Oh no - rich people are actually letting the masses decide their voting choices for themselves? Shame on WSJ (et al.)! They need to return to telling people to vote for centrist warlords right away! Standing up to the man is SCARY!
On endorsements "They are where the people who are the most in-the-know about in-the-weeds political bullshit can lay out their opinion with facts and a time-tested process about who is best to lead the country."
Were that only true Nathalie. I dont have any problem with publications choosing to do endorsements, and I feel that both WAPO and LA Times made a terrible hash of their recent decisions (both in timing and manner), but consider the Stranger and its endorsement "process,"where ideology and dogma reign in constant orbit around DSA nostrums, a publication without a rear view mirror that never owns a mistake, and a clear penchant for Weimar street action to achieve "demands" over collaboration and compromise.
Behind the curtain at the Stranger, the notion of a publication without endorsements must be akin to the veritable sandwich without mayo - whats the point? Its voter guide, and the extent to which readers blindly fill out their ballots as a paint by the numbers exercise, is its chief purpose. All the culture, arts, events content is simply the spoonful of sugar to aid the medicine going down.
Don't trust the polls which have been artificially inflated by scare tactics and corporate cash. The truth is that the Democratic party is stronger than ever and we must unite to take down fascism. Let them artificially inflate their support with billions, they can't overcome the vote of the people. Everyone must vote, fuck the Electoral College or living in a whatever color state. Millions of popular votes matter. We won by 8 fucking million people last time regardless of the Electoral College bullshit archaic point system designed to disenfranchise the electorate. Those voters didn't just swap to Trump! Remember the power of our coalition and succeed beyond the shadow of a doubt! Show up, mail in your ballot, and do whatever it takes to make sure it is counted. Now is the time to choose. Hearken back to the fucked up racist past, or plow a new way forward for the future! You must vote, and if that is not enough, you must fight! We will not allow a globalist oligarch led astroturf wanna be fascist cult to steal the truth again! Never again! RISE AND KICK SOME FUCKING ASS
Newspaper endorsements in this country overwhelmingly favor Republican presidential candidates, and always have, because most newspapers owners are older, white, male Republicans, and always have been. Nevertheless, readers have elected Democrats many times. By pretending otherwise, the Stranger’s writers are simply overstating the power of endorsements, including their own. (Everyone should continue to call Bezos a coward, though.)
The blackout here about Rich Smith’s departure continues the pattern of the Stranger getting scooped on the story of Noisy Creek buying the Stranger.
It would be bad form for a media outlet to post about a staffer leaving/getting fired. If someone wants to share their own story that’s one thing but no one should be publicly gossiping about their coworker. This is standard practice in every workplace and it doesn’t become ethical just because your workplace has a public forum.
I'm sure there will be a post at some point from the new editor. According to Guy Oron, Marcus Harrison Green from the South Seattle Emerald has been tapped to replace Rich as the news editor. I'd expect something from him later this week once the dust settles.
As for the LA Times non-endorsement I thought that would be go over big with the uncommitted delegate crowd as the reason they gave for the non endorsement was Kamala's refusal to discuss the ongoing genocide (their word not mine) in Gaza. Isn't that what they have been advocating for?
@14: Who said anything about gossip? A bland, pro-forma, vetted-by-Legal notice of thanks for Rich’s service, wishing him all the best, and introduction of replacement. That’s all. Employers, including news outlets, do this to squelch speculation by controlling the message, and also to, you know, inform.
If public comment on a staffer’s firing is common practice in the media I’ve never seen it and I would consider any second-hand discussion about someone’s firing as a textbook example of gossip. You can wish someone the best privately, but doing so in a public setting is weird and unnecessary.
@15 The L.A. Times did not say that. And most of us who voted uncommitted did so because we felt Biden couldn't win and wanted to preserve at least a sliver of a chance that another candidate could emerge (which is in fact what happened, despite the insistence of many here and elsewhere that we were living in dreamland). I for one had no illusions that any other plausible Democratic candidate would be noticeably better than Biden on Mideast policy. The imperative is to defeat Trump, who promises to be much, much worse.
@19 LA Times, per the owner’s daughter, absolutely didn’t endorse Kamala (which they were ready to do) to punish her for US (Biden’s) support of Israel’s actions in Gaza.
The Harris campaign has raised over a billion dollars, about 3 times Trump, so she has cash to burn and an opportunity to bring out voters for congressional races and down-ballot issues
Yes let’s take the billionaire’s daughter at her word that her dad didn’t put his thumb on the scale and that the editorial board chose not to comment on the election at all because their opinions about the candidates were too strong. I see no reason to question this completely illogical, third hand explanation.
@19 that might have been your reason but there are plenty of others (on this board included) who have threatened to not vote or vote for a different candidate to somehow influence Harris to shift her position. To me the LA Times move is just a culmination of that effort.
@29 how is it any different than theorizing about the motives of the owners? If you are going to conjecture on motives you might as well include all possibilities.
@28 Thanks. I hadn't seen anything other than Slog comments. Given that, I agree with the various folks saying that The Stranger shouldn't comment. Too bad, I rather liked him.
Jesus---a 45 car pileup on I-5, and a landslide mess near Iowa Street in Bellingham. Nature has reason to be pissed. Human made climate change is real and only going to get worse. Meanwhile, the towing companies and car repair shop owners are laughing all the way to the bank. The fall rain and wind so far are a wakeup call. Snow season is going to be a nightmare. Stock up and be prepared.
Thankfully my beloved VW and I don't drive on the freeways anymore, or during the fall and winter months.
John Fogarty and CCR were right: I see a Bad Moon Rising.
Why a 34-times convicted, mentally unhinged, corrupt-as-fuck Putin worshipping felon is free to run for U.S. President---and that the Orange Turd has so many idiots STILL stupidly cheering it on---is totally inexcusable.
Propaganda and social media are destroying this country just as Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime brainwashed and murdered millions of people, and devastated Germany and most of Europe during WWII. Have we not learned anything from history? Voting prevents unwanted presidency! Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, and SuperBob Ferguson for Washington Governor et al 2024 are our only hope in preserving what little democracy we have left.
I predict that AI, along with the batshit crazy GOP will bring on the end of the world. And that soon-to-be tech trillionaire Elon Musk will be the last self serving asshole left standing only to discover that he's got no more natural resources left with which to survive. His billion dollar rocket can't blast off without fuel so he's stuck on a desolate, nuclear scorched Earth.
30, If the board is conflicted over strong feelings about both candidates they should say so. Pulling the endorsement altogether when 1/ their paper is owned by a billionaire who is likely to be favor-seeking from Trump (read the article), and 2/ the billionaire owner of the post pulled the article for the exact same reason, then common sense should lead you to one explanation over the other. Plus the guy even said his daughter has no authority to speak on this issue. Of course we don’t know either way but if you’re going to guess you should go with an educated one.
@10 Merchant Seaman and @11 Phil in Seattle: I am just as surprised as you are about Rich Smith getting fired. He was one of The Stranger's best journalists.
Uncommitted was a fraction of a percent of primary voters they are unlikely to have any impact at all, with the possible exception of Michigan. Perhaps the LA Times’ non-endorsement went over well with them but who cares because they’re not relevant for anyone who isn’t nursing sour grapes over their opposition to the attack on Gaza.
Patrick Soon-Shiong responded Saturday, saying his daughter did not play a role in the endorsement.
“Nika speaks in her own personal capacity regarding her opinion, as every community member has the right to do. She does not have any role at the L.A. Times, nor does she participate in any decision or discussion with the editorial board, as has been made clear many times,” he said in a statement.
In his interview with The Times on Friday, Soon-Shiong said the decision was not tied to the war in Gaza and his daughter’s views were “her opinion.”
@19, @35: The Stranger has been very clear about their only reason for “uncommitted”:
‘In the presidential primary, hundreds of thousands of Democrats—including those in key swing states like Michigan—voted “undecided” or “uncommitted” to protest the Biden administration’s perpetuation of the violence in Palestine. These “uncommitted” votes tried to incentivize behavior-change from Biden. Biden didn’t change his behavior.’
@29, @37: ‘Nika’s statement about the Los Angeles Times decision to kill its Harris endorsement follows multiple resignations from the newspaper’s board from members who left in protest of Soon-Shiong’s blocking of the endorsement. The pulled endorsement coincided with a similar decision from Bezos, which reportedly “stunned” both news and opinion journalists at the paper. Outrage also ensued at the Post, with Karen Attiah, a Post columnist, characterizing the decision as an “insult to those of us who have literally put our careers and lives on the line, to call out threats to human rights and democracy.”’
Not to throw yet another conspiracy out there but Rich's dismissal came 10 days after he used The Strangers social media to post a defense of his comrade Kshama being in town to promote Jill Stein and actively undermine democrats. Perhaps Rich's use of TS account to post something like that called into question whether he is the right leader for the news room.
@39 I have to admit I find the outrage from the left over the apparent "business decision" by these publications to be somewhat comical. Does anyone in this day and age honestly believe publications are not self censoring whether it be to appease officials, activists or business interests? I hope they are all having a red pill moment and realizing they should be getting news from several sources with varied viewpoints and understanding the truth is in the middle there somewhere.
Question - I know that the Stranger buried the story of UW SUPERs assault on HUB last year, but have they also remained silent on UWs decision to suspend SUPER for not cooperating in the investigation following those events?
The decision occurred early this month but nothing but crickets out there.
41, Anyone who pays attention to the media already knows that stories are routinely spiked for all kinds of reasons, often nefarious. I gather you’re not one to pay attention if you think this is news to “the left” because catch and kill (buying stories to bury them) was a huge scandal in 2016 when the inquirer buried a bunch or unflattering Trump, and many more came to light re Weinstein during me too.
It’s always bad when the media buries stories of public interest. Not that an editorial is a story, but since you brought it up.
@43: "Anyone who pays attention to the media already knows that stories are routinely spiked for all kinds of reasons, often nefarious"
lol, is it possible that you might be conflating catch-and-kill tabloid media with all media? If your argument is that mainstream media "routinely" spikes news stories for "nefarious" reasons, you should probably have something a little more robust than "anyone who pays attention already knows." 😃
I bring this up because, uh, no, you're wrong, what you're describing is a conspiracy theory. 😄
@43 then I’m not sure why there seems to be such an outcry over the endorsement decisions. People should know these types of decisions are happening everyday.
@41: The Stranger's pious hand-wringing about the spiked media endorsements sits in wonderful contrast to the Stranger's refusal to criticize Sawant's campaigning for Trump. No matter what the LA Times says (or doesn't say), Harris still leads Trump by over twenty percentage points in California. Sawant campaigned for Trump in Michigan, a critical swing state with a large Arab-American population, specifically to "punish" Harris by denying her our presidency. (Sisterhood, powerful, etc.) So the Stranger wails about the change which will have no effect, whilst studiously ignoring Sawant's very dangerous attempt to defeat the very outcome the Stranger claims to want.
Sawant won successive re-elections by narrower and narrower margins, ultimately avoiding recall by Seattle's most liberal district. The Stranger pulled hard for her every time, and the 310-vote margin by which she barely survived her final election might not have existed, without Rich Smith's screaming denunciations of those treasonous voters who'd dared try to hold her accountable. If she'd lost, if 'her own' constituents had declared her abuses of power unacceptable, then she'd be just a defeated has-been from some faraway place, not the 'successful' officeholder leading the charge for a 'historic' victory. The Stranger's long patronage of Sawant was already, regretfully, the most consequential political decision they've ever made; we can only hope their chronic folly brings no further result.
Rich Smith should've stuck to dance reviews, which were clearly his strength. His recent defense of Sawant's Michigan speech was ridiculous. If that's where his analysis was headed, then frankly good riddance.
@40 When Trump's former chief of staff, and his former chairman of the joint chiefs, both generals with distinguished careers were calling Trump a Fascist before his Madison Square Garden rally that echoed the 1939 Nazi rally in terms of xenophobia, racism, and support for this generation's Fascist world dictator, it's pretty safe to call Trump a Fascist, and MAGA Fascist to the core. Trump scores on all 14 elements of Fascism*.
*"The 14 characteristics are:
1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism
Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.
2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights
Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.
3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause
The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.
4. Supremacy of the Military
Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.
5. Rampant Sexism
The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to abortion is high, as is homophobia and anti-gay legislation and national policy.
6. Controlled Mass Media
Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.
7. Obsession with National Security
Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.
8. Religion and Government are Intertwined
Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.
9. Corporate Power is Protected
The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.
10. Labor Power is Suppressed
Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed .
11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts
Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts is openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts.
12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment
Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.
13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption
Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.
14. Fraudulent Elections
Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections."
@50: You could actually have provided examples of Trump's "fascism," instead of just copying Eco's list. (Interestingly, Nazi Germany didn't really go for #8, choosing to suppress all religions and instead present Party and Leader as objects of religious devotion.) I would not label Trump a fascist, simply because he hasn't put that much thought into it. He's just an authoritarian narcissist who wants everything his own way.
@51 You need to review your history better. Hitler sent clergy that opposed him to the camps. His regime actively funded those churches who bent the knee. He kept the Pope silent by holding Catholics under his control hostage.
As for listing how Trump has faults in every single category, that would have required a post 4 times longer, and that was long to begin with.
@52: Nothing you've written has supported a claim Nazi Germany practiced #8 on Eco's famous list, or contradicted my description of what Nazi Germany actually did. Indeed, you've described how that regime suppressed religion, not how that regime used religion as a tool for control.
As for keeping the Pope silent in the face of widespread criminality, the Catholic Church's decades-long, world-wide pedophilia scandal shows that Church didn't need the help. During the Nazi period, the Church excommunicated German Catholics for getting divorced, but not one single German was ever excommunicated for participation in the Holocaust. Again, the Catholic Church simply didn't need any help in covering up truly horrific, widespread crimes.
"As for listing how Trump has faults in every single category, that would have required a post 4 times longer,"
And also would have involved actual work on your part, which is hard, and so you failed. Your claim, "Trump scores on all 14 elements of Fascism," therefore fails due to lack of evidence to support it.
How can anyone fail to say something bad about Trump? (The mind, it wobbles...)
@48 - Rich Smith showed how weak and immature he is to gaslighting after he got gaslighted by the Seattle Time's Opinion piece about Sawant where the Stranger got called out for their BS and their support for her. By publicly backing her up like that in a video, he basically said "The Stranger officially is a Sawantista and stand by whatever she will say or do".
That's not a good look if the ad revenue forecast for 2025 is questionable in this weird unstable environment.
@53 If you can't read that list and think of examples on your own, you must be a Fascist as there have been examples in the news since Trump came down the escalator. Hitler frequently used Antisemitic quotes from Martin Luther, and actively courted rural Lutheran farmers and small businessmen in his rise from power. Very similar to Trump courting Evangelicals, even though he's not even remotely religious.
@55 Since Trump has been selling Bibles and appointed Supreme Court justices with specific religious views, you have proved my point that Trump is a Fascist. If Trump is stronger on #8 than Hitler, it means he's more solidly Fascist than Hitler. Thanks!
The 17-year-old would-be murderess needs to be in adult jail.
Thank god we still have a youth jail, otherwise this lowlife would be out on the streets five minutes after booking!
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/oct/28/lesson-israel-unfathomably-cruel-war-might-is-right
Oh no - rich people are actually letting the masses decide their voting choices for themselves? Shame on WSJ (et al.)! They need to return to telling people to vote for centrist warlords right away! Standing up to the man is SCARY!
@3, What else would you expect from natural selection?
It is certainly in keeping with the natural selection world view.
Pre-emptive obeisance. Bezos doesn't want to offend Herr Drumpf and jeopardize contracts just before the regime takes power. He will be vengeful.
Billionaires buy legacy newspapers for a reason.
It’s pretty sickening to see our media bending the knee to a fascist before he’s even elected.
On endorsements "They are where the people who are the most in-the-know about in-the-weeds political bullshit can lay out their opinion with facts and a time-tested process about who is best to lead the country."
Were that only true Nathalie. I dont have any problem with publications choosing to do endorsements, and I feel that both WAPO and LA Times made a terrible hash of their recent decisions (both in timing and manner), but consider the Stranger and its endorsement "process,"where ideology and dogma reign in constant orbit around DSA nostrums, a publication without a rear view mirror that never owns a mistake, and a clear penchant for Weimar street action to achieve "demands" over collaboration and compromise.
Behind the curtain at the Stranger, the notion of a publication without endorsements must be akin to the veritable sandwich without mayo - whats the point? Its voter guide, and the extent to which readers blindly fill out their ballots as a paint by the numbers exercise, is its chief purpose. All the culture, arts, events content is simply the spoonful of sugar to aid the medicine going down.
Don't trust the polls which have been artificially inflated by scare tactics and corporate cash. The truth is that the Democratic party is stronger than ever and we must unite to take down fascism. Let them artificially inflate their support with billions, they can't overcome the vote of the people. Everyone must vote, fuck the Electoral College or living in a whatever color state. Millions of popular votes matter. We won by 8 fucking million people last time regardless of the Electoral College bullshit archaic point system designed to disenfranchise the electorate. Those voters didn't just swap to Trump! Remember the power of our coalition and succeed beyond the shadow of a doubt! Show up, mail in your ballot, and do whatever it takes to make sure it is counted. Now is the time to choose. Hearken back to the fucked up racist past, or plow a new way forward for the future! You must vote, and if that is not enough, you must fight! We will not allow a globalist oligarch led astroturf wanna be fascist cult to steal the truth again! Never again! RISE AND KICK SOME FUCKING ASS
No words for Rich Smith?
Mine would be to be angry and sickened
This is a huge loss for you guys
Why was Rich Smith fired?
@10 - He was one of the last old timers. I'll miss how he did the news. I have no doubt that he'll find better horizons.
Newspaper endorsements in this country overwhelmingly favor Republican presidential candidates, and always have, because most newspapers owners are older, white, male Republicans, and always have been. Nevertheless, readers have elected Democrats many times. By pretending otherwise, the Stranger’s writers are simply overstating the power of endorsements, including their own. (Everyone should continue to call Bezos a coward, though.)
The blackout here about Rich Smith’s departure continues the pattern of the Stranger getting scooped on the story of Noisy Creek buying the Stranger.
It would be bad form for a media outlet to post about a staffer leaving/getting fired. If someone wants to share their own story that’s one thing but no one should be publicly gossiping about their coworker. This is standard practice in every workplace and it doesn’t become ethical just because your workplace has a public forum.
I'm sure there will be a post at some point from the new editor. According to Guy Oron, Marcus Harrison Green from the South Seattle Emerald has been tapped to replace Rich as the news editor. I'd expect something from him later this week once the dust settles.
As for the LA Times non-endorsement I thought that would be go over big with the uncommitted delegate crowd as the reason they gave for the non endorsement was Kamala's refusal to discuss the ongoing genocide (their word not mine) in Gaza. Isn't that what they have been advocating for?
Fitting that the pile-up was 45 cars.
@14: Who said anything about gossip? A bland, pro-forma, vetted-by-Legal notice of thanks for Rich’s service, wishing him all the best, and introduction of replacement. That’s all. Employers, including news outlets, do this to squelch speculation by controlling the message, and also to, you know, inform.
If public comment on a staffer’s firing is common practice in the media I’ve never seen it and I would consider any second-hand discussion about someone’s firing as a textbook example of gossip. You can wish someone the best privately, but doing so in a public setting is weird and unnecessary.
@15 The L.A. Times did not say that. And most of us who voted uncommitted did so because we felt Biden couldn't win and wanted to preserve at least a sliver of a chance that another candidate could emerge (which is in fact what happened, despite the insistence of many here and elsewhere that we were living in dreamland). I for one had no illusions that any other plausible Democratic candidate would be noticeably better than Biden on Mideast policy. The imperative is to defeat Trump, who promises to be much, much worse.
Do we know whether Smith was actually fired, was laid off, or whether he jumped of his own accord?
@19 LA Times, per the owner’s daughter, absolutely didn’t endorse Kamala (which they were ready to do) to punish her for US (Biden’s) support of Israel’s actions in Gaza.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/billionaire-daughter-of-la-times-owner-says-harris-endorsement-pulled-over-vp-s-gaza-stance/ar-AA1sZgQK
Those of you more politically in the know:
Why are we seeing Harris Campaign ads on TV here?
Washington is not in play.
Would not limited campaign cash be better spent hammering the few undecided voters in Pennsylvania about how bad Trump is for them?
Better spent on turnout in those swing states?
@21: Gaza is proving a convenient smokescreen for billionaire media moguls not to antagonize a (more likely than not) future President Trump.
@21 That's not remotely the same thing as the paper itself saying it in print. And for what it's worth, I don't believe her.
The Harris campaign has raised over a billion dollars, about 3 times Trump, so she has cash to burn and an opportunity to bring out voters for congressional races and down-ballot issues
@22: sometimes we see ads on national broadcasts, like NFL games. I saw Motherfucker ads there.
I hope they caught the Cheddar thieves on surveillance cameras.
Say "Cheese".
@20,
In a tweet he said "they let me go." Make of that what you will.
Yes let’s take the billionaire’s daughter at her word that her dad didn’t put his thumb on the scale and that the editorial board chose not to comment on the election at all because their opinions about the candidates were too strong. I see no reason to question this completely illogical, third hand explanation.
@19 that might have been your reason but there are plenty of others (on this board included) who have threatened to not vote or vote for a different candidate to somehow influence Harris to shift her position. To me the LA Times move is just a culmination of that effort.
@29 how is it any different than theorizing about the motives of the owners? If you are going to conjecture on motives you might as well include all possibilities.
@28 Thanks. I hadn't seen anything other than Slog comments. Given that, I agree with the various folks saying that The Stranger shouldn't comment. Too bad, I rather liked him.
Jesus---a 45 car pileup on I-5, and a landslide mess near Iowa Street in Bellingham. Nature has reason to be pissed. Human made climate change is real and only going to get worse. Meanwhile, the towing companies and car repair shop owners are laughing all the way to the bank. The fall rain and wind so far are a wakeup call. Snow season is going to be a nightmare. Stock up and be prepared.
Thankfully my beloved VW and I don't drive on the freeways anymore, or during the fall and winter months.
John Fogarty and CCR were right: I see a Bad Moon Rising.
Why a 34-times convicted, mentally unhinged, corrupt-as-fuck Putin worshipping felon is free to run for U.S. President---and that the Orange Turd has so many idiots STILL stupidly cheering it on---is totally inexcusable.
Propaganda and social media are destroying this country just as Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime brainwashed and murdered millions of people, and devastated Germany and most of Europe during WWII. Have we not learned anything from history? Voting prevents unwanted presidency! Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, and SuperBob Ferguson for Washington Governor et al 2024 are our only hope in preserving what little democracy we have left.
I predict that AI, along with the batshit crazy GOP will bring on the end of the world. And that soon-to-be tech trillionaire Elon Musk will be the last self serving asshole left standing only to discover that he's got no more natural resources left with which to survive. His billion dollar rocket can't blast off without fuel so he's stuck on a desolate, nuclear scorched Earth.
30, If the board is conflicted over strong feelings about both candidates they should say so. Pulling the endorsement altogether when 1/ their paper is owned by a billionaire who is likely to be favor-seeking from Trump (read the article), and 2/ the billionaire owner of the post pulled the article for the exact same reason, then common sense should lead you to one explanation over the other. Plus the guy even said his daughter has no authority to speak on this issue. Of course we don’t know either way but if you’re going to guess you should go with an educated one.
@9 CDizzle (Garb Garblar?): +1 for the WIN!!!!
@10 Merchant Seaman and @11 Phil in Seattle: I am just as surprised as you are about Rich Smith getting fired. He was one of The Stranger's best journalists.
All the best, Rich. You will be greatly missed.
@19- every single “uncommitted” voter a read about being asked cited Gaza as the reason. Not “a” reason, but “the” reason.
Uncommitted was a fraction of a percent of primary voters they are unlikely to have any impact at all, with the possible exception of Michigan. Perhaps the LA Times’ non-endorsement went over well with them but who cares because they’re not relevant for anyone who isn’t nursing sour grapes over their opposition to the attack on Gaza.
Patrick Soon-Shiong responded Saturday, saying his daughter did not play a role in the endorsement.
“Nika speaks in her own personal capacity regarding her opinion, as every community member has the right to do. She does not have any role at the L.A. Times, nor does she participate in any decision or discussion with the editorial board, as has been made clear many times,” he said in a statement.
In his interview with The Times on Friday, Soon-Shiong said the decision was not tied to the war in Gaza and his daughter’s views were “her opinion.”
@31,
Me too.
Meant to link the story where that quote appears.
https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2024-10-25/latimes-no-presidential-endorsement-decison-resignations
@19, @35: The Stranger has been very clear about their only reason for “uncommitted”:
‘In the presidential primary, hundreds of thousands of Democrats—including those in key swing states like Michigan—voted “undecided” or “uncommitted” to protest the Biden administration’s perpetuation of the violence in Palestine. These “uncommitted” votes tried to incentivize behavior-change from Biden. Biden didn’t change his behavior.’
(https://www.thestranger.com/guest-editorial/2024/06/14/79558567/why-i-interrupted-vice-president-kamala-harris-at-her-seattle-fundraiser)
@29, @37: ‘Nika’s statement about the Los Angeles Times decision to kill its Harris endorsement follows multiple resignations from the newspaper’s board from members who left in protest of Soon-Shiong’s blocking of the endorsement. The pulled endorsement coincided with a similar decision from Bezos, which reportedly “stunned” both news and opinion journalists at the paper. Outrage also ensued at the Post, with Karen Attiah, a Post columnist, characterizing the decision as an “insult to those of us who have literally put our careers and lives on the line, to call out threats to human rights and democracy.”’
(https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/billionaire-daughter-of-la-times-owner-says-harris-endorsement-pulled-over-vp-s-gaza-stance/ar-AA1sZgQK)
The Stranger: Propaganda worthy of Josef Goebbels.
Gosh but it’s fun calling people Nazis.
Not to throw yet another conspiracy out there but Rich's dismissal came 10 days after he used The Strangers social media to post a defense of his comrade Kshama being in town to promote Jill Stein and actively undermine democrats. Perhaps Rich's use of TS account to post something like that called into question whether he is the right leader for the news room.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DA_j8dZPR27/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
@39 I have to admit I find the outrage from the left over the apparent "business decision" by these publications to be somewhat comical. Does anyone in this day and age honestly believe publications are not self censoring whether it be to appease officials, activists or business interests? I hope they are all having a red pill moment and realizing they should be getting news from several sources with varied viewpoints and understanding the truth is in the middle there somewhere.
Question - I know that the Stranger buried the story of UW SUPERs assault on HUB last year, but have they also remained silent on UWs decision to suspend SUPER for not cooperating in the investigation following those events?
The decision occurred early this month but nothing but crickets out there.
41, Anyone who pays attention to the media already knows that stories are routinely spiked for all kinds of reasons, often nefarious. I gather you’re not one to pay attention if you think this is news to “the left” because catch and kill (buying stories to bury them) was a huge scandal in 2016 when the inquirer buried a bunch or unflattering Trump, and many more came to light re Weinstein during me too.
It’s always bad when the media buries stories of public interest. Not that an editorial is a story, but since you brought it up.
*bunch of unflattering Trump stories
@43: "Anyone who pays attention to the media already knows that stories are routinely spiked for all kinds of reasons, often nefarious"
lol, is it possible that you might be conflating catch-and-kill tabloid media with all media? If your argument is that mainstream media "routinely" spikes news stories for "nefarious" reasons, you should probably have something a little more robust than "anyone who pays attention already knows." 😃
I bring this up because, uh, no, you're wrong, what you're describing is a conspiracy theory. 😄
@43 then I’m not sure why there seems to be such an outcry over the endorsement decisions. People should know these types of decisions are happening everyday.
@41: The Stranger's pious hand-wringing about the spiked media endorsements sits in wonderful contrast to the Stranger's refusal to criticize Sawant's campaigning for Trump. No matter what the LA Times says (or doesn't say), Harris still leads Trump by over twenty percentage points in California. Sawant campaigned for Trump in Michigan, a critical swing state with a large Arab-American population, specifically to "punish" Harris by denying her our presidency. (Sisterhood, powerful, etc.) So the Stranger wails about the change which will have no effect, whilst studiously ignoring Sawant's very dangerous attempt to defeat the very outcome the Stranger claims to want.
Sawant won successive re-elections by narrower and narrower margins, ultimately avoiding recall by Seattle's most liberal district. The Stranger pulled hard for her every time, and the 310-vote margin by which she barely survived her final election might not have existed, without Rich Smith's screaming denunciations of those treasonous voters who'd dared try to hold her accountable. If she'd lost, if 'her own' constituents had declared her abuses of power unacceptable, then she'd be just a defeated has-been from some faraway place, not the 'successful' officeholder leading the charge for a 'historic' victory. The Stranger's long patronage of Sawant was already, regretfully, the most consequential political decision they've ever made; we can only hope their chronic folly brings no further result.
Rich Smith should've stuck to dance reviews, which were clearly his strength. His recent defense of Sawant's Michigan speech was ridiculous. If that's where his analysis was headed, then frankly good riddance.
Tuesday's Slog AM is late!
@40 When Trump's former chief of staff, and his former chairman of the joint chiefs, both generals with distinguished careers were calling Trump a Fascist before his Madison Square Garden rally that echoed the 1939 Nazi rally in terms of xenophobia, racism, and support for this generation's Fascist world dictator, it's pretty safe to call Trump a Fascist, and MAGA Fascist to the core. Trump scores on all 14 elements of Fascism*.
*"The 14 characteristics are:
1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism
Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.
2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights
Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.
3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause
The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.
4. Supremacy of the Military
Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.
5. Rampant Sexism
The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to abortion is high, as is homophobia and anti-gay legislation and national policy.
6. Controlled Mass Media
Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.
7. Obsession with National Security
Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.
8. Religion and Government are Intertwined
Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.
9. Corporate Power is Protected
The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.
10. Labor Power is Suppressed
Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed .
11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts
Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts is openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts.
12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment
Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.
13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption
Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.
14. Fraudulent Elections
Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections."
@50: You could actually have provided examples of Trump's "fascism," instead of just copying Eco's list. (Interestingly, Nazi Germany didn't really go for #8, choosing to suppress all religions and instead present Party and Leader as objects of religious devotion.) I would not label Trump a fascist, simply because he hasn't put that much thought into it. He's just an authoritarian narcissist who wants everything his own way.
@51 You need to review your history better. Hitler sent clergy that opposed him to the camps. His regime actively funded those churches who bent the knee. He kept the Pope silent by holding Catholics under his control hostage.
As for listing how Trump has faults in every single category, that would have required a post 4 times longer, and that was long to begin with.
@52: Nothing you've written has supported a claim Nazi Germany practiced #8 on Eco's famous list, or contradicted my description of what Nazi Germany actually did. Indeed, you've described how that regime suppressed religion, not how that regime used religion as a tool for control.
As for keeping the Pope silent in the face of widespread criminality, the Catholic Church's decades-long, world-wide pedophilia scandal shows that Church didn't need the help. During the Nazi period, the Church excommunicated German Catholics for getting divorced, but not one single German was ever excommunicated for participation in the Holocaust. Again, the Catholic Church simply didn't need any help in covering up truly horrific, widespread crimes.
"As for listing how Trump has faults in every single category, that would have required a post 4 times longer,"
And also would have involved actual work on your part, which is hard, and so you failed. Your claim, "Trump scores on all 14 elements of Fascism," therefore fails due to lack of evidence to support it.
How can anyone fail to say something bad about Trump? (The mind, it wobbles...)
@48 - Rich Smith showed how weak and immature he is to gaslighting after he got gaslighted by the Seattle Time's Opinion piece about Sawant where the Stranger got called out for their BS and their support for her. By publicly backing her up like that in a video, he basically said "The Stranger officially is a Sawantista and stand by whatever she will say or do".
That's not a good look if the ad revenue forecast for 2025 is questionable in this weird unstable environment.
@53 If you can't read that list and think of examples on your own, you must be a Fascist as there have been examples in the news since Trump came down the escalator. Hitler frequently used Antisemitic quotes from Martin Luther, and actively courted rural Lutheran farmers and small businessmen in his rise from power. Very similar to Trump courting Evangelicals, even though he's not even remotely religious.
@55: “ If you can't read that list and think of examples on your own,”
Do your own work. You could start with #8, as I suggested.
@55 Since Trump has been selling Bibles and appointed Supreme Court justices with specific religious views, you have proved my point that Trump is a Fascist. If Trump is stronger on #8 than Hitler, it means he's more solidly Fascist than Hitler. Thanks!
@57: Jimmy Carter taught Sunday School — the only sitting President ever to do so.
Total Fascist.