Sunday Clutter: Trump Ban Extended, AOC Endorsement, Assault Weapon Ban Overturned, Racist Graduation Dress Codes, Boston Red Sox, Law & Order: Organized Crime, General Hospital, Aerosmith, John Mayer, and more
Tuesday Clutter: Department of Justice, Barack Obama, Pot and Vaccinations, Boston Red Sox, Jensen Ackles, Bruce Springsteen, Iron Maiden, and more

Monday Clutter: Senator Manchin, Vaccination Rates, Burger King, Boston Red Sox, Julio Jones, Floyd Mayweather, Loki, Nas, and more

Hi everyone,

Welcome back!  How are you?  Had enough of the heat already?  Yesterday ended up being fairly productive, even though I was dragging for a good part of the day.  I slept better last night, so I'm out the door to take care of today's errands as soon as we're done here, and then BDH, Little Buddha, and I will find a cool place to hang out for a while, because we have heat advisory starting at Noon. 

It's still going to be in the 80's by bedtime tonight, which is rough.  However, the guys say we just have to get through Wednesday, and then there's a long stretch of more reasonable temperatures in the forecast.  We can do that.  In the meantime, 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 Monday Clutter.

Senator Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) continues to enable Republicans to destroy democracy in the United States for reasons only he understands.  Manchin published an op-ed yesterday saying he will vote against the For the People voting protection rights bill, and he still will defend the filibuster while Republicans use it to hijack the Biden agenda.  In his op-ed, Manchin writes, "I believe that partisan voting legislation will destroy the already weakening binds of our democracy, and for that reason, I will vote against the For the People Act." 

This is naive at best.  Our democracy is weakening because Republicans are pushing voting restrictions across the country.  That's simple fact.  What makes the issue partisan is that (most) Democrats are trying to protect the right to vote while Republicans dismantle it.  Democrats have a Senate majority (in name at least) because of overwhelming turnout by the Black community last November, and now Manchin is selling out the very people who give him this clout in the first place. 

Senator Joe Manchin June 7 2021This is 2021 Jim Crow in action.  (pic via reuters.com)

Republicans have nothing to offer the country except for tax cuts for the wealthy, conservative judges, and servicing Donald Trump's ego.  Don't look for that to change anytime soon.  This is a decayed political party that is rotten to its core.  They know they represent a shrinking minority of the country, which is why they're so determined to eliminate the right of anyone besides their base to vote.

The CDC says over 300 million doses of the coronavirus vaccines have been administered, and 49.3% of the U.S. population over 12 years old is now fully vaccinated.  That's amazing progress, but there's still more work to be done.  There's a wide range in vaccination rates by states.  Some in the northeast have populations where over 70% have received at least one shot, while some in the south aren't even hitting 40% yet.  Republican officials still don't care if their constituents get sick.  A person's ability to protect themselves and their loved ones shouldn't be subject to the whims of these apathetic "leaders."

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said President Biden's spending proposals aren't large enough to trigger inflation, but it would be a good thing if the United States had higher interest rates.  Hey, that's what the Clutter investment team has been saying for years now!  Glad to have Secretary Yellen join us.  Getting interest rates off of near-zero would reflect the strength of the economy, help savers who have been forced to invest in the stock market to chase a yield they can't get anywhere else, and provide officials with options for a financial crisis down the road.  Just let us earn enough to buy at least one coffee a month.  That's all we're saying.

Burger King will make a donation to The Human Rights Campaign for every chicken sandwich it sells during the month of June.  The move is designed to show BK's support for the LGBTQ community during Pride Month while taking a direct shot at Chick-fil-A, which is known for supporting anti-gay organizations.  Some might say this is a cynical move by a company that seems to change its identity at least annually, and if they really want to be an ally, they could give to the HRC more often than one month out of the year.  However, it's still $250,000 for a good cause, and if it gives Chick-fil-A a new round of negative headlines for their homophobic behavior, all the better.

Look at that - the Boston Red Sox beat the New York Yankees 6-5 in 10 innings last night to sweep their weekend series!  That's how you start the week on a good note.  The Sox had lost 11 straight games in the Bronx before this weekend, and they snap out of it with a sweep.  Oh, that's good stuff.  Xander Bogaerts had himself a night, going 2-3 with three RBI, including driving in the go-ahead runs in the top of tenth inning.  Looks like his recent offensive woes are behind him.  The win moves the Sox back to within a game of the first place Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East.  Next up, Nick Pivetta takes the mound against the Miami Marlins in a makeup game tonight.  Looks like it's going to be about 91 degrees when Pivetta throws the first pitch.  Here's hoping he stays hydrated.

What?  The Tennessee Titans acquired wide receiver Julio Jones in exchange for a second and fourth-round draft pick?  But we thought Jones was all excited to work with Bill Belichick, Cam Newton, and the New England Patriots?  Man, it's like the Patriots hyped up their interest to local sports reporters and radio talk show hosts so they could dominate the headlines for a while, knowing full well they were never going to get the guy, or something. 

You expect us to believe  Floyd Mayweather and YouTube personality Logan Paul had a legitimate boxing match where Mayweather couldn't knock out Paul?  Please, that result was as predetermined as a WWE main event.  Mayweather reportedly made $50 million for the "fight," and Paul probably did just fine as well.  The two men had to give their paying customers a show that had to last longer than the 10 seconds it would have taken Mayweather to crush Paul if he was really trying.   Also, we'd argue that supporting our coffee budget is a better use of your hard-earned money than this silliness. 

A new teaser for the upcoming Disney+ series confirms that Loki identifies as gender fluid.  That makes sense really.  If you can shift into any shape you like, gender is an irrelevant construct.  Of course, some right-winger will claim that they're a longtime Marvel fan but now won't watch the show because of this development.  As for the rest of us, Loki starts this Wednesday, June 9.

Hey NCIS fans - how do you think Gibbs gets his boats out of his basement?

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  We better get moving before the heat kicks up another notch.  Here's Nas to close things out with, "Made You Look" for today's, "Song of the Day."

Thanks for stopping by, everyone.  It was great to see you, as always.  Enjoy the rest of your day, stay cool, 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.

 

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