As a nation, we need a political re-alignment, now

[Craig234]

The Jimmy Kimmel and Kirk situations make it clear - Republican leaders and oligarchs are just waiting to pounce on using the force of the government to silence and attack their critics as they try to force a one-party dictatorship on the country, over the will of a growing majority of the citizens.

The Jimmy Kimmel case shows zero respect for the constitution's free speech rights, which means zero respect for any constitutional rights, for anyone. Dozens and even thousands of examples fit the pattern of government intimidation and withholding of funds to take dictatorial control.

It is becoming truer and truer, that the same oligarchs who control the wealth, and control elections with that wealth, are also able to use that wealth to own and dictate the media in the country - with just a few of the impacts being removing the head of 60 Minutes, ending CPB, firing of various reporters, paying extortion, and now Colbert and Kimmel.

They have been able to push divisive narratives keeping the public from paying attention to and fighting their tyranny.

We need to recognize their and everyone else's rights are threatened, are not respected by this government. We need MANGA to recognize that's their rights also and unite with the rest of the country.

Looking ahead, this could get a lot worse. Even if MANGA does unite, the American people are in a situation they appear unlikely to be able to win a conflict with the forces of oligarchy and government and military united against them, a battle we don't want to have. We need a political re-alignment from the current situation, outside the parties, outside most of the media. It's a real question if and how people can do it.

 

[RaleBulgarian]

The Jimmy Kimmel and Kirk situations make it clear - Republican leaders and oligarchs are just waiting to pounce on using the force of the government to silence and attack their critics as they try to force a one-party dictatorship on the country, over the will of a growing majority of the citizens.

The Jimmy Kimmel case shows zero respect for the constitution's free speech rights, which means zero respect for any constitutional rights, for anyone. Dozens and even thousands of examples fit the pattern of government intimidation and withholding of funds to take dictatorial control.

It is becoming truer and truer, that the same oligarchs who control the wealth, and control elections with that wealth, are also able to use that wealth to own and dictate the media in the country - with just a few of the impacts being removing the head of 60 Minutes, ending CPB, firing of various reporters, paying extortion, and now Colbert and Kimmel.

They have been able to push divisive narratives keeping the public from paying attention to and fighting their tyranny.

We need to recognize their and everyone else's rights are threatened, are not respected by this government. We need MANGA to recognize that's their rights also and unite with the rest of the country.

Looking ahead, this could get a lot worse. Even if MANGA does unite, the American people are in a situation they appear unlikely to be able to win a conflict with the forces of oligarchy and government and military united against them, a battle we don't want to have. We need a political re-alignment from the current situation, outside the parties, outside most of the media. It's a real question if and how people can do it.

You have many good points, but factually, Kimmel was yanked by the network.

While it’s entirely possible, and even likely, IMO, that the network acted in expectation of being punished somehow by Traitor Trump, there’s no indication that any adverse action had even been threatened. Yet.

 

[Michael Cole]

The Jimmy Kimmel and Kirk situations make it clear - Republican leaders and oligarchs are just waiting to pounce on using the force of the government to silence and attack their critics as they try to force a one-party dictatorship on the country, over the will of a growing majority of the citizens.

The Jimmy Kimmel case shows zero respect for the constitution's free speech rights, which means zero respect for any constitutional rights, for anyone. Dozens and even thousands of examples fit the pattern of government intimidation and withholding of funds to take dictatorial control.

It is becoming truer and truer, that the same oligarchs who control the wealth, and control elections with that wealth, are also able to use that wealth to own and dictate the media in the country - with just a few of the impacts being removing the head of 60 Minutes, ending CPB, firing of various reporters, paying extortion, and now Colbert and Kimmel.

They have been able to push divisive narratives keeping the public from paying attention to and fighting their tyranny.

We need to recognize their and everyone else's rights are threatened, are not respected by this government. We need MANGA to recognize that's their rights also and unite with the rest of the country.

Looking ahead, this could get a lot worse. Even if MANGA does unite, the American people are in a situation they appear unlikely to be able to win a conflict with the forces of oligarchy and government and military united against them, a battle we don't want to have. We need a political re-alignment from the current situation, outside the parties, outside most of the media. It's a real question if and how people can do it.

ABC is owned by "the oligarchs." Blaming the oligarchs for the decline of their own oligarchy makes no sense.

This is political. A power grab. Has nothing to do with "oligarchs."

 

[Craig234]

Heather Cox Richardson sort of echoes my point, discussing the history of the first amendment and the cancellation of Kimmel.

September 17, 2025 (Wednesday)

This evening, John Koblin, Michael M.

heathercoxrichardson.substack.com

 

[Craig234]

In honor of free speech, here's Kimmel's recent monologue. You can subscribe/like to support.

 

[aociswundumho]

The Jimmy Kimmel case shows zero respect for the constitution's free speech rights,

The hilarity of a "progressive" worried about free speech.

The FCC was a new deal creation under your hero FDR. ABC can't broadcast without a government license from it - and that's exactly the kind of state control people like you want. You made the bed, now lie in it.

 

[Binary_Digit]

The hilarity of a "progressive" worried about free speech.

The FCC was a new deal creation under your hero FDR. ABC can't broadcast without a government license from it - and that's exactly the kind of state control people like you want. You made the bed, now lie in it.

The best way to see that the rules are ****ed up, is to have them used against you or something you like.

 

[soap box]

The hilarity of a "progressive" worried about free speech.

The FCC was a new deal creation under your hero FDR. ABC can't broadcast without a government license from it - and that's exactly the kind of state control people like you want. You made the bed, now lie in it.

What? You don't recognize what's going on.

You snap and blame FDR for the way trump is doing everything he can to suffocate dissent.

The fact you're not accepting is that no other president abused the function of the FCC for his own personal aggrandizement.

 

[holbritter]

We are headed to North Korea

 

[aociswundumho]

You snap and blame FDR for the way trump is doing everything he can to suffocate dissent.

It was FDR who gave Trump the power.

The fact you're not accepting is that no other president abused the function of the FCC for his own personal aggrandizement.

Welp, now they do, and it's not "abuse" if it's legal. If it's legal, then the agency is working as intended.

 

[soap box]

It was FDR who gave Trump the power.

And FDR himself didn't use the FCC to attack his opponents. Not even Nixon or any other president has abused this authority to squelch dissent.

Welp, now they do, and it's not "abuse" if it's legal. If it's legal, then the agency is working as intended.

Im sorry to disagree, but trump is abusing the authority of the FCC to intimidate media outlets. Free speech is not illegal. They are engaged in an abuse of power to stop the dissent that is involved in the 1st amendment. And you want to blame FDR for Trumps authoritarianisms.

 

[aociswundumho]

And FDR himself didn't use the FCC to attack his opponents. Not even Nixon or any other president has abused this authority to squelch dissent.

Wrong. They both did:

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, for example, had little tolerance for those who questioned the New Deal. Some of his most vociferous opponents were conservative newspaper owners, who were increasingly critical after Roosevelt’s Supreme Court–packing scheme in 1937. Now, Roosevelt couldn’t go after them directly, thanks to that pesky First Amendment, but many of these newspapermen had begun to buy radio stations, and in that arena FDR could target them for special regulatory attention. As one former commissioner put it, Roosevelt “put the blow torch” on his FCC chairman, Larry Fly, to use various regulations to shut down the president’s enemies.

...

(President Richard Nixon’s FCC would ultimately enact a cross-media ownership ban in an attempt to intimidate the owner of The Washington Post into easing up on the paper’s Watergate reporting.)

Im sorry to disagree, but trump is abusing the authority of the FCC to intimidate media outlets. Free speech is not illegal. They are engaged in an abuse of power to stop the dissent that is involved in the 1st amendment. And you want to blame FDR for Trumps authoritarianisms.

The licensing scheme is what allows them all to do it. If you support government licensing, then you support censorship.

 

[Craig234]

I'd say the third most fundamental right Americans have is the right to criticize the government, to free speech. Second most is the right to elect the government they want, and the most is the right for the government not to wrongly imprison or murder them. All three are threatened by trump.

He has no limits qualitatively; his only limits are quantitatively, for example, he hasn't had the military storm every media office and jail or kill any critics, his occupation of cities hasn't included murdering all protesters or jailing/killing political opponents much, yet, but he's made threats. It's appalling how I see no almost Republicans criticizing the abuse of power.

 

[soap box]

Wrong. They both did:



...






The licensing scheme is what allows them all to do it. If you support government licensing, then you support censorship.

That's nowhere near the vindictive level of censorship we are seeing now. This is a question of degree and there's no question who the authoritarian is.

 

[soap box]

Wrong. They both did:



...






The licensing scheme is what allows them all to do it. If you support government licensing, then you support censorship.

And another thing, were Woodward and Bernstein fired?

 

[soap box]

And another thing, did Nixon sue the Washington Post or NYT for $15 Billion?

 

[Simpletruther]

The Jimmy Kimmel and Kirk situations make it clear - Republican leaders and oligarchs are just waiting to pounce on using the force of the government to silence and attack their critics as they try to force a one-party dictatorship on the country, over the will of a growing majority of the citizens.

The Jimmy Kimmel case shows zero respect for the constitution's free speech rights, which means zero respect for any constitutional rights, for anyone. Dozens and even thousands of examples fit the pattern of government intimidation and withholding of funds to take dictatorial control.

It is becoming truer and truer, that the same oligarchs who control the wealth, and control elections with that wealth, are also able to use that wealth to own and dictate the media in the country - with just a few of the impacts being removing the head of 60 Minutes, ending CPB, firing of various reporters, paying extortion, and now Colbert and Kimmel.

They have been able to push divisive narratives keeping the public from paying attention to and fighting their tyranny.

We need to recognize their and everyone else's rights are threatened, are not respected by this government. We need MANGA to recognize that's their rights also and unite with the rest of the country.

Looking ahead, this could get a lot worse. Even if MANGA does unite, the American people are in a situation they appear unlikely to be able to win a conflict with the forces of oligarchy and government and military united against them, a battle we don't want to have. We need a political re-alignment from the current situation, outside the parties, outside most of the media. It's a real question if and how people can do it.

There's element of "if we don't do it they will".