Thursday Clutter: Mueller Investigation, Roger Stone, Speaker Pelosi, Susan Collins, Vatican Abuse Summit, Red Sox TV News, Kurt Cobain, and more
02/21/2019
Hi everyone,
Welcome back! Come on in, have a seat. How are you? It's a little messy outside at the moment. We had a moderate amount of snow overnight, and I think it turned into freezing rain at some point. Today's high is supposed to be almost 50 degrees, so this should all disappear pretty soon. For now, BDH and Little Buddha want to hang out with you and the Clutter Tree, see what's going on in the world, and enjoy some coffee. Sounds good to me. They just made said coffee, so grab yourself a nice medium DD, because it's time to clear out some Thursday Clutter.
It appears that the Mueller investigation may be wrapping up soon, but there are still many questions. Pimarily, what is in said report, and what will be disclosed to Congress and the public? There will be plenty of speculation about that in the days and weeks ahead. What is clear is that Donald Trump's legal problems aren't over either way, with there still being many open cases about him across the country. Also, there will be renewed pressure on Democrats who up until this point have refused to take action against Trump until Mueller finishes his work. If the reports are true, these people have lost their excuse for procrastination.
What's next? (pic via ktvz.com)
Speaking of legal troubles, former Trump campaign staffer Jessica Dennison filed a class action claim yesterday looking to nullify all of the nondisclosure agreements people involved with the campaign were forced to sign. Just imagine the dirt that would come out if this is successful:
Denson’s lawyers estimate thousands of campaign staffers, volunteers, and contractors signed NDAs and could be covered by the case. If the nondisclosure and nondisparagement agreements that they signed were thrown out, these former staffers would be free to talk about their time on the campaign — and to criticize the campaign or the president without fear of facing financial penalties.
Trump crony Roger Stone is back in court today to explain why he shouldn't go to jail after posting an Instagram picture of the judge in his case next to the crosshairs of a gun next to her head. It was a clear attempt at intimidation, and Stone should pay the consequences for his actions by losing his freedom.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi is going forward with her resolution opposing Donald Trump's national emergency declaration, so Senate Republicans will have to decide if they have any interest in defending their Constitutional power of the purse, or if they'll continue to be subservient to the Great Pumpkin.
Senator Susan Collins' claims to be a moderate are continually being shown to be fraudulent, and Maine voters are taking notice.
A member of the U.S. Coast Guard, who is a self-proclaimed white nationalist, was arrested yesterday after authorities found a massive amount of illegal weapons in his home. Christopher Paul Hasson was allegedly planning a massive act of domestic terrorism that would target politicians and members of the media. This is the kind of hatred that Donald Trump's rhetoric enables. Also, we have to ask, how many others like Hasson are in the United States military?
Pope Francis is convening a four-day summit regarding how to handle the Catholic Church's ongoing sex abuse scandal. Four days is a lot of time for hot air about grandiose ideas, so let us save everyone some time and keep it simple: Stop raping minors and stop covering for the abusers.
NESN made a number of announcements about the 2019 Boston Red Sox TV announcing team yesterday, and we're on board with all of it. We've got Dennis Eckersley signing a new five-year deal to do 85 games a season, which is outstanding. There's the notice that Eckersley will do a three-man booth for 30 games with Dave O'Brien and Jerry Remy, which always makes for terrific television. Finally, there's the news that former players Carlos Pena and Jarrod Saltalamacchia will be the back-up analysts when needed. We have no opinion on Pena, but we enjoyed Salty's previous stint in the TV booth, so it's good to have him back as well.
It sounds like Eduardo Rodriguez is off to a good start in spring training this year. It will be a boost for an already strong Red Sox pitching rotation if the promising lefty can finally stay healthy for a full season.
One of the reasons the Pittsburgh Steelers are such a mess is because of Ben Roethlisberger's habit of constantly publicly calling out his teammates. Just ask Antonio Brown. However, Steelers management is fine with Roethlisberger's brand of "leadership," so the money here says Steelers fans shouldn't expect the team to right the ship anytime soon.
It's amazing that yesterday would have been Kurt Cobain's 50th birthday. The late Nirvana guitarist/frontman will forever be locked in our minds as a 27 year-old. Cobain was a man who was years ahead of his time, and his voice is still missed today.
We haven't paid a lot of attention to this franchise, but the ads for How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World are intriguing, and the reviews are overwhelmingly positive. However, BDH and Little Buddha aren't sure they want to see a movie that involves buddies saying goodbye to each other. (We're a bunch of softies here.) We might not make it to the theater for this one, but you're welcome to send us your thoughts if you see it.
We've become totally hooked on the NBC "Chicago programs" (i.e. Med, Fire, and P.D.) and particularly enjoy when any/all of the shows cross-over like they did last night.
Okay kids, that's going to do it for now. Here's Nirvana to close things out with a live performance of, "Dumb," for today's, "Song of the Day."
Thanks for stopping by, everyone. It was a treat to see you, as always. Enjoy the rest of your day, be good, and we'll catch up with you again for more fun soon. Until next time, that's today's Clearing out the Clutter, and we are outta here.
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