#UnwantedIvanka

Tweeps who are good at PhotoShop are having a field day with Daughter-Wife's pathetic attempt to join a conversation with Western leaders at the G20. They're inserting her, Zelig-like, into a slew of famous photos: the "Abbey Road" album cover, Times Square on VJ-Day, next to Churchill at Yalta. But this one, as painful as the memory is, is the most artful we've seen. We cats PURR.

"Beat It, Kid, You Bother Me"

By Sniffles

The Interwebs are having a grand time with this humiliating video of Ivanka, Daughter of Benedict, trying to horn in on a G20 conversation with President Macron, Prime Ministers Trudeau and May, and IMF chair Christine Lagarde. The body language from the Western leaders is, um, not welcoming.

Tweeps are comparing Lagarde, in particular, to high-school cool girls ignoring the dweeb, and withering looks received from Mother Superiors of yore. But it reminded us cats of something out of Miss Manners. How do you treat objectionable people in a social situation?

She outlined a variety of reactions. If a friend is alleged to have done something unpleasant, you can show polite support. But as you increase the levels of scoundrelhood, more drastic measures can come into play.

Lagarde, by our estimation, did the following.

LEVEL: "Stranger or acquaintance known to be a moral monster, encountered on neutral grounds."

RESPONSE: "The cut direct, as if the person did not exist."

Trumpsters are desperately trying to point out that Lagarde has had her own scandals. But she hasn't gone anywhere, has she? Ivanka, on the other hand, will be an unsavory footnote in our nation's most despicable chapter. We cats PURR.

GOP Goes Back To Birtherism

By Baxter

After her standout performance at the Democratic debate the other night, tweeps have been buzzing about how badly Kamala Harris would destroy Benedict Donald in a one-on-one-match-up in 2020. We don't know how to break this to everybody, but it's not a given that Trump will debate next year — no matter who the Democratic nominee is.

The Trumpsters do seem to be scared of Harris, though. Why else would chinless Donald Jr. post a racist birther tweet about her? Sure, he deleted it, but he accomplished his mission: He injected the topic into the national political conversation. And the other Democratic Presidential candidates — Joe Biden included — quickly condemned it.

We don't care how black, or not black, Senator Harris is. She is a person of color and, as we all saw, can speak to that experience with great effectiveness. She makes us PURR.

Stonewall 50

"We won't die secret deaths any more. The world only spins forward. We will be citizens. The time has come."

—Tony Kushner, Angels in America

Fritz And Grits, Still Bringing It

By Hubie and Bertie

We cats were all set to opine on last night's Democratic debate when, suddenly, Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale sat down with Jon Meacham at a resort in Leesburg, Virginia, and — in the words of the former President — "stole the headlines."

Carter: Trump is an illegitimate President because he had Russian help. Mondale: "He's got something deep in him that's detestable." Gosh! Between those smackdowns, another idiotic Trump performance at the G20, the "very fine" Nazi killer in Charlottesville getting life in prison, and Megan Rapinoe's two goals to win this afternoon's quarter-final women's soccer game, Benedict Donald is not having a good day.

It makes sense that Carter, as an expert on election integrity, would stress the seriousness of Russian interference in the 2016 US election. But we were a little surprised that he would make the Trump-is-illegitimate statement when he, Trump, was overseas. (Of course, the Republicans trashed that "politics stops at the water's edge" rule long ago.) Perhaps it was that disgusting display that Trump put on with Putin this morning that sent Jimmy over the edge. We cats aren't sure, but we do know one thing: We call Trump Benedict Donald for a reason. He is a traitor.

We're guessing that Trump himself will be surprised at all this. Carter was the President who told the Clintons that yes, he and Rosalynn would attend the inauguration, and he and Trump apparently have had a phone call or two about foreign policy. And Benedict Donald has never gone after him — although he may, now.

Either way, this Carter-Mondale appearance made us nostalgic and happy. So what if they're in their 90s and walking with canes? They are kicking Donald's ass like nonagenarian Megan Rapinoes. We cats PURR.

UPDATE: Trump got around to firing back (Carter is a "terrible" and "forgotten" President). Reminder that Jimmy Carter won the Nobel Peace Prize that Benedict Donald so desperately wants.

Down For The Count

By Miss Kubelik

What is it with right wingers and the census? Why do they hate something that actuaries and their friends in the business community support and need?

Wait, let's back up a sec. We cats are quite relieved at the Supreme Court's census decision today, as imperfect as it was (and despite the outcome of the gerrymandering case — but with two stolen Court seats, you can't have everything). In short, we had started this week bracing ourselves for a total SCOTUS nightmare — and while it's only Thursday, we're thinking that so far, it could have been worse.

Nevertheless, this whole brouhaha reminds us of another national census that was the target of right-wing ire. In Canada, Stephen Harper's Conservative government successfully deep-sixed the country's long-form census back in 2010. And wow, that was super-unpopular — one of the worst things, in Canadians' eyes, that Harper ever did. Then came the election of 2015, Justin Trudeau and the Liberals wiped the floor with the Tories. Justin wasted no time bringing the census back. There was much rejoicing.

"Stephen Harper misread the country," columnist Andrew Cohen wrote in The Ottawa Citizen the following spring. "His instincts were dark and conservative in a decent, progressive country. When Canadians had a choice, they discarded him."

Similarly, the Trumpsters went after the census here, clumsily attempting to add a citizenship question that would guarantee an undercount and screw over the Democratic Party (and the country) for decades to come.

There can be no doubt that the census, in whatever country, is valuable to interest groups that are not even remotely lefty. Businesses make decisions — like where to spend their money and locate facilities — based upon reliable census data. We can't imagine that the Chamber of Commerce or other corporate pooh-bahs were pleased at Republican attempts to mess with it. The census, business leaders said in 2018, is "vital to businesses across America to promote economic development, identify potential customers and create jobs."

Now Benedict Donald — miffed that he can't undercount people who don't look like him — is trying to call off the 2020 census itself. Here's what's obvious, whether we're talking about Stephen Harper or Trump and his merry band of traitors: Their hatred of people of color is greater than their desire to please their political allies. We cats find that frightening, and we HISS.

Crowded Field, Night 1

By Zamboni

We cats are conflicted about watching the first Democratic debate tonight. We're traveling to the True North soon, and we have too many chores to spend time in front of the TV. And we worry that all those candidates lined up on that stage are going to look, well, just crazy. Like the Republicans did in 2016. Or like the freshman class page in the 1964 Kefauver Kaleidoscope.

But in case we need a smart and funny filter, it's good to know what @girlsreallyrule will be live-tweeting the event. Meanwhile, we have a few questions.

Will Benedict Donald also live-tweet? He's threatened to. But — hasn't he got, like, a really important job or something? And doesn't he have people to do that for him? (But if he does tweet himself, will he tag the right people?)

What will Cory Booker and Amy Klobuchar do to stand out? They seem to be two candidates who need a good moment. Ditto Beto, who may just resort to waving his arms, as he is wont to do.

Will the ridiculously heavily populated team of anchors ask serious policy questions (healthcare, student loans, climate change), or will they fall lazily back on identity-politics stuff (abortion, gay rights, guns)? And if they ask about war and peace, which candidate will be the first to say the words "bone spurs"?

Who will ask about that horrific photo of the drowned migrant dad and his daughter, and what will the answer be? (In our humble opinion, it should be "Trump killed those people, and he's killing everything America stands for.")

Will the coverage tomorrow morning be more post-mortem, or Night-2's pregame show?

Are we obsessed? No. We have our favorite candidate(s), which we're going to keep to ourselves for the moment, and we're happy to let the process play out. So, yeah, we probably won't be watching. The fact that Chuck Todd, who lets Trump skate on his lies, is going to be one of the anchors has convinced us to let the live-tweeters keep us in the loop. We cats HISS.

On The Bright Side, Mueller's Going To Testify

After seeing a hideous photo of a drowned migrant dad and toddler, we cats were so depressed we needed a little dose o' cute. Here are some red pandas doing adorable things. (Tomorrow is another day.)

Things We'd Like To See

via GIPHY

By Sniffles

Amid reports that tomorrow in El Paso it's going to be 99 degrees and conditions at Trump's concentration camps are only getting worse:

It's time for a jailbreak. Somebody needs to smuggle some kids and/or babies out NOW. (See above: It can be done!)

Barring that, it's time for somebody to sneak out photos and videos — preferably both. Come on, folks, it's 2019. Everyone in the world has a cellphone, for heaven's sake.

The next time Mike Pence gives a sit-down interview, he should be asked to his smugly uptight, faux-Christian face about whether the ICE camp guards are giving migrant girls of menstruating age sanitary napkins. To his face.

Marco Rubio needs to stop moronically tweeting from the Bible while innocent children are being killed by Trump.

Finally, if we can't have any of those things, we'd like to see "The Investigation" — a dramatic reading of the Mueller Report by actors we love (e.g., Annette Bening, Zachary Quinto, Jason Alexander and Alfre Woodard). That would make us PURR.

AOC Makes Them Crazy, And That's The Dang Truth

By Baxter

We cats have noted but have not taken part in the raging debate on social media about nomenclature. Mostly because we didn't really care to see tons of right-wing insults in our notifications, but also, we just wanted to sit back, relax and watch Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez drive the Trumpsters nuts. Such fun!

In case you were offline the last few days, here's the deal: AOC called out the concentration camps for migrants at the nation's southern border — and Republicans went wild. They're very sensitive! Liz "Spawn of War Criminal" Cheney scolded AOC and told her to "[learn] some actual history," after which AOC clapped back with "What do YOU call building mass camps of people being detained without a trial?" and "I will never apologize for calling these camps what they are."

Steve King even got in on the act! After he suggested that AOC visit Auschwitz and Birkenau, she wasted no time firing back. "Mr. King, the Republican Party literally stripped you of your Congressional committee assignments because you were too racist even for them," she said. "My Jewish constituents have made clear to me that they proudly stand with caged children who are starved, denied sleep and sanitation."

We can only guess that next year the GOP will have a plank in their platform mandating the wider use of euphemisms. It seems important to them. Perhaps they favor "detention centers," or — who could forget this one? — summer camps? (Camps are okay as long as they're summer.) Remember, too, that this is the same crowd that called torture "enhanced interrogation" (there's that Cheney reference again). And since E. Jean Carroll's bombshell hit the other day, surely Trump-Pence 2020 are busy these days trying to think up alternative words for "rape."

The bottom line, dear fellow Americans, is that we are jailing and tormenting innocent children. And thank God for Congress members like AOC, who gets under the Trumpsters' skin simply by holding up a mirror to their evil. We cats PURR.

UPDATE: The Salt Lake Tribune, in the notoriously lefty state of Utah, agrees with AOC.

Question Of The Day (Week, Month, Year)

By Hubie and Bertie

We cats are not especially fond of small humans (only kittens), but what's going on in those concentration camps (YES, CONCENTRATION CAMPS) at the border is outraging and depressing us. Thank God for fearless members of Congress like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has no trouble calling a spade a spade.

Children are being traumatized and abused by the United States of America. Or should we call it the United States of Trump? Because Benedict Donald and his merry band of haters are having a really good time torturing people of color. They are committing, no joke, human rights abuses. And nobody's lifting a finger to stop them.

Meanwhile, another rape allegation has surfaced against Trump, and we'll never walk into a department store dressing room again without thinking about it. But somehow, it's caused barely a ripple in the Zeitgeist. How is this possible?

Or, as The Philadelphia Inquirer's Will Bunch has asked:

"How did America get from impeaching a POTUS over a blow job to having a President who's a credibly accused rapist overseeing dehumanizing concentration camps while coming within minutes of starting a war and it's like, whaddya gonna do?"

We cats HISS.

Mitch McConnell's Senate: Where 9/11 Victims Fund Bills Go To Die

Patients typically enter hospice care when they have a week or less to live. So we're prepared to wake up tomorrow morning to the news that this brave 9/11 first responder, Luis Alvarez, has crossed the Rainbow Bridge. But if he doesn't do it tonight, he's going to do it soon — and Mitch McConnell won't be "bent out of shape" about it in the least. We cats are angry and disgusted, and we HISS.

Having Fits Over Fritts

By Miss Kubelik

We cats have been quietly hoping that Sarah Huckabee Sanders will be Red Henned for the rest of her miserable life — kicked out of restaurants because she is a mendacious sinner who makes Jesus weep. After all, it's happened to her before.

But never in our wildest dreams did we think that the fool we blogged about on Saturday would get similarly turned away by an eatery — and it's a Cracker Barrel, folks!

Cracker Barrel isn't our style, so we've never been. The fact that nearly 30 years ago they fired an employee because she was a lesbian just made our unofficial C.B. boycott that much more logical. "The employee is being terminated due to a violation of company policy," the restaurant said in a statement at the time. "The employee is gay."

Fast-forward to 2019, and a Cracker Barrel in Tennessee has just told gay-hater Grayson Fritts he's not welcome there. The restaurant has canceled a Fritts-led church group meeting that had been scheduled on its premises for June 29. "We disagree strongly with their statements of hate and divisiveness," they said.

What's changed? Well, a ton, including the nation's seismic shift on gay rights — but it's boycotts by Americans who are sick of the hate and bile spewed by Trumpsters that have made the difference. Cracker Barrel could see dollar bills flying out their doors if they hosted Fritts. So they made a pre-emptive strike.

There's no doubt that somewhere in the dark corners of the Interwebs, the right wingers and homophobes are mightily fuming about this and screaming "Free speech!" No worries there. Grayson Fritts can shout to the housetops about gays deserving death. And businesses and corporations have the right to decide that appearing to endorse homophobia will hurt their bottom line. We cats PURR.

A Real Lone-Star Star

By Zamboni

It's tough to run statewide as a Democrat in Texas and win. But maybe a no-nonsense, problem-solving Air Force colonel like Kim Olson can knock off teabagger Kenny Marchant in the Lone Star State's 24th Congressional district.

Having watched her announcement video, we think it would be perilous to underestimate her. And with polls showing Benedict Donald only beating Joe Biden by two points in Texas these days, Marchant, John Cornyn, and the rest of the Republican Congressional delegation have got to be feeling a little nervous. We cats PURR.

P.S. If you'd like to help send Kim Olson to Congress, donate here.

Our Thoughts On "Last Week Tonight"

By Sniffles

John Oliver is a national treasure. For 15 to 20 minutes every week, he deep-dives into a topic and treats it not just with humor but with thoughtfulness. Last night, he educated America on the subject of impeachment. It was public service of the highest order.

(Never mind that we can't believe people still don't understand that impeachment is not removal. Bill Clinton's impeachment wasn't that long ago, was it?)

Anyway, like Mr. Oliver, we cats go back and forth over whether the House should start impeaching Benedict Donald's fat ass. Generally, we've stuck to the idea of holding hearings without actually branding them as impeach-y. But Trumpsters have been defying subpoenas and refusing to submit documents. And pure autocrat that he is, Benedict Donald himself has crossed new lines in appalling and outrageous behavior. So we've struggled with impeachment and have occasionally found ourselves moving over into the yeah-let's-do-it territory.

Then we see stuff that makes us think again. Here are two examples.

First, from former Democratic Congressman Steve Israel:

"Nancy Pelosi has institutional responsibilities...she must reflect the progressive values and priorities of the Democratic Party. But she also has a responsibility to keep Democrats in the majority, so that they can fight effectively for those values and priorities. She’s got to win elections.

"An impeachment inquiry that results in Trump’s acquittal in the Senate may jeopardize the 31 Democrats in districts where Trump beat Hillary Clinton in 2016. If Democrats lose 18 seats in 2020, they return to the minority just in time for Republicans to try to use gerrymandering to keep them there for a decade. Many Democratic members from those districts tell me that public sentiment, particularly among vitally needed swing voters, is currently against impeachment...

"At this moment in time, impeaching Trump minus convicting Trump equals re-electing Trump...But 'this moment in time' does not mean 'all moments in time.' Pelosi...believes it’s possible to shape public sentiment."

Second, from a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll:

"The number of Americans who support the start of impeachment hearings is up 10 percentage points since May."

John Oliver was right to point out that Richard Nixon was at 67 percent in the polls just 18 months before he resigned. So let's all hang in with Nancy for awhile, shall we? We cats PURR.

Well, This Is Obvious

By Baxter

If we've learned anything from Hector Projector in the White House, it's that people who fear certain tendencies in themselves lash out at others who display them. Therefore, this nutcase from Tennessee who said lesbians, gays and transgender people are "worthy of death" is clearly insecure about his own sexuality. Just one look at him, and you know.

And by the way, remind us why we should ever visit or spend money in Tennessee? We may not have the Senate, the White House or the Supreme Court, but we still have the power of the purse. We cats HISS and PURR at the same time.

You Don't Want To Mess With The Measles

By Hubie and Bertie

The First Amendment protects against government interference with free speech and forbids any official establishment of religion. You'll find no stronger advocates of those sentiments than us. A nation in which minorities are not protected is not one we want to live in.

But the United States was also founded on the principle of e pluribus unum. And when it comes to "out of many, one," there are times when the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few — or the one. (Wow, we just started quoting "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," didn't we? Sorry!)

Our point is that the New York state legislature and Governor Cuomo did the right thing yesterday when they ended the religious exemption to vaccination. It was the proper response to a public health emergency: More than 500 measles cases in New York City alone, fueled by anti-vaxxers and fundamentalist nutcases who refuse to accept science, even when their clergy tell them to.

Measles, which is highly contagious, can have very serious, even fatal, complications. We cats don't have kittens, but if we did, we would vaccinate them — and we'd insist that they go to school only with other vaccinated kittens. In fact, it's such a no-brainer that we can't believe it's even up for discussion. But that's how ridiculous things have gotten. We cats can't wait for sanity to return to America, and we HISS.

Party Of Quislings

By Miss Kubelik

We cats would say something about the pending departure of Sarah Huckabee Sanders from the White House, but since she hasn't held a press briefing in a couple of decades, it would be like commenting on a black hole. Sort of like Dorothy Parker's famed if perhaps apocryphal retort when she was told Calvin Coolidge was dead: "How can they tell?"

Betcha Sanders doesn't get replaced. What would be the point?

Meanwhile, even though we're all supposed to be numb from the awfulness of the nation's politics right now, the level of perfidy in the Republican Party continues to astound. Donald Trump has declared to the nation and the world that he would welcome foreign interference in our elections ("Benjamin Netanyahu, if you're listening..."). A bill requiring campaigns to report election sabotage by foreign entities has been blocked by Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). Mitch McConnell is refusing to advance any legislation to protect the integrity of the vote. In the words of Mrs. Malaprop, if the Founders were alive today, they'd be spinning in their graves.

To top it off, an Administration that doesn't believe its own intelligence agencies and is, in fact, actively trying to undermine and demonize them is suddenly blaming Iran for attacks on oil tankers in the Mideast because, they say, our guys have given them intelligence that proves it.

Are there any more Justin Amashes out there? Because we never thought we'd say this — we and Amash agree on almost nothing — but America needs more of him. We cats HISS.

P.S. Off-topic, we know, but we have to ask: Who is Jessica Biel? Besides an idiot, we mean.

Lest We Furr-get Again: More Nixon Nostalgia

By Zamboni

We cats want to preface this post by saying that the Trumpsters' efforts to rig the census is a really big deal.

No, the census is not sexy, but pay attention: To manipulate it by adding a citizenship question — which will have huge ramifications for federal funding, redistricting and Congressional representation — is serious beyond belief. The Trumpsters claim that they need it to better enforce the Voting Rights Act, but they really want it so they can suppress more Democratic votes. (And in case you haven't noticed, the Supreme Court ripped the heart out of the VRA in 2013.)

So — okay, are we agreed? We all need to rise up and stop this vile administration of mobsters, grifters and thieves from stealing democracy away. Call your representatives and tell them that you won't stand for Trump and the DOJ claiming executive privilege on documents related to the census. (The Capitol Hill telephone number is 202-224-3121.)

Meanwhile, on the heels of John Dean's testimony on Monday, another thought about Richard Nixon.

In June 1974, as Watergate was closing in, Nixon took a trip to the Middle East to try to shore up his numbers. (Our skeptical take — can you blame us?) He went to Egypt — that's him with Anwar Sadat, above — Israel, Jordan, Syria and Saudi Arabia. And you know what? The trip did kind of help him, at least a little bit. At the end of the month, his approval rating among his base ticked up — and his disapproval numbers, at least, stayed steady.

Compare that with Benedict Donald's recent disaster of a visit to the UK and France. Now that that's in the history books, Trump has come home to some dismal numbers from his own internal pollster — which he first lied about, but now claims he disbelieves.

Nixon, of course, was gone by August — a bare few weeks after his Mideast junket. What does the future have in store for Trump? We have no idea, but like the Speaker of the House, we hope it includes getting hauled off to the hoosegow. We cats HISS.

Lest We Furr-get: A Day Of Dean

By Sniffles

Benedict Donald and his merry band of traitors are so awful that they make us pine nostalgically for Richard Nixon. Today was another reminder of why the early 1970s were, in many ways, the golden years: Matt Gaetz hadn't been born.

John W. Dean III's testimony to the House Judiciary Committee, though, as showboat-y as it allegedly was, did appear to rattle the Russian asset sitting in the White House. "When you look at past impeachments, whether it was President Clinton, or I guess President Nixon never got there — he left," Trump said, with his usual incomprehensible syntax. "I don’t leave. Big difference."

Well! There you have it, America. Plenty of folks, including Michael Cohen (another lawyer who advised a criminal president and ended up in jail for it), have openly speculated that Trump will not willingly leave office. And now Trump has basically confirmed it. Whether by impeachment (which could happen) and conviction by the Senate (which won't), or by electoral defeat in 2020 (which Uncle Vladdie will work his butt off to prevent), Benedict Donald will not be calling the Mayflower moving vans to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Brief historical note: For those of you as young as or younger than the ever-buffoonish Gaetz, a Mayflower van actually did stop in front of the White House during live TV coverage on the night Nixon resigned. It was purely a coincidence, but the crowds gathering in Lafayette Square had fun with it anyway.

Nixon may have briefly considered some extra-constitutional gambit to stay in office, but in the end he rejected it. The nation may not be so lucky this time. We suggest that experts, historians and scholars start researching what remedies would be available should we face that in late 2020 or early 2021. In the meantime, we'll work on winning the damn election in the first place. That would make us PURR.

Civil Disobedience

Benedict Donald promised to be a friend to the LGBTQ community, but as with everything else, he lied. Bans on trans troops, anti-gay judicial appointments, religious liberty, blah blah blah. And of course now his State Department has instructed US embassies around the world not to fly the pride flag this month.

Too bad. Embassies around the world are flying it anyway. This photo is from Seoul, South Korea, but there are other pride flags flying at our embassies in India, Chile and Austria. Screw you, Donald. We cats PURR.

Ronnie & Donnie: Going Around, Coming Around

By Baxter

We cats have seen a lot of chatter online this week about Benedict Donald's mental state. As in, it's not good, and it's getting worse.

It's not just that Donald may feel the noose of impeachment (not to mention the investigations by the Attorney General of New York and other multiple inquests) tightening around him. It's that he's deteriorating because of dementia, or Alzheimer's, or something related to syphilis — because, you know, New York in the 1970s and 1980s was pretty wild, sex- and drug-wise.

His apparently involuntary grimacing during a visit to Westminster Abbey has gotten particular attention. Add that to his deteriorating language skills — TelePrompTer notwithstanding — and folks have really noticed a decline.

So with the news that the latest Trumpian restrictions on fetal tissue research were "the President's decision," we cats are reminded of George Santayana's warning that those who don't learn history are doomed to repeat it.

In the 1980s, Ronald Reagan, already in the early stages of dementia, wrapped himself in the embrace of right-to-lifers, and condemned fetal tissue research that promised to cure Alzheimer's and other dementia-related disorders. What happened to Ronnie? He spent his last years in diapers and public silence, and died in 2004.

Thirty-plus years later, Benedict Donald — so clearly suffering from something — similarly wraps himself in the still-hateful embrace of the right-to-lifers and blocks federal fetal tissue research, thereby ensuring he will die a demented whackjob.

Do we feel sorry for either Ronnie or Donnie? Please.

In their separate ways, they both sentenced innocent people to undeserved deaths, and therefore we celebrate anything bad that happens (or has happened) to either of them. We cats HISS and PURR at the same time.

Some Thoughts On D-Day 75

By Hubie and Bertie

Well, everyone, this was it — surely the last milestone D-Day anniversary that will host folks who were actually there. Maybe there will be a centenarian or two at the 80th commemoration, who knows? But let's just hope that no world leader gives another politically charged interview to Nazi broadcasters against a backdrop of Allied soldiers' graves — ever again.

Since America happens to be governed right now by criminals and mobsters, let's look elsewhere for our inspiration today: Here is Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, born 27 years after Normandy, greeting Canadian D-Day vets at Juno Beach. More than 1,000 of our Neighbors to the North died liberating that beach on June 6, 1944, playing a key role in the success of the invasion.

Meanwhile, how things have changed: The German Chancellor attended this week's events as a stalwart defender of democracy — and the Russian dictator, an erstwhile World War II ally who is doing everything he can to destabilize Europe, was absent. But one of his foreign ministry lackeys just had to use the anniversary to declare that D-Day "did not have a decisive impact on the outcome of World War II...It had already been predetermined as a result of the Red Army's victories."

Hmmm. Now we know where Benedict Donald got not only his presidency, but his manners. We cats HISS.

Happy 100th, Nineteenth!

By Miss Kubelik

Did you think that we cats would ignore the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment? On this date in 1919, both chambers of Congress passed what would ultimately become the Constitutional amendment guaranteeing American women's right to vote.

This is no small thing. The right to vote clearly demarcates full-fledged citizens from second-class ones, as women and people of color would tell you loud and clear. That's why suffragettes fought and endured torture for enfranchisement, and why the civil rights movement was centered around it — and why the Republican Party is engaging in voter suppression today. (They know they can't win unless they keep people from the ballot box.)

In a time when democracy is imperiled, we should all take a moment to savor the 19th Amendment — and appreciate that while many battles are won, they must be continually safeguarded. We cats PURR.

Donald al-Fayed

By Zamboni

Such an eventful Benedict Donald week, and it's only Tuesday. Russia's favorite American asset and his spawn have been protested against, snubbed, winked about, mocked, derided and booed in London. We haven't even gotten to the beaches of Normandy yet — but it's dawned on us that when Barack Obama visited the UK, nobody trotted out an effigy of him sitting on the toilet. Hm.

And Obama's tux fit him a lot better. (We've now decided that Trump doesn't just hate him because he's black. He also hates Obama because he's thin.)

But here's a take on the Trump trip that's gotten our attention: The younger members of the House of Windsor denied Donald what he wanted most — a glam-glam photo op. Apparently that "nasty" Duchess of Sussex prevailed upon Harry, William and Kate to dodge any direct Trumpy contact (and, interestingly, the Queen allowed it). Which must really rankle because, it is averred, Benedict Donald is "obsessed with his reputation among the British royal family."

Folks in the media may draw parallels between this and Trump's preoccupation with the power brokers of Manhattan — who, for decades, have looked down on him as a crook and a parvenu. But we cats instantly thought of somebody else: Mohamed al-Fayed.

Dodi's dad always longed to be welcomed into the inner royal circles. But even though he owned Harrod's and, famously, the Ritz in Paris, and kibitzed with the uppah-uppahs at Ascot, the British establishment never accepted him. Once his hapless son put Diana in that Mercedes with a drunk driver, al-Fayed's star crashed and burned forever — but it was never that bright to begin with.

Trump would not like the comparison, since al-Fayed is a Muslim. But he, too, will never get the respect he craves from the elites of the world. His fan base probably thinks he doesn't care — but oh, brother, how he does. Just look at his face as he Frankenstein-walks in that really bad tux, and you know how miserable he is. We cats PURR.

There Are Some Things The British Do Very Well

Well done, scepter'd isle! We cats PURR.

Best Sign (So Far) From Today's London Protests

There really needs to be an award for great protest signs of the Trump era. What would we call them? The "Signies"? We'll think about it, but in the meantime, this one's a contender. We cats PURR.

A Reminder

Only 10 years ago, we had a First Couple who excited admiration around the world. Just sayin'.

Vast Throngs Greet Benedict Donald In London

Tomorrow morning, Trump will tweetstorm that this was actually a crowd of millions. We cats PURR.

Royal Shade

via GIPHY

By Sniffles

We cats would like to point out that the state visit to the UK by Benedict Donald and "Melanie" is, on the political side, being hosted by Teresa May, Dead Woman Walking, while her presumed successor is under prosecution for official misconduct. And it's all taking place while Britain is convulsed by Brexit, with Halloween looming large.

So you really don't have to wonder why Britons have been less than welcoming. Thin crowds, "RESIST" banners flying on bridges, Trump baby balloons fluttering overhead, rude placards shouting outside of restaurants and all manner of raspberries have been observed. Excellent work, cousins!

But none quite rise to the level of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, who — say what you will about her — throws just the right amount of shade. This one subtle wink tells you just about everything: As in, "Oh, yes, darling, we're putting on our best show for this ridiculous chuffer."

We're not sure who Camilla was winking at, but obviously it was the whole world. We cats PURR.

The GOP + The NRA = Murderers

So now everyone in Virginia has to be experts on what guns with silencers sound like — all because Republicans in the state legislature keep voting down gun control bills?

"It didn’t sound like gunshots," said the wife of a survivor of the Virginia Beach massacre. It "sounded like a nail gun up on the roof."

Take note, everyone — because if your state legislature is controlled by the GOP as Virginia's is, you're dead meat. The NRA is against restricting silencers, outlawing extended magazines, or doing anything that would make a shooter's body count lower. As far as Republicans are concerned, the NRA's priorities are more important than your lives. So why would anyone vote for them? We cats HISS.