashi youth movement had 120,000 members between the ages of 17 and 25. When we first meet Masha, she's 16 and an avid member of Nashi, a youth group officially created to...

via Pinterest.com A visit to the Pinterest homepage typically reveals images of makeup, women's fashions -- and the occasional "pin" of Justin...

Rihanna with her admitted abuser, Chris Brown, present an intense moral quandary for anyone who believes that pop music has real cultural impact. Never in my memory has the particular feeling...

Anyone believing our nation's fiscal and moral policies to be correct should vote for their incumbent. If, however, you believe that our trillion-dollar deficits are unsustainable, that Medicare...

Mitt Romney came to Utah this last weekend to take a break from the campaign trail and thank all of us who helped make the 2002 Winter Olympics a huge success. Unfortunately, there were some who...

The following editorial appeared recently in the New York Times: The Republican presidential candidates have not made immigration a focus of their campaigns. But, as they head toward a debate on...

Recent news articles about the Salt Lake City Council and mayor's efforts to mortgage whatever equity we citizens have managed to create by building a so called "Broadway style...

Editor, The Times: This week is Mardi Gras, also known as Fat Tuesday. Since every party needs a pooper, this is one I am happy to crash [';Brazzy Fat Tuesday gets on the bus,';...

The recent deaths caused by avalanche are tragic to be certain, but they were entirely foreseeable [';Fatal day on slopes: Avalanches kill 4,'; page one, Feb. 20]. Most of the avalanche...

Welcome to The Seattle Times' online letters to the editor, a sampling of readers' opinions. Join the conversation by commenting on these letters or send your own letter of up to 200...

While the issue of affirmative action will always be very controversial, I think it is important to consider the reasons why it has been pushed into the Supreme Court once again. The Abigail Noel...

The proliferation of nasty, negative ads by representatives of politicians is the adult version of bullying [';Negative ads getting more numerous — and nastier,'; News, Feb. 21]. The...

Life and religion are complicated Is it problematic to be a Christian in professional sports, such as Tim Tebow or Jeremy Lin? [';Jeremy Lin: the tension between majesty, morality,';...

A popular vote Tuesday in Yemen appears to mark the fall of the fourth dictator in the Arab Spring. But in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and now Yemen, the post-dictator problems show why each Arab must...

This week's 50-year anniversary of astronaut John Glenn and his Earth orbit should remind America that it needs manned flight in space. Some say the space race is over. But America is in a new...

While I was pregnant with our fourth child, routine prenatal blood testing indicated that I was at an increased risk of having a child with a birth defect, most likely Down syndrome. I was advised to...

A more elevated view is that a pregnancy is the result of a man and a woman cooperating with God in the unfathomable process of creating another living being...

Our view: President Obama's plan to lower the corporate tax rate is not only good politics but could spur U.S. economic growth and reduce the...

Today: The budget challenge. Cal: I know liberals react to spending cuts (except for defense) the way Dracula might react to news of a blood shortage...

The Weekly Standard. As the nomination battle on the Republican side drags on, with no ostensible end in sight, I can't help but ask myself: Who is responsible for the Republican party? What...

Rule and Ruin: The Downfall of Moderation and the Destruction of the Republican Party, from Eisenhower to the Tea Party. A specter is haunting the Republican establishment -- the specter of Barry...