SectionC3

The obvious difference is that the government didn't lean on twitter to get that result.

Assuming the point about CNN is true, was it $787m worth? Seems like a lot of lie there by Fox News. Or at least a very, very, very expensive lie. Denied. We don't strike witnesses. Only in banana republics does that happen.

Of course he has. Like all of linear television. Is the show still profitable? Is it still a good lead for a (likely highly profitable) morning show? Tale not told in those numbers. If that's the litmus test then Fox has a problem. So where is this integrity issue codified or enumerated in a rule? Let's get our finger on it. Floor is yours, counselor.

What does that mean? And, put your finger on the violation. There's no profanity or hate speech here. This isn't something that would get a license pulled in any iteration of a rational universe. Yet here we are.

It may be. I think the FCC comments did it in large part because the candle of the show (probably profitable, but not a huge profit driver like, say, MNF, Saturday Night Football, or 90s Seinfeld) wasn't worth the game of the FCC headache. And, FYI, this isn't directed at you, but at the person who cited the August numbers. It's friggin August. TV viewership is down across the board. They're also 18-49 numbers IIRC, which probably aren't the target demo of that show.

So the timing of the FCC involvement is just a coincidence? And when were those numbers released? Probably quite awhile ago. So the idea that this is *just* numbers driven is probably BS. I don't disagree that ABC might not have been so quick to pull the plug if this was 90s Seinfeld with 28 million viewers. But viewership is far from the only reason, and probably not even the catalyst, from what happened here.

You know who doesn't know it? You. You just spouted off without any basis for your assertion. And you don't know whether these attorneys actually reached the conclusion you assume they did. Take it from an actual attorney. Put your finger on this rule or rules that allegedly were violated, otherwise I don't want to hear about it. It's a different way of saying put up or shut up on the issue.

Which conditions, exactly?

What about the Antifa Air Force? We heard about that in 2020. Seems like this Trump administration really dropped the ball on Kirk if it knew this organization was so sophisticated to have an Air Force, but turned a blind eye to the organization when back in power. So, applying the tortured Trump logic about Antifa to the Kirk murder, Kirk’s blood is on Trump’s hands.

Sweet. How did the government lean on business interests there? Who did the FCC threaten under Obama, or Biden, or Clinton? Apparently the switch has flipped, eh? Government ownership of Intel all of a sudden isn't socialism, but . . . whatever it is that MAGA calls it these days.

Apparently America is great when we threaten license holders for exercising speech. Even assuming that he has been lying, so has Fox and Trump, to far more significant degrees. Why was the ABC broadcasting license threatened, but not that of Fox? And, is it acceptable to lie on cable news (no FCC license), or in an elected position, but not on broadcast television?

I thought about this last night. The difference between this issue and a different private sector firing is that the FCC stepped in and (to my knowledge) impliedly threatened the license(s) of ABC. I don't think what Kimmel said was in great taste, although I happen to think it to be arguably true. I am appalled by the government's intervention and thumb on the scale on this issue. It is completely wrong. If that's the trigger for cancellation, then the President should have been cancelled quite awhile ago. Yeah, he found out that MAGA is into using the government to cancel people.

Hoax. You responded.

How do you feel about Trump trying to silence critics using the FCC and about government ownership of Intel? Seems a bit … commie to me.

Sure. The kid comes from a MAGA family and grandma didn't know any Democrats in the family. Also, when asked about his grieving, Trump quickly changed the subject to his waste of money ballroom that nobody but him thinks is a good idea. There you go.

The thread title is inaccurate. Antifa, whatever that is, was designated as "A MAJOR TERRORIST ORGANIZATION," whatever that is. Not a minor terrorist organization. Not a terrorist organization. But "A MAJOR TERRORIST ORGANIZATION." This guy's marbles are long gone.

I didn't find it funny. But it's arguably true. The murder is being politicized by some (including Trump, from this vantage point), and it appears that the murderer was a child of MAGA parents.

It's amazing. I get the reaction to the abhorrent comments and glee over the murder made on social media. I don't begrudge private actors acting as they wish relative to those comments. ABC can to the same, I suppose. But, objectively, I don't think what Kimmel said merited ABC's overreaction. It was political commentary, and it's arguably true.

Nice dodge. Looks like you’re fine with that guy having his gun at work, but you want private employers to cancel people for using (hateful) word or expressing (obviously inappropriate and classless) thoughts. To be expected from you and your one way street perspective.

What about the MAGA security guard who had enough misguided rage in his heart to enter the Capitol on J6? Should he carry a gun at work? Are the “liberals” he protects safe from him?

You guys should focus less on transsurrections and more on J6.

So, it was acceptable for DJT to mock and laugh at an old man getting assaulted with a hammer?

This is exactly the point I'm making. The thought police appears to be in formation right now. I don't know if it's a good idea, and I have no dog in the fight in the private arena. But if the government is going to put its thumb on the scale, then . . . it shouldn't, and it should reconsider, but if it's gonna do it anyway, it's gotta go both ways.

Indeed. The question is whether "right wing" influencers, like Kirk, now have more time on task or impressions or whatever you'd like to call with metric than do college professors with college students.

Actually it's called inflation, and it's getting worse. As noted, grocery prices now are at their highest point in three years. Maybe if more actual cherries were picked we'd be in better shape here.