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.

Change Of Pace

 

This is a super-duper arrangement of "Layla," and, if you're feeling a little frazzled, a great way to start your week. We cats PURR.

Hillary Was Right About Everything, Part Eleventy-Million, Two Hundred Thousand Thirteen

"While the [Osama bin Laden] raid ultimately happened on Sunday night, Saturday night was first raised as a possibility. But someone pointed out that Obama was scheduled to be at the Correspondents' Association dinner that night, and his absence (and that of other top administration officials) could tip off the journalist-filled room that something was up.

"At which point, Hillary Clinton looked up and said simply, 'Fuck the White House Correspondents' dinner.'"

"You Helped Create This Monster, And Now You're Profiting Off Him"

By Miss Kubelik

On the eve of the ever-awful White House Correspondents Dinner, let's revisit Michelle Wolf's brilliant performance from 2018.

And let's all recall that the inside-the-Beltway journalists took great umbrage when Wolf called them out for their adoration of Donald. Sadly, nothing has changed. It may, actually, have gotten worse.

But here's one real difference between then and now: Trump, his family, and his Administration are plundering the US Treasury and fleecing foreign powers for billions.

Since the Republicans aren't inclined to do anything about it, we all have to wait for Democrats to take over — first Congress, and then the White House. At that point, we'll take a lesson from Watergate, and follow the money. In the meantime, we cats HISS.

J. Edgar Boozer