Colbert still has a few months on his contract, right? It wasn’t my impression that he was pulling any punches on the Trump regime before his show was cancelled, but now look for him to go after the oligarchs even harder. Colbert isn’t going away.
Great piece. Interestingly, what you're describing has many echoes with Interwar Italy and Germany. Fascism definitionally employs corporatism as its monetary system. The plutocracy in a capitalist society tends to love the unchecked power fascism uses to crush their opponents, whether they be business rivals, labor unions or ideological foes wanting to abandon capitalism. And, the plutocrats (oligarchs who amass power through their wealth) usually think their great wealth was derived by their own brilliance, brilliance that will allow them to control Dear Leader, who is invariably a jack ass.
Historically, they never manage to control the jack ass in no small part because they themselves aren't brilliant at all, rather, they are merely vicious, delusional and often have wealth due to circumstances beyond their control. The other reason they have never controlled Dear Leader is obvious: a corporation is always a part of something whereas Dear Leader controls a bundle of sticks (the literal translation of the word fascism), a bundle of somethings. Importantly, those somethings include military, police and 'parallel' police forces (think Brownshirts, Blackshirts and *ahem* ICE *cough cough*).
It’s even more tragic to think that Paramount is more than willing to pay to play, not only to pave the way for their merger but for their shared ideology. When we (if we) get to balance the scales again the righting of democracy will be extremely difficult.
That's why we have to START by Punishing the Billionaires, like Iceland and Finland did! I would LOVE to see Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel and The Artist Formerly Known as "Trump Nazi Elmo" behind bars for their betrayal of the public trust—though I'd probably have to settle for all of them declaring their yachts as "sovereign nations" ...which will be hilarious when they try to negotiate for fuel and supplies in Developing World Dictatorships....
YouTuber Adam Something repeatedly mocks "Smooth-Brained" dictators and oligarchs and their attempts to rebuild society in their own privileged image, like here where he talks about Peter Thiel's bright idea of tax-free "Seapods":
I had not thought of it that way until I read the article, but yes, Parmount recognizing "shared ideology" with Trump makes sense. That is why there will be no Late Show after Colbert's contract expires in May. It is not just Colbert they want to silence (and they won't succeed) but any future satirical commentator. Colbert alluded to that when he commented that it made him sad that no one would be doing the show after May.
The clear-eyed people among us who try to tell us that capitalism is our real enemy should be listened to. FDR saw the problem and tried to regulate capitalism in order to curb its worst excesses but he didn't go far enough. Could he have seen 2025 America and its people being steadily reduced to an angry but powerless peasantry, I have no doubt he would have instituted tax and antitrust systems that would not have allowed such large accumulations of wealth to accumulate.
But he didn't, nor did his successors and here we are, in a gladiator pit of sorts while up above in the audience billionaires and their minions like Trump, Loomer, Miller, Bondi, Vought, Rubio and Vance look down on us and gloat as we fight among ourselves as to what to do. Our powerlessness is their amusement.
Colbert was one of us, someone who had a rostrum to express our displeasure and rejection of the new order. He is being silenced.as one by one all of our public voices will be, We will lack the means to stop this censorship nor escape the pit until we realize our true strength.
Thx for tying it all together with the Ellison link, this all makes infinitely more sense now. A Skydance led CBS will effectively become Fox lite, fascism with a smile. Between Colbert and 60 Minutes we're already seeing the first blossoming of it.
"Last Friday, CBS announced the The Late Show will be cancelled when host Stephen Colbert’s contract expires next May." "Next May" stands out. FIRED usually implies being led out the door by security. "You are FIRED. Next May. Gather your things and leave..." Comedy writes itself.
Why did this need to be announced after Colbert's monologue about CBS-Paramount bowing to Trump with a $16M settlement? Unsurreptitiously, a SkyDance deal approval. May 2026. Plenty of time for Trump posting stupid statements like "Why is Colbert still on my TV? I was told he was fired!?"
I think your analysis is the most plausible. I don't feel the need to screech about the end of The Late Show. It probably was exactly as described, a business decision. These huge entities don't exist to provide entertainment. They exist to make money. And keep their money.
Why would we expect otherwise. That's how our capitalist system works.
Capitalism has nothing to do with what society values.
One media billionaire who's not about to bend the knee is Michael Bloomberg. His eponymous news site is hardly The Nation -- not a surprise for something that's aimed at businesspeople and investors -- but its editorial stance is generally admirable, and they frequently do hard-hitting in-depth pieces that are original and reflect a standard of journalistic skill and care that has become alarmingly rare. I certainly don't agree with everything they say, but I give them credit, especially in the current environment, for saying what they sincerely believe regardless of the consequences.
Free speech IS money now, thanks to John Roberts. See Crypto, ICE, etc. The first amendment will be actively used to suppress dissent and perceived enemies.
Colbert still has a few months on his contract, right? It wasn’t my impression that he was pulling any punches on the Trump regime before his show was cancelled, but now look for him to go after the oligarchs even harder. Colbert isn’t going away.
Great piece. Interestingly, what you're describing has many echoes with Interwar Italy and Germany. Fascism definitionally employs corporatism as its monetary system. The plutocracy in a capitalist society tends to love the unchecked power fascism uses to crush their opponents, whether they be business rivals, labor unions or ideological foes wanting to abandon capitalism. And, the plutocrats (oligarchs who amass power through their wealth) usually think their great wealth was derived by their own brilliance, brilliance that will allow them to control Dear Leader, who is invariably a jack ass.
Historically, they never manage to control the jack ass in no small part because they themselves aren't brilliant at all, rather, they are merely vicious, delusional and often have wealth due to circumstances beyond their control. The other reason they have never controlled Dear Leader is obvious: a corporation is always a part of something whereas Dear Leader controls a bundle of sticks (the literal translation of the word fascism), a bundle of somethings. Importantly, those somethings include military, police and 'parallel' police forces (think Brownshirts, Blackshirts and *ahem* ICE *cough cough*).
Great comment!🎯
It’s even more tragic to think that Paramount is more than willing to pay to play, not only to pave the way for their merger but for their shared ideology. When we (if we) get to balance the scales again the righting of democracy will be extremely difficult.
That's why we have to START by Punishing the Billionaires, like Iceland and Finland did! I would LOVE to see Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel and The Artist Formerly Known as "Trump Nazi Elmo" behind bars for their betrayal of the public trust—though I'd probably have to settle for all of them declaring their yachts as "sovereign nations" ...which will be hilarious when they try to negotiate for fuel and supplies in Developing World Dictatorships....
YouTuber Adam Something repeatedly mocks "Smooth-Brained" dictators and oligarchs and their attempts to rebuild society in their own privileged image, like here where he talks about Peter Thiel's bright idea of tax-free "Seapods":
https://youtu.be/5V_FM0mLC0c?si=thI19afsheB91YSZ
Or this "Terayacht" where oligarchs can live on a yacht in luxury and NO TAXES!:
https://youtu.be/6E_FwOz_RtM?si=7n46MfaqvKMf4rt1
Or here, where some cryptobros actually TRIED living on a yacht free from Your Rules and Taxes, Man!:
https://youtu.be/dv4H4trnssc?si=V1m4ZnVTggqNvVYl
I had not thought of it that way until I read the article, but yes, Parmount recognizing "shared ideology" with Trump makes sense. That is why there will be no Late Show after Colbert's contract expires in May. It is not just Colbert they want to silence (and they won't succeed) but any future satirical commentator. Colbert alluded to that when he commented that it made him sad that no one would be doing the show after May.
Finally someone not scared to say nice (true) things about Biden and his administration.
Apparently only Donald Trump is allowed to laugh at people … starting with the disabled.
The clear-eyed people among us who try to tell us that capitalism is our real enemy should be listened to. FDR saw the problem and tried to regulate capitalism in order to curb its worst excesses but he didn't go far enough. Could he have seen 2025 America and its people being steadily reduced to an angry but powerless peasantry, I have no doubt he would have instituted tax and antitrust systems that would not have allowed such large accumulations of wealth to accumulate.
But he didn't, nor did his successors and here we are, in a gladiator pit of sorts while up above in the audience billionaires and their minions like Trump, Loomer, Miller, Bondi, Vought, Rubio and Vance look down on us and gloat as we fight among ourselves as to what to do. Our powerlessness is their amusement.
Colbert was one of us, someone who had a rostrum to express our displeasure and rejection of the new order. He is being silenced.as one by one all of our public voices will be, We will lack the means to stop this censorship nor escape the pit until we realize our true strength.
I don’t think Colbert will be silenced, even though cowardly CBS is kicking him off their platform. The network will be the loser in the end.
Totally agree
Thx for tying it all together with the Ellison link, this all makes infinitely more sense now. A Skydance led CBS will effectively become Fox lite, fascism with a smile. Between Colbert and 60 Minutes we're already seeing the first blossoming of it.
"Last Friday, CBS announced the The Late Show will be cancelled when host Stephen Colbert’s contract expires next May." "Next May" stands out. FIRED usually implies being led out the door by security. "You are FIRED. Next May. Gather your things and leave..." Comedy writes itself.
Why did this need to be announced after Colbert's monologue about CBS-Paramount bowing to Trump with a $16M settlement? Unsurreptitiously, a SkyDance deal approval. May 2026. Plenty of time for Trump posting stupid statements like "Why is Colbert still on my TV? I was told he was fired!?"
I think your analysis is the most plausible. I don't feel the need to screech about the end of The Late Show. It probably was exactly as described, a business decision. These huge entities don't exist to provide entertainment. They exist to make money. And keep their money.
Why would we expect otherwise. That's how our capitalist system works.
Capitalism has nothing to do with what society values.
I am protesting and creating signage. I am getting burnt out on polls. I get a lift from them occasionally, but think them meaningless in the end result. We need meat behind our platform. https://hotbuttons.substack.com/p/lot-of-polls-no-platform?r=3m1bs
One media billionaire who's not about to bend the knee is Michael Bloomberg. His eponymous news site is hardly The Nation -- not a surprise for something that's aimed at businesspeople and investors -- but its editorial stance is generally admirable, and they frequently do hard-hitting in-depth pieces that are original and reflect a standard of journalistic skill and care that has become alarmingly rare. I certainly don't agree with everything they say, but I give them credit, especially in the current environment, for saying what they sincerely believe regardless of the consequences.
Free speech IS money now, thanks to John Roberts. See Crypto, ICE, etc. The first amendment will be actively used to suppress dissent and perceived enemies.