Another Sign Of The Times: 'F**k ICE'

Authored by Thaddeus McCotter via American Greatness,

Strolling through a major American urban metropolis, I noticed that the tightly packed homes and squat tri-level apartments and condos had tiny, browning “natural gardens” pocked with the usual virtue-signaling lawn signs setting forth their progressive secular creed’s commandments: “kindness always,” “hate has no home here,” etc.

Yet amidst this self-proclaimed bastion of love and tolerance, I quickly spied an ostensibly contradictory placard in many residential windows and, in fact, on the bumpers of many cars, both rust buckets and some upscale, socially responsible electric ones. Indeed, this sentiment was so prevalent that the host of a YouTube video touring the city’s neighborhoods casually expressed it as an aside and apologized for not stating it in a prior video.

What was this urgent statement needing to be publicly proclaimed to one and all by any and all means fair and foul?

It was “F— ICE.”

Being literal, initially the prospect left me cold.

Then I wondered if the sign maker had misspelled “DEI.”

However, upon reflection, I realized that ICE was the acronym for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Despite the other lawn signs professing kindness, I immediately understood the f— in question was not to be construed as an act of love. Further, the people sticking these placards in their windows and onto their bumpers are clearly not an “ally” of ICE.

“F— ICE” did not have the ring of “Aux Armes!” or “¡No pasarán!” or even “земля мира и хлеб!” In fairness, though, I did notice the “F— ICE” sign. But I also would have noticed a dead skunk glued to a window or squished on a bumper.

In a sign of the times, once more, public profanity was conflated with sincerity and earnestness—and, of course, “hipness” and “edginess”; and, once again, the consequences of such selfish public virtue-signaling were ignored, if they were ever contemplated at all.

Did such virtue-signaling regressives understand their vehement, vulgar opposition could help foster dangerous and deadly attacks upon ICE agents whose only “crime” was enforcing the duly enacted laws of the United States? Or that it could help foment equally dangerous and deadly confrontations between ICE agents, illegal immigrants, and bystanders who deliberately interfere with agents in the course of their duties?

Did they understand that by abetting open borders they helped diminish and demean the hard work and sacrifices made by legal immigrants to the country? Or that in aiding illegal immigration (and usually opposing assimilation) they harm legal immigrants by diminishing their public safety, lowering wages and job opportunities, and straining the social safety net resources available to those who need them?

Perhaps they were unaware Zeale reported that, in the aftermath of violence regarding the enforcement of American immigration laws, two Catholic bishops did, in fact, grapple with the issue and concluded:

Acts that diminish or disregard the dignity of any person or group of people should never be normalized in our society,” Bishop Daniel Garcia and Bishop Brendan Cahill wrote in a July 20 pastoral reflection published by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). “The dehumanization of immigrants, regardless of their legal status, is one such example of this; the vilification of law enforcement officers is yet another.

As the reporter, Elizabeth Ervin, makes clear, the two bishops are certainly not ICE apologists. Acknowledging their “pastoral concerns are distinct from what the civil law itself may permit,” the pair of clerics expressed their opposition to racial profiling and called for reforming immigration enforcement to ensure “accountability, transparency, and justice.”

Nonetheless, the bishops’ support for migrants regardless of their status and for reforming immigration enforcement did not lead them to demonize ICE agents. On the contrary: “We continue to affirm the legitimate role of civil authorities to implement the law in a humane manner and with respect for fundamental human rights, including the rights to life and due process. The power of the state must always be exercised within the limits of the moral law.”

Whatever one’s view of immigration and border security, only the worst among us can fail to recognize the above is an example of “civility.” And engaging in civil discourse with those who disagree with you is a far more conducive way to achieve change and consensus than spouting profanity in public to preen for your allies and alienate everyone else.

As the bishops remind us, “We pray for an end to dehumanizing rhetoric, racial prejudice, and violence and for a renewed commitment to recognizing the inherent dignity of every person as a child of God.”

Sure, that might not fit on a windowsill or below a trunk, but that is no matter. Such truth is meant to be etched in the heart.

Tyler Durden Sat, 08/08/2026 - 17:30

Student Loan Payments Are Spiking: What Changed On July 1 And What Borrowers Over 50 Should Do

Authored by Adam H. Douglas via The Epoch Times,

If you carry federal student loans, July 1, 2026, redrew your map. With last year's tax law changes taking effect on that date, the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan was dismantled, and servicers began notifying millions of borrowers to pick a new repayment plan or have one picked for them.

The end of the SAVE plan could raise your student loan payments unless you act before your 90-day deadline. zimmytws/shutterstock

For borrowers over 50, and especially Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students (Parent PLUS) holders, the wrong move, or no move, can push payments up sharply at exactly the stage of life when income stops growing.

Here is what changed and what to do about it.

Quick Answer: The SAVE Plan Is Ending. What Should You Do?

Starting July 1, servicers began sending SAVE borrowers notices giving them 90 days to choose a different repayment plan. For most older borrowers, the realistic choices are Income-Based Repayment (IBR), which is staying available for loans taken before July 2026, or the new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP). If you do nothing inside your 90-day window, you will be placed automatically into a standard plan, which usually carries the highest monthly payment. Find your notice, date your deadline, and run your numbers at StudentAid.gov before the clock runs out.

The Details: What Changed on July 1

The new rules split borrowers into two tracks.

• If all your loans predate July 1, 2026, you keep most of your current options and gain access to RAP.
• If you take out any new loan or consolidate after that date, your entire balance is limited to just two plans: RAP or the new Tiered Standard Plan.

One point worth knowing: Borrowers who enroll in automatic debit can now receive a temporary 1 percent interest rate reduction.

Choosing Between IBR and RAP After Age 50

For a borrower near retirement, the comparison is monthly relief versus the finish line.

RAP can produce lower payments for some borrowers, includes an interest subsidy so on-time payers see their principal fall, and never exceeds 10 percent of adjusted gross income.

But its forgiveness horizon is 30 years; time in RAP does not count toward IBR forgiveness if you later switch, and its brackets are not indexed for inflation, so modest income bumps can raise payments.

IBR keeps the shorter 20-to-25-year forgiveness path, which matters if you already have a decade of qualifying payments banked. Run both through the Loan Simulator before deciding.

What Default Actually Costs After 50

The reason to act is visible in the data.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reports that roughly 1 million borrowers defaulted in the last quarter of 2025, and another 2.6 million did so in the first quarter of 2026. The average newly defaulted borrower is nearly 40 years old and was not behind on these loans before the pandemic.

Credit scores for defaulted borrowers dropped 91 points on average, from 567 to 476.

For a younger worker, default is a setback. After 50, it is a direct threat to retirement income, because the federal government collects in ways no private lender can:

• Wage garnishment of up to 15 percent of your disposable pay, without a court judgment.
• Tax refund seizure through the Treasury Offset Program.
• Social Security offset of up to 15 percent of your benefit. The law's protected floor of $750 per month has not been adjusted for inflation in decades, so it protects far less than it once did.

One nuance: Collections on defaulted loans are currently suspended, with no announced restart date, but defaults are still being reported to credit bureaus during the pause. Consider this a window to fix your situation.

If you are already in default, the two exits are rehabilitation, which requires nine on-time payments, and consolidation. Consider starting either now, while collections remain paused.

The Parent PLUS Problem

Parent PLUS borrowers face the hardest news. Under the new rules, the loans are largely shut out of income-driven repayment and Public Service Loan Forgiveness unless the parent's loans were consolidated into a Direct Consolidation Loan that disbursed on or before June 30, 2026. That window has closed.

If you consolidated in time, protect what you secured: Stay enrolled, recertify on schedule, and know that ICR sunsets in 2028, so a transition is coming.

If you did not, your realistic path is a standard, graduated, or extended plan, which means building the payment into your retirement budget rather than hoping it shrinks. Either way, call your servicer, confirm which plans your loans qualify for, and ask about hardship options before missing a payment.

Your Next Five Moves

• Log in to StudentAid.gov and confirm your servicer and contact information, since notices arrive by email or portal message.
• Find your transition notice and write down your 90-day deadline.
• Run your loans through the Loan Simulator and compare IBR and RAP side by side.
• Apply for your chosen plan well before the deadline, and keep confirmation of your application.
• If you are delinquent or in default, contact your servicer this week. The nine-month line between delinquency and default is the one that triggers everything above.

FAQs About Student Loan Changes July 2026 What Happens if I Ignore the Notice From My Servicer?

You will be placed automatically into a standard repayment plan once your 90-day window closes. Standard plans carry fixed payments that are typically the highest monthly amount charged, with no connection to your income and no path to forgiveness. For a borrower on a fixed retirement income, that payment shock is exactly what the notice period exists to prevent. Choosing a plan yourself, even imperfectly, almost always beats the default placement.

Can Social Security Really Be Garnished for Student Loans?

Yes. Federal law allows an offset of up to 15 percent of Social Security benefits for defaulted federal student loans, and the protected monthly floor of $750 was set decades ago and never adjusted for inflation. Offsets, along with other collections on defaulted loans, are currently suspended without an announced restart date. That pause is an opportunity to cure a default through rehabilitation or consolidation before collections resume, not a reason to wait.

Is RAP or IBR Better for Someone Near Retirement?

It depends on your history. If you have years of qualifying payments already banked, IBR's 20-to-25-year forgiveness timeline may be within reach, and switching to RAP would restart a 30-year clock that most borrowers over 50 will never, or barely, finish. If your payments under IBR would be unaffordable, RAP's income-based formula and interest subsidy may offer relief. Run both scenarios in the Loan Simulator and compare the monthly payment against the forgiveness date.

I Already Defaulted. Is It Too Late?

No. With collections suspended, this is the best window you will get. Loan rehabilitation requires nine on-time, income-based payments and removes the default from your credit report. Consolidation out of default can work faster but leaves the default notation in place. Contact the Education Department's Default Resolution Group to start either one, and act before collections restart, because garnishment and benefit offsets become possible once they do.

The Epoch Times copyright © 2026. The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors. They are meant for general informational purposes only and should not be construed or interpreted as a recommendation or solicitation. The Epoch Times does not provide investment, tax, legal, financial planning, estate planning, or any other personal finance advice. The Epoch Times holds no liability for the accuracy or timeliness of the information provided.

Tyler Durden Sat, 08/08/2026 - 16:20