Opinion

• How Three Americans Ended Up Hostages in Colombia HuffingtonPost.com - Thu Jul 3, 6:46 PM ET

  Colombia's audacious rescue of hostages held by the FARC, including American contractors Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell, adds an extra bang to the July 4 holiday. But we shouldn't forget the alarming backstory leading up to their captivity, which reveals a lot about the failings of government contracting, and government in general.

• Obama Visits the Blue State of North Dakota The Nation - Thu Jul 3, 5:56 PM ET

  The Nation -- Barack Obama is serious about going where no Democrat has gone before -- or, to be precise, where no Democrat has gone in a very long time.

• Of House and Home The Nation - Thu Jul 3, 2:39 PM ET

  The Nation -- Kai Wright's moving Nation cover story from last week's issue of the magazine put a human face on the subprime mortgage foreclosure crisis and illuminated a little remarked upon aspect of the catastrophe -- the way that the mortgage industry has effectively stolen much of black America's hard-won wealth. (The total loss of wealth for people of color due to the subprime crisis could reach $213 billion, including $92 billion for African-Americans and $98 billion for Latinos.)

• Notes From the DLC: Me vs. Harold Ford RealClearPolitics.com - Thu Jul 3, 3:30 PM ET

  For the record, I'm an admirer of Harold Ford, the former Congressman from Tennessee who is now the current Chair of the DLC.

• Interview with Governor Phil Bredesen RealClearPolitics.com - Thu Jul 3, 3:30 PM ET

  (Note: The interview with Governor Bredesen was conducted on Monday, June 30 in Chicago at the DLC's Annual Conversation.)

• CONSTITUTION À LA CARTE Ted Rall - Thu Jul 3, 7:58 PM ET

  One Amendment from Column A, Another from Column B

• ADAMS AND JEFFERSON CAN POINT OUR WAY FORWARD Georgie Anne Geyer - Thu Jul 3, 7:58 PM ET

  WASHINGTON -- As the Fourth of July approached that summer of 1826, John Adams, the second president of the United States and designer of American constitutionalism, lay dying in his Massachusetts home.

• MCCAIN: PUMP THIS! Ann Coulter - Thu Jul 3, 3:44 PM ET

  Well, I guess we're all pretty relieved we didn't drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge back in 2002. What a disaster that would have been.

• Fake Outrage Over Clark Comments Joe Conason - Thu Jul 3, 3:00 AM ET

  Creators Syndicate - Despite all the feigned outrage fanned by the mainstream media and the right-wing noisemakers, Wesley Clark — retired four-star general, former Supreme Commander of NATO, wounded and highly decorated veteran of ground combat in Vietnam and a military man to his core — assuredly did not denigrate the war record of John McCain when he talked about the Republican candidate on television last Sunday.

• Why Do We 'Keep and Bear Arms'? Part 1 Larry Elder - Thu Jul 3, 3:00 AM ET

  Creators Syndicate - A prominent 20th-century Democrat made the following statement about the purpose of the Second Amendment: "Certainly one of the chief guarantees of freedom under any government, no matter how popular and respected, is the right of citizens to keep and bear arms. … The right of citizens to bear arms is just one guarantee against arbitrary government, one more safeguard, against the tyranny which now appears remote in America but which historically has proven to be always possible."

• Iraq Oil Pact Debases Our Nation Robert Scheer - Thu Jul 3, 3:00 AM ET

  Creators Syndicate - As we head into the Fourth of July weekend of patriotic bluster and beer swilling — but before we are too besotted by ourselves — might we also for once consider our imperfections? Why not take a moment to heed the cautions of our founding father, George Washington, whose true legacy will most likely be ignored during the flag-waving weekend?

• Editorial Roundup AP - Wed Jul 2, 1:43 PM ET

  Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers in the United States and abroad:

• The Politics of Patriotism Susan Estrich - Wed Jul 2, 3:00 AM ET

  Creators Syndicate - Should John McCain have to "defend" his military record? Of course not. But the fact that he served in the military, with distinction, does not mean he's qualified to be president.

• Who Dares Oppose the Obamas? Brent Bozell III - Wed Jul 2, 3:00 AM ET

  Creators Syndicate - In the thick of the fight over the wrong Reverend Wright, Barack Obama put on his annoyed face and said the whole issue of his preacher's hate speech was a distraction from the real issues, like health care and education and war.

• Interview with a Hollywood Patriot Michelle Malkin - Wed Jul 2, 3:00 AM ET

  Creators Syndicate - Let us not, on this Independence Day weekend, dwell on the political pretenders to patriotism rushing to out-proclaim their love of country.

• THREE GREAT AMERICAN IDEAS Maggie Gallagher - Tue Jul 1, 7:58 PM ET

  July 4 is America's birthday. We date our existence as people not from the Mayflower Compact in 1620 nor even (more logically) from 1787, the date that the Constitution, which still governs us, was born.

• LOST IN THE KHYBER PASS Georgie Anne Geyer - Tue Jul 1, 6:23 PM ET

  WASHINGTON -- It was supposed to be Iraq that was threatened. For at least the last five years, it was assumed by the best American analysts that the strange and ominous tribal warfare at the heart of that historically troubled country would inevitably "do it in."

• The Wars of Religion Return Pat Buchanan - Tue Jul 1, 3:00 AM ET

  Creators Syndicate - Last week's clash between Dr. James Dobson and Barack Obama is but the latest skirmish in a war that dates back to the time of Christ. At issue: What is Christian truth? Does the true Christian put social peace ahead of his duty to make God's Law man's law?

• History's Fall Guys The Weekly Standard - Mon Jun 30, 11:24 PM ET

  Washington (The Weekly Standard) Vol. 013, Issue 41 - 7/7/2008 - There was a moment in history when the Dutch really loved their tulips. In 1635, 40 tulip bulbs sold for the astronomical price of 100,000 florins. This was at a time when the average yearly income of a Dutchman who wasn't forced to spend all his time plugging leaky dikes was 150 florins.

• Patriotism and Michelle Obama: A 4th of July Reflection HuffingtonPost.com - Thu Jul 3, 9:43 PM ET

  Patriotism is not "my country right or wrong." In the words of the great German-American Civil War General, Republican Senator, Secretary of the Interior, journalist, editor and author Carl Schurz, it is: "Our country, right or wrong." When right to be kept right; when wrong to be put right." Another great 19th century American, Mark Twain, put it this way: "Each man must for himself alone decide what is right and what is wrong, which course is patriotic and which isn't. You cannot shirk this and be a man. To decide against your conviction is to be an unqualified and excusable traitor, both to yourself and to your country, let men label you as they may."

Most Popular Opinion

• History shouldn't forget our 'Founding Printers' USATODAY.com - Wed Jul 2, 12:15 AM ET

  Every fifth-grader knows that Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin were key figures in the creation of the Declaration of Independence. But does anyone know who printed the famous document?

• MCCAIN: PUMP THIS! Ann Coulter - Thu Jul 3, 3:44 PM ET

  Well, I guess we're all pretty relieved we didn't drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge back in 2002. What a disaster that would have been.

• Who Dares Oppose the Obamas? Brent Bozell III - Wed Jul 2, 3:00 AM ET

  Creators Syndicate - In the thick of the fight over the wrong Reverend Wright, Barack Obama put on his annoyed face and said the whole issue of his preacher's hate speech was a distraction from the real issues, like health care and education and war.