Good morning! Jimmy Kimmel is joining Stephen Colbert in the club of censored comedians. ABC is following CBS’s trail of cowardice and compliance by giving in to MAGA demands. This is not surprising. In December 2024 Disney (the parent owner of ABC) agreed to donate $15 million to Trump’s future presidential foundation and museum as part of a settlement for Trump’s defamation lawsuit against ABC. Despite Disney CEO Bob Iger’s previous positions protecting diversity and LGTBQ rights, he is now bending to conservative demands to silence Trump’s self-professed enemies.

We can show our disgust at ABC’s decision to suspend Jimmy Kimmel’s show by filling out the email here.

We can also stop supporting Disney and ABC. Cancel your Disney channel subscription. Your kids will not suffer; instead, they’ll learn that muzzling free speech is our right. Stop watching ABC. Rent a movie; watch the PBS New Hour. Cancel your trip to Disneyland/world. Encourage your friends to go elsewhere. Ignore EPCOT; visit a real country. It will probably be cheaper and more enriching. Don’t buy Disney clothes/toys/stuffed animals. The holidays are coming—start researching other possibilities now. We must resist in any way we can. One less Mickey Mouse won’t make a dent, but one cancellation to Disneyworld a thousand times over will make an impression.

Be fierce, Betty

And now the music:

Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg composed “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” for the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. The song won an Academy Award for Best Original Song and became Judy Garland’s signature tune. Let’s look forward to the rainbows after these political storms have passed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oW2QZ7KuaxA&list=RDoW2QZ7KuaxA&start_radio=1