Commentary, editorials and opinion, opinions

Americans are an industrious people. They like to work. And they are unhappy when they can't -- as shown with the unrest over the current 9 percent-plus unemployment, a rate many countries would take in a second.

The habits of work are deeply ingrained in our national DNA, as this Labor Day reflection by the U.S. Census bureau shows.

President Obama went on TV the other night to talk about the end of the combat mission in Iraq, and what he did not say is what very few are saying, least of all the ideologically disturbed, facts-rearranging left.

Most Americans don't actively dislike President Obama; they just think he does not know how to bring the economy back to life. And that's why the upcoming elections are going to be riveting.

TEMECULA, Calif. - Amid Labor Day's parades and picnics, union bosses will bellow Monday about workers' rights and the alleged greed of management, especially inside big business. Such class warfare sloganeering would be easier to stomach if big labor were internally consistent.

Has America lost its honor?

WASHINGTON - In the world of cutesy, sound bite politics danger lurks around every corner, especially for those who built their reputations on quick quips or snappy comebacks. More than one career has been sunk by loose lips, particularly in a day when things that used to be funny aren't any more.

When President Barack Obama introduced the first budget of his presidency last February, he piously observed: "There are times where you can afford to redecorate your house, and then there are times when you need to focus on rebuilding your foundation."

He probably wishes he had never said that.

As much as the Iraq war will ever have a formal end it did so this week when President Barack Obama in a rare speech -- only his second -- from the Oval Office pronounced "the end of our combat mission in Iraq."

In anticipation of the 2012 Olympics, VisitBritain, the UK's government-funded tourism agency, is providing tips on how to greet people from abroad.

A new book warns good Christian parents to beware: Their children may be faking it when they claim to have faith in Christ and are practicing a "mutant" form of Christianity.