The Post backed out of deal and refused to publish an advertisement by Common Cause, apparently because it was critical of Elon Musk. Billionaires have to stick together, I suppose.
In an email blast, Common Cause commented:
Ian, the billionaire-owned Washington Post doesn’t want you to see this Fire Elon Musk ad.
Our ad was all set to run Tuesday morning, with a signed contract and all. But at the last minute, Jeff Bezos’s newspaper rejected our ad from running in its White House edition with no explanation, even though they have run similar ads praising Trump.
You read that right. The Washington Post – which has a responsibility to hold a magnifying glass up to powerful people like Elon Musk and Donald Trump – refused to run our ad calling them out.
The Post – whose tagline reminds us that “democracy dies in darkness” – won’t tell us its reasoning (believe us, we asked!) But when you look at our ad for yourself, I bet you’ll put two and two together:
Just click on the ad to read the article by The Hill about the Post’s abrupt turnaround.
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I’m appalled at the decline of freedoms and and rise of ignorance in this country.
The decline of freedoms and and rise of ignorance in this country isn’t new, though it may have accelerated of late and become more obvious. And it is extremely concerning. I could only speculate as to when these trends actually commenced, but I first took notice more than 50 years ago. The juggernaut marches on seemingly unhindered. Every year legislatures act to outlaw what was once permissible and redefine what still is. Ignorance is enshrined and its adherents have gone forth and multiplied.
What scares me the most about these two trends is that they may be approaching the critical mass to necessary to tilt society and especially government towards the adoption Orwellian solutions.
Hawaii needs to secede from the USA. We can be our own country with our own constitution and laws.
Elected or unelected, I find it deeply disturbing when one of the richest men in the world is giddily boasting about firing tens of thousands of Americans. Granted there have been other efforts to pair down government, but none done with such glee and joy. Those workers are real people who had their lives upended, not a number. The disrespect for these employees, who now have to worry about feeding families, is unsettling.
I was just about ready to sign up for additional coverage for the Post, just like I already have for The NY Times. But this latest news about the Post refusal to run the Common Cause ad killed my desire to do so. It was almost as bad as both newspapers decision regarding their refusing to endorse Kamala Harris
Try the Guardian it’s British but very informative and they have a US edition
A. J. Liebling: “Freedom of the press belongs to the man who owns one”
I’m saddened by the federal layoffs because of the impact on people’s lives, but I also believe that the governments primary role isn’t just to maintain jobs. It’s responsibility is to allocate resources efficiently and serve the public good. While job security is important, government positions should exist based on necessity and purpose, not merely to sustain employment.
Biden funded $80 Billion in tax monies for 87,000 new IRS employees. Trump has one billionaire cutting waste, fraud, and abuse for free.
You are the BEST!!!! thanks for keeping up with so much great info on so many fronts.
Mahalo, Ian. I hope you’ll continue to shine a bright light into the darkest corners of the current abyss…
Not sure if the motivation for backing out of the ad deal is attributable to “Billionaires have to stick together…” Why would someone who has more money than God have to stick with anyone? I realize the remark was sardonic and intended to evoke levity, but I’m bored so I’ll pretend it was meant to be serious and offer a rebuttal.
I don’t read the WaPo (I just do the crosswords), so I don’t know if the paper is typically political or not. I would hope not because I believe the paper purports to be an unbiased news source. I do remember that the WaPo refused to indicate a candidate preference in the last presidential election. So perhaps the motivation behind the decision not to run the ad is a policy to avoid the appearance of engaging in partisan politics.
Or it could be that the ad content was deemed to be a bit over the top, and/or contained facts not in evidence, as they say on CourtTV.
We’ve all been educated very recently about the truly awesome power and reach of the billionaire class. Not only do they not have to stick together, but at least one has elevated himself to the highest echelon of the Executive Branch. Even before Elon decided to buddy up with Trump before the election, imo there was altogether an excess of “news” about Elon and his antics. Now, God help us, that coverage has increased several orders of magnitude which may be appropriate given the radical actions being taken…