My dad ordered me a subscription to the WSJ without telling me!

[blueblitzkrieg]

My dad is a Republican, and he knows I'm a Democrat and that I supported Kerry in the election. We got in several arguments over Christmas about politics, which pretty much ruined things, and I left early and angry back to college.

Anyway, I went outside today and there was a copy of the Wall Street Journal in front of my door. Called my mom up and she said my dad had ordered me a subscription, maybe, she said, to "help me see the other side of things". I guess it's a Christmas gift??

I feel kind of annoyed. My parents never respect my opinion and never take into consideration that I do familiarize myself with both sides of an argument. Just because I don't agree with their side doesn't mean I'm ignorant and need to be convinced into joining the Repug Party.

Am I right to feel somewhat annoyed by this???

[theycanbiteme]

1. Maybe he's trying to "protect you"...

you know, your reading habits are being pegged by the federales...so,
maybe a sub to the WSJ will make you look more like...a repuke...

[Bluebear]

2. Just call WSJ for a refund and buy something you would like

Some "gift"!

[blueblitzkrieg]

7. LoL, no kidding

would they give me a refund? If my dad charged it on his credit card, they'll probably just stop the charges, no?

Maybe I'll just keep it. I don't want to be ungrateful for the "gift".

[NuttyFluffers]

18. why say no to free paper mache?

just add glue!

[latteromden]

3. I think you are, but I rather enjoy the WSJ. They've got articles like

"Man convinces townspeople neighbor is a witch." Well, it was something along those lines. It was in France. Riiight. Amusing, anyway.

[wuushew]

4. Just think of it as expensive toilet paper

n/t

[phylny]

37. OUCH! n/t

[saltpoint]

5. Order your father a subscription to --

THE VILLAGE VOICE and see if he likes it.

If he complains that it doesn't represent his point of view, tell him, "Ah, bullshit. The film reviews are bitchin'."

Your father did a stupid thing ordering you the WSJ, by any account. It wasn't generosity. It was pressure.

Tell him to stuff it.

[jdj]

28. Or "The Advocate". Or "Bitch". Or "Ms."

hell, cancel the subscription, get a refund, and get scrip for him to all of these at once.

[CatholicEug]

48. Or "High Times" n/t

[tk2kewl]

6. Get him a subscription to The Nation for his birthday

[blueblitzkrieg]

9. Now that's a good idea!

that would really piss him off hehehe

[tk2kewl]

20. Especially on his birthday

My dad was always a big pain in the ass when i was in HS and college (80s) but at least he was a liberal dem

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

8. Go to a pet shop and buy a parakeet.

They are nice little pets and you will have a good use for the Wall Street Urinal.

[Inland]

10. Donate it to the library. There are worse publications.

Outside of the Ed page, the WSJ is fine.

[hfojvt]

25. speaking of worse

My mother keeps getting me a gift subscription to Reader's Digest even though she is a Democrat and I have asked her to stop.

[Inland]

44. Ask her to send you a foreign language version

RD foreign language versions are great for boning up: the language is simple, and the stories so predictable you always know the context, can figure out vocabulary. I had a french RD subs for about two years.

[0rganism]

36. True. Their news reporting is solid, whatever the editorial slant

They have to be as accurate as possible. Rich people who care about their money read the WSJ, they can't afford to be misinformed, FoxNews-style. You can read it for the business and international news, and use the rest of it as bird-cage liner.

[sbj405]

39. You can put it on "vacation hold" and donate it to a school

My bf is a liberal (but also in business) and gets it. I've weened him off the paper version though.

[mcscajun]

11. Yes, you're right to be annoyed...

...and I guess it's time to take up Origami. You can make a nice collection of cranes to give your Dad next Christmas.

[Syrinx]

12. it's actually a very good newspaper

Except for the op-ed section which is laughable.

[Dying Eagle]

13. keep every paper

Then next X-Mas give them back to him. Maybe he will get the idea after that.

[tom_paine]

14. You should tell him "I don't read Totalitarian Propaganda Rags"

"I wouldn't read the Daily Pravda if I lived in the Soviet Union, I wouldn't read Der Sturmer had I lived in Nazi Germany.

"Why would I then read the moral equivalent of thos publications like the Wall Street Journal Editorial Page?

"Although, to give the Journal it's due, I hear their news division is actually thorough and honest still, rather like like Fox 'News'."

"Isn't that odd. I would expect the Wall Street Journal News to be like Fox 'News", instead of relatively trustworthy.

"Still, the thought of my hands touching Totalitarian Rags makes me nauseous, thanks anyway."

Not that you should say that exactly, but hopefully it gives you some good ideas on how to respond.

[eallen]

15. Send him a "thank you" note. Really.

There are plenty of liberals who read the WSJ. It's a good newspaper. Yeah, it has an editorial slant, like every other newspaper on the planet. But the news reporting is reasonable, the business and economics information worthwhile, and it can be fun to read editorials from other viewpoints.

Really, it's a pretty nice gift. Tell him, for your birthday, you want a subscription to the NYT.

Or maybe a seed investment, so that you can practice with the information from the WSJ.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

16. think about it this way...had you had a republican child

would you have tried to get them to watch a new channel that is NOT fox? i think you would...

my advice..just ignore it..

or if you have a LOT of patience...cut out the editorials...point out the basic inconsistencies in reasoning adn factual errors...mail back to your dad

[Logansquare]

17. Can you afford a sub to the Nation or Mother Jones?

What's good for the gosling is good for the gander...

[Name removed]

19. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Cleita]

21. Actually, the WSJ has its uses.

It makes a find birdcage liner.

[Gold Metal Flake]

22. Try this...

Take pictures of what you do with the papers. You know, dog potty training, catching grease drips under the car, door mat, paper mache, fireplace logs etc. Just be sure to show that they are unopened and in as-delivered condition. Send a couple or a few every month. Be creative. At no time should you ever take a picture of one opened or spread apart, as he could take some solice in the thought that you might actually end up reading some portion of it. After a year of that, you might not get a renewal.

[Plaid Adder]

23. Actually, the WSJ is a valuable tool when used properly.

Because the WSJ is conservative capitalists writing for conservative capitalists, they will say stuff in the WSJ that they would be unwilling to say straight out in a more 'centrist' rag. If you're looking to know your enemy, the WSJ is a gold mine.

Enjoy in good heatlh,

The Plaid adder

[bobbyboucher]

24. The Wall Street Urinal? Talk about vested interest.

Call them and have them send it back to him.

[SeveneightyWhoa]

26. I read (Canada's) National Post.

Trust me, it's great to get aquainted with what the other side is saying or thinking.

[kineneb]

27. Many uses for WSJ

such as cleaning windows, polishing shoes, lining boot drip pans/bird cages/puppy boxes. Probably has some interesting articles.

Personally, I prefer the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. It is "conservative" from a European point of view and has a great cultural section.

[Bouncy Ball]

29. I'd cancel it.

I'm sorry, but if my dad didn't respect my views any more than that.....I mean, I don't send MY repuke in-laws subscriptions to Mother Jones magazine and I don't expect them to send me subscriptions to right wing rags, either.

Yuck.

[dummy-du1]

30. Thank him, it's one of the best papers you can get

Professor Chomsky says, that "some of the best reporting around is in journals like the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times of London. They have professional reporting." (http://www.zmag.org/chomsky/interviews/9501-journalism.... )
He usually quotes a lot from the WSJ. I remember him giving some tips in an interview, on how to read a newspaper: It's important to read the full articles. The important things are often in the last parts of the articles, and almost never on the first pages of the newspaper.

You can easily avoid the opinionated parts, and just read the good reporting. I think, it's logical, that they have a much higher journalistic standards than the papers for the unwashed masses. If you want to make lots of money, by screwing other people's economies for example, you have to rely on the best informations available. You shouldn't take the faith-based approach, and believe the lies, that are fed to the nobodies.

[JakeH]

31. yep

The WSJ is a pretty good newspaper. It goes into detail on subjects that often gets glossed over in other newspapers. Furthermore, they are pretty good at keeping their opinion in the opinion section.

Just be glad it's not National Review


edit: and congrats on the 666 posts

[ThorsHammer]

50. Seconded (nt)

[genieroze]

32. Send him a subscription to Mother Jones. lol eom

[jsquared]

33. You'll be surprised at the range and integrity of the articles.

Just read it for a while and see what you think. At all costs, avoid the editorial pages which are almost schizoprenically at odds with the rationalism of the rest of the paper.

[LSdemocrat]

34. The editorial column is the only really repulsive aspect of the WSJ

The rest of the paper is actually a well-written thorough account of US and, to a certain extent, world business news.

[flygal]

35. I was just coming to post the exact same thing

I like reading it - as a business student it had a lot of information. It's well written. The opinions are really hard to stomache but hey, it's good to know your enemies.

[annabanana]

38. Mother Jones makes a loverly birthday present, I'm told...

Just take the paper, send corrective LsTTE and give him a copy of "Funny Times".

[Enraged_Ape]

40. I wish someone would do that for me. That's a nice gift.

It is THE paper if you're job hunting. It keeps you abreast of everything that's new and happening in your field and gives you the ability to talk about it intelligently with all the people you need to impress.

The editorial section, OTOH, is absolutely batshit wacky. Skip it.

I've been having to go to the library to read it. $250+ a year is a little more than I can afford right now.

[hollowdweller]

41. When I read it in college they were knocking Carter for the huge deficit.

[LisaLL]

42. it's the thought that counts--the thought was probably disrespectful

I think you need to get your Dad to admit what his reason was for ordering the subscription. "Dad, why exactly did you order me a subscription to the WSJ?"

If he says that he wanted you to see both sides, you can (calmly) ask if he thinks that you don't do that now.

At that point, the discussion is open for you to inform him that you evaluate many sides of issues, from many sources, and evaluate them based on credibility. That your opinions are well-informed and if he would like to maintain a good relationship (an adult realtioship)with you that he needs to understand that and respect it. Bottom Line.

Buying a stealth subscription without admitting his intent was disrespectful to you. If his intent was what your Mom thinks it was--it's the intention and what that implies that is annoying.

(It's up to you whether you want to include the WSJ in your array of sources to evaluate. Personally, I think it's good to read several sources with a grain of salt, looking for credibility and deliberate slant. Sometimes reading what Conservatives actually write in their own editorial columns reveals their truer agenda.)

[leesa]

43. Cancel it with an explanation to the company and to your father as to why.

DO NOT support the RW media machine.

[GreenPartyVoter]

45. Tell him he has to read leftwing blogs and news sources everyday too

------------------------------------------------------
Election reform can help save this country!
http://timeforachange.bluelemur.com/electionreform.htm

[Orangepeel]

46. I don't think your Dad reads the WSJ, if he thinks it'll change your mind

The opinion pages are pure bullshit, but the rest of the paper is quite good. I'm a liberal and I read it and enjoy it.

[hickman1937]

47. read it and thank him for the subscription.

Then just drop it. He probably sees your politics as a repudiation of him and everything he stands for. Unfortunatly how you deal with him in these years of your life will effect your relationship for years to come. Be kind. Maybe someday he'll come over from the dark side.

[ernstbass]

49. This is just like something my mom would do

She quotes the WSJ like scripture when we have political debates. I think your parents have opened themselves up to get Mother Jones!! And in answer to your question, I would be highly annoyed.