Hi everyone,

Welcome back!  How are you?  BDH and Little Buddha shut off my alarm again when I wasn't looking, so I got a little extra sleep last night.  They said I was productive yesterday, but they didn't like that I was exhausted by 5:00, and they felt I could use another reset.  I can't disagree with any of that.  I'm lucky to have the two of them looking out for me.  It sounds like today is going to be a hot one, so maybe we'll stick to a few low-key activities inside, watch a House rerun or two, enjoy the garden in the evening, and then get to sleep at a good time.  However, before any of that happens, we have to check out today's headlines.  The guys put a fresh pot of coffee on the counter, so grab yourself a nice medium DD, because it's time to clear out some Thursday Clutter.

The details are already coming out about John Bolton's new book before its release on June 23, and as expected, they cast Donald Trump in a terrible light.  Asking China for help with his re-election campaign?  Check.  Condoning concentration camps, because hey, what does he care, especially if China helps him?  Check.  Played like a fiddle by Vladimir Putin?  Check.  Helping foreign leaders avoid criminal investigations?  Check.  Insisting Venezuela is part of the United States?  Bizarre, but check.  Wanting to put reporters in jail for doing their jobs?  Frightening, but check. 

There's probably much more in there, but we still have no intention of buying the book.  John Bolton had a chance to serve his country by testifying during Donald Trump's impeachment trial.  He refused to do it because he was waiting to cash in with these stories.  Bolton reconfirms what countless other former Trump cronies have already said:  The Great Pumpkin is incompetent and corrupt.  Voters must remember that in November, and they should also remember that Bolton hid like a coward when it counted.

John Bolton failed the country.  (pic via news4jax.com)

Attorney General Bill Barr is once again trying to save Donald Trump, as federal prosecutors are apparently debating whether to charge John Bolton for allegedly including classified information in his book.  We don't expect that to go anywhere, but we are counting the days until the United States Attorney General is someone who stops using the Department of Justice like a mob legal defense team.

Polls continue to show Joe Biden with a strong lead over Donald Trump right now.  Things also look good on the electoral college front.  However, we all know a lot can change between now and November, and nothing should be taken for granted.  Donald Trump is an increasingly desperate man, and he'll do anything to try to steal another election.

Do you think Tucker Carlson's fans understand that Fox News says he's under no obligation to tell them the truth?  Of course, viewers turn off their thinking caps the moment they turn on that channel.

The new jobless claims are out, and 1.5 million people filed for unemployment benefits in the last week, which is more than what was expected.  That brings the total number of claims filed over the last 13 weeks to 45.7 million people, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to hit the economy.

Hertz halted its plans to issue $550 million of potentially "worthless" stock shares after questions were raised by the SEC.  The rental car company is currently in bankruptcy, and there's a good chance these shares could be wiped out as part of that court process.  Who in their right mind would buy this stuff in the first place?  The Clutter investment team just shakes their heads and wants to know when we're going to watch the House reruns while these people act so foolishly.

Aunt Jemima is being tossed into the dustbin of history after parent company PepsiCo finally acknowledged the brand's racist connotations.  That only took 131 years.  It appears that Mrs. Butterworth, Uncle Ben, and the guy from the Cream of Wheat packages are all rightfully heading for the same fate.  Now that we're getting this out of the way, let's address police brutality and institutional racism in the United States.

Donald Trump now says Colin Kaepernick "absolutely" deserves a chance to return to the NFL after being blacklisted for four years for protesting police brutality by kneeling during the national anthem before games.  Someone is feeling the political pressure created by the Black Lives Matter protests.  Of course, Trump tried to rewrite history yesterday by claiming Kaepernick's issues were on the field, and not because the Great Pumpkin led a mob against him for expressing his views.  It's complete claptrap, but will Trump's comments allow one NFL owner to finally find a backbone and sign the quarterback, or will all of them continue to issue statements of, "Hey, we support equality, and Kap's a great guy and everything, but it's still business as usual here?"

Actor Danny Masterson was charged yesterday with raping three women between 2001 and 2004.  Masterson has been under investigation by the Los Angeles police since 2017 and is looking at a maximum sentence of 45 years in prison if convicted on all counts.

The soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful resumed production yesterday and then stopped again to increase their coronavirus testing.  They'll try filming again on June 23.  You have to wonder if we'll see a lot of this stop and start take place as TV shows implement safety protocols for their sets.

ABC released their fall schedule yesterday, but the network acknowledged that there's a lot of uncertainty hanging over it, due to the aforementioned production safety issues.  The most striking thing for us is that there's not a single must-see program on the list at the moment.  Our staff is probably more of a CBS audience first, with a dash of NBC, and maybe a little Fox, as far as the networks are concerned.  Of course, we can't forget the remaining episodes of Supernatural on the CW.  What's the breakdown in your house?

Actress Gwyneth Paltrow is now selling a candle that she claims smells like an orgasm.   Let's move on...

We don't have Hulu, but maybe we should reconsider that decision.  Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti star in the upcoming original movie Palm Springs on the streaming service, and it looks fantastic.  Check out this trailer:

A possibly even darker version of Groundhog Day?  That's a perfect film for this year.  If there's no other way to watch this movie, we may have to get a Hulu subscription.  Palm Springs comes out on July 10.

When he's not out entertaining millions of fans around the world, Metallica frontman James Hetfield apparently enjoys building and rebuilding cars, and he's got a new book about his hobby coming out on July 28.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Here's the Who to close things out with a terrific live version of, "Summertime Blues" for today's, "Song of the Day."

Thanks for stopping by, everyone.  It was great to see you, as always.  BDH and Little Buddha say you're welcome to come back later to watch House with them if you like.  They'll probably check out some episodes from season 2.  Otherwise, 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.