Jimmy Kimmel Last Night

You don't poke the bear.

Let's say you're called into the principal's office. And this puffed-up authority figure starts coming down on you, reciting your so-called offenses... You hang your head and listen. You stay quiet. You certainly don't bark back, because of the CONSEQUENCES!

The principal has the power and you don't. You will ultimately be gone, but the school will remain. The institution is bigger than the individual. Therefore, you must heed its rules, however insane they might be.

But not Jimmy Kimmel.

The course of behavior was clear. Jimmy needed to do a bit of a mea culpa and then go completely off topic, steer clear of the controversy, but Kimmel LEANED IN!

My inbox is full of right wingers telling me Kimmel isn't funny and he and late night will soon be gone. That's completely missing the point, in a world where what is said today may not even be remembered tomorrow. The future has never appeared less locked down. The nation is in turmoil. You fight your battles today, because the war might be over by tomorrow.

So Jimmy comes on and says it was never about Charlie Kirk, says that no one should die for their beliefs. And then...

He lays into Trump and Carr. Hangs them with their own words, and then twists the knife.

Now wait just a second... This is America, you're just a cog in the system, you think you can change the world?

YES! That's the power of the individual, that's what the Democrats have been lacking, someone to stand up for their beliefs and damn the consequences.

So what are the consequences?

Disney ain't gonna fire Kimmel, not for quite a while, if ever...because the company is afraid that if they do none of the talent in Hollywood will want to work with them and they'll be SOL.

And the flame of hope has been lit under those who are unhappy with Trump and his policies, who believe they have no options.

Turns out they do. And it comes down to something very simple, money. As the Kinks say:

"Money talks and we're the living proof
There ain't no limit to what money can do
Money talks, money talks"

But it's about more than money. Kimmel has blazed a trail for others, who have been too fearful to reveal their beliefs. To quote Elton, he's still standing. Yes, you can take a position and still stand too.

Too many on the left have been overwhelmed by right wing blowback. It's not only corporations, but citizens. Everybody's on the rear foot, everybody's afraid. But if Jimmy Kimmel can not only survive, but push the envelope even further, so can they.

Will Nextstar and Sinclair come back?

Probably not before their merger issues are decided by the government. But after that?

The tide is turning. Trump says that ABC settled once before... But they were playing by Mafia rules, not legal rules, and Homey don't play that no more.

This is classic government overreach. And it looked like no one was going to stand up to Trump and then he and his minions pushed it too far, with Kimmel.

Never mind that unlike Mafioso they say what they're going to do, reveal their heinous policies, up front and personal, for all the world to see.

And it's one thing to be anti-vaccine, but quite another to blame autism on acetaminophen, a word which Trump found almost impossible to pronounce.

Have you seen the video? Trump's mispronunciation was all over TikTok and Instagram Reels. You couldn't avoid it.

And is there anybody who doesn't love Tylenol? The most benign of pain relievers? Take away my vaccine, but don't take away my Tylenol!

Which Trump never would have taken a stand on if he didn't feel a need to defend the unscientific policies of RFK, Jr.

Yes, yes, yes...there are Trumpers who seem to defend everything he does. But the dirty little secret here is for most it's not about Trump, it's about hating the libs, and it's hard to come to the defense of someone who is self-immolating.

And then there's the reach of Kimmel's words.

There were endless videos on TikTok long before the show even aired on the west coast.

As of this writing, the official ABC YouTube post has over 14 million views.

Jimmy Kimmel is not dumb. He knows the reach of the actual broadcast is de minimis, but he told me YEARS AGO that it was all about creating clips for social media. And in that world, he is triumphing.

So for eight months Trump believed he was inviolate. But now he knows that he is not. Sure, Trump has doubled-down on his hatred of Kimmel and the rest of the late night hosts, but they're still on. And following in Kimmel's slipstream, comedians are no longer going to be fearful of the consequences of doing anti-Trump material, it's not like YouTube is going to cancel them.

And the dirty little secret is a tiny number of people have had broad effects in media censorship, oftentimes just one or two letters or calls, far from millions. But Disney heard from the true silent majority, the ones who haven't dedicated their lives to petty scuffles on FOX, but have been living their lives until...

They were pushed one step too far.

So who is going to stop Trump?

Certainly not his cronies, certainly not Congress, they're all in.

Trump would rather shut down the government than listen to Democrats. Then again, he's suddenly done a 180 on Ukraine and Zelensky. Wasn't Putin Donald's honest friend?

I guess not.

So, Trump can pivot, the key is for those with a voice and the public not to be assuaged by these small changes, not to be satisfied. When you've got someone on the run, you keep them running.

I can debate with Republicans all day long about the welfare state, taxes, but when it comes to basic American rights...

There's only one rule of law.

If you don't start exercising your freedoms today, they will be gone tomorrow. You must make a stand before it's too late.

Just like Jimmy Kimmel.


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