Hi everyone,

How are you?  BDH and Little Buddha were just studying the latest weather forecast and trying to figure out if it will actually rain or only be cloudy all day.  I'm rooting for the latter, because it would be terrific to get some garden time this afternoon/evening, so fingers crossed.  Also, no luck at the bookstore yesterday, so if you have any reading suggestions for the guys, please drop us a note at [email protected].

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 Thursday Clutter.

We have teamed up with Clearly Balanced Days, a NH-based/women-owned CBD company.  Enter promo code "cmoore" to get $5 off your next purchase!

A potential warning of danger to come:  A Texas woman was arrested for threatening to kill the judge overseeing Donald Trump's conspiracy case in Washington D.C., as well as a member of Congress.  Abigail Jo Shry reportedly left a threatening message for U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan on August 5 and also said she'd kill Rep.  Sheila Jackson Lee.  The MAGA cult has no problem using violence to try to achieve their means, which is one of the many reasons why it's so important Donald Trump and his cronies be held accountable for their actions.  If they get away without punishment, it will only embolden these thugs to cause even more damage.

The MAGA cult is a national public safety threat.  (pic via lavocedinewyork.com)

Fulton County DA Fani Willis proposed in a court filing that Donald Trump's Georgia trial start on March 4, 2024.  That's the day before Super Tuesday, and eight days before Georgia's Republican presidential primary.

Here's hoping Donald Trump does time his Georgia booking to interrupt next Wednesday's GOP presidential debate.  It's a brilliant way for Trump to steal all of the media attention from his primary rivals, while also reminding the rest of the country that he's drowning in criminal indictments and should spend the rest of his life in prison.  Win-win. 

This story about Rudy Giuliani begging Donald Trump to pay his legal bills is so pathetic, we almost feel bad for the disgraced former mayor.  Trump's aversion to paying his own bills, let alone anyone else's, is so well-documented, Rudy had to know he had almost no chance of success.  He also should have been able to play out this scenario months, if not years, ago, because the rest of us saw it coming.  Maybe he was hoping to pressure Trump to cover his costs to keep him from flipping.  Now that he's struck out with his master, Rudy should take another look at saving himself.

The minutes of the Fed's July 25-26 meeting seemed to indicate some differing opinions about whether additional interest rate hikes are required.  However, the Clutter investment team remains convinced another increase is coming in September.  While inflation has cooled off significantly this year, it's still not at the Fed's target 2% rate, and there have been repeated comments that there's a bigger danger in not doing enough, rather than overdoing it.  Barring a significant surprise in the data for August, our staff expects at least one more move to come in 2023.

Two companies suspended their Twitter advertising after their products were placed on a pro-Nazi account.  That seems odd, since CEO Linda Yaccarino just recently mentioned that Twitter would protect brand safety.  NCTA and Gilead are unlikely to be the only two businesses who end up making this move, but that's what they get for giving Elon Musk their ad dollars in the first place.  Anyone who associates with Musk's toy better be prepared for their reputation to take a hit.

Broadcast and cable TV made up less than 50% of total TV consumption in the U.S. in July, according to a Nielsen survey.  It's the first time that's ever happened in this country.  Our crew may need to have a staff meeting at some point soon to revisit whether or not cable still makes sense for us, especially with the writers and actors strikes.  We'll have to look at the current prices for all of the streaming options, but maybe we can save some money if we put together the right bundle.  We'll add that to the to-do list.

It's fascinating to hear that a new study shows taking Plan B with a common anti-arthritis medication may improve the contraception's effectiveness.  We support any research which may help women reduce the chances of unintended pregnancies, especially with so many states now pushing strict abortion bans.  The problem here is that the arthritis pill requires a prescription, so researchers will need to find an over-the-counter version to maximize the impact of this finding.

The Boston Red Sox lost 6-2 to the Washington Nationals last night.  Boston starter James Paxton had another quality outing, giving up just two runs over six innings.  Unfortunately, the Red Sox offense was asleep for most of the night, until they scored two runs in the top of the 8th to tie the game.  However, the optimism about a possible comeback win was quickly shot down when reliever Garrett Whitlock was tagged for four runs in the bottom of the inning.  The loss leaves the Red Sox three games back in the race for the final AL Wild Card spot.

Next up:  The Red Sox can still get the series win when Chris Sale takes the mound against the Nationals tonight.

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora said that infielder Adalberto Mondesí has been shut down again, as the infielder continues to recover from ACL surgery.  Time is running out on whether or not Mondesí will have any chance of appearing with the team this year, and he'll be a free agent at the end of the season.  The Red Sox could still use help at second base, so it will be interesting to see if they try to bring Mondesí back for 2024 or pursue other options.

Running back Ezekiel Elliott has already joined the New England Patriots, less than 48 hours after signing with the team.  They may be taking things slowly with the 28-year-old, but we're looking forward to seeing how well Elliot fits into this system.

Barbie is now Warner Bros. Discovery's highest-grossing domestic release, overtaking Batman Begins for the #1 spot.  The Margot Robbie-led movie has brought in over $537 million in the United States alone, and it's not done yet.  Congratulations once again to Robbie, writer/director Greta Gerwig, and everyone else connected to this project.  It's a great film that has earned this success.

If you are unable to make it to the theater to see Barbie, the good news is that the movie will be released digitally on September 5. 

As the show celebrates its 60th anniversary this fall, we have to ask:  Do we need to buy two Doctor Who roleplaying game books, even if roleplaying isn't one of our hobbies?  Granted, we're basing this question on the fact that the cover of the first book looks cool, but still, it seems intriguing.

The Hollywood Reporter has an insightful interview with Beef creator Lee Sung Jin, discussing his personal connection to the story, how he had a darker ending in mind (which is hard to imagine), and whether or not he'd like to do another season of the show.  We would love to see second season, but who knows how what the odds are of that right now, given the Hollywood strikes.  In the meantime, if you didn't see Beef when it first came out on Netflix, you should fix that.  It was spellbinding television.

It's unfortunate that Britney Spears and Sam Asghari are getting divorced, a little over a year after they got married.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Here is Willie Nelson teaming up with the late Sinéad O'Connor for a haunting cover of the Peter Gabriel classic, "Don't Give Up" for today's, "Song of the Day."

That's just tremendous.  RIP, Sinéad.

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.