Biden or Trump? Voters want neither and the other columns subscribers liked.
It's that time of the week when subscribers get their own Paste BN Opinion newsletter. These are the columns, from this week, that got your attention. So we're bringing them back today.
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We hope you're all having a great weekend.
I got COVID (again). I'm staying home (again). Why are so few following the rules?
By Steven Petrow
I feel like a schmuck.
After I tested positive for COVID-19 two weeks ago, my doctor prescribed the anti-viral Paxlovid, which would lessen the severity of the disease. The only hitch, she explained, was that a small percentage of those taking this drug experience "rebound," also called "rapid relapse," meaning they develop symptoms anew after apparent recovery.
Even worse, they test positive again shortly after a negative test. She pointed out that even more people might be rebounding than early data showed.
I didn't care. I just wanted to get well fast and get on with my life. I took the Paxlovid. (READ MORE)
Who will win the White House in 2024? Americans don't want Trump or Biden.
By Scott Jennings
If it wasn’t already known to the nation’s two major political parties, the latest Paste BN/Suffolk Poll made it crystal clear: The market demand for two new presidential candidates is at a fever pitch. If one party responds to the market and the other doesn’t, expect it to win the White House in 2024.
The market demand is high: "65% of registered voters, including half of Democrats, don't want President Biden to run for another term. And 68% of voters, including a third of Republicans, don't want former President Trump to run again,” according to a Paste BN news story.
Both parties should take the (more than strong) hint and look elsewhere vs. recreating a 2020 rematch. (READ MORE)
Lower gas prices, the PACT Act and other ways Democrats are being mean to Republicans
By Rex Huppke
You may have noticed high gas prices have swiftly and rudely become less high, a trend that, if it continues, threatens to rob Republicans of a glorious midterm election cudgel.
Democrats are undoubtedly to blame, but lowering gas prices isn’t the only way they’re sticking it to well-meaning Republicans. They’re also trying to help veterans and passing legislation aimed at lowering inflation.
All this governing is an outrage and a clear political shot at the long-standing Republican philosophy that says the government shall help only rich people. (READ MORE)
A birthday wish for us all: Laugh, sing and live large regardless of the years
By Connie Schultz
Six years ago, I laughed out loud at a friend’s joke. I have no memory of what she said, but I do recall a woman I barely knew pulling me aside to warn me about the hazards of such a big smile.
“After a certain age, a woman’s eyes turn into squints when she smiles,” she said in her best ghost story voice. “It makes our face look fat.”
I was 59. God, I laughed. I’ve always had a full face. Think Charlie Brown’s sister, Sally, but brunette. When I was 16, I once stood in front of my parents’ dresser mirror and complained about the width of my face. My mom would have none of it. (READ MORE)
College goodbyes loom. Be sad but also be grateful for the moments past and future.
By Connie Schultz
Well, here we are. It’s August, and I know from reader mail and posts on social media that a lot of parents are bracing to send off their first or last child to college.
If you’re at all like I was when I sent my kids off, you’re probably trying to remind yourself how lucky you are. Look at your babies, fleeing the nest just like you taught them to do.
Yes, well.
Not to make it all about us, but what about us? Once they’re gone, then what? (READ MORE)