Hi everyone,

How are you?  This is just a brutal stretch.  I watered the garden yesterday evening, which was a good call, because there's suddenly less rain in this week's forecast.  Those plants are tough, friends.  They're hanging in there and looking gorgeous, even though it's like an oven outside.  Had to stay up later than usual afterwards, because it was still something like 84 degrees at our usual bedtime.  That's ridiculous.  Of course BDH and Little Buddha can sleep through anything, but it was a fight the whole way for me until the temps dropped down to a chilly 75 degrees. 

Today looks like more of the same.  Of course it's bookstore day to see if we can find the guys something new to read.  The store doesn't open until 10:00, by which time the "real temperature" is supposed to be about 100 degrees.  BDH and Little Buddha said they'd be fine with me postponing the trip until next week when it's cooler, but I said no.  Those two do so much around here, the least I can do is brave the heat on their behalf.  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 Tuesday Clutter.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi introduced a resolution yesterday calling for the establishment of a select committee to investigate the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.   Pelosi took this route after Republicans blocked the creation of an independent bipartisan commission, so no one should pay the slightest bit of attention to the latest GOP whining about her decision.  The committee will have eight members chosen by Pelosi, with five chosen by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.  There's no formal end date for when their work will end, so there's nothing to stop this from going through next year's mid-term election.  The resolution is expected to be voted on this week, and it does not need Senate approval.

It's outrageous that half the country still wants to pretend that there wasn't a coup attempt six months ago. The public has a right to know exactly who was behind it and to demand repercussions for those in office who coordinated with these traitors. 

Moving forward with the investigation into the January 6 insurrection.  (pic via kob.com)

The U.S. Supreme Court refused to take up a case that overturned a Virginia school's transgender bathroom ban, thus providing a major victory for the transgender community.  The court majority did not explain their decision (Justices Thomas and Alito said they would have heard the case), but it's confirmation that transgender students are protected under Title IX which prohibits sex discrimination in our country's schools.

A new poll shows Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu and Acting Mayor Kim Janey are the two front-runners for this fall's mayoral election.  While there's still time to go, none of the men running in this crowded field reached the 5% mark in this poll, so it seems likely that one way or another, history will be made in September's preliminary election.

The cause of the Champlain Towers South condominium collapse still has yet to be determined, but questions are growing about whether or not climate change could lead to more disasters like this one.

Facebook had a huge day in the courts on Monday, as a judge dismissed the Federal Trade Commission's complaint claiming the company has a monopoly on social networking services.  The FTC still has the option to refile an amended complaint, but Judge James Boasberg also completely threw out a similar case brought against Facebook by a number of states, saying they waited too long to make their arguments.  We'll see how this all plays out, but at the moment, it appears that Congress will have to update the country's antitrust laws to bring any real reform to Big Tech.

The S&P 500 rose almost a quarter of a percentage point yesterday, which was enough to establish a new all-time high for the index.  Barring some major movement in the next 48 hours, the S&P 500 will end the first half of 2021 up about 14%.  That would be considered a good full-year return, but investors keep telling themselves there are more good times ahead and pushing the market even higher.  The current P/E is 31.4, more than twice the average range of 13-15.  The Clutter investment team still thinks the market is expensive, but they put together a diversified portfolio that is built for the long-term, so right now, they want to know if they can join us at the bookstore.

(The team also wants to remind you once again that you should always do your own research before making any investment decisions.  Our staff enjoys talking about stocks now and again, but their musings should not be considered guidance.)

The Boston Red Sox came from behind to beat the Kansas City Royals 6-5 last night.  Things got off to a bad start when Boston starter Garrett Richards gave up five runs in the first two innings.  However, Richards did manage to get on track.  He kept the Royals quiet for the next 3 2/3 innings after that, while the Red Sox offense worked on their comeback, led by home runs from Kiké Hernández, Bobby Dalbec, and two from Hunter Renfroe (who is starting to look like an All Star-level player.) 

The win was yet another display of remarkable resiliency by this team, and it means the Red Sox now have a one game lead in the AL East over the Tampa Bay Rays.  You have to wonder how much longer the Red Sox will stay with Richards, though.  The guy has been a mess since MLB changed the rules about using sticky substances to pitch.  You have to think he'd be the first one to get bumped from the starting rotation as soon as the Red Sox have another viable option, whether it's the returning Chris Sale or someone else.  Next up, Nick Pivetta takes the mound against the Royals tonight.

The NFL released a "Football is gay" video in support of Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib recently came out of the closet.  Everything the league does deserves to be looked at with some suspicion, but good for them for taking the right corporate message.  Now let's see teams follow up with their own support for inclusiveness.  (We won't lie, we're also looking forward to watching homophobic football fans have a collective meltdown over this clip.)

Hmm, the ending of WandaVision appears to have been belatedly altered.  Is it the introduction of a major character into that story, or just a computer glitch?  Our money says it's who we thought was going to appear at some point in the show, but we may have to wait until 2022 to find out for sure.

Sorry to hear Ray MacDonnell died on June 10.  We remember the former soap opera actor from years ago when he played Dr. Joe Martin on All My Children.  MacDonnell was 93 years old.  Our condolences go out to his family and friends.

We've watched this trailer for the upcoming HBO limited series The White Lotus several times, and we're still not sure what it's supposed to be about.  Maybe worth a peak, once it premieres on July 11, when the Red Sox have the night off?  No?  What do you think?

Don't know if we'll find anything at the bookstore today, but Richard Marx's autobiography comes out next Tuesday, so that may be an option for our crew.  The singer has an entertaining Twitter account, so it seems likely his book will be an entertaining read.  Great, that takes a little bit of the pressure off for today.

Sammy Hagar now says he wishes he hadn't told negative stories about Eddie Van Halen in his autobiography.  The former Van Halen singer has a bit of a chameleon side to him, so it's hard to always believe what he's saying on any given day.  Maybe he really does feel bad, or maybe he's just trying to look like a good guy, now that the legendary guitar player is gone.  Hagar still says the stories are true, and if that's the case, we have no argument with them being in the book.  Everyone has problems, and it's foolish to believe or pretend that's not the case.  Anytime a book tries to say otherwise about a public figure, it's really more of a press release than a recounting of history.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Let's have Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, and Silk Sonic close things out with, "Leave the Door Open" 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, don't forget your sunscreen and to drink plenty of water, 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.