# The Washington Post: Democracy Dies With Us **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [October 25, 2024, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210 "2024-10-25T17:30:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 18
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2025, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/341 "2025-01-04T20:33:18Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Other than rant about it here or cancel subscriptions if we have one, is there anything any of us can do to express our displeasure/disgust? I dunno; write a letter of complaint to the editor (for whatever that is worth) and/or subscribe to Ms. Telnaes Substack account, I guess? The reality is that Jeff Bezos owns the _Washington Post_, and despite earlier vowing to be hands off regarding editorial content has selected a publisher and is putting enough fear into the editorial staff to now second-guess what their fiscal master wants, and the same is true for the vast majority of newspapers and other media outlets, so…a win for ‘capitalism’. I’ll just note that at the end of Weimar Germany, the [once flourishing industry of independent newspapers](https://www.transatlanticism.uni-muenster.blog/newspapers-in-the-weimar-era/) virtually disappeared as publishers either bowed to the demands of the Nazi Party or found their presses destroyed and their staff threatened or imprisoned. Hitler himself quickly embraced the use of the then new form of wideband media, the radio, which due to its ephemeral nature was difficult to fact-check and could be used to disseminate big lies and conspiracy theories to the entire nation and even across national borders, and because of regulation of the airwaves the Nazis could suppress virtually all dissenting voices. Take that for what you will. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Chad\_Sudan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chad_sudan/32/4509_2.png) [@Chad\_Sudan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chad_Sudan)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2025, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/342 "2025-01-04T21:02:06Z")
It would not surprise me if the _Post_’s razor-sharp political humorist [Alexandra Petri](https://northernvirginiamag.com/culture/culture-features/2018/10/24/washington-post-humor-columnist-alexandra-petri/) finds other employment this year. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2025, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/343 "2025-01-04T21:20:16Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > > [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > > > And the claim that it was editorially axed because of “repetition” is pretty absurd. > > Lord, is that their excuse? At least have the courage to admit the truth. And show the previous one so people can tell how strong–or weak–your excuse is. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2025, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/344 "2025-01-04T21:36:01Z")
> [@Chad\_Sudan](#): > > It would not surprise me if the _Post_’s razor-sharp political humorist [Alexandra Petri](https://northernvirginiamag.com/culture/culture-features/2018/10/24/washington-post-humor-columnist-alexandra-petri/) finds other employment this year. I’m expecting it. I find Petri to be hit and miss but [sometimes she really nails it](https://wapo.st/40kLQ1X) and despite coming from a moderately conservative background isn’t averse from going after any target that needs some skewering. In other news, the Trump-backed federal bankruptcy court judge nullified _The Onion_’s parent company effort to buy Alex Jones InfoWars site at auction because: > [_Judge Lopez said that the bankruptcy auction failed to maximize the amount of money that the sale of Infowars should provide to Mr. Jones’s creditors, including the Sandy Hook families, in part because the bids were submitted in secret._](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/10/business/media/the-onion-infowars-alex-jones.html) Never mind that the auction was conducted per the judges’ instructions and the best overall result for the creditors (other than the Sandy Hook families, who agreed to forego their claims in order for the court to make higher restitution to everyone else). Corruption in plain sight seems to be the standard order of business of late. > [@Monty](#): > > And show the previous one so people can tell how strong–or weak–your excuse is. They did actually publish an editorial critical of Bezos and his ~~monkey puppet~~ publisher William Lewis…which now seems to have been taken down. So….? But at least they still feature opinions by Hugh Hewitt and Marc Thiessen, so…balance, I guess? Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2025, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/345 "2025-01-04T22:09:39Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Corruption in plain sight seems to be the standard order of business of late. I’ve seen graphics imitating The Washington Post’s nameplate, with (instead of “Democracy Dies in Darkness”) such sentiments as > [@](#): > > _ **Hey, Fascism Won’t Be So Bad** _ > > _ **Murdoch’s Too Liberal** _ > > _ **Censorship ‘R’ Us** _ etc. All more truthful than DDID. ---
**Author:** ![Fugazi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f08c70/32.png) [@Fugazi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fugazi)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2025, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/346 "2025-01-04T23:19:45Z")
I don’t know. “Democracy dies in darkness” seems pretty truthful. It does. With darkness supplied by them. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2025, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/347 "2025-01-05T00:32:25Z")
> [@Fugazi](#): > > I don’t know. “Democracy dies in darkness” seems pretty truthful. It does. Little did we know, when the _Post_ adopted that slogan in 2017, at the beginning of Trump’s first term, that it was not a warning, but a promise. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2025, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/348 "2025-01-05T04:06:56Z")
The paper needs a new logotype. [![](https://www.ikea.com/us/en/images/products/koersbaerstraed-candle-snuffer-black__1059621_pe849719_s5.jpg?f=xl) ](https://www.ikea.com/us/en/images/products/koersbaerstraed-candle-snuffer-black__1059621_pe849719_s5.jpg?f=xl) ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2025, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/349 "2025-01-05T21:11:48Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Little did we know, when the _Post_ adopted that slogan in 2017, at the beginning of Trump’s first term, that it was not a warning, but a promise. Yeah. Several people have posted (at Bluesky, at least) some version of “_when the Post introduced this slogan, we didn’t realize that they saw it as aspirational_.” ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2025, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/350 "2025-01-06T03:00:57Z")
Amazon is producing a documentary about Melania. > **[Jeff Bezos' media companies kiss Trump's ring…again](https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/01/jeff-bezos-media-companies-kiss-trumps-ringagain/)** > > Amazon Studios will release a documentary about Melania Trump, and the Washington Post just killed an editorial cartoon satirizing its owner's fealty to the incoming president. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2025, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/351 "2025-01-06T03:36:34Z")
I was older than I like to admit before I realized that _The Gilded Age_ was not complimentary. I wonder that the Trump era is going to be dubbed by future historians. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2025, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/352 "2025-01-06T03:49:36Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Amazon is producing a documentary about Melania. A preview: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/b6NqscIsidQ/maxresdefault.jpg "Tracey Ullman - Melania Trump Robot") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6NqscIsidQ) Stranger ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2025, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/353 "2025-01-06T05:32:38Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > I wonder that the Trump era is going to be dubbed by future historians The Orange Patina? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2025, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/354 "2025-01-06T11:12:56Z")
The End Times? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2025, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/355 "2025-01-06T11:26:27Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > I wonder that the Trump era is going to be dubbed by future historians. “The Beginning of the Great Purge and the Ascension of the Messiah of the White Race” At least, if they don’t want to be shot. ---
**Author:** ![bmasters1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5e925/32.png) [@bmasters1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmasters1)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2025, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/356 "2025-01-06T13:41:42Z")
> [@bobsmom101](#): > > We are in a post-newspaper world. That indeed we are-- the only newspapers I will read from henceforth are from a time when we actually had newspapers (I have a huge collection of old/vintage ones [most of which I’ve gotten from EBay], and not only were they quite objective on the news [plus sports and everything else, not to leave out very interesting columnists], they were also designed quite well as well [different areas had different designs that reflected the areas, so you never knew what you’d get, unlike these days where every paper of a chain has the same design; Gannett/UTN being the worst offender, IMO]). ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2025, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/357 "2025-01-06T20:59:54Z")
> [@Chad\_Sudan](#): > > The _Washington Post_ refused to run an editorial cartoon by Ann Telnaes that was directed at _Post_ owner Jeff Bezos. Telnaes has now resigned. Talnaes hit Bezos again today (at Substack–her resignation from the WaPo still holds): [![](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:pjx5q7ozubiuiefbscaivmvj/bafkreibd4uyewwopudmf6gsleatv6dgxp6u2xyioo3czmghmkxsudnkyxi@jpeg) ](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:pjx5q7ozubiuiefbscaivmvj/bafkreibd4uyewwopudmf6gsleatv6dgxp6u2xyioo3czmghmkxsudnkyxi@jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2025, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/358 "2025-01-06T21:00:57Z")
That is a great picture of Trump, and the weird way he stands! ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2025, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/359 "2025-01-06T21:06:25Z")
Yeah, the cartoonist is really observant–if you search her name and click Images, you get a lot of amazing cartoons. (Ann Telnaes.) ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2025, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/360 "2025-01-06T21:13:31Z")
I believe that cartoon is actually drawn by Barry Blitt as part of an invitation by Steve Brodner to other cartoonists to produce their own versions of the censored image in support of Ms. Telnaes. My favorite of these was Emma Cooks’ submission: [![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faeba1965-17fb-4440-a1dc-7736d48094cc_3654x2220.jpeg?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email) ](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faeba1965-17fb-4440-a1dc-7736d48094cc_3654x2220.jpeg?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email) Stranger [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210.md?page=17) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210.md?page=19)