I have written a lot today, and much of it on rather sensitive topics and I hope you take the time to read it all.
Every post I write, I make sure to include an invitation for civil and bipartisan discussion. I do so because I truly believe that we are all closer together than it feels, that it is important to be able to have a free flow of discussion and ideas, and because I think civil bipartisanship is necessary for us to thrive. With that in mind:
I invite civil, bipartisan discussion on this post.
It has been well over a week since I have written a weekly update with my commentary on recent news. There has again been a lot of news, and I sincerely hope you take the time to read all that I have written.
Designating Antifa as Terrorist Organization
There has been a lot of talk recently about Donald Trump designating “Antifa” as a terrorist organization. Earlier this year, President Trump formally designated cartels as terrorist organizations, which he has the authority to do under Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996. However, one of the three provisions for such a designation requires the organization to be foreign; there is no such authority granted the executive branch for domestic organizations.
While writing this, the executive order has been signed. The best descriptions I can find of what Antifa actually is typically use a variation of this BBC article: “Antifa is short for anti-fascist. It is a loose, leaderless affiliation of mostly far-left activists” and Christopher Wray, former FBI Director, noted it is an ideology, not an organization.
Over the past several years, Donald Trump claimed Antifa was involved with the January 6th storming of the capitol, behind the George Floyd protests, and that they were part of the violence in Charlottesville.
This designation is terrifying.
Although this order is officially toothless as there is no formal definition in the United States for a Domestic Terror Organization, we have already seen the President use military force on a Venezuelan boat, a second Venezuelan boat, a third Venezuelan boat, and threaten military action in Mexico, authorize force against cartels in Mexico while the Vice President says he “doesn’t give a shit” if it is a war crime.
With this administration’s willingness to make claims without verification, this type of designation could be used to call anyone who disagrees with the President Antifa, and therefore a domestic terrorist, without any evidence.
That is terrifying.
Charlie Kirk Funeral Service
On Sunday, a funeral service for Charlie Kirk was held at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Before saying any more, I would like to reiterate what I posted after his death:
“𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠. 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐝. 𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝.” – Juliette Kayyem, former assistant secretary of Homeland Security.
Over the past few weeks, we have seen a lot of backlash from people who appear to be glorifying the death of Charlie Kirk. That includes lawmakers in Iowa who have pushed to fire teachers due to their comments, and Glenn Beck plainly stating, “Celebrating the death of Charlie Kirk is not free speech.”
While I could never dream of condoning any kind of political violence, this idea is hardly new. Famed lawyer Clarence Darrow once wrote, “I have never killed any one, but I have read some obituary notices with great satisfaction.”*
Earlier this summer, President Trump was asked about feeling sorry for Joe Biden on account of his cancer diagnosis. The President said he doesn’t feel sorry for him because he is vicious. Yesterday, at Kirk’s funeral, Donald Trump disagreed with him, saying instead, “I hate my opponent and I don’t want the best for them.”
I would like to again repeat: Political Violence is wrong, no matter what side or what beliefs.
Jimmy Kimmel suspended indefinitely
During his monologue, Jimmy Kimmel touched on the topic of the response to Charlie Kirk’s assassination. If you have not actually watched the entire monologue, and you have followed the ensuing discussion, I highly recommend watching it start to finish.
After the show aired, FCC Director, Brendan Carr suggested affiliates should pull Kimmel off air, Nexstar announced it would no longer air the show, along with Sinclair, and ultimately Disney suspended Kimmel indefinitely.
According to Bantam Books v. Sullivan, informal censorship from government violates the constitutionally protected freedom of speech. Moreover, this opinion was upheld last year in a 9-0 decision NRA v Vullo, in which the opinion read, “Bantam Books stands for the principle that a government official cannot do indirectly what she is barred from doing directly: A government official cannot coerce a private party to punish or suppress disfavored speech on her behalf.”
As Sinclair is pursuing possible mergers and Nexstar has one pending, it certainly appears the comments of the FCC director were intended to persuade Kimmel’s removal.
Of course, Disney has now reinstated Kimmel, but Sinclair reportedly will not air Kimmel on their local affiliates and there is no word from Sinclair on the matter.
A new H1-B Visa fee of $100,000 was implemented
President Trump has signed an executive order adding a $100,000 fee to any new H1-B Visa. This fee is entirely unrelated to the fee structure that already exists for H1-B Visas, and it is unclear if this new condition is legal.
Regardless of legality, I want to focus on one line in the executive order.
The restriction imposed pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall not apply to any individual alien, all aliens working for a company, or all aliens working in an industry, if the Secretary of Homeland Security determines, in the Secretary’s discretion, that the hiring of such aliens to be employed as H-1B specialty occupation workers is in the national interest and does not pose a threat to the security or welfare of the United States.
Let’s be clear what this means: If the President decides a company should be exempt from paying this fine, for whatever reason he decides, he can waive this fee. In other words, this invites companies to bend over backwards to stay in the President’s good graces in order to remain exempt from paying fees.
This is an attempt to force companies to do what he wants them to do.
*I initially looked for the source of “I would never wish for anyone to die, but I have ready many obituaries with great pleasure” by Mark Twain, but instead found the Snopes article in the sources indicating it was a misattribution.
Sources:
Multiple local news stations say the same thing verbatim
Trump says he’ll designate antifa as a terrorist group | AP News
Designating Cartels And Other Organizations As Foreign Terrorist Organizations And Specially Designated Global Terrorists – The White House
The Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) List | Congress.gov | Library of Congress
8 U.S. Code § 1189 – Designation of foreign terrorist organizations | U.S. Code | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute
Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Designates Antifa as a Domestic Terrorist Organization – The White House
What is Antifa and why is Donald Trump targeting it?
FBI director says antifa is an ideology, not an organization | AP News
Trump falsely claims FBI and Antifa were ‘leading the charge’ in Capitol attack | The Independent
President Trump Stands By Original Charlottesville Remarks : NPR
https://www.npr.org/2025/09/19/nx-s1-5547149/trump-used-the-military-to-target-a-venezuelan-vessel-is-it-legal
Trump announces new strike on Venezuelan boat and death of three ‘narcoterrorists’ | The Independent
Trump Says US Forces Sank Third Suspected Drug Boat off Venezuela | Military.com
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/09/19/trump-cartel-strikes-mexico-dea/
Trump approves military action against cartel terrorist organizations | Fox News
JD Vance blasts Trump critic in cartel killings debate: ‘I don’t give a s—‘ | Fox News
Charlie Kirk memorial service start time, speakers, where to watch
Inside Iowa Politics: Why lawmaker wants educators fired for Charlie Kirk social media posts
Charlie Kirk’s death exposes the line between speech and glorifying violence | Blaze Media
Clarence Darrow – Wikipedia
Did Mark Twain Say ‘I Have Read Some Obituaries With Great Pleasure’? | Snopes.com
Biden has been diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer | AP News
Trump: ‘Don’t Feel So Sorry’ For Biden Because Of Stage 4 Cancer
WATCH: Trump ‘authentically himself’ for saying he hates opponents at Kirk funeral, White House says | PBS News
Trump Grieves By Talking About $200 Million Ballroom, MAGA Hits New Lows & Guillermo at the Emmys – YouTube
How Brendan Carr, the attack-dog FCC chair, helped take down Jimmy Kimmel with words, not actions | CNN Business
Nexstar ABC Affiliates To Preempt “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Indefinitely Beginning Tonight | Nexstar Media Group, Inc.
Sinclair Warned ABC It Planned to Drop Kimmel, Says Suspension ‘Not Enough’
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/09/18/entertainment/abc-jimmy-kimmel-what-comes-next
Bantam Books, Inc. v. Sullivan – Wikipedia
National Rifle Association of America v. Vullo – Wikipedia
Sinclair is exploring merger options for its broadcast business
Nexstar Tegna $3.54 billion deal
ABC ends Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension, says his late-night show will return Tuesday | PBS News
Sinclair Local TV Stations Will Not Air Jimmy Kimmel Return to ABC
Trump’s new $100K fee on H-1B visas will hurt tech companies : NPR
Trump’s Immigration Overhaul Of H-1B, EB-5 To Spark Legal Firestorm
Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers – The White House