Hi everyone,

Welcome back.  How are you?  Yesterday was a mixed bag here.  I had to spend part of the day dealing with someone who currently dislikes me, and that's never fun.  However, I also had a really nice conversation with an old friend last night, which was just what I needed for multiple reasons.  Plus, I found two books for BDH and Little Buddha!  One came from the library, and the other one is from the bookstore*, so the guys should be set for at least a little while.

(*I caved and bough the final installment of the trilogy they were reading a few weeks ago.  We're all dying to see how it ends.)

The only problem with the friend conversation is that it kept me up well past my bedtime, so today is off to a slow start.  We apparently only have a few items on today's to-do list.  My counter-argument is that we should skip most/all of them and spend the day reading instead. 

Those discussions are on hold for the moment so we can check out the headlines with you.  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 Wednesday Clutter.

We have teamed up with Clearly Balanced Days, a NH-based/women-owned CBD company.  Enter promo code "cmoore" to get $5 off your next purchase!

If you would like to support us, we'd be thrilled if you'd consider buying us a cup of coffee here!

The Harris campaign launched a 50-stop "reproductive freedom bus tour" in Florida yesterday.  The point of the drive is to highlight the stark contrast between the two presidential tickets when it comes to women's health.  Vice President Harris and Governor Walz believe women should be able to make their own medical decisions.  Simple enough, really.  However, convicted sexual abuser Donald Trump and JD Vance believe women only exist to have children. 

Republicans are out of touch with most Americans on this issue.  People don't want the government controlling their bodies.  We've seen that time and time again since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.  However, Donald Trump loves to brag about appointing the justices who helped make that happen, and he can't run away from it now.  This is a top issue for voters in swing states, as well as the rest of the country, and this tour will hammer home the message that only one ticket supports women. 

The choice is clear.  (pic via abcnews.go.com)

For those who still continue to believe the myth that Republicans are better on economic matters, Goldman Sachs, hardly a liberal institution, says the U.S. economy would do better for the next two years under a Harris administration and Democratic Congress.

A federal judge shot down Donald Trump's desperate attempt to have his New York hush money case moved out of the state court yesterday.  Judge Alvin Hellerstein ruled that Trump failed to meet the burden to prove why it should be moved, and that his fraud conviction was over personal matters, not anything connected to the presidency which might be subject to the recent U.S. Supreme Court immunity ruling.  Trump's lawyers will continue to throw everything they can at the wall, but at this point, the convicted felon is still scheduled to be sentenced in two weeks.  You think that's going to come up during next week's debate with Vice President Harris?

Donald Trump will once again plead not guilty to revised 2020 presidential election interference charges, even though he basically admitted his guilt during a recent Fox News interview.  Trump won't appear in person this time, probably because it would get in the way of his debate prep time golf game/napping.  The plea will be formally entered by his lawyers in his place tomorrow.  Let's send this man packing once and for all in November and let the courts finally deal with him.  He's a threat to the country who should be behind bars.

John McCain's son Jimmy said he is now a registered Democrat who supports Vice President Kamala Harris.  McCain's announcement came in response to the abhorrent incident at Arlington National Cemetery, where Trump campaign staff members reportedly got into a verbal and physical altercation with a cemetery employee.  You also have to factor in that Trump has repeatedly disparaged John McCain for the better part of a decade.  At some point, enough is enough. 

Republicans will once again sue to try to stop the Biden administration's latest student debt relief plan.  The entire conservative ideology is based on keeping as many people economically vulnerable as possible.  The hope is that 99% of the country won't fight back against the unrestrained greed of the 1% if they're too busy just trying to survive.  Using the government like this to try to help more ordinary Americans reach their life goals would get in the GOP's way, and they can't stand it.

Like we said yesterday, Brazil banning Twitter is problematic, but it sure is fun watching such a huge market tell Elon Musk to go away.

Chip maker Nvidia dropped 9% yesterday after the announcement that the company is part of an antitrust investigation.  That fall shaved $279 billion off Nvidia's value, making it the biggest one-day drop of a stock in U.S. history.  Ouch.  This is why the Clutter investment team mostly stays away from individual stocks.  Our crew wouldn't have slept a wink last night if they had to deal directly with this mess.

Our staff has long felt a correction was coming for Nvidia once people started resetting their A.I. expectations, but we didn't see this coming.  It will be interesting to see if the drop continues today.  If the selling continues, maybe it will eventually lead to some larger market bargains.

The Boston Red Sox lost 7-2 to the New York Mets last night.  Boston starter Kutter Crawford had a great outing, giving up just one hit (a home run) and two runs over six innings.  However, the bullpen collapsed, and the Sox offense remained ice cold, going 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position.  It's so frustrating, because the Kansas City Royals are on a seven-game losing streak, and the Sox haven't made them pay for it at all in the race for the final AL Wild Card spot.  Plus, now the Detroit Tigers are tied with Boston, and the Seattle Mariners are only a game behind them. 

This team needs a jump-start, and they need it right now.

Next up:  Tanner Houck will try to keep the Sox from being swept when he takes the mound against the Mets tonight.

Los Angeles Angels rookie pitcher Ben Joyce threw a 105.5 MPH fastball last night.  In case you were wondering, yes, it was the fastest ball thrown in the majors this year.  That's amazing.  We just hope we aren't talking about Joyce dealing with some kind of injury in the next year.

The Boston Globe football writers made their predictions about this year's New England Patriots, so let us join the fun:  Our guess is that this team will beat last year's 4-13 record, and by that we mean, they'll go 5-12.  Honestly, we have no idea where most of these wins will come from, but the NFL is always good for a surprise here and there.  There's no question this is a rebuilding year.  We don't expect a lot, we just don't want this group to be as incredibly boring as the 2023 squad.  It's okay if they lose most of their games - just give us a reason to feel more optimistic about 2025 by the time it's over.

Director Ridley Scott seems unfazed by Russell Crowe's complaints that he wasn't consulted on the plans for Gladiator 2.  As the director points out, there would be no reason to do that, since Crowe's character died in the first movie.  (Hopefully we didn't just spoil that for you.)  Maybe Crowe thought the film could pull a soap opera move and reveal that Maximus Decimus Meridius had a long-lost identical twin who came back to avenge his brother's death?  Otherwise, there would be no reason to make that phone call.

This week's episode of Only Murders in the Building is terrific.  We meet some suspects in Sazz's death, and there's a good mix of both humor and a real sense of loss, as Charles tries to process his best friend's murder and the fact that he was the intended target.  It ends with a spotlight clearly focused on one group of people as the potential killers, which of course means it has to be someone else.  Oh, and the return of Oscar winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph's Detective Williams is a treat. 

We just stumbled across this trailer for Jesse Spencer's upcoming Hulu series, "Last Days of the Space Age," which drops on October 2.  Spencer has always been fun to watch, whether it was on House or Chicago Fire, so maybe we'll give this a shot.  What do you think?

Ellen DeGeneres has a new Netflix standup comedy special coming on September 24.  The comedian/former talk show host claims this is her final special.  Who wants to put money on that one?  She may complain about being "cancelled," but we're willing to bet this isn't the last we'll see of her.

Well, FBI Agent John Cates is apparently really dead on General Hospital.  That's a shame.  The character's return to the show was botched when the soap changed writers a while back.  Cates went from being a tough agent with a grudge against mob boss Sonny Corinthos, to a corrupt idiot with a flagrant disregard for the law.  We'd have no complaints if the writers brought back actor Adam Harrington and gave him a fresh start with a new role.  It wouldn't be the first time a familiar face returned as someone completely different, and no one in Port Charles batted an eye.

Congratulations to Valerie Bertinelli for her new role as a lifestyle expert on The Drew Barrymore Show.  That seems like a good talent pairing.  Of course, we now have to wonder if Valerie's son Wolfgang Van Halen will make an appearance at some point.

Queen guitarist Brian May revealed he had a minor stroke last week which left him temporarily unable to use his left arm.  However, May said that particular symptom has resolved itself, so he can still play guitar.  We wish him a full and speedy recovery.

(On a side note, we only recently learned that Brian May is married to Anita Dobson, the actress who currently plays Doctor Who's mysterious Mrs. Flood!)

Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour sounds eager to sell the band's music catalog, but he says it's not about the money.  Gilmour apparently would like to be done with the headaches that come with the business side.  That's understandable, given the group's decades of bad blood with former member Roger Waters.  However, with an expected catalog value of at least $500 million, you gotta think the money wouldn't hurt.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Here's Stevie Wonder to close things out with, "Can We Fix Our Nation's Broken Heart" 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.