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1. You Guys
We’re going to get to the Washington Post in just a moment, but first: Boy, people did NOT like yesterday’s church-y newsletter.
And that’s okay.
Over the last two days I wrote about guns and God. Big, complicated, divisive, important subjects. Many of you disagreed with me on one (or both). Many of you disagreed with each other. And yet the conversation we had was wonderful.
People were serious and respectful. Everyone worked in good faith. The highest compliment I can give is that the discussion in the comments added value to the product. I can’t thank you enough for that. No writer could ask for a greater gift.
We’ve added a second show in Minneapolis. Tickets have just gone on sale for Bulwark+ members. If you want to join us, I’d encourage you to jump on them now. At 1pm CST tickets will be available for everyone else.
I can’t really tell you what these two shows are going to be about. We don’t have much of a plan. What happened is that we saw how the people of Minneapolis stood up and we wanted to stand with them. Coming to town to raise money for Second Harvest Heartland and to bring our community together in one space . . . I’ll be honest—it feels paltry compared to the physical sacrifices Minneapolis residents are making. But it’s the best we can do.
There’s a lesson here. Solidarity asks us each to do something. If you live in Minneapolis, maybe you go out to be an observer. Or maybe you go to Costco to buy food and toiletries for your neighbors who are in hiding.
If you live in Chicago, maybe you go to Minneapolis for the weekend to support local businesses. If you live in California, maybe you donate to one of the organizations helping folks at ground zero of the DHS occupation. Wherever you are, you don’t stop talking about what’s happening there. You don’t let the rest of America look away.
Not everyone will be a hero. But we can all be part of the movement. Part of the community.
2. The Post
This morning the Washington Post laid off more than 300 people, totaling a third of the organization. The paper has basically shut down its sports, books, and international sections. The metro section is down to roughly a dozen journalists. The Post as it existed last week, has ceased to exist.
What happened?
Most of the obituaries will blame environmental changes of technology and news consumption. These changes are real, but they are not why the Post is now in hospice.
No, this is a story about incompetent leadership that destroyed the paper’s economic viability. It’s a story of self-mutilation.
We’ve discussed the Post before and I’m not going to recapitulate the entire saga—