Kimmel suspension
I just finished rewatching Jimmy Kimmel’s broadcast on ABC for which he was suspended. Kimmel loves mocking President Trump, and Trump is eminently mockable. Kimmel is creative and funny (view the entire monologue, not just his remarks about the Kirk assassination).
His suspension raises troubling questions about our freedom of expression guaranteed by the First Amendment and about the actions of the FCC in admonishing Kimmel and ABC. The First Amendment is silent about the content of what’s being expressed. It doesn’t matter that someone disagrees or doesn’t like it. And the FCC licenses broadcast stations but does not control broadcast content. Moreover, some owners and distributors of Kimmel’s show were needing FCC approval for future business decisions. This suggests the possibility of undue influence and even extortion on the part of the FCC.
People are also reading…
I find it most ironic that hatred of government control drove so many to vote for Trump.
Dale Keyes
Northwest side
Dysfunctional Secretary of Health
Every time I read or hear the statements that come out of RFK Jr.’s mouth, I become physically ill. His total disregard of proven science is astonishing. The decisions and policies that he is putting in place are going to have such a negative impact on people of all ages. Paramedics and EMTs have far greater medical knowledge than he will ever possess. Unfortunately for me, there is no vaccine for my RFK syndrome. If there were, I probably wouldn’t be eligible to receive it. Now, senators in Congress who approved RFK Jr’s nomination are having second thoughts. They knew during nomination hearings that he wasn’t qualified, but they needed to follow the dictates of their master. Now we are all paying the price.
Fred DiNoto
Northwest side
The party of free speech
Our notoriously thin-skinned President got what he wanted, namely, Jimmy Kimmel being suspended. This follows the cancellation of Stephen Colbert. This is right out of the authoritarian playbook. Whatever happened to the Republican Party being the party of free speech? Nothing Kimmel or Colbert ever says is out of line or “fake news.” They simply have always told the truth about the awful things Trump is doing to our country, and they manage to do it with humor. Meanwhile, Brian Kilmeade, a co-host of “Fox & Friends,” called for the execution of homeless people. Where was the outrage over that? All of us need to keep speaking up against a would-be petty dictator. To stop means our freedoms will slip away one by one.
Mary Zimmerman
SaddleBrooke
Trump’s glare
My own toughness is questionable. However, in the 1960s, I served in a Marine Corps infantry platoon in Vietnam. The men I served with were tough. They served in dire circumstances. Yet, every time I visit Tucson’s Veterans Administration, I am faced with a large picture showing Donald Trump’s scowling visage. He is what we called phony tough. He is an inveterate bully pretending to be so.
David Byrne
Northwest side
All is not lost
My parents always taught that if we were willing to complain, nice things had to be acknowledged. In this age of extreme polarization and distrust, something restorative happened to us: My husband found a young woman waiting at his car when he finished shopping. The woman told him that she had hit his car, and she gave him all of her information. She said she would personally be responsible for the damage without contacting her insurance company. She urged him to get the car fixed and, I confess, we wondered if we’d ultimately be stuck with the bill. While the car was in for repairs, we received a phone call informing us that the cost was covered. We have no idea of her political ideology. We have no idea of her religion. What we do know is that she represents something we thought was lost in the U.S.: A sense of personal responsibility and honor. All is not lost.
Barbara Benjamin
Foothills
Suspension of Jimmy Kimmel
I would like to pass on a website for ABC feedback support for viewers who would like to make a stand for our First Amendment:
If we don’t stand up for something (in this case, our First Amendment rights), we will fall for anything. If I don’t want to watch a certain show, I use my remote to change the channel. That is where I exercise freedom; the government does not do it for me.
Paula Palotay
Marana
Democratic elites
The recent Ward 3 public meeting concerning the Star Village homeless site appeared to be a lecture from the Democratic elite about what they have already decided.
I want to remind us about the numbers 27 and 30. Only 27% of Americans respect the Democratic Party. On the recent Proposition 414, only 30% of the electorate voted yes.
Other Democrats are starting a new tactic. Joseph Kennedy III is walking from house to house, knocking on doors, and asking people what is important to them, their concerns, their needs and their wants.
Imagine.
Susie Morris
Midtown
The destruction of dissent continues
MSNBC has been under attack for years by Trump, due to its dissenting opinion. Then it spread to Stephen Colbert with his ouster. Next on the chopping block was Jimmy Kimmel, with his removal. These actions not only reflect fascism but also the mindset of the leader. Authoritarian leaders are known for their God-like self-image. With that comes the notion that they are perfect and that dissenting opinions are traitorous. Dissent of dear leader is seen as a personal attack on their grandiosity and superiority. Dissent can damage their narcissism, so it must be ended to protect their self-image. Attempting to ban dissent is not the action of a man trying to promote democracy, but of one trying to promote fascism. The Constitution allows dissent, but Trump seems to want his own Constitution, based on his grandiose self-image. If we extrapolate our current trend into the future, we will see darker days ahead.
Steve Rasmussen
Foothills
LTE bias?
Re: Sept. 14 LTE “Fair and balanced”. Our Loyal contributor sees a bias in Star editors, claiming 90% of letters favor Democrats. More accurately, 90% of letters favor facts and truth. As to the suggestion that Pima County conservatives “are illiterate, red-necked rubes, who are incapable of expressing a cogent opinion”: That’s his characterization, not mine, but I wouldn’t argue the point with him.
Gary Susko
Midtown
Thank you, Star, stars and astronomers
Thanks to the Star for headlining astronomical studies on your front page, most recently “New study sheds light on how black holes binge and purge.” You have a great headline writer as well!
There’s a local angle, given that the UA, Kitt Peak, and NOAO’s successor NSF-OIR are all involved, but it’s also cosmic. O’odham leaders decided to permit an astronomy installation on their sacred mountain after the “long eyes” (astronomers) showed them the heavens through a telescope. These elders teach us to value the long view.
A “You Are Here” postcard (Vision Works) features an arrow showing our tiny speck in the galaxy, itself one in billions of galaxies, adding that Earth is “the only one we are certain supports life.”
In fraught times, it helps to take such a long, really long, even cosmic, view. May it remind us to treasure our tiny place in the universe.
Ila Abernathy
Midtown
Riddle me this
Christian evangelist Charlie Kirk spoke on college campuses, proselytizing impressionable American youth into believing that, as a “Christian country, we should all live under the tenets of 2025-year-old Christianity.” The First Amendment guaranteed him this right. The Constitution stipulates that every “person” in this country has the right to free speech.
Unless you’re satirizing the king.
If you write articles or LTEs, state opinions or tell jokes, you risk alienating the omnipotent ruler. He’s now considering an executive order suggesting it would be illegal to make fun of him.
Colbert made him angry. He paid through extortion over “an FCC ruling.” Trump promised Jimmy Kimmel was next, freeing negotiations (and approval?) from his FCC over football TV rights. You’re all witnesses. He warned Meyers and Fallon to beware, lest he revoke NBC’s FCC license. Now he’s after David Muir.
These firings are all about satirical comments made under First Amendment rights, which Trump championed for Kirk, but not for the left.
Answer?
Sheldon Metz
Foothills
Free speech
Our First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech without government interference. FCC head Brendan Carr is pressuring media companies to fire certain left-leaning personalities at the behest of the thin-skinned authoritarian in the White House. CEOs must bend the knee to Trump or Carr has the power, among other things, to quash huge money-making business deals like the recent $8 billion merger between Paramount and Skydance. Prior to that merger, CBS paid Trump a settlement of $16 million after Trump accused “60 Minutes” of editing an interview with Kamala Harris.
Follow the money. Trump and Brendan Carr are reshaping our entertainment, news and information as they trample freedom of speech.
Karen Allison
Three Points
The fraudster’s friend
How is it possible that white-collar fraudsters like Trevor Milton, Devon Archer and Carlos Watson, who were convicted of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars, can get away with their crimes, facing no penalties, no prison time, no restitution to victims? It’s simple: just cozy up to President Trump.
Then the SEC will jump to attention and, although technically an independent commission run by a Trump appointee, what Trump wants, Trump gets. So the criminals, already pardoned and granted clemency by the President, do not face the usual penalties and consequences of an SEC enforcement action — they go scot-free. He pardoned these egregious criminals before they even started serving their criminal sentences or making any restitution payments. Trump simply jumps the line, completely ignoring Justice Department guidelines that offer similar treatment only to criminals who have already served time and paid restitution to their victims.
Yep. It’s nothing but the best for criminals and con artists ... from one of the best.
Melody Sears
North side
Protect it or lose it
Before you condemn something or someone based on the words of a politician, investigate. Simply because you’ve heard the words before doesn’t mean they have value or validity. Stop leaving the fight to others. The basic Constitutional rights you are losing matter. History matters. Science matters. Treating others with respect matters. Your lives matter, and you sell yourself short when you don’t stand up to those who would try to bamboozle you with half-truths and innuendo.
Cynthia Schiesel
East side
