Fine And Foolish

By Hubie and Bertie

The jokes are flying thick and fast about tomorrow's Election Day falling on April Fool's. Goodness knows, there are plenty of fools around these days in politics, government and public affairs. So, so many. But tomorrow is another opportunity to vote them out — or at least, send a message.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court race is top of mind, and not just because every time we see the name of the Trumpy Republican candidate, we think it's "Schlemiel." (Seems about right.) It's because the Tesla Turd is pouring a ton of money into the state. Hey, last we checked, paying people to vote was illegal. But anyway.

Two special elections in Florida are also getting a lot of attention. One is for Matt Gaetz's former seat in FL-01. Forget it, everybody. We have a great candidate, but we're not going to win that one. The other is for Mike "Signalgate" Waltz's former seat in FL-06. That one's interesting, and the GOP is officially fretting over it. Here's how The Hill, which is not typically friendly to Democrats, put it: "Republicans Look to Avert Humiliation in Florida Special Election."

Reasons? Nobody expected the Democratic contender, Josh Weil, to be able to raise zillions of dollars. He's a schoolteacher, for heaven's sake! And Republicans were undoubtedly surprised to see an internal poll from the GOP firm Fabrizio Ward that put Weil over their icky candidate, Randy Fine, by three points. Sure, it's only one poll, but this is a Trump +30 district. Pretty amazing.

So, going into Tuesday, here's our take.

In FL-06, any victory that Republicans notch by less than 15 percentage points will be a win for us. A victory by less than 10 percent? A big win for us. Less than five? HUGE. (And yes, Weil could out-and-out snag the seat, which we'd be thrilled to see. But don't count on it.)

In FL-01, a Republican win of less than 65 percent of the vote will be a loss for them. By less than 60 percent, a big loss. By less than 55 percent... well, as The Hill might say, HUMILIATING.

Keep your eye on what veterans and seniors do — that'll be key in both districts. Paws are crossed! We cats PURR.

Want.

This cap is all the rage in Greenland. And maybe beyond. (There's a Canadian version, too). We cats PURR.

Tidtbits And Cat Treats: Trump's Very Bad Week Edition

By Miss Kubelik

It can't be good for the Trumpsters when rumor has it that the Republicans are in trouble in FL-06. It appears that Josh Weil, the Democratic Congressional candidate, is trailing within the margin of error to the repulsive Republican candidate, Randy Fine. This much is clear: If the GOP were sure of a cakewalk, maybe Benedict Donald wouldn't have yanked Elise "Elsie" Stefanik's nomination to be Ambassador to the UN. And it seems a cakewalk they will not get.

That's just one story that broke in the last few days that made for a bad week for MAGA. How terrible was it? Let us count the ways:

1. Signalgate, of course. We have to assume it's not good that people are wondering if the Secretary of Defense was drunk when he ordered airstrikes on Yemen. How long will Hegseth last? People are already posting his photo next to the now-familiar Liz Truss head of lettuce.

2. On top of Signalgate, news broke that Team Trump left their Venmo and other online information public. Goodness gracious, but Russia and China must be having a field day.

3. JD Vance's visit to Greenland was an utter shitshow.

4. Benedict Donald had to go hat in hand to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney for a phone conversation. It happened today — after which Carney said Trump respected Canadian sovereignty during the call.  "Perhaps there was a different impression before about how strong Canada really is," he said. For his part, Trump indicated that he and Carney would speak after the federal election. Whoops, guess that means Donald thinks the Liberals are going to win, yes?

5. Neil Drabkin, the Conservative candidate for the NDG-Westmount riding in Montreal, has asserted that his federal leader Pierre Poilievre has the respect of "people close to Trump." Wow, what a death knell. Or, as our favorite Montreal journalist put it, "Neil Drabkin, you screeching fool. You just let the cat out of the bag. PP and the Cons are just stand-ins for Trump and Musk, waiting to do their bidding."

6. Musk has been forced to stop bribing people to vote in Wisconsin. 

Finally, let's remind ourselves again that an Executive Order is not a law. Governing by EO is a sign of weakness, not of strength. We cats PURR.

Elsie Doesn't Take Manhattan

By Zamboni

It's a sad day in the Elise "Elsie" Stefanik household, since Benedict Donald has yanked her nomination to be Ambassador to the UN. As soon as the rumors started flying today, Trump posted on his failing social media platform that she was out. Gosh, that was quick. You have to assume Susie Wiles told Donald he couldn't afford to weather another embarrassing drip-drip news story — not this week, at least.

The Trumpy line is that Republicans were worried that Elsie's vacant seat in the House would endanger passage of their Project 2025 agenda this year. On which we call bullshit because: 

1) When did they decide to actually try to pass stuff like a real Congress, instead of having Trump govern solely by Executive Order?

2) Democrats in Albany had already decided against trying to delay the special election to replace Elsie, and Governor Hochul was poised to name a date in the near future — maybe as soon as June.

3) It's not 2025 that the Republicans are worried about. It's 2026. (Have they seen polling from next week's special elections for districts in Florida? If so, were the numbers portending future doom?)

The question now is what all the GOP hopefuls to fill Elsie's seat will do. They must be crestfallen. One, Dan Stec, just snagged the Conservative Party's endorsement the other day, giving him a big boost to getting support from all the party chairs in the district. The others? Who knows? It's a crowded field of Republican clowns, but one especially moronic goofball, Anthony Constantino, was threatening a third-party run against Stec as the nominee. We were kinda looking forward to that.

Well, no matter. Aside from sending glitter bombs to Stefanik's home in Schuylerville, our marching orders in the meantime are clear: Help Democrats win those two House seats on April 1. You can donate to Josh Weil in FL-06 (Mike Waltz's old seat) by clicking here. You can donate to Gay Valimont in FL-01 by clicking here. We cats PURR.

It's Not Easy Being Greenland

By Baxter

Well, if there's one gift that the first weeks of the Trumpocalypse has given us, it's a lot of information about Greenland. For example, the flag of Greenland is not, um, green. It looks like this. Pretty nifty.

Be honest — you didn't know anything about this gigantic territory of Denmark either, right? It's just been quietly sitting there at the top of the world for ages, without us giving it so much as a by-your-leave. But if you're Vladimir Putin with your eyes on controlling the Arctic, you've got Greenland on your mind. You're also keenly aware that Greenland is home to a US military base, which services NORAD, and as a Danish territory is part of the NATO military alliance.

It's obvious: There is no other reason for Benedict Donald to jabber on about annexing Greenland except that to Putin's bidding. Trump is a Russian asset and traitor who has no business sitting in the White House. But as the saying goes, here we are.

The latest salvo in the Trumpy "Let's Take Greenland" campaign was their attempt to send Usha Vance on a "cultural tour" and charm offensive. The concept was a load of crap, and Greenlanders weren't buying it — firmly closing their doors on any American advance team that asked them to host her for a visit. Now, with Signalgate and her creepy husband JD threatening to join her, the whole idea has become completely toxic — so bad, in fact, that the trip has been scaled down to one pop-in at the Pituffik military base.

Poor Usha! Poor JD! How simply frightful! How humiliating! How delightful! We cats PURR.

For Republicans, It's Always "Fair Game"

By Sniffles

Remember Valerie Plame? She was the undercover CIA officer whom right-wing columnist Robert Novak outed by name back in 2003. Dick Cheney's chief of staff, "Scooter" Libby, was later convicted of lying to investigators about the scandal. But before he could be hauled off to the hoosegow, George W. Bush commuted his sentence. (Benedict Donald later pardoned him, of course. It's a pattern with him.)

The whole Plame nightmare is just one reason we don't have warm and fuzzy feelings about people named Cheney, by the way. But that's something for another blog post.

Meanwhile, more than 20 years later, the Republicans have clearly learned nothing. Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg said today that in the Signal conversation the Trumpsters carelessly looped him into about their military strike in Yemen, Trump's CIA chief, John Ratcliffe, clearly identified one of his covert operatives to the group. "I withheld her name," Goldberg said. "I didn't put it in the story because she's under cover. But, I mean, the CIA director put it into the chat."

Is that bad? That seems bad.

Once upon a time, Ratcliffe, like nearly everyone else involved in the FUBAR'd Signal thread, was oh-so-stern about protecting our national secrets. He went on FOX "News" in 2019 and bleated, "Mishandling classified information is...a violation of the Espionage Act. It started with Hillary Clinton. It has continued without accountability."

Um, no. It never "started with Hillary Clinton," because no classified information ever turned up on her private server. But the GOP's never-ending hypocrisy led Clinton to weigh in on Twitter yesterday with "You've GOT to be kidding me." (We sense a missing adjective in that tweet — something starting with "f" and ending with "ing.")

We've searched for Valerie Plame on social media, but so far, no luck. Would some enterprising journalist be willing to connect the dots and call her for a comment? It could be interesting. We cats HISS.

Come From Behind

By Hubie and Bertie

It's been a pretty good day for the Liberals in Canada. And with the federal election taking place right around the corner, the Conservative Party can't afford to have a lot of not-great days.

As we've mentioned before, the Tories' previously massive lead vanished since Justin Trudeau stepped down as Liberal Party leader, and especially since Benedict Donald started his annexation and "51st state" threats. As one Trumpy guy at the American Enterprise Institute has whined: "Obviously, [Trump] has unintentionally been the single biggest factor in the comeback of this left-of-center party in Canada." (Ooooooh, a left-of-center party, so scary and awful.)

But now the Conservatives have even more problems.

The Trumpy premier of Alberta, Danielle Smith, went on Breitbart a couple of weeks ago and admitted to asking Team Donald to "pause" the tariffs until after her party wins next month. Put another way: She solicited a former friend who's become openly hostile to commit election interference in her country. Incredible. On the other hand, Smith is a Benedict Donald admirer who ran down to Mar-a-Lago to kiss his ring (or his whatever) last November, so she must have assumed she'd have some special influence with him.

Canadians don't seem thrilled. A recent Ipsos poll showed the Liberals increasing their lead over the Conservatives to seven points.

The other reason that Liberals are smiling today? Prime Minister Mark Carney visited Gander, Newfoundland, which famously welcomed thousands of airline passengers who were stranded there on September 11, 2001. "In this crisis caused by the US president and those who are enabling him, we lament a friendship lost," Carney said. "In Gander, Canadians did extraordinary things for Americans when they needed it. Now, we need to do extraordinary things for ourselves."

Brilliant move. So what does Tory leader Pierre Poilievre do now? Does he ignore Atlantic Canada because he's going to get wiped out there? Or does he look like a copycat and show up? We cats PURR.

A Signal Event

By Miss Kubelik

The Ides of March are long past, but a general air of hinkyness lingers — mostly for Trumpsters, we're happy to say. However, we do have some serious collateral damage. Our national security, for one.

As the world now knows, the security breach about bombing Yemen on Signal, which happened March 14-15, roped in Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg. Accidentally? On purpose? It's unclear. "It should go without saying — but I’ll say it anyway — that I have never been invited to a White House principals-committee meeting," Goldberg said today. "In my many years of reporting on national-security matters, I had never heard of one being convened over a commercial messaging app."

So many fuck-ups here. "The remarkable thing is that no one in the group asked, 'Who's JG?'" Goldberg said. "And when I removed myself from the group, seemingly nobody said, 'Hey, why did JG leave?'" You'd think that maybe some of the Russians on the call might have asked the same questions. (Yes, we're serious — with one of their prime assets back in the White House, you have to assume Team Putin knows everything we do now. See Vlad, above.)

A few thoughts:

Can you imagine how the Republicans would have reacted if the Biden Administration had done this? They would have impeached Biden yesterday. FOX "News" would have talked about nothing else for months (maybe years). Congressional hearings would never end.

We would've loved to have seen Dick Cheney's and Liz Cheney's faces when this story broke. Also Adam Kinzinger's.

Perhaps the only happy Republican in the country today is former Minnesota State Senator Justin Eichorn, who was recently hauled off to the hoosegow for trying to pay a 17-year-old for sex. Things have gotten even dicier for him lately — he's been caught attempting to conceal evidence — but at least the Trump Signal scandal has pushed him off the front pages. (Shades of Gary Condit and 9/11!)

We never want to hear "But her emails" again. We cats HISS.

Best Ad Since The Molson Attack Beaver?

The Canadian election is on for April 28, and a new National Post-Leger poll shows the Liberals three points up. Benedict Donald has clumsily managed to make this PhD-in-economics-white-guy Prime Minister (not to mention his entire country) totally cool. We cats PURR.

Mood.

The Adams Memorial, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Rock Creek Park, Washington, DC. The sculpture dates from 1891. Please note that the gender of the subject is undefined. We cats PURR.

Delicieux

By Zamboni

It was easy to tell that the temperatures were in the 60s Fahrenheit in Montreal today, because we cats saw a lot of people walking around outside in shorts and flip-flops. And while we haven't seen any campaign posters yet — the PM won't call the federal snap election until Sunday, probably for April 28 — politics are prevalent.

A trip to the SAQ revealed no empty shelves of products from the États-Unis. But it wasn't because they were fully stocked with California wine. It was because the staff had filled in every shelf with wines from France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, New Zealand — and, of course, Quebec — instead. The SAQ clearly has no intention of selling American booze any time soon. They're dug in.

The other adventure of the day was at the Atwater Market, where we met a seller of artisan goodies who had Benedict Donald on his mind and wanted to talk. He thought the tariff war was unbelievably stupide (correct), but his biggest gripe was Trump's disrespect of Canada and Canadians. Yep, he was taking it personally. He thought Mark Carney was very smart. He thought that Pierre Poilievre was phhhffftt. A phony.

Our takeaway? That he was one Quebecois businessman who was definitely voting Liberal next month. How the landscape has changed. Merci, Donald! Our paws are crossed for April 28. We cats PURR.

Tidbits And Cat Treats: Monday Morning At Canadian Tire Edition

By Baxter

This is not our usual image for a "Tidbits" post, but we just had to share how Justin Trudeau spent his first weekday as a former Prime Minister. We're off to the True North very soon. We won't need to visit Canadian Tire, but if we're lucky, maybe we'll run into him at the IGA! Meanwhile, here are some thoughts for a Tuesday evening.

In case you're wondering, yes — the media in Canada are pretty much just as bad as they are in the United States. As in, shallow, preening, combative, burying actual news to promote mindless narratives, etc. And, at times, quite sniffy. Right now, they're busy trying to portray Prime Minister Mark Carney as "testy" at a recent press conference. We watched the video and have no idea what they're talking about. He did, however, kind of embarrass a CBC reporter.

A Republican state senator from Minnesota was arrested today for soliciting a 17-year-old for sex. Turns out the "girl" he was communicating with was actually a couple of undercover cops. Have you noticed? This keeps happening. Guys hauled off to the hoosegow for stuff like this are never drag queens or trans folks — they're preachers, Trump advisers, misogynists, and proud members of the GOP.

Benedict Donald's arrest of Mahmoud Khalil was an outrage. Khalil is clearly what he claims to be — a political prisoner. Still, we cats can't help wondering how all those pro-Palestinian demonstrators who heckled Kamala Harris last year at her campaign rallies are feeling about Trump today. You just know they all voted for him, right?

Finally, does John Roberts know what "FAFO" stands for? Or is he at all familiar with that meme about leopards eating faces? What did he expect when he and his SCOTUS cronies granted Benedict Donald immunity — good behavior? We cats HISS and PURR at the same time.

On (To) Wisconsin

By Sniffles

Tomorrow is the first day of early voting in the nonpartisan Wisconsin Supreme Court race between Democratic Judge Susan Crawford and a Republican Trumpster named Brad Schimel.

If you're registered in Wisconsin, please make a plan to vote. You have from March 18 through until Election Day, which is Tuesday, April 1.

Schimel, who would be the world's biggest April Fool's joke if this election weren't so scary, needs to lose — for a lot of reasons. The most important one is that Elon Musk is trying to buy this election for Schimel. Musk has poured $10 million into it (so far). Reproductive rights, collective bargaining, and fair maps are all on the line.

As Wisconsin State Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler has said, "Don't let the world's richest man buy a state Supreme Court to turn it into a rubber stamp for a would-be dictator."

The good news: You don't have to live or vote in Wisconsin to help Judge Susan Crawford. You can donate to her campaign by clicking here. You can get information on virtual (and in-person) volunteer events by visiting the Wisconsin Dems website here. And you can write postcards to Wisconsin voters by clicking here. We cats PURR.

Happy St. Gertrude's Day!

Forget that Patrick guy. Go for Gertrude! We cats PURR.

End Of An Era, Part Deux

It looks like Friday morning was an emotional one for Justin Trudeau, who submitted his resignation as Prime Minister to Canada's Governor-General, Mary Simon. This image (presumably by Trudeau's official photographer Adam Scotti) is one for the history books. We cats PURR.

End Of An Era

By Hubie and Bertie

The last couple of months have seen a remarkable turnaround in the fortunes of Canada's Liberal Party. For months, the Conservatives and their wildly unappealing national leader, Pierre Poilievre, were leading in the polls by double digits over the long-serving Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Alarming — since Poilievre was a vocal supporter of the Trumpy trucker convoy that paralyzed Ottawa for weeks back in 2022, and is an ardent admirer of Benedict Donald. In fact, he's a mini-Trump, style-wise. Or at least, that was the plan, until Trump returned to office in January.

Once Donald started yammering about "the 51st state" and calling Justin "Governor Trudeau," Canadians blew a gasket. They started boycotting American goods and canceled trips to Florida and Arizona. Most significantly, Liberals rebounded in the polls. Trudeau, unleashed by his resignation as party leader, could say what he thought about "Donald" and his tariffs — and the Trumpsters were not pleased.

And then last weekend's Liberal Party convention chose Mark Carney by a landslide that even bested Justin Trudeau's victory margin back in 2013. Today, Carney was sworn in as PM.

We're cautiously optimistic about the Liberals' chances in whatever snap election Carney calls (late April? early May?). Meanwhile, Poilievre and the Tories have been caught off-guard by our Trumpy times, and their messaging so far has been tone-deaf, to say the least. But even while we look hopefully toward the future, we should tip our hats to the recent past. Canada has prospered and progressed under both Trudeaus. Their enemies, of which there are many, will not define them — their visionary leadership will. À bientôt et merci, Justin. We cats PURR.

(IMAGES: Rod MacIvor and Adam Scotti)

World War D? (Let's Not.)

By Miss Kubelik

Gosh, we're seeing so much anger from our party on social media that we've decided only to look at tweets and skeets about last night's lunar eclipse or today's swearing-in of the new Canadian Prime Minister. The rest is a headache we don't need, thank you very much.

Nevertheless, we have to say: Our left wing's frustration with the overall lack of Democratic pushback against Trump is completely understandable. And our members in tight House districts who put their careers on the line to vote "no" on the CR are rightly furious.

But we have to pick our battles. As painful as it is to say: Perhaps this wasn't the one? Maybe we don't want to change the narrative on who's responsible for the current clusterfuck that passes for the State of the Union? (Right now, people are saying the Republicans own it.)

Look, we might as well admit it: Preacher of the House Johnson and the Republicans backed us into a corner, giving us what Minority Leader Chuck Schumer rightly called a Hobson's Choice. The CR is terrible. But in a shutdown, the Trumpsters and their GOP allies would have been able to leave departments and agencies they don't like closed forever. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau? The Environmental Protection Agency? The Department of Education? The Social Security Administration? Yes, the Muskovites have already done great damage to many of these institutions, but why give the Republicans the opportunity to simply never reopen them — when the judiciary, slow and creaky as it is, seems poised to support our side?

Another way of looking at this is that the Senate Democrats who voted "yes" today were giving cover to others — like Jon Ossoff of Georgia, in a tight race next year — who voted "no." (Never mind that the Trumpian shitshow that's raining down on us day after day after day means that no one is going to remember this event next week, let alone during the midterm elections next year.)

So, please — let's not make matters worse by forming a Democratic circular firing squad and talking about primarying people. That's what Benedict Donald and the fascists want. Let's focus instead on the 17 vulnerable House Republicans — and how Democrats like Governor Tim Walz are parachuting into GOP-held districts during this Congressional recess to hold our own versions of town halls.

Want proof that that town hall strategy will work? Check out what happened in Asheville, North Carolina, yesterday. Not only did Republican Chuck Edwards get his head handed to him, the whole event devolved into something out of World War Z. (People were even mad about Benedict Donald's treatment of Canada! Now, that's progress.) American voters are furious, so this is the way to go. Governor Walz, please add Asheville to your itinerary. We cats PURR.

Lest We Furr-get: Even More True Now

Remember This?

 

By Zamboni

Try to imagine how the media would have reacted if Joe Biden sold a mega-donor's cars from the South Lawn of the White House and received a $100 million Super PAC donation from the guy.

Trump, of course, does not get taken to task for such outrages by our toothless press. This is why democracy is hanging by a thread: Not only has Congress rolled over and played dead, but the media have abdicated their responsibility to speak truth to power. Only the judiciary is keeping some of the guardrails in place — and there are still some scary times ahead as we wait to see if they hold.

While we understand people's urge to share, it got very tiresome to see the same images of Trump and Musk in our social media feeds yesterday. So we went with this image of Tricky Dick instead. (Ah, nostalgia.) Do we really think Donald bought his granddaughter a Tesla? If we were Musk, we'd make extra-sure his check clears. We cats HISS.

Canada's Indivisible Right Now. We Can Be, Too.

 

By Baxter

Things continue to be stupid on the Trump tariff threats. (Hint: He always blusters and then backs off). And good God, you don't want to know what they're doing to the Kennedy Center. But if you're feeling overwhelmed and wondering what you can do — and who isn't? — our favorite podcast featured some "Good Trouble" today. Here's the scoop:

Congress will be in recess from Saturday, March 15 through Sunday, March 23. Indivisible.org has developed a "Musk or Us Recess Toolkit" for Americans wanting to take action on town halls while members are spending time back in their districts.

• If your representative is a Republican, force a town hall. Organize your own event and extend an invitation. If the member declines, "turn their silence into a story."

• Call on Democrats to hold their own town halls and demand that they hold Trump, Musk and the Republicans accountable. Put on notice any Democrats who aren't speaking out.

Check your member's website for any town hall information. Or, you can sign up for town hall alerts from Indivisible by clicking here. (If you have a GOP member who's too chicken to hold one, you'll also find details there on how to prepare for and publicize your own.) We cats PURR.

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

For Those Of You Who Have Been Complaining, Democrats Have Finally Mastered The Message

And tomorrow, they could do a new version that says "Republicans inherited one of the most miraculous economic recoveries from a pandemic ever.. and etc." We cats PURR.

Now, That's A Mandate

By Sniffles

Benedict Donald loves to boast about his landslide-that-wasn't in 2024, but he'll never be able to get the crushing margin of victory that Mark Carney just achieved in Canada's Liberal Party leadership race — nearly 86 percent! Not bad for someone who's never run for anything before.

And thanks to Trump's ridiculous recent insults to Canada, all our electronic devices lit up with special bulletins about Carney's election. We can't remember the last time something like that happened.

In his speech today, Carney repeated his great line "In trade, as in hockey, Canada will win," and needled Trump: "There's someone who's trying to weaken our economy. He's attacking Canadian workers, families, and businesses. We can't let him succeed." And he took direct aim at Conservatives' loathsome leader: "Poilievre's plan will leave us divided and ready to be conquered. Because a person who worships at the altar of Donald Trump will kneel before him, not stand up to him."

This is the kind of language we like to hear. Democrats, please take note. We cats PURR.

Ahem. (A-Hemings.)

By Hubie and Bertie

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin said on TV recently that forcing the University of Virginia to close its office of diversity, equity, and inclusion will bring the school closer to the original philosophies of its founder, Thomas Jefferson.

Yep, our third President practiced his own curious version of DEI. In fact, he had several children from it.

Youngkin is nothing but a cipher in a cheap fleecy vest. And after a less-than-stellar single term, he's just the latest GOP Governor of Virginia to be pumped up by the media and turn out to be a total lamebrain. George Allen was a racist nincompoop, and Transvaginal Bob McDonnell, convicted of corruption, was headed to jail (until the Supreme Court rescued him). But observers keep insisting that because Virginians lose their minds and send a Republican to Richmond from time to time, that must mean something significant because the Old Dominion is a purple state. It's a load of crap.

Youngkin's latest folly? Luring the right-wing Armed Services Brewery to Norfolk with $300,000 in tax breaks. After less than two years of local opposition, bad finances, and paltry business, the place is closing. But not without the usual ton of MAGA whining. "Unfortunately, our ability to profitably operate in Norfolk was severely affected by the local woke mob, a few individuals in the area who have no love for the traditional American values we hold as a company," CEO Alan Beal wrote.

Gosh! We had no idea that a rampaging "woke mob" was terrorizing the good citizens of Norfolk. (Actually, local residents were against the brewery from the beginning, citing its marketing as hateful to women, homosexuals and transgender people, and signing petitions opposing the granting of city permits. But once Youngkin decided to impose the business on them anyway, folks declined to patronize it.)

It's idiots like Youngkin, not DEI initiatives, that try to make people be what they aren't and do stuff that they wouldn't. Republicans are never happy unless they can drag us all back to the 1950s, are they? We cats look forward to Democrat Abigail Spanperger's election as Governor in the fall. In the meantime, we HISS.

(UPDATE, March 11: For anyone needing even more confirmation that Alan Beal is a garbage person, read this illuminating explanation of what really fell the Armed Forces Brewery. Hint: Not woke mobs.)

Slava Ukraini

The world's largest Ukrainian flag was unfurled today on the Ellipse in front of the White House. We cats PURR.

And Now, A Message From A Real POTUS

"Sixty years ago, hundreds of brave heroes marched unflinchingly across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, demanding the fundamental right to vote. They were met with brutal force and violence, but their courageous activism continued until the Voting Rights Act became the law of the land.

"Today, we honor those leaders by remembering the journey our nation has taken — and more importantly, where we must go now. Together, let's keep the faith."

—President Biden

The Gospel According To...

By Miss Kubelik

One of the most important books we cats have read lately is James, by Percival Everett — a re-imagining of Mark Twain's classic Huckleberry Finn. Sitting atop the New York Times bestseller list for months, it won the National Book Award for fiction last year. We cats knew it was brilliant from its first pages. Please, American high schools everywhere, teach it alongside Twain's novel from here on in.

What struck us most about James — aside from the fact that its enslaved characters speak in Margaret Mitchell-type dialect to white people, but the King's English to each other — is the constant feeling of being under siege. In James, as in life, enslaved Black Americans could be beaten, abused, raped, or lynched, at any time, for any reason (or pretext). The stress of living under this, and the constant vigilance it required, must have been exhausting. In James, as readers, we feel it — no matter our race. It's a true learning experience.

Why do we bring this up? Because with the chaos that Donald Trump has unleashed on our government and our nation, maybe white people are feeling vulnerable now, too.

Think about it.

White Americans, whether you voted for Trump or not: Are you worried that your Social Security payment won't land in your bank account on the appointed day? Do you wonder if your VA healthcare provider will be there when you need him or her in the future? Are you nervous that 20-year-olds with Musk laptops have gotten hold of your confidential IRS information? Are you a participant in an NIH clinical trial that's been halted? Are you a federal employee whose job has been eliminated/restored/eliminated again, without reason or explanation? Are you a pregnant woman in a red state? If something goes wrong, will your providers withhold the care you need and leave you to die?

If the answer to any of these questions (and more) is yes — maybe you're feeling kind of like James and his fellow enslaved Black Americans did. Left exposed through no fault of your own, and only because of who you are. Not a good experience, right?

In the time of Trump, we are all James — we are all under threat. Even if we don't realize it. Please, white America, wake up. We cats HISS.

(PS: In case you were wondering, yes. All of America's problems are because of racism. Jimmy Carter told us.)

It's Not Easy Being Green

By Zamboni

It's only March, but this has got to be the photo of the year.

Congressman Al Green (D-TX) stood up, both literally and figuratively, to Benedict Donald, Short-Pants Vance, and the Preacher of the House the other night, and got censured today for his trouble.

That's unfortunate, but to be honest, we doubt it bothers him. Everything in the House of Representatives has become a farce — especially since Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene escaped any punishment for their constant heckling of President Biden. As if to emphasize that point, a number of Green's Democratic colleagues joined him in singing "We Shall Overcome" to drown out Mike Johnson's reading of the measure. Good trouble, nicely done.

Nevertheless, we were disappointed to see that 10 Democrats voted "yes" on the censure. They have their own reasons, of course — maybe they're in red or purple districts, not that anyone will remember this censure vote in November 2026 — but we wish that Hakeem Jeffries had been able to keep his caucus together on this one. Green is absolutely right: "The decorum that you expect from me, you have to expect from the President. There comes a time when you cannot allow the President’s incivility to take advantage of our civility."

Damn right. This is an emergency. Don't stand on decorum. Call 911.

We're still waiting for a coherent Democratic response to the Trumpy-Musky dismantling of democracy. Yes, we know that a vocal opposition can take time to cohere. Firebrand Howard Dean, our hero, was the first outspoken voice against Bush-Cheney, and he announced his Presidential candidacy in June 2003 — a full year and a half after Bush v. Gore. But it's 2025, folks, and we don't have the luxury of time.

One of our favorite social media accounts — Texas-based — had this to say about Al Green: "Green lives rent free in their heads. That's his role, and he does it well. Not every House Democrat can be Al Green. And they don't all need to be, either." True, but right now, we wish there were just a few more. We cats HISS and PURR at the same time.

Randy Rainbow Is Wickedly Funny (And Sadly, Exactly Correct)

"Tariffs? What tariffs?" Benedict Donald just yanked Mexico, Canada, and the nation's economy 180 degrees in the other direction today — well, for a month, at least. We defy (key word) any corporate leader to defend this insane Trumpian roller coaster as good for business. An infant is in charge. Republicans? Any thoughts? We cats HISS, but in the meantime, enjoy this new video from the incomparable RR.

Elbows Up

It' almost time to turn in, but we couldn't resist one more Canadian-themed post. Tomorrow we'll return to the land of E Pluribus Unum with some thoughts on Al Green. We cats PURR.

Wonderful Wab

 

By Baxter

Well, we — and Mary Trump — were right. Trump didn't like it one bit that Canadian PM Justin Trudeau looked into the cameras yesterday and addressed him directly as "Donald."

How do we know? He sent out an attack dog, jailbird* Peter Navarro, to whine about it. Pretty interesting since Navarro has a track record of going after PMJT — and having to apologize.

Naturally, Navarro got it wrong when he complained that Trudeau said Trump was "dumb." No, Jailbird Pete, Justin actually said Trump was smart — just that the tariffs were dumb. You could look it up.

Once again, we have proof that the way to get under the Trumpsters' skin is to make fun of them. Yes, it's hard to find the humor sometimes when you're in a state of perpetual outrage. But it works. We can't wait to see what Trump has to say about Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, who knew exactly how to needle Benedict Donald when he signed the order to pull US alcohol off his province's shelves. We cats PURR.

*Wow, did we mix animal metaphors here. But it's true: Navarro is both dog and bird. And while we're at it, mostly an idiot.

"Make That Make Sense"

By Sniffles

Gosh, we cats sure hope our lights don't go out. In response to Benedict Donald's insane tariffs on Canada, Premier Doug Ford of Ontario — not exactly a lefty anti-Trumper — has talked about cutting electricity to Minnesota, Michigan, and New York. (Come on, Doug, two of us voted for Harris-Walz last November.)

Meanwhile, Prime-Minister-For-a-Few-More-Days Justin Trudeau gave a stern speech today, and yes, he went there: "What [Trump] wants to see if a total collapse of the Canadian economy because that will make it easier to annex us," he said. "That is never going to happen. We will never be the 51st state."

(If you watch the whole speech at the link, you'll also hear Justin address Trump directly — "Donald, this is a very dumb thing to do." Handy reminder that, according to Mary Trump, her uncle hates it when people call him "Donald.")

The bottom line? "Donald" wants Canada's natural resources. He also wants to give his pal Putin a back door to the Arctic. Sounds a lot like 1938, doesn't it? Canada is Austria — but there's no Switzerland to flee to, like the Von Trapp family did by climbing ev'ry mountain.

Of course, as it always happens with Trump, it seems he's started to waffle. Was it Trudeau's pledge to enact retaliatory tariffs? (Mexico and China said so, too.) Was it the plunging stock market? The SAQ pulling US wines and liquors off its shelves? (Probably not.) Or maybe Trump saw Liberal leader-in-waiting Mark Carney's statement today: "We didn't ask for this fight, but Canadians are united and determined. In trade, as in hockey, we will win." Ha ha! Well played, on both counts.

We know why the Trumpsters are dismantling the federal government, and why the Republicans are going along — it's the fulfillment of Grover Norquist's long-held right-wing dream of strangling it in the bathtub. But we can't figure out why Benedict Donald and the GOP are willing to tank the US economy as well. Can anyone explain? We cats HISS.

(IMAGE: Aislin/Terry Mosher, The Montreal Gazette)

Wild About Waitsfield

By Hubie and Bertie

Vermont gave its biggest margin of victory to Vice President Kamala Harris for President in November — bigger, even, than any margin it's given to Bernie Sanders for Senate. So why did JD Vance think he could go there to ski at the Sugarbush Resort without kicking up a rumpus?

Better yet, why is Vance even taking a vacation? He's only been on the job five weeks. Can you imagine how the media would have treated Harris if she had done the same? The mind boggles.

Anyway, the good people of Waitsfield, a charming hamlet near Sugarbush, turned out to tell Vance exactly how they felt about him — particularly after his and Trump's disgusting performance in the Oval Office on Friday. Hundreds of protesters, both along the roadway and at the entrance to the resort, waving Ukrainian flags and shouting insults, forced Vance and his family to go to an "undisclosed location" — ha, ha!

This sign (above) is our favorite. Good work, Vermont! We cats PURR.

Attention, Google Maps