Hi everyone,

Welcome back!  How are you?  We were just checking out the new snow.  It doesn't seem like anything major at the moment, just a few inches. BDH and Little Buddha say now it's supposed to keep going until tomorrow morning.  However, even then it sounds like we're only talking about a total of 2-4 inches, so that's fine, although the roads look like they are a little messy.  We've got a couple of things the guys can watch on TV today while I look for their next book.  Anyway, let's get to work.  The guys made coffee, so grab yourself a nice medium DD, because it's time to clear out some Friday Clutter.

Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is getting shelled for taking his family to Mexico while millions of his constituents in Texas are without power and struggling to survive freezing temperatures across the state.  Who could have guessed that the guy who tried to help overturn a presidential election doesn't care one iota about the people he's supposed to represent?  Cruz threw his daughters under the bus, saying the family only went to Cancun because they asked for the trip, and he was trying to be a good dad.  Hey, if he won't defend his father or his wife, why should his kids be any different?  (Of course, a leaked Cruz family/friends text chain tells a different story about the trip planning.  We'd love to hear who leaked this.)

The best defense conservatives could come up with was that Cruz is useless in an emergency, so it's just as well he left the country.  That's the GOP in a nutshell:  They don't even pretend to be interested in governing or helping others.  They're just there for the power.  Meanwhile, former Representative Beto O'Rourke is organizing phone banks to connect vulnerable seniors with resources, and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez helped raise over $1 million to support relief efforts.  At the end of the day, the truth is simple - Ted Cruz doesn't care about democracy or human lives, and he should be removed from the Senate.

A man not good at...anything.  (pic via dallasnews.com)

President Joe Biden is expected to announce that the United States will be returning to the global stage when he speaks at today's G-7 meeting.  That should come as a relief to foreign leaders who had to endure the previous administration's blustery and counter-productive isolationist stance.  It's a welcome change, which includes the U.S. officially rejoining the Paris Agreement today as part of the global push to combat climate change.

There are currently 62 federal court vacancies, with another 26 expected in the weeks and months ahead.  That is a terrific opportunity for President Biden and Senate Democrats to start making their mark on the judiciary and push back against the onslaught of conservative judges Mitch McConnell rammed through confirmation for years.  It is critical they don't let McConnell find a way to hijack this process. 

Boston's struggling restaurant industry took another big hit yesterday with the news that Eastern Standard, the Creek Oyster Bar, and the Hawthorne are all permanently closed, because the owner couldn't reach a new deal with the landlord.  We weren't regulars of any of those establishments, but every trip we made to Eastern Standard was fantastic.  We're hoping to be able to attend a Red Sox game in person this season.  Now, it's getting to the point where we're also hoping there will be somewhere in the area to eat.  These three join a long list of closed restaurants in Boston, and we can only wonder how long it will take to rebuild that scene once the pandemic is over.

Boston Red Sox lefty Chris Sale talked to the media about a variety of topics yesterday.  There's no timetable for Sale's return from Tommy John surgery, apart from some point this season.  However, his health is one of the major questions hanging over this team, considering he's under contract through 2024.  Can he regain his former dominating form?  That would be great.  Can he adjust if the stuff isn't there like it used to be?  Hopefully.  Can he keep his elbow from exploding again, given his funky mechanics?  That's what we're wondering.

We repeatedly heard that next season's NFL salary cap would be a big drop from this season, but the league just announced that the minimum level is being raised from $175 million to $180 million.  Apparently there's a way for teams to "borrow" against future caps.  Talking about that math makes our head spin, but does this mean the New England Patriots will now sign more of their current players who are supposed to become free agents?

The NFL quarterback carousel continues, as the Philadelphia Eagles reportedly traded Carson Wentz to the Indianapolis Colts for two draft picks.  The Eagles will take a staggering $33.8 million cap hit in dead money this year, and the Colts get the rest of Wentz's $128 million contract extension he signed in 2019.   Wentz went from being a MVP candidate to a reclamation project in the blink of an eye, but maybe being reunited in Indianapolis with former offensive coordinator Frank Rich will get him back on track.  Meanwhile, we're still wondering who will be playing under center for New England next season.

Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert is already hyping new quarterback Dwayne Haskins, as he seems to be preparing for the possibility of life without Ben Roethlisberger.  If Roethlisberger is in fact done in Pittsburgh, he better not be looking at New England as a potential destination.  Presumably he'd be too expensive for Bill Belichick's taste anyway, but if he somehow ended up with the Patriots, we'd have to talk to Dad Clutter about taking next season off, because we are not rooting for that guy.

A lawyer who has filed a number of concussion-related lawsuits against the WWE on behalf of more than 50 former pro wrestlers has now asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the case.  The previous lawsuits were dismissed as frivolous or past the statue of limitations, and it's hard to see how the conservative court, which is no friend to labor, would agree to hear arguments.  However, the WWE's handling of concussions, and their fraudulent designation of wrestlers as "independent contractors," does need to be addressed.  The National Labor Relations Board might be a good place to start.

We started watching It's a Sin on HBO Max last night and had to walk away before we went through all five episodes in a single viewing.  This series about a group of friends living in the U.K. at the start of the AIDS crisis in the 1980's is gripping, heartfelt, and tragic.  Creator Russell T. Davies is a master storyteller who has you fully invested in the characters within the first 30 minutes.  Everyone in the cast is terrific, and you feel each loss when they occur.  Pretty sure we know what happens in the final two episodes.  BDH and Little Buddha said they'd make sure to have some tissues handy in case it gets dusty in here again.

Disney+ apparently had a short-lived outage first thing this morning, as people rushed to check out the newest episode of WandaVision.  It sounds like everything is fine now, so hopefully there won't be any problems when we log on later this afternoon.  BDH and Little Buddha love this show, and they can't wait to find out what happens next and then go back online to learn about all of the Marvel Easter eggs they missed.

Speaking of Marvel, a new Stan Lee biography came out this week.  Hmm, wonder if that's something the guys might enjoy.  They read an interesting book about the Marvel v. DC  Comics battle a few years ago, but do they need a second book about that world?  Maybe we'll take a peek during our next bookstore visit and then make a decision.

The Beach Boys sold a controlling interest in their intellectual property to a new group founded by legendary music manager Irving Azoff.  No terms were released, but hopefully the musicians got a decent deal.  The group has a long history of business problems, and maybe this will allow them to put all of that behind them as they prepare to celebrate their 60th anniversary next year.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Let's have Ice Cube wrap things up this week with the aptly-titled "Friday" for today's, "Song of the Day."

Thanks for stopping by, everyone.  It was great to see you, as always.  The guys say you're welcome to come back later if you want to watch WandaVision or the rest of It's a Sin with them.  Otherwise, enjoy the rest of your day, maybe stay off the roads until the snow's over if you can, 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.