Still Kinda The Worst Person

By Zamboni

In case you were wondering whether George W. Bush is still terrible, the answer is yes.

Years ago, we cats dubbed Bush "The Worst Person Who's Ever Lived." He deserved it — aside from PEPFAR, his African AIDS relief initiative, he was singularly destructive: ending stem cell research, brushing off a pre-9/11 PDB about bin Laden, lying the US into the war in Iraq, appointing cretins to the Supreme Court, bungling Hurricane Katrina, etc. The list goes on and on. And then Donald Trump came along and knocked him off his Worst-Person perch. Who'da thunk it?

Bush has faded into an uneventful and generally meaningless retirement. Occasionally he'll show up at events like the opening of the National Museum of African-American History and Culture, hamming it up with Michelle Obama (who for some reason seems to genuinely like him). But as his Republican Party has become Trumpier and Trumpier — and more and more fascistic — Bush has stayed silent.

This is despicable, especially today, when Dr. Anthony Fauci — who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2008 — had to sit and endure insults and accusations from GOP members of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. The hearing was a ridiculous outrage. Go ahead and read about it if you must, but a good summation of it is that Rand Paul, Josh Hawley, Bernie Moreno and the rest all acted like embarrassing dipshits. 

Has George W. Bush ever firmly pushed back against his fellow Republicans on Fauci? Will he come out and say that their abusive behavior today was offensive to all Americans whose lives Fauci helped save during the COVID pandemic? Dream on.

Bush has, to our knowledge, never said boo about any of the damage the Trumpsters are doing. He hasn't seriously protested the cuts to PEPFAR, objected to the platforming of open racists, or opposed the Gestapo-like tactics of ICE (an insult to all the Hispanics who voted for him in 2000 and 2004). He's been quiet about the trashing of the White House and the death blow that Trump recently delivered to his Texas pal John Cornyn. He didn't even get in Trump's face when Donald abused his kid brother back in the 2016 campaign.

What's he afraid of? Is the political future of hapless nephew George P. Bush really that important? How pathetic. We cats HISS.

Tidbits And Cat Treats: Counting The Wins Edition

By Baxter

It might be time to tally up a few recent victories. So put your feet up, pop a cool one and read on.

Lawyer and independent journalist Katie Phang is making life difficult for the Trump DOJ and for Todd Blanche in particular. Phang filed a lawsuit claiming that Blanche's non-cooperation with the Epstein Transparency Act impeded her professional ability to report the news. She's trying to get the courts to force Blanche to comply with the law, and the judge on the case, Emmet Sullivan, seems sympathetic to her cause. He agreed she had standing, and he ordered Blanche to produce the redacted files or explain why he cannot, no later than 3 PM Eastern time on Thursday, July 30. Great job, Katie!

The Warner Bros.-Paramount Skydance merger may not happen. Wouldn't that be loverly?

Republicans in Florida have been desperately trying to push extreme right-wing nutcase James Fishback off the ballot for the gubernatorial primary on August 18. Welp, too bad for them: A circuit court judge has ruled that candidate Jay Collins's claims that Fishback doesn't meet residency requirements were unproven. Fishback stays on. Gee, Trumpsters can't succeed anywhere in court, can they?

Lots of reassuring stories are surfacing about people rescuing cats, dogs, horses, and even hedgehogs from the fires in France and Spain. And aid workers are, believe it or not, finding pets who survived the Venezuelan earthquake, a whole month later. Those amazing animals!

Finally, Benedict Donald tried to rally what's left of the campaign faithful in Michigan today. From the coverage, it looks like his performance was weak, his speech rambling, and the crowd tepid. As if that weren't special enough, some fabulous dude shouted "Pedophile protector!" at him. We cats love it, and we PURR.

All Fouled Up

By Sniffles

When we look back on the nightmare that was Trump 2.0, we'll be grateful for their incompetence.

There are too many examples of Trump ineptitude to cite, so let's just focus on the one from this past Thursday, when federal prosecutors were embarrassed into withdrawing the subpoenas they inflicted on three New York Times reporters for writing about Trump's Air Force One clusterfuck. Here's hoping that the attorneys involved get referred for disciplinary action and/or disbarment.

The Trumpsters also are still hell-bent on bringing ridiculous charges like the ones against David Hearn for allegedly vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. It's idiotic — the Sandwich Guy case all over again. Are we really doing this? Yes, apparently we are.

We can also be thankful that the White House staff was stupid enough to advise Benedict Donald to speak at last night's White House Correspondents Dinner, which its organizers really need to rethink, by the way. The event has long outlived its usefulness — but in the meantime, how cringey was it that Trump tried to joke his way through a mean-spirited and pointless hour-long speech to dead silence? The attendees should have stood up and walked out, but making Donald endure endless minutes of flop-sweat does have its appeal.

Nevertheless, the hell with all of them: Trump, the worst person to have ever walked the face of the earth, and the inside-the-Beltway journalists who enable him. They are equally despicable. We cats HISS.

Making America Explode In Diarrhea

By Hubie and Bertie

In case you were poised to celebrate the "IT'S FINALLY HAPPENED" event — and you all know what that means — please be informed that the video of Benedict Donald collapsing at the open door of the Presidential limo today is AI. Sorry, kids. (And if you think "IT'S FINALLY HAPPENED" referred to LeBron James: He just signed with the Philadelphia 76ers. Josh Shapiro is very happy.)

This is how the news unrolls these days. You really have to be on your toes when it comes to discerning real from fake. Sadly, in a time when most people fail a basic citizenship test, we don't have a lot of confidence that consumers of current events can tell the truth from lies. Still, the Democrats have an 11-point lead on the general Congressional ballot, so things can't be all bad, right?

On the bad side, the Trumpsters have clearly destroyed public health. Or at least they're working at it. Measles cases are the highest they've been since 2000, and the cyclosporiasis outbreak keeps getting worse. It's expanded to nine states, and even though New York is not one of them, we cats are avoiding salads for the foreseeable future. What we don't like is that Taylor Farms, a likely cyclosporiasis source whose CEO is a big Trump donor, reportedly begged the White House for a delay in implementing a recall. Are we surprised? Will anyone tell the Trumpsters? Because Fox News won't.

This administration doesn't give a damn about you and your family — not your grocery bills or the price you pay at the pump, but also, and most importantly, your health. They've driven the cost of coverage into the stratosphere, and have cut back on the regulations that protect us from malign actors like Taylor Farms. There's a reason we Democrats are in favor of keeping government on the backs of corporations — it's because we support the well-being of the American public. We cats HISS.

Oliver! 1934-2026

By Hubie and Bertie

This is not a music blog, but we cats would be remiss if we didn't note the passing today of the great Oliver Jones, Montreal jazz pianist, composer, and arranger.

He was taught piano by Oscar Peterson's sister. And he learned it well — Jones's touch on the keyboard was so delicate and beautiful that it was recognizable to those with a sensitive ear. We flatter ourselves that we could pick him out on a jazz recording, if we didn't already know.

Jones was born in Montreal's Little Burgundy neighborhood. Murals honoring him already abound there. We hope that city flags fly at half-staff, and that the lights at Place des Arts and other downtown locations dim in his honor. It's the least Montreal can do. We cats PURR.

The Show That Should Not Go On

By Miss Kubelik

Remember those subpoenas that Todd Blanche and the Department of Justice sent to New York Times reporters and their families? As Gilda Radner would say, never mind. They've been withdrawn.

That's because US District Judge Arun Subramanian raked prosecutors over the coals today, telling them that if they didn't take the subpoenas back, he would quash them. Team Blanche bleated and moaned for an hour or so, but finally cried uncle and withdrew.

The Times's sin? Reporting on a matter of national security. That is, that Trump had been flying around on a Qatari "Air Force One" that was seriously lacking in defensive capabilities. Don't get us wrong — we couldn't care less about Benedict Donald's safety and well-being. We just believe that the President of the United States should be protected when he flies. It's the patriotic way to be. 

And clearly, the Trumpsters agreed, because they quickly flew the old, non-Qatari Air Force One overseas to fetch Trump back from his foreign travels, making up a lame story about how "the troops" wanted to see the new jet, and you know, he just couldn't deny them. What a crock. And now, Trump says the Qatari jet is going to be "maxed out." What, like a credit card? We don't get it.

Anyway. It's still ironic that the DOJ took such umbrage, subpoenaing not only the Times journalists but their spouses. Richard Nixon and John Mitchell must be spinning in hell in jealousy. And please note that the person who signed the subpoenas was Manhattan US Attorney Jay Clayton — you know, that DNI nominee whom Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff destroyed in a hearing last week?

Sickeningly, it appears that the "replacement" White House Correspondents Dinner, which was arranged after the original one erupted in gunfire or something, is still set for tomorrow night, with Benedict Donald as the "honored guest." God help us. One WHCD a year is bad enough, but two — and for someone like Trump? Ugh.

A group of 500 journalists has sent a letter to the Correspondents Association, urging everyone to get into Donald's face and defend press freedom, and not just spend the dinner twiddling their forks and pretending that Trump is normal. Yeah, like that will happen. The dinner is being run by Weijia Jang, White House correspondent for — wait for it — CBS News, so it's unlikely that she'll want to annoy her boss, the notoriously Donald-friendly Bari Weiss.

The rescheduled White House Correspondents Dinner, like the DOJ New York Times subpoenas, is a deception and a Trump-era sham. We cats won't be watching, and we HISS.

(IMAGE: The scene at the WHCD in April. Looks like fun, doesn't it?)

Photobomb

IYKYK. We cats PURR.

MAGAts In A Muddle

By Zamboni

Republicans are quickly appropriating the tired old saw, "Democrats in disarray." But do folks in the media realize it? Or are they just unwilling to tell the truth about the GOP because it isn't alliterative?

If Democrats are in disarray, please explain why they were able to resolve a huge mess in Maine in less than two weeks. (Troy Jackson sewed up Graham Platner's former Senate nomination over the weekend, as potential challengers Nirav Shah, Shenna Bellows, Jordan Wood, and Dan Kleban dropped out.)

And if Republicans are not in disarray, how do you excuse what's going on in South Carolina? 

Lindsey Graham suddenly dies on July 11, and Benedict Donald commands the Governor to appoint Graham's sister, an inexperienced, toothless puppet. Less than a week later, Trump instructs her to not just serve as caretaker in the seat but run for a full term. But two already-announced Trump loyalists are refusing to drop their bids. In fact, they may be joined tomorrow (it's filing day) by local luminaries like Mark "Appalachian Trail" Sanford and Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette. 

Right, everything is going to plan here (not).

But it's our party that's the mess? We cats HISS.

Andrew Tate's "Fashion Don't." Trump's "Get The Hook" Moment.

By Baxter

You know it's a pretty okay weekend when these two things happen:

Andrew and Tristan Tate were arrested in Miami yesterday on new charges of rape, sex trafficking, and possession of child pornography. Decent people everywhere are rooting for their extradition to the UK. Meanwhile, social media relentlessly mocked Andrew's attire.

As if that weren't delicious enough, Spain won the World Cup today, denying Donald Trump an opportunity to present the Cup to the country of one of his favorite dictators. Then, "when the US president and Gianni Infantino came on to the field for the presentation after Spain clinched victory, boos rang out around the stadium," The Guardian said. "The White House pool report said that ambient crowd noise, which had been sitting at approximately 78 decibels before their introduction, rose to 84 decibels when Trump entered the field.

"Then, after Trump presented Spain with the World Cup trophy, he attempted to stand with the team at the side of the podium as they celebrated before Infantino quietly ushered him away." We cats PURR.

Tweets We Wish We'd Written

Oh, this is so good. We cats PURR.

Smoke Gets In Our Eyes

By Sniffles

Before we get into tonight's topic, let's just back up one second to observe that wildfires are burning not just in Ontario, but in Michigan, too. The problem is that it's kind of hard to tell Canadian wildfire smoke from American wildfire smoke. But Benedict Donald doesn't care.

"The United States is being unnecessarily invaded by filthy, polluted, and unhealthy air," Trump bleated (when he wasn't indulging in endless whines about the 2020 election — which means we now should mention that NBC, ABC, and CNN declined to air him last night).

Trump has latched on to the wildfires as another excuse to threaten tariffs against our Neighbor to the North. Canadians must be awfully tired of all this. After all, they're dealing with the smoke, too (see above). Let's just say that, if they're drowning their sorrows in their air-conditioned homes, they're not doing it with American spirits and wines — since Trump has given them absolutely no reason to abandon their boycotts of US goods.

Prime Minister Mark Carney, who's been running rings around Benedict Donald recently on trade matters, had a mild but firm response to Washington's bluster. "Climate change is the responsibility of everyone," he said, after drily noting that the US has reduced its investment in clean energy. "Truly everyone — including the United States."

Donald is looking awfully tired and limp these days. During his little-watched "election fraud" speech last night, he sounded raspy and unfocused, as if he'd spent an afternoon breathing in Ontario smoke. People have speculated that his lungs are filling with fluid from CHF. We have no idea, but we're less worried about Trump than about his true-believers who will try to enforce his fascism after he is gone.

It'll take a lot to recover from the damage of Trump 2.0, but it will all start this November. In the words of Joyce White Vance, "Your vote matters. Prepare to do whatever it takes this fall to cast it. Let’s put a stop to the lies once and for all." We cats PURR.

(PHOTO: Evan Buhler, Montreal Gazette)

Target: Jon (And You)

By Hubie and Bertie

So Trump is speaking to the nation tomorrow night about — what, exactly? Iran? Greenland? Election security? A "potpourri"? We have no idea. But rumor has it that he's going to "reveal declassified intelligence" on 2020 "election fraud" in Georgia, and call duly elected US Senators Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff "illegitimate."

This will be Trump's newest salvo in his war against the 2026 midterms, which he knows he's going to lose. But it's not going to work, for lots of reasons. One, for us, sticks out.

First, for a little refresher course, let's step back a few years to the resignation of Georgia Senator Johnny Isakson, who stepped down in late 2019 due to health reasons. Governor Brian Kemp then appointed Kelly Loeffler to serve the remainder of Isakson's term. Loeffler was an ineffective doofus who was primarily known for her good hair. (She's head of the SBA now, and is currently stinking up the place with her performance there, too, as you'd expect.)

Anyway, Raphael Warnock beat Loeffler in the special election runoff on January 5, 2021 — the same day that Jon Ossoff beat Georgia's other Senator, David Perdue. That election flipped the Senate to the Democrats. (And we all know what happened on January 6.)

The thing is, though, after that, Warnock ran for a full term in 2022, and he won — so how by any logic could he possibly be "illegitimate"? It also means he won't be up for re-election again until 2028. By our way of thinking, then, Trump's targeting of Warnock and Ossoff is really mostly about Ossoff, who is on the ballot this fall. 

Despite Kellyanne Conway's mocking tweet back in 2017, Trump and the Republicans are scared of Ossoff — big time. And Ossoff's masterful performance during the Jay Clayton/DNI hearing today will only increase their fear (that, and the margin by which Ossoff leads the hapless, election-denying fool Mike Collins in recent polls).

Here's a swell idea that applies to both Georgia Senators: The moment Trump starts speaking tomorrow night, go to Ossoff's site (and Warnock's site) and send each of them a few bucks. Make a statement. Tell Trump you won't let him deny Georgians' votes — and yours. We cats PURR.

Cartography

  

The photo that Benedict Donald shared earlier on social media was AI-generated, and, as you can imagine, ridiculous. We won't repost it here, but it involved a nonexistent meeting in the Oval Office and a silly map. In short, he's back on that annexation train again, which means Jon Ossoff is right: Trump is spiraling. Here's a map that's much more accurate. We cats PURR.

Keep Cool

Benedict Donald is descending into new levels of madness (how scared is he of Warnock and Ossoff?), but you don't have to care. It's too hot, anyway. So put the phone down, fix a cold drink, and put on some music. The news will still be there when you get back. We cats PURR.

Let The Combat Begin

By Miss Kubelik

One thing is certain: There is no shortage of awful people in South Carolina jockeying for Lindsey Graham's Senate seat.

Nancy Mace, surely, has been working the phones since midnight. Others in the mix include Pamela Evette, Nikki Haley, Joe Wilson, Ralph Norman, Russell Fry... the list goes on. All possibilities. All gross.

The good news is that they are so many, because the best outcome would be a knock-'em-sock-'em, dirty-double-crossing cat fight of a special primary that will kick off with filing day, July 21. The primary itself could take place in mid-August. Then we'll see what happens on Election Day, November 3.

Meanwhile, the governor will no doubt appoint a fill-in Senator, who could then also compete in the primary, or just be a caretaker until whoever wins in November takes over. We don't care — as long as the candidates rip each other to shreds over the next few weeks.

One thing we don't want is for Benedict Donald to put his thumb on the scale and clear the field. But even if he does that (and he's threatening to), the Democratic candidate, Dr. Annie Andrews, would be handed an excellent talking point — something like "First, Republicans try to pick their voters by gerrymandering. Now, they're trying to pick South Carolina's possible next Senator. Dictator Donald is denying you a choice." (Team Andrews, please wordsmith it.)

Speaking of Dr. Andrews, today would be an excellent day to send her a campaign contribution. Do it for Lindsey! We cats PURR.

(IMAGE: This Lindsey Laff is being shared on social media and is AI-generated. As for the newspaper... well, IYKYK. We cats PURR.)

Time For Some Serious Bunny Butt

By Zamboni

The "sudden passing" of Lady Lindsey Graham calls for some down-the-rabbit-hole time, folks. Get ready.

For all his (many) faults, Graham was a firm supporter of Ukraine, and often served as the designated hoser-down on Benedict Donald's love for Putin (and contempt for Zelenskyy). In fact, he had just gotten back from Ukraine yesterday — Margaret Brennan of CBS reports that she spoke to him on Friday before he left Kyiv.

"He was excited to share the news that the Trump White House had finally given him the green light for Congress to move his long-sought bill to put significant financial penalties on Russia by punishing buyers of Russian oil," Brennan said. Hmmm... that doesn't sound like something Vlad would like, does it?

Now, check out this tweet by Sir William Browder, author of the Magnitsky Act.

"Not to be a conspiracy theorist," he said, "but Lindsey Graham was the leading driver of the devastating sanctions bill against Russia... he had just returned from Ukraine, where it's not unknown for Russian agents to operate. Russians are expert at administration of poisons that look like heart attacks. All tests should be done immediately to rule out foul play. I've seen enough Russian-related suspicious deaths to know this is the only course of action."

Oh, Bill, do please indulge in conspiracies. We're already awash in them with Mitch McConnell. (And here's the kicker: If Putin decided to off Lindsey, that means Benedict Donald knew. Prove us wrong.)

With Lindsey, as with Mitch, social media is the place to be for ghoulish grins today. MAGA might be appalled, but their behavior is hardly exemplary (see: Trump's tweet on the death of Robert Mueller), and besides, it's so much fun to mock the newly deceased when it's someone like Graham. As the old saying goes, the dead should make it harder for us to speak ill of them. Stay tuned for our comments on the South Carolina Senate race. In the meantime, we cats PURR.

Mitch, Still Missing

By Baxter

It's been a month, and still no explanation from Mitch McConnell's Senate office or from Senate Republicans about his current medical condition and his prolonged absence from Capitol Hill. And since we have a yawning vacuum, people (especially online) have rushed to fill it. This is no way to run a railroad.

We couldn't care less about Mitch McConnell, but we do care about transparency. Is this a dry run for the day that Benedict Donald checks out? Surely this White House would never, ever, be honest with the American people if Trump keeled over one night. We cats HISS.

(IMAGE: Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Tidbits And Cat Treats: Mitch, Est-il Mort? Edition

By Sniffles

It's been a really weird week, but there's much to feel positive about (despite what the MSM may be feeding you). Here are a few reasons why we cats are feeling optimistic in the wilting summer weather.

Despite his threats to wait until 5 PM on Monday, Graham Platner has formally withdrawn from the Maine Senate race today. For those of us used to a measure of graciousness from politicians (and yes, we realize that was a long time ago, or, at least, prior to Trump), this was a breath-exhale moment. The last thing we needed was for Platner to act like an entitled white Bernie Bro, and we're glad he didn't.

So the good Democrats of Maine can get on with nominating a new candidate to run against Susan Collins. As long as the special convention doesn't turn out to be a bloodbath, we cats think this is a good thing. It can only help gin up media coverage and enthusiasm — and of course we know now that Team Collins is disappointed (or is that "concerned"?) that they won't have the checkered Platner to run against.

The Cook Political Report updated its Governor Ratings to label four currently held GOP-held seats — Ohio, Nevada, Georgia, and Iowa — as toss-ups. (Of the four, Fox News polling has Keisha Lance Bottoms leading 52-47 in Georgia, Rob Sand leading 53-44 in Iowa, and Amy Acton leading Vivek Ramaswamy 50-49 in Ohio. The Cook ratings are subscriber-only, or we'd link to them, sorry about that.)

Meanwhile, Benedict Donald is refusing to sign the housing bill — allowing it to become law without his signature at midnight, and without any of the hoopla that Republicans had hoped would buy them good feelings with the voters come November. Sad!

The Gordie Howe Bridge between Detroit and Windsor is set to finally open July 27, after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney — the newly acknowledged leader of the free world by no less than The Wall Street Journal — got Team Trump to agree to a deal on toll revenues. Wow, folks, this is a really beautiful bridge (see above).

Finally, OMG, L'Affaire Mitch. Est-ce-qu'il est mort, ou vivant?

Nobody seems to know. What we can report per our research is that according to DC law, the next of kin (or designated surrogate) does not have to be physically present at the bedside to direct that life support be withdrawn. However, a witness must be there with the healthcare provider when the direction is given. So, Elaine Chao's presence is not required, but a witness's is? Film at eleven.

Not much is certain right now, except for this: 1) McConnell's staff is stonewalling. 2) Senate Republicans who say they've talked to Mitch are lying. 3) The EMT team rolled him into the ambulance with "no urgency." Live your life in such a way that all this doesn't happen to you, and that people don't make fun of you when it does. We cats HISS.

The View From The Other Side

"Susan Collins's fight to hold onto her seat just got messier.

"Republicans had welcomed Graham Platner as a foil to Collins, who is trying to win a sixth Senate term in a state that voted for Kamala Harris in 2024. But now, while Maine Democrats prepare for an intense two-week sprint to replace Platner, Collins's team will have to start from scratch in their strategy against a new nominee — who may not be known until close to the party's July 27 deadline to declare one.

"And according to a person familiar with the campaign's thinking, Collins's team had viewed Platner as a uniquely vulnerable opponent whose personal controversies could help offset a big challenge in 2026: running as a Republican in the era of President Donald Trump.

"Polling published in late June showed Collins and Platner in an extremely close race.

"'She can certainly win, but they didn’t want to change candidates,' the person familiar with the campaign's thinking said. 'The stuff we already knew about Platner was going to propel Collins to overcome the Trump anchor. Now it’s going to be a Democrat with a cleaner record, presumably.'"

—POLITICO, July 9, 2026

Time To Show Maine Some Love

Graham Platner has (finally) dropped out of the Maine Senate race.

Feeling relief mixed with rage? Here's how you can send Platner a message: Make a contribution to the Maine Democratic Party. They'll be holding a special nominating convention over the next couple of weeks and could use the support. Click here. We cats PURR.

PS: While you're there, you can also sign up for the Muskie Lobster Bake on July 19! We cats PURR again.