Mickey Mouse Clubbing

“The ‘suspending indefinitely’ of Jimmy Kimmel immediately after the Chairman of the FCC’s aggressive yet hollow threatening of the Disney Company is yet another example of out-of-control intimidation … Maybe the Constitution should have said, ‘Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, except in one’s political or financial self-interest.'” Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner Rips Disney Brass For Jimmy Kimmel Suspension.

+ Because of the choice made by the American voters last November, the brass at Disney didn’t have an easy or simple situation on their hands. But ceding ground only leads to more ground being demanded. Trump suggests FCC could revoke licenses of TV broadcasters that give him too much ‘bad publicity.’

+ Noted FOND (Friend of NextDraft) and creator of shows such as Lost, Watchmen, and and The Leftovers, Damon Lindelof pledged not to work with Disney until Jimmy Kimmel suspension is lifted. Is that alone going to be a difference maker for Disney? No. But public displays of courage and a willingness to take risks to defend what’s right makes a hell of a lot of difference to all of us fighting the good fight.

+ I got a lot of responses about my take on the Kimmel matter yesterday. “Donald Trump is a values clarifier. He’s a living, breathing reminder of which values you cherish and what you’re willing to stand up for. We’ve spent countless hours analyzing the character of Donald Trump. But that’s a settled issue. The real character being tested is ours. We’ve seen that character wilt in our halls of Congress, our institutions, our universities, and our corporate boardrooms, as a parade of rapid-fire knee-bending has heralded in a new era of American exceptionalism—one in which we prove that no country capitulates to authoritarian tendencies faster than us. We’ve been let down over and over. But Jimmy Kimmel didn’t let us down.” The Jimmy Kimmel Test.