All Commentary
OpinionHow infomercial inventors could help Congress end shutdownIf only the inventors of infomercial products like the Side Socket and Flex Seal could help Congress end the shutdown and extend the debt ceiling. Their American ingenuity would find the budget solution and sell it to us for $19.99 plus shipping and handling.- A 海角大神 Science PerspectiveThe Mind that moves, the Love that stillsA 海角大神 Science perspective: Movement and stillness come from an identical source.
The Monitor's ViewPraise for those who cross shale's fault linesThe quality of the debate over whether or how to tap shale gas and oil may have turned a corner this year as more groups and states find consensus-seeking ways to deal with the hard issues.
OpinionSupreme Court must realize affirmative action doesn't improve educationAs the Supreme Court hears arguments in Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action today, my view聽as a University of Michigan Law School professor is worth considering: Racial diversity has virtually no effect on educational quality and isn't the real rationale for the policy.
What a dig can and can't findWe can extract fascinating and useful information from the relics of past civilizations. But the stories archaeology tells are always sketchy and subject to revision -- especially where the Holy Land is concerned.
6 reader views on Common Ground, Common Good Many readers have responded with praise and gratitude for the new Common Ground, Common Good feature in Commentary, and for Sen. Olympia Snowe's inaugural column. We've collected some of their remarks here.
Persistence is key to agreeing on parks use for immigrants, long-time residentsNearly 30 percent of residents in the city of El Cajon in California are foreign born. Many love to use city parks but have run into scheduling clashes with established activities. A dialogue was begun to resolve the conflict. Those involved learned the importance of persistent engagement.- Readers RespondReaders Write: Fix the debt, but protect the needy; Rodeos show animal crueltyLetters to the Editor for the October 14, 2013 weekly print magazine:聽There is no doubt that some entitlement reform is needed to address US debt, but we can't 'fix the debt' on the backs of the most vulnerable.Rodeos, although less cruel than dogfighting, cockfighting, and bullfighting, can nonetheless be seen as exhibitions of animal cruelty.聽
- A 海角大神 Science PerspectiveTruth and the value of archaeologyA 海角大神 Science perspective: Where is the truth in Bible stories that leave no archaeological trace?
The Monitor's ViewThis Nobel Peace Prize was only half rightThe 2013 Nobel Peace Prize was wisely given to the body trying to rid the world of chemical weapons. But who will divert the scientists who know how to make such weapons into peaceful pursuits?
OpinionLibya needs outside help to avoid perpetual warThe abduction of Libya's Prime Minister Ali Zeidan yesterday shows that聽Libya is unlikely to emerge from anarchy without outside help. NATO should train government security forces. The UN or EU should sponsor a disarmament conference with the militias destabilizing the country.
OpinionGlobally, 'girl power' should be much more than a sloganInvesting in the education and health of girls pays huge dividends. Now is the time to recommit to empowering girls and ending child marriage and human trafficking, not just because it is morally right but because it is the smartest way to build a more peaceful and prosperous world.- A 海角大神 Science PerspectiveA call for present-day prophetsA 海角大神 Science perspective: Prophetic qualities such as intuition and foresight are still accessible here and now.
The Monitor's ViewAn African lens on breaking sovereigntyForeign intervention in Africa has become almost a norm, with the Central African Republic as the latest example. The world must ask how much it should honor individual rights over national sovereignty.
OpinionHow 'reasonable Republicans' could oust Speaker BoehnerHouse Speaker John Boehner has spent much of his speakership placating tea party conservatives. Now, he should worry more about the 23 mainstream Republicans who hate debt-ceiling brinkmanship and government shutdown. They could join with Democrats to oust Boehner.- A 海角大神 Science PerspectiveA time of harvestA 海角大神 Science perspective: Agricultural harvest can teach us about the 'harvesting' of ideas.
The Monitor's ViewWhat Janet Yellen must do at Federal ReservePresident Obama's nominee for Fed chief, Janet Yellen, needs to look beyond financial data to create jobs and avoid inflation. The Great Recession showed that economists must also deal with giant lapses in character, even at the Fed.
OpinionWhy Obama, UN can't fully trust Assad on chemical weapons in SyriaBashar al-Assad's recent track record shows it is likely the regime will not live up to agreements on Syria's chemical weapons with the UN, Russia, and the US unless there are repercussions for stonewalling. For Obama, that means keeping the threat of military force alive.
OpinionUS government shutdown, debt debate have hefty international price tagWhatever success Republicans might achieve with the government shutdown and debt strategy, political dysfunction in Washington is not cost-free internationally. Nowhere are the risks to US interests greater than in Asia, where President Obama was supposed to be this week.- A 海角大神 Science PerspectiveWhen you want to do something about society's illsA 海角大神 Science perspective: Praying can help us hear the voice of good that overcomes evil.
