Readers write
Note: Readers submitted these letters before ABC’s decision to return late night comedian Jimmy Kimmel to the air after a suspension that lasted less than a week.
Trump threatens First Amendment rights
The recent news about the Federal Communications Commission chairman enforcing the anti-First Amendment edicts of Donald Trump should send chills down everyone’s spine, even his MAGA faithful.
Forcing ABC to suspend Jimmy Kimmel’s show because Kimmel spoke the truth about MAGA politicizing the death of Charlie Kirk is unconscionable. Now, Trump is threatening to take away the broadcast license of any media outlet that criticizes him. Threatening this action is right out of the dictator’s playbook.
If members of the Republican Party continue to silently watch the destruction of our democracy, then nothing will prevent Trump from canceling elections to stay in power. Is the end of our country as we know it? Is this what the Trump voters wanted?
MICHAEL HAREMSKI, DECATUR
Money shouldn’t dictate free speech
Wake up, America. First, cancel your trip to Disneyland. Second, cancel your streaming service to Hulu, Disney, and ESPN. Third, reduce your viewing of sports on ESPN, ABC, and CBS — after all, this is also about money.
If viewership is diminished, the value for sponsors is diminished. Then, the sports leagues, both college and professional, will receive less money in their TV deals. Ultimately, then, who is to blame? Money, money, money really dictates your First Amendment rights and is in control by the people.
Hold Trump responsible. In reality, he only knows about money and couldn’t care less about the Constitution. So, for Disney, ABC, ESPN, and CBS, the people may soon affect your bottom line.
PETER TRAGER, SANDY SPRINGS
Lawmakers need to make it easy to vote
I just celebrated my 87th birthday. As I look back over the years, I can recall my parents paying a poll tax to vote. They were very poor people. My father was a sharecropper, and my mother was a domestic worker. Yet, they knew how important it was to always cast their ballot.
During that era, some people of color were required to guess the number of beans in a jar to register to vote. A number of similar barriers were established to deny people this right. Today, lawmakers in Georgia are still attempting to pass laws that will make it difficult to cast a ballot. It is time for those who are in positions of power in our state to stop moving the goalpost. Every qualified citizen deserves the right to vote with as little difficulty as possible.
There is no virtue in being required to stand in a long line to vote. Voters should be allowed to receive a bottle of water while waiting in line. The dates for early voting should be expanded instead of minimized. Lawmakers should be doing everything possible to encourage all Georgians to vote. If we want Georgia to attract industry and good-paying jobs, we must ensure good governance for all of its citizens.
L. DOROTHY EDMOND, ATLANTA
