By Tom Arms | London 

MAGA and President Trump promised revenge for the assassination of Charlie Kirk and it has already started.

Late night comedian Jimmy Kimmel has followed Stephen Colbert into the laughter wilderness after being “suspended indefinitely” by ABC hours following a comment from Brendan Carr, chairman of the broadcasting regulator agency the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that the commission would take action against the network for Kimmel’s comments.

Kimmel made the mistake of criticizing MAGA and the president for blaming left-wing radicals for the assassination of Kirk when, said Kimmel, it was more likely to have been a right-wing terrorist.

ABC refused to say that the “indefinite suspension” was related to Kimmel’s comments, but the juxtaposition of events is undeniable.

After the sacking, Carr said that Mr. Kimmel’s remarks were part of a “concerted effort to lie to the American people, “and that the FCC was “going to have remedies that we can look at.”

“Frankly, when you see stuff like this — I mean, we can do this the easy way or the hard way,” He added: “These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly…or there’s going to be additional work for the F.C.C. ahead.”

Trump simply said of Kimmel’s departure: “Great News for America” and called for the dismissal of two more late show comics—Jimmy Fallon and Set Myers. The Democrats have condemned the sacking as an “attack on freedom of speech and democracy.”

Money talks in America and Kimmel’s departure is almost certainly linked to a planned multi-billion dollar involving the distributing channels. The controversial merger would have created a monopoly which needed the approval of Brendan Carr and the FCC.

Jimmy Kimmel’s is not a lone target. President Trump is suing the New York Times for $15 billion and Trump-supporting tech tycoon Larry Ellison is bidding for CNN. Carr has made it clear that any liberal-leaning broadcaster—radio or television—is in his sights. Every eight years broadcasters have to renew their license. Usually this is a pro forma exercise but the FCC can deny a license if it “fails to serve the public interest”. Carr maintains that he determines what the “public interest” is. So far, however, he has not revoked a broadcasting license.

There was no suggestion by Carr or anyone in the Trump Administration about the suitability of Fox News’s license when Fox host Brian Kilmeade said that mentally ill homeless people should be given lethal injections. “Just kill them,” he added.

The media are not the only likely MAGA targets. The Trump Administration is now talking about “going after” the multi-billion dollar liberal-leaning philanthropic organizations that help finance liberal causes. Specifically, they want action against the Ford Foundation and George Soros’s Open Society Foundation.

The Ford Foundation is endowed to the tune of $16 billion and in 2023 dished out grants totalling $918 million. Its money went to causes that MAGA loves to hate such as migrant rights, gender equality, civil rights, press freedom and LGBTQ+ rights and fighting climate change.

The Open Society Foundation is even richer. Founded in 1992 by the Hungarian currency speculator George Soros, its assets top $32 billion. The foundation’s grants in 2023 totalled $1.7 billion. The Open Society is a bit more international. Its headquarters are in New York but it operates in 100 countries and is firmly committed to promoting globalization, free trade, democracy, anti-corruption campaigns, a free press and “the rule of law around the world.” 95-year-old George Soros is a figure of hate for conservatives globally.

Theoretically, philanthropic organizations are protected by the US constitution’s free speech provisions in the First Amendment. But—as with most things—there may be a work around—audits by the Internal Revenue Service.

There is a sort of precedent from the Obama Administration when organizations linked to the conservative Tea Party were subjected to an audit which had a damaging effect on Tea Party activities. Republicans tried to link Barack Obama to the audit but failed. It turned out that it was politically motivated, but that the politics were limited to the Cincinnati office of the Internal Revenue Service and the IRS paid damages of $3.5 million. The precedent, however, was set.

George Soros’s Open Society may be open to attack under America’s Foreign Agents Registration Act. The thinking is simple. Open Society is not registered as a foreign agent. The Act requires individuals and/or organizations to register as foreign agents if they are under the control or directed by a foreigner. George Soros is Hungarian.

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Tom Arms is foreign editor of Liberal Democrat Voice. He is also a regular contributor to The New World and author of “The Encyclopedia of the Cold War” and “America Made in Britain.”

Read: Observations of an Expat: Charlie Kirk

The post Observations of an Expat: Kirk Consequences first appeared on Sindh Courier.

By Tom Arms | London 

The murder of Charlie Kirk is a tragedy. The reaction is a frightening potential disaster.

On a personal level, the violent death of a 31-year-old father of two is heart breaking.

On the political plane it is a calamity. As of this writing we do not know the motive for the shooting. It is, however, most likely that Charlie Kirk was murdered for his far-right political views.

The right of free and open debate is a fundamental principle of democracy. It is one of the key reasons that democracies have prospered and totalitarian states have failed.

That is why most of America’s political figures have been loud in their condemnation of Charlie Kirk’s death, including President Donald Trump who started off on the right note in attacking the murder and the rhetoric which led to that murder.

But Trump being Trump, he couldn’t help himself from sliding into the self-same finger-pointing accusations of the type that he himself said led to Kirk’s death.

After praising Charlie as a “great American” who “loved his country” Trump went on to say: “All Americans, and the media, must confront the fact that violence and murder are the tragic consequence of demonizing those with whom you disagree day after day, year after year, in the most despicable way possible.

“For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world’s mass murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we are seeing in our country today.”

In Trump’s playbook it is himself and the Republican Party who are the victims. Trump makes no reference to the attack on Paul Pelosi, husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi; the arson attack on the home of Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor Josh Shapiro. The attempted kidnapping of Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer (Democrat). The murder of the former Democrat speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark or the wounding of Minnesota state senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette (Democrats).

Neither did he mention the eight people who died as a result of the January 6 riots on Capitol Hill or the 1,500 people he pardoned after lauding them as “patriots.”

Trump also failed to reference his own rhetoric which includes describing immigrants as “vermin;” accusing Barack Obama of “treason;” or branding President Biden’s family as “the Biden crime family.” As for the Democrats as a whole, they are, according to Trump, “radical left maniacs trying to destroy our country.”

The rhetoric has led to increased violence across the political spectrum. Since 2017, Trump’s first year in the White House, Threats against members of the US Congress, their staff and families, have increased 300 percent.

The fact is that the politics of Donald Trump—and by extension, the wider Republican Party—are the politics of aggressive, no holds barred, gutter rhetoric.

World View

Qatar has tried to carve out a role as the Switzerland of the Middle East. It is the only Arab country that has maintained good relations with Iran. It plays host to 10,000 American troops. Qatar hosted the World Cup—well. It finances Al Jazeera, the only politically neutral broadcaster in the Arab world.

Qatar hosted the talks between the Taliban and the US which led to American withdrawal from Afghanistan. And, most importantly, it played a key role in brokering talks between Hamas and Israel and was the safe haven for the Hamas leadership—until this week.

On Tuesday Israeli jets conducted a precision strike on Hamas headquarters in Doha. They failed to take out the men trying to negotiate a ceasefire but did kill six others.

The attack is a clear signal from Benjamin Netanyahu that negotiations are over. There will be no ceasefire in Gaza until Israel says so. Hamas cannot seek sanctuary in Qatar or anywhere else. Israel will decide the terms and timing of any ceasefire.

In the past the received wisdom was that only the United States could pressure Israel into making concessions. But this is being called increasingly into question. The attack on Doha—using American-made planes and American-made precision missiles—was carried out without American approval.

America’s “bunker-busting” bomb attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities was conducted because Israel dragged Trump into the conflict after making the initial forays. The United States may be the super power, but Israel is calling the shots.

Consider the timing. The Doha raid came just two days after the Trump administration delivered its latest proposals to end the war in Gaza.

On social media, Trump told Hamas that this was a last chance.

“I have warned Hamas about the consequences of not accepting,” he wrote on Truth Social on Sunday. “This is my last warning, there will not be another one!”

In Doha, Hamas’ senior leadership gathered to consider their response, but Israel didn’t wait to hear it. The attack didn’t just blow up the latest US proposals, it may have wrecked the entire, delicate architecture of Gaza diplomacy, on which the Trump administration was relying heavily.

Debate swirls over how and when the US found out about the Israeli raid and whether it could have done more to stop it. The presence in Qatar of one of the most important US airbases in the world has led many to conclude that it’s inconceivable that Washington didn’t see the Israeli jets approaching.

But if there wasn’t a green light from Washington – and many assume there was – what does this say about Mr Trump’s ability to influence Benjamin Netanyahu’s actions?

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Tom Arms is foreign editor of Liberal Democrat Voice. He is also a regular contributor of “The New World” and the author of “The Encyclopedia of the Cold War” and “America Made in Britain.”

Read: Observations of an Expat: End of Tariffs?

The post Observations of an Expat: Charlie Kirk first appeared on Sindh Courier.