Hi everyone,

Welcome back, and a happy Monday to you all.  We hope you had a good weekend.  BDH and Little Buddha were just looking at this week's schedule.  It sounds like the guys think we'll be working on Thursday the 4th, but we might be out out of the office on the 5th.  We'll get back to you on that one.  They've come up with a solid to-do list for today, and if I play my cards right, there will be a good amount of garden time this evening.  Score!

First, 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 kick off the second half of the year and clear out some Clutter.

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Having delayed for as long as possible, the U.S. Supreme Court will finally release their decision today about whether or not Donald Trump can claim broad criminal immunity for his actions re: January 6.  Folks, the fix has been in on this one from the start.  The argument was absurd on its face, and the court never should have taken the case in the first place.  No one in this country should ever be immune from prosecution. 

However, having decided to hear the arguments, the justices had an obligation to handle the process in an expedited fashion to allow Trump's trial to take place before the election.  Of course, Chief Justice John Roberts and the rest of the conservative majority did the opposite and slow-walked the the process since March.  If they were going to rule for Trump, they would have done so months ago.  We wouldn't be surprised if this was a 7-2 decision against Trump, with insurrection sympathizers Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas arguing that a Republican president can do whatever they like at all times. 

This entire process has been a disgrace, as right-wing extremists continue to trash the court's legitimacy in their fanatical crusade to keep power at all costs.

The court's reputation is in tatters, as conservatives put politics before the U.S. Constitution.  (pic via alaskabeacon.com)

Trump adviser Steve Bannon finally begins his four-month prison sentence today after being convicted for defying a subpoena from the January 6 committee.  Bannon is heading to a low-security facility in Danbury, Connecticut, so it's not exactly like he's doing "hard time."  However, it's a win for the country every time someone in the MAGA cult has to deal with actual repercussions for their contempt of our country's laws and democracy.

There's a reason why Republicans don't want to talk about abortion:  Their party is completely out of touch with the majority of Americans.  The GOP extremists will never stop their war on women.  They want to ban abortion, birth control, and IVF, because they believe women should have no control over their own bodies and lives.  There's no measure too drastic for these fanatics.  However, the rest of the country opposes this ideology, which is one of the reasons why Republicans constantly make it harder to vote.  They know that they would be wiped off the electoral map if everyone cast a ballot.

Warren Buffett changed his will, and now the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will no longer get any more money after he dies.  Instead, Buffett's immense estate will be overseen by a charitable trust run by his three children.  You have to wonder if this quote from "the Oracle of Omaha" is a dig at Bill Gates, following the news that ex-wife Melinda has left the organization:  “I feel very, very good about the values of my three children, and I have 100% trust in how they will carry things out." 

Morningstar.com offers a look ahead at what they think is to come on Wall Street for the third quarter of the year.  The Clutter investment team reminds you that you always have to do your own research to decide what makes the most sense for you.  However, our staff likes this overview, because it's written in plain English.

A new study says people who have anxiety issues are more than twice as likely to develop Parkinson's disease.  Fantastic.

The Boston Red Sox beat the San Diego Padres 4-1 yesterday, thus avoiding being swept for the weekend.  It's huge that Sox pitcher Josh Winckowski was able to stop the damage after the Padres crushed the Red Sox 9-2 and 11-1 in the first two games.  The righty threw five innings of shutout baseball to finally quiet the San Diego bats.  Winckowski was on the mound on Sunday because Brayan Bello is getting an extra day of rest after a rough stretch.  Winckowski had a similar quality performance relieving Bello last week against the Toronto Blue Jays.  Maybe it's time for Bello to come down with a phantom physical issue and let Winckowski stay in the rotation for a while.

Next up:  The Red Sox have today off before starting a road series against the 30-54 Florida Marlins.  That sounds like just what they need to put this ugly weekend behind them.

WWE champion Liv Morgan threw out the first pitch before yesterday's Boston Red Sox - San Diego Padres game, and she did a solid job. 

Hey, happy "Bobby Bonilla Day!"  This is the day each year where the New York Mets continue to pay former baseball player Bobby Bonilla about $1.2 million so he wouldn't play for them in 2001.  That's right, the Mets bought out Bonilla before the start of the 2001 season, but rather than just pay the full $5.9 million they owed him then, the team agreed to the insane notion to send Bonilla a check each year from 2011 - 2035.  The former Mets ownership was convinced that their partnership at the time with a guy named Bernie Madoff would ensure this arrangement would work well for them.  (Spoiler:  They were wrong.)

According to an online inflation calculator, $5.9 million in 2001 dollars is worth about $10.46 million today.  So far, the Mets have paid Bonilla about $16.7 million, with 11 years left on the deal.  It's great work if you can get it, folks.

In case you haven't heard, the other New England Patriots rookie quarterback, Joe Milton III, has a hell of an arm.  However, can he develop the rest of the skills needed to make it in the NFL?  That's the challenge for new head coach Jerod Mayo and company.

That didn't take long:  Paul George opted out of his contract with the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday and then reportedly agreed to a four-year/$212 million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers yesterday.  It's definitely a significant upgrade for Philadelphia, as they try to compete with the NBA champion Boston Celtics.

Speaking of the Celtics - check out the new mansion Jrue Holiday just bought for the low price of $6.5 million.

Eddie Murphy shared some thoughts about avoiding the pitfalls of fame, as well as his now-resolved feud with David Spade and SNL. 

Kiefer Sutherland said he didn't really have a relationship with his late father until after he left home as a teenager.  Donald Sutherland and Shirley Douglas split up when their son was three years old, and Keifer and his mom moved to Canada.

J.K. Rowling is mad that David Tennant supports trans rights.  The Harry Potter author is obsessed with her hateful crusade against trans people.  The former Doctor Who star is right:  People like Rowling are on the wrong side of history.

Miracle of miracles, we didn't finish the third season of The Bear last week.  It was close (we've watched 8 out of 10 episodes), but we showed the tiniest amount of self-restraint.  No spoilers here, except to say that every episode is mesmerizing, and the closing credits always come too soon.  This season is more about a vibe than a plot.  Some may not be thrilled about that, but from this vantage point, it's all been tremendous. 

The question now becomes what to do with the last two episodes.  We want to see how things turn out, but at the same time, we don't want the ride to end.

Collider.com takes a look at the power of Jon Bernthal's limited appearances on each season of The Bear.  The actor makes every minute count as Mikey Berzatto, the ghost hanging over the show.

There's a theory that one of the characters on The Boys isn't real.  It makes sense to us.  You know it's going to take one hell of an ugly situation to reveal that this person is a hallucination.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Let's have Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers close things out with a live version of, "American Girl" 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.