Hi folks,

Welcome back!  How are you?   The U.S. Postal Service came through yesterday, and both of the presents I was waiting for arrived with plenty of time to spare.  Score!  Now I just have to get something for Dad Clutter's cat.  Hopefully the local pet store has another toy he'll like.  However,  I was just talking to BDH and Little Buddha about how I wasn't expecting it to rain this morning.  The guys said they don't expect it to last that long, so I shouldn't have to worry about getting too wet while I do today's errands.  Works for me.  We'll see if they're right later.  For now, 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 Thursday Clutter.

It should surprise no one that Rep. Jim Jordan sent former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows a text on January 5 calling for then-Vice President Mike Pence to throw out any electoral votes Pence would unilaterally declare invalid, in order to keep Donald Trump in office.  Once a Trump lackey, always a Trump lackey.  Jordan has achieved nothing as a legislator, despite being in office since 2007.  His role is to be a hyperactive attack dog for the GOP, and we know he has no problem covering up illegal behavior. 

Jordan and every one of his accomplices should be removed from office for acting against the interests of the United States.  If Republicans had any common decency, that vote wold have already happened.  Of course, if they had any morals, we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place.

An enemy of democracy.  (pic via cleveland.com)

Congress passed a $768.2 billion defense bill and sent it to President Biden yesterday, so don't talk to us about the United States not being able to afford the Build Back Better legislation.  BBB is about the same amount as three defense bills, and those pass every year without issue.  This isn't about finances.  It's about priorities, and this country values weapons more than helping each other. 

Massachusetts researchers say preliminary results show the Omicrom variant is spreading so fast, it's hard to track.  Terrific.  As cases continue to surge, it's clear that Massachusetts should be implementing a statewide mask mandate.  However Governor Charlie Baker, who has been slow to act for most of the past two years, seems to be tired of dealing with the pandemic and now has his eye on the exit door after the 2022 election.  Get your shots and boosters, wear your masks, and keep your distance from strangers, friends.  Even if the cases are generally milder than the other versions, we may see such a dramatic spike, it still places even more strain on our already-overburdened health care systems.

First it was California, and now New York Attorney General Letitia James says she plans to draft a law that will allow private citizens to sue to enforce an assault weapons ban, using the same mechanism in the Texas abortion ban.  Conservatives may have to make a decision about what's more important to them, oppressing women or worshiping their guns? 

It's finally happening:  The Federal Reserve announced yesterday that it will wrap up its bond purchasing program by March 2022, instead of June.  More importantly, the Fed expects to raise interest rates three times in 2022 and three more times in 2023.  That means the Clutter investment team can finally start dreaming of a day when our savings account earns enough to pay for at least one cup of coffee each month.  Personal goals aside, as we've said before, giving savers a place to earn some yield besides the stock market is a good call.  It lowers the risk level for those folks, while also bringing stocks down a few degrees to a more reality-grounded temperature. 

Congratulations to Danny Ainge on becoming the new CEO of the Utah Jazz.  Ainge stepped down as the president of basketball operations for the Boston Celtics last May, but it appears he's not done with basketball just yet.  We wish him the best of luck with this new adventure.

No spoilers here, but just watch the final two shots of last night's New Orleans Pelicans - Oklahoma City Thunder game.

The Jacksonville Jaguars finally decided they had enough and fired head coach Urban Meyer just 13 games into a disastrous first season.  The team is 2-11, Meyer seemed to lose the room almost right from the moment he was hired, and there were no signs that was going to improve.  It's unclear exactly how much it will cost owner Shad Khan to make Meyer to go away, but that's literally the price Khan will have to pay for making such a bad hiring decision in the first place.  Offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell will fill in for Meyer for the rest of the season.  Who knows, maybe the Jags will go on a four-game winning streak to end the year out of joy that Meyer is gone.  Meanwhile, which college program will be dumb enough to hire this dumpster fire?

On a similar note, Jeff Garlin is leaving The Goldbergs after multiple HR investigations into his behavior on the set.  No word on how the show will explain Garlin's absence for the rest of the season.  Garlin seemed pretty dismissive of the accusations against him in the last piece we read about this, and we imagine a number of folks are happy to see him leave.  He'll still be appearing on Curb Your Enthusiasm, although we'll see if anything changes on that front.

Hey Ted Lasso fans, we have a new Christmas special that you can watch right now!

Director George Clooney's new movie, The Tender Bar, starring Ben Affleck, comes out tomorrow, and the reviews seem mixed.  The film will be available on Amazon Prime Video, so it feels like something we could save for a quiet night when nothing else is happening.  Worse comes to worst, we'll just change the channel.

On the other hand, we'll probably skip Brazen when it comes out on Netflix in January, but some Alyssa Milano fans might enjoy it:

That movie feels like something you might have found late on a Friday night on Cinemax back in the day.

CSI: Vegas will be back for a second season, but the show will be missing William Petersen's Gil Grissom.  However, Petersen will remain a producer. 

Bruce Springsteen sold his master tapes and publishing catalog to Sony for an estimated $500 million. Given the market for these things, that actually sounds about right for this legend.  Now BDH and Little Buddha are trying to figure out what we could sell for that much money.  Pretty sure it's going to take them a while to come up with something.

Hey, it looks like the rain is winding down.  BDH and Little Buddha know their stuff.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  It's time to dive into our holiday playlist, so here's Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers to close things out with, "Christmas All Over Again" 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 a movie or something 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.