The opinion section of a newspaper is expected to ruffle a few feathers, but two recent New York Times opinion pieces are being criticized so much that the internet is busting out the memes.
The Times published a piece from Erik Prince on Wednesday titled "Contractors, Not Troops, Will Save Afghanistan." The problem? Prince, who happens to be Betsy DeVos' brother, is the founder of Blackwater, now renamed Academi.
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The company previously worked with the U.S. government to supply mercenaries for both Iraq and Afghanistan, raking in billions of dollars in the process.
Basically, Prince's "opinion" published in the paper of record is a blatant misuse of editorial resources. As GQ put it, it's not an opinion, it's an "advertorial."
Prince himself will benefit from more contractors in Afghanistan, making his opinion piece a huge conflict of interest. Prince is no longer part of Academi, but he is involved with Frontier Services Group, another private security contractor.
Prince even stated in the piece that he would actively pursue a bid should the president go down that path.
If the president pursues this third path, I, too, would vigorously compete to implement a plan that saves American lives, costs less than 20 percent of current spending and saves American taxpayers more than $40 billion a year.
Additionally, the Times also published a piece by Bari Weiss titled "Three Cheers for Cultural Appropriation." It did not go over so well.
So what did the internet do after seeing the pieces? Mocked the crap out of the New York Times Opinion section with memes, of course.
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The Times responded to criticism over Prince's piece, telling CNN's Oliver Darcy that the piece met its editorial standards, which it refused to discuss.
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Topics Memes
