Jimmy Kimmel is reinstated. After much bad news and many losses, finally, a victory for democracy.
Polls reveal that the majority of Americans think women should decide whether to carry a child to full term. Most of us want better health care. We want something done about climate change. We want to choose which books are available. We want sensible gun control. The list goes on.
Kimmel’s suspension from ABC was an affront to our freedom of speech. I think people were stunned that this could happen in our country, and they reacted accordingly.
Is it the start of a movement to take back our country, or at least making the majority of us heard? Generally it’s only the economy (thank you James Carville) but this would be nice, not to mention rejuvenating, for many (the majority) of us.
Scott Shampaner, Coral Springs
Eerie parallels to ‘1984’
Somehow, I thought one of the freedoms we enjoyed as Americans is to think as we like, and to express our opinions.
No one forces us to watch entertainers we don’t like — at least not yet. ABC’s temporary muzzling of Jimmy Kimmel made me feel we’re a few steps closer to George Orwell’s dystopian “1984.”
Is it only a matter of time before the administration compels us to participate in “The Two Minutes Hate” against anyone it deems an enemy?
Merri Rosenberg, Boca Raton
Mutating comedians
Jimmy Kimmel wasn’t taken off the air because of the actions of the FCC or President Trump. He was removed because two big owners of local ABC stations objected to him lying about the killer of Charlie Kirk being MAGA.
That was not a joke. It was a lie, transmitted through the publicly owned airwaves. Whatever you think of Trump and his over-the-top tweets, the fact is, Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert have mutated from comedians to full-time Democratic propagandists, to the detriment of their ratings, which makes them a liability in an industry where the bottom line is king.
Colbert was cancelled; Kimmel was suspended and is back on TV.
Osvaldo Valdes, Hollywood
The power of our voices
Make no mistake: The only ones who can save democracy from the clutches of tyranny are its citizens.
Big business and big media outlets like Disney, Paramount and others have shamefully folded, their profits and favored status more important.
They’re a vacuous, virtue-less lot of self-indulgent corporate elites with no allegiance to the country that enriched them. They scurry away like thieves in the night when patriotism beckons.
The same is true for universities, law firms and unscrupulous politicians and officials who capitulate to Trump’s endless assaults on the truth and his attempts to silence his critics with threats of retribution.
Never before have we seen such attacks on democracy and the truth. Nor have we seen the behemoths capitulate like feckless cowards while many citizen heroes speak up for truth, in defense of democracy. Make your voices heard.
“We the people” are a force more powerful than any government. We are what tyrants fear the most.
Steve Talercio, Hallandale Beach
I’ll keep it concealed
I’ve held a Florida concealed carry permit for more than 20 years. I routinely carry a handgun.
However, I think the open carry law is unnecessary as it provides no more security that concealed carry, and ill-advised as it can make others feel intimidated and uncomfortable for no reason other than to project one’s masculinity (you know what they say about that).
One person’s right to feel secure does not allow infringing on another’s right to feel likewise. One can argue that concealing a pistol is difficult in Florida’s hot, humid climate. This argument is reasonable, but I have no problem carrying under a guayabera shirt or loose tank top.
As a side note, open carry has long been permitted when actively engaged in licensed hunting or fishing.
Ray Kaufman, Boca Raton
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