Policing the language and the laughter: Is it censorship? – San Francisco Chronicle

The Federal Communications Commission has let it be known it is deciding whether to levy a fine on Stephen Colbert for making a vulgar joke about President Trump during a monologue on May 1. Furthermore, last week, Code Pink activist Desiree Fairooz was convicted of laughing during January confirmation hearings for Attorney General Jeff Sessions. And on Tuesday, May 9, reporter Dan Heyman was arrested for shouting questions at Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price at the West Virginia Capitol in Charleston.

From an essay by the Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei that appeared in Sundays New York Times: At first glance ... censorship seems invisible, but its omnipresent washing of peoples feelings and perceptions creates limits on the information people receive, select and rely upon. ... Censoring speech removes the freedom to choose what to take in and to express to others, and this inevitably leads to depression in people. Wherever fear dominates, true happiness vanishes and individual willpower runs dry.

P.S. A few more pre-presidential mentions of Trump in the media, this one in our very own Chronicle: In 2005, when Carolyne Zinko profiled Cypress Semiconductor founder (then-CEO and president) T.J. Rodgers, he mentioned that his favorite TV shows didnt include The Apprentice. The way I feel about Donald Trump is the way priests, ministers and rabbis feel when they look at Jimmy Swaggart, he said. In the view of Rodgers, a corporate titan, Trump prostitutes the profession.

Furthermore, in 1998, filmmaker Tom Bullock worked on a never-released indie comedy acted and directed by John Broderick, onetime member of the San Francisco Mime Troupe. In the movie, set in Ukraine, a hotel maid suggests a scheme involving taking her beautiful girlfriend to the U.S. Well marry her off to someone like Donald Trump, and well all get rich, right? An American tourist responds, They never give up! The Russians never give up!

P.P.S. What a difference a year makes. Janice Hough notes that while much has been made of the age difference between French President-elect Emmanuel Macron, 39, and his wife, Brigitte, 64, no ones said very much about the ages of Trump, 70, and Melania, 46.

Following up:

That house on 14th Street, with the sign inviting passersby to vote on paint colors, was owned by the beloved art dealer Ruth Braunstein, who died last year. Its now owned by her daughter, jewelry designer Marna Clark, who writes that there were 100 votes and many comments. The best, she says, was a commenter who circled 20 votes and wrote Fake Votes next to the circle. The house will be up for rent soon.

Many readers wrote that BEAR DWN, on a license plate that mystified Eileen Denny Alexander, refers to the official slogan of University of Arizona athletic teams. The name of the campus gym is Bear Down, writes Scott McKinzie; Bear Down, Arizona! is the fight song, and the crowd at sporting events chants Bear Down. The football and basketball teams, however, are the Wildcats.

The bear in Bear Down, is not a noun but a verb. According to university legend, an auto accident in 1926 put the football teams quarterback on his deathbed. When his coach came to visit him, the stricken quarterback told him to tell the team to bear down.

A third of the San Francisco Giants players are working out wearing tDCS headsets that deliver a weak electric current to the brain to improve performance. This treatment is called transcranial direct current stimulation. This was confirmed early this week by Geoff Head, official sports scientist of the Giants.

But, with homage to Herb Caen, its not his name thats the item. Combined with training, this gizmo which retails for $749, but Im assuming the Giants get a discount is said to accelerate improvements in muscle memory, strength, explosiveness, and endurance.

Good luck to the Giants, and I suppose its good that theyre getting some help. But I cant understand why, if doping isnt allowed, this sort of treatment is OK.

P.S. In other sports news: The biggest victory on Monday, May 8, writes Dan St. Paul, was not the series-ending beatdown by the Warriors over the Jazz. It was the in-your-face shot block of Sally Yates on Ted Cruz. Standing O!

Leah Garchik is open for business in San Francisco, (415) 777-8426. Email: lgarchik@sfchronicle.com; Twitter: @leahgarchik

Public Eavesdropping

Yes, its a difficult conversation to have. But that doesnt mean we have to have it.

Young woman on cell phone, overheard on McAllister Street by Kary Schulman

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Policing the language and the laughter: Is it censorship? - San Francisco Chronicle