Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Washington Post editorials omit a key disclosure: Bezos' financial ties

npr.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

201–210 of 305 posts

Re: Washington Post editorials omit a key disclosure: Bezos' financial ties

#201

Post by timoth3y »

serial_dev wrote: post #184
p_j_w wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think many people, even here, are infected with “It can’t happen here.”

The best predictor of future events is past experience. Every US president in history has left office peacefully, the most probable outcome is that future presidents will too. Similarly, some people always think that the current president will crown himself a king and the Other Party will never ever be able to get into power. And these people have been so far always wrong. I’m not saying it can’t happen this time, bu…

> Every US president in history has left office peacefully, the most probable outcome is that future presidents will too.

Trump did not leave office peacefully last time. The most probable outcome is that he will not leave office peacefully next time.

Re: Washington Post editorials omit a key disclosure: Bezos' financial ties

#202

Post by magicalist »

ecshafer wrote: post #66
davisr wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you believe their reporting differs from reality? They're writing about rising authoritarianism and those who submit to it, which is a fact of the world happening today. They use the term "toady" in its literal definition. FAIR has anti-bias and counter-spin, aka "a bias towards reality." https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/toady (noun) : one who flatters in the hope of gaining favors : sycophant

I've never seen Manhattan Institute, Hudson Institute, or Cato Institute using the term Toady even if technically correct. It is a term almost exclusively used by the left, typically more anti-authoritarian. Maybe you have some libertarian types using it as well.

> It is a term almost exclusively used by the left

What a strange claim.

If you search the sites you cite, all of them have at least one use of "toady" or "toadies" (which only gets a few hits on fair.org as well). Meanwhile go check the national review and they seem to love the word. Maybe recheck your priors.

Re: Washington Post editorials omit a key disclosure: Bezos' financial ties

#203

Post by jakelazaroff »

strictnein wrote: post #199
gryfft wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The best predictor of future events is past experience. I have never died before, not once in my life. The most likely outcome is that I will live forever.

> I have never died before, not once in my life. The most likely outcome is that I will live forever. They didn't say that this is always true for every situation forever. They said "The best predictor of future events is past experience". Keyword is "best". You being alive today is the best predictor of you being alive tomorrow, next week, next month, or next year.

Okay, so "me being alive today is the best predictor of me being alive in 150 years".

Re: Washington Post editorials omit a key disclosure: Bezos' financial ties

#204

Post by WarOnPrivacy »

strictnein wrote: post #199
gryfft wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The best predictor of future events is past experience. I have never died before, not once in my life. The most likely outcome is that I will live forever.

> I have never died before, not once in my life. The most likely outcome is that I will live forever. They didn't say that this is always true for every situation forever. They said "The best predictor of future events is past experience". Keyword is "best". You being alive today is the best predictor of you being alive tomorrow, next week, next month, or next year.

> You being alive today is the best predictor of you being alive tomorrow, next week, next month, or next year.

An unprecedented glioblastoma diagnosis would predict otherwise. When the facts in evidence become extraordinary, one must adapt the adage accordingly.

Re: Washington Post editorials omit a key disclosure: Bezos' financial ties

#205

Post by goatlover »

serial_dev wrote: post #184
p_j_w wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think many people, even here, are infected with “It can’t happen here.”

The best predictor of future events is past experience. Every US president in history has left office peacefully, the most probable outcome is that future presidents will too. Similarly, some people always think that the current president will crown himself a king and the Other Party will never ever be able to get into power. And these people have been so far always wrong. I’m not saying it can’t happen this time, bu…

Not when you take into account how Trump has behaved in his second term and that there's an authoritarian playbook he's following that has worked in other contemporary countries like Hungary. What other president has refused to acknowledged they lost an election, and refused to acknowledge that they're not permitted a third term by the Constitution? There are former Trump officials from his first term who warned about his reelection.

What's going to doom US democracy is all the people in denial that an authoritarian coup could and is happening in America.

Re: Washington Post editorials omit a key disclosure: Bezos' financial ties

#206

Post by jgeada »

fdschoeneman wrote: post #115

I agree that Bezos should have disclosed his links to the construction through Amazon, but I also think every single reporter for NPR, including and especially the one who wrote this, should disclose their personal, family, and political relationships to political parties and politicians before reporting on them. One standard.

Right, because the guy earning a normal salary has as much influence as the billionaire that is rubbing shoulders with and paying bribes to the decision makers, and also controls the editorial policy, salary and employment of the newspaper in question.

Sometimes quantity of money has a quality all of its own.

Re: Washington Post editorials omit a key disclosure: Bezos' financial ties

#207

Post by goatlover »

Gud wrote: post #183
netsharc wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Does it matter? Trump has destroyed what little good there was in the Republican Party.

It's amazing how much he's turned it into a cult of personality to the point that things like states rights, free markets and Federal overreach no longer matter.

Re: Washington Post editorials omit a key disclosure: Bezos' financial ties

#208

Post by shippage »

MattGaiser wrote: post #193
serial_dev wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The best predictor of future events is past experience. Every US president in history has left office peacefully, the most probable outcome is that future presidents will too. Similarly, some people always think that the current president will crown himself a king and the Other Party will never ever be able to get into power. And these people have been so far always wrong. I’m not saying it can’t happen this time, bu…

> The best predictor of future events is past experience Except for the most impactful things.

This is why black swan events can be so devastating.

I saw another comment here about a month ago that said many people tend to round a very small risk down to zero risk. The comments were related to driving and the risk of serious injury or death that most people discount, but I think it also applies to other areas of risk in life, too, for many people.

Exceptional events are low probability by definition, and thus people tend to ignore the possibility, assuming instead that the status quo will continue to exist.

Re: Washington Post editorials omit a key disclosure: Bezos' financial ties

#209

Post by goatlover »

ecshafer wrote: post #46
davisr wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please, do explain to everyone what you think is biased about it, and why.

Their headlines include lines about marching against fascists and calling people toadies. This would indicate their bias is rather left.

Would you say the bias was rather left if this was the 1930s?

Re: Washington Post editorials omit a key disclosure: Bezos' financial ties

#210

Post by goatlover »

cjaybo wrote: post #111
davisr wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you believe their reporting differs from reality? They're writing about rising authoritarianism and those who submit to it, which is a fact of the world happening today. They use the term "toady" in its literal definition. FAIR has anti-bias and counter-spin, aka "a bias towards reality." https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/toady (noun) : one who flatters in the hope of gaining favors : sycophant

Everyone thinks they have “a bias towards reality”. I have yet to see this actually be true! Everyone has biases, whether conscious or unconscious, and trying to claim otherwise is a massive red flag on its own IMO.

Is this an argument for sophistry or propaganda? Everyone having biases doesn't preclude people from rightly pointing out bad things in the world, like creeping authoritarianism and the undermining of democracies, anymore than it did in the lead up to WW2.
Post reply on HN