Hi everyone,

Welcome back.  How are you?  Our crew didn't sleep all that well last night.  Not sure if it was connected to some lingering disruption over changing the clocks, or still eating too much leftover Halloween candy (which is thankfully almost gone.)  However, we may need to take a nap before tonight's election results start being announced. 

BDH and Little Buddha say there are a number of items on the to-do list, although a couple of them might have to be postponed if it actually rains.  We could use the water, so if that means bumping these errands to Wednesday so be it.

In any case, the first item on the list is checking out the headlines with all of 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 Tuesday Clutter.

Election Day is finally here, and the contrast could not be clearer:  Voters can choose to support democracy, women, people of color, members of the LGBTQ community, and others who are under attack.  They can support economic policies which benefit ordinary hard-working Americans, not just the privileged few.  They can support basic decency and say enough of the MAGA cult.  They can do all of this by voting for Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz today.  It's the only choice if this country is to survive.

The candidates offer two completely different paths for the United States.  (pic via ca.news.yahoo.com)

Also, let's send the guy who was best friends with Jeffrey Epstein, (according to Epstein himself) to prison, not the Oval Office.  That's a pretty easy call.

Nothing to see here, folks:  Elon Musk's PAC is out there buying votes with its daily non-random $1 million giveaway to registered voters in swing states, and a Pennsylvania judge thinks that's fine. 

In addition to the national races, we'll be keeping an eye on Florida's proposed state constitutional amendment which would protect abortion rights and overturn Florida's extreme six-week abortion ban.  Governor Ron DeSantis trampled all over the 1st Amendment in his craven attempt to defeat this proposal and harm women across the state.  The governor's ego needs some rebuilding after his disastrous presidential campaign.  Hopefully voters will soundly reject his efforts and pass the measure.

Tucker Carlson believes increased hurricane activity in the United States is because of abortions.  That's the state of the GOP these days.

Facebook is extending its ban on political ads until "later this week."  The prohibition was supposed to end at 11:59 p.m. tonight, and there was no explanation given about why that changed.  This policy is flawed in the first place.  If Facebook really cared about disinformation, they'd hire exponentially more full-time fact-checkers.  Whatever the reason for this move, our suspicion is that it's designed to help the Trump campaign.  (Disclosure:  We run political ads.)

We enjoy an occasional yogurt as a quick snack, but you have to keep your eye on the sugar content:  Some brands have more sugar than a Dunkin' jelly donut, and that's not helpful. 

This is interesting:  The Boston Red Sox made a $21.05 million qualifying offer to free agent pitcher Nick Pivetta yesterday.  Pivetta has until November 19 to decide whether or not to take the deal.  It sure seemed like the two parties were bound to go their separate ways at the end of last season, but will another team want to make a better offer and sacrifice a draft pick to get the righty?  That seems unlikely, but stay tuned. 

The Red Sox did not make a similar offer to outfielder Tyler O'Neill, which is fine.  The righty has some pop in his bat, but he only played in 113 games last year, and his health is always a question.  Now let's see who the Sox have in mind to play left field in 2025.

The Red Sox also exercised their $2.1 million option on outfielder Rob Refsnyder yesterday.  That seemed like a no-brainer.  Refsnyder is a solid back-up player who kills left-handed pitching, and he batted .283 last season.  He's not a star, but he's just solid on the field and seems like a good clubhouse presence. 

We're sorry to see that Rich Shertenlieb’s new radio show was cancelled after less than six months on the air.  He was great for years as the co-host of Toucher and Rich on 98.5 The Sports Hub, but he had a falling-out with his former partner and had the opportunity to be the lead guy for the morning program on WZLX.  The first time we heard the new program, it seemed okay.  It was a typical sports radio talk show that was finding its legs.  The next time we listened, the station had started breaking up the sports talk segments with music, and it felt disjointed.  Apparently other listeners agreed, and the ratings were poor.  We wish Rich the best of luck with whatever comes next.

The Las Vegas Raiders fired a number of their offensive coaches after falling to 2-7, and now the New Orleans Saints have fired head coach Dennis Allen after reaching the same record.  We have no expectations whatsoever that the 2-7 New England Patriots will consider also making that move.  Ownership knew what they were getting into with a rookie head coach who has an extensive rebuild ahead of him.  The Pats might make a few trades before today's 4 p.m. deadline, but Jerod Mayo should remain in charge of the team.

The 3-5 Dallas Cowboys might be without quarterback Dak Prescott for a while, as he deals with a right hamstring injury.

The new Tom Hanks/Robin Wright movie Here is off to a rough start at the box office:  The film only pulled in $5 million in its debut, and we haven't read any reviews yet which make us think business is going to improve.  Tom Hanks used to be a guaranteed draw, but times change, and as we all know, the movie business is in a transition phase at the moment.

Ryan Reynolds said he's writing a non-Marvel movie that would reunite him with Hugh Jackman and director Shaun Levy.  We look forward to hearing more about what Reynolds has in mind.

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling's obsessive transphobia has now gotten to the point where she's picking fights with David Tennant.  That won't go well for her.  The former Doctor Who star lives up to the ideals of the Time Lord when he stands up for transgender people.  Rowling just shows herself to be a hateful bigot.  Give us love every time.

Speaking of David Tennant, let us give another plug for his new Hulu/Disney+ series Rivals.  Friends, this 1980's-style soap opera is so deliciously over the top, you need to give it a shot.  It's the proud successor to shows like Dynasty and Dallas.  All of the performances are so engaging, and we need much more of them.  The finale left the door wide open to a second season, so start watching and convince the powers that be to renew it.  You won't be disappointed.

Agatha All Along reportedly plans to compete at awards shows as a comedy and not a limited series.  That would indicate that there will be additional seasons of the show, which is a little surprising.  It's not a complaint, but the season finale seemed to indicate that this particular story was over, and that the remaining characters would find their way into other MCU projects for their next adventures.  In any case, sign us up for wherever Agatha and company appear next.

Is Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson actually be a spy?  Dickinson wouldn't answer one way or another when asked about it on a podcast, but it's such a great idea, we've decided we want the answer to be yes and will not listen to any facts disproving it.

Bob Dylan has recently been handling his Twitter account himself, and no one seems to know what he's talking about.  Sounds about right.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Let's have Beyoncé close things out here with, "Run the World (Girls)" 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, do not forget to vote, and we'll catch up with you again to talk about all of this more soon.  Until next time, that's today's Clearing out the Clutter, and we are outta here.