I DUNNO IF YOU ALL HAVE HEARD YET BUT TRUMP HAD NUCLEAR SECRETS IN HIS HOUSE.
Also I am meeting this fellow on Thursday and have been thinking about him for a week since my massage therapist told me about him.
She is fostering him and his siblings and he going to be a very SMOL cat but she says she thinks I should take him because he has an amazing personality and I have been spitballing the idea 24/7 since.
cain
Do it !! Go nucular and get the cutie pie !
Eta why didn’t anyone beat me? I’m at #1 😭
twbrandt (formerly tom)
I hadn’t heard. Do tell!
WaterGirl
Oh my god. Yes. He totally looks like a Cole cat.
Damien
I know we’ve got a lot of knitters in the Jackeltariat, but do they really need so much thread?
WaterGirl
Those whiskers. That face. The white paws. Love.
Elizabelle
Is he a little Tuxedo? What a doll.
Have you consulted with Steve?
LeftCoastYankee
I will smite thee with my giant paws! Damn, short legs hath foiled me again!
gwangung
Yeah, I knew you were doomed when I saw that face.
Lord Fartdaddy (Formerly, Mumphrey, Smedley Darlington Mingobat, et al.)
Marshall’s Law: Nothing Donald Trump ever does looks bad at first, but then turns out to be kind of O.K. It’s always worse than you think with this guy.
wombat probabilty cloud
God, those paws! But will Steve kill you in response?
Chacal Charles Calthrop
We would all love it if you allowed that kitten into your home.
On the other hand, nobody here is scooping your litter box….
MazeDancer
Oozing personality already. Of course, he’s yours. And Steve’s.
Kittens are energy balls, you might want to get two.
kalakal
I’d go for it. That cat radiates personality ( in a good way)
la caterina
Those paws! Whar TOE BEANS???
Joy in FL
Lucky kitty. Lucky human.
SiubhanDuinne
Steve strikes me as a very fatherly cat (not to Cole, but to appropriate kittens).
Does that lovely boy have a name yet?
Also, I really love the word SMOL. Best adjective ever.
catclub
One exception: In terms of useless wars NOT started or extended. Trump was better than GWBush. And GWBush told Cheney to fuck off on bombing Iran in 2007-8. His only positive moment.
sukabi
John, that kitty is very cute and has your name written all over him…
TaMara
Oh, good, now I don’t have to drive to WV and convince you in person. 😘
SuzieC
I adore that kitty!
piratedan
it’s painfully obvious that if you have the time to start two threads in the same evening, then you have time for another small soul to capture your heart.
Joey Maloney
GETTHEKITTYGETTHEKITTYGETTHEKITTY
CaseyL
OMG, those eyebrows. Gives him a kind of Old Professor look.
Is Steve territorial? Possessive (of you)? Was he with other cats when you adopted him; and if so, how did he get along with them?
I think adult male cats are generally OK with new cats, esp. kittens (adult female cats… not so much: they are territorial, and possessive).
If you can’t get him out of your mind, it looks like a done deal.
RandomMonster
If you don’t take him I will!!11!!!
Dangerman
Do the jackals get to name it?
Also, any guesses on which foreign country is gonna be uber pissed we knew their nuke secrets? Put me down for Israel.
Quiltingfool
I have been thinking about getting a cat. I’m not quite ready yet, but I miss having a cat in my life (I realized the other day I’ve had a cat or two around for 25 years!). I love kittens, but all my sewing results in scattered threads and, well, some kittens like to eat things they shouldn’t, and eating thread is very bad. So I’m thinking that young cat (maybe 2 yrs or so) might be the right age.
Then I look at that adorable tuxedo kitty – and I remember how much fun kittens are.
I guess I should visit some shelters and let a cat pick me…
Odie Hugh Manatee
Our Stewie (top left of this month’s calendar pics) was the runt of his litter and seemed like he was going to stay that way. At about two years old he blew up and is now the biggest guy from his litter at 17 lbs. While he has a belly ruff, he’s no fatty. The vet says that he could stand to lose a pound or so but “he has a big head”. We call him Buff Cat because he’s the neighborhood bad ass.
They can start small and moose right up in no time…
Quiltingfool
@CaseyL: I didn’t know that about female cats! That explains why my first cat, Miss Thing, did not like my second cat, Baby! They didn’t fight, they just ignored each other.
Sister Golden Bear
Nice to meet your new kitty. You know you’re getting him.
Dangerman
Damn, am I late to the party on guessing who is gonna be pissed given all the threads. Oh well.
Also, put me down for Felix. Felix in the Odd Couple would have been doing the white glove treatment. Besides, Felix the Cat would be so original.
BeautifulPlumage
YES! Ever since you posted the first pics I thought “that’s one adorable kitty with personality”. Good thoughts for Steve as this little imp invades his space!
Esme
Do it! I think he looks like a Harry.
MisterForkbeard
@Dangerman: I hope John names him “Jackal” or “Baud2024”
MisterForkbeard
@Dangerman: I’m going with Israel or France.
Low chance of it being Ukraine. The “nuclear” part of it makes it less likely but possible, especially if it only reflects defensive measures against nukes.
SiubhanDuinne
@MisterForkbeard:
Nah. Those are stupid names for a kitten.
NutmegAgain
Hello lovely puddy tat! I hope you are the next member of the Balloon Juice menagerie.
SiubhanDuinne
From downstairs, just because it’s so funny:
BeautifulPlumage
@MisterForkbeard: neither is sing-songy enough to insert into the nonsense ditties which I’m sore Cole regales his fur babies with. And does Baud2024 really want this being said, in that tone of voice, several times a day? “BAUD2024 Get down from there!”
(“sure” not sore…)
Timill
You should take two (or more) kittens, because then they play with each other and don’t bother the older cats.
prostratedragon
Such paws! I think I’m in l-u-v. Surely you’ll take him.
Eric S.
I don’t need to tell you what to do but do it!
Felanius Kootea
@Timill:
Yes, he should take all the kittens! This one is so adorable; his siblings must be too!
Brachiator
Cute kitty.
MaryLou
He’s a baby with old-man whiskers. Of course you MUST adopt!
lgerard
Steve Bannon indicted again, this time by New York state for his charity swindle!
I hope this day never ends!
Calouste
@MisterForkbeard: You can get a decent amount of information about France’s nuclear force on Wikipedia. Israel’s less so.
HumboldtBlue
The purest maple syrup has nothing like the cloying, sweet, delicious mewling and cooing of this audience when a kitten or puppy is introduced.
Youse are blatantly marks, suckers, and saps for having a sweet tooth for cuteness.
(is cute-i-tude a word? If not I’m making it one)
@SiubhanDuinne:
If nothing else, Oz did admit to growing up south of Philly. And that’s literally Jersey.
columbusqueen
GET THE KITTY, DUDE.
columbusqueen
GET THE KITTY, DUDE.
@SiubhanDuinne: What a passel of idiots. It proves just how out of touch Vance is with his supposed native state.
The Lodger
@SiubhanDuinne: Expect the rally coverage to include lots of pix of extreme MAGA fanatics in the audience, cause ain’t no one else showing up if OSU FOOTBALL is on at the same time.
ETA they’re not going for quantity here. They’ve never gone for quality either.
mrmoshpotato
@Elizabelle:
Yes! Have you consulted with Steve? For your own safety! 😁
mrmoshpotato
@SiubhanDuinne:
Idiots. Go Rockets!
prostratedragon
@SiubhanDuinne: The 4 Seasons Total Landscaping crew in the house!
mayim
Adorable kitten! Looks very similar to one of my current fosters ~ I have 5: two 9 week olds in one litter, three 4 week olds in another. All orphans ~ and all absolutely adorable and sweet. Some pictures at my cats’ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ScoutandFlora
@Dangerman:
My long shot guess, operating on the assumption that TFG has already sold/given details on Israel away well before now: bidding war between India and Pakistan ~ one paying to get the other’s secrets, the other paying to not have them released. Very long shot, but would not be a good place to have increased tension. Figuring however bad we think it is, it’s worse ~ and active conflict between India and Pakistan would really add a whole ‘nother layer to many of the world’s current ills [don’t even want to consider the additional supply chain issues it would likely lead to].
mayim
@SiubhanDuinne:
Way too amusing! Talk about not knowing your audience. Complete own goal on Vance’s part.
eclare
@SiubhanDuinne: I wrote downstairs, sorry but the opponent is Toledo. That game should be over in the first quarter, if it’s not over already
So to me not a big deal.
mrmoshpotato
@eclare: Toledo should just forfeit. Still – go Rockets!
Anne Laurie
As long as Steve is okay with the idea, bring home the little tuxie, Cole.
It’s not as if you’ll ever need to run your choices past a human housemate…
SiubhanDuinne
@HumboldtBlue:
Where girls can’t stand the way their fathers smell, and cousins aren’t just cousins ifyougetmydrift andIthinkyoudo.
SiubhanDuinne
@eclare:
I know, but diehard OSU fans are going to want to see the bloodshed. I think for the most part local folks will either be in the stands in Columbus, or home in front of the T&V. I could certainly be wrong, but it’s hard to picture many Ohians heading for Youngstown when there’s a game to be watched.
My personal prediction? There will be so much mockery about this that the TFG-Vance folks will reschedule for earlier in the day (or another day entirely) and then come up with some reason why they had always planned it that way stoopid libtards.
Ann Marie
Definitely bring him home, John. He’s adorable! I have usually had two male cats at a time and the one in residence has usually done okay with the addition. In fact, the older one often washes the younger one, whether the younger cat wants it or not. Steve will probably be fine with the kitten. He might try to boss him around, but whether that lasts depends on the kitten.
Which reminds me, I really need to get a buddy for my Harley. He’s been alone too long since Louie died.
SiubhanDuinne
@Ann Marie:
It’s a very fetching kitten. Steve might have to give the young interloper a couple of swats (“You want alpha, kid? This is alpha!”) but I suspect within the first 72 hours, John’s going to
stomp on Adamstomp on Anne Laurieput up a post with a picture of young Tuxie snuggled into Steve’s chest and Steve’s paw protectively cradling the kitten.JustRuss
We had a brother and sister in their teens when we got another kitten. The male totally mentored him, and the female did her best to ignore him. So there you go, for what it’s worth
Also, he’s adurrrible.
JWR
I hadn’t!
Srsly, it’s been way too hot to turn on the computer, so until a half hour ago, I hadn’t heard any of this, and all I can say is WHAT THE HOLY F*CK?!!
HumboldtBlue
@SiubhanDuinne:
That’s an abuser’s admission.
Medicine Man
You’ve met your new cat overlord, John. Don’t fight it.
SiubhanDuinne
@JWR:
Crazeballs, right?
SiubhanDuinne
@HumboldtBlue:
I think you’re absolutely right.
Ugh. Blech.
Mel
That little tuxedo love demon looks like a Theodore / Theo / Ted to me!!
He needs you. You need him. ‘Nuff said.
We had a huge Maine Coon mix boy years ago who was the benevolent ruler of the household. He adored every kitten that we fostered, and was perfectly fine with their goofiness and shenanigans.
Our vet told us that he wasn’t surprised, as several of his clients who bred Maine Coons had related that their Maine Coon boys were patient and good with the kittens.
That being said, if you can do it comfortably and are so inclined, two kittens together is always a great idea. They can burn off each others’ high energy, snuggle together when adult cats or humans are busy, and if they are siblings, having a bonded buddy with them makes their transition to a new home easier.
We got two littermates (Leonard and CoCo) so that our almost 12year old girl wouldn’t have to take the full force of all that kitten energy and activity by herself. It worked out really well. The two little ones ran and played together like wild beasties, and then snuggled up with their surrogate granny when they had worn each other out. I suspect that a solo kitten, focusing all that energy on her, would have run her ragged.
The surprise bonus to bringing the two little guys into her life was that she began to play significantly more, and has continued to do so.
Jesse
@catclub: true, though that might require a bit of qualification: Trump OK’d the assassination of that Iranian military guy, on his visit to Iraq. That nearly brought us into open war with Iran. A few days later Iran actually bombed a US base in Iraq. Trump minimized that. Dozens (hundreds?) of amUS troops were injured (I think there were no deaths). We forget that, I think, because it happened right when COVID was taking off.
Bruce K in ATH-GR
Man, the things you wake up to because you were stupid enough to be two hours east of London time…
Just to be clear, are we, in fact, over the threshold of “people have been sentenced to death for less than this”?
David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch
This scandal going nuclear explains Dump’s frantic behavior since the raid. His panic was on a different level than prior illegalities and now we know why.
Tinare
That the search warrant was served right after the Saudi golf tournament at Bedminster looks less and less like a coincidence.
Frankensteinbeck
I am leaning hard to “Jared convinced Trump to sell Israel’s nuclear secrets to the Saudis.” It would explain everything. Jared loves his dealmaking, the family loves the Saudis, and the Saudis would want that information so much they’d pay $2 billion for it. Israel must be pissed.
And it would be incredibly easy to convince Trump to do it. The only difficulty would be preventing him from giving it away, because oh man, would Trump feel super presidential showing that off to random strangers.
@catclub:
Granted that despite his hawkish rhetoric Trump was too big a chicken to go through with much actual war making. Instead, he was easily convinced to fuck over our allies by pulling out of military agreements. Remember the Kurds and Korea? So he was a peace president in the stupidest, most destructive way possible.
Amir Khalid
With paws like that, I predict he’s going to be a gifted masseur when he’s bigger. You’ll need that. Go adopt him.
p.a.
John’s off the board in Vegas; no $$$ on not getting the cat. OTOH, Steve…
Oh well, always late to the party: 100.3°, positive covid test. Fully vac’ed, but got lazy with mask. GF had it twice, delta & omicron, and I didn’t get it either time. Shrug emoji. Now I’ll get to use the 5lbs of brown rice, frozen veggies & Progresso I bought when this first started.
Tinare
Oh, and kitten is awesomely cute.
Kropacetic
And it was a Republican administration. The irony, it’s almost poetic.
PaulWartenberg
Is Steve okay with the nuclear kitten?
PST
@mrmoshpotato: Yes, go Rockets indeed. Just got home from Toledo last night.
raven
@p.a.: I’m getting the new booster tomorrow!
p.a.
@raven: 👍🏻
J.
GET THE KITTY.
zhena gogolia
Get the kitty. He is adorable. But be prepared for destruction in the house.
How is it that we have no way of guarding against these secrets being just taken out of the White House?
zhena gogolia
@raven: They still don’t have it here, and I’m not up for driving long distance to get it.
Baud
@zhena gogolia:
Normally, we rely on the president to lead the effort to prevent that sort of thing from happening.
zhena gogolia
@Baud: I know. I knew it was a stupid question. But now that we’ve had this kind of president, I think we’re going to have to change the protocol.
rikyrah
Newest member of Casa Cole?
Oh Cole🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗
Steeplejack
Waiting for the morning thread that will no doubt appear right after I post this . . .
Congratulated myself for going to bed early last night (11:00), then popped awake at 3:00 and couldn’t go back to sleep. Read in bed for a while and finally got up to make coffee and check in with Morning Joe. No big surprises—they’re chewing over the Trump revelations from yesterday.
Looks like a rainy day ahead here in Threadkill Lane. It’s dark gray outside, and the predicted high is only 75°. Currently 70°. Humidity is 96%, although I have to say that recently I have become a dew point guy. Never really knew what that was, but I looked it up recently and found that it’s supposedly a better measure of how much moisture is in the air and how the humidity feels. Short version: < 60°, fine; 60-64°, humid; 65-69°, “muggy” and getting uncomfortable; > 70°, “tropical.” My current dew point is 68°. (I’m still holding firm on “wind chill” skepticism.)
Steeplejack
@rikyrah:
Good morning! 🙏
Starfish
@TaMara:
You are both
suckerskindhearted animal lovers.lowtechcyclist
I already said on Twitter that resistance is useless. That kitten’s gonna own you, Cole.
David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch
@zhena gogolia: We do. These types of documents have a limited printing. For example there may only be two hard copies in existence, one for the file and one for head of the agency (CIA, NSA, DoD). They’re given a serial number and can only be read in a top secret location like the Situation Room and only in the presence of a document security officer.
Now a President can pull rank and order it left with him but the agency will note that a sensitive document is outstanding, its serial number, who it was signed out to and when. That the agency didn’t recover them after he immediately left office suggests some type of corruption (maybe some flunky like Kash Patel wiped the records).
Gvg
This is not the blog to convince anyone not to get a kitten.
I don’t see where anyone has mentioned that Jared is Jewish and it ought to be shocking or impossible to imagine him selling Israel’s defense secrets to anyone else. Somehow, it’s not though. He hung out with an administration full of white supremacist that had plenty of vile antisemitists.
I do want more facts, details and charges though. Lord, this is ugly.
lowtechcyclist
@Bruce K in ATH-GR:
If he shared the info in these docs with anyone, yes.
But even if not, anyone else would be looking at decades in prison, if not life w/o parole.
Spanky
@J.: GET 2 KITTIES.
Can’t be repeated enough.
Geminid
@Kropacetic: The Saudis don’t have a pressing need to see intelligence about Israel’s defence posture or nuclear program. The two countries have been defacto allies for a while now and have stepped up military coordination in the last year. The Saudis would probably like to have the information, but they don’t especially need it.
The document in question may well be about Israel, though. Reports are that trump was angry at then-Prime Minister Netanyahu for the latter’s call to Joe Biden on November 8, 2020 in which he congratulated Biden. That came out last December in a book by an Israel journalist who had interviewed trump. Among others, the BBC reported on this December 10, 2021:
Vindictiveness is a big motivator for trump, and may explain his taking this document (if Israel was in fact the subject).
Princess
@SiubhanDuinne: yeah, I lived in Ann Arbor for one year, and I never noticed anyone caring at all who UMich’s opponents were for any given game.
Steeplejack
Liz Truss looks like the star of a low-budget knockoff of Veep. She appears to have absolutely zero charisma—not even negative charisma. Where are you, Tony Jay? Sober up and write us a screed!
Ohio Mom
@Gvg: Well, we don’t actually know that Trump sold Israeli nuclear secrets, that’s just a guess that’s being bandied about on this thread.
But I do admit that this possibility amuses me no end — I am picturing the group of my co-religionists who were so thrilled Trump moved the embassy to Jerusalem doubled over in agonizing cognitive dissonance.
Princess
It would be irresponsible not to speculate.
I dunno who sold what to whom but I know that Trump didn’t keep these docs for souvenirs or because he was lazy or stupid. That’s a man who knows the price of every single thing in his home (and the value of nothing). And Jared did something BIG to get 3 billion from the Saudis. Bigger than playing down the murder of Khashoggi, what was old news by then.
sab
@SiubhanDuinne: A lot of northern Ohioans don’t care at all about Ohio State. We have our own universities, and mostly regard The Ohio State University as sucking up limited state education funds that should be spread around the state.
Youngstown has its own university (Youngstown State) that is pretty good.
I don’t think this rally is the no brainer it appears to be.
Haroldo
Yes! Get the kitty. We succumbed to a very similar kitty about a year ago. She’s still tiny and has a huge personality. Our big cat and this youngster get along famously.
Geminid
@Princess: The Saudis may have invested the $2 billion with Kushner to ensure continued favorable treatment in a second trump administration. That prospect was at least a 50-50 proposition when the Saudis gave Kushner the money.
stinger
Oh, little kitty cat, you are about to land face down in a bowl of cream. Have a wonderful life — but don’t get too close to the willow!
eversor
Get the SMOL cat, our Penny is very tiny and we love her all the more for it. She’s a feral rescue and really is not able to live with anyone else. She’s perfectly safe but she likes biting and if you aren’t willing to tolerate a bit of blood and nips, always for FUN!, you can’t get near her. She’s also a tux cat and she’s amazing.
For as agro as she is and all the biting she’s also vocal as hell. She constantly talks and follows me from room to room. The SO is sort of jealous cause she sleeps with me and not her, and so when I get flare ups and have to hit the couch (fuck chemo) the cat sticks with me. I can carry her around all day though and she just holds my face.
@Bruce K in ATH-GR:
Yes we are well past the point that if any of us on this site who were/are cleared did this we’d face a firing squad if we had ever served in the military (this is a dignity and a mercy) or be fucking hung if we had not served.
We have executed people for this sort of stuff before, we should execute people for it. There’s a reason why everyone here who has been exposed to this sort of information has gone on multiple rants, complained about their blood pressure, and I forget which said it but described it best “the entire premise is nuts” because this shit just doesn’t happen.
I’ve seen enough haul his ass out and hang him and let his supporters riot and have their violence and then gun them down. It’s so mind bogglingly insane of a situation to be in your brain reboots each time you think of it.
The only good that’s come of it is the universal rage, confusion, and frustration from all angles shows that the system (outside of Trump) largely does work. People take their oaths seriously and are outraged when someone does not.
WereBear
YES! I love him already :)
dsc
reason to get two or more kittens–kitten Whack-a-mole
https://www.facebook.com/akiyamaguchiphotography/videos/371178365184365
this is delightful
WaterGirl
@dsc: That’s adorable!
Yutsano
BEANZ!!!
KITTEH!!!
That is all.
Sis
ADORABLE!!!! At this point, the only open question is the name.
different-church-lady
Tuxes is the best!
Jude
I lub him.
I lub him for YOU.
If he’s cuddly, man, you should have a cuddly-ass cat. I’m so hopeful.
opiejeanne
@Sis: Willow.
Damned at Random
I would name that kitten Dickens. Assuming he is a wild child
PaulWartenberg
Kitten names:
Redacted
Mueller
Schadenfreude
Hillary Was Right All Along
Boycott CNN
…
what?
Subsole
@eversor:
I gotta agree. We cannot let what these people might do dictate our every movement. No living in terror. We tried that under Pharoah Dubya. Didn’t work.
These people are banking on their fellow whites panicking when the hammer falls on them, and joining their budget-rate Whiskey Rebellion because “hey, that neo nazi has the same skin tone as me!”
Which isn’t a horrible bet, given America. It might even have worked, if they hadn’t spent the last decade being gaping assholes to everyone, everywhere, every chance they got.
Now? I don’t think they really grasp how utterly unwelcome they have made themselves.
cvannatta
Tuxedo cats are always dressed for the occasion!
Yet another recommendation for getting two (2) Turrible Kittenz© to head-tackle each other instead of undeserving Steve. We did that with a pair of brother greys, much to the relief of our middle-aged and senior cats at the time.
Of course Tramp… er, Trump took home nuclear secrets. He took all those classified files because he wanted to one-up every other billionaire on the planet. “Sure, Queenie, you may have the Ko-i-Noor diamond, but do you have the nuclear launch codes?”
David Hunt
Unlike the large number of people I noticed while skimming this thread, I’m not going to try to convince you to take the cat. I don’t have to. It seems clear to me that you’ve already decided to take him and you’re just trying to come up with a rationalization for the decision. If I’m right, he’ll have lucked into a great home.
Andrya
Of course, adopt the kitten!
My nomination for kitten’s name: Thunderpaws.