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.