Easy Sunday. Satire and intimidation.

Paramount caved to Trump. 

Big media is a business. It is vulnerable. 

Democrats have had a bit of fun this week. They should enjoy it while they can. 

The big story isn't Trump being laughed at. The big story is that Trump is openly and unashamedly willing to use the power of the federal government to punish media that displease him.

This headline from a Scottish newspaper was fun for Democrats:

And this week the South Park people had fun skewering Trump and the show's corporate parent. They depict Trump trying unsuccessfuly to interest the devil in having sex with him:

And they make multiple references and depictions of Trump having a small penis. A small penis contradicts Trump's brand as an alpha-male stud:

But I am not celebrating. I see a problem. Trump is openly saying in back-to-back Truth Social posts that he wants to intimidate the owners of media companies.

I don't doubt that straight-out efforts to suppress an unwelcome point of view would be stopped, even by this Supreme Court. There won't be an executive order requiring people to say only kind things about Trump. There is a better way to achieve that goal. Trump announced it in those posts.

Media platforms with national reach are businesses. Some need licenses to broadcast. All of them need access to the postal service. All of them have leaders who would be inconvenienced if put on a no-fly list. All of the key employees have passports. All of the businesses have patents and copyrights that need protection.  Anyone can be arrested and held in a miserable jail situation a day or two based on pretense charges for crimes that are then dropped. Jamie Dimon wouldn't like that. Nor would Tim Cook or Mark Zuckerberg. Trump could make an example of them, like he did with Columbia and Harvard.

Trump has made clear that "good faith" enforcement of the law is not necessary -- not against his enemies. Pretense is OK. Make a claim. Assert it. Let the slow wheels of justice turn. Eventually the Department of Justice says "never-mind" but in the meantime it is miserable and expensive for the target. The way to avoid trouble is to avoid annoying the king. Don't poke the bear. Be careful. Be prudent. Obey in advance.

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