Monday Medley

What we read without asking for Congressional approval…

• President Obama sought Congressional approval for an attack on Syria, just days after he appeared to be going forward with any oversight at all. The request, which asks for broad powers, comes in the wake of the alleged use of chemical weapons by Assad’s forces in Syria, though the strike would not qualify as a humanitarian intervention. The FBI is already monitoring Syrians in America.

• An in-depth and appalling look at the NYPD’s Demographics Unit, which is devoted to spying on Muslims throughout New York City based on the vaguest of suspicions. Strange, considering the NYPD’s otherwise stellar record on civil liberties.

• This week in oral histories: The story of “London Calling.”

• Thomas Frank on the high cost of education. Also, why don’t young Americans fight back?

• A comprehensive look at the life of Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer.

• The road that led Brad Stevens to the Boston Celtics.

• Jack Handey’s favorite SNL sketches of all-time.

• Yet another look at Derek Jeter’s defense.

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Monday Medley

What we read while pitching A-Rod high and inside…

• The NSA violates privacy rules thousands of times per year according to their own internal audit. They also target journalists critical of the government. Surely, the nine hour detention of Glenn Greenwald’s partner has nothing to do with that… Given all these abuses and problems with the surveillance state, is it time for a new Church Committee?

• Speaking of Greenwald, how he and Laura Poitras broke the NSA story with Edward Snowden’s help.

• New York’s mayoral race is heating up, particularly on the heels of a ruling calling stop-and-frisk unconstitutional. Mayor Bloomberg is, of course, appealing the decision.

• Does Breaking Bad sensationalize meth? And why Big Pharma is helping meth cooks. In other drug war news, a small victory.

• On the TV-recap industry, and whether we ought to change the name.

• Matt Taibbi on the college loan scandal.

• Saying goodbye to Honey’s of Durham, NC.

• An upcoming biography/documentary on the reclusive J.D. Salinger.

• How to curse.

• Why we love Spencer Hastings.

Against Student Loans

Senator Elizabeth Warren, one of the few American politicians willing to challenge the current financial system, has introduced her first bill in the US Senate. With student loan rates set to double from 3.4% to 6.8% on July 1, the Bank on Student Loan Fairness Act would temporarily reduce those rates to 0.75%, which is the same rate that banks borrow money from the Federal Reserve.

There’s certainly something nice about the symbolism of this bill: Highlighting the discrepancy between the rates offered to financial institutions and rates offered to students investing in an education illustrates the inequities of the financial system. When Senator Warren frames it as a choice between students and banks, it’s clear which side you should be on. And since the bill has no chance of passing, that symbolism is important. But the spirit of the bill is misguided, because the problem with student loans is not that they are too expensive, but that they are too cheap.