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Jeff Bezo’s baby pulls an anti-Hamas cartoon
“If were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.”
No surprise there. Thomas Jefferson was one the first First Amendment guys, enshrining his antipathy against government censorship in The Bill of Rights.
Yes, well, Uncle Sam has a well-established track record of pissing on the First Amendment from a great height.
History Is Our Guide
Amongst the more stunning betrayals of Americans’ Constitutional-protected right to free speech: the Sedition Act of 1918. wikipedia:
It forbade the use of "disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language" about the United States government, its flag, or its armed forces or that caused others to view the American government or its institutions with contempt. Those convicted under the act generally received sentences of imprisonment for five to 20 years.
In the lead up to and during World War I, the United States government brought some 2000 cases against its critics.
Between 1000 and 1500 of those charged were convicted and jailed, including Socialist presidential candidate Eugene Debs (during his campaign) and Congressman Matthew Lyon.
More recently, we’ve seen irrefutable proof that the White House and its three-letter agencies have been working hand-in-glove with Big Tech to censor “disinformation.”
Government censorship is nobody’s friend. The MSM’s self-censorship (a.k.a. bias) isn’t as bad, but it’s close. Too close.
The mainstream media’s ongoing efforts to suppress and/or spin genuine information casting the Administration in a bad light (e.g., the Hunter Biden laptop story) is a disgrace.
Does the MSM censor and spin at the behest of Democratic operatives? To cater to their left-leaning audience? Because they honestly – if condescendingly – believe they know what’s best for the country?
Yes.
Anti-Hamas Cartoon Spiked
No matter what their motivation, the mainstream media’s liberal bias is obvious to anyone who isn’t a liberal. If it wasn’t before, it should be now.
Even bias deniers are going to have a hard time defending The Washington Post’s decision to remove the editorial cartoon lampooning Hamas for using Palestinians for human shields . wjs.com:
Before the drawing was removed, a number of employees inside the Post newsroom had complained to top editors that the cartoon was racist, according to people familiar with the matter.
How is that cartoon racist? Because the Hamas terrorist is depicted as an Arab? Does that mean that any depiction of any Arab is racist? Or just any a negative depiction of an Arab?
The Post’s decision to spike the cartoon has nothing to do with racism – the left’s go-to epithet when they’re losing an argument. It has everything to do with anti-Israeli sentiment. Which, I maintain, is motivated by a toxic combination of willful ignorance and anti-semitism.
It’s The Bus You Don’t See That Kills You
To paraphrase the Brits, it’s the news stories you don’t see that kills democracy – or at least an informed electorate.
For example, the WaPo somehow missed this story in yesterday’s New York Post: Bloody decapitated baby doll found underneath ‘Free Palestine’ flag in Ohio yard.
Stories like that don’t get a look in at The Washington Post. The paper can’t be seen on the “wrong side” of the “debate” over Israel’s Gaza invasion. Instead…
Fighting rages around Gaza’s hospitals as U.S. cautions over civilian losses. Subhead: “Israeli forces escalated their battle against Hamas militants despite renewed concerns globally over civilian casualties.”
The fact that the IDF has shown the world proof of that Hamas’ terrorist tunnels run under hospitals is in there, somewhere. But the main thrust of the article is clear: Israelis are bad! Rein them in!
Innocent people are being killed!
WaPo vs. TikTok?
Take it from a child of the 60’s, the news business ain’t what it used to be, thank God.
Back in the day, the media was controlled by a small group of white men, aside from one woman at The Washington Post. Today, there’s an enormous army of citizen truth tellers (as well as liars and haters, but that’s the price you pay).
TikTok – of all things – is home to hundreds of videos contextualizing the Israel - Hamas conflict and exposing the ignorant anti-semites calling for Jewish genocide (a.k.a., “from the river to the sea”).
There are also plenty of “Palestinians are suffering” videos. Good. Thinly disguised antisemitic screeds? Not so good.
Still, I reckon Thomas Jefferson would approve of the app’s ability to present both sides of the issue - while lamenting the fact that the algorithm caters to the user’s preferred perspective.
Truth to Power
We’re fortunate to live in a country where there are still people who dare speak truth to power, and have a place to be heard.
It pains me to see a newspaper I lionized as a teen for its fearless news coverage descend into partisan propaganda (chronicled here).
The paper whose motto is “Democracy dies in the darkness” pulls the veil over corruption, hypocrisy and lies when it fails to suit their agenda. Likewise The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, all three network news orgs and many more.
I’d like to see a cartoon about that, and wonder who’d have the balls to publish it.
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