Hi everyone,

Welcome back!  Come on in, have a seat.  How are you?  We went to bed well past our bedtimes here last night, thanks to the Patriots - Jets game, but it was worth it.  It's easier to stay up that late when the Patriots win the game.  Still adjusting to the fact that we're now getting up about an hour before sunrise these days, but BDH and Little Buddha have the perfect solution for that - coffee!  (They also just told me that we're running low, so I guess I know where I'm heading after we're done here.)  The guys just made a fresh pot, so grab yourself a nice medium DD, and let's clear out some Tuesday Clutter.

(As always, if you'd like to support our coffee budget, please consider using the Clutter Amazon page for your shopping needs and encourage your friends to do the same!) 

The numbers continue to worsen for Donald Trump:  Another poll shows that half the country supports his impeachment and removal from office, and there's no reason to think that number will peak anytime soon.  Any other White House occupant in this situation would be doing their best to show that they're qualified and doing a good job, whereas the Great Pumpkin has one dishonest meltdown after another.  However, it is depressing that 41% of the country still approves of him.  There are a lot of terrible people out there, and they're allowed to vote, so no one here better be considering sitting out the election.  The country can't afford that.

Yes, your numbers are that bad.  (pic via flyingeze.com)

Maybe it's just us, but the idea of refusing to participate in any presidential debates doesn't exactly scream confidence. 

Facebook removed a number of user profiles from their site and from Instagram after determining they were tied to Russian operators.  While some would say we should watch out for Russian interference in the 2020 elections to begin, we doubt it ever stopped after 2016.  Of course, Facebook itself is a threat to the country when it allows politicians to lie in their online ads.  Don't believe something you read just because you like what you hear -  verify the accuracy.  Of course, BDH and Little Buddha stand behind everything we write here, but it's the other guys you have to be careful about.

CC Sabathia formally announced his retirement yesterday.  Apart from the fact that he pitched for the New York Yankees, Sabathia seemed like a good guy who had a solid 18-year career, and we wish him the best with his future endeavors.  He also seemed to be dealing with a lot of injuries in his final seasons, and we hope retirement allows him the chance to heal up a bit.

The Boston Celtics signed Jaylen Brown to a four-year extension for $115 million yesterday.  We're admittedly not NBA experts, but we have a hard time believing that Brown's worth that much after just three years, and his role in last year's disaster of a season still seems troubling.  However, he got paid, so it's time to see him step up (along with guys like Jayson Tatum and Gordon Hayward) and show that he's worth that level of investment.

The New England Patriots crushed the New York Jets 33-0 last night, but the score felt like it was more like 100-0.  We thought the Pats would win, but that the game might be at least a little bit of a challenge.  However, New England's defense had different plans.  They just abused Jets rookie quarterback Sam Darnold from start to finish, and had him admitting that he saw "ghosts" everywhere.  Darnold was 11 for 32 for a total of 86 yards with four interceptions.  Whether it was inexperience or fear, Darnold refused to stop making throws off his back foot, and the Patriots repeatedly made him pay for it.  Bill Belichick and company must have set this kid's development back by at least 6 months.  Nothing personal, Sam.

On the flip side, Tom Brady and company scored a touchdown on their first possession of the game and never looked back.  Brady went 31 for 45 for 249 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.  Running back Sony Michel had himself a game with three touchdowns for the night.  Yes, they were playing the now 1-5 Jets, but this was as a thorough domination.  The 7-0 Patriots play the Cleveland Browns next, and then the schedule gets more difficult.  Hopefully New England will also get a number of injured players back by then.  This defense is legit.  It's still on the offense to show what they can do, which is a weird thing to say after such an overwhelming win, but that's life in New England.

The final trailer for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker debuted during halftime last night.  Honestly, we're not sure what's going on in about half the clip, but we walked away thinking, "Hey, that looks like fun.  Why not?"  It's safe to say people have strong feelings about this franchise, but here's our thinking about it:  The first three movies will always be tremendous, the second three were a missed opportunity (we'll never get over there being a film about a trade war), and the last two have been entertaining enough.  It's fun to see familiar faces, and the stories generally hold our interest.  This one looks like it will fall into the same category.  See for yourself:

The Who's rock opera Tommy returns to Broadway in 2021.

The first full-length trailer for season 3 of The Crown is here, and it looks fantastic.  Olivia Colman looks like she owns the role of Queen Elizabeth II, and Helena Bonham Carter seems ready to cause plenty of trouble as Princess Margaret.  We don't know much about Josh O'Connor, who plays Prince Charles, but it appears he's got a prominent role in the story at this point.  Claire Foy and Matt Smith will be missed, but this phase of the series should also be a fun ride.  Season 3 comes out on November 17.

Okay kids, that's gonna do it for now.  Let's have Tina Turner close things out with a kick-ass version of "Acid Queen," from Tommy for today's, "Song of the Day."

Outstanding.  Just outstanding.

Thanks for stopping by, everyone.  It was great to see you, as always.  We're heading to the bookstore after we buy more coffee, so BDH and Little Buddha say you're welcome to come back later and read with them if you like.  Otherwise, enjoy the rest of your day, be good, and we'll catch up with you again soon.  Until then, that's today's Clearing out the Clutter, and we are outta here.