Yes, We're Posting This Picture Again Because It Makes Her Look Fat.

By Hubie and Bertie

Is any GOP sellout loathed more than Elise "Elsie" Stefanik — our own Congressgirl who used to be a "reach across the aisle to get stuff done" workerbee, but who now has gone completely Trumpette?

Really! Think about it: The GOP has so many disgusting members, from Gym Jordan to Matt Gaetz to Paul Gosar to Marjorie Taylor Greene to Mo Brooks to Kevin McCarthy to Madison Cawthorne, et. al., ad infinitum. But how many Republicans in Congress have earned infamy with epic flip-flopping? We're thinking, just Elsie.

When she was first elected in 2014, Elsie positioned herself as a pragmatic person who could work deals with the Democrats. But after 2016, she went full-bore nutcase, destroying any credibility she may have enjoyed. Who can top her in the sellout category? Maybe only Marco Rubio, whom Trump ridiculed during the 2016 primaries but who has fallen despicably in line ever since.

Third in line after Marco would be the Bush family, with their silence — which they practiced in the interest of George P.'s electoral ambitions in Texas. (And a fat lot of good that silence did them, since Trump endorsed a known crook in the Texas Attorney General race.)

Nope, no one has earned more derision for her hypocrisy than Elsie. And that derision is well-deserved. We cats cannot wait until Democrats find the candidate who can defeat her. In the meantime, we HISS.

Trashing Tropes

By Miss Kubelik

We cats feel like the nation is at an inflection point. Not just with COVID, although that's playing a huge role. We think that maybe we're at the point where the "The Incumbent President's Party Always Loses Seats In Midterm Elections" trope might not apply in 2022.

The Delta variant has been so scary, and the Republicans are behaving so badly — not just throwing tantrums over masks, but rooting against Americans in the Olympics and excusing insurrectionists — that next year's midterms could see Democrats gaining seats: in Congress, in gubernatorial races, and in state legislatures.

Why? Well, first because we have some good candidates who are already running. (Check out Abby Finkenauer in Iowa.) But second, it's also because despite the attention paid to nutcases like Jim Jordan, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Matt Gaetz, the My Pillow guy, Tucker Carlson, and yes, Donald Trump, we think that most Americans are watching all this, hearing our eminently sensible President, and still thinking, yeah — we'll take the reasonableness over the crazy.

(It would help if the media would quit giving the idiots so much airtime, but we still have faith in most folks' judgment. They're just not getting the headlines, is all.)

Besides, if Trump is right, and he really won the 2020 election, 2022 would mark his sixth year in office. And incumbent Presidents' parties always lose seats in their sixth years. So there! We cats PURR.

Cool Cats Wear Masks

By Zamboni

You know, it's really not complicated. Yes, the CDC had its reputation wrecked by the Trumpsters, but with a new sheriff in town, they're working on it. One way you can tell that things are going back to normal? They're making recommendations on COVID that they know will be wildly unpopular — but they're making them anyway. Because in the Biden Administration, decisions are based on science, not on Benedict Donald's fragile ego.

And the new science is this: The Delta variant, which wasn't a factor back when mask mandates were relaxed, is now a big problem. So is the unfathomable Republican resistance to the vaccine. So, it's back to the masks — at least in high-risk, low-vaxx areas, and definitely in schools (because kids can't be immunized yet).

Frankly, some of us have never left the masks behind. We wear them in grocery stores, drug stores, at restaurants (until we're seated), and anywhere else we're going to encounter people indoors. Does it make folks think we're unvaccinated? Maybe. We don't care. We know that we could still contract the virus and give it to someone, and we sure don't want a positive COVID test any time in the future.

It seems like a good thing that the CDC can pivot as the virus mutates and spreads. It's also lame and stupid that allegedly grown-up people, both in government and out, are throwing tantrums over masks. (Looking at you, Kevin McMoron.) Better to wear a mask in some situations than go back into lockdown. Oh, and it would be really nice if all those Trumpsters would get the damn shot. We cats HISS.

Tidbits And Cat Treats: Unimportant Observations Edition

By Baxter

Gosh, so much going on today. The Select Committee hearings on January 6, a pro-insurrectionist press conference derailed, and it's time to mask up again (in some places). We have some thoughts and comments, none of which are very profound.

We cats know it's no consolation for him, but we've been in love with DC Police Officer Michael Fanone since we first laid eyes on him in interviews he gave after the attack on the Capitol. We still go squishy when we see him — even with all those tattoos. But now, he's getting real competition for our affections from Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn. "Hitman" — perfect!

It's mind-boggling to think that Elise Stefanik could have embarrassed herself and her NY-21 constituents more than she already has. But today, she did. Democrats here really need to find a candidate who can beat this woman. She's just awful.

On the bright side, Stefanik's Republican colleagues — the Four Gs (Goehmert, Greene, Gaetz and Gosar) — humiliated themselves even worse, with a silly pro-MAGA mob press conference outside DOJ. Correction: with a silly, pro-MAGA mob press conference they tried to hold outside DOJ. Protesters quickly chased them off. Shout-out to the guy with the whistle and the woman who followed Gaetz all the way to his getaway car, asking over and over, "Congressman, are you a pedophile?" Good grins!

As for the pandemic? Yes, please, Mr. President, please mandate COVID vaccines for all federal workers. At the very least, you'll get all the embedded Trumpsters to quit their jobs. We cats PURR.

Tidbits And Cat Treats: Last Sunday In July Edition

By Sniffles

We cats have begun venturing out into the world of restaurants, but this past Friday night was a reminder that it still pays to be careful. A party of Trumpsters, complete with red T-shirts and "Make America Great Again" hats, came in behind us. No masks, of course, and — we bet — no vaccinations. We gave them a wide berth.

Here are some other topics we're thinking about today:

Any Trumpster who cites HIPAA as their excuse not to say whether they're vaccinated should lose their HIPAA rights forever. (No, asking people to disclose their vaccination status is not a violation of HIPAA in any way. HIPAA applies to third-party disclosures. End of lesson.)

Benedict Donald and his sad-idiot crowd at the Phoenix rally last night booed the US women's Olympic soccer team. Wow. Not only would this make old-timey Republicans like Reagan and Bush spin in their graves — openly rooting against an American Olympic team? — there might be no more efficient way to alienate half the young women in the US and every one their suburban soccer parents.

It appears that everybody's new hero — the Montana Man who confronted Tucker Carlson in a Livingston fly-fishing store — is named Dan Bailey. He posted the now-viral video of the incident on his Instagram account and said, "It's not every day you get to tell someone he's the worst person in the world and really mean it!" Hooray for Dan, but let's hope he watches his back. Surely the death threats have already started.

Finally, here's our favorite tweet of the day: "If Ted Cruz is upset about the Cleveland Indians changing their name, just wait until he finds out about how he started going by Ted instead of Rafael to appeal to racists." We cats PURR.

The GOP's Vaccine 180: An Amazing Feet

By Hubie and Bertie

Why has the GOP suddenly had an "altar moment," as Joe Biden would say, on coronavirus vaccines? (We've always heard this saying as "come to Jesus," but hey, whatev, Mr. President.)

One would be tempted to assume that it's about money. Have Republicans suddenly invested in Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson or Moderna? Are they worried about the stock market? Has the US Chamber of Commerce finally convinced them that the economy needs vaccination rates to rise? It was a mystery, until someone on Twitter said this:

"The only reason the GOP is now pro-vaccine is that someone ran the numbers and they saw how many House seats they'd lose in the 2022 midterms with projected deaths in low-vaccination districts."

Hmmm, interesting! So now our only question is, are they too late?

Yes, to some degree.

First, the Republicans have created such negativity and doubt on the COVID vaccines that no matter what they say or do, a large number of their voters simply won't believe. And then of course there are the Marjorie Traitor Greenes, Matt Gaetzes, Lauren Boeberts and Paul Gosars of the world who will never give up the anti-vaxx message.

Republicans like Governor Kay Ivey of Alabama may move the needle a little bit. But people are already dying. And how many GOP voters who don't get the shot and who get sick but don't die will lose interest in their party? (Their party certainly isn't interested in them.)

If Republicans end up doing a total reversal on this issue, it will be the greatest flip-flop in the History of Flip-Floppery. Even John "I was for it before I was against it" Kerry won't be able to compete. But if the GOP decides they don't want to kill their own supporters, it won't be because they care about them. It will only be because they want their votes. Wake up, Trumpsters! We cats HISS.

Do, The Dear

 

By Miss Kubelik

This man is Francis Do, owner of the Banh Mi and Grill in Fairfax, Virginia, and he's a hero. Or at least, he's got a lot of spunk.

And we love spunk. Do won't let any customers into his restaurant unless they show proof of COVID vaccination. If they can't, he tries to seat them outside, with many apologies. Some can't comply, don't want to sit outside, and they leave. Many are rude. But if we cats still lived in Virginia, we would race to Banh Mi in a jiffy, even though one member of our family doesn't eat Vietnamese food. Suffering the slings and arrows of outraged would-be patrons, the guy's a very brave mensch.

See, Do is worried about protecting his staff from liars who are unvaccinated but who say they are. So he asks for documentation. (A photo of your vaccine card on your phone will do.) He also has urged his fellow restaurateurs to follow his lead. So far, everyone's too chicken.

So if you're in the DC area and can hop over to Banh Mi for dinner, please show Mr. Do some support (and bring your card). Of course, if this restaurant were in New York, showing proof would be a breeze: We have the Excelsior Pass on our phones and can display our vaccination or COVID test status on a moment's notice. We cats PURR.

#FoxNewsKills

 

By Zamboni

The numbers are in: COVID cases are exploding among unvaccinated Americans. "The virus continues to rage among those who have not received a shot," The Washington Post reports.

This all seems pretty logical, but apparently people — mostly Trumpsters — are having a hard time getting their thick heads around it. There's even a guy in Louisiana who's sick in the hospital with the coronavirus and who still says he doesn't want the vaccine "shoved down his throat." We can't help wondering why having a ventilator tube shoved down there is any better.

Let's hope that the idiocy of these people doesn't screw up the lives of us responsible adults. In the meantime, even though we're well-Pfizered, we keep wearing masks. Who needs a positive COVID test to keep us out of Canada? We cats HISS and PURR at the same time.

(VIDEO: The Lincoln Project)

Kevin McCarthy Is A Heel

 

Or, think of it this way: If the Cheney-McCarthy cat fight today were a boxing match, the refs would step in, stop the fight and raise Liz's hand in victory while Kev staggered around the ring, bloodied and clueless. TKO! We cats PURR.

(IMAGE: Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

*YAWN*

By Baxter

Things we don't care about:

• Jeff Bezos and his dick-like rocket shooting into space (although it's nice that he gave Chef José Andrés $100 million)
  
• Prince Harry's memoir
• Britney Spears (yes, we know that women should be concerned, legally speaking, but Britney was a supporter of George W. Bush, so trouble us with the story of someone we respect instead)
• January 6th insurrectionists who are worried about losing their jobs
• The opinion of anyone who cites HIPAA regarding their vaccination status when they clearly don't understand what HIPAA is
• The Olympic Games, unless of course they get canceled, in which case we'll celebrate

Thank you for coming to our TED Talk. We cats PURR.

Of Course Her Name Is "Dick"

By Sniffles

This cheerful gal is in hot legal water for hanging these pro-Benedict Donald banners on her Roselle Park, New Jersey, property. Tastefully pixilated here, you can tell they're emblazoned with the F word.

Like the occasional displays we cats see here in upstate New York, these Trumpsters never seem to know where to stop, do they? They're not content with a single American flag or even a circle of little Old Glorys surrounding a tree. No, they fly multiple flags, from "Trump 2020" to "Back the Blue," and they keep their old campaign yard signs out in all weathers. Everything's wilting now, or on the verge of it, making their owners look like sad idiots.

Or, like this Dick woman's banners, they violate anti-obscenity laws. In her case, due to a rash of complaints she'll be fined $250 a day if she doesn't take the naughty ones down, because schoolchildren walk by them on their way to class.

Dick, as you'd imagine, is screaming about her First Amendment rights, so it will boil down to that versus community standards, anti-nuisance laws, and what-not. As the judge who ordered the banners' removal noted, "There are alternative methods for the defendant to express her pleasure or displeasure with certain political figures."

It all seems pretty pathetic. We cats watched American democracy being systematically dismantled for four horrible years, and we never resorted to hanging "F--- Trump" banners on our homes. (Our HOA wouldn't allow it, anyway.) Instead, we gave money to Democratic candidates, volunteered for our local Democratic campaigns, got the vote out and voted ourselves, and helped toss Benedict Donald and the Republicans from power. It's a lot more effective than screaming obscenities into the wind, which is what silly sore losers like Andrea Dick do. We cats HISS.

Donald Trump Is Not Done Killing People

By Hubie and Bertie

We cats will never understand how Benedict Donald claimed all sorts of credit for Operation Warp Speed, and even got vaccinated himself — but now is embracing his crazy base's vaccine resistance.

And today the stock market, which Trump always pointed to as evidence of economic success, tanked on the news of the Delta variant.

What's the difference? Oh! Joe Biden is President now. So we're left with the unfathomable thought that Trump is willing to kill his own supporters to own the libs. To keep the Biden Administration from getting credit for any kind of COVID success. Incredible.

Also today, Canada has announced that the border with the US will open to fully vaccinated Americans as of August 9. We cats are making our plans, and they include getting tested before hitting the road. Until then, you can bet that we're wearing masks and staying six feet away from everybody else. We are not going to end up with a positive test this late in the game. (And yes, we're going to make sure our rabies shots are up to date, too.)

The whole thing is unbelievable. Remember the days when we all lined up for that sugar cube? It was the Sabin vaccine against polio. Everybody took it because none of us wanted to end up in an iron lung. So why are Trumpsters willing to put themselves, and their children, in the ICU with ventilator tubes down their throats? We'll never get it, and we HISS.

Caitlyn Is Throwing Another Shrimp On The Barbie

By Miss Kubelik

The gubernatorial recall election in California is September 14, but Republican candidate Caitlyn Jenner is in... Australia.

She's gone for weeks, filming a D-list reality TV show that our remotes would zoom past without fail, "Celebrity Big Brother." ("Brother"? We can't help asking.) Australian law also requires foreign travelers to quarantine for 14 days, so Jenner is effectively AWOL for the final, meaty stretch of the race.

Don't get us wrong: Jenner's presence or absence will have no impact on the fact that she's mired at the bottom of the polls. What we object to is her treatment of the process — a particularly Republican contempt that Benedict Donald has made exponentially worse. If Jenner can't be troubled to campaign, would she even bother to do the job if she won?

To the GOP, it's all a reality show now. They hate more than half of America, they lie constantly, and they have no interest in governing, so why are they even running? The country needs a serious, credible opposition political party, and it just doesn't exist. We cats HISS.

Mia Is Right

"The way I see it, Donald Trump was and maybe still is the greatest threat to national security." —Mia Farrow

We cats agree, and we HISS.

Joe And Olivia Troll The Former Guy

This is perfect. We cats PURR.

Hillary Told Us So

By Zamboni

Have you seen the news about the secret Russian meeting that Vladimir Putin convened in January 2016 to make Donald Trump POTUS?

According to a leaked Kremlin document, attendees agreed it was "acutely necessary to use all possible force to facilitate his [Trump’s] election to the post of US president...[which] will definitely lead to the destabilization of the US’s sociopolitical system."

Trump, they said, was an "impulsive, mentally unstable and unbalanced individual who suffers from an inferiority complex." (And oh, yes, the Russians have Trump kompromat. Sadly, the document doesn't include its appendix, where those details appear.)

What's really scary here, aside from everything, is how right these Russians were. Trump is the sociopath they describe, and his disastrous Presidency has done worse than destabilize us. It's also infuriating to recall how American journalism helped Putin's plans along. Because "the email lady" was right about everything. 

Here's a POLITICO story from September 5, 2016:

"Hillary Clinton on Monday expressed 'a very serious' concern about Russia's apparent tampering with the US election, implying that President Vladimir Putin and the 'adversarial foreign power' he governs are actively trying to elect Donald Trump. 'I’m really concerned about the credible reports about Russian government interference in our elections,' Clinton told reporters aboard the maiden voyage of her Boeing 737 Stronger Together campaign plane...'The fact that our intelligence professionals are now studying this, and taking it seriously,' she said, 'raises some grave questions about potential Russian interference with our electoral process.'"

A week later, all the press could talk about was Clinton's fainting spell at the September 11 memorial. But Putin calling the shots in our government? Who cared? We cats HISS.

Which Side?

The Lincoln Project has had its ups and downs, but the quality of its work hasn't flagged. We cats PURR.

WWDD (What Will Dolly Do)?

By Baxter

If you were a hotshot young physician, ready to embark on a stellar career, would you accept a job in the state of Tennessee right now?

We cats know we sound like a broken record. But we don't understand why major employers in red states aren't crying foul on Republican policies that make those states less attractive places to live and work.

Recruiters at companies in Texas, Oklahoma, Florida and South Dakota, just to name a few, should be aghast — how will they convince talented young people to relocate there when the GOP is diminishing the quality of life? What millennials would be interested in living somewhere they can't easily vote or get birth control or an abortion? What smart professionals would be enticed by a state where college students are surveyed on their political beliefs, or where they can get run over with impunity by a MAGAt with a pickup truck?

And now, it's Tennessee, whose department of health has just stopped its outreach to children and teens about vaccines — including COVID — and has dumped its medical director for opposing the change.

Here's a fun fact: Of the top 50 employers in Tennessee, nearly half are healthcare providers or medically affiliated. Are they going to stay silent? More to the point, will vaccine promoter and benefactor Dolly Parton? We cats hope not. In the meantime, we HISS.

Democracy On The Edge

By Sniffles

Today was President Biden's big voting-rights speech in Philadelphia, and we cats have some thoughts.

Although he never said the word filibuster, Biden had a message for Senate Democrats: Get the John Lewis Act done, whatever it takes. So all we're hearing from the TV talking heads is "Manchin-and-Sinema, Manchin-and-Sinema, Manchin-and-Sinema." We get it: Senate Democrats need all 50 of their caucus to back the act — plus one (the Vice President). But when it comes to the filibuster, why focus exclusively on the Democrats? Why do the media never talk about the 50 white supremacists on the other side of the aisle?

For example, why is Tim Scott in favor of suppressing Black Americans' votes? Why aren't Roy Blunt and Pat Toomey backing their constituents' most sacred right? They're not running for re-election — what have they got to lose? Why doesn't Lisa Murkowski show more courage? She's already got a Trump-endorsed primary challenger, so what is there to fear? Why doesn't anyone ask Susan Collins, who's not up for re-election in five-and-a-half years, if she's on the side of Joseph McCarthy or Margaret Chase Smith?

This drives us crazy.

It's all heightened by the excerpt The Washington Post ran today from the a book by Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker, about Trump World on Election Night. Even though you know the 2020 outcome, you still get the heebie-jeebies, reading it. The Trump war room set up on federal property — the White House and the Executive Office Building — because Benedict Donald refused to submit to DC coronavirus restrictions at his Pennsylvania Avenue hotel. Rudy Giuliani running around drunk and screaming, "Just say you won." General Mark Milley getting creepy phone calls at home: "Your loyalty is to the Constitution. You represent the stability of this republic." Karl Rove, tapped to talk Trump down. Trump's head exploding when FOX called Arizona for Biden. "I can't lose to this f---- guy!" Such class.

Which is why Biden's words today were so perfect: "In America, if you lose, you accept the results. You don’t call facts 'fake' and then try to bring down the American experiment just because you're unhappy."

You know what's funny? Joe Biden doesn't really know what it's like to lose a general election. The only races he's lost were Presidential primaries. Is anybody on Team Trump smart enough to point that out? We doubt it. We cats PURR.

"Virgil, Quick Come See / There Goes Robert E. Lee"

By Hubie and Bertie 

Were they all at the mini-CPAC in Dallas? Is that why none of the crazy Trumpsters, haters and white supremacists showed up in Charlottesville yesterday?

We thought for sure they would — because the statues they love so much of Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson were carted away, followed closely by a statue of Lewis & Clark with a cringe-inducingly submissive Sacagawea. As far as we can tell, the only people who watched Lee, et. al. take their final rides were folks who were cheering their removal.

Charlottesville mayor Nikuyah Walker said it powerfully: "Taking down this [Lee] statue is one small step closer to the goal of helping Charlottesville, Virginia, and America grapple with the sin of being willing to destroy Black people for economic gain."

It does make you wonder, though: If the racists and the Nazis couldn't have been bothered to protest yesterday's spectacle, what was all the fuss about in 2017? Why was the city of Charlottesville put through such turmoil? Why did Heather Heyer have to die?

Oh, well, at least the statues are gone. And maybe some Americans have been enlightened a bit. We cats PURR.

Meanwhile, Down At Plains High School...

Former President Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton traveled to Plains, Georgia, for the celebration this week of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter's 75th wedding anniversary. Egad — the Carters have been married longer than Bill Clinton has been alive! We cats PURR.

Alive!

Cats, take a bow: After more than two weeks since the Surfside condo collapse, a resident feline was found wandering the site. "Binx" lived on the ninth floor. Incredible! We cats salute him, and we PURR.

UPDATE: Binx has been reunited with his surviving human family members. Until now, the Surfside story had no silver linings. Thanks, Binx, for finally giving us one.

Caught On Camera

By Miss Kubelik

News flash: Former First Lady and Rose-Garden-destroyer Moose & Squirrel was seen shopping this week with her son.

Yes, we know POTUS kids are supposed to be off-limits. We're aware that controversy erupted on social media yesterday about this and other photos of M&S and this seldom-seen lad of hers. We're also aware that Chelsea Clinton tweeted once again to ask people to leave underage Presidential offspring alone. Therefore, we share this image without the mean comments that sprouted up all over Twitter.

Here's what we will say: Chelsea Clinton has a lot of class, asking for mercy for Barron Trump — considering how the deservedly dead Rush Limbaugh and other Republicans treated her when she lived in the White House. We cats PURR.

Clipped

By Zamboni

We cats are devastated. No, not because the Montreal Canadiens didn't win the Stanley Cup — they had a tremendous spring, a wonderfully unexpected run in the playoffs that breathed life into their COVID-weary city. And their players are so young that the team surely has great years ahead of it.

Nope, it's something else. Justin Trudeau has shaved his beard.

Damn! Justin's beard was one of the few bright spots of the coronavirus pandemic. Showing solidarity with Canadians who couldn't go to the barber or the hairdresser, he let his hair grow long and stopped shaving. We thought the beard made him look older and wiser and, oh, so attractive. More Prime Minister-y.

But now, with salons open in Ontario again, Justin is back to looking like he's twelve years old. Why, Prime Minister, why??? Is it because, as tweeps are speculating, you expect to be out on the campaign trail this fall? Well, if so, your bearded self carries much more gravitas. Please grow it back.

On the other hand, if Justin can shave his pandemic beard, he can open the damn border. That would make us cats PURR.

Trashed

By Baxter

For some light bedtime reading last night, we cats perused the excerpt in New York magazine from Michael Wolff's forthcoming book, Landslide: The Final Days of the Trump Presidency. Big mistake! Anything Trumpy is nightmare-inspiring, but even worse, the section New York published was all about "His Longest, Dumbest Day" — the attack on the Capitol.

According to Wolff, by January 6 the White House had been stripped bare of anyone with even a smidgen of competence. Most staffers were either hiding upstairs (where Trump never went) or were already gone, looking for jobs. And so the remaining Clown Car was clownier than ever. Mark Meadows, Jason Miller, some dude named Boris Epshteyn (?) — these were the lamebrains who were supposed to keep Benedict Donald from wreaking catastrophe. The book says they weren't sure what the day would bring, but that sounds like a cover story.

(And in case you're wondering, Rudy Giuliani comes off even nuttier than ever. Thank goodness his law license has been suspended in two places now, because the guy is a menace to society.)

Anyway, Wolff avers that by the end of the day, Trump was at sixes and sevens. "I don't know what to do here...This looks terrible. This is really bad. Who are these people? These aren't our people, these idiots with these outfits." Mind you, he'd already made that late-afternoon video addressing those very idiots, telling them he loved them.

So, color us skeptical. Besides, we shouldn't be finding this stuff out from anonymously sourced tell-all books. What we need is that damn 9/11-style commission to get to the bottom of everything. Who held off the National Guard, abandoning the cops and Capitol Police to hours of hand-to-hand combat? That's just one of a hundred questions that need to be answered while the Republicans try to whitewash the whole thing.

If you feel like forking over 20 bucks for Wolff's book, knock yourself out. We'll wait for the Select Committee hearings. In the meantime, here are photos by Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown of just some of the damage the Trumpsters did to one of America's most sacred buildings. We cats HISS.

De Adder Du Jour (For Insurrection Day +6 Months)

Surprise! We cats thought we would be completely offline while our regular computer is in the hospital, but thanks to a leftover Mac and some expert jury-rigging, we're partially operational — enough to share this spot-on cartoon by Michael de Adder. This makes us PURR.

"Does Anybody See What I See?"

By Sniffles

So we must all think about how hollow the American promise has been for African-Americans and other citizens of color, and yet how compelling that promise is because of its optimism and hope of better days ahead.

Sure, the American promise has always left out significant parts of the population. Heck, it didn't even apply to women until they got the vote in 1919. Think about that, why don't you.

Still and all, we have to return to the Broadway classic 1776, which eloquently expresses the agony that the Founders experienced — sacrificing the issue of enslavement to the more pressing cause of independence. Of course, the slavery issue came to roost many decades later, and still resonates today. 

We continue to strive to attain perfection. What could be more American than that? We cats PURR.

Three Quarters Of A Century Of Greatness

 

By Hubie and Bertie

On Wednesday, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter will celebrate their 75th wedding anniversary. In a world in which love often seems to be in short supply, the Carters have always exemplified loyalty, fidelity, and Christian caring for our fellow humans. 

Following a single term in the White House, they have spent 40 years waging peace, fighting disease and building hope. They are the most significant Presidential partnership since Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. We cats are so proud to have been a little tiny piece of that, and we PURR.

(PHOTO: Matt McClain, The Washington Post)

Touching A GOP Nerve

By Miss Kubelik

We cats are hearing rumors that the MAGA crowd is furious with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Kind of startling, since DeSantis is supposed to be Trump 2.0 and a 2024 front-runner. But he allowed himself to appear with President Biden on Thursday to discuss federal and state cooperation in the horrific Surfside condo collapse. Horrors!

And you do know what happens to Republican office holders who meet with Democratic ones in the interest of their states, right? They get kneecapped by their own kind.

Then-New Jersey Governor Chris Christie cordially received then-President Barack Obama to talk about recovery from Super Storm Sandy in 2012. Obama shook Christie's hand and gave him a pat on the arm. Republicans lost their minds.

In 2009, former Florida Governor Charlie Crist welcomed Obama to a Fort Myers town hall after the previous year's financial meltdown. Crist believed that the stimulus package, then under negotiation in Congress, would help his state. The GOP practically ran him out of the party. (Charlie's a Democratic Congressman now.)

The Christie and Crist brouhahas were the first thing we thought of when we saw Joe Biden give DeSantis a friendly, Obama-like pat the other day. Ooooh, Ron, watch out — you're a marked man in MAGA world! (P.S. Betcha Biden did it on purpose.) We cats PURR.

The First Of July

By Zamboni

Today is Olivia de Havilland's 105th birthday — the first birthday that Dame Olivia herself is not around to celebrate, alas. It's also a not-so-happy Canada Day.

The Montreal Canadiens are down two games to none in the Stanley Cup finals. Wednesday was a brutal night for Les Habitants.

But let's talk about the real habitants: the Indigenous peoples whose lives were upended and destroyed by the arrival of Europeans on the North American continent. In the last century and a half, with a mighty assist from the Catholic Church, Canada removed Indigenous children from their families and placed them in so-called residential schools — where cultural genocide, torture, sexual abuse and even murder appear to have been routine. The discovery of mass graves at the sites of the former schools has shocked the country.

So today seems more like a day for reflection than for celebration.

But hey, Neighbors to the North — cheer up! We Americans haven't even begun to reckon with our crimes against humanity. There's everything we did to our Indigenous populations, from infecting them with smallpox to the Trail of Tears and beyond. And you guys were smart enough to abolish slavery in 1834. We didn't. In fact, in many ways we're still fighting a Civil War that ended 156 years ago.

Truth and reconciliation are not in the American DNA — but they might be in yours, Canada. We cats hope so, and we PURR.