Hi everyone,

Welcome back!  Come on in, have a seat.  How are you?  Everyone here is fine at the moment.  BDH and Little Buddha have been listening to the birds chirping ever since they woke up this morning.  They think the birds are making weekend plans, but they're not sure.  Other than that, there's not too much going on at the moment.  I've got a doctor's appointment this afternoon, which I'm actually looking forward to (I think) because I've put it off for too long.  I might get caught in some rain afterwards, but that's a fair trade-off to finally remove this from the to-do list.  In any case, the guys brought in some coffee, so grab yourself a nice medium DD, and let's clear out some Thursday Clutter.

Donald Trump stormed out of his meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer yesterday, and then he had a tantrum of a press conference afterwards where he announced that no bipartisan governing will happen until the Democrats end all investigations of him.  First off, not sure what governing he's talking about, since Republicans have no interest in any of it.  Second, someone is freaking out about the fact that he's losing ground on both political and legal fronts.  Third, the pressure will continue to mount on Speaker Pelosi to finally open an impeachment inquiry to address Trump's obstruction of justice and what she herself described as his subsequent cover-up. To wait for the 2020 elections is inappropriate approach for these crimes.

"Someone tell those mean Democrats to stop trying to hold me accountable for my actions."  (pic via pbs.org)

As we mentioned, Trump's outburst was likely at least partially fueled by the fact that a New York judge won't stop a congressional subpoena for bank records for Trump and his family members.  There's also news that the House Financial Services Committee has obtained information about Trump's financial dealings from two banks.   As much as it kills Trump, Congress has legitimate and investigative abilities that are needed to ensure the long-term viability of this country.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin revealed yesterday that the Trump administration is delaying the plan to put abolitionist icon Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill.  Switching Andrew Jackson for Tubman was originally expected to happen next year, and now Mnuchin says it won't be until 2026 at the earliest.  This group screams every day for the preservation of Confederate monuments, but a tribute to an African American woman?  Yeah, that doesn't work for them.

Disgraced celebrity chef Mario Batali will be arraigned in Boston on Friday on indecent assault and battery charges for an alleged incident in 2017.  Multiple women have accused Batali of sexual misconduct over the past year, but this seems to be the first case where charges are being filed.

The Boston Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-5 in 13 innings last night, thanks to yet another home run from rookie Michael Chavis.  Things seemed to be going well for Boston for most of the night.  Rick Porcello had a solid outing, giving up just three hits and one run over six innings.  However, the Red Sox bullpen couldn't hold the lead, and it took extra frames to secure the win.  Hey, an ugly victory beats a pretty defeat every time.  The Sox go for the series win this afternoon with Ryan Weber taking the mound against the Blue Jays.

The Boston Bruins will face the St. Louis Blues in the Stanley Cup Finals, after the Blues took care of the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday.  This is the 11th time to the two cities have challenged each other for a sports championship, which is a little crazy.  Boston teams have a 7-3 advantage in those contests.  Here's hoping the Bruins can run that up to 8-3.  Game 1 of the Finals is in Boston on Monday.

Congratulations to the Chicago White Sox for turning the first triple play of the season last night.

NBC's "One Chicago" programs all had their season finales last night, so now Red Sox games are the only regularly scheduled television viewing around here for the next few months.  The programs were a mixed bag.  Chicago Med was generally lacking any real drama, the reportedly imminent departure of two cast members was ambiguous, and a couple of story-lines felt rushed.  Chicago Fire was a little better, but that's mostly because the last 10-15 minutes were dramatic and left a lot of questions that we're eager to see how they're resolved.  Chicago P.D. was far and away the best of the bunch.  Still some ambiguity with a departing cast member, but there was a good deal of suspense watching this group try to bring down the incoming mayor before he disbanded the unit, and the episode ended with several characters in bad positions.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  In light of this afternoon's appointment, here's Robert Palmer to close things out with, "Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor Doctor)," 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.