Hi folks,

Welcome back!  How are you?  Is it just me, or did September fly by this year?  I don't usually think of it as a month that passes quickly, but it feels like it was just August a second ago.  Anyway, no luck at the bookstore yesterday.  BDH and Little Buddha say not to worry about it, but I'd love to find them something new to read, and soon.  At least NBC's "One Chicago" shows are new tonight.  In the meantime, let's get to work.  The guys made coffee, so grab yourself a nice medium DD, because it's time to clear out some Wednesday Clutter.

Senators Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin continue to do their best to hijack President Biden's agenda.  Both of them met with Biden yesterday and apparently offered little guidance about what exactly they need to get on board with the $3.5 trillion spending plan being considered in Congress.  You can't consider compromise if the other side won't even tell you what they want.   These two are complete frauds who could end up costing the Democrats big time in next year's mid-term elections if they keep this bill from passing. 

Senators Sinema and Manchin are putting themselves above the needs of the country.  (pic via cnn.com)

It sounds like former Trump press secretary Stephanie Grisham has plenty to say in her new book about her time in the previous administration.  There's no way we're giving anyone connected to that dumpster fire our money, but you can check out the linked article for some of the tidbits, including the apparent reason for Donald Trump's mysterious 2019 visit to Walter Reed.

In case Donald Trump was thinking about suing Grisham over her book for any reason, his campaign just lost a lawsuit they filed against Omarosa Manigault Newman for allegedly violating a non-disclosure agreement when she wrote her tell-all in 2018.  The ruling arbitrator found the NDA to be, "overbroad, indefinite, and unreasonable," and said the campaign must cover Omarosa's legal costs.  There's no appealing the ruling, so chalk that up as a solid loss for Trump.

Experts are urging people to get their flu shots now, saying eased pandemic measures could contribute to an early and severe flu season this year.  Let's not allow this to turn into another stupid political fight.  Protect yourself and those around you.

There it is:  Facebook is targeting kids between ages 10 and 12 as a source of "untapped wealth," according to the latest story from The Wall Street Journal based on the company's internal documents.  That's why they're pushing the "Instagram Kids" project.  It's not to provide a safe space online for children.  Mark Zuckerberg and company are worried that they're losing young people, and they're trying to find a way to hook the next generation as early as possible, like a drug dealer looking for his next clients. 

The U.S. Postal Service is about to get slower and more expensive between now and Christmas.  The fact that Louis DeJoy is still in charge of the mail after trying to destroy the agency last year is mind-boggling.

Happy National Coffee Day, everyone!  That's an imaginary holiday we can fully support.  Can't tell a lie, Dunkin' seems to have the worst promotion of the major chains in the Boston area.  Well, we'll just have to offer you all a second cup for free!  (Of course, if you want to click on our "donations" link and pay for it, we won't complain, but no pressure.)

Senator Elizabeth Warren says she will oppose another term for Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell because he's too easy on bank regulation.  Will that open the door for other progressives to follow her lead and increase the pressure for President Biden to appoint someone who will take a stronger approach next year?

The Clutter investment team hates Wall Street stories where the headline is something like "the Dow fell 500 points yesterday," because they're always designed to inspire fear without providing context.  For instance, the S&P 500 fell 90 points yesterday, but that's just 2%.  The index is still up almost 16% for 2021, and if it fell another 6% before 2022, it would still be a strong year for stocks.  Yes, there are concerns about inflation and the completely unnecessary debt limit drama, but the market didn't fall off a cliff on Tuesday.  

Oh, the Boston Red Sox are blowing it.  They've had control over their own destiny for months, and they are throwing it away as time runs out on the regular season.  The Sox lost 4-2 to the lowly Baltimore Orioles last night, even though they had Chris Sale on the mound.  The lefty did his part, giving up just three runs over 5 1/3 innings.  However, the Sox offense slept through the night with just three hits, including two solo home runs.  That means Boston is now two games behind the New York Yankees for the top AL Wild Card spot, with the Seattle Mariners just a 1/2 game behind them, and the Toronto Blue Jays one game back with five left to play.  Next up, Nate Eovaldi looks to bounce back from his atrocious outing against the New York Yankees last week, while the Sox batters have to figure out if they want to show up tonight.

The Detroit Lions released veteran linebacker Jamie Collins yesterday.  Getting away from that dysfunctional organization sounds like a win for any player.  Would the New England Patriots be interested in bringing Collins back again for a one-year deal?

This is interesting:  NBC is reviving/rebooting Law & Order some 11 years after it was cancelled.  That means show creator Dick Wolf basically owns NBC's schedules on both Wednesday and Thursday nights.  It's not clear yet whether the show is returning this season or next, and we don't know which of the former cast members will return.  However, we used to watch that show religiously, so we'll certainly give it chance when it finally gets here.

In other Dick Wolf-related news, it sounds like Burgess will need a little time to recover from everything she went through during last year's Chicago P.D. season finale.  Without getting into spoilers, we want to see if she'll eventually confront Voight and Upton about what they know but aren't telling her.  Seems like that discussion could open the door to Burgess leaving the show when the time comes. 

Ryan Reynolds' recent movie Free Guy is now apparently available on Disney+, so that could keep BDH and Little Buddha occupied for a little while.

Curb Your Enthusiasm returns on October 24.  A little Larry David is just what we could use right now:

Hey, Dave Grohl's memoir comes out next week.  That seems like it could be a good fit for the guys.  Fingers crossed, everyone!

It's suddenly starting to look like we've got a number of entertainment options next month.  Now we just need an update on the next season of Doctor Who.

The fight over Britney Spears' conservatorship continues in court today.  The primary topic is whether or not Jamie Spears will be removed from overseeing everything.  He wants the conservatorship ended immediately so that he can get out without any responsibility.  However, the singer's team wants him replaced instead, which would mean his successor gets access to all of his documents.   Thus, the nightmare continues for the singer, but hopefully she'll eventually find her way out of this soon.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Guns N' Roses just released a new tune, and it sounds like some classic GNR, so let's have them close things out with, "Old Skool" 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 tonight if you want to watch the "One Chicago" shows with them.  Otherwise, enjoy the rest of your day, be good, 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.