Hi everyone,

Welcome back, and a happy Monday to you all.  Did you have a nice weekend?  Ours was pretty good.  I asked BDH and Little Buddha if they wanted to go raging on St. Patrick's Day, but they voted for working on our music crossword puzzle instead.  That was fine by me.  It was a tough puzzle this week, but we had fun.

The guys tell me we're going with a light to-do list for today.  That's okay, because I know we have a busy schedule tomorrow.  Speaking of which, I'm pretty sure we'll be out of the office again on Tuesday.  However, we'll be back on Wednesday, and hopefully that will be it for interruptions for a while.

Now, are you ready to check out the headlines?  Let's do it.  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 told attendees at an Ohio rally on Saturday that there will be "a bloodbath" if he's not elected this November.  Trump was originally talking about the auto industry when he then said,

"Now, if I don't get elected, it's gonna be a bloodbath for the whole ... that's gonna be the least of it, it's gonna be a bloodbath for the country, that'll be the least of it." 

Of course the Trump campaign claimed he was only talking about cars, but we all know better.  The use of the word "bloodbath" was a deliberate choice.  The man wants another January 6 to install him in the White House, and he's not subtle about it. This was another call to his violent supporters that can not be ignored.  Donald Trump is a threat to this country who has to be stopped once and for all.

Lock him up.  (pic via yahoo.com)

In case you're wondering, Mike Pence won't endorse Donald Trump for president this year.  It turns out Pence draws the line at supporting the guy whose followers tried to kill him.  It speaks volumes about the GOP that there might have been a question about this.

The lead prosecutor in Donald Trump's Georgia election interference case stepped down on Friday.  The move came after a judge ruled either Nathan Wade or DA Fani Willis  had to remove themselves to eliminate the appearance of a conflict of interest, due to their personal relationship.  However, that means the prosecution will continue, as it should.  This entire story was an attempt by the Trump campaign to distract from the reality that Donald Trump pressured state officials to overturn Georgia's legitimate 2020 presidential election results. 

Let's stay focused here, folks.  Donald Trump is a serial criminal who will do whatever it takes to avoid accountability for his actions.

Following another fraudulent election, Vladimir Putin claims he supported a prisoner exchange involving Alexei Navalny right before his longtime critic died in prison, a death which still has yet to be explained.  The implication here being that the government had nothing to do with Navalny's passing, an idea which you'd have to be Donald Trump to believe.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back against Senator Chuck Schumer's argument that new elections are needed in the country in order to reach peace with Hamas.  Is it possible Senator Schumer was delivering a message from President Biden?  Whatever one's stance on the war, Netanyahu is Israel's version of Donald Trump.  He was facing corruption charges before this started, and everything he does has to be seen as him acting in his own best interests.  The road to a safer future does not go through Prime Minister Netanyahu.

Investors will find out on Wednesday if the Federal Reserve is still planning three interest rate cuts for 2024.  If the Clutter investment team had to guess one way or the other, they'd say the answer is no.  Inflation is much lower than it was two years ago when the Fed started hiking rates.  However, it still hasn't come down to the stated goal of 2% (although it's getting close), and it's not clear that's going to happen in the immediate future.  Given that officials have repeatedly said they'd rather keep rates high for too long, as opposed to cutting them too quickly, the staff suspects three cuts might no longer seem reasonable.

Again, that's just a guess.  However, the investment team has no doubt that a lot of people will overreact to whatever the answer is on Wednesday.

LinkedIn is reportedly adding...gaming?  Is this necessary?  It's unclear at the moment when the games will be released, and if they'll be available to everyone.  We won't lose any sleep if it turns out we'll miss them because you have to be a paid subscriber to play.

PornHub is no longer accessible in Texas, following a court order allowing the state to enforce an age verification law for site users.  Unsurprisingly, Texas is taking the wrong approach to protecting minors.  We shouldn't be normalizing websites needing your personal information to access them.  That's a slippery road that doesn't lead anywhere good. 

The issue with adult entertainment sites is making sure they're not displaying child porn.  That's why the law should be to require documentation for clips that are uploaded to PornHub and the like.  Establish that the people onscreen are of legal age and that they've consented to be filmed for public consumption.  Put the burden on the creator, not the viewer.

The Boston Red Sox are heading into the last days of spring training, so it's time to make some decisions about the starting rotation.  Manager Alex Cora announced on Sunday that Josh Winckowski will be heading back to the bullpen, which is probably the right call.  That leaves Tanner Houck, Garrett Whitlock, and Cooper Criswell fighting for the last two spots.  The Red Sox need to decide once and for all what the right roles are for Houck and Whitlock, so hopefully they'll get the nods to start the season.

The New England Patriots reportedly signed free agent K.J. Osborn to a one-year deal worth $4 million.  The former Minnesota Vikings player seems like a fine choice for a third wide receiver, but the Pats still need that #1 guy.  Looks like they'll have to find him in this year's NFL Draft, right after they grab a quarterback.

The Chicago Bears traded quarterback Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday in exchange for a sixth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.  The pick could flip to the the fourth round, depending on how much Fields plays next season.  However, the Steelers have already announced that Russell Wilson will be the starting QB.  This should be interesting to watch, as Pittsburgh now has two inexpensive quarterbacks looking to rebuild their reputations.  Meanwhile, the move clears the decks for the Bears to draft Caleb Williams with the #1 pick in this year's draft.  Looks like this trade could be a win for everyone.

What?  Aaron Rodgers is apparently no longer in the running to be Robert F. Kennedy Jr's running mate this fall?  That's a shame.  Now he'll have to go back to proving he can play more than four whole snaps for the New York Jets this season.  On a related note, the Jets signed veteran quarterback Tyrod Taylor to a two-year/$18 million contract, so maybe they're not feeling that confident about Rodgers returning.

Dwayne Johnson is getting applause for asking Drew Barrymore for consent before he put his hands on her to accept a challenge to do five squats with her on his back.  Good for him.  Watch the clip in the linked article, folks.  Johnson was respectful, and he set a positive example for others to follow.

Chicago P.D. star Jason Beghe shared some thoughts about this week's upcoming episode.  Hopefully things will turn out okay for Sergeant Hank Voight, but that's not how it generally works on this show.  Either way, BDH and Little Buddha are just happy the "One Chicago" episodes are new this week.

Jennifer Lopez has cancelled seven shows on her upcoming tour, reportedly due to poor ticket sales.  The singer's new album, This is Me...Now is also struggling on the charts, having fallen out of the Billboard Top 200 shortly after its debut.  How big of a setback do we think this is for J-Lo?

Jon Bon Jovi said he's still not sure if he'll be able to tour in support of his band's upcoming album later this year.  The singer is still recovering from vocal cord surgery he had in 2022.  According to the linked article, Bon Jovi said he was okay doing one song at a time for the record, but it's another thing to be able to consistently perform every night.  We wish him the best with this challenge.

We want to wish a happy belated birthday to Wolfgang Van Halen, who turned 33 on Saturday.   It seems like just yesterday that his dad Eddie Van Halen was talking about how he named the upcoming For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge track "316" after his infant son's arrival. 

Sebastian Bach has a new album coming out on May 10.  We were interested to learn that Child Within the Man was produced by Michael "Elvis" Baskette, who also oversaw both Mammoth WVH records.  That's a good sign, and now we want to know what the former Skid Row singer has got cooking here.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Here's Judas Priest to jump-start your week with the title track off their amazing new album.  We leave you with, "Invincible Shield" for today's, "Song of the Day."

The fact that those guys are still able to perform at that level is remarkable.

Thanks for stopping by, folks.  It was great to see you, as always.  Like we said at the top, we'll probably be out tomorrow and back on Wednesday.  For now, 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.