Hi everyone,

Welcome back.  How are you?   Things are pretty good on this end at the moment.  We had a productive day yesterday, which was nice.  A couple of things need to be taken care of today, and there doesn't seem to be any snow coming in the next 24 hours, so no complaints here.  Of course, it always helps when the guys make coffee, and speak of the devil, they just walked in with a fresh pot!  Grab yourself a nice medium DD, and let's clear out some Tuesday Clutter.

Sixteen states are suing Donald Trump over his emergency declaration to build his wall. The states, which are vulnerable to losing federal funds because of Trump's decision, say Trump is violating the Constitution by taking money that Congress has appropriated for other purposes.  This is one of several lawsuits challenging Trump's declaration.   You know, we're old enough to remember when Republicans used to claim they opposed power grabs by the federal government.  Of course, it was nonsense even back then, but they could at least say it on-camera with a straight face.

A new poll says 60% of Americans find Donald Trump's claims of a border crisis and his emergency declaration to be nonsense.

Trump crony Roger Stone posted a picture of the federal judge overseeing his case next to the crosshairs of a gun sight. How is this not a criminal threat, and why is Stone a free man before his trial?  Stone and his lawyers later issued the emptiest of apologies for the now-deleted image, but he's already put the life of federal Judge Amy Berman Jackson at-risk.  Stone is clearly a public safety risk who should be behind bars.

It seems like we haven't heard from Rudy Giuliani in a while.  Perhaps the Trump team finally got tired of Rudy acting like a witness for Robert Mueller every time he spoke to the media?  Wonder what he's up to.   Oh wait, here's Rudy giving a paid speech to attack Iran. Maybe that will keep him out of trouble for a while.

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is expected to release a plan for universal child care today. The plan would reportedly be paid for by some of the revenue from her plan to tax the uber-wealthy. 

Senator Bernie Sanders (Independent-Vermont) announced he's running for president again this morning. It was useful to have a more progressive alternative to Hillary Clinton when Sanders first ran in 2016.  However, the 2020 field is already crowded, and it's left-leaning, thanks in large part to Sanders.  Today's Democratic Party is looking for a more representative figure.  While Sanders has better name recognition than most of the other current/potential candidates, we expect primary voters to coalesce around another option as the campaign progresses.

Has the window closed for Bernie Sanders?  (pic via wtol.com)

An 11-year-old Florida student was arrested for refusing to say the Pledge of Allegiance in class. The fact that any adult thought that was an appropriate use of law enforcement is outrageous, but it's reflective of a disturbing and racially-biased trend in our schools.

Boston Red Sox owner John Henry and chairman Tom Werner gave their thoughts on the team yesterday. Most notably, it sounds like Chris Sale, Mookie Betts, and Xander Bogaerts are the pending free agents they're most focused on re-signing.  Werner called it "extremely unlikely" that the Sox will bring back Craig Kimbrel, so the closer's stint in free agent Siberia will apparently continue.  We also want to mention that Boston's first spring training game of the year is against Northeastern University this coming Friday.  Baseball is in the air!

The final season of Veep premieres on March 31, and judging by the first trailer, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and friends are going out in style:

Netflix's Marvel era is officially ending now that Jessica Jones and The Punisher have both been cancelled.  The Jessica Jones crew filmed a third season which will still air, but that's the end of the line, with Marvel's new owner Disney getting ready to launch their own streaming service later this year.  What do you think, Marvel fans?   Are you disappointed about this news, or are you just looking forward to seeing Disney has in store for you?

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Here's Shawn Colvin to close things out with, "Sunny Came Home," for today's, "Song of the Day."

Thanks for stopping by, everyone.  It was great 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.