Nostra-Dumb-Ass Is Back?

When the news broke last week that Elon Musk’s days in Washington were over I almost felt bad for the dude.  Emphasis on the word ALMOST.  I mean, it’s hard to have sympathy for someone who celebrated the termination of thousands of careers with a chain saw and a salute of questionable (at best) significance , right?

But I simply don’t like it when anyone loses their job their days, and the way his farewell press conference devolved into something that looked like we were going to see James Austin Johnson at the Resolute Desk was alternately hilarious and depressing.  Being “rewarded” with a key that looked as sturdy and as authentic as any merch from the Trump catalogue and being addressed as “someone special” was a de facto public flogging, which considering the recipient is a self-confessed drug addict that exhibits far more traits of being on the spectrum is an act of petulance and pettiness by any standard.  I honestly didn’t feel it was worthy of commentary at that point.

But yesterday a couple of stories broke that changed my mind.  One was Musk’s backlash, using his own social media platform as a megaphone in that same manner that Fat Orange Jesus does with his, as NBC NEWS’ Rob Wile shared:

Elon Musk issued a blistering criticism of the Republican spending bill for President Donald Trump’s agenda, posting on X that it represents a “disgusting abomination.” “I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore,” Musk wrote. “This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.”  He added: “It will massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit to $2.5 trillion (!!!) and burden American citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt.”

Then news broke in the sports world of yet another dismissal, this one a tad more surprising.  Per amNY’s Joe Pantorno:

A run to the franchise’s first Eastern Conference Finals in 25 years was still not enough to save Tom Thibodeau’s job, as the New York Knicks have reportedly fired the head coach after five seasons. The decision comes just three days after the Knicks’ season came to an end, as they were bounced from the conference final in six games by the Indiana Pacers.

And then it dawned on me.  All the chatter about the deterioration of the White House bromance being connected to the One Big Beautiful Bill was complete deflection.  The fact is that Musk, like Thibodeau, committed the cardinal sin in the eyes of any man-child nepobaby in charge.  If you’re not familar with the one who runs the Knicks, James Dolan, we’ve mused about him before, feel free to catch up.    They’re birds of a feather, trust me.   Musk’s fate was far more likely sealed when he couldn’t produce a win roughly two months ago.  NEWSWEEK reminds us of the sordid details:

Elon Musk’s heavy investment in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election failed to pay off, with Democratic-backed Susan Crawford winning the seat that decides control of the judiciary. The Associated Press called the race for Crawford Tuesday at 10:16 p.m. ET.  Musk spent over 20 million supporting Brad Schimel, and several million more in petition giveaway raising awareness about the election, but the Republican-endorsed candidate was unsuccessful, resulting in a 4-3 liberal majority in the judiciary.

So with that hindsight and context I can now more comfortably gloat about the fact that yep, I called this one cold.  When we took the last ten days of the year “off” and put forth a whole bunch of Predictions and Wishes. Here’s our receipt.

You’d be right if you would challenge that this one was not exactly going out a limb.  So I then looked back to see how the balance of them have been faring, since we’re closing in on the halfway point of 2025 already.

Nielsen vs. Paramount?  They settled their hissyfit as predicted, but far earlier than my predicted timeline of just before upfronts.  I’ll chalk that one up as a push.

Rupert Cashing Out?  Not yet.  He just turned 94 and he’s still showing up at upfronts in person.  But there is still seven months left in this year.  We’ll call that an incomplete.

YouTube Becoming A Haven For Scripted?  Nope.  In fact, the kerfuffle they’re now in with Disney about their “poaching” of a key executive suggests they’re moving more toward live sports as their entryway into longer form content–pretty much like their competition.

Not Being Near Death On Christmas Day?  Sorry for anyone wishing otherwise, but that was a layup in the moment.

The CW Coming Closer To Fox?  Nope again.  I had somehow forgotten that FOX had the Super Bowl, which is largely responsible for a +77% lift of their primetime average over their non-sports array.  That may be a huge asterisk, but we have to live by the same standards as Elon and Thibs are being held to.

Megamergers?  Again, no, but I’ll contend this one’s potentially a not yet.  Much like life itself, you have to shed weight before you can hope to couple up.  We have seen the creation of Versant on the Comcast front, WBD is hinting at a similar cleaving

Federal Mask Ban?  Hell, no.  I’d contend we’ve actually gone backward on that front, especially where I live.  Ever since January’s fires, those damn diapers are more prevalent than ever–seems like once folks started trolling them out they once again thought it was such a fashion statement they haven’t stopped long after those ashes finally cleared out of the air.  But this was far more of a wish than a prediction anyhoo.

Netflix Expanding Its NFL Relationship?  Again, a not yet.  So far they’ve officially held steady with two games on Christmas Day.  But as reported by Moneyline Beta just two weeks ago, the intent is very much there.  And with the NFL seemingly hell-bent on adding an 18th regular season game and a weekly international game, don’t be surprised if Netflix becomes a significant part of that expansion.

Being More Gainfully Employed?  Well, I am working for a new company, and they’re treating me a lot nicer than the old one, to be sure.  But it was a move they made to staff up after they took away the business from my former employer who let the majority of us go when they allegedly refused to accept the revised terms of their business partner.  I suppose that could also be see as a win in my column, but on a pure net income basis this too is a push.

And as for how we did in 2024?  At this writing, we’re just 1 out of 5.   Networks still exist, even if only in zombie form, and somehow print publications like USA TODAY and what’s left of the Los Angeles local dailies soldier on, albeit sometimes with editions of 30 pages or less.

So all in all, my “bad bromance” predicition has proven to be one of my more prescient ones–though, again, let’s indeed touch base in December to see where this all nets out.  At the moment, my record is far worse than Thibodeau’s.  But it’s a damn sight better than Elon’s.

Until next time…