Hi everyone,

Welcome back, and a happy Monday to you all.  How was your weekend?  Things were a little crazy around here.  That Comcast problem we mentioned last week wasn't completely resolved until Sunday afternoon.  Hopefully we won't have to deal with them again any time soon, because that was painful. 

Then, there was the matter of this little snowstorm.  The snow on the roof got the jump on me for the first time all season.  I came out to a mountain of the heavy packed stuff spread across the driveway, which was a challenge to shovel.  BDH and Little Buddha reminded me to take my time, because that's a major workout.  It's all clear now, but my shoulders are barking at me a bit.

Anyway, now we turn our attention to the new week.  The guys came up with a reasonable to-do list, and it starts with going through the headlines with all of you.  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!

The bill is due for Donald Trump:  Today is the day that Trump must come up with $464 million, in cash or a bond, for his appeal of the judgment against him in the NY civil fraud trial.  If he doesn't have it, New York Attorney General Letitia James can start seizing his properties.  The supposed billionaire clearly doesn't have the cash on hand, so the question is if he found a last-minute third-party backer.  If so, we can assume he's indebted to that source, thus making him vulnerable to additional corruption if he returns to the White House.  If not, we hope AG James is able to acquire the assets in a timely fashion to secure the amount Trump owes.

Pay up, Donald.  (pic via www.france24.com)

NBC's decision to hire former Republican National Committee head Ronna McDaniel as a paid contributor is gross.  McDaniel did everything she could to help Donald Trump overturn the 2020 presidential election while also trashing the media in the process.  There's no reason to give her a new megaphone.  She'll either continue Trump's assault on democracy, or she'll pull a 180 for her paycheck.  Neither of those benefits the audience.  This hiring isn't about providing a diversity of views - it's about generating controversy for ratings.

It's déjà vu all over again:  Democrats are negotiating their requirements to help House Speaker Mike Johnson keep his job.  It was just five months ago that Johnson replaced Kevin McCarthy.  It's clear that Johnson is about as conservative as they get, but Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene still filed a motion to vacate the speaker's chair last week, because nothing satisfies the MAGA cult.  All these people care about is pleasing Donald Trump and getting their airtime on Fox News.

ISIS claimed responsibility for a terrorist attack in Russia last Friday, but Vladimir Putin wants to pretend Ukraine is to blame.  He'll go with anything to deflect from the fact that he failed to defend his country.

Tomorrow's Mega Millions jackpot is expected to reach $1.1 billion.  Maybe it's time for us to consider buying one of our only lottery tickets of the year.  To be clear, the Clutter investment team is responsible for creating our crew's long-term financial stability.  However, it's also fun to think about the silly numbers every once in a while.  BDH and Little Buddha are already dreaming about how much coffee they could buy if we won.

Twitter's U.S. user numbers are down 18% from a year ago, as Elon Musk continues to turn the platform into a right-wing/white supremacist pit.  It's no accident that Twitter hasn't experienced any user growth since Musk bought it in 2022.  He's driven most of the top advertisers away, and he's shown no evidence that he's capable of improving the situation.  Musk never really wanted to own Twitter in the first place, so he should do everyone a favor and look for a buyer.

The House passed a bill to ban TikTok if China doesn't sell its share in the company, but the legislation's outcome in the Senate is unclear.  Everyone should be concerned anytime the government threatens to shut down a media platform.  That wouldn't protect this country from China - it would make us more like China.

The Boston Red Sox start the regular season this Thursday.  We're trying to get more excited about the idea of watching all of these young players develop in the majors.  Otherwise, this could be another excruciating year as a fan, and who needs that?  Even if all of the prospects pay off, how much longer until this rebuild actually returns the Sox to relevance?  The Boston Globe asked some unnamed talent evaluators to give their thoughts about how long it could take the Sox to become contenders again. 

Short version?  These folks think it could be a possibility next year if ownership added a few pieces, or it could be years until everything comes together.  The Red Sox owners have clearly prioritized cutting costs above winning games, so again, here's hoping the kids surprise us and make this an entertaining season.

Shohei Ohtani said he will talk to reporters today about his ex-translator Ippei Mizuhara being fired for allegedly stealing millions from the phenom to cover his gambling debts.  Ohtani has claimed he had nothing to do with any of Mizuhara's actions, and that he's a victim of massive theft.  While we continue to hear others speculate wildly about much worse possibilities, we will still believe Ohatani's version until actual evidence to the contrary is presented. 

New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo indicated the team still expects to choose a quarterback with the third overall pick in this year's NFL Draft.  However, New England has plenty of needs, so if they don't love their choices at #3, and someone wants to overwhelm them with an offer, Mayo would consider moving back to a later selection.  Our hope is that the Patriots are on board with any of the first three quarterback choices, because that's the most critical position on the field.  If they're not, Mayo and company are right to keep their options open for as long as possible.

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin reconfirmed that Russell Wilson will begin the season as the team's new quarterback, but that Justin Fields will get the chance to compete for the job at some undefined point.  We assume that point is if the Steelers start the year 0-3 under Wilson.  It should be interesting to see how this all plays out, and if either of these QB's will be able to rebuild some value this year.

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott seemed to be trying to push the focus to quarterback Josh Allen when he said it was unfair to say the team hasn't been successful during the Allen era because they have yet to win a Super Bowl.  The Bills have been the AFC East champs for the last four seasons.  However, their window seems to be closing, and McDermott can't be feeling great about his own job security.

Actor Christopher McDonald claims Adam Sandler has written the first draft of a Happy Gilmore sequel.  There's been no confirmation yet, but we can imagine a good chunk of Generation X logging onto Netflix to watch that one if this movie becomes a reality.

We're fine with the news that Keanu Reeves cut his hair for a new movie.  It's just disappointing to hear it's a project with Jonah Hill. 

Oscar winner Olivia Colman says she'd earn much more money if she was a man.  We don't doubt that for a minute.

Rebel Wilson revealed that Sacha Baron Cohen is trying to block the release of her upcoming memoir, because he's apparently the "asshole' she rips in one chapter.

Mark Wahlberg had some complaints about working on The Departed.

Some Chicago Med alum recently reunited.  We'd be happy to see either/both of these folks make a return to the show at some point.

Is anyone here surprised that Taylor Swift's new concert film is the most-viewed music film in the history of Disney+?  According to the linked article, Taylor Swift:  The Eras Tour (Taylor's Version) had 4.6 million views (including yours truly) in its first three days of release.  The project did big business at the box office, and there was no reason to think streaming would be any different.  It's T-Swift's world.  The rest of us are just living in it.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Yesterday marked the 38th anniversary of Van Halen's first album with Sammy Hagar, 5150, so let's celebrate by closing things out with a live version of, "Best of Both Worlds" 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.