An editorial / By Peter Copeland, Scripps Howard News Service

Torn by contradictory imperatives, shoppers on Black Friday face a dilemma.

Should we do our duty to help the economy by spending money, thereby buoying business and creating jobs? Or should we keep our credit cards in our wallets, thereby doing our part to manage the debt crisis?

Spy swaps, political dissidents, espionage and secret diplomacy. The summer of 2010 is starting to remind us of the frozen winters of the Cold War.

Mexican citizens defied violent drug traffickers with a simple but powerful act: voting.

No matter whom they voted for, Mexicans cast ballots on Sunday in favor of the rule of law, for honest government and for the peaceful resolution of disputes.

Even after President Barack Obama signs major health-care legislation into law, the transformation of the medical insurance system is only just getting started.

Opponents of the legislation promise legal and political fights on many different battlefields, including the states, in Congress, in the courts, at the polls this fall, and in the next presidential election.

A runoff election set for Nov. 7 could be a turning point in the future of Afghanistan, and it is a necessary, if not sufficient, step toward a future U.S. withdrawal.