(Review) The Holdovers
Tuesday Clutter: NH Primary, Ron DeSantis, Wall Street, New England Patriots, Jason Kelce, WWE to Netflix, The Marvels, GH, Valerie Bertinelli, Ozzy Osbourne, Billy Joel, and more

Monday Clutter: DeSantis Quits, Nikki Haley, Stock Market, NFL Playoffs, Will Ferrell, Doctor Who, Joe Satriani, Samantha Fox, Judas Priest, and more

Hi everyone,

Welcome back, and a happy Monday to you all.  How was your weekend?  I had to do a handful of errands yesterday morning, and that cold was just rude.  Once the list was completed, our crew settled in for an afternoon of watching terrific NFL playoff games, so it all worked out in the end. 

BDH and Little Buddha just gave me today's to-do list.  It's kind of long.  The guys moved some stuff up on the schedule because there's more bad weather coming, starting tomorrow.  The duo figures it's best to get the unavoidable driving out of the way now while the roads are decent.  Those two are always thinking. 

First, 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 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!

After making no impact whatsoever, Governor Ron DeSantis dropped out of the GOP presidential primary yesterday and immediately endorsed Donald Trump.  What a clown.  Think of all of the nonsense DeSantis put the people of Florida through in order to portray himself as a Trump alternative, from being an anti-vaxxer, to making life harder for the LGBTQ community, just so he could have his hat handed to him and immediately kiss his king's ring. Turns out fighting Mickey Mouse doesn't get you votes.

DeSantis was in over his head right from the beginning in this race.  The MAGA cult doesn't want an alternative when they can still have the original.   Plus, even if they did want to switch, they'd prefer a candidate who didn't look and act like a robot who was unfamiliar with human interactions.  (How did DeSantis ever get this far in politics without learning how to smile like a normal person?)  With any luck, the self-inflicted damage will mean this is the last time we ever have to talk about DeSantis being a candidate for anything.

Governor Ron DeSantis January 22 2024Who are you again?  (pic via news.wfsu.org)

Now it's up to Nikki Haley to explain why anyone should continue to listen to her after tomorrow's New Hampshire primary.  She's trying to make the case by attacking Donald Trump's mental fitness, after Trump confused her for Nancy Pelosi in a recent speech.  Haley should have been focused on that area since the start of her campaign, because Donald Trump's cognitive abilities have been in decline for years.  That's why Trump and the MAGA cult attack President Biden on the same grounds.  Trump constantly projects his weaknesses and crimes onto his opponents.

However, is it too little, oo late for Haley?  A new poll shows Trump winning tomorrow's New Hampshire primary by a healthy margin.  Granite State voters love to go against the grain, but if Trump does come out on top, is she done?

House Republicans try to distract the country with non-scandals like Hunter Biden because the GOP knows it has no accomplishments to sell voters this November.  The best they can come up with is that they barely kept the lights on in the U.S. Capitol.  They've done nothing to help ordinary Americans while controlling the chamber, because Republicans are only there to service the wealthy.  They all deserve to be thrown out of office and replaced by a party that actually has an interest in governing.

The S&P finished at a new record high on Friday for the first time since January 2022.  The Clutter investment team certainly loves when stocks go up, as opposed to the alternative, but they still think this market is expensive.  A lot of investors still seem to be getting ahead of themselves on the number of interest rate cuts to expect this year, and much of the current optimism remains concentrated on tech stocks.  A price-to-earnings ratio of 26.27 says to the team that this isn't a bubble, but it's not a deal either, so they'll be staying on the sidelines waiting for any sales to develop.

As we said above, yesterday featured a lot of entertaining football.  First, the Detroit Lions beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-23 to advance to just their second NFC Championship Game ever, and first since 1991.  The game got a little tight at the end, but Tampa Bay's Baker Mayfield threw a game-ending interception to seal the deal for Detroit.  We're in on the Lions for the rest of the postseason.  They're going for their team's first-ever Super Bowl title, quarterback Jared Goff is re-writing his story, and head coach Dan Campbell seems completely nuts.  How do you root against that? 

The Lions have their work cut out for them when they face the San Francisco 49ers next weekend, but we're pulling for an upset.

Next came the Kansas City Chiefs beating the Buffalo Bills 27-24.  It was a nail-biter which had multiple lead changes.  Unfortunately, Bills fans had a terrible feeling of déjà vu when kicker Tyler Bass missed a field goal wide right that would have tied the game with less than two minutes to play.  Bills quarterback Josh Allen is tremendous, but Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs still have his number in the postseason.  How does Buffalo find a way to finally get past this obstacle?

Amazingly, this was the first time Patrick Mahomes played a playoff game on the road, and he was up for the challenge, improving his postseason record to 13-3.  Kansas City now moves on to face the Baltimore Ravens next Sunday.  Who have you got in that one?

(For pure entertainment, the best moment might have come from a shirtless Jason Kelce celebrating one of brother Travis' two touchdowns on the night.)

Will Ferrell has a new documentary about his longtime friendship with Harper Steele, a transgender woman who transitioned in 2022.  Will & Harper sounds like it could be interesting, so we hope to eventually find it on Max or another streaming service at some point in the future.

We would also really like to see, Super/Man:  The Christopher Reeve Story if possible.  The actor led a remarkable life, from his iconic role on the big screen, to his advocacy for so many people after an accident left him paralyzed. 

Apparently we have to discuss the fact that Doctor Who star Millie Gibson is leaving the show in Series 15 and will reportedly be replaced by Varada Sethu.  Fine.  There are so many headlines trying to make this into a scandal, when the reality is that companions leave all the time.  We assume Gibson's character Ruby Sunday's story will come to its natural conclusion, and that will open the door for Sethu's arrival. 

Our only disappointment is that Series 14 doesn't even start until May, so it's a little annoying that we're talking about spoilers so far in advance.  The audience has known Ruby Sunday for all of one episode, and we're already discussing her exit.  However, if that's the price to be paid for not having to wait as long between seasons, so be it.

Guitarist Joe Satriani shared some thoughts about why the 2022 Eddie Van Halen tribute never got off the ground.  That project would have seen Satriani on guitar, with Alex Van Halen on drums, and David Lee Roth singing.  To the surprise of no one, Satriani seems to think the fault lies with Roth.  Of course, Satriani is now going on tour this year with Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony, and Jason Bonham for the Van Halen-heavy "Best of All Worlds" tour, so it probably all worked out for the best in the long run.  We would still love to see Alex Van Halen return to the stage in some capacity if he ever decides he wants to do it.

Congratulations to 3 Doors Down singer Brad Arnold on recently celebrating eight years of sobriety. 

Sorry to hear British celebrity Samantha Fox was arrested after reportedly causing a disturbance on a plane.  We had a huge crush on the singer/TV figure in the 1980's, and it was a thrill to be able to meet her back then. 

Okay kids that's going to do it for now.   Let's have Judas Priest close things out with their new single, "Crown of Horns" 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.

 

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