So, Things Continue To Go Well For Them (Not)

By Miss Kubelik

Do you need more evidence that this election season is just not going Republicans' way? Check this out.

From The New Bedford Light: "Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor and New Bedford City Councilor Shawn Oliver was arrested on a charge of operating under the influence of alcohol, according to the New Bedford Police Department. Around 11:40 PM, officers responded to Dartmouth Street for a motor vehicle crash involving an overturned car that struck multiple parked cars.

"Oliver has been campaigning across the state, including with his running mate, gubernatorial candidate Mike Minogue, [who] posted on social media that he spoke to Oliver and asked him to immediately suspend his campaign. He said, 'When elected, I will formally ask for his resignation.'"

Well! That's not good — especially with polls showing incumbent Democratic Governor Maura Healey leading the race by 20-25 points.

Yes, we know it's Massachusetts, generally the bluest of all blue states. But let's savor the fun leads. We cats PURR.

After "Everywhere," Let's Go To The Senate

By Zamboni

Dan Osborn is running as an Independent for Nebraska Senate seat held by Republican Pete Ricketts, and he's making Ricketts feel... well, kind of rickety. The polls don't all agree, but they're pretty much neck-and-neck (the Democrat dropped out of the race to clear a path for Osborn). You can donate to Osborn by clicking here.

Just for this ad alone, Osborn deserves to win. It's so good.

Two thoughts occur to us: A number of red-state Republicans have been caught flat-footed, running lackluster campaigns and, in some cases, even finding themselves short on cash. That's because they've never had to fight in a real race, and they got lazy. Think Roger Marshall in Kansas and Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi.

The second thought is that folks on our side seem to be having a lot of fun. We cats PURR.

See You Tomorrow!

  

The theme to tomorrow's No Kings Nationwide Day of Action is "Vote Early." If you vote early, you allow campaigns to take you off their GOTV lists and focus on folks who might not otherwise turn out. To find a No Kings rally near you, click here. See you there! We cats PURR.

Time's Up

By Baxter

Gee, Benedict Donald had another terrible week. The question is, does he know it? (Natalie probably doesn't tell him.) Meanwhile, it's weird how the guy who became a reality-show star by telling people "You're fired" has so much trouble telling people in real life that... they're fired. Katie Zacharia's debut and heave-ho was so chaotic, humiliating, and passive-aggressive that Anthony Scaramucci was tweeting sympathetically to her. Go home and enjoy your family, he basically said. The universe has done you a favor. (He ought to know.)

As the DC drama continues — the atmosphere inside the White House is starting to sound like World War Z — and as prognosticators continue to move House and Senate races the Democrats' way, stories and videos keep surfacing online that make it all feel like a wave year (both north and south of the 49th Parallel). Such as:

Republican Dan Sullivan whined to the moderators of last night's Senate debate in Alaska, asking if questions had been provided in advance — all because Democrat Mary Peltola had been referring to her notes (which one assumes was allowed, or she would have been stopped). The moderators looked appalled. "Absolutely not." Peltola said, "I'm prepared!" Send her some love by clicking here.

Benedict Donald was in Georgia today, talking about how he doesn't think Jon Ossoff is good-looking but that Mike Collins is. (Did Collins's ass come up, as Jon Husted's did? This is just getting weirder.) Then when he left the podium, Donald walked right past the opened door of The Beast. Something is wrong with him, and it's astounding that a news media that used to berate Joe Biden for his choice of comfy shoes refuses to acknowledge Trump's obvious decline.

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy apparently has taken out a fourth Russian data center. We think we're in love.

Finally, with the midterms upon us, you may not have noticed that early voting has started in the Canadian province of Alberta on the question of separation. Our two cents: This is a minority opinion that the right-wing, Trump-loving premier of Alberta has tried to "walk a tightrope on" but has basically allowed to get out of hand because she secretly agrees with it (she's not very bright).

The separatists didn't bank on a Prime Minister like Mark Carney, who grew up in Alberta and who now has a 71 percent approval rating across the country. Carney has been barnstorming the province and making great speeches to adoring crowds. Sign him up as TIME's Person of the Year without delay. We cats PURR.

Egg, Meet Face

By Sniffles

It's completely understandable to not want to invest hopes and dreams in political polls, because we've been burned before. But there are other ways to tell that 2026 is just not the Republicans' year.

A GOP ad buyer purchased airtime for Susan Collins in Portland, Oregon, not Portland, Maine. Yes, media markets cross-pollinate, but to see an ad for a candidate who's 3,200 miles away?

Vivek Ramaswamy posted a video of himself shaking hands with a registered sex offender. He took it down, but then the same dude — whose case involved a 13-year-old girl — surfaced in a Ramaswamy TV commercial a month later, as his wife touted Vivek's pledge to lower property taxes. Guess that's more important than keeping children safe from predators.

And don't get us started on the Talarico bombshell-that-wasn't. What a train wreck! The folks behind it need to lawyer up, because the Lindner Center of Hope sure has standing to sue.

It's all very fun and schadenfreude-y. Meanwhile, let's keep working on our voter registrations and GOTV, everyone. We cats PURR.

Cindy Can Run But She Cannot Hyde

 

This is a really good ad. The Senate race in Mississippi — yep, Mississippi — hasn't been on anyone's radar until recently, when things really began to go south for the Republicans. Now, with terrible news on the economy breaking 20 days out, the GOP must truly be losing their damn minds. We cats PURR.

Here's To Leo Batting A Thousand

 

Pope Leo had a cancerous nodule removed from his lung this week. We cats are not really into popes, but the last two have been a breath of fresh air. And Leo, the first American pontiff, tends to annoy the Trumpsters. So let's think good thoughts for him — at the very least, so we can continue with the baseball memes. We cats PURR.

Randy Rainbow Is A Doll

 

The source material is not our favorite Frank Loesser song (although we adore him), but this parody is still one of Randy Rainbow's best! (Aren't they all?) We cats PURR.

Hey, Where'd Everybody Go?

 

Here's something Canadians can be thankful for today: When Ukrainian drones knocked out the Yandex Russian data centers, most of the Alberta separatists disappeared from social media (as well as a good chunk of Pierre Poilievre's Conservative tweeters and skeeters). Kind of makes you think, doesn't it? We cats PURR.

It's The Midterms, And Democrats Are Cookin'

By Hubie and Bertie

This Canadian Thanksgiving, we cats are grateful for the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), which destroyed a large number of Russian-backed bot farms over the last few days. The Ukrainians shut down huge networks that push pro-Russian narratives about the war — and about our politics here at home. Twitter and Bluesky peeps have noticed a sudden dearth of bots in their feeds. Nice work, SBU!

No wonder Benedict Donald, Vlad Putin's biggest fan, is so mad.

It's unclear how long the bots will be offline, but everyone should enjoy the silence while it lasts. It gives us more time and head space to prepare for November 3. The midterms are underway, with early voting beginning in eight more states this week:

• October 13 — Georgia and Idaho
• October 14 — Iowa, Rhode Island, and Tennessee
• October 15 — North Carolina
• October 17 — Massachusetts and Nevada

And don't forget that October 17 is also No Kings Day! Plan to attend an early-voting-themed rally near you!

Meanwhile, here are a couple of handy tips for what to watch out for on Election Night.

First, keep your eye on Virginia, where the Trumpsters are playing defense in some key Congressional races, even though the Democrats' redistricting plan got tossed by the courts. Governor Abigail Spanberger told reporter Scott MacFarlane, "We are on a strong path to flipping multiple seats. I say: three. On a great night, it could be four." Why? Hispanic voters are furious at Trump, so watch for returns from VA-01 and VA-02 early in the evening (polls in Virginia close at 7 PM).

Another poll closure to note will be in the Florida Panhandle, which votes ruby-red. It's also in Central time, so if the clock strikes 8 PM Eastern and the networks don't instantly call the Senate race for Ashley Moody, Republicans will be having a bad night in Florida.

Finally, it'll be fun to see what happens in NJ-07, which was without a Congressman for months this year when Tom Kean, Jr. went AWOL. Sabato's Crystal Ball has moved the race from a "Toss-Up" to "Leans Democratic." Polls close in New Jersey at 8 PM. We cats PURR.

(IMAGE: Dignity, always dignity.)

Now, That's The Christmas Spirit!

By Miss Kubelik

There's a chance — not a big one, but a chance — that Trump and the white supremacist Hegseth back down on their pledge to livestream the execution of Nidal Nasan on December 3. Mostly because so much of what they say/pledge/bleat turns out to be utter nonsense. So pace your outrage accordingly.

But if they go forward with it, the whole national-security argument seems the most potent. Nidal is in a wheelchair, but even if he weren't, to be shot in front of the world by a firing squad will just serve to make him an uber-martyr — and the terrorists that the Trumpsters claim to be so against are thrilled to have martyrs. Are we right?

And if not national security, then, goodness gracious — how unseemly to be livestreaming an execution just when the holiday shopping season is underway, when Hanukkah starts the very next day, and when people are probably watching "A Charlie Brown Christmas" on TV. Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, not. Is this what we've become?

Our first thought was that not only are we losing to Iran, we're becoming Iran. But now we're thinking of Brenton Tarrant, the Christchurch mosque shooter, who not only killed 51 people but livestreamed it on Facebook. Our Secretary of Defense is no better than Tarrant in his bloodthirstiness. Great.

Our other thought was that Albert Camus had it right when he mused on capital punishment in "Reflections on the Guillotine." His argument was that the death penalty was no deterrent unless it was carried out in public. But who wants to live in a society in which people are executed in public? That's something for the North Koreas, Saudi Arabias, Afghanistan — and Iran. Not the United States. We cats HISS.

(IMAGE: Brenton Tarrant, Christchurch mosque killer, who received, by the way, a life sentence without parole.)

Oh, Blake! (The Sequel)

By Zamboni

We cats didn't expect to be back on the Blake Gendebien beat so soon, but the online politicos are agog today about a new Siena poll that shows him leading the unappealing Sticker Mule CEO Anthony Constantino for Congress in NY-21, 46 percent to 42 percent. (Blake's on the left in the image above.)

This poll is within the margin of error, but it just adds to the pileup of headlines painting dire pictures for the Republicans in the run-up to the midterms. Elise "Elsie" Stefanik's would-be GOP successor running behind his Democratic opponent ranks right up there with other bad tidings for the Trumpsters — like the fact that there's a competitive Senate race in Kansas, of all places, or that Cook Political Report just shifted 18 more House ratings (including NY-21) the Democrats' way.

NY-21 hasn't elected a Democrat to the House since Bill Owens's re-election in 2012. It's tempting to view the Siena poll as symbolic of Trump's toxicity, but there are a number of reasons for this.

The Republicans had a messy primary. MAGAt Constantino ran against Assemblyman Robert Smullen, the establishment's choice, and went after him as you'd imagine any Trumpster would do. Things got so nasty that at one point, Smullen refused to shake Constantino's hand at an event. (Bad look.) Defamation lawsuits were flying. Some have declined to endorse Mr. Sticker Mule, with the Conservative Party (yes, New York is weird) leaving their ballot line blank rather than support him.

Constantino is volatile and unserious. Which is a polite way of saying that he behaves just like the malevolent Toddler-in-Chief. For example, the last time a poll showed him trailing Gendebien in the race, Constantino threatened to sue the pollster, SurveyUSA, and sic the FCC on the poll's sponsor, NewsChannel 13 in Albany. This is not the way a sensible grown-up conducts himself.

People are tired of the shtick. Polls and races across the country have shown voters' weariness with Benedict Donald and his entire road show of fear, chaos, and division. Constantino embodies all that.

Trump's trade war with Canada is killing the North Country. Constantino supports Donald's ridiculous tariffs, which is an incredibly stupid position to take in a district that views Canada as a neighbor and essential economic partner. But Constantino worships at the altar of Trump.

Blake Gendebien is a good candidate. Like other Democrats — like Adam Hamilton in Kansas — Blake is a thoughtful, non-bombastic person who listens to voters and addresses their concerns. He opposes the Trump policies that raise prices on NY-21's farmers and businesses. All of which means that even if he weren't leading Sticker Mule Man in the polls, we'd still be writing postcards for him. We cats PURR.

Palling Around With Jeffrey

By Baxter

We cats have kept our eyes on the continuing scandalous swirl around Bard College president Leon Botstein, who has stubbornly tried to limit the damage to his privileged life ever since he got ensnared in the Epstein files. Botstein's relationship with Epstein, which Botsein has insisted was just related to cultivating the pedophile as a donor, has been coming out in dribs and drabs. Now, though, we might just be at the definitive drib and drab.

"A powerful Democratic lawmaker" — that would be Jamie Raskin — "has called for a criminal investigation into former Bard College president Leon Botstein after Congressional investigators uncovered an email from Botstein to accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein in which he says Botstein asked if a young woman was 'for me, or are you keeping her for yourself?'

"The latest development appears to have triggered the immediate resignation of Botstein from all Bard-affiliated positions, including his professorship and roles in Bard’s music programs," The Guardian reported. "Botstein had led the college for 50 years and only recently stepped down as president."

Incredible. The Bard community has tried mightily to brush over Bostein's Epstein allegations, allowing him to "retire" from his college presidency, but keep his cushy on-campus housing and his position as Bard's orchestral conductor, among other perks. Why, oh why, do institutions cloak and protect their evildoers? And oh, by the way, the offending email had been initially redacted by the Department of Justice. So throw them into the mix — because, of course, all Epstein roads inevitably lead to Benedict Donald, right?

Well, at least this latest outrage has made Leon give up all his Bard goodies, and now (with any luck) he may be facing criminal indictment. Maybe Tish James can spare a few minutes from her Cornell investigation to look into it? Meanwhile, we cats are pleased to see Botstein get some kind of comeuppance, and that makes us PURR.

Oh, Blake!

By Sniffles

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee recently added New York's 21st district to its "Red to Blue" list — which means they think it's winnable, and worth dumping some money into. And why not? The Republican candidate, Anthony Constantino, has become so alarmed over recent polls that he's accusing Democrat Blake Gendebien of illegal garbage dumping — on his own dairy farm.

How does he know? He hired a private detective company from Saratoga Springs to survey the Gendebien property in St. Lawrence County with video-taking drones. What Constantino neglected to mention is that the Department of Environmental Conservation has already said that Gendebien has done nothing wrong. "Six-dollar diesel is making farming hard enough without this weirdo drone stalking my home and business," Blake said. “I’ve already been cleared here.”

So, Blake Gendebien's farm wouldn't pass the Martha Stewart* neatness test? No working farm would. The fake outrage needs to stop because, as Gendebien has pointed out, it just shows how little Constantino knows about farming (which a lot of NY-21 voters do).

We're also not sure how Constantino's drone video "exposé" lowers the cost of gas and groceries. Will any enterprising journalist ask him that question? We cats HISS and PURR at the same time.

*Martha writes picture books about gracious living. She says that nothing else matters if you can do a nice dried floral arrangement.

Shrinkage

 

By Hubie and Bertie

We cats love this photo pair, mostly because inflatables should be banned from planet Earth. But it's also a potential metaphor for the state of the Republican Party.

Larry Sabato from the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia has flagged a new Gallup poll of party identification: For the third quarter of 2026, respondents who identified with the Democratic Party led those who aligned with the GOP, 50 percent to 39 percent.

"Pay attention to this one," he says. "Plus-eleven D for party ID = largest Dem lead since early 2009 (Obama inauguration).

"Gallup is not just another poll; it’s the gold standard."

Sabato refuses, though, to predict that the midterms will wipe out the Republican Party for now and ever, which is sad, because we're convinced that the only way the country will be saved is if the GOP is destroyed and rebuilt — think 1850s-style stuff. Kind of like how colleges need to completely root out fraternities from their campuses. Just our $0.02. We cats HISS and PURR at the same time.

Tidbits And Cat Treats: The Early Cat Gets The Mouse Edition

By Miss Kubelik

The midterms are upon us. Early voting has already begun in Minnesota, South Dakota, Virginia, Vermont, and Illinois. This week, early voting gets underway in:

• Maine, California, Montana, and Nebraska (Oct. 5)
• Indiana, New Mexico, Ohio, and Wyoming (Oct. 6)
• Arizona (Oct. 7)

There are key races here — Maine, obviously, plus a surprisingly contested Senate race in Nebraska, a terrific Democrat, Deb Haaland, running for governor in New Mexico, and former Senator Sherrod Brown leading the hapless Jon Husted in Ohio — but they're all important. Early voting increases Democratic turnout across the board and makes it easier for our folks on the ground to get less-likely voters to the polls. If you have friends and family in any of these states, urge them to bank their votes now.

Other stories that are getting our attention today pretty much run the gamut. Take a look:

Things don't appear to be going well for Byron Donalds in Florida. Trump's low approval ratings led Donalds to scrub all mention of him from his campaign website — which now has boomeranged into a Trump hissy fit (Trump, of course, denies this). Meanwhile, Democrat David Jolly has either closed the polling to neck-and-neck or slightly ahead. Let's not sleep on this race: Give to Jolly by clicking here.

The commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Corrections has resigned in the wake of the horrifically botched execution of Christa Pike. Jeez, why is anybody surprised that this guy with a checkered past would preside over a state-sponsored torture chamber? Sickening. The murder that Pike committed was barbaric, and the execution was barbaric. At some point, the barbarism has to stop.

Two important elections are taking place abroad this week — today's in Brazil, where lefty president Luiz Ignácio Lula da Silva is fending off a challenge from jailbird Jair Bolsonaro's son, and tomorrow's in Québec, which will determine whether a pro-secessionist party runs the province. The Parti Québecois has promised no breakaway referendum until Benedict Donald leaves office, but considering the rumors that secessionists in both Québec and Alberta have secretly met with the Trumpsters, that's not very reassuring.

Finally, the Cornell gang-rape story exploded not just because Jane Doe filed her lawsuits. Cornell's student newspaper, The Daily Sun, has been relentlessly covering the story for two years. Now, they've broken the news that the Cornell police made a drug arrest at the Chi Phi fraternity the night before the gang rape. The school was aware of the arrest — which means that they should have forced the fraternity to cancel the party Jane Doe attended. (Frats have to register parties with the university ahead of time, it seems.) The story just keeps getting worse for Cornell, but The Daily Sun deserves the Julie K. Brown Award for never giving up on this beat. Well done, kids. We cats PURR.

The Right Stuff

By Zamboni

A lot of folks on social media have been tweeting about how triggering the Cornell University rape case stories are. By "folks," we mean, of course, women. Because the fact that the system failed the victim at every turn is — we're sad to say — par for the course. But wait!

Governor Kathy Hochul of New York has relieved the Tompkins County DA of his duties and put a total badass in charge of the Cornell investigation. New York Attorney General Letitia James will leave no stone unturned in her pursuit of justice, you can be sure of that.

Benedict Donald has already said that he thinks the Cornell rapists will not "get a fair shake" from James, and we say, bring it on, Trump. In fact, keep talking about how sympathetic you are to these seven fair boys, whose lives had not been upended the way the victim's was — until now. You, Donald Trump, can only add to our midterm victory margins in New York, whether we're talking the Governor's race or the House of Representatives. Bruce Blakeman, Mike Lawler and Anthony Constantino must be hoping you'll shut up soon (well, maybe not Constantino, who is a Trumpy nut).

We cats continue to be smug about the fact that our first vote as New York residents was in 2018, for James as AG. She has been exemplary, and we're proud of her. Go get 'em, Tish! We cats PURR.

Nixon Just Might Be The One

By Baxter

Since yesterday was the end of the quarter, we cats took a few minutes to send some money to Democratic Senatorial candidates. A lot of them were polling well against the Trumpsters, others were neck-and-neck, and still others were behind but showed promise. But we have to admit we didn't make a contribution to Angie Nixon in Florida, our nominee against incumbent GOP appointee Ashley Moody.

We weren't writing Nixon off — just doing our research, as they say.

Now, though, we're pretty tempted. It turns out that JD Vance (known in some jocular quarters as "Couchfuck McGee") went to Florida today to campaign for Republicans. Think about that for a second: Democrats are doing well enough that Vance has to spend time in Benedict Donald's home state. In fact, he's doing a whole itinerary of red states because polls are looking pretty scary for them these days.

Anyway, in his stupid speech in Lakeland, Vance addressed Nixon and told her, "Get the hell out of here. You don't belong in America." Nixon responded on social media, and she did not mince words.

"I don't wanna COUCH my words here: I know JD Vance, his eyeliner, and absent Ashley Moody are used to running away from people when things get tough, because they care more about themselves and their billionaire buddies than the people they represent.

"But this is my home. The most ordinary man imaginable came to my home state to tell me to 'get out of America' while they enjoyed the comfort of buildings my ancestors built. Imagine standing on the shoulders of the people who built this country and then telling their descendants they don’t belong here.

"Wanting lower property insurance and healthcare for families isn't un-American. It’s what working people deserve. They can take their tech-bro cash and their weird, intrusive agenda somewhere else, because I'm not going any damn place. 

"I don’t go high when they go low. I get LOUD. Because the soul and humanity of this country are at stake."

Nicely done, Angie Nixon. We'll shoot you a few bucks, just for this post. We cats PURR.

Schmittstorm

By Sniffles

Yes, we're probably overdosing on Eric Schmitt schadenfreude, but we just can't help ourselves. That odious boor from Missouri faceplanted so badly yesterday before the nation and the world that people are still talking, exclaiming, and tweeting about it. May they never stop.

A little more than 24 hours later, a couple of additional humiliations have come to mind.

Right-wing influencer Benny Johnson had to delete his earlier post that said Schmitt "just CAUGHT Jack Smith perjuring himself" and "pulled out the receipts." Benny? Hello? You colluded with Team Schmitt ahead of time and posted too soon, didn't you? (Sean Hannity did, too!)

The Atlanta Hawks franchise used to play in... (drum roll)... St. Louis, from 1955 to 1968. In fact, they won their only NBA championship there, and reached three more NBA finals during that time. C'mon, Eric — you're a Missouri man! We thought you boys knew all this stuff.

Finally, as a Senator who we know has high ambitions for 2028, Schmitt surely had plans to visit Senate and House battlegrounds in the last month of the 2026 midterms. Will any campaign welcome him now?

Poor Eric. How simply frightful — how humiliating — how delightful!

We cats PURR.

Vote Out The Clowns

By Hubie and Bertie

Ain't America great? If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere. One day you're a certifiable nonentity from Missouri, and the next, you've broken the interwebs because you made a fool of yourself before the entire world in a Senate hearing.

Everywhere we turn online, there he is — the hapless harlequin known as Eric Schmitt, whose staff had apparently just teased a story to the press that floated him as a possible future VP, because they were so sure they'd have a Jack Smith bombshell today to ride into 2028 on. And it blew up in his face. SAD!

Meanwhile, both the Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball have pushed more races the Democrats' way, as Trump dithers while gas, diesel, and groceries go through the roof (and consumers' pocketbooks). A couple of Marist polls from Ohio got our attention recently: Sherrod Brown ahead of Jon Husted in the Senate contest 51 percent to 43 percent, and Amy Action leading Vivek Ramaswamy for the governorship 50 to 44 percent. (Also be sure to check out Sherrod's new ad about how poor Americans don't understand money. Brutal and hilarious.)

Marist is a university poll, so there's no bias. It's possible that their methodology or sampling system is different from other pollsters' — for example, they have 6 percent undecided, so they're not pushing respondents to make a choice. But all or almost all of the credible polls have moved two to three points toward the Democrats in the last two weeks. They can't all be fake or problematic.

We don't know how much voter anger is building out there or whether anything else can happen to upset current trend lines. Our only advice is to ignore the noise, and keep working and giving. We cats PURR.

(IMAGE: "Circus Performers," by Walt Kuhn, 1942, via Art But Make It Sports. And, of course, today's clowns.)

De Adder Du Jour

Political cartoonist Michael de Adder is a genius when it comes to drawing Benedict Donald. The only expression missing here? One that shows Trump sound asleep. (Yep, it happened again today.) We cats HISS and PURR at the same time.

(IMAGE Michael de Adder, deadder.net)

Worst-Case Scenario, Yes?

By Miss Kubelik

The fall elections are figuring into our dreams. We cats confess to having dreams about Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. We can't tell you what they were about — just that he was there.

But why not? Since we travel back and forth frequently across the border, and we're getting to the point where we don't know if we can bring a couple of bottles of Quebec wine home to New York. But the most telling aspect of all this is the fact that The New York Times asked Carney about gaming out plans for an American military invasion of Canada. Really? An American military invasion? Get out of here.

Carney said, "That's just risk management. That's not a base case, but it would be irresponsible not to."

Goodness gracious. That's what we've come to?

Let's please win the midterms and put a check on these crazy Trump people as soon as we can. We know that Carney considers invasion an "extreme tail risk" — one that is unlikely to happen, but would be significant if it did — but, still. THIS IS CANADA WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.

In short, stop it. President Ossoff will. But let's put some brakes on while we can. We cats PURR.

Va-Va-Voom Vermont

By Zamboni

"The most recent University of New Hampshire Green Mountain State Poll released this week reported that 49 percent of Vermonters support [Democrat] Amanda Janoo in the November election, while 43 percent support incumbent [Republican] Governor Phil Scott," VTDigger said.

"The 6% margin led UNH pollsters to declare the governor's race a 'statistical tie.' In a July poll released by the same group, Scott led Janoo by 15 percent, meaning the recent numbers account for a 21-point swing."

Holy smokes. If Phil Scott is in trouble, that says a lot: First, that voters are sick of Republicans in general. Second, Scott's been in office long enough that "it's time for change" applies. Also, Vermonters are unhappy with the kerfuffles at their border with Canada, and with Trump holding up FEMA money because they don't vote for him. Phil Scott could bear their wrath for that.

PS: "The poll also reported former Democratic Lieutenant Governor Molly Gray leading Republican incumbent John Rodgers 54 percent to 35 percent in the lieutenant governor race. US Rep. Becca Balint, D-VT, comfortably leads the state's one Congressional race with a 35 percent margin against Republican nominee Gerald Malloy." We cats PURR.

Pure Evil

This chilling photo of Benedict Donald and Moose & Squirrel is making the rounds on the interwebs —and no wonder. It no doubt will serve as a symbol of these horrible times of Trump 2.0. The only question is whether we'll be looking back on it from a country whose democracy has died — so let's make sure that doesn't happen. Vote in huge numbers, everyone. We cats switch our tails, and wait.

(PHOTO: Getty Images)

"Oh, What a Beautiful Moron"

Great idea: When our long national nightmare is over, Randy Rainbow needs to stage a Broadway musical of all the anti-Trump song parodies he's done to document Donald's many tyrannies. We cats PURR.

A Bad Ad

By Baxter

So, okay, our tax dollars are being used to air a pro-Trump, anti-communist political ad on TV. "Paid for by the United States government" appears at the bottom of the screen. An outrage, to be sure.

And when the Democrats get back into power, this needs to be investigated, and people need to be hauled off to the hoosegow. No question about it. Still, a couple of questions come to mind.

Why are the Trumpsters airing an ad that screams "communism is terrible" on the same day that Donald rolled out the red carpet (and held a very tone-deaf state dinner) for Chinese President Xi Jinping?

And why is that despicable ad being aired on Fox? Do they think they're in trouble with their own voters? Apparently yes. We cats PURR.

New Map

By Sniffles

The run-up to the midterms is starting to solidify, and for the Trumpsters and the GOP, not in a good way.

Larry Sabato and his Crystal Ball just moved a few more races in the Democrats' direction: the open Senate seat in Iowa from "Leans Republican" to "Toss-up," Roger Marshall's quest for re-election to the Senate from Kansas to "Leans" from "Likely" Republican, and — maybe the most dispiriting for them — the Michigan Senate race between Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed from "Toss-up" to "Leans Democratic."

That's even as Sabato and other analysts still expect El-Sayed to underperform what a Democrat "should" get in Michigan in a year like this. But a win for him would be one of the biggest "F yous" to Republicans that we can think of at the moment. The GOP has worked hard to make him a bogeyman for silly reasons, appealing to people's worst instincts (which, to be sure, they're very good at).

Meanwhile, Republicans are reading the writing on the wall and starting to distance themselves from Trump — pusillanimously and hypocritically, as you'd expect, since they've all enabled Donald for years. They include Rogers and Senate candidate Ashley Hinson in Iowa, both of whom have suddenly decided that an Iran war they've consistently supported is a bad idea. Even gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds of Florida has — gasp! — removed any mention of Trump from his campaign website. And of course Maria Elivra Salazar started the trend by launching an ad against Trump's immigration policies.

Benedict Donald has helped these ratings changes by behaving like the disgusting idiot he is. Nobody is controlling him. Maybe a lot of voters don't get the ins and out of how the White House press pool works, but they definitely know what they're paying at the pump, and are rightly insulted when Trump tells them the cost of gas is just an "inexpensive price to pay" for corralling Iran (which, by the way, he's not doing).

"Inexpensive"? Maybe to him and his billionaire family of grifters. But not to truckers, farmers, exurban commuters, soccer moms, Door Dashers, and folks trying to make some extra cash driving for Uber. Keep being tone-deaf, Donald — you're doing our work for us. We cats PURR.

Journalists Find Their Balls

 

By Hubie and Bertie

Well, this only took six (cumulative) years. The networks have suspended pool coverage of the White House after Benedict Donald banned CNN, MS NOW, and POLITICO from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue on Friday. It's either a case of "About blankety-blank time" or "Too little, too late." (Probably a little of both.)

"This is to advise that, effective today, the TV pool will not be covering events designated as pool coverage of the President,” current TV pool chair Bryan Boughton wrote. "This follows the White House's position preventing CNN from fulfilling its assigned pool duties. There will be no replacement pool put in place."

Bad timing for Trump, if he was banking on getting images of his Monday trip to the United Nations on the airwaves. CNN was scheduled to serve as the television pool today, BWAAHAHAAHAA — providing video to the participating networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox, yes, Fox). Don't these Trumpsters think any of these things through? Imagine how much more damage they'd do if they were competent.

This is a developing story, so we'll keep our paws on it. But meanwhile, we're willing to salute the networks for finally locating their spines (or other parts of their anatomy). Yes, it's a delicate balance between covering legitimately important stories — like the UN — and First Amendment rights, but the press has needed to push back on this authoritarian, antidemocratic crap for a long time. We cats PURR.

Hmmm, What Will They Do?

By Miss Kubelik

The polls are so dire for Trump and the Republicans that they can't possibly win the midterms unless they resort to what a political acquaintance of ours politely calls trickery. The thought recurs anew as the GOP sends Benedict Donald to campaign in North Carolina. Why? Vanity, stupidity? Or did the underfunded Michael Whatley campaign fork over big bucks to bring Trump there? Whatever the explanation, it seems like a phenomenal waste of resources.

And Vance goes to Ohio... and Iowa... and other states that should be reliably red. They know they're in trouble.

So, what batshit crazy stuff will the Trumpsters pull between now and the election to make sure they don't get taken to the cleaners? Let us imagine the ways.

• Declare a national emergency
• Put ICE at major GOTV rallies
• Use nukes against Iran
• Up his $5,000 voter bribe to $10,000
• Fire the entire Federal Reserve Board
• Nominate three right-wing judges to replace Justices Sotomayor, Jackson and Kagan, and demand that the Senate come back into session and approve them
• Raze the Kennedy Center
• Rename Dulles International Airport
• Threaten to rename Lake Michigan if Abdul El-Sayed and Jocelyn Benson win their races
• Demand that Canada hand over Newfoundland for national security reasons
• Order the Treasury to buy back $100 billion in Treasury bills
• Demand that the Bank of Japan take back their announced rate hike and cut another 1 percent

See, you can make this stuff up. Sadly, with Trump, none of these possibilities are completely off the wall. We cats HISS.

Hamilton (Yes, Hamilton)

By Zamboni

We cats don't usually post about races like this, but let's talk about Kansas.

Republican Senator Roger Marshall has already admitted that, as a medical doctor, he sued patients for payment, some for as little as $129. (On top of that — he's facing allegations that he doesn't really live in Kansas. Could be a problem.)

Just $129? What a POS. Really!

So, couple that with a recent poll that shows Democrat Adam Hamilton leading Marshall by two points. Want to show Hamilton some support at a crucial time? Click here. We cats PURR.

The Meaning Of The Kennedy Center

 "When at some future date the high court of history sits in judgment on each of us...our success or failure...will be measured by the answers to four questions.

"First, were we truly men of courage? Secondly, were we truly men of judgment? Third, were we truly men of integrity? Finally, were we truly men of dedication?"

—John F. Kennedy, 1961

Not What A Leader Does When Things Are Going Well, Just Saying

By Baxter

Benedict Donald has banned media from the White House Press Corps before, and nobody really noticed or cared. The Associated Press, The Wall Street Journal... it was all Inside Baseball. Until today.

Now, Trump has banned CNN, MSNBC, and POLITICO. Really? These are news outlets whose banishments people will notice. "I don't get fair press," Donald said. "There may be others to join them."

So, we cats have one question, and it's an important one.

"THEN NONE OF THE PRESS CORPS SHOWS UP AT ALL, RIGHT?"

Right? We cats HISS.

Beatty Rips Trump Down

By Sniffles

We cats admit that we're not necessarily up to snuff on the arts. We became vaguely aware of some kerfuffle involving Robert Kraft (whom we, ugh, know), Ed Sheeran (haven't got a clue), and someone named Macklemore (ditto). Since Kraft was involved, we figured the other two guys were... football players? Boy, were we wrong. (Cats are only occasionally wrong, mind you, but honest when we are.)

Turns out Sheeran and Macklemore are a British singer/songwriter and an American rapper, respectively. But okay, the arts encompass all sorts of disciplines, so we can work with this. Whatever their current troubles, Sheeran and Macklemore are being messed with by a billionaire Trumpster who got off the hook for paying for sex at a massage parlor and whose name appears in the Epstein files.

In short, MAGA world doesn't have a lot of respect for the arts. Especially Benedict Donald, who was photographed through a window on Bribe Force One last night reading a document with the headline "Kennedy Center Demolished." The New York Times figured that was a stunt — Trump trolling the commie liberals and bleeding hearts. But when you recall his rush to tear down the East Wing nearly a year ago, you know with dread that with him, anything is possible.

Especially now that he's suffered multiple humiliations in one week — on Iran, voting by mail, Canada, the EU, and the Federal Reserve Board. But did any of those top the fact that he was also taken to the verbal woodshed by a Black woman? Trump is a racist, so the answer is no.

Trump "went into a tantrum" at this week's Kennedy Center board meeting on Zoom, Congresswoman Joyce Beatty said. "I mean, let me just make it simple. It was the most unprofessional thing that I've ever witnessed or been a part of. He went into name-calling, everything from trying to say that I was an obstructionist, I was dumb. He said, 'I think you're incompetent.' And I said, 'I know you're incompetent.'

"I reminded him that he had more bankruptcies than anybody in the room," Beatty said. "I mean, it really went there, because I was not going to let him bully me, intimidate me."

So, it appears Tantrum Trump has sent his goons to put fencing around the Kennedy Center and is moving in heavy equipment, even though Judge Christopher Cooper has forbidden any demolition or construction work without 30 days' notice. (Trump doesn't care.) It's amazing that he would risk such bad optics seven weeks before the midterms, but in his current cognitive decline, he's ruled by his emotions and cravings, not logic. The President of the United States, folks. We cats HISS.

A Message From Maria Shriver

"And so here we are. This statement from Trump blows my mind. That a sitting President would not let any renovations to a public building go on unless he gets to first put his name in the said building...What a sad state of affairs. What a tragedy.

"Actually, how small-minded, how narcissistic.

"Actually great men, devoted to public service and the public good, do not act like this. It seems that this man will not rest until his name is permanently connected to the name of a great President, whose memory this building was dedicated to. Imagine spending your time and your days focused on this, as everyday Americans struggle with healthcare, gas prices, rent, and food. Imagine spending your days focused on this, while a war rages under your leadership.

"Enough said. Thank you for your attention to this matter."

Signed, Sealed, Delivered

By Hubie and Bertie

Well, whew, everybody. The Supreme Court just blocked Benedict Donald and his anti-democracy storm troopers from messing with mail-in voting this year. (This year, mind you. Stay vigilant.)

However, this is a big win, and a load off our furry minds. Not that there aren't still crazy possibilities out there — ICE at the polls, voting machines swiped, Mikey Johnson refusing to seat new members, to name a few — but this SCOTUS decision was the big enchilada for us. Because a third of the electorate votes by mail, it was the scariest threat to the election prediction that Larry Sabato made earlier today.

"Fifty days til November 3," Sabato wrote. "Keep in mind that most of what happens now doesn’t matter a whit. Operatives and media whose jobs are to exaggerate every jot and tittle will insist otherwise. Yet the path is basically set." 

Except for GOP money, though? Could it make a difference?

"In very tight races, sure," Sabato replied. "We can disagree about how many there are, but it's clear there are far fewer even vaguely competitive districts than there used to be. No way does money move masses of people late." (And you could credibly argue that Trump won't spend a dime of his war chest to help his party, anyway.)

A blue wave, Sabato concluded, is "the path we're on." Updates as they develop. Meanwhile, we cats PURR.

"The Response To Darkness Is To Reach Out"

Because America didn't have a national leader who was capable of expressing how we're all feeling on the 25th anniversary of 9/11, we have decided to look elsewhere for inspiration. We cats salute Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, and we PURR.

Going Viral

  

By Miss Kubelik

Trump didn't seem to be in a very good mood after his two-day emotional support rally in Dallas. Here he is yelling at (yep) another female reporter, Rachel Scott of ABC News, who dared to ask him about why he was pledging (illegal) $5,000 payouts to voters when the national debt is already at $40 trillion. Or, the photo of him emerging from a meeting with Ireland's president, Catherine Connolly, which didn't appear to go too well.

Trump always seems to be the focus of viral photos that one would think would damn him to universal condemnation and/or electoral defeat. But they never seem to do it. He falls asleep at 9/11 ceremonies, stands immobile in the Oval while someone suffers a medical emergency, or returns from a Tulsa rally looking like he's been through the wringer — and none of it appears to make any difference.

We'd give him credit for surviving all these slings and arrows, except for the fact that we know the corporate media is responsible. As Michelle Wolf told the White House Correspondents' Dinner in 2018, "You love him." Because all the clicks and likes and outrage pay their bills.

Observers have theorized that Trumpism will outlast Trump. We're hoping that it doesn't, for the mere fact that we can't imagine the press giving JD Vance or Ron DeSantis or even Donald Jr. the pass Donald gets — they just won't generate the traffic that Trump Senior will.

Well, to be honest, we don't know. The so-called legacy media have bent the knee so much that we have to search for a silver lining to this particular cloud. We can only hope that the media landscape will have changed enough by the next one or two Presidential elections that it won't matter. Which would make us cats PURR.

Who's Missing?

We all know who. The person who must not be named was at the Pentagon, dozing off, with his face drooping and Moose & Squirrel looking morose beside him. (Guess he paid her extra to be there.) We'll never understand why the press gives a free ride to a clan that refuses to behave like a First Family of the United States. We cats HISS.

The Shawinigan Handshake, Part Deux

 

By Zamboni

Former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien spoke today at the 9/11 commemoration in Gander, Newfoundland, and at the end of his remarks, he had a special message for the US. Watch and enjoy.

(He went on to say, "Never, never mistake our tolerance for lack of determination. And never, never mistake our kindness for softness." Make a note — you don't want to meet this guy in a dark alley.)

After all the controversy about Trump's obnoxious ambassador to Canada attending today, it's pretty nifty that he had to sit there and take it — from a tough 92-year-old, no less. We cats PURR.

Return Of The Towers / The Faces Of United 93

 

These are both excellent ideas. We cats PURR.

Clearing The Air

By Baxter

Has Grindr crashed in Dallas yet?

Maybe not, because from what we can tell, there are a lot of empty seats at the Trumpy "mini-convention" that kicked off tonight. Which means that a smattering of the MAGA faithful will revel in an anodyne video from Democratic Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, leaving the rest of us to fulminate on social media.

We cats choose not to engage. Fetterman clearly has suffered some major damage from his 2022 stroke, and we hope that he reassesses his life choices, steps away from the Senate, and gets further help. Maybe he could even resign his seat now and let Josh Shapiro appoint a successor. But that's all we have to say about that.

Meanwhile, we are just back in the country from two weeks away, and from the headlines we've been scanning, the most despicable development has been the manufactured brouhaha over Mayor Zohran Mamdani's attendance at Friday's 9/11 memorial event. What ridiculous performative bullshit this is.

Mamdani is the duly elected mayor of New York City. He will be at the memorial, and the bigots can just suck it up.

But Rudy Giuliani? Maybe he should take a pass. It seems pretty clear that Rudy, the MAGAts, and Trumpsters are pissed that Mamdani released all those documents that showed how New Yorkers were misled about their air quality after the attacks. Surely that's the reason the Republicans have all gone big-time Islamaphobe these last few days. But whatever their motivation, it is despicable. Let's toss all these awful people out of office, shall we? We cats PURR.

Embrace Me, My Sweet Embraceable You

By Sniffles

Speaking of feeling worried about the upcoming midterms, we cats ran across a possible solution: Go to a Democratic rally and ask the candidate or featured speaker for a hug.

"At stop after stop on his latest Southern swing over Labor Day weekend, Governor Gavin Newsom leaned into the anxiety and exhaustion Democrats have been carrying through the Trump era," POLITICO reports. "In North Charleston, a young woman in the front row held up a sign reading HOLD ME! Newsom walked over mid-speech and obliged."

An interesting approach to mental distress. We'd particularly like to try this at a Jon Ossoff event. We cats PURR.

Let The Games Begin

By Hubie and Bertie

Well, it's Labor Day! The official end to summer and beginning of the fall campaign season. But as all of us know, electioneering for the midterms has been in full swing for some time now. Yard signs are out, debates are being booked or ducked, and polls are coming thick and fast. (A word to the wise: Treat many of the polls you see with healthy skepticism. Lots of bogus ones are floating around. Maybe stick to analysis by seasoned pros like Larry Sabato and Charlie Cook.)

We've also had a dicey incident recently at the Canfield Fair outside of Youngstown, Ohio: An armed man rushed Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton, injuring several bystanders. (Acton is fine.) It turns out that the suspect is the brother of a big Vivek Ramaswamy donor, who had to resign a previous job with GOP Senator John Husted's campaign when journalists surfaced his criminal history of — you guessed it — sexual misconduct with a minor.

(JFC, these Republican pedophiles are everywhere. All those QAnon accusations against Democrats were pure projection.)

Before all this happened, Acton chatted up Democratic activist Simon Rosenberg at a Democratic fundraising event in Washington last week. "Simon," she told him, "I think there is something happening out there with people that goes beyond their economic struggles and higher costs. People are crying at my events, breaking down and crying in public. Sherrod Brown tells me he's never seen so many people cry at events as he is seeing this year."

We cats have a theory about that. Voters know that these midterms are our last chance to save our democracy, and it's damn scary. The best antidote that we can think of is to just to keep our noses to the grindstone and get as many people to the polls as we possibly can. Taking action is a good remedy for anxiety. We cats PURR.

Spotted In Seattle

"The biggest story on planet Earth, this day and every day, is that the President of the United States is seriously unwell and allowed to continue in office — unfit, untethered, and unchecked." (Until November 3rd, that is.)

Welcome The Stranger (And The Strange)

By Miss Kubelik

More than 260,000 Canadians have signed a petition to Parliament to send Donald Trump's US ambassador Pete Hoekstra back to the US, never to return. In the meantime, though, Canada is kinda stuck. Hoekstra is where he is, and sometimes you have to do what you have to do.

Meaning, invite the cretin to something you'd rather not have him anywhere near, like the 25th anniversary September 11 commemoration ceremony in Gander, Newfoundland. Ugh.

The town known worldwide for its graciousness, decency, and above-and-beyond friendliness on 9/11 will have its character tested by hosting someone who's completely ungracious, Trumpily indecent, and openly hostile. "The Town of Gander says its invitation to Hoekstra was protocol, not an endorsement," CTV reports. But internet wags have suggested a sequel to the hit musical "Come From Away," in which the residents of Gander throw Hoekstra's ass out.

We'll keep an eye on this story for you, because Benedict Donald will be sucking up all the oxygen in the American media's coverage of the anniversary. But less than a week out, we have to just say that Canadians are sick of Team Trump's insults — maybe madder about those than all the ridiculous tariffs in the world.

They're sick of the annexation "jokes," the lake renaming, the mocking of Canadian military cadets, and the "nasty" accusations. Prime Minister Mark Carney, with three recent Liberal by-election victories and his Parliamentary majority strengthened, made it clear: The Americans, he said have to "stop doing memes, stop throwing shade, stop trying to be tough, and start being serious," he said. We cats PURR.

Goodbye, Gloria

Well, we've lost another one. Activist Dorothy Pitman Hughes, on the right in this famous photo, died in 2023, and now Gloria Steinem as well. With Dolly Parton leaving us last week, we've had enough. Can the Reaper take a few Trumpsters for a change? We cats HISS.

You Tell 'Em, Tarrant County

By Zamboni

Another dispatch from the Republicans-Are-Scared-and-Desperate Department: Tarrant County, Texas, near Dallas-Fort Worth, has reduced the number of their polling places for the midterms from 316 to 224.

But the Tarrant County Commissioners' Court got an earful from the public first. People stepped up to give the commissioners many pieces of their minds, and they were pretty eloquent about it.

"People have fought and died for the right to vote."

"You're on the wrong side of history. You're dishonoring what it means to be an American, and more than that, you're losing your humanity."

"I'd love to know what you all think our tax dollars are for. They are to serve us, and I can't think of a better use of taxpayer money than to encourage and support the democratic process."

And the piece de resistance: "Nothing you can do can stop us from removing you in November."

All this pushback helped. The original plan was to reduce the county's Election Day polling places by half. In the end, they settled on 30 percent. Still not great, but proof that if you try to tell people they can't vote, they'll walk over broken glass to do it. We cats PURR.

(IMAGE: [Democracy Docket]:Tarrant County Commissioner Alisha Simmons and Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico speak at the University of Texas Arlington, August 30, 2026)