Book bans, wokeness and student loans. These are the columns you really cared about.
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.
As always, thank you to our existing subscribers. If you're considering subscribing, now is the time thanks to our new massive sale. Just click on this link and join the club.
We hope you're all having a great weekend.
Pulling Anne Frank from schools? Here are 10 other books to ban.
By Rex Huppke
At long last, good, wholesome Americans are taking on the country’s most notorious dens of iniquity: school libraries.
Books that could be gateways to thinking are being challenged, marked with warning labels or pulled off school library shelves. Liberals, of course, are treating this perfectly reasonable censorship as if it's some hysterical faux-moral-panic. Well, I’ve got news for you, libs: There’s nothing hysterical about our faux-moral-panic.
In the Collier County School District in Florida, more than 100 books have been slapped with advisory labels that read “this book has been identified by some community members as unsuitable for students.” One of them is the illustrated children’s book “Everywhere Babies” by Susan Meyers and Marla Frazee, featuring a couple of drawings of same-sex parents that might indoctrinate our children into believing it’s OK to love whom you love. Read more...
Who will save Florida from wokeness now?
By Rex Huppke
Republican politicians like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis proudly tout their crusade against the word "woke" and all things associated with "wokeness."
But what does "woke" mean? For those who have yet to face the existential threat of woke-itude, there are two definitions.
If you believe in dictionaries, Merriam-Webster defines “woke” as “aware of and actively attentive to important facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice).”
If you believe dictionaries are a Marxist tool and you support politicians like DeSantis, “woke” means, “Uhh, something? Probably the worst thing imaginable. Definitely a thing that must be stopped.” Read more...
Canceling student loan debt is bad economic policy
By Steve Forbes
It’s an all-too-familiar Washington story: A response to an emergency is extended long after the crisis that precipitated it has passed, which then creates the sort of mischief the nation's capital swamp is famous for.
We're seeing that now as President Joe Biden announced Wednesday he will cancel $10,000 in student federal loan debt for borrowers who make less than $125,00 per year and up to $20,000 for low-income borrowers who received Pell Grants. He also extended a moratorium on loan repayments until January.
By doing so, Biden is severely abusing executive power, undermining Congress and burdening American taxpayers. Read more...
Biden's student loan forgiveness plan is good. But it's not enough.
By Carli Pierson
I have a secret shame.
I owe $299,715 in student loan debt – $281,111 on the principal and $18,604 in interest.
When I tell my non-American friends how much I owe for my law degree, their reaction, no matter where they are from, is always the same. "Do you realize you could buy a house with that?" they scream at me.
I always want to yell back, "OF COURSE I DO!" But I can't. It's not their fault that my country makes it impossible to get an education unless you're already wealthy or, in the alternative, willing to stomach taking on debt to get a higher education, and even more if you want a professional degree like I have. Read more...
The idea of quiet quitting leads straight to quiet dieting
By Rex Huppke
The quaint and quotable new workplace buzzword "quiet quitting" – which isn’t quite quitting, but more like quietly curtailing your work quotient – left me querying other quotidian activities that might qualify for quieting.
First, let me catch you up on the quiet-quitting concept. It took off last month on TikTok after user Zaid Khan posted a video explaining the term and noting: “You're not outright quitting your job, but you're quitting the idea of going above and beyond.” Read more...
Real quick, sign up to get our alerts
Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the Paste BN app. Don't have the app? It's free and available in your app store.
Once you have the app, go to the settings and add "Commentary & Analysis" to make sure you don't miss out.