FAST TIMES AT BEZOS HIGH: Jeff Bezos sparks outrage with overhaul of Washington Post opinion page.

Jeff Bezos has sparked outrage after announcing plans to overhaul the Washington Post’s Opinion page to focus solely on support for, ‘personal liberties and free markets’.

The Amazon boss, who owns the outlet, said he is ditching a traditional, ‘broad-based opinion section that sought to cover all views’.

He has also axed previous opinion editor David Shipley after he declined to get on board with the new regime.

‘We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets,’ Bezos wrote on X on Wednesday.

‘We’ll cover other topics too of course, but viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others.
‘There was a time when a newspaper, especially one that was a local monopoly, might have seen it as a service to bring to the reader’s doorstep every morning a broad-based opinion section that sought to cover all views. Today, the internet does that job.’

Scores of readers have already began angrily cancelling their subscription in protest over the move.

It comes after Bezos prompted fury among his liberal staff after he ditched a planned endorsement for Kamala Harris before last year’s election.

However the decision has been lauded by Elon Musk, who wrote ‘Bravo Jeff Bezos’ above a post on X about the news.

‘I am of America and for America, and proud to be so,’ Bezos added. ‘Our country did not get here by being typical.

‘And a big part of America’s success has been freedom in the economic realm and everywhere else. Freedom is ethical — it minimizes coercion — and practical — it drives creativity, invention, and prosperity.’

As Liz Wolfe of Reason jokes:

Given that the paper exclaimed at the start of Obama’s first term (through its then-subsidiary Newsweek) that “We Are Socialist Now,” the struggle session inside the WaPo has to be reaching levels not seen since the summer of 2020 — and last October, when Bezos saw the handwriting on the wall and cancelled an endorsement of Kamala.

It’s also quite a turn from when the paper went full Alinsky-style “Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it” on Eric Clapton in 2021, because he was a prominent celebrity (who makes his living playing music in sold-out hockey arenas) who disagreed with the official lockdown policy to fight covid, and dared disclose he had a bad reaction to his vaccination shot.

Can Bezos do it? Given that DC is a one-industry company town, Jeff Blehar of NRO is skeptical: The Washington Post Wants You to Know It’s Done Being the Washington Post.

So that’s why the turn to “free markets” and “personal liberties” strikes me as misguided. Does Jeff Bezos not understand the irrevocable, structurally inalterable nature of the newspaper he purchased years ago? Since when has the Washington Post ever stood for either “personal liberties” or “free markets”? The Post stands for the primacy of federal government before all other things, and has thus proudly stood against personal liberty and free markets in its reporting and commentary for decades — or in favor of them, or whatever currently best served the interests of its federal government readership. That is literally its brand. Now Bezos seems to think it can become The Economist.

We’ll see. But I suspect the Post can’t be any other thing than what it is right now unless it simply reboots as a national newspaper (good luck with that!), because Washington, D.C., is a one-industry city; the paper was methodically tailored by its former owners the Grahams to feed and reflect the attitudes and desires of those who staff and control the federal government. I’m aware that the idea of the “federal government” is currently highly unpopular in these DOGE days of winter, but that’s their customer base, and they’re not about to find a new one.

(As far as the internal reaction from the Post’s own opinion page writers is concerned, you’re not going to top poor Philip Bump’s spontaneous bleat of dismay over on Bluesky — even if I cannot reprint it here.)

Heh, indeed.

UPDATE: This seems entirely plausible:

Meanwhile, Kurt Schlichter spots a disgruntled lefty Post reader, who like FDR in 1944 and Margaret Brennan of CBS last week, perversely conflates laissez-faire freedom with totalitarian national socialism:

UPDATE:

One more update (from Steve):

https://t.co/DlslxT2KCU pic.twitter.com/h3q3hOJEy4

— Confirmed Miscer ⚔️🍁🔫 (@ManDaveJobGood) February 26, 2025

Seems legit.

WELL, GOOD: Asteroid 2024 YR4 is no longer a threat to Earth, scientists say. “Paul Chodas, who heads NASA’s Center for Near Earth Objects Studies, said there is no chance the odds will rise at this point and that an impact in 2032 has been ruled out.”

USAID FUNDING UKRAINE FASHION DESIGN JUNKETS: Yes, you read that correctly. Go here for more details on the secret slush funds Sen. Joni Ernst’s staff investigators found despite more than a year of lies and stalling by USAID officials.

HOWEVER MUCH YOU HATE THE MEDIA, YOU’LL HATE THEM MORE AFTER READING THIS: Tapper & Thompson Blow the Lid Off That Story You Knew in 2020.

DECOUPLING: USTR proposes charging Chinese ships up to $1.5 million to enter US ports. “USTR said in a January 16 report on a probe, opens new tab launched during the administration of former President Joe Biden that China increased its share of global shipbuilding tonnage from 5% in 1999 to over 50% in 2023 because of massive state subsidies and preferential treatment for state-owned enterprises that are squeezing out private-sector international competitors. The agency said that U.S. shipyards were building 70 ships in 1975, but just five annually today.”

MAKE THEM PAY: Teen hired by Google was rejected by 16 colleges. Now he’s suing for discrimination.

GOING GREEN, YOU’RE REALLY DOING IT WRONG:

KEVIN DOWNEY JR: Did Someone Tamper With the Water in Prescott Valley, and Why Isn’t This a Bigger Story?

GRIFTERS: Sen. Ted Cruz publishes database showing NSF spent $2 billion to promote DEI, ‘neo-Marxist class warfare propaganda.’

ANALYSIS: TRUE. America’s Future Depends on Rebuilding the Navy.

The SECDEF was asked about the Pacific at the conference. Here is the question by a Japanese reporter and SECDEF’s answer:

REPORTER, JAPAN: “I would like to ask about China. You have mentioned that the U.S. will be prioritizing and deterring China. What role will you be expecting Japan and other Indo-Pacific (IP4) countries to play in this context?”

HEGSETH: “We don’t have an inevitable desire to clash with China. There is a recognition that there are divergent interests, which means we must be strong in order to advance our own interests and deter aggression.” “……we don’t feel conflict is inevitable and certainly don’t seek conflict with China.” “That’s why President Trump has worked … ensuring that the U.S. is prepared for any contingency.” It is prudent for us to work with allies and partners in the Pacific to ensure deterrence through hard power….” “That’s why a lot of my first phone calls as Secretary of Defense were to Pacific allies—to Australia, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, and others.” “Because just as the NATO alliance is critical, working by, with, and through as and partners in the Indo-Pacific is critical as well. The U.S. alone cannot do everything, everywhere, all at once. And we will not have to, because we are not alone. Our Indo-Pacific allies—Japan, Australia, South Korea, the Philippines, and others—understand the reality of the ascendant Chinese threat. And it will be critical for them to invest in their own deterrence capabilities. It can’t just be America. We need allies to step up—and many of them are already doing so.” “This is why President Trump has placed a strong emphasis on deterrence in the Pacific. And that’s why one of my top priorities as Secretary of Defense is ensuring that the U.S. military remains the strongest, most capable, most lethal fighting force on the planet. Because heaven forbid, we have to use it—but if we do, it must be ready to close with and destroy our enemies and bring our men and women home with success as quickly as possible.”

The SECDEF is bluntly saying a war with the PRC will be in their waters. Thus, the need for the Navy to take the fight to them over there and to defend our friends and allies in the region from the PRC’s ambitions to dominate the Pacific. That will take many more ships, more strategic sealift, and more airpower, airlift.

For a so-called “amateur,” Hegseth certainly understands the big picture and is saying all the right things about the Pacific.

YEP.

Ahead of Trump’s first Cabinet meeting today and the “controversy” over Elon Musk participating, in September 2024 Jill Biden attended Biden’s Cabinet meeting, the first he held in a year, and ran it (for obvious reasons)

— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) February 26, 2025

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Party Time — Trump Throws the MSM Hacks Into Another Tizzy. “Kicking the White House Correspondents’ Association to the periphery is long overdue, like cleaning a room in an old house that no one has used for years. They can now devote more time to hosting their annual no-talent show dinner. Maybe they can get Jimmy Kimmel to host it through his tears this year.”

WE JUST KEEP LEARNING ALL SORTS OF THINGS:

🚨The Mali Ministry of Foreign Affairs suggests some of the USAID funding went to fund TERRORISM and they welcome an investigation by the U.S.

Our tax dollars literally funded terrorism pic.twitter.com/MdOcnKz7Aa

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) February 26, 2025

Related:

Tulsi Gabbard just called out CNN as the propaganda arm of the intelligence community. Wow.

This is a must watch video.

Tulsi: "They are exposing themselves essentially by making this indirect threat, using their propaganda arm through CNN that they’ve used over and over again… pic.twitter.com/ThEawAbXdo

— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) February 26, 2025

LIGHTNING DEAL: Steam Mop for Hardwood Floor Cleaning. #CommissionEarned

FAIL BRITANNIA: Nelson makes way for Yvette Cooper portrait in Parliament’s diversity drive.

Paintings of Lord Nelson have been taken down under plans to make Parliament’s artworks more diverse, The Telegraph can reveal.

The move followed an MP-led review of parliamentary art linked to slavery and racism.

Two images of the British naval hero have been taken down since the Black Lives Matter-inspired review began in 2020, including one depicting the commander dying for his country at the Battle of Trafalgar.

A portrait of Sir Francis Drake, another naval commander, has also been removed.

“A generation which ignores history has no past — and no future,” the wise man once wrote.

MOST OF RACHEL MADDOW’S STAFF TO BE LET GO AMID MSNBC CUTS: Report.

The majority of the production crew working on MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show will be let go, The Guardian reported on Tuesday night.

For the first 100 days of the Trump administration, Rachel Maddow is hosting her show on the network five nights a week after hosting on Mondays only. It was reported this week that MSNBC is overhauling some of its programming, as Joy Reid has exited the network after hosting the last episode of The ReidOut on Monday. Alex Wagner’s Alex Wagner Tonight was also canceled, but she will remain at MSNBC. The network also shuttered its Miami operations and with it, José Díaz-Balart Reports and The Katie Phang Show.

The Guardian reported that most of Maddow’s production crew members are being let go because they also worked on Wagner’s show[.]

But what of Maddow herself? Megyn Kelly Questions Whether NBC Executives Have The ‘Testicular Fortitude’ To Fire Rachel Maddow.

In other news from the far-left Comcast-owned network:

As the firings of Reid and her staff illustrate, MSNBC’s coffers are appearing quite drained after the 2024 election was decided. I hope they have the wardrobe budget to make this work:

NOTHING TO SEE HERE, MOVE ALONG:

Romania’s far-right presidential candidate Calin Georgescu is taken for questioning by police as part of an investigation into his campaign https://t.co/yp8kPc7lKg

— Bloomberg (@business) February 26, 2025

ART OF THE DEAL: Zelensky To Visit White House To Sign New Mineral Deal With U.S.

DISPATCHES FROM THE EDUCATION APOCALYPSE: Ohio university installs ‘biological’ sex bathroom signs to comply with new state law.

The University of Cincinnati has installed “biological men” and “biological women” bathroom signs to comply with a new state law that takes effect this month.

The university put up the new signs “last week in its residence halls and some other on-campus buildings in response to the passage of a law that restricts bathroom use in public and private K-12 schools and colleges to members of the same ‘biological sex,’” NBC reported.

The so-called “bathroom bill” requires all K-12 public schools and all public and private universities in the state “to label all of their multi-person bathrooms, locker rooms, shower rooms and changing rooms as being only for either males or females,” Cleveland.com reported, adding the “text of the legislation doesn’t include any penalties for violating the new rules, nor any enforcement provisions.”

“As a public institution, we are following the law and seeking to meet our mission to create an environment where we provide opportunity, develop educated and engaged citizens and enrich our city, state and world,” University of Cincinnati spokesperson M.B. Reilly told NBC.

Exit quote: “Oberlin has published policies saying the school will comply with the law taking effect Tuesday and is offering counseling and a chance for students to ask to move out of their dorms.”

THE WHCA WAS NEVER ANYTHING MORE THAN A COOL KIDS CLUB FOR UNCOOL KIDS, ANYWAY: Trump Team Rolls Stink Bomb Into the White House Press Room, and It’s Glorious.

THE NON-ASTROTURF LEFT IS TINY: Red-District DOGE Protests, Cited As Proof of Broad Musk ‘Backlash,’ Were Organized By Left-Wing Groups.

MAKING SENSE OF DOGE:

I'm concerned that many people do not understand the historical and institutional context in which the DOGE labor reforms are unfolding. They look at this as if these are some random, chaotic, arbitrary, strange, and even cruel measures to impose on a devoted civil service.…

— Jeffrey A Tucker (@jeffreyatucker) February 23, 2025

Read the whole thing.

DEEP STATE BLUES: FBI looking into James Comey’s off-the-books ‘honeypot’ operation targeting 2016 Trump campaign.

According to the whistleblower, two female FBI undercover employees infiltrated Mr. Trump’s 2016 campaign at high levels and were directed to act as “honeypots” while traveling with Mr. Trump and his campaign staff.

The Times has learned that the bureau, now led by Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino, is looking for those once-undercover employees who were previously under Mr. Comey’s direction.
The FBI declined to comment.

According to the whistleblower disclosure, which The Times reviewed, the investigation differed from Crossfire Hurricane, a later FBI counterintelligence operation that looked into never-proved allegations that the campaign was colluding with Russia.

The whistleblower said the early off-the-books probe was a criminal investigation targeting Mr. Trump and his staff.

Mr. Trump launched his presidential campaign on June 16, 2015, at Trump Tower in New York City, about a year before the FBI opened Crossfire Hurricane.

The whistleblower agent “personally knew” that Mr. Comey ordered an FBI investigation into Mr. Trump and that Mr. Comey “personally directed it,” according to the disclosure.

Flashback: Obama, Clapper were briefed on reports of Clinton campaign’s Russia collusion narrative, Durham report shows.

I’d be shocked if Obama’s fingerprints weren’t all over this.

MOCKING THE RAGE OF THE PRIVILEGED CLASS:

Give me a break, Peter.🤡

Moments after you tweeted this, the President invited journalists into the Oval and took questions for nearly an hour.

Your hysterical reaction to our long overdue and much needed change to an outdated organization is precisely why we made it.

Gone… https://t.co/dsR4fLWjpD

— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) February 25, 2025

ATHENA THORNE: Flailing Democrats Turn to Yet Another Once-Effective Technique. “Now, out-of-power leftists are hoping to resurrect another technique that was quite effective for them in days past: storytelling. Specifically, this is the art of designating a victim with a sob story for their media counterparts to blast everywhere 24/7 in an attempt to turn public opinion their way.”

Never underestimate the power of a narrative but the press no longer enjoys an effective monopoly for pushing one.