Op Ed

One of the biggest stories in global financial markets this summer was China‘s switch from pegging its currency to the dollar, to tying the yuan to a basket of currencies. The switch also revalued the yuan by 2.1 percent in relation to the dollar. Read More

On the recent fifth anniversary of 9/11, Americans faced anew a choice between fear and compassion. Five years have passed since that bright blue, cloudless, horrific morning. Since then it has become a truism to say that American life has changed unalterably. In the coming weeks, politicians and pundits will pontificate about how 9/11 changed American life. But a prior, more basic question will remain unasked: Why should that day change the very fabric of our common life? Should heightened security concerns corrode our national character? Must it lessen who we are? Read More

For the last week, astronomers gathered in Prague have debated, among other topics, what the right answer is to the question 'Is Pluto a planet?' This debate has captured the attention of huge numbers of people, many of whom have passionate opinions on this question. And now, by the vote of a small majority from among the 424 professional astronomers who happen to be members of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) — I am not — and who also bothered to attend the first part of the final plenary session of the meeting — more than 2000 persons attended the IAU meeting but did not participate in the vote — a decision has been made. The answer: vagueness and confusion. This debate will continue. Read More

Earlier this year, with surprisingly little media attention, we celebrated a major milestone in the fight against cancer — for the first time in record-keeping history, the number of American lives lost to cancer declined. Read More

From adolescence on, I heard a constant refrain from my Indian father: "Don't ever believe that you're really American." I found his advice peculiar, especially as I had been living in America since age 8 and had largely forgotten my time in India. To him, it didn't matter that the only language in which I could think a complex thought was English. It didn't matter that the only music I listened to was Michael Jackson, the Bee Gees and Billy Joel. Read More

It is election time again. Governor Bredesen and those seeking to replace him have begun to campaign. Seats in both houses of the General Assembly also are up for grabs. No issue is as important as education for Tennessee's long-run well being. Yet, it is difficult to elbow other urgencies aside and place our schools and colleges front and center. This should change. Read More

In his State of the Union Address, President Bush called for a sharpening of America's competitiveness and highlighted the need to pick up the pace of innovation in order to thrive on the playing field of global commerce. Read More

When it comes to education reform, Tennessee needs a booster shot. Somehow, education has fallen from its once prime place on the public policy agenda. We need a mechanism that can overcome our current statewide school policy steady state and stimulate and guide local creativity. Charter schools offer such hope. Read More

The recent riots in France have their roots in that nation's colonialist history, argues Assistant Professor of History Moses Ochonu. Read More

Sometimes it is best not to cut corners. Bargain hunting for a plastic surgeon, say, does not make much sense. You just might get your money's worth. So too with airline mechanics. Looking through small, thick windows at the workers scurrying around my plane in preparation for take-off, I hope that they are all well fed and happy, the sort of loyal and devoted employees who always double-check that troublesome hydraulic joint. Read More

A democracy can survive with or without a filibuster. It cannot, however, long survive without respect for the rule of law at the top levels of government. Yet we hear much about whether the filibuster is good practice, and almost nothing about the subversive nature of the proposal to end it. Citizens of all parties should be banding together to resist the way in which the Senate leadership plans to bring about the change they want, at the expense of the rule of law. Read More

When NBC announced plans to cancel the original "Star Trek" series in 1968, fans responded with a massive letter-writing campaign that won the program an additional season. But this time, Trekkies responded with something networks understand better ó cash. Read More

Public reaction to news such as the recent studies showing America‘s elementary and secondary schools‘ students do not know math, science and other subjects as well as their counterparts in other nations is predictable. Read More

America is experiencing a troubling deja vu - a second coming of the Gilded Age. Marked by an incredible disparity between the wealthy and poor, by waves of layoffs (especially in manufacturing) and business scandal after business scandal, this era is also burdened by a political culture that often seems heedless - or downright hostile - toward the well-being of the general American public. Read More

Every semester I receive calls from parents of children with blindness or low vision wondering if it's true that their school systems cannot find qualified teachers. Families often relocate to try to ensure that their children receive needed services. Our own Department of Special Educationóranked first in the nationóhas more traineeships for preparing teachers of blind and low vision students than we have students. Read More

The telecommunications industry is still struggling to rebound from tough economic times, but it appears that the sector is finally showing signs of renewed vigor. The Nasdaq, having risen 44% from its October 2002 low, is at the leading edge of what some economists are cautiously calling an economic recovery. Read More

The victory that affirmative action's proponents scored in the University of Michigan Law School decision is a loss for our nation, and it may well prove to be the death knell for amicable race relations in the future. Read More

A Wall Street Journal opinion piece written by James Blumstein, Centennial Chair in Law, regarding the case currently before the U.S. Supreme Court challenging admissions policies at the University of Michigan Read More

Tort reform has come to Washington, D.C. with a vengeance. Congress, with the White House's blessing, has begun to propose a dizzying array of federal laws designed to change the way lawsuits are handled in the 50 states. Read More

Opinion piece for Christian Science Monitor by Rick Chappell, director of Science Research Communications Read More