Impartiality and the judiciary are frequently considered synonymous. Even outside of the U.S., the Supreme Court, judges on state supreme courts and other higher-level positions enjoy lengthy terms, a good degree of freedom from political pressure, and the promise of being appointed based upon their merits rather than party affiliation. Or at least they should. … Read more
“‘Yes, a woman can!’ she said from a hotel stage in Brasília. ‘Equal opportunity for men and women is an essential principal of democracy,’ she said, pledging to make her achievement a ‘natural event’ in Brazil.” – The Wall Street Journal quoting Dilma Rousseff In her first speech as President of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff … Read more
Sorry to spoil the midterms for anyone who has TiVoed them and will be watching later, but the 112th U.S. Congress will consist of a House controlled by the Republicans and a Senate controlled by the Democrats. This got me wondering: When was the last time under a Democratic president that the House has belonged … Read more
In her recent post, Caroline argued that televising oral arguments of the Court would fix the public’s ignorance about the Supreme Court and the activities of the judicial branch. The independence of the judiciary, so the argument goes, will not be compromised given a few nonintrusive electrical fixtures. At the same time, the people will … Read more
With the midterms less than 50 hours from now, it’s fascinating to note how the environmental furor of the summer, especially in the aftermath of the Gulf Oil Spill, seems to have largely subsided in discussions about the elections. Nevertheless, the outcome of the midterms, especially in the House, could have disastrous ramifications for the … Read more
Just this week, the White House announced that during President Obama’s visit to Japan for APEC, he would not be stopping by Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as some had initially hoped. While Ben Rhodes, the Deputy National Security Advisor, has given the pretext of wanting “focus” on the APEC meeting, I can’t help but interpret this … Read more
The crisis in American education has catapulted to the spotlight in recent years. Or so it seems. With the release of the critically acclaimed Waiting for Superman and education interest groups taking a more principled and seemingly more powerful stance on education reform, the issue of whether America’s education system is failing has become very prominent. … Read more
By the conventional wisdom of the day, Turkey is hot. While America is caricatured as ‘empire on the decline’, Europe as ‘the shrinking continent’, and Iran as ‘menace in the Middle East’, Turkey has swept the world stage as a posterchild of win-win international politics. To its credit, this quasi-European, quasi-Middle Eastern regional bridge state … Read more
Election Day 2010 is only a few days away and Democrats are feeling the heat. All around the nation, Democrats are reaching out to voters in key races in which every vote will count. To assist in this effort, the Harvard College Democrats have organized phone banks using the call tool on Organizing for America’s … Read more
The United States stands at a crossroads in its foreign policy. With the nightmares of Afghanistan and Iraq starting to fade as our troops withdraw, the nation needs to start rethinking its place in the world. Failed states are emerging left and right and the Obama Administration and thus America as a whole must choose … Read more