8 of our top opinion columns this week: ICYMI

In today's fast-paced news environment, it can be hard to keep up. For your weekend reading, here are some of this week's top Paste BN Opinion pieces, most of them dealing with aspects of the coronavirus pandemic. As always, thanks for reading, and for your feedback. And be safe.

— Paste BN Opinion editors

1. Protests show 'two Americas' — those who lost their jobs and those still getting paid

By Glenn Harlan Reynolds

"People don’t appreciate being lectured and condescended to and bossed around. They especially don’t appreciate being urged to sacrifice by people who make no sacrifices themselves. And that’s a different sort of class divide: When rulers ask for sacrifices without making any, they’re displaying a distinct lack of, well, class."

2. Why coronavirus antibody test will not be a panacea

By Dr. Allan Detsky and Dr. Isaac Bogoch

"In a setting where the prevalence of a disease like COVID-19 is small, then even with serologic tests that are very specific (but falling just short of 100%), many people who have a positive test will not actually have the antibodies. These are termed 'false positive' tests."

3. Coronavirus lockdown protests risk your health and slow the reopening of U.S. economy

By The Editorial Board

"Enough already. Enough of these people doing public harm while wrapping themselves in First Amendment (and Second Amendment) garb. Enough of right-wing billionaires trying to manipulate public opinion."

4. Could an old vaccine be a godsend for new coronavirus?

By Dr. Konstantin Chumakov and Dr. Robert Gallo

"We propose an approach to mitigate the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic through the use of existing attenuated live viral vaccines. In particular, oral polio vaccine has been documented to induce protection against a number of viral and bacterial infections."

5. Coronavirus furlough week diary: The path (not) taken

By Bill Sternberg

"Wednesday: Think about cleaning out the garage. Think about cleaning out the 3,489 unread emails from personal Inbox. Think about starting great American novel. Decide to cut my toenails instead. Wife says I’m looking shaggy. Look for the trimmer I bought when our dog was too old and sick to go to the groomer."

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6. For Obama White House, propaganda was a scandal, now Republicans don't care

By Kurt Bardella

"I can tell you firsthand that nothing [Obama] administration did came remotely close to the blatant display of propaganda that President Trump engaged in last week. And yet, as we have seen time and again throughout this presidency, those Republicans who were so quick to investigate Obama are nowhere to be seen or heard."

7. Former felons should not be pushed out of loans under CARES Act

By Brian Hamilton

"Most people agree that, if people commit a crime, they should be required to give something back to society; they should be punished. But people shouldn't serve perpetual sentences via a stigma or discrimination that basically relegates them to a life sentence even for minor crimes."

8. Donald Trump reminds me of Phyllis Schlafly. I'll probably be skipping 'Mrs. America.

By Margaret Wolf Freivogel

"I still regret that I was not more effective in helping people see through Schlafly's public image. I still resent that Schlafly always managed to capture more of the spotlight than she deserved... Will I watch the miniseries? Probably not. The first time through with Schlafly in real life was more than enough."