Quitting the Paralympics, Biden's Catholicism, Stone-Manning's confirmation: 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 USA TODAY Opinion pieces. As always, thanks for reading, and for your feedback.
— USA TODAY Opinion editors
1. Paralympic swimmer: I don't want to pull out of Tokyo Games, but I've been given no choice
By Becca Meyers
"The Paralympic Games are supposed to be a haven for athletes with disabilities. The one place where we are able to compete on a level playing field, with all amenities, protections and support systems in place. After COVID-19 put last year’s Games in Tokyo on pause, we all expected and were forced to deal with the reality that this summer’s Paralympic Games would be altered in many ways. But then I learned this summer that U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee denied a reasonable and essential accommodation for me to be able to compete at the Games."
2. 'I dare you to deny me Communion.' What has happened to Catholicism in America?
By Theresa Olohan
"Ever since American Catholic bishops announced their decision to release a teaching document on the reception of Holy Communion, news and social media sites have teemed with outrage. The backlash is a product of the belief that church teachings must adapt to avoid being controversial in modern times. The plethora of misinformed reactions is troubling, hinting at the larger issue of uninformed Catholics. "
3. Biden must pull Stone-Manning BLM nomination if he's serious about domestic terrorism
By John Barrasso
"Ms. Stone-Manning lied to the Senate about her past association with an ecoterrorist cell that hammered 500 pounds of metal spikes into trees in Idaho’s Clearwater National Forest in 1989. She anonymously sent a disturbing and threatening letter to the U.S. Forest Service on behalf of the ecoterrorists and then spent years covering up their crimes."
4. In vetoing Jordan and Banks, Pelosi safeguards history, democracy and Capitol attack probe
By Jill Lawrence
"A speaker who has helmed two impeachments, painful procedures that exposed egregious offenses by President Donald Trump yet failed to remove him from office, knows exactly what would happen if she gave a platform to Republican Reps. Jim Jordan and Jim Banks."
5. Democrats' spending plans don't show any signs of sanity
By Charles C.W. Cooke
"Nobody should be truly surprised that the president’s plan is now being sold as a magical inflation-fighting machine, given that it’s being sold as everything else under the sun, as well. At the time of writing, the Democrats’ package is set to include immigration reform, universal prekindergarten and an expansion of Medicare – all of which, like the rest of its provisions, have been cynically placed under the umbrella of 'much needed investments' and sold to the American public with happy talk about fixing the roads."
6. COVID is back and so are death panels. But this time they're real and live on Fox News.
By Paul Brandus
"What’s really loony and hypocritical here is that even while talking down the vaccine, Republicans are taking credit for it. Operation Warp Speed, after all, was launched during the Trump era, and the first vaccines were approved in December, while Trump was still president."
7. We're asking people of color the wrong questions about racism
By Connie Schultz
"In the late 1960s, Deborah Plummer was the only Black student in her class at a Catholic high school in small town Ohio. At 17, she entered a convent. She was the only Black person there, too. Debbie was a nun for 13 years until she decided she could no longer be one. She is a now a widely celebrated psychologist and author. ... Like many of her white friends, I did not fully understand why she left the order all those years ago until three months after George Floyd was killed by white police officer Derek Chauvin."
8. Young Black men shouldn't have to endure unwarranted traffic stops as a rite of passage
By the Editorial Board
"For decades, Black drivers have been subjected to racial disparities in police traffic stops. In 1996, the Supreme Court gave its unanimous blessing to these fishing expeditions, ruling that police could stop cars for minor violations, even if that was a 'pretext' to search for illegal drugs. With so many potential violations, from tinted windows to a deodorizer dangling from the rearview mirror, police could find a reason to stop just about anyone. Often it was Black drivers."
9. Opioid settlements are imminent. Spend the money on proven treatments that save lives.
By Elizabeth Chiarello and Allan M. Brandt
"The bill is finally coming due for companies that profited from addiction and death. State officials announced Wednesday that four companies are poised to reach a $26 billion settlement with more than 3,000 local governments for their role in fueling the overdose crisis. Purdue Pharma is notably absent, but the notorious firm and the Sackler family that owns it are embroiled in a separate bankruptcy case in which they are likely to pay out $4.5 billion. It could be approved next month."
10. System failure: How federal laws shield sexual predators like Dr. Larry Nassar
By Marci Hamilton
"Last week’s report by the inspector general’s office confirms beyond a doubt that the FBI’s investigation of Dr. Larry Nassar fits squarely into the ever-growing paradigm of failures to prevent child sex abuse. ... It is time for President Biden to convene a national commission on child sex abuse. The Department of Justice's report underscores the desperate need for focused, national attention on systemic, institution-based abuse."
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Paralympics, Biden's Catholicism, and domestic terrorism: Top columns
