Tidbits and Cat Treats — "No April Fool" Edition

By Zamboni

Happy April Fool's Day. This is just a note to tell you that, unfortunately, everything we cats are commenting on this evening is true. To wit:

What better evidence do we have that Canada's Tory Prime Minster Stephen Harper is a U.S. Republican soul mate than the Globe & Mail's complaint that he's playing the politics of fear? "Mr. Harper has chosen to run a 'be afraid, vote against' campaign, instead of something more aspirational," they lament. Well, duh, everybody. That's how Republicans — and the people who emulate them — conduct themselves.

What's really sad, of course, is that after five years under a Tory minority government, Canada's current state of the union is copacetic enough for Harper to run a positive campaign — you know, a Canuck version of "Morning in America"? Clearly, he's taking his cues from the dark, not the sunny, side of the GOP.

And speaking of Republican history, is it possible that the famous killer from Alaska is the one potential 2012 candidate with any kind of quasi-military credentials? (We say "quasi," only because she has a son who served in Iraq.) We cats think maybe the answer to that question is yes. It's mind-boggling. The GOP traditionally has abused Democrats on this issue, whether they were war heroes (George McGovern, John Kerry) or not (Bill Clinton). But did Haley Barbour, Newt Gingrich, Mitch Daniels, Mitt Romney, Donald Trump, Mike Huckabee, Tim Pawlenty or any of the other Republican clowns serve? No, they did not.

Finally, we cats are amazed and disgusted that 12 people at the U.N. compound in Aghanistan had to lose their lives because Terry Jones is an idiot. We seem to remember opining that the freedom of speech carries with it grave responsibilities. Apparently, that sentiment has fallen on deaf ears. We cats HISS.

(IMAGE: Yes, that's a new paw print. We got tired of the old one. Which isn't to say that we won't use it again.)