L'Affaire Platner: Red Cards All Around

By Hubie and Bertie

What a long time ago early June seems. Back then, as Mainers were going to the polls in the Democratic primary for Senate, we cats speculated that if we were in line to vote, we'd most likely support Graham Platner. He seemed like the candidate with the best chance to beat Susan Collins, which we have to do to win the Senate.

All we can say now is, thank goodness we live and vote in New York. Ugh. Mainers, you have our condolences. And Mitch McConnell must be so mad that he's dead and missing all this. (Yeah, he's dead.)

But back to Platner. There's plenty of blame to go around, and most of it is Inside Baseball — the kind of stuff that party people argue and point fingers about. Chuck Schumer did not recruit Platner to run, but he did throw his weight behind a 77-year-old soon-to-be-former Governor for the seat when the vibe of 2026 was clearly skewing younger and non-establishment. A truly tone-deaf move.

At the same time, though, Bernie Sanders has to take responsibility for elevating Platner as a pushback against Mills. Platner, Sanders said last summer, is "a Mainer through and through, and he is building a movement strong enough to take on the oligarchy," blah, blah, blah. (Ye gods, lefties — please find a different word. Most voters don't know what an oligarchy is.)

This hamfisted own goal by Schumer and Sanders is doubly unforgivable when you review the list of possible candidates to replace Platner. They all seem credible and acceptable: Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, former Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Director Nirav Shah, and former state Senate President Troy Jackson. With folks like that around and available, how did we end up in this mess?

Never mind, we know how. Meanwhile, people are getting impatient as the clock ticks down to 5 PM on July 13. Platner needs to stop dilly-dallying — Maine Democrats have a candidate to pick, and we have an election to win. We cats HISS. 

(IMAGE: Nick Anderson, Tribune Content Agency)

Well, All Right / Okay / You Win / We're In Love With You

 

The Mamdani Administration just budgeted $750,000 for New York City's first-ever pet food pantry — and another $750,000 for affordable spay and neuter services. Nicely done, Your Honor! We cats PURR.

Maybe We Want Hercule Poirot To Win

By Miss Kubelik

We cats spent the last 10 days in Montreàl, and vis-à-vis the World Cup, it was an interesting experience. Montreàl said "non" to being a host city, and therefore escaped being fleeced by the ever-corrupt organization known as FIFA. But there was still a lot of buzz around the games, and we had to be careful about choosing restaurants since so many either had screens, or set up screens to watch.

No worries. We didn't even have a problem when Morocco fans turned out onto the sidewalks to dance and celebrate after their team beat Canada. (Even though, ugh, too bad.) The city was alive with small demonstrations like that, and with cars flying flags of Argentina, Colombia, Norway, and everything in between.

We figured we'd pay attention until we returned to the US. After all, watching the matches in Canada meant that we saw them on TSN, RDS or CTV, so we weren't putting money in Fox's pocket. Now that we're back in the US, something else is on our TV. We'll track the World Cup through other venues, thank you.

But we still heard about Benedict Donald getting FIFA to reverse the red card on US star player Folarin Balogun so he can play against Belgium tomorrow. Is there any more proof that FIFA is corrupt? Nah.

Aside from the outrage from the rest of the world, two thoughts here:

If Balogun had any integrity, he would say, thank you, but I received the red card, and I will sit this one out.

Two, does Donald realize that Balogun is a so-called anchor baby? He was born in Brooklyn to immigrant parents from Nigeria — just the kind of person that Trump, Stephen Miller, and one-third of the Supreme Court would like to outlaw and deport. It all makes us sick, and ready to root for the Belgians tomorrow. We cats HISS.

So Much Is Different. So Little Is Different.

When historians write about Trump 2.0, this image will take a prominent place in the narrative. It ranks right up there with Rosa Parks getting fingerprinted, MLK at the Lincoln Memorial, and the shooting of James Meredith on the 1966 March Against Fear. But maybe Rosa Parks most of all. We cats salute whoever this woman is, and we PURR.

(PHOTO: Cheney Orr @orr_photo)

"They Saw New York City. They Saw America."

By Zamboni

Since our previous post about the bigots who own A Taste of Italy in Latham, we've learned that the restaurant reopened after 24 hours. Well! So much for "until further notice."

But on this conflicted Fourth of July, let's savor this photo of construction worker Anthony Soraci instead.

Grandson of Italian immigrants, as Sen. Amy Klobuchar ID'd him in her tweet, Soraci is leaning in to kiss the Statue of Liberty during restoration work on her back in 1984.

So, yeah, 40+ years ago. Let's hope that Trump giving people permission to be their worst selves will not, in the end, erase images like this. Because this is what America 250 is all about. We cats PURR.

E Pluribus Not Unum

By Baxter

A Muslim family visiting the New York Capital Region is holding a funeral today for their seven-year-old son who drowned in a neighbor's pool. The boy's body wasn't found for a couple of days, but in the meantime, hundreds of people from the area dropped their holiday-week plans and helped search for him — a true caring community in action.

Except, as you might expect, in this Time of Trump, somebody had to be an asshole.

"Let's not forget if that boy lived in a Muslim country his Muslim family would have killed him a long time ago," one owner of the Latham restaurant A Taste of Italy wrote on her business account. She continued by calling Islam "a horrific fake religion" and a "terrorist organization," and said, "No Muslim should be in any place of Authority in America." (Trumpy capitalization hers.)

Disgusting. But the good news is that protesters showed up after the owner's comments went viral, creating such a brouhaha that the restaurant had to close its doors "until further notice," the other owner stated. "In no way, shape or form am I prejudiced against Muslims, Blacks, gays or any of that stuff," he bleated. ("Stuff"?)

You'll also be unsurprised that A Taste of Italy's owners, who don't deserve to be named, have turned out to be sales-tax scofflaws who owe the state of New York $366,000 and who have been in hot water for racist, homophobic and other trashy online comments in the past. They were planning to open another Italian restaurant in Albany next week, but oops! — maybe that won't happen now.

Mr. Rogers famously said that when upsetting things happen, look for the helpers. We should all focus on the goodness of the neighbors who joined the search and try not to think about the people who, during a week that's supposed to celebrate the goodness of America, jumped at the opportunity to milk a seven-year-old's death for hate. Let's hope that A Taste of Italy has to shut its doors forever. We cats HISS.

(PHOTO: The Times-Union)

Bonne Fete Du Canada

Fed up with Trump's endless grifting and unseemly appropriation of America's 250th? Take a moment to appreciate our Neighbors to the North, who are celebrating 159 years of Confederation. They're looking awfully sane compared to how things are going for us these days. Happy Canada Day! We cats PURR.

Very Red, Hot, And Blue From Randy Rainbow (Thanks, Cole)

 

Benedict Donald thinks his second act means Anything Goes — he can trash monuments and memorials, the rule of law, and the Constitution in equal measure. But Randy Rainbow has a delightful, delicious, delectable, delirious, de-lovely response. We cats PURR.

A Hot Take On July 4

By Sniffles

We're about to observe the 250th anniversary of the American colonies' Declaration of Independence from England, but we might have to admit that sometimes the British have a good idea or two. As in, if you have a King, maybe celebrate his birthday when the weather is good.

Charles III, for example, just presided over that grand spectacle, the Trooping of the Colour, as his mum did before him. Elizabeth II was actually born in April, a month that can be unreliable and squally, and Charles made his first appearance in dreary late November. June can more easily promise sunshine and warmth.

Conversely, if you want cooler temperatures, perhaps it would be better for some national observances to move to earlier or later in the year — rather than in, say, early July when everything is beastly hot.

Especially this year. Thanks to a summer supercharged by climate change and a strong El Niño, North America and Europe are baking in unbearable heat waves this week. But we're stuck with the fact that the founders signed the Declaration on the Fourth. So even if Benedict Donald's offensive "Freedom 250 state fair" was appealing, well-managed, and in good taste, 105-degree temperatures in DC will keep the already-sparse crowds down even more. Sad!

Here's a suggestion for when sane people return to power in Washington: Global warming ain't going away. Let's follow the example of the Britons, and move our Independence Day celebrations to a different, potentially more temperate, date. In fact, why not center them around the Constitution instead? We could mark the anniversary of its framing (September 17, 1787) or the day it took effect (March 4, 1789).

After all, since Trump has been violating the damn thing every day since he got back into office, our poor, abused Supreme Law of the Land could maybe use a little love. Just a thought. We cats PURR.

Don't Tell Donald

 

Who had a bigger crowd this weekend? The Montreal Alouettes in their game tonight against Ottawa? Or Benedict Donald's mishap-laden "Great State Fair" in Washington? You be the judge! We cats PURR.

A Bad Case Of Gas

By Hubie and Bertie

Another not-so-stellar week for Benedict Donald and his Nazi storm troopers, despite multiple Supreme Court decisions in their favor. In the lower courts, they keep losing and losing: either in voting-rights suits or, amazingly, in one Jeffrey-Epstein-related suit that promises a lot of good grins going forward. And of course the algae in the reflecting pool is still going strong, not that anyone attending the lackluster "Freedom 250" events on the Mall could tell. (Fencing and tarp, ya know.)

And speaking of tarp, the Trumpsters have been ordered to explain why it's still up at the Kennedy Center. What will they say? "Because, Your Honor, our client is a whiny man baby"? There can't be any other reason. It's not as if Donald's name is still up and crossed off. It's not there.

And if you can tell us what, exactly, is going on with Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, we'll shake your hand and give you a Daniel Webster cigar. In short, Trumpian chaos continues to reign, and we haven't even mentioned the Republican-controlled Congress yet. What a mess.

To keep himself busy, Donald is apparently fretting about gas prices. Not that he cares they're doing to your pocketbook, but maybe because he recognizes how much trouble he and the GOP will be in this fall because of them. The price of crude oil declined, he bleats — why don't prices at the pump go down faster? As numerous experts have explained, it doesn't necessarily work that way.

Donald Trump, the champion of the resentful white working class, hasn't a clue about how regular people live. Has he ever filled a gas tank in his life? Shopped for groceries? Taken a suit to the dry cleaner? Bought anything at Home Depot? The answer is no.

Kind of takes you back to the days of George H.W. Bush's amazement at a supermarket scanner, doesn't it? Republicans have always been disconnected from everyday reality. We cats HISS.

Schadenfreude In NY-21

By Miss Kubelik

We cats no longer live in New York's 21st Congressional District, thank goodness. We were recently redistricted in NY-20, but the border between being represented by MAGAt Elise "Elsie" Stefanik and Democrat Paul Tonko is maybe a block away. If someone opens a can of tuna in a house in the 21st, we hear it.

Which means that we drive around NY-21 a lot. Before yesterday's primary, we couldn't help noticing the dearth of yard signs for Republican Congressional candidate Robert Smullen — among many, many (ugly) ones at the side of the road for his Trump-endorsed opponent, Anthony Constantino.

 This was strange. Smullen was officially endorsed by the New York Republican Party (hi, Ed Cox!). Surely that meant he had the full weight of county parties' organizing muscle behind him... right?

Another oddity: Constantino supporters far outnumbered Smullen stans at a candidates' forum in Saratoga Springs last week. Although bad behavior by both Constantino and his fans caused the event to spiral into chaos (see above), Smullen's lack of visibility in the crowd was campaign malpractice. If you can't turn your people out to a candidate Q&A, you won't be able to turn them out on Election Day.

Spoiler: He didn't. Smullen was crushed by Constantino by 19 points.

We cats are enjoying this very much. Smullen will be listed on the Conservative Party line on the November ballot, and now he has to figure out if he's going to stay there and fight, or throw in the towel to a guy whose hand he refused to shake after a debate in May. And while party leaders in the 21st district are grudgingly endorsing Constantino (even though he didn't meet with many of them during the primary to ask for their support), the state GOP has a conundrum on its hands — thanks to New York's weird multi-party ballot and Benedict Donald throwing a monkey wrench into everything.

(And what will "Elsie" do? Will she finally get off her ass the fence and endorse Constantino? All she's done so far is tweet an anodyne statement, saying the primary was a "hard-fought election and the voters have spoken loudly." How bold! How trenchant!)

Take heart, New York Republicans. You're not the only ones suffering from Trump wreaking havoc in your party. Look what happened on Capitol Hill today: a canceled bill signing, a shouting match at lunch. The GOP is such a bunch of happy campers right now. We cats PURR.

(IMAGE: Alexander MacDougall, The Times-Union)

"There May Be Trouble Ahead"

By Zamboni

We all know by now that Benedict Donald is a malignant narcissist, right? Heck, way back in 2019, someone who knew him well wrote a whole article on it. "Trump's ingrained and extreme behavioral characteristics make it impossible for him to carry out the duties of the presidency in the way the Constitution requires," said George Conway.

Since then, things have gotten worse — much worse. Donald's tendencies are showing themselves more and more, past his handlers' ability to contain. The most recent ones are almost too numerous to list. But check out this description and see if it doesn't fit Trump to a tee:

"Malignant narcissists are driven by an underlying sense of profound inadequacy, shame, and a desperate need to avoid being perceived as weak. Because their ego is entirely reliant on maintaining an illusion of superiority, they fear humiliation above all else."

Why? "Beneath their grandiose and often ruthless exterior lies a deeply insecure core. To compensate for their fragile self-worth, they utilize control and dominance. Humiliation strips away the power and leverage they use to manipulate others."

Wow. We can all marvel at how millions of people could look at someone like Trump and say, yeah, I want that guy in the Oval Office instead of the smart Black lady. (Or the smart white lady eight years ago.) But the bit about humiliation is worth worrying about. Because Donald has had a lot of it lately. Reflecting pool, anyone?

And tonight, there's more: The Senate has passed the Iran War Powers Act, 50 to 48. (Cassidy, Collins, Murkowski, and Paul voted "yes." McConnell and McCormick were absent.) With the House having passed it already, it heads to Trump's desk. He'll veto it, of course — reminding zillions of midterm voters how much they hate the stupid war and what it's done to their pocketbooks. Tomorrow's Senate luncheon should be mighty interesting, yes? (Trump is planning to attend.) In the meantime, though, his behavior is concerning: A cornered narcissist is capable of just about anything. We cats HISS.

(IMAGE: The reflecting pool at the Obama Presidential Center, Chicago. This is how you do it.)

Destined For Memedom

By Baxter

What was the best thing about the Obama Presidential Center opening? That it birthed a new Barack-and-Hillary meme?

Well, maybe it wasn't the best thing — it was a wonderful, uplifting event — but it's still pretty darn good. In fact, the entire last week has been a veritable meme factory, what with Benedict Donald stinking up the joint at the G7, his Iran MOU getting trashed left and right, and the ongoing disaster at the Reflecting Pool. Quick: Any guesses as to whether the Strait of Hormuz is open right now? Don't ask JD Vance — he's busy getting ignored by the Iranian delegation in Switzerland.

That's the second time a US leader has appeared isolated in a week. Here are two viral shots of Trump looking forlorn while the G7 leaders talk animatedly with each other (i.e., with anybody but him).

Since we're mostly on social media for the memes and grins, we're looking forward to seeing what all the creative people out in Blueskyland do with these two gems. But there's a sober side to all this, too: Getting frozen out/laughed at/disrespected is what Trump and Vance richly deserve, but it's obviously terrible for the country, and potentially disastrous for the world.

We don't blame our allies. We don't even blame the Iranians. We just hope that America can survive until we kick these knaves and fools out of office. Paws crossed. We cats HISS and PURR at the same time.

Thought For The Day: Juneteenth Gives Us All An Opportunity To Pause And Learn

 
"Join me on the journey to freedom," says the Harriet Tubman mural in Cambridge, Maryland. You can learn more about the Harriet Tubman Underground Railway here. We cats PURR.

The Event In Chicago Today Felt Like The *Real* Celebration Of America 250

And here's a wickedly good cartoon to go along with it. We cats PURR.

(IMAGE: Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

De Adder Du Jour (Plus Some Simpletons, Fools, And Lunatics)

By Sniffles

The Reflecting Pool's icky algae seems symbolic of the mess the next President will have to clean up after Trump/Vance and their storm troopers leave office. (Yes, we assume a Democrat wins next time.)

This "mop-up-after-Republican-disasters" phenomenon isn't just a case of FDR having to save the country from Herbert Hoover's Depression-era fecklessness. It happens all the time. Bill Clinton had to come in and fix the lousy economy that George H.W. Bush left behind. Later, Barack Obama inherited a financial meltdown from Bush's smirky son that made Daddy's fiasco pale in comparison. Then Joe Biden had to pull us all out of the COVID pandemic that Benedict Donald screwed up so royally.

But now, things are even worse. President Ossoff will have a real clusterf*ck on his hands when he takes over, won't he? On top of all the terrible things Trump has done, his Iran disaster will haunt our foreign policy and standing in the world for decades. And our allies won't forgive and forget easily — if ever.

Here's just one example from today's Globe & Mail (Canada) — "Trump's Iran Deal Is a National Humiliation":

"If you're looking for the silver lining [in the deal], the 'yes, but,' you can stop looking. This is Trump, after all. He is a simpleton, surrounded by fools and lunatics. They had no idea of what they were getting into with this war, no plan to prosecute it, and no clue as to what would come after. A few days' bombing, a decapitated leadership, and they'd leave everyone else to clean up the mess."

Good grief. It looks like Ossoff will need to take a page from Obama's book and pick a superstar to serve as Secretary of State — somebody who can speak with absolute authority and assuage lots of bad feelings abroad — while he attends to things at home. And we know the perfect person for the job. Brush up your résumé, former Vice President Kamala Harris, your country will need you. We cats PURR.

(IMAGE: Michael de Adder, deadder.net)

"Contractions Are Painful But They Are Necessary For New Birth"

We don't know about you, but we're rushing out to buy Raphael Warnock's book. Thank you, Senator Reverend! We cats PURR.

Work Of Art

 

Njideka Akunyili Crosby's official portrait of Barack and Michelle Obama was unveiled at the Obama Presidential Center yesterday, and — coming on the same day as that tacky event at the White House — it was a cleansing bit of good news. We cats like the painting very much. It's especially interesting to us that its dominant figure is not the President but the First Lady — a brilliant, accomplished, commanding, beautiful Black woman. Take that, Josh Hokit. We cats PURR.

Oh, Lordy, As They Say

By Hubie and Bertie

How many individual scandals can you roll into one big, fat, ugly, stinky, scary scandal? By our count, it's three.

The "Somebody In The White House Gave Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan Recordings from the Situation Room" Scandal — It was bad enough that Regime Change authors Haberman and Swan had a blow-by-blow of the Sit Room Epstein confab in the first place. But tapes? OMG. "Such a taped leak would be a shocking breach of one of the most secure settings on Earth," Axios reports. "Independent recording devices in the Situation Room are forbidden."

The "Republicans Will Excuse Serious Breaches in National Security As Long As They're the Ones Doing It" Scandal — That scrambling sound you hear is Lindsey Graham frantically trying to concoct a defense of the indefensible that he can then parrot on TV and social media.

The "My Book Is More Important Than Your Right to Know" Scandal — Reporters like Haberman and Swan sitting on alarmingly massive scoops just so they can write and sell books months later is everything (well, nearly everything) that's wrong with journalism today.

Finally, not a scandal, but a haunting refrain: Can you imagine the reaction if something like this happened under Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, or Joe Biden? Every one if them would be impeached, tarred and feathered, drawn and quartered, and then shot. But Donald and the Trumpsters? Don't hold your breath. We cats HISS.

Return To Normalcy

 

We realize that to erase the stain of Donald going forward, we will have to endure all sorts of last-minute, emergency-stay, please-don't shenanigans — but, if we persevere, we will succeed. We cats PURR.

(UPDATE, June 14: Looks like the curtain has not fallen. In fact, it looks pretty permanent. Apparently Donald doesn't want anyone to see that his name is no longer there. What a child. We cats HISS.)

No Kings, Just Presidents

This is just a reminder that tomorrow, if you're on social media, you need to post something complimentary about this man, accompanied by a stunning photo (like this one). Because it will drive You-Know-Who crazy. Thank you for your attention to this matter! We cats PURR.

Oy!

By Miss Kubelik

We cats don't make it there very often because it's so popular (and crowded), but we enjoy breakfast at Arthur's Nosh Bar in the historic St.-Henri neighborhood of Montréal. It's got great comfort food — the kind your bubbe would serve with love. But now Arthurs in the crosshairs of the Quebec language police.

If you look closely at the photo above, you'll see "Nosh Bar" stenciled on its window. Big no-no and a grave threat to the French language, apparently. This is a pain in the ass for the owners, who have been in business for 10 years and who have taken the trouble to trademark the name. They're trying to figure out a work-around.

There's no solving the idiocy of the current provincial government and the majority party, the Coalition Avenir du Quebec, but we have a possible solution for Arthurs. The French word for "nosh" (at least, according to our iPad translator, LOL) is "bouffe." If they just stencil in "Bouffe Bar" on the window below "Nosh Bar," they can maybe satisfy the gendarmes and enjoy some alliteration at the same time.

It's all so ridiculous. We look forward to the CAQ getting booted out of power in this fall's election. Meanwhile, we cats HISS.

Randy Rainbow, Very Able (And Yes, A Genius)

 

Randy Rainbow has updated one of his best song parodies, and for the first time, we feel like we could enjoy all of the 250th birthday nonsense. This is the spirit of America! We cats PURR.

De Adder Du Jour (And Some Observations)

By Zamboni

It's primary day in Maine, which means it's time for us cats to finally weigh in on the Graham Platner kerfuffle (*sigh*). Cartoonist Michael de Adder pretty much says it all, in our opinion.

It's rare for us to back a Bernie Bro. (Sanders endorsed Platner way back on Labor Day 2025.) We choose not to slam them online for a lot of very good reasons, but when it comes to deciding on a primary candidate, we generally choose someone else. However, this Maine situation is different: Governor Janet Mills dropped out of the race amid fundraising difficulties (and questions about her age). While she's still on the ballot, if we cats were voting in Maine today, we'd vote for Platner.

He's popular with Mainers, and poised to win tonight, and — most important — we must get the Senate back. We're in a national emergency, after all. "A Republic, if you can keep it," as Ben Franklin famously said. Unseating Susan Collins will help us do that.

A word of warning: Collins will not be easy to beat, despite the polls we're seeing today. Last time around, she had a Democratic opponent who enjoyed the backing of her party's establishment, and Collins looked to be in danger of getting shown the door. She ended up winning by nearly nine points. She won't go easily this year, either, whether we run Platner or someone else against her. So let's let Mainers sort out this primary, and then in November we can get behind our nominee and help save the country. We cats HISS and PURR at the same time.

(IMAGE: Michael de Adder, deadder.net)

Battered.

By Baxter

Are we the only ones who thought that Benedict Donald went into the Meet the Press interview intending to walk out from the get-go? Trump has been playing the press for 10 years — more than that if you count his years as a C-list New York mobster — and journalists from the Beltway and beyond have still not figured that out.

That's why you have Kristen Welker sputtering nonsense like "I traveled all the way to Wisconsin for this interview." That's why you have NBC decorating the set like it was something out of Green Acres. (Tractors? Bales of hay? Please.) That's why we all saw Welker kissing up to Donald afterward, claiming that "We had a substantial conversation on issues from the war in Iran to the economy, blah blah blah." 

What crap. If that was a "substantial conversation," we cats are eating Alpo for breakfast tomorrow.

There might not be anything more painful than witnessing someone give respect to someone who doesn't deserve it (and who dishes out only contempt in return). The dizzying cross-talk between Trump and Welker was Exhibit A on that, and it was torturous to watch.

The press is in an abusive relationship with Benedict Donald. Until one journalist truly stands up for his colleagues — yep, it has to be a man — and calls out all the bullshit, the abuse will continue. And the corporate media overlords will keep raking in the cash from eyeballs, clicks, and likes. As Joe Biden would say, "C'mon, man!" We cats HISS.

Citizen Trump Is Very Unhappy

By Sniffles

Here we go again. Not only did Benedict Donald shovel his "rigged election" nonsense at Kristen Welker this weekend, Preacher of the House Mikey Johnson and other Trumpy minions are taking up the call, mostly complaining about California.

They're doing it for a couple of reasons.

First, their preferred candidates (particularly Spencer Pratt) are faltering in Tuesday's jungle primary. Second, it's preparation for the November midterms, of course — they're laying the groundwork to cast doubt on everything. Why does it take soooooooo loooooooonnnnnnggg to count the votes in California? There must be fraud!

Nope, nope, nopity nope. Here's a quick explainer, courtesy of Marc Elias and Democracy Docket:

California is huge: It has 40 million people. Estimates are that 23 million voters cast ballots in the primary. Trump, whose math skills aren't much above the sixth-grade level, should try counting 23 million votes and see how long it takes. 

California is a universal vote-by-mail state. It sends mail-in ballots to every registered voter. Lots of people use them.

California counts all ballots that people mailed on time, even if they're received after Election Day.

California verifies all ballots before they're counted. (Which means, guess what — there's no fraud!)

California allows voters to fix any mistakes — like adding missing signatures —so their votes can count.

In short, California is one of the most voter-friendly states in the nation. No wonder Trump and his henchmen constantly attack it. We cats HISS.

(IMAGE: From Citizen Kane, 1940. Authoritarians screaming about rigged elections is nothing new.)

Endangered Profession

 

Quite a weekend for American journalism. From Scott Pelley's revelations about the 60 Minutes trainwreck to Benedict Donald's hissy fit on Meet the Press, it was one for the ages. We cats were not thrilled with any of it. The tattered state of CBS is alarming, and Kristen Welker managed to get played even as Trump threw his mic on the ground, stomped on it, and waddled out. But at least it managed to generate a headline like this one. More later. We cats HISS.

An American Family

 

Two things about this fabulous photo of the Obamas: Is there anyone as gorgeous as Sasha? (Answer: No.) Also, we thought the tan suit had been given away. Barack still has it? Is that why it's not on display at the Obama Presidential Center? We cats switch our tails, and wonder.

Night Of The Hunter

Have you seen Hunter Biden's posts on Twitter these days? He has mastered the art of owning MAGAts, and we cats are here for it. But he's also engaging in sincere back-and-forths with people struggling with addiction. He's brutally honest, owns his mistakes, and encourages others who have faced, or are facing, the battles he has. We cats admire him for it. And we PURR.

Seat Of Power?

By Hubie and Bertie

In 1945, just back from Yalta and weeks before his death, Franklin D. Roosevelt apologized to Congress for addressing them from a chair instead of standing at a lectern. "I hope you'll pardon me for this unusual posture of sitting down," he said, "but I know that you will realize that it makes it a lot easier for me not to have to carry about 10 pounds of steel at the bottom of my legs."

It was a rare FDR acknowledgement of his polio-induced disability. He and his staff masked it so efficiently — and the press cooperated so thoroughly — that many Americans probably wondered what he meant by the "10 pounds of steel" reference. We can picture them listening to their radios and saying, "Wait, what?"

So, okay, we cats adore Franklin Roosevelt. But we have at least two quibbles with him. The first is the obvious one — the Japanese-American internment camps. The second is his lack of candor with the American people about his health in 1994-45. Although we pretty much understand why he did it, there's no excuse for his having kept VP Harry Truman in the dark about the atomic bomb and more.

Having admitted that, we have to say that the current cloak of silence around Benedict Donald's situation is extraordinary. We are well past a time in which the press would willingly collude with a popular President to come less-than-clean about his health, right? (We're thinking not just of FDR but of JFK.) But Trump isn't even popular now. So what's stopping journalists from demanding answers about Trump's health?

He's disappearing for days (if not a week) at a time. He's making appearances and giving remarks sitting down. He's repeating speeches from one event to another. He's got ewwy punctures on his neck, swollen cheeks, and bruises on his hands — not to mention weird bulges under his suit coats and trousers. WTF is going on?

This is the exact situation that the 25th amendment, enacted in the wake of John F. Kennedy's assassination, was meant to prevent. It guarantees that we will have a functioning President in the event of a current President's death, resignation, removal, or incapacitation. Sadly, the "incapacitation" part requires the Vice President and the Cabinet to take action. Which is not going to happen, right?

The thing about the Constitution is, it's not perfect. We can make it better. That's what amendments are for. So maybe we need an amendment to improve the 25th amendment? We cats PURR.

Benedict Donald Gets Slapped Back Again, Sleeps Through It

 

By Miss Kubelik

Well, actually, we don't know if Trump slept through his most recent smackdowns on Capitol Hill. But if he didn't, he surely will be shitposting about them all night. (Or maybe deciding to bomb Iran?)

Three Republican Senators — Bill Cassidy, Susan Collins, and Lisa Murkowski — voted today with Democrats to keep the odious and utterly inexperienced Bill Pulte from becoming the acting DNI. Then the House passed a new aid package to Ukraine, with 18 (count 'em, 18) GOP members defying Donald.

So much winning! If Biden or Obama or Clinton had this many losses in the space of a week, the media would be hyperventilating. Democratic pearl clutchers would be collapsing on their fainting couches, and the Republicans would be declaring the President dead.

Which is precisely what some tweeters and skeeters were saying when Trump went seven days without a live, in-person appearance — finally showing up yesterday at an Oval Office presser to talk about nonsense. He also made a special effort to insult CNN's Kaitlin Collins. It's inexplicable that nobody in the White House press corps will stand up for the women Trump abuses. We cats HISS.

De Adder Du Jour

 

Benedict Donald sure has been losing a lot lately. The Kennedy Center, the Iran war, the slush fund for terrorists, and the billion-dollar ballroom all seem to be slip-sliding away. And yesterday, his chosen candidate for Iowa governor crashed and burned in the primary. Trump even had to show up in the Oval Office today to take reporters' questions after more than a week of no-shows and rumors he was stroked out or dead. Hm! More on the elections later. In the meantime, we cats PURR.

(IMAGE: Michael de Adder, deadder.net)

Smullen Doesn't Give A Shake

 

 

 

By Zamboni

There's a nasty (i.e., very fun) fight going on between the Republicans who are vying for Elise "Elsie" Stefanik's Congressional seat in NY-21.

As we posted a little over a month ago, the Trump-endorsed candidate, Anthony Constantino, is giving a whole lot of headaches to the more traditional, state-party-blessed hopeful, Assemblyman Robert Smullen. No love is lost between these two dudes, and when they met in a debate last week, the fur kinda flew.

"Both candidates adhered to the rules of decorum during the debate, confining their statements to their allotted time and requiring little intervention from [the] moderator," Yahoo news reports. "But they continued to attack each other in harsh terms, with Constantino casting Smullen as an unknown 'C-lister' who has failed to adequately support Trump. Smullen countered that Constantino is 'unfit to serve' and noted his campaign had once hired a man accused of murder."

(Note to the file: That last bit is true. We kid you not.)

"The caustic parley that has defined the primary race spilled over when Constantino reached across his podium to offer Smullen a handshake," Yahoo continued. "Smullen ignored Constantino, gathered his belongings, and walked off the television studio set."

Wow. Smullen later explained that he wasn't going to shake hands because Constantino had sent him a mean text. (The text was not nice, but it was also ridiculous.) This gave Constantino another line of attack, and made Smullen look petty — positively Trumpy, in fact.

The snub reminded us of Ann Richards's reaction when her Republican opponent for Texas governor, Clayton Williams, pulled the same stunt on her. It was back in 1990, when Trumpian behavior was still unknown. "Oh, Clayton," she said, "that's bad." Yup. We cats PURR.

Jon Ossoff: Trump Is "A Failed President And A National Disgrace"

 

Got a few minutes (or maybe 30 of them)? You'll want to check out this knockout speech that Senator Jon Ossoff gave in Atlanta yesterday. Let's put it this way: He didn't mince words. This is how you do it!

Lots of folks are talking him up for President in 2028 — but we need to get him re-elected to the Senate first. Click here. We cats PURR.

(UPDATE: We must add this spot-on observation from an account on, believe it or not, Twitter: "Two things I particularly enjoy: 1) His utter contempt for Trump and his ilk is palpable, but it's almost apolitical. It's moral without being preachy. Tough needle to thread. 2) There is a seriousness here that is woefully missing in our politics today." We cats agree 100 percent, and we PURR again.)

Numbers Don't Lie (Les Chiffres Ne Mentent Pas)

 

By Baxter

New data reveal that the Canadian boycott of the United States is still going strong — stronger than previously estimated, in fact.

"While official Statistics Canada figures show a roughly 25 percent decline in Canadian residents returning from the US last year, cellphone data compiled by researchers at the University of Toronto's School of Cities found that the year-over-year drop in cross-border trips was closer to 42 percent," the CBC reports.

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and multiple locations in Florida like Miami and Orlando have been particularly hard hit, despite Canadians' famous tendency to escape south during the winter. And business travel has been affected just as much — all thanks to Benedict Donald, his stupid tariffs, and his ridiculous "51st state" BS.

This is costing the United States nearly $9 billion — so far. (Nice going, Trump.) But our American ambassador in Ottawa just can't understand it. He's particularly miffed about Canada's boycott of US booze.

"We think the alcohol ban is totally unfair," Pete Hoekstra said. "It's a clear indicator of how 11 provinces [and territories] feel about trade with the United States. They're sending a very, very clear message about how doing business with the United States doesn't appeal to them.

"The prime minister has reinforced that message. It creates some questions about whether Canada really wants to do business with the United States."

Wow, he's so close to getting it. What an idiot. We cats HISS.

Girlbosses Rule

Alors, the boys in the NHL couldn't get it done this week — but the girls definitely did. Bien joué!

Montréal had a championship parade today — for the PWHL's Walter Cup-winning Victoire, not the Canadiens. Les Habs? You're young, talented, and have a lot of promise. See you next year. We cats PURR.

Happy Birthday, JFK

By Sniffles

A federal judge has stepped in to halt the Trumpy desecration of The Kennedy Center. Thank goodness.

"US District Judge Christopher Cooper in Washington, DC, ruled that The Kennedy Center board's March 16 vote to close the facility was 'ill-informed and seemingly preordained' with no regard for its legal obligations," the AP reports. "The Administration had announced the work would begin in July and last approximately two years, but Cooper’s ruling halts those plans for now."

To our surprise, Benedict Donald has folded. He said he won't fight the decision, and will give control of the Kennedy Center back to Congress. (As if he ever had the authority to take it away in the first place.) Interesting. There must be something else he needs that he's not talking about, or he's just so cognitively gone that he can't remember what he cares about from one day to the next.

Of course, Judge Cooper is an Obama appointee, so Trump couldn't concede defeat without taking a swipe at that (typing President Obama's middle name in the tweet in all-caps, as you'd expect). The judge ordered Trump's name to be removed from the building and any other materials associated with the venue. Yay!

Coincidentally, today is JFK's 109th birthday. Obviously, like most people he wouldn't have lived to see this day — but it would have been nice if he had had more than the 46 years he spent on this planet. Still, it's a satisfying coincidence. Thanks, Judge Cooper. We cats PURR.

Powerful On The Outside, Fragile On The Inside

By Hubie and Bertie

Just this past Monday night, former Montréal Canadien Claude Lemieux carried the torch into the Bell Centre for Game 3 against the Carolina Hurricanes. More than 20,000 Habs fans cheered him — for his history with the team, and for the current Canadiens (who've made it far into the playoffs when they weren't even expected to play one post-season game). It was a magical moment for Montréalers.

Today, the hockey world learned that Claude Lemieux has died. The four-time Stanley Cup champion apparently committed suicide overnight in a furniture showroom that his family owns in Lake Park, Florida. He was found by one of his sons in a warehouse at around 3 AM.

Now, we cats understand that the current political state of Florida is pretty depressing. So maybe flying back there from a delirious city of Montréal was a bummer. But when you see how composed and, by all accounts, happy Lemieux looked just a few nights ago, this news is truly shocking. He was only 60. He looked fit and as if he had many years ahead of him. And tens of thousands of people had just poured a whole bunch of love onto him. What the heck happened?

We cats can only think: Nothing that we'll understand immediately. And if the Lemieux family doesn't care to share, nothing we'll understand ever, if at all. The bottom line is that we can never know what burdens people are carrying. So if you encounter a person who seems rude, surly, or unpleasant, try to think that maybe that person is suffering something you can't, or maybe shouldn't, comprehend.

Unless it's Donald Trump, of course — or Stephen Miller, or any of the Trumpsters or MAGAts. They deserve no benefit of the doubt, because they have no consciences, and carry no burdens. We cats HISS.

John Cornyn Ass-Snorkels Trump, Gets Beat Anyway

By Miss Kubelik

As Richard Nixon liked to say, let's make one thing perfectly clear: Benedict Donald's endorsement did not make Ken Paxton's Senate runoff victory in Texas possible yesterday. Benedict Donald made the (late) endorsement because he already knew that Paxton was going to win. The MAGA tea leaves were clear, and you know how Trump hates to be associated with losers.

Which means that not only is there a clearer path for Democrat James Talarico to get elected in November, but Texas Republicans just threw away more than two decades of Senate seniority for their state. (The 49 other states in the union say, "Thanks, guys!") And the relationship between the GOP Senate caucus and the White House just got uglier. Get ready for some fun when lawmakers return to DC next week.

It's doubtful that John Cornyn will take advantage of the fact that he's been unleashed. We don't see him going anti-Trump the way Senator Bill Cassidy did after he lost in Louisiana. Most likely — because he's a traditional dude, a near-Senate-Majority Leader, and an institutionalist — he'll remain mostly silent about his humiliation. But we can't say the same for his supporters.

Talarico wisely held out an olive branch to Cornyn voters last night, assuring them that they were welcome in his camp. So it'll be interesting to see what, for example, the Lone Star State's blue-haired Barbara Bush ladies do going forward. Surely they're appalled at their official Senate candidate. Will they close their checkbooks? Probably. Will they even show up to vote? Uncertain. Or will they do the right thing and turn out for the Democratic seminarian in November? To the GOP's consternation, it's possible. We cats PURR.

In Love With Leo

By Zamboni

Ever since Elon Musk took it over, Twitter has become a cesspool of MAGA madness, Nazis and racism. So you can imagine how they're reacting to what Pope Leo's been up to this week. (We don't recommend scrolling through any of their threads.)

If Leo has turned out to be a thorn in Benedict Donald's side, he drove himself in deeper yesterday with his encyclical calling for AI regulation, something the Trumpsters are definitely not keen on. But since Trump is probably the most racist President since Woodrow Wilson, what really must stick in his craw is the Pope's apology for how the Catholic Church historically enabled the slave trade.

"Already in the early modern period, the Apostolic See of Rome, responding to the requests of sovereigns, intervened several times in order to regulate and legitimize forms of subjugation, and, in certain cases, including the enslavement of 'infidels,'" Leo wrote. "For this, in the name of the church, I sincerely ask for pardon."

We wouldn't be Catholics for a zillion dollars, but gosh, we're awfully smitten with this Pope. We love anyone who drives Trump and his minions crazy, but leave it to journalist and historian Rachel Swarns to remind us what's important in all this. "I have spent nearly a decade documenting the Catholic Church’s involvement in the American slave trade, but this news hit me first as a Black Catholic," she wrote. "I have held tight to my faith, as the church has begun grappling with this history, and today I feel so deeply moved." We cats PURR.

De Adder Du Jour

 

Michael de Adder is just one of the best political cartoonists around. We cats wish him a happy birthday today, too! And we PURR.

(IMAGE: deadder.net)

Cat Fight! John Cornyn Vs. Ken Paxton

By Baxter

If you want to find some fun this Memorial Day weekend, look no further than Texas, where John Cornyn and Ken Paxton are scrapping like mad, wet cats before Tuesday's Republican Senate runoff.

"In a race that’s been defined by personal shots, the latest online dust-up between the two underscores the difficult path forward for the Texas GOP," POLITICO reports. "The fighting between the two camps has gotten so ugly that some Republicans are fearful it will dampen turnout in the midterms, hurt down-ticket Republicans — and possibly cost them the seat." (Yes, please.)

Meanwhile, we cats have returned from being away a few days to find the "Senate-Republicans-are-livid-about-Trump's-Paxton-endorsement" story still going strong. Kind of surprising since they're mad about a whole bunch of things — particularly about Benedict Donald's zillion-dollar terrorist slush fund. (After all, they can read a poll.)

But it's not difficult to understand they're so pissed about Trump stiffing Cornyn. John Cornyn may be an unexciting institutionalist to the MAGA faithful (and to anyone else who gives him at least a moment's thought), but in GOP circles he's been a prodigious fund-raiser. He chaired the National Republican Senatorial Committee during the 2010 and 2012 election cycles, and has always been tight with the moneybags types. And he's been generous to his Senate colleagues.

Imagine if you're a baby Republican from a state like, say, North Dakota, with a limited universe in which to raise cash. A good fund-raising friend like Cornyn can not only help get you elected/re-elected, he can help keep the Senate in your party's hands so you can taste at least a little bit of power on Capitol Hill.

If you drill down far enough — and it usually doesn't take long — you'll find that every story like this springs from a question of money. What will Senate Republicans do for spare change, without their longtime friends John Cornyn and (since he's retiring) Mitch McConnell? They could end up in the minority, and guys like Ken Paxton won't raise a dime for them. But he'll post a few mean tweets. We cats PURR.

CRAP (Congressional Republicans Always Punt)

By Sniffles

John Thune and his merry band of spineless Senate enablers were — well, not so merry today. With the entire world throwing up over Benedict Donald's billion-dollar slush fund for Trumpsters who beat cops, their reconciliation bill was stuck. Finally, they just called it a day and went home. (This was after House Republicans put the Iran war powers resolution on ice — they didn't have the votes to kill it.)

Meanwhile, Americans are paying a shit-ton more for gas, groceries, and healthcare, and the GOP — in charge of all branches of the federal government — are doing nothing about any of it. It's not governing by morons — it's complete and utter non-governing. (By morons.)

It's becoming increasingly clear that if you stand up and say no, good stuff happens. Remember, Democrats refused to bend on funding for ICE and border patrol. Eventually, the Republicans buckled and passed Homeland Security funding, thinking they would take care of the rest in reconciliation. Well, it didn't quite turn out that way, did it?

Donald, wanting billions for his silly ballroom and for insurrectionists, has put his party — you know, the one that the media say he has in an "iron grip" — in this terrible bind. And now, we have unhappy Republicans in disarray. Hanging tough pays off. We cats PURR.