Democracy has an oligarch problem

Democracy has an oligarch problem.

I am canceling my subscription to the Washington Post in protest of their announced policy to never again endorse a presidential candidate beginning now. If democracy dies in darkness, Bezos turned off the lights, and the Washington Post editorial page can never be trusted to give their true opinion. It also makes me wonder if the reporting side of the paper will have to bow down to Bezos in the future while also affecting their other opinion writers. This is what happens when American oligarchs control the media. They shape it to benefit themselves, whether out of fear of a revengeful Trump or loss of customers or seeking benefits of tax and regulatory policies. The reported endorsement of the editorial board for Harris was killed by its owner, Jeff Bezos, also head of Amazon. Added to this oligarch's control of media is Trump's support of the richest man in the world, Elon Musk. The Murdoch family controls FOX. Murdoch's wealth in their multi-continental media empire reflects their ideology, influencing the slant and choice of what is reported, which brings in more viewership and advertising revenue. FOX was exposed as an entertainment business, not a news business, when it lost the law suit and their defaming Dominium voting machines.

This year's presidential election is pivotal in the history of our country. The choice is between a fascist-like Trump and Harris, who pledged to keep the democratic system we have had for 250 years. It is one of the most critical elections ever held because it will have a fundamental impact on determining what kind of a governing system we have going forward. This year's election is about whether the rule of law is responsive to voters or whether we have to rule a person responsive to his own self-interests and with nearly unchecked power. This is not 2020 because of new powers benefitting Trump. These new powers enable him to assemble extreme power for himself, such as immunity from criminal prosecution just granted him by his compliant Supreme Court, a judicial system with the final word in the same Trump-friendly Supreme Court, and the easy activation of the manual of how to circumvent Congress and the will of the majority that is detailed in Project 2025 documents. Elon Musk, chief oligarch and surrogate spokesperson for Trump now, is the owner of what we once called Twitter. Musk is the chief promoter of anti-immigrant conspiracy theories on the site he owns. Musk, alleged to be the richest man in the world, is an immigrant himself who came to the US as a teenager as part of the white flight when apartheid was ended in South Africa.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2024/oct/27/bezos-washington-post-non-endorsement-election

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Jeff Bezos killed Washington Post endorsement of Kamala Harris

Journalists Once Defended Fox as a News Outlet. But That Was Then - Nieman Reports