A Cat's Eye View

Baxter here. It's been awhile, but don't think I have Forgotten my Fans. I have just been Waiting for this Election business to be Over. It was all Too Much for Me.

I am just Glad that it turned out the Way it did and that we didn't have another Big Mess like back in 2000, as some were worried we would. Of course, I knew a Cool Cat like President Obama would know the right way to get back in the White House for four more years!

He sure didn't have much of a Second Honeymoon, though, did he?

Boom, right after the Election came the News that General Petraeus, the Director of the CIA, had been Fooling Around with his Biographer, Paula Broadwell - and then came all kinds of other Stories about these hot Twin Sisters, Jill Kelley and Natalie Khawam, who were hanging around all the Generals.

Amusingly to Me, these stories always refer to the Twins as "Socialites,"  a rather Quaint Term. Reminds My Humans of a Tom Waits song called Invitation to the Blues.  "He probably left her for a socialite, didn't love her 'cept at night, and then he's drunk and didn't even tell her that he cared..."
But I digress... sorry...

Apparently the former head of the CIA is spending his Days "grovelling" to his wife of 38 years, Holly, according to an Article in the UK's Daily Mail. My Female Human doesn't blame his Wife for being Furious, which is how her Mood is described by Those in the Know.

Even though it was Broadwell that had the Affair with the General, the Involvement of the Twin Socialites also seemed Rather Suspicious... something my Female Human felt was particularly Obvious in this Picture which has been Published far and wide, of the two Women, Petraeus (second from left) and Holly (far right) along with Jill's husband, in the center.

Two of these things are Not Like the Others, wouldn't you say?

In Fact, it has all Become so Convoluted and Involved so Many People in the Cast of Characters that the Borowitz Report posted an Article saying the CIA has come out with a Pamphlet to help you know whether YOU may be part of the Petraeus Scandal without even knowing it!

It is also being Reported that Paula Broadwell, who is married with two Children, is "devastated" by the Harm caused by the Fling between her and the General.

Ah, Humans... what is that Old Saying? "What a tangled Web we Weave, when First we Practice to Deceive."

Just goes to Show that perhaps Male Humans should be Neutered, just like Tomcats are, so they won't be Getting Into Trouble when they are past their Prime and vulnerable to Younger Women's wiles.

Or, per the Cartoon that Some have been Posting over on Facebook, maybe this is what Happens when you Allow Heterosexuals to Serve Openly in the Military?

At Any Rate, this Scandal is finally moving Off the front pages since it's been a Couple of Weeks and we're Off to the Races again with the Fiscal Cliff looming.

My Female Human says if she hears the words "Fiscal Cliff" one more time, she Won't Be Responsible For Her Actions.

President Obama Won the Election. I Hope he will use his "Political Capital" as They call it, to Stand Firm and not let the Republicans walk all Over Him during negotations. So Far So Good, as far as I can tell. For all the Latest News about the Fiscal Cliff, here's a Good Article. A few Choice Quotes to follow. The first, from GOP House Majority Leader Boehner:

"Mr. Boehner said that the White House needs to get serious about offering specific spending cuts they would put on the table towards a potential deal. 'All eyes are on the White House, the country doesn’t need a victory lap, it needs leadership,' Mr. Boehner said at a press conference in the Capitol."

This was countered by a Response from Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid:

"Mr. Reid said it was incumbent on House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) to put forward a realistic offer in response to Democrats’ plan to allow tax rates on the wealthiest Americans to increase at the end of the year. Mr. Reid said that Mr. Geithner has not made a new offer to Republicans as both sides try to broker a tax and spending deal before the end of the year. 'The president’s made the offer–there’s no offer to be made,' Mr. Reid told a handful of reporters as he walked into his offices. 'There’s no offer to be made.'"

Ah, Humans. They continue to Spar like a bunch of Tomcats Yowling in a Circle, hoping One will finally get the Upper Hand and get a Good Grip on the back of their Opponent's Neck.

The Good News I see is that at least President Obama apparently hasn't already Given Away the Farm up Front, as he was wont to do in the Beginning of his first Term. There is No Sense in him Offering ANY cuts in Medicare, Social Security or Medicaid. Let the Republicans make that Suggestion. Otherwise the Republicans will take Whatever the President Offers in Cuts and then want MORE. Plus this way, it is Obvious that it would be the Republicans who want to Cut these Programs that are Very Popular with the people!

In Other Good News, Senator Dick Durbin said that Social Security should NOT be part of the Fiscal Cliff talks as it does not contribute to the Deficit.

Let's Hope that the fact that some Republicans are finally Rejecting their Pledge to Grover Norquist to Never Raise Taxes may Actually lead to Progress in the Talks. But I'm not Holding My Breath. So far I don't see a Lot of Compromising going on on the GOP side. It may Take Awhile for the Fact they Lost to really Sink In. If it ever does.

With that, I will Bid you Farewell for Now. I think we will All need a Lot of Catnip to get through the End of the Year. Hopefully January 1 won't Find us at the Bottom of the Fiscal Cliff!

Money Alone Can't Buy You Love

With President Obama's decisive reelection on Tuesday night, the American people said "no" to the many millions of dollars spent by GOP Super PACs and people like Sheldon Adelson, who donated a small fortune of his own money to support Republican candidates, ending up with nothing to show for it.

After the Citizens United decision by the Supreme Court, many on the left feared that the practically unlimited amount of money that would pour into these surrogate organizations for the Republican candidates would leave the Democrats in the dust.

As it turned out, all that money was not enough to buy the election. President Obama was declared the winner a little after 11 p.m., with over 300 electoral college votes already in and possibly more to come, if Florida goes his way, as is expected. Nate Silver was right, and Unskewed Polls and Karl Rove were wrong. It's all over but the spin.

So why didn't all that money and advertising help the GOP? Maybe the answer isn't that the money couldn't help, but that it was used inefficiently.

In market research, there are models that can analyze and predict the effectiveness and the efficiency of advertising. There is a certain point at which advertising no longer influences the viewer. There is a certain point when the amount of money spent is no longer efficient and additional spending adds diminishing return on investment.

(Source: http://www.consumerpsychologist.com/marketing_introduction.html)

That saturation point is probably reached even sooner for negative advertising than for other kinds of advertising. The voters just start wishing it was all over, and become cynical about whichever candidate continues to push these ads on them. And it doesn't help that some of Romney's last ads, in Ohio, were full of lies that the voters knew better than to believe in the first place.

Of course, the Obama campaign also had plenty of money from donations. They raised a billion dollars themselves and had plenty of advertising. But the difference was in the way they used it. Their advertising started earlier, before Romney's campaign really took off, and defined him to the American voters before he had a chance to.

In addition, they targeted individual voters and identified a whole database full of potential supporters who fit the profile of Obama supporters - but hadn't yet become supporters.

In market research, this is called identifying your "Strategic Value" stakeholder or consumer - the target person who is most likely to respond to you or to your product and help you achieve your objectives. The next trick is to gain insight into that person and understand what makes them tick. Apparently the President's campaign was able to do this and to motivate those stakeholders to go out and stand in line for hours to vote for President Obama.

But it came down to a lot more than just good marketing principles for the President and his supporters.

It also came down to changing demographics - and a new coalition of diverse citizens who came together to reject the old viewpoints offered by the GOP, to reject hate and bigotry, and to support the President's vision of moving "Forward!" rather than backward.

Hispanics, Asians and African-Americans were all key voting blocs in the Democratic victory. Obama won among Hispanics 71% to 27% for Romney; among Asians by 73-26%, and among African-Americans by 93%. These population groups are all growing, while white Americans, who were more apt to vote for Romney, are declining as a portion of the electorate, a trend that is expected to continue.

President Obama did better among women than his opponent, with 55% of women voting for him vs. Romney. And, showing the importance of women's issues, candidates Akin and Mourdock, both of whom were castigated by their remarks about rape, lost their Senate races.

In addition, many women were elected, including Elizabeth Warren, who took back the late Senator Edward Kennedy's seat from Republican Scott Brown in Massachusetts, the first female senator from the state. Other firsts: Tammy Baldwin, from Wisconsin, will be the first openly gay Senator. In Hawaii, Mazie Hirono will be the first Asian American woman there, while Hawaiian Tulsi Gabbard will be the first Hindu elected to the House of Representatives.

Young people came out to support President Obama again, as they did in 2008. He captured 60% of the vote for people 18-29, compared to only 36% for Romney. This age group represented 19% of the electorate, up a point from four years ago.

In addition, gay marriage was approved by voters in Maryland and Maine, and will likely be approved in Washington State as well, the first time same-sex marriage has been approved by the voters themselves. Other states allow gay marriage, but the decision was made by the state courts or legislatures. And in Minnesota, a referendum to amend the state constitution to prohibit same-sex marriage failed, another victory against bigotry.

Washington State and Colorado voted to legalize recreational marijuana; Massachusetts approved medical marijuana use. The times truly are a-changin'.

And as Rachel Maddow pointed out last night, if the Republicans don't start changing and join the reality-based world, they will be a footnote in history. Now they have to figure out whether to continue to double down on their far right wing positions and become less and less relevant to the population, or whether they will do some sincere soul-searching and try to come into the 21st century.

I'm hoping for the latter, because we need at least two viable parties in this country to keep a real dialogue going and to work together to solve problems. There are too many issues that need to be addressed; we can't afford another four years of gridlock and partisanship. But it takes two to tango and the GOP needs to step onto the dance floor.

Down to the Wire

Well, here it is, finally - the last day before the 2012 election. And things are looking relatively good for President Obama, thanks to the October Surprise that turned out to be Hurricane Sandy.

According to Nate Silver, the President now has an 86% chance of winning reelection, thanks to leads in the battleground states and a growing lead in the polls for the popular vote (now at 50.6 vs. 48.5). Although Silver says there are plenty of other reasons that Obama has rebounded since his performance at the first debate, I have no doubt that the hurricane and its aftermath did play a part in Romney's recent slippage.

I live in New Jersey, which, along with New York City, suffered the worst damage in the storm. Thankfully for us here in Northern New Jersey, the worst we got was a lot of downed trees and power lines. Since the rain wasn't that bad, we were spared the flooding we got last year during Hurricane Irene. But as everyone knows by now, the Jersey Shore was virtually destroyed and will take a long time to rebuild.

The destruction in New York City and New Jersey brought an endorsement for President Obama from Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an Independent former Republican, who said he thought the president is best equipped to do something about climate change, which he said the storm made clear was an important issue.

And, even more importantly, Republican Governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, who gave the keynote speech at Romney's convention, praised the President's response to the hurricane and accompanied him on a tour of the devastation at the Jersey Shore.

"Christie told news outlets that the president’s response had been 'outstanding,' said that coordinating with the administration had been 'wonderful,' and remarked that 'the president has been all over this and he deserves great credit.' He even told Fox News the president had done a 'great job for New Jersey' while staying above the fray about politics: 'I’ve got a job to do here in New Jersey that’s much bigger than presidential politics, and I could care less about any of that stuff.'" 

After receiving criticism from the Romney camp for his embrace of President Obama during the crisis, Christie reiterated his support for Romney but refused to back down on his praise for the President.

"'I'm a Republican, I've endorsed Mitt Romney and I support him. I intend to vote for him on Tuesday,'" Christie said. 'But the fact of the matter is that if the President of the United States comes here and he is willing to help my people, and he does it, then I'm going to say nice things about him because he's earned it.'"

In the meantime, Romney didn't do himself any favors by cynically calling an already-planned campaign rally a "storm relief rally" and actually buying some of the "donations" that supporters then picked up to "donate" to hurricane victims. It also doesn't help that he ignored the fact that the Red Cross discourages physical donations and prefers monetary aid, as sorting and shipping actual goods just takes more time, when it is usually faster to use the money to buy goods from locations closer to the center of the crisis. (You can go here to donate to the Red Cross, by the way!)

Romney's campaign also shot itself in the foot by airing deceptive commercials in Ohio during this same time period that warned Jeep and General Motors were sending jobs to China. Both Chrysler (which owns Jeep) and GM emphatically denied the accuracy of the ads.

So the general public saw President Obama acting presidential, suspending his campaign to look at storm damage, putting politics aside and joining a Republican governor in commiserating over his state's losses, while his opponent was holding a storm disaster campaign photo op and airing commercials that people knew were lies. Romney supporters shouldn't wonder why their candidate has lost his momentum and President Obama is pulling ahead.

But nothing is certain yet, as Republican governors in Florida and Ohio are doing their darnedest to suppress the vote in their states by limiting early voting, making sure there are horrendously long lines to vote in the (mostly) Democratic areas of their states, and any other strategies they can come up with.

In contrast, Christie has tried to make it easier for those displaced by the storm in New Jersey to vote, by adding early voting opportunities at county clerks' offices, extending the ability to vote by email to all citizens of the state, and allowing people to vote using provisional ballots if they are currently staying in a location outside of their usual voting area.

I am no fan of Christie, but I am very impressed with his fairness and bipartisanship during this crisis. There are certainly a lot worse Republican governors - and the ones in Ohio and Florida come to mind.

This is a very close election and every vote counts. Be sure your voice is heard and go to the polls tomorrow, if you haven't already voted early or with an absentee ballot!

Romney, Rape and the Republicans

Hi all, sorry for my long absence. I have been busily posting political thoughts over on Facebook and getting into lots of conversations but have not gotten around to posting here for much too long.

But now that the race is near the end and there is a very real possibility that Romney might manage to win the presidency with his sudden turnaround to Mr. Moderate, I felt I needed to write more about what a Romney presidency would mean.

It seems Romney's plan all along was to veer hard right for the primaries and then, as one of his advisers memorably said, use the "Etch-a-Sketch" and get rid of all that in time for the fall campaign when moderates and independents become important in the race. At the time, the comment was seen as a gaffe, but it turns out that is exactly what he had in mind all along. And the Democrats didn't see it coming. No doubt that is one reason President Obama seemed so flummoxed in that first debate; he came prepared with all kinds of anti-far-right rhetoric and there was Romney, blithely making statements supporting moderate positions on subjects he had previously been "severely conservative."

Or at least, he made it seem that way. His dissembling was particularly noticeable in his claims about his stance on health care. Contraception? Oh, he's for it. All women should have access to contraception. But he, and unfortunately, President Obama, did not point out that the whole difference was the President's plan requires women's insurance to cover contraception and Romney's plan would not.

Pre-existing conditions? Oh, yes, a Romney plan would cover those. But of course he didn't say that his plan was simply a return to the current situation we already have - people who have already had insurance can continue being covered despite pre-existing conditions. It doesn't help anyone who hasn't been insured already, although the individual states could choose to cover them - again, no change from current policy. The pre-existing conditions lie was such a whopper his spokespeople had to explain it after the debate - when all the undecided voters had stopped paying attention.

So who is the real Mitt Romney? Apparently there isn't one. Mitt Romney is whoever he needs to be to get elected. The real question is, who are his masters? Who is he beholden to? It seems pretty obvious - The far right. Grover Norquist. The Tea Party. Right-wing evangelic Christians.

Heck, Grover Norquist himself said it doesn't really matter who is president as long as he signs the legislation that comes to his desk. And, if he wins, that person would be Romney.

"All we have to do is replace Obama. We are not auditioning for fearless leader. We don't need a president to tell us in what direction to go. We know what direction to go. We want the Ryan budget... We just need a president to sign this stuff."

So whatever Mitt's real beliefs, if he has them, he will be kowtowing to the far right end of his party. He chose Paul Ryan as a running mate to do just that. Ryan's positions are what are "severely conservative." Ryan's proposed budget would change the tax structure, lowering the top bracket to 25% from 35%, as well as making Medicare into a voucher program and making Medicaid into a block grant program administered solely by the states.

Romney has distanced himself from the Ryan budget, coming out with his own budget. However, his budget includes a large increase in military spending, as well as lower taxes, which he said could be covered by getting rid of unidentified loopholes. According to the Center on Budget Policy and Priorities, in order for Romney's budget to work, it would require cuts in many programs that help the elderly, veterans, disabled people and poor children.

"For the most part, Governor Romney has not outlined cuts in specific programs.  But if policy­makers repealed health reform (the Affordable Care Act, or ACA) and exempted Social Security from cuts, as Romney has suggested, and cut Medicare, Medicaid, and all other entitlement and discretionary programs by the same percentage to meet Romney’s overall spending cap and defense spending target, then they would have to cut non-defense programs other than Social Security by 22 percent in 2016 and 34 percent in 2022...  If they exempted Medicare from cuts for this period, the cuts in other programs would have to be even more dramatic — 32 percent in 2016 and 53 percent in 2022."

Then there is the "war on women." For some reason this year the Republicans have been very focused on rape. Legitimate rape, forcible rape, other kinds of rape. Many of these discussions about rape pertain to the issue of abortion and pregnancy that occurs as a result of rape. And in Pennsylvania, there is proposed legislation requiring mothers on welfare to prove they were raped before they would be allowed to collect additional funds to support a new baby.

So, why are Republicans so fixated on rape? Because in their eyes, if a woman is raped, it wasn't her fault she got pregnant. She didn't have sex in order to enjoy it, heaven forbid. It was forced on her - and it better have been done forcibly, because after all, "some girls rape easy."  If she just had sex voluntarily, out of desire, then she should reap what she sows, even if she was being responsible and using birth control that failed. She made her bed, let her lie in it. And of course the man had nothing to do with it, did he? No blame falls on him. It's all about controlling women.

Republican Richard Mourdock, who was recently criticized for his comments saying that pregnancy as a result of rape is something God intended, is just one of several Republicans, including Vice Presidential nominee Paul Ryan, who don't believe in abortion even in the cases of rape and incest. But you know what? I don't really have a problem with that. If their belief is that life begins at conception, then an exception for rape or incest makes no sense at all. Either it's a life or it isn't. And if that's what you believe, fine - just don't impose that belief on everyone else.

Again, even the rape/incest exception is an example of the blame game against women - if the woman didn't mean to have sex, then it's OK to kill the fetus. Otherwise the woman should be forced to have that baby because again, she should reap what she sows.

Unfortunately, the idea of making the exceptions for rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother, is now being construed as a "moderate" position in the Republican party. As Gail Collins points out in today's New York Times,

" One of the truly disturbing parts of our current politics is that we have begun to identify people who want to impose their religious beliefs on millions of women who don’t share them as moderates as long as they’re O.K. with the rape exemption."

The real shame of the whole "pro-life" stance in the Republican party is that they only care about that baby before it's born - afterwards, that baby and its mom are on their own. Don't expect handouts from the government to support that kid! Oh, and if he turns out to be a criminal, they have no problem with the death penalty. This has never made any sense to me either.

If anyone thinks Romney doesn't endorse these antediluvian positions on women's right to choose, remember he said he would support amendments to the constitution proclaiming life begins at conception and that marriage is between a man and a woman. He also pledges to take away federal funding from Planned Parenthood, which provides needed health care to many low income women.

And if he has the opportunity to appoint one or more Supreme Court Justices - which is extremely likely - he will appoint justices who would vote to overturn Roe vs. Wade and who would be favorable to a constitutional amendment supporting marriage as being only between a man and a woman. According to his own website, "As president, Mitt will nominate judges in the mold of Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Scalia, Thomas, and Alito."

Then there's the whole issue of racism in the Republican camp. Every time I try to believe that racism isn't at the core of many Republicans' antipathy toward President Obama, another reminder smacks me in the face that yes, obviously, that is part of it. The coded and not-so-coded words (Sarah Palin, "shuck and jive"??? Really???) - Obama being hanged in effigy - and now, most recently, John Sununu, co-chair of Romney's campaign, accusing former Secretary of State Colin Powell of endorsing President Obama due to racism. Of course, he later backed off of his comments - but that is the Republican way: put it out there, send your signal, then say, "Oh, I didn't mean it like that."

Don't even get me started on climate change and the environment. Suffice it to say that Romney says he loves coal and would love to drill for oil and gas on public lands and in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge, and wants to gut environmental regulations.

So what is the upshot of all this? A Mitt Romney presidency would be bad for:

Women
The poor
Children
The middle class
The elderly
LGBT people
The environment

The only people it would be good for is the richest 1% of the population, and the military-industrial complex.

We are better than this. We must ensure that President Obama gets another four years to enact his policies.

Now we have the "storm of the century" bearing down on the eastern coast of the U.S. Let's hope it does not disrupt these elections. Voter turnout for President Obama's supporters is key. Let's make sure everyone gets to the polls and votes! This election could not be more important!

Haiku Sunday

It's been a lazy weekend for me. Yesterday we lounged around on the deck and had a couple of beers and then headed over to our neighbor's for the first barbecue of the season. As usual, I was one of the ones still sitting on their wonderful wraparound porch drinking wine and talking at 2 a.m. We never stay out that late ordinarily, but since this is three houses down from our house, DH could wander home at his preferred time of about 10 p.m. and I was able to stay until the bitter end!

Today was also spent out on the deck in the sunshine (I can't remember the last time we were able to be out on our deck in New Jersey in both March and April for many days in a row!). Now DH is staining the deck in preparation for the official deck season and I'm trying to come up with some haiku for a Sunday afternoon...

Santorum is out
Looks like it will be Romney
Less scary, still bad

Which Romney is he?
The right-wing conservative
Or that other guy?

You know who I mean,
The one who was governor
And passed that health care

It had a mandate
Just like Obama's plan has
He thought it was great!

And another thing:
He supported the women
Said he was pro-choice

But that's all over;
He's against "Obamacare"
And Planned Parenthood!

So which one is it?
Both sides are in a quandary
Who is the real Mitt?

Right-wingers worry
He's really the liberal
That he seemed back then

Liberals worry
That he now means what he says
And lied in the past.

Such a conundrum.
But if you're a liberal
Your choice is still clear

Vote for Obama;
And you won't have to worry
Which Mitt is for real.

Summer Haiku Tuesday

After a whole week up at the cabin in cool springlike weather, coming back to New Jersey was a shock. It's mid-July. It's hot. It's humid. The only good thing is, there is a nice breeze. In fact, it was such a nice breeze yesterday, apparently, that two branches broke off and fell in my neighborhood - one on the sidewalk around the corner and one on our front porch steps!

The brinksmanship between President Obama and John Boehner slogs along. I think the President is playing it right for a change - actually holding out and saying that he won't accept any budget that doesn't include revenue, i.e., tax, increases. I just hope he doesn't fold at the last minute. At some point the Republicans will have to either give in and accept some tax increases, even if only in the form of closing loopholes, or else they will take the blame for the economic mess that would follow if the debt ceiling isn't raised.

But in the summer heat it's hard to get worked up about anything in politics. In the back of my heat-drugged mind I have questions: "If the government defaults on its debts, does that mean investments in treasury bills will tank?" "Do I have any investments that would be stable if this happened?" but I can't bring myself to think any further than that or bother to Google something to find out. Maybe I don't want to know. After all, what can I do about it anyway?

So, I decided today would be a good day for some haiku. As part of my resolution to get back to blogging, haiku is always a good way to get over any writer's block I may have! So....

Summer has arrived.
Cicadas are chattering
High in the treetops.

The dogs are panting
Diva's too hot to walk far
We sit on the deck.

The news is dismal
Haven't read the New York Times
Or the Star Ledger.

Budget talks drag on
Boehner meets with Obama
No progress is made.

My computer's on
My MiFi is blinking green
Where shall I go next?

Facebook is sluggish
The blog world is beckoning
Time to go explore.

I often wonder what we ever did without the internet? Can anyone remember? And don't say we read, because I still read. But I find the world has opened up and become so much more accessible since the advent of the internet. It would be very hard to go back to the past.

It's About Time...UPDATED with pictures!

Well, another month has sped by…and “the 4th of July crept up on little cat feet,” as Jean Shepherd paraphrased in his wonderful tale, The Legend of Ludlow Kissel.

I have to admit, I have become a Bad Blogger. Who would have thought that retiring would mean LESS writing of blogs instead of more? It’s just as the old adage says, “If you want something done, give it to a busy person.” Or in this case, a working person. I’ve even been lazy about checking e-mail these days.

It hasn’t been all sloth and lethargy, though. I’ve been doing some writing for a local blog, covering events in my town, and perhaps I have been expending my writing energy that way, leaving none left for my own blog.

Plus, DH, his dad, my aunt and I all went to Cape Cod during the second week in June – followed by my coming down with a dreadful, energy-sapping, soul-sucking cold that actually took two weeks to go away. It included a consumptive cough, a head cold, and a temporary loss of the ability to taste things, which was certainly not a pleasant way to spend the middle of June. (Luckily that sense has returned, along with my appetite, something that is rarely out of commission under ordinary circumstances).

I can’t say nothing happened in the past month worth talking about – far from it. Of course, the most important event of all was the recent passage of the gay marriage bill by the New York State Legislature, and immediate signing thereof by Governor Andrew Cuomo, who had pushed so hard for the law to pass. The news of the law’s passage came late Friday night last weekend, when we were up at our cabin in the Adirondacks.

I was thrilled that this finally happened – especially in New York, which is so tied in with the gay rights movement, starting back in 1969 with the Stonewall Riots. It’s about time, New York! Now if only my home state of New Jersey would follow suit. Of course, our governor, Chris Christie, in his usual pleasant way, has said he’d veto any effort by the legislature to pass a gay marriage bill in his state. Remind me again how we ended up electing this guy? It certainly wasn’t a choice I made. I think I’ll start thinking of New York as my home state. It feels better.

It was inspirational to see Governor Cuomo go about his efforts to push through the bill. According to columnist Maureen Dowd, who recently interviewed the governor,

"The governor says he sold the marriage-equality bill as a matter of conscience and didn’t try to buy off any recalcitrant lawmakers with promises about roads or bridges.

He said Senator Roy McDonald, a Republican who grew up in public housing and represents a somewhat conservative district in the Albany area, told him that he wanted to vote for the bill because 'it’s the right thing. I believe my God is a God of love and acceptance.'"

The four Republicans who voted "yes" deserve a great deal of credit for bucking their party's line and doing the right thing.

New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg gets some credit as well, as he expended a lot of political clout on its behalf.

It’s too bad President Obama can’t get any further in his “evolving” viewpoint on the subject and come out strongly in favor of it. He still says it’s an issue best left to the states, and while there may be some political reasoning behind this, that wouldn’t stop him from at least saying honestly what he believes in. (Note to the President: “states’ rights” was the excuse given for ongoing segregation as well.) And now that 53% of Americans approve of gay marriage, the tide of popular opinion is starting to turn - not that people’s intrinsic rights as human beings should be decided by popular opinion in the first place.

It’s possible that leaving it to the states for awhile would still be a wise policy, until enough states passed gay marriage or civil union laws to reach a tipping point where the Supreme Court would be more likely to rule in favor of gay marriage.

But in the meantime, federal laws do not recognize those state-endorsed marriages, depriving spouses of federal pensions and social security benefits from their partners, and marital law in general will be a mess once people start moving around the country and try to get their marriages (or divorces) recognized in other states, as John Schwartz in the NY Times discussed in today’s paper.

And if the Administration is ostensibly no longer defending the Defense of Marriage Act, why doesn’t President Obama use his bully pulpit, as Cuomo did his, to try to get Congress to repeal it? I can only hope he is waiting till after the next election, when he no longer has to worry about being re-elected, before pushing for this. But if he wants to win that election, he’d do better by supporting his base, which includes many gay rights advocates, than kowtowing to a conservative populace that won’t vote for him anyway. Just once I'd like him to do something bold about this issue, which should be a matter of conscience for everyone, not a political calculation.

In other June news, Republican candidates continued to come out of the woodwork, but I am not paying much attention to them at this point. Wake me up next year when we have some idea of which way the wind is blowing. Right now the group includes rightwing ideologues like Michelle Bachman, perpetual candidates like Ron Paul and now Newt Gingrich; and a range of more mainstream candidates like Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty, who are stepping all over themselves trying to be more rightwing so the primary voters will vote for them.

Then there's the botched rape case against the former IMF director, Dominique Strauss-Kahn. At first it all seemed so simple: Aging lecherous Frenchman rapes innocent immigrant just trying to make a life for herself in the United States. Turns out she wasn't so innocent, had some unsettling ties to drug dealers, and had a history of lying to the government when seeking asylum a few years earlier. Her stories were inconsistent and her credibility damaged. So now Strauss-Kahn is leaving his house arrest and the case is in disarray. But the question remains: Just because she's a liar, do we know for sure he's not a rapist?

So, enough of all that...I will just concentrate on what we’ve been up to the past month. Our annual spring trip to the Cape was a big success. My aunt came with us this time and stayed in the cottage my mother always stayed in. She hadn’t been up to the Cape in about 15 years, so was happy to finally get back there. Her 18-year-old cat had just had to be put to sleep, and the trip helped get her mind off that. And, in fact, if she still had the cat, she might not have felt comfortable going away for a week, so it all worked out for the best in some ways. Amazingly, we had wonderful, warm, sunny, clear weather for 5 of the 7 days we were there, and even the other two days were just partly cloudy.

We did all the usual Cape things: went out for lobster, sat on the bay beach not far from our cottages, took a ride to Provincetown. We also spent a lot of time just relaxing on the serene grounds of the cottages, looking out at the pond.

I had a few gratifying chats with the lovely woman who is the owner of the cottages we stay at, a staunch Democrat who was a supporter of Barack Obama before I had even decided who to support in the primaries. Now she asked me, somewhat wistfully, "Do you think he can survive the haters? The Tea Partiers?" (We were there not long after the most recent kerfluffle about his birthplace.) I assured her I thought that wasn't going to be his problem, but that he should do more to support his own base. She agreed, saying she wasn't always happy with everything he's done, but continues to support him nevertheless. I think a lot of Democrats would agree with that sentiment. But I'm not sure about the indpendents, and there will his problem in 2012 if things don't improve.

Diva and Angel had a great time at the Cape also. Diva, as usual, loved her swimming sessions in the pond. We tried to get Angel to go in, but she apparently is not really a swimming-style of dog. She did go in up to her shoulders and at one point took off swimming toward a school of ducks (do ducks travel in schools? Herds? Bevies?). Her prey drive is stronger than her dislike of swimming, apparently.

Here are pictures of Diva and Angel, close up. In the second one you can see Diva is getting impatient with picture-taking and revving up her "demand bark." This picture definitely shows the difference in their personalities!



And a nice portrait of Angel lying in the grass near the deck of the cottage.


My aunt reading with Diva sprawled in front of her.

The ducks in the pond were very bold; one mama duck kept trying to come up to our cottage when we were sitting outside, followed by her babies. She kept coming even as both dogs went nuts barking at her. We kept having to get up and shoo her away. Someone who was previously in that cottage must have been feeding her!

DH’s dad had a good time too – he always does. We went twice to his favorite restaurant, and he ate lobster in all forms at every meal, including baked stuffed, steamed, in the form of a lobster salad roll, and more.

We had a low-key Father’s Day; just had Dad up for a pancake breakfast out on the deck. By that time my cold had improved enough that I was functional and able to be a hostess! Here's a portrait of DH and his dad and Dad's "grandchildren."


Now comes the real “cabin season.” We are finally getting warmer weather, after a long, cool, rainy spring. Even as recently as last weekend the weather was so cool at night up at the cabin that a fire in the woodstove was needed at least once a day to take the chill off.

Now it’s finally warmer, so we’re using the outdoor firepit out on the deck for our fires in the evening. But even still, the weather is unpredictable - yesterday, clear blue skies and sunny; today, thunderstorms, clouds and rain. But even then it is peaceful and beautiful at the cabin, and better than being in the hustle and bustle of suburban New Jersey. The dogs both love it here and like to lounge around on the deck and relax, looking out at the woods and occasional wildlife. Angel, who is so over-reactive to every human-generated noise at home, is calm here. Nature doesn’t trigger her alarm.

We’ve planted a miniature raised garden here at the cabin, using bricks that were left lying around by the previous owner. Our crops include basil, rosemary, and oregano. We just extended this little garden and will now plant some beans to see if we can get a small crop of string beans. Plus we bought two patio tomato plants that we’re hoping will survive our absences long enough to yield some home grown tomatoes. Surprisingly, nothing seems to be eating our herb garden. It will be interesting to see if string beans are another matter.

Tomorrow is the 4th of July, and I don’t know whether we will participate in any local festivities or not. Before we came up to the cabin we went with friends to the annual county display of fireworks in our local park, so we had our fix already. Up here, a couple of years ago before we had our own cabin, we stayed over in Schroon Lake and sat outside and watched their annual 4th of July parade go by, and later sat on the beach at the lake being eaten by mosquitoes and watched the fireworks there. But that’s kind of far away. So tomorrow may be another quiet day here…but that’s fine with me!

Angel by the pond - she is enjoying the country life.


Hope everyone has a happy, safe and fun Fourth! I'm posting this without pictures but will update tomorrow - when the sluggish internet connection here might be better - with pictures of the dogs and more!

A Cat's Eye View

Baxter here. I am finally ready to Blog again after a Long Absence. As you Know, my Humans have procured a New Dog, and I am Not Happy About It.

Because the New Dog, Angel (Ceiling Cat knows why they picked THAT Name for her), is Bad With Cats, I, Baxter, have to Suffer. I am confined to the Second Floor so the New Dog doesn't chase me down and possibly Do Damage to Me. Of course, I have my Own Room, complete with All My Toys and my Scratching Post Perch thing, my Box and everything I need. And I can go into the other Rooms on that Floor, including the Bedroom where my Humans and That Dog, the one they call Diva, sleep. So I do get Some Attention.

But I'd like to continue to come Downstairs and sit with the Humans when That Dog is sleeping, as I did Before. But until the New Dog gets used to Me, I guess I'll have to put up with the Situation. She has come to my gate when I was in my Room and looked at Me. Once I gave a Mighty Hiss and Growl and she seemed Intimidated. But the next time she just Barked at Me.

So. Here I am, finally ready to Blog about Current Events. But the Current Events have been So Horrendous in the past Few Weeks that I don't know where to Begin. I'm going to Skip the most Tragic events such as the Terrible Events in Japan. So, that leaves Me with...Libya.

OK, so like the other Countries where the people are Revolting (well, the PEOPLE aren't revolting, they are staging a Revolt), Libya has its own Revolt going too. Unfortunately the Human, if You can call him that, Qaddafhi or Gadhafi or whatever Crazy Spelling you want to Use for him, threatened to Kill all the people who are Protesting. So our Country, in its Infinite Wisdom, has decided to Get Involved. We didn't Get Involved with any of the Other Revolts, but who am I, a Mere Cat, to Question the Government?

From what I understand, Other Countries asked us to Get Involved. And it is a Coalition Force, acting on a UN Resolution. Sounds Vaguely Familiar to me. What was that war called? Korea? Oh, wait, it was a "Police Action." Wonder what they will call This after the Fact? Jon Stewart had a few ideas:

The Daily Show - Define and Conquer Tags: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Turd Sandwich, Anyone?

Personally, as a Cat, I find it Foolish to Get Involved in what is basically a Civil War. If I am going along, Minding my Own Business, and see a big Catfight happening on the Other Side of the Street, you can bet I am not going to Get Involved. I certainly don't want to get in the Middle of it; it's a Good Way to Lose an Ear, or worse!

Of course, President Obama has said he's Not Getting Us Involved. He's just Protecting Civilians. He didn't seem to care that Much about Protecting Civilians in some of the Other Countries where Revolts are happening. Maybe we just Like their Dictators better.

At any rate, I hope this Ends Soon and we don't have another Big Mess on our hands. In the meantime, could the Pundits and Congresspeople ever think about the Economy once in awhile instead of Arguing over Every Last Thing that President Obama has ever supported or done? As My Favorite Human, Jon Stewart, noted, in the Eyes of the GOP, President Obama can't do Anything Right.

The Daily Show - America at Not-War Tags: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

By the Way, my Female Human and her Friends were in the Live Audience at the show just Above. It was their Second Time there, and they are going to see Stephen Colbert next month. As a Cat, I would not be Allowed In, which makes me feel Discriminated Against. They also don't let Kids Under 18 in. I guess it's because All Those Words that get beeped on the TV show are said Quite Clearly in the studio. But Come On, what Teenager doesn't Already Know those Words?

Well, that's About It from MY end Today. Oh, before I go, How do you Like the New Format? My Female Human suggested that I Make Some Changes in honor of Spring, to perhaps encourage it to Show Up. So far, she tells Me, all these Sunny Days I observe from my Window, are still Very Cold and Windy. Let's hope that Changes Soon.

In the Meantime, keep hitting the Catnip and hope we are not Now Involved in Yet Another Costly War in an Unfriendly Country.

It's a Shanda

"Shanda" is Yiddish for "shame." But it has a further connotation of disgrace or outrage. It's a better word for what is going on in the Gulf than simple "shame." People use "shame" for trivial matters - "It's a shame it had to rain over the weekend." A shanda is a bigger deal.

In today's NY Times, Bob Herbert talks about the bigger ramifications of the oil "spill" (gusher) in the Gulf.

He points out that the livelihoods of thousands of people are at risk, to say nothing of all the types of wildlife that depend on the wetlands along Louisiana's coast.

"The vast, sprawling coastal marshes of Louisiana, where the Mississippi River drains into the gulf, are among the finest natural resources to be found anywhere in the world. And they are a positively crucial resource for America. Think shrimp estuaries and bird rookeries and oyster fishing grounds.

These wetlands are one of the nation’s most abundant sources of seafood. And they are indispensable when it comes to the nation’s bird population. Most of the migratory ducks and geese in the United States spend time in the Louisiana wetlands as they travel to and from Latin America.

Think songbirds. Paul Harrison, a specialist on the Mississippi River and its environs at the Environmental Defense Fund, told me that the wetlands are relied on by all 110 neo-tropical migratory songbird species. The migrating season for these beautiful, delicate creatures is right now — as many as 25 million can pass through the area each day."

I think of the wonderful variety of birds I have been seeing and hearing in the woods near our cabin, and wonder whether they will be there next year.

So far no one has managed to stop the oil from continuing to pour into the once-pristine waters of the Gulf of Mexico. How long can this go on? How many people have to die, how many birds and animals must perish, before America says "enough"?

I know the government is doing things to try to help and that BP is supposedly trying to stop it. But this is a disaster of such magnitude that ordinary effort is not enough. This should be an all-out assault on that oil leak.

Has the government done enough? Maybe, maybe not.

According to the May 8 Times Picayune, President Obama's administration did respond appropriately and quickly to the disaster as it became apparent that it was a bigger problem than originally believed.

"While the Obama administration has faced second-guessing about the speed and effectiveness of some of its actions, a narrative pieced together by The Associated Press, based on documents, interviews and public statements, shows little resemblance to Katrina in either the characterization of the threat or the federal government's response."

And according to Reuters, the government doesn't have the oil industry skills needed to be of any real help:

"The federal government, not in the oil well business, is limited by what direct impact it can have on stopping the leak. The U.S. military does not have skills in the oil sector and officials have stressed the Pentagon is already providing whatever support it can to assist the U.S. response to the disaster.

The Obama administration has piled heavy pressure on BP to speed up its efforts to plug it up. 'We are continuing to push BP to do everything that it can,' said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs."

But is pushing BP enough? BP is the company that brought us this disaster in the first place. They won't want to spend any more money than they have to to clean it up.

And why doesn't the federal government have more ability to stop this leak? Surely our navy has some equipment, some expertise in deep underwater maneuvers, that could be helpful in plugging that hole that is gushing oil a mile underwater. And if not, why not? We have the most powerful navy in the world. Wouldn't you think they would have some knowledge of how to deal with things in the deepest depths of the ocean?

Of course the Republicans don't come off looking good here, not surprisingly. They recently blocked legislation that would have raised the cap on BP's monetary liability from $75 million to $10 billion.

On the other hand, the Obama administration is still playing both sides against the middle on this. Interior Secretary Salazar recently told Congress that too high a cap might endanger the smaller independent oil companies, the same argument given by the GOP.

I can't help thinking that no one is doing enough about this disaster.

Bob Herbert expresses the same feeling, that there has not been a strong enough response to this disaster, either by the Obama administration, or, for that matter, by the public. I mean, why aren't people marching on Washington demanding something more be done?

"The response of the Obama administration and the general public to this latest outrage at the hands of a giant, politically connected corporation has been embarrassingly tepid. We take our whippings in stride in this country. We behave as though there is nothing we can do about it."

While much of the coziness between the government and the oil companies that led us to this place can be blamed on the Republicans, not all of it can be. The Democrats are equally to blame for not overseeing the industry more carefully now that they are in power, and instead just let things go along as before. And many of them were pretty cozy with the oil industry to begin with. As Herbert says,

"The risks unleashed by the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig are profound — the latest to be set in motion by the scandalous, rapacious greed of the oil industry and its powerful allies and enablers in government. America is selling its soul for oil."

Of course, I'm not sure America still has a soul to sell these days, but if there's a little something left of it, it will soon be gone if something isn't done to fix this mess and prevent future similar disasters. It's a shanda.

Nice Going, Democrats

Here we are, just one year after Barack Obama was inaugurated, and the Democrats have made a mess of things. While there have been many accomplishments since the President took office (as I mentioned in my previous post) the Democrats in general, as a group, don't seem to know how to run things once they're in charge.

The latest example of their ineptitude is Massachusetts. They took Senator Edward Kennedy's vacant seat for granted, ran a less-than-stellar candidate who went on vacation during a large chunk of the latter part of the race, and didn't get worried about the race until it was too late.

Now, the magic 60-vote filibuster-proof Democratic majority in the Senate is gone, and the health care bill is in peril.

TomCat over at Politics Plus has a great summary of what happened and why, and what the Democrats will need to do to pull their chestnuts from the fire.

As he points out, the problem is bigger than just Massachusetts and just the health care bill:

"When Barack Obama campaigned for President, he promised 'bipartisanship' and 'change we can believe in'. Readers of the previous incarnation of this blog will remember that I repeatedly said that the two are mutually exclusive. One cannot effect change while attempting bipartisanship with an entity that refuses to compromise on anything. Obama had a choice. He could choose bipartisanship or change, but he tried to have both. The result was “business as usual”, not “change we can believe in”. Now I’m not saying that Obama accomplished nothing. He accomplished quite a lot. But his attempts at bipartisanship foiled the major items on his agenda."

Although I'm not a fan of Peggy Noonan, she has summed up the President's problems pretty well in her recent column. Basically she says that President Obama has misread the mood of the country and is not listening to people's biggest concerns.

"There is a disconnect, a detachment, a distance between the president's preoccupations and the concerns of his people. There's a disconnect between his policy proposals and Americans' sense, as expressed in polls, of what the immediate problems are."

At a time when the economy and job losses are paramount in people's minds, the Democrats have gone full tilt toward health care reform, which is kind of esoteric to most people. They want a concrete feeling of security, that jobs are coming back, that the economy is on track and all is well so they can start buying things again without feeling nervous about it.

While President Obama has stabilized the economy, he isn't getting credit for it, since he isn't talking about it as much as he's been talking about health care. And many people are still out of work and unemployment is still high. As the sign on the wall during Bill Clinton's presidential campaign used to say, "It's the Economy, Stupid!"

The President can still help salvage the midterm elections if he is able to focus on the economy, make people feel as if he is on their side, and prove he is listening to them.

Congress, in the meantime, will need to be working to save the health care reform legislation now that they don't have 60 votes. It is crucial that they accomplish something - even if they have to scale it back. (In fact, that might be an improvement - get some reforms in without the baggage and earmarks that were added to the bill to get the 60 votes).

Because if it doesn't pass this will be a huge setback for the Democrats and a rallying point for Republicans in the fall.

Of course, if it does pass and is unpopular, the Republicans will use it as a rallying point in the fall.

Democrats, as usual, are between a rock and a hard place - and as usual will probably be allowing the Republicans to define them to the American people.

It's going to be a long year.

January

January is always a difficult time for me. I tend to suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder, and even though the hours of daylight are actually increasing now, the cold weather makes me glum and I just want to hibernate. In fact, the colder it gets, the earlier I go to bed. We went to bed before 9 p.m. three times last week! I just want to be cozy and warm and in my bed and doing nothing but watch TV.

I've also been trying unsuccessfully to write a New Year's post looking back on the past decade. I thought about all the things that had gone on in my own life during that decade, and all the things that had gone on in the world during that same time. I noticed many of these things were bad things that I didn't really want to think about or dwell upon, so I never finished that post.

So then I started thinking about more recent times and still felt glum. In fact, I read Bob Herbert's column last Monday and felt as if he kind of summed up what I was feeling, that a big opportunity was passing us by, that things weren't going the way I had expected. In fact, I felt a sense that the new decade was going to be much like the old decade. It didn't give me a lot of hope for the future. Here is the gloomy ending of Bob's column:

"If America can’t change, then the current state of decline is bound to continue. You can’t have a healthy economy with so many millions of people out of work, and there is no plan now that would result in the creation of millions of new jobs any time soon.

Voters were primed at the beginning of the Obama administration for fundamental changes that would have altered the trajectory of American life for the better. Politicians of all stripes, many of them catering to the nation’s moneyed interests, fouled that up to a fare-thee-well.

Now we’re escalating in Afghanistan, falling back into panic mode over an attempted act of terror and squandering a golden opportunity to build a better society."

"Ah yes," I thought to myself. "Exactly how I feel. No wonder I'm depressed about the future!"

I was also quite disheartened by the New Jersey Legislature rejecting the proposed gay marriage bill last week.

But, all is not lost. There are actually good things happening, it's just that no one, particularly the GOP and their mouthpieces (such as Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh and now, horror of horrors, Sarah Palin on Fox) wants you to know about them. The media doesn't cover the good things that have happened; that's bad for ratings.

So I was most heartened to read Annette's post over at Just My Little Piece of the World which points out that actually, Obama has been even more successful than LBJ in getting his agenda passed in Congress. Referring to LBJ's accomplishments, she says:

"Even so, it was still hard for him to get Medicare and Civil Rights legislation through Congress and the bills he got through, were not the bills we have now. They have been added to many times to make them what they are today.

That's the way all big Omnibus Legislation is done. That's the way this Health Care Bill is going to be. No, it isn't what we all wanted, no it isn't everything it maybe could be.. But the President, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi have to work with the members they have to pass what they can."

I couldn't agree more. I know many chafe at President Obama's practicality, but there was no one more practical than LBJ and he knew how things had to be done in Washington. He was castigated for his escalation of the Vietnam War, but no one could deny that he accomplished a great deal in the areas of health care and civil rights and that without his leadership on these issues, we would be even further behind in these areas.

Sherry from After the Bridge posted a great link on Facebook that also gave me encouragement. Listen to Rachel Maddow point out all of the President's accomplishments to date. She does also hold him accountable for not closing Guantanamo or ending "Don't Ask Don't Tell," but she gives credit where credit is due - and a lot is due. (You have to get through a short bit with Sarah Palin in the beginning but hang in there, Rachel will get to the accomplishments after that).

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Among the accomplishments she cites:
- Taxpayers actually MADE MONEY on the stimulus package - $52 billion in profit!
- Because of his actions we have NOT had a second Great Depression.
- Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Act for fair pay.
- He appointed the first Hispanic woman to the Supreme Court.

In addition:

Job losses actually are heading in the right direction compared to the last two years of the Bush administration. Rachel shows a similar chart to this one. As you can see, job losses have been lessening since just after President Obama took office, particularly after the stimulus bill passed:


Rachel also references an article by Jacob Weisberg in Slate, which talks about Obama's "brilliant first year." He points out that one of the key accomplishments will indeed be the health care reform bill now being worked on in Congress.

"The case for Obama's successful freshman year rests above all on the health care legislation now awaiting action in the Senate. Democrats have been trying to pass national health insurance for 60 years. Past presidents who tried to make it happen and failed include Harry Truman, Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton. Through the summer, Obama caught flak for letting Congress lead the process, as opposed to setting out his own proposal. Now his political strategy is being vindicated. The bill he signs may be flawed in any number of ways—weak on cost control, too tied to the employer-based system, and inadequate in terms of consumer choice. But given the vastness of the enterprise and the political obstacles, passing an imperfect behemoth and improving it later is probably the only way to succeed where his predecessors failed."

So after reading Annette's blog and the Slate article, and listening to Rachel Maddow, I am feeling more positive than I was last week.

And hey, at least New Jersey passed the Medical Marijuana Bill.

A Cat's Eye View - Special Thanksgiving Edition

Baxter here. I have to tell you, I am Rather Grouchy today. I had a Difficult Night's Sleep. Last night That Dog was already on the Bed, and as usual I snuck up on the Bed without her noticing and ensconced Myself in the comfy hollow between my two Humans' pillows. I was Sleeping Nicely when Something woke Me up. Yes, a Jingle. The sound of That Dog's dog tags rattling. This usually means that she is about to Wake Up and start Bothering Me. So, logically, what would I do, but let out a good Growl to let her know I know she's Awake and she should Watch Her Step?

Unfortunately it had a Different Result than I'd hoped. It attracted her Attention. But by this time I couldn't stop myself and kept Growling Fiercely. Finally That Dog could stand it no longer and Pounced on Me! The Humans both woke up and Fended her off. I wouldn't Budge. I was Hunkered Down and not going Anywhere.

This went on for awhile, Dog watching Me, Me growling, until finally the Humans were Wide Awake and fed up with the Situation. So, what happened next? You'd think they'd kick That Dog off the Bed, wouldn't you? Well, no. That isn't what happened. They held onto her and pushed ME off the Bed. Me! Of all the Nerve!

At this point everyone was Awake and the Humans went into the next room and got on that Computer thing and paid some bill on line. I jumped up to help and sat in front of the Screen so they'd be sure to see how much I Helped. That Dog settled down on the Couch and went back to sleep.

Finally the Humans went back to Bed, and I joined them in my cozy spot. I punished them for kicking Me off the Bed by having myself a good Wash. This Annoyed them but they Deserved It. Then That Dog came BACK! Sigh. No Rest for the Weary. I had to Growl again but finally we all Settled Down for the rest of the Night. I spent ALL DAY on the Bed in My Spot after everyone got up, just to Prove a Point. The Nerve, kicking ME off the Bed.

Well, enough of All That. I suppose you are expecting one of my Excellent News Reviews. I'm afraid I don't have a Lot to Impart. It is a Holiday Week and things are just Too Annoying lately to deal with.

The Senate Democrats managed to get their Health Care Bill to be debated on the Floor but now I hear things are being Gutted out of it. It doesn't sound All That Promising. On the Other Hand, the Dems can't give the Republicans the Satisfaction of NOT having something pass. 'Tis a tangled web indeed. Gail Collins and David Brooks have some Thoughts about it on their New York Times blog site. Basically Gail Collins comments that David Brooks is the kind of Republican it would have been Nice to try to be Bipartisan with - if any of the Republican politicians had been willing to be Bipartisan. Which they're Not.

Speaking of the New York Times, Maureen Dowd had some Less Than Positive stuff to say over at Her Place. She has a few things to say about a Certain Lack of Loyalty. She is also thinking Obama doesn't have that Up Close and Personal Charisma that Bill Clinton managed to project on a one-on-one Basis. She says:

"Bill Clinton may not have cared any more about contributors than Obama does, but he was such a talented politician that he made them feel as though they were in “a warm bath,” as one put it.

Obama is more like a cold shower."

As a Cat, I can sympathize with President Obama. He is very Catlike in his way of doing Things, and I can't really Complain about that. Bill Clinton is more like a Big Friendly Dog, maybe a Golden Retriever. The Kind you just can't say No to, you just have to throw the Ball for them when they Ask.

But if Obama can't Charm people into being Happy with him, he'd better get on the Stick, as Humans say, and make sure he makes his Constituency happy by keeping his Campaign Promises. We need to see DODT and DOMA repealed, we need to see Gitmo closed, and we need to see him Live Up to some of his other Promises as well. Let's get this Show on the Road!

So let's see, what Else is going on? Here's a Story that the Dog Lovers among you (shudder) will Appreciate. Apparently a Bassett Hound ate a Whole Box of Nails and survived. This is not the First Time I have heard about a Bassett Hound eating some Strange Things. Apparently it is something they do Often. So if the Dog in your House is a Bassett Hound, I'd suggest not leaving Anything Around for him or her to Eat. In Fact, in our Own Household, That Dog managed to Mangle the Mi Fi Thingie that the Humans use to access the Internet at the Cabin. The Humans had to go buy a new one! Dogs are really Annoying if you ask Me. But no one does.

Moving on. Since this is Thanksgiving Eve, I thought it would be Appropriate to post something about Cholesterol. Yes, that's right, even Cats worry about Cholesterol at Thanksgiving. In fact, so should Dogs. I remember one year when the Previous Dog lived here (who was a lot less Annoying than the present one), she got into the pan that had the Grease from the Goose in it. Boy, was that a Big Mistake. She kept the Humans up all Night as a Result. I won't go into any Gory Details, but they ended up changing TWO sets of Sheets.

Anyway, about the Cholesterol. Here is an Informative Article about it. Some interesting Tidbits: Cholesterol can actually be TOO Low (either as a cause or effect of Certain Conditions). And despite the So-Called Obesity Epidemic, national Cholesterol Levels are actually going DOWN. So all news is not Bad News.

With that, I shall close out this Thanksgiving Eve post with Best Wishes to All of You out there. Have a Wonderful Thankgiving, and be sure to save the Cat or Cats in your life, some Turkey Tidbits. I will end with a List of things I am Grateful For:

A Warm Bed (despite it being Shared with That Dog)
My Food (always plentiful)
Having a Box Indoors (That Dog has to go out in the Cold to do Her Business! I do have Some Advantages!)
My Health (and Humans who take me to the Vet as Needed)
and of course....
Catnip!

Best wishes to All of You and have A Wonderful Day tomorrow!

A Cat's Eye View - Special Election Edition

Baxter here. So, it's the Day After Election Day and already the pundits will be having a Ball claiming that the Losses in the governors' races in Virginia and New Jersey are a referendum on the human President Obama, especially since he campaigned heavily for Governor Corzine in New Jersey. GOP Chair Michael Steele says the Victories mean the GOP is a transcendent party.

Well, as a New Jersey Cat I can't speak for Virginia, but I can Certainly talk about New Jersey.

Corzine lost last night, but it wasn't because of Obama and it certainly didn't mean New Jersey is suddenly a Red State - since the Legislature remains Firmly Democratic.

Columnist Tom Moran of the New Jersey Star Ledger, says that the Governor's Loss was really a rebuke of Corzine himself.

"He scored some modest successes on education and health care. He won concessions from state workers. He signed a paid family leave bill and abolished the death penalty.

But he was never able to put together a good streak, to build a working coalition even within his own party that was equal to the gigantic challenges he faced.

He promised to ease the burden of property taxes and failed. He promised to use his Wall Street savvy to fix the state’s ever-broken finances, and he failed again.

He promised a clean and honorable government, then shoveled barrels of money to some of the shadiest characters in his party, many of whom are now in jail. A corruption sweep in July reminded voters of his dramatic failure on that front."

Paul Mulshine, a Ledger columnist who tends to be quite Conservative, pointed out that Christie has no Mandate.

"The winner last night, Republican Chris Christie, managed to get through the entire campaign without taking a single principled stand on a single issue. He was against waste, fraud and abuse. He was against corruption. He was in favor of tax cuts. And that was about it.

As a result, Christie can’t claim a mandate. That’s not just because he won by such a small margin in what should have been a runaway. It’s also because you can’t win a mandate to do nothing — which is what he promised to do."

So basically, Christie won because he's Not Jon Corzine.

Looking at exit polls, most New Jerseyans cited the Economy, Property Taxes and Other Concerns as their reasons for their Votes. Only 19% on each side said their Vote was a Vote to Support or a Vote Against President Obama. Sixty Percent said their Votes didn't have a Darn Thing to Do with Obama.

So, that's That. Here we are in New Jersey, stuck with a Republican Conservative Governor for the Next Four Years because Corzine was Too Egotistical to Drop Out of the Race when he saw he was Far Behind.

My Humans were Disgusted with Corzine, and probably had Similar Feelings to those of a Lot of New Jersey Democrats. They voted for him, but they didn't want to. So some of those Democrats stayed home and Didn't Vote at All.

My Male Human in particular still held it against Corzine that he Stopped being a U.S. Senator in 2005 in order to run for New Jersey Governor. As a result, the Dems almost lost the New Jersey Senate seat in the 2006 Senate Election; luckily Senator Menendez (appointed by Corzine in 2006 to take his Seat) squeaked by.

Then Mr. Big Ego Corzine had to stay in the race This Year despite the high Unpopularity ratings he had. He should have Stepped Aside and let Someone Else, like State Senate leader Dick Codey, run. He would have Won in a Landslide.

Oh Well. It is What It Is, as my Female Human would say.

Over Across the River in New York City, Mayor Mike Bloomberg won a Third Term, but not by as Much as he and his Supporters had expected. Turns out the Voters, although they think he's doing a Good Job, were Mad that he overturned the Term Limits and Spent a Fortune in order to get Elected to a Third Term.

One Bright Spot for the Democrats last night: The 23rd Congressional District, a Closely Watched Election in Upstate New York, went to the Democrats after the Republican dropped out at the Last Minute and Endorsed the Democrat over the remaining Conservative candidate. The really Good Thing here was that Sarah Palin and other Right Wingers had supported the Conservative guy. So this was a Blow to them and a Plus for President Obama.

So That's the Latest from Me here in New Jersey. I will Close with a quick LOL (Can't call it a LOLCat since it's not a Cat, but it is Very Appropriate) for your Amusement and Hope to be Back with some Less Serious News Items very Soon. New Jersey Cats, you'd better Stock up on Catnip; it's going to be a Long Four Years with Mr. Christie.


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A Cat's Eye View

Well, they've gone and left Me yet again! I'm getting Rather Sick of it. Oh well, at least I'm inside where it's Warm and Dry. It seems to be Raining Once Again out there. Now that the Weather has gotten Cooler and the Humans have turned on that thing they call a Furnace, I like sitting on my Cat Perch over the Radiator in My Room and looking out the Window.

Did you know I have My Own Room? I do. It's one of the Bedrooms, and it's All Mine. (Well, my Female Human does have a Bureau and Wardrobe Closet with some of her Clothing in it, and there is a Desk full of Junk, but that's all). My Box and my Food and Water are all in here, and Best of All, there is a Gate attached to the Doorway that I can run under, but That Dog can't. So I am protected from her when she gets Frisky and decides to chase Me, and she also can't get in to eat My Food or, worse yet, forage in My Box. That would be Very Embarrassing.

So. Time for my News Roundup. I don't really know what the Chief Topic of Conversation should be today given it has been quite Awhile since my Last Roundup. But I do know they spent Way Too Much Time covering that stupid Balloon Boy story last week. And now they're saying it was all a hoax! It is Pitiful how the So-Called News Programs latch on to these Stupid Stories and cover them in Breathless Anticipation, as if they were covering a World Crisis. It's like the Boy Who Cried Wolf. When there is a Real Crisis, who will be able to Tell the Difference?

Speaking of World Crises, President Obama has now declared the Swine Flu a "National Emergency."

"Obama's action allows Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius 'to temporarily waive or modify certain requirements' to help health care facilities enact emergency plans to deal with the 'pandemic.'

Those requirements are contained in Medicare, Medicaid and state Children's Health Insurance programs, and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act privacy rule."

Of course, Conspiracy Theorists will be All Over this, saying this allows The Dreaded Government to Take Away Our Rights. I'm sure it is not anything That Sinister. The stuff that takes away Rights is usually done when No One is Watching, as it was during the Previous Administration.

One problem the Government is running into is not having Enough Swine Flu Vaccine! After all that Preparation you'd think they'd have Gotten it Right, but no!

"'We are nowhere near where we thought we would be,' Frieden said, acknowledging that manufacturing delays have contributed to less vaccine being available than expected. 'As public health professionals, vaccination is our strongest tool. Not having enough is frustrating to all of us.'

Frieden said that while the way vaccine is manufactured is "tried and true," it's not well-suited for ramping up production during a pandemic because it takes at least six months."

Another News Story this week was the Famous Case of the Northwest Airline pilots who forgot to land in Minneapolis as scheduled, and No One could get ahold of them during that time! As the Humans might say, WTF? One of the pilots said they weren't arguing or sleeping during that time. They were also not Drunk. So what else does that leave? Hmmmm. The Mind Boggles. It is truly a Mystery.

My Female Human went to Minneapolis on Northwestern a couple of weeks ago. She is Glad that didn't happen when she was On Board.

In News from the Animal World, a Russian Bear killed a Circus Hand while he was Ice Skating. The Bear was Ice Skating, that is. For the Details, go read the Article here. It is Very Sad that the Circus Hand was killed, and another injured, but perhaps it's because Bears generally don't Ice Skate in the Wild, and perhaps it's not The Best Thing To Do with Them. Sadly, the Bear was shot and killed as well.

On a More Positive Note, I will End with some Pictures my Humans took Last Weekend up near that Cabin they go to. If you recall, Last Weekend was Very Rainy in New Jersey. Happily for Them, it was Very Nice near Lake George!

Here is a Picture of the Scottish Graveyard in Argyle, New York. Seems to Me this would be a Very Scary Spot on Halloween. Look at all those great Leaning Headstones! The Graveyard includes a lot of very Early Settlers - many date back to the early 18th Century.

This Picture is a Lovely View of Lake Champlain.

These are the Woods near The Cabin.

A view of The Cabin from Across the Pond, and below, the Interior with the Propane Lights on and my Female Human sitting in a Chair Keeping Warm by the Woodstove.

That's all for Now. My Female Human will be Back Shortly. She has received an Award and will be Excited to pass it on to Others!

Till Next Time, keep your Catnip Dry and Enjoy Your Week!