#NYTimes: "Mr. #Trump and administration officials have long championed #freespeech, but their actions — as well as their promises since Charlie Kirk’s killing — to guarantee it have been replaced by efforts to quash criticism."
When was it, exactly, that the Trump administration's actions were guaranteeing free speech?
"When you see me refusing to play along with the campaign to canonize Charlie Kirk or respect the emotional hysteria around his killing, this is the main reason why. His death is already being used to manufacture consent for sweeping acts of tyranny, and it was clear from day one that it would be.
The empire managers are always seeking excuses to suppress free speech, crush the left, and stomp out opposition to Zionism and the US war machine. They’ll use any chance they get to advance these goals, which are all ultimately about expanding power and control.
Many pre-existing agendas are being shoved forward by those in power, as always happens when emotions run hot over a traumatic event. I’ve said it many times before and I’ll surely say it many times again: it’s precisely when we are most tempted to abandon rationality and play along with the emotionality of the moment that we need to be thinking most clearly and critically."
@ponderingpolitics.bsky.social discusses MAJOR updates further exposing the Trump admin's sinister attack on #freespeech with their cancellation of #JimmyKimmel, even as Trump gloats AND #TheSinclairGroup makes unfair demands before they'll even BROADCAST his show again!
youtu.be/LqLCyDMAAT8?...
BOMBSHELL UPDATE on Trump's ...
"Tech titan and former White House adviser Elon Musk bought Twitter in 2022 in part because he complained it was throttling free speech. Kirk himself blasted the idea of “hate speech” that Bondi is now threatening to use to target some of his critics. And Trump, on his first day in office in January, signed an executive order titled 'Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship.'”
~ WaPo
#Trump #CharlieKirk #JimmyKimmel #FreeSpeech #fascism
/26
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/09/18/trump-free-speech-charlie-kirk/
"Jimmy Kimmel’s plight is a good way to make the consolidation and control of the media by oligarchs and Trump flunkies visible and meaningful to people who otherwise wouldn’t care. ...
Whatever else the Jimmy Kimmel suspension does, it provides that moment of awareness. It provides a wake-up call that we need to lay the foundation to bypass the oligarch-owned media."
~ Marcy Wheeler
#Trump #CharlieKirk #JimmyKimmel #FreeSpeech #fascism #media
/25
"The mainstream media is complicit in the biggest attack on free speech since the McCarthy era. Kimmel’s suspension is just the latest proof. ...
The political economy of the new authoritarianism is clear: In an increasingly plutocratic America, where a handful of corporations control most of the media, an authoritarian president such as Trump can easily destroy free speech."
~ Jeet Heer
#Trump #CharlieKirk #JimmyKimmel #FreeSpeech #fascism
/24
https://www.thenation.com/article/society/jimmy-kimmel-suspended-trump-charlie-kirk-free-speech/
I know what I will be watching tonight.
Jon Stewart is set to address ABC’s indefinite suspension of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on Thursday’s special episode of The Daily Show, breaking with his usual Monday-night host schedule. Stewart, known for his sharp media commentary, has already criticized corporate censorship before—slamming CBS parent company decisions to cancel Stephen Colbert’s show and warning networks that silencing bold voices erodes their value and relevance. With ABC pulling Kimmel after his pointed comments about Charlie Kirk’s alleged MAGA-linked killer and following FCC pressure, Stewart is expected to tackle the controversy head-on, defending free speech and scorning corporate capitulation. Tune in for what promises to be a fiery response. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/jon-stewart-daily-show-desk-jimmy-kimmel-1236375055/ #JonStewart #JimmyKimmel #ABC #freespeech #media #TheDailyShow #censorship #lateNightTV
#FCC chair threatens ABC affiliates’ broadcast licenses over #JimmyKimmel’s remarks — and the show vanishes “indefinitely.”
This is exactly what #AynRand warned about in “The Property Status of Airwaves” (first published April 1964, reprinted in _Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal_). When the state claims the spectrum and licenses it “in the public interest,” it holds a standing veto over #FreeSpeech.
Call it “regulation” if you like. The mechanism is #censorship by design.
Anna Gomez, the FCC’s lone Democratic commissioner, says the Commission’s threats against Disney over Jimmy Kimmel’s comments are “truly empty”—the agency lacks actual authority to take enforcement action in such cases. Speaking at Axios' Media Trends summit, Gomez argued the real goal of these threats is to pressure corporations into self-censorship to avoid regulatory trouble. She expressed disappointment that companies like Disney capitulate, warning that this erodes democracy and First Amendment rights. Gomez called such tactics part of a broader campaign of government censorship, where licensing authority is “weaponized” to silence critics, not because of illegal content but because it’s inconvenient for the administration in power. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/democratic-fcc-commissioner-threats-disney-kimmel-empty-1236375060/ #FCC #JimmyKimmel #Disney #FirstAmendment #freespeech #media #censorship
"In the week since Kirk was killed, we seen an astonishing restriction of free expression. We usually refer to it as a chilling effect. It is that, but so much more. The rules of the new game are being written. How far you can go, who gets to decide, who gets to enforce it, and who is exempt from enforcement entirely."
~ David Kurtz
#Trump #CharlieKirk #JimmyKimmel #FreeSpeech #fascism
/23
https://morningmemo.talkingpointsmemo.com/p/convinced-yet-that-no-one-is-safe
Disney’s Bob Iger and Dana Walden pulled “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” after mounting pressure from ABC station owners and public backlash over Kimmel’s on-air remarks linking Charlie Kirk’s killer to MAGA Republicans. Kimmel reportedly planned to defend his comments rather than issue an apology, worrying Disney execs that this would further inflame controversy. The situation escalated after FCC Chair Brendan Carr’s public criticism, leading to urgent calls from ABC affiliates expressing their concerns. Disney ultimately benched the show to contain the fallout—a decision made at the very top after direct talks with Kimmel. More: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/how-jimmy-kimmel-benched-by-disney-dana-walden-1236374959/ #JimmyKimmel #Disney #ABC #BobIger #CharlieKirk #media #freespeech #TVnews
Gift article #Trump Readies #Tax, #Criminal Crackdowns on #Liberal Groups After #Kirk Killing.https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-09-18/after-charlie-kirk-death-trump-s-planned-crackdown-on-liberals-remains-unclear #freespeech #civilliberties #law #politics #autocracy #FirstAmendment #constitution #maga #project2025 #russellvought #epsteinfiles #sextrafficking #girls #survivors #Crimes #criminals #Congress #maga #GhislaineMaxwell #media #journalism #autocracy #democracy
@dollemore.com talks about the many, MANY times Trump and his VP have assured the #American people that #freespeech was back in #America and government censorship was over.
Last night on #SeanHannity, he said he couldn't find a single conservative who wanted Kimmel gone...
youtu.be/EnXicO0FYfI?...
Sean Hannity CHALLENGED US TO ...
"The FCC Just Crossed a Line: Kimmel, Trump & Free Speech"
The FCC just crossed a line. ABC pulls Kimmel off the air following threats from FCC commissioner Brendan Carr. This is about silencing critics and threatening our First Amendment rights.
Posted on YouTube today, 18 Sep 2025, by Adam Kinzinger, former United States Representative and a member of the Republican party.
#Trump received thunderous applause during his 2nd inaugural address in January when he vowed to “immediately stop all government #censorship & bring back #FreeSpeech to America.”
It was in keeping with the popular free-speech refrain of his long march out of the political wilderness & his first-term broadsides against “#CancelCulture,” which he had called “the very definition of #totalitarianism.”
One late-night host silenced. Now another.
ABC pulled Jimmy Kimmel after his Charlie Kirk monologue. Shows are being yanked “indefinitely.”
This isn’t random, it’s escalation. Corporate media bending to MAGA outrage, turning comedy into a loyalty test.
Free speech is under attack. Mock their martyrs, lose your mic.
Barack #Obama Slams #JimmyKimmel Suspension:
“After years of complaining about #CancelCulture, the current administration has taken it to a new & dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against #media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters & commentators it doesn’t like,” Obama posted on Thursday, linking to a Vox article that calls the Kimmel suspension “Trump’s most brazen attack on #FreeSpeech yet.”
#law #FirstAmendment #Trump #tyranny
https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/barack-obama-trump-jimmy-kimmel-suspension-1236523291/
University of California students and faculty sue the #tRump administration. White House using civil rights laws to wage campaign against school system to undermine free speech, says suit.
#freespeech #autocracy #UniversityofCalifornia #academicfreedom #education #civilrighs
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/16/university-of-california-trump-administration
Welcome to the new McCarthyism, brought to you by the Republican AND Democratic parties.
Don't believe me? Who invented and pushed the concept of "hate speech", thereby putting a knife through the whole concept of free speech?
