Hi everyone,

How are you?  Our crew is okay at the moment.  Yesterday was a bit of a slog, but I slept a little better last night, so here's hoping today goes smoothly.  It's remarkable how every little task can become a struggle when you're exhausted.   BDH and Little Buddha say today's to-do list isn't that long, but I'll need to bundle up, because the wind chill will keep the temperatures in the 20's.  It's not supposed to snow though, so that's a fair trade.  If I play my cards right, there might even be time for a nap. 

First, let's sort through 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.

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As predicted here, Donald Trump will not deliver part of the closing argument in his NY civil fraud trial today.  Judge Arthur Engoron said if Trump wanted to do that, he would have to limit his comments to the evidence in the case and not deliver a campaign speech, or attack Judge Engoron or his staff.  Of course, Trump's lawyer said his client wouldn't agree to the terms, and so that's that.  NY Attorney General Letitia James is now seeking $370 million in penalties in this case, arguing that the details that came out during the trial warrant the larger punishment.  We hope Judge Engoron agrees, as well as permanently ends Trump's ability to participate in the New York real estate industry.  The conman must be held accountable for his lies.

Trump won't be allowed to give a stump speech in the courtroom.  (pic via abcnews.go.com)

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie suspended his presidential campaign yesterday.  Christie never really had a chance of succeeding, but while we disagree with him on most issues, we'll give him credit for being the only candidate in the Republican primary to consistently and directly attack Donald Trump.  Christie's inability to build support with that message just shows how much of a cult the GOP has become at this point.  His withdrawal may help Nikki Haley in New Hampshire, but this party still belongs to Donald Trump.

New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu endorsed Nikki Haley, but Sununu will still vote for Donald Trump if Trump is the GOP nominee, even if he's a convicted felon by then.  Haley can't love hearing that quote.  The GOP is pro-criminal when it's one of their guys.

Hunter Biden came to Congress yesterday, House Republicans didn't ask him anything, and now they're working on motions for contempt.  What a clown show.  First, Biden already said he'd agree to a public hearing, thus depriving conservatives a chance of leaking misleading quotes afterwards.  Second, multiple Republicans, including Jim Jordan, blatantly defied subpoenas from the January 6 committee, and now they want to pretend like they have respect for the institution.  This witch hunt has no other purpose but to try to damage President Biden's reputation, because Republicans have nothing to offer the public when it comes to actual governing.

Apparently Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene gets her kicks showing naked pictures of Hunter Biden, because she keeps doing it.   Stay classy, MTG.

The head of the World Health Organization said nearly 10,000 people died from COVID-19 last month, with holiday gatherings and the new prominent variant being the biggest causes.  The real number is likely higher than that, considering how much tracking efforts have evaporated.  So many of these deaths could be prevented if people just got their shots and boosters.

Investors are waiting for the release of December's Consumer Price Index data later today.  The linked article indicates some believe the numbers will show inflation increased slightly from November, but there are still hopes for a rate cut in March.  The Clutter investment team doesn't know what the report will say, but the staff continues to believe too many people get ahead of themselves when it comes to talking about cuts.  Thus, our folks remain focused on the long-term picture.

The SEC approved bitcoin exchange-traded funds yesterday, but our crew still wants nothing to do with this investment field.  It seems more like gambling, and that a lot of cryptocurrency companies are making things up as they go, so that will be a pass.  We'll stick with a diversified basket of index funds that hold shares in actual companies. 

The Boston Red Sox won't be hosting a town hall during their annual Winter Weekend fan event on January 19-20.  Team ownership and management was loudly booed during last year's gathering, and you can be sure the same thing would have happened this time, as the Sox continue to do nothing significant to improve their roster.

NFL regular season games averaged 17.9 million viewers this year, an increase of 7% from last season, and the highest since 2015.  The league just continues to print money.

It's official:  Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots are going their separate ways, after a historic 24-year run that saw nine Super Bowl appearances and six championships.  However, the team has struggled since Tom Brady's departure in 2019, and the backsliding seemed to be accelerating in the past two seasons.  We can't say this split is a surprise, and it's probably the right call.  However, we're still sorry this era has come to a close, because we're unlikely to see anything like it again. 

The Patriots now need to find a new coach, with former players Jerod Mayo and Mike Vrabel seeming like the most likely choices.  On the other side, Bill Belichick is just 15 wins away from breaking the all-time record for victories, and the Falcons, Panthers, Raiders, Commanders, Chargers, and Seahawks (see next item) all have vacancies.  Whichever team lands Belichick is getting a tremendous coach.  Just let someone else pick the players.

We were shocked to hear that the Seattle Seahawks fired head coach Pete Carroll after 14 years.  Technically it's being described as Carroll moving to an advisory role, but it's clear this wasn't his decision.  Carroll was 137-89-1 with Seattle.  He and the team made the playoffs 10 times and won the first championship in the organization's history.  Of course, they had a second one in their sights, right until New England Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler intercepted a Russell Wilson pass to give the Pats another title. 

There didn't seem to be any indication this move was coming, which makes us wonder if there's more to the story, although the NFL is a cutthroat business.  It really doesn't sound like Carroll is excited about this "adviser" position, so we'll be curious to see if he finds a new place to continue coaching.

Aaron Rodgers has been dropped from The Pat McAfee Show for the remainder of the NFL season, following his repulsive comments implying Jimmy Kimmel was an associate of Jeffrey Epstein.  It will be interesting to see if Rodgers returns next season.  McAfee clearly wants nothing to do with any of this controversy, but he's got to know it will start right up again if he brings back the conspiracy theorist.  Our money is on Rodgers not returning, which will give him more time to find new ways to be a distraction for the New York Jets.

There's an Amy Winehouse biopic coming, called, "Back to Black."  Not sure if we need to see this in the theaters (starting May 10), but we'll give it a look when it comes to streaming.  What do you think?

We listened to about five minutes of a new AI-generated George Carlin comedy special.  It's easy to understand why actors are so concerned about the use of AI in movies and TV moving forward.  The clip was both impressive and creepy as hell.  The comedian died in 2008 from heart failure, but if you didn't know that, you could easily believe this is a recording of him with new material.    However, we don't want to spend our time listening to software make up comedy, when we can support actual living humans instead. 

The Rolling Stones have a new live album coming out on March 8.  It features a show from their 2002-2003 world tour and will be available in all of the usual formats.

1980's icon Boy George has a new memoir out now, and apparently, he doesn't hold back in it.  Not sure that would be a good pick for BDH and Little Buddha, but we'll keep an eye out for it during our next bookstore visit.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Here's Jennifer Lopez to share some thoughts about her multiple marriages with, "Can't Get Enough" 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, stay warm, 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.