Tuesday Clutter: Trump, E. Jean Carroll, Merrick Garland, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Elon Musk, Super Bowl LVIII, Bella Twins, Larry David, Sebastian Bach, Depeche Mode, and more
Thursday Clutter: Trump, Interest Rates, Dave's Hot Chicken, Boston Red Sox, Bill Belichick, Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift, Henry Cavill, Chicago Fire, NCIS, GH, Coldplay, and more

Wednesday Clutter: MAGA Losing Their Minds Over Taylor Swift, Sham Impeachment, Elon Musk, Baseball Notes, SNL, Elmo, Doctor Who, Phil Collins, and more

Hi everyone,

How are you?  Congratulations on making it through January, which has seemed to be a year all by itself.  Yesterday was a bit of a mess on this end.  I was so tired, BDH and Little Buddha eventually decided we should scrap the to-do list and call it a day.  They sent me to bed, I was out cold for a while, woke up and had dinner, and then basically went back to sleep for about nine hours. 

I don't like when my sleep gets thrown off-kilter so much, but I'm thankful the guys look after me.  Feeling better today though, so their plan worked.

Programming note:  Something came up, and we will be out of the office for the rest of the week.  The current plan is to return on Tuesday, February 6.  Any other changes to the schedule will be posted on our Facebook page.  We will try to stop by on the page to say hello now and then before Tuesday, so come visit it if you get the chance. 

Hopefully there won't be any further disruptions for a while after this.  Thank you for your patience.  Now, 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 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!

The right-wing media has lost their minds when it comes to Taylor Swift:  Criticisms about her relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce started off with the usual dismissive misogyny, as conservatives were eager to ignore her worldwide success as a solo female artist.  However, the MAGA cult, Fox News, and the rest of them are diving into full-on conspiracy theories now, such as that the Swift-Kelce pairing is some Department of Defense operation designed to help President Biden win reelection. 

Apparently, these crackpots believe that the NFL has rigged the playoffs for the Chiefs so that Swift can endorse Biden at the end of the Super Bowl.  That shows you how afraid they are of her clout with young voters.

These conspiracy theorists are unwell.  They're also doing everything they can to convince their followers that the world around them is a lie, apart from the "truth" that only the MAGA world provides.  That's the definition of a cult, and it's a threat to our country's long-term future.

Travis Kelce Taylor Swift January 31 2024Conservatives are terrified of Taylor Swift.  (pic via wgrz.com)

House Republicans continue to advance their sham impeachment proceedings against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, despite having no evidence of anything that approaches, "high crimes and misdemeanors."  The GOP has no interest in actually doing anything about the U.S. border, because Donald Trump wants to use the issue as an attack against President Biden.  They have no case here, and even if the House completes the process, it will go nowhere in the Democratic-controlled Senate. 

This is all political theater from an unserious party who has no interest in governing and offers nothing of substance to the American people.  We deserve better.

Robert F. Kennedy's ludicrous presidential campaign continues to pull more money from Donald Trump's supporters than from donors to President Biden.  Does Steve Bannon regret encouraging Kennedy to run?  It would be fitting if he cost Trump a key state or two in November.

Great to see that a judge voided Elon Musk's 2018 compensation package from Tesla that was worth up to $55 billion.  A group of Tesla shareholders argued that the deal was excessive and the result of sham negotiations between Musk and the Tesla board, and Delaware Chancery Court Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick apparently agreed.  Musk is currently trying to pressure the company to increase his percentage of stock ownership.  This ruling makes it clear that his demand should be ignored, and that the board must adopt a more reasonable stance that isn't biased towards Musk.

Investors are waiting to hear from the Federal Reserve today about the current plan for interest rates in 2024.  Everyone seems to believe that rates will remain at their current levels after today, but folks want some guidance about whether or not that might change in March.  The Clutter investment team believes officials will indicate the status quo will stay in place for the foreseeable future, and some people will still manage to convince themselves otherwise.  Regardless of any announcement, our staff will stay out of the way until the dust settles.

Universal Music Group (UMG) is threatening to pull its catalog from TikTok by the end of the day today, because the two companies have been unable to work out a new licensing deal.  UMG claims TikTok is paying an unreasonably low royalty rate, and that there are also concerns about the use of AI and bullying on the platform.  We don't use TikTok, so we can't speak to the merit of the arguments.  However, we somehow suspect those concerns would disappear if TikTok paid UMG more.

Former Boston Red Sox infielder/DH Justin Turner agreed to a one-year/$13 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays yesterday.  We're disappointed that Turner was only in Boston for a year.  He was a solid presence in the lineup, and it sounded like he was a good locker room guy.  However, he also made it clear that he wanted to play for a contender again in 2024 (after spending much of his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers), and the Red Sox are nowhere near that right now. 

The Baltimore Orioles are reportedly being sold to a group led by David Rubenstein for $1.75 billion.  In other words, the entire team is worth about 2.5 Shohei Ohtani's.  The Angelos family bought the Orioles in 1993 for $175 million, so that's a pretty decent return on their investment.  The sale still needs to be approved by at least 75% of the other Major League teams.  Maybe Rubenstein has some friends who also work in private equity who would be interested in buying the Red Sox.  We'd be interested in hearing from anyone who actually cares about winning again.

The cast is coming together for the movie about the early days of Saturday Night Live. We'll keep an eye out for this one.  The film will be directed by Jason Reitman, and it certainly seems like there's more than enough material for an entertaining story there, given all of the iconic comedy figures who were involved in the creation of the show. 

Sesame Street's Elmo asked everyone on Twitter on Monday how they were doing.  The answer was generally, "Not well, Elmo.  Not well."  Some of the responses were likely intended to be funny.  Still, as Elmo wrote in a foll0w-up tweet, the whole thing was a reminder of how important it is to check in with your friends and family.

The headline to the article seemed a little click-baity, but it turns out that the ending to the 14th Doctor's final adventure (for now) was actually even better than we realized when it aired on TV.  We won't give away the key detail, but it's been revealed in the novelization of The Giggle, and it's a well-deserved reward for our favorite Time Lord.

Good news, General Hospital fans:  Eden McCoy will be back on Thursday as Josslyn Jacks, after a six-week absence following the death of the actress' mom. 

Happy belated birthday to Phil Collins, who turned 73 years old yesterday.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Here's Phil Collins to close things out with a live version of, "Don't Lose My Number" for today's, "Song of the Day."

Fun fact:  This might have been the first tune we ever learned all of the lyrics to, back in the day.

Thanks again for stopping by, folks.  It was great to see you, as always.  Be good while we're gone, 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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