Tag Archives: Jimmy Kimmel

entertainment news, national news, political news

Trump opens door to new breed of pundit

Donald J. Trump’s election as president of the United States has been a godsend to so many Americans. Those who support him think he’s the best thing to happen since pockets on shirts. Those who oppose him think, well, quite a bit differently. I’ll leave it at that.

I believe we all can agree that his election has opened doors to many new types of political pundits. My favorite new breed is the late-night comic.

Most of them are teeing off on the president nightly. They are giving him the what-for on any manner of issue. And, oh brother, he keeps proving so much grist.

As expected, though, the late-night comics’ incessant barrage has drawn criticism from those who believe that entertainers — such as these comics in particular — are “not qualified to comment on political matters.”

That brought, in my view,  a classic response from one of those comics. Jimmy Kimmel answered the other day that Trump’s election as president gives him all the credibility he needs to comment on his performance in office.

“I mean, we elected Donald Trump as president of the United States,” Kimmel answered recently with a healthy dose of faux astonishment. I guess I should mention that Trump is as qualified to be president than the comics are to comment on him.

Trump vowed to bring jobs back to this country as part of his “America first” plan and his strategy to “make America great again.”

Trump’s election has delivered an unintended benefit. He has delivered huge stashes of political humor ammunition to those who work in his former calling — in the entertainment industry.

entertainment news

Trump gives political ‘cred’ to entertainers of all stripes

I just heard a recorded interview with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in which the governor said late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel “is not a serious person.”

Why, I never …

Kimmel has become a point man for the effort to block the Senate Republican plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act and replace it with what critics call an abomination. Kimmel recently went on the air with heartbreaking news about his infant son being born with a heart defect. The funnyman then urged members of Congress and the president to ensure that all Americans can have affordable health insurance regardless of their income level.

He has established the “Kimmel Test” for health care overhaul.

But he’s just a celebrity, right?

Sure he is. However, he owes his newfound political credibility to the celebrity/entertainer in chief, the guy who’s now the president of the United States, Donald John Trump Sr.

Think of it for a moment or maybe two. Trump joined the 2016 presidential race with zero public service experience. He’d never run for public office. Then he ran for president. And won!

He gamed fame first as a big-ticket commercial real estate developer. Then as a beauty pageant owner and host. Then as a reality TV star.

Now he’s the head of state, head of government, commander in chief of the greatest nation on Earth. Along the way, this cult figure/politician has given credibility to any other such political novice who wants to enter the public service arena.

Kanye “Kim Kardashian’s Husband” West? Kid Rock? They’re considering running for president and the U.S. Senate, respectively.

Late-night TV host Stephen Colbert’s TV show’s monologue is devoted exclusively every night to commenting on Trump. Now we have Jimmy Kimmel become a spokesman for health care reform.

Donald Trump likes to take credit when he doesn’t deserve it. I’ll give him loads of credit, though, for paving the way for other entertainers who want to follow him from the world of glitz and glamor into public office.

medical news

Sen. Cassidy faces his critics

Bill Cassidy deserves a pat on the back.

The Republican U.S. senator went home to Louisiana this week and showed up at a town hall meeting in Baton Rouge. He got a rough welcome from his constituents.

Why the hurrah for Sen. Cassidy? Because he’s willing to talk to his constituents about something that’s on their minds: health care and the Senate’s plan to overhaul it.

Cassidy is on the fence regarding the Senate GOP’s plan to replace the Affordable Care Act. He famously said the Senate needed to approve a bill that passed the “Jimmy Kimmel test,” referring to the late-night comedian’s well-known tale of his newborn son’s birth and the health concerns he faced; Kimmel asked on national TV whether it’s right to deny people health care if they cannot afford insurance.

A lot of Sen. Cassidy’s Republican colleagues — both in the Senate and the House of Representatives — are not bothering to listen to voters’ concerns about the future of the ACA and whatever might replace it. I’m deeply disappointed to know that my own congressman, Mac Thornberry, also a Republican, has chosen to forgo any town hall meetings to discuss this issue with his constituents.

Bill Cassidy, though, has chosen to hear from his “bosses,” the people who pay his salary, who fund the government and who are most directly affected by the laws Congress enacts.

Good for him. Indeed, good for all our elected representatives who choose to listen to what their bosses expect from them.

entertainment news, medical news, national news, political news

Former congressional loudmouth pops off

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Joe Walsh once was known as a loudmouth politician from Illinois.

Now he’s just a former loudmouth pol, who has entered the discussion about health care reform in a most undignified and ironic manner.

Late-night TV comedian Jimmy Kimmel went on the air Monday night and revealed that his newborn son was born with a heart ailment. Nurses detected a problem with the baby, a renowned cardiac surgeon was summoned and he repaired the infant’s heart.

Kimmel gave a heartfelt and tearful testimony that saluted the medical staff at the hospital where little Billy was born — and argued on behalf of efforts to guarantee health insurance for all Americans.

Then came Joe Walsh, who tweeted, “Sorry Jimmy Kimmel: your sad story doesn’t obligate me or anybody else to pay for somebody else’s health care.”

Social media erupted with outrage at Walsh’s insensitive reaction. Walsh is a former Republican lawmaker who once popped off with remarks about Black Lives Matter and President Barack Obama that some folks had interpreted as a threat. Walsh, who’s now a TEA Party activist and a talk-radio host (imagine that), was defeated for re-election.

There’s more — of course.

Walsh also once was caught failing to pay child support for his own children; he reportedly owed about $117,000 in support payments.

Tsk, tsk, tsk …

For this clown to interject himself into a heartwarming story involving an entertainment personality and his family speaks pretty graphically about this individual’s profound lack of character and compassion.

The word “hypocrite” also comes to mind.

International news

The dentist didn’t ‘take’ a lion

Jimmy Kimmel’s soliloquy about the death of Cecil the Lion is actually quite moving.

He blasts the Minnesota dentist, Walter Palmer, for shooting the beloved beast in Zimbabwe. Palmer said he didn’t know he was hunting an animal of Cecil’s stature. The lion was known throughout southern Africa as a tourist attraction. He was 13 years old and was wearing a GPS tracking device in a collar round his neck.

Palmer’s guides used a dead animal to bait the lion. They dragged the bait across a stretch of land to lure Cecil out of the park where he lived — and where hunting is prohibited. Once they got Cecil to follow the bait into hunting territory, Palmer shot Cecil with a crossbow. Cecil didn’t die right away. Palmer and his guides had to track him down. They found Cecil, shot him with a gun, skinned him and took his head.

Jimmy Kimmel Gets Choked Up About Cecil the Lion

My favorite part, though, of Kimmel’s rant, dealt with Palmer’s statement, in which he said he didn’t know about Cecil’s status when he “took” the lion.

“You take an aspirin,” Kimmel said, wondering why Palmer didn’t say he simply “killed” the beloved beast.

This story is going to percolate for a while. As for Palmer, he’s in hiding. He’s shut down his dental practice.