Hi everyone,

Welcome back.  How was your weekend?  It was pretty relaxing on this end.  I recovered from last week's shoveling, and our crew watched the rest of the second season of Only Murders in the Building.  That show is such a treat.  We're moving on to other programs for a while so we don't binge-watch the third season in one sitting. 

BDH and Little Buddha are eagerly supervising the rest of the snow melt so we can finally start gardening season.  These two are also happy about the increasing level of bird chirping in the neighborhood.  In fact, they're so pleased, they gave me a pretty short to-do list for today.  I mostly just have to help Dad Clutter with something, and then hopefully we'll be able to watch the eclipse this afternoon.  Sounds like a good way to kick off a new week.

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 Monday Clutter.

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The Biden administration released the details of its new student debt relief program today.  The plan would target:

"(T)hose who owe more money than they did at the start of their repayment, borrowers who started paying more than 20 years ago, those already eligible for existing loan forgiveness or discharge programs but haven't yet applied, and borrowers facing economic hardship."

The Department of Education still has to go through their rule-making process, so it will be a little while before this process is finalized.  Plus, you know that conservatives will try to block it in the courts, because Republicans abhor any proposals which help ordinary Americans. 

However, assuming it all goes through, this administration will have helped at least 23 million Americans get out from under a mountain of debt.  These efforts both help the recipients to actually have a chance at affording the American dream, and they will also generate more economic activity across the country.  Anyone who tries to tell you there's no difference between the two political parties simply isn't paying attention.

President Biden is helping millions of ordinary Americans.  (pic via sandiegotribune.com)

Donald Trump claims he raised over $50 million at a fundraiser on Saturday, which just happens to be twice what President Biden brought in at his own recent event.  Well, if Trump says it, you know it has to be true, because that's one man you can take at his word.  All we know is that Trump told a bunch of billionaires that night that they should vote for him to keep their taxes down.  That's all Republicans care about:  Do everything possible to help the top 1%, and leave everyone else to fight for scraps.

Donald Trump said he'll announce his position on abortion today.  The country already knows where he stands on this issue:  He appointed the Supreme Court justices who made it possible to overturn Roe v. Wade.  Voters understand that Republicans are extremists on this topic, which is why pro-choice ballot questions and candidates keep winning elections.  People don't want politicians controlling their bodies.  It's that simple.

(Update:  Trump's latest abortion position is that it should be left to the states.  The coward wants credit for the anti-choice Supreme Court justices he appointed, but he knows that supporting a national abortion ban is political suicide.  The media needs to press him on where he stands on Florida's six-week ban.)

Republican politicians will pay tribute to their cult leader at every opportunity, but even they're not dumb enough to buy shares of Trump Media.

A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has ordered that Elon Musk be investigated for disseminating fake news and obstruction of justice. 

Someone won the $1.33 billion Powerball jackpot this past Saturday.  If one of you happens to be the lucky Oregon resident, congratulations!  Also, we are always accepting donations for our coffee budget.

Another strong jobs report this past Friday might have some investors finally grasping the possibility that the Federal Reserve won't cut interest rates at all this year.  Fed officials have consistently made their intentions clear:  Inflation has to reach 2% and show signs of sticking, before the cutting begins.  While things are greatly improved from the 9% inflation we had at the peak of this problem, it still hasn't gotten back to 2%, and it looks like it could still be a while before that happens.  Add in some waiting time after reaching the goal to see if it's for real, and next thing you know, it's 2025. 

Of course things can change, but it's better for everyone when investors have more reasonable expectations.

It was a bad news/good news weekend for the Boston Red Sox.  The bad news came on Friday when shortstop Trevor Story injured his left shoulder while diving for a ball.  A MRI revealed he has a dislocated shoulder, which landed him on the 10-day IL for now.  However, Story's ability to return this year is uncertain.  While we feel for Story as a person, he's been a disaster for the Sox.  He's been unable to stay healthy since signing with Boston before the 2022 season, and the team is still stuck with him for another three years. 

The good news for the Sox came with yesterday's 12-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels.  That makes Boston 7-3 over the first 10 games of this season, which is a dramatic reversal from the 3-8 start they got off to last year.  The Sox starting pitchers have a MLB-best ERA of 1.49, which is something we never expected.  Yesterday's starter Tanner Houck continued that momentum with six innings of shutout baseball (along with seven strikeouts) against Los Angeles.  The offense came through with four home runs, including one from David Hamilton, who was just called up to replace Trevor Story.

The Red Sox have today off before starting their first homestand of 2024 tomorrow against the Baltimore Orioles.

We're happy to hear the New England Patriots reached an agreement with safety Kyle Duggar on a new four-year deal worth $58 million.  That makes Duggar the 6th-highest paid safety in the NFL, which sounds about right.  The fact that the Patriots are now re-signing their own guys still takes some getting used to at the moment.  However, it's a positive sign that these guys want to stick around under new head coach Jerod Mayo, particularly those players on the defense who have already worked with him. 

New England's defense already seems to be pretty solid.  Now if they can just get a quarterback and left tackle in the draft, and maybe sign a free agent wide receiver, they should be in good shape.

Congratulations to the "American Nightmare" Cody Rhodes on winning the WWE Undisputed Universal Championship at WrestleMania 40 last night.  It was the end of a two-year storyline that saw Rhodes chasing former champion Roman Reigns (who held the belt for over 1300 days.)  This move (along with the other new champions) now gives the company a chance to shake up their landscape with new angles across the board.  It's like shaking a snow globe.  Now let's see how everything settles out, starting with tonight's Monday Night Raw, which is traditionally the craziest episode of the year.

Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher announced on Friday that they filed for divorce in 2023 after being married for 13 years.  That's almost 30 years in non-celebrity time, so good for them for lasting that long. 

Actor Jonathan Majors will be sentenced today after being convicted on one count of misdemeanor third-degree assault and one count of second-degree harassment of his ex-girlfriend last year.  Majors is looking at a maximum punishment of one year in jail.

Former Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker recently named her proudest moment during her time on the show.  It may not be what you expect, but one thing remains clear: Whittaker has been a tremendous spokesperson for the series since the day she was revealed to be the Time Lord.

How do folks feel about the Curb Your Enthusiasm series finale?  Did Larry David make up for the end of Seinfeld?  No spoilers from us, but thank you to David for 12 seasons over 24 years of uncomfortable laughs.

An oral history of Supernatural's "Monster Movie" episode?  Don't mind if we do.

We're sorry to hear FireHouse singer C.J. Snare died recently.  No cause of death was revealed, although he was recovering from abdominal surgery, but Snare was only 64 years old.  We weren't hardcore FireHouse fans, but we saw them open for Tesla way back in 1992.  They did a terrific job of kicking off the night with their hits, "Reach for the Sky," "Love of a Lifetime," and, "When I Look Into Your Eyes," and other tunes.  Our condolences go out to his family and friends.

Someone tell us who exactly described Motley Crue's new music as, "a powerful cross between country and hip hop," as bassist Nikki Sixx claims.  Name names, Nikki.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Let's have FireHouse close things out with, "Reach for the Sky" 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, don't forget to have the right glasses if you want to watch the eclipse, 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.