Bag of Nothing

 

I think of the first couple of lines from the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song when it comes to my life and the start of Trump’s second term. Due to his administration, I was laid off twice from two different government contracting jobs. I found out last night my nighttime routine will now be changing, and I have no doubt he’s behind it.Longtime readers know I love late-night television. Some people love sitcoms, others enjoy soap operas, and I prefer late-night television. It all started with watching Carson with my dad, then my brother introduced me to Letterman. Dave’s first Late Show on CBS happened on my birthday in 1993. In college, I embraced Conan and later witnessed Jay Leno stab him in the back; watched Kimmel grow into a decent host after Ted Koppel left Nightline, and then fell in love with Comedy Central’s The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. When Stewart left and Letterman retired, it really was no longer part of my routine. But when the mother of my children decided to break up our family, I found a lot of comfort returning to those shows. They became a part of my nightly routine. I record them all, and will often watch and compare each show’s monologue the next day, either through the DVR or by use of their YouTube channels. In particular, I started to embrace Stephen Colbert. He struggled at first, but over time, he not only overtook The Tonight Show but also won Emmys and a Peabody for his show. The most recent ratings from Nielsen show Colbert as winning his timeslot, with about 2.417 million viewers across 41 new episodes. It also said his late-night show was the only one to gain viewers so far this year.

Paramount, which is the parent company of CBS, just settled a bogus lawsuit with President Trump for $16 million. They have been trying to complete an $8 billion merger with a company called Skydance, which requires the approval of Trump’s FCC. Trump has been shaking down media companies, such as Paramount and ABC (owned by Disney), telling them they would only receive government approvals if they settled with him or enriched him personally, like contributing to his future presidential library. Colbert has been scorching Trump and rightfully called out the cowardice of ABC and CBS.

Last night, Colbert shockingly announced that it plans to end his “Late Show” after the next TV season. In other words, his show will only be around for ten more months. It really doesn’t make any sense from the normal business logic of television. Stephen Colbert has the highest-rated late-night television program. He beats his competitors. He’s been going at it for 10 years, and frankly, he’s been on a hot streak lately. So, by the business logic of television, normally, he would be in a very safe spot. Almost everybody is connecting this to the Paramount settlement from two weeks ago. He who controls the media controls the opinions of the masses. He who controls the opinions of the masses controls the world. This is a phrase that has been on my mind a lot lately. The phrase is often associated with the use of propaganda and censorship in totalitarian regimes, like Nazi Germany and fascist Italy.

Congrats to Stephen Colbert for never bending the knee.

While listening to the Musers podcast, a Hilton commercial featuring Paris Hilton played. I’m not sure why, but I debated in my head whether she was paid for it or not. Of course, she should get paid for her work, but the hotel company is what gave her such a privileged life, if anything, she owes the company free work. For you local folks, I’m sure Rick Stacy doesn’t pay himself for the commercials he makes. But I bet Clay Cooley’s kids probably get paid for making commercials for the family business.

I conducted some research on Conrad Hilton, Paris’s great-grandfather, who founded the hotel chain. After serving only one term in the first New Mexico legislature (1912-1916), he purchased his first hotel in Cisco, Texas, to capitalize on the oil boom. His first luxury Hilton Hotel was built in 1925 in Dallas. In 1963, he privately published his book Inspirations of an Innkeeper. Only 312 copies were published, but the book has been digitized and is online. He related himself to the innkeeper of the first Christmas. As a matter of fact, his gravestone, which is just north of Love Field in Dallas, has “Christmas is Forever” inscribed. I find it interesting that he resided in a 61‐room mansion in Bel‐Air and a home in Palm Springs, but is buried in a Catholic cemetery in Dallas, with his father and brother, both of whom preceeded him in death.

A few more things about their new podcast. It’s a lot different than the show; it’s more reflective and emotional. And, while I think it was an accident, it was the first time I heard one of the guys mention Gordon’s daughter to him. Gordon usually avoids any talk about his dating life or romantic life, and especially his children, and the guys typically make sure to avoid it as well.

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