Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word

Robert Mueller, a former Marine, Bronze star combat veteran and Purple Heart recipient, as well as the longtime director of the FBI (2001-2013), died this week at the age of 81.

Upon hearing the news, here is what the current President of the United States tweeted on his social media platform, word for word:

Robert Mueller is dead. Good, I’m glad he’s dead. He can no longer hurt innocent people! President DONALD J. TRUMP.

Im So Over It GIFs | Tenor — This man is exhausting

Yes, he wrote his name in capital letters and absolutely he used that exclamation point. To not use both would mean taking a chance that you wouldn’t get his power AND rage.

Though one person’s rage is another’s synonym for hysteria. And what one man views as power is a different man’s example of desperation and insecurity.

Needless to say, I am the another and the different man in both statements.

It’s not that I expect any person, or even president, to take kindly to someone who led so public an investigation into his misdeeds as Mr. Mueller did into DJT via The Mueller Report.

Especially since that document, contrary to White House spin, never exonerated him of any number of misdeeds, including most egregiously receiving key help from Russia that allowed him to win the 2016 presidential election.

Still, as you learn when you grow up, there are many reasons to say I’m sorry.

It will not kill you to say "I'm sorry" Here let me help you! | Apology Ecard — Start with ahhhh

Number one being, anger and rage is a destructive force that can rot you from the inside and eat you alive, causing you endless personal misery in your most private moments.

Anyone who has ever been in therapy, or has been in a successful long-term relationship, has probably been met with that age old question:

Do you want to be right, or do you want to be happy?

You Might Be Right GIFs | Tenor — but you’ll never be happy!

Sometimes choosing personal happiness is as right as you can be in the long term. It doesn’t mean the anger and rage wasn’t justified and real. It’s more that if you spend your entire life getting even then, well, that will be your entire life.

Disconnection, conflict and a never-ending list of the ways you were wronged can never really make you right. And as momentarily satisfying as revenge might be, it can’t alter the past and will never truly change a perceived enemy’s mind.

Not to mention, it’s tiring.

And we expect more from presidents.

Or we did.

The Time Machine (1960) on Make a GIF — We really need a time machine

What could POTUS have done instead of that tweet and aside from nothing?

Well, how about a simple We’re sorry for your loss to Mr. Mueller’s family? Sure, it’s a non-apology apology but at least it would be something.

And he could’ve still signed his name in ALL CAPS.

Angry Typing GIFs | Tenor — He’s literally a cat meme at this point

Speaking of apologies, I see you hiding in plain sight Timothee Chalamet. And frankly, I expected so much more of you.

No, I don’t mean to put you in the same rageful category as any of the above from you know who. But once again, there all are kinds of reason to say I’m sorry. Particularly when you’re thirty years old, a gigantic movie star and more wealthy and powerful in the entertainment world than pretty much any other actor of your generation.

Timothée Chalamet Goes Full Y2K Boy Band in a White Suit and Goatee on the 2026 Oscars Red Carpet | Vogue — … which means we expect more than Backstreet Boy drag at the Oscars

Never mind what would have prompted TC – a guy whose mom and sister actually danced in the New York City Ballet – to suddenly say this publicly to fellow actor Matthew McConaughey in a sit down interview in Austin to promote Marty Supreme, a movie he starred in and produced.

I don’t want to be working in ballet, or opera, or things where it’s like, ‘Hey, keep this thing alive, even though like no one cares about this anymore…

And then, adding insult to injury, continuing on with:

…All respect to all the ballet and opera people out there… (giggles) I just lost 14 cents in viewership…(more giggles) I’m taking shots for no reason.

Turn Away GIFs - Find & Share on GIPHY — That’s enough from you, Timmy

But the remedy for it would’ve also been sooooo easy. Something like:

I am truly sorry for my insensitive words and acting like an arrogant jerk. I have the greatest respect for my fellow artists and will try through my future actions, words and behavior to make this right.

In his own voice, of course. And then maybe follow-through, donate money, start a scholarship or even sit through a performance of… something.

Not because you like it, but because, well, perhaps it’s the nice thing to do and you will learn something.

Yet, at a time in the 21st century when the bar is soooooo low for mea culpas, of any kind, that is not at all what we saw.

Rather than actually admit a misstep, what we got were never-ending viral debates, memes and TikTok videos all culminating with probably the worst performance he has ever given – that of a front row, gracious loser (Note: In a white suit, no less!) at last weekend’s Oscar ceremony.

Perhaps he was sleep deprived when he made those public statements. Or a bit high on his own supply. Or simply an actor without a high-priced writer making him sound articulate.

But the real issue is, why not just say

I AM SORRY.

I f-cked up.

I’ll try to do better.

And then move on.

Mona Lisa Vito reaction gifs, just because. - GIFs - Imgur — You got that right, Chairy!

Is this the new American normal? And if it is, do we want it to be?

Just last week, convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein gave an exclusive interview with The Hollywood Reporter where he was ranting on about the women who destroyed him.

Say want you want about famed producer Scott Rudin, whose decades of unhinged, abusive behavior terrorized employees and ended more than a few careers, but at least he said he was sorry, got some therapy and stepped away for a few years before returning to the spotlight.

But that was in 2021.

It’s now five years later and we’re in a new age. One of disrespect and disconnection mixed with massive dollops of resentment and rage.

Hopefully, it’s not one in permanent disrepair.

K.D. Lang & Elton John – “Sorry Seems to Be The Hardest Word”

09.21.25

by notesfromachair

Freedom of Speech

Freedom of speech is a foundation of American life.

We must obey laws passed by democratically elected representatives of the people. But part of the deal is that we get to make fun of, criticize, satirize and generally call out anyone with whom we disagree as long as it’s within the law.

This also applies to the public airwaves.

Of course, a network has the right to remove and cancel any show it chooses. But when it chooses to do so because it is clearly being pressured by the government, either directly or indirectly, to censor dissenting voices or else – this becomes problematic.

Which is a polite word for DANGEROUS.

Which is a polite word for A THREAT TO OUR FREEDOM OF SPEECH.

Which is a polite phrase for A THREAT TO DEMOCRACY.

Of course, this is only my opinion. And the opinion of many people smarter than myself.

This being a democracy you get to decide for yourself.

But to put this in context:

Jimmy Kimmel Live! was pulled “indefinitely” from ABC this week. He’s the affable, quite funny late-night host who has been doing political monologues nightly for more than a decade. Sometimes his jokes are controversial but mostly they are nothing more than gentle jabs at the powers-that-be.

In any event, those powers-that-be in the government, as well as ABC/Disney, the FCC and the far right, would have you believe that a joke he made about the current POTUS’ behavior in light of the tragic assassination of far right influencer/lobbyist Charlie Kirk, is the reason the Kimmel show was suddenly yanked off the air.

In fact, as you may know, it goes much deeper than that.

It involves government threats to blow up a merger deal for two right wing companies, who own ABC affiliate stations, to merge (Note: And thus exert more influence than any nationwide station group) that is worth in excess of $6.2 billion.

It involves ABC-Disney’s terror at those stations refusing to broadcast anything on ABC that doesn’t meet its approval (Note: That’s not how free TV works, for the most part).

It involves an FCC Chairman threatening the broadcast licenses of any network or station broadcasting entertainment that doesn’t meet, nee comply, with his personal approval (Note: His name is Brendan Carr, google him).

This is the man. This is his lapel pin. For real.

And it involves a sitting POTUS, who several day ago floated this idea about broadcast networks who give him too much negative coverage:

I think maybe their license should be taken away.

Personally, I find that chilling.

But of course, and again, it’s only my opinion.

Just know it was formed as a result of CBS announcing another program that frequently criticizes POTUS and the government, its The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, would permanently end its run in May 2026, thus enabling said government to approve the $8.2 billion merger between CBS’s parent company, Paramount, and Skydance, several weeks later

Despite some denials about that, I don’t believe in coincidence. Especially when billions of dollars are at stake. Not to mention the egos and extreme agendas of very powerful men.

But again, this is a blog so that’s merely me offering… an opinion.

It is up to each of us as citizens to read up on this ourselves.

So – here are some links on the issues in no particular order from a variety of sources. And…none of them are behind paywalls.

As I learned as a high school and college student in the 1970s, a time when the FCC actually had a Fairness Doctrine that required licensed stations to offer opinions on BOTH sides of an issue, it is our responsibility as citizens to speak out, especially when we think or fear free speech is being threatened.

That is why I wrote the following letter to ABC-Disney about the indefinite removal of Jimmy Kimmel’s show from its airwaves. To this address:

Disney-ABC Home Entertainment and Television Distribution

500 S. Buena Vista St.

Burbank, CA 91521-3515

Yes, Big companies and big networks actually do track snail mail. Something about its physical presence gives it a greater potency than a social media post or an email.

If you agree, I urge you to write your own, crib any portion of mine. Or to simply do nothing if you don’t agree with me or any of the articles referred to here.

You get to weigh in on any issue in any way you see fit.

That’s the way it rolls in our democracy.

For now.

To the Power-that-Be at ABC-Disney:

The cowardice your corporation has shown in taking Jimmy Kimmel’s show off the air is a sad betrayal of our cherished American right to free speech. It’s clear that threats from the FCC chairman and the pending merger of Sinclair and Nexstar are key to your decision.

But looming above all of this seems to be your sheer terror of, and thus capitulation to, the fascist authoritarian currently occupying the White House. Despite your army of attorneys and the public power your multi-billion dollar company wields, you’ve quickly relinquished your rights as an American business, betrayed democratic principles and gone running for the hills at the mere thought of getting on his “bad” side.

Of course, bullies and aspiring two-bit dictators only have one side. And there is no placating them. Ever. But I suspect you know that.

If you’re reading this and now thinking, “Well, Kimmel’s facts were not entirely correct in that joke,” perhaps you’re right. We all make mistakes.

So, now go through the last month‘s worth of Mr. Kimmel’s programs and then the last month of POTUS’ on-air public statements and tell me which have generated more incorrect facts – aka lies and half-truths?

And then tell me — which one is funnier?

Since money, and not the Constitution, is your thing, recognize you will make a hell of a lot more money with Kimmel’s funny than you will by turning your network into Trump TV.

And then morphing Disneyland into TrumpWorld – which will most certainly become the unhappiest place on earth.

Know I will be boycotting all things ABC and Disney Corp. from here on in and urging all of my friends, family and co-workers to follow suit. Subscriptions and all.

xxxxxxxxxx

P.S. – It’s not too late to change your mind and give something back to the country that enabled you to become so rich and profitable in the first place.

Eminem – “Freedom of Speech”

notes from a chair

Tag Archives: donald trump

Freedom of Speech