A Bold Stand from the Journal

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As a wise man once said, you could devote your entire life to debunking inane Wall Street Journal editorials once you let yourself get sucked into their gaping maw. But via Ezra Klein, today’s editorial is a gem, not pretending to even a germ of reason or sanity:

The White House is now floating a bipartisan commission to reduce federal borrowing, and much of the political class is all for it. We only hope Republicans aren’t foolish enough to fall down this trap door….Republicans should respond with their own choice: They’ll agree to a deficit commission only if it takes tax increases off the table….

Yeah, I’m sure Democrats will jump at that deal. And I can’t wait for the Journal’s detailed fiscal plan for cutting federal spending by 30% — especially since they simultaneously seem to think that Medicare should be cut and that it should be preserved as is. Should be a crowd pleaser.

In fairness, plenty of liberals agree with the Journal in a mirror image sort of way: a commission would be nothing but a facade for Pete Peterson to gut Social Security and Medicare and probably throw in a few tax cuts for the rich for good measure. It looks like bipartisanship has as bleak a future in 2010 as it did in 2009.

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Owned by no one—except you.

We just keep seeing it happen: Newsrooms owned by billionaires and corporations are spinning their own narratives, overwriting the truth, following only stories that keep them in the pocket of those with even more power.

Not here. We’re not owned by anyone. We’re not part of any cult that demands our allegiance to a bottom line. We’ve spoken up and spoken out while other newsrooms changed their stories—or cut them altogether—to keep the C suite happy.

Our mission is to find the truth and amplify it. That’s why we’re independent, nonprofit, and, crucially, funded by readers. The investigations on our website will always be free to read, watch, and listen to, but our newsroom is powered by readers who pitch in what they can so we can keep asking the hard questions.

Can you chip in today?

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