Hi everyone,

How are you?  I'm feeling better, now that I got a little more sleep last night.  BDH and Little Buddha were just going over today's to-do list.  There aren't that many items, but it will likely take all day to complete them.  Someone was kind enough to send the guys an early copy of Alex Van Halen's new memoir (you can find our review here), so I also need to go to the bookstore to check out the new releases. Thankfully, it sounds like the weather will be lovely again.

Are you ready to get started?  Let's do this.  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 Tuesday Clutter.

We're still processing living in a world where Vice President Kamala Harris is touting Liz Cheney's endorsement.  However, politics makes strange bedfellows:  Harris and Cheney teamed up for several events in swing states yesterday in an effort to appeal to moderate Republican voters who have been turned off by Donald Trump's increasingly erratic behavior and overall cruelness.  Are there many of these people?  Even if they're a small sliver of the current GOP, every vote will count in November.

Whatever it takes to defeat Donald Trump once and for all.  (pic via wdet.org)

Meanwhile, Donald Trump continues to lie about FEMA's assistance efforts in North Carolina, following the damage caused by Hurricane Helene.  Trump's claims about the agency not having money to help because it was assisting undocumented immigrants has been repeatedly disproved, and it has led to harassment of FEMA employees.  Trump doesn't care.  He won't let reality get in the way of trying to appeal to the most racist and divisive instincts in this country.  That's all he has to offer.  We can and must do much better.

Even some former Republican officials want Attorney General Merrick Garland and the DOJ to investigate the fact that Elon Musk seems to be trying to buy voters, which violates federal law.  At this point, the best we can say about Garland is that he doesn't seem to be blatantly corrupt like predecessor Bill Barr.  However,  he sure hasn't put the full weight of his office into protecting our democracy. 

New York magazine and Olivia Nuzzi have parted ways, after the writer recently admitted to be being in a digital relationship with former subject Robert F. Kennedy Jr., although the magazine says its investigation showed no "evidence of bias" in her work.  That seems like an easy call.  We can't help wondering how Kennedy's wife Cheryl Hines really feels about her marriage, as she's been blasted professionally for Kennedy's nonsense, and then there's the cheating issue.  She's publicly laughing about it these days, but how do you possibly look at all of this and shrug?

Governor Ron DeSantis is obsessed with blocking a proposed state constitutional amendment to repeal Florida's newest abortion ban.  DeSantis has been so out of control with his efforts to defeat this campaign, federal Judge Mark Walker responded to a lawsuit against the governor with the warning, "To keep it simple for the State of Florida: it’s the First Amendment, stupid.”  The judge issued a temporary restraining order blocking the DeSantis administration from issuing any more threats against TV stations which air pro-amendment ads.  This injunction should be made permanent when the case is revisited in another hearing on October 29.  All of this because DeSantis was humiliated in his disastrous presidential campaign, and his ego needs reinflating. 

While Donald Trump was recently trying out his McDonald's employee Halloween costume, three Democratic senators want to know why McDonald's prices have gone up so much in recent years, surging well past inflation.  The fast food chain has been under fire recently for how expensive their menu has become.  The company has tried to blame the pandemic and subsequent inflation, but Senators Elizabeth Warren, Bob Casey, and Ron Wyden say the numbers tell a different story. 

Of course we love the DD mothership, but we're a simple crew.  Just straight black coffee, thanks.  We don't need some purple marshmall0w-flavored Halloween-themed beverage (although it probably still tastes better than pumpkin coffee.)

There were so many headlines about how the recent interest rate cut was the start of an aggressive approach by the Fed, and now we're seeing stories of "growing doubts" about the size/existence of future rate reductions.  The Clutter investment team doesn't know what officials will do next, but as always, our staff will be prepared if there is a disproportionately bad reaction to any news.  The stock market seems slightly overpriced at the moment, so there would have to be a significant drop for anything to look "cheap," but our folks do love a sale.

New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo tried to clarify his recent comment about his team being "soft."  Mayo explained that he meant they played soft "in the moment" against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but they have the ability to change that with hard work.  That was how we understood his message when he said it, but of course people who have their own agendas (*cough* Bill Belichick) want to twist it.  Also, what would you call a player who can't handle being described as "soft?"  What a mess of a season so far.

The New York Jets are now 2-5 and show no signs of turning things around soon, so Aaron Rodgers thinks the best solution is to blame the media.  Sounds about right.

Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson's season is over, due to an Achilles injury, and the team reportedly signed former New England Patriots QB Bailey Zappe as a backup option for Dorian Thompson-Robinson and James Winston.  Zappe had been on the Kansas City Chiefs' practice squad.  Good for Zappe for hanging in there after being cut by the Patriots, but at this point, we're rooting for the Browns to lose every week.  It's a trash organization which doesn't care about its fans and never should have signed Watson in the first place.

The Boston Celtics will raise Banner #18, get their championship rings, and then start their campaign for #19 by facing the New York Knicks tonight. 

Former Hollywood titan Harvey Weinstein has reportedly been diagnosed with myeloid leukemia, a type of bone marrow cancer.  Weinstein remains incarcerated at Rikers Island while he awaits a retrial next month on a rape charge.  (He is also under indictment for other sexual assault charges and is waiting for arraignment in that case.)

We finished Rivals on Hulu/Disney+ yesterday, and it was terrific.  Again, if you're looking for a 1980's - style British soap opera (set in 1986-1987) featuring horny powerful people looking for every advantage over each other, give this series a look.  It's fun, smart, and it manages to make you care about every member of a large cast.  Hopefully there will be a second season.

There was another departure on General Hospital, but we could see this character returning at a later date if there's an opening in a storyline.

Peter Griffin made an appearance on Hot Ones to promote Family Guy's Halloween and Christmas special episodes, as well as the show's 25th anniversary.  Did this need to happen?  Probably not.  Would we like to see Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane actually appear on Hot Ones?  Absolutely.

Alex Van Halen apparently doesn't think much of the Van Halen tribute tour Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony just completed, saying, "They're not doing the band justice."  As we mentioned in our review of his memoir, the book ends with David Lee Roth leaving after the 1984 album.  Hagar and Anthony both only get mentioned in passing.  Alex doesn't get into any of it in the book, but it sure seems like there are harsh feelings towards Hagar.  (While brief, the references to Anthony in the book are pretty neutral/positive, but there's no direct acknowledgement that Hagar eventually became the band's singer.)

They just keep coming:  Seven more civil lawsuits have been filed against Sean Combs, accusing the music mogul of, "rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, battery, or false imprisonment by Combs between 2000 and 2022 in New York, Los Angeles or Las Vegas."  According to the linked article, at least one of the lawsuits also involves other celebrities (a man and a woman), but they're not named.  Those identities are likely to come out at some point, and we have our own guesses, but we'll see how the legal system handles this first.

We're sorry to hear Paul Di'Anno recently passed away.  The original Iron Maiden singer was 66 years old and had been dealing with serious health issues for a number of years.  Our condolences go out to his family and friends.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Let's have The Killers close things out with a fun live version of, "Human" 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.