439 Comments
User's avatar
Wade Baynham's avatar

Thanks, Ben. I read rather than watch, so this is great by me. Grateful for all you do.

Chuck Hatch's avatar

I too am a reader not a video watcher. More of this, please and thank you 🙏

Marianne's avatar

That’s what I have been saying already several times. To the point without bla-bla.

I unsubscribed this morning. Could reconsider if you write just in a few points the news. $10, you are the most expensive of all Substacks !

Pattie Messmer's avatar

That's because they provide the most global of all the other substacks. Please resubscribe as this is one of few with comprehensive independent journalism. I decline many others in order to afford much better coverage that meidas touch provides

Rik M.'s avatar

I would rather read most of the time. Ben writes very well - I can hear his voice speaking the words....

Phgladko's avatar

Please reconsider. I have three substacks that I subscribe to and Meidas Touch is the first one I read.

Gi Wilson's avatar

Me too. I can read much faster than people talk. Video tends to put me to sleep.

MattTheCat's avatar

You're absolutely entitled to your preference, but I recommend trying increasing the playback speed. I found it very helpful with what felt like agonizingly slow talking

Geraldine L Sheremeta's avatar

Agree. This format works fine..

Thank you MTN for your excellent journalism.

Lynn's avatar

I don't watch the videos -- so much faster/easier to read. I am sure you have fans who prefer videos, but I very much appreciate written posts. (And summaries of videos!)

Robin's avatar

I rarely watch any videos from anyone. I can read much faster but then I can also easily turn back to something when I wish. I can also go slower when needed, take my time, and really ingest and think about what has been written. Can you do a transcribe thing for your videos? I know you’ve done that for some of your posts. I really appreciate that. I do realize that people have different realities and therefore what works for one may not work as well for another.

Jessica Holliday's avatar

I too read and never watch. I think it has been established that people absorb, understand, and retain much more when they read rather than listen. Your updates are important and timely, so should be written.

Sam Kane's avatar

Yes, please continue the written form with the audio button feature in the upper right corner, read by the automated voice. We follow along reading with that, but have the option of listening if we step away from our mobile device. Most importantly, this feature is useful while driving.

ramonaj's avatar

I would do what ever I had to . Read or listen. As long as it comes from you, Ben and the Meidas Touch Network!

Chris C's avatar

Ditto. Read, not a fan of watching videos.

Tracy Loftsgaarden's avatar

Your broadcasts are easier for me to access because as a single, female senior, I can multitask while watching and listening. The key is listening for me if you needed to reduce your broadcasting time, perhaps you could make available your written work, and read by another person. Thank you for all you do!!

Robin D's avatar
5mEdited

Hi Tracy.. There is an option on the written posts to "listen". I'm on the web now, on my kindle fire tablet, (I try to stay off the app...hate it), but at the top of my page next to my subscribed label, there is a triangle next to it.. It you hit that it's for the AI voice so you can listen instead of read.Also there are 3 dots next to that and one of the options is " play audio" also.

SJR's avatar

Ditto, thanks Ben.

James Trundy Verrill's avatar

Over a 30 year period, Donald Trump has filed over 4,000 lawsuits. That breaks down to a lawsuit every 2.5 days.

And never once has he sued someone for calling him a PEDOPHILE !!

He'll sue you for calling him broke, but not for calling him that.

Just thought it was curious.

Lee Johnson's avatar

If he sued for being called a pedophile, he might have to testify UNDER OATH!

{Thank you for your attention to this matter /snark}

Irene Finn's avatar

That's just akin to him claiming the 2020 election was stolen from him, but the 2024 election was legit.

Robyn Hosley, EdD's avatar

I definitely prefer your written comments, which allows time to read a digest the information. Thank you for your tireless efforts to keep us informed!

Kathy Menzie's avatar

I agree. I love the written reports!

Terry McIntyre's avatar

I much prefer reading your posts, along with Ron’s. Thanks for this!

Irene Finn's avatar

The only thing anyone is begging Trump for is for him to just disappear. And take Vance and Johnson and the rest of his flock with him.

Janet Hains's avatar

and especially Steven Miller.

inamarlowe@gmail.com's avatar

Thank you for your excellent reporting. I prefer reading it rather than videos

Melissa's avatar

I read the transcripts on Apple podcasts.

PJD's avatar

Me too!!😀

Skitealwedrop's avatar

I also prefer to read. Thanks you😊

Margaret M. McKenna's avatar

I like the written reports…. Much easier to digest & mull over….

Katrina Nuciforo's avatar

Although you shouldn’t read and drive 🥵

Protect the Vote's avatar

America’s Greed Problem: The Reason Why Democracy Is Crashing

When the wealthy get wealthy they want more This has become the billionaires creed “I can never have enough I must get more You can never have enough (fill in the blank eg boats planes etc)”

The Bezos’, Zuckerberg’s, Theil’s, Musk’s of the billionaire world use the excuse that “they are building their corporations for the good of their shareholders or if they want to play the patriotic card, the country” But let’s be honest The bottom line is that the only reason they exist is to line their pockets at the expense of the peons who are foolish enough to support their companies so that they can make $$$ on their investment

So there is a large growing class of the wealthy American investment community which the average American doesn’t participate And you can see where this is going These top of the $$$ peak in the country is supported by a vast network of investors throwing large sums of cash around to gain even greater wealth And this leads to groups of people who want to support a fraudulent criminal organization like the CNPP(Christian Nationalist Pedo Party) to keep the greed game going

What this looks like is a 21st century version of the roaring 20’s featured in the Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby which didn’t end well And how this got started goes back to the government’s need to keep the state afloat economically through QE This put massive amounts of $$$ into the system which got multiplied in the equity markets but for the average American devalued the dollar to the point in terms of gold is now worth 5cents of what it was in 1971

Kelvin Hobbs's avatar

John D. Rockefeller, the wealthiest man in the early 1900s, once gave a famous reply to a reporter who asked him, “How much money is enough?” Rockefeller answered, “Just a little bit more.” Many have cited this as proof of Rockefeller’s greed, assuming he was never satisfied no matter how rich he became. But this view misses the deeper point Rockefeller was making. He wasn’t really saying that he needed more money to be content. Instead, his ironic quip exposed the foolishness of thinking that any amount of wealth can fulfill the human heart. By answering “just a little bit more,” he sarcastically mirrored back the absurdity of the idea. His witty response hinted that true fulfillment comes from things money can’t buy, like love, meaning, and goodness.

The Misunderstood Wisdom of John D. Rockefeller; Medium; 24-May-25; https://tinyurl.com/538n4ykd

Teach84's avatar

I’ve always read your posts, so this format is good for me.

Protect the Vote's avatar

Bottom line: we'll never know what underscored the Rock's thinking but as John Mitchell said "watch what we do not what we say"

Kelvin Hobbs's avatar

So true, even as our reinvented world of "warrior lethality" transforms that to FAFO

RelentlessJo's avatar

We also have a wide swath of americans who have checked out on participating in civics, prefer to doomscroll over reading, and frankly, don’t care where their stuff they can’t afford or really need comes from as long as it’s cheap. We created a class of purchasers and Amazon is their dopamine hit. No one saves, they just spend and use karma easy payments to make it ‘affordable’. We are a growing illiterate class and thanks to trump’s anti-science push, the brain drain has begun. Perhaps this is a new kind of Darwinism?

Kelvin Hobbs's avatar

As you stated so well, we have become incurious, non-productive consumers, hell-bent on destroying our planet, where disposability and the newest iPhone model each year overtake landfills and reuse, repair, recycle, and repurpose now link to Soylent Green. We have placed our toes on the precipice of the abyss. These are from 1970:

A Year After Moon Landing: Space Dream and Jobs Fade; NYT; 17-July-1970; https://tinyurl.com/mr3z34n3 A year ago today (in July 1969), 700,000 people watched Apollo 11 thunder off to ward man's first landing on the moon. For thousands of the engineers and technicians who had a and in making history last rear were not around for the fish fry and fireworks tonight marking the first anniversary of their achievement. And some who remained were pumping gas instead of liquid oxygen, tending bar, repairing air‐conditioners or nervously awaiting each Friday when a few more RIF (reduction ‐ in ‐ force) notices show up in the in‐baskets.

The Origins of Earth Day; EarthDay.org; https://tinyurl.com/3zybmy5k Earth Day. Groups that had been fighting individually against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness and the extinction of wildlife united on Earth Day around these shared common values.

WJB Motown's avatar

America's Education Problem.

When McTaco said "I like the uneducated".....that was no joke. 77 million plus Orange cultiist's is a 911 call for the US education system. Public schools should be properly funded for everyone no matter their financial situation.

Fascist Fake Christian Nationalists should be cut off immediatly. Just the 3Rs....a straight up program will Make America Healthy Again.

Anne J.'s avatar

I prefer reading to watching. Especially when I have to actually listen to some of these fools speak.

Kate's avatar

I agree with you on the videos. I can't stand hearing the fools speak, especially the orange felon.

Weegie.petrie@gmail.com's avatar

I like the written report. A lot of times I don’t have the luxury of watching a video. But this I can scan really quickly and get the gist and get caught up on what’s going on. Thanks, Ben.

Diane's avatar

Personally, I prefer just to read updates, so don't need the video. Thanks for asking and for keeping us informed!

Mary Ann Palazzo-Sagman's avatar

I like the written report. Thanks 😊

Scott McNeill's avatar

I do prefer the written over the video format, that way I can skim at my own pace.

Irene Finn's avatar

Trump and Bibi vastly underestimated Iran. The whole area is now in chaos, and what is the USA going to gain from all of this? All of this bloodshed and cost because of another one of Trump's stupid decisions.

David's avatar

Prefer this written style! I get more out of it

Alice Barton's avatar

(Thanks!! I never watch video, only read and share immediately!!)