Oh Those Crazy Rich Guys

Let's just agree that sometimes, the whole Reign Of Terror thing seems like a pretty good idea.

But at least I can say Jeff Bezos seems to be taking his stewardship responsibilities seriously.

That doesn't make him the good guy in the overall drama of How These Rich Pricks Ate My Democracy, but it scores him a few points. I'm just not going to praise him for being less than a complete asshole. The guy works hard, and he's done some good things, but when just a few people win dominance over too much of our economy, it always ends up up being very bad for everybody.

Here's the take on Jeff Bezos vs David Pecker via The Medium:

Something unusual happened to me yesterday. Actually, for me it wasn’t just unusual — it was a first. I was made an offer I couldn’t refuse. Or at least that’s what the top people at the National Enquirer thought. I’m glad they thought that, because it emboldened them to put it all in writing. Rather than capitulate to extortion and blackmail, I’ve decided to publish exactly what they sent me, despite the personal cost and embarrassment they threaten.

AMI, the owner of the National Enquirer, led by David Pecker, recently entered into an immunity deal with the Department of Justice related to their role in the so-called “Catch and Kill” process on behalf of President Trump and his election campaign. Mr. Pecker and his company have also been investigated for various actions they’ve taken on behalf of the Saudi Government.

- and -

Here’s a piece of context: My ownership of the Washington Post is a complexifier for me. It’s unavoidable that certain powerful people who experience Washington Post news coverage will wrongly conclude I am their enemy.

President Trump is one of those people, obvious by his many tweets. Also, The Post’s essential and unrelenting coverage of the murder of its columnist Jamal Khashoggi is undoubtedly unpopular in certain circles.

(Even though The Post is a complexifier for me, I do not at all regret my investment. The Post is a critical institution with a critical mission. My stewardship of The Post and my support of its mission, which will remain unswerving, is something I will be most proud of when I’m 90 and reviewing my life, if I’m lucky enough to live that long, regardless of any complexities it creates for me.)

I think the main point that comes of this is that we'll be able to concentrate a lot of fire on the truly shitty practice of Politically Weaponizing The Press. 

We need to get back to understanding how damaging Yellow Journalism is, and I find it hard to believe I'm the only one who seems to remember learning about this shit back in high school.