Hi everyone,

Welcome back.  How are you?  Like many others, we're still processing this week's election results.  I went for a bike ride yesterday.  It can't be a good sign that it was so warm in November, but it was helpful to get a little exercise and enjoy the fresh air.  BDH and Little Buddha decided to limit today's to-do list to a handful of items today, and then we might watch a movie tonight.  Works for me.

Are you ready to check out the headlines?  Let's do it.  The guys made coffee, so grab yourself a nice medium DD, because it's time to clear out some Thursday Clutter.

Donald Trump led a coup attempt, improperly kept classified documents after he left the White House, was convicted on 34 fraud felony counts, and he will probably get away with all of it:  Special counsel Jack Smith is reportedly winding down his cases against Trump, now that the Great Pumpkin is returning to the White House in January.  The Department of Justice policy is to not investigate sitting presidents, so there's no point in continuing these fights when Trump is about to return to the Oval Office.   In other words, Trump's incessant delay tactics paid off beautifully for him.

Trump was supposed to be sentenced on the fraud charges later this month, but it's unlikely that's still going to take place at this point.  Let there be no doubt, folks:  Crime pays and it pays well.  You just have to swing for the fences and show your blatant contempt for the law at every opportunity.  If you distract enough of the country with racism and misogyny, they'll give you a pass on everything else. 

It also would have helped if the Department of Justice had been much more aggressive in its approach to this national security threat right from the start, rather than letting Trump run out the clock at every opportunity.  He never should have been allowed to run for the White House again in the first place.  The system failed the country, and history will not remember Attorney General Merrick Garland favorably.

Trump believes obeying the law is for suckers.  (pic via www.wno.org)

The list of problems with the Trump return is long, but the one that troubles us the most is the fact that he's now in position to make sure the U.S. Supreme Court maintains its conservative majority for decades.   Presidents come and go eventually, but the impact of their judicial appointments is felt long after they're out of the White House.  The two biggest ethically-deficient extremists on the court, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, are 76 and 74 years old respectively.  We assume the Heritage Foundation is already lining up the youngest replacements they can find for these two frauds.  The court's reputation and legitimacy are in tatters, and the chance of repair in our lifetimes just dropped dramatically.

Vice President Kamala Harris gave her concession speech at Howard University yesterday.  She urged her supporters to accept the results of the election and promised to assist with the peaceful transfer of power.  Apparently she learned nothing from Donald Trump's incessant lying over the past four years.  She didn't even try to claim the election was stolen.  Instead, Harris promised to continue supporting, "The fight for freedom, for opportunity, for fairness and the dignity of all people -- a fight for the ideals at the heart of our nation -- the ideals that reflect America at our best."

This is the leader that the country needed.  The Democratic infighting and blaming has already begun.  None of it is useful.  The reality is that over 72 million Americans voted for a white supremacist rapist.  The problem isn't that Democrats are too liberal. 

A new study shows that just five minutes of vigorous exercise a day might help lower your blood pressure, and 20 minutes of exercise can significantly reduce your chance of heart disease.  If 20 minutes sounds overwhelming, start small and work up from there.  Everyone can squeeze in a five minute brisk walk at some point during the day.  We want you all with us for as long as possible, friends.

Wall Street celebrated Donald Trump's election win yesterday:  The Dow Jones Industrial Average shot up 3.5%, while the S&P 500 was up about 2.5%.  The market had incredible gains under the Biden administration, but the myth that Republicans are better for the economy continues.  Now investors will wait to see what the Fed has to say about the current situation when they likely announce another interest rate cut today.  Trump's proposed economic policies are expected to reignite inflation (an issue MAGA voters claimed they cared about, but apparently not), so will today's cut now be the last one for a while? 

We finally finished our leftover Halloween candy, so we're tapping out on chocolate until at least somewhere closer to Christmas.  However, here's a list of all of the currently available Hershey bar flavors.  Please feel free to shoot us a review if you've had one of the cotton candy-flavored variety.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are reportedly planning to move Mookie Betts to shortstop or second base next year.  It's hard to see how that makes sense.  Betts began his career as an infielder in the minor leagues, but the guy has won six Gold Glove Awards as a right fielder. 

Agent Scott Boras says his free agent client Juan Soto will take his time making a decision about where to play next.  Boras said Soto wants to hear in person about ownership's commitment to winning.  Considering that there are only a handful of teams really in position to pay Soto what he wants (likely something in the neighborhood of Shohei Ohtani's 10-year/$700 million deal), it doesn't seem like he'll need to have many of these conversations.  The time frame is likely more about seeing how long it takes to reach the highest offer.

It sounds like Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott will be out more than four weeks, thanks to a right hamstring injury.  According to the linked article, Prescott's tendon has at least partially torn away from the bone (ouch), which means he could be done for the season.  In the meantime, Cooper Rush will be the Cowboys' starting quarterback.  We wish Prescott a full and speedy recovery.  Also, good for him for getting a contract extension that includes $231 million guaranteed money before this season started.  Things can change in an instant for NFL players.

Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry apparently has no interest in committing to Deshaun Watson starting for the team next year.  Watson, who is out for the season with a right Achilles tendon tear, has been a disaster for the Browns.  According to the linked article, the team still owes him $92 million.  They never should have signed the guy in the first place, given the long list of sexual assault lawsuits filed against him, so there will be no tears shed if Watson's contract causes maximum difficulties for the organization.

Billy Zane plays Hollywood icon Marlon Brando in the upcoming movie, Waltzing with Brando, a biopic about the time in the actor's life when he decided he wanted to move to Tahiti and open an ecological resort.  We aren't really sure what to make of the film after watching the trailer, but Zane's transformation into Brando is remarkable.  What do you think?  Is this worth checking out once it's available on a streaming platform?

We've got the first promo for Bill Burr hosting SNL this weekend.  The comedian feels like a good call for the first post-election show.

Steve Carrell apparently didn't originally want to appear in the series finale of The Office, according to former co-star Jenna Fischer.  Carrell's argument (which you'll have to click on the link to read) makes sense.  However, his appearance at Dwight and Angela's wedding was perfect, and it brought the show's conclusion up a notch, so everything worked out in the end.

ScreenRant.com overstates the issue in the name of a clickbait headline, but this week's NCIS episode did seem to feature a changing of the guard as far as a longtime role on the show is concerned.  When you reach 22 seasons, you've got to find new ways to keep things fresh, including shaking up the dynamic between some characters.

We should probably take a second to mention the most serious conflict in Hollywood.  It involves Kristin Cavallari and Britney Spears apparently fighting over whether or not Spears is a clone.

On second thought, let's move on...

This past Tuesday marked the 25th anniversary of Gary Cherone leaving Van Halen.  First, it's a little startling that Cherone departed so long ago.  Second, we have mixed feelings about his short run with the band.  Van Halen III is not a great album, but there are many interesting little snippets scattered throughout the songs.  Eddie Van Halen clearly wanted to try some new ideas, and we give him credit for pushing his range.  Also, this lineup was terrific live.  Gary Cherone had the vocal range to cover any song in the VH catalog, and the rest of the guys seemed excited to play some "classic" songs for the first time in years. 

All in all, it's an underrated point in Van Halen history, but at the same time, it was probably the right move for everyone to move on in the end.

On a related note, there's a music memorabilia auction taking place on November 20 and 21 which includes an Eddie Van Halen guitar autographed by all of the members of Van Hagar.  We were going to say we wouldn't object if someone wanted to get this for us as an early Christmas present.  It's only expected to go for somewhere between $60,000 - $80,000.  However, it's really not that attractive, so we'll pass.  There are plenty of other used instruments from other musicians going up for bid though, so maybe you'll find a great gift for that special someone.

David Gilmour sounds relieved that Pink Floyd's music catalog sale is a done deal.  The rights sold for $400 million, and he's apparently already gotten his share of the money, but there's also the major bonus of no longer having to deal with contentious business meetings anymore.  Going through that hassle for 40 years has to be exhausting, so congratulations to the 78-year-old Gilmour for being able to put it behind him.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Here's Muse to close things out with, "Uprising" 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, hang in there, 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.