Top Opinions of the Week

TIME Ideas rounds up the most thought-provoking posts on the web

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Former President Bill Clinton back in 1996

1. “It’s Time To Overturn DOMA,” by Bill Clinton in the Washington Post

It’s always great when a president admits that he did something for the wrong reasons. In the Washington Post, Bill Clinton announced that he regrets having signed the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996 and that at the time he hoped it would guard against even more draconian laws banning same-sex marriage altogether. “When I signed the bill, I included a statement with the admonition that “enactment of this legislation should not, despite the fierce and at times divisive rhetoric surrounding it, be understood to provide an excuse for discrimination,”” Clinton writes. “Reading those words today, I know now that, even worse than providing an excuse for discrimination, the law is itself discriminatory. It should be overturned.”

2. The NFL Sets the Standard for Homophobia,” by Jonathan Mahler on Bloomberg View.

Speaking of discrimination, Mahler salutes two football players, Chris Kluwe and Brendon Ayanbadejo, for their legal filing with the Supreme Court to strike down California’s ban on same-sex marriage. “In the context of the National Football League…Kluwe and Ayanbadejo’s amicus brief is nothing less than a historic document. In the sweaty, macho world of professional sports, the NFL sets the standard for homophobia. It’s North America’s only major professional league that has yet to fine, suspend or even reprimand one of its players for uttering an anti-gay slur.”

3. Maybe You Should Read the Book: The Sheryl Sandberg Backlash,” by Anna Holmes on NewYorker.com. 

Or you can read TIME’s exclusive excerpt of Sandberg’s book Lean In here. As Anna Holmes wrote, “Judged on its merits, “Lean In” is an inauguration more than a last word, and an occasion for celebration. Its imperfections should be regarded not as errors or exclusions but opportunities for advancing the conversation.”

4. Sequestration: A Fiscal Diet That Won’t Fix the Deficit,” by Bruce Bartlett for The Fiscal Times.

Sequestration is a diet, and diets don’t work. Deprivation leads to bingeing and the yo-yo-ing begins.  “Just as overweight people both want to lose weight and not give up eating, they force themselves into situations where they have no choice but to diet in order to lose weight,” writes Bartlett. “It’s simplistic to say that they should simply exercise more self-control and avoid gimmicks. But it is human nature for people to use gimmicks to force themselves to do what is right.” And America just keeps getting fatter.

5. “Create Your Own Thomas Friedman Op-Ed Column” by Michael Ward on McSweeneys.

As advertised.

Did we miss one? Share the “ideas” that caught your attention this week in the comment section.