Opinion - USATODAY.com

In dealing with North Korea's test-firing of a missile designed to hit the USA, our worst mistake would be to rule out pre-emptive military action. Appeasement would be received by Pyongyang not as an olive branch but as an American surrender to ballistic blackmail.

As anyone who follows soccer knows, Germany was defeated by Italy in the semifinals of this year's World Cup. But the host nation still has much to celebrate.

When residents of an American neighborhood need free camcorders to videotape encounters with police, it speaks to a troubling mistrust in the community.

"Age is a question of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter." That's according to baseball immortal Leroy "Satchel" Paige, born 100 years ago on July 7, 1906. Paige (legend has it) won 2,100 games, 60 in one season, and 55 without giving up a hit. And that was before he was allowed in the majors as a 42-year-old "rookie."

USA TODAY's cover story "CEOs shell out nearly 6 figures to secure the perfect nanny" should be a wake-up call to this country about the ever-widening gap between the haves and the have-nots.

With the end of the first term of the Roberts court, some liberals seemed to give a sigh of relief that the new conservative majority had not returned the nation to an antebellum legal system. But on closer inspection, the past term was no cause for hope, let alone celebration, for uneasy liberals, moderates or libertarians.

Israel's brutal response in Gaza - called "war crimes" by Amnesty International - to the capture of an Israeli soldier by Palestinian militants will not further peace. Israel, more than Hamas, blocks peace.

Of all of the executives convicted of corporate fraud, none was as well known or as widely reviled as Enron founder Ken Lay. People who had never heard of HealthSouth's Richard Scrushy or WorldCom's Bernie Ebbers could easily work themselves into a lather over Lay. The world would not be right again until he sat behind bars, went a common refrain.

Commentary writer Madelyn Cain wants pet parents to quit spending so much money on their dogs and instead spend it on humans who need dialysis, people who haven't had a hot meal and children who need dental care and a sweater.

Remember that fundamental of middle school civics? When people get elected, it's their responsibility to govern. That idea has yet to catch on among Hamas leaders chosen in January elections to control the Palestinian parliament.

Friends and missionaries help victims, but insurance and red tape slow rebuilding.

Differing views, some shared values (and lemonade stands) help define for readers what it means to be American today. Below is the second of two days of edited comments.

Our view: Lacking public funding, states raise billions from 1 highway to build others.

Opposing view: Why should government enrich businesses at expense of citizens?

A decade-long trend toward "graduated licensing" laws, which place conditions on young drivers, appears to be causing the decline in deadly teen crashes.

Superman Returns is just the latest example in which comic book heroes take on more and more human traits. And why do we blur this line? We can?t be like them, so we make them more like us.

Congress seems happy to abdicate its power to the president. FOIA?s 40th anniversary is the perfect opportunity for Congress to reassert its role.

The Fourth Commandment isn?t just good faith; it?s good living. Whether you?re a believer or not, the good book?s wisdom about rest should be heeded more often in our 24/7 world.

No wonder the national PTA says homework persists as a hot button issue. Many parents rebel, and sometimes school officials apply homework caps.