Tuesday Clutter: Homeland Security Purge, Trump, William Barr, Warren Buffett, Felicity Huffman, Boston Red Sox, Tom Selleck, Iron Maiden, and more
Thursday Clutter: Julian Assange, William Barr, National Enquirer, CTE Research, New England Patriots, Kim Kardashian, Midnight Oil, and more

Wednesday Clutter: William Barr, DHS Purge Continues, Dalai Lama, Boston Red Sox, Magic Johnson, Grease, and more

Hi everyone,

Welcome back!  How are you?  I finally got a good night's sleep again.  I'm so happy about that, I'm doing my best to ignore the light layer of snow that's on the ground right now.  The high temperatures are supposed to be in the 40's today, so it shouldn't be here that much longer anyway.  BDH and Little Buddha asked if I still thought they should make some coffee, and then they laughed before I even had a chance to answer.  There's a fresh pot on the counter, so grab yourself a nice medium DD, and let's clear out some Wednesday Clutter.

Attorney General William Barr made his first appearance before Congress yesterday, and he told the House Appropriations subcommittee that while a redacted version of the Mueller Report would be released within a week, he has no intention of making an unredacted version available.  After all, he's only there to protect Donald Trump.   That refusal is likely to be what will bring this fight to the courts.  Barr also seems unfazed by the idea of 20 million Americans losing their healthcare coverage because the Department of Justice suddenly decided to no longer defend Obamacare in any capacity.  Barr will appear before a Senate appropriations subcommittee today, where he will likely face the same questions from Democrats.

Attorney General William Barr April 10 2019Doing whatever it takes to save his boss.  (pic via abcnews.go.com)

As we mentioned yesterday, Donald Trump violated the law when he named the wrong person to replace outgoing Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.  Trump wants US Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan in the role, but the applicable statute clearly showed Acting Deputy Secretary Claire Grady was the next in line, so as expected, Grady is reportedly submitting her resignation, as the purge at DHS continues.

Kirstjen Nielsen is apparently already at work on her rehabilitation tour. She doesn't deserve an inch.  Nielsen oversaw the kidnapping of thousands of children and lied about it.  The best her supporters would be able to say is that at least the kids weren't subjected to firing squads.  She's a criminal, and that should hang on her for the rest of her life.

99% of the money Senator Susan Collins (R) raised in the first quarter of the year came from outside her home state of Maine.  Collins is one of the biggest frauds up for re-election in 2020, and her constituents are signaling it's time for a change.

We send our best wishes to the Dalai Lama, who was hospitalized for a chest infection yesterday.  Here's hoping the 83-year-old Buddhist leader has a full and speedy recovery.

The good news is that the Boston Red Sox are finally home, and they got their opportunity to receive their 2018 World Series rings yesterday.   Those championship ceremonies never get old.  It was a treat to see former players like Hanley Ramirez, Mike Lowell, Mike Napoli, Pedro Martinez, and obviously Big Papi, on the field again.   We also loved seeing second baseman Dustin Pedroia back in action.  The Laser Show went 1-4 in his return, and hopefully he'll play close to a full season this year.  Not sure that it was necessary for the New England Patriots to also be a part of the festivities again, but we have no complaint about seeing Rob Gronkowski for the first time since his retirement announcement.  It seemed to us like the former tight end looks much skinnier than he did at the end of the season, but that's a conversation for another time. 

The bad news is that Boston's struggles continue, as the Red Sox lost 7-5 to the Toronto Blue Jays yesterday. The majority of the blame for this defeat falls squarely on Chris Sale, who had another bad outing, giving up five earned runs over four innings.  While it's obviously still early, the concerns about the lefty continue to grow, because Sale (with his 9.00 ERA) doesn't look anywhere near his usual self right now, and the root of the problem is unclear.  One still assumes that Sale will figure it out, but the team needs him to do it quickly before this hole they've dug themselves into gets much deeper.  The Red Sox have today off, and then Nathan Eovaldi takes the mound against Toronto tomorrow.

Magic Johnson surprised everyone by suddenly quitting his job as president of the Los Angeles Lakers last night.  There probably isn't anyone who is disappointed by the news, as Magic's executive run was not successful in any meaningful way.  That was unlikely to change this off-season, but announcing his departure to the press without telling owner Jeanie Buss first?  There has to be more to this story.

Dwayne Wade went out in style in his final home game for the Miami Heat last night. Wade scored 30 points, as the Heat beat the Philadelphia 76ers 122-99.  Wade's team, and opponents really, made sure hew knew how much love and respect they all had for him, with a glowing tribute video before the game, and an extended spotlight during it.

Dirk Nowitzki had a similar night as Wade in the final home game of his career. Nowitzki also scored 30 points, and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Phoenix Suns 120-109 last night, and it was also made clear to  Nowitzki how much he was appreciated as he finally formally announced his retirement. 

It's good to see that both future Hall of Famers were given the send-offs they deserved.

There's a Grease prequel in the works called Summer Loving. Apparently someone in Hollywood decided that there needed to be an entire movie about how Sandy and Danny met...even though the entire story is laid out in the song, "Summer Nights."  Are we missing something here?

Season 3 of The Crown hasn't even come out yet, but it's already being announced that actress Emma Corrin will play Princess Diana in Season 4.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Hey look at that, the snow is already melting.  Outstanding.  Let's celebrate, and save everyone some time, by having John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John close things out with, "Summer Nights," 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 soon.  Until next time, that's today's Clearing out the Clutter, and we are outta here.

 

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