I have cancelled my subscription to the Washington Post,and I'm boycotting Amazon. Bezos may be a pushover, but I'm not. I urge others to send a message loud and clear to Bezos and WAPO
I am starting to think “the guardrails” have always been at least in part illusory. A comforting story we told ourselves. Because if they have crumpled this quickly-in 8 short years-how real were they to begin with?
Per Professor Timothy Snyder, a Yale historian and expert on autocracy- the first rule in fighting authoritarianism is- Do not obey in advance. Both the Washington Post and the L.A. Times have broken this rule by refusing to make a presidential endorsement. These two newspapers, both owned by billionaires, accepted trumps threats and have decided to put their personal and business interests ahead of the interests of our country.
I've decided to assume the worst, the reality of the moment is bad enough. My questions boil down to "Do I have the stones to be truthful in the face of the worst?"
This is off-topic, but I am wondering if someone -- anyone -- with any connection to the Harris campaign could suggest they contact Jill Stein to see if she would be willing to drop her presidential bid for a role in the Harris Administration. This would help the Green Party get a foot in the door, and Stein could actually do some good for the country rather than siphoning votes from Harris. Maybe this is a dumb idea.... but it seems to have worked for Trump and RFK, Jr.
I SO agree. What is the point of Jill Stein in this election exactly? NO POINT. She should step down. Maybe Vlad had a word-and asked her to stay in....
Another horrifying observation: the Trump Media & Technology Group stock price has tripled in a little over a month. As a PhD economist, my best professional judgment is that the main reasons to hold shares in this enterprise with little revenue and no profit are a) to curry favor with Trump and b) to be ready to cash in when a second Trump Administration begins practicing industrial-scale graft by throwing business to Truth Social.
What's really scary about this is that an investment in DJT (the NASDAQ ticker symbol for the stock) is a real put-your-money-where-your-mouth-is bet on a Trump victory. The investors are expecting to cash in.
The authoritarian has the advantage: Media and the tech bros are rightfully scared of Trump's vindictiveness if he's elected, but know that Harris will not punish them if she is. If "The People" do not affirmatively vote for ethics, the authoritarian wins.
It's a worship of Nietzche's dim view of what he called the 'slave morality' of the Bible (love you neighbor, help the weak, etc). He championed brute strength, power, sticking it to the idea that people should be 'good'. It's behind the cruelty, the trolling, the disregard for objective facts. The drive to be/feel powerful by insisting that reality is whatever the strongman says it is.
JVL is of course right, Bezo's move has little to do with the WaPo and everything to do with Jeff's position as Amazon's largest shareholder...his real business as opposed to his hobby. The bazillionaires are lining up to kiss the ring even before the election.
Well, I'm joining the list of people who are now cancelling Washington Post because of this latest news. I am also re-subbing to The Bulwark because I developed withdrawal after I cancelled due to feeling overwhelmed by all my subscriptions! The Bulwark is among the best, and I am glad to be back! Starting out monthly, but will most likely go back to yearly soon.
Timothy Snyder in “On Tyranny” says we must support institutions we believe are important. The Bulwark is one I believe is important. I also support The Atlantic (love Goldberg, Applebaum, Nichols, etc.) and PBS. I am thinking of increasing my support to PBS as I write this.
I told a co-worker that a Trump win will return us to a day where the news is the news, no longer opinions and entertainment, since there will only be one version and one voice and it will come from the government.
Another expression for this behavior is "self-censorship." I know it well and practice it daily. I'm currently writing from Beijing where my Gmail works on my Google Pixel phone everywhere, much to my colleagues' incredulity. It doesn't work on my laptop anywhere. I can get my subversive subscriptions through my phone at least. But what happens when all media outlets everywhere are (self)censored? I seem to recall an adage, "Democracy Dies in Darkness". Must've been a long time ago, even though it seems like only yesterday.
Just quoted your paragraphs following the '...this is a business story...' section on the WAPO comments section under the 'Post columnists respond' section, JVL. I've cancelled my WAPO subscription as well. Can't adequately describe how bereft I feel right now. I'm also sad and frightened. It's happening, isn't it?
I am, however, going to try to hold the feeling evoked from the smile that broke across my face as I listened to Joe Trippi's pod this morning as they talked polls, and quoted your 'I'm sorry but.....' hopeium edition directly. They posted a link in their show notes. Still, the small happinesses and warm feelings are available.
We are the only real guardrails. By we I mean everyone from Liz Cheney to Liz Warren who believes in our Constitutional system, the rule of law, representative democracy, and capitalism*. It is only by our vigilance that we can count on our system to survive. No heroes are coming to save us. All we have is each other. May we always fight on.
*I know there is a big difference between Cheney and Warren on how much government regulation is needed in the economy but that's a fight how to drive the car, not whether to drive it off a cliff).
I have cancelled my subscription to the Washington Post,and I'm boycotting Amazon. Bezos may be a pushover, but I'm not. I urge others to send a message loud and clear to Bezos and WAPO
We may have to find ways of staying in touch without being tracked! Or develop a sophisticated code to communicate. So sad.
I am starting to think “the guardrails” have always been at least in part illusory. A comforting story we told ourselves. Because if they have crumpled this quickly-in 8 short years-how real were they to begin with?
How will The Bulwark resist Trump’s ineluctable takeover of the news media? By going underground?
Per Professor Timothy Snyder, a Yale historian and expert on autocracy- the first rule in fighting authoritarianism is- Do not obey in advance. Both the Washington Post and the L.A. Times have broken this rule by refusing to make a presidential endorsement. These two newspapers, both owned by billionaires, accepted trumps threats and have decided to put their personal and business interests ahead of the interests of our country.
I've decided to assume the worst, the reality of the moment is bad enough. My questions boil down to "Do I have the stones to be truthful in the face of the worst?"
This is off-topic, but I am wondering if someone -- anyone -- with any connection to the Harris campaign could suggest they contact Jill Stein to see if she would be willing to drop her presidential bid for a role in the Harris Administration. This would help the Green Party get a foot in the door, and Stein could actually do some good for the country rather than siphoning votes from Harris. Maybe this is a dumb idea.... but it seems to have worked for Trump and RFK, Jr.
I SO agree. What is the point of Jill Stein in this election exactly? NO POINT. She should step down. Maybe Vlad had a word-and asked her to stay in....
Either way this turns out this country and the western world writ large have some serious soul searching to do.
That's all we may be left with to do. If Trump grabs power and refuses to relinquish it.
Another horrifying observation: the Trump Media & Technology Group stock price has tripled in a little over a month. As a PhD economist, my best professional judgment is that the main reasons to hold shares in this enterprise with little revenue and no profit are a) to curry favor with Trump and b) to be ready to cash in when a second Trump Administration begins practicing industrial-scale graft by throwing business to Truth Social.
What's really scary about this is that an investment in DJT (the NASDAQ ticker symbol for the stock) is a real put-your-money-where-your-mouth-is bet on a Trump victory. The investors are expecting to cash in.
The authoritarian has the advantage: Media and the tech bros are rightfully scared of Trump's vindictiveness if he's elected, but know that Harris will not punish them if she is. If "The People" do not affirmatively vote for ethics, the authoritarian wins.
Ethics, yes. Morality as well. Trump is evil . It's right out of the Great Orange Mouth.
It's a worship of Nietzche's dim view of what he called the 'slave morality' of the Bible (love you neighbor, help the weak, etc). He championed brute strength, power, sticking it to the idea that people should be 'good'. It's behind the cruelty, the trolling, the disregard for objective facts. The drive to be/feel powerful by insisting that reality is whatever the strongman says it is.
New Washington Post tagline: Democracy Dies in Silence
JVL is of course right, Bezo's move has little to do with the WaPo and everything to do with Jeff's position as Amazon's largest shareholder...his real business as opposed to his hobby. The bazillionaires are lining up to kiss the ring even before the election.
Well, I'm joining the list of people who are now cancelling Washington Post because of this latest news. I am also re-subbing to The Bulwark because I developed withdrawal after I cancelled due to feeling overwhelmed by all my subscriptions! The Bulwark is among the best, and I am glad to be back! Starting out monthly, but will most likely go back to yearly soon.
Timothy Snyder in “On Tyranny” says we must support institutions we believe are important. The Bulwark is one I believe is important. I also support The Atlantic (love Goldberg, Applebaum, Nichols, etc.) and PBS. I am thinking of increasing my support to PBS as I write this.
I told a co-worker that a Trump win will return us to a day where the news is the news, no longer opinions and entertainment, since there will only be one version and one voice and it will come from the government.
Another expression for this behavior is "self-censorship." I know it well and practice it daily. I'm currently writing from Beijing where my Gmail works on my Google Pixel phone everywhere, much to my colleagues' incredulity. It doesn't work on my laptop anywhere. I can get my subversive subscriptions through my phone at least. But what happens when all media outlets everywhere are (self)censored? I seem to recall an adage, "Democracy Dies in Darkness". Must've been a long time ago, even though it seems like only yesterday.
Just quoted your paragraphs following the '...this is a business story...' section on the WAPO comments section under the 'Post columnists respond' section, JVL. I've cancelled my WAPO subscription as well. Can't adequately describe how bereft I feel right now. I'm also sad and frightened. It's happening, isn't it?
I am, however, going to try to hold the feeling evoked from the smile that broke across my face as I listened to Joe Trippi's pod this morning as they talked polls, and quoted your 'I'm sorry but.....' hopeium edition directly. They posted a link in their show notes. Still, the small happinesses and warm feelings are available.
We are the only real guardrails. By we I mean everyone from Liz Cheney to Liz Warren who believes in our Constitutional system, the rule of law, representative democracy, and capitalism*. It is only by our vigilance that we can count on our system to survive. No heroes are coming to save us. All we have is each other. May we always fight on.
*I know there is a big difference between Cheney and Warren on how much government regulation is needed in the economy but that's a fight how to drive the car, not whether to drive it off a cliff).
I love that last line... well worth repeating!