The following is an excerpt from OpinionJournal.com’s “Best of the Web” written by the editor, James Taranto.

The Movement Spreads
“We have to occupy first base.”–St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Skip Schumaker, interviewed by ASAPSports.com, Oct. 27

Agnostics Unsure How They Feel About Pope
“Pope Praises Agnostics”–headline, National Review Online, Oct. 27

Everything Seemingly Is Spinning Out of Control
“Crash Spills Grapefruit All Over Grapefruit Blvd.”–headline, KPSP-TV website (Palm Springs, Calif.), Oct. 27

Bottom Stories of the Day

  • “Power Goes Off, Then On in Newton”–headline, Boston Globe website, Oct. 27
  • “Cundiff Doesn’t Agree or Disagree With Harbaugh’s Assessment: Kicker more concerned with converting field goals than wondering what-ifs”–headline and subheadline, Baltimore Sun, Oct. 28

When You’re in a Bubble, Stop Blowing
The New York Times has one of those “Room for Debate” features in which a bunch of people weigh in on a question, in this case “Should College Grads Get a Break on Their Loans?” Answering in the affirmative is Cindy Warner, who “serves as the state coordinator for the California chapter of StudentLoanJustice.org.” A rhetorical question she asks in the course of her contribution crystallizes the mistaken premise behind the entire debate:

How was an entire generation tricked into taking on one trillion dollars in student debt that only enriches banks?

Those loans were taken out to pay for a service, which means that while the interest may enrich banks, the principal enriched the provider of the service, namely institutions of higher education. If the service proved to be less valuable than promised, it is those institutions, not the banks, that ripped off their customers.

Blogger Rick Rice has a photo of an Occupy protester who–assuming this isn’t a Photoshop job–seems to get the idea. Her sign reads: “$96,000 for a BA in Hispanic transgender gay & lesbian studies and I can’t find work!” She should’ve majored in something more practical, like feminist basket weaving.

For more “Best of the Web” click here and look for the “Best of the Web Today” link in the middle column below “Today’s Columnists.”