Hi everyone,

Welcome back, and a happy Friday to you all.  What's on tap for the weekend?  My sense is that it's going to be moderately busy on our end, although that might be tied to how productive I am today.  Nothing too crazy, though. 

We have a Zoom call later today, which is the first time we've done one of those in a while.  BDH and Little Buddha want to make sure our background looks as professional as possible, so we have some cleaning up to do later this morning.  First, let's check out the headlines.  The guys made coffee, so grab yourself a nice medium DD, because it's time to clear out some Clutter.

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Donald Trump is trying to have his classified documents case dismissed by once again claiming absolute immunity from prosecution for anything he did while in office.  This figment of Trump's imagination has been soundly rejected at every opportunity so far, and it should reach the same fate here.  As much as U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon seems to be bending over backwards to help the man who appointed her to the federal bench, accepting this argument would warrant her impeachment.  Realistically, she'll reject it, and Trump's lawyers will appeal her decision, as they continue to try to run out the clock on all of his criminal cases.

Lock him up. (pic via kansasreflector.com)

It's good to see that Judge Arthur Engoron rejected Donald Trump's bid to delay the enforcement of the $455 million penalty (including interest) he faces from his NY civil fraud trial.  Once Judge Engoron officially enters the judgment, Trump will have 3o days to appeal, and that will require him to first put up the cash or a bond to cover the amount he owes.   Looks like someone better get moving on those sneaker sales.  In all seriousness, this massive financial liability makes Trump even more vulnerable to putting himself out to bed.  We can't allow someone so compromised to be in the White House.

Alexei Navalny's mother said she was shown her son's body by Russian officials, but they are pressuring her into having a secret burial. 
Navalny's staff also said the government claimed the opposition leader died from natural causes.  We all know that's a load of nonsense.  Lyudmila Navalnaya didn't cave to the demands, and she continues to publicly call for her son's remains to be returned to her.  The bravery of this family is inspiring, because they're putting their lives in danger every time they challenge Vladimir Putin (a.k.a. Donald Trump's idol/master.)

The White House just announced over 500 new sanctions against Russia due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, and the murder of Alexei Navalny.

Let Politico.com be right that we are likely nearing the end of the sham impeachment inquiry into President Biden.  The whole thing was a farce in the first place.  Now that it's been revealed that it was largely fueled by Russian intelligence (via a former FBI informant who was just arrested again), even some Republicans are publicly admitting it's falling apart.  This was all designed to distract from Donald Trump's indictment on 91 felony counts.  The GOP is completely pro-criminal when it comes to their leader.

It's time to once again start speculating whether or not there will be a federal government shutdown on March 1, because Republicans have no interest in governing, and they'd rather hold the country hostage in order to achieve their goals.  Throw every last one of them out of office in November.

Republicans are learning that their anti-abortion position is a loser at the ballot box, and here's a spoiler:  The same will be true when it comes to their stance on IVF, and eventually birth control (because you know that's coming.)  People don't want the government making decisions about their bodies and reproductive decisions.  Conservatives are grossly out of touch with the majority of Americans on these topics, which is why Republicans constantly try to make it as hard as possible for anyone besides their supporters to vote.

It's repulsive that a Texas judge ruled that a school's dress code can limit the length of a student's hair.  Dress codes by themselves are ridiculous, but to say a student can't receive an education because their hair is "too long" is oppressive and blatantly racist.  Darryl George's lawyers said they will appeal, and they are also preparing a federal lawsuit.  We wish them the best of luck.

The S&P 500 jumped 2.11% yesterday after a strong earnings report and outlook from chip-maker Nvidia.  That leaves the index already up 6.65% so far for 2024, which would be a healthy return for the first six months of the year.  The Clutter investment team thinks stocks are at least fairly valued, but now we might be pushing it, because no one wants to miss out on the next big thing.  Our crew was around for the tech boom/bust of the 1990's, and this is starting to feel familiar.  The staff will just stay out of the way and let the crowd do their thing, while our group stays focused on their long-term perspective.

We're sorry to hear that Vice Media is laying off more employees and will no longer operate its website.  Vice was once a highly-respected news organization, but like so many others, it's struggling in a world of declining online ad revenue.  Also, once you have private equity owners, that's pretty much the start of the countdown to your demise.  Those suits bring no value to any target they acquire.  They assume ownership, squeeze the business for every last dollar, and then leave a hollowed-out corpse by the side of the road.

It appears that yesterday's AT&T outage was caused by a software update gone wrong, and not any type of cybersecurity attack.  We keep picturing an intern hitting the wrong button at his desk.  In any case, it's good to hear that this was nothing malicious.

New York Yankees outfielder Alex Verdugo said he has no hard feelings towards Red Sox manager Alex Cora, after Cora benched him twice last year.  Cora sat Verdugo down for being unprofessional, so we're Team Cora every day.  No matter what happens with the Red Sox this year, we're glad Verdugo is finally gone.  He was over-hyped from the start by an ownership who wanted to pretend they didn't get fleeced by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Mookie Betts deal.  Verdugo also never really fully addressed his role in a minor league sexual assault story, and it was clear he had an attitude problem.  He's New York's distraction now.

Glad to hear that former Boston Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale feels good so far, as he starts his first spring training with the Atlanta Braves.  We wish the lefty all the best, and more power to him if he's able to stay healthy all season for the first time in five years.  However, we're also glad the Red Sox will no longer have to keep their fingers crossed with each pitch he throws.

ESPN's Mike Reiss does a good job of laying out the options for the New England Patriots in this year's NFL draft:  Should they use the #3 pick to choose a quarterback, a wide receiver, or perhaps trade down?  Our feeling is that they should start with the quarterback and build from there.  The NFL runs on QB's, and we trust that new head coach Jerod Mayo and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt will be much better at developing someone at the position than Bill Belichick was with Mac Jones.  Assuming they have faith in whomever is available to them at that spot, New England should be all in on the next guy this year.

Season four of The Boys is scheduled to begin on June 13.  We're looking forward to the return of our favorite anti-heroes, even though it's only for eight episodes.  This series is one of the only shows we consistently enjoy on Amazon Prime Video (along with Upload), so we may reevaluate our subscription once the season is over. 

Congratulations to Beyoncé for becoming the first Black woman to ever top the country music chart.  It will be fascinating to see what impact her upcoming country album has on the genre.

Apparently some Slayer fans are upset the band is playing a few shows five years after they supposedly called it quits.  Our advice to everyone?  Never trust that your favorite group is really retiring.  These retirements often seem to fall apart pretty quickly.  Assume it's a marketing gimmick, and then ask yourself if it's worth the inflated ticket price.  If you still go to see the show, there will be no reason to be angry when the group eventually reappears.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Here's Judas Priest to close things out with their new track, "The Serpent and the King" for today's, "Song of the Day."

It's amazing that these guys are still crushing it like that, after all this time.

Thanks for stopping by, folks.  It was great to see you, as always.  Enjoy your weekend, 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.