Hi everyone,

Happy February 29, gang.  Little Buddha is still trying to explain to BDH how that works. 

In any case, how are you?  We're moving slowly around here.  I might have misunderstood when yesterday's wind was supposed to begin, but it started right at bedtime, and it's not supposed to really die down until early tomorrow morning.  All of the howling wrecked my sleep, so once the guys finish their conversation about leap years, we'll have to have a chat about today's to-do list.

However, even lack of rest won't stop us from checking out the headlines.  There's a fresh pot of coffee on the counter, so grab yourself a nice medium (or large) DD, because it's time to clear out some Thursday Clutter.

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Putting its corruption on full display once again, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear Donald Trump's ludicrous claim that a president has absolute immunity from criminal prosecution.  Arguments will take place on the week of April 22.  Let that sink in for a second.  The notion that a president is above the law is absurd on its face, as well as a direct threat to our country. 

There's almost no chance the justices will actually uphold that argument.  What they're doing is helping Trump run out the clock, because their decision makes it almost impossible for Trump's January 6 case to be resolved before the election.  That's an assault on voters, as well as another attack on our democracy.

If Trump makes it back to the White House, he will immediately shut down this prosecution for his attempted coup.  Even more importantly, he'll do whatever it takes to stay in power, even if he loses the 2028 election.  Folks, this can't be allowed to happen.  Donald Trump has to be defeated this November and be held accountable for his criminal actions. 

Shut him down.  (pic via apnews.com)

While the U.S. Supreme Court bails him out yet again, an Illinois state judge barred Donald Trump from appearing on the upcoming Republican primary ballot because of his role on January 6.  Cook County Circuit Judge Tracie Porter agreed that Trump's actions violated the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution regarding insurrections.  However, she put her ruling on hold while Trump appeals, and the Supreme Court considers previous cases on this matter. 

The man is an obvious enemy of the United States, and if the GOP had a shred of integrity, they would have given him the boot back in 2016.  Instead, they all bow to their king, leaving everyone else to defend this country.

A judge ruled that Donald Trump must post a bond for the full $454 million penalty NY civil fraud trial if he wants to pause payment during his appeal.  Otherwise, New York can start seizing assets if he can't afford to pay the total amount.  Spoiler:  He can't, which is why he tried to get away with proposing a $100 million bond instead.  He better get moving on selling those gold sneakers.

It's great that Senator Mitch McConnell will finally step down as the Republican leader this fall.  It will take the U.S. generations to repair the damage he's inflicted, particularly via the federal judiciary and stealing a U.S. Supreme Court seat by blocking President Obama from getting a vote on his nominee at the time.  McConnell paved the way for Donald Trump's rise to power and saved Trump from impeachment convictions.  His departure can't come soon enough.

Look at that - Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Mississippi) blocked Sen. Tammy Duckworth's bill to guarantee access to IVF and other reproductive health services yesterday.  Who could have seen that coming?  Republicans have been issuing empty statements claiming support for IVF, following the Alabama Supreme Court's declaration that frozen embryos have the same legal rights as children.  However, when push comes to shove, conservatives are on board with that extremist position.  The party is all about controlling women at every opportunity.

Idaho botched the murder of inmate Thomas Eugene Creech yesterday, as the medical team (of unknown experience) was unable to find a vein to insert the IV to kill him, after almost an hour of trying.  Capital punishment is cruel and unusual on its face, but it's even worse when it's apparently put in the hands of incompetents.  The state will now have to seek a new execution warrant, while Creech's team files new appeals.

The Associated Press has a lengthy primer regarding leap days.  Maybe this will help BDH better understand what we're doing today.

Investors are waiting for the release of the January personal consumption expenditure index data later today, but it sounds like they should be ready for a disappointing result.  The numbers are expected to be up from December, which would mean the wait for interest rate cuts could be pushed out even further on the calendar. 

The CDC now recommends that people 65 years and older get another COVID-19 shot if their last booster was more than four months ago.  We know, no one wants to talk about this anymore, but there are still over 20,000 related hospitalizations and more than 2,000 deaths each week in this country, and the majority of them are older people.  Let's take care of ourselves and those around us.  (This step also highlights how ridiculous it is that the CDC would be looking at cutting their isolation recommendations for infected people simply because folks are too lazy to do the right thing.)

Boston Red Sox prospect Brainer Bonaci has been suspended for the season for violating the minor league domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse policy.  It's currently unknown what exactly Bonaci did, but if it's bad enough to warrant this punishment, the Red Sox should cut ties with the 21-year-old now.

It was sad to hear that Stacy Wakefield died yesterday after battling pancreatic cancer.  Her death comes just five months after the passing of her husband, former Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield, who was dealing with a brain tumor.  Our condolences go out to the entire Wakefield family.

We're fascinated by how poorly the New England Patriots players ranked the team on a variety of topics in a new survey.  The Patriots came in 29th overall, with poor marks across the board for, "treatment of families, food/cafeteria, nutritionist/dietician, locker room, weight room, strength coaches, training room, training staff, team travel, head coach, and owner."  Fans have been fed a storyline for decades about how this is an exemplary organization from top to bottom, but it appears the people with the closest perspective would beg to differ.

The New York Jets are more than ready to move on from quarterback Zach Wilson, with the team giving Wilson's agent permission to seek a trade.  We can't imagine Wilson is going to fetch more than a late draft pick at best, but it would be interesting to see if a change of scenery helps him at all.  There's no way things could go worse for him than they have to this point in his career.

Dave Bautista said he's done playing Drax the Destroyer, but he'd still be interested in another superhero movie if he could take on a "deeper" role.  We're all for it.  The former pro wrestler has put in the work since moving to acting.  We are confident he could elevate his game yet another level if given the opportunity.

We were saddened by the news that comedian Richard Lewis died on Tuesday from a heart attack at age 76.  Lewis was one of the funniest performers we've ever seen, and his interactions with longtime friend Larry David throughout the years on Curb Your Enthusiasm were comedic gold.  David issued a statement about Lewis' passing, saying,

"Richard and I were born three days apart in the same hospital and for most of my life he’s been like a brother to me...He had that rare combination of being the funniest person and also the sweetest...but today he made me sob and for that I’ll never forgive him.” 

Our condolences go out to Richard Lewis's family and friends, and we say thank you for the laughs.

We still don't like that Sylvie Brett left Chicago Fire, but last night's episode was a solid departure, so all we can do is tip our caps.  Actress Kara Killmer shared some thoughts about how Sylvie leaving to be with Matt Casey was always the final goal.  We wish her Killmer the best of luck with her next chapter.

This is interesting:  Tony DiNozzo and Ziva David are returning in a new NCIS spin-off that will air on Paramount+.  Part of us is interested enough that we might finally reconsider subscribing to the streaming service.  On the other hand, CBS had to pay Eliza Dushku $9.5 million because actor Michael Weatherly sexually harassed her on the set of Bull.  This new series thus becomes the latest example why so-called "cancel culture" is a myth.  Successful white guys almost never suffer lasting consequences for bad behavior.  In the end, we don't feel great about the idea of supporting this new program, although it would probably be entertaining.

Former Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach is hitting the road between now and the end of June.  The tickets for his U.S. dates go on sale tomorrow.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Here's Fall Out Boy to close things out with, "So Much (For) Stardust," starring NBA star Jimmy Butler (because sure, why not?), for today's, "Song of the Day."

We really need to hear the story about how that video came into existence.

Thanks for stopping by, folks.  It was great to see you, as always.  Enjoy your leap day, be well, 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.