Hi everyone,

Welcome back.  How are you?  We're doing okay.  Monday was a bit of a mess on this end.  I don't know what happened, but my productivity fell to almost zero for most of the afternoon.  We're talking a borderline zombie-like state. Thankfully I had some garden time at the end of the day, so at least things ended on a positive note, but, oof, that was weird. 

BDH and Little Buddha suggest we just shrug it off as "one of those days" and focus on making sure today is better.  They're right as usual, so let's get to work.  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.

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Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants were indicted in Georgia on Monday on 41 counts for racketeering and conspiring to interfere in the state's 2020 presidential election results.  (The co-defendants include, John Eastman and Rudy Giuliani and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, among others.)  Trump himself is specifically facing 13 felony counts.   The efforts to nullify the will of the voters include Trump's phone call to Georgia's Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to pressure him to find Trump enough votes to win, as well as the submission of a slate of fake electors, and the breach of a Georgia county voting system.

Lock him up.  (pic via abcnews.go.com)

For those keeping track at home, this is the fourth time Trump has been criminally indicted since March.  However, Republican voters are still pro-crime, as long as it's "their kind" of criminal.  Yesterday's indictment is Trump's biggest legal problem to this point.  The racketeering charge alone carries a maximum 20-year sentence.  This is the kind of law usually used for mob bosses, and this document stays with that tone, referring to Trump's team as "a criminal organization."  It also has to be pointed out that since this is a state case, Trump won't be able to save himself from prosecution even if he returns to the White House. 

Fulton County DA Fani Willis said the defendants have until August 25 to "voluntarily surrender" to the court. She also said she'll be seeking a trial within six months, but that the start date was up to the judge.  Donald Trump will be spending more time in courtrooms than on the campaign trail to start 2024.  This would have been more than enough to disqualify him as a candidate if his political party had a shred of common decency.  However, it's still business as usual with the MAGA cult.

Governor Ron DeSantis apparently realizes that his war with Mickey Mouse has been a bust, so he wants to act like he won and then forget about the entire thing:  Governor DeSantis recently indicated that he is open to talking to Disney CEO Bob Iger, and that he thinks it would be great if the company dropped its lawsuit against the state.  (Even though, you know, Florida would like totally win if it continued.)  DeSantis retaliated against Disney because they spoke out against his anti-LGBTQ agenda.  He violated the company's 1st Amendment rights, and they should move forward until a judge affirms that stance.  DeSantis picked this fight, let him lose it, along with any shot he ever had at the GOP presidential nomination.

Alabama officials were in court yesterday after blatantly defying an order to redraw their congressional map to include a second-majority Black district.  It's clear that the current map doesn't meet the requirements.  The judges should change the lines themselves if the state is going to ignore their rulings.

Arkansas is also putting its racism on full display for everyone to see: The state's education department announced it will no longer give credit for Advanced Placement African American Studies classes, and that teachers who offer the course may be violating a state law about covering prohibited topics.  Conservatives want to erase the understanding of our nation's history, because a less-educated population is easier for them to control.

Trader Joe's recently had to recall some cookies because they contained rocks, and now Nestlé is recalling its Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bar packages because they might contain wood fragments.  The issue is said to be constrained to just two batches of the product, but is it too much to ask for cookies that don't have these contamination problems?

The Boston Red Sox will start a series on the road against the Washington Nationals tonight, as they continue to fight for the last AL Wild Card spot.  The Sox are currently three games back in that chase, so we'll see if Nick Pivetta can keep the team moving in the right direction when he takes the mound against the Nationals tonight.  

The New England Patriots are getting some depth at running back:  The team reportedly signed Ezekiel Elliott to a one-year deal with a base salary of $3 million, that could be worth up to $6 million.   Elliot only rushed for 876 yards last year, although injuries played a role.  However, he looks to be a solid backup running option for Bill Belichick and company.  Assuming he stays healthy, and still has something left in the tank, having the former Dallas Cowboys star should go a long way to reducing the burden on primary back Rhamondre Stevenson this season.

Former NFL player Michael Oher is suing Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, claiming they never actually adopted him, as depicted in the book and movie, The Blind Side.  Instead, Oher claims the two tricked him into signing a conservatorship agreement that gave them control over his money.  The petition reported asks, "the court to end the Tuohy family's conservatorship, stop them from using his name and likeness and provide a full account of their earnings from using his name. In addition to unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, he is also reportedly seeking a "fair" share of profits."

We never really liked The Blind Side, because the Tuohy's always seemed to have a "white savior" complex, which was off-putting.  However, even if this story isn't a complete surprise, it still had to be painful for Oher to realize how much the family screwed him over here.  Hopefully the courts will hold these scammers accountable for their fraudulent actions.

Barbie producer/star Margot Robbie reportedly stands to make $50 million in bonuses, thanks to the movie's amazing success.  Good for her.  The film is terrific, and she deserves the additional payday.

The Doctor Who 60th anniversary TV specials are still about three months away, so we've been keeping ourselves busy with the Big Finish Doctor Who: Once and Future audio series in the meantime.  Long story short, the Doctor keeps flipping between incarnations, so each month features a different face/personality.  We're still waiting for this month's adventure to be released, probably next week.  However, it's getting a little hard to stay focused, because the trailer is here for September's story which features the dream pairing of David Tennant and Michelle Gomez.

Cheers to whoever first realized the similarity between the silly Elon Musk vs. Mark Zuckerberg cage match challenge, and this scene from, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which sums the whole thing up perfectly. 

If for some reason you've always wondered what Metallica's debut Kill 'Em All album would sound like if it was played in the style of ZZ Top, a) that's a little odd, and b) we have the surprising answer for you here.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Not sure why we've been humming this tune for the last 24 hours...maybe it was playing on the radio while we were watering the plants.  In any case, here's Mr. Mister to close things out with a live version of, "Broken Wings" 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.