"'I was hesitant in that, if it worked, it might be a difficult image to shake off." —Tim Curry
—The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library
By Baxter
So this is the best funeral urn we've ever seen. Jazz legend Oliver Jones was honored with a public viewing at Montreal's Hall of Honor yesterday, and if we cats had been in town, we would have tried to attend.
Jones's touch on the keyboard was special and gentle — hard to describe. You just have to listen to it. He championed other jazz musicians' careers, as Oscar Peterson and Daisy Peterson Sweeney championed his. And he knew that the best way to keep jazz going was to nurture up-and-coming talent.
It was good to see Montreal's mayor attend Jones's tribute at City Hall, because he was truly a cultural icon of a vibrant, international metropolis. Oliver, your gift will live forever. We cats PURR.
(IMAGES: Evan Buhler, Montreal Gazette)
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.
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.
You probably don't know Jeremy Larner, who died a few weeks ago. But he wrote one of the best — if not the best — political screenplays of all time. And even though he wrote it back in 1972, it's barely dated. (Young women in miniskirts and straw boaters no longer dance in kick lines at campaign rallies, thank goodness.) That must mean the foibles and outrages of American politics are still true. In fact, they're worse. We cats PURR at Larner for a job well done, and HISS at the rest.
Our own country shooting us in the back is not just brutality; it's jarring betrayal; not enforcement, but execution. A message: Love your people & you will die. Yet our greatest threat isn't the outsiders among us, but those among us who never look within.
Fear not those without papers, but those without conscience. Know that to care intensively, united, is to carry both the pain-dark horror for today & a profound, daring hope for tomorrow.
We can feel we have nothing to give, & still belove this world waiting, trembling to change. If we cannot find words, may we find the will; if we ever lose hope, may we never lose our humanity.
The only undying thing is mercy, the courage to open ourselves like doors, hug our neighbor, & save one more bright, impossible life.
—For Alex Jeffrey Pretti, Murdered by ICE January 24, 2026
by Amanda Gorman
But this isn't over. We cats are waiting for the next awful thing to happen. Meanwhile, we HISS and PURR at the same time.
Since we cats last posted, Benedict Donald's masked J6 cosplayers have murdered another Minnesotan. The Trumpsters wasted no time trashing the reputation of the victim, VA nurse Alex Pretti. And Pam Bondi went so far as to send an extortion letter to Governor Tim Walz, saying ICE would leave his state if he'd hand over his voter-roll database, among other ridiculous demands. Fat chance, Pamela Jo.
But other than those predictable Trumpy outrages, things are developing a little differently this time.
It's not just that more than 100 House Democrats have called for Kristi Noem's impeachment — or that the government funding bill, just passed by the House and which includes funding for DHS and ICE, appears to be DOA in the Senate. And it's not just that former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have both issued statements calling for everyone to stand up for American democracy. Now, a lot of folks from the other side of the aisle have joined the chorus, too.
Republicans like Governor Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma and Governor Phil Scott of Vermont, Senator Pete Ricketts (a huge Donald fan) and his colleagues Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, Thom Tillis and Bill Cassidy — plus Representatives James Comer (House Oversight committee chair!), Andrew Gabarino (Homeland Security committee chair!), Michael McFaul of Texas, and Thomas Massie of Kentucky — have all, in the wake of the Pretti killing, peeled away from Trump.
Those are the Republicans we've been able to ID so far. We expect there will be more — heck, even the Gun Owners of America have stepped up to the plate. When you've lost the 2A crowd, you're losing.
Is Donald worried? He should be, but he's too busy tweeting about his ballroom and holding a command screening at what's left of the White House of the absurd new documentary about Moose & Squirrel (which is about the lay a big egg at the box office). You can only assume that President-In-All-But-Name Stephen Miller is calling the shots. And it looks like they may — may — be starting to fold. The Wall Street Journal reports that Trump suddenly seems willing to fold his tent in Minneapolis. "At some point we will leave," he said.
That's TACO for you. But why did two Minnesotans have to die? Couldn't Republicans have started pushing back earlier, and maybe have saved some lives? We cats are disgusted, and we HISS.
"I refuse to stay silent while Secretary Noem breaks the rule of law and terrorizes our communities. I am introducing Articles of Impeachment against her... From Chicago to Charlotte to Los Angeles to Minneapolis, Secretary Noem is violating the Constitution while ruining — and ending — lives, and separating families. It’s one thing to be incompetent and dangerous, but it’s impeachable to break the rule of law. I told my constituents and Chicagoans that I would fight against Secretary Noem’s agenda. This is me fighting back." —Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL)
"Maybe we're at their McCarthy moment. Do you have no decency? We have someone dead in their car for no reason whatsoever." —Governor Tim Walz (D-MN)
"I have a message for ICE. Get the fuck out of Minneapolis." —Mayor Jacob Frey (D-Minneapolis)
"I await the day you're offered a cigarette and a blindfold." —Rick Wilson on Twitter, to Stephen Miller
Has Benedict Donald finally gone too far? Maybe.
His deranged (and ultimately ridiculous) tweet about the murders of Rob and Michele Reiner has attracted Republican denunciations, and they may not be done yet. Representative Thomas Massie said, "I challenge anyone to defend it." Marjorie Taylor Greene said the killings were "a family tragedy, not about politics or personal enemies." Even silly election fraudster Jenna Ellis said, "A man and his wife were murdered last night. This is NOT the appropriate response."
And then there's New York Congressman Mike Lawler, who must be shaking in his boots about his re-election chances next year: "This statement is wrong. Regardless of one's political views, no one should be subjected to violence, let alone at the hands of their own son."
Hey, New York Republicans, what do your 2026 gubernatorial candidates have to say about Donald's repellent drivel? Apparently, not much.
We expect Elise Stefanik and Bruce Blakeman will try to avoid this shitshow at all costs — not because Trump has crossed a line with them but because they fear any condemnation of Trump's decomposing psyche will cost them dearly in the primary endorsement sweepstakes.
We've all been warned that the absurd MAGA outpourings and accusations after the shooting of Charlie Kirk will pale in comparison to what the Trumpsters will do when Donald himself finally dies. But like Rick Wilson, the majority of Americans may very well find their better angels escaping them. Rob Reiner's films are loved by people on both sides of the aisle — just ask Ted Cruz. We cats HISS.
