Kimmel Reigns Victorious!

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

One of my favorite relatives who lives in the Kansas City area told me a few days ago that he and his family had cancelled their "Disney Plus" subscription in response to ABC's taking Jimmy Kimmel off the air because conservative politicians (including the President of the United States) and organizations, including two very large aggregates of affiliates, had pressured them to do so.  (Disney owns ABC.). The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had even spoken publicly about going after the ABC's broadcasting license if they failed to "fix" their problem (ie, to pull Kimmel off the air.)

I thought my relative's protest was a very clever way to make a point, get into Disney's pocket, and save a few dollars in the process.  Unfortunately, I am not a subscriber to Disney Plus or Hulu (also owned by Disney), and could not join in that particular form of protest in support of the First Amendment.  But God Speed to those who could!

The next day I heard radio mouthpiece Howard Stern say that he, too, had cancelled his Disney Plus.

Later in the day I read news stories stating that more than 400 actors and people involved in the entertainment industry had signed an ACLU letter of protest to Disney regarding the company's attack on free speech.  Some of the 400 were reported to have been Disney legends - and the naiton's talent pool is an essential element in almost every aspect of Disney's corporate enterprise.  Whoops!

I also read some articles about the burgeoning numbers of social media posts and tweets condemning Disney and encouraging people to boycott the company.

Taken in its entirety, it sounded as though capitalism might be biting Disney in the butt.

And then, of course, the Disney Corporation, which owns ABC, backed down on Monday and announced that Kimmel would be returning to the air Tuesday night - which he did.  Donald Trump angrilly responded that he was now considering a civil lawsuit against the network and he believes he might get a bigger settlement than the last time he sued the same network.  (Trump's main grievance seems to b that ABC told him that they had "fired" Jimmy Kimmel - that, and he doesn't think Kimmel is funny.

Stuff some cash in the old man's pocket, ABC, and he'll shut up - just like he did before.   Every principle in Trump's quiver has a monetary value and can be had, temporarily, if the payout is right.

But that's all corporate dealing and double-dealing.  As far as real people go, Kimmel reigns victorious, and the forces of greed, censorship, and darkness just sucked a big one!

Welcome back, Jimmy!