All Commentary
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After Oklahoma tornado: Five steps to prepare for a natural disaster
In the wake of the May 20 tornado in Moore, Okla., it's important to review how best to be prepared for a natural disaster. Here are five action steps for personal preparedness from the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.
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Opinion: Hey, Congress: It's comprehensive immigration reform or nothing
Some members of Congress argue that the Senate immigration reform bill should be broken up and considered piecemeal. But only comprehensive legislation will pull together the strange-bedfellow coalition necessary to secure enough votes to pass both the House and Senate.
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Opinion: Americans should remember: Politicizing the IRS is a bipartisan tradition
Democrats and Republicans alike have tried to use the Internal Revenue Service to serve their own political ends. The real question, as William F. Buckley foresaw, is whether the IRS can render its judgments with justice. Both parties should join hands to ensure that it does.
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The Monitor's View: What tornado-hit cities like Moore have learned
The tornado that hit the Oklahoma city of Moore – its fourth in 15 years – brought destruction but also brought out well-learned examples of resiliency, hope, and calm.
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The Monitor's View: Washington's rare moment of reform – for itself
From the IRS abuse to a rise of sexual assaults in the military, Washington is taking time to fix its own problems. A bipartisan effort for reform should apply to fixing the nation's problems.
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Opinion: Obama must hold Myanmar's Thein Sein accountable for human rights violations
When President Obama meets with President Thein Sein of Myanmar (Burma) today, he should emphasize Washington’s commitment to Myanmar’s progress, while stressing the importance of preventing discrimination and violence against ethnic minority Muslims and Christians.
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Opinion: Give the kidnapped Cleveland women their privacy – and identity
Many have asked that the women who were held hostage in Cleveland be given privacy to heal. But compassion should involve more than suspending our curiosity. How we actually define people emerging from traumatic experiences can support their healing and the public’s.
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Readers Write: The dangers of immigration amnesty; Not all oil companies are alike
Letters to the Editor for the May 20, 2013 weekly print issue: The 1987 amnesty was a massive failure on all counts; the answer is to make interior America inhospitable to illegal immigrants. Certain oil companies have cultures of recklessness – and it's that culture that causes disasters.
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The Monitor's View: A record Powerball jackpot isn't a record to celebrate (+video)
The record Powerball jackpot is only the latest trick by states addicted to gambling revenues to lure nongamblers. Online gaming is also on the horizon, with the first legal website for games of chance now running in Nevada.
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Opinion: After IRS scandal: Right-wing fear of government isn't paranoid
Whatever the motivations for the IRS targeting conservative groups, it has drawn condemnation from across the political spectrum. Liberals also worry the scandal will feed right-wing paranoia of government. But for conservatives, fear of federal agencies is rooted in history, not hysteria.
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Opinion: This graduation season, let's remember the 20th century
Steve Jobs told college graduates to follow their inner passion. John F. Kennedy told them to solve the world's problems. At graduation ceremonies, speakers should remind men and women not just of their obligation to pursue self-satisfaction, but also of their duty to fellow human beings
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The Monitor's View: How Europe can find its feet again
Now in its longest recession since World War II, Europe is the world economy's weakest link. But as it achieves financial stability, it must now focus on structural overhaul to spur innovation and worker retraining.
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Opinion: Why are Obamacare supporters attacking job creators?
When seemingly organized Obamacare supporters attack small business leaders who express concern about the health-care law, job creators are no longer just uncertain about how their business will be impacted by the law. They are afraid – for their businesses and to speak out.
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Opinion: What Bangladesh – and US retailers – must do to prevent man-made tragedies
Two man-made tragedies have shaken Bangladesh recently: riots over Islamist demands for blasphemy laws and the garment factory collapse. Bangladesh's response to both will show how well it can meet citizens' needs. US retailers must also take responsibility for factory conditions.
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The Monitor's View: How to avoid another Justice raid on reporter phone records
The secret combing of AP phone records by Justice in pursuit of a security leak shows the need to better define the overlapping roles of government and the press in their mutual desire to protect the American people.
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Opinion: What could finally topple Iran's regime? Earthquakes.
Poor government response to earthquakes in Iran exposes the regime's corruption and incompetence. As the EU's Catherine Ashton and Iran’s Saeed Jalili meet in Turkey today, Tehran should heed history’s warning: No nuclear program can save a regime from a toppling earthquake.
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Opinion: As North Korea heats up, South Korea and Japan should warm ties
Cooperation on missile defense between South Korea and Japan would help blunt threats from North Korea. But Japanese officials' recent insensitivity to Imperial Japan's painful role in World War II, including forcing South Koreans to become 'comfort women,' works against cooperation.
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The Monitor's View: IRS scandal as a lesson in civic values
The IRS targeting of conservative political groups may not have been political itself. But it shows a serious need for more civics education in America about basic freedoms like the First Amendment.
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3 priorities for Pakistan's new government
After 14 years, Nawaz Sharif is back at the helm in Pakistan. The nuclear-armed country faces a welter of problems, from terrorism to tensions with Afghanistan, India, and the United States. To move Pakistan forward, Mr. Sharif must focus on three priorities.
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Five ways to improve Obama's pre-k plan
President Obama’s Preschool for All plan is well intentioned but includes features that are not justified by research and won’t help it pass in Congress. The plan must make the following five adjustments.
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