The Only Columnist We'll Stand For Carter Criticism? Probably Nick Kristof.

By Sniffles

Tom Nichols of The Atlantic has been vigorously defending himself on Bluesky against our fellow Carter fans. (Please note that it's only on social media that we've seen this — we canceled our subscription to The Atlantic after the 2024 Presidential election, because we cannot allow Donald Trump into our house.)

Anyway, Nichols today decided that he simply had to take the occasion of President Carter's death to rail about all the horrible failings of his administration. When Nichols encountered a ton of blowback, he was supremely offended — posting a ton of comments that reflected his umbrage. Eventually, it seemed like he was trolling Carter groupies just to argue with him, so we stood down.

Our theory? Nichols, as a Ronald Reagan fan, had to defend himself against the MAGA wing of the Republican Party, which disparages everything Ronnie did — with the exception of rich people's tax cuts. Therefore, criticizing the guy that Reagan defeated in 1980 helps Nichols assert his supremacy over the Trumpsters.

All of this Republican infighting ignores the fact that Jimmy Carter had some unexpected successes during his Presidency — and certainly cemented his standing as a principled world leader of the last 45 years. So, STFU, Tom Nichols. We cats PURR.

Waiting For Jimmy

Some years back, we attended Sunday School at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia, because Jimmy Carter was teaching the Bible lesson. It was a long wait, so we were entertaining ourselves before the service began. Can you tell that our book is Why Evolution Is True? Just being fun-loving scamps. We cats PURR.

De Adder Du Jour

 

We've just cat-scratched the surface, but political cartoons are going to be terrific this week. Here's Michael de Adder's latest. We cats PURR.

The Reunion

The great Mike Luckovich of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution drew a cartoon very similar to this one by Marshall Ramsey at Mississippi Today. But we like Ramsey's better because, inexplicably, Lucko drew President Jimmy Carter wearing a red baseball cap. Too MAGA-ish for us! Still, the sentiment's the same. We cats PURR.

The Letter

By Hubie and Bertie

Today we cats are thinking of another Southern President, whose death occurred just over 100 years ago. 

After Woodrow Wilson died in February 1924, his widow Edith sent a handwritten message to Republican Senator Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts — the man who more than anyone else was responsible for ending Wilson's dream of America's entry into the League of Nations.

"My dear Sir," Edith's letter said, "I note in the papers that you have been designated by the Senate of the US as one of those to attend Mr. Wilson's funeral...realizing that your presence would be embarrassing to you and unwelcome to me I write to request that you do not attend. Yours truly, Edith Bolling Wilson."

Lodge wrote back immediately: "My dear Madam...You may rest assured that nothing could be more distasteful to me than to do anything which by any possibility could be embarrassing to you. I have the honor to be very truly yours, H.C. Lodge."

How nice it would be to write a version of Mrs. Wilson's letter to Donald Trump about Jimmy Carter's upcoming funeral, and sign it "America."

Of course, Benedict Donald wouldn't have the grace to elegantly bow out as Lodge did. A consoling fact is that President Carter died while Joe Biden was still in the White House, removing any opportunity for Trump to preside over anything. Because he'll be frustrated and jealous over the nation's (and the world's) many tributes to Carter, we fully expect Trump in three weeks to instantly reverse Biden's proclamation that all flags fly at half-staff for 30 days. We cats HISS.

(P.S. Here's a fun fact we didn't know before: Lodge died soon after Wilson did — in November 2024, of a stroke. As the saying goes, karma can be a bitch. We cats PURR.)

The Land Of Beautiful Souls Receives A New One

This past May, Mia Farrow wrote this about President Jimmy Carter.

"Thinking of Jimmy Carter. He doesn't need my prayers because surely he is already in the mind of God. He is the very best a person can be. Soon, he will be reunited with Rosalynn, and they will never again be separated. United in Love for all eternity.

"I wish, when he meets God, he could put in a good word for the rest of us more flawed souls, but that would be presumptuous. Thank you, President Carter, for all you have done for all of us. May your last journey be peaceful. Thank you with all my heart."

(PHOTO: Getty Images)

Be There, It'll Be Wilde!

By Miss Kubelik

One of the most difficult aspects of next month's Inauguration is that it's taking place on Martin Luther King Day. Which means that instead of celebrating the first Black female President, we'll all be desperately trying to ignore a racist mobster who will violate his oath of office within hours of his swearing-in. Depressing, yes?

Yes. But we've just run across some counter-programming that you (and prominent Democrats) may be interested in. The King Center is sponsoring a whole series of events in Atlanta, starting on January 7. Their theme: "Mission Possible: Protecting Freedom, Justice, and Democracy in the Spirit of Nonviolence365."

The program includes the Beloved Community Awards on January 11, non-violence trainings, book readings, a Global Summit, teach-ins, and — to cap it off — a Beloved Community Commemorative Service at Ebenezer Baptist Church on the morning of January 20.

We think that every Democratic leader who is conflicted about attending the Inauguration should just bail and head down to Atlanta for the King event instead. It's perfect! — and not unlike Oscar Wilde's pithy RSVP: "I must decline your invitation due to a subsequent engagement." Benedict Donald deserves no less of an insult. We cats PURR.

Tough Bird

By Zamboni

Not to put a damper on the holiday festivities, but bird flu is looming.

We all remember (or maybe we don't) the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, and Team Trump's woeful mishandling of it. It was clear that Benedict Donald's bungling contributed mightily to his re-election defeat that November. But now, horrifyingly, with Trump returning to the White House next month, a new epidemic is on the horizon: H5N1.

Back in 2017, the outgoing Obama Administration handed Trump a comprehensive how-to manual on dealing with pandemics, perfected by Team Barack's expert handling of Ebola and Zika. Trump promptly threw it in the trash, and the rest was history. Will the Biden Administration offer a similar blueprint for bird flu? Surely they will, and surely it will receive the same treatment the Obama report did.

As the Rand Corporation has warned, "The United States is failing to act decisively against the growing H5N1 threat, with human cases already emerging from unknown origins and evidence of widespread animal transmission. Without immediate nationwide livestock testing and isolation, expanded wastewater surveillance, and rapid vaccine distribution to at-risk populations, the virus risks mutating into a form capable of sustained human transmission — repeating the catastrophic delays of COVID-19."

Those were fun times in 2020, weren't they? Maybe America doesn't recall. A similar thing happened after the 1918 flu epidemic — "The Great Forgetting." People tend to bury terrible national experiences, and try to live for the moment afterward. That was certainly evident in this year's Presidential election. The question is, will the nation forgive a second Trump Administration for killing hundreds of thousands more Americans, if it comes to that? Not a cheery note, sorry! We cats HISS.

Bon Anniversaire, PMJT

Life's been a little rough for Canada's Prime Minister Disney Prince lately, what with his Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland's recent resignation and the NDP's pledge to vote no confidence in his Liberal government the next time Parliament convenes. Still and all, we hope he had a pleasant birthday today. (Fun fact: It's also his little brother Alexandre's birthday, two years apart. How weird is that?) We cats PURR.

Another Joyeux Noel Goes In The Books

 

Christmas is almost over. As we head into Boxing Day and Kwanzaa, here's hoping you got a lot of loot. Or maybe just a bag. We cats PURR.

Meanwhile, Back In The Manger

 

That's one grumpy-looking Baby Jesus! We cats PURR.

Happy Christmas Eve

If you went out shopping or running errands this afternoon, it was probably crazy. And then at around 4 PM — or maybe 5 or 6 PM — things got quiet. Here's Sackville, New Brunswick, tonight. Remember, they're an hour ahead of us, so not a creature is stirring. Let us all repair to our beds for a cozy-warm, good night's sleep. We cats, champions of naps, approve. And we PURR. Merry Christmas, everyone.

Journeys' End

Some versions of "TCM Remembers" are better than others. This one, we think, shortchanged a few important folks — like Maggie Smith and James Earl Jones (they should have included better clips). But it ends appropriately. The important thing is that Turner Classic Movies always salutes people who make our lives richer — and for that, we cats PURR.

Too Laetz For Gaetz

By Baxter

A nice start to the holiday week for the ever-execrable Matt Gaetz. In essence, the House Ethics Committee found that Gaetz was guilty of sexual misconduct, statutory rape, doing drugs, and violating House rules of accepting gifts — but Preacher of the House Mike Johnson, good Christian that he is, tried to suppress the committee's final report.

No dice. The committee voted to release the report a few weeks ago, marking it for as early as today, and then it leaked this morning before Gaetz could file a lawsuit to stop it. (Which he did, but incorrectly. This is the guy Benedict Donald wanted as AG?)

Johnson, in particular, has icky goo all over his hands on this matter. "I think it's a terrible breach of protocol," he bleated when he was still trying to squelch the report. The question journos should as him is: Does trying to bottle it up mean you endorse Gaetz's behavior? Johnson can't claim he hasn't read it — a favorite Republican dodge — because he expended so much political capital trying to keep it secret.

The GOP is not just the racist party, the insurrectionist party, and the anti-rule-of-law party, they're also the child rapist and druggie party. Someone should do a count of how many perverts, dope fiends, pedophiles, sexual abusers and felons were featured speakers at this year's Republican Convention. We cats HISS.

(P.S.: Dark Brandon was at it again today, driving the GOP mad with 37 commutations of federal death sentences. We took a quick look at the list of commuted inmates, and most of them were from Southern states. We assume most of them are people of color. They're not good guys, but at least Team Trump won't be able to go on a killing spree next year. It's particularly delicious that Biden left synagogue killer Robert Bowers, Mother Emanuel murderer Dylann Roof, and Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on Death Row. Good work, DB. We cats PURR.)

Dreaming Of A Light Christmas

With yesterday's Winter Solstice, the days will slowly be getting longer now. Meanwhile, the City of Montreal is cheering things up with beautiful public light displays for the holidays. We cats PURR.

(PHOTOS: Dave Sidaway, The Montreal Gazette)

The Limits Of MAGA

By Sniffles

If you've been consuming mainstream media this week, you'd be forgiven for thinking that Benedict Donald was already sworn into office. Everything is Trump-centric, with hardly a story about President Biden. Handy tip, everybody: Joe Biden is still President for another five weeks. Watch this space.

Journos would probably respond by saying that Joe has been pretty invisible lately. Well, actually, he hasn't — but that's a subject for another post.  We cats are certain that he was happy to sign the continuing resolution into law last night, and, although not happy to abandon the next phase of student loan forgiveness, he was pleased to leave it as an unresolved issue for the upcoming Clown-Car Administration.

Joe was probably also darkly entertained by the Trumpian antics in Washington the last few days. Donald's attempt to pitch us all into chaos ended up being turned back by his own Republican Party.

As Democratic activist Simon Rosenberg observed, "Trump's legislative and political miscalculations were the most significant I've seen in my 32 years here in DC. He was goaded into coming out against the must-pass bipartisan bill and crashing the US government by the lie-infused Elon Musk, and then added his own wild demands for ending the debt ceiling. The replacement bill Trump supported failed due to Republican (not Democratic) opposition on Thursday.

"Then, last night, his party — along with Democrats in both chambers — overwhelmingly passed a continuing resolution to keep the government funded through March without the one thing he demanded — a suspension or elimination of the debt ceiling, something he told Republicans they needed to fight for and keep the government shut until they won.

"Trump was politically weakened this week, and it was all impulsive, reckless, self-inflicted wounds. He followed Elon, and got terribly burned. Speaker Johnson was also weakened, and the Republican Party looked immature, foolish and not ready to govern." We cats PURR.

Nobody Elected This South African Person To Anything

By Hubie and Bertie

Looks like the House of Representatives has passed a continuing resolution that does not include Benedict Donald's demands for lifting the debt ceiling. HAHAHAHA.

This chaos is just the beginning of Trumpian nightmares to come — but we find it interesting that the Democratic caucus in the House has been able to flex a bit of muscle. And Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries took a well-deserved victory lap tonight. Nothing like a real fight to wake us all up from our post-November-5 stupor, right?

Meanwhile, are Donald and Elon in a cat fight? Rumor has it that Trump is unhappy with the memes that portray him as subservient to Musk. (See above.) Could we not have all predicted this days ago? It's just more proof that the rules don't apply anymore — except when they do. You have to fund the government by such-and-such a date, for example. We cats cheer for guardrails, and we PURR.

DC Has Gone Crazy, So Here’s A Nice Kitty

By Miss Kubelik

There’s something really disturbing going on. Not only has Benedict Donald become President-elect (inconceivable, but it’s happened), he’s throwing the country into chaos weeks before he’s even taken office.

DC is in an uproar tonight since Trump and the very unelected-to-anything South African immigrant Elon Musk have torpedoed Preacher of the House Mike Johnson’s spending bill, forcing the House into crafting a new bill — or risk a government shutdown just days before Christmas.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has already said that the Democrats will not ride to Mikey’s rescue on this. Which is exactly right. After all, the MAGA crowd owns everything now. So let them deal with the consequences.

Unfortunately, a lot of us will be dealing with them as well — today, tomorrow, and for at least the next four years. Will America survive? Your guess is as good as ours. We cats HISS.

Merchan Says Nope. Windsor Was A Nazi Dope.

By Zamboni

One small glimmer of good news hit us yesterday when Judge Juan Merchan slapped back Benedict Donald's bid to dismiss his 34 hush-money convictions in the Stormy Daniels case.

The results of the 2024 election — and the hideous decision by SCOTUS on Presidential immunity — have no bearing on the fact that 12 New York jurors found Trump guilty, Merchan said. Trump's "decidedly personal acts of falsifying business records pose no danger of intrusion on the authority and function of the executive branch," he declared.

Judge Merchan's 41-page decision made us think of another famous quote: "It would not make sense of the past."

That's what King George VI said when he denied a request from his abdicated brother the Duke of Windsor to grant the Duke's oft-divorced wife, Wallis Simpson, the title of Royal Highness. Just as dismissing the Daniels case would amount to an undeserved erasure of Trump's transgressions, the King felt giving a title to Mrs. Simpson was illogical since, at the time, the Royal Family did not allow divorced persons in its ranks. (Of course, as we know, things do change, and may yet in the case of Trump. But so far, that's an ordeal yet to come.)

Aren't historical parallels fun? Particularly since George VI was talking about a couple of Nazis at the time. We cats PURR (and HISS a little).

Maybe The Sun'll Come Out Tomorrow

 

 We'll always have Randy Rainbow. We cats PURR.

Thoroughly Pardoned Milley?

By Baxter

If anything has become clear since the disastrous events of November 5, it's that the old rules don't apply anymore. That's why we cats opined recently that President Biden should keep those Presidential pardons going, including pre-emptive ones. (He's already taken care of son Hunter, as we know, and nearly 1,500 other folks in the biggest one-day pardonpalooza in White House history.)

The usual suspects in politics and the press have carped and moaned over Dark Brandon's clemencies. Too bad. If that's what it takes to protect people from the malevolent man-baby Trump, so be it. As jurisprude and podcaster Allison Gill has pointed out, "The [Presidential] pardon power is one of those things that's pretty impossible to overcome...pre-emptive pardons would definitely throw a huge wrench into Trump's plan to target his political enemies."

Gill also notes that pardons would relieve anti-Trumpers of the enormous costs of mounting a defense. "People can still be indicted," she says. "Defending yourself against the government can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars — not to mention the time and mental distress of it all...often, the proceeding itself is punishment enough."

One of the major figures who may be in need of a pardon is General Mark Milley, who helped shepherd the nation to a safe Biden inauguration in 2021. Those actions so annoyed Benedict Donald that last year he suggested Milley should be executed for treason. (P.S.: Our vaunted news media reacted with a big yawn.) If Joe's considering more pardons, Milley should be at or near the top of the list. We cats PURR.

(PHOTO: US Army/Henry Villarama)

Happy 99, Rob Petrie

By Baxter

As we've said many times, this isn't an entertainment blog. But from time to time, we cats pay tribute to members of the performing arts community who inspire us. Dick Van Dyke is one of those. Star of Broadway, classic TV, and Hollywood musicals, he's still with us — marking 99 years on the planet today.

When she was asked to audition for The Dick Van Dyke Show, Rose Marie allegedly asked, "What's a Dick Van Dyke?" Well, "a Dick Van Dyke" is one of those irreplaceable performers who, for decades, has effortlessly entertained us. And he would be the first to tell you that he was able to do it because he was surrounded by brilliant talent. Happy birthday, sir. Please stick around a while longer. We cats PURR.

The "Good Old Days" Were Not So Good

By Sniffles

Remember when you learned history in school years ago, and found out how short people's lives used to be? If you reached your forties and fifties, you were old. Famous Americans like John Adams and Benjamin Franklin defied the odds — Franklin hit 84, while Adams lived to 90. But thanks to disease, lack of clean water, and poor working conditions, most folks checked out early.

Then along came modern times, with our amazing advances in sanitation, safety on the job, healthcare for kids, and — yes! — vaccines. Inoculations against a variety of maladies contributed significantly to humans' length (and quality) of life. Eradicating smallpox was a huge victory. And another, as any student of the American Presidency knows, was polio.

Franklin D. Roosevelt contracted polio when he was 39, after visiting a Boy Scout camp near Bear Mountain, New York. For the rest of his life, he never walked again — but because of the cooperation of a more-genteel press, the majority of Americans never realized it. Photos of FDR in his wheelchair, like this one taken at Hyde Park, are few and far between. Roosevelt made sure of it, because polio terrified people. Voters may not have understood that someone stricken with it could lead them out of the Great Depression and to victory in World War II.

But thanks to science and two brilliant dudes — one a first-generation American, the other an immigrant — polio was beaten with a vaccine. It was first given as an injection and then (you may remember) as a drop of vaccine on a sugar cube. Thanks, Dr. Salk! Thanks, Dr. Sabin!

Today, unbelievably, Team Trump and the odious vaccine opponent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are trying to turn back the clock on polio. This will literally kill people — especially children — and it's way past time for the medical community to step up and cry foul. As for Franklin Roosevelt, he and First Lady Eleanor were very wary of the Kennedys. RFK Jr.'s antics have perhaps shed additional light on why. We cats HISS.

Needlepoint

Wow, this was a terrible news day, and sadly, there are many more to come. We cats really didn't expect Christopher Wray to stay on as Director of the FBI, but we thought he might put up a little bit of a fight. Instead, he's just the latest example of way too much obeying in advance. Did he cut a deal with Trumpster Pam Bondi that she wouldn't throw him in jail if he resigned? If so, that agreement isn't worth the paper it's not printed on. We cats HISS.

Goosing Donald

"It was a pleasure to have dinner the other night with Premier Donald Trump of the great province of America. I look forward to seeing the Premier soon so that we may continue our in depth talks on Tariffs and Trade, the results of which will be truly spectacular for all!"

—Canada Goose (not the winter coat)

Tish James Won't Go Gently Into That Good Night

By Hubie and Bertie

Just when it seems like everybody's caving to Benedict Donald, New York Attorney General Letitia James is standing firm.

"What?" she said. "Toss the $497 million civil fraud judgment against Trump? Fuhgeddabboutit."

James's office refused to grant Trump's request to drop the case, sending Trump's attorney a letter that became public today. "The ordinary burdens of civil litigation do not impede the President’s official duties in a way that violates the U.S. Constitution," the deputy solicitor general wrote.

Good for Team James. It's been pretty discouraging to watch members of the media (and, to be frank, some world leaders) obeying in advance. It reminds us a lot of how cowed our side was after September 11, 2001, which was why we were thrilled when a fighter like Vermont Governor Howard Dean emerged to give the Bushies hell. We loved him for it then, and we still love him.

Today, we all have to take a page from Tish James's book and from other legal-beagle warriors like Marc Elias, and pound these Trumpsters into dust. We can do it because they will erf up — in fact, they're already doing it. And while we can't guarantee that we'll always win in court, we can absolutely help them collapse under the weight of their own idiocy by being loud and mocking. (Donald hates that.) We cats PURR.

Would Could Have Been / What's Going To Be

By Miss Kubelik

We cats will never not be mad that America didn't elect Kamala and Doug as First Couple. Here they are, all spiffed up to attend the Kennedy Center honors last night. Such style and elegance.

Another important aspect of a Harris-Walz Administration? It wouldn't have been staffed with people sympathetic to dictators and authoritarians. Sadly, that's what we're about to get with the return of the Trumpsters.

Those cretins include Tulsi Gabbard, whom Benedict Donald has said he'd like for Director of National Intelligence. Tulsi is not only wildly unqualified for the job, she has repeatedly defended monsters like (newly former) Syrian President Bashar al-Assad — to the point where officials on both sides of the aisle were afraid that she'd leak sensitive information to Assad before he fled to Moscow this weekend. Are we really, really going to allow a person like this to be DNI?

The hope is that with Assad's fall, more and more details of his horrific regime will be revealed over the coming days and weeks, disqualifying Gabbard before she can even sit her butt in a Senate hearing chair. The notorious Saydnaya Prison, for example, has just been liberated. The stories are already hideous — Amnesty International named it a "human slaughterhouse" of mass hangings, solitary confinement, and torture to the point where prisoners forgot their own names. Gabbard needs to be humiliated over this, and we're looking forward to both journalists and elected officials doing the job. We cats PURR.

Sarah McBride (D-DE) On The Struggles To Come

"The biggest challenge is going to be to summon the hope necessary to see the fight through. I think that one of the challenges that we have in this country right now, particularly for Democrats, is that, really since the 1960s, it has felt like if we simply work for it, if we vote for it, if we volunteer, if we share our stories, if we lift our voices, that we can then inevitably bend the arc of the moral universe toward justice. 

"And we felt that, I think particularly, in 2008 and when we elected Barack Obama, and then Affordable Care Act passed, and marriage equality became a law of the land. It just felt like there was this sort of unfolding sense of great progress.

"It feels different right now. It doesn't feel like if we simply work for it and fight for it, that change will come, that things will work out. But think about all of the advocates and activists and citizens who lived through different chapters in our country's history. We have to recognize that that sense of inevitability with hard work that we felt 20 years ago, 30 years ago — that’s the exception in our country's history.

"Every single previous generation of Americans has been called to conquer odds much greater than the ones that we're facing right now. And they had every reason to believe that change would not come. Enslaved people in the 1850s had no reason to believe that an Emancipation Proclamation was on the horizon. Unemployed workers during the early days of the Great Depression had never heard of a New Deal. Patrons at the Stonewall Inn never knew of a country where they could live openly and authentically as themselves. And yet they persevered. They summoned their hope, they found that light, and ultimately, they changed the world."

Remebering Les Filles De Poly

By Zamboni

Here's a cheery note: Today is the 107th anniversary of the Halifax Harbor explosion in Nova Scotia. It was so big that it ranked as the biggest explosion caused by humans until the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

Today is also the 35th anniversary of the massacre at the École Polytechnique in Montreal. In less than 20 minutes, a gunman (yep, accent on man, no surprise) killed 14 women — because they were women. "I am fighting feminism," he declared before opening fire. Dude seemed to have a problem with girls learning engineering. Like most mass killers, he shot himself before police could get there, but left a suicide note saying that feminists "have always ruined my life."

The Polytechnique shooting isn't the only misogynist rampage to have happened in Canada, the other occurring in Toronto in 2018. Both give pundits and policymakers annual opportunities to mull over the continuing problem of violence against women. But we never seem to make any progress, do we? In fact, it's getting worse. "The concept of male supremacy has been popularized and normalized by social media influencers like Andrew Tate," writes columnist Allison Hanes in The Montreal Gazette. "Disillusioned and wayward young men are being fed the message their problems are women's fault. And the antidote to their ailments and inadequacies is to assert male dominance."

Ugh. Improving women's overall status and safety may never happen unless more and more of them can get elected to the corridors of political power. The US had a bit of a setback on that front this year, but we cats refuse to give up. In the meantime, we HISS.

P.S.: On the subject of gun violence, there's no doubt that healthcare insurance companies are rapacious bastions of evil. But shooting their CEOs in the back is also bad. We cats HISS again.

"I Never Thought This Could Happen In Korea"

By Baxter

Are we all fully immersed in the Christmas spirit? We cats noticed that even before Thanksgiving Day, and immediately thereafter, decorated trees, holiday lights, and (ugh) Christmas inflatables started popping up around us. Even though we live in a 50-50 Republican-Democratic area, we assumed it was folks depressed about the election and deciding to waste no time throwing themselves into tidings of comfort and joy.

Unfortunately, though, current events still exert their tug. Here's one that really got our attention: the failed declaration of martial law in South Korea. (MAGAts, please note: It's not spelled "Marshall law.")

The video from Seoul was, at first glance, a bizarre mirror-image of January 6, 2021, at the US Capitol. This time, it was lawmakers trying to get into the South Korean parliament to override President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law declaration, with the South Korean military attempting to keep them out. Long story short (and thank goodness), the forces of democracy prevailed. Lawmakers unanimously voted to reject the martial law declaration, and Yoon walked it back.

What led up to this confrontation? Lots of stuff. First, we all have to recognize that South Korea has not always been a model of good government. But it's been a lot better since 1987, when constitutional democracy was consolidated. And obviously, South Korea has been a valued ally against Benedict Donald's good buddy, Kim Jung Un, in North Korea. But in 2022, politics in South Korea took a turn to the right.

It not only took that rightward turn, it eerily presaged the events of 2024 in the United States. Here's how the Toronto-based Globe & Mail summed up the path to this week's events:

"In 2022, Yoon and his conservative People Power Party won South Korea's election in an absolute squeaker, capturing the Presidency...with 0.73 percent of the vote. It was a bitter race dubbed 'the unlikable election' because of the candidates' high disapproval ratings and frequent smear campaigns.

"Another commentator termed it 'the incel election' instead, with Yoon capitalizing on a wave of male resentment. He blamed feminism for assorted troubles that ranged from soaring housing costs and waning upward mobility to plummeting birth rates — and he captured 65 percent of male voters age 18 to 29. By contrast, 68 percent of female voters that age broke for [the opposition] Democratic Party."

Did we cats notice all this happening in South Korea in 2022? We freely admit we didn't. But now, Yoon is facing possible impeachment, which he richly deserves. And we wonder if here in the US, Republicans in Congress will have the gumption to stand up to Benedict Donald the way Korean parliamentarians have stood up to Yoon. We cats wait and watch — but expecting nothing, we HISS.

"The Time For Cautious Restraint Is Over"

By Sniffles

The reactions from Democrats and the press to President Biden's pardon of his son Hunter have been infuriating. Do they not understand how completely reality has changed? Do they not realize how out of control the Department of Justice will be next year? If not, why not? They've had nine years to figure Trump and the MAGA movement out, and they've utterly failed — or they insist on being ostriches.

A few reactions from Democrats have made us grin. Virginia State Senator Louise Lucas's tweet from yesterday is one: "If you are coming here looking for someone to bash Joe Biden, you came to the wrong place. My focus is entirely on Trump and the thugs he is trying to place in his Administration." Outgoing Montana Senator Jon Tester's response is another. Approached by reporters on Capitol Hill, he said, "I'm about to get the fuck out of here. Ask somebody else."

For other Democrats, we have this advice: Just tell the media that you haven't seen the pardon, haven't read the pardon, haven't heard anything about it. So you can't comment. Sound silly? It's worked for Republicans with the press for simply years.

It's so discouraging that Democrats have this circular firing squad going when Washington is about to go straight into the toilet in just 47 days. We need to spend our energies on fighting them, not each other. In a previous political world, there might have been opportunities to indulge in lofty intellectual discussions about Presidential pardons and the rule of law. Not anymore. The rules have changed — or don't exist. Everybody's back has a target. Wake up!

Dark Brandon seems to know, though. Word has it Team Biden is discussing pre-emptive pardons for those in the Trumpsters' cross-hairs: people like Anthony Fauci, Adam Schiff, Liz Cheney, others. Our take? As the great Carrie Fisher used to say, "Doooooo eeeeeet." We cats PURR.

The White House Wears The Ribbon

Here's just one of the many decent aspects of White House life that's going to disappear come January 20: On Sunday, the AIDS memorial quilt was displayed on the South Lawn for the first time. If Benedict Donald called Americans killed in war "suckers and losers," we can only imagine how he describes people with HIV. We cats HISS.

Merry Early Christmas, Hunter Biden

By Hubie and Bertie

Events occur, circumstances alter, and people change their minds. For Joe Biden, November 5 resolved the question of whether he would pardon his son Hunter before leaving office. Of course he would. As one of our favorite Twitter accounts pointed out, "We live in a world where you pardon the kid, not because you can but because you have to."

So we cats have a few things to say.

To Trumpsters who are heading for their fainting couches — Hey, team, elections have consequences.  You can scream about the Hunter pardon all you want. But it will have exactly zero political impact, especially considering the horrors you're about to inflict on the country next year.

To the earnest doubters on our side — Get a grip. Sadly, we have to stop thinking in terms of the way things used to be.

To the Great Forgetters — Benedict Donald pardoned reprobates like Mike Flynn, soon-to-be-ambassador Charles Kushner, Roger Stone, Paul Manafort, Eddie Gallagher, and Steve Bannon. Hunter Biden, with all his problems, is a one-hundred-percent better man than any of them.

To the Morning Schmoes — We don't give a damn what you think about this, pro or con. Or about anything, for that matter.

To President Biden — We're happy for you, and hope that you and your family can find some peace and joy together this holiday season. That's our angel side speaking. The devil side, which we always love to indulge in, hopes that you do lots more Dark-Brandon-type stuff between now and January 20. Give 'em hell, DB! We cats PURR.

"Unbought And Unbossed"

By Miss Kubelik

We're a day late in observing the centenary of Shirley Chisholm, but we liked this photo so much that we couldn't resist.

"Let us celebrate Shirley Chisholm’s brilliance, determination, and grace," Vice President Harris tweeted. "So many of us stand on her broad shoulders. With her spirit and in honor of her legacy, let us continue to speak truth to power and fight for equality and justice for all."

Chisholm probably would not be pleased with the lack of progress women are making at the highest level of our government. In the last eight years, two brilliant women have had to concede a Presidential election to an unspeakably terrible man. Although Harris's wise words — like Chisholm's fighting spirit — inspire us, we cats still HISS.