A Fabulous February

By Sniffles

This is just a friendly reminder that we cats will join Dana Milbank's boycott of the famous killer from Alaska for the month of February.

Gosh, it'll be a lovely month. After all, there's no shortage of reminders that there are tons more important subjects for us to write about: Egypt being just the beginning. In a time of foreign policy crisis, the U.S. Secretary of State makes the rounds of all five Sunday news shows, and our attention turns to the grownups in charge — not to an inconsequential lowbrow entertainer.

Of course, it really isn't fair that the famous killer is making it easy for us, by issuing bizarre statements about how she's glad about the boycott, because otherwise she'd get blamed for Cairo (???). Clearly she's off her celebrated PR game. In fact, she hasn't regained her footing since her well-deserved linkage to the Tucson shootings. We cats wish she could suffer even more, but we'll take what we can get.

Perhaps we should go further, and boycott John McCain as well? We cats are thinking about it.

Lest We Furr-get: The Egyptian the Bushies Hated

By Zamboni

Over the last couple of days, we cats have seen several reports of Mohamed ElBaradei returning to Cairo to take part in the anti-government demonstrations there, and getting water-cannoned for his trouble. After which he was placed under house arrest.

ElBaradei, somber TV anchors dutifully note, is a Nobel laureate and valiant opposition leader. But how many also point out that he's the same guy that George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice, John Bolton and Paul Wolfowitz used to trash to the skies? Heck, Bolton even tried to get ElBaradei sacked as head of the IAEA. (Sorry, you right-wing nutbags over at World Net Daily. It didn't work.)

Why? Only because ElBaradei told the truth about Iraq's alleged WMD — while the Bush Administration lied.

What will it take for journalists to put current events in context? We cats are stumped. Perhaps if Hans Blix joined ElBaradei for an afternoon of water cannoning, somebody would make the connection?

(PHOTO: Reuters)

Tidbits and Cat Treats — "Who Doesn't Want to Wear the Ribbon?" Edition

By Baxter

We cats are snowbound today, like the rest of the Washington, D.C. area. But although our street looks like a Christmas card, all is not calm, all is not bright. Here are a few items that are grabbing our attention.

We don't necessarily go in for conspiracy theories, but we think this one is pretty compelling: That the Republicans allowed certified lunatic Michele Bachmann to proceed with her teabagger SOTU rebuttal in order to make would-be Medicare-killer Paul Ryan look moderate. Sounds plausible to us!

Speaking of Bachmann, POLITICO quotes an anonymous Republican aide (and can we please stop with the anonymous sources, folks?) who is vexed that the nutbag Congresswoman's SOTU response was given any coverage at all. "It's not responsible journalism," the faceless operative said, because, as POLITICO phrased it, "it made the Republicans look conflicted when they weren't."

"Not conflicted"? The party that says racist things every day and then has to walk them back for mainstream audiences isn't "conflicted"? Republicans who scream about government intrusion, yet who want to police Americans' bedrooms and Americans' wombs, aren't "conflicted"? Grand Old Party members who today decry the budget deficit but who didn't utter a peep when George W. Bush threw away trillions on an illegal war aren't "conflicted"? CPAC attendees who don't want gays at their meetings aren't "conflicted"?

Puh-leez!

Finally, it's been brought to our attention that on Tuesday night, Michele Bachmann did not wear the black-and-white ribbon given members of Congress in honor of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the Tucson wounded and dead. We cats wonder why. But since no explanation has been offered, we can only wish that Cedric and Bob from "Seinfeld" visit Bachmann very soon.

Bo In The Snow?

We cats aren't sure if this is Bo Obama or not. But it sure looks like him — and it's snowing cats and dogs out there. Don't try reaching anyone in the government for the rest of the day.

Cat Fight! Dana Milbank vs. Chris Cillizza

By Miss Kubelik

We cats were amused when Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank called on journalists and bloggers to observe a Palin-Free February. And since we loathe the famous killer from Alaska, we were sorely tempted to join.

We'd pretty much made up our minds to jump on the bandwagon. But in our heart of hearts, we were just a teensy bit doubtful. What if some Palin news — say, an alleged Todd affair — broke next month and we couldn't resist from commenting? A dilemma indeed.

But now, Chris Cillizza has pushed us over the brink. The famous killer, he opines, cannot be ignored.

We cats say, oh, yeah? Just watch us.

Chris, if you fancy yourself a real journalist at all, you would refuse to cover this repellent hag until she agrees to answer questions from the press and make herself accountable to the American people.

Until she does that, she's not any kind of a leader. She's just what teabagger Congressional candidate Jeff Perry of Massachusetts called her last fall: an entertainer.

This blog covers politics, not lowbrow show biz. Palin-Free February, here we come!

An SOTU For Grownups

By Sniffles

In the shadow of this tonight, as Republicans and Democrats sat together for the State of the Union address, we cats saw fewer theatrics. Which meant more time to savor the substance. 

It's a pity that it took something like Tucson to make that happen. But we appreciate it anyway.

Now, let's get this country moving again.

Heights o' Hypocrisy

By Zamboni

Jared Lee Loughner — 400 years of discrimination against blacks — and a woman's right to choose. Quick! What do they all have in common?

Well, according to our zany friends on the right, quite a bit.

An Arizona state senator has blamed Roe v. Wade for the Tucson shootings in which six people, including a nine-year-old girl, died — and 13 people, including a U.S. Congresswoman, were wounded. Soooooooo.... we cats just want to know where all the umbrage is. After all, conservatives and pundits went wild whenever anyone on our side of the political spectrum suggested that Loughner's act might have been encouraged by our toxic political discourse. (Think Sarah Palin.)

Failed former Senator Rick Santorum has suggested that if you're black, you can't support reproductive freedom. We cats are still trying to figure that one out. Particularly since as a privileged white man, Rick Santorum can't possibly understand, or speak for, the African-American community.

We cats are bored with all this abortion talk. First, we've been fixed, so we have to admit it doesn't affect us personally. But second, wake us when people with penises and R's after their names stop railing about it as if they know what being pregnant is like.

Message to Mitt

By Baxter

Uh-oh! Despite what POLITICO has described as a "strong showing" for Mitt Romney in the recent New Hampshire straw poll, we cats smell trouble in the air.

(We have very good noses, you know. Fourteen times more powerful than yours, in fact.)

See, here's the deal. While the Mittster may indeed have received 35 percent in the WMUR-ABC News poll, added together his potential rivals garnered 55 percent of the vote. In short, Mitty is not supported by more than half of the Granite State's Republicans.

To add insult to injury, the New Hampshire GOP turned its back on an establishment candidate and picked a teabagger to lead the state party. Mitt, in case you haven't already noticed, we cats have to break the news: The teabaggers hate you.

Yep, this supposed slam-dunk for Romney in his own backyard sure smells fishy. Which means the 2012 Republican primaries should be fun, fun, fun. We cats PURR.

Good Night, And Good Luck (To Us All)

By Miss Kubelik

We cats figure that just about everything that could be said about Keith Olbermann's departure from MSNBC has already been opined. So, we'll keep it short.

Thank you, Keith, for everything. You got us through some terrible, dark days. Many times during the Cheney Administration, we feared we were the only Americans who were as appalled and depressed as we were. You proved we were not alone in the wilderness.

We cats PURR.

Method To Their Madness

By Sniffles

Boy, you can really tell that the race for the 2012 Republican nomination has begun. Because so has the race-baiting. Every day, it seems, some GOP jackass is saying something stupid — and then walking it back when the rabid base isn't looking.

Failed Senator Rick Santorum has decided that black people should oppose a woman's right to choose. Never mind that black women occasionally find themselves pregnant and in need of safe, legal abortions.

Mississippi Governor and all-around cartoon character Haley Barbour has finally admitted that he doesn't remember a hell of a lot about Freedom Summer 1964. This is after he tried to claim that the White Citizens' Councils were an a-okay bunch o' folks. You know what we cats think? That Haley spent 1964 drinkin' and gettin' laid while civil rights workers were getting kidnapped and murdered.

The teabagger Governor of Maine said this week that the NAACP could "kiss my butt" when they complained that he was skipping out on Martin Luther King Day observations. Of course, he ended up changing his schedule, like the weenie he is. (Note to GOP candidates: This guy might not be a good VP choice. Not reliable.)

These are not gaffes — despite the fact that each utterer has had to spend tons of time explaining, clarifying, capitulating or defying. This is the Republican Party at its Atwater worst, appealing to racism and division. We cats have seen this before, and so have you.

Will the MSM, or anyone else, call them on it? We cats HISS.

"Civility Is Not a Sign of Weakness, And Sincerity Is Always Subject to Proof"

That Inaugural Address just seems more relevant than ever.

(PHOTO: John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum)

Okay, This Is a Really Nice Dress

The First Lady does state dinners very well, we cats think.

Working Americans

By Zamboni

Every day, many of us get up in the morning and get dressed and drive to an office to work. If you are among this vast swath of Americans, we cats would like you to imagine the following scenario.

Your boss has been shot in the head. For a half-hour, you are mistakenly informed that she has died. As a responsible staff member, you must A)., get your head around the fact that your boss has been attacked, B)., grapple with the report that she has died, and then C)., do a complete 180-degree mental turnaround once you learn she's still alive. Oh, and try not to worry that as an employee of hers, you might be a target, too.

As for the guy at the desk next to you, unfortunately, the verdict is not so murky. He is definitely dead. He was killed in the first few seconds of the melee in which your boss was shot. He was only 30, cute, funny, a real office leader. You have to not only deal with the fact that he's dead but also figure out how to cover for him in the office.

On top of all this grief, you are receiving, and are responsible for, hundreds of phone calls and e-mails that are pouring into your office — and to which you must respond in a reasonable amount of time... at some point.

Yet through it all, you manage to do your job and service your customers — your constituents.

This is what the last two weeks has been like for the staff of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. These government workers are the people whom the teabaggers demonize, day in and day out. In the interest of constructive public discourse, we cats just thought it would be useful to think about these folks and how we should honor them.

The next time you're tempted to trash the government, remember — in the spirit of Sargent Shriver — that you're trashing yourself.

Nuts

By Baxter

Once again the right-wing Republicans who profess to love the U.S. Constitution demonstrate that they don't understand it.

This time, it's Alabama Governor Robert Bentley's turn. This jackass has decided to announce that he doesn't consider non-Christians his "brothers and sisters."

Personally, we cats couldn't care less whom Bentley considers a family member and whom he does not. (Although Bill Maher had a good time last year implying that Alabamans are slightly backward when it comes to conducting, um, "intimate" family relations.) The vastly more important question is whether this Robert Bentley person can effectively represent all the people of Alabama if he seems to believe that those who hold differing religious views are somehow lesser than he is.

"[Bentley] is dancing dangerously close to a violation of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which forbids government from promoting the establishment of any religion," said the regional director of the Anti-Defamation League.

Want to hear the scary part? Bentley beat a couple of candidates in last year's Republican primary who may have been nuttier than he is. Get a load of this maniac, Tim James, who — as you'll see from the above video — thought it was outrageous that, despite public safety concerns, driver license tests were conducted in languages other than English.

As if they speak English in Alabama. In the words of Henry Higgins, "There even are places where English completely disappears / In America, they haven't used it for years."

Not an Officer, But Definitely a Gentleman

By Miss Kubelik

On this Martin Luther King Day, with the 50th anniversary of the New Frontier just a few days away, R. Sargent "Sarge" Shriver is in critical condition in a Washington area hospital.

The father of the Peace Corps (and, yes, of Maria Shriver) is 95 and suffers from Alzheimer's. As a good and decent man and an exemplary public servant — albeit one with suave "Mad Men" looks — he seems like a relic from another age. Perhaps it's just as well that his disease keeps him from knowing what's going on in politics today.

We cats would curl up at the foot of Sargent Shriver's hospital bed if we could. But since we can't, we simply PURR in his direction and wish him well.

UPDATE, Tuesday, January 18: "Sarge came to embody the idea of public service," President Obama said today.

Tidbits and Cat Treats — MLK Day Edition

By Sniffles

Happy Martin Luther King Day. As we honor America's great hero of non-violence and civil rights, we cats have a few — perhaps naughty — thoughts. But our claws are sheathed while we think them, if that helps. Here they are.

It's difficult to muster a lot of sympathy for Arizona teabagger Trent Humphries, who initially blamed Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords for going out in public without security and who now feels a little insecure himself. Gee, Trent — too bad, too bad.

Remember how we cats said that the media should ignore the famous killer from Alaska until she agreed to submit to their questions and make herself accountable to the American people? Well, Sean Hannity doesn't count. We meant real journalists. Ignore, ignore, ignore.

Bravo to Senators Charles Schumer and Tom Coburn, who have said they'll be seat mates at next week's State of the Union address. May the other 98 Senators and the 435 members of the House follow their fine example.

Finally, we're sorry to report that our wild and woolly right-wing pals over at Free Republic don't want any part of this new civility thing. They're still hopping mad. "I WANT the left to physically lash out against innocent people because then I’d be within my rights to return fire," screams one. "Screw them and anyone that looks like them! They are the enemy of freedom."

Sigh. Mr. President, we think you have your work cut out for you.

Sit Anywhere, Folks

By Zamboni

Today we cats enthusiastically called our Congressman and endorsed the proposal for non-partisan seating at the upcoming State of the Union address.

Why? Because — forgive us, Mr. President — we think it'll annoy the Republicans, who just last November grabbed control of the House. But we also love it because we think it'll tone down the partisan dynamics — and subsequently the right-versus-left-tinged coverage — of the President's annual speech to Congress. GOP lamebrains might be less tempted to shout "YOU LIE" if a Democratic member like Debbie Wasserman Schultz is sitting nearby.

If you'd like to contact your representative and endorse this most excellent, Christina-Taylor-Green-inspired idea, call 202-224-3121 and ask for your member of Congress by name. The Capitol Hill operator will happily connect you.

We cats PURR.

Dear FOX: The Freepers Hate You Now

By Baxter

Goodness gracious. We cats love it when the madcap wingnuts over at Free Republic write our posts for us.

Since the "pundints" (as the famous killer from Alaska would say) have universally praised the President's speech last night — including the ultra-conservative, and perennially creepy, columnist for The Washington Post, Charles Krauthammer — we thought it would be amusing to see what the Freepers thought.

Here are some of the highlights from the right-wing rubber room.

"I was very disappointed in Fox, especially Brit Hume."

"I expected better from Brit, also."

"Brit Hume has become real left leaning lately. I have no respect for his spin."

"I think everyone knew that the Fox All-Stars would gush over Bowrams's [sic] speech. Especially, Krauthammer. And, they didn't disappoint. Krauthammer, the leftist on the panel, always gushes over anything said by Bowrama [sic]."

"I had to turn off the round table discussion on FNC. It was simply gay."

"Kraut[hammer]... is definitely a snob. And is most likely somewhat bigoted towards most Americans who do not live on the East and West Coast, are evangelical, are undereducated, southern, and blue collar. You know, he feels the same as most NY Jews."

Finally, the piece de resistance. We cats are quoting it in full because it is just so incredibly divorced from reality. In other words, so Loughnerian.

"I canceled TV over a year ago because they all suck and they all support Hussein... Full out fawning, idol worship and propaganda. Fox is no better. It is sickening how ALL of TV does whatever he wants and jumps through hoops to provide him with total propaganda. It is sick. The real #1 economic/social/political problem in America besides liberalism is him. I think at this point Rush is the only person with the guts and power to stand up to him. If people keep paying their cable and sat TV bill then they are support [sic] the media destroying Palin and helping the islamic [sic]."

A Question of Metaphors

By Miss Kubelik

Sarah Palin's behavior has so crossed the line in the last few days that we cats no longer would find a Tina Fey imitation of her funny.

We've also reached the point where we wish that the media would refuse to give her any exposure until she comes out from behind her defensive firewall of Facebook postings, Glenn Beck e-mails and tweets, and makes herself accessible and accountable to the American people she claims to love so much.

It is clear to us that Palin is defending herself with a part of speech that she doesn't understand — the metaphor. She lamely claimed that her "taking up arms" comments and other incendiary remarks were mere symbols: "We're talking about our vote." But that rings pretty hollow from someone who led campaign rallies at which people screamed "Kill him!" of Obama — which she refused to decry. It is also not a metaphor when you accuse a major-party Presidential candidate of "palling around with terrorists." It is not a metaphor to call for investigations of "anti-American" members of Congress. It is not a metaphor to say that Charles Rangel should be beaten to death with a shovel.

How easy it would have been yesterday for Palin to admit, "My bad," and pledge to never again put out a map with rifle cross hairs on Congressional districts. How many points she could have earned! But it's beyond her ability to be gracious, humble, mature or — Presidential.

Palin may not care, because she'll never run for President, and is only milking her celebrity for the money. But if not, she'll pay a heavy political price for her clumsy behavior. We cats predict: Her base will not increase, because it's already at its max. But her numbers with Independents and even Republicans will plummet. Her across-the-board negatives, already high, will rise. And all because she chose to stoke the fires, and contribute to the disunion of the nation that Abraham Lincoln gave his life to keep intact.

Your move, Republican Party.

(IMAGE: Kirk and Spock discuss "colorful metaphors" and our coarse American culture in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.)

"Let Us Forge a Country That Is Forever Worthy of Her Gentle, Happy Spirit"

Tonight we heard a great speech — by a President, a statesman, and the father of two little girls.

Madam Secretary Makes (An Extremely) Good Point

To all those teabaggers and Palin apologists who are trying to claim that Jared Lee Loughner is just an apolitical nut, here's a little instruction from Hillary Clinton.

"This is a criminal defendant who was in some ways motivated by his own political views, who had a particular animus toward the Congresswoman. And I think when you cross the line from expressing opinions that are of conflicting differences in our political environment into taking action that's violent action, that's a hallmark of extremism, whether it comes from the right, the left, from Al Qaeda, from anarchists, whoever it is. That is a form of extremism."

While We Wait to Hear From the President, We Answer Palin's Video With One of Our Own

Palin the Pantywaist

By Sniffles

So the famous killer from Alaska is so freaked out about the criticism over her rifle cross hairs map that she issued a pathetically defensive video statement today.

Our first thought was, hey — isn't libel written, and slander spoken?

But, never mind. In true Palin fashion, the famous killer chose a medium in which she could not be questioned or challenged. And after the murder of a federal judge, a nine-year-old girl and four others, she's decided to make this terrible tragedy All About Her.

This woman is a coward and a bully. She is the epitome of the Republicans' favorite phrase, "cut and run." She should be driven from all decent society.

Palmetto State Minacity

By Baxter

We cats didn't think we could get any more alarmed about the latest headlines. Guess again.

A firearms company based in South Carolina — which is Number 18 on the list of the top 20 most dangerous gun states, by the way — is selling semi-automatic rifle components engraved with a famous quote from Tea Party darling Joe Wilson.

"You lie."

Okay, we'd like to see Rush Limbaugh, Erick Erickson and the teabaggers worm their way out of this one. This AR-15 lower receiver with its loathsome engraving is nothing less than a threat against the life of the President of the United States. Prove to us, boys, that it isn't.

Does this story just overwhelm you with a sense of awfulness and near-despair? It did us. But here's a small ray of hope. Since we cats have visited the gun company's website and can't find the vile "you lie" rifle component anywhere, we assume that the Secret Service has already done its job.

In the meantime, since we don't hear any protests from Congressman Wilson — who nearly lost a colleague to an assassin's bullet four days ago — we just have one thing to say: If South Carolina wants to secede from the union again, our little cat hearts will not be broken.

UPDATE: We cats just had an unsettling thought. Perhaps the page on the website is down because all the rifle components are sold out.

"I Steal"

By Zamboni

Rest easy, America. We may be embroiled in some national trauma about the tenor of our political discourse, the insanity of our gun laws and our own violent natures, but soon a very dangerous man will be behind bars: Tom DeLay.

DeLay was sentenced to three years today on money laundering charges. In short, he's a thief — guilty of illegally funneling cash to right-wing candidates in Texas. He robbed us all, because we all have a stake in the fundamental fairness of the electoral system.

We cats are just sorry that DeLay couldn't have been sent to prison longer — for torturing an American family over its private healthcare choices. And for threatening judges if they didn't rule his way.

And, considering the events in Arizona this past weekend, for helping to ratchet up the political vitriol over the last 15 years.

Enjoy prison, Tom. Don't drop the soap!

Words To Reflect On

"I hope I am not over-wary; but if I am not, there is, even now, something of ill-omen amongst us. I mean the increasing disregard for law which pervades the country; the growing disposition to substitute [for the rule of law]... wild and furious passions.

"This disposition is awfully fearful in any community; and that it now exists in ours, through grating to our feelings to admit, it would be a violation of truth and an insult to our intelligence to deny."

—Abraham Lincoln, 1837

Take Action Now Against the Haddock-Clubbing Moose Murderer

By Miss Kubelik

It was impossible to do this when Sarah Palin was "just" killing animals. But now that a Democratic Congresswoman whom Palin targeted in the cross-hairs of a gun sight has been shot in the head and lies in an ICU with half her skull off, we cats felt we had to take action.

So we wrote Discovery Communications and demanded that they take the famous killer from Alaska's stupid reality show off TLC immediately. Not after the season ends and the show isn't (or is) renewed. Immediately.

Failure to do so, we assured them, will result in an instant petition to our cable provider, insisting that they drop TLC from its lineup.

You can do the same here. Or call their ethics hotline at 1-800-398-6395. (If this isn't a question of ethics, what is?)

We cats always relish when a bully has to back down — and this horrible event in Tucson may at last be Palin's moment. In the words of the old song, "Hurray and hallelujah / You had it comin' to ya."

No Decency

By Sniffles

Since we cats don't have hours of airtime to fill, we've refrained from joining the national conversation about our hate-filled political discourse until we learn more about the motives of yesterday's Arizona shooter.

On the other hand, we think that Sheriff Dupnik's eloquent comments at last night's press conference probably demonstrate that there is a link between Rush Limbaugh's Republican bombast and the murder and mayhem in Tucson.

And we've warned before that words have consequences and that sooner or later, somebody was going to get hurt.

Still, while we wait, we have two thoughts that we must share.

First, it might be a good idea for the Republicans to call their "future leaders of America" something else. And to stop asking their candidates at their RNC chairmanship debates how many guns they own.

And second, can Sarah Palin be arrested? The fact that she scrubbed her "target" map off her website is the surest admission of guilt we know.

UPDATE: So a Palin spokesperson has tried to claim that the target symbols on this map are non-gun-related?  "It was simply cross-hairs like you'd see on maps," Rebecca Mansour told a right-wing radio show. Unbelievable. Let's arrest her, too.

Can't We All Just Grow Up, Now?

By Baxter

We cats don't know what else to say about the alleged new version of Huckleberry Finn that excises the word "nigger" and substitutes the word "slave."

Truth be told, we felt a tremor when we typed the word "nigger" just now. And you know what? We should have. We believe in that tremor. We don't dare it lightly. That's what Twain meant us to feel when he wrote Huckleberry Finn. It's a loaded word, and a word that we believe Twain wanted us to confront. And overcome. So, how are we meant to do that if the word never appears to begin with?

Anybody who subscribes to a Finn without the n-word is a weenie and an idiot. Include us out.

Liberal Losers

By Zamboni

President Obama has named the supremely competent former Commerce Secretary Bill Daley to be his chief of staff. And the left is unhappy.

OMG! A guy with Wall Street and business ties in the White House! The American people should be up in arms about this!

Ridiculous. Nobody outside the Beltway knows or cares who the White House chief of staff is.

But mostly, we cats are mystified as to why anyone on our side of the aisle would spend political energy on this non-issue — especially on a day on which the Republicans took control of the House, and are working like busy beavers to repeal healthcare reform and roll back gun laws and marriage equality in the District of Columbia.

We suggest to our friends on the left that they follow the example of Senate Democrats and get their priorities straight. In the meantime, we cats HISS.

(PHOTO: Getty Images)

Tidbits and Cat Treats — 112th Congress Edition

By Miss Kubelik

We cats have stayed far away from C-SPAN and the cable news networks this afternoon. We just hate to see a grown man cry.

But that doesn't mean we don't have observations to share. Here are a few.

Supreme hypocrisy alert: So auto-theft felon and new chair of the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee Darrell Issa is asking big business to tell him "what [Obama] regulations would harm job growth." He sent the message to companies like Toyota and Bayer and to business groups like the American Petroleum Institute. But the Republican Party consistently insists it's American small businesses that create jobs. Could it be that while the GOP talks a populist message, they're so in bed with big industry that they don't even try to hide it?

Barbara Mikulski is now the longest-serving female Senator. We cats relish this story, not just because we admire Senator Mikulski but also because it's an opportunity to remember how right-wingers branded Republican Senator Margaret Chase Smith as "Moscow Maggie," for opposing McCarthyism. Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose.

Former Senator Rick Santorum is making moves to run for President in 2012. Oh, please, please, please, can we cats please have Senator Santorum run? That way, we can publish this picture again.

Finally, we digress long enough to include a note about SCOTUS. We note with interest that a former girlfriend of the execrable Clarence Thomas has penned a revealing memoir that will be released in February. (Gee, just in time for Black History Month.) We cats think this is great, and we wish more folks from our side of the aisle would get comfortable with the idea of a good offense. Republicans have to be unmasked for the hypocrites they are. And just because we hate the NRA doesn't mean we can't learn to fire with both barrels.

Makes Captain Queeg Look Sane

By Sniffles

Here we go again. Some jerk in the military has embarrassed himself and his service branch with intolerant, immature behavior — captured on video, no less.

We cats would like to say we're surprised. The Navy isn't exactly a beacon of tolerance in the U.S. Armed Forces. Although it had a progressive policy on the books, 50-plus years ago it relegated its black seamen to service as stewards, and lagged behind the other branches in true integration throughout all its ranks. So, with this history, why would we expect a naval commander to be sensitive about his gay and female sailors today?

Well, because he has to, that's why.

Sorry, folks, no "morale-building" excuses here. If 90 percent of Captain Owen Honors' crew looked forward to these videos, 10 percent of his crew did not. While the military is not a democracy, we're sure that Captain Honors would like to be able to count on the unreserved confidence of all his sailors when he issues an order.

Except those days are probably over, now. These disgusting and sophomoric videos have landed their creator in a boatload of trouble. Because after initially defending them, the Navy has changed its tune.

Should Captain Honors lose his job? Damn right. Fire his ass.

UPDATE: It's Tuesday, and this immature little jerk has lost his command. Hurray! Of course, we're sure that there are outraged bleatings over at Free Republic and other right-wing sites about how there's no free speech left in America because we all have to be "politically correct." To which we say: Folks, you can be as hateful and bile-filled and sophomoric as you like. Except now, there are consequences. Which is a good thing.

Tidbits and Cat Treats — First Sunday in 2011 Edition

By Baxter

The end of the holidays means that the "slow-news" season is over. The world officially returns to work tomorrow, and news stories will start cascading upon us once more. But here are a few thoughts that are occupying us while we get ready for the 2011 onslaught.

We wish that the teabaggers cared more about rising global temperatures than about the U.S. debt climbing toward its limit. We can always raise the debt ceiling. But if we don't stop climate change, we're all cooked.

More evidence that people are meaner and nastier than ever before: The Pittsburgh Penguins left the ice at last night's Winter Classic without shaking hands with the victorious Washington Capitals. We cats bemoan the lack of civility and sportsmanship that seems to be everywhere these days — and we've decided to blame the most famous self-proclaimed hockey mom (the New "Queen of Mean") for most of it.

Here's a nifty idea we've heard: If Michael Vick should be executed, so should Dick Cheney.

We're loving the cat fights among North Carolina Republicans over Senator Richard Burr's vote to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Why, says one outraged Charlotte county commissioner, Burr's vote was an endorsement of immorality and sexual predation! So we know this commissioner guy is worried that our troops will get hit on by lustful homosexuals. We wonder how he feels about Palins getting pregnant without benefit of marriage?

Finally, speaking of cat fights, we're looking forward to the upcoming skirmishes for RNC chair. Will the GOP dump the hapless moron Michael Steele in favor of a guy who supports white-supremacist hate groups? We can't wait to see!