# 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:** 19
**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, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/361 "2025-01-06T21:16:28Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > 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. Oh, I should have noticed that! Still, I like the whole concept of new cartoons based on the original. (Thanks for posting that example.) ---
**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, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/362 "2025-01-06T21:20:51Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Oh, I should have noticed that! No worries; it wasn’t totally clear in the sustack but was spelled out in the email to subscribers. > [@Sherrerd](#): > > (Thanks for posting that example.) That one is kind of reminiscent of in style of the late Al Jaffee of _Mad Magazine_. Dave Whamond’s take is pretty good, too: [![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbcb388b6-adcf-4409-9587-4a4e12e28f60_600x430.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%2Fbcb388b6-adcf-4409-9587-4a4e12e28f60_600x430.jpeg?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email) 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 6, 2025, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/363 "2025-01-06T21:24:20Z")
Clearly none of these editorial cartoonists had to exactly rack their brains to come up with biting variations on the theme. ---
**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, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/364 "2025-01-06T21:28:45Z")
Such blatant servitude and incipient corruption is a ripe fruit for cartoonists. And as Telnaes herself has opined [“Editorial cartoonists are democracy’s canary in a coal mine.”](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F856392c2-9709-4733-ac60-54a17c3e8f8c_1500x9600.jpeg) 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 6, 2025, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/365 "2025-01-06T21:34:20Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > And as Telnaes herself has opined [“Editorial cartoonists are democracy’s canary in a coal mine.”](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F856392c2-9709-4733-ac60-54a17c3e8f8c_1500x9600.jpeg) I just hope we’re not going to be reduced to mimeographing them in our basements and furtively exchanging them between transactions at the local bartering market. ---
**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, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/366 "2025-01-06T22:48:50Z")
Psst Comrade. What’s the English word for _samizdat_? ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2025, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/367 "2025-01-07T00:12:44Z")
My WaPo subscription ends this week. I cancelled when Bezos spiked the Harris endorsement. I wrote another letter to the editor about spiking Telnaes’ cartoon. And I subscribed to her Substack. I know that’s not enough, but it’s what I can do. The Mrs and I and rethinking our Amazon Prime. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2025, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/368 "2025-01-07T02:21:36Z")
The _gold-painted age_, perhaps. “Gilded” at least promises gold, thinly spread. This era has theatrics, face paint and vaudeville, but little value. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2025, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/369 "2025-01-07T02:25:30Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > “Gilded” at least promises gold, thinly spread. Not really. Just making something gold-colored is gilding it. > **[Definition of GILDED](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gilded)** > > covered or tinged with gold or a golden color; having a background of wealth and luxury : prosperous, luxurious… See the full definition The pejorative nature of the word “gilded” means falsely making something appear gold, and that’s all that is "promised’ when using that term. It could involve something like gold leaf, or just simply paint that is colored gold. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2025, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/370 "2025-01-07T02:31:18Z")
Ha! Thanks for that. My experience with gilding is limited to what I was read by my mother at a very tender age from story-books, a slightly confused understanding of the phrase “gilding the lily” and a short period in my teenage years drinking gold sambuca. I am no expert. (I can, however, suggest that use of gold sambuca in a bong reseviour is unwise. While it may appear glamourous, in theory, it is actually fucking stupid. Trust me.) ---
**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 7, 2025, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/371 "2025-01-07T02:39:03Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > I just hope we’re not going to be reduced to mimeographing them in our basements and furtively exchanging them between transactions at the local bartering market. Mimeographing? Nah. It’ll be using anonymous accounts behind VPNs to share on social media. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2025, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/372 "2025-01-07T04:36:54Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > (I can, however, suggest that use of gold sambuca in a bong reseviour is unwise. While it may appear glamourous, in theory, it is actually fucking stupid. Trust me.) If anyone ever suggests that I will try to remember your sage advice. 👍 ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2025, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/373 "2025-01-07T05:27:37Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > _The Gilded Age_ With all the sociopolitical shenanigans going on, maybe history could term this period “American Democracy: The Gelded Age” ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2025, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/374 "2025-01-07T05:36:56Z")
The Age of Grift The Great Pause The Age of Unenlightenment The Lost Years ---
**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 7, 2025, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/375 "2025-01-07T07:27:36Z")
The Felonial Era ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2025, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/376 "2025-01-07T07:30:24Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > … maybe history could term this period “American Democracy: The Gelded Age” In my opinion, this is the best so far. Well done, @penultima_thule ! ---
**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 7, 2025, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/377 "2025-01-07T13:11:41Z")
The Great Bromancing The Narcissist Cycle The Bad Hair Epoch The Age of Addlepates Stranger ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2025, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/378 "2025-01-07T13:33:20Z")
Not sure where this goes, but it seems to fit with the recent Telnaes cartoon: > **[Meta scraps fact checking program, is bringing back political content](https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/07/meta-eliminates-third-party-fact-checking-moves-to-community-notes.html)** > > Meta announces intent to "restore free expression" on its platforms ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2025, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/379 "2025-01-07T13:35:01Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > (I can, however, suggest that use of gold sambuca in a bong reseviour is unwise. While it may appear glamourous, in theory, it is actually fucking stupid. Trust me.) Apropos of nothing … crushed ice and lemon juice. [END] ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2025, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/380 "2025-01-07T13:42:32Z")
I’m confused. Why smoke weed when you can drink sambuca instead? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210.md?page=18) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210.md?page=20)