Topsy-Turvy Trumpsters

By Hubie and Bertie

It's been a stressful month. But then, that's August for you. Any month in which Gulf War I started, the atomic bombs got dropped, and Elvis checked out is always going to be hinky.

But we cats never expected to end August suddenly agreeing with a bunch of nutcase Republicans. Yet, it's happened.

Ann Coulter is tweeting thanks to Joe Biden and lobbing insults at The Former Guy over Afghanistan. "Trump REPEATEDLY demanded that we bring our soldiers home, but only President Biden had the balls to do it," she declared. "Thank you, President Biden, for fulfilling one of Trump's many broken promises." Yeah, we can't believe it either.

And Ron Johnson is blaming Benedict Donald — not conspiracy theories, bamboo-laced ballots or rigged voting machines — for TFG's loss in Wisconsin in 2020. Trump failed to carry the state, Johnson said in a burst of unaccustomed lucidity, "because 51,000 Republicans didn't vote for him." Amazing!

Then there's this mea culpa from former GOP Congressman Joe Walsh: "I helped radicalize the Republican Party base. And for that, I am profoundly sorry. And I am dedicating the rest of my active life to do what I can to deradicalize them."

Good luck with that, Joe. If Representative Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) is any measure, you have your work cut out for you. (Unless Cawthorn's just trying to make us feel better that we're represented by Trumpy turncoat Elise Stefanik.) We cats HISS.

We're Done.

By Miss Kubelik

Between Vietnam, Iraq (twice), Afghanistan, and Ronald Reagan's merry little military forays in the 1980s, the United States has been at war for half our life. (Good thing we have nine of them.) Now, thanks to Joe Biden's willingness to take the heat, the last American military plane has left Kabul.

By our watch, that's early, even factoring in the time difference. Maybe the news media will stop clutching their pearls and foisting simplistic observations on their viewers and readers? (Hint: Not a chance. Richard Engel is trending right now, and not because he's delivering reasoned, objective reporting.)

Sure, it's depressing to think about the Afghans who couldn't get out. But the US military and our allies — plus some commercial airlines — evacuated almost 120,000 people. (And a bunch of cats and dogs.) This is an amazing achievement. Those folks will have it rough for a while, because fleeing your country is no small matter. But they'll have the opportunity to start over. 

It makes you think of all the descendants of Jews rescued by Oskar Schindler, gathered around his grave in Jerusalem (above), in a moving demonstration of the lives Schindler enabled them to live. And he only saved a tenth of the number of the people we've rescued. We cats salute the 13 US service members who stayed at their posts last week, processing Afghans at the gates of the Kabul airport even though they knew any one of them could be carrying a bomb.

So America's 20-year war is done, and Republicans who have been screaming about impeaching Biden and Blinken are just beginning to look stupid. It won't get any better for them. Leaving Afghanistan was not only the right thing to do, it will have no bearing on the 2022 midterms — except for voters breathing a sigh of relief and saying, thank you, Joe Biden, for getting us out. We cats PURR.

So... You Haven't Gotten The Vaccine Yet?

 People who are seeking guidance on COVID vaccines should watch this video and take action. We cats PURR.

Lest We Furr-get: The Power Of Love

By Zamboni

We cats are now willing to show our age. We would like to comment on the California Parole Board's decision to recommend RFK assassin Sirhan Sirhan for release.

It's hard for us to approach this story without emotion. Robert Kennedy, for all his faults, was on the road to clinching the Democratic nomination for President in 1968 when he was killed — and if he had beaten Richard Nixon in November, the country would be a much different place than it is today. Just think: a withdrawal from Vietnam, no bombing of Cambodia and Laos, no Watergate. The mind reels.

Most of Kennedy's surviving children have issued a statement opposing Sirhan's parole. "Sirhan Sirhan committed a crime against our nation and its people. He took our father from our family, and he took him from America," they said. Meanwhile, Bobby Kennedy Jr., who is already a nut on vaccines, appears to differ. We don't care.

Why? Because the majority of Bobby's kids got it right. Sirhan robbed us of an RFK presidency. In the tumult that was 1968, RFK was the only one who understood where America's identity was. Here's what he said on the night Martin Luther King was assassinated.

"In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United States, it is perhaps well to ask what kind of a nation we are and what direction we want to move in. For those of you who are Black — considering the evidence there evidently is that there were white people who were responsible — you can be filled with bitterness, with hatred, and a desire for revenge. We can move in that direction as a country, in great polarization — Black people amongst Black, white people amongst white, filled with hatred toward one another.

"Or we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand and to comprehend, and to replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand with compassion and love.

"For those of you who are Black and are tempted to be filled with hatred and distrust at the injustice of such an act, against all white people, I can only say that I feel in my own heart the same kind of feeling.

"I had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a white man. But we have to make an effort in the United States, we have to make an effort to understand, to go beyond these rather difficult times.

"My favorite poet was Aeschylus. He wrote: 'In our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.'

"What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness; but love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or they be Black."

Robert Kennedy spoke these words in Indianapolis that night. While multiple cities erupted into violence in the wake of the King assassination, Indianapolis was quiet. We cats PURR.

Sunshine State Smackdown

By Baxter

There's no doubt that the nonsense that appears to be rampant in the United States over vaccines and masks is not really rampant, but just the squealing of a small but vocal minority.

When Trumpy jackasses get up and make fools of themselves at school board meetings, or physically assault students who are wearing masks, it makes for great video. ("Great" video, that is. It is, obviously, not great.) But it does not, does not, does not reflect the sentiments of most Americans.

Or clear-thinking judges. In the midst of all the bad news that's scrolling up our screens today comes the welcome headline that a Florida judge has told idiot Republican Governor Ron DeSantis that he cannot forbid school districts from instituting mask mandates for students' safety. (At least 10 districts have defied DeSantis to date, and it was never clear that Ron would be able to punish them for it. But now they have backing from the courts.)

DeSantis, of course, has said he'll appeal. And with 27,584 new cases of COVID reported — breaking Florida's single-day record — it's amazing that DeSantis is spending all of his time and energy battling reasonable people in court instead of protecting his constituents. He's already having to find a replacement for his surgeon general, and who in his or her right mind would take the job? What a mess. We cats HISS.

Matthew 25:35

 

"When I was hungry, you gave me something to eat, and when I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I was a stranger, you welcomed me."

Andrew Out, Kathy In

We simply had to get that photo of Scott Presler and "Elsie" Stefanik off the top of the blog. And what better way to do it than with a pic of our new Governor, hard at work? Pretty neat that with Andrew Cuomo's exit, the most powerful figures in New York state government now are women — Governor Hochul, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Attorney General Letitia James and Chief Judge Janet DiFiore. Fab! We cats PURR.

Presler Implodes, Takes Elsie With Him

By Sniffles

This is so disappointing! The Scott Presler hatefest that was scheduled for Wednesday night near Saratoga Springs, New York — and which our Trumpy Congresswoman, "Elsie" Stefanik, was cheering on — has been canceled.

The Saratoga County GOP chair blamed COVID, but that seems pretty fishy. Elsie and local Republicans were all excited about the event — until they weren't. (Elsie was never going to have the guts to attend, and she's deleted her Presler-related tweets.) What happened? We have a few thoughts.

Presler is a conspiracy theorist and oh, by the way, an insurrectionist ("January 6, 2021 is going to be a defining moment in American history," he tweeted on January 3). But he's primarily known for his intolerance toward Muslims. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, his Act for America organization is the biggest anti-Muslim hate group in the US. So it wasn't surprising that after Stefanik tweeted "massive news" announcing Presler's rally, she got a ton of blowback, and a counter-protest was promised downtown. Still, we'd bet the cancellation was forced by economic, not political, reasons.

We're in the peak of the racing season — the first one since COVID hit, and Saratoga is making up for lost time and dollars. The last thing our Chamber of Commerce wants is a bunch of Proud-Boy types marauding down Broadway and tussling with Black Lives Matter activists, Skidmore students and other local libs. And a side note: Racing and breeding is a big deal in the Middle East — you've heard of Arabian horses, right? There are probably a few Muslim owners of racers in Saratoga right now who weren't too happy to hear that Presler was coming to town.

So, Presler is canceled, and we won't be able to berate any door knockers who might swing by after the event. Pity! But we have one suggestion: If "Elsie" is so clueless about the sensibilities of our community, perhaps she doesn't deserve to represent Saratoga Springs in Congress anymore. New York State Independent Redistricting Commission, are you listening? We cats HISS.

UPDATE: Presler is supposed to appear at our local Elks Club on August 31 instead. A bit of a comedown from a big rally in the park — and how long will it take for that one to get canceled, too? We cats PURR.

Border Control

By Hubie and Bertie

Our first crossing of the Canadian border after it opened to fully vaccinated Americans could not have been less eventful. (Although one of our humans got randomly selected for a rapid COVID test on a return trip.) Because we'd uploaded all our information to the ArriveCAN website ahead of time, the only thing the customs officer wanted to see was proof of a negative PCR taken within 72 hours of arrival. She didn't even ask about our rabies vaccinations! (We're good through 2023.)

The US, however, hasn't opened its land border to Canadians yet. In fact, the closure recently got extended through September 21. People on both sides are having their expected hissy fits.

It's probably foolhardy to try to hang some logic on this, especially since both countries have handled the closure inconsistently. For example, from March 2020 to this month, Canadians were always able to fly to the US. Weird! But now that we've been to Canada and were able to have a look around, it's beginning to dawn on us why it's not yet a reciprocal free-for-all.

1) Canada has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world: 73 percent have received at least one dose, and 66 percent are fully vaccinated. They can be confident that they can welcome international travelers (and their money) without becoming deathly sick.

2) The people we saw in Montreal were far more compliant with masking and social distancing than in the US. It was a given that the moment you walked into an indoor public space, your mask went on. Hand sanitizer was everywhere. Restaurant tables were widely spaced. None of these restrictions affected anyone's ability to have a good time, by the way.

3) Americans continue to behave badly. Maybe not so much in states like New York and Vermont (which leads the US in vaccinations). But the US-Canadian border extends far west of us, from Michigan to the Dakotas and beyond, and things are dicier in those states. Example: South Dakota has just seen the country’s largest two-week COVID surge — an increase in cases of more than 230 percent since the 2021 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally was held. 

With numbers like those, our hospitals overwhelmed and schools going into lockdown, you have to wonder: Who wants to come here? Beyond the thousands of Afghans we're airlifting out of Kabul, we can't imagine why anyone would. We cats HISS.

UPDATE: "The city of Montreal will not renew the state of emergency that has been in place since the start of the pandemic, citing a high vaccination rate, the imminent vaccination passport and public health guidelines," The Montreal Gazette reports. See, folks, this is how you do it. We cats PURR.

A Good Time Was Had?

Here's the scene at tonight's Trump rally in Alabama. If you think these folks look miserable now — wait till they're fighting for beds and ventilators in the nearest ICU two weeks from now. (If there are any beds and ventilators available.) We cats HISS.

Profile In Cowardice

By Miss Kubelik

We cats have been trying for some time now to wrap our heads around how MAGA-nutty our erstwhile "reach-across-the-aisle Republican" Congresswoman Elise Stefanik has become. You've probably already heard how she voted against certifying Joe Biden's seven-million-vote win in the 2020 Presidential election. And of course since January 6, the Trump-toadying House GOP defenestrated Liz Cheney from their minority leadership team and put "Elsie" in Liz's place.

But now! Oh, goodness gracious.

This coming Wednesday, at a public park a stone's throw away from us, an anti-Muslim MAGA bigot, Scott Presler, will headline a Republican GOTV rally. Elsie is aggressively promoting this event. But here's the thing: Elsie is not expected to attend.

What. A. Coward.

Elsie cites her pregnancy (ugh), but clearly she wants to pander to the GOP's MAGA base without getting any of their mud on her maternity smock. Her hypocrisy is utterly offensive, as is the fact that this event will be held in the very park that hosts our regular polling place. These Trumpsters are besmirching our sacred voting site with their hate.

The only bright spot? The "door knocking" that's scheduled after the rally. We cats can't wait for some hapless Presler/Stefanik minion to ring our bell. That would make us PURR.

75? Really?

"During the 10 years between the end of the Cold War and the [9/11] terror attacks, the United States enjoyed a level of power, wealth and safety that — except for Britain in the years before World War I — has no parallel in history...Heady confidence and flabby comfort characterized a decade of rising stock prices and accelerating microprocessors. The information economy seemed to have repealed the business cycle. The US could go to war with cruise missiles and without suffering casualties. Americans didn't have to worry that we might wake up one morning to rubble and corpses in our streets. The unipolar decade licensed us to waste an entire year on Oval Office sex. In the 2000 election, a lot of people voted, or failed to vote, as if it didn't really matter who was President."

—George Packer, The Atlantic

Our two cents: It always matters who's President. Happy birthday to 42! We cats PURR.

Where The Buck Stops (And No Apologies).

By Zamboni

After 20 years and nearly 3,000 American military casualties, one of the most depressing things about Afghanistan continues to be the corruption. And not just on the part of the Afghan government(s) we were trying to establish and then prop up. Yes, former president Ashraf Ghani escaped with millions — but aside from him, the only other winners in this conflict were the American contractors. We cats fail to understand why our men and women in uniform should die so that Erik Prince can become rich.

We happen to have been very busy across the border in Canada this week — after 17 months, arriving at our Montreal digs was like excavating King Tut's tomb. So we haven't been spending a lot of time watching cable news. Good thing, too, because from what we can tell, the talking heads went way overboard on the Afghanistan withdrawal. Only now are they starting to pull back a bit — noting, even, that the Trumpsters are desperately trying to put daylight between themselves and Benedict Donald's coddling of the Taliban. But of course, they'll never apologize or issue corrections. The alliteration of "Biden's blunder" was too tempting a chyron to resist.

Meanwhile, what are we left with? Well, a couple of things: The airlift out of Kabul will last a while, so we all might as well buckle in, sit back, and hope it continues smoothly. It'll probably last beyond the Administration's cited deadline of August 31, and if there's one thing we've learned about Team Biden, they're adept at pivoting when necessary. Second, the polls are with the President. Heck, most Americans are sick of the war and can't even find Afghanistan on a map — but even so, we'd like to think that at the same time, they'd do their best to welcome any Afghan refugees to the US.

Third, don't assume that the people of Afghanistan will submit quietly. Already there are signs they won't. "Struggling to govern" is probably not a headline the Taliban would like to see.

Finally, we watched Biden's speech online last night for the first time. It was Trumanesque, and we were impressed. Some lefties complained that it "lacked contrition or humility." GOOD. Namby-pamby hand wringing is just the sort of thing American voters have rightfully punished Democrats for in the past. We cats PURR.

Whitewash

By Baxter

Sorry this screen grab is so fuzzy, but we do what we can. See, the Republican Party has been frantically deleting any mentions from their official website of Benedict Donald's "historic" agreement with the Taliban last year to end America's involvement in Afghanistan. Operation Erasing History strikes again.

Fortunately, the interwebs are forever, and intrepid anti-Trumpsters have been collecting the evidence. Nice try, Ronna Romney!

Other images that are circulating include Fat Mike Pompeo posing triumphantly in 2020 with his BFF, Mullah Abdul Ghani "Fashion Don't" Baradar, a Taliban founder whom Trump helped release from prison in Pakistan and who's slated to be Afghanistan's next ruler. What's that noise? Oh, it's Pompeo's Presidential ambitions crashing and burning.

Can the GOP pretend that Trump, et. al, never held the Taliban close at the same time that Benedict Donald is complimenting them on Hannity? It makes you wonder. We cats HISS.

Wear The Mask, Get The Shot. It's Not Hard.

By Sniffles

Gosh! It was only last year that New York was the COVID capital of America. Remember the empty streets, the mobile refrigerated morgues, and the banging of pots and pans every night to salute hardworking healthcare workers? Meanwhile, Donald Trump and Jared Kushner were conspiring to cast the coronavirus as a "blue state problem." Hmm!

How things have changed (see above). Three weeks ago, Florida passed New York State in total COVID cases — averaging 30,000 a day. Today, Florida has the current highest number of daily average COVID deaths than any state in the union, at 169.9. (New York's daily average is 19.1.) Texas lags behind Florida with an average of 162.3 COVID deaths per day. And anti-mask Republican Governor Greg Abbott just tested positive for the virus.

Abbott will surely be fine. He's vaccinated — although he must be scared, because he's gotten monoclonal antibody therapy even though he has no symptoms. But what about all the Texas children he's forcing into schools with no protection? And what about Republican Ron DeSantis in Florida, who refuses to declare a state of emergency, even though counties like Palm Beach have? (Fun fact: Mar-A-Lago is in Palm Beach County.)

It's such madness. What's going on in states like Texas and Florida really hits you when you're in a non-COVID-hotspot like our stomping grounds in upstate New York or Montreal. Masks are required on the Montreal Metro, and today we saw no one who was noncompliant. Vaccine passports are coming to Quebec on September 1. There have been a few protests — but since everybody in the world has a smartphone, how tough is it going to be for Montrealers to flash their vaxx status to enter a restaurant, bar, sporting venue or gym?

During the last great pandemic in 1918, we didn't have phones or apps or miracle vaccines. Heck, we didn't even understand viruses. Now, we have the science and the technology we need to protect us. Why in the world wouldn't we use it? We cats HISS.

The Isolation Of Lindsey Graham

By Hubie and Bertie

Back in the day, White House counsel Chuck Colson said he would run over his grandmother to get Richard Nixon re-elected. Nixon did win in 1972 — but he resigned in 1974, and Colson went to prison for Watergate-related crimes.

We remember the frisson of shock that rippled through Washington when Colson made that grandmother remark. Turns out, it was just a precursor of today's Republican Party.

Today's poster child for that anything-to-win mindset — among many poster children, by the way — is probably Lindsey Graham. Lady Lindsey is the subject of a lengthy New York Times profile that, basically, tries to explain why he's so ready to whore himself for Donald Trump.

The article never really answers the question. After a traumatic, orphaned childhood, was Lindsey always looking for approval and acceptance from alpha males? Was it golf? Or (our take), is he just a soulless fiend who would do anything — even betray the memory of his fave buddy, John McCain — to stay close to power?

Whatever it is, Lady Lindsey has apparently salvaged his "friendship" with Benedict Donald. But his relationship with President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. seems to be beyond repair. A post-2020-election call with the President-elect did not go well. Although Joe Biden has surprised us in many ways — his ability to temper his commentary, to pivot, and to forcefully push back — there's one thing we all know for sure: You do not attack his family and get away with it.

So Lady Lindsey is living in this odd limbo. Not loved by Benedict Donald, who loves no one except himself, and estranged from reasonable people in Washington who can't fathom Graham as a loyal Trumpster. We'd feel sorry for him, except we don't. We cats HISS.

Tidbits And Cat Treats: Signs Of The Times

By Zamboni

Did you know that back in 1885, there was an anti-smallpox-vaccine riot in Montreal? There was! And today, several thousand people marched (peacefully) on Rene Levesque Boulevard, protesting the provincial government's plan to issue vaccine passports so people can go to restaurants, bars and sporting venues. The alternative? Shutting them down again. No, thanks.

Better to flash the Quebec equivalent of New York's Excelsior pass and have everyone be safe, right? We understand that French-Canadians tend to distrust government (in 1885, it was the same story), and there were plenty of provincial flags flying at today's protest. We cats, back in Montreal for the first time in 17 months, gave them a wide berth.

Here are some other thoughts that are occupying our minds tonight.

Canada has announced mandatory COVID vaccines for air, train and cruise ship travelers by the end of October. And right on top of that, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is paying a visit tomorrow to Governor General Mary Simon to ask her to dissolve Parliament — which means a snap election next month. It's hard to imagine that the Liberal Party's high-single to double-digit lead over the other parties won't hold — the leaders of the Tories and the NDP are just so completely unappealing. (Although can we say once again that we wish Justin would grow his pandemic beard back?)

Fighting a war for 20 years seems a little excessive, and it's depressing how after all that time, and all the training we gave them, the Afghan army is collapsing like dominoes. President Biden is right: "One more year, or five more years, of US military presence would not have made a difference if the Afghan military cannot or will not hold its own country." (P.S. It would be nice if we would admit some refugees, like Canada is doing.)

With Afghanistan, the pandemic, climate change, the Haitian earthquake, and the demise of democracies around the world, Maureen Dowd still can't find anything more important to write about than Barack Obama's 60th birthday party. When will The New York Times wake up and give her the heave-ho?

How many children do Ron DeSantis and Greg Abbott have to kill from COVID before people stop referring to the Republican Party as "pro-life"?

Finally, how refreshing to see our POTUS inspiring grins by posing with the Dude With Sign. So, all you need to get four million followers on Instagram is a piece of cardboard and a magic marker? How wonderfully retro! We cats PURR.

Nightmare

 

By Miss Kubelik

Is today "Reinstatement Day"? We sure don't want to miss it! — but frankly, we've been out of pocket this week and, at times, completely offline. It's been stressful — but at least we're not healthcare workers caring for dying Delta patients because of Ron DeSantis, Greg Abbott, or any other number of malevolent Republican governors.

It's amazing that these Trumpster guvs are making life-and-death decisions without medical degrees, and that people are actually following them. We don't feel nearly as sad for the MAGAts who are falling to COVID as we do for all the other patients who can't get treatment because their hospitals are full of idiots. And of course for the doctors, nurses and other providers who have to care for them.

This shouldn't be difficult: Get vaccinated, wear a mask, practice social distancing — and give a damn about others. We cats HISS.

(IMAGE: Mike Luckovich, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

It Was Time For Him To Go

By Baxter

We cats are grateful for Andrew Cuomo's leadership during the COVID pandemic, from last March until now. His coronavirus briefings were must-sees, and we always felt better afterward. We don't feel quite the same way about his conduct behind the scenes, however. 

So it's a good thing that Andrew has accepted the inevitable, and instead of maligning his supremely capable state Attorney General or digging in his heels or insisting it was all just because he's Italian, he's resigning. Now New York can have its first-ever woman Governor (yay!) and Democrats can move into 2022 without being agonizingly frozen in place. And of course all those highway signs have to be changed.

You can bet that Republicans were rooting for Andrew to hang on forever so they could reap the benefits. So this is not news that they welcome. Also, maybe the GOP can start holding some of their own badly behaving boys to account? What a concept!

One other thing before we bid our guv goodbye and get on with our lives: Even with everything we know about him, we'd still rather have Andrew Cuomo as our Governor than Ron DeSantis. At least Andrew cares whether his constituents live or die. We cats HISS.

A Few Quick Facts For A Sunday Night

By Sniffles

The coronavirus is so bad in Florida that if the Sunshine State were a foreign country, the US would ban travelers from there.

Donald Trump lost the 2020 election by seven million votes.

The COVID vaccines are safe and effective.

Making abortion illegal won't stop abortion. It will simply stop safe abortions.

Seeing strident right-wing anti-vaxxers die of COVID is oddly...satisfying.

The Olympics are over (thank God).

The Rosen revelations about how Trump tried to get the DOJ to overturn the election are terrifying, and should be the lead story everywhere.

Climate change is not only real, it's here.

There are only 73 open ICU beds in all of Houston, Austin and San Antonio, Texas.

Naming COVID variants after Republican governors who refuse to safeguard their citizens is a good idea. We cats PURR.

Lest We Furr-get: Sunrise At Campobello, 100 Years On

A hundred years ago this coming week, a young Franklin Delano Roosevelt contracted polio. The disease forged the President that America ultimately came to know and rely on through a Great Depression and a World War.

Since then, we conquered polio with a miraculous vaccine. FDR would be disgusted if he could come back today and see the Trumpster idiots who refuse to get the COVID shot. We cats HISS.

Tidbits And Cat Treats: VRA Anniversary Edition

By Hubie and Bertie

Some people may say that the most important news story of today was the incredible July jobs report. Others insist it's Team Canada beating Sweden for the gold medal in women's Olympics soccer. But we think it's Biden's tan suit. (Gosh, Joe is good at this trolling stuff.) Here are a few other things that caught our attention this week:

Fifty-six years ago today, President Lyndon Johnson (above) signed the 1965 Voting Rights Act into law. Since then, Republicans and the Roberts Supreme Court have taken a hammer to it. Congress needs to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act now, please.

Our total viewing of the HBO documentary on Barack Obama isn't finished yet. But having just seen the final 20 minutes of the last installment, we have to say kudos to the filmmakers for including that shot of the Bidens at Obama's Chicago speech on January 10, 2017. It was as if they were saying, "Don't worry, everyone — Joe and Jill rescued us in the end."

Speaking of Joe's trolling, he clearly touched a nerve with the ever-unappealing, science-denying child killer Ron DeSantis in Florida. And that was before "Governor Who?" It's kind of interesting that, while Benedict Donald invented nicknames for people all the time, President Biden has only done it twice — and both times, the names stuck. (The other one? "The former guy.")

We don't understand why President Obama had to cancel his birthday party for 400 people when 700,000 idiots are expected in Sturgis, South Dakota, for a motorcycle rally. (Well, actually, we do — but just sayin'.)

We know that nobody who watches FOX "News" reads this blog, but it's really important that we just flat-out say that Hungary's Viktor Orban is not a good guy.

Finally, it's tough to be compassionate about the unvaccinated dude with COVID who's in the hospital and freaking out because he might not live to give his daughter away at her wedding. First, because he was stupid enough to not get the vaccine. But also: What daughters anywhere these days are "given away"? We cats HISS.

Lest We Furr-get: The Irony Of Palin

By Miss Kubelik

Watching the new multi-episode HBO documentary about President Obama is eye-opening in a lot of ways. How young and thin everyone looked in 2004 and 2008! (Except for Joe Biden, who since then has gotten more slender and fit.)

You also see and hear stuff that might not have struck you back then, but that sure resonates now. Take this little nugget of campaign-trail wisdom from Sarah Palin, who at the time was deeply into her bogus "Obama is palling around with terrorists" attack mode:

"Turns out one of Barack’s earliest supporters is a man who, according to The New York Times...was a domestic terrorist and part of a group that, quote, 'launched a campaign of bombings that would target the Pentagon and the US Capitol.' Wow."

"Wow," indeed! Who would want to pal around with anyone who would attack the Capitol? We cats HISS.

All A-Flutter For Fanone

News alert: We cats are still in love with DC Police Officer Michael Fanone. Yes, we know about the tattoos.

Buckeye State Beat-Downs

By Zamboni

We cats are normally pretty circumspect when it comes to intraparty squabbles, because we recognize that the true enemies of democracy are on the Republican side of the aisle. But it was very satisfying to see Jill Stein's would-be 2016 running mate Nina Turner get her butt handed to her in Ohio's 11th district Congressional primary last night.

We don't know what happened to Nina. It's perfectly fine, although not thrilling, for her to have switched from Hillary to Bernie Sanders in 2016. After all, people change their minds. What we don't get is Turner declining to endorse Clinton against Trump, later saying that she voted for Stein, and comparing support for Joe Biden in 2020 to eating a bowl of merde. Lyndon Johnson was generally right about his preference for keeping dissenters inside the tent, but we long ago decided Turner was one Democrat who didn't need to be in ours.

(Any doubts can be erased by Turner's sore loser-y concession speech last night.)

In the other special Congressional primary yesterday, in Ohio-15, Benedict Donald's preferred candidate won comfortably — the opposite result from the recent special election in Texas, and after some in the media breathlessly (and it turned out, ridiculously) speculated what it might mean if another Trumpster went down to defeat. Mike Carey is an energy lobbyist and as "ugh" as you'd expect. And although he's favored in the fall, all is not lost. Carey's win:

• Means that Trump remains dominant in the party, preventing any sane voices from tentatively stepping out.
• Will help ensure brutal GOP primaries for everyone on Trump's enemies list, thus squandering valuable resources.
• Further freezes the Presidential field, limiting any potentially reasonable Republican's ability to build a big-donor network or a grassroots fundraising base, or to put together a credible campaign organization.

Republicans may pledge fealty to Benedict Donald in public, but in private they really wish he would just go away — in some form or fashion that would keep them in MAGAts' good graces, financially. Sorry, GOP, it's not going to happen. We cats PURR.

Bad Govs, Good Gov

By Baxter

An eventful day on the gubernatorial front. New York Attorney General Letitia James issued a report on Andrew Cuomo that in the words of Doonesbury, basically said, "Guilty, guilty, guilty!" So it seems it's time for Andrew to go. Not just because every Democrat from the President on down is calling for him to resign, but because he decided to get all Trumpy and claim that James's report was "biased." (Nuh-uh, Gov. Also, being Italian and huggy-huggy doesn't excuse you, sorry.)

New York Democrats have plenty of time to figure out next year's election, and some great candidates to choose from. (Like Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul, who will step in should Andrew resign.) Tish James has been mentioned, too, although we kind of want her to stay where she is because she's doing such a good job. We've also heard rumors about Preet Bharara. Any of them would be swell.

What really was amusing today was how progressive tweeps mocked Republicans who tried to make hay of the Cuomo mess. "Okay, fine," they'd respond when someone like Elise Stefanik called for Andrew to get hauled off to the hoosegow. "Now, do Gaetz."

Elsewhere, gubernatorially speaking, it appears that Democrat Charlie Crist leads incumbent Republican Ron DeSantis in Florida by a bit more than a percentage point. (Just a few months ago, Crist was behind by double digits.) In the same poll, Ag Commissioner Nikki Fried only trailed DeSantis by three. Hey, Ron! Could it be that killing your own constituents isn't good politics?

(BTW, President Biden perfectly shamed the shameless DeSantis today: "Please help," he said. "But if you're not going to help, at least get out of the way of the people who are trying to do the right thing. Use your power to save lives." DeSantis is beyond contrition, but Biden's wasn't really talking to him. He was talking to America.)

Finally, we have to give a shout-out to Governor John Bel Edwards of Louisiana, who yesterday gave a remarkable press conference with healthcare experts describing dire COVID straits for their state. Edwards has re-instituted a mask mandate, which is sure to go over with the Trumpsters like a lead balloon. The reason? Kids who can't get vaccinated are at risk. Edwards, a Democrat who opposes abortion rights, turned the whole "pro-life" question right back on Republicans.

"Do you give a damn?" he asked them directly. "I hope you do. I do. I’ve heard it said often: Louisiana’s the most pro-life state in the nation. I want to believe that. It ought to mean something. In this context, it ought to mean something." We disagree with John Bel Edwards on choice, but his position gives him particular credibility to call out the GOP's hypocrisy on masks and vaccines. We cats PURR.

Sellers Singes The Senators

By Sniffles

It's constant dilemma: Do we give more oxygen to the Q conspiracies by repeating and/or mocking them? Is it better to ignore them? It does seem like a ridiculous waste of time to even discuss Benedict Donald being "reinstated" this month.

Then again, you have to wonder, because maybe January 6 was just a practice run. (It will be, if there are no consequences.) So perhaps it's better to pay attention after all.

And don't just pay attention — push back. For example: Republicans in the Arizona state senate just issued Trump-inspired subpoenas in support of the clown show election "audit" that they've allegedly been conducting of the Maricopa County 2020 results. To which the Board of Supervisors just elegantly told them to, um, you-know-what themselves in a marvelously brutal letter.

"Dear Senators, It is now August of 2021," Board Chairman Jack Sellers wrote. "The election of November 2020 is over. If you haven't figured out that the election in Maricopa County was free, fair, and accurate yet, I'm not sure you ever will...

"The Board has real work to do and little time to entertain this adventure in never-never land. Please finish whatever it is that you are doing and release whatever it is you are going to release. I am confident that our staff and volunteers ran the election as prescribed by federal and state law. There was no fraud, there wasn't an injection of ballots from Asia nor was there a satellite that beamed votes into our election equipment. It's time for all election officials to tell the truth and stop encouraging conspiracies.

"Release your report and be prepared to defend any accusations of misdeeds in court. It's time to move on."

WHOA. Insult followed by slap followed by put-down, finished off with a lovely threat of legal action. Fabulous! We cats PURR.

Chris Calls Out Cruz's COVID Crap

This floor speech by Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut is a clear and reasoned argument for vaccines, masks, and why the CDC's guidance is still valuable despite the trials and tribulations the agency suffered under Trump. Plus, it's a fabulous takedown of the ever-revolting Rafael Cruz. We cats thank Senator Murphy, and we PURR.