In Defense of Donald Trump('s Hands)
Tuesday Clutter: Historic Supreme Court Decision, Coronavirus, Ted Cruz, Phantom Gourmet, MLB Fiasco, NFL, Lady Gaga, and more

Monday Clutter: Trump, Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren, Coronavirus, Rayshard Brooks, SpongeBob SquarePants, MLB, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, and more

Hi everyone,

Welcome back!  How are you?  Ready for a new week?  Yeah, neither are we.  The to-do list is fairly long at the moment.  Half of it is fine, but the other half will be a drag, so you can guess which ones we'll most likely get to today.  It's pretty cloudy outside, but BDH and Little Buddha say say it's not supposed to rain, so I should add "water the garden" to the list.  First, let's see what's going on in the news.  The guys made coffee, so grab yourself a nice medium DD, because it's time to clear out some Monday Clutter.

Health experts warn that Donald Trump's upcoming rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is a bad idea that has the potential to help spread the coronavirus in the area.  You're looking at long lines of people who refuse to wear masks while they wait to enter an enclosed space where they'll be packed together.  The arena where Trump is holding the rally has cancelled all other events until the end of July.  There's a reason none of the sports leagues are talking about allowing fans in the buildings for their games.  The Great Pumpkin's campaign knows they're looking at putting 19,000 lives at risk here (as well as the people these fools interact with afterwards.)  That is why they're making attendees sign a waiver promising not to sue Donald Trump if/when they get sick.  It's disgraceful, but we learned long ago that the only person the White House occupant cares about is himself. 

Donald Trump June 15 2020Creating a potential public health threat so he can get an ego boost. (pic via kdow.biz)

Donald Trump's niece Mary Trump is apparently releasing a tell-all book on August 11, just weeks before the Republican National Convention.  Mary is the daughter of the late Fred Trump Jr. and has long had a contentious relationship with her relatives.  Mary Trump reportedly helped The New York Times with their 2019 expose into Donald's corrupt tax practices, and it sounds like there's more to come.  We expect Too Much And Never Enough to be a best-seller.

Over 100 Elizabeth Warren supporters signed on to a letter to Joe Biden urging him to select her as his running mate.  There's a lot of pressure on Biden to choose a woman of color in today's political climate, but the Warren allies suggest Biden's bigger problem is shoring up his standing with progressives.  Two moderates on the ticket is not going to excite a good portion of the Democratic base.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is already talking about shutting down some businesses again after the state received over 25,000 complaints about social distancing violations.  This fall and winter will likely be disasters.  From politicians to the public, there's little collective willpower to continue to do what needs to be done to keep this country safe until we at least have a coronavirus vaccine.  At the very least, please wear your masks when you're out in public, friends.

Outrage continues to grow over the murder of Rayshard Brooks, a black man in Atlanta who was killed by police on Friday as he tried to run away in  a Wendy's parking lot while being arrested for suspicion of drunk driving.  Brooks reportedly grabbed the police officer's taser and fired at him while he was trying to flee, and the officer responded by shooting Brooks twice in the back.  The officer who murdered Brooks has already been fired from the police department, and the Atlanta police chief has resigned.

As we debate the issue of defunding the police, let's review this again.  How was the public safety served in any fashion?  Brooks was asleep when the police were called.  No one's life was at risk.  He did a stupid thing by stealing the taser, but by definition, it's not a lethal weapon, so the officer's life was never in danger.  Finally, he was shot in the back.  How did involving the police help in any way here?   The autopsy lists the manner of death as a homicide, and the local district attorney says a decision about charges should come later this week.

It looks like today might be another ugly day on Wall Street, following last week's drop of about 4.75%.  Investors managed to convince themselves they could wish away the economic impact of the coronavirus for a little while there.  However, the storm clouds are gathering again as the data comes in from states that are reopening.  The Clutter investment team says they'll help us with our to-do list, because even the worst chores sound better than watching these numbers.

BP is taking a $17.5 billion write-off because of what it projects to be the long-term damage to the fossil fuel industry done by the coronavirus pandemic.  Apparently there's a silver lining in every crisis.

Seeing as how June is Pride Month, it's perfect timing for Nickelodeon to announce that SpongeBob SquarePants is a member of the LGBTQ+ community.  The network made the announcement via a tweet yesterday.  Cheers to Bob and his fans.

It appears that baseball is coming, but there's little reason to celebrate.  The MLBPA turned down the latest offer from the owners over the weekend and announced they're throwing in the towel.  Commissioner Rob Manfred has the ability to unilaterally impose a shortened season, so union head Tony Clark said Manfred should just announce how many games will be played and when players should report.  This is an awful look for the sport.  Baseball had the opportunity to grab the country's attention and goodwill if it was able to get up and running quickly, and they blew it.

It's clear the owners negotiated in bad faith, using the pandemic to squeeze millions of dollars in unwarranted concessions from the players (while negotiating a $1 billion deal with Turner Sports.)  As a result, the most likely outcome is with something that at best will look like a glorified spring training with bad feelings in all directions.  Are we supposed to care who wins the championship of a 50-game season?  It appears the billionaires beat the millionaires, but fans also lost here.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Here's Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers to close things out with, "Listen to Her Heart" for today's, "Song of the Day."

Thanks for stopping by, everyone.  It was great to see you, as always.  Be good, stay safe, 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.

 

If you enjoy Clearing out the Clutter, please consider a $5 monthly donation!  You can click here or on the "Donations" category on the right-hand side of the page.

Check out our new Patreon page! 

Comments