Hi everyone,

Welcome back!  How are you?  BDH and Little Buddha were just giving me the current weather forecast.  They say today should be great, with a high around 80 degrees and not a lot of humidity.  Sounds perfect.  They also say I probably don't want to know what's on tap between Sunday and Wednesday.  That's unfortunate.  I may give myself another haircut (keep me in your thoughts), and then I'll have to be sure to get some time outside today (in a mask-wearing/socially-distanced way, of course.)  After that, our group will settle in to watch the Red Sox play the Toronto Blue Jays tonight.  Sounds like a plan.  First, let's check out the headlines.  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 Saturday Clutter.

Donald Trump declared yesterday that he plans to sign an executive order requiring insurance companies to cover pre-existing  conditions...which is what the Affordable Care Act already does.  It must be quite a surprise to MAGA-land to find out that their cult leader apparently supports Obamacare now.  We assume that means the administration will immediately drop their court case opposing the law, right?  Again we ask, where is the documentation confirming that Trump actually passed his recent mental competency test?

"Where am I?  What am I doing here?"  (pic via usnews.com)

A New York judge says E. Jean Carroll's defamation case against Donald Trump can proceed while Trump is still in office.  Carroll is suing Trump after she claimed he raped her in the 1990's, and he responded by claiming he never met her, and that she was being paid by his political opponents to make the accusation.  Judge Verna Saunders said the recent Supreme Court case ruling that Trump doesn't have "absolute immunity" from legal proceedings while he's in office means he can't stop Carroll's lawsuit.

In case it's not already clear, Kanye West's presidential "campaign" is a cynical move by Donald Trump to try to steal African American votes from Joe Biden, as evidenced by one of Trump's lawyers helping West get on the ballot in Wisconsin.  Trump knows he'll be lucky to get 2% of this vote in November, so he's hoping people will fall for this ploy.  We don't have time for this nonsense.  There are two viable candidates running for the White House.  One of them is corrupt to the core and responsible for the deaths of 160,000+ Americans because of his incompetence.  The other one is Joe Biden.  The choice couldn't be clearer, but it's the only choice.  Voting for anyone else but Biden is signing the death warrant on this country.

Unless something changes, the Census Bureau is planning to stop counting people on September 30, one month earlier than usual.  That's likely to result in an under-counting of many folks who live in rural areas, members of various ethnic groups, and Native Americans, as Republicans do whatever they can to keep their grip on power.

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker is tightening restrictions again as coronavirus cases trend upwards across the commonwealth, but he somehow thinks it's wrong for schools to be working on remote-only models.  Schools are going to be hazard sites across the country if/when kids return.  If Baker doesn't think the facts warrant the remote-only approach now, it won't take long for him to be proved wrong, so why not be more proactive?

Speaking of schools, it's good to hear the suspension was revoked for a Georgia high school student who posted a picture of her classmates packed together and mostly not wearing masks in the building.  That picture is cringe-worthy.  North Paulding High School had no legal justification for suspending Hannah Watters.  Cheers to her for being brave enough to speak out against a dangerous situation. 

Jerry Falwell Jr. is taking an indefinite leave as president and chancellor of Liberty University after posting a picture that showed him with a woman who is not his wife, with both of them having unzipped pants.  What?  He's not a paragon of virtue?  Consider us floored.   It's almost as if his endorsing Donald Trump in 2016 was a completely cynical gesture that had nothing to do with morality.  What's next, are you going to tell us the NRA's Wayne Wayne LaPierre has allegedly been improperly using his organization's money for years?  That's crazy talk.

The Clutter investment team says they think real estate stocks might be a good long-term buy, but it will require patience.  Real estate investment trust mutual funds have taken a hit as the coronavirus pandemic drives people to telecommute and stay away from many businesses.  Assuming we all eventually get our acts together to do what it takes to get all of this under control, and that a vaccine arrives at some point, those stocks may eventually look pretty cheap.  As always, this is the team simply sharing some thoughts.  They assume no liability for anything, and investors have to do their own research.  It's just a reflection on the importance of having an extended time frame when investing.

The Boston Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-3 last night to improve to 5-8 on the season.  Sox starter Ryan Weber got off to a bad start when he gave up a lead-off home run to Cavan Biggio in the first inning.  Boston quickly came back to take a 2-1 lead, but then Weber gave that up as well and lasted only three innings.  Fortunately, the Boston bullpen kept the Jays in check, and the Red Sox offense came through with three home runs, including two by new outfielder Alex Verdugo who also stole a Blue Jays home run in the top of the 9th. Here's hoping that's a sign of things to come for the new Red Sox right fielder, because he's got huge shoes to fill.  Zack Godley takes the mound for Boston against Toronto tonight.

Former Los Angeles Angels employee Eric Kay was indicted on charges of supplying the fentanyl that killed Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs in 2019.  It sounds like this tragedy goes deeper into the organization than just these two men though, as Kay reportedly gave the DEA the names of five other players taking the drug.  There's no reason to think a baseball team would be exempt from the opioid crisis that has gripped the country for so long, but will we ever hear more details, or will this all be swept under the rug?

BDH and Little Buddha would like to take a quick break so they can show you this clip of a Mom and son arguing:

We're pretty sure Mom won that disagreement.

Apparently NCIS: New Orleans will address the coronavirus pandemic in their upcoming season.  We're split about this.  On the one hand, it's the one of the defining issues of the year, so how can you possibly avoid it?  On the other hand, we'd love to watch some TV drama that has nothing whatsoever to do with this.  Oh well, we'll be so excited when this and our other handful of favorite shows return, we'll watch them work through any challenge.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Let's have ZZ Top close things out with a live version of, "Got Me Under Pressure," for today's, "Song of the Day."

Those are truly some legendary beards.

Thanks for stopping by, everyone.  It's always a treat to hang out with you.  Have a great day, 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.