Let The Games Begin

By Hubie and Bertie

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

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

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

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

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

Check, Check, And Recheck Your Registration

By Baxter

It's almost Labor Day, which marks what used to be the official start of the fall campaign season, when TV ads would start airing and rallies and events would really begin to crank up.

Everything is different now — campaigns know no start and no end. But we're entering the meaty part of the Desperate Donald Danger Zone.

The Trumpsters and Republicans know they're deep in dirtied cat litter for the midterms and beyond. Voters are furious about gas and grocery prices, the needless war in Iran, the neglect of our soldiers and sailors, the snatching of innocent people off the streets, and the raping of our national parks. Republican candidates across the country are weak, lazy, and/or bad campaigners (looking at you, Ken Paxton), and they're trying to fend off challenges from strong, confident Democrats. Turnout for the primaries and special elections since Trump started wrecking the country has soared. Just about the only thing the GOP has in its favor is its war chest, but even money can't beat determined voters (just ask Elon Musk about that Supreme Court race in Wisconsin).

So, they've ratcheted up their suppression tactics — remove mail-in voting, or drop-boxes where they can't erase it. Threaten to put ICE at polling places. And now comes this news from Texas: More than one million people on the voter rolls have been "suspended."

"The designation, which means that the voter's county doesn’t know their address or thinks they’ve moved, doesn’t stop people from voting in November’s midterm elections, but it does make the process more difficult," The New Republic explains. "If a voter shows up on Election Day and their registration is suspended, they have to fill out a statement of residenc” form, and if they’ve moved to a new county, they’ll either be required to vote in their old one or be given a provisional ballot."

Our first reaction was, wow, Gregg Abbott must really be worried. But this has to be stopped.

Texans, you have until October 5 to check your registration and correct it if there are any problems. Visit VoteTexas.gov, call 800-252-VOTE, or email elections@sos.texas.gov today.

And everybody else? Check your registration anyway, even if you live in a blue state, and especially if you live in a red one. And keep checking, up until the deadline in your state to register for the midterms. Click here. We cats HISS and PURR at the same time.

Tidbits And Cat Treats: 2026 Electoral Update Edition

By Sniffles

We cats are headed to Quebec tomorrow, and we hope they let us in. (KIDDING — of course they will, but we wouldn't blame them if they were a bit surly. If they are, we'll just speak French with a good accent.)

Meanwhile, we have a few observations about elections around the US of A.

South Carolina — It was a little surprising, after her silly gaffe the other night, that the Republican Senate runoff was called pretty early for Darline Nordone (we refuse to call her Graham). But while the MSM is portraying her victory as a Benedict Donald triumph, we're not convinced. Trump had to haul his fat ass down to Myrtle Beach to campaign for her, and — although we know the Republicans have more money than God — they still had to spend almost a million dollars on a GOTV phone bank. In South Carolina! Oh, Mary, please.

By the way, if you're ready to send some love to Democratic candidate Dr. Annie Andrews, click here.

Michigan — Abdul El-Sayed would not have been our choice for Senate nominee for Gary Peters's seat, but too bad, he won. We've also been encouraged by the way he's bringing it to Trump and the Republicans. First, his relentless focus on Benedict Donald is very smart. But also, his recent appearance on Fox "News" with Jesse Watters has received universally good reviews. Even Watters himself admitted he liked him. What's not to like about a guy who asks if you're circumcised?

Here's a link to El-Sayed's website if you're of a mind to contribute.

Texas — All righty then, we all know that James Talarico is running rings around Ken Paxton, raising a ton of money (which he'll need, by the way), while Paxton is vacationing in the UK and running a lackluster campaign. But other things are happening in Texas, too. Sabato's Crystal Ball has changed the governor's race from "Safe Republican" to "Likely Republican," mostly because of Democratic energy and voters' potential weariness with their multi-term guv. But get a load of TX-15.

That's a Trumpy district — plus-18 in 2024 — but the Democrat, Tejano music star Bobby Pulido, is leading incumbent Republican Monica De La Cruz by five points. This is South Texas, folks. Sabato's Crystal Ball has moved the race from "Leans Republican" to "Toss-Up."

Exciting! You can send Bobby some support by clicking here.

These are just three races around the country where Republicans are wringing their hands and in some cases spending unexpected money. Thanks to Trump, the GOP has similar dilemmas in places like Ohio, Nebraska, Kansas, Alaska, Virginia, Iowa, Maine... the list goes on. We'll keep you updated, but right now, going into Labor Day weekend soon, we're liking where the Democrats are. We cats PURR.

The Method Behind The Mention

By Hubie and Bertie

We're not trying to turn this into a Jon Ossoff blog, honest! But the Senator from Georgia keeps popping up in the headlines — at least until today's primary results start rolling in.

This is completely okay, by the way. Ossoff is so easy on the eyes that it's totes cool to have more opportunities to post more photos of him. And the fact that he's driving the Trumpsters crazy is a real bonus.

According to Rick Wilson, Ossoff's "Natalie" speech on Sunday "put the White House into a screaming panic." Adam Kinzinger observed that Team Donald was "big maddddd." The right-wing media have kept up the rending of garments and gnashing of teeth — maybe because Ossoff has followed up by making the rounds on TV to expound further on his now-famous Natalie Name-Check. (Seems like kind of an overreaction to us, but then, everything is a veiled confession with these folks.)

People are speculating that Ossoff is laying the groundwork for a 2028 run for President. But as we (and he) have pointed out before, November 2026 and his Senate re-election come first.

Meanwhile, though, we think that 2028 aside, Ossoff's "Natalie" comment was brilliant for another reason: It was the way to break through the flooded zone and get the attention of low-information voters who may not realize how much Benedict Donald has corrupted and defiled the Presidency — and how much that corruption and defilement endangers the country. Mention a young, attractive blonde, and people will notice. Nice going, Senator. We cats PURR.

Iran Marks Its Calendar For 2029

 (IMAGE: Theo Moudakis, The Toronto Star)

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)

Peace, Not Apartheid

By Hubie and Bertie

Full disclosure: We cats are white. And we couldn't care less about the prediction that by 2045, the United States will become a minority-majority country. Are we falling down on the job as the dominant caste? Should we be defending our whiteness more?

Nah. In fact, total nah.

Who cares about that crap? In a democracy like America claims to be, racial imbalances are not supposed to matter, right? But — oh! Maybe we're not really a democracy, or white folks wouldn't be so worried about being outnumbered. Is that it? Yep, that's probably it.

There's always been a gap between what the US stands for and what it really is. We all know this. Thomas Jefferson may have written that famous line about everybody being created equal, but he was an enslaver, and his definition also didn't include non-property-owners, or Indigenous people, or women. But his words are immortal — so we've spent the last 250 years trying to live up to them. Sometimes we've done well. Most often, we haven't. It's a continuing struggle.

Even knowing this, though, it's been mighty dispiriting to see the developments over the last week: the Supreme Court obliterating the Voting Rights Act, the Southern states' rush to gerrymander Black people out of existence, and Virginia's top court tossing the Commonwealth's new map out on a technicality.

The Republicans' goal is clear. They're freaked out about 2045, so they're trying to make America a 21st-century version of apartheid South Africa, through draconian immigration enforcement and voter suppression. To see what they're doing in Tennessee, as just one example, is wildly depressing. But we can't believe they'll be successful in the long term.

First, the political and economic forces against the GOP in 2026 are just too strong to overcome. In a wave election, all the gerrymandering and suppressing in the world still won't be able to cancel out the will of the voters. (Important message here: Let's make it a wave, everybody. It doesn't happen without us.)

Second, the United States of America is a far more diverse country than apartheid South Africa ever was. We are too big and too cumbersome for minority rule to be effectively enforced (apartheid South Africa was, at most, 40 million people, with Black Africans accounting for 75 percent, while the current population of the US is 340 million, with 50 million identifying as Black). Still, the racist Trumpsters will try for it. But we have to believe most people in the US are not okay with segregation. Paws crossed.

We have our marching orders. The states will continue to wrangle over redistricting, but we have to keep registering people and getting out the vote in numbers like we've never seen before. We must have that wave election — not just to recapture the House, but also the Senate.

And once we do manage to get back into control, we have to follow South Africa's example in one respect: Hold a Truth & Reconciliation Commission. Unless we grapple with our racist, enslaving past, and are willing to extend the American dream of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness to all people, we'll still fall short of the ideal that the Founders envisioned. We cats HISS and PURR at the same time.

(IMAGE: Nicole Hester, The Tennessean)

Sir David At 100

By Miss Kubelik

On this, the eve of naturalist Sir David Attenborough's centenary — which, we're happy to say, he's with us to celebrate — we cats are in search of some gentler news.

So what better opportunity to revisit his memorable walk through the Buckingham Palace gardens with Queen Elizabeth in 2018?

You have to think that the Queen's interest in global warming was encouraged by her son Charles, but also by her keen sense of succeeding generations and what issues and challenges they will face. (The impending collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation is our latest freakout, not to mention the 2026 El Niño, which promises to wreak some additional havoc this year.)

"I won't be here then," the Queen said, quite sensibly, eight years ago. But the rest of us are, at least for now. And in spite of everything, the United States is still the country the world looks to on existential issues like climate change. We have to lead on it, which means that we have to vote all these Trumpsters and Republicans out of office — this year, in 2028, and beyond. Let's get working, everyone. In the meantime, happy birthday, Sir David. You inspire us all. We cats PURR.

De Adder Du Jour

(IMAGE: Michael de Adder, deadder.net) 

Who's In Disarray? (Hint: It's Not Us.)

By Hubie and Bertie

Governor Ron DeSantis may have unveiled his Florida gerrymander map, but one of its biggest critics, eight-term GOP Representative Daniel Webster, has just announced his retirement from Congress. Gee. When he was first elected, Webster was one of the craziest members of the Republican caucus. Now, he seems like one of the saner ones. That's what 25 years of gerrymandering have wrought.

However, the jury is out on the fate of DeSantis's map. Sabato's Crystal Ball rates at least one of the newly proposed GOP pickups as a toss-up, and an additional two as merely Leans Republican, throwing the whole rosy scenario into uncertainty. In short, be careful what you wish for — especially in a dicey year for Republicans like 2026.

Meanwhile, down in Texas — the seat of all these silly mid-decade reapportionment shenanigans — Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico is beating both John Cornyn and Ken Paxton in head-to-head match-ups in the polls. That's fun in and of itself, but check out Talarico's eye-popping margins among Independent and self-described moderate voters: He's leading by more than 20 points with Independents, and by more than 40 with moderates.

Holy smokes! If we were Republican, we'd be freaking out right now, because the GOP primary is doing absolutely nothing to help either Cornyn or Paxton with either group. Delicious!

We Democrats have been throwing money at Texas for years now, with nothing to show for it. If you're tempted to send Talarico a contribution, we won't stop you. But bear in mind, he's been a fundraising juggernaut. Maybe spread your love around to other Democratic candidates in Ohio, North Carolina, Alaska, Michigan, New Hampshire, and Georgia right now? Then we'll get back to you. We cats PURR.

The Bat Man Speaks, Trump TACOs

By Miss Kubelik

Pope Leo may not have taken off after Benedict Donald with a baseball bat today, but when he spoke out against Trump's Iran threats, he might as well have. Leo knocked it out of the park, and as we all now know, Trump caved. Sadly, the farce will start all over again in two weeks.

This is why we try our damndest to limit our exposure to Donald Trump. He's simply not healthy for children and other living things.

We saw a lot of talk on the interwebs today about Congress. Leo himself actually suggested that Americans call their members and Senators to get them to do something. (Did the Capitol switchboard crash? You can only wonder.) We cats mostly lurked on the social platforms, but whenever we got the chance, we reminded tweeters and skeeters that Republicans are in charge of the House and Senate, not us. In Trump's first term, when we had control of the House, we impeached the motherfucker not once but twice. It was Republicans who refused to convict. Which would have prevented him running again.

Meanwhile, we're wondering if Trump's "civilization will die tonight" tweet will have any effect on today's special election in GA-14. The former Congresswoman from that district, Marjorie Taylor Greene, published an absolutely scathing anti-Trump, anti-Iran-war post yesterday. Will that have any effect on the margin? Shawn Harris won't win — but could he come close, and put another scare into the GOP? (Right now, Harris is only three percentage points behind with 40 percent of the vote in.) That would make us cats PURR.

(UPDATE, April 8: Looks like Republican Clay Fuller ended up beating Shawn Harris by 11 points. Less than two years ago, MTG won re-election by 30 points. We hope Harris is willing to run again in November — it'll be fun to make Republicans spend money in a district they should be able to completely take for granted. We cats PURR.)

"Dignity, Always Dignity"

By Zamboni

This uplifting Easter message from Benedict Donald was not the last word from him today. He was seen later at his golf club in Virginia, not exactly looking chipper — but apparently the White House felt they had to produce him in some fashion because of all the Walter Reed rumors flying around. And now he's allegedly going to have a press conference on Monday at 1 PM.

Maybe he'll clear up why he keeps shifting his so-called "deadline" for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz, but that's doubtful, isn't it? (Besides, don't we already kinda know it's all about manipulating the markets?)

It's easy to forget, what with all the (deliberate) chaos, that Trump has delayed that deadline at least five times. And who knows what he's going to say tomorrow? Is he going to give another meaningless Iran ultimatum, or will he announce who won the sweepstakes to be the next Attorney General? Or is the presser just to prove to the world that he's still alive? All we know is, reporters better ask good questions. (Sadly, they probably won't.)

This is all a handy reminder that the Republicans control both houses of Congress, and they could stop this madness any time they wanted to. We cats are disgusted, and we HISS.

Tillis Is Tops (With Caveats)

By Hubie and Bertie

Lots of news in the firehose tonight, but what really stood out for us was Republican Senator Thom Tillis raking puppy killer Kristi Noem over the coals in today's Senate Oversight Committee hearing.

What we really like about it is that Tillis drew a direct line between Noem killing her dog to the lax training of the ICE agents who have detained, abused, and murdered American citizens, in Minnesota and elsewhere. That needed to be done, and was excellent work, Senator! Still, we wish that you and your fellow Republicans would not wait until (like you) you're retiring to call a spade a spade.

Our other question was: Why did Noem come to this Congressional hearing dressed like she was going to a party? Her hair was FOX-News-fluffed-out to the nth degree, she was flashing cleavage, and she was sporting a huge pair of dangling earrings. This is professional? This communicates her dedication to DHS's responsibility to protect Americans' safety? We think not. Please, universe, return us to the days of serious people at the head of serious government agencies, taking Congressional testimony seriously. We cats HISS.

World War Epstein

By Miss Kubelik

Now that the two Worst Persons Who've Ever Lived have plunged us into a war that nobody voted for (not Congress, not us), people are asking: What is the goal? What's the plan? What's the strategy? (Is there one?)

It's kind of hard to tell, since Benedict Donald hasn't troubled himself to speak to the nation about any of this. In fact, he's been under wraps — he must still be recovering from that endless SOTU.

Unfortunately, however, we cats know what the plan is. It's as obvious as the fake-gold gewgaws currently besmirching every surface of the Oval Office: Decapitate the Revolutionary Guard. Suppress the popular cries for democracy. Instead, install the Shah's son Reza Pahlavi as a puppet president. Once in power, Pahlavi will be free to merrily grift and graft in the finest traditions of Donald Trump.

In return, Trump will get:

• Control of the oil fields,
• Control of the other extraction industries like copper and zinc,
• Control of the Iron, steel, and petrochemical industries,
• Thirty-six miles of Persian Gulf coastline for tourist development, plus golf resort opportunities in the interior, and, of course...
• A shiny new Trump Tower on Pahlavi Square in Tehran.

In short, no nation-building here — just corruption on the scale of an entire national economy. And if anyone tries to claim that the Constitution prevents a President from unilaterally deploying the military to build his business empire, there are five to six justices on the Supreme Court who would probably disagree. We cats HISS.

At This Rate, TIME Will Have To Name Jeffrey Epstein Person Of The Year

By Hubie and Bertie

Well, today has been quite the day. The former Prince Andrew, now just plain old Andy Mountbatten-Windsor, celebrated his 66th birthday in the hoosegow after being arrested at the Sandringham Estate for sharing trade secrets with convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

Did we really just write that? Sandringham is the royal property where the much-admired King George VI died in 1952. But this morning it was crawling with plainclothes cops who were going through Andrew's desk cubbies, dresser drawers, and goodness knows where else. Whew, it's a good thing that Andrew's sister Princess Anne is a patron of the Butler Trust — a charitable organization that supports the humane operations of UK prisons. (Although weirdly, Anne went through with a previously scheduled royal visit today to a prison in Leeds. Awkward!)

Anyone looking for Epstein accountability has to be a little deflated that Andrew's arrest relates not to the rape of children but to absconding, albeit electronically, with confidential governmental stuff — you know, the kind of thing that Benedict Donald excelled at in paper form (see above), and for which he escaped prosecution only because his useful idiot Judge Aileen Cannon threw out Jack Smith's case.

On the other hand, there may be reason to hope. Andrew's arrest seems like a dangerous moment for everyone in the Epstein Class on this side of the Atlantic who has pretty much managed to skate so far — including Trump, who acted today like a guilty person.

First, it gives Democrats a golden opportunity (which, happily, they have seized) to remind Americans that nobody is above the law and that justice should be pursued here as well. Second, it gives a huge bump to the "Let's Keep Epstein In The News" movement, potential military action against Iran be damned. Third, who knows what information Andrew will give up to save his own skin? King Charles made it clear in his chilly statement today that he'll underbuss his brother to save the House of Windsor. So Andy better spill some beans, and quick.

Meanwhile, how things have changed. We cats remember the days when Andrew was a handsome young prince who valiantly jumped out of helicopters in a fun, Thatcher-y war against Argentina. Now he's a washed up, bloated mug shot. Andrew may try to take comfort in the fact that the last kingly sibling to be dragged off to prison was Elizabeth I, who overcame adversity to reign for 44 years. But on the other hand, the last royal to be arrested but not jailed was Charles I, who was beheaded in 1649. Maybe at this point, the third Charles would be grateful for an ax so he can dispatch Brother Andrew himself. We cats HISS and PURR at the same time.

"The Streets Of Minneapolis"

 

This has gotten 4,611,579 views on YouTube so far — roughly one out of every 75 Americans. Well done, Bruce. We cats PURR.

Mood.

Looks like the White House is turning tail in Minneapolis. They aren't even calling the VA nurse they executed a "would-be assassin" anymore. Have they finally figured out that they can't lie about what Americans are seeing with their own eyes? Don't assume the best about these Trumpsters, but they appear to be retreating, at least for now.

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.

Tidbits And Cat Treats: Foreign Policy Mishegoss Edition

By Hubie and Bertie

The world's attention is on Davos, Switzerland, this week, as Benedict Donald continues to threaten Greenland and French prez Macron and others push back. But what everybody really wants to know is, what's with the lunettes de soleil? Is Macron channeling his inner Dark Brandon? (LOL — apparently it's some minor eye infection. Or he figured out a nifty way to steal the spotlight from certain hoggers of same.)

Whatever the reason, here are some of our initial impressions from Davos Day Two:

The forum's star today was definitely Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. Yep, we know we're prejudiced when it comes to our Neighbor to the North, but jeez — it was so smart of Canada to put a hardheaded economist in charge just as Trump started rampaging about tariffs and takeovers. Carney's speech, which quoted Václav Havel's Power of the Powerless essay, brilliantly placed Havel's theory of "living the lie" squarely into the international conundrums of 2026:

"The system's power comes not from its truth but from everyone's willingness to perform as if it were true. And its fragility comes from the same source: When even one person stops performing...the illusion begins to crack." In short, Western powers, stop assuming Trump's behavior is normal, and act accordingly.

We cats don't know about you, but any major economic speech that quotes Václav Havel is a-okay by us.

Meanwhile, back in Berlin Washington, Donald spent two hours at the White House lectern rambling on about — well, about what, exactly? All we know is that at some point this afternoon, thought leaders we follow on social media began posting things like "Every network in America should be carrying this right now. People need to see the condition their President is in." Gosh, what's going to happen when he speaks in Davos? And will Jake Tapper write a book about it? (Nah.)

So, lots and lots going on. But a thought occurred to us: Is Donald acting like a maniac because Jack Smith is testifying to Congress in public on Thursday? We cats HISS and PURR at the same time.

The GOP Is "Cooked"

"Okay, Trump wants to 'cancel the midterms.'

"How does he get the Virginia state board of elections to cancel the midterms? How does he get the Georgia board of elections to do it? How does he convince Republican House members to quit their jobs and give up their paychecks?

"What does he do about the fact that in most states, midterms and statewide elections are on the same cycle, so 'canceling the elections' might mean that Tennessee doesn't have a governor next year? How does he convince Tennessee Republicans to give up power in their own states?

"ICE can't even deal with irate, middle-aged Midwesterners. How does he occupy hundreds, if not thousands, of polling cites and precincts? Trump v. Illinois clarified that he has no legal authority to unilaterally commandeer National Guards. How does he move forward from there?

"Now, of course, when you point out the practical obstacles to 'canceling the elections,' people move the goal posts to 'voter suppression and various shenanigans.' Yeah, those things exist and they always have. But the other thing is that those things work at the margins.

"You can't actually suppress away a wave of discontent. (Relatedly, I think a lot of you have no idea how large this country is and how small its various military and security forces are relative to its population).

"A lot of you are responding with 'You think guardrails and institutions will hold!' And that is a sign you aren't actually engaging with the words you're reading.

"If I want water from the sink, I have to turn on the faucet. If I want to ride my bike, I have to pedal and engage the gears. There is a mechanism. My point is that there is no mechanism by which elections can be canceled. It's not about norms, it is about how things work."

—New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie, on Bluesky

End-Of-The-Holidays Reflections

By Zamboni

On this New Year's Eve, we cats have conflicting feelings. The year 2025, which would have had so much promise under a Kamala Harris presidency, was a nightmare of destruction by Benedict Donald. Next year may bring us even more. But at the same time, 2026 offers hope.

Tonight, for example, Trump has pulled the National Guard from LA, and has stopped his planned Guard deployments to Portland and Chicago. No doubt this was in response to the SCOTUS decision upholding a lower court's stay on his Chicago invasion. But he also clearly didn't want to be beaten by Gavin Newsom in a future ruling by SCOTUS on the LA deployment. We suspect that either Clarence Thomas or Samuel Alito gave the White House a head's up on a sure defeat in the Court on LA. But barring that knowledge, all we can say is that if you call a bully out on his tactics, the bully will back down.

Meanwhile, Democrats keep racking up decisive, even historic, wins in special and other elections, which says to us that despite the Trumpsters' attempts at manipulating and suppressing, free and fair elections continue to take place in the United States. And Democrats keep winning them — by margins that are too big to rig.

This is all swell, but it doesn't cancel the fact that too many Americans have spent a tense and unpleasant holiday season. Either they're worried about being hauled off to the hoosegow by ICE, or they're dreading the increases in their healthcare premiums that will clock in tomorrow — thanks to Mike Johnson, the Republican House, and their inability to pass an extension of the ACA subsidies. Many other fellow citizens are worried about being able to afford groceries and rent. Affordability will be a key issue in the 2026 midterms, and Republicans haven't got a clue about how to deal with it.

You have to wonder how many times our country will entrust itself to the GOP, which proceeds to wreck everything, and then vote for Democrats, who fix stuff, but whom voters then punish for not making everything perfect. Are we in for another round of that? Or will the destruction wreaked by Trump 2.0 be so extensive that it will usher in a Democratic era akin to FDR-HST in the 1930s and 1940s? We will wait and see. In the meantime, we cats will get to work, and we PURR.

(IMAGE: Jamie Wyeth, Broken Christmas Tree Ball, 1961)