Dear Donald, We All Hate You

By Baxter

Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos and his blow-up sex-doll wife may be presiding over the Met Gala tonight, but his newspaper, along with Ipsos, just published a poll that shows Benedict Donald in deep doo-doo. (Bezos's paper also won a Pulitzer Prize in Public Service today, in spite of everything he's done to destroy it.)

But back to the poll. It's brutal.

• Sixty-two percent of respondents disapprove of Trump overall.
• Seventy-two percent disapprove of how Trump is handling inflation.
• Seventy-six percent disapprove of how Trump is handling the cost of living.
• Sixty-six percent disapprove of how Trump is handling Iran.
• Sixty-five percent disapprove of how Trump is handling relations with our allies.

Have we ever seen numbers like this? This might be one instance in which Trump's bombast is justified (but of course about the wrong things, from his point of view). We cats will try not to ask how the media would handle this if it were about Joe Biden.

Well, we know the answer to that. Meanwhile, Republicans are saddled with catastrophe, but still don't seem to be able to grab an off-ramp from the disaster that is Donald. They won't support a War Powers Resolution, pull back their support for ICE, or condemn the non-release of the complete Epstein files. To those of us clear-thinking Americans, any one of these stances seems commonsense and obvious. But they're caught between a rock and a hard place — partially because they've already gerrymandered themselves into ruby-red districts where it would be fatal for them to break with Trump.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has added eight newly competitive candidates to their "Red to Blue" initiative — including two in Texas's recently redistricted map, LOL.

You know, it's only May, and a long way to November. But you'd be tempted to think that things have gotten so dire for the Trumpsters and the GOP that try as they might, they won't be able to redraw their way out of it. That would be hilarious, and would make us cats PURR.

Rococo Loco

"The White House was designed by James Hoban, an Irish architect who migrated to the US for economic opportunities (what a great American story!). He originally designed it in the Neoclassical style, drawing on Palladian and Georgian influences.

"Neoclassicalism was a reaction against the Rococo movement, which reactionaries saw as overly ornate and frivolous. A bit of gold used sparingly and strategically can look fine in a Neoclassical building, but the amount Trump used has so radically encrusted the room that it's now in Rococo territory, making it look like a mismatch of aesthetics.

"The Oval Office offends on at least three levels: the ersatz nature of the decor, the way it grates against Hoban’s Neoclassical vision, and the way it misunderstands the classical-republican symbolism that the White House was meant to project in the first place.

"As others have noted, this is the kind of decor you'd expect from dictators who rob their own country."

—Derek Guy, on Twitter

Geography

We don't know how Round One of the Stanley Cup playoffs will end up, but we can say for sure that the island of Montréal looks like this right now. (Even after last night's game.) We cats PURR.

Our Plan

This says it all. We cats PURR.

Charles Schools The Trumpsters

"The Founding Fathers were bold and imaginative rebels with a cause. Two hundred and fifty years ago— or, as we say in the United Kingdom 'just the other day'—they declared independence. By balancing contending forces and drawing strength in diversity, they united 13 disparate colonies to forge a nation on the revolutionary idea of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

"They carried with them, and carried forward, the great inheritance of the British Enlightenment—as well as the ideals which had an even deeper history in English common law and Magna Carta.

"These roots run deep, and they are still vital. Our Declaration of Rights of 1689 was not only the foundation of our constitutional monarchy, but also provided the source of so many of the principles reiterated, often verbatim, in the American Bill of Rights of 1791.

"And those roots go even further back in our history: the US Supreme Court Historical Society has calculated that Magna Carta is cited in at least 160 Supreme Court cases since 1789—not least as the foundation of the principle that executive power is subject to checks and balances.

"This is the reason why there stands a stone, by the River Thames at Runnymede where Magna Carta was signed in the year 1215. This stone records that an acre of that ancient and historic site was given to the United States of America by the people of the United Kingdom, to symbolize our shared resolve in support of liberty, and in memory of President John F. Kennedy."

—King Charles III, Address to Congress, April 29, 2026

In All Our Hearts Command

By Sniffles

It's been a crappy week, thanks to the Supreme Court, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals (google "mifepristone" to find out why), and Benedict Donald posting another ridiculous Jesus meme that his evangelical apologists will refuse to find outrageous. But once again, the world of sports — specifically, hockey — is providing some reassurance.

Quick back story: Did you know that the Buffalo Sabres start each home game with both the Canadian and the American national anthems, even if the Sabres aren't playing a Canadian team? That's because so many Ontarians cross the border to attend. Or at least, they did before Trump started threatening and insulting them.

So it was pretty swell the other night when the anthem singer's mic cut out and the 19,000 fans in the arena immediately rushed to her rescue and sang "O Canada" for her. (Note: Thanks to Trump's tariffs and his menacing jokes about annexation and "the 51st state," one can assume that Canadians' presence in the crowd was sparse. These were overwhelmingly American fans who knew "O Canada" well.)

Donald Trump is a disaster for America and the world. But this terrific moment in the KeyBank Center is a reminder that bullies like him are destined to fade. Well done, Buffalo. We cats PURR.

Banning The Bolt

These Trumpy days call for welcome distractions, and the Montréal Canadiens are providing one. Game Six against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Round One of the Stanley Cup playoffs is tomorrow night, giving the Habs the chance to wrap things up on home ice. Meanwhile, Hydro-Québec has made it clear who they're rooting for by removing the lightning bolt from their logo. Fabulous and fun! We cats PURR.

De Adder Du Jour

(IMAGE: Michael de Adder, deadder.net) 

Happy Harper Lee Centenary To All Who Celebrate!

"Neighbors bring food with death and flowers with sickness and little things in between. Boo was our neighbor. He gave us two soap dolls, a broken watch and chain, a pair of good-luck pennies, and our lives. 

"Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough."

Who's In Disarray? (Hint: It's Not Us.)

By Hubie and Bertie

Governor Ron DeSantis may have unveiled his Florida gerrymander map, but one of its biggest critics, eight-term GOP Representative Daniel Webster, has just announced his retirement from Congress. Gee. When he was first elected, Webster was one of the craziest members of the Republican caucus. Now, he seems like one of the saner ones. That's what 25 years of gerrymandering have wrought.

However, the jury is out on the fate of DeSantis's map. Sabato's Crystal Ball rates at least one of the newly proposed GOP pickups as a toss-up, and an additional two as merely Leans Republican, throwing the whole rosy scenario into uncertainty. In short, be careful what you wish for — especially in a dicey year for Republicans like 2026.

Meanwhile, down in Texas — the seat of all these silly mid-decade reapportionment shenanigans — Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico is beating both John Cornyn and Ken Paxton in head-to-head match-ups in the polls. That's fun in and of itself, but check out Talarico's eye-popping margins among Independent and self-described moderate voters: He's leading by more than 20 points with Independents, and by more than 40 with moderates.

Holy smokes! If we were Republican, we'd be freaking out right now, because the GOP primary is doing absolutely nothing to help either Cornyn or Paxton with either group. Delicious!

We Democrats have been throwing money at Texas for years now, with nothing to show for it. If you're tempted to send Talarico a contribution, we won't stop you. But bear in mind, he's been a fundraising juggernaut. Maybe spread your love around to other Democratic candidates in Ohio, North Carolina, Alaska, Michigan, New Hampshire, and Georgia right now? Then we'll get back to you. We cats PURR.