This moment calls for personal courage

September 18, 2025

In a gut punch to the First Amendment, Disney/ABC capitulated to Trump's demand to suspend Jimmy Kimmel for violating the government’s censorship ban on liberals who dare to discuss the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

In a moment, I will discuss the cowardice, capitulation, and collaboration of Disney/ABC with Trump's right-wing, authoritarian agenda. First, let’s talk about us.

Readers of this newsletter were understandably outraged by the federal government threatening to pull the broadcast licenses of ABC affiliates if they continued to carry Jimmy Kimmel’s comedy show.

But there was a new tone in the emails that I had not seen before: Bewilderment.

Readers ask, “How can this be?”, “What next?”, and “Who’s next?”.

In a textbook violation of the First Amendment, the federal government punished the speech of a private citizen who offended the tender sensibilities of the FCC Commissioner and the president. Trump had previously vowed that his relentless critic, Jimmy Kimmel, would be “next” after comedian Stephen Colbert was forced off the air by CBS. On Wednesday, Trump kept his promise by wielding the licensing authority of the FCC as a cudgel.

If ABC had chosen to resist rather than capitulate, it would have prevailed immediately in court, securing injunctive relief against the FCC if it pulled the licenses of affiliates for running Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night comedy show. But Disney/ABC took the coward’s way out, following in the footsteps of CBS, major law firms, and universities.

Trump's increasingly authoritarian regime is stress-testing democracy. We are living through a moment that is cleaving American institutions, businesses, universities, political parties, and social and religious groups.¹ Some are rising to the challenge by refusing to capitulate. Others are exposing their true selves, like Disney/ABC, showing that they care nothing for the democracy that allows them to thrive.

Disney/ABC demonstrated on Wednesday that it has nothing but contempt for democracy, the rule of law, and free speech. Disney/ABC voted for greed and maximizing profits. There is only one metric that motivates Disney/ABC: Money. We should hold that lesson tight.

But what does this mean for us? Yes, we should demonstrate against the government's overreach and express our preferences in the consumer marketplace, where brands compete for our hard-earned dollars.

Together, we can shape the future. We cannot determine its outcome with precision, but we can “bend the arc” toward justice.

But there is one thing we can control: Ourselves. We can choose to be courageous. We can choose to be brave. We can choose to set an example for others who are understandably anxious and afraid.

We cannot “control” others. We can attempt to persuade, embarrass, and pressure. But not control.

We can control ourselves. In this fraught moment, that may be the most effective, courageous, and grounding act that we can take.

America is experiencing a harrowing of conscience, sorting the saved from the lost, the easily vanquished from those who will never surrender.

Choose to be brave. Choose to be a shining example for others. Choose to never surrender, no matter what.

If enough of us do so, we will hold the bulwarks of democracy long enough for this wave of cowardice to recede, as it always does.

Stay strong, and do not doubt that we will prevail—so long as we refuse to surrender!

Disney/ABC’s shameful silencing of Jimmy Kimmel

This article from The New York Times, accessible to all, provides the background facts: See NYTimes, ABC Pulls Jimmy Kimmel Off Air for Charlie Kirk Comments After F.C.C. Pressure. (ABC is owned by Walt Disney Co.)

On Tuesday evening, Kimmel said the following:

We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it.

Kimmel’s remarks echoed those of Utah Governor Spencer Cox, who said that the assassin was “one of us.” See Salt Lake Tribune, ‘It was one of us’ — Gov. Spencer Cox and fellow Utahns come to terms with a suspected assassin in their midst.

Governor Cox was not commenting on Tyler Robinson’s political beliefs, which rejected his father’s “die-hard” adherence to MAGA principles. Instead, Governor Cox was saying that Robinson came from a conservative, religiously devout community.

As I wrote yesterday, it is wrong to suggest that any “group” is collectively responsible for Robinson’s actions—including “liberals,” “leftists,” or “MAGA “die-hards.” Tyler Robinson is responsible for his reprehensible actions and, based on the evidence in the state’s press conference, Robinson does not appear to have been urged to take violent action by any group.

But the above detail is irrelevant to the president and the Chair of the FCC targeting a comedian because they disagreed with his speech. Assuming, arguendo, that Kimmel’s comments were wrong or objectionable, Trump and the FCC Chair took no action against a Fox “news” host who suggested that mentally ill homeless people should be euthanized. See MSNBC, Fox News host Brian Kilmeade's call to execute mentally ill people was a mask-off moment. Brian Kilmeade said of mentally ill homeless people, “[use] involuntary lethal injection, or something. Just kill 'em."

Kilmeade was given the opportunity to apologize and retract his statements—something that ABC/Disney did not allow Jimmy Kimmel to do. See CBS News, Fox News host Brian Kilmeade apologizes for saying mentally ill homeless people should be executed. (“I wrongly said they should get lethal injection. I apologize for that extremely callous remark.”)

Per the New York Times, the decision to suspend Kimmel was made by Bob Iger:

The decision to suspend “Jimmy Kimmel Live” was made by Robert A. Iger, Disney’s chief executive, and Dana Walden, the company’s television chief, according to two people with knowledge of the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a private process.

Although the news of the suspension is being reported as “ABC” suspending Jimmy Kimmel, in fact, Kimmel was suspended on the orders of the CEO of the Walt Disney Co., Bob Iger.

I have received or read about collective action against Disney and ABC, although nothing definitive to date. Disney is a brand that depends on the goodwill of its customers to impart value. Collaborating with government censorship is hardly a selling point for the family-friendly theme parks that generate nearly 40% of the revenue of The Walt Disney Co., ABC’s parent.

Perhaps Disney should change the motto for its theme parks to “The Happiest Place on Earth, Unless You Want to Say Something that Offends Trump, In Which Case You and Your Family Will Be Escorted Out of the Park!”

Stay tuned for more details on lawful actions to persuade Disney/ABC that taking the coward’s way out was a mistake.

Hearing on Robert Kennedy’s firing of Susan Monarez as CDC Director

On Wednesday, a Senate committee took testimony from Susan Monarez, the CDC Director fired by Robert Kennedy after only 29 days on the job. See The Guardian, RFK Jr’s anti-vaccine fight and US fear for public health: key moments from ousted CDC director’s testimony.

Monarez’s testimony generally served as an indictment of Robert Kennedy’s politically motivated, baseless, pseudo-science attack on vaccines. As explained in the Guardian article above, Monarez’s testimony raised five key points

Monarez testified that

• She was fired for not complying with RFK Jr’s vaccine agenda

• She raised flags about the impact of Kennedy’s vaccine agenda

• RFK Jr expressed disdain for CDC employees

• Politics is driving changes to vaccine recommendations

• Kennedy deemed her untrustworthy for expressing her concerns

In a key moment in the hearing, Senator Mark Mullin accused Monarez of lying about an exchange with Kennedy about her trustworthiness. Monarez testified that Kennedy said he no longer trusted her, to which Monarez responded, “Then fire me.”

But GOP Senator Mark Mullin claimed that an audio recording of the exchange proved that Monarez was lying. Mullin claimed the recording proved that Monarez said that she was not trustworthy.

Senator Mullin claimed that Monarez was lying, questioning her as follows:

It was a recorded meeting, so you can testify one way or you can prove that you’re lying or be honest with this committee. And I’m giving you the opportunity to be honest here, because you’ve been really walking around the edges and not being truthful.

High drama! Monarez stuck to her testimony, but should have said, “Lordy! I hope there are tapes,” because Mullin admitted after the hearing that there was no audio recording of the meeting! See PBS News, WATCH: Sen. Mullin cites recording as he accuses CDC leader of repeatedly lying, later walks it back.

In short, Senator Mullin was lying when he was accusing Susan Monarez of lying! Trump's attack dogs will stop at nothing to serve their master. And there are no consequences when Trump's minions are caught lying. Rather, Senator Mullin will be rewarded by Trump for willingly sacrificing his integrity to attack a Trump perceived enemy.

The fact that Senator Mullin was caught lying about Robert Kennedy Jr.’s actions a day before an influential vaccine panel is scheduled to release its latest recommendations is telling. See NYTimes, Questions Are Raised About Vaccine Panel’s Reliability as Policy Review Gets Underway.

Per the Times,

The chairman of the Senate Health Committee on Wednesday cast doubt on the trustworthiness of a federal advisory panel on vaccines, and major insurers said they would continue to cover routine shots even if the panel attempted to limit their use.

Both developments pointed to an accelerating distrust of what had been a widely respected scientific body, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices [ACIP], whose members recommend vaccination policy to the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Kennedy fired the experts on the ACIP panel and replaced them with unqualified partisans who were hand-picked to advance an anti-vaccine agenda. Indeed, as Senator Mullin was falsely accusing Susan Monarez of lying, one of Kennedy’s picks for the ACIP panel, Aaron Siri, falsely accused Monarez of lying (apparently based on the non-existent recording that Senator Mullin claimed existed.)

As the ACIP Committee releases its guidance later this week, its credibility has already taken a significant hit because of Susan Monarez’s testimony.

Opportunity for Reader Engagement

Check out this event in Southern California, flagged by a reader in South Bay, Los Angeles:

California Strong: Hold the Line in South Bay LA

It's being called a visibility event.

Saturday, Sept 27^th 10am to 12pm.

'We are drawing a line in the sand. Pro-Democracy groups across California are coming together to organize a human chain along the entire coast to protest Trump's increasingly aggressive attacks on our democracy. '

Line of protestors from Long Beach/San Pedro area to LAX on PCH. You can sign up through local Indivisible groups.

Concluding Thoughts

I know the news cycle feels like it is careening from crisis to crisis. It feels that way because it is.

You must be the source of constancy and calm in the storm.

This moment calls for personal courage from all of us.

Stay strong! Talk to you tomorrow!

Protest photos

Daily Dose of Perspective

The photo below was my first attempt at imaging the Western Veil Nebula. it was a weak effort. I captured below the “Pickering’s Triangle” portion of the Western Veil Nebula. And my image captured none of the delicate blues and greens that later images show. I look back on this relatively recent photo and realize how far I have come in little more than a year of astrophotography.

1. I used the transitive verb “cleave” as in to “split” or “tear apart.” Before anyone writes an email claiming that “to cleave” means to “adhere to,” I urge you to read the Merriam-Webster usage note on “cleave,” one of the rare “contranyms” in the English language. See Merriam-Webster, Cleaving Definition & Meaning.

The word “cleave” has opposite meanings depending on whether it is used as a transitive or intransitive verb. Despite identical spellings, “cleave” (transitive) and “cleave” (intransitive) have entirely different etymologies, originating from the Old English words clifian and clēofan, respectively.