It's a new month, the election is mere days away, and it's time to present the first of this month's three - count 'em, three - ass clown awards is here. This time, there's no doubt in my mind about the recipient.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, the tinfoil and toilet paper crown designating
The Right-Cheek Ass Clown for November, 2024
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is presented jointly to
Washington Post Owner
Jeff Bezos
and
Los Angeles Times Owner
Patrick Soon-Shiong
With merely a week to go until the 2024 presidential election, the editorial boards of both the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times had prepared formal endorsements of Vice-President Kamala Harris.
Both endorsements were scuttled by the papers' multi-billionaire owners.
LA Times owner Soon-Shiong claimed that his decision not to offer readers a recommendation would be less divisive in a tumultuous election year, although his daughter was quoted as saying it was because of opposition to the war in Gaza.
Washington Post owner Bezos published an op-ed article explaining his decision, which he claimed was intended to restore the legitimacy of the press in the eyes of the public and was completely unrelated to his business interests and any desire to curry favor with Der Furor ("any suggestion otherwise is false," he wrote); he also claimed that the timing of the announcement was the result of "inadequate planning, and not some intentional strategy."
In both cases, the reason for the decision not to endorse a candidate - Mr Bezos' explanation notwithstanding - is clear: both wealthy owners want - for business and financial reasons - to avoid antagonizing Der Furor should he be reelected.
As I noted in my own endorsement* of Vice-President Harris, this is a clear choice between integrity and crude authoritarianism, between "he gets to be lawless, she has to be flawless." That two of the most wealthy and influential figures in the country have forbidden the news outlets THEY OWN to formally endorse a candidate in this most critical of elections represents the height of moral cowardice in favor of personal financial and business advantage.
That wealthy owners can stifle the editorial freedom of newspapers on which millions of readers depend for information - mere days before a critical election - is unconscionable.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, the Right-Cheek Ass Clown Award for November, 2024, is shared by Jeff Bezos and Patrick Soon-Shiong for their disgusting pandering to Der Furor in the hope of future advantage. May they choke on it.
Have a good day and make sure that - if you haven't already voted - you are planning to vote on Tuesday. The choice is clear.
More thoughts coming.
Bilbo
* As if it matters to anyone.
