It appears that slowly but surely the NDAA equivalent for the less than compliant on air mainstream media is picking up steam. First it was Napolitano's Freedom Watch getting cancelled by Fox (ostensibly for his endorsement of Ron Paul but who knows) some days ago [5], and now Politico reports [6]that that political uber-lampoon Stephen Colbert has been also temporarily "suspended". From Politico [6]: "The late-night comedy program hosted by Stephen Colbert will suspend production for at least two days this week, POLITICO has confirmed. The Colbert Report, the home of relentless parodying of super PACs and the campaign finance system, will not air original episodes on Wednesday or Thursday. "Due to unforeseen circumstances, the show will air repeat episodes on Wednesday, February 15 and Thursday, February 16,” Comedy Central Senior VP for Communications Steve Albani told POLITICO. Albani would not comment on the specific reasons for the suspension. It is expected that the suspension of original production will not be indefinite, and that the show will return soon." We can only hope that the ringing endorsement of freedom of speech by CC owner Viacom was not a major reason of the "uncommented" reasons for the suspension. Or lack thereof as the case may be in the US these days.
Below is a defining clip from the now cancelled Freedom Watch.
Incidentally, here is the letter that Andrew Napolitano sent to his fans post cancellation:
Dear Friends--
Many of you are not happy with the cancellation of FreedomWatch, and you have sent emails to my Fox colleagues expressing that unhappiness. In television, shows are cancelled all the time. Two of my former shows have been cancelled, and after each cancellation, Fox has rewarded me with more and better work. This cancellation--along with others that accompanied it--was the result of a business judgment here, and is completely unrelated to the FreedomWatch message. It would make a world of a difference for all of us, if you would KINDLY STOP SENDING EMAILS TO FOX.
I am well. Your values are strong. I will continue to articulate those values here at Fox. But the emails many of you are sending are unfairly interfering with my work and that of my colleagues here. The emails even violate our values because they interfere with the use of private property. I have accepted the cancellation decision with good cheer and a sense of gearing up for the future. You should as well.
As a favor to me, and as I have asked this past weekend, PLEASE STOP SENDING EMAILS TO MY COLLEAGUES AT FOX ABOUT THE CANCELLATION OF FreedomWatch; and please stop NOW.
All the best, apn.