Big Shoulders

 

By Hubie and Bertie

Every now and then, America loses two groundbreakers in the space of 24 hours, and it happened today. Goodbye to Bill Russell and Nichelle Nichols, both of whom broke racial barriers, in sports and television.

Russell, the NBA's first Black coach, marched with Martin Luther King — who in turn told Nichols that he and Coretta liked Star Trek because it portrayed African-Americans "as we should be seen every day, as intelligent, quality, beautiful, people." So true. We cats PURR.

Nancy Rules

By Miss Kubelik

What a week in Nancy Pelosi's House of Representatives: the House just passed an assault weapons ban, 217 to 213.

We cats remember being on the phone with then-Attorney General Janet Reno, back in 1994 — the last time such a ban was enacted — and General Reno describing to us the arduous trek to achieving that victory. Now, today's ban has to go the Senate, where history has the chance to repeat itself (although we have no illusions). But whatever the political angst, it will be nothing compared to the pain that the survivors of gun violence endure. Just ask Fred Guttenberg.

Our thought tonight is that however much the MAGA screamers want to distract people, and however much the media chase shiny objects, governing is complicated and difficult, and does not lend itself to 24-hour, cable-news sound bites. So when a legislative victory like tonight's occurs, the pundits are kinda caught flat-footed. They have to actually address the substance of the legislation. Horrors!

Despite what the talking heads may or may not have to say (and we really don't care what they do), Nancy Pelosi is a badass and probably the greatest Speaker of the House in our lifetimes. Trust the women to get shit done. We cats apologize for the profanity, but we still PURR.

Olivia For The Win

By Zamboni

Maybe you've heard by now that Matt Gaetz's fat-shaming of Gen Z badass Olivia Julianna just raised $1 million to help women in red states who need abortions. What a feel-good story for those of us who are sick and tired of Trumpsters behaving like children. (P.S. Speaking of kids, we're still looking forward to Gaetz's indictment for underage sex trafficking. That hasn't gone away.)

Meanwhile, in the same week, right wingers and Republicans have been criticizing Vice President Kamala Harris for verbally describing herself to a group of blind people she was meeting with on the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. (Pro tip: Harris did what you're supposed to do with the blind and partially blind.) Even January 6 committee member Adam Kinzinger jumped on the bandwagon, claiming that sensitivity like the kind Harris displayed turns off voters, and is the reason Democrats lose elections. Really?

Kinzinger's response is silly. But it helps us understand why the Republican Party didn't shun Trump back in 2016, when he mocked a disabled reporter. It also makes you wonder: Why should Americans vote for a party that clearly doesn't respect them? Whose members, in fact, go out of their way to deride and insult them?

Harris probably isn't bothered by all this, but the GOP is clearly terrified of her. Is it because she's beautiful? Not much to mock there, so they grasp at ridiculous straws. We cats PURR.

Tidbits And Cat Treats: The Lazy Narrative Will Have To Change Edition

By Baxter

After endless weeks of gloomy, doomy Biden-and-Democrat-bashing, The Washington Post led with a headline yesterday that put Team Biden on the cusp of some big legislative wins. And sure enough, here's tonight's news: "Manchin says he has reached deal with Democrats on climate, healthcare."

Hmmm. Grand if true. But maybe we shouldn't be so cynical — look at what else is going on.

Despite the caterwauling of naysayers, the Department of Justice is, indeed, investigating Benedict Donald's actions on January 6. This is something we always felt in our 230 bones, but had no way to prove, since the DOJ doesn't leak about anything.

And as we all know, the Georgia grand jury is going gangbusters in DA Fani Willis's election-fraud case.

Meanwhile, out on the campaign trail, Democratic Senate candidate and current Lt. Governor of Pennsylvania John Fetterman is running a brilliant campaign for Pat Toomey's seat. He has done what the 2012 Obama campaign did so devastatingly to Willard Mitt Romney: define his opponent, early and almost insurmountably. Dr. Oz might be New Jersey's most famous resident right now, and the hijinks keep coming.

One of Oz's most loathsome fellow Republicans, Matt Gaetz, is getting owned, too — by a 19-year-old abortion-rights activist from Texas, whom Gaetz made the mistake of trying to fat shame. Olivia Julianna turned Gaetz's bullying back around on him and proceeded to raise $275,000 in his name for Gen Z for Change's abortion fund. And she's been Twitter-taunting him ever since. "Your hateful comments toward me will quite literally help pay for abortion services. LOL. Get rekt."

And if all that isn't enough, the House is crafting a bill to establish term limits for Supreme Court justices, Trump and Pence are fighting, Raphael Warnock is browbeating Herschel Walker about not debating, and GOP online fundraising has slowed (ours has picked up). We've seen worse political headlines, that's for sure. We cats PURR.

They're At It Again

By Sniffles

Why won't Canada's "Free-dumb" Convoy idiots leave the poor Unknown Soldier alone?

First, back in February, there was that awful Trumpy woman who climbed on top of the grave at the War Memorial during the Ottawa protests. (Sadly, she was never charged for this.) Then yesterday, some bizarre TikTok-er posted a video (now deleted) of himself with the grave, covered in what appeared to be a gigantic American flag.

Canadian media are reporting that the flag was a strange hybrid of Canada's and America's. Nobody really understands what the person was protesting, and he didn't explain himself. But his Twitter handle is "The Disrespected Trucker," so what else are we to think?

Whatever it was about, it's sickening. Can you imagine how Americans would react if someone from another country threw flags over our Tomb of the Unknown, or stood on it? Some so-called "Second Amendment remedies" are instantly imaginable. In the meantime, though, this latest stunt is nearly as revolting as Benedict Donald calling the fallen at Normandy "losers" and "suckers." We cats HISS.

Heads, Not Tails

By Hubie and Bertie

We cats are torn. Political violence is always unacceptable, and if you looked at incidents throughout American history, you'd probably find that it's taken the lives of more Democrats than Republicans.

But when some squiffy dude tried to "assassinate" GOP Congressman and hapless New York gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin (the verb is The New York Post's, not ours), he used a self-defense key fob in the shape of our head. Hmmmm.

Not only does the fob come in fashion colors (although it appears that Zeldin's attacker chose basic black), but wow — you put that in your hand when you're walking to your car alone in a dark parking garage, and not only will you have your keys handy, you'll be ready at a moment's notice to gouge a mugger's eyes out.

Thing is, the cat head self-defense key fob is clearly meant for women. So it's ironic that it plays such a big role in this story, because Lee Zeldin is not a female-friendly politician. He's anti-choice, voted "no" on the Violence Against Women Act, voted to let states waive Obamacare's provisions for maternity, pregnancy and newborn care, and refuses to support equal pay. He even voted against giving STEM grants to girls. So excuse us if we're unmoved by all this. We cats HISS.

Tidbits And Cat Treats: Season Finale Edition

By Miss Kubelik

Well! We don't know about "Better Call Saul" or any of those other cable shows that we don't watch, but tonight's January 6 Committee hearing rose to the occasion in every way. Here are some of our initial impressions. More to come — but meanwhile, here goes:

Do we think Bennie Thompson really has COVID? It was just so delicious to have Liz Cheney presiding over the events tonight.

Every single Republican member of the Senate should be asked relentlessly by reporters if they got a call from Trump during the 187 minutes, and if so, what they talked about. Marsha Blackburn, Lindsey Graham, Ted Cruz, et. al. — anything to say?

The video of Josh Hawley fleeing the mob he'd incited earlier in the day is the talk of the town — or, at least, of Twitter. Can't wait to hear what Claire McCaskill has to say about this. (PS: Hawley running is not exactly the picture of masculinity. Check out Olson from Happer Oil Aberdeen in the wonderful movie "Local Hero" to see what we mean.)

Matthew Pottinger was full of shit when he said 2020 was a close election. Seven million votes, Matt. See, this is why these Republican witnesses, as valuable as they are, are maddening.

The first thing we thought of when the voice-obscured witness said that Mike Pence's security detail was calling family members to say goodbye? United 93. The passengers on that doomed plane on 9/11 had more character and courage than Donald Trump has in his little finger.

Goodness gracious, but Mook Meadows (Rich Wilson's name for him) is in a lot of trouble. We already knew that, but OMG.

Who gave the order for "no photos" on the afternoon of January 6? Mook?

The bottom line for tonight: We cats are so, so glad that these awful Trumpsters — especially including "the 50-, 60-, and 70-year-old men" — no longer have the run of the West Wing, or, for that matter, of the government. It's such a relief to know that Team Biden, a group of manifestly more decent people, is there now. We cats PURR.

Wizard Of Lies

John Fetterman's campaign against "Dr." Mehmet Oz in the Pennsylvania Senate race has been so good that it's not clear he needs any help. But this video is too delicious not to share. We cats PURR.

100 Years Of George

It's tough to fall in love with a politician and then get disillusioned later. When we cats were kittens, that happened to us with George McGovern. He ran a bad Presidential campaign in 1972, and an even stupider one in 1984. But that doesn't mean we didn't feel wistful on his centenary yesterday. He had his faults — but down deep, he was a good and decent man who just wanted the wars to stop. We cats PURR.

Numbers

By Zamboni

A recent CNN poll showed the midterms to be kind of a wash between the two major political parties. Hey — aren't the Republicans supposed to be romping to victory this year? We're not seeing it.

Although the economy and inflation loom large, it seems clear that the last couple of months have put a real dent in GOP support. Roe v. Wade, gun massacres in schools and supermarkets, January 6 — and now, since we're all baking in the heat, climate change — have switched things up. With, no doubt, more to come between now and November.

One number jumps out: The drop in support for the Republican Party among seniors. In May, voters 65+ favored the GOP, 62 to 37 percent. Now, it's 49 percent for the Democrats, 47 for the Republicans.

Surely a lot of this is the Roe decimation, plus everything else. But don't forget that Florida's first Martian Governor-now-Senator, Rick Scott, who chairs the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee, has been all over the airwaves, promising to end Social Security and Medicare in five years. That seems to be getting through to people. Why the Republicans think this is a winning message is a mystery to us.

Add in most GOP leaders' general lack of appeal — from Trump to McConnell to McCarthy to DeSantis and Jordan/Gaetz/Gomert/Greene/Gosar/Stefanik/Boebert, et. al. — and one can't help but think that people are getting tired of the show. Tired enough to buck historical trends? It's certainly possible. We cats PURR.

Maddow Messes Up

By Baxter

A while back, we cats decided we were done watching Rachel Maddow. This was before she announced that she would be scaling back her hosting duties to one night a week. We don't hate her — we just got tired of her constant repetition of points she's already made. Maybe Rhodes scholars feel the need to overexplain? Sheesh.

So we weren't watching last night when Maddow apparently was pulling her hair out about a Merrick Garland memo from May 22 — treating it like some bombshell that implied that the Justice Department would not indict Benedict Donald by the midterms. Twitter immediately began blowing up with demands for Garland to resign or be fired.

This made no sense. Garland's memo, from all appearances, is a routine reminder to DOJ staff that they should not open investigations of politicians in election seasons without getting his approval first. It cited an earlier memo from Trump AG Bill Barr, which Barr issued as a reminder to staff after James Comey had infamously violated the no-election-interference rule in 2016. Remember that?

As one of the tweeps we follow observed, "The only thing I don’t like about the Garland memo is the word 'Barr.' All the other words are fine. I actually agree the DOJ shouldn't indict people or make announcements that impact free and fair elections. I agreed with that rule when Comey did it to Hillary, and I do now."

The liberal hand-wringing that Justice "isn't doing anything" is tiresome, and Maddow has unnecessarily inflamed it. Team, we don't know what's going on inside the department for good reasons. And it's obvious from actions like the recent raid on Jeffrey Clark that they are very definitely, um, "doing things." (Besides, the outcome of the midterms will have no effect on existing DOJ investigations — and do we all understand that Trump is not on the ballot this fall?)

Can we just stop this and focus on 2022, please? We cats HISS.

Hair Removal

By Sniffles

The big news out of Canada appears to be that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau got a haircut.

Sheesh. Really? We're reminded of President Biden's response to reporters who asked him about his fist-bump with MBS. "Why don't you guys talk about something that matters?"

Oh, well. Here's the deal: Justin got a short cut, which is probably appropriate because it's summer, and of course we all know the havoc that global warming is wreaking these days. Still and all, we have to admit we miss the long locks and the graying beard of Pandemic Justin. The short cut just makes him look like he's 12.

But our opinion isn't the story here. What's interesting is that Justin is subjected to the kind of scrutiny that only a woman in power would receive. Remember the endless focus on Hillary's hairdos? And that dates all the way back to when she was First Lady — not Senator, Secretary of State, and Presidential nominee.

Our condolences to the Prime Minister for all the silliness, if indeed he pays it any mind. P.S.: Dear Justin, autumn is just around the corner. If you feel like growing your hair and beard back for the fall and winter, we'll totally support that decision. It would make us PURR.

Ya Gotta Believe

By Hubie and Bertie

Those of us who are frustrated with Joe Manchin know what the solution is: We need to elect more Democrats to the Senate in 2022.

And Pundit World may be quietly waking up to the fact that this year's Senate map is looking pretty good for Democrats.

Now, let's not get ahead of ourselves — we said "quietly." Since the media love to latch onto lazy narratives and are loath to let them go, this year's Senate races will require them to put in a bit of work. But suffice to say that the Republicans have a lot of seats at risk, of which these seven races are key:

• Cheri Beasley, North Carolina 
• Catherine Cortez-Masto, Nevada
• John Fetterman, Pennsylvania
• Maggie Hassan, New Hampshire
• Mark Kelly, Arizona
• Tim Ryan, Ohio
• Raphael Warnock, Georgia

We cats would like to add another: Mike (Not Al) Franken in Iowa.

The Des Moines Register's recent poll of that Senate race is revealing. Ancient incumbent Republican Senator Chuck Grassley holds an eight-point lead over Franken, 47 to 39 percent. This is the first time that Grassley has performed under 50 percent against a challenger since 1980. Nineteen-eighty! We don't know about you, but that was a few of our nine lives ago.

But — eight percentage points is a lot, right? Yeah. But think about this for a minute.

The under-50-percent margin is far more relevant. Keep in mind that with the margin of error, the spread could easily be closer to 6 percent. And it's not even Labor Day, which is the time that people generally start focusing on November's elections.

Add to that the concerns about Grassley's age, and the fact that the January 6 Committee may have some revelations about him that will be less than flattering, and we could be looking at a competitive race here.

Iowa has trended awfully red lately. But Mike (Not Al) Franken is just the kind of candidate that could turn conservative heads this fall. We cats take this poll as a good sign, and we PURR.

Not So Secret Any More

By Miss Kubelik

Okay, wow. When we cats worked in the White House, one of the entities we thought would be the least vulnerable to corruption would have been the Secret Service. Were we wrong?

It appears so. The USSS has turned out to be just another agency that Benedict Donald has managed to subvert and besmirch. Who'd have thought it? (Maybe we should have.)

The Secret Service allegedly has erased text messages from January 5-6, 2021, and has been severely compromised — not only on the insurrection investigation but also on matters ranging from the investigation of Trump's Lafayette Park appearance to general, undisclosed allegations of misconduct. Knowing their track record from the Obama Administration, we cats are not optimistic.

Our only question tonight is this: Is our President, Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr., adequately protected? And if not, who will purge the USSS of Trumpsters to assure he is? We cats HISS.

On Bended Knee

Young readers, do you know how hard it is for some humans to kneel? Sure, Colin Kaepernick can do it. But once you reach a certain age — or even if you haven't — it can be a painful exercise. So 79-year-old Joe Biden's swift drop to one knee to greet Holocaust survivors at Yad Vashem the other day was mighty impressive. Did the media pay it as much attention as they did his recent minor bike mishap? We cats HISS.

Bad Signatures

By Zamboni

Republican examples of election fraud just don't stop, do they? That's why they scream about it so much: It's pure projection.

Mark Meadows, former chief of staff to Benedict Donald, was registered to vote in, what? — three places? We're losing count. A big-money Trump supporter in Nevada was caught casting a second ballot in his dead wife's name in 2020 (but not before he feigned indignation at the "pervasiveness" of fraud, of course). Republicans from states as varied as Arizona, Pennsylvania and Virginia have been caught doing the same.

Now, here in New York, GOP Congressman Lee Zeldin, who is the Republican nominee for Governor, tried to gain an extra ballot line with fake signatures. Where will it stop?

New York's election rules allow for multiple parties to be listed on ballots, and candidates often vie to appear on other parties' lines as well as their own to grab more votes. (Yep, it's weird.) Zeldin's campaign submitted 13,000 phony signatures in a bid to be listed on the Independence Party's line as well as the GOP's. Some of the signatures were photocopied. How 20th century!

Zeldin's campaign is trying to excuse the fraud by claiming the signature gathering was "an entirely grassroots effort," so they didn't review all the petitions. What? That doesn't even make sense. Not to mention that Zeldin's the dude who in December of 2020 tweeted that "ballot integrity always matters, regardless of whether the issue impacts one vote or thousands." He pressed for more stringent signature verification.

That's Republicans for you — rules should apply to everyone but them. Zeldin, naturally, was one of the Trumpy House traitors who voted against certifying Joe Biden's win after the insurrection on January 6. We hope Governor Kathy Hochul stomps the life out of him in November. We cats HISS.

Turn The Page, Jordan

By Baxter

Just weeks ago, we cats were blissfully unaware of a cretin in Toronto named Jordan Peterson, and we had no idea how lucky we were. Now it's hard to escape him and his transphobic silliness. (Although Josh Hawley is trying very hard to top him.)

This deeply unlikable Peterson person is on the faculty at the University of Toronto, a job that we guess he bothers to perform when he's not spewing hostile nonsense on social media. For some reason, he has decided to go after the film actor Elliot Page, who recently transitioned and who, as you can see, appeared on the cover of Esquire magazine. So, good for Elliot, right? 

Apparently not, because this has driven Peterson mad. He raged against Page on Twitter, calling him by his dead name, using feminine pronouns, and accusing him of "converting" young kids — the whole nine yards. Twitter responded by tossing his account for awhile, but it looks like he's back. (After what the January 6 Committee revealed yesterday about Twitter's approach to Benedict Donald's seditious rantings in 2020, we're sadly not surprised.)

Peterson is obviously an ass, but there's something really weird about all this: Why does it matter? An actor, Elliot Page, has chosen to be his authentic self. What possible impact does that have on Jordan Peterson's life? None, that's what.

The only possible explanation is that Peterson is trying to bait the University of Toronto into firing him, so he can whine on whatever social media doesn't boot him off, play the victim on Fox "News," and make big money off his grievances. Elliot Page, please ignore this hateful buffoon. That would make us cats PURR.

Tidbits And Cat Treats: "Profound Reckoning" Edition

By Sniffles

Many thanks to Congressman Jamie Raskin for giving us the title of the January 6 Committee movie in his closing remarks today. (As a friend has noted, it should be "Profound Reckoning" because "Supreme Dereliction" needs to be saved for a blockbuster SCOTUS exposé.) Raskin's eloquent closing statement made us proud to be Americans.

We've also been mulling over the other developments of the day. Here are a few.

What truly must be driving Trump crazy is that these hearings have been great television. And he knows it. That's just one reason why he's over on TruthScrotal or whatever it's called, fuming like a madman. It's the best possible revenge on him — a really big show!

Is Diet Dr. Pepper the drink of choice for crazy Republican women? It was one of Sarah Palin's favorites, too. By the way, Sidney Powell continues to demonstrate some very, um, interesting fashion choices.

Witness Stephen Ayres testified that although he once believed Trump's claims about the election, he now knows that they were lies, and that participating in the storming of the Capitol has caused him to lose his job and his house. Then he went over to Officers Dunn, Hodges, Fanone and Gonell and apologized to each of them. An amazing moment. Every insurrectionist, every member of Trump's staff — including Cassidy Hutchinson and Patsy Baloney — and of course Trump himself, should do the same. (Spoiler: They won't.)

Today was a reminder for Biden bashers (of whom we are heartily sick) that Joe and Kamala did the one thing to Trump that Donald feared and loathed the most: They made him a loser. And not by a whisker, either — by seven million votes. A little respect, please.

Finally, the committee once again gave Liz Cheney the teaser for the next exciting episode. She dropped a bombshell: Trump recently tried (and failed) to directly contact an unnamed committee witness. It's now in the hands of the DOJ as possible witness tampering. Handy tip to Trumpsters: If you see Donald's name come up on your smartphone, do not take the call — you'll save a few bucks in legal fees. We cats PURR.

Here's Your Cheat Sheet For Tomorrow

We cats will have plenty to say about tomorrow afternoon's January 6 Committee hearing. In the meantime, this clever artwork from Asha Rangappa will help you keep the Trumpy-traitor cast of characters straight. For a better look, click here. We cats PURR.

Alberta Beloved

For a quick Sunday post, let's take another detour to Canada, where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was mobbed by admirers today at the — get this! — Calgary Stampede.

That's Calgary, Alberta, folks. In case you thought that the so-called "Freedom" Convoy idiots with their "F**k Trudeau" flags represented anyone other than their little, sorry selves. We cats PURR.

Tidbits And Cat Treats: Good News Edition

By Hubie and Bertie

 The news has been nasty and brutish lately, but there were also some stories this week that made us grin (or, at least, nod with satisfaction). Here's a sampling.

POTUS Protects Choice — President Biden signed an executive order today that provides for access to contraception and medication abortion, ensures emergency care, enlists volunteer legal representation, safeguards patient privacy, and more. The other great thing he did was use the signing to hammer home how important it is to elect more Democrats this fall. Choice is on the ballot, kids!

Biff is Miffed — "Justice" Kavanaugh fled out the back door of a Morton's steakhouse in DC last night after pro-choice protesters showed up to peacefully demonstrate. Suddenly, Biff feels all umbrage-y about not having any privacy, and the internet is rightly dragging him for it. Best so far: "Poor, poor Justice Back Alley Kavanaugh."

George vs. Gym — HBO has signed on to produce and air George Clooney's upcoming documentary about sexual abuse at Ohio State University, including Gym Jordan's real-time knowledge of it. We'll just leave that right here.

Jenna Has a Brain (Not a Giuliani) Fart — On the eve of Patsy Baloney's closed-door testimony to the January 6 Committee, subpoenaed Trump "lawyer" Jenna Ellis went after President Biden for giving the Presidential Medal of Freedom to two, as she put it, "losers," Simone Biles and Megan Rapinoe. Such projection! Simone's perfect response: "Who is Jenna Ellis? Asking for everyone."

Jobs, Jobs, Jobs — The US economy added 372,000 jobs in June. That's more than economists expected. And guess what? Gas prices are coming down. Is that why the Trumpsters have gotten "Hunter Biden" trending all of a sudden?

Domestic Terrorists in the Slammer — Albertan "Freedom" Convoy leader Tamara Lich was hauled back off to the hoosegow for bail violations before Canada Day. Now, she'll stay rotting in there until her trial. Here in the US, jailed insurrectionist Stewart Rhodes is offering to testify to the January 6 Committee in public. We don't know how the committee will handle it, but the headline here is that Rhodes is even making the offer in the first place. Stuff is happening! We cats PURR.

UPDATE: More good news: Elon Musk is terminating his takeover of Twitter. Let's hope Twitter makes his life miserable over it — kind of like heckling a Supreme Court justice in a restaurant. We cats PURR.

Larry The No. 10 Cat, Ready To Serve

 

If we were going to post every funny Boris Johnson thing we saw today, we'd be up all night. But obviously we had to share this one. (For more on Larry, click here.) We cats PURR.

Big Day At No. 10

 

And here's some (Jonathan) Pie in Boris's face. Thank you, Britain, for making us laugh so much today. We needed it. We cats PURR.

Marching Orders

By Miss Kubelik

How exciting that the January 6 Committee will hear testimony from Patsy Baloney on Friday! Patsy (aka Pat Cipollone, former White House Counsel — the same job John Dean had with Nixon) must have truly felt the heat after Cassidy Hutchinson's appearance before the committee last week. Pretty tantalizing to think about what we don't know, because Patsy's testimony was secured with lightning speed, Washington-wise.

Meanwhile, in the UK, Boris Johnson is having kind of a bad day, just hanging by his fingernails while some cabinet ministers resign and he fires others. Add to that the news that Fulton County DA Fani Willis has subpoenaed Lady Lindsey, Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Jenna Ellis and other Trumpy traitors in the Georgia election case, and it appears that right now, a lot of right wingers, both here and abroad, are seeing their worlds crumble around them.

(Oh, and Democrats now have a small but clear lead in the polling averages on the generic midterm ballot. That lead could grow as gas prices continue to fall and as voters get madder and madder about guns, abortion and January 6.)

So, what are some in our party doing? Attacking Joe Biden — often anonymously, of course — for not being "outraged enough." Yet as has been pointed out, when Biden does speak forcefully about the GOP, Democrats and the pundit class wring their hands about whether he was too harsh. Make up your minds, kids.

This drives us crazy. Republicans have amply demonstrated that they are the enemy. They've hinted gleefully at the havoc they will wreak if they regain control of government. And Trump's Supreme Court just agreed to hear that democracy-destroying case out of North Carolina next term. What will convince these people to give up the circular firing squads and realize that the future of the country is at stake?

Progressives need to remember that Biden is one of them — in some ways, more progressive than they. It was Biden who pushed Barack Obama on marriage equality, Biden who selected a woman as his Vice President, Biden who has appointed more Black women to judgeships (and let's not forget the biggest appointment of them all, Ketanji Brown Jackson). What Biden needs — really needs — is more Democrats in Congress. So let's give them to him. Pick a Senate and/or House race you can help on today. We cats HISS and PURR at the same time.

It's Not Like We Were Celebrating Anyway

Independence Day 2022 was already depressing enough. Now we have to add a mass shooting? In case you're wondering, the dude on the left in this earlier photo (in the fashion-don't red pants) was just arrested for the Highland Park attack. Why are we not surprised? We cats HISS.

Somebody Up North Is Pulling For Us

 

Our Independence Day observances tomorrow will still be subdued. But this is nice. We cats PURR.

Gurdeep The Great

The heck with the fascist "Free-dumb" Convoy — Ottawa got a huge dose of positivity this weekend from Gurdeep Pandher of the Yukon and his Bhangra dance team! We cats PURR.

"Involuntary Relocations"

 

Excellent Olivia

By Zamboni

You know, just because Dame Olivia de Havilland left the planet a couple of years ago doesn't mean that we can't still observe her birthday, which is today. We all remember her in Gone With the Wind, of course, but her best performance is probably in The Heiress (1949). Somehow, director William Wyler and the production team made this supremely beautiful woman look hard and homely, and goodness gracious, what a performance she gave to match.

We like recognizing excellence when mediocrity (and worse) seems to surround us more every day. For example, the recent Republican debates in Liz Cheney's Wyoming district and for governor in Arizona were whackjob train wrecks. Ugh, you don't want to know.

But on the subject of those who excel, some good news: The White House announced today that President Biden will award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 17 Americans who — unlike the revolting (and very dead) Rush Limbaugh — richly deserve the honor. In short, Biden is reclaiming the medal and washing off the stain of Donald and Rush. We suspect Dame Olivia would approve. Here's the list. We cats PURR.

• Simone Biles
• Sister Simone Campbell
• Julieta Garcia
• Gabrielle Giffords
• Fred Gray
• Steve Jobs (posthumous)
  
• Father Alexander Karloutsos
• Khizr Khan
• Sandra Lindsay
• John McCain (posthumous — and clearly intended to drive Benedict Donald crazy)
• Diane Nash
• Megan Rapinoe
• Alan Simpson
• Richard Trumka (posthumous)
• Wilma Vaught
• Denzel Washington
• Raul Yzaguirre