The million dollar question now is what will Brendan Carr do and whether Trump will browbeat him publicly to do something as he's already done with Bondi.
I join you in being grateful, but this is a victory on only one front in a much larger battle for freedom of speech against a regime that is intent on quashing it.
Yes, it's about money. This is evidence that boycotts are effective tools, which we must use to take down the Trump regime. Protests and boycotts are both important strategies.
Agreed, it's about money. The free speech argument is a little bit of misnomer. It's also about big tech buying this administration/regime and trying to snag broadcasting licenses to they can CHARGE for information. The ones it will affect the most are the low income in rural communities. The boycotts are good, proceed with caution with the protests, there's a right and wrong way! It's for CHANGE! Not CHRISTMAS SHOPPING!!!
Yes. It seems that the money lost to the networks due to the huge number of customers who decided to boycott them, is what made the difference. In other instances with lesser known individuals, and with no monetary incentive, it is hard to tell how an outcome might be. I am thankful for the success in this instance. However, what guarantee do we have that freedom of speech and more freedoms within our First Amendment will remain protected for everyone?
Do not renew those Disney subscriptions. The Kimmel reinstatement has nothing to do with morality, it's greed, period! Disney has shown their true character!
Amazing after a threat of being sued for billions, thousands of customers cancelling Disney+, and employees threatening to resign made them re-think their decision. A bunch of cowards.
Heather, A little over 13 minutes and so much information to digest.
My thoughts are that the Trump Administration moves slyly, but at such a rapid speed it’s purposefully impossible to keep them in check.
Their plan seems to be to act rationally and quickly with no real thought of the consequences or the outcomes of their actions as long as they can access more control and power over every government policy in order to increased their wealth and power!
We need to stay alert and focused as Trump’s power game without restrictions rolls out with impunity.
Oops! Perhaps to Trump and his “psycho-phant” political partners in corruption, in their own minds they ARE acting rationally, and it is we their critics who are all crazy leftwing lunatics. Did anyone say that Josef Stalin was irrational, or crazy? In other words, today’s GOP from top to bottom are complicit in his relentless corruption of every last little part of our society with his backward ignorance and his handlers, who are peddling an ascendant White Male Protestant Christian Nation to replace every part of our history they find which shows the true crimes of their “Lost Cause”. Stalin also, after having thousands of his own loyal officers and others killed, was known for air-brushing people’s faces from images, and burying information along with the dead. Even to this day, Putin has outlawed the Russian Memorial movement. What Humpty Trumpty is doing is following a Stalinesque playbook, even though as John Bolton said, he thought that Trump was too ignorant to have an ideology. But he does! It’s a reality show type composite of all the things that a typical billionaire bigot-for-life would do with what they self-rationalize as “smart” self-dealing: they grasp the lucrative opportunity to seize everything and rewrite all of our laws and history to make themselves look “good”, heroic, almost godlike in their mother of all power trips. Meanwhile his close friend Vlad is threatening Europe with broadening his war on Ukraine. The world burns (Gaza/West Bank; South Sudan; Ukraine, to name a few dangerous wars and famines (oh, I forgot Haiti!) while the Masters of the Grifterverse spend most of their time taking over media outlets and threatening networks with removal of their broadcast licenses and attacking celebrities who are not MAGA. This is the Putinization of America, as Lev Parnas (who should know!) has said in his warnings to us of what is happening right before our eyes.
I see a lot of comments here about how reinstating Kimmel is all about the money. Yeah, probably is, but it's the right result. I think there is a valuable lesson here, assuming that consumers complaining and canceling subscriptions was a significant factor:
BOYCOTTS CAN WORK. They don't always, but there are also plenty of historic examples of boycotts that led to results. The Bread and Roses Strike and the Montgomery Bus Boycott to name a couple notable ones.
Is hard to appeal to someone's sense of decency, especially if they don't have one. Hit them in the wallet though, and you have a good chance if getting their attention. I tell my students all the time, boycott is the most effective form of protest.
HCR, would you be willing to grace us with an essay on this subject? Yours will be much better than mine!
I have been in shock and disbelief for over 10 years. Since DJT came out to announce his run for president the first time. And on a regular basis I have again been shocked that people believe this used car salesman.
But a lot of people believed Bernie Madoff and he only bilked people out of millions of dollars.
If I didn't have this daily letter to read, I would lose what mind I have left. Like so many of us, I live in constant fear and worry. Everyday that the convicted felon remains in office, we lose a little more of our republic.
We need America's masses to rise up and reject the lawbreaking going on. Yes, we may be alone, but we care about our democracy and freedom. The framers of the constitution promised us a tripartite governance, namely Executive, House, and Judiciary. Where are they? The republican house/senate are in lockstep with the executive branch and is a party to the lawbreaking openly. The judicial SC 6/3 is reduced to "yes sir". Did the framers missed something or we waited 150 years to notice a flaw in the constitution. We are at a threshold of losing everything in terms of rule of law because all our guardrails are decimated. Open protest in the streets is our only option? Let us demand our members of democratic elected congress and senate to put their shoes on and get ready to lead protests in the streets, halls and public forums. More power to Jimmy Kimmel, Steve Colber and others. They are similar to the shinning lights of patriots warning the young nation of "English are coming, English are coming". The enemy within is live and causing harm.
Kimmel is back! We will prevail over the fascists. Here is a poem as a tribute to Jimmy and all comedians who speak out against maga tyranny: https://democracydefender2025.substack.com/p/jimmy-kimmel-poem
Huge gratitude that the public has prevailed over trump craziness!
I'm curious what ABC/Disney/giant parent corporation will have to say about this change of heart.
The million dollar question now is what will Brendan Carr do and whether Trump will browbeat him publicly to do something as he's already done with Bondi.
SO GRATEFUL that we, the public, have prevailed over trump insanity! Welcome back, Jimmy!
I join you in being grateful, but this is a victory on only one front in a much larger battle for freedom of speech against a regime that is intent on quashing it.
I don't see it as a victory. It's about money! If Trump offers the lost revenue plus a penny in federal funds, their 'values' would instantly change!
Yes, it's about money. This is evidence that boycotts are effective tools, which we must use to take down the Trump regime. Protests and boycotts are both important strategies.
Agreed, it's about money. The free speech argument is a little bit of misnomer. It's also about big tech buying this administration/regime and trying to snag broadcasting licenses to they can CHARGE for information. The ones it will affect the most are the low income in rural communities. The boycotts are good, proceed with caution with the protests, there's a right and wrong way! It's for CHANGE! Not CHRISTMAS SHOPPING!!!
We've all been through this rerun before.
So they/to they
True, true…but it’s a start! We must fight on!
Yes. It seems that the money lost to the networks due to the huge number of customers who decided to boycott them, is what made the difference. In other instances with lesser known individuals, and with no monetary incentive, it is hard to tell how an outcome might be. I am thankful for the success in this instance. However, what guarantee do we have that freedom of speech and more freedoms within our First Amendment will remain protected for everyone?
Do not renew those Disney subscriptions. The Kimmel reinstatement has nothing to do with morality, it's greed, period! Disney has shown their true character!
Amazing after a threat of being sued for billions, thousands of customers cancelling Disney+, and employees threatening to resign made them re-think their decision. A bunch of cowards.
Heather, A little over 13 minutes and so much information to digest.
My thoughts are that the Trump Administration moves slyly, but at such a rapid speed it’s purposefully impossible to keep them in check.
Their plan seems to be to act rationally and quickly with no real thought of the consequences or the outcomes of their actions as long as they can access more control and power over every government policy in order to increased their wealth and power!
We need to stay alert and focused as Trump’s power game without restrictions rolls out with impunity.
act irrationally / not rationally
Damn auto spell is going to get you committed 😀
Perhaps to Trumps and his ”sycophants”
Oops! Perhaps to Trump and his “psycho-phant” political partners in corruption, in their own minds they ARE acting rationally, and it is we their critics who are all crazy leftwing lunatics. Did anyone say that Josef Stalin was irrational, or crazy? In other words, today’s GOP from top to bottom are complicit in his relentless corruption of every last little part of our society with his backward ignorance and his handlers, who are peddling an ascendant White Male Protestant Christian Nation to replace every part of our history they find which shows the true crimes of their “Lost Cause”. Stalin also, after having thousands of his own loyal officers and others killed, was known for air-brushing people’s faces from images, and burying information along with the dead. Even to this day, Putin has outlawed the Russian Memorial movement. What Humpty Trumpty is doing is following a Stalinesque playbook, even though as John Bolton said, he thought that Trump was too ignorant to have an ideology. But he does! It’s a reality show type composite of all the things that a typical billionaire bigot-for-life would do with what they self-rationalize as “smart” self-dealing: they grasp the lucrative opportunity to seize everything and rewrite all of our laws and history to make themselves look “good”, heroic, almost godlike in their mother of all power trips. Meanwhile his close friend Vlad is threatening Europe with broadening his war on Ukraine. The world burns (Gaza/West Bank; South Sudan; Ukraine, to name a few dangerous wars and famines (oh, I forgot Haiti!) while the Masters of the Grifterverse spend most of their time taking over media outlets and threatening networks with removal of their broadcast licenses and attacking celebrities who are not MAGA. This is the Putinization of America, as Lev Parnas (who should know!) has said in his warnings to us of what is happening right before our eyes.
Current administration declines to release data unless it reflects well on them - oh well, no news is bad news!
The more they get away with, the more they will try, the faster it will come and the harder it will be to stop it.
It was about revenue. Not doing the right thing.
I see a lot of comments here about how reinstating Kimmel is all about the money. Yeah, probably is, but it's the right result. I think there is a valuable lesson here, assuming that consumers complaining and canceling subscriptions was a significant factor:
BOYCOTTS CAN WORK. They don't always, but there are also plenty of historic examples of boycotts that led to results. The Bread and Roses Strike and the Montgomery Bus Boycott to name a couple notable ones.
Is hard to appeal to someone's sense of decency, especially if they don't have one. Hit them in the wallet though, and you have a good chance if getting their attention. I tell my students all the time, boycott is the most effective form of protest.
HCR, would you be willing to grace us with an essay on this subject? Yours will be much better than mine!
We do have to be persistent tho - the Montgomery bus boycott took over a year of hardship before it was effective.
💯💯💯
Taco Tuesday!
I guess they will release the Epstein files when they can't be reported on.
I have been in shock and disbelief for over 10 years. Since DJT came out to announce his run for president the first time. And on a regular basis I have again been shocked that people believe this used car salesman.
But a lot of people believed Bernie Madoff and he only bilked people out of millions of dollars.
If I didn't have this daily letter to read, I would lose what mind I have left. Like so many of us, I live in constant fear and worry. Everyday that the convicted felon remains in office, we lose a little more of our republic.
We need America's masses to rise up and reject the lawbreaking going on. Yes, we may be alone, but we care about our democracy and freedom. The framers of the constitution promised us a tripartite governance, namely Executive, House, and Judiciary. Where are they? The republican house/senate are in lockstep with the executive branch and is a party to the lawbreaking openly. The judicial SC 6/3 is reduced to "yes sir". Did the framers missed something or we waited 150 years to notice a flaw in the constitution. We are at a threshold of losing everything in terms of rule of law because all our guardrails are decimated. Open protest in the streets is our only option? Let us demand our members of democratic elected congress and senate to put their shoes on and get ready to lead protests in the streets, halls and public forums. More power to Jimmy Kimmel, Steve Colber and others. They are similar to the shinning lights of patriots warning the young nation of "English are coming, English are coming". The enemy within is live and causing harm.
Thank you so much for your cool head in crazy times, Heather Cox Richardson.
DOJ is his lacky. Got that?