Hi everyone,

Welcome back, and congratulations on making it through another week!  What's on tap for the weekend?  I'm thinking it's mostly reading, with maybe a touch of cleaning, around here.  BDH and Little Buddha cracked open one of their new books yesterday, and they already love it.  We had to put it down after a few chapters, because there was a risk of reading most of it in just one day.  My guess is we'll get back to it later this afternoon, but I have a couple of errands to take care of before then.  Oh, and there's the new WandaVision episode to watch today!  Of course, the first thing we need to do is sort through today's headlines.  The guys say the coffee is ready, so grab yourself a nice medium DD, because it's time to clear out some Friday Clutter. 

The Biden administration undertook its first use of military force yesterday, ordering airstrikes against buildings in Syria that the Pentagon claims were used by militias to attack the U.S. targets in Iraq.  The only estimate we've seen so far is 22 people were killed in the attack.  The move is being framed as a "defensive" operation. 

It's great to see the House once again passed the Equality Act, which would prohibit discrimination against LGBTQ individuals.  People shouldn't have to fear about losing their job or housing for being themselves.  This was the second time the House approved the legislation, and it was once again a largely party-line vote of 224-206, with three Republicans voting yes.  The bill died in the Senate last time.  Its prospects should improve with Democrats now in control of the chamber, but it needs 60 votes for approval.  Funny how tax cuts for the wealthy and Supreme Court justices only need a majority vote, but protecting Americans requires a super-majority.  Add this to the extensive list of reasons why the filibuster should be abolished.   President Biden has made it clear he'll sign the bill into law if it reaches his desk.

The Senate parliamentarian said the proposal to hike the minimum wage must be stricken from the coronavirus relief bill under consideration, which means it will also need 60 votes for approval.  Again, abolish the filibuster and improve the lives of vulnerable Americans.  It's an easy calculation.

To quickly review - it's easier to bomb Syria than protect Americans from discrimination or raise the minimum wage to help millions of vulnerable people. 

A broken system with the wrong priorities.  (pic via kiro7.com)

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell recently said Donald Trump was "practically and morally responsible for provoking" the violent January 6 attack on the US Capitol, but now McConnell says he'll "absolutely" support Trump if Trump is the 2024 Republican presidential nominee.  There's no bottom for the GOP.  They allowed hundreds of thousands of lives to be lost during this pandemic, and they're still all-in on destroying this country's democracy in order to stay in power.  If that means allowing the return of a corrupt and sociopathic foreign agent, they'd all sign on in a minute.  Trump cost Republicans everything last year.  We still say he spends 2024 on the run from the law, but if he somehow becomes the nominee,  81 million voters will defeat him and his lapdogs again.

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announced that the commonwealth will be starting the final phase of its reopening plan in March.  We're as eager as anyone for a return to Fenway Park, the movies, the gym, restaurants, and the like.  However, this feels like Governor Baker is trying to distract from the criticism he's receiving over the rocky vaccination process.  Even with crowd limitations in place, does this make sense when most Massachusetts residents are weeks/months away from getting their shots?  We're playing with fire here, and the danger is that this could end up causing a new surge in cases, which is the last thing anyone needs at this point.

We're sorry that Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is leaving to join the Biden administration.  We've been fans of the mayor for many years.  However, we're excited to see the new visions for the city that will be offered by the candidates running to replace him.  For instance, City Councilor Andrea Campbell's police reform proposal is a promising development.  Councilor Campbell aims to cut $50 million from BPD's budget by eliminating their gang and bicycle units, as well as pulling officers out of schools, and diverting those funds to more productive functions.

It looks like Best Buy is considering a large volume of store closures, as their customers continue to shift more to online purchases.  We'd be sorry to see the location nearby close, even though we haven't been there in over a year.  Electronics are the kind of product we'd rather be able to see in person before buying.  However, that building is huge, so we can understand how the economics might not make sense in today's world.

We still need a media guide to keep track of all of the new faces, but the 2021 Boston Red Sox play their first spring training game on Sunday against the Minnesota Twins.  Unfortunately, that game isn't on NESN, but Monday's game against the Atlanta Braves will be televised.   BDH and Little Buddha are excited about baseball's return, although they wish they could take a trip to Fort Myers this year. 

Governor Baker's declaration means that Fenway Park can start at 12% capacity when the Red Sox home opener takes place on April 1.  We're not sure how all of this is going to work, but we're not going to a game until we get vaccinated, so it seems like we're probably aiming for a trip sometime after August 1.

Russell Wilson's agent says the quarterback hasn't demanded a trade from the Seattle Seahawks, but he's given the organization a list of four teams he'd accept a trade to if a deal could be worked out.  In other words, start the clock on Wilson being moved either this off-season or next.  Wilson's preferred teams are the Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints, Chicago Bears and Las Vegas Raiders.  He's holding the cards in that he's got a full no-trade clause, but if the Seahawks can't/won't make a deal right away, look for things to be awkward in Seattle next year.  Wilson still has three years left on a four-year $140 million contract extension, but he'd be worth the price.  Best of luck to Wilson with all of this, as we prepare ourselves for the New England Patriots to either re-sign Cam Newton or bring in Marcus Marriota.

Meanwhile, Deshaun Watson reportedly met with new Houston Texans head coach David Culley last week and told him he still has no intention of ever playing for the Texans again.  Watson just signed a four year-$156 million contract extension last year, but whichever team lands him should be happy to pay that price, because the 25-year-old Watson is the kind of player you build your franchise around for years to come. 

We were horrified to hear that two assailants shot Lady Gaga's dog-walker and stole her two french bulldogs on Wednesday night.  The dog-walker is in critical condition, and the singer has offered a $500,000 reward for the return of her dogs.  What kind of awful person do you have to be to commit a crime like this?  We hope the walker recovers, the two dogs are found, and that the guilty parties have the book thrown at them upon their arrest.

Comedian John Mulaney is out of rehab.  We wish him the best in protecting and maintaining his health.

If you wondering if the new Tom & Jerry movie is getting good reviews, no it is not.  Nothing about the trailer looked appealing, but we'll always have a fondness for this duo, because they immediately conjure up memories of watching cartoons at Grandma and Grandpa Clutter's house.

HBO is working on an adaptation of The Time Traveler's Wife which is being produced by former Doctor Who boss Steven Moffat.  Kind of feels like we're obligated to give this a look, right?  We enjoyed the 2009 movie version which starred Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana, so sure, we'll give this a shot when the time comes.

We've got a little teaser trailer for Elliot Stabler's upcoming return to the Law & Order universe on April 1:

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Here's Outkast to close things out with, "Hey Ya!" 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 if you want to read or watch WandaVision or Chicago Med reruns with them.  (They've just started watching season 1 on Amazon Prime so they can eventually get caught up, since they jumped into the show somewhere around season 4.)  Otherwise, enjoy the rest of your day, 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.