Hi everyone,

Welcome back!  How are you?  We're all doing fine, thanks for asking.  I gave the garden a good long soaking last night.  I'm sure it helped, but some rain would also be terrific.  BDH and Little Buddha saw something about we've only gotten around 25% of the usual amount of precipitation for June, which is no good.  It's pretty cloudy outside at the moment, but the guys say that's supposed to mostly burn off later this morning.  That's unfortunate.  Maybe we'll get some tomorrow.  In any case, let's check out the headlines.  There's a fresh pot of coffee on the table, so grab yourself a nice medium DD, because it's time to clear out some Tuesday Clutter.

Donald Trump continues to lie about the chances of mail-in voting being tainted by fraud.  Someone knows he's likely to lose in November unless he manages to find a new way to steal the election.  The Great Pumpkin's not ready to give up the legal immunity provided from being in the White House, so he'll do whatever he can to stay in office.  He's losing badly on the policy/competence front, so he needs to try to de-legitimize the results ahead of time. 

Sees defeat coming.  (pic via sfchronicle.com)

When nothing else is clicking, Donald Trump goes back to his security blanket, the white nationalism card, this time issuing new restrictions on green cards and work visas.  The administration claims this will free up thousands of jobs for Americans, while critics say it will further damage the economy which is already struggling in the wake of the damage inflicted on it by the coronavirus pandemic. 

The countdown to the firing of Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale continues, following the disaster that was last Saturday's abysmal campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  The main thing we're interested in here is if the rumors are true that the next manager will be someone who doesn't get along with Jared Kushner.  Donald Trump's reliance on his son-in-law for seemingly everything over the last 3 1/2 years, despite his failure to accomplish anything, is one of this administration's bigger curiosities.  Has the clock finally run out on Kushner, or is being married to Ivanka a perpetual get-out-jail-free card?

We know Donald Trump consistently projects his weaknesses onto his opponents, so when he attacks Joe Biden on grounds of alleged mental and physical infirmities, you can be confident Trump is worried about his own fragility.  Someone will write a comprehensive psychological profile of Trump someday, and it will be devastating.  All of this could have been avoided if he had parents who loved him.  Hug your kids, folks.

Joe Biden's campaign announced that he will participate in three debates with Donald Trump between now and November.  The Trump campaign will claim Biden only wants three because he's mentally diminished (see previous paragraph.)  Others will argue that an incumbent who is desperate for more than three debates is not someone who feels good about his chances of winning re-election.

The House Judiciary Committee is reportedly preparing to subpoena Attorney General William Barr to testify next week.  The immediate question becomes, how will the committee respond if/when Barr refuses to appear?   The administration's contempt for Congress is as blatant as ever, and it's unclear if House Democrats are willing to do anything besides give disapproving looks and send off the occasional stern letter.  Barr should be impeached for repeatedly lying about the DOJ's actions and subverting the rule of law in order to protect Donald Trump.

New York Police Commissioner Dermot Shea testified yesterday that the police officers who drove into protestors last month did not violate the department's use-of-force policy.  You know, just in case you were wondering why the protests are happening in the first place.

Minnesota health officials say protests in the state have not led to an increase in coronavirus cases.  The protesters have been wearing masks and keeping their distance from each other.  It's funny how wearing the mask seems to be helpful in limiting the spread of the virus.  It's almost as if people should be listening to scientists and public health leaders instead of a failed casino operator who would watch everyone die without hesitation if it meant him staying in office.

Apple is giving iPhone users plenty of new toys and features to play with in the new iOS 14, which was unveiled yesterday (and will be available to the public this fall.)  It's a little overwhelming for some of our staff (cough), but BDH and Little Buddha promise to explore it and figure out what the rest of us need to know. 

It looks like baseball is coming back. as owners voted unanimously to implement a 60-game schedule yesterday, with spring training starting on July 1 and Opening Day somewhere around July 24.  It pains us to say it, but this all still seems like a huge waste of time.  The number of coronavirus cases in this country continues to surge, and there's no reason to think it's any safer to play baseball now than it was 3.5 months ago.  Will we watch the games for as long as they're played?  Sure.  Do we think MLB will complete this abbreviated season?  Not so much.

We're sorry to hear that director Joel Schumacher died yesterday after a battle with cancer.  Schumacher directed a number of movies that we enjoyed over the last 30 years, including one of our all-time favorites, Lost Boys.  We were obsessed with the story about a family and their friends having to deal with vampires (led by Kiefer Sutherland) in southern California.  We had the poster, played the soundtrack until the cassette tape almost wore out, and it was a thrill when we were finally able to tape it off HBO while visiting Grandma and Grandpa Clutter.  Joel Schumacher was 80 years old.  Our condolences go out to his family, friends, and fans.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Let's close things out with something off the Lost Boys soundtrack.  Here's INXS and Jimmy Barnes with, "Good Times," for today's, "Song of the Day."

Thanks for stopping by, everyone.  It's always a treat to see you.  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.