I want someone to write an opinion piece saying that personal liberty is best served when trans people can live their authentic lives. Another about how LGBTQIA folks exercise their personal liberty by adopting children. Another about how abortion rights contribute to the personal liberty of all. And how about one on how personal liberty is best seen when all who are eligible can vote without threats or absurd rules. Ya know. Personal liberty.
“Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear.” - Harry S. Truman
While it’s no coincidence, of course, that Bezos’s rightward gallop has happened at the moment of Donald Trump’s ascent, other non-Post business-related factors are clearly also in play. More than is commonly realized, Bezos shares the fanatical opposition to unions that characterizes Musk and Murdoch’s editorialists. When President Biden’s NLRB found that the company’s refusal to bargain with Staten Island Amazon warehouse workers who voted to go union three years ago violated the National Labor Relations Act, and that contracting out its own delivery drivers to ostensibly independent contractors was simply a dodge of its responsibility as an employer, Amazon responded with a lawsuit that challenged the constitutionality of the 90-year-old National Labor Relations Act. ....
So Bezos is not only scurrying to do whatever it takes to stay on Trump’s right side, he’s also doing his damnedest to promote the freedom of owners over the freedom of their workers. ....
When it comes to driving prosperity, however, the freedom to unionize has been critical. It’s no accident that the only period of truly mass prosperity in the United States—the three decades following World War II—coincided with the only period of widespread unionization. And it requires no little chutzpah for Bezos to extol the minimization of coercion when Amazon compels its workers to attend anti-union propaganda meetings, and oversees its employees with cameras monitoring their every step in their warehouses and in the cabs of their delivery trucks. Plainly, Bezos means "freedom for me but not for thee."
Dear Jonathan (notice I spelled your name correctly with an "a" instead of the more common "o"). I hate to bother you with this small detail, but it's making me crazy. COULD YOU PLEASE SPELL JON STEWART'S NAME CORRECTLY???
You would think so, right? I WORKED with him! Here's the thing: Every time I go to spell it "Jon," I think to myself, "You dumb-ass narcissist, you just WANT to think he's a Jonathan shortening his name to Jon." So then I check online and because OTHER dumb motherfuckers such as myself have ALSO misspelled it that way, I end up going with that. Or I just don't check. Or I get confused with the Green Lantern John Stewart. Anyway, yeah, it's a problem, second only to me screwing up state abbreviations. I'll try to be better. Thank you.
I have this crazy feeling Jonathan has the Millennium Falcon gassed up and ready to fly if Darth Shitweasel actually gets his lightsaber out of his own hindquarters.
I'm afraid for you and the other open honest journalists with opinions and posts that speak against the current administration's unintelligent but heavily armed with some lawyers and judges, police, and veterans,, could face consequences. ,. I pray you know how to protect yourself anddo!
I had a boss (a well known southern-fried mega-dick) once at State of Arizona where I was a well-established high performing member (Director of IT) in the agency’s executive team.
One day, the boss called me in and closed the door, sitting down and finally offering, “Yeah, so… I KNOW you’ll do the job to the letter of the Governor’s mandate, use the new prescribed statewide methods and practices, and bring your team on board, too, probably better than your peers, but…” <pregnant pause>
And I just waited, until the silence was deafening, at which point I said, “Okay… soooo…”
He continued, finally, with, “Well, ya see, I need you to WANT to do it.”
We looked at each other for what felt like 10 minutes but was probably 10 seconds, until I inquired, “Did you have anything else for me?”
He rocked back in his chair and, shook his head side to side, and said, “Naw, that’s all.”
Now, imagine the boss speaking like Senator John P. Kennedy from Louisiana. Yes, Foghorn Leghorn.
Textbook dipshit passive aggressive power projection, straight out of “Office Space”.
I don't think this has been posted here; apologies if it has. An Atlantic article by Marty Baron from 2023 describing how "on board" Bezos was with the "Democracy Dies in Darkness" WaPo slogan: https://archive.is/BajlS How quickly the captains of industry cave when their "personal liberties" and "free markets" are threatened by a big orange bully ....
I had canceled my WaPo subscription in protest of their burdensome revamp of their comments section. They eventually lured me back in with a - was it $4 or $6/month price. Saw that Bezos declaration and canceled within 2 minutes of reading it. NEVER GOING BACK!
Brilliant and important article; I’ll be sharing it. But I object to including TFN in a list with the New York Times regarding journalistic integrity; the Times has shown irregular but repeated and disturbing evidence of bought-and-sold corruption for many years. I don’t trust anything they say without checking elsewhere.
"Maybe “democracy dies in darkness” was less a warning than a promise, only now fulfilled." I've been trying to think of something witty to say about Bezos's WaPo performative slogan—you beat me to it. Very good!
As for Bezos proclaiming: "I am of America and for America, and proud to be so." (Pure bullshit!) What he's done with the Post is one of the most un-American things I've seen in my lifetime.
https://open.substack.com/pub/betomedia/p/beto-orourkes-message-to-jeff-bezos?r=58mj1v&utm_medium=ios
I want someone to write an opinion piece saying that personal liberty is best served when trans people can live their authentic lives. Another about how LGBTQIA folks exercise their personal liberty by adopting children. Another about how abortion rights contribute to the personal liberty of all. And how about one on how personal liberty is best seen when all who are eligible can vote without threats or absurd rules. Ya know. Personal liberty.
“Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear.” - Harry S. Truman
Harold Meyerson over at The American Prospect has his usual excellent (and somewhat snarky) take: https://prospect.org/blogs-and-newsletters/tap/2025-02-27-bezos-new-editorial-team-all-the-presidents-men/
===============
While it’s no coincidence, of course, that Bezos’s rightward gallop has happened at the moment of Donald Trump’s ascent, other non-Post business-related factors are clearly also in play. More than is commonly realized, Bezos shares the fanatical opposition to unions that characterizes Musk and Murdoch’s editorialists. When President Biden’s NLRB found that the company’s refusal to bargain with Staten Island Amazon warehouse workers who voted to go union three years ago violated the National Labor Relations Act, and that contracting out its own delivery drivers to ostensibly independent contractors was simply a dodge of its responsibility as an employer, Amazon responded with a lawsuit that challenged the constitutionality of the 90-year-old National Labor Relations Act. ....
So Bezos is not only scurrying to do whatever it takes to stay on Trump’s right side, he’s also doing his damnedest to promote the freedom of owners over the freedom of their workers. ....
When it comes to driving prosperity, however, the freedom to unionize has been critical. It’s no accident that the only period of truly mass prosperity in the United States—the three decades following World War II—coincided with the only period of widespread unionization. And it requires no little chutzpah for Bezos to extol the minimization of coercion when Amazon compels its workers to attend anti-union propaganda meetings, and oversees its employees with cameras monitoring their every step in their warehouses and in the cabs of their delivery trucks. Plainly, Bezos means "freedom for me but not for thee."
69 conservative magazines: nice!
I swear that was real.
Dropped my long-term WAPO subscription recently at that appropriate time. Way too many rich shmucks destroying this country and it pristine ideals.
Dear Jonathan (notice I spelled your name correctly with an "a" instead of the more common "o"). I hate to bother you with this small detail, but it's making me crazy. COULD YOU PLEASE SPELL JON STEWART'S NAME CORRECTLY???
You would think so, right? I WORKED with him! Here's the thing: Every time I go to spell it "Jon," I think to myself, "You dumb-ass narcissist, you just WANT to think he's a Jonathan shortening his name to Jon." So then I check online and because OTHER dumb motherfuckers such as myself have ALSO misspelled it that way, I end up going with that. Or I just don't check. Or I get confused with the Green Lantern John Stewart. Anyway, yeah, it's a problem, second only to me screwing up state abbreviations. I'll try to be better. Thank you.
I have this crazy feeling Jonathan has the Millennium Falcon gassed up and ready to fly if Darth Shitweasel actually gets his lightsaber out of his own hindquarters.
I'm afraid for you and the other open honest journalists with opinions and posts that speak against the current administration's unintelligent but heavily armed with some lawyers and judges, police, and veterans,, could face consequences. ,. I pray you know how to protect yourself anddo!
Thank you, Bonnie. I feel pretty safe, FWIW!
I had a boss (a well known southern-fried mega-dick) once at State of Arizona where I was a well-established high performing member (Director of IT) in the agency’s executive team.
One day, the boss called me in and closed the door, sitting down and finally offering, “Yeah, so… I KNOW you’ll do the job to the letter of the Governor’s mandate, use the new prescribed statewide methods and practices, and bring your team on board, too, probably better than your peers, but…” <pregnant pause>
And I just waited, until the silence was deafening, at which point I said, “Okay… soooo…”
He continued, finally, with, “Well, ya see, I need you to WANT to do it.”
We looked at each other for what felt like 10 minutes but was probably 10 seconds, until I inquired, “Did you have anything else for me?”
He rocked back in his chair and, shook his head side to side, and said, “Naw, that’s all.”
Now, imagine the boss speaking like Senator John P. Kennedy from Louisiana. Yes, Foghorn Leghorn.
Textbook dipshit passive aggressive power projection, straight out of “Office Space”.
I’m so glad I retired.🎤🫳
Change one letter and he's Bozos...
I don't think this has been posted here; apologies if it has. An Atlantic article by Marty Baron from 2023 describing how "on board" Bezos was with the "Democracy Dies in Darkness" WaPo slogan: https://archive.is/BajlS How quickly the captains of industry cave when their "personal liberties" and "free markets" are threatened by a big orange bully ....
I had canceled my WaPo subscription in protest of their burdensome revamp of their comments section. They eventually lured me back in with a - was it $4 or $6/month price. Saw that Bezos declaration and canceled within 2 minutes of reading it. NEVER GOING BACK!
I had let my subscription go without renewing. I’ve been tempted to with all their offers but now it’s a definite
HELL NO.
Same here - I will miss some of my fav journos and opinionators, but I can't support this storied newspaper any longer....
✊✊✊
Brilliant and important article; I’ll be sharing it. But I object to including TFN in a list with the New York Times regarding journalistic integrity; the Times has shown irregular but repeated and disturbing evidence of bought-and-sold corruption for many years. I don’t trust anything they say without checking elsewhere.
"Maybe “democracy dies in darkness” was less a warning than a promise, only now fulfilled." I've been trying to think of something witty to say about Bezos's WaPo performative slogan—you beat me to it. Very good!
As for Bezos proclaiming: "I am of America and for America, and proud to be so." (Pure bullshit!) What he's done with the Post is one of the most un-American things I've seen in my lifetime.