Hometown athlete and Australian are RDC Athletes of the Week

From Red Deer College Communications

Red Deer College Athletics is proud to announce our Boston Pizza Athletes of the Week.

1. Alexandria Greenshields – Queens Volleyball Hometown – Red Deer, AB
Open Studies (1st year)

Alexandria Greenshields had a tremendous weekend on the court, helping the RDC Queens (14-8) defeat the SAIT Trojans (13-7) in a pair of matches to move even with the Ambrose University Lions (14-8) for second spot in the south. In Friday’s five set victory at the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre (25-22, 24-26, 27-25, 20-25 and 17-15), the five-foot-ten middle blocker totaled eight kills, two digs, two stuff blocks, one assist and one ace, accounting for 11 of the Queens’ points. Then on Saturday in Calgary, the first-year Open Studies student accumulated eight kills, five digs, four stuff blocks and one ace in another five set win (25-20, 16-25, 22-25, 25-20 and 15-13), contributing 13 more points for RDC.

Ali has been an integral part of the Queens’ strong play. Since November 2, the Red Deer College Queens have been one of the hottest teams in Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Women’s Volleyball, going 13-3 in their past 16 matches.

2. Regan Fathers – Kings Volleyball
Hometown – East Fremantle, Western Australia Kinesiology General (5th year)

This past weekend, Regan Fathers was a force for the Kings Volleyball team (16-6). The six-foot-six outside hitter had 23 kills, five digs and three service aces while hitting for 48.6 per cent efficiency in Friday’s three set sweep over the SAIT Trojans (25-20, 25-19 and 25-21). The fifth-year’s contribution of 26 points helped him earn the Kings Player-of-the-Game award. Despite dropping a close five set decision on Saturday (20-25, 25-23, 25-22, 18-25 and 17-19), the talented student- athlete from East Fremantle, Western Australia, accumulated impressive numbers once again. Regan’s 21 kills led the Kings in Calgary, while adding three digs and two blocks.

The Kinesiology General student leads the league with 369 total kills and 5.13 kills per set. Regan will be a key player as the Kings prepare for the ACAC Championship from February 21-23 and the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Men’s Volleyball National Championship from March 7-9 at the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre, when the RDC Kings will be playing for their historic 14th national title.

This Week in RDC Athletics

This week, the RDC Basketball teams will play the Olds College Broncos in a home-and-home series, which will include the President’s Challenge during half-time of both Kings games. The Hockey Queens will face-off against the MacEwan University Griffins in a pair of games and the Kings will challenge the SAIT Trojans twice. Both volleyball teams will travel to Lethbridge and play the Kodiaks in two matches. This weekend will also feature the final RDC regular season home games, except for the rescheduled Kings Hockey game at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, February 22 at NexSource Centre in Sylvan Lake.

Here is a summary of what is happening this week in RDC Athletics.

Queens Basketball | Friday, Feb. 8 | 6:00 p.m. | Olds College

The Red Deer College Queens will play the Broncos in Olds. Sandra Garcia-Bernal continues to be one of top rebounders in the league. The second-year from Valencia, Spain sits third in ACAC Women’s Basketball, averaging 10.2 boards per game.

The five-foot-five guard’s tremendous effort and anticipation have helped guide the Queens to the top of the league in rebounding (47.6 per game).

Queens Basketball | Saturday, Feb. 9 | 6:00 p.m. | Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre

The RDC Queens will tip-off against the Broncos on their home court.

Kings Basketball | Friday, Feb. 8 | 8:00 p.m. | Olds College

On the road, the fourth place Kings (8-8) will hit the hardwood against the Olds College Broncos (5-10), and it will be the first night of the President’s Challenge. Every game is significant as the RDC Kings look to lock down a playoff position in the south, and the Kings have been playing excellent lately with the postseason on their minds.

The Kings and Lethbridge College Kodiaks (8-9) are even with 16 points in the south standings, but the Kings have a game in hand, as both squads battle for a playoff spot.

After the home-and-home series against Olds College (5-10), the RDC Kings will play the Ambrose University Lions (12-6) once in Calgary and the Briercrest College Clippers (2-15) in two road games.

The Kodiaks will wrap up the regular season against the Briercrest College Clippers (2-15) twice and the Olds College Broncos (5-10) in a pair of games.

Red Deer’s Spencer Klassen continues to be a driving force for the Kings, leading the league with 25.7 points per game.

Kings Basketball | Saturday, Feb. 9 | 8:00 p.m. | Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre

The Red Deer College Kings will host the Olds College Broncos.

At half-time, the second night of the President’s Challenge will take place in conjunction with Olds College. RDC President & CEO, Joel Ward, will compete against Stuart Cullum, President of Olds College, in a game of 21. The losing president from both evenings will have to the wear the other team’s jersey for a full day on Monday, February 11. If Ward and Cullum split the games of the 21, the point differential will determine the winner.

Queens Hockey | Friday, Feb. 8 | 7:00 p.m. | Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre

The third place RDC Queens (8-8-4-0) will entertain the MacEwan University Griffins (13-4-2-0). MacEwan University sits in second spot in the standings with 28 points, six points behind NAIT (16- 2-2-0). The Red Deer College Queens have 20 points after 20 games and lead the fourth-place Olds College Broncos (6-11-1-0) by seven points.

Queens Hockey | Saturday, Feb. 9 | 6:00 p.m. | MacEwan University

The RDC Queens will face-off against the Griffins in Edmonton.

Kings Hockey | Friday, Feb. 8 | 7:00 p.m. | SAIT

The Red Deer College Kings (13-5-1-1) will tangle with the SAIT Trojans (14-5-0-0) in Calgary. Both teams share second place with 28 points, although the Trojans have a game in hand. It continues to be a battle at the top of the standings. The NAIT Ooks (16-6-0-0) lead ACAC Men’s Hockey with 32 points, but have also played two more games than the Kings. The MacEwan University Griffins (13-5-1-0) sit in fourth with 27 points. The University of Alberta Augustana Vikings (12-7-1-0) are next with 25 points.

The RDC Kings are the most disciplined team in the league, taking the fewest penalty minutes as a group. Although, even when a skater down the Kings can score, recording five shorthanded markers.

SAIT’s Dean Allison leads ACAC Men’s Hockey with 30 points, but RDC’s Chase Thudium is close behind with 27.

As part of a beer tasting event, participants are encouraged to make a donation with proceeds going to the Central Alberta Sexual Assault Support Centre (CASASC). Olds Brewery and Troubled Monk will be sponsoring the event.

Kings Hockey | Saturday, Feb. 9 | 7:00 p.m. | Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre

The Kings will face the Trojans at home.

Queens Volleyball | Friday, Feb. 8 | 6:00 p.m. | Lethbridge College

The second place Red Deer College Queens (14-8) will take on the Lethbridge College Kodiaks (3-17). The RDC team has really progressed, going 8-2 over the past 10 matches.

Libero Kaylee Domoney has recorded a total of 364 digs, which is the most in the league.

Queens Volleyball | Saturday, Feb. 9 | 1:00 p.m. | Lethbridge College

In an afternoon rematch, the Volleyball Queens will challenge the Kodiaks.

Kings Volleyball | Friday, Feb. 8 | 8:00 p.m. | Lethbridge College

The second place Red Deer College Kings (16-6) will face the undefeated Kodiaks (20-0) in Lethbridge. In the first weekend of the season, the Lethbridge College Kodiaks picked up a pair of tight five set decisions over the RDC Kings, but the Kings did not have all of their players in action.

The Kings are ranked eighth and the Kodiaks are second in the CCAA.

The RDC Kings have a postseason spot locked up already in the south but want to continue fine- tuning their game leading up to the ACAC Championship and CCAA National Championship.

Kings Volleyball | Saturday, Feb. 9 | 3:00 p.m. | Lethbridge College

The Kings and Kodiaks will hit the court in the afternoon.

For more information on RDC Athletics, the student-athletes, scores, and game recaps of conference games, please visit: rdcathletics.ca

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Censorship Industrial Complex

The FCC Should Let Jimmy Kimmel Be

Published on September 18, 2025

Todayville

Earlier this week, comedian Jimmy Kimmel delivered his monologue, as he does at the beginning of every episode of his show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!. He focused on the reaction to the assassination of conservative media figure Charlie Kirk, and claimed that “the MAGA gang” was “desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them.”

In addition to not being very funny, the observation rested on a false assumption—that the presumed killer, 22-year-old Utah man Tyler Robinson, is a conservative. Incorrect notions about the suspect’s political tribe have remained enduringly popular in liberal media circles; one of the top mainstream liberal Substack writers, Heather Cox Richardson, wrote earlier this week that the motive of the alleged shooter “remains unclear.” This is simply not true: Interviews with Robinson’s friends and family members, as well as text messages between Robinson and his roommate—his transgender romantic partner—paint a clear portrait of a man who found Kirk’s conservative views “harmful.” It’s fine to leave room for new details that further elucidates or complicates this picture, but for now the totality of the available information suggests an essentially left-wing motivation.

While Kimmel is a comedian rather than a newscaster, given how paranoid the mainstream media is about the spread of so-called misinformation, the criticism of Kimmel on this subject was well-deserved. And I had been planning to criticize him in this newsletter all week.

Unfortunately, the story no longer ends there.

Brendan Carr, chair of Federal Communications Commission (FCC), weighed in on the matter; not only did he criticize what Kimmel had to say, he also implicitly threatened the broadcasters. (Kimmel’s show appears on ABC.)

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” said Carr during an appearance on conservative influencer Benny Johnson’s podcast. “These companies can find ways to change conduct, to take action, frankly on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC.”

This was not an idle threat. The FCC licenses broadcast channels, and can fine them or even take them off the air. Moreover, the FCC oversees mergers of companies in the communications space. Nexstar Media, which owns many of the ABC local affiliate stations that air Kimmel, is attempting to acquire Tegna Inc., a rival firm; the FCC needs to okay the deal. There’s a lot at stake, and FCC can make life very difficult for companies that defy it.

And so, on Wednesday night, both Nexstar and Sinclair Broadcast Group—another major telecommunications company—informed ABC that they would not air Kimmel on their affiliate stations. ABC then opted to place the show on indefinite hiatus. (Disclaimer: Nexstar owns Rising, the news show I host for The Hill.)

This is outrageous. Not because Kimmel is gone: Private companies have the right to determine their programming as they see fit, and a washed-up comedian telling lame jokes about a subject he is clearly misinformed on—for a declining number of viewers, as part of a media format that is antiquated and perpetually losing money—is not a recipe for riveting television. Letting Kimmel and the rest of the late night crowd go instinct is perfectly fine. It’s a business decision.

But it shouldn’t be a government decision. By inserting itself into the controversy and appearing to twist the arms of private companies so that they would make editorial decisions that please the Trump administration, the FCC is clearly engaged in a kind of censorship.

As Glenn Greenwald put it, “This shouldn’t be a complicated or difficult dichotomy to understand. Jimmy Kimmel is repulsive, but the state has no role in threatening companies to fire on-air voices it dislikes or who the state believes is spreading “disinformation,” which is exactly what happened here.”

Boneheaded

Moreover, the Trump administrations actions are functionally equivalent to the Biden administration’s attacks on private social media companies, which caused numerous free speech infringements during the COVID-19 pandemic. I explored this subject in great detail in my March 2023 cover story for Reason, “How the CDC Became the Speech Police,” which explored federal officials efforts to coerce Facebook, Google, and X into taking down content. In that article, I reported that social media companies routinely felt compelled to compromise their explicit terms of service as well as their stated commitments to free speech in order to appease both the CDC and the White House itself. I pointed out that threats by President Biden—who accused Facebook of “killing people” when it declined to censor anti-vaccine content—as well as his comms staffers were likely motivating factors behind a whole host of regrettable moderation decisions.

When government employees use the threat of regulation, fines, and other forms of punishment to induce private companies into self-censorship, it’s known as jawboning. Whether the practice violates the First Amendment—which constrains the government’s ability to restrict speech—is not an entirely settled matter. In Murthy v. Missouri, the Supreme Court declined to rule that the Biden administration had violated the First Amendment rights of social media users; the majority decision, however, had to do with standing, and did not actually address the arguments of the plaintiffs. Many free speech scholars rightly believe that the First Amendment rights of private media companies and their users will not be protected until and unless the Court makes clear that this sort of behavior from federal bureaucrats—jawboning—is wrong.

Ironically, FCC chair Carr has strongly denounced jawboning in the past, and in general been a strong supporter of First Amendment rights. He frequently called out the Biden administration for engaging in this very practice.

There is simply no way to square this circle: If it’s wrong for the Biden administration to pressure social media companies to serve the public interest—as defined by Biden—and censor fraught content, then it is wrong for the Trump administration to pressure broadcasters to enforce a Trump-defined public interest.

Shortly after taking office, President Trump issued a praiseworthy executive order on “Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship.” The FCC’s present actions are thwarting this very noble work.

Thank you for reading,

– Robby Soave

Senior Editor, Reason

Business

Disney scrambles as young men reject DEI-filled franchises

Published on August 30, 2025

Todayville

MxM News

Quick Hit:

A new op-ed argues Disney’s progressive push has driven away the very audience its biggest franchises should naturally attract: young men. Writer Zachary Faria says the company is now scrambling to undo the damage caused by years of prioritizing “diversity, equity, and inclusion” over storytelling.

Key Details:

Zachary Faria of the Washington Examiner writes that Disney has made its blockbuster franchises “toxic to young men” through DEI-driven changes.
Faria cites examples across Marvel, Star Wars, and Indiana Jones where traditional heroes were replaced, demeaned, or sidelined in favor of “ideological propaganda.”
He argues Disney has “no one to blame but itself” for alienating its male audience and is now considering original films to try to win them back.

Diving Deeper:

In a blistering critique published in the Washington Examiner, columnist Zachary Faria argues Disney’s embrace of progressive politics has caused the company to alienate one of its most natural audiences: young men between the ages of 13 and 28. “Disney’s progressive ideology has alienated young men. The company now recognizes that its own franchises are toxic to that audience,” Faria wrote.

Disney executives are reportedly brainstorming ways to bring young men back to theaters, despite owning some of the most male-oriented franchises in modern history. “You would think that this wouldn’t be very difficult: Disney owns Marvel, Star Wars, and Indiana Jones, among other franchises that should all naturally appeal to a younger, male audience,” Faria observed.

Instead, he says the company has used those franchises as vehicles for divisive politics. “Marvel went from being defined by Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor to being defined by mediocre Disney+ series mired in DEI propaganda,” Faria noted. He pointed specifically to the Iron Heart series, where “a young black girl (who is also a criminal) [becomes] the new Iron Man, as she dismisses her predecessor as being nothing more than a privileged rich man.”

The same pattern, he argues, can be seen in Lucasfilm and Indiana Jones. Harrison Ford’s iconic hero was supplanted by a female co-star “who the latest bomb of a film positions as morally superior to him.” Meanwhile, The Acolyte turned the Jedi into villains while portraying “the heroic lesbian space witch cult at the heart of the movie.”

For Faria, this strategy is backfiring. “With those brand names in its pocket, Disney should have been playing on easy mode when it came to winning over young male viewers. Instead, Disney has made those franchises so toxic that it is reportedly looking for original film concepts to win over young men,” he wrote. He added that it is now “easier to come up with a completely original story that will appeal to young men than it is to appeal to them with a Star Wars film.”

Faria concluded with a sharp comparison between the entertainment giant and the political left: “Disney, much like the Democratic Party, has embraced an ideology that belittles and ostracizes young men, and is now facing the reality that young men no longer want anything to do with its brand. Disney is trying to figure out how to win over the people it purposefully alienated over the last several years, and it has no one to blame but itself.”