Exploring a new (old) favorite song... youtu.be/SI4ZTXOi6Ew?si=0ozF…

Dear Mr. Bezos: We don't believe you. At all. We don't think this is about encouraging news neutrality or building trust or fighting disinformation or competing against indie media. You know why? Because you did it 11 days before the election, after your editorial board came to a conclusion and drafted an endorsement, after your senior brass gave a green light internally. If this were somehow about principle, you could have nixed the endorsement before the general election began. Hell, you could have done it the day Pres. Biden stepped aside as an understandable moment for a reset. But you didn't. You claim major newspaper endorsements largely don't matter in a presidential election. And honestly, I'm inclined to somewhat agree. I think their influence is overrated. Unless it's an outlet endorsing their perceived ideological opposite (ex: NYT or WaPo for Trump, WSJ or New York Post for Harris), it doesn't matter a whole lot. Although it's quite curious you claim to believe WaPo's presidential endorsements are too impotent to matter in elections, yet too powerful over public attitudes to be allowed to continue. That doesn't make sense. But it's also missing the point. People aren't angry at you because we think Harris will somehow lose based on WaPo not endorsing her. We're furious because you, one of the richest people in the world, bought one of the leading newspapers in our country--a storied bulwark against censorship and corrupt governing--and abused that power to kill the autonomy of the staff of that newspaper. You have subverted the free press right before a presidential election in which one of the candidates is aggressively totalitarian in outlook, and you now pretend to be surprised at the shock and outrage. We do not trust you. We now find it very difficult to trust your newspaper despite the many excellent journalists who work there. And we believe you either ultimately care only about your own greed OR you are dangerously incompetent regarding the importance of a free press. Maybe both. In any case, there's no way in hell I'm paying for The Washington Post while you still own it.

Unlike the cowards at the Washington Post, The Onion proudly made its presidential endorsement weeks ago. theonion.com/the-onion-offic…

Even with two multicolor mistakes, this was more satisfying than Wordle today, and my mistakes gave me a "1 in 324,000" uniqueness score. Connections Puzzle #502 🟩🟦🟪🟦 🟩🟦🟪🟦 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟨🟨🟨🟨

On #DemocracyDay, INN offered some of the participating newsrooms an extra incentive from NewsMatch: a fundraising match of $500. The 47 participating INN newsrooms generated more than $57,000 in individual donations. Read more about this campaign: inn.org/news/pilot-newsmatch…

I've recently been impressed by the variety of artists on Bandcamp, from "Field Recorders Collective" mountain musicians to New England folk singer-songwriters, to world music from @PutumayoMusic -- and on Bandcamp Fridays the artists get paid more!

California Republican announces he's not going to read news reports about the debate and made up his response in advance. Then blames an intern for the 12-hour-early Twitter post. Will he change his strategy and actually read the news?

Happy 100th birthday, President Carter! Thank you for your friendship, your fundamental decency, and your incredible acts of service through the @CarterCenter. Michelle and I are grateful for all you’ve done for this country.

Please forgive the enthusiastic amateurs or even pro journalists who use unfortunate phrases like "great ground video," when their pictures really do capture the devastation that has ruined buildings, roads, and taken many lives. This whole thread of photos tells the story.

Tune in tonight, pre-debate, with our @MaryLTrump Nerd Avengers: youtube.com/watch?v=TuOVuaG5…

A #VirginiaTech environmental security expert says there are lessons to learn in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene's disaster that can improve preparedness and community resilience. Read more. ⬇️ news.vt.edu/articles/2024/09…

Kim Cattrall and Ed Harris star in Central Intelligence, a 10-episode audio drama podcast from the BBC that covers the history of the CIA. / #CentralIntelligence #CIA #BBC @BBCSounds @KimCattrall @JohnnyFlynnHQ @RobBenedict @GeoffreyArend 🔗 bleedingcool.com/tv/central-…

It's that day again! Best wishes to Bandcampers everywhere...

I saw a transcript of this, but found it hard to imagine what the "performance" was like, or how an audience responded. "Economic Club of NY" is new to me, but the venue explains why "numbers" was a word in this connect-the-dots stream-of-babble.

More satisfying than Wordle? nytimes.com/badges/games/v1/…

Has the New York Times seen my muttering about possibly abandoning Wordle? Requiring "z" in the Spelling Bee today was a challenging and amusing alternative. Apparently the word Zoot is not in the Bee's dictionary (without suit?), but I did okay. nytimes.com/badges/games/v1/…

FYI about @GovTimWalz, a hero to consumers and a champion of competitive market capitalism, not monopolists.

BREAKING: Apple Store workers in Maryland have made history, securing the first-ever tentative union contract at the world's most valuable company. Under the agreement, the workers will win 10% raises, scheduling improvements, limits on contracted workers, and more.