Hi everyone,

Welcome back!  How are you?  We hope you all had a great weekend.  I got to spend some time in the garden yesterday, which was nice.  I could have done without the incessant wind, but it was a fitting way to celebrate Mother's Day.  The tulips are coming in, and it seems like the other plants are doing well so far, which makes me happy.  BDH and Little Buddha say the weather forecast calls for rain for most of this afternoon and into the evening.  Something tells me it will end up just being a few sprinkles, but we'll see.  In any case, the guys made you coffee, so grab yourself a nice medium DD, and let's clear out some Monday Clutter.

The coronavirus continues to invade the White House:  Mike Pence is reportedly in quarantine after exposure to his aide who recently tested positive for the virus.  Pence reportedly tested negative yesterday and is staying home out of caution, but who knows with this administration.  The White House hasn't confirmed the story yet, so do we think a) Donald Trump will call it "fake news," b) Trump will criticize Pence for being weak, c) He'll claim Pence protected himself with a Lysol injection or hydroxychloroquine, or d) Trump will claim he doesn't know Mike Pence, because he will confuse Pence with his long list of criminal associates?

Hold on, Pence might not be in quarantine after all.  Of course it's asking far too much for the guy overseeing the coronavirus response to actually follow the standard protocol for exposure.  Sure, he'd be putting everyone around him at-risk, but hey, these folks knew what they were signing up for when they accepted jobs in the White House, right?  Plus, Pence probably knows that Trump's most likely response to his absence would have been to attack him.  Mr. Submissive can't have that when he so desperately wants to be the successor to the MAGA crown.

Can't risk making the boss mad.  (pic via fairfieldcitizenonline.com)

Dr. Anthony Fauci is under "modified quarantine" for 14 days after having "low risk" contact with the same Pence staffer.  Fauci will work from home for the next two weeks, and is expected to now remotely testify before a Senate committee.  The committee is chaired by Senator Lamar Alexander, who is now also going into isolation after one of his staff members tested positive for the virus.  Maybe the whole hearing should be a Zoom meeting.  We shudder to think what would happen if Dr. Fauci were to become sick, since he's one of the only individuals in this administration who can be trusted.  Hopefully the next two weeks will pass without incident.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump held a meeting with his national security team yesterday, and not one of these old guys was wearing a mask.   Trump obviously thinks it projects strength, but instead, it just screams foolishness.  What do you think is Trump's biggest reason for not wearing a mask?  Fears that it makes him look weak with his anti-science cult followers, or that we'd see all of the makeup on it?

Donald Trump went on a Twitter binge yesterday morning, the kind of crazed burst which makes one wonder if he got any sleep the night before, or if something else was going on.  More than 80,000 Americans are dead because of the coronavirus, and the White House occupant is focused on sharing conspiracy theories.  It was just another day in the worst timeline.

Donald Trump's legal team will ask the Supreme Court this week to grant him complete immunity from any investigations into his conduct as a private citizen while he's still in office.  That's a power grab of historic proportions, which would put Trump above the law.  His argument isn't found anywhere in the U.S. Constitution, which is why it has failed every time he's made it in court.  Trump is clearly counting on SCOTUS to save him yet again, but if Chief Justice John Roberts still has any interest in protecting the perceived legitimacy of "his" court (which is already hanging on by a thread), this decision will go against Trump.  If that happens, Trump will be forced to reveal a lot of the financial records he's been so desperately hiding for the last 3+ years.

California Governor Gavin Newsome issued an executive order on Friday which allows every resident in the state to vote by mail in November.  Of course, Donald Trump had a meltdown about it, because Republicans become furious when voting is easy.  The GOP represents a minority of the country that continues to shrink, and the only way they can stay in power is by doing everything they can to stop the rest of the country from exercising their right to vote.

The poll numbers are getting increasingly worse for Senate Republicans.  It turns out that most voters still don't want to die for the economy, and they don't seem inclined to support the politicians making that argument.  Will this force Mitch McConnell to reconsider his support for Donald Trump, or is he preparing to sent the GOP off the cliff with the Great Pumpkin and then blame Democrats for the fallout from this crisis?  McConnell's already confirmed scores of conservative federal judges, which is all he ever cared about anyway, so maybe he's ready for a break.   Of course, the election is still six months away, which is multiple political lifetimes from now, but sending McConnell back to the minority (or better yet, home), would help this country about as much as throwing Trump out of the White House. 

We haven't had a chance to watch most of SNL's season finale yet, but let's check out the cold open which featured a graduation speech for the ages:

Shame on every idiot who berated the teenage staff of a Massachusetts ice cream shop yesterday.  Disgraceful.  It's ice cream.  If you can't handle a new system that was put in place to keep you and the employees safe, stay home and mindlessly stare at Fox News propaganda for the rest of the day, you miserable fools.

Hey New England Patriots fans, if you ever wanted a Super Bowl ring, here's your chance:  Robert Kraft is auctioning off his ring from Super Bowl LI against the Atlanta Falcons.   It's part of the All In Challenge, which raises money for hungry people in the United States.  Mind you, the current bid is $330,000, but hey, organize a (large) group of friends, and maybe you can wear it for a day if you each chip in $1000.  Sounds like a bargain to us.

NBA Hall of Famer/current analyst Shaquille O’Neal thinks the league should "scrap" the rest of the season because of coronavirus concerns.  Shaq doesn't believe the NBA can come back safely in the short-term and they should wait until the country has a better handle on the pandemic.  He's not wrong.  All it would take is for one or two players to become sick, and you'd have to shut the whole thing down again.  It's better to keep everyone safe and focus on what it would take for next season to go as smoothly as possible.

John Oliver came out with his own line of stamps to benefit the U.S. Postal Service, which finds itself under attack from Donald Trump.  The stamps are only available until June 15, so order now if you're interested.

We're sorry to hear that actor Jerry Stiller died.  Stiller had a long and distinguished career, but he'll always be Frank Costanza to us.  Our condolences go out to his family, friend, and fans. 

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Here's Disturbed to wrap things up with, "No More," for today's, "Song of the Day."

Thanks for stopping by, everyone.  Hanging out with you is a fantastic way to start a new week.  Stay safe, 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.