Getting Jeff Bezos’ Attention

By SAM URETSKY

The folks with plenty of plenty
They've got a lock on they door, oh
Afraid somebody's going to rob 'em
While thems out there making more, what for?
— Ira Gershwin / George Gershwin / Du Bose Heyward, “Porgy and Bess”

Eleven days before Election Day, the Washington Post announced that it would not endorse either candidate for president. Considering that the motto of the newspaper is ‘Democracy Dies In Darkness,” Jeff Bezos, the gazillionaire owner of the Post, must have decided to save on his electric bill. A couple hundred thousand people decided to cancel their subscriptions.

Dana Milbank, one of the Post’s best opinion writers, wrote a piece, “Why I’m not quitting the Post. And why I hope you don’t, either,” that at last count generated 8,617 on line comments, almost all explaining why they were jumping ship. Many noted that they had been loyal readers over decades. The reality is that there’s no other method of getting Mr. Bezos’ attention. Alexandra Petri, the Post’s humor columnist, wrote, “It has fallen to me, the humor columnist, to endorse Harris for president.” That one got about 10,000 comments. Both Mr. Milbank and Ms. Petri’s essays were exceptionally well written.

Of the comments, many noted that they were boycotting Mr. Bezos’ other enterprises: Amazon, Whole Foods, even Abebooks, the organization for used booksellers. Many said that they would drop their Prime membership, and stop watching the Prime streaming television – that includes MGM+ and Freevee. Amazon also owns Zappos shoes. The Post reported, “After non-endorsement, 250,000 subscribers cancel The Washington Post.” That’s about 10% of their subscribers.

Mostly, it will be possible to do without the Bezos conglomerate– except for one thing: Whole Foods Curried Chicken Salad. Delicious! There are other sources of chicken salad, even curried chicken salad, but they’re not really the same. Still, you can come close. All it takes is determination and a day with not much else to do. This recipe isn’t perfect, and it takes a lot of effort, but it’s a matter of principle:

Ingredients:
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup Greek yogurt (optional)
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Optional: toasted almonds or cashews for garnish

Cook the chicken: Boil or bake the chicken breasts until cooked through. Shred them into small pieces.

Mix the ingredients: In a large bowl, combine the shredded chicken, mayonnaise, Greek yogurt (if using), raisins, red onion, celery, curry powder, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Mix well until everything is evenly combined.

Chill and serve: Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to allow the flavors to meld. Serve chilled on bread, crackers, or lettuce leaves. Garnish with toasted almonds or cashews, if desired.

This recipe isn’t absolute. America’s Test Kitchen (ATK) has an alternate recipe that calls for the addition of:
½ teaspoon ground cumin,
½ teaspoon ground coriander,
1 cup fresh or canned diced pineapple.

ATK also uses lime juice instead of lemon juice and instead of the “almonds or cashews” specifies pistachios.

The only equipment that ATK specifies is a good chef’s knife and, of course, a large bowl. A good food processor helps a lot. The website "therealfooddietitians.com" also has a recipe for curried chicken salad that uses apples, and looks a lot easier than the other two.

The threat of 250,000 former WaPo subscribers deserting Whole Foods’ deli counter still may not intimidate Jeff Bezos,

Sam Uretsky is a writer and pharmacist living in Louisville, Ky. Email sam.uretsky@gmail.com

From The Progressive Populist, December 1, 2024

Populist.com