Trump's War on the First Amendment

[ceeboo]

It's a deal: PM sent.

Thanks! (I appreciate you letting me walk away from this)

[Res Ipsa]

We're 17 pages in and no one can quote Jimmy Kimmel's lie.

Ceeboo, I agree with you that the world is crazy right now. But part of that crazy is the FCC chairman doing his best impression of a mob boss (nice little network you have there...) to get a comedian that the president has publicly claimed should be taken off the air (will no one rid me of this troublesome comedian?) fired from his job. That's nuts! It's third-world banana republic stuff. One of the things Putin did as he consolidated power was to have a puppet show that used satire to criticize the government. Why? Because comedy can function as powerful political speech that can show people how absurd their leaders have become. George Carlin is one notable example, but there have been many, many others.

These are dangerous times. It's like we are all trapped in a gasoline soaked house, with opinion leaders and politicians flicking lit matches at each other. Our nation is having a collective nervous breakdown, and if we aren't all asking ourselves every day whether we are the crazy person, we're making a huge mistake.

So, why don't we take a sanity check. Let's strip off all the rhetoric. Did Jimmy Fallon lie? I would not expect you to make such a serious charge without factual basis. So, what did Jimmy Kimmel actually say? And why do you claim it is a lie? Right now, I tend to think that Jimmy Kimmel did not lie, but Meghan Kelly did. But I think I'm persuadable.

And I think starting a discussion here is critical because, if you and I can't even discuss whether a statement is true or false, then we're screwed as a country. And by "we're" I literally mean you and me. Because we're both one accusation away from having our lives destroyed or ended by a political regime that doesn't give a fig about either of us.

[Hound of Heaven]

We're 17 pages in and no one can quote Jimmy Kimmel's lie.

" We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it."

That was easy!

[Res Ipsa]

We're 17 pages in and no one can quote Jimmy Kimmel's lie.

" We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it."

That was easy!

Where is the lie?

[Hound of Heaven]

" We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it."

That was easy!

Where is the lie?

So it's your opinion the assassin was MAGA?

[Res Ipsa]

Where is the lie?

So it's your opinion the assassin was MAGA?

Of course not.

[canpakes]

" We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it."

That was easy!

Where is the lie?

He does not know.

[Hound of Heaven]

So it's your opinion the assassin was MAGA?

Of course not.

Then can you explain how you interpret the quote I posted?

[Res Ipsa]

Of course not.

Then can you explain how you interpret the quote I posted?

Sure. I can just read the words.

What is the subject of the sentence you quoted?

[ceeboo]

" We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it."

What was I doing over that weekend?

Honestly, it was a really tough weekend - It impacted me MUCH more than I would have guessed. I had many private discussions with my bride and my son who still lives at home. I spent some time on the phone with my daughter who lives out of state. When I had the chance (and nobody was paying attention to me) I sat alone, and thought, and thought, and thought. I am still thinking, and I am still mourning. I thought about my personal religious beliefs a lot, I thought about Charlie's wife and his two young kids a lot. I thought about the mom and dad of the assassin. I thought about the various reactions I was reading about and seeing. I thought about sadness. I thought about social media a lot. I thought about America a lot. I thought about not thinking. I vividly remember trying to step away from it all and watch a Netflix movie with my wife. I don't remember what movie it was or what it was about because my mind was far from said TV.

I do not remember desperately trying to characterize a kid, nor do I remember doing anything I could to score political points.