Latch On To The Affirmative

By Miss Kubelik

"In order to get beyond racism, we must first take account of race. There is no other way." Justice Harry Blackmun wrote those words in 1978, in the decision that was overturned today by the Trumpy Supreme Court. Which means that between affirmative action and Roe, we cats will claw the eyes out of anyone who didn't bother to vote for either Al Gore in 2000 or Hillary Clinton in 2016.

On the other hand, as despicable as the Court has turned out to be, they did turn in some interesting decisions this session, particularly in Moore v. Harper. Democracy dodged a bullet with that one, and Louisiana, Alabama and North Carolina must now redraw their Congressional districts.

This is the good news. When the nation goes haywire, the only thing we can do to fix things is to get the hell out to vote. So it's a bit of a comfort to know that the antidemocratic idiots on SCOTUS haven't been able to tamper more than they already have with the very remedy to the havoc they're wreaking on our lives.

As the President told his Cabinet discussed in the movie "Lincoln," what reins in a dictator who doesn't think he's susceptible to the law? "Well, the people do that, I suppose," Lincoln said. "I signed the Emancipation Proclamation a year and half before my second election. I felt I was within my power to do it. However, I also felt that I might be wrong about that. I knew the people would tell me. I gave 'em a year and half to think about it. And they re-elected me."

We have our marching orders for 2024. Re-elect Biden-Harris, hold the Senate and get back the House. Then, we can fix things. We cats PURR.

Lowell Leaves Us

By Zamboni

As former Governor and Senator Lowell Weicker of Connecticut crosses the Rainbow Bridge, we cats recall how ordinary the members of the Senate Watergate Committee were 50 years ago this summer.

There weren't any "stars" on the committee — nobody the country would recognize, like Ted Kennedy, Hubert Humphrey or Barry Goldwater. (The Senate did have an obscure young man named Joe Biden at the time, but he wasn't assigned to the Watergate investigation. His drama came almost 20 years later.) Instead, leaders appointed guys who, at the time, were unknown: Ed Gurney from Florida, Dan Inouye from Hawaii, Joe Montoya from New Mexico, Howard Baker from Tennessee, and its chair, Sam Ervin from North Carolina. And, of course, Weicker.

A savvy move. With nobodies like these on the committee, it was harder for Team Nixon to claim that the hearings were partisan, axe-grinding, or merely opportunities to persecute and showboat. And then by the end of the summer, everybody was famous (or in-).

Sadly, Weicker's most memorable moment during the hearings was one in which he was unerringly wrong. Frustrated by the antidemocratic Nixonian dirt that was being revealed, he declared, "Let me make it clear, because I have got to have my partisan moment: Republicans do not cover up; Republicans do not go ahead and threaten; Republicans do not go ahead and commit illegal acts; and, God knows, Republicans don’t view their fellow Americans as enemies to be harassed."

Well, sure they do — Nixon was just a warm-up for Trump. To his credit, Weicker lived long enough to call Benedict Donald "a total con artist." We cats salute him for that, and we PURR.

All Hail, Bidenomics

By Baxter

President Biden gave a Repub-ripping speech today on the state of the American economy. He had a lot to brag about. Here's a quick summary:

• The Congressional Budget Office projected it would take until 2026 for unemployment to drop back below 4 percent. Instead, unemployment fell below that level in 2021— five years ahead of what was estimated — and it has stayed there for the longest period in more than 50 years.

• The economy has added more than 13 million jobs since Biden-Harris took office. This includes nearly 800,000 manufacturing jobs, something most people thought was impossible.

• Unemployment rates for African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and people with disabilities have reached record lows. 

• Job satisfaction is at its highest level in 36 years, as employers are offering better pay, better benefits, and better schedules to attract and retain workers. 

• Employers just added 339,000 jobs last month in a sign that the economy appears poised to keep growing.

Do you notice how Republicans aren't talking about the economy these days? That's because they know things are improving faster than they want — so they're talking impeachment, laptops, "two-tiered justice systems," pedos, groomers, CPAP machines, and CRT (or are they still talking about CRT?). Now, it's up to us Democrats to spread the word to Americans about the good things that Biden-Harris is accomplishing for them. We cats PURR.

The Skies Are Clearing

By Sniffles

The air quality in Montreal, which allegedly was the worst on the planet on Sunday, has improved to good. Yay!

Another piece of excellent news: The Supreme Court has struck down the so-called "independent state legislature theory" in its decision on Moore v. Harper. "The Elections Clause does not vest exclusive and independent authority in state legislatures to set the rules regarding federal elections," they said. The usual suspects dissented, plus Gorsuch. (The damn decision should have been 9-0, but we'll take it.)

So, two fewer things to worry about today. Meanwhile, Jack Smith and his intrepid investigators appear to be going after everybody they can on January 6. And the audiotape of Benedict Donald committing treason in the documents case is the talk of the town. We cats have yet to listen to it — not sure we can handle the giggles from Trump's audience when he starts waving the classified intel around. It's too reminiscent of Christine Blasey Ford's testimony that what she remembers most about Biff Kavanaugh's assault is the laughter.

Another piece of good news is Olivia Chow's election as mayor of Toronto. After enjoying a healthy lead in the polls running up to yesterday's election, she squeaked in by a few points. But hey — like SCOTUS, whatever works. Longtime readers of ours may remember Chow as Jack Layton's widow. But she's also a seasoned former city councillor who scared right-wing Ontario Premier Doug Ford enough that he recently pronounced her possible mayoral win an "unmitigated disaster." HAHAHAHA, Dougie's not having a good day.

So, is the smothering fog of autocracy, anti-democracy and Trumpian lawlessness — not to mention actual bad air  — clearing out? Let's just say things are trending in a good direction. We cats PURR.

We've Heard Of Smoke-Filled Rooms, But This Is Ridiculous

By Hubie and Bertie

Remember the Quebec wildfires that turned the air in New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, DC a murky orange a couple of weeks ago? It hasn't gone away. The smoke was so bad in Montreal today that we couldn't see the skyline, and the sun turned red. If Superman were here, he wouldn't have any powers.

But it's supposed to rain all week, so that might help clear things out. Our paws are crossed.

In the meantime, speaking of supermen, it appears that Vladimir Poutine is not one of them. What really happened in Russia this weekend is about as murky as the air in Montreal. But would any reasonable person argue that it's proof that Vlad is ruling from a position of strength? Is it also kind of scary that a global nuclear power is experiencing such volatility? No and yes.

Scary enough, in fact, that many tweeps were posting their thanks that Joe Biden is in the Oval Office right now, and not Donald Trump. We'd add that it's good to know that Antony Blinken's in charge at the State Department, and not nutcase Mike Pompeo or lightweight Rex Tillerson. See what happens when 81 million of us turn out to sack the Trumpsters? Elections have consequences.

It seems that the Republicans have finally realized that, and they've decided the only way to get back into power is to smear Biden and try to turn his family into the Corleones (or worse). They alternate between questioning Joe's mental capacities and claiming he's an evil mastermind who stages coups in Russia and buries the truth about the Titanic submersible to distract attention from Hunter's woes.

It is all silly, of course — and a miscalculation. Trying to turn Joe Biden into the devil incarnate is counterintuitive. The guy eats ice cream and loves his dogs and family. The actual Biden just doesn't jive with the image that the MAGA crazies want average voters to see. We cats HISS.

Don't Tell Us Government Doesn't Work

By Miss Kubelik

Behold, everyone — the man who will be America's first Jewish President, opening the fully repaired stretch of I-95 in Philadelphia less than two weeks after it was wrecked in an accident. (He happens to be Josh Shapiro, the current Democratic Governor of Pennsylvania.)

The repairs were supposed to take months, so Shapiro and the union dudes who worked 24/7 to fix the highway have every right to bask in their accomplishment today. And Democrats across the country should celebrate them, too. When you elect people who care about government and believe in using it for the greater good, they get stuff done for you.

Compare that to former GOP Governor Tom Corbett, who back in February 2014 didn't make sure the state treated the Pennsylvania Turnpike before an epic snowstorm, resulting in a 100-car pileup.

Not to mention the nonsense that Kevin McCarthy's ridiculous House of Representatives is occupying itself with these days. Just for the record, the previous (Democratic) Congress passed the CHIPS and Science Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the post-pandemic American Rescue Plan. We enacted gun control measures, supported aid to Ukraine, protected marriage equality, reformed the Electoral Count Act, made Juneteenth a federal holiday, and actually accomplished Infrastructure Week. All in just two years. Whew!

So congratulations, Team Shapiro and friends. You've earned the kudos. (That includes the folks at the Pocono Raceway, who helped blow-dry the painted lane lines on the asphalt!) We cats PURR.

Bathroom Reading

Only Randy Rainbow could make us laugh about the very scary prospect that Benedict Donald has let out our nation's secrets. And too bad John Lennon and George Harrison aren't around to appreciate this! But we cats still PURR.

Strutting Our Stuff

Big news: There's a Cat Parade in Amsterdam. Looks like it's a cross between saluting us and celebrating Pride. We'll let you know as soon as we learn Dutch (and read the website). In the meantime, we PURR.

Mulroney, Revolted

By Zamboni

Anyone interested in Canadian politics has probably noticed the creeping influence of Trumpism in the Conservative Party. (They call themselves "Progressive" Conservatives, but we don't.) It's mostly happening in Alberta, as we've noted before. But it hasn't been a completely smooth ride. Even the late-May provincial elections there saw a surge for the New Democratic Party, which trimmed the right wingers' margin in Alberta's legislature by 15 seats.

Still, the freshly victorious Albertan premier is Trumpy to a T, and so is the current leader of the national party, unfortunately. Pierre Poilievre, Member of Parliament for a conservative riding south of Ottawa, is hell-bent on recreating MAGA in the True North.

It's unclear why he thinks emulating Benedict Donald is going to help him win nationally (the results for the Tories in this past Monday's by-elections were meh), but in the meantime, they're doing their best to turn the House of Commons into the US House of Representatives. Their antics on the floor rival Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, Paul Gosar, and the rest of the MAGA nutcases on their craziest days. Their mission: Demonize the Liberals, and, especially, Justin Trudeau.

Former Conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney has had enough.

Speaking in Nova Scotia this week, Mulroney said, "I have learned over the years that history is unconcerned with the trivia and the trash of rumors and gossip floating around Parliament Hill. History is only concerned with the big ticket items that have shaped the future of Canada." He particularly praised the Trudeau government on the COVID pandemic, "the greatest challenge that any Prime Minister has dealt with in Canada in 156 years."

On NAFTA and free trade, Mulroney said Trudeau won "a significant victory for Canada. Trump was out to sabotage Canada in many important ways, and it took vision and a steady hand." As for Poilievre himself, although Mulroney didn't mention him by name, he dismissed the party's current buffoonery as "nonsense."

Listen, for a center-right guy, that's blistering criticism. (Think Mitt Romney, lol.) Poilievre has had no comment about this yet. But if there are any other former Tory leaders who agree with Mulroney, perhaps they can form a Canadian version of The Lincoln Project. They might need it. We cats PURR.

Regulation Is A Good Thing

By Baxter

Sad to report that corporate greed has probably taken five more lives this week in the case of the OceansGate submersible that disappeared on its way down to view the wreck of Titanic. (It's sad even if, like us, you think that the zillionaires who paid $250,000 apiece to step into that 22-foot tin can in the first place were crazy idiots.)

With 40 hours of oxygen left in the missing craft, the story you knew was coming broke today. Turns out that five years ago, 60 leaders from the Marine Technology Society wrote an urgent letter to OceansGate CEO Stockton Rush to sound the alarm at his company's risky skirting of safety guidelines. Rush's response was that "industry regulations were stifling innovation," The New York Times reports.

And where is Rush now? Stuck in that submersible with four passengers, and running out of air — if the craft hasn't broken up and they're not already dead. Ugh — it gives us the heebie-jeebies, not to mention the shivers and the jimjams.

It's also a creepy echo of the history of Titanic itself. The ship carried just 20 lifeboats for more than 2,000 people, because White Star Line worried that stacking up the necessary number of boats on deck would obscure first-class passengers' views. And when a safety inspector warned before the ship's maiden voyage that at least 10 more lifeboats should be added, the company threatened to fire him. Long story short, money trumped everything.

After Titanic sank, lifeboat regulations famously became much more stringent. You can bet that, however this OceansGate situation works out, rules will become stricter for submersibles, too. But it's a shame that Stockton Rush had to snooker four people, including a father and son, out of a ton of money — not to mention their lives — before that could happen. We cats HISS.

(IMAGE: Titanic lies on the ocean floor. You know what? Nobody except remotely operated, non-crewed submersibles has any business being down there. Let her rest in peace. We cats HISS again.)

Twitterverse, Rushing To Judgment

By Sniffles

There may soon come a time, sadly, when we cats will have to give up Twitter. It's such a silly place now.

Today we have our choice between a fake demand from some right-wing provocateur that scientist Dr. Peter Hotez debate RFK Jr. — a certified nutcase — on the efficacy of vaccines, and endless, screaming outrage about the Department of Justice/FBI allegedly delaying going after Benedict Donald for January 6. We're doing our best to ignore both.

It's difficult to get all worked up about what the DOJ has or hasn't done less than two weeks after the department — via Special Counsel Jack Smith — indicted Trump on 37 counts in the stolen classified documents case. Not only that: In addition to the strong hints that more indictments in that case are coming down the pike, shoes may be poised to drop on January 6 itself.

But what keeps our claws sheathed is the fact that nobody, not even us cats, really knows what is going on. Prosecutors work in secret for a reason. And any successful prosecutions of Trump will require the DOJ and FBI investigations to be pristine — no incaution, politicizing, or James Comey-like screw-ups.

We're in uncharted territory, dealing with a psychopath like Donald Trump. The country has never seen anything like it. So we'll stay off the "Bash Garland" Bandwagon, thank you very much. We cats HISS.

(UPDATE: A tweep with government experience said it so much better: "If you’re going to be the first one in history to prosecute a POTUS, you better get it right. Slow is better than failed." We cats PURR.)

Happy Watergate Break-In Day

By Baxter

Our cable provider's news channel tried to tell us that today was the 50th anniversary of the Watergate break-in. NOT. The break-in at the Watergate headquarters of the Democratic National Committee occurred on June 17, 1972.

The news "anchors" who "reported" this were way too young to remember the actual events. But it's still concerning that they were misleading viewers on the basic facts of history — particularly since the burglary was a direct result of the Nixon Administration's fixation on Daniel Ellsberg's leak of the Pentagon Papers (the White House "plumbers" having been convened to stop leaks and other espionage on the conduct of the Vietnam War and other nefarious escapades).

So no, today is the 51st anniversary of the night that the plumbers were arrested at the Watergate DNC — thanks to Frank Wills, the security guard who discovered them. Thank you, Frank, for doing your bit to protect American democracy.

We cats are ambivalent on Ellsberg, by the way, since he worked for DOD and had clearances that he abused. (And we're not big fans of Edward Snowden, so it's complicated.) What we do support is the right of The New York Times, The Washington Post and other newspapers to publish what Ellsberg provided them. Also, the fact that the Nixon Administration's reaction to Ellsberg sowed the seeds of its own destruction is pretty satisfying. It's worth remembering all this while we judge Benedict Donald for betraying our nation's secrets. Bearing that in mind, and saluting Frank Wills, we cats PURR.

This Is The Ticket

By Sniffles

We cats understand that the press prefers to cover conflict and discord rather than accomplishments. So maybe the drama in the GOP right now is sucking all the oxygen from the room.

But we have a problem with journalists parroting right-wing talking points without context. And the constant takes on good news — whether it be low unemployment, unchanged interest rates, the elimination of junk fees on entertainment, or whatever — as "Here's why that's bad news for Biden" is tiresome in the extreme.

We wish that the media would turn away from the anti-democratic dysfunction that defines today's Republican Party and focus on the accomplishments that Biden-Harris are achieving on behalf of the American people instead. Too much to ask? Probably.

But in spite of the shiny objects being batted around — like Cornel West, Marianne Williamson, or RFK Jr. — Biden-Harris is the Democratic ticket for 2024, and their record can be easily defended in every community in America. They are the most progressive Administration in a generation. We cats are proud of them, and we PURR.

"The Clinton Socks Case"

What else could it possibly be? We cats PURR.

The Good Times Continue To Roll

By Hubie and Bertie

It was very fun watching Kevin McCarthy trip and fall today in the House as he couldn't convince 20 of his own Republicans to censure Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA). It was equally fun to watch the Senate confirm progressive voting rights activist Dale Ho as a judge for the Southern District of New York — thanks to the absence of Tim Scott, who was fruitlessly campaigning for President in Iowa.

You'd think Mitch McConnell would have better control of his caucus, right? But for McCarthy, the Schiff failure is just the latest rebuke from the people he cannot lead. It was just last week that the far-right knuckleheads of the "Freedom Caucus" ground the chamber to a halt by voting against procedural rules — in a normal House, a big no-no. (Poor Kevin! How simply frightful. How humiliating. How delightful!)

But maybe the best news is that another January 6 insurrectionist has been found guilty. If you've watched any documentaries about that day, you've no doubt seen video of Richard Harris of Happy Valley, Oregon, picking up a phone in the Rotunda and saying, "Can I speak to Pelosi? We're coming, bitch!" — among other niceties.

Can't wait for this particular dude to be sentenced. As the saying goes, lock him up. We cats PURR.

Grifted Again?

By Miss Kubelik

We cats don't miss the politics or the weather in Miami, but we sure do miss the Cuban food. Yum! And of course the Versailles restaurant in Little Havana is a storied place. Our humans have been there for three milks cake at midnight, dressed in black tie. (Hold the cake, we'll just take the milks. In a saucer, please.)

Versailles has also been a required campaign stop for politicians and Presidential wannabes for simply ages now. So we found it interesting that Benedict Donald swung by there today after he left federal court. Why did he take such pains to do it? We think we may know.

Trump took his private 727 to Miami. The main purpose of his jaunt was, as we all know, to be arrested and arraigned in the documents case. But his Versailles visit could help him write off the entire trip as a campaign expense instead of having the foot the bill himself.

Will anyone in the media raise the issue of the trip's cost and how it was paid for? Don't count on it. We cats HISS.

Perp Walk

By Zamboni

Overwhelming MAGA mobs did not turn out to support Benedict Donald today, unlike on January 6. So the federal courthouse in Miami was not stormed, did not have its windows broken and offices ransacked, and nobody was beaten with a fire extinguisher, a set of crutches, or the American flag. Oh, and nobody died.

That must have disappointed Trump. He was already walking with the body language of a guilty man, and (as everyone noticed) without his loyal wife by his side. You can almost understand why Moose & Squirrel wanted no part of the Stormy Daniels arraignment in April, but you'd think she'd want to be Standing By Her Man today... right? Right?

Special counsel Jack Smith, on the other hand, whom we'd scarcely seen before last Friday, has become a new object of fascination — as strong, silent types often do, particularly when it's clear that they lift weights. (Oooh! Biceps!) Trump apparently never looked his way in the courtroom today, but Smith wasn't nearly as shy. We cats are impressed — we almost always win staring contests.

Going forward, we have little patience with any hand-wringing over Benedict Donald's freedom to travel, his lack of handcuffs and bail, and his Trump-friendly judge. Team Smith always knew "Loose Cannon" could be assigned to the case, and they knew what they could do about it — i.e., the right to immediate, expedited appeal. So let's all relax and have faith that Mr. Great Biceps knows what he's doing. Because from where we sit, he does. We cats PURR.

Tips From A Former Republican

George Conway, lawyer and soon-to-be ex-husband of Kellyanne, shares some important reminders about the charges against Benedict Donald:

"The classification question is a complete red herring. Although the documents were unquestionably, in fact, classified.

"No matter what their classification status is, the documents did not belong to him. They belong to the United States of America, and under the Presidential Records Act, they are required to be under the control of the National Archives and Records Administration.

"In addition, classification status is actually not relevant to the charges against Trump. The Espionage Act...essentially covers any sensitive national defense information, without regard to classification, as long as the information could be used to the detriment of the United States.

"Likewise, the obstruction charges do not turn on classification status. They turn on the fact that he obstructed an investigation into what documents he had, both classified and unclassified. And the subpoena that he defied and lied to the government about asked for all documents with classified markings, which would include documents he declassified but still had the markings, even if he lawfully declassified them — which he did not."

Feats Of Clay

By Baxter

Jack Smith's stolen-documents indictment of Benedict Donald was so elegant — 49 succinct pages, complete with flashbacks to Trump's "but her emails" declarations that he would keep sensitive national secrets safe — that we can hardly wait for his charges on the insurrection of January 6.

The insurrection involves so many additional players — including multiple members of Congress — that it's a sure bet that many of those folks are freaked out in anticipation. As Trump would say, it will be wild! And as others would say: Marjorie Taylor Greene, Andy Biggs, Clay Higgins, Jim Jordan, Scott Perry, et. al.: You in danger, girl.

Higgins in particular has grabbed some attention these last couple of days. After the Trump indictment was revealed on Thursday, the Louisiana Congressman tweeted something unintelligible to most normal people: "President Trump said he has been summoned to appear at the federal courthouse in Miami on Tuesday at 3 pm. This is a perimeter probe from the oppressors. Hold. rPOTUS has this. Buckle up. 1/50K know your bridges. Rock steady calm. That is all."

We won't bore you with translations of all the references, but journos and others who study right-wing extremism immediately rang the alarm bells that Higgins was calling Proud-Boys-types and others to foment violence at Donald's arraignment on June 13. Apparently all the attention caused Higgins to think twice, because today, he followed up with this: "Patriots, we’ve manipulated the MSM to establish deep commo, now copy this…do NOT trip the wire they’ve laid for you. Maintain your family. Live your life. Know your bridges. Hold. Let Trump handle Trump, he’s got this. We use the Constitution as our only weapon. Peace. Hold."

He got visited by the FBI, didn't he? Either way, we cats have no idea if he understands how ridiculous he sounds, and we HISS.

A Loo That Will Live In Infamy

By Sniffles

Yes, America should be shocked that these and dozens of other unsecured boxes held some of our nation's most classified secrets in places where anybody — drunk wedding guests, slackjawed tourists, or Saudi golf enthusiasts, just to name a few — could get at them.

But we can't stop looking at this bathroom.

God, Mar-a-Lago is a dump. The icky-brown marble sinktop and floor, the rococo fixtures, complemented by a $3.89 Walmart shower curtain and an unadorned Kleenex box, all scream "trailer-park-people-who-think-this-is-how-rich-people-live." It's simply outrageous — and we haven't even gotten to the box part yet.

You just know the whole place smells like mildew, right? Who in the world pays top dollar to stay here? (In case you're wondering, the ballroom shots included with today's indictment are not much better.)

Yes, we're all appalled at the breaches of national security. But when something is that scary, it's an amusing defense mechanism to focus on Benedict Donald's extremely bad taste instead. We cats HISS.

Espionage Act, Here We Come

By Hubie and Bertie

A while back, we cats predicted that Jack Smith and the Department of Justice would indict Benedict Donald in the classified documents case before the Fourth of July. Turns out we were only off by... 26 days.

That's okay! We're happy to be wrong. But what a day! It started with the news that Pat Robertson had died, followed by a surprise 5-4 decision by the Roberts Supreme Court to hold up a key part of the Voting Rights Act — an outcome that caused the Cook Political Report to move five 2024 House races in the Democrats' favor. You'd think it was somebody's birthday or something (ha, ha).

We're not legal beagles, but with witnesses still testifying to the grand jury in Miami, it seemed far-fetched that the indictment would happen today as some predicted. But then rumors started flying that DNI Avril Haines was convening the Gang of Eight in the SCIF this afternoon.

Sure, it could have been a meeting about Ukraine's new offensive against Russia. But it must have been a head's up that Benedict Donald would be charged with — our view — taking and sharing critical intelligence with America's enemies (and maybe one of its friends). No word on how shaken the Senators may have looked when they emerged.

We hope we're as wrong about that as we were about Smith's timing. The thought of MBS, Putin, and other scumbags getting their grimy hands on our nation's secrets is scary in the extreme. But knowing what Trump is, it's hard to come to any other conclusion. We cats HISS.

(IMAGE: Are you as sick of looking at Donald Trump as we are? We found something equally on topic, and much more amusing. We cats PURR.)

The Man Who Knows Too Much

By Miss Kubelik

Gosh, did we get a firehose of Benedict Donald news today, or what? (Whoops, sorry — bad choice of words, with Canada burning and all of us busting out our COVID masks again because of the smoke.)

Will Trump's liberty go up in flames, too? Here's what we've learned in just the last few days: Nearly two dozen Secret Service agents have testified about the documents case. A suspicious flood happened in the security video room at Mar-a-Lago. Donald knew his "I declassified these documents with my mind" claim was malarkey. Jack Smith has subpoenaed Steve Bannon about January 6. There's a second grand jury in Florida, and Trump has gotten a target letter. And — maybe most consequentially — Mark Meadows has been testifying, too.

This "Truth Social" post is Trump's reaction to the Meadows news — we think. Honestly, can you tell what's real with him anymore, and what isn't? Who's to say this isn't a parody? Still, if it's genuine, it raises interesting questions about Meadows, who has spent these last many months gone to ground.

What kind of a deal has Meadows gotten? Limited immunity? Is it true that, as has been reported, he's going to plead guilty to some lesser crimes in exchange for his testimony? Do those crimes relate to the documents case, to January 6, or both? There is a ton of detail that, firehose or not, we still don't know.

One thing's for certain: Meadows is in a world of legal hurt no matter how you look at it. And his personal safety is on the line. Posts like the one above, assuming it's real, will surely not let up — in fact, they'll intensify. Perhaps Trump will obliquely call on someone to take Meadows out. Knowing the rageful nuttiness of Trump's well-armed and ardent fans, Mark Meadows will have to look over his shoulder for the rest of his life. We cats aren't sympathetic. And we HISS.

(UPDATE: Some tweeps we follow are assuring us this alleged Trump social post is fake. Not surprising. But we stand by our contention that Trump will just get more and more lit up, and someone with the initials "MM" had better watch his back.)

It's The Guns

By Zamboni

There's an extraordinarily depressing story out of central Florida right now, about a Black woman who was shot to death by a white neighbor when the woman knocked on the neighbor's door to retrieve a lost iPad.

The victim was shot through the neighbor's closed door. Authorities are mumbling about applying Florida's revolting "stand your ground" law, but you have to wonder how an unarmed mom of four kids posed a threat when the white woman was safely barricaded inside her house. Between this incident and today's mass shooting at a high school graduation in Virginia, we'll no doubt see many, many more declarations from Canadians that it's too dangerous for them to ever visit the US again.

You can't really blame them. We've gotten to the point ourselves where we keep our eyes peeled for the exits any time we're in a public place — just in case. And although we're in the same camp as Madeleine Albright — "optimists who worry a lot" about the country and the world — it's disturbing to remember that there are an estimated 400 million guns in America. (There are only 330 million people.)

It would probably be wise to brace ourselves for the distinct possibility that, if and when he's next indicted, Benedict Donald will foment violence. And since so many of his ardent fans are armed, that violence will surely involve guns. It's not reason enough to let Trump skate free, but it's something we need to be prepared for. We cats HISS.

(UPDATE: The white bitch in Ocala who shot the Black woman has been arrested. Lock her up and throw away the key.)

Sneaking In A Prediction

By Baxter

Lots of shoes dropping on the Trump Indictment Front lately. (That's fine — we cats will just sit in them.)

The latest is that the Jack Smith grand jury in the Mar-a-Lago documents case is reconvening this week after a recent hiatus. Also that Benedict Donald's lawyers will allegedly meet with DOJ folks. Even people without legal-beagle backgrounds can be forgiven for thinking that these are signs an indictment is near.

Whether this meeting between Team Trump and Team Justice is really happening is unclear. If the Trump side is leaking the story, you can't really rely on it — they'd say anything to make their client think they're doing something, anything, to keep him from being indicted again. And Jack Smith's operation is not the leaking type. Still, all signs have pointed lately to Smith's investigation winding up, and as we all know from the Stormy Daniels case, prosecutors do tend to bring their grand juries back at the end for charging decisions.

At this point, we cats are willing to predict that Smith will indict before the July 4 holiday, followed by Fani Willis in Georgia in August (which we all know because she's asked for the courts to clear their calendars for three weeks). We'll revisit the topic later to see if we're right. But no matter what, it should be a fun summer! We cats PURR.

Drag Is Ducky Again

By Sniffles

The good news about all the fascist Republican efforts lately to ban books, drag shows, and other forms of speech that they don't like? People are pushing back and filing lawsuits.

One recent example was in Tennessee, where a drag comedy troupe took the GOP stormtroopers to court over the so-called "Adult Entertainment Act," which officially criminalized their art. And guess what? A Trump-appointed US district judge just tossed the AEA as a violation of the First Amendment.

"The Court finds that the Adult Entertainment Act is an UNCONSTITUTIONAL restriction on the freedom of speech and PERMANENTLY ENJOINS Defendant Steven Mulroy from enforcing the unconstitutional statute," Judge Thomas Parker wrote.

It was and remains disturbing that, with a mighty assist from Mitch McConnell, the Trumpsters were able to appoint so many of their ilk to the courts. (The current brouhaha over the abortion pill is a direct legacy of that.) But it's also reassuring that many of those judges have not been rubber stamps for Benedict Donald. Many ruled against him in his baseless 2020 election challenges, and now Parker reminds us that they can rule against him and his brownshirts on other issues as well.

Let's take the win! Happy Pride, everyone. We cats PURR.

MAGA Heads Are Exploding

 

Happy Pride Month, everybody! Especially all those Trumpy race car fans. (They're already mad at Chick-fil-A.) We cats PURR.