Many opponents believe the government should bar gays from marrying based on their personal religious convictions. But other customs commonly practiced in biblical times have been discarded by our American society because we now find them immoral. Why cast these aside but continue to discriminate against gays when it comes to marriage?

Brian L. Cox is a lousy crook and getting worse every time, police say. After allegedly knocking off a tavern last winter, the 28-year-old left footprints and car tracks in snow, giving police a nice trail to follow. Last month, he allegedly robbed a pizza joint, but his getaway car's loud muffler easily led cops to him.

This year many people are thankful they have a job, let alone a job that gives them a paid vacation. But that’s no reason to skip the time off you’ve earned. However, plenty of you do just that.

We suppose it can always be open to debate whether someone's punishment fits the crime, as in Dione Alexander's 24-year prison sentence for popping off five gunshots in a crowded Woodruff High School hallway in January 2005. What should not be open to debate is that a school is not just any other place, that our children must feel safe in its hallways and classrooms or they can't feel that way anywhere.

The Midwest High Speed Rail Association is dreaming big. The nonprofit rail advocacy group released a study and an $11.5 billion plan last week calling for 220 mph high-speed rail between St. Louis and Chicago. Big dreams are good. We don’t have enough of them around here. But the state’s No. 1 priority should be getting the trains we do have up to 110 mph from their current maximum speed of 79 mph.

Regardless of what’s going on around them, Gov. Pat Quinn and members of the Illinois General Assembly don’t seem to feel any urgency to resolve the state’s budget crisis. Legislators are expected to return to Springfield next week to see if a deal can be worked out. This process demonstrates one poor decision after another.

Many opponents believe the government should bar gays from marrying based on their personal religious convictions. But other customs commonly practiced in biblical times, such as subordinating women to men and enslaving foreigners, have been discarded by our American society because we now find them immoral. Why cast these aside but continue to discriminate against gays when it comes to marriage?

Chris Britt's editorial cartoon for Wednesday, July 8.

Had Dione Alexander been a better shot, he could've turned Woodruff High School into a mini-Columbine. Instead, luck prevailed: despite his shooting frenzy in a crowded hallway, no one got shot. But the luckiest one of all is Alexander. Thanks to a horrendously baffling appellate-court ruling, he will serve a scant fraction of his original sentence.

Today we offer the understatement of the year: Being unemployed sucks. But it’s worse if you are unemployed and don’t take advantage of free help that’s available.

The passing of Robert McNamara on Monday marked a moment of reflection for a generation and offers lessons on our country’s history of war.

Chris Britt's editorial cartoon for Tuesday, July 7.

First came a promise to close the detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, then the executive order Barack Obama signed his first day in office that set a one-year deadline for doing so. But with time ticking down, more wrinkles have begun to appear in the plan.

The sordid story of South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford's affair continues to drip out, revelation by new revelation, testing our collective ability to be disappointed by one more philandering politician. It has all the elements of a modern political sex scandal. But one thing was missing this time: the political wife being trotted out to loyally stand by her man, regardless of her shame at the whole, tawdry business.

If you are overweight — and the chances are greater than ever that you are — don’t look for a lecture here. You know those extra pounds aren’t doing you any good. You know you might be passing along a dangerous tradition to your children. You know there’s no magic pill or fat-melting food, although the allure is strong. We’re going to tell you something you don’t know: You are on the right track.