Yes, its election time once again in the cat world. And some of the storm troopers from the catnip party decided to hold a debate. “We don’t have too much of a way to attract major candidates,” they said. “So let’s invite Meow Gingwrench, and Hercat (Love ‘em and leave ‘em) Nova-caine. They’ve both been Tom Catting around long enough, and have been caught enough, that they can’t refuse the exposer; especially since we won’t allow any questions on their sex lives. Great Deal!"

     So the debate began. Hercat Nova-Caine was able to meow about his fine, nine, nine, nine, and it’ll all be mine, financial plan, all the while staying away from those nasty sexual abuse allegations. And Meow Gingwrench was able to tell voters that he was sure he’d done something, somewhere beside divorce three wives, one of whom got the news when she was dying of cancer.  And the voters who looked over this distinguished field said . . . . well they weren’t doing much except making horking noises from the audience out to the parking lot,, and all the way home.

      Stay tuned folks, this is going to actually happen, down in Texas (the land of “old push that red button” Perry.  I for one will not be tuning in. But if someone does, and gets a chance to call in and ask a debate question, you might ask Newt if it was ok to go after Clinton why isn’t it ok to do it to him” Bet you get an interesting answer. Oh and during this political season, be sure to check my old log post on how to tell a really big lie.

    Wow, every time I poke my nose out of my warm kitty blanket, something is stirring around the world. In Egypt, Libia, Madison, and all over the Middle East, people are rising up to claim rights we democats have had for along time.  Yep, I did say Madison! Although its not in the Middle East you sure couldn’t discern that from the pictures of Captial Square these days, and all because a Republirat governor has decided to act like a middle east potentate. The Governor (and I do use the term usely) has decided to end most collective bargaining rights for the state’s workers.

    My hooman walked a picket line for twenty-three days to stand up for the right of labor to organize. He says it was the hardest think he’s ever had to do.  He’s told me the stories of people like Joe Hill, and many others, workers, their families, and their children who were massacred because they dared to fight for worker’s rights. And now, after our friends, the ones fond of Tea-bagging, are pushing the Repulbirats to do the very things the rats have always wanted to do. And one of them is to kill collective bargaining. Before you say it, there have been some abuses by unions. They are nothing compared to the treatment workers received before they organized.

    I notice the gov did exclude police and fire unions from this horrendous bill.  I also give a big meow-out to the members of the Madison Fire Fighter’s Union who went out on the picket line anyway. Thanks for standing up for your sisters and brothers. You other police and fire unions – think again about your support. The gov will come for you next!

    The question is, what do we do know? Demonstrations don’s seem to be working. The gov and his pet tea-baggers are just as set at taking away workers right to bargain in good faith and placing all the power back into the government and the employerss hands.  Three solutions seem to rise up to the surface. The first is the non-violent approach of Martin Luther King and Mahatma Ghandi. Go up those capital steps, get as far into the building, and sit down. Chain yourself to a column, a stair rail, a politician, who is really on a mental par with the first two choices. Don’t more until they come to arrest you. And when you’re released, get some more chains and lock yourself up again. It doesn't sound like much but recall Gandhi's words, "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”  You can win this way but I'd suggest you accopany it with idea number 2: recall all these idiots and place someone in office who can understand both management and labor.

    But perhaps we have gone beyond those points. Gov. Walker, hey didn’t we just send him to prison in Illinois not too long ago?, doesn’t seem to be getting the message. OK, so here’s a bigger one. People of Madison, Wisconsin,  - everyone, lock your doors, and pick up a picket sign - GENERAL STRIKE - Shut the city down. If that doesn’t work, expand it to the whole state.

    Believe me folks this is the tip of the iceberg, if it works republirats will try it everywhere else! We can’t let them win! And all you Tea-Baggers out there. You also seem to be middle class. You have jobs. Don’t you want to protect your right to fair employment.  Remember the poem by written by The Rev. Martin Niemöller during the fight against real socialism.

        "First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out --
        Because I was not a Socialist.

        Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out --
        Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

        Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out --
        Because I was not a Jew.

        Then they came for me -- and there was no one left to speak for me."

       
    Tea-baggers, they are after you too. And if you let your good buddies do this, you’ll be next.

    Workers, keep up the good fight. Don’t let them take away your rights and dishonor those who literally gave their lives for the cause.

    And people of Madison, remember, lock it down. And if that doesn’t work, it’s time for a general strike - shut the city down.

    From the very beginning of time itself, Ceiling Cat knew all about my friend Fluffy. Ceiling Cat knew Fluffy would be very good at preaching, teaching, and caring for all of Ceiling Cat’s other kitties. And of course, Ceiling Cat knew, Fluffy would fall in love and marry her partner Rita. Ceiling Cat was  glad  they would be very happy together.

    Fluffy grew up, went to all sorts of kitty schools, and heard Ceiling Cat’s call for her to be a pastor. But after Fluffy finished kitty seminary, she was in for a rude surprise.  She couldn’t be ordained because all sorts of fundy kitties thought she was bad. “Bad, bad, kitty,” they told her. “Ceiling Cat would never let someone who loves other girl kitties be a pastor.” “But,” Fluffy pleaded, “I had the best grades of all the kitties in seminary, I can preach rings around you, I want to work in very small kitty churches, and I even love d*gs, and Tea- Baggers.” “Pshaw,” the fundies answered. (Fundies seem to like strange words like pshaw) “You’re evil through and through. Off to kitty hell with you!”

    Years passed, Fluffy still couldn’t become a pastor. But one day, a miracle happened. Ceiling Cat’s Spirit got tired of waiting. The Spirit started to change the minds of kitties who once were fundy cats. Fluffy was ordained as a MinisterCat of Mews and Sacraments in the PresbyKitty Church (USA). She serves Ceiling Cat's people in very small churches, preaches very well indeed, and helps many, many kitties to see how much Ceiling Cat loves them. She is a wonderful pastor.

    Fluffy’s story isn’t unique. Lot’s of hoomans who God calls to be pastors cannot be ordained because God made them to love differently than other hoomans. Many of them are excellent preachers, and teachers. Many know what it is to be outcast and so they will serve the small churches the world says are also outcast. Some of them are our very best candidates.  This travesty is still happening today; especially in the Presbyterian Church (USA).

    But maybe things are changing. Every time the issue comes up for a vote the hoomans who know God loves everyone, and who know God calls gays and lesbians to be pastors, get a little closer to winning. Every year more and more Presbyteries hear God’s call and change their votes from no to yes and say all who are called by God should be able to serve God and God’s people.

    God’s Spirit will not be denied forever. This year, may be the year, when love will rise above hate and homophobia for hoomans, just like it did for kitties. More Presbyteries are changing their votes to yes.  At this moment the vote is 28 yes to 25 no. But there are still 120 Presbyteries yet to vote.  Please pray for the Presbyterian Church (USA). Pray that God will break through the walls of hate and bigotry. Pray to God to bring us more light. 

    And while you pray, keep track of the votes at http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=t-MAxyQn6VWgFOr836FqGGA&output=html  and learn more about the fresh breeze the Spirit is sending through God’s churches at http://www.amendment10a.org/.

    This could be the year! Come Holy Spirit! Let There Be More Light!

    “Let them eat cake!” That’s what the Republirats want the states to do now. Can’t pay your bills? Declare bankruptcy! Then the federal government won’t have to pay their bills. Now that is an intriguing thought. I notice the author of the quote is an unnamed house rebublirat.  Figures, I wouldn’t want my paws on it.

    Let’s see, we don’t pay the states. What happens then? Lots of things! If you’re poor, no help with your medical bills. That’s funneled through the states and would be gone first. Got a state pension? Not anymore you don’t. Do you do business with a state? Not anymore  because they just emptied their inbox into the bankruptcy shredder.

    Lots of companies will die, their employees laid off, the tax base gone.  Lot’s of you who thought yourself to be middle class could be on the street.  Doesn’t all this sound a bit odd? Is this budget cutting or is it a way to widen the gap between the obscenely rich and the rest of us? It won’t do much for the former, but I can see the gap growing now. 

    I think it’s time to go sniff out this Republirat and pee on his hair piece.  Oh and by the way, do you really want to tell people to eat cake in this political climate? Damn, I think I’ll have to pee on his rug too

    Well, it happened like I was afraid it would happen. Enough people forgot what the Republirats have done to us in the recent past. So now they have another chance to do it to us again. But believe it or not, this kitty is not going to meow or screech about the election today. I’m sure I will have much to meow about that in the future, but today’s subject is more important.

    Hey! All you politicians out there! And yes, I mean all of you, both Republirats and Democats. Stop it! Stop the negative and hate filled advertising!  And yes, I do know it’s effective. It gets me mad but not at the one you want me to be mad at. These ads make me want to go pee on the rug of the politician running the ad. And yes, its been done for a long time. When Lincoln ran for president there were incredibly nasty newspaper ads running all over the place. But they didn’t have the penetrating power they do today. With radio, television, and the internet you can’t get away from them. And they have the potential to tear this country apart.

    Every election brings more attack ads. And with more and more attack ads people are starting to believe their message. In fact they believe it so much that the gap between the two parties is getting wider and wider. Look at how our elected officials behave in Washington. They’re fighting like little kids whose candy bars have been taken away. If one party is for something, the other party is automatically against it without any regard about whether it is good for the country. Politicians only seem to care about what’s good for themselves and their party. It makes me want to hork up a giant hair ball on them all!

    And look at what attack ads are doing to the rest of us. Each election is more and more hate filled. And as you politicians all denounce each other the electorate has begun to distrust you all. Take a look at the rants of the Insani-T Party if you want an example. If you want another example take a look at the first class wackos who go out in the bush to play soldier and who vow to bring down the government.

    This has got to stop! If attack ads continue and the electorate gets more and more polarized this country could be torn apart.

    Do you consider yourself to be a patriot? Do you want what’s best for the country? Then send the message to the politicians that you won’t vote for anyone who runs these despicable ads. And don’t wait until the next election. Get on the phone, write letters, and tell your elected officials that their behavior stinks worse than a dirty litter box! Tell them to stop the ads! Tell the you want to be able to use the word “statesman” again! Oh, and tell them to be on the lookout for cats peeing their rugs!

    Well fellow kitties, the time to rant and rave has passed . . .  at least for now anyway. So if you are a Repblirat, a member of the Idio-Tea Party or someone with a similar political view, just go away for today. But please come back in the future. I’ll be purrfectly happy to hiss at you then.

    OK, now that they’re gone, let’s look at what has led up to next Tuesday’s vote.  There was the reign of King George the 1st. I thought he was the worst president ever, and I hated his social views. I’d love to have that kind of Republirat around again. But remember folks, he was a true conservative unlike his son, King George the Clueless. That one was a Neo-conservative. There’s a big difference between them.

    Neo-Conservatives, like the second King George, use a lot of the same talk as conservatives. But their meaning is very different. Both varieties rant about deficits. But the neo-cons don’t mean it. They want to use deficits to scare you, but they don’t really care how high they go.(this information is courtesy of a former member of the Congressional Budget Office)  In their view, high deficits are good for big business. And we know what’s good for big business is good for Republirats.

    Scaring voters is what it’s all about today. Everything is bad, bad, bad. And once they’ve scared you enough, they’ll bring your mind back to good times and then tell you the Democats are to blame. If they tell big lies often enough, people will listen. (see my previous blog post)

    They want to scare you. Be scared! Be scared because what’s coming after the neo-cons is the iron line of a fundamentalist far, far, far, right wing party. Think King Georgie 2 was bad. You ain’t seen nothing yet.

    Let them scare you! scare you down to the polls to vote Democatic! If we sit home on Tuesday we could be in trouble. Get out there, like you did two years ago. Send a message that the politics of hate are not tolerated in this nation!

    In the spirit of the political season, I take this opportunity to announce the  creation of the Feline Committee of Inquiry into Canines. We the neatly dressed cats of FCIIIC have begun an inquiry on the question of Canine existence.  .

    As you can see, from our professionally printed newsletter, complete with extensive footnotes, The Canine Inquiry will open the debate into this important question.  This is an issue that has perplexed people for countless years. Do dogs exist? Certainly one must consider the evidence of humans who claim to have seen, or even owned dogs. But there is another side to consider if we are to have a free and open debate. After all, what do the pro-Canine forces have to fear from an open discussion. Could it be that they are hiding something that might damage their cause?

    Even as I write this attempt at free communication of this important issue, the pro-dog forces are marshaling. Those who claim they breed dogs are pouring millions upon millions into their campaign; a campaign obviously intended to ensure the world continues to believe their irrational beliefs. Reports of secret meetings have surfaced revealing the truth must win through against the efforts of this evil cabal.

    Just a few minutes ago, FCIIIC received a call from a man identifying himself as a dog owner. He claims he took his dog for a walk just this morning. If so, where is this dog now? He seems to have vanished into the hands of the pro-dogers who will do anything to prevent the truth from coming to light.

    So we, the members of FCIIC declare the truth. Dogs do not exist. We will fiercely resist any attempt to stop our truths from coming to light. And the frantic efforts of the pro-dogists show how in their hearts, they too know the truth.

    That’s it folks, how to tell a big lie. First you give your organization a respectable name, one that does not attack anyone. You dress you people in good, but not too good, clothes, and have them print a scholarly looking newsletter with lots of footnotes.

    Second, you show that a controversy exists.  You can always claim a second side to any question. And if someone denies a second side exists, they should be revealed as people who are hiding something. Keep your statements rational. Simply and calmly ask why your opponents are so afraid of open debate.

    Third: Attribute your own motives to the other side. Accuse them of being an evil cabal, of hiding the truth, and of being ready to do anything to keep the truth from coming out. All the while, be calm and rational. Let the other side foam at the mouth.

    Four: Dismiss any argument with a seemingly verifiable statement. “There was just a dog over on Elm Street.” “Well, were is this dog now?” In time point out that your opponents will apparently do anything to suppress the truth.

    Fifth: Lie! Lie! Lie! Don’t give an inch in your arguments and assertions, because if you do it will all fall apart around you. Never give in. Use your PAC dollars to give the impression that only you know the truth.

    That’s it kitties. You’ll be seeing a lot of this in the next few weeks. My human just counted four of them in ads during twenty minutes of TV.

    You know how I stand in this election. You have the right to your own stand, unless you are a very loud radio host. But don’t make your decision based on the politics of the BIG LIE. Don’t fall for them. Keep helping our country come alive.    I

    You know how I stand in this election. You have the right to your own stand, unless you are a very loud radio host. But don’t make your decision based on the politics of the BIG LIE. Don’t fall for them. Keep helping our country come alive.

    Hey, did you hear the latest election news? The Insani-Tea party backed Republirat candidate for Senate in Delaware has detailed her post-election responsibilities. "I could be that 41st vote making sure that they don't get 60 votes and that we can continue the filibuster. . . ,” says Christine O'Donnell. In other words, she wants to say “no” to any idea to help the country. This cat can’t think of a better example of what the upcoming election is all about.

    Did you notice how the Democats acted when they took over the House during the reign of King W the Clueless? They cooperated with the Republirats. But since the Democats took over the control of both houses, the Republirats have shown their true colors. They have become the party of “NO!”

    Democats: “Let’s reform Wall Street so money grubbing traders don’t send the world’s economy down the drain again.” Republirats: “NO! We need to let the rich traders earn even more money and to hell with the world’s ecomomy!”

    Democats: “Let’s help get people jobs.” Republirats: “NO! Let’s stall and whine and do nothing so the Democats get blamed for people being out of work”

    Democats: “Let’s let anyone who wants to serve in the armed forces.” Republirats: “NO! If we let gays and lesbians in the service the world will end! The sky is falling, the sky is falling!”

    Democats: “Maybe we should get our noses out of people’s bedrooms.” Republirats: “NO! We need to traditional marriage and we don’t care if we hurt people.” (Note to Republirats: Have you noticed the divorce rate? Pretty soon only gays and lesbians will want to get married. Who’s going to defend traditional marriage then? Oh, and by the way, take a look at marriage customs in the Hebrew scriptures. If you want traditional marriage let’s go for it! Multiple wives and mistresses . . . unless you happen to be gay.)

    Democats: “Let’s help all people get medical care.” Republirats: “NO! Our medical plans are just fine thank you. Let the poor people die off so we don’t have to help them anymore.”

    Democats: “Let’s extend unemployment benefits so those thrown out of work by the Republirat economic mess can stay alive.” Republirats: “NO! It will increase the deficit. And yes I know we put us into this incredible deficit by our idiotic policies. But now we can blame the Democats for our mess. After all, our rich people don’t need unemployment benefits.”

   Democats: " Let's reform our immigration policies so we can stop the blood bath in the Mexican desert." Republirats: "NO! Let'em bake . . . unless we can force them into hard labor for pennies." (Note to Republirats: The Republirat candidate for governor in California shows how much you care for immigrants.)

    This cat could go on and on but I think you get the idea. And while you’re thinking remember the things the Republirats did like; things like torture, war, making the rich richer, and ruining the economy. The choice is clear. If you want to send the country down the tubes again, help the rich get richer and the poor get poorer vote Republirat. If you want to keep working toward a better day for everyone, vote Democat!