Greetings: Dept. of No Surprises: Trump called the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel “Great News for America.”  Except he called the suspension a cancellation in last night’s Truth Social post. Sloppiness on Trump’s part or wishful thinking? He also slammed NBC’s late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon and Seth Myers as “total losers,” urging their network bosses  to “do it” to them too.....What happens to Bill Maher now?  Mr. Politically Incorrect might have had a friendly White House  dinner with The Donald and Kid Rock last spring, still that doesn’t mean he’s immune from getting kicked to the curb by his corporate masters.  Will the self-proclaimed fearless Maher defend his fellow late night denizen Kimmel?  His “Real Time” airs on HBO Max tomorrow night.  Worth noting: the streamer’s parent is Warner Bros. Discovery, target of a potential Paramount Skydance takeover. Paramount Skydance is controlled by David Ellison, son of the richest man in the world, Larry Ellison. This gazillionaire father/son team is cozy with Trump. Ellison, the elder, is close to owning TikTok, a deal that has the blessings of the MAGA-in-Chief. Maher would be cancelled in a  New York minute if he was seen as an impediment to the Ellison’s building their media empire. It’s worth remembering that the jettisoning of “Late Night with Stephen Colbert” was collateral damage during the Skydance/Paramount merger earlier this year...Can’t help but wonder about “Saturday Night Live.” The late night fixture, a perpetual needler of politicians, left and right, for more than half a century, has its season premier October 4. Will SNL’s anti-administration tone be muted?.... Dept. of Corrections: Yesterday I erroneously called ChatGPT ChatCBT.  It’s not wise to anger the AI gods....If you keep reading, I’ll keep Righting. Howard

Greetings! Movie of the day: The King and I, (the gramatically challenged Donald Trump probably calls it  “The King and Me”)...The MAGA-in-Chief has been non-stop bragging about his nonsensical $15 billion defamation lawsuit against the NY Times.  Late last night Trump posted on Truth Social that he’s “getting amazing feedback on my Lawsuit against The New York Times. The predominant feeling and sentiment is, “IT’S ABOUT TIME!”... Smart headline: “Are Conservatives Doing the Canceling Now?” (The Free Press)...Dumb Headline: “Hitler Never Killed Anybody” (Townhall)...Robert Redford, who passed away yesterday, was the embodiment of the All-American movie star.  Here are my three favorite Redford films where his understated onscreen power is in full view: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting, and All the President’s Men. Hollywood in Toto argues that Redford’s overt masculinity mattered and that it’s often missing in today’s movies. Worth noting: While American Spectator mourns the death of Redford, the outlet has no sympathy for his politics. “He was also a left-wing activist who too often put his activism into his work, which is almost never a good thing,” wrote the Spectator’s Bruce Bawer. “When politics weren’t involved, Redford was pretty savvy about picking projects.” I disagree with Bawer, but I defend his right to say it...Dept. of Very Bad News:  The new tome  If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies by Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares posits an AI  doomsday scenario. The authors, public interest advocates in the technology field, maintain that if superhuman AI continues on its current profit-fueled trajectory, it could  be the death of us all. I wonder if ChatGBT agrees with that nightmare thesis...Happy birthday to TheRighting.  We launched exactly eight years ago....If you keep reading, I’ll keep Righting.  Howard