Bezos Pivots The Washington Post Toward Personal Liberties
As ZeroHedge reported yesterday, Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos announced a new editorial stance for the paper in support of "personal liberties and free markets":
As Bezos explains on X;
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.
I am of America and for America, and proud to be so. 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 some suggested on X, this probably isn't a smart business decision for Bezos: "personal liberties and free markets" is essentially the worldview of the Wall Street Journal too, for example. Former Wall Street Journal Deputy Editorial Page Editor Bret Stephens once remarked that his dream was to see a gay pride march in Teheran, guarded by the 82nd Airborne Division.
Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry went further, arguing that America had its greatest achievements when it wasn't so focused on personal liberties. Below is his response to Jeff Bezos, followed by a brief trading update.
"Personal Liberties" Did Not Make America Great
Respectfully, Mr Bezos:
- "Personal liberties" did not make America great and there’s nothing intrinsically American about them. These began to be pushed into law, largely by unelected judges, in the late 60s, when America was already a superpower and (as you know) well on its way to landing on the Moon—and arguably more confident, more forward-looking, friendlier to technology and science and innovation than today. During the time when America grew from a handful of colonies to a world-bestriding colossus, just to take a few examples, no-fault divorce was illegal in all states, abortion was illegal in all states, blasphemy laws were blessed by the Supreme Court… This is not to argue for or against those policies, just to note that it’s a-historical and inaccurate to equate "personal liberty" with "the American idea". It’s also insulting to the 100-150 million American Christians who belong to faith traditions that did a lot more to make America great than post-60s liberalism.
- It’s fine for a newspaper to take an editorial line and obviously your right as the Washington Post owner to have your paper say whatever you want. I do hope you ponder, however, whether America needs another elite newspaper promoting views that are shared by the American elite but vanishingly few actual American voters, as the chart below shows. Maybe in this time of vibe shifts you personally and the Washington Post might better use their prestige in nudging the American elite to reexamine their biases, rather than confirming them.
Trading Update
Here are our exits so far this week from the Portfolio Armor trading Substack:
Stocks or Exchange Traded Products
None
Options
Calls on Delta Air Lines (DAL 1.13%↑). Bought for $1.70 on 2/21/2025; sold for $2.02 on 2/26/2025. Profit: 19%.
Calls on Up Fintech Holding (TIGR 9.51%↑). Bought for $0.39 on 2/24/2025; sold for $0.82 on 2/26/2025. Profit: 110%.
Calls on Robinhoood Markets (HOOD 4.26%↑). Bought for $1.43 on 2/25/2025; sold for $3 on 2/26/2025. Profit: 110%.
Calls on Oklo, Inc. (OKLO 8.48%↑). Bought for $1.40 on 2/25/2025; sold for $3 on 2/26/2025. Profit: 114%.
The jury's still out on one trade, a credit call spread on Nvidia (NVDA). We'll need the stock to trade close to $127 to make a profit on that one.
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If you'd like to stay in touch
You can follow Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry on X here and visit his digital media company, PolicySphere here.
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