Some economists are saying — perhaps with a touch of irony — that the recession is over. The U.S. economy grew in the past quarter by 3.5 percent, the first expansion of the gross domestic product in more than a year. In fact, it was stronger than the 3.3 percent growth rate economists had predicted.

“We’re beginning to crawl out a very deep hole,” said economist Ken Mayland, president of ClearView Economics. “It will take time to get back to normal again and there are questions about how consumers will hold up in the months ahead. But I think the recovery…

Even as the federal number-crunchers are telling us that the recession is over, more bad economic news is coming to Missouri.

As my colleague Virginia Young reports today, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon will be making more budget cuts today — probably at least $300 million and maybe more.

A comment from one state lawmaker in the story really struck me. Senate President Pro Tem Charlie Shields, R-St. Joseph, said: “The big places you go to get money are higher education and (elementary and secondary) education, but those are the untouchables.”

That’s because of Nixon’s pledge to keep funding for colleges stable.

I have a…

The Washington Post reports today that the Obama Administration ran war games over the past several weeks in order to evaluate the best move in Afghanistan. According to the story:

The exercise, led by Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, examined the likely outcome of inserting 44,000 more troops into the country to conduct a full-scale counterinsurgency effort aimed at building a stable Afghan government that can control most of the country. It also examined adding 10,000 to 15,000 more soldiers and Marines as part of an approach that the military has dubbed “counterterrorism plus.”

Another column on…

I have been amused for some time now at the ability of some of our online community to twist any topic into the political screed of their choice. Recently, “socialist libs” have been excoriated for their opinions about consumer fraud. “Nazi socialist Republicans” have been taken to task for their bad grammar.

In some cases, I have tried to purge the dialog of pointless and off-topic, needless political rants, which, frankly, are tiresome and shed only heat, not light.

Today, for our Friday Talk of the Day, I thought it would be fun to go the other direction. Again, just for fun!…

We have a story in today’s health section about a new device some dentists are using. It let’s patients push a button when the pain of the drill is too much. It stops the drilling. Stops the pain. Warns the dentist to back off a bit.

“When I heard about it, I immediately thought ‘this is a good idea,’ ” we quote Dr. Michael White, a Webster Groves dentist. “The No. 1 reason why patients leave their dentists is because they hurt them.”

The story goes on to say, “In fact, the American Dental Association estimates that 35 million adults have so much…