Dark Brandon's Just A Kid

By Baxter

From what we can tell, President Biden is killing it at our least-favorite event, the White House Correspondents' Dinner. That's good. Even though we hate the WHCD, we'd rather have Joe kill than be killed.

On that note, since he was obviously lit tonight, let's forever put to bed the media "chatter" about Biden's age. Here are a bunch of people who are older than Joe Biden and still getting major stuff done:

• Patrick Stewart
• Harrison Ford
• Paul McCartney
• Mel Brooks
• Jane Fonda
• Willie Nelson
• Rita Moreno
• Dolores Huerta

We cats salute them, and we PURR.

"We Simply Choose To Forget"

It's White House Correspondents' Dinner weekend. You know from our previous posts how much we cats despise this event. The only time it has ever justified its existence is when hosts like Michelle Wolf called Washington reporters on their hypocrisy — and when the event produced photos like this. This makes us very sad. We cats HISS.

Sense And Sensibility

By Sniffles

We cats have nine lives, which means we remember a lot of stuff that maybe you faithful blogmeisters don't. Case in point: There was a time, dear readers, when Charles Philip Arthur George was considered hot.

Yes, it was a brief window of time. He was heir to the throne, single, in his early thirties, and had gone to school in Australia — by all accounts a wonderful time for him, because he'd been treated like everyone else and, most important perhaps, had gotten away from the suffocating presence of his father, Prince Philip. With his subsequent military service, jumping in and out of planes and helicopters, Charles was known then as "Action Man."

We're just mentioning this because it's important that people have historical context before they jump on the anti-coronation bandwagon.

Look, if there's anyone who's having trouble with this "His Majesty the King" thing, it's us. It's beyond weird to think that there's another British sovereign on the throne. But if anyone recognizes how times have changed since his mother's coronation in 1953, it's probably Charles. (Or, if not Charles, Camilla — who strikes us as eminently sensible and savvy. Check this out if you're not convinced.)

We have no quibble with Britons who complain about how much the coronation will cost. We're American taxpayers, after all. But we'll probably tune in nevertheless, because May 6 will be history. The remaining controversies, we believe, will be left up to the King. In the meantime, if Charles III ends up being a major spokesperson for combating climate change, for example, we won't complain — the world needs all the progressive voices it can get. We cats PURR.

"He Raped Me Whether I Screamed Or Not"

By Hubie and Bertie

The E. Jean Carroll trial is in recess until Monday, which should give her defense team and Judge Lewis Kaplan just about enough time to figure out what the hell Benedict Donald was doing in his very odd performance in New Hampshire tonight. Let's put it this way: He'd better not have been riffing on what happened in that Bergdorf Goodman dressing room. (Audience reaction above? You be the judge.)

That aside, the trial was already not going Trump's way yesterday, and it didn't get much better today. Cross-examining Carroll, attorney Joe Tacopina was representing his bully client by being a bully himself. 

Maybe that's just the way he is, but the impression left by reporters who live-tweeted from the overflow room was that it was not going over well in court. Judge Kaplan finally excused Carroll from the room and then basically asked Tacopina WTF he was doing. Jonathan Swift, the New York Yankees, and the word "hyperbole" all made cameo appearances in their subsequent conversation.

Importantly, the judge consistently sustained objections from Team Carroll throughout the cross. Yes, the jury is mostly men, but when an attorney gets ruled against that much without being able to make a dent in a plaintiff's credibility, it damages his client's case.

If Tacopina's poor performance filters down to Mar-a-Lago, it wouldn't be surprising to see Benedict Donald fire him, and then petition the court for a delay while he seeks new counsel. We're betting Judge Kaplan would not be amused. We cats HISS and PURR at the same time.

"I'm Here Because Donald Trump Raped Me"

By Miss Kubelik

Spare a thought for E. Jean Carroll, who had a tough but stoic day on the stand in Benedict Donald's civil rape trial, and who will probably go through a harrowing cross-examination tomorrow. But although she testified this afternoon that she's regretted coming forward about the 1996 assault in Bergdorf Goodman "100 times," she also declared, "Being able to get my day in court, finally, is everything to me."

Sadly, we suspect that even if the jury finds in Carroll's favor, the media will downplay the verdict as not "important" the same way they characterized Trump's Stormy Daniels indictment by Alvin Bragg. (We wouldn't even be surprised if they try to fluff off Fani Willis and Jack Smith if and when they bring charges.) But at least a guilty judgment would give Carroll and Trump's other victims some peace.

And you know what? Trump had worse day than E. Jean Carroll, and not only in Judge Lewis Kaplan's courtroom. A federal appeals court has rejected his emergency petition to keep Mike Pence from testifying on the January 6 insurrection. We cats PURR.

De Adder Du Jour

There's probably still so much awfulness to come out about Tucker Carlson. So this excellent Michael de Adder cartoon is — so far — our only comment. Good riddance, Tuckums. We cats PURR.

(IMAGE: Michael de Adder, The Washington Post)

Harry's Gone Home

By Zamboni

Yes, we know he was 96, but losing Harry Belafonte is still terrible. Somehow, though, we think he'd prefer us to remember him with joy. Here's one way to do it. We cats PURR.

Dark Brandon Rides Again

 

It's as simple as this: He loves his job. We cats PURR.

Head's Up

By Baxter

This sounds pretty official: Here are some excerpts from Fulton County, Georgia, DA Fani Willis's letter to her local sheriff today.

"Dear Sheriff Labat...In the near future, I will be announcing charging decisions resulting from the investigation my office has been conducting into possible criminal interference in the administration of Georgia's 2020 General Election.

"Open source intelligence has indicated the announcement of decisions in this case may provoke a significant public reaction. We have seen in recent years that some may go outside of public expressions of opinion that are protected by the First Amendment to engage in acts of violence that will endanger the safety of our community. As leaders, it is incumbent upon us to prepare.

"I will be announcing charging decisions resulting from this investigation during Fulton County Superior Court's fourth term of court, which will begin on July 11, 2023, and conclude on September 1, 2023.

"My team will be in touch in coming days to set up appropriate conversations...we look forward to working with you."

Rhonda "Drags" His Feet

By Sniffles

What took him so long? Rhonda Santis finally got around to saying yesterday that he would ask the Biden Administration to declare Fort Lauderdale a disaster area after the flooding that started on... April 12.

Rhonda must have been too busy with his phony "book tour," otherwise known as his pathetic not-yet-announced Presidential campaign, to notice. Then again, Broward is the most Democratic county in Florida, so draw your own conclusions.

Or perhaps he just didn't want a repeat of President Biden's visit to the Sunshine State after Hurricane Ian, when Joe was a big hit, shaking hands and hugging people and slapping folks on the back, and DeSantis was obviously quite miffed about it all.

Whatever the answer, it's the perfect opportunity to re-post this very fun photo. With Rhonda, body language always rules. We cats PURR.

Rhondahttps://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1649826394187382785?s=20

Alito Is A Pill

By Hubie and Bertie

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is making a very strong bid for The Worst Person Who's Ever Lived.

Many of you loyal readers may recall that, back in the day (that is, when we first started blogging), George W. Bush was the WPWEL, followed closely by Dick Cheney, who was the Worst Person Who's Ever Lived If Indeed He Were a Person. That was because together, they ginned up a bogus invasion of Iraq and killed some 4,000-plus American service members, plus God knows how many Iraqis.

But since then, Benedict Donald has got Bush beat. Trump killed hundreds of thousands of Americans via his mismanagement of the COVID pandemic — and then, of course, you have to add everybody in Afghanistan who died because he and Mike Pompeo cozied up to the Taliban. And then there are the casualties of January 6.

Now, we have to add to Trump's tally women across America who die from botched abortions, or — more likely — from miscarriages and other medical mishaps that their healthcare providers can't treat without running afoul of the Republicans in whatever state capital we're talking about. Because it was Donald Trump — who's paid for, what? how many abortions in his lifetime? — who, with the help of Mitch McConnell, packed the Supreme Court with an anti-choice, anti-Roe majority.

And that SCOTUS has been wreaking havoc ever since. Although tonight, they wreaked a little bit less: By a vote of 7-2, they stayed a lower court's ruling on restricting medication abortion. Alito and the scandal-ridden Clarence Thomas dissented.

For you legal beagles in the audience, it appears that Alito's dissent is particularly whiny and aggrieved. "Completely unbefitting a Supreme Court justice," declares Joyce Vance. Are we surprised? Alito is the kind of scold who is constantly resentful that most of his fellow countrymen don't believe in living the narrow, bleak, constricted lives he thinks they should. So it's unsurprising that he believes those godless liberals in the Biden Administration wouldn't follow what he tells them to do anyway. "You darn kids don't know what's good for you!"

Who nominated this psychopath to the Supreme Court to begin with? Funny you should ask. It was George W. Bush, who, before Trump, was — and, maybe, still is — the Worst Person Who's Ever Lived. We cats have come full circle, and we HISS.

Disgraced At Warp Speed

By Miss Kubelik

Republicans are constantly screaming about how Democrats are pedophiles, that they support grooming children into perverted lifestyles, etc. etc. So why is it that nearly every time we see a story about a public official, camp counselor, clergy person or other authority figure sexually abusing kids, harassing women, or possessing child porn, it's a member of the Grand Old Party?

The latest example is now-former Representative Scotty Campbell of the Tennessee General Assembly, who has quickly resigned after being confronted by the press about sexually harassing legislative interns. (Cannabis gummies and a lot of lunging were involved.) The sweet side of this story is that Campbell was one of the Neanderthals who led the fruitless Republican charge against the Tennessee Three. Now, the two Justins are back in, and Campbell's the one who's out.

Are these Republicans all morons, or is Campbell just more proof that folks who hate government are terrible at governing? Or are they just awful, awful people? Can we check "all of the above"?

P.S. The GOP's  Tennessee Three own goal has also shone a spotlight on the execrable speaker, Cameron Sexton, who has residency issues and, ugh, apparently likes to sleep with lobbyists. Stay tuned. We cats PURR.

Unsettling.

 

By Zamboni

Well, that's too bad. Dominion Voting Systems is $787 million richer, but Fox "News" will air no apology or correction, as we understand it. So apparently, the rest of the items in the delicious imaginary settlement package we suggested yesterday is up to us. Here goes:

Somebody on social media with time on their hands needs to organize a cross-country letter-writing campaign to cable providers, demanding that Fox be removed from their subscriber packages — or that customers be allowed to pick and choose networks, cafeteria-style.

And entrepreneurs with good senses of humor could do the billboards. We have someone in mind.

Finally, there's no reason that another network, or a documentarian (Ken Burns? George Clooney? American Experience?), couldn't do the two-hour special on the perfidy of Rupert and his rogues. They may want to wait a little bit, though, because Smartmatic's defamation case is next. The show could be called "The Fall of Fox." We cats PURR.

(IMAGE: Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press)

Don't Settle For Less

By Baxter

Lots of buzz last night when the news broke that the Dominion Voting Systems-Fox "News" trial would be delayed a day. Legal beagles quite rightly pointed out that this kind of thing doesn't happen unless the parties were in pretty serious settlement talks.

Team Fox obviously knows they're in deep trouble. They've been outed as disreputable liars by their own internal emails, and, just in the last week, have had to apologize to Judge Eric Davis for withholding evidence and misrepresenting Rupert Murdoch's role with the network. Their evil knows no bounds.

That's why, although people are screaming at Dominion not to settle — they want to see these Fox criminals take the stand — here's some advice if they do. Yes, Dominion, take Fox for eleventy billion dollars or whatever. But make them correct the record.

This will be crucial to repairing any damage to its reputation that Dominion may have suffered. After all, Fox styles itself as a news organization. So, we have some suggestions for Rupert and his rogues on what their corrections campaign should look like:

• A two-hour (three-hour?), crap-eating, prime-time special, recapping all the lying about Dominion and juxtaposing it against their email traffic and the recently revealed tapes. Each offender — from Hannity to Ingraham to Carlson (especially Carlson) to Bartiromo — needs to sit alone in front of the camera, admit the falsehoods and fakery, and apologize.

• An ad campaign in both print and online editions of The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal (hahahahaha), USA Today and all Gannett papers, and whatever other major papers and platforms the judge deems necessary.

• Billboards. Lots of billboards. Maybe a series of them, each featuring a different Fox talking head and the headline, "I LIED."

• A formal written apology from the network, not just published everywhere, but read by the Fox anchors "on air at the top of every hour, for at least a month" (H/T George Conway).
  

All this — plus whatever else the judge comes up with (he has reason to be punitive, after all) — would be just fine by us. We cats PURR.

Cuckoo For Cocoa Puffs, Or Just Cuckoo?

 

We don't get the "Longhead" reference, but we know how to spell. And this and many other posts on his money-losing social media platform are proof that Benedict Donald must have hired somebody to take his exams in college. Otherwise, he'd never have graduated. How did the country survive four years of this fool? We cats HISS.

(UPDATE: This might be a parody. So, the real Trump and the fake Trump have become indistinguishable. Is that bad? It seems bad.)

Remembering Beau

By Sniffles

We cats aren't really into Roman Catholic mysticism, but that doesn't mean we don't appreciate the convergence that President Biden experienced in Ireland today.

Visiting Ballina, Biden encountered Frank O'Grady, the priest who gave Beau Biden his last rites at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in 2015. O'Grady is now working at Ireland's historic Knock Shrine. It was a total surprise.

That's kind of spooky, yes? We cats PURR.

Falling Down

By Hubie and Bertie

From 1948 to 1952, the White House underwent a top-to-bottom renovation, after President and Mrs. Truman realized the storied structure was literally falling apart. (The Roosevelts must have felt that spending money on the Executive Mansion during a Depression and a world war was not a priority.) Harry and Bess moved into Blair House for the duration, and the White House we know today is largely from the Truman redo. (Jackie Kennedy improved on it more a few years later.)

The point is, First Families deserve a nice place to live, and as Mrs. Kennedy firmly believed, a home that could serve as a place of national pride. (Although compared to other official residences, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is pretty modest, at least in size.)

Enter 24 Sussex Drive, which in the past has housed Canada's Prime Ministers. Not lately, though.

The last Prime Minister to live in it was Stephen Harper, who moved out after his Conservative Party was throttled by the Liberals in the election of 2015. But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau never moved in. The house was in such bad shape that it had become a danger: As The Globe & Mail has said, "The residence has become a moldy, rotting, asbestos-filled firetrap that only raccoons and mice could love."

Ottawa is wrestling with what to do about 24 Sussex, and their choices aren't pretty — either spend scads of money on fixing it, or knock it down altogether. Nobody wants to pay for either.

It's a shame that things have gotten to this point, since the house was built around the time of Canada's confederation — but 24 Sussex has not had any care or feeding since 2001, and the National Capital Commission estimates it would take nearly $40 million to restore it now.

Enough. In the spirit of our own Executive Mansion rehabs, the Canadian Parliament should do what Congress did for Truman: Bite the bullet and authorize specific funding to save 24 Sussex. (Or, like Jackie Kennedy, get some deep pockets to help.) Sure, it's not the White House or 10 Downing Street — but Canada has its own history and heritage, and the Prime Minister's residence is part of that. We cats PURR.

Should Feinstein Beam Herself Up?

By Miss Kubelik

The US Senate is impossibly old. You look at them and you're immediately reminded of the original "Star Trek" cast, still making movies long after they should have retired. This is something politicos have discussed for a long time. It's not a surprise.

But now, it's becoming topic du jour on social media, because a bunch of people have decided to call on California Democrat Dianne Feinstein to resign. That's because she's been sick with shingles and has missed a lot of votes — on top of previous rumors that she was starting to lose her marbles. Feinstein, at 89, is the oldest person in Congress.

We cats have not jumped on this particular train. It seems unfair. Former Republican Senator Mark Kirk of Illinois suffered a stroke and essentially ghosted Capitol Hill for ages, but there was no drumbeat for him to quit. Strom Thurmond remained in the Senate until he was nearly 100. And more recently, Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was hospitalized for depression (he'll be back at work next week).

Could this "Feinstein Resign" movement have anything to do with the fact that she represents a solidly blue state, with a solidly blue Governor who would undoubtedly choose a solidly blue successor? Or is it because she's a woman? Nancy Pelosi thinks it's the latter.

Honestly, this fuss seems misplaced. Feinstein has already announced she won't run for re-election, and she's asked that Leader Schumer temporarily replace her on the Judiciary Committee so that judicial nominations aren't held up. Instead of wringing our hands over this, wouldn't our time be better spent on upcoming crucial Senate races like Sherrod Brown's in Ohio, Jon Tester's in Montana, and the clusterfuck in Arizona? Focus, people. We cats HISS.

(IMAGE: It was 1991, "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered County," and Kirk, Spock, Bones and Scotty were mighty long in the tooth.)

The Worst Is Yet To Come

By Zamboni

Sometimes it feels impossible to keep track of all the perfidy that Benedict Donald has been/could be charged with. There's Stormy Daniels, as we know (have you recovered from your Indictment Party yet?). Still lurking in the wings are Georgia, January 6, and now, fraudulent fundraising off his 2020 election lies.

And of course, the stolen classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. This story just got a bit darker.

"Federal investigators are asking witnesses whether former President Donald J. Trump showed off to aides and visitors a map he took with him when he left office that contains sensitive intelligence information," The New York Times reports.

If Special Counsel Jack Smith is grilling witnesses about this, you know there has to be not only smoke but fire. It's incredibly worrisome that Trump would be blithely showing classified information to the yahoos at that tasteless golf motel of his in Palm Beach. But what's really scary is the thought that he's shared it with America's enemies. And we're only a step or two away from that, kids.

Why would he do that? Well, for money, of course. And because he's in some unexplained thrall to Vladimir Putin. But all you have to do is listen to his interview with Tucker Carlson last night to know that Trump just loves dictators. So maybe he'd do it even without any blackmail.

We're always willing to believe the worst about Donald Trump. But the worst inevitably seems to be the actual thing we all lived from 2017 to 2021. And the fallout is coming. Brace yourselves. We cats HISS.

Lyin' Elsie

By Baxter

How many Republicans who once were so hot to trot on term limits have since abandoned the cause? That would be an interesting topic for a college research paper — exploring term limits' pros and cons, and then citing all the hypocrites who haven't been able to let go of power once they have it. 

We cats have never been big fans of the whole concept. Public servants' careers should run their course, and the only reason the two-term limit for the Presidency is in the Constitution is because the 1950s GOP, shut out of the White House during the Depression and World War II, never wanted to see another Franklin Roosevelt.

Now, the latest Republican to board the hypocrite train is Elise "Elsie" Stefanik, who just announced for a sixth term for Congress even though back in 2014 she pledged to only serve five. Are we surprised? Absolutely not. Will journalists give her a free pass on it? We fear maybe yes. (Granted, it is a little difficult to question her when she avoids people like the plague, but there are ways.)

The most hilarious part of all of this is that Elsie's crowing that she's "proud" to have "universal support" of her local Republican pooh-bahs. If so, then why does she have a primary opponent? We cats HISS.

Still Going Nuclear

By Sniffles

Still more chatter is happening about what's going on in Georgia — that DA Fani Willis has notified 20 people they are targets of her investigation. However, grand jury deliberations, reports, etc. are secret, to protect the rights of potential defendants. So the only thing we have to go on is Benedict Donald's unhinged social media posts. Read the latest and see what you think. We cats PURR.

Donald, Going Nuclear

By Hubie and Bertie

It's not our practice to amplify messages from Benedict Donald, but how weird is this? On Easter Sunday, no less.

There were a couple of other postings today, too, mostly about how innocent he is in the stolen documents case, and how awful Joe Biden is, et cetera. All caps, naturally. So the impression one gets is that Trump knows that something is going down.

Last week was simply terrible for him, and not just because he had to surrender himself to be arraigned in Manhattan. In fact, that day was potentially the least of his worries. It's hard to know what's happening in grand juries, because they're secret, but a lot of witness testimony has been cleared the last few days for Jack Smith, and Mike Pence said he wouldn't resist testifying any more himself. Chatter is happening around Georgia, too. Could Fani Willis indict 20 or more Trumpsters? Hints have been dropped.

In the face of all this, Benedict Donald is trying to summon his MAGA troops to do... something. Exactly what is unclear. But so far, nobody's taking to the streets. Trump is stuck at his roped-off table, eating Easter brunch at Mar-a-Lago with Moose & Squirrel, waiting helplessly for the anvils to fall on his head. Meanwhile, President Biden is getting ready for a hero's welcome in Ireland. The phrase "we'd rather be us than them" has never been so true. We cats PURR.

Majority Rules

By Miss Kubelik

We cats just want to declare tonight: They will not win.

Trumpsters will not end up deciding the reproductive choices women make. They will not determine whether trans kids get the healthcare they need. They will not proclaim that the NRA's position on guns will rule. They just won't.

Why? Because while they appear to be powerful and in control— because Trump appointed a bunch of judges and legislatures in red states are making repulsive decisions — they really aren't. Not in the long run.

We believe that the American experiment is alive and well. When rights are declared/interpreted, this rule applies: Who's next? The Constitution leaves open the possibility that more and more Americans can claim self-determination through the rights it confers. That's its genius.

So all of us, no matter what cohort we belong to, must keep the pressure on. Whether we're Black, gay, female, whatever — our rights matter, and will be protected. And oh, by the way, the Women's March in 2017 was the largest ever in DC history. We all knew what was coming. We cats PURR.

Thank God It's Good Friday

By Zamboni

This has been a pretty swell week. Benedict Donald was arraigned, Janet Protasiewicz won a state supreme court seat in Wisconsin, federal appeals courts have ruled against Trump, and the GOP committed suicide in Tennessee by expelling two African-American state representatives for demonstrating in favor of gun control.

Still, progressives will find a lot of discouragement. A Trumpster judge has outlawed the abortion pill. Clarence Thomas has embodied the corruption of the Supreme Court, with no immediate remedy available. Anti-Semitism appears to be on the rise. So what are we to think? Are we optimistic, or not?

We cats believe that the young people will step up. After all, they've voted like crazy in the last few elections. And since the Tennessee state legislature has told them to go eff themselves, the fight is on.

Republicans think that they can suppress progress. They're wrong.

As playwright Tony Kushner wrote, "The world only spins forward. We will be citizens. The time has come...the great work begins."

Or, as Senator Raphael Warnock tweeted: "Watching events unfold in Tennessee, I am reminded this Good Friday that evil always goes too far, and therefore contains with itself the seeds of its own demise. Sunday comes. Truth crushed to earth will rise again." We cats PURR.

P.S. Always look on the bright side of life. 

Own Goal

By Baxter

The nation has rarely seen a more self-defeating stunt than the one Tennessee Republicans pulled last night, expelling two state house Democrats for "breaking the rules" and peacefully demonstrating against gun violence. You know, Trumpsters have taken over in a lot of red states — but nobody said they were smart.

Were they feeling burned by the recent indictment of their savior in New York? That's the only explanation we can think of, because the GOP holds an overwhelming majority in Nashville. To expel two eloquent and charismatic African-Americans from the legislature (while sparing the white woman) — and, at the same time, making Justin Jones and Justin Pearson national celebrities — seems extraordinarily dumb.

It simply was a knee-jerk reaction, based on emotion. Sadly, it was one of outrage that people of color will, someday soon, be in the majority over people like them.

Not only might Jones and Pearson soon regain their seats, not only are the eyes of the world upon them, and not only will every Republican running for the 2024 Presidential nomination have to own or disown this (hello, Tim Scott?) — these hapless Tennessee idiots just opened the door for a great speech and visit by Vice President Kamala Harris.

Yes, Trumpsters: You'd prefer Harris to lurk in VP oblivion and be subject to unflattering coverage about how she, like every Vice President, doesn't matter — but thanks to your actions in Tennessee, you've elevated her. We cats PURR.

Amen, Sisters

"Indict / Indict / It's such a lovely sight," Stephen Sondheim didn't write. But we have Randy Rainbow and the Un-Andrews Sisters. We cats PURR.

"Well, You Don't Have To Get Snippy About It"

By Sniffles

A gracious Al Gore called George W. Bush to concede on Election Night in 2000 — and then called back to un-concede when Florida could not be called. Legend has it that Bush was not pleased.

How mild that all seems 23 years later, as we wallow in the whiny crybabyism that is Trumpism and MAGA. And how ironic that in the Bush v. Gore drama that ensued, Smirky's minions insisted on calling the Democratic ticket "Sore Loserman."

By those standards, last night's non-concession speech by Wisconsin Supreme Court loser Daniel Kelly was a real doozy. It came shortly after Benedict Donald's grievance-filled rant at Mar-a-Lago, and the juxtaposition makes you wonder if Trump's arraignment, coming on Election Day, served as a reminder to progressives to get to the polls.

You also have to wonder if Republicans will ever concede an election again. The last Republican to make that call to a victorious Presidential opponent was Willard Mitt Romney in 2012 — 10 years ago, folks!

It's okay with us if the Trumpsters keep behaving like the children they are. It won't endear them to the moderate suburban voters whose support they need, so they'll keep losing elections. But it's obviously not great for democracy. We cats HISS.

Arraignment Day: Benedict Donald, Battered

By Hubie and Bertie

Well, kids, no gag order — yet. But from what we hear, the judge in Benedict Donald's arraignment today said he had, ahem, taken note of previous statements and social media posts about himself and Alvin Bragg that Trump has already made. In order words, Watch it, hon!

(It probably doesn't help that Trump Junior posted a photo of the judge's daughter on Truth Social today.)

And for all the bravado that Team Trump has tried to evince these last few days, the Trump we saw today looked beaten and down. (Hugely reminiscent of Helsinki in 2018.) And only his legal team and his loser political team was with him — no Moose & Squirrel, no spawn (not even Junior), nobody. Sad!

Is that because the grand jury's indictment is so broad? Thirty-four counts, including one for conspiracy, and — oh, by the way, that's conspiracy to subvert the 2016 election. By total coincidence, Hillary Clinton is being honored by The Lotos Club for her lifetime of accomplishment at a black-tie dinner not far from Trump Tower tonight.

Would we rather have had Hillary as President, even without the Trump comeuppance? Yes, because the damage he's done to the nation is ongoing and incalculable. But the juxtaposition is nice. And although we've only lived in the Empire State for a few of our nine lives, we cats are proud to be counted among the plaintiffs in The People of the State of New York against Donald J. Trump. We cats PURR.

Arraignment Day: MTG Flees

By Miss Kubelik

Marjorie Taylor Greene showed up at the Manhattan district attorney's office and tried to speak to the Trumpster crowd there, but left after 10 minutes because people whistled her down.

This is the new anti-Greene tactic — grabbing whistles and blowing them at her when she attempts to spread her perfidy and hate. She finds it frustrating, which is very satisfying.

We're sure that Lauren Bacall, who probably had the most famous movie line ever about whistling, would have loved this. Yes, she was the rudest celebrity we ever met — but she was also an ardent Democrat, and we wish she were here today to witness Trump's downfall. We cats PURR.

De Adder Du Jour

Are you like us, and simply dying for Judge Merchan to issue a gag order to Benedict Donald tomorrow? Not that he'd obey it. Meanwhile, cartoonist par excellence Michael de Adder does it again. We cats PURR.

(IMAGE: Michael de Adder, The Washington Post)

Not Small Potatoes

By Zamboni

Even with Benedict Donald scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday, the good folks at the Department of Justice are not going to allow Alvin Bragg to steal the Trumpy spotlight. News just broke that DOJ has more evidence of obstruction in the stolen classified documents case.

"Federal investigators have gathered new and significant evidence that after the subpoena was delivered [in May 2022], Trump looked through the contents of some of the boxes of documents in his home, apparently out of a desire to keep certain things in his possession." Of course! No doubt to sell them to the highest bidder.

This is truly scary stuff, if you care about national security.

Nevertheless, let's not be tempted into thinking that the Alvin Bragg indictment is somehow for a "lesser" matter than the documents case or the January 6 insurrection case or the Georgia-overturn-the-election case. Here's why:

• There are apparently 34 counts in the indictment. Thirty-four, goodness gracious. This has to be about more than paying off Stormy Daniels.
• The purpose of the payment to Daniels was to subvert an election (2016's). Gee, where have we heard that before?
• And now, as we're seeing, the Manhattan indictment is just the start. More to come. We cats PURR.