This Jimmy Kimmel suspension is political and wrong

With each passing day, I’m more and more grateful I live in Canada.

ABC’s decision to take Jimmy Kimmel off the air indefinitely stinks. His comments about Charlie Kirk’s death–anodyne by any standards–irked Trump (a thin-skinned, power-hungry man-baby) and Brendan Carr, the head of the FCC (a Trump appointee who has spoken out against government censorship of the media many times in the past). Carr says Jimmy Kimmel “mislead” the public on the killing. Right. Sure.

Let’s review:

ABC’s spineless executives (along with their Disney masters), worried about another lawsuit like the insane one against George Stephanopoulos, caved. They also bent the knee because Nexstar, the owner of about 30 ABC affiliates and a right-leaning broadcaster, squawked. Nexstar wants to buy Tenga, another owner of TV stations for $6.2 billion. To make sure the merger goes through, they had to make an offering to Donald Trump so that his FCC would approve it. A similar round of blackmail happened with Paramount and CBS earlier this year–and Paramount coughed up.

This is more than just Kimmel. His show employs at least 100 people. Maybe someone should read up on the American First Amendment. Here’s hoping that Kimmel is lawyering up.

The American Federation of Musicians is also livid. Here’s their statement.

Statement from Tino Gagliardi, International President of the  American Federation of Musicians on ABC Taking “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Off the Air

Washington DC – American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada International President Tino Gagliardi issued the following statement in response to the ABC taking “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” which employs musicians from Local 47 in Los Angeles, off the air:  

 “This is not complicated: Trump’s FCC identified speech it did not like and threatened ABC with extreme reprisals. This is state censorship. It is now happening in the United States of America, not some far-off country. It’s happening right here and right now. 

This act by the Trump Administration represents a direct attack on free speech and artistic expression. These are fundamental rights that we must protect in a free society. The American Federation of Musicians strongly condemns the decision to take Jimmy Kimmel Live off the air.  

We stand in solidarity with all those who will be without work because of government overreach.”

Things are only going to get worse before they even start to improve. Authoritarian rule isn’t coming to the US. It’s already there.

PS: Stephan Colbert has a chance to so something really funny tonight by booking Kimmel as a guest. What does he have to lose?

PS PS: I’m seeing more stuff like this.