Hi everyone,

Welcome back!  How are you?  BDH and Little Buddha are checking the weather forecast to see if we think it's really going to rain today.  It's dark outside, and the garden could use another good soaking.  I don't want this to be another day that teases a chance of showers all day, and we get nothing.  Hold on...the guys say there's a 35% - 85% chance this morning, and then a 40% - 85% chance this evening.  Hmm, well, fingers crossed.  I found them a new book to read yesterday, so they'll be set if the rain actually arrives.  However, they want to hang out with you and check out the headlines before they do anything else.  There's a fresh pot of coffee on the counter, so grab yourself a nice medium DD, because it's time to clear out some Wednesday Clutter.

Donald Trump held a coronavirus briefing yesterday for the first time in months.   The entire thing was a photo op designed to improve his poll numbers.  There were no medical experts there, which is an odd choice when you're discussing a pandemic.  Trump had a brief connection to reality, when he said the coronavirus problem will get better before it gets worse, and then he made a passing endorsement of wearing masks, although he wouldn't put one on in front of the cameras.  The goal was to get certain portions of the media to say that "now Trump looks serious/presidential," when we all know nothing has changed. 

Trump also took time to wish Jeffrey Epstein's jailed former associate Ghislaine Maxwell well during the briefing.  Is this Trump's way of telling Maxwell to keep her mouth shut about his dealings with Epstein?   Trump considers Black Lives Matter protesters to be enemies of the state, but he's sending best wishes to a woman accused of running a sex trafficking ring involving minors.  That's 2020 in a nutshell.  Joe Biden and the Lincoln Project should both be running that clip in ads from now until November. 

Trump sends best wishes to friend Ghislaine Maxwell.  (pic via theberkshireedge.com)

Speaking of the Lincoln Project, they have a new ad mocking Donald Trump's recent interview with Chris Wallace:

Donald Trump signed an executive order calling for undocumented immigrants to be excluded from being counted when it comes to updating congressional districts.  That's unconstitutional, and Democrats plan on challenging the move in court.  How many of you are old enough to remember when Republicans pretended to care about the U.S. Constitution?  Really, that used to be a thing.

Shame on Representative Ted Yoho (R-Florida) for reportedly verbally assaulting Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) outside the Capitol Building on Tuesday.  Yoho criticized Ocasio-Cortez for suggesting poverty and unemployment are responsible for a spike in crime in New  York City and the exchange ended with him apparently calling her "a fucking bitch."  There is nothing that drives Republicans more insane than independent women  (just ask Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming), and this level of anger shows how much Ocasio-Cortez terrifies the GOP.

We don't know if Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) will be Joe Biden's VP pick, but the more he listens to her, the better it will be for the country.  Biden is a better choice for the White House than Donald Trump by a mile, but he can drift to the right if no one keeps him in check.  Warren can help him resist that pull, which can improve his standing with a larger portion of Democrat voters.

Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) knows she's in big trouble in her re-election bid, so it's time to start distancing herself from Donald Trump.  Maine voters won't forget she's been one of Trump's accomplices for the last three years.

Whole Foods is being sued by employees who say they were punished for wearing Black Lives Matter messages on their clothes.  The plaintiffs allege the company is selectively enforcing its dress code policy.

Speaking of Amazon-owned Whole Foods, how was your Monday?  Ours was productive, but it didn't match Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who added $13 billion to his net worth in one day.  Billionaires are proof of a broken economic system by their mere existence alone.  To increase your value by that much in 24 hours is a new level of gross, especially as millions of Americans continue to deal with the economic damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Coca-Cola had a rough quarter as net sales dropped 28%, but the company believes the worst is behind them.

The Boston Red Sox start playing real games on Friday, and they still need a pitching rotation, so they acquired Dylan Covey from the Tampa Bay Rays yesterday.  Covey's career stats ( 6-29 record with a 6.54 ERA, 173 strikeouts and a 1.60 WHIP) aren't what you wold call "exciting," but at this point, the Sox just need arms.

It could be worse, at least the Red Sox know where they'll be playing their home games, as opposed to the Toronto Blue Jays, who are still looking for a ballpark.  Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Buffalo are all reportedly possibilities.

The NFL owners and players have come to an agreement on scrapping the preseason and implementing new coronavirus-related protocols for training camp.  There's still more negotiating be done about how the camps will work, and the two sides also still need to come to an agreement about how player opt-outs will be handled during the regular season.  We still can't imagine how, out of all of the sports, these guys think there's a way they can play football safely.

Former New England Patriots defensive end Michael Bennett announced his retirement after 11 seasons in the NFL yesterday.  Bennett has long been outspoken on issues of social justice over the years, and we have no doubt that the world has not heard the last from him.  We wish him the best in his future endeavors. 

We want to wish a happy belated birthday to the late Robin Williams, who would have turned 69 years old yesterday.  He's been gone almost six years, and the world has been much less funny ever since.

It makes sense that Grey's Anatomy plans to address the coronavirus pandemic next season.  It's an obvious topic for a medical drama.  Do you think other shows will do the same, or will they try to serve as a distraction instead?  We're also still wondering how police shows will work after this year's BLM protests.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Here's the great Tom Petty to close things out with "Wildflowers" for today's, "Song of the Day."

Thanks for stopping by, everyone.  It was great to see you, as always.  BDH and Little Buddha just remembered that the new edition of the local free weekly comes out today, which means it's rock and roll crossword puzzle day!  The guys say you're invited to come back later to either help them with the puzzle or listen to them read their new book.  Otherwise, stay safe, wear your masks, 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.