862 Comments
Oct 25·edited Oct 25

I agree. I am disgusted. I have cancelled my subscription to WaPo and also Amazon Prime. Now is not the time to "get back to our roots". Now is the time to stand up against fascism. Trump IS a fascist. full stop.

ps. I hope Eugene Robinson quits. I enjoy his column. He'd have no problem getting a new job. He could do well here on Substack.

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The problem is too many have no clue what fascism is. Show them.

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<<too many have no clue what fascism is>> That's because the right-wing weasels [starting with Reagan] slashed funds supporting education, both college-level and further down. So history -- and especially world history -- were not taught, and thus people can't recognize the characteristics of fascism. Timothy Snyder's On Tyranny ought to be required reading before anyone can register to vote.

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One of Snyder's warnings was submission to authoritarians in advance (paraphrasing) which is what Bezos is doing with WaPo.

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Like!

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There should be a big magazine cover photo of Bezos and the other newspaper guy with a heading that says something like “Weak Men Who Kowtow to Fascism”

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Furious

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Maybe start with the Constitution.

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Then look at what has happened to the Constitution, and the fact that it has already been compromised by simply not being followed or supported.

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How far the meaning and the historical context need to be clawed back is daunting. Citizens United is second only to the twisting of word and original idea of Scalia's perversion of the 2d Amendment. It's downright tragic! The words could be followed and supported for their best intent. Instead, of all things, most invidious of all to the ideals of the men (doing their best in a man's world) who put the thing together, of all goddamn things, cult religion rules in the Land of the Free etc.

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Mmerose : exactly: one of the things in our Constitution , the separation of church and state was violated in overturning Roe. "Let there be no law made, regarding religion.". Young women have died, at least two that are known nationally, and most likely more, who died in the shadows of poverty and fear. More have had damage done to their bodies and minds/spirits, some unable to conceive again , due to damage to their reproductive organs. Doctors and nurses are leaving states with the draconian laws, creating medical deserts, while forced birth continues to rule against our Constitution. Is this self rule? Is this "pro life?" Killing women and girls, by banning medical care.

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True, Laurie! The Constitution is not being applied to Trump, Musk & other billionaires (Bezos included) & powerful government officials (at least the Republican ones).

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There is a need for a wholesale revision of the constitution to eliminate the idea of an elected monarch. Getting there will be diffcult but there are good models, e.g. Switzerland with its Federal Council.

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Yes, the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.

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founding

Many countries have constitutions that are routinely ignored by the Government and the Courts. We in the U.S are somewhat unique in that for the most part we have complied with it. There is a long history of 'generous' interpretations.

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At this point, we have lawlessness that is destroying the Constitution as the present corruption has prevented Justice almost entirely. Trump has managed to get into the position of again trying to overthrow the government. I hope our President and those who are charged with defending US from all enemies ; Foreign and domestic, have a plan in place. The billionaires who should not even exist, are literally buying votes on a stage, openly. The lawlessness is obvious, brazen and breathtaking.

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One thing I don’t understand is how the lawyers that work for trump are allowed to bring lawsuits that are worthless just for publicity or to waste time. I don’t remember specifics, but more than once I’ve heard of lawsuits they’ve brought dismissed for lack of evidence or various other reasons. Why aren’t they fined for frivolous lawsuits or wasting the courts time?

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Midwest, when I was in 9th grade civics class, one of our important assignments was to rewrite the Constitution in our own words. It was hard because I had to sit with a dictionary while doing it, but it was powerful. My mom helped with some of the interpretations, and we both learned a lot. I have read it many times since then, and each time I wonder why this is not required reading for every single citizen and citizen wannabee at least once a year with commentary.

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Yes. In Mexico the legislative power is destroying it!

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Carolina Orozco : Here, the Supreme Court was stacked over time, culminating in tRUMP's last three picks, who now enable the 6 'justice ' majority of traitors who refused to observe the 14th amendment section 3 disqualification clause, which would have removed them , for violation of their oaths of office for violating the Separation of church and state, when they overturned Roe, and also would have removed quite a few election deniers who also violated their oaths while refusing to certify President Biden's win, and some even had family members who supported the insurrection ; Ginny Thomas' phone records clearly showed that evidence. They took bribes on the Supreme Court and refused to recuse, along with other crimes. many members of Congress should have been gone long ago, that is why even with all the support for Harris/Walz, voters are being misled by polls and outright lies. Trump should have been jailed on Jan 6th, along with his supporters.

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I’m a recently retired elementary schoolteacher. Teachers are placed under tremendous pressure to perform high test scores in only two subjects: English and Math. Other subjects are taught, but not with the same rigor. During the pandemic l taught online. Some parents complained when l shared current events involving President Trump!

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John Lake, I'm so glad you did it and so sad parents complained. With our current lack of a shared, agreed-upon perception of reality, I don't see how teachers will be able to teach anything but numbers. The GOP, despite what happens on Nov. 5, is making great strides in destroying our American tradition of educating our children and young people.

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Best book I have read on the subject, M! Recommend it as a gift to a youngster before the books are banned and burned!

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What do you think of Madeline Albright's Fascism: A Warning?

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Great book! Get a copy!

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Wasn't there a movie? Tell us more!

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Yes! 'Five Steps to Tyranny' a BBC production from Dec. 28, 2012. On You Tube

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Great point. My wife and I do watch a lot of foreign mysteries and are always amazed at how the characters including children can go from one of several languages to another. Also, their knowledge of geography and different cultures. My father whose parents came from Lebanon spoke at least two and probably three languages as he grew up in an Italian neighborhood. He had only a 7 th grade education but our family subscribed to both Scranton newspapers as well as our town’s two papers. And on Sunday on our way home from Sunday school we picked up two other papers , one being the New York Herald Tribune.

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Absolutely. Education and an educated public are the bedrock foundations of a Democracy ( capital “D”) Full stop.

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Presently reading BLOODLANDS by Snyder; casually read WAITING FOR GODOT as the companion text.. only to find yourself at the local, self check in CUCKOOS NEST.

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Also, journalists should be interviewing immigrants who have settled here to escape fascism, to share their stories, and help people here understand.

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Dear Mauimom: Great comment . It is right on the money

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Sadly true. Never underestimate the amount of ignorance and lack of interest in kearning from history's lessons. Registered voters should be required to have both basic civics and history understanding.

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Today I tried to convince my SW Florida Generator repair guy that a vote for Kamala was better than Trump. He was unaware of benefits of Inflation Reduction Act and Kamala Harris' consumer Advocate efforts. I remember when I was teaching middle school in Southern California the curriculum scheduling was reduced in some subjects to make room for technology preparedness. I fear that reducing exposure to civics and history is going to destroy our democracy. We are becoming a nation of anti social idiots.

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Agreed. As a former language tutor with refugees, I know that language opens up understanding. Putting technology first is the cart before the horse.

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History with, cause and effect, should be in the foundation of every school cirriculum. Technology is part of learning to earn a living. Proper history is part of learning to be a good citizen.

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Absolutely! A course in comparative world history is a must in today's world.

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Learning tech is also about educating a population for corporations to use. I wonder how much they educate or train their staff. When I worked at a large corporation in the early ‘80s, they would put on classes for Microsoft products and other software that you could sign up for and attend free.

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Contrary to what most of us believe, language skills are a better measure of IQ than math (technology). Society wide immersion in technology skills cannot replace common sense. Elon Musk seems brilliant while struggling to embrace common sense.

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That's true. The more languages we kniw, the of our brains is devoted to languages.

There is a theory that it was language skills which enabled homo sapiens to succeed where other human species such as Neanderthals became extinct.

The argument is it was language skills which enabled homo sapiens to jump from small family groups to being able to organise larger groups around concepts such as identity, nationalism and religious beliefs to form towns and later cities and nations.

Now we are all homo sapiens and the internet and other communications are forming a global identity.

Interesting ideas.

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Yes, when gets with Drumpf he's on the level of 4th-grade paranoid ramblings!

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I remember that when I was in middle school and high school, we had a current events section in our English classes, and we had to read newspaper articles and then summarize them. And articulate what the main sentence was. I don’t know of a single kid that is required to read a major newspaper today. The level of ignorance is terrifying.

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Ignorance is always terrifying.

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Teaching English and math are certainly important but what about the arts? This all important area is the key to learning the subtlety of self expression and the benefits thereof.

I have always believed that artistic expression independent of its modality,is a major key to peace in the world and concern for the common good. It is also the key to understanding the deadly outburst of violence around the world committed by those who are unable or ignorant of how to express themselves with beauty and understanding.

And Trump and his enablers want to get rid of of the department of education?!? If we allow that to happen, we will truly become a nation of sheep blindly following the dictates of an insane dictator. Our world is wobbly enough.Let us keep it in orbit. VOTE BLUE IF YOU LOVE LIFE AND FREEDOM.

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Yes, it's in the nature of the technology. AI will make our brains superfluous. We must redefine progress lest we go extinct.

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Currently, it seems that AI is mostly used to find the most common opinion on a given subject. Not having actual experience like living beings, it is limited to searching the web, trying to assemble words into sensible paragraphs. But, it has difficulty knowing what is real and what is not. That seems to mimic some of our politicians!

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Our brains are marvelous computers, but, as Daniel Kahneman has pointed out in Thinking, Fast, Thinking Slow, they are slow at statistical, probability thinking, and this is where AI excels.

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Who is going to dispense this information? Our severely compromised public education system? What we need to understand as a people is the immense power the corporate-run government has over our daily lives, from the food we eat to the information we receive. We need to expose the Wizard for what it is, but the commercial - and I do mean commercial - media is not the one to do it since all media outlets are also under the corporate thrall.

Mussolini described fascism as the perfect merge of corporation and government. All we lack is an oppressive dictator and the takeover will be complete.

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To your comment on commercial media. We once had a free press. We don't anymore. We do have substack...

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Perhaps this is what the ignorant person wants. There can be no excuse for ignorance in America today.

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David, as I understand it, only the literate classes in ancient Greece possessed the privilege of the vote. Agreed that just to hold citizenship should not in itself qualify a person to choose between the potential life or death of the Republic.

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Which is why general education was an ideal of America until not so long ago! Which is why Betsy De Vos and her ilk hate general education, not to mention the vote for the scum they don't want educated! See the circular system ?

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It's not so much that DeVos and her cohort hate "general" education; it's that they hate PUBLIC education and are doing everything they can to destroy it, and have been doing so for decades in Michigan where DeVos and Hillsdale College and other right-wing activists dwell. Betsy DeVos who was Trump's Department of Education cabinet member, never attended ANY public school in her entire life, not K-12, not college. The charter school "movement" in Michigan has a long history, an early "adopter" so to speak, and it has been tied with right-wing haters of public education (and other underlying attitudes that usually accompany hatred for public education, e.g. racism, white supremacy, doctrinaire religious ideas, etc.) from its beginnings. What a stunning irony to put someone with a virulent antagonism for public education in charge of the Department of Education - and now, with Project 2025, to aim to eliminate the Department of Education altogether!

Trump had a practice of putting people in charge of departments and agencies who were either thoroughly corrupt and use their offices for their corrupt ends or putting people with a history of wanting to eliminate those bodies entirely in charge of government bodies; Louis DeJoy and the United States Postal Service being the prime example. Appointed by Trump - and still there, still sabotaging and undermining the Service and still being an absolute uncooperative jerk when he is called to testify to Congress. He is rude, snarly and combative to their questions; they grandstand for the hearings about the problems. He exits the hearings - and nothing changes, except that things get worse and worse. His vocal history of hostility for the USPS and his conflicts of interest would have made him persona non grata in that position in any normal (i.e. decent) administration, but he was perfect for Trump and his Congressional cronies, aiming to finally privatize the USPS. Next up for the Republicans: end Social Security and Medicare (making it 100 % private insurance, rather than whatever %-age it is now!) Privatize everything; profit-ize everything. Socialism for the uber-wealthy supported by the underlings' taxes and low wages, but dog-eat-dog for the not-wealthy. A feudal system. Fiefdoms. Robber barons. A gilded age.

That the Biden administration and Congress have let the USPS DeJoy status remain, with little attention paid to it, has been deplorable. (And before there are the usuals who rise up to say "the President can't hire and fire the Postmaster General, I know that. However, the President has power and influence - and the bully pulpit.) And by the way, in all of the "union guy" speeches, there has never been any mention of the USPS UNIONS!! Never any mention during the Pandemic of the USPS as an ESSENTIAL service!

The Democrats have their own history of complicity with Republican intentions to privatize the USPS and those plans to privatize are disgraceful and should never be allowed! Yes, we MUST elect Kamala Harris and Democrats up and down the ballot. That is THE imperative now. But we must also continue to be active to see that Democrats in power REPRESENT the PUBLIC good and not just corporate interests! We already know what the Republicans are: MAGAts and we must excise them from our body politic. And we must expect that Democrats be good Democrats, not Republican-light.

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So well stated Annie Cross! I am furious at the Biden administration for allowing Fox News, DeJoy and AI to proliferate without official opposition from Biden and the administration. As a teacher my goal was to motivate students to learn facts in a "sound bite" society. Unconventional attention gaining teaching methods required defending myself from oppositional parents. I remember being respected by most students and parents but insulted by the low pay.

Biden deserves credit for his significant legislative achievements but the silence about Fox News and DeJoy has been deafening and AI must be controlled severely when it is misinformation. Criminal use of AI will destroy our democracy.

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Annie, BRAVO! 👏🙌

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Oct 27·edited Oct 27

Like! Was the ultimate emblematic example Steve Mnuchin?!?! But I just don't get why DeJoy is untouchable. Any explanation? I get that the President can't fire him, and the Board has vacancies, but why can't Biden fill out the Board???

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There weren't many Greek people in those days, but they were citizens and I believe could vote. The word democracy is from the Greek. Demos means people, and kratos means power.

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Only literate free males. No women or slaves.

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Combine that with authoritarism, and you get a real bloody revolution against the snobs with the education.

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David, it’s hard to be interested in history when it’s not being taught. Even back in the late Sixties, history was taught as a series of important dates and famous men. I never heard about the Holocaust, for example.

An ENGLISH teacher assigned me an essay in “The Holocaust: Could it Happen Again?” I asked my mother and she simply dropped me off at the enormous Cleveland Public Library so I could do my own research. I asked a librarian and she simply directed me to the enormous card catalogs. When I got home, horrified and angry, I asked mom “Did this really happen?” And she simply said “Some people say so.” I’m not kidding.

I think the idea of history as taught by Heather Cox Richardson is a very new phenomenon.

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Marge - I too had to rely on the public library system to learn about the Holocaust and Slavery. I was in elementary school in Virginia and they only taught Virginia Social Studies so it was on me to further my knowledge. I had a very racist grandfather, who I despised, but it was my grandmother who taught her eight children how to be decent, kind and loving to all people. When I was young I mistakenly thought that I must be a Republican (thankfully that didn’t last very long) because of Lincoln but then I realized that I needed to do my research and vote for the candidate who would best represent us and the common good. My grandmother taught me that important lesson.

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❤️

I was also in elementary school when I learned about the Holocaust - and about my mother.

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When the present is changing so rapidly and profoundly as now young people are compelled to focus on the present and worry about the future. Reading history is a luxury for them.

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Ignorance & apathy: I don’t know & I don’t care.

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My generation had fathers or uncles in WWII, fighting Hitler. There is a generation that may just be hearing about Hitler. They’ve been more worried about private investors and billionaires buying up all the housing stock and all the other life’s difficulties.

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Good point! I am 71, and sometimes more than once a day I reflect on how something I might say to someone maybe they have no idea what i am referring to. Sometimes important things, if only they knew....

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Ditto. It sometimes hits me, when I'm thinking about how the youngsters(under 70) view things, it comes out so very differently. Not a bad outcome, just an uneducated one, something that a little learning will cure. I KNOW when I hear them use even the simpler distinctions such as, socialism, a very basic tenet of some governments, they could not explain it. And forget folks like Mussolini, AKA, "il duce". Long gone, or never entered, people's minds.

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Use the eight elements of the definition of fascism that john kelly gave us and show how trump’s vision and programs align with them. ( you won’t find this hard. ). You can do the same with Harris’s programs and those if any other President (try it with nixon!)

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I heard the headlines about what Kelly said but not the details. Eight elements, huh.

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fascism: apolitical ideology and movement characterized as/by

far-right

authoritarian

ultranationalist

a dictatorial leader

centralized autocracy

militarism

forcible suppression of opposition

belief in a natural social hierarchy

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Thank you, Barbara.

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Please see my correction of

“apolitical” to “a political”

***

Im from the midwest— Chicagoland.

Maryland has been my second home for almost 60 years.

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First line shd be “a political”!!!

Not “apolitical”.

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Thank you. That threw me, but the space solved it.

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Let's make it simple: Fascism is a modern manifestation of tribalism. It is authoritarian, intolerant of outsiders, anti-intellectual, and prone to violence.

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NY Times -- By contrast

"This unequivocal, dispiriting truth — Donald Trump is not fit to be president — should be enough for any voter who cares about the health of our country and the stability of our democracy to deny him re-election.

"For this reason, regardless of any political disagreements voters might have with her, Kamala Harris is the only patriotic choice for president."

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/30/opinion/editorials/kamala-harris-2024.html

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Those who don’t know what it is, or can’t even point to a 20th century example, shouldn’t be allowed to vote. Ya know for damned sure Trump can’t define Marxism.

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Sure he can - it's anyone that disagrees with him. Don't you know that he wrote the Oxford English Dictionary over lunch, and the Encyclopedia Britannica that night?

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That night he stayed at a Holiday Inn.

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1. Uncle Sam needs you! https://www.mobilize.us/ (And me.)

2. Please repeatedly post "not suckers or losers" comments in social media. According to Facebook, there are 4 million veterans and active duty members on Facebook, as well as 12.5 million family members and 242 million friends with veterans or active duty members. Military sites, veterans; organizations, historical sites. Vote vets has already flipped many 2016 and 2020 Trump voters.

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Modern fascism in this country is exemplified by the Democrat Party.

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The problem is that too many are fascists, even though they may not be aware of it.

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"The problem is too many have no clue what fascism is. Show them." Philip, we don't need to: Trump's handlers will soon make sure we ALL get to see it first hand.

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I canceled my WaPo subscription today too. I've never had a Prime subscription and never will.

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I am unable to cancel my subscription. I canceled it several weeks ago. Whatever happened to doing the right thing?!

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Canceled Wapo. Canceled Prime . Canceled even the NYT after they went after Biden relentlessly post June debate and did not go after Ttump with the same conviction. Maybe they have learned a lesson after many of us canceled. My wallet is heavier but so is my heart.

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Elle C - Hopefully the new rule that they just passed will make it easier for you to cancel with a click of a button. I believe that it just went into effect but I am sure that the companies will be slow to roll it out. If you really want to cancel it and they are making it hard to do maybe you can call your credit card company if you used one and have them stop payment. Good luck to you.

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One of the reasons I always use Paypal for paying mostly everything. They will always stand behind you to get back any money that was pilfered from you incorrectly.

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Sherri- Don’t know much about PayPal but you asked about the click to cancel somewhere on this site and I believe it was the FTC that just did it and it is supposed to be for anyone who makes it easy to join with a click to also now provide the same easy way to cancel. I don’t know how fast the companies will roll it out though because they can lose money and clients.

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They could have endorsed Trump. No?

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Amazon Prime cancelling is a great idea. I will await delivery from another source and cancel Prime.

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You can stop ordering from Amazon entirely, usually very easily. Two steps:

1. Copy the name of what you are thinking of buying on Amazon. Include the brand name.

2. Then paste it into your search engine. You will usually get multiple options of the item. Most are the same price, some are less. And if you buy it directly from the actual manufacturer, you cut out the middleman for them.

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I can't cancel Amazon Prime. I have no way of getting anything if I do. All we have is a market, and it runs out things every day. I couldn't find Kitty Litter, not the kind I use, World's best, but they run out of things all of the time, including stuff like Sour Dough pretzels, gluten free bread (for my wife), garlic olives, and just about everything else I use and need. I even need a door striker, my one and only hardware store, Ace, didn't have one, but Amazon did, and it continues. Compression socks, Amazon again, supplements again Amazon, clothing Amazon, no mall, even cat food, no big box stores, no franchises. If I want or need anything then I have to wait in line for a ferry, drive and hour or two then repeat the process.

Or I could quit Amazon and live like an ascetic.

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The fact you oppose trump is enough William. Many of us have mobility issues. If it wasn’t for my younger husband I too would be dependent on Amazon.

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I have some limited mobility issues, balance problem, thanks to removal of a tumor and radiation, age my wife has plenty, uses a cane, fibromyalgia and joint issues, but we get around. I even mow the property and weed whip.

No shame being dependent on Amazon, I order stuff, more than once it was here the next day, two or three at best, some things have taken a week or two, but not often and not vital.

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You shouldn't feel guilty about that. You have to make choices depending on your own particular set of circumstances. Don't let people bully you.

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Thanks MJ. Nobody bullies me, and I mean nobody. And there is no way I would feel guilty. The only thing I feel guilty about is last month I left our barn cat out at night, didn't tell me wife, and he has never come back, but he has gone off before for up to 25 days, but that was when the weather was nice.

The barn cat adopted us three years ago. He was taken care of by somebody before he jointed the family, he was neutered, we chipped him and he is up to date on shots, even had he vet pull a chipped tooth.

That is all I have to feel guilty about.

But thanks for your thoughts.

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William Farrar - I appreciate your posts and don't want you to feel guilty about your cat, and to that end, I offer an anecdote about a wandering cat: Years ago we had a Siamese cat, a fairly portly fellow, much loved by this writer. It happened that we had to move across country and after arriving at our destination, the cat took off, couldn't be found, and was gone for weeks. Worried and sad for a handsome cat who was new to the area and didn't know anybody but us, his humans. One morning with the windows open to the summer air, I heard a cat's loud "caterwalling" outside. Looked out the window to the parking area where the car was parked and there was the cat, sitting by the tire of the car, complaining. Gone a long time, made his way back. Take heart, Mr. Farrar. He could be annoyed by the neutering and may be out there trying to overcome it.....but cats often find their way back.

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William - I am sorry to hear about your cat but wanted to thank you for not only neutering him (unless the other family did that) but also getting him shots and putting a microchip in him. I hope for his safe return.

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I don’t think anyone here is bullying someone for using Amazon. Just sharing a step they took to make a statement.

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Or you could move.

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Right, I live in a area surrounded by Democrats. I have, at least, a new medical center, the weather, well in the winter the worst it has been for three days is 19, it snowed twice, three inches, melted in three days. Sweltering summers, I can't take the heat, it got up to 84 once or twice, damn deer, I have to share my plum tree with them, the raccoons and fox eat the little garbage I leave for them, and let's not talk about the view from my porch and living room window, or the fact that my nearest neighbor is about 2/10th's of a mile, Five acres of peace and quiet. Damn nuisance I guess I should move that I can have the convenience of Walmart, Home Depot and McDonalds..

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Is there a Costco or Walmart anywhere around you? Doesn’t have to be nearby. They both deliver. You can go online, order, and it will either be delivered by the store itself or by the company that sells the item. No need to go to Amazon. I haven’t ever ordered from Home Depot but you could go online and check. Costco is the best but they don’t always have what you need. Good luck!

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William - Mildly jealous ;)

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Too bad, William. I'm sure you'd like to. I've never had Prime because I'm the opposite -- I don't use Amazon much. Our local stores are usually well-stocked with basics (like compression socks, and vitamins). Although supplies have been attenuated at times lately.

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Try Temu. You might be surprised.

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I've bought stuff from TEMU, Not impressed, basically trinkets. I used them last Xmas as stocking stuffers, Also I don't consciously do business the China, like TEMU and Ali Baba.

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iHerb.com has good deals on supplements, organic and Gf foods, etc. You could probably buy a lot of hardware store stuff online too from Lowes or someplace. You can buy books online from independent booksellers or Barnes and Noble. Good luck!

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Try ebay

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I have bought stuff via ebay, don't really trust them, they are simply an intermediatey. Amazon is an intermediary and a retailer both. I contacted a vendor via ebay for Catatouille, asked her questions and she never answered.

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Amzon is an amazing company, but it must be regulated (better later than never).

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Amazon is in fact a monopoly, Walmart another, Home Depot another, big box stores have driven mom and pop brick and mortar stores not only out of business but some into homelessness.

In some communities you can't find an independent hamburger or ice cream joint. Here, that is all we have.

Catch 22, any attempt to regulate them and money flows into the Republican party and the media and ads tear them apart.

Look at Musk, he violated Federal Election law about buying votes, and nothing,nothing at all will be done. He is now buying the United States of America, because he can.

NASA and the DOD depend on him, because we can't launch our own rockets into space, and we don't control communication satellites, in major part because we the people have been whining about the defecitis and government spending, so Musk stepped in and took up the slack.

The current crop of sci fi movies and series, have corporations running the world and the galaxy., that muchis not fiction, it is fact.

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I stopped buying from Amazon and canceled Prime almost 5 years ago. Google prioritizes Amazon results when you search for something, but if you keep scrolling, you can almost always find another source.

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There are plenty of great search engines, out there. People should consider options aside from google.

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Thanks, Kai! I think I would have figured this out, but I appreciate you sharing this.

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Bezo's and Ochs Sulzberg family ran the numbers and are cowards, they fear his Vengeanse if he steals the election and know that nothing will happen if Kamala wins.

They are all playing that game,.

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At least the NYT has endorsed Kamala Harris and run lengthy pieces detailing Trump's manifest unfitness for office.

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Finally. I quit them a couple months ago.

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Target has most things Amazon has.

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This demonstrates the power of intimidation.

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Also the power of greed, Pamela.

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Using Costco and other online stores makes sense. My challenge is my 20 year investment in kindle and audible books. There are alternatives for new titles. Something to think about.

News! I have been thinking about substitutes for both the Post and the NYYimes. The Guardian, Boston Globe, LA Times? Herald Tribune? Le Monde? Thomas Frank (who provides a healthy critique of Dems) now writes for Le Monde.

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There are ways to free your ebooks from under the thumb of Amazon...audible is a bit more difficult though. Shoot me a message if you'd like to know more...

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The owner of the LA Times has decided to pull the endorsement for Harris. It should also be avoided.

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I rely on The Guardian and various newsletters of journalists I admire, such as Robert Reich. The only reason I still subscribe to WAPO is Carolyn Hax, the advice columnist. It will break my heart not to read her any more.

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I think Hax is retiring, and a new guy, "Eric", is replacing her. You can check in and around the column.

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Love this, Kai.

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Temu is exploding here in Australia. No-one I know regularly uses Amazon.

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That's a whole other can of worms...

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Isn't Temu the Chinese company that has been in recent news reports for various problems??

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Probably, but it’s going great guns here. Australia appears more open to China than America.

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I've been getting faster, better, delivery from Walmart, at less cost than Prime. Canceling Prime will be no problem.

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I refuse to step foot in Walmart and have done so for many years. They are killers of small town shopping areas.

They come in, undercut local merchants, starve them out, then gradually raise their prices.

All the while, pay their 'associates' less than living wages. Here in CA, the hiring packet includes instructions on how to apply for Medi-Cal and food stamps.

They've been the object of class action suits for discriminatory hiring practices.

Nope.

No Walmart for me.

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The Walton family are rabidly anti-public education. I would rather give money to Bezos than to them. At least Bezos rescued the Post. While I wish that he would allow an endorsement, it's not really going to make much if any difference in the long-run.

Don't let perfection be the enemy of the good.

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I'm not sure you can call what Bezos did "rescuing," Jeff, but I understand what you mean. Matt Murray's smarmy statement fried my cookies.

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good advise, Jeff. WP could have endorsed Trump, but it didn't. That's worth something. I wish we had a dialog with Charles Koch. He is an enormously powerful figure. Last year he admitted that he and his network had blundered in backing Trump. Earlier this year he endorsed the doomed Nikki Halley. Shouldn't we demand that he explain his silence now?

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I’ve ordered directly from the manufacturer for some items. Whirlpool delivered my refrigerator. My stick blender came from Braun. There are other options. Amazon is convenient and easy.

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Walmart is right wing Christian owned so no better than Amazon which is Slovakian owed now. Bezos divested to a group of Slovenian’s.

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If people are opposed to WalMart, Amazon, and whatever other businesses, I always wonder if those people actually know the beliefs, practices, activities and behaviors of, say, their local business owners.

I am guessing that most people who post here were supporters of Hillary Clinton. She was on the Board of Directors of WalMart back when WalMart employees were being met with all kinds of obstacles as they tried or organize, women employees of WalMart were particularly featured in those efforts. Hillary did not go to bat for them, not by any reporting of the time. Consider her position there, Bill's NAFTA signing, Glass-Stegall, etc. and yet probably most people posting here voted for them.

My point is that whatever role Bezos played in the WaPo non-endorsement decision, it might have been to protect Amazon because Trump (and DeJoy and FedEx and whoever else) will salivate at the chance to undermine its status to favor their interests, maybe even to the point of destroying it or taking it over, maybe selling it to Chinese ownership. The actual criticism against Amazon should be its increasingly complete transition to all-Chinese made products! WaPo's non-endorsement is a disappointment, but if the paper offers good, legitimate journalism, isn't that the better measure of its worth?

One problem with ANY consumer/commercial system that becomes monolithic is just that: it becomes monolithic. I don't romanticize "local business" as much as some do because if you've ever lived where "the locals" are much, much more worrisome than a WaPo endorsement is, you know how precious Amazon or Walmart of Target, etc. can be, because ANY or ALL of their "personal" practices, "local" or not, can be something that you/a customer would find awful - IF you knew them all.

Are you all really suggesting that Bezos trade the existence of WaPo - if Trump would follow through with his bullying boasts to get rid of it and most media - for an endorsement statement, when editorial endorsements notoriously make no difference to voters??!! If he keeps the paper going, keeps it journalistically independent (different from editorial, you know), isn't that worth something?!

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Interesting, but don't confuse Slovakia with Slovenia, very different countries. Melania Trump is Slovenian by birth. Could she be an Amazonian as well?

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Just a historical reminder that Walmart killed many small businesses, wiping out the competition (and straining the economies) in rural America. Many jobs lost. I vowed way back then to never use Walmart. I do not boycott many companies, but Amazon and Walmart…. I know that they have been so successful that many areas have no choice and of course they must use these. But I do have choices so I have no excuse.

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Walmart and Amzon killed lots of small business because the government allowed them.

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I, too, have had excellent results with Walmart online. I don't use Amazon unless I absolutely NEED something and can't find it anywhere else. Amazon acts like a pimp treating its employees like its whores.

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Has anyone actually ever successfully closed out their Amazon Prime membership? Signing up was a piece of cake, for me. Getting out has been impossible. They blocked me from logging on, which is required, to cancel.

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I’m repeating an earlier comment on another Substack: try Walmart Plus,$98/year. I’ve ordered several books mentioned on SubStack that would probably not be carried at any Walmart (Thom Hartman, etc) and the price is the same as on Amazon. But since the Walmart Plus also includes grocery delivery, this W+ might be restricted to an certain distance from one of their stores. Also, I’ve seen Amazon ads for kitchen appliances,etc. while cruising around the ‘net, and discovered that the price is the same on W+.

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Sorry. I never have nor will I ever support the Walton Family

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I canceled my subscriptions today as well. I read earlier today that only 2,000 people have and therefore WP is not concerned. Let's hope more people cancel so we can make a statement.

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It's early. I just found out a couple of hours ago. But the number of cancellations isn't the point. Doing the right thing is the point. Leadership matters. Truth matters. Especially now.

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So true, David: If we make a move like cancellation of a subscription if we are sure it will hurt, we will never accomplish what we need to accomplish.

Let's be*leaders* in this, not followers, and indeed, doing the right thing is the point.

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Check out HCR's Letters from An American. I can't believe only 2,000 people canceled their subscriptions based on the responses there.

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Oct 26·edited Oct 26

Think ripples from 1 stone thrown in the water, MJAtlanta. Stephen King is one of the resigners, as is editor Robert Kagan.

My favorite comment so far is someone who said (something like) "If you don't have the balls to own a newspaper, don't."

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I think a lot more have canceled or are in the process. I canceled this morning

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At 8:30pm, I cancelled my longtime subscription and urged others to do the same. I used Facebook to make my case. I guess it's one oligarch or another.

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We canceled ours as well.

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Good idea....everyone should cancel their subscriptionsl, and I wish all editors would resign and not go along with Bezos on this.

But I was in sales and marketing for years, and we knew how important it was to hang on to current customers as it was a lot harder getting new ones. Trust me, the WAPO does not want to lose even that many subscribers, and there we will be lots more till this all shakes out.

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The comments section on their site where people are posting that they are canceling in disgust on their website reportedly now has over 45,000 posts.

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I've seen long threads on Twitter & many comment sections with hundreds of people each proclaiming their cancellation of the Washington Post, & many Amazon, too, which would probably be even more effective.

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I wouldn't expect WaPo to act upset, MacKenzie. Imo some people might be waiting till the election is over too.

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Oct 26·edited Oct 26

Indignant readers canceling wapo subscriptions are hurting only themselves, not Bezos. What are a few hundred newspaper subscriptions to Jeff Bezos? To him the paper is a bauble, a froufrou. Its news sections are essential reading to an informed public. Irate readers could better get to Bezos by canceling Amazon Prime as you have done, skipping black Fridays, and—best of all—shopping locally, getting to know the merchants and neighbors in their own towns again. If you want to deliver punishment, punish Amazon, not the owner's pet newspaper.

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How are they hurting themselves? Cancel both! The real news gets to us anyway, just like this column and this conversation right this minute.

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Oct 26·edited Oct 26

If you choose to be partially informed—polka dots passed along with opinions, don't let me stop you.

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It's easy to stay informed by reading an honorable paper such as the Guardian, listening to the radio, and following diligent substackers and magazine journalists. WaPo is not essential.

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Exactly. My money goes to the Guardian and The Atlantic. There are lots of good sources for information.

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I just said the same thing, Woody!

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Why the nastiness? And why assume that no WaPo = partially informed? We live in an information tsunami.

If you’re looking for a fight, go somewhere else!

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"If you choose to be partially informed"...

Wow, Difny, that's quite a set of assumptions! That we are only 'partially' informed if we don't follow this or that paper?, that WaPo only gives facts and not opinions? That folks who read Dr. Reich don't also have some other sources?... C'mon, difny! and Retract your claws, my dear...

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What a silly thing to say, difny.

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Oct 26·edited Oct 26

Look at the comment I replied to. elizabeth white dean wrote that opinion columns and comments constitute the "real news." You may agree with her. I do not and I said so. What she wrote gave me no reason to want to engage further. You call thst nasty? I don't want you on my team when the proud boys come for my kind.

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No, she didn’t. I agree with her (different comment) that The Guardian and The Atlantic have real news. And I didn’t say “nasty.”

You don’t want me on your team? You’re so mean. 🙄

Go argue elsewhere. Bye.

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I disagree with you. Newspapers depend on subscribers and advertising. If there are no subscribers, why would advertiser buy ads? If the paper is nothing to him, let it fold. I support my local newspapers and businesses. WaPo wasn't my only source of news, one of many. There are other places to get news and other subscription worthy content.

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Thousands, so far. Not hundreds. It won't hurt Bezos but it will send a message.

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Boycott all of them.

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Why not both?

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Pet owners use newspapers to line bird cages and house train puppies!

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Yes i would instantly subscribe to eugene robinson’s substack

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And Jennifer Rubin, too. I enjoy her column and Gene's.

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Check out The Guardian.

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I cancelled my subscription last night. I have been a faithful subscriber for many years. I could sense this coming. Jeff Bezos and his recent hires have betrayed not only WaPo readers, but the United States of America when we need them most.

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Don’t for a moment assume that we — you — are immune to what our brother writers in Gaza are facing. All tyranny eventually comes home. That is a fact of all collapsing empires.

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I fear that you have put your finger right on target, Glen: America is so sure that it it 'the shiny beacon on the hill' that we really thought of ourselves as immune to the caprices of that septuagenarian. We are not. We are human and can fall prey to tyrants just the same as any other people on Earth.

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Can't resist curiosity. Who is the "septuagenarian" referred to? I read the thread pretty well, usually figure things out.

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We may get to post empire sooner than we ever thought. One always hopes that such disruptions do not occur in one's lifetime but events may have something else in strore.

Regardless of who wins in 10 days, it is time to fundemtally rethink the idea of an elected monarch called a president.

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I agree with the idea of canceling subscriptions. Money talks. I’d also encourage us to subscribe to independent, sane media sources. I have a subscription to a local online journalist, Crooked Media, and numerous Substack writers. I’d encourage others to do the same.

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twofer here, Wapo and LATI

What skunk? I don't smell anything.

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“no problem getting a new job “? You know how autocracy works?

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I find this whole back to our roots excuse is getting old fast. The supreme cpurt used that argument to bring ua to 1800 or argued even earlier abortion law. Brining us bacl to inequality, how far back should we go 3/5 compromise? Non land owners cant vote? Royalty? No, going back to our roots is a cop out excuse for being lazy or complicit. These 2 papers, the supreme court, Trump, all of them controlled by the highly unimaginative Oligarchs. It makes sense that their messaging is so devoid of color and flare.

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The owners of the WaPo and LA Times are chicken s@#ts! Bezos moved from Seattle Washington to Miami because Washington passed a Capital Gains Tax. The only thing he worries about is how much MONEY he has!

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We are not seeing first hand who the cowards are. Bezos has always appeared to be one and now he's confirmed. Sad to think he will see a coward reflecting in his mirror. He will be looked down upon for the rest of his life.

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It amazes me that a cowardly little pissant like Trump can intimidate anyone. What is wrong with these people who give in to him? They are completely devoid of values. If their behavior weren't so reprehensible they would be laughingstocks.

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I agree. My first thought is that Bezos and all his money is more powerful than Trump, even if Trump ends up (God forbid) in the White House again. What is his hold over people? I will never understand. It makes me viscerally ill just thinking about it.

What is most appalling, and there is so much to be appalled by, is that with no legitimate political authority, he interfered in passage of the bipartisan immigration bill.

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He hasn’t one single redeeming quality. He never does anything out of the kindness of his heart in fact I very much doubt he even has a heart. He’s busy threatening everyone who doesn’t go along with his despicable plans and claims he will have them arrested or worse. He’s threatening Representative Adam Shiff of California with prison! This is frightening! Just who does he think he is ? We cannot have a leader that behaves like this! He will be a dictator why are so many Americans willing to vote for a person like this? Why are they so STUPID? Do these voters have the least idea of what they‘re doing to our country? I just want to scream at their total stupidity!

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I voted early in Colorado, I voted for Kamala Harris and Democrats down my ballot on October 16th. I received my email confirmation that my ballot was counted on the 23rd!

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👍Carol.

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Those who vote for Trump are the true “suckers“ and “losers“. They have been so bamboozled by his noise and nonsense that they would never believe that their vote is an answer to their own death wish.

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“Just who does he think he is?” More importantly it’s who he thinks we are. And so far it has been working for him eh?

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You really have to wonder about his fans, are they all as hate filled as he is? His comments on how this country is a garbage can do they actually believe such nonsense? If this country is so bad he’s more than welcome to leave and go live in Russia with his buddy Vladimir! The way he talks about the people in this country is disgusting, why would we want to vote for someone who talks about us in those terms? This person is getting worse every day and there is no telling what he might do, it’s frightening to think of having a president with dementia and the Republicans know he’s not well and do nothing!

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He has nothing but contempt for anyone who isn't rich.

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I hear he's preparing to leave the country if he loses, so as to avoid prison.

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Ya know, I was musing on that this evening, and I suddenly realized that little Donny will skip town when he loses. He's not going to rally his Proud Boys any more, and we will be witness to enormous numbers of empty eyed people, wondering what to do next.

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How he is allowed to ru fr president with all those felonies against hi is one of the most desturbing aspects of this entire situation! What is so special about him that he can be allowed this dispensation where as someone else would have to drop out of the election process completely? Others have had to drop out due to Tony scandals compared to what Trump has done none with Felonies either! Something really SMELLs very BAD here! BAD and illegal as well! He just isn’t that special by a long shot! The entire thing is rotten to the core put forth by the former Republican Party now apparently the American Fascist party!

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Oct 26·edited Oct 26

I apologize I can't remember the famous confessional book by one of the German industrialists who enabled Hitler explicitly thinking he was more powerful and could control Hitler. Didn't end well. Shall we entertain the idea that the go-alongs in Congress are survival-smart? ps I think I found the book I had in mind: re: Thyssen: https://time.com/archive/6765633/books-the-man-who-was-wrong/

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Thank you for that reference! Schadenfreude though it is, I couldn't wish a more appropriate fate to dear Elon Musk.

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Learning who little Elon was initially, by reading about what his actions have been, gives me no joy if he fails in his bid for Head Puppeteer for🤯; more like a just response by good people to cut down and calm down his fanatical desires.

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Thank you for this link. The book looks important.

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He couldn't have interfered if Johnson hadn't let him, Janice.

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Couldn’t agree more!

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Makes me think of Carly Simon‘s song “He’s So Vain” perfect song to describe Trump.

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I'm sure he thinks every song is about him.

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Yes most likely! He thinks he’s good looking! No way!

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Long chuckle. With a chortle. Excellent point!✌️🤯😄

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Long chuckle. Way more apropo than, "YMCA".

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Then there is Vlad the Poisoner. Remember that name from history? The Impaler? Not dissimilar) who also is known to throw people from windows ( hey who recently died from “falling” down the stairs?) And who is talking to Elon, hmm, why DID he buy Twitter, really? Why did he originally give Ukraine use of his web? and now using ‘Kimchi’s’ army in Ukraine. Seem to be some dots here.

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He’s weird for sure must want to be popular with what he thinks are the big important guys. If he’d been alive in the 30’s and 40’s he probably would’ve been buddies with the big bad guys of the day, like Hitler as Mussolini at least it would seem so from his track record. What a disappointment he’s turned out to be as he could have chosen to do so much good with all that money but has turned into a fascist.

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Yeah, not only a pissant but a ridiculous old man with a really, really bad combover......

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And terrible makeup.

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Perhaps it’s not just trump. You notice how Elon has joined trump. And they seem to have a friend named Putin. Oligarchs and authoritarians can be dangerous. And people seem to get pushed out of the windows of skyscrapers, get their tea poisoned or their bodies chopped up when going to the bank.

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Elon has just been outed as a Russian asset too

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Fellow-traveller? Hey, Putin's Russia is economically in the pits, why shouldn't Elon buy Russia too?

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I find it curious that we hear Russia is not doing well economically but Putin spends a lot of money, often through proxies, to influence other countries elections and populations. I’ve heard there are billionaire Russian oligarchs trying to influence Moldova and Georgia on behalf of Russia, both countries with elections deciding whether to join the EU or NATO. There’s reports of someone buying votes too. Kinda like Elon.

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Russia is poor because Putin and his Oligarchs have stolen everything. A perfect role model for Trump. I’m sure Vlad is fueling Trump’s fantasies of Make America Russia Again.

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The world needs to do something about the oligarch class. They are stealing everything and some of them are lunatics.

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Of course.

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Russia thought they would roll over Ukraine 🇺🇦 hopefully this will be a disaster for Vlad. Hopefully he will leave the rest of Eastern Europe alone. He’s just despicable and Trumps friend, what more is there to say?

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Suzy, Putin will never leave things alone. I wish someone would give him some video games so he will stop using the world for his entertainment. He and the oligarch crowd. It seems they have nothing better to do than plot diabolical plots.

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Putin is counting on Trump getting back in power. I'm sure he's giving pointers to Trump on how to take over the government if he loses. Trump in power makes all the difference for Putin. Trump will withdraw US support for Ukraine & let Putin do whatever he wants

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Moldova voted on a path to EU inclusion by the narrowest of margins despite Russia "meddling' as western journalists rather benignly like to phrase it. I call it an attack on democracy.

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There are reports that over 100,000 Moldavians were paid for their vote against inclusion. I’m hearing that there are billionaire oligarchs meddling for Putin (sound familiar?)

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Putin may be the richest man in the world rather than Musk. People are unclear how wealthy he actually is. He made a deal with the many rich oligarchs in the country about 20 years ago that he'll let them get away with graft if they give him a cut of the profits.

I know entry to the EU for Moldova just barely squeaked by, but what happened with Georgia?

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Agreed. I recommend this terrifying article from The New Yorker about the influence of Silicon Valley on politics. After the election we need to address this:

Silicon Valley, the New Lobbying Monsterhttps://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/10/14/silicon-valley-the-new-lobbying-monster.

I hope this is the right article. It's by Charles Duhigg and it's called "Silicon Valley's Influence Game."

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I don't have easy access to this article. Glad to see Andreeseen-Horowitz covered. They even put $18,000 into my district house race.

American style of capitalism will not see us through our challenges. All about short-term gains and individual wants over collective needs.

We can put people mentality (Games people Play) in 3 buckets- adult, parent, and child. The parent and child seem to be having a good run. Glad I'm getting on in years.

see https://www.cnbc.com/2024/10/23/nobel-prize-winning-economists-donald-trump-agenda-endorse-harris.html

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If the link doesn't work I'd be glad to scan it for you. Please let me know.

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When the republican politicians began quietly going along with Trump (beginning with his time in office as POTUS) it astounded me that I never read or heard anyone in or out of media suggesting that they were afraid for their lives and those of their families.

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how bout that. Silence like a cancer grows...

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Good old Paul Simon.

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Uhhh like yeah. And sis in law drowned in mysterious out of character circumstances. ?

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Agree - integrity is what is lacking. Thanks,respectfully

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All of us here have more integrity and are more brave than these rich people. We without the resources openly discuss dangers of Trump. Write postcards. Put out yard signs, do phone banking and in person canvasing. We who cannot afford expensive lawyers should Trump come after us in case he wins. That makes it so much worse that the rich with influence and means don't stand up and speak up. They have more than enough money to live comfortably for the rest of their lifes no matter what happens.

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It defies logic. They have everything they could want and yet they feel that they need more. It's pathological.

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Paula B. Yes pathological is definitely the correct word to use here. It also involves a communal terrible fear amongst the present and would be oligarchs, that democracy, or even worse, socialism, will force them all to lose control. Not unlike the numerous references to 🤯's dirty diapers. Very telling.

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Something seems to happen when people become fabulously wealthy! They seem to become very conservative all of a sudden.

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They lose their values, if they ever had them.

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Newly rich syndrome?

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Good point, Suzy, though that alliance and allegiance is only logical, unfortunately. The Leonardo Dicaprios, and Sir Richard Bransons don't seem like part of the massive Wealth Lords, as they are somewhere in that class, but don't hold similar morals.

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Adolf Hitler was also cowardly in person; only with generals and armies in between him and his actions could he be "brave". The similarities of the two go deep indeed.

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I have often described Trump as a "violence voyeur." Fits him watching Jan. 6, but remember he made Mike Tyson a buddy back in the day? He loves to watch somebody else "beat the crap" out of somebody else.

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I don't think it's Trump as much as the powerful interests behind him. The Federalist Society people and all in favor of unregulated untaxed capitalism. He's a puppet.

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Donald Trump is a libertarian Trojan Horse. The "Trojans" are going get screwed.

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It isn't *just* Trump. It is the sycophants he surrounds himself with and the power they are acquiring through knowing him and agreeing with him on everything. He can "make them do things" for him.

This sort of following has been gathered for many, many years, and, as you point out, he is nothing without his retinue. That is really the only thing he has ever worked at is keeping people near him and obedient, with promises, money, Non Disclosure Agreements and threats.

On the topic of how people amass so much money and especially power, I recommend people watch "The Wave", which is based on a true story conducted by a California teacher in Palo Alto.

He was asked by his students pretty much the same question we are all asking here: "how did Hitler get so powerful? Why did people, who were not really so bad to start with, follow him so blindly and commit such atrocities?

It is the thing of personality manipulation by a person who has a deep understanding of the foibles of human nature. At the end of the movie, I could not stop crying, because yeah, we can all be fooled, and in the end, the students end up devastated by the realization that they had been lead, and totally fooled. The Wiki has an excellent synopsis here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wave_(1981_film)#:~:text=The%20Wave%20is%20a%20made,44%20mins.

I don't think that such an experiment could be conducted on students anymore, but it really serves to gain an understanding of how a tiny nucleus of people can get locked in such a cult and other followers... just follow.

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It raises the issue whether one has to live through something to "truly" understand something. I lived through something that, though I can tell people here about it, they won't really get it fully or perhaps much at all unless they live through it. And I think it goes to the heart of things like the rise of Nazism.

I lived in an environment where the idea of truth became meaningless, in the sense that it carried no weight in any action or decisions. Truth, striving for the truth of matters, at best had no value, and at worse was counterproductive and to be avoided. What substituted for truth was the goal of alignment to the leader. That really messes up your mind.

Truthfulnesss is a habit that over time can be changed in the right environment. I found myself reading Plato at night to remind myself of the value of truth. When a concept has no operational value, it gets discarded.

But i don't know that people will know what I am talking about unless they live through something like that. It was so unlike anything in my previous 50 years of life experience.

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That situation is where we're headed under Trump. Truth has no value for him & the modern Republican Party.

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Truth matters to the intellectual, to others, not so much.

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Cults can be very powerful. I know a couple of people who ended up in them. One escaped. I don't know what happened to the other one.

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Thank you I definitely intend to watch that film.

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Thank you. Will search for, "The Wave".

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I just stored the link to The Wave. Will watch it ASAP. Thank you for the link.

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Even a clown with a flame thrower can do a lot of harm.

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Thank you. Thank you. I often think how someone like Trump or his spineless groveling supporters would survive in my neighborhood or grade school. They could not exist. And even if they somehow managed to get to kindergarten with their whining, cowardly picking fights for others to fight or picking on the vulnerable, WE WOULD NOT ANOINT THEM OUR LEADER.

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Absolutely true!

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Agree, Paula. WaPo endorsed Clinton in 2016 and Biden in 2020. This year is only different because of how clearly unhinged DonOLD is. And I bet Elon Muck wouldn't mind having a crack at Jeff.

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I agree! Mind blowing . The step at which 🤯 is at, is a few behind my ex, who is a full-blown Narcissist, so I know what is coming next, as I witnessed his total demise. I am fully aware when 🤯 loses on 5th November, it will be double edged. The race for the elusive Presidency, and, his facade, ie, the majority of his mind. It's truly a beautiful thing! Remember, all the money in the World cannot guarantee 🤯 will win!

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There's a Trump emoji. I think I'm going to hurl.

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It's all about raw power and procreation and the perception of who has power or is likely to have it going forward for purposes of economic slavery (GOP agenda) or economic freedom (our agenda). Again: people are being enslaved to build mounuments oligarchs desire. Today isn't so different from Mayan times when people were enslaved to help build monuments to the jaguar god in our time called Moloch. Okay some hyperbole but I offer this as one way of looking at things. I don't back away from the phrase "economic slavery".

In this battle for power, tools of deception are tools to create perception.

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The oligarchs are preparing for the fascist tyranny they helped create, hoping to be among the last ones standing.

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Yes, just sent a letter to the editor of Washington Post before cancelling my subscription. To pull this stunt at the very precipice of a choice so clearly between the survival of democracy and fascism is tragic and unforgivable. Bezos has ruined a once great home to journalism.

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Let’s translate WAPO’s non-endorsement: they’re telling their readers Harris is as undeserving of the Presidency as the convicted felon, habitual liar, misogynist, racist traitor. WAPO just lost my respect and can no longer claim it belongs among the roster of objective journals. Bezos killed WAPO’s endorsement of Harris; I am killing my subscription to WAPO as soon as I can figure out how.

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If you have the digital subscription and wish to join me, this is the link:

https://helpcenter.washingtonpost.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000177571-How-to-cancel-your-digital-only-subscription

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How can we let WAPO and Amazon know WHY we are canceling?

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I left a comment on the related WAPO Facebook post to tell them why I canceled.

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I sent an email to the subscription office--there's a form you can fill out saying why you've cancelled. I told them if they change their mind and put up an endorsement, I might change my mind. Doubtful.

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Oct 26·edited Oct 26

Wish I could show you a screenshot but I put my feelings into the "description" box in the "contact us" section for problems.

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There are a couple of articles in WaPo today about the betrayal. MANY people explaining there why they are cancelling. It felt good to see others with the same reaction (more fun than filling out the WaPo form, although the form might have more impact).

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If subscribers cancel en masse they will get the message. Not that Bezos’s billionaire bank account will notice the difference, but I will sleep better.

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Did it yesterday

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It is easy to unsubscribe but you will never again see any of the references within a post. A small price to pay, but I pine for info from their top writers. A break from that newspaper would benefit their writers immensely.

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Make sure they cancel it immediately. I canceled when Lewis was named publisher. They assured me it would be canceled -- 6 months later when my subscription ran out. I responded to cancel immediately. They did refund the remainder of my subscription cost.

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Mine will be cancelled by the date my next payment is due.

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You're lucky! I got no refund when I canceled my digital subscription. I more or less expected it - how else can Bezos make his billions?

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Something seems to happen to the morals of those who become fabulously wealthy, the lose them and money becomes they’re God. Most of these people who become incredibly wealthy seem to become very right wing and extremely selfish.

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It's very easy under your WaPo profile. They don't even try to keep us.

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I cancelled my WASHPO subscription last month and don’t anticipate re-subscribing any time soon. When the rich start being subservient to a madman, my instincts are to go in the opposite direction.

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It's easy, I just did it, go to customer service, then Manage my subscrip and keep canceling

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democracy dies in deference.

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I did an art post for my paid subscribers with suitably modified WaPo and NYT front pages. The pieces are titled Pravda and Izvestia, in honor of the old Soviet joke In Truth there is no News and in News there is no Truth. (Pravda translates as Truth; Ivestia roughly as News). I modified their mottoes to read, in the case of WaPo, "Democracy dies" and in the case of the NYT, "All the s hi t to print".

https://stephenschiff.substack.com/p/truth-and-news

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Democracy dies in Cowardice.

There,FIFY.

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Excellent

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🙏

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If this doesn’t get your attention that Trump is extraordinarily dangerous for the life of the country, nothing will convince you. That billionaires with a megaphone that can reach across the entire country, not to mention the world, are so afraid of running a foul of Trump that they pretend they are not able to engage in their traditional practice of recommending a candidate, none of us, absolutely none of us, have any chance to thrive in a Trump run country.

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Yup!

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The Media has failed, and will continue to fail, America for $$$ . Big Time. They appear to be vying to become Trump State Media outlets when he takes them over. #Politics

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It's their entitled, gutless publishers who betray the 1st Amendment

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This makes me sick. I lived in the D.C area for close to 20 years. Got the Post every day. I get it on line now....cancel?

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Same here... The new editor worked for Rupert Murdoch 15 years ago. 'Nuff said.

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Yeah. When he was hired to run WaPo, I canceled my sub.

Based on this latest disaster, I would like to cancel all over again, if i could.

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Yikes! No wonder Wapo was getting more sensational. I love Ann Telnaes and several others writing there, but canceled a couple months ago because it was getting too dramatic and instead read The Guardian which is not owned by stock holders or anyone. It's supported by us who read it and for free if we can't afford it.

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HOW did you cancel?! I am not being allowed to do so!

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It was some time ago, so I don't remember the actual mechanics of it.

But cancel, I did.

They keep sending me renewal offers for $1/week.

It's not the money, it's the principle. They wouldn't know about principles, since they haven't any.

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So sad, because they used to... Can you remember how Watergate brought down Nixon?!

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Yes: cancel! If subscribers take this lying down, what other shady decisions will be made by Jeff Bezos if it means he can get away with them?

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I have. It makes me sad to leave a newspaper I respected for a long time. When I started noticing the sane washing they were doing when reporting unhinged, incoherent vile, traitor Trump, that was the end for me.

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It makes me feel very sad, too.

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12ft.io is a helpful resource when it comes to looking at paywalled articles

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Thanks for the tip! I'll look into it.

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How does it work?

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Yes, I just did.

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Yes. Cancel

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Yup, CANCEL, Now!

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"Democracy dies in broad daylight"

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Will cancel my subscription to the coward WAPO! Their new motto should be “We Cave to Tyrants” rather than the false, “Democracy Dies in the Darkness”!!! Bezos is truly BOZO THE CLOWN!!!

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Maybe by “the Darkness”, they mean trump. trump is darkness.

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I don’t think billionaires realize that authoritarians don’t care about their wealth or status and will Jack Ma you if you step out of line.

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These billionaire media and corporate owners are the US German industrialist. They believe they can control Trump, Vance, Thiel and Musk (tech bro’s plus their connection to Putin) from this fascist march on our democracy without consequence. They know history but think they are smarter and are playing both sides. Those who don’t learn from history will repeat it. These fascist oligarchs need to be revealed and we all need to vote to preserve our democracy. I believe Harris will win and be a great president. These oligarchs are a problem that will persist and Harris and all Americans need to get behind her and her administration placing regulations on these entitled….well, you know. She will need to change tax laws and loopholes to make them accountable and stop the unregulated accumulation of wealth by anyone. John Adams warned us about the dangers of wealthy oligarchs and their threat to a free democracy in his political writings. John Adams feared the power of a class he called simply “the few”—the wellborn, the beautiful, and especially the rich. In John Adams and the Fear of American Oligarchy, Luke Mayville presents the first extended exploration of Adams’s preoccupation with a problem that has a renewed urgency today: the way in which inequality threatens to corrode democracy and empower a small elite. We must stand together. Vote!

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This post has more likes than every other note or post I’ve ever written. Happy Friday to y’all too! 😭

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I looked this up: https://time.com/archive/6765633/books-the-man-who-was-wrong/ about Thyssen. He found out the hard way.

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I canceled my Washington Post subscription today, too.

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I'll miss you NYT and WP but not the darkness you stand for now. My new hope is The Guardian and Le Monde and I hear The St Louis Post Dispatch is pretty good.

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I respect your decision to do so, but not sure of the reasoning behind cancelling the NYT. They endorsed Harris and very strongly expressed why Trump was unfit to serve and a danger to democracy.

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It's the Los Angeles Times (and WaPo) that refused to endorse a presidential candidate. The NYT endorsed Harris.

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As a half-decade, now former subscriber to WaPo, my heart hurts and I'm furious. My siblings have also cancelled. We've upgraded our Guardian access, cancelled Amazon Prime and won't shop at Amazon. I hope WaPo's best talent (especially Rubin, Petri, Dana Milbank) come over to Substack; I'll gladly pay.

Damn Bezos.

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Democracy dies in silence

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Democracy whimpers with cowardice.

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I've always been a fan of the Post and they NYT.

This episode really bares the rot that is infecting journalism.

"Democracy dies right in front of you.."

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