Her schemes grow ever more twisted » « Jesse Jackson has died

The video corporate media doesn’t want you to see

This clip was yanked from the Late Show with Stephen Colbert because Trumpian sycophants did not care at all for James Talarico’s lefty message, criticism of the Christian Right, and opposition to the Republican scumbags of Texas. So I’m doing my small part to disseminate it further.

My opinion: he’s fine, but I’m sick of all the pandering to non-right-wing Christians. Maybe it’s too far for Texas, but I’d rather see a forthrightly secular candidate just dismiss all the imaginary saintliness of the Christian faith. It’s never been this idealized “love your neighbor” belief that they preach.

Her schemes grow ever more twisted » « Jesse Jackson has died

Comments

  2. robro says

    I would hesitate to say it’s never been the “love your neighbor” religion, but it’s never been a required position. Yet, I was thinking the last few days how much better the world would be if all religions just disappeared, evaporated into the thin air they emerged from. None of them are worth the pain they cause individuals or human society as a whole.

  3. John Morales says

    […] but I’d rather see a forthrightly secular candidate just dismiss all the imaginary saintliness of the Christian faith.

    Alas, Christians are a rather large demographic group.
    Politicians need to get elected to do any legislating.
    Not appeasing them is not a good electoral strategy.

    Those 3 considerations explain the lack of saintliness dismissal.

    (Another reason I could never ever have been a polly)

  4. lanir says

    I appreciated the way Colbert explained why he wasn’t including the segment in the broadcast. Sometimes it’s better to spell it all out for people instead of just saying “It’s because of corruption.”

    @robro: You reminded me of when I first came across John Lennon’s song Imagine. I was a young child surrounded by religion and its PR messaging. Listening to the song’s lyrics, their suggestions sounded counterproductive. And then they had the intended effect and I thought about it.

  5. John Morales says

    [OT]

    lanir, re ‘John Lennon’s song Imagine’, I think Roxy Music’s More Than This is a nice atheistic anthem.

  6. larpar says

    If CBS had allowed this to air, I probably would not have seen it. Since they decided to be censorious assholes, I saw it. Good job CBS.

  7. StevoR says

    @ ^ The Streisland effect strikes again – justa sit did with Kimmel.

    Also the interview itself linked here was pretty innocuous, very Christian-y and bland and I wouldn’t have paid it much attention myself and didn’t know really anything much about Talarico till they tried to stop his Colbert interview after which I looked him up on wikipedia and now a) know about him, b) respect him and c) kinda support him and will encourage others to do so as well.

    Also @lanir (17th February 2026 at 7:37 pm) absolutely agree – last night’s Colbert intro here – Why CBS Didn’t Broadcast Stephen Colbert’s Interview With James Talarico (9 mins long) – was superluminously brilliantly well done.

  9. John Morales says

    @ ^ The Streisland effect strikes again – justa sit did with Kimmel.

    Only sorta. Not canonically.

    Yes, there was a censorship attempt, but then the virality wasn’t accidental. Colbert deliberately told his audience on air that CBS blocked the interview, explicitly calling out the censorship, then it was officially released on YouTube and social channels, not leaked or discovered.

    So, unlike the classic case where attention arises despite the subject’s wishes, here Colbert intentionally weaponised the censorship by announcing it, ensuring maximum visibility.

    cf. https://time.com/7305512/stephen-colbert-post-cancellation-monologues/

    “Over the weekend it sunk in that they’re killing off our show,” Stephen Colbert reflected at the top of The Late Show on Monday, following a tempest of outrage over CBS’s suspiciously timed cancellation of the program that had only gained strength over the weekend. “But they made one mistake: They left me alive!” The audience responded with chants of “Stephen! Stephen!”—which, in retrospect, was the first clue that the host’s taunt was not entirely a joke.

  10. Akira MacKenzie says

    … but I’m sick of all the pandering to non-right-wing Christians.

    THANK YOU!

    I’ve grown sick and tired of this “not really Christian” bullshit I hear from the libs. Have these people ever cracked open a goddamn history book? Do they think Bible-humpers and faith-based bigots just appeared out of nowhere in the 70s? Misogyny, homophobia, authoritarianism, and anti-intellectualism have been Christian dogma since it gained power. Stop pretending it didn’t happened!

  11. StevoR says

    @9. John Morales : Yeah, I mean the people trying to suppress the Colbert Talarico interview are the FCC NOT Colbert so its the FCC that its gunna Streisland (if we’re making that a verb can we?) upon..

  12. John Morales says

    StevoR, I do tend to be a bit pedantic.
    Notice the video in the OP was published in The Late Show official channel?

    FWIW: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cze0dk3yd5eo (my emphasis)

    Late-night host Stephen Colbert has accused his network of refusing to broadcast his interview with a Democratic politician over fears of retaliation by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

    CBS, the network which hosts the programme, denies that it “prohibited” the interview from being aired, saying it gave only “legal guidance”.

    On his Monday night show, Colbert said that CBS wouldn’t show his interview with Texas lawmaker James Talarico out of concerns of a response from the FCC, which has new guidance on equal airtime for political candidates.

    “We were told in no uncertain terms by our network’s lawyers, who called us directly, that we could not have him on the broadcast,” he said.

    “Then, then I was told in some uncertain terms that not only could I not have him on, I could not mention me not having him on. And because my network clearly doesn’t want us to talk about this, let’s talk about this.”

    Colbert, host of The Late Show, went on to explain that new FCC guidance on the “equal time” rule – which requires TV and radio broadcasters to give equal time to rival political candidates – could have created legal trouble for the network, according to CBS lawyers.

    The FCC regulates radio, TV and satellite airwaves, giving it power over a range of matters, including mergers and decency complaints.

    CBS flatly denied Colbert’s claims in a statement on Tuesday.

    “The Late Show was not prohibited by CBS from broadcasting the interview with Rep James Talarico,” the network said.

    The statement added: “The show was provided legal guidance that the broadcast could trigger the FCC equal-time rule for two other candidates… and presented options for how the equal time for other candidates could be fulfilled.

    “The Late Show decided to present the interview through its YouTube channel with on-air promotion on the broadcast rather than potentially providing the equal-time options.”

    The full interview was later posted on YouTube, where FCC rules don’t apply.

    News content has traditionally been exempted from the “equal time” rule.

    But the FCC has said the rule may soon apply to late-night programmes, like Colbert’s. It may also apply to political radio programmes, which tend to skew Republican.

  14. francesconic says

    One of the motivations of religions is the taking and holding of power. Of course religions will instruct their adherents to vote only for people with shared religious backgrounds. It’s a successful strategy , US politicians claim to be religious far more than the US public.

  15. Hemidactylus says

    @12 “I do tend to be a bit pedantic.”

    John, recognizing the problem is often the first step to recovery.

  16. birgerjohansson says

    Stuff like this is why I start the day by looking for new videos from Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel or Seth Meyers.

    They present the bad news along with the good news, but even the bad news are funny when you expose the ham-fisted ass-covering or crude hypocrisy.

  17. flange says

    I’m generally against equating someone’s appearance with their character. But influential hyper-Christians frequently share a similar appearance: White, male, youngish, baby-faced, dark business suits, good hair. Examples:
    • Mike Johnson, Speaker of the House
    • Charlie Kirk (deceased)
    • James Tallerico
    • Stephen Colbert (sorry)
    • David Duke (when younger)
    • Kenneth Copeland (when younger)
    • Joel Osteen
    • Mike Pence (when younger)
    • Ralph Reed

  19. drivenb4u says

    #1 Maybe she is but Crockett CANNOT win the general. Not in Texas. Not yet. We’re going to have to with the conspicuously Christian white guy. I don’t like baby steps approach either but that’s how it is.

  20. eastexsteve says

    I was supporting Talerico before Crockett entered the race, now that she has I’m still supporting Talerico. I think he has a better chance of winning in Texas than she does; but the dem’s don’t win statewide elections very often here, zero in this century so far. Still, I vote.

  21. John Morales says

    Hemidactylus @12, “John, recognizing the problem is often the first step to recovery.”

    I know. So… do you recognise your problem with my exactitude? :)

  22. Owlmirror says

    I’d rather see a forthrightly secular candidate just dismiss all the imaginary saintliness of the Christian faith

    PZ, when you wrote about Jesse Jackson’s death, you left an honorific off. He was the Reverend Jesse Jackson. Just as Martin Luther King, Jr was also a Reverend.

    Like it or not, most if not all of the “loud, assertive, aggressive activists who aren’t afraid to speak their mind” about civil rights and government violations of civil rights have come out of churches.

    Recently, Ursula Vernon posted:

    Okay, since I’m in a mood, do you know what is annoying mild *annoyance* about all this, rather than a gut-wrenching crisis?

    I’m not a Christian but my sense of fairness keeps requiring me to defend the church because people keep posting shit about “Why aren’t Christians speaking up?!”

    My Catholicism is so lapsed that the Vatican has a photo of me behind the counter saying “Do not accept prayers from this woman.”

    Nevertheless, a lot of churches of many different denominations are doing a lot of genuinely good things!

    . . . and then has a thread with multiple links of clergy putting themselves out there against I.C.E, including sometimes putting themselves in harm’s way.

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