Hi everyone,

Welcome back, and congratulations on making it through another week.  Feels like we should start ordering party platters or something to celebrate.  I'll have BDH and Little Buddha look into some options.  What's on the schedule for the weekend?  It's mostly yard work and the Patriots game on Sunday on this end.  The guys say the temps will reach close to 80, so that should be great, although we could really use some rain.  Oh, before I forget, I found a new book for our duo to read.  It's not long, but it might last until next week's trip to the bookstore, so that's a win.  Now, let's get to work.  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 Friday Clutter.

The late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will become the first woman to lie in state in the U.S. Capitol today.  It's a well-deserved honor for this champion of equality who was a role model for millions.

Donald Trump was met with loud boos and chants of "vote him out" as he attended the outdoor memorial service for Justice Ginsburg at the Supreme Court yesterday.  Trump later claimed he could barely hear the chanting, so he may want to get his ears checked during his next physical.  We know he proclaims himself to be the healthiest man to ever enter the White House, but he's apparently going a little deaf.  Guess we should be relieved he didn't order the mourners to be hit with teargas this time.

Donald Trump is looking to buy 33 million votes by sending $200 drug discount cards that seniors can use to pay for their prescriptions.  We'll see if the cards ever get sent, or if this is some empty promise that's supposed to be delivered after the election.  In any case the $6.6 billion bribery scheme is being funded by some imaginary savings, but the Great Pumpkin has never been once to care about reality or legality.

Also, Trump's big health care plan that he's been promising for years is apparently an executive order saying his administration thinks pre-existing conditions should be covered.  On a related note, we're issuing an order that says BDH and Little Buddha are the new national mascots.  That carries about the same amount of weight as Trump's nonsense.  He and the Republicans have never had an alternative to the Affordable Care Act.  They don't support health care for everyone, and if they did, their plan would look like the ACA.

Trump 2020:  I can't win on my record, but maybe I can buy you with a gift card?  (pic via summarizer.co)

Republicans may claim to disagree with Donald Trump's threat to stay in office even if he loses the election.   However, tell us which one of these folks is actually going to stand against him if he really won't concede and agree to a peaceful transfer?  Can you point to one person in the GOP and say, "Yes, that's the one who will lead the charge to hold Trump accountable?"  They've had 3.5 years to do it and have covered for him every time.   These are the same folks signing off on Trump's rushed Supreme Court nominee, and we're supposed to trust they support a smooth transition?  It's yet another reason why it's so important that everyone vote and defeat Trump by a large enough margin that even he can't lie his way out of it.

Hell, Senator Lindsey Graham is already giving away the plan:  Republicans are counting on the Supreme Court to give Trump the win, which is why they're rushing through this confirmation.  The GOP knows they lose every time there's an honest election.  They hate democracy, and that's why they've been packing the federal courts to keep them in power even though they represent a shrinking minority of the population.

As Donald Trump threatens not to leave the White House if he loses in November, does he know he has a transition team of people working on his departure? 

Fox "News" won a defamation case when the judge agreed that no reasonable person should take Tucker Carlson seriously.  Much like Donald Trump with his supporters, Fox News knows their viewers are idiots.

The FDA claims there's a "Benadryl challenge" happening on TikTok, where people are encouraged to take more than the recommended dosage in order to cause hallucinations.  However, there doesn't appear to be a lot of evidence to back up this claim.  One has to wonder if this is really the agency continuing Donald Trump's crusade against the popular app.  This country needs to a government that is looking out for the public interest, not serving the personal agenda of the rising fascist.

Warren Buffett is getting into television.  Buffett is buying $600 million worth of E.W. Scripps stock to help the TV station owner buy ION Media for $2.65 billion.  As far as we can tell, ION Television's program schedule consists of daylong marathons of Criminal Minds, Chicago P.D., Law & Order: SVU, NCIS: Los Angeles and some Hallmark Channel movies.  No word yet on whether or not that will change with this takeover, or if they're sticking with the police procedurals.  Our guess is it's the latter.

The Boston Red Sox were blown out 13-1 by the Baltimore Orioles in their final home game of the year last night to fall to 22-35 on the "season."  The best thing we can say about this is that there are only three games against the Atlanta Braves left, and then we can all do our best to forget any of this ever happened.  Chris Mazza takes the mound for Boston tonight.

Here's some good news:  Fenway Park has been approved as an early voting site this year.  People can vote at Fenway on October 17 and 18, and masks and social distancing requirements will be enforced.  We were expecting to vote by mail, but it would be nice to step inside Fenway just once this year, so we may have to reconsider our plan.  There are 20 other early voting sites located around the city, so our Boston friends can click here to find one near you.

The charges against New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft of paying for a sex act at a spa in 2019 have been dropped, because prosecutors aren't allowed to use a video tape of Kraft committing the act.  Anyone think that's how this case would have played out if Kraft wasn't a white billionaire owner of a NFL team?  One can debate whether sex work should be illegal in the first place, but either way, everyone should be playing under the same rules in our judicial system.  Sadly, we're reminded every day in stark terms how that's nowhere near close to the reality in the United States.

Chris Rock will host the season premiere of Saturday Night Live on October 3, with Megan Thee Stallion as the musical guest.  That seems like a strong way to start Season #45.  This will be the SNL alum's 3rd time hosting the show.  We have to think there's a good chance this will be the week Jim Carrey debuts his Joe Biden impression.  Should we take bets on whether or not it will be good, or just wait and see?  We'll wait and see.

Season 2 of The Boys is only about 2/3 over, but the show already has a spinoff in the works.  The next series will reportedly be set at a college for "supes" run by Vought International.  That might be too young for us, but it's expected to have the same irreverence as the "adult" program , so we imagine it will be an entertaining experience for the right audience demographic.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  We missed Bruce Springsteen's 71st birthday earlier this week, so to make up for that, let's have him close things out with another track off his new album, "Letters to You."  Here's the Boss with, "Ghosts," for today's, "Song of the Day."

Yeah, that's a good way to wrap up the week.

Thanks for stopping by, everyone.  It was great to see you, as always.  Enjoy the rest of your day and the warm temperatures, wear your mask, and we'll catch up with you again soon.  Until next time, that's today's Clearing ut the Clutter, and we are outta here.