Hi everyone,

Welcome back, and a happy Friday to you all.  What's on tap for the weekend?  We have big plans.  There will be a little running around today, and then our annual garden compost delivery arrives tomorrow.  BDH and Little Buddha love that, because they get to cheer me on from the window, while I do the grunt labor.  I can't rush spreading it, but the more that gets done on Saturday, the better, because rain is in the forecast for Sunday.  I better start stretching and loading up on Advil now.

So that's our schedule.  For now, 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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Let's be clear: Donald Trump is lying when he says he's not allowed to testify at his hush money case.  It's absolutely his call to decide if he wants to do so, but we all know he has no intention of speaking about this under oath.  He would commit perjury in the first three sentences of his comments. Trump knows he's guilty of all charges, which is why he tried so hard to postpone this trial until after the presidential election.  Now, he continues his usual deranged complaints of alleged persecution, while his followers mindlessly absorb every word without one second of critical thought.  It would be sad, if the MAGA cult wasn't such a threat to the United States.

Please testify, Donald.  (pic via sandiegouniontribune.com)

The latest user numbers for Donald Trump's Twitter-wannabe reinforce the reality that this company is a sham and nothing more than the latest cash grab for the serial defendant.  Nothing about the reality of Truth Social justifies a stock price of more than $1 at most.  One this mess collapses, like all of the others before it, Trump will just move onto his next con to get his supporters to continue paying his legal bills.

ICYMI - Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene said she still plans to go forward with her motion to remove House Speaker Mike Johnson next week, even though she'll likely lose the vote, because Democrats have said they'll oppose it.  That surely won't stop MTG from fundraising off her defeat in the weeks to follow.  The most interesting thing about this is that Rep. Greene will be going against Donald Trump's wishes if she really pulls this maneuver.  Will there eventually come a day when she says Trump isn't conservative enough for the GOP?

When she's not bragging about killing a dog, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem is reportedly busy lying about meeting North Korea leader Kim Jong Un when she served in Congress.  That this woman would even be considered a potential running mate for Donald Trump speaks volumes about the rot in the GOP.

It's good that Arizona Democrats repealed the state's pre-Civil War near-total abortion ban yesterday.   However, the change doesn't go into effect for months, and the state will still have a 15-week restriction on the books.  This country will never come close to living up to its claims of championing equality until the war on women finally ends.  Donald Trump and the GOP want a national abortion ban passed into law, because the only thing that excites them more than harming women is passing unnecessary tax cuts for the wealthy.

Apple's iPhone sales dropped 10% last quarter.  That's a red flag for the company, but Apple isn't exactly hurting for money.  They responded to the bad sales news by increasing their dividend 4% and implementing a new $110 billion stock repurchase program.  While that helps investors, questions still remain about what will be Apple's next game-changing product, given the maturity of the cell phone market. 

The Boston Red Sox lost 3-1 to the San Francisco Giants yesterday afternoon, thus snapping a four-game winning streak.  It's too bad the Sox couldn't sweep the Giants, but we'll never be mad about a series win.  Boston's starting pitching was solid as usual, but the Red Sox bats were cold, with just four hits to go with that one run.  Sometimes, it's just not your day.

Next up:  The Red Sox go back on the road, starting with a weekend series against the Minnesota Twins.  Tanner Houck takes the mound for Boston tonight.

The fact that the Boston Red Sox are 18-14 right now, after being hammered by the injury bug that took out 3/5 of their starting rotation is remarkable.  We're excited to see what happens when Nick Pivetta, Brayan Bello, and Garrett Whitlock  return to the mound.  If new pitching coach Andrew Bailey and his staff can keep these guys performing at this high level all year, this could end up being a much more entertaining season than we expected.

New England Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett said he's looking forward to competing with Drake Maye for the starting job this season.  That's the right thing to say, but our expectation is that Brissett will at least start the first few games next year.  He's a veteran on a one-year deal who knows he's been brought in to provide some stability at the position, while also giving Maye some time to develop further.  We'll set the current over/under on Brissett's stint at #1 at 6.5 games.  What's your bet?

New England Patriots rookie Javon Baker apparently believes he's already one of the top 10 wide receivers in the NFL.  Gotta say, we like the confidence.  We're looking forward to seeing if he can back up that statement.

It sounds like the Kansas City Chiefs are ready to move on from wide receiver Kadarius Toney:  The team reportedly won't pick up the wide receiver's fifth-year option, so he'll be a free agent after this season.

Hey Boston Bruins fans, do you want to talk about last night's game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, or should we just say good luck with Game 7 tomorrow night?  Good luck it is.

When former WWE boss Vince McMahon was first sued for sexual assault and trafficking, his toady John Laurinaitis (who was also named in the suit) originally said he was also a victim of McMahon's.  However, Laurinaitis has flipped and is now siding with McMahon in a push to have the lawsuit transferred to private arbitration so the details won't be public.  Hopefully this motion will fail.  McMahon, like his good buddy Donald Trump, has spent his entire life running from accountability for his actions.  Let the case against both men be heard in open court for the public to hear.

We really enjoyed David Letterman's new conversation with John Mulaney, which is now available on Netflix.  The interview took place at Mulaney's former high school, and he talked about a wide variety of topics, including his family, time at the school, drug addiction, and the current state of standup comedy.  Letterman is clearly a big fan of Mulaney's, and he seems to feel protective of the younger comedian.  The episode is a solid mix of comedy and seriousness, and it's worth your time.

It doesn't sound like we need to rush to see Jerry Seinfeld's Unfrosted movie, which hits Netflix today.  In fact, we probably won't miss a beat if we completely skip his fictional Pop Tarts origin story.  That sounds like a plan.

CBS is apparently still determined to end Blue Bloods in December, despite pleas from Tom Selleck and other cast members to continue the show. 

The Young Sheldon spinoff has an interesting title which may mean it is going to change some Big Bang Theory history.  Well, it wouldn't be the first time that happened.  Are folks interested in the new show?  We were regular BBT viewers, and have seen most of Young Sheldon, but isn't it time to give the Cooper family a rest?

We saw a couple of new faces on General Hospital yesterday.  It seems like one of these characters has already been played by about 10 different actors, so we'll see how long this one lasts.

Jon Bon Jovi told Howard Stern he's not interested in selling his music catalog at this point.  How much do you think the song will go for if the musician eventually changes his mind?  It has to be somewhere in the same ballpark as Bruce Springsteen, so a ballpark of $500 million?

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  We were going to ignore a certain meme that's enjoying its annual resurgence, but what the hell, let's go with it.  Here's *NSYNC to close things out with, "It's Gonna be Me" 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, behave yourselves this weekend, 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.