Hi everyone,

Welcome back, and a happy Friday to you all.  What a weird week.  I'm happy it's coming to an end, although I might have found someone yesterday who can finally address a longstanding item on the to-do list, which would be terrific.  Anyway, what's on tap for the weekend?  We've got a few errands, and then there will be a brief staff meeting to go over something we'll probably discuss here on Monday. 

In the meantime, let's check out the headlines.  BDH and Little Buddha say the coffee is ready, so grab yourself a nice medium DD, because it's time to clear out some Clutter.

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Donald Trump's lawyers would like to delay his Washington trial until April of 2026, as opposed to the January 2024 start date prosecutors requested.  Yes, the man who tried to stage a coup doesn't want his case to be heard until almost 1 1/2 years after next year's presidential election.  Of course the goal is to make his legal problems vanish from the safety of the White House.  That's outrageous.  Voters have every right to know this verdict on his guilt before they cast their ballots next November. 

The two sides will make their arguments to D.C. district judge Tanya Chutkan on August 28.  Judge Chutkan should reject Trump's request and schedule a timely beginning to the proceedings.

Donald Trump is desperately trying to avoid going to trial.  (pic via bbc.com)

Officials say they're investigating online threats that Trump supporters have made against members of the Georgia grand jury.  It's ridiculous that the state makes the grand jury's identities public in the first place, since anyone can then fill in the rest of the details with some basic Internet searching.  We know how violent the MAGA mob can be in order to protect their leader.   A Texas woman was just arrested for allegedly threatening to kill the judge in Trump's Washington corruption case.  These blatant intimidation attempts can not be tolerated.  The rule of law must prevail in all of these cases, for the sake of this country's future.

Meanwhile, Georgia State Senator Colton Moore wants Fulton County DA Fani Willis impeached for daring to investigate Donald Trump.  The GOP is the pro-crime party, friends.  As long as the criminals are their preferred skin color, Republicans support those who have contempt for our legal system.

As he continues to fall in the polls, Governor Ron DeSantis is now reportedly being advised to defend Donald Trump in next week's GOP presidential primary debate.  The feedback was reportedly given to him in a memo written by the leaders of the pro-DeSantis super PAC Never Back Down.  If DeSantis actually protects Trump next Wednesday, he should drop out of the race on Thursday, because there's literally no reason for Republicans to vote for him.  You're competing against a guy who keeps getting indicted.  If you are going to actively defend him,  you have no business in this race.  Go back to ruining Florida and leave the rest of the country alone.

Netflix will be giving away DVD's to random customers as it prepares to shut down that arm of the business for good on September 29.  We can still remember what a wild notion it was to learn that you could have movies mailed directly to your house and keep them as long as you liked.  Now, just writing that makes us feel like we should be checking today's mail for a Social Security check.

Moderna said its new Coronavirus vaccine performs well against the Eris variant that is rapidly spreading across the country.  The updated shot, as well as ones from Pfizer and Novavax, should be available in a few weeks, pending approval by the FDA.  Keep yourselves safe, friends. 

The Boston Red Sox lost 10-7 to the Washington Nationals yesterday, thus wasting a chance for their third straight series win.  The Sox really should have taken at least two out of three from the 55-67 Nationals.  Unfortunately, this group has squandered a number of these opportunities this year, which is why they're only 30-26 against teams under .500.  Boston starter Chris Sale gave up two runs over 4 1/3 innings, while the bullpen had an uncharacteristically bad day, surrendering the remaining eight runs.  The Sox tried to make a game of it with six runs in the seventh inning, but they fell short.  The loss drops the Sox to 3.5 games back in the chase for the last AL Wild Card spot, as the clock continues ticking.

Next up:  The Red Sox start a crucial weekend series on the road against the last place New York Yankees.  Brayan Bello gets the start for Boston.  If nothing else, it would be fun to watch Boston bury New York further into the AL East cellar.

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora said the team has Jarren Duran's back after the outfielder made some comments on Instagram yesterday indicating that his recent performance struggles were weighing on his mental health.  Good for the 26-year-old Duran for being open about the challenges he's facing, and we're glad to hear the Red Sox are being supportive. 

Jot it down, Boston Celtics fans:  Marcus Smart and the Memphis Grizzlies will be at the TD Garden on February 4.  You know that's going to be a fun night in the building when Smart makes his first Boston appearance after being traded this offseason.

There's a trailer for a new movie called She Came To Me, that stars Anne Hathaway, Peter Dinklage, and Marisa Tomei.  It comes to theaters on September 29.  We'll probably skip that, but BDH and Little Buddha want to know when it's available on streaming, because they want to watch the dog.  Sounds good:

Doctor Who boss Russell T. Davies recently implied that incoming star Yasmin Finney will be with the show for more than just the upcoming anniversary specials.  What's that all about?  Finney plays a character named "Rose," and not much is currently known about her.  However, that name is loaded, given the history with Rose Tyler.  We're looking forward to seeing what's going on here.

Neil Gaiman said there won't be a fourth season of Good Omens, because this story is designed to end with an idea he and co-author Terry Pratchett discussed before Pratchett's death.  That's okay with us, as long as the third season a) gets approved by Amazon in the first place and b) has a satisfying conclusion.  We trust Gaiman to deliver on the latter, so here's to hopefully one more round of the delightful pairing of David Tennant and Michael Sheen at some point down the road.

Check it out, Green Day fans:  The band will release a 30th anniversary box set for the Dookie album on September 29.  Wait, the record came out in 1994...In any case, the collection will include the album, demos and outtakes, and two live recordings.  You can get it on four CD's or six LP's.

Random Fun Fact of the Day:  The Police apparently made their live debut as a trio 46 years ago today.  Let us know if you find a way to work that into a conversation with your friends, especially if it turns into you winning some type of bar bet.

Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy will be doing a mini-tour this fall to support his upcoming book, World Within a Song:  Music That Changed My Life and Life That Changed My Music, which will be released on November 7.  We really enjoyed the book Tweedy wrote about songwriting in 2020, so we may have to check out this new one.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Here's Guns N' Roses to close things out with their new single, "Perhaps" for today's, "Song of the Day."

Thanks for stopping by, folks.  It was great to see you, as always.  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.