Hi everyone,

Welcome back.  How are you?  I'm doing a little better, now that I just double-checked today's to-do list with BDH and Little Buddha.  I knew there was a dentist appointment on there, but I had the wrong time in my head.  Thankfully, the guys pointed out that I was off by a few hours.  There's a reason why these two are in charge around here.

Now that I know I don't have to rush out the door, let's check out some 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.

Vice President Kamala Harris sat down for an interview on Fox News yesterday, and it went about how you would expect.  Host Bret Baier was more interested in being combative than having a conversation, and Vice President Harris was prepared for it.  The interview gave her a chance to reach an audience that likely almost never hears from her directly, so she got to make her case to the handful of Fox viewers who aren't MAGA cult members.  It's unclear how many of those people actually exist, but even peeling off a few of them could make a difference in November. 

At the end of the day, Kamala Harris went into hostile territory and survived, while Donald Trump remains too terrified to debate her again or appear on a mainstream network.

Vice President Harris made another pitch to Republican voters.  (pic via www.latimes.com)

Meanwhile, Donald Trump continues to try to win over women voters by telling them he'll be their "protector," and they'll never have to think about abortion again if he's in the White House.  First off, women aren't asking for a protector, they're choosing a president.  Second, even if they were looking for one, it wouldn't be the guy found liable for sexual assault who routinely brags about appointing the Supreme Court justices who helped overturn Roe v. Wade.  The man is a threat to every woman in this country, and between Project 2025, and the idea that he could appoint even more justices in his next term, that threat has to be defeated at the ballot box once and for all.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell reportedly called Donald Trump, "stupid," "despicable," and "a narcissist," according to an upcoming McConnell biography.  Mitch McConnell has always known the truth about Trump.  However, that's never stopped him from doing everything he can to protect the Great Pumpkin in the pursuit of power, particularly when it comes to the judiciary.  Few understand the lasting legacy of the courts as well as McConnell.  Presidents come and go, but we are forced to live with these judges long after the people who appointed them have left the building.  As long as Trump enabled him to install as many conservative federal judges as possible, McConnell couldn't have cared less about Trump's failings.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is doing everything he can to defeat a proposed state constitutional amendment to protect abortion rights.  It appears that DeSantis feels like he's lost some clout in Florida after his disastrous presidential campaign, so he's looking to rebuild it by harming women.  That's the GOP in a nutshell for you.

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles is going to pay $880 million to victims of clergy sexual abuse.  According to the linked article, the archdiocese already paid $74o million to other victims.  If any other entity had to spend $1.6 billion on settling these kinds of claims, there would be arrests.  Instead, the church writes some checks and buys their way out of accountability yet again.  Also, if these people can afford to spend this much money on lawsuits, they can pay taxes. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record high yesterday, due in large part to small-cap stocks, which are now surging, thanks to the Fed cutting interest rates.  These companies look to have a bright future ahead of them, as rates continue to decline.  The Clutter investment team isn't telling you to invest in this sector now.  The staff is just pointing out the benefits of a diversified portfolio.  Sectors don't usually all move in the same direction at the same time, so investors who don't put all of their eggs in one basket are well-positioned to ride out different trends as they occur.

Have you ever gone through the excruciating process of trying to cancel a subscription?  It seems like you can set up your account with 1-2 clicks, but trying to close it requires a sworn deposition.  Well, the Federal Trade Commission is here to help with a new rule that requires cancelling an account to be as easy as it was to start in the first place.  If it's an online account, it now must take the same number of clicks to close as it did to open.  If it was something you did in person, there must be an option to close it down by phone or online.   Of course the U.S. Chamber of Commerce calls this an abuse of power.  They think once companies have you in their grasp, it should be for the rest of your life.

The Boston Red Sox announced that DH Masataka Yoshida underwent successful shoulder surgery on October 3.  On the one hand, this seems to reduce any chance of the team trading Yoshida this winter.  On the other hand, if Yoshida goes into the 2025 season completely healthy, perhaps he can build up some trade value in the first half of next season.

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft now says he "fired" Bill Belichick, after the two men originally claimed it was a mutual decision.  Kraft said he was forced to do it because Belichick couldn't adapt, and the results from the past few years were unacceptable.  There's no arguing that Belichick was lost after Tom Brady left for Tampa Bay.  We're just wondering why Kraft is now changing the story about the coach's departure.

The Graham Norton Show apparently cut Ncuti Gatwa's comment that his third season of Doctor Who will begin filming next year.  The powers that be continue to say that no decision about a series renewal will made until after the second season premieres in 2025.  We're pretty sure Gatwa wouldn't just blurt something like that out of the blue.  Maybe he was told to assume he'd have to block off his schedule for filming, but that a final decision hasn't been made yet? We won't worry about this too much for now, but hopefully Disney will stay with the program.  Their funding has made everything look like a movie so far.

We really enjoyed this week's episode of Agatha All Along, which dove into Teen's backstory.  We won't give away the details, but now that his true identity has been revealed, and we know why he's really teaming up with Agatha, the character is much more interesting.

General Hospital fans were shocked to discover yesterday that Holly is Sasha's mother.  Whatever the backstory is there, we just need quick confirmation that Robert Scorpio isn't Sasha's dad, because that would make her current romantic relationship with Cody (i.e. Mac Scorpio's son) all sorts of icky, even for a soap opera.

Former Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman talked about the band's finances in a new interview.  It might not shock you to hear that Mick Jagger and Keith Richards did better than the other members of the group.

Poison drummer Rikki Rockett now has his own brand of coffee.  What do you think, folks?  Do we need to buy a bag of Rockett Roast?

We're sorry to hear about the death of Liam Payne, who died after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aries yesterday.  The former One Direction singer was only 31 years old.  Our condolences go out to his family and friends.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Here's R.E.M. to close things out with, "So. Central Rain" 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.