Tuesday Clutter: Trump, Tim Scott, House Speaker Race, World's Oldest Dog, Boston Red Sox, New England Patriots, Jennifer Lawrence, Doctor Who, the Rolling Stones, and more
Thursday Clutter: Speaker Johnson, Trump, Maine Shootings, U.S. Economy, Boston Red Sox, Dusty Baker, San Francisco 49ers, Doctor Who, Eminem, Dream Theater, Duran Duran, and more

Wednesday Clutter: Mark Meadows, Jenna Ellis, House Speaker Mess, Candy Corn, Boston Red Sox, New England Patriots, Dallas Cowboys, Chicago P.D., John Stamos, Sammy Hagar, Green Day, and more

Hi everyone,

How are you?  Is your week going okay so far?  Our crew was productive yesterday.  First, I finally got a new phone, and get this, it's a current model (iPhone 14 plus.)  First time I've ever had one of those.  I'll be collecting Social Security by the time it's paid off, but that's okay.  It's amazing how easy it was to set up.  You basically turn it on, place your old phone next to it, and everything transfers shortly after that.  Of course, BDH and Little Buddha are excited about the camera upgrade.  We'll probably need to schedule a photo shoot for them soon.

The guys are also happy because I bought them Britney Spears' memoir yesterday. They'll get back to you with a review when they're done reading it.  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 Wednesday 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!

Former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows has reportedly met with special counsel Jack Smith, as well as testified before a grand jury, about Donald Trump's repeated lies regarding the 2020 presidential election being "stolen."  (As many have pointed out, it was notable that no one has heard much from Meadows this year.)  Meadows is said to have admitted that there's no evidence there was any fraud, and that Donald Trump was repeatedly dishonest about that claim.  Should we now wait for Trump to claim he's never met Meadows?

Mark Meadows October 25 2023Mark Meadows has flipped on Donald Trump.  (pic via abc13.com)

It's been reported that Meadows' testimony can't be used against him in any federal case about the election.  Hopefully there's another way to prosecute him, because Meadows was right at the center of the coup attempt, and that should not go unpunished.  (There is also still the matter of the Georgia case.)  However, there's no denying that his testimony makes the case against Trump even stronger.  The MAGA leader must not escape consequences for his criminal actions here.  He can not be allowed back into the White House, because he'll do it all over again at the first opportunity. 

The hits just keep coming for Donald Trump:  Conservative lawyer Jenna Ellis is the latest MAGA figure to plead guilty in the Georgia election interference case.  Ellis pleaded guilty to one felony count of aiding and abetting false statements and writings, as she became the third member of Donald Trump's legal team to cut a deal with DA Fani Willis.  The chickens are coming home to roost, and they all have the same message:  Donald Trump repeatedly lied about the 2020 presidential election and did everything he could to overturn the lawful results.

Who will be the next one to turn on Trump?  Paging Rudy Giulaini...

Representative Mike Johnson became the fourth Republican candidate for House speaker yesterday.  Can this Trump supporter/2020 election denier get to the magic 217 vote total today?  The more (relatively speaking) moderates in the GOP would seem to have plenty of reason to reject him on ideological grounds.  However, maybe they're tired of their party's complete incompetence being on display for the world to see for the past three+ weeks.  Otherwise, maybe this circus will continue for yet another round or four.

A group of 42 attorneys general is suing Meta, arguing that some Facebook and Instagram features are addictive and target kids/teens.  It's hard to get 42 of these officials from both parties to agree on anything, so the fact that they found common ground on this case is remarkable.  According to the linked article, the AG's are targeting, "the design of (Meta's) algorithms, copious alerts, notifications and so-called infinite scroll through platform feeds."  We won't claim to know the legal strength of the argument.  However, it's obvious to laypeople that Meta wants to do everything it can to keep young users hooked so the company can keep the advertising dollars flowing for the long term.

(Note:  We use Facebook ads, but they're never aimed at kids.)

Friends, with Halloween less than a week away, we must ask this pressing question:  Are you pro or anti candy corn?  On a scale of 1 (being anti) to 10 (being pro), our crew is around a 5.5.  The tricolor candy is never our first choice.  It has an odd texture, and the taste is pure sugar.   However, if someone has them out on a table or desk as we're walking by, sure, we'll take a few.  We never think about them outside of this time of year and would certainly never buy a bag.  However, linked article says about 30 million pounds are sold annually, so there are clearly some hardcore fans out there.

It looks like Craig Breslow will become the new head of baseball operations for the Boston Red Sox.  Sure, why not?  A former pitcher (who had two stints in Boston) who also has experience as an assistant GM with the Chicago Cubs is an interesting combination of experiences.  Here's hoping the first thing he does is fix Boston's starting rotation.  His track record with developing Chicago's pitchers is positive, so if he can repeat that here, we'll be thrilled.

Congratulations to the Arizona Diamondbacks on beating the Philadelphia Phillies 4-2 to advance to the World Series last night.  They will now face the Texas Rangers.  Who do we root for here?  Nothing about Texas grabs us, but Arizona is going for the championship after only winning 84 games in the regular season.  Yeah, that's an underdog story we can support.  Plus, manager Torey Luvullo and GM Mike Hazen both used to be with the Boston Red Sox, so..sure...go Arizona.

In what is being described as a roster management move, the New England Patriots waived QB/WR Malik Cunningham yesterday, just 10 days after signing him to a three-year contract.  Life in the NFL, folks.  ESPN's Mike Reiss writes in the linked article that there's a good chance the Patriots want to put Cunningham back on the practice squad if he clears waivers.  Apparently Mac Jones' improved performance last Sunday has cooled off any idea of giving Cunningham a more prominent role as a quarterback option.  If he does clear waivers, we wouldn't be surprised at all to see Cunningham back on the field at some point with the Patriots again, given their crazy QB carousel so far this year.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones thinks his team can compete with anyone in the NFC.  That may be true during the regular season, but the most overrated organization in the league will still likely collapse once again in the playoffs.  The NFL continually acts like the Cowboys have won the majority of the championships in the last 20 years.  Folks, they haven't even been to the Super Bowl since 1996.  Bill Clinton was still in office at that point.  At the end of the day, the Cowboys are frauds until they prove otherwise, and there's no reason to believe that's going to happen anytime soon.

Oh no, someone is reportedly leaving Chicago P.D. after this season (assuming the season ever gets filmed in the first place.)  We are not happy about this at all.  Well, hopefully this character will at least get a proper goodbye.  We're still smarting over Jay Halstead's atrocious departure.  As much as we love "One Chicago," all of the shows are starting to get a little long in the tooth.  You have to wonder how many seasons they have left. 

Former Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker shared some thoughts on what she enjoyed about playing the Time Lord, and how it was different from other roles she's had in the past.  Whittaker got a raw deal during her time on the show, particularly when it came to scripts.  We wish her the best of luck with her new projects, but we hope she'll consider revisiting the Doctor by teaming up with Big Finish for some audio adventures down the road.  The actress was a terrific brand ambassador.  She deserves the chance (if she wants it) to show what she can do with some better-crafted stories.  Now, we need to figure out if there's a way we can watch her in the prison series, Time. 

John Stamos wrote in his new memoir about how he learned former Full House co-star Bob Saget died.  We took a look at If You Would Have Told Me at the bookstore yesterday, and it seemed like it might be an interesting read.  Maybe we'll circle back to that after we finish Britney's book (especially to learn more about the actor's early days on General Hospital.  A return to Port Charles from Blackie Parrish is long-overdue.)

Sammy Hagar is once again weighing in on an Eddie Van Halen tribute concert.   The former VH singer says he's "so disappointed" it still hasn't happened yet, some three years after the legendary guitarist's death.  It is embarrassing that this group can't put aside their egos for one show.  However, it's not surprising, considering all of the drama in the band's history.  David Lee Roth is likely the biggest obstacle, but Alex Van Halen should have figured out a solution by now, and Sammy probably doesn't make things any easier.  (It's hard to imagine bassist Michael Anthony doing anything but going along with Hagar.) 

Wolfgang Van Halen said he considers his performances at the Taylor Hawkins shows to be his own version of a tribute  He's off doing his own thing with Mammoth WVH and is probably happy to avoid this mess.  Can't blame him for that, and we're excited to see him in Boston in a few weeks.   However, we still hold out hope that somehow all of this will get worked out at some point down the road, because Eddie deserves the spotlight one last time.

Smashing Pumpkins fans, how are you feeling about guitarist Jeff Schroeder leaving after 16 years with the group?

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Here's Green Day to close things out with their new single, a cheerful little number called, "The American Dream is Killing Me" 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 (and what should be some terrific weather), 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.

 

If you enjoy Clearing out the Clutter, please consider a $5 monthly donation!  You can click here or on the "Donations" category on the right-hand side of the page.

Check out our new Patreon page! 

Comments