Refusal to mandate vaccines, Mark Meadows and race in the abortion debate: ICYMI

In today's fast-paced news environment, it can be hard to keep up. For your weekend reading, we've started in-case-you-missed-it compilations of some of the week's top Paste BN Opinion pieces. As always, thanks for reading, and for your feedback.

— Paste BN Opinion editors

I won't make my company enforce vaccine mandates. CEOs should trust their employees.

By Peter Rex

"The debate over COVID-19 vaccines is thoroughly politicized and deeply personal for many people, which counsels against forcing people to make such an intimate choice about their health and bodies. Furthermore, employees are generally dependent on their jobs, and it’s fundamentally inappropriate to use their livelihood as leverage to compel action outside the core functions of a business. As a CEO, my narrow rights over employees should stay narrow, and given the complexity of this issue, the prudent course is to give employees the freedom to make their own choice."

Democracy in the balance: Revise Senate filibuster to protect elections and voting rights

By The Editorial Board 

"Paste BN's Editorial Board has never favored setting aside the Senate filibuster. It is not that the parliamentary rule requiring 60 votes to advance legislation is somehow sacrosanct. After all, it's not in the Constitution. But it engenders the kind of consensus Americans yearn for in republican government and, as a result, can restore a measure of sorely lacking trust. (The bipartisan infrastructure bill is an example.)"

Democrats try to grab power through election 'reform' legislation

By Jason Snead

"Bills passed in Texas, Georgia and other states are designed to improve elections by expanding early voting and streamlining procedures around absentee ballots and drop boxes, while ensuring that every vote is legal and that results are reliable and delivered in a timely manner. That builds confidence in democracy and encourages citizens to vote. Criticism of these laws is heavy on hyperbole and light on substance."

House contempt vote holds Mark Meadows accountable for what he knew on Jan. 6

By Dennis Aftergut

"In Terwilliger’s Monday letter to the committee, he called contempt inappropriate given Meadows’ “testimonial immunity.” That is a lawyer euphemism for his 5th Amendment right not to provide answers that might tend to incriminate him. Meadows’ lawyer avoided those words, which could invite the public to think that by invoking 5th Amendment rights, he was admitting guilt. Recall President Donald Trump’s 2017 query, “If you're innocent, why are you taking the 5th Amendment?” 

America's diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics isn't enough

By John Hoberman

"The International Olympic Committee, or the IOC, has a long entanglement with political dictatorships and their crimes. The approach of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing is one more example of this disgraceful tradition and President Joe Biden’s announcement of an America “diplomatic boycott” is simply not enough. It is a shocking disregard of China’s horrific abuse of a million members of the Uyghur ethnic minority it has confined in concentration camps."

The Beatles launched me into adolescence, but in 'Get Back' they weren't who I expected

By Jill Lawrence

"The revelations of “The Beatles: Get Back” are stark for those of us who, like me, were among the 73 million Americans (nearly 40% of the entire population!) who watched the Beatles’ live TV debut on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in 1964. Five years later, watching them ignite both creativity and tension in the studio, you wonder how they managed to stuff their personalities into those identical suits and haircuts for so long."

Biden pledged to unify, not divide. Delivering on that pledge will be difficult.

By Peter Funt

"Of course, much could change before the midterms next November, and even more shifts will undoubtedly occur between now and presidential voting in 2024. A sign of hope for Democrats came with passage of the eight-year, $1 trillion infrastructure bill – a key element in Biden’s 2020 campaign. Meanwhile, prospects for taming the pandemic – with booster shots, child vaccinations and new pills for COVID treatment – could place the Biden Administration in a much more favorable position with voters in the months ahead, although the omicron variant could change that."

Russia-Ukraine conflict: America needs a better idea than NATO expansion to keep the peace

By Michael O’Hanlon

"President Joe Biden has taken the Russian troop buildup seriously, as he should. His call last week with President Vladimir Putin provided a good start to crisis management. Warning Putin about much more severe economic punishment than Russia has experienced to date, if it should invade Ukraine, Biden struck the right balance. He appears to have avoided ill-advised threats to start World War III over a distant part of Europe not integral to core American security, yet sent an unmistakable message of firmness."

Should race be an issue in the abortion debate? Anti-abortion activists are making it one.

By Suzette Hackney 

"My voice was raised, but I was still attempting to be respectful. I've been a journalist for many years. I can't think of a time when I've challenged a stranger in an interview like that. I talk to people with whom I don't agree every day. I'm certain she felt comfortable saying such despicable things to me because I am a Black woman. I found it unacceptable."

Emmett Till's cousin: Accuser in case is still alive and must be brought to justice

By Deborah Watts

"As the cousin of Emmett Till, I was disappointed by the Department of Justice decision last week to close the investigation into his death. In 1955, at the age of 14, while visiting family in Mississippi, Emmett was dragged out of bed, tortured and killed by Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam. They then dumped his body in a river. All of this over allegations that he flirted with a white woman."

The magic of Santa is real, right? Kids believe. I believe. Do you?

By Connie Schultz

"The mall was packed. We stood in line for a half-hour, slowly making our way up to Santa’s stage. When it was time, I hugged my daughter and said, loudly, 'Caitlin, it’s your turn to see Santa!' Santa – that wonderful man with the real beard and excellent hearing – broke into the biggest smile. 'Caitlin!' he bellowed. 'Is that you?' My daughter grabbed my hand. 'Mommy,' she whispered, 'It’s him!' She ran into Santa’s open arms and for a little while longer, we both believed."