GOP Bully Fail: Christie, LePage Try To Score Cheap Political Points Off Nurse

By Miss Kubelik

If there's one thing we cats have learned in our non-blogging nine lives, it's this: Don't tussle with a nurse. As you can see from this picture, even the largest and fiercest members of our species are no match for an intrepid vet tech.

And two big, loud, obnoxious Republican members of the so-called human race have recently found out the same thing. Nurse Kaci Hickox has sent both blowhard Chris Christie and teabag nutjob Paul LePage scurrying for their respective corners with their tails between their legs.

First, the ever-repulsive Christie caved and released Hickox, who just returned to the US from her volunteer work with Ebola patients in Africa, from her New Jersey prison. Now, the equally repellent LePage has backed off from a harsh quarantine in Maine, and is negotiating with Hickox to simply follow CDC guidelines for returning healthcare workers instead. Round one to Nurse Kaci!

We cats aren't surprised. Nurses have to put up with enough grief from doctors as it is. They're hardly going to let a couple of bullying, science-denying GOP Governors get them down.

But LePage's behavior has continued to be atrocious. He has — no joke — threatened Hickox with a mob attack if she leaves her house. "We can't protect her when she does that," he said, incredibly, of the nurse who has tested negative for Ebola.

What is it with these Republican bullies and their lack of respect for their constituents? From Christie's "sit and down and shut up" to LePage's incitement of violence, we cats are appalled. And we HISS.

Cat Fight! Mark Begich vs. Lisa Murkowski

By Baxter

We cats are grateful that Alaska's Republican Senator has been so petulant about being mentioned in Mark Begich's ads. It reminded us that we wanted to ship a few bucks Mark's way. (You can, too.)

Meanwhile, though, it's kind of amusing to watch Lisa Murkowski get all umbrage-y, particularly since Begich has called her on toeing the Republican Party line at her constituents' expense.

Murkowski, miffed, has declared she doesn't take orders from Rancid Pieface and the RNC. But we cats think she does, since — although we're confident the Democratic ground game will prevent it — a Begich loss next week would deprive The Last Frontier of an important seat on the Senate Appropriations Committee. Apparently, Lisa is a Republican first and an Alaskan second.

We'll see how Murkowski feels about all this when the Famous Quitter takes her on in her next GOP primary. Sarah Palin said this week that she's got another race in her. And since her legacy was built on taking down Lisa's daddy Frank, why wouldn't she want to resurrect her career by taking down Lisa?

Hmmmm: Maybe we should change our headline to "Murkowski vs. Palin." We cats PURR.

Strong, Free And The Cat's Meow (Part III)

 

Top Picture: A mosque in Cold Lake, Alberta, vandalized in the wake of the shootings in Ottawa last week.

Bottom Two Pictures: The community's reaction. We cats PURR.

Extrapolation

By Sniffles

Chinless Ed Gillespie's cheap little ad on "Monday Night Football" — attacking US Senator Mark Warner for not defending the repulsive name of the Washington football team — is so much more than the cute stunt that Pundit World has described.

It's proof that Chinless believes in the superiority and rights of corporations — first, last and always. Which means that:

• When Duke Power’s negligence sends tons of toxic chemicals into the rivers and streams of North Carolina and Virginia, a newly minted Senator Chinless will be screaming to abolish the EPA.
• When oil and railroad companies conspire to move millions of gallons of oil in shoddy, out-of-date tanker cars that were never intended to haul flammable liquids, Senator Chinless will insist on deregulating the transport of oil and gas.
• When mounds and mounds of the toxic byproducts of burning coal sit on the edge of Detroit River, unsecured and ready to cause a huge environmental disaster, Senator Chinless will rise to the defense of the poor l'il Koch Brothers and all their ilk.
• When coal companies in West Virginia and Utah operate shoddy, unsafe mines and catastrophe ensues, Senator Chinless will say that we need to complete the job that Dick Cheney started and dismantle the Mine Safety Administration.
• And — speaking of native peoples who don't deserve to be insulted by big business — when the Violence Against Women Act comes up for renewal, Chinless will compound the insult by opposing it. (Can't have fine, upstanding, non-native white American boys prosecuted by tribes, don'tcha know!)

There's one sure way to prevent all this: Beat Chinless. We cats are working hard toward that goal, the thought of which makes us PURR.

(IMAGE: The former RNC chair, parachuted in by the Republican establishment to "save" the Romney 2012 campaign. Great job, Chinless!)

Smelling Salts For The Soul

By Zamboni

Mary Burke is welcoming the Democratic Party's campaigner-in-chief to Wisconsin today. Gasp! Any second now, Pundit World will hit the fainting couch. A Democrat in a close race is willing to rally with Barack Obama? Incredible!

To the Pittypat-ish talking heads of the world, we cats say, get a grip. There are many good reasons why Burke — who has Scott Walker so worried he's openly feuding with Chris Christie and the RGA over money — is happy to welcome the President to her side. And it's not just because the Obama Administration is close to fulfilling Newt Gingrich's 2012 campaign pledge of $2.50-a-gallon gas.

Ready for the list? Courtesy of one of our favorite veteran political observers, here it is:

Economic Growth — This includes 54 consecutive months of private-sector job growth, the longest period of improvement since DOL began keeping records. The Obama economic recovery "has been better in just about every measurable way" than the recovery under the GOP's adored St. Ronnie.

Unemployment — From a high of 10.1 percent (a legacy of The Worst Person Who's Ever Lived), the unemployment rate has fallen to 5.9 percent. And take note, John Boehner: Obama's added more than 10 million new jobs.

Stock Market — With the DJIA in the high 16,000s, we cats like the look of our portfolio.

Deficit and Spending — Guess what, Republicans! The budget deficit has dropped by two-thirds since Obama took office. And spending is increasing at the lowest rate since the 1950s. If you say anything to the contrary, you're just, well, lying.

Taxes — "For the vast majority of people, tax rates are exactly where they were when Obama took office, or lower. The only people whose income taxes have gone up during Obama's Presidency are those making $400,000 a year or more." (Sorry, Willard.)

Energy — Here's where today's Gingrich-envied low gas prices come in. Thanks to improved production and higher standards for fuel efficiency, America's dependence on "Saudi sheiks" that Newtie decried in 2012 is much lower (and without a Republican in the White House).

Health — Obamacare has provided health coverage to nearly 8 million previously uninsured Americans. The ACA has helped the Medicare trust fund stabilize through 2030, with no anticipated benefit cuts. Healthcare costs are still going up, but at the slowest rates we've seen in 55 years.

War — America has "fewer soldiers, sailors and airmen in war zones than any time in over 10 years." No more 110-story skyscrapers have gone down. And the guy who masterminded the plot that Bush and Cheney ignored is dead.

See? Mary Burke is one smart cookie. We cats PURR.

Strong, Free And The Cat's Meow (Part II)

Cartoonist Scott MacKinnon of Halifax's Chronicle Herald has outdone himself not just once, but twice in the space of a week. For his first take on the Ottawa shootings, click here.

Inheriting The Wind

By Miss Kubelik

From a story in today's Washington Post:

"Until a few weeks ago, Michael Anthony Peroutka belonged to the League of the South, an Alabama-based group that decries the presence in this country of 'hordes of non-white immigrants' and wants the South to secede from the union and return to its 'Anglo-Celtic' roots.

"He is also the Republican candidate for a seat on the Anne Arundel County Council, facing an inexperienced and little-known Democratic challenger and widely believed to have a good chance of winning the GOP-leaning 5th District on November 4."

Disturbing. And what are the lessons of Michael Peroutka's success?

1. That everywhere you turn in the Republican Party, there lurk racist, anti-Semitic, climate-change-and-evolution-denying misogynists at every level. Yes, this is a mere seat in county government. But it's a short leap from this guy to the likes of Steve King and Louie Gohmert.

2. That the silence of the national party establishment on candidates like this is deafening. While it's true that Maryland GOP candidates have disavowed this nut, where are the voices of the so-called Republican leaders a few miles away in DC? We know: They're still petrified of the party's whackjob-teabag base, and have decided to coddle rather than denounce them.

3. That Peroutka's nomination and expected victory stand in stark contrast to Rancid Pieface's "autopsy" — the much-ignored document that the GOP produced after its whupping in 2012. Its wish list of appealing to nonwhites, women and gays is, in light of the Peroutkas of the world, a farce.

4. That it's proof why everyone with the last name of Bush is comfortable endorsing teabag nutjob Paul LePage in Maine.

In light of all this, we cats would like to say something to Americans going to the polls in 10 days. If you're tempted to mark your ballot for candidates with an "R" next to their names, please remember: Unless you're a white guy with a Klan hood in the basement closet, or a zillion dollars in the bank, Republicans don't like you. Not one bit.

The True North: Strong, Free And The Cat's Meow

By Baxter

We cats know it drives our Canadian friends crazy when we say stuff like this. But events in Ottawa this week really proved the meme that folks from north of the 49th parallel are... nice.

Well, if not "nice," at least of a higher caliber than the rest of humanity. Here's how we know:

As cable news began covering the attack on Parliament, the first refrains we heard from Canadian politicians and pundits were a far cry from the chest-thumping you'd get from American talking heads: "We are not going to become a security state." "We value our openness." "We have no idea if this guy is a terrorist or not." "Let's not lose our perspective." Their tone was not only refreshing but, we think, caused the anchors interviewing them to behave better than they intended.

Canadian leaders jumped to draw a distinction between a possible act of terrorism and the Muslim faith. "Canadians know acts...committed in the name of Islam are an aberration," said Justin Trudeau. "Mutual respect and admiration will help to prevent the influence of distorted ideological propaganda posing as religion."

Ottawa police instantly asked leaders of the local Muslim community to report any hate crimes. (So far, we've heard of none.)

The sergeant-at-arms who killed the shooter in the Parliament building had never exchanged gunfire with anyone before — even after a 29-year career in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Passers-by who heard the shots at the War Memorial ran toward the incident, not away from it, to help Corporal Nathan Cirillo. They worked seamlessly as a team to try to save him — because to a person, each one of them had CPR training. What are the chances of that?

Corporal Cirillo appears to have been a lovely young man who rescued homeless puppies. (Sure beats joining Blackwater and slaughtering Iraqi civilians.) And, goodness gracious, he also liked cats.

Yep, pretty impressive, Canada. Jack Layton was right: Love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. We cats PURR.

The Day After

By Sniffles

We cats admit it: This week has belonged to dogs, not us.

It started silly and fun, with a visit to Fala at the FDR memorial, and pups presiding on the Supreme Court. But between the hard-working police officers who took down last night's newest White House fence jumper, and Cpl. Nathan Cirillo's bereft pets, the mood has changed.

So we cats salute our pals the dogs, and PURR in their direction. As for you humans, we just have one wish: that you stop shooting each other someday.

Accessibility

By Zamboni

One of the best things about Canada's War Memorial and Tomb of the Unknown is that they're smack in the middle of a busy Ottawa street, just steps from Parliament Hill.

There's a friendly Irish pub on the next corner. Cars and buses rumble by. People eat lunch on nearby benches. And on Canada Day, after the parades and festivities, hundreds of people leave flags on the tomb in silent tribute.

We cats are distressed to think that thanks to some lamebrain from Laval, this could change.

Unlike the occupant of the tomb, the Canadian soldier lost at the War Memorial today is known. We cats don't presume to speak for him. But we hope that in spite of everything that's happened, he would be among the first to urge Ottawa to please leave things as they are.

Governors Will Rule (But Will The Pundits Notice?)

By Miss Kubelik

We cats have been thinking about the Republicans' euphoria leading up to the 2012 election. They were so sure they were going to win that one, weren't they? It wasn't until later that we all found out that not just Team Willard but Romneybots from sea to shining sea had been living in a bad-poll bubble of bliss.

Thanks in part to that Republican embarrassment, we Democratic cats have sworn that no matter how dicey things look, we will never succumb to bubble-itis. So you won't find us pretending that things are rosy electorally when they're not.

At the same time, though, being superior beings, we tend to recall stuff that the highly paid amnesiacs in the political media like to forget.

Such as: Remember how four years ago — after that shocking (to them) loss to Obama-Biden — Republicans licked their wounds by trumpeting their wins in the Governors races? (They did — just click here.) Their basic message? Never mind that Willard won't be moving into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, and that our idiotic Senatorial candidates self-destructed in huge, huge ways. We have the states!

Fast-forward to today. There's no Presidential race, of course, and pundithead salivating over a Republican Senate is in full swing. But, hey — what's up with those Govs?

Funny you should ask. We cats predict that whatever happens with the Senate this year, Democrats will move into the Governors' mansions in Connecticut, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont — and, yes, in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Michigan and Wisconsin.

And should those predictions come to pass, will anyone in the media (or anywhere else) recall the GOP's consoling spin from 2012 — and apply it to Democrats in 2014?

We doubt it. It's maddening, but that's life in the bubble-filled, short-term-memory world of American politics. We cats HISS (but in the end, we'll probably PURR).

K-Nine

For years we cats have wondered how to get ordinary Americans to care about what happens in the Supreme Court. Now, John Oliver seems to have figured it out. Okay, it's dogs. But can he get a medal for this?

We Have Nothing To Fear But Fear Itself

By Baxter

We cats have been away from our computer for a couple of days, but now that we've gotten back for a look at the headlines, we're amazed to see the news that we've missed.

For example, Republicans are apparently now in full politicize-Ebola mode. After all, why not? It's merely a terrible disease that nearly all Americans have absolutely no risk of contracting, and which nobody worried about as long as it was only killing black people in Africa.

And of course the GOP has also cared not a bit about the shrinking research budgets over at the National Institutes of Health. In fact, they presided over the bulk of them. But then, they're the party that doesn't believe in science, aren't they?

We cats are appalled. The Republicans' behavior is not leadership. It's exploitation. We think it's time for somebody to start quoting a famous Inaugural Address from March 1933.

Meanwhile, everybody on the right who's stoking Ebola fears should know that a lot of folks aren't buying it — even people on the "Carnival scare ship" whose fellow passenger turned out to be virus-free. "We weren't worried," one woman said. "We ended up just hanging out and enjoying the rest of the trip." We cats salute that passenger and PURR.

(IMAGE: The FDR Memorial in Washington, which we visited today. While we kinda wish that the sole Presidential pet to be immortalized in an official sculpture had been a cat, we're still glad it's Fala.)

Rick Hits The Fan

By Sniffles

So Rick Scott was almost a no-show at last night's Florida gubernatorial debate because Charlie Crist had a fan under his lectern. Seems that Charlie, with a long history of campaigning in the hot and humid Sunshine State, likes to travel with fans, and Scott's team tried to forbid one in its pre-debate agreement.

We don't understand why Rick Scott would make such a big deal out of having a fan. It's not cheating. (Not like writing answers on your hand.) But aside from some of the more creative explanations for Scott's behavior, we cats had a thought.

The answer is clearly that Scott is a control freak and stickler for details. Like when he was CEO of Columbia/HCA and the company was committing $1.7 billion in Medicare fraud. Whoops!

P.S.: When will the media mention that a half-dozen Democrats have fought back from three to six points down to even or ahead in the polls? Crist is one. Mary Burke in Wisconsin is another. And Bruce Braley in Iowa and Michelle Nunn in Georgia, too.

Where's the analysis, guys? Sounds like an interesting trend to us. We cats PURR and HISS at the same time.

(IMAGE: Charlie waited. Rick blinked.)

Transvaginal Bob To The Rescue

By Zamboni

Two pieces of advice for Democrats scared or nervous about the midterm elections: First of all, volunteer to get out and canvass or phone bank for your favorite candidate. (The ground game is going to make the difference, as always.) Second, give yourself a good laugh by checking out the latest news on "Transvaginal Bob" McDonnell's corruption conviction.

Poor whiny Bob is carping that he wants a new trial. Something about how unfair his Republican judge, James Spencer, was to him. WAH!

You gotta love these "family values" guys. Bob not only put his family through the torture of a trial when he could have accepted a plea deal — he wants to do it again! Is this what good Christian husbands and fathers do? When is somebody on the right going to call him out on that?

Meanwhile, we think that Transvaginal Bob's not going to find much sympathy from the people of the Commonwealth. A University of Mary Washington poll shows that most Virginians — 60 percent! — want him hauled off to the hoosegow for his sins. "The strong public support for prison time demonstrates the extent to which the public is furious with ethical misconduct in Richmond,” a UMW pundit-y person said.

It's so reassuring: You can always count on Transvaginal Bob for good grins and a pick-me-up. We cats PURR.

"Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid." Except The GOP's Not.

By Miss Kubelik

We cats have been busy helping Democrats in Northern Virginia the last couple of days, but we couldn't help noticing the headline that folks at the Pentagon have decided that climate change is a big deal.

In its new report, DOD calls global warming a "threat multiplier" that will have a negative impact on the national security of the United States. It "will intensify the challenges of global instability, hunger, poverty, and conflict...likely lead to food and water shortages, pandemic disease, disputes over refugees and resources, and destruction by natural disasters in regions across the globe."

Yes, 'tis the season for scary stuff, all right. But that's really scary.

So we cats are wondering: Will any of the national security hawks in the Republican Party who are climate-change deniers be asked about this? After all, they take everything the military says as gospel truth. Why should they continue to pooh-pooh global warming if the US defense community is extremely worried about it?

We're waiting, journalists. If you need the phone numbers for Republicans like Dick and Liz Cheney, Joni Ernst, Marco Rubio, Mitch McConnell and Ted Cruz, just let us know. We cats HISS. 

That Was The Week That Was

By Baxter

At the end of the most momentous week in gay rights since June of 2013, we cats think it's appropriate to stop for a moment and salute the woman whose court case helped make the tsunami of the last few days possible.

The so-called experts expected Prop 8 to be the case on which marriage equality hinged. We cats think it takes nothing away from Judge Vaughn Walker's elegant decision in California to acknowledge that instead it turned out to be US v. Windsor.

Edie Windsor got socked with a zillion-dollar tax bill from her late partner's estate, and she got mad. Then, she did something about it. And now the country is different than it was.

All the court cases that have transformed American life have started out this way: Somebody takes a lot of time, trouble, and probably money, to make a point that means a great deal to them personally. Not everybody has the guts to do this. But to Edie Windsor and all the other people who do, we cats send scratchy kisses and PURR.

The Art Of Anger

By Sniffles

When we cats get mad, we'll say we are — usually by hissing, scratching or attacking. But we make our point and move on.

For example, today we HISS at a Democrat, Allison Lundergan Grimes. Why can't she just say, "Sure, I voted for President Obama, but that doesn't mean I agree with him on everything. Do you agree 100 percent with everybody you vote for?" Instead, she's ducking and dodging and repeating talking points, and now she's a screaming headline. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

But we'll get over it. Virginia Delegate Bob Marshall, on the other hand, probably never will.

"Delegate Bob" has been mad at gay people since 2006 (and surely well before). That was the year he crafted Virginia's ban on marriage equality, which 57 percent of voters approved and which, as we know, as been struck down since. Bob keeps pointing to that vote as proof that the courts are circumventing the will of the people. Never mind that if same-sex marriage were on the ballot today, it would pass.

And folks turned out this week for gay marriage licenses across the Commonwealth. We're all choosing silver patterns and picking DJs and getting on with our lives. Except for Bob, who's still fuming.

God's law! Nature's law! Unelected judges! Pedophilia! Polygamy! Dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria!

Poor Delegate Bob. Anger and hate are simply exhausting, and probably not good for your health, either. We cats think he should follow Queen Elsa's advice and just "let it go." And of course we PURR.

The Mess That Is Texas

By Zamboni

We cats are fond of pointing out that the Republicans' draconian views on social issues will cost them economically. That thought re-occurred to us this week.

That's because we're trying to picture Rick Perry, who loves to traipse around the country enticing businesses to move to Texas, getting caught short by Monday's Supreme Court non-decision on marriage equality. Any company CEO who's trying to hire high-quality talent would think twice before relocating to a state that doesn't recognize many career seekers' relationships.

In fact, the Lone Star State has reached the tipping point on such a long list of quality-of-life issues that it's not even funny. No marriage equality. No reproductive rights. No Medicaid expansion. No gun control. No water. Nothing but religious fairy tales in school.

And oh, yeah, Ebola.

Okay, Ebola is probably not going to be just a Texas problem. But so many other states offer better livability — marriage and abortion rights, good healthcare and education, superior infrastructure and sensible gun laws — that if we were a hotshot job candidate these days, places like Texas and Louisiana would be completely off our relo list.

Right-wing haters like to accuse gays of trying to recruit the young. We think it's Rick Perry and his fellow Republicans who are going to have the recruitment problem — and not in ways they expect. We cats PURR.

Lest We Furr-get: Chinless Ducks His Resume

By Miss Kubelik

We cats promised we'd opine some more on the political ramifications of the Supreme Court's "inactivism" (sorry, Ted Cruz) on marriage equality. Here's today's installment.

Last night, Senator Mark Warner (D-Virginia) debated Chinless Ed Gillespie, the Republican who is going to lose to him on November 4. And since the Old Dominion was one of the five states immediately affected by the Supremes' non-decision on marriage-ban smiting, debate moderator Chuck Todd responsibly asked about it.

Chinless tried to waffle his way through — saying on the one hand that he disagreed with marriage equality but that, on the other hand, it was now the law in Virginia and that, yes, as chairman of the Republican National Committee in 2004, he'd "stood for the RNC platform" against gay rights. But, oh! As a businessperson, he's never discriminated against light-in-loafer folks. Honest!

Todd didn't follow up on that, but he should have pressed Chinless on stuff beyond "the RNC platform." Because 10 years ago exactly, the Worst Person Who's Ever Lived and his minions — like Chinless and the then-closeted Ken Mehlman — were busily turning out right-wing and evangelical voters in a Presidential campaign based on hate.

We cats have long memories even if journalists don't. Meanwhile, congratulations to Mark Warner for hitting Chinless on this. As for Chinless himself, anybody who uses the term "sexual preference" is not qualified for anything, let alone the US Senate. We cats PURR and HISS at the same time.

Ken Cuccinelli's Annus Horribilis

By Baxter

There are few things more amusing than Ken "Love Fetuses, Hate Women" Cuccinelli in Full Whiny Mode.

The Cootch is such a whinger and poor loser that Terry McAuliffe is still waiting for his congratulatory phone call. (The Virginia Governor's race was nearly a year ago.) Now, Cootchy is moaning about what the Supreme Court did — and didn't do — yesterday on marriage equality.

“Do the people and the states get to decide anything for themselves under this federal government anymore?” he bleated in an e-mail.

Actually, the answer is no — if you're talking about Bush v. Gore.

Somehow we have no memory of Cuccinelli getting all upset about votes going uncounted in Florida. Or that Al Gore won the popular vote but was denied the Presidency. We guess that, like his attitude on government interference in women's private medical decisions, the Cootch is pretty selective about his outrages.

But he's probably feeling a little touchy anyway, seeing as how his leadership of the Senate Conservatives Fund is getting such bad marks.

Poor Cootchy. We urge him to pick himself up, dust himself off, and start all over again — because we're so looking forward to what he does best: Roil the GOP and make 'em lose. We cats PURR.

(PHOTO: Sad, sad little Cootch.)

Now, These Are States' Rights We Can Get Behind

By Sniffles

We cats took a moment from our confetti tossing and horn blowing over today's Supreme Court expansion of marriage equality to check on our favorite right-wing bloviators on the Interwebs, the folks at Free Republic. We were worried about them.

And we were right to be, because the Freeps are not in good shape. They've interrupted their nonstop Ebola paranoia to bemoan the latest developments in what they call "the homosexual agenda."

Oh, are they upset. They're frantically searching for a way to get America back to the 1950s before God smites us all for our sins. And as they kick around ideas, there are two that we find absolutely delicious.

Article V — Amend the Constitution. We cats love this, because an amendment requires two-thirds of both houses of Congress, or two-thirds of the state legislatures, calling for a Constitutional Convention. What fun! We can't think of a faster way for American conservatism in general and the Republican Party in particular to commit collective suicide. Sadly for us, though, a couple of the saner commenters have pointed this out to their fellow Freeps. Darn.

Secession — Our favorite! Ya know, if South Carolina, which is part of the Fourth Circuit and also affected by today's non-decision, wants to replay December 1860, it's fine by us. But first, of course, we have to get Lady Lindsey on the record... about everything.

We cats will have more to say about the political ramifications of all this. Until then, we think we'll toddle down to the Prince William County courthouse and see what's going on. (For example, has Michele McQuigg barricaded herself in her office? Inquiring minds want to know!) In the meantime, we PURR.

White-Trash Trash

By Zamboni

We cats were out for a brisk Sunday morning perambulation when we happened upon this sign, staple-gunned to a utility pole.

As you can see, we tore it down, took it home and chucked it where it belongs. Obviously it had been put up by someone upset at Virginia's attorney general, who refuses to defend the Commonwealth's unconstitutional gay marriage ban and who has been pressing the Supreme Court to take up Virginia's case ASAP.

But it was a little weird that this lone sign would suddenly appear out of nowhere. And it had no "Paid For" disclaimer on it (and certainly not a union bug), so we couldn't tell who was behind it. At least, not until we got to our computer and fired up the Google machine.

Turns out it's from a bunch of white supremacists. The last time a sign like this saw the light of day was this past spring, when a small but, we suspect, not merry band of white losers from the League of the South paraded around Richmond with them. (Amusingly, their demonstration started out at the Museum of the Confederacy, which asked them to, um, move along. Which they did.)

We have no idea which frustrated member of the League had a few too many beers last night and tacked this thing up. But one thing's for sure: While Prince William County's demographics are changing fast, some pockets of ignorance remain.

It kinda creeps us out to know that these zombies still walk among us. But then, it is getting close to Halloween, isn't it? We cats HISS.

And Today's Winner Of The Tom Jackson Non-Apology Award Is....

By Miss Kubelik

Well, he didn't say "Mistakes were made" or "I'm sorry if anyone was offended." But what the chairman of the Kalamazoo County, Michigan, Republican Party did say was just as bad:

"While I'm certain the Republican Party never sought to include Fisher's mother in this campaign, it is quite clear that Fisher will lie about and use his mother to further his own political future at every turn."

We cats kid you not. This GOP jackass couldn't just call distributing a flyer with Democratic candidate John Fisher's mother's hospice phone number on it "a boneheaded a mistake" — and leave it alone. No, he had to follow up with an attack on the man, and the mom, he had wronged.

But this is what Republicans do, isn't it? We sure hope John Fisher calls them out on this, because goodness knows the media won't.

In the meantime, if you'd like to express your displeasure at bad Republican behavior in a concrete, substantive way, you can contribute to John Fisher's campaign here.

Michigan Republicans Did What?

By Baxter

Republicans are SO worried about what they deem to be the beginning of life that they think nothing of running roughshod over women's Constitutionally mandated reproductive freedom to protect it. But they have no trouble with the idea of torturing people at the end of life.

How else can you explain the Michigan GOP's flyer that tells supporters to call the 91-year-old mother of John Fisher, a Democratic state house candidate, and harangue her about her son's support for Obamacare?

The flyer included a phone number for Fisher's mom, who — get this — is in a hospice. That means she's dying, folks.

Fisher, we're glad to report, had the perfect response.

"To direct people to call a suffering woman who deserves peace and comfort is beyond the pale. Their lack of ethics and contempt for personal privacy is just another reason for people to question what — or better, who — the Republican Party stands for."

As we all know, this isn't the first time Republicans have harassed a hospice patient. But thanks to this and their rampant obliteration of abortion rights, we also know that Fisher is exactly right. Contempt is the word. We cats HISS.

UPDATE: A faithful reader reminds us that this is the second time in 2014 that Republicans have been caught barging into a nursing home. You know, it's one short step from that to forcing transvaginal ultrasounds on girls who have been raped by their stepfathers. We cats hack up a big, gooey hairball in Terri Lynn Land's underwear drawer.

Rand Paul Said What?

By Sniffles

We cats have opined before on the right wing's un-Christian reaction to Ebola sufferers. Back in August, they believed that returning two infected Samaritan's Purse aid workers to the US for what turned out to be successful treatment was an Obama plot to wipe the teabaggers out. So we can only imagine what they're saying to each other about this Ebola dude in Texas.

After all, how can you get yourself to the polls next month if every cell in your body is hemorrhaging? On the other hand, since Ebola is not airborne and pretty hard to transmit in a society that's not based on grass huts and hands-on home funerals, it's not exactly an efficient way to make America teabag-free. But they do love their Obama-hating conspiracy theories.

And it seems that Rand Paul, worried about appealing to the Republican Party base in a couple of years, has jumped on the Ebola frenzy bandwagon. "This could get beyond our control!" he fretted on right-wing radio. We haven't met a lot of eye doctors who are experts on infectious disease, so we assume that Squirrel Hair is cynically stoking GOP fires for Decision '16.

It's disgusting to be playing on people's fears, and we cats HISS at that. But we understand why Republicans like Paul may have terminal illness on their minds. After all, their 2016 nomination will be a fight to the death. We cats PURR at the thought.

Best Wishes To Our Newest Nonagenarian

"The simple things — our own happiness, peace, joy, satisfaction, and the exploration of love in all its forms — are the key to the virtues of life, at any age. You are old when regrets take the place of dreams."

—Jimmy Carter, The Virtues of Aging