Hi everyone,

Welcome back.  How are you?  BDH and Little Buddha are busy listening to the birds, who are currently chirping up a storm.  The guys are hoping their winged friends will give them a hint about today's weather forecast.  It sounds like we have some heavy rain coming, but the start time is unclear.  One way or another, it sounds like it should be over by 1:00, so maybe we'll just work with that.

In the meantime, let's check out the headlines.  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 Thursday Clutter.

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After months of telling everyone he was unfit for the presidency, Nikki Haley announced yesterday that she will vote for Donald Trump in November.  Sooner or later, everyone in the GOP bows before the traitor.  Haley once again encouraged Trump to reach out to her voters with her endorsement on Wednesday.  He hasn't done it yet, and he's not going to.  In Trump's eyes, Haley's supporters have been "disloyal" to him, and the burden is on them to seek his forgiveness.  The GOP isn't a party interested in democracy - it's a cult that continues its march towards fascism without pause.

A fraud like all the others.  (pic via cnn.com)

Donald Trump is now trying to pretend he didn't suggest he supports restricting access to contraceptives if he returns to the White House.  There's no satisfying these misogynists.  They want to punish women for even thinking they should have control over their own lives and bodies.  Send them all packing in November.

Judge Aileen Cannon didn't rule yesterday on either of the motions to dismiss the mishandling of classified documents charges against Donald Trump and his co-defendants.  However, she also still appears to be in no rush to ever hold this trial, as she commented that a jury may not understand the case.  Judge Cannon is complicit in Trump's stalling strategy, as she does everything she can to protect the man who appointed her to the federal bench. 

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito blamed his wife for flying a pro-insurrection flag at their Virginia house in 2021.  What's Alito's excuse for another such flag flying over his New Jersey vacation home? 

Alito and Clarence Thomas have no business hearing any case involving Donald Trump and January 6, when they both have blatant conflicts of interest.  As usual, Democrats are missing the point here, as they have for years:  An enforceable ethics code for the court is important, but impeachment is warranted for both of these corrupt judges.  They continue to damage the credibility of the Supreme Court with their ongoing unethical behavior, and that can't be treated as "business as usual."

The inexcusable behavior of Cannon, Alito, and Thomas makes it all the more significant that the U.S. Senate just confirmed the 200th judge of the Biden administration.  The White House has made it a priority to make the courts more reflective of America, and they have also put forth nominees who support democracy, which is a distinct break from Biden's predecessor.  The GOP has hijacked the judiciary for years, because that's where the lasting power lies. 

President Biden and Senate Democrats must remain in charge of this process, especially when it comes to future Supreme Court vacancies. in order to start restoring some legitimacy to a badly damaged institution.

Boston's next mayoral election isn't until 2025, but the rumor is growing that Josh Kraft could be mulling a challenge to Mayor Michelle Wu.  All we'll say for now is that it's hard for us to see how Kraft makes a successful argument that voters should remove a popular incumbent and turn over the city to someone lacking political experience.

We're happy to hear that the Department of Justice is reportedly suing Live Nation for antitrust violations connected to TicketMaster's stranglehold on the concert industry.  TicketMaster is hostile to consumers on multiple levels:  The prices and fees are outrageous, their sales restrictions are unfair, and good luck if you need customer service.  This sector is in serious need of a dramatic overhaul, so let this lawsuit start those reforms.

Good luck to everyone who has to navigate Memorial Day weekend traffic.  That's never fun.

Trust BDH and Little Buddha on this one - you'll want to see this clip of a piglet yoga class that they just found.

Hey, the Boston Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 8-5 last night to sweep their three-game series.  That's a huge accomplishment for the Sox, because the Rays have had their number for the last few years.  Boston starter Bryan Bello had a rough beginning, giving up three runs in the second inning.  However, he eventually regained his footing, while six different Boston batters drove in runs.  It's great to see multiple players stepping up and contributing.  The Sox should feel good about this one as they head home to start a weekend series against the Milwaukee Brewers tomorrow.

Boston Red Sox outfielder/DH Masataka Yoshida has been out of action for almost a month with a thumb injury, and it doesn't sound like he's coming back anytime soon.  Here's hoping Yoshida doesn't end up being a complete bust.  The Red Sox are still on the hook with him for $18 million/year until the end of the 2028 season, and so far, the results have been disappointing overall. 

The Dallas Mavericks beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 108-105 in Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference Finals last night.  We don't care for that.  We've been talking to a friend in Minnesota about a possible Boston Celtics - Timberwolves bet, and it's going to be really annoying if Kyrie Irving and company derail that idea (assuming the Celtics beat the Indiana Pacers first, of course.)  The Timberwolves will try to tie up the series on Friday.

The first trailer is here for actor Andrew McCarthy's documentary about the 1980's, "Brat Pack," and now we're even more excited to see this when it comes out on Hulu on June 13:

Seriously, if you're a child of the 1980's, you know you want to see Brats. 

Chicago Fire's season finale was solid.  Although we were sorry to see Wallace Boden go, the show gave him a good exit, which both the character and actor Eamonn Walker deserved after being the backbone of the show for 12 years.  The door was left open for periodic guest appearances, so hopefully this isn't really the last time we've seen him.  Boden's departure will force a reshuffling at Firehouse 51, and we're curious to see how that plays out next season.

The Chicago P.D. season finale was the show's best episode in years.  It was also sad to see Hailey Upton leave, even though we've known for a while that actress Tracy Spiridakos was exiting.  The writers gave her a satisfying conclusion (although the episode was a touch more graphic than might have been necessary.)  Plus, there was a fun cameo. 

We occasionally worry that Chicago P.D. is running out of steam on the creative front, after 11 years.  However, last night showed it can still tell a gripping story.  Here's hoping that continues in the fall.  Also, good luck to Tracy Spiridakos with whatever comes next.

Vision is reportedly returning to the MCU to star in a new show that will arrive on Disney+ in 2026.

This story about the possible foreclosure of Graceland is wild.  It involves tales of alleged fraud by a company that may or may not even exist.  Good luck to Elvis Presley's granddaughter, actress Reilly Keough, as she fights to keep this sale from happening.   It sounds like she has a strong case, and we want to hear more about the mysterious Naussany Investments & Private Lending LLC. at the heart of the story.

Alex Van Halen will be auctioning off a variety of instruments, gear, and other items, starting on June 1.  That would seem to indicate that the legendary drummer feels like his playing days are over, which is too bad.  We don't play the drums, but we'll take a look at the catalog when the bidding starts to see if there's anything else that we might like having at Clutter HQ.

Skid Row fans, can you name all of the band's former singers?  We got about half of them.  Also, we just saw some footage of current temporary singer Lizzy Hale performing with the group, and she seems like a perfect fit.  Maybe they should try to figure out how to make that a longer relationship, while ex-frontman Sebastian Bach continues to beg for a reunion.

We're sorry to hear that Charlie Colin, the bassist and founding member of the group Train, died after slipping and falling in the shower while he was house-sitting.  Colin was only 58 years old.  Our condolences go out to his family, friends, and fans.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Here are Wynonna Judd and Lainey Wilson to close things out with a terrific cover of Tom Petty's, "Refugee" 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, stay dry, 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.