Five Things

1.  It just seems...across American society.....people are getting noticeably stupider.

It appears....shortly....we will have to figure out some way to improve 'baseline' IQ.  At some point, you will have to test folks on a regular basis and make it a public record.

2.    Andrew Cuomo says that he'll move to Florida if Zohran Mamdani becomes mayor of New York City. 

Folks in Florida ought to have a say....either to accept the guy, or forbid him entry.

3.  I have this belief....one out of seven folks walking around....has some kind of rage building up.

4.  As a kid....we had two sets of encyclopedias in the house.  One set from the early 1950s, and one set from late 1960s.  From age 12 to age 17....I probably put 20 hours per year  into reading up on 'something'.  If you asked kids today.....no one reads encyclopedias.

5.  It's pretty normal now....folks walking around and expressing how miserable they feel.  They want you to know the problems....the feelings...and the 'shame' that they feel.  None have never spent 12 hours on a July day...hauling hay in a 98-degree situation.  

What Really Occurred In The Stephen Colbert 'Event'?

 In the beginning, the deal....pay Colbert $120-M a year (for full production), and I would imagine the network (CBS) anticipated making in the $150-M to $170-M a year...without any issues.

The design of Colbert's show....mostly to make Democratic-minded viewers laugh and be happy.  As years went by....fewer conservative viewers watched.  

An odd thing then started to occur....the advertising community felt a problem, and some started to shy away.  Then CBS found that making $150-M a year was not possible...without making deals.  

Months went by, and what CBS found was that for 2024....they could only generate roughly $80-M...meaning a loss of $40-M....also meaning that they were taking profits from elsewhere (probably NFL-football) to keep Colbert afloat.  I would guess that Colbert wouldn't want to admit  that his show was a 'welfare-design' at this point.

So the day finally came....CBS said 'enough' and a termination notice.

What is left now?  Three things.

First, Colbert probably will invent a podcast, and find that he can get 300k viewers for a once or twice a week show. I'm not saying he'll cover his million-dollar a month salary that he had....but it'll be at least $100k a month.

Second, CBS has to rebuild the late-night show....meaning a search for someone to do a show that does NOT get political.  Frankly, there is no Johnny Carson-like comedian today who could fit such an 'fit'.  Stephen Smith from ESPN?  He would do great at interviews, but is zero-talent as a comedian.

Third, the other networks.....ABC and NBC?  They are probably pulling out the revenue generation from their shows, and I anticipate their folks will be let-go by the end of 2025.  Also....same problem.....where do we find talent to fill the shoes?

The end?  Well....you have to wonder...are there any comedians left who could make both conservatives and liberals both happy?