Hi everyone,

Welcome back.  How was your long weekend?  It was generally okay on this end.  The Patriots game was a nice surprise, and it looks like our crack IT staff (i.e. BDH and Little Buddha) figured out how to fix a lingering technical issue, so that was good.  (Those two will really do whatever it takes to keep things moving smoothly around here.)  The only downside was that I slept poorly last night, but hey, you can't win them all.

The guys just looked at the weather forecast, and apparently we're looking at a wind chill factor of 36 degrees today.  Yikes. We were talking about wearing shorts yesterday.   I guess I better bundle up when I make the weekly trip to check out the new releases at the bookstore.  First, let's take a peek at the 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 Clutter.

Judge Juan Merchan will decide the fate of Donald Trump's 34 felony convictions today, in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent absurd ruling on presidential immunity.  If Merchan decides to uphold the convictions, sentencing is scheduled for November 26.  That is less than two months away from the inauguration, so the punishment will likely barely be a slap on the wrist.  The judge also has the option to throw out the case, or call for a new trial, which now wouldn't take place until 2029 at the earliest.  Trump's strategy of running out the clock on every criminal case against him seems to have paid off beautifully for the wannabe-dictator.

The convict-elect.  (pic via www.cnn.com)

Donald Trump is expected to nominate Senator Marco Rubio to serve as his secretary of state.  Senator Rubio is known for a hawkish foreign policy stance.  However, he's never going to stand up to Trump, so watch when Rubio does a 180 on Russia, because Trump thinks his idol Vladimir Putin can do no wrong.  We also need to figure out the over/under on when Trump fires Rubio.  The senator infamously insulted Trump's small hands back in 2016, and there's no chance Trump decided to just let that slide.  We'll start with Senator Rubio being gone by the end of 2026.  What's your bet?

Assuming he's confirmed, Rubio's appointment means there will be an open Senate seat in Florida that is likely to remain in Republican hands.  Might Governor Ron DeSantis consider a new job?

Donald Trump has chosen former Rep. Lee Zeldin from New York to be the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency.)  Zeldin is completely unqualified for this job, and it's already clear that his mandate is to gut every last environmental regulation he can and give away the store to big businesses.  Who needs clean air and water when there's a buck to be made, right?  Life will be more expensive, and people will be unhealthier under this administration, and they told us it was coming. 

Russia's not bothering to hide it:  Donald Trump owes them, and they intend to collect again.

Friends, you know our crew loves our coffee.  For years, we were milk and sugar fans, but we switched to all-black in 2014 and never looked back (apart from a handful of flavored iced coffees each summer.)  We're looking for the caffeine, not the calories, sodium, and insane amount of sugar found in drinks like the ones on this list.

Since we weren't here yesterday, we have to take a minute to congratulate the New England Patriots on beating the Chicago Bears 19-3 to improve to 3-7 last Sunday.  In the battle of the #1 and #3 Draft picks, it was clear that the Patriots got a better prospect in Drake Maye over Caleb Williams.  Maye made a terrible throw for an early interception.  However, he quickly moved on from it and ended the day 15-for-25 for 184 yards and a touchdown, while New England's running game returned, with Rhamondre Stevenson leading the way with 20 carries for 74 yards.   Williams and the Bears offense were unable to get anything going all day, and the Patriots defense sacked Williams nine times, the second-most in New England's history. 

The Pats dominated both sides of the ball this past weekend, and they're slowly showing signs of trending in the right direction.  Next up:  Drake Maye and company take on the 4-5 Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, as they look to string together their first consecutive wins in about two years.

Following their embarrassing loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday, Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said changes are coming, but Caleb Williams is still the starting quarterback.  We understand the pressure to keep the #1 Draft pick on the field, but it might not be the worst thing for Williams if the Bears "suddenly discover" Williams has an injury that lets him regroup for a week or two.  That guy looks like he could use a breather to regain his confidence, especially since the Patriots were the last remaining "easy" game on Chicago's schedule.  At 4-5, it's possible the Bears have already secured their last win of the season. 

The Dallas Cowboys are now 3-6, and linebacker Micah Parsons openly seems to be rooting for head coach Mike McCarthy's dismissal. When asked about McCarthy, Parsons said, "That's above my pay grade...Mike can leave and go where he wants to...You want to win games and do great things with those type of legends (like Zack Martin) who put in more time and work than Mike McCarthy ever did. So, those are the kind of guys that I have so much sympathy and hurt for."  Alrighty, then.  Watching the Cowboys implode is like seeing the New York Yankees collapse:  It helps to restore your faith in the world.

There's a teaser trailer out for a small independent movie called Mission:  Impossible - The Final Reckoning which comes out next year. Check it out:

We also have a new trailer for Marvel's Thunderbolts*, and we're looking forward to seeing this in 2025:

Oops:  Mattel had to pull some Wicked toys after the packaging contained a misspelled URL that directed visitors to an adult web site. According to the linked article, the typo led to the site's highest traffic in 12 years.   We just took a look at Wicked.com (for the sake of telling this story accurately, of course), and yeah, it's definitely not about witches.  However, it's a porn parody site, so you have to think someone is already working on a new project as we speak.

Saturday Night Live cast member Bowen Yang referred last August to an unnamed former host who made multiple people cry.  According to Chloe Fineman, the person in question was Elon Musk back in 2021.  Musk apparently doesn't like Dana Carvey's impression of him, and it doesn't sound like that bothers anyone on the show.

Night Court returns to NBC a week from today, which is another welcome addition to our regular TV viewing schedule.  John Larroquette continues to be terrific at the show's center as defense attorney Dan Fielding.  Not sure we'd be watching if he wasn't there.  We're looking forward to seeing where things go when it comes to the potential paternity issue raised during the last season finale.

General Hospital star Steve Burton recently discussed what it was like to film his final scenes with now-former co-star Kelly Monaco.  The most interesting things about his comments was that he said things were shot out of order, so he said his goodbyes before Monaco's Sam McCall was wheeled into surgery.  It doesn't sound like that's the usual process on the soap opera, so why did it happen in this case?  Our theory is still that Monaco was fired for objecting to the late Billy Miller's dismissal, and that Burton was involved in that decision.  However, we're still waiting for the actress to finally tell her version of the full story.

Kevin Costner is done with Yellowstone after last night's episode, and he doesn't seem too broken up about it.

If you can't get enough of the Oasis track, "Champagne Supernova," have no fear -  Noel Gallagher created a six-hour version of it as part of a new exhibit at London's National Portrait Gallery.

AC/DC appears to be gearing up for a 2025 North America tour, although an official announcement hasn't been made yet.  We're starting to wonder if these guys will eventually join the likes of KISS and send out a line-up of holograms, once Angus Young, Brian Johnson, and the others are no longer able to perform live.

It looks like Sammy Hagar is writing new music with Joe Satriani, Michael Anthony, and Jason Bonham, following their successful "Best of All Worlds" this past summer.  This group is basically the Chickenfoot lineup, with Bonham replacing drummer Chad Smith, so sure, sign us up for whenever they release an album.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Here are the Pet Shop Boys to close things out with a cover of the David Bowie classic, "All the young dudes" 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, stay warm, 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.