After "Everywhere," Let's Go To The Senate

By Zamboni

Dan Osborn is running as an Independent for Nebraska Senate seat held by Republican Pete Ricketts, and he's making Ricketts feel... well, kind of rickety. The polls don't all agree, but they're pretty much neck-and-neck (the Democrat dropped out of the race to clear a path for Osborn). You can donate to Osborn by clicking here.

Just for this ad alone, Osborn deserves to win. It's so good.

Two thoughts occur to us: A number of red-state Republicans have been caught flat-footed, running lackluster campaigns and, in some cases, even finding themselves short on cash. That's because they've never had to fight in a real race, and they got lazy. Think Roger Marshall in Kansas and Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi.

The second thought is that folks on our side seem to be having a lot of fun. We cats PURR.

See You Tomorrow!

  

The theme to tomorrow's No Kings Nationwide Day of Action is "Vote Early." If you vote early, you allow campaigns to take you off their GOTV lists and focus on folks who might not otherwise turn out. To find a No Kings rally near you, click here. See you there! We cats PURR.

Time's Up

By Baxter

Gee, Benedict Donald had another terrible week. The question is, does he know it? (Natalie probably doesn't tell him.) Meanwhile, it's weird how the guy who became a reality-show star by telling people "You're fired" has so much trouble telling people in real life that... they're fired. Katie Zacharia's debut and heave-ho was so chaotic, humiliating, and passive-aggressive that Anthony Scaramucci was tweeting sympathetically to her. Go home and enjoy your family, he basically said. The universe has done you a favor. (He ought to know.)

As the DC drama continues — the atmosphere inside the White House is starting to sound like World War Z — and as prognosticators continue to move House and Senate races the Democrats' way, stories and videos keep surfacing online that make it all feel like a wave year (both north and south of the 49th Parallel). Such as:

Republican Dan Sullivan whined to the moderators of last night's Senate debate in Alaska, asking if questions had been provided in advance — all because Democrat Mary Peltola had been referring to her notes (which one assumes was allowed, or she would have been stopped). The moderators looked appalled. "Absolutely not." Peltola said, "I'm prepared!" Send her some love by clicking here.

Benedict Donald was in Georgia today, talking about how he doesn't think Jon Ossoff is good-looking but that Mike Collins is. (Did Collins's ass come up, as Jon Husted's did? This is just getting weirder.) Then when he left the podium, Donald walked right past the opened door of The Beast. Something is wrong with him, and it's astounding that a news media that used to berate Joe Biden for his choice of comfy shoes refuses to acknowledge Trump's obvious decline.

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy apparently has taken out a fourth Russian data center. We think we're in love.

Finally, with the midterms upon us, you may not have noticed that early voting has started in the Canadian province of Alberta on the question of separation. Our two cents: This is a minority opinion that the right-wing, Trump-loving premier of Alberta has tried to "walk a tightrope on" but has basically allowed to get out of hand because she secretly agrees with it (she's not very bright).

The separatists didn't bank on a Prime Minister like Mark Carney, who grew up in Alberta and who now has a 71 percent approval rating across the country. Carney has been barnstorming the province and making great speeches to adoring crowds. Sign him up as TIME's Person of the Year without delay. We cats PURR.

Egg, Meet Face

By Sniffles

It's completely understandable to not want to invest hopes and dreams in political polls, because we've been burned before. But there are other ways to tell that 2026 is just not the Republicans' year.

A GOP ad buyer purchased airtime for Susan Collins in Portland, Oregon, not Portland, Maine. Yes, media markets cross-pollinate, but to see an ad for a candidate who's 3,200 miles away?

Vivek Ramaswamy posted a video of himself shaking hands with a registered sex offender. He took it down, but then the same dude — whose case involved a 13-year-old girl — surfaced in a Ramaswamy TV commercial a month later, as his wife touted Vivek's pledge to lower property taxes. Guess that's more important than keeping children safe from predators.

And don't get us started on the Talarico bombshell-that-wasn't. What a train wreck! The folks behind it need to lawyer up, because the Lindner Center of Hope sure has standing to sue.

It's all very fun and schadenfreude-y. Meanwhile, let's keep working on our voter registrations and GOTV, everyone. We cats PURR.

Cindy Can Run But She Cannot Hyde

 

This is a really good ad. The Senate race in Mississippi — yep, Mississippi — hasn't been on anyone's radar until recently, when things really began to go south for the Republicans. Now, with terrible news on the economy breaking 20 days out, the GOP must truly be losing their damn minds. We cats PURR.

Here's To Leo Batting A Thousand

 

Pope Leo had a cancerous nodule removed from his lung this week. We cats are not really into popes, but the last two have been a breath of fresh air. And Leo, the first American pontiff, tends to annoy the Trumpsters. So let's think good thoughts for him — at the very least, so we can continue with the baseball memes. We cats PURR.

Randy Rainbow Is A Doll

 

The source material is not our favorite Frank Loesser song (although we adore him), but this parody is still one of Randy Rainbow's best! (Aren't they all?) We cats PURR.

Hey, Where'd Everybody Go?

 

Here's something Canadians can be thankful for today: When Ukrainian drones knocked out the Yandex Russian data centers, most of the Alberta separatists disappeared from social media (as well as a good chunk of Pierre Poilievre's Conservative tweeters and skeeters). Kind of makes you think, doesn't it? We cats PURR.

It's The Midterms, And Democrats Are Cookin'

By Hubie and Bertie

This Canadian Thanksgiving, we cats are grateful for the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), which destroyed a large number of Russian-backed bot farms over the last few days. The Ukrainians shut down huge networks that push pro-Russian narratives about the war — and about our politics here at home. Twitter and Bluesky peeps have noticed a sudden dearth of bots in their feeds. Nice work, SBU!

No wonder Benedict Donald, Vlad Putin's biggest fan, is so mad.

It's unclear how long the bots will be offline, but everyone should enjoy the silence while it lasts. It gives us more time and head space to prepare for November 3. The midterms are underway, with early voting beginning in eight more states this week:

• October 13 — Georgia and Idaho
• October 14 — Iowa, Rhode Island, and Tennessee
• October 15 — North Carolina
• October 17 — Massachusetts and Nevada

And don't forget that October 17 is also No Kings Day! Plan to attend an early-voting-themed rally near you!

Meanwhile, here are a couple of handy tips for what to watch out for on Election Night.

First, keep your eye on Virginia, where the Trumpsters are playing defense in some key Congressional races, even though the Democrats' redistricting plan got tossed by the courts. Governor Abigail Spanberger told reporter Scott MacFarlane, "We are on a strong path to flipping multiple seats. I say: three. On a great night, it could be four." Why? Hispanic voters are furious at Trump, so watch for returns from VA-01 and VA-02 early in the evening (polls in Virginia close at 7 PM).

Another poll closure to note will be in the Florida Panhandle, which votes ruby-red. It's also in Central time, so if the clock strikes 8 PM Eastern and the networks don't instantly call the Senate race for Ashley Moody, Republicans will be having a bad night in Florida.

Finally, it'll be fun to see what happens in NJ-07, which was without a Congressman for months this year when Tom Kean, Jr. went AWOL. Sabato's Crystal Ball has moved the race from a "Toss-Up" to "Leans Democratic." Polls close in New Jersey at 8 PM. We cats PURR.

(IMAGE: Dignity, always dignity.)

Now, That's The Christmas Spirit!

By Miss Kubelik

There's a chance — not a big one, but a chance — that Trump and the white supremacist Hegseth back down on their pledge to livestream the execution of Nidal Nasan on December 3. Mostly because so much of what they say/pledge/bleat turns out to be utter nonsense. So pace your outrage accordingly.

But if they go forward with it, the whole national-security argument seems the most potent. Nidal is in a wheelchair, but even if he weren't, to be shot in front of the world by a firing squad will just serve to make him an uber-martyr — and the terrorists that the Trumpsters claim to be so against are thrilled to have martyrs. Are we right?

And if not national security, then, goodness gracious — how unseemly to be livestreaming an execution just when the holiday shopping season is underway, when Hanukkah starts the very next day, and when people are probably watching "A Charlie Brown Christmas" on TV. Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, not. Is this what we've become?

Our first thought was that not only are we losing to Iran, we're becoming Iran. But now we're thinking of Brenton Tarrant, the Christchurch mosque shooter, who not only killed 51 people but livestreamed it on Facebook. Our Secretary of Defense is no better than Tarrant in his bloodthirstiness. Great.

Our other thought was that Albert Camus had it right when he mused on capital punishment in "Reflections on the Guillotine." His argument was that the death penalty was no deterrent unless it was carried out in public. But who wants to live in a society in which people are executed in public? That's something for the North Koreas, Saudi Arabias, Afghanistan — and Iran. Not the United States. We cats HISS.

(IMAGE: Brenton Tarrant, Christchurch mosque killer, who received, by the way, a life sentence without parole.)