ANALYSIS & OPINION

Why the U.S. must lead on Disabilities Treaty

Tue, Nov 5, 2013, 10:02 AM UTC

Voting no to this treaty without a specific and compelling reason is saying that we do not think the global community deserves an Americans with Disabilities Act of their own.

Jeff Shesol

Not ‘court-packing,’ GOP’s aim is ‘court-shrinking’

Republicans are insisting they are shocked that the president would think of exercising his power under the Constitution to appoint judges to the three vacant seats of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

Brenda Shaffer

U.S. Mideast policy: Keeping our friends closer

The U.S. does not need to lose longtime allies in the Middle East in order to promote human rights and democracy. U.S. allies will be more likely to begin political reform if Washington is a close partner.

Zachary Karabell

Healthcare.gov is just the beginning

The Affordable Care Act was the first major law implemented almost entirely online. It’s the template for the future, and rather than using its launch as an excuse to renew attacks on the law, we need to learn what we can because, like this bill or not, it is part of the next wave of government.

Felix Salmon

Is Amazon bad for publishers?

Duff McDonald has a wonderful review of Brad Stone's new book on Amazon in the NYT; he's a fantastic nonfiction book reviewer.

Ian Bremmer

Chinese reform is coming, but not the political kind

Steering a large bureaucracy like China's is supposed to take time. And yet, Xi Jinping is proving the conventional wisdom wrong. After just six months at the helm, Xi is already clearly on track to accomplish far more than his predecessor Hu Jintao.

Lynn Parramore

Why Scandinavian women make the rest of the world jealous

So how did a string of countries settled by Vikings become leaders in gender enlightenment? Bloodthirsty raiding parties don’t exactly sound like models of egalitarianism, and the early days weren’t pretty. Medieval Icelandic law prohibited women from bearing arms or even having short hair. Viking women could not be chiefs or judges, and they had to remain silent in assemblies. On the flip side, they could request a divorce and inherit property. But that’s not quite a blueprint for the world’s premier egalitarian society.