"Death To America"? More Like Death To The Planet.

By Baxter

We just want to say that if Iraqi protesters (or whoever they were) had stormed the US embassy in Baghdad while Obama, Clinton or Carter were President, the Republicans would be screaming not just to impeach but to draw and quarter. Because that's the way they are. Believe us, we know.

But on this New Year's Eve, we take a break from Trump-inspired Middle East chaos to return to the Land Down Under.

The fires that are ravaging Australia (and being ignored by the country's Conservative government) are so upsetting that we can barely think about anything else. We're clinging to stories about cyclists giving water to thirsty koalas and first responders rescuing scared possum mums and babies that they found hiding under cars. We're rooting for kangaroos who were videoed hopping en masse from the flames. We're trying not to dwell on estimates that half a billion animals have been killed.

And we're heartened by the fact that a TV host on New Year's Eve dedicated a song to hapless and evil Prime Minister Scott Morrison: "The Honeymoon Is Over." To all Australian voters: We leave Morrison's well-deserved comeuppance in your capable hands.

The 1959 film "On the Beach" portrayed Australia as the last bastion of civilization after global nuclear war. How ironic that the continent is now the harbinger of Earth's environmental doom. We cats hope that the silver lining in this very dark cloud is that Australia's Armageddon will wake people up to the threat that climate change poses to us all. Some very big changes are in store. Brace yourselves. Happy New Year.

Seeing Red

By Sniffles

Do you know Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia? Perhaps you don't keep up with political goings-on there. But you may recall that the coal-loving Morrison is a new best friend of Benedict Donald Trump, who feted him with a state dinner just this past September.

These days, though, it's pretty hard to ignore news from the Land Down Under. The country has literally been on fire. You also won't be surprised to hear that Morrison and his cronies are climate-change deniers — in fact, Morrison was on vacation in Hawaii during the crisis, and had to be shamed into returning, which he grudgingly did.

But things are getting worse. Tonight, 4,000 people are trapped on a beach in Mallacoota, on the south coast. With the flames bearing down on them, they've been told to plunge into the ocean if they have to.

You wonder: What it will take to get the Trumpsters and their fanboys like Morrison to change their tune on climate? Obviously, they don't have the balls to admit that a zillion scientists are right and they're wrong. They aren't manly enough to concede that 16-year-old Greta Thunberg has a point. Would the fiery deaths of 4,000 people do it?

We're not wishing such an awful fate on those folks. But since singed koalas and kangaroos haven't moved people to action, maybe Mallacoota will. We cats are disgusted and depressed, and we HISS.

(UPDATE #1: From the Australian edition of The Guardian: "People reported hearing gas bottles explode as the fire front reached [Mallacoota], and the sound of sirens telling people to get in the water.")

(UPDATE #2: "The power is cut. We are isolated. It's a holocaust, basically...There's a lot of thunder. The fires are creating their own weather.")

Let's Keep This Legend Living A Little Longer, Please

"I have been in some kind of fight — for freedom, equality, basic human rights — for nearly my entire life. I have never faced a fight quite like the one I have now.

"This month in a routine medical visit, and subsequent tests, doctors discovered stage 4 pancreatic cancer. This diagnosis has been reconfirmed.

"While I am clear-eyed about the prognosis, doctors have told me that recent medical advances have made this type of cancer treatable in many cases, that treatment options are no longer as debilitating as they once were, and that I have a fighting chance.

"So I have decided to do what I know to do, and do what I have always done: I am going to fight it and keep fighting for the Beloved Community. We still have many bridges to cross.

"To my constituents: Being your representative in Congress is the honor of a lifetime. I will return to Washington in coming days to continue our work and begin my treatment plan, which will occur over the next several weeks. I may miss a few votes during this period, but with God's grace I will be back on the front lines soon.

"Please keep me in your prayers as I begin this journey."

—Representative John Lewis (D-GA)

(PHOTO: Pete Souza)

He Was Off To See Walter. Why?

By Hubie and Bertie

Is it possible that representatives of the mainstream news media will ever write about people who are not Trumpsters? After all, there are so many more of us. We swear! Just look at Benedict Donald's disapproval ratings or the impeach-and-remove polls for proof.

But, sigh — apparently not. Once again, The New York Times has decided that a pathetic confab of 100 Trumpsters in Arizona is worthy of space in and on its pages. Is it because one or two of the MAGAts threatened violence if Benedict Donald is defeated in 2020? Tosh. Giving breathless coverage to every promise they make of a second Civil War just breathes more oxygen into their nuttiness.

One thing in the story got our attention, though: Their bluster about how many Trumpsters will vote once Benedict Donald is back on the ballot (as opposed to 2018 and 2019, when Democrats won). It makes you wonder: What if Trump is not the Republican candidate next year?

We're not predicting conviction in the Senate, although goodness knows anything could happen. We're questioning — since journalists appear to have forgotten — why Trump had to make that hasty visit to Walter Reed last month. Has he golfed since? We don't think so. Has he shown additional signs of dementia? Definitely yes.

The media never aggressively pursued Melania's alleged 2018 kidney condition. But then, she doesn't have the nuclear codes. So we hope somebody out there in Journalism World makes getting the truth about Trump's mental and physical health his or her mission. We Democrats would like to know whom we'll be facing next year. Meanwhile, we HISS.

Jerry Herman, 1931-2019

This is not an entertainment blog, but this sublime bit of musical theater has also come to have profound political meaning. We cats salute its composer, and we PURR.

Tidbits And Cat Treats: Boxing Day/First Day Of Kwanzaa Edition

By Miss Kubelik

We cats refuse to hop onto any "end of the decade" bandwagon. It is not the end of a decade! And anyway, even if it were, who cares? Here are some other, far more worthy, thoughts that are occupying us between naps.

Speaking of ridiculous memes we want no part of, the alleged "war" between Baby Boomers and Millennials is as phony as the "war" on Christmas.

The only war we see right now is the one going on between evangelicals. It seems that the vastly immoral gangster and grifter known as Donald Trump is the hill that some so-called Christians have chosen to die on. Now, with the Christian Post set to go after Christianity Today for calling for Trump's impeachment and removal, the Post's politics editor is preparing to quit. It's amazing that Trump is any self-professed Christian's hero. Is controlling women's bodies really that important to them?

Perhaps you remember Paul Gosar, the bizarre nutjob Republican Congressman from Arizona whose own siblings campaigned against him? He appears to be vying for the Donald Trump Wackiest Twitter Rampages prize this week. On Christmas Eve, he tweeted (and retweeted) an endless clip of the Clintons' brush with a falling Klieg light on "60 Minutes" in 1992. Nobody's really sure what he's trying to say with that, although Chelsea Clinton had a snappy riposte. Now, he's bleating about lefties going after everyone's guns, which has gotten him on Fred Guttenberg's bad side. Our advice to Gosar: It's Christmas. Try not to hate just for a day.

Finally, take note of this: Lisa Murkowski of Alaska has put a tiny dent in Senate Republicans' wall of ignorant support for the now-impeached Donald Trump. While we disagree with Murkowski's assessment that the House should have waited for the courts to force Don McGahn and Mick Mulvaney to testify — they had more than enough evidence to proceed — let's give Murkowski the room she needs to influence other members of her party. Slamming her on social media won't help. She voted against Kavanaugh, remember. We cats PURR.

Values

By Zamboni

This Christmas, we cats are thinking about Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter. Mainly because we were just at a party at which the Carters were a prominent topic of discussion.

Our fellow party attendees said they admired the Carters because they truly lived their values. We agree. And we would hasten to point out: What public figures today do that? Can we name them?

Okay, we'll start: Nancy Pelosi. She was adamantly against impeachment for a whole bunch of really persuasive political reasons. Until the Ukraine revelations happened, and then it became clear that the House had to hold the President accountable in order to defend the Constitution. That was Jimmy-like, Rosalynn-like.

Meanwhile, we're convinced that the more people come to understand the teachings of Jesus, the more left-wing they become. Jesus was an agitator, a disrupter. He made people uncomfortable. His teachings are very difficult to follow. So perhaps tonight's message is: Don't try to dictate them to others. Explore them for yourselves. That's all we cats have to say this Christmas Eve. And we PURR.

Accentuating The Positive

By Baxter

The news is pretty dismal this holiday season, what with Benedict Donald, Congressional Republicans and climate change all getting worse by the hour. So to calm ourselves down, we've decided to do a gratitude exercise. Here are some of the the things we're grateful for this holiday.

The editor of Christianity Today has refused to take back his scathing editorial calling for Trump's impeachment and removal. Good. Now the National Review has jumped on the impeach-and-remove bandwagon, too. Who's next?

POLITICO's Morning Consult — the first national poll taken after the House vote — reported 52 percent of respondents in favor of impeachment and removal. Thank you, clear-thinking Americans. May more of our fellow citizens join you.

We're grateful to have Canada to escape to when we need it.

We appreciate journalists like Daniel Dale, who has the dedication (and the stomach) to track Benedict Donald's never-ending litany of lies and report on them. The latest: 45 ways Trump has been fibbing about Ukraine. Thank you, Daniel — we hope Santa brings you a lifetime supply of Tums.

Most of all, we're grateful that the Blue Wave swept across America in 2018, because it brought us a Democratic House, a boatload of great bills (that #MoscowMitch refuses to take action on), Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and impeachment. The Wave didn't just happen, of course — Democrats worked their butts off. So, rest up this holiday, everyone, because we're going to have to gear up and do it again in 2020. We cats PURR.

Spirits Of Christmas

"Business? Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, benevolence were all my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business."

Charles Dickens may have lived and died 150 years ago, but he was outraged by a lot of things that, sadly, are still with us today. Like poverty. Tonight, we cats saw a woman rummaging in the garbage in the Montreal subway, and we gave her a toonie. It was a drop of water in the ocean, but it was all we could think of to do at the moment. So may God bless us, every one.

Tidbits And Cat Treats: Friday Before Christmas Edition

By Sniffles

About mid-afternoon, we cats noticed that our email was slowing down. (With a couple of exceptions, of course. There are always exceptions.) Still, we have some political questions on our minds. So if you've adjourned to the nearest pub for the weekend and are reading this, here they are.

Former Senator Jeff Flake has published an op-ed in The Washington Post. "The President Is On Trial. So Are My Senate Republican Colleagues." JFC, do we care what Jeff Flake has to say? BIG no. Jeff, you were worthless when you were in office — voting for Kavanaugh and what-not — so you're even more worthless now. Go away.

There's a state representative in Washington State who, according to an independent investigation inspired by coverage from The Guardian, was engaged "in an act of domestic terrorism against the United States" — yep, you read that right — by planning armed conflicts against the government. Naturally, he's a Republican. We're trying to figure out why people like this run to serve in a government they clearly hate. Kinda makes you think all the accusations about "the deep state" are just more Trumpy projections.

Yes, we are very, very worried about the notion that the President of the United States is taking direction from Vladimir Putin.

We've probably visited a wine cave or two in our time, but haven't thought much about them — until last night. Now, we've decided that we want one. Santa, we hope you're listening.

Holy smokes — watch this video of Trump in an interview with Wolf Blitzer, praising Nancy Pelosi, and you will be amazed at his deterioration. Not just politically — mentally and verbally. Incredible.

Finally, in the category of Republicans Behaving Badly, let's give a special shout-out to former (and very bitter) GOP Governor Matt Bevin of Kentucky, who couldn't resist a final "fuck-you-out-the-door" pardoning of a bunch of murderers and decapitators.

Even Republicans were horrified (but what does that mean, in that pathetic party?). What revolts us most is that Bevin decided a child rapist was innocent because his nine-year-old victim's hymen was still intact. More proof that GOP men have no idea how women's and girls' bodies work. So why do Republican women still entrust their destinies to them? A question for the ages. We cats HISS.