May 21, 2026: a date that will live in infamy

[DFW]

I hear tonight is the last Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Censored by pressure and money rather than the outright strongarm tactics of some 20th century socialist government, but make no mistake: this is censorship all the same. This is a regime that took power by questionable means, and then perpetuates itself by means that are even more questionable. One overriding common theme among the figureheads of such regimes is they fear ridicule more than they fear electrocution.

Stephen Colbert’s nightly monologues proved to weapons whose potency was greater than all the enriched uranium in Iran. The Ayatollahs ruled a diverse nation of 90 million people on the other side of the world. Colbert was accessible to a nation of 350 million people, and that nation just happened to be “we, the people.” Not just on Trump’s doorstep, but a doorstep that stretched three thousand miles westward. I would even venture that Colbert ruled by popular consent far longer than Trump ever did—IF, indeed, he ever did.. No wonder the Republicans felt such a dire need to take Colbert down.

The Republicans love “assassination attempts” of questionable authenticity, even if their shelf life became ever-decreasing. But their number and their inefficiency didn’t survive the short attention span of a generation that has its collective nose stuck to a smart phone screen. Colbert not only kept the nation’s attention. He renewed his claim on it every night, and with thundering success. Sure, it’s not the same as ordering jets to bomb Kharg Island, but they weren’t going to bomb Kharg every night for eleven years straight, either.

What the Trumpanzees don’t understand is that Colbert and show weren’t their worst problem. Colbert was just a barometer accurately measuring to what extent they have one. They shot the messenger. The message lives on.

[Aussie105]

1. Watched that show a lot, seeing it was aired here in Australia.

Poking fun at an obviously malfunctioning regime gave me some jollies.

'Enjoy the insights as well as the ridicule and criticism Colbert generates, because it won't be there long' I thought.
'America will return to sanity soon' I thought.

Then the joke stuck around, and Colbert was funny no more.

Somewhere along the line the 'funny' became the 'painful'.

[DFW]

2. We never saw it here.

Some Germans would have gotten it, but not nearly enough to warrant a time slot.

It would have been like trying to run the series "Liebling Kreuzberg" in the States. It was one of the most brilliant (if not THE most brilliant) series ever shown in German TV. It was about a third tier (but successful) West Berlin lawyer, his lazy daughter, flawed but efficient two-woman staff, and his funny, very middle-class junior partner. He smoked cigars, and like to lay on the sofa in his office and eat green jello. He was portrayed by Manfred Krug, a funny, decidedly NOT pretty actor who had left East Germany, where he was already a successful actor.

If you hadn't spent years in Germany, even if you spoke fluent German, you wouldn't get the gags, much like someone who had never seen US media wouldn't get Colbert even if he spoke fluent English, but knew nothing about US politics.

[DFW]

3. By the way

Since I can’t see it here, I expect some great threads about the show, and maybe a link or two that does NOT self-block with the usual “not available in your country.”

[Justice matters.]

4. I use a secure VPN connection of a provider located in Europe

(outside the NSA jurisdiction...) to circle around these silly restrictions.

Lots of servers located inside the US borders (most big cities have one).