Back in the day we called them stray cats then the breed became romanticized

 

Sometimes alley cats.  Now they're referred to simply as ferals.  Stylistic changes in the language over the years.  I'm always a step or two behind.  Actually cat groups, cat people or the cat industry have come up with official more technical definitions for each.  I don't inquire I simply help when I can.

This is Charlie who I've blogged about before.  Neighborhood tom who now allows me to pet him.  Comes around fairly regular.  All my cats are fixed so there's no shenanigans going on.  Incidentally Google always corrects it to Tom like that's his name.  Clean cat for a feral.  I think the neighborhood people look after him.  Dead rats and mice fairly regular sight around here.  Cats doing their job.  Unfixed toms have a big face.  Mr, Galaxy calls it a face mask to help protect them during cat fights.  Stay out of trouble Charlie.

Tip:  Pulled chicken which you can get at many supermarkets these days share it with the cats.

The POTUS - a crabby nasty man. Grouch. Worse than a curmudgeon.

 I watched the newsclip a few times and Biden does appear to call Trump supporters garbage.  This was in response of course to comedian Tony Hinchcliffe's comments at the recent Trump MSG rally where he called Puerto Rico "a floating island of garbage."  If you do a bit of a deep dive into this you can make a fair case Hinchcliffe was making an environmental joke that was miscast as a racist joke.  PR has a serious problem with overflowing landfills.  Most people probably don't know this.  I didn't know this.  Some comedians make obscure allusions as if they're common knowledge.  It absolutely should not have been said however which leads us to Trump's press conference from a garbage truck.  There's still time for him to drive a Mister Softee and hand out cones to the kids.

Biden is bitter he was cast aside but it was best for the country.  He could pass away at a UN General Assembly meeting say.  He's a Weekend At Bernie's thing waiting to happen.  Quick get the body double!  Conspiracy theorists think they're around.  Uncle Joe.  Obama fancies himself some elder statesman, an elegant commentator who has to give his Cliffs Notes views on everything.  In his younger days he could have been an underwear model smiling back at you from a package of Hanes.  I hear Whoopie Goldberg had some kind of meltdown.  I have to look that one up.

I'm not bored;)

Ethnic humor doesn't fly anymore

 The NYT has studied Trump's campaign speeches and says they have grown harsher and darker.  Trump throws in a penis joke to lighten the mood and there's a bee in everyone's bonnet.  Ethnic humor -- You might be able to get away with a few Irish jokes but the better comedians have moved on.  Back in the day on his radio show Stern used to say A LOT of racial things.  Didn't stop Kamala from talking with him though.  Just watched the 12 minute clip of comedian Tony Hinchcliffe at Trump's recent MSG rally and a small portion was devoted to what you would call racial humor.  Yes cringe - groan.  Times change.  Every once in a while you need to open up the window and look outside.  Jon Stewart defended him as a roast comedian who once roasted Tom Brady.  My take calling PR a floating island of garbage is rough even by ethnic humor standards.  Having said that it doesn't affect the race in the least imho.  On the other hand the Left's claim that Trump has it on his bucket list to be an aging Hitler now that's HILARIOUS.  A tyrant for life with dementia.  ROFL!!!

Play to your base but govern from the center

 

Ever wonder why Trump is campaigning as such a right-wing hardass?  Many people are making the mistake that he's an aspiring dictator or fascist.  However there were no mass deportations of illegals in his first term and there won't be any in a Trump second term.  Play your base like a fiddle then when in office govern more pragmatically.  In a second term he can do what he wants but doesn't have to answer to his base anymore since there's no third term for presidents.  Least that's the way I see it.

Escape from politics

 

Where do I sleep?

The Joe Rogan Prolonged Experience

 Did some checking.  Trump on Rogan clocked it at 2 hours and 58 minutes.   The Godfather was 2 hours and 55 minutes.  Both epics.  Now there's pressure building on Kamala to go on like JRE is some type of requirement.   Her CNN Town Hall with Anderson Cooper didn't go too well what has she got to lose?

Dems gloomy all of a sudden like resigning themselves to a Trump second term and getting ready to point fingers.  The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times have failed to make endorsements.  Kamala vague on her economic plans just that she loves the middle-class and everyone needs more money.  Where did all the joy go?

Trump has the gift of gab.  Kamala always looks like she just took a pill and the side effects are starting to kick in.

Dunno.

Kamala Harris playing the Nazi card

 Quick recap - Trump's former Chief of Staff John Kelly said in interviews with The Atlantic and The New York Times that Trump fits the definition of a fascist and prefers the dictator approach to government.   He also claims Trump admired the loyalty of Hitler's generals and that Trump said Hitler also did some good things.  Kelly is coming out with this kinda late almost like an October Surprise.

Harris on X:  "Donald Trump is out for unchecked power.  He wants a military like Adolf Hitler had, who will be loyal to him, not our Constitution."  Also @Kamala HQ:  "Trump said he wanted generals like Adolf Hitler had.  He wants a military that is not loyal to the Constitution, but loyal to him...This is a window into who Donald Trump really is from the people who know him best."

My sober analysis (it's still early in the evening).  All these allegations are not in the realm of established fact but the msm is treating it as such.  How do you fact-check hearsay?  It's possible it's true.  It's possible it's not true.  It's also possible there's some missing context or grayscale.  Harris playing the Hitler card doesn't help people pay the mortgage or the rent or put food on the table.  So far it's an academic discussion that may not sway the undecideds.  She's looking to seal the deal on this.  Throw some pasta against the wall and it might stick (old chef showed me that).  It's a lazy approach imo.

I don't know if everybody's going mental or what's going on

 

Lost Sparky last night.  Had to be at least 16 years old.  Probably old kidneys.  Last couple days not really eating but drinking lots of water.  Mainly sleeping and using the litter box. He hung out on the patio last night.  Nice night.  Clear sky rather balmy with a good moon.  Took an old bath rug from the bathroom and sprinkled a good dose of catnip on it to relax him.  Woke up this morning and he hadn't moved from his sleeping position when I went to bed.  After a few minutes knew he was gone.  Sad but kind of expected it the last couple of weeks.  He didn't seem to suffer much.  Grateful for that.  Family as they say.  Always a part of me.

Called my sister early this morning to see if she had a box for me to put him in to bury him in the backyard by an old rose bush.  As luck would have it have today off.  While sitting in the lounge chair with my first cup of coffee waiting for her to get back to me the home health aide had GMA on.  The very FIRST story, the TOP story was Trump's former Chief of Staff John Kelly saying he thinks if Trump gets elected to a second term he'll become a Hitler.  First off we don't have the political system for aspiring dictators.  How in hell is that even supposed to happen?  So much for dialing down the political rhetoric in the wake of the two recent attempts on Trump's life.  Has Pfizer or somebody made a pill for TDS yet?

So now I'm down from six cats to five.  Unless Elon Musk gives me some grant money I'm gonna stick with the five for now.  Don't know about the media.  They wouldn't be trying to influence the election would they?

Is McDonald's now a swing state?

 Media giving this maybe more attention than it deserves.  As we all know Donald Trump worked the fry station at a Philadelphia-area McDonald's over the weekend and held a kind of impromptu news conference through the drive-thru.  He has called into question Kamala Harris work history saying there's no evidence she worked at a McDonald's during summer break while attending Howard University.  Media giving this LOTS of attention calling to task his lies and baseless claims once again.  On a scale of 1 to 10 it hardly registers with me.  It's really not that important.  Everyone knows Trump talks out of his ass.  Maybe what we should be asking is was RFK Jr. okay with his stint at McDonald's???  He took Jr. on board to make America healthy again.  Is Jr. pissed?  I mean Trump could have put the produce away at a Whole Foods or something.  Does Bobby feel used in any way?

I like McDonald's btw.  Kamala Harris and Trump both like McDonald's.  The media taking this way too seriously imo.  Bobby probably confused at this point.

The ghost of Arnold Palmer was appalled by Trump's crude remarks

 It's hard to find decent coverage of the elections these days at least in my curated newsfeeds.  Heavily anti-Trump it's almost as if they're trying to influence the election.  Ya think?  Trump can't serve fries at McDonald's without a negative spin.  No longer objective news that pretense has been long abandoned with the rise of MAGA.  We're engaged in trivialities in these final days.  Kamala Harris has time for Stern but not the Al Smith dinner.  Did she have a souffle in the oven?  Bill Maher is gibbering about this and that.  He's kind of lost me.  The whole election thing is like a bad dream.  What does any of this have to do with the price of Fancy Feast?

To prognosticate or not to prognosticate

 Normally I would not prognosticate a presidential election this close but I will although not with supreme confidence as there will be millions of Americans default voting against Trump.  It will come down to the economy as it usually does.  Harris can point to this or that positive economic indicator but what people are paying for groceries is still too high.  Too many people still remember the Trump pre-pandemic economy when a trip to the supermarket was more normal.  This remains an albatross for Kamala Harris.  People also have been paying too much at the pump although I went to the station the other day and the cost took a remarkable dip.  What a coincidence!  Most voters are not academics and don't intellectualize that presidents don't really control the price of oil.  It was the Biden/Harris Administration during this time.  Correlation in the public mind and that's usually enough.  That the polling is still this close shows the defects in Trump's personality have had a negligible impact.  Disposable income trumps Trump you could say.  I want more disposable income to buy cigars.  To the undecideds Harris might be different than Biden but why take the chance?  If you vote wrong that's a long four years.  Trendy issues like climate change and trans issues those are more issues for the Left imo not bread and butter for most folk.  Abortion could have a significant but overall limited impact since people's views run the gamut.  It's the economy stupid.

Trump wins.  Not by a landslide but he comes out on top when the dust settles.  My somewhat shaky prognostication.

Last Tango In Yonkers

 Yonkers, NY.  Also known as The City of Gracious Living and the Sixth Borough of NYC.  Lots of movies filmed in Yonkers.  I may need to get out more as I haven't heard of most of these:

Who Made Tony Soprano, A Journal for Jordan, Halston, The Irishman (my friend told me about this one), Cruise, Ben Is Back, Breakable You, The Book of Henry, The Drowning, Chuck, Paterson, Meadowland, Freeheld, Get Ready for Ricki, The Adderall Diaries, Still Alice, Presto......I did see Freedomland (2006) though as I remember them filming here.  Starring Samuel L. Jackson they filmed parts in the Mulford Gardens Housing Project which was torn down years ago to make room for nicer townhouse style low-income housing.  Lots of TV shows filmed in the Big YO as well.  Not up on most of them either. 

Don't know if this has anything to do with the City of Yonkers' obsession with mow your front grass and keep your sidewalks clean at all times as the movie scouts may be driving through.  BTW the Yonkers property tax.  You're killing me.

50 Shades Of Diddy

 Not a whole lot to report on the culture front.  Actor Robert De Niro thinks Trump won't relinquish power if elected to a second term.  He needs to reacquaint himself with our system of government first.  84-year old actor Al Pacino now has a 1-year old son.  Don't play too rough and give Dad a hernia.  The T. Swift/Travis Kelce romance.  Pop star Sabrina Carpenter getting competition from upstart Chappell Roan.  I was driving to work this morning, stopped off and sent in my mail-in ballot for Trump/Vance then on the radio they were talking about the sad and tragic death of 31-year old One Direction member Liam Payne who jumped or fell from his room in a Buenos Aires hotel.  TMZ facing backlash over pics they posted of his. The Al Smith Dinner tonight.  Trump came but Kamala Harris didn't.  She sent in a pre-recorded video instead.  Who does this?  NY Archbishop Timothy Cardinal Dolan disappointed.

Got anything? 

Trump is pretty fly for a white guy Part 2

 Apparently there's an issue with not enough black men who are automatically going to vote for the Harris/Walz ticket.  Heresies and blasphemies!  Obama has admonished them and now Kamala Harris has promised $20K in forgivable government loans for 1 million minorities to start businesses.  Harris also wants to legalize pot not an uncommon position but is also looking at it from a business potential angle.  I recently took out two loans through my union but nothing in the fine print about not having to pay them back.  On the pot front my neighbors are big potheads.  I'll be enjoying my fine Navy Flake MacBaren's pipe tobacco on my front porch and the smell of pot is always wafting over from the porch next door.  Modern-day Americana.  Norman Rockwell with a modern flair.  

So too many black folk have a nostalgia for the Trump first-term pre-pandemic economy.  Even the Trump loathing media admits the price of groceries was lower back then.  Black voters thinking out of the box.  A problem for the Dems.

Medical records I'd like to see

 Kamala Harris has released her medical records to goad Trump into releasing his.  Trump's physician said he is in excellent overall health.  Remember this is a man who once underwent a colonoscopy without anesthesia.  Kamala - Trump health nothing to see here.  RFK Jr.'s medical file might be interesting though.  Here is a man who once said worms ate part of his brain.  Sounds like a House episode.  Also and we don't know this for a fact but there is a good chance he has eaten roadkill sometime during his life.  He says you can get some sort of license for this.  Guess he keeps it in his wallet.  Is it laminated?  How often do you renew it and what is the fee?  He's driving home along the parkway somebody hits a deer and he's automatically thinking of the best recipe for venison.  His voice.  I don't know if he's given an official medical reason for this but people are curious.   The Jr. health file might be a treasure trove of medical esoterica.  A real rabbit hole.

Michael Moore is a freak

 Left-wing documentary filmmaker Michael Moore has urged Biden being a lame duck president to sign off on some far-left action items with the stroke of a pen.  Point 1 Joe Biden has always been a moderate-liberal Democrat his whole political career.  Point 2 Kamala is putting off progressives for now to appeal to the more centrist middle-class.  Point 3 Biden probably wouldn't know what he's signing anyway.  Moore should instead compete in a doughnut eating contest with Chris Christie.  Meanwhile Obama who fancies himself some sort of elder statesman is advising black men to not stray off the Democratic plantation and to vote for Harris/Walz.  I don't know about you but I've had enough of this election cycle.

If Trump wins on Nov. 5

 It would have been better off if he had won the last time around against Joe Biden.  He would have been nearing the end of his full presidency by now and the era of MAGA would be coming to an end.  We could all be talking about other subjects.  The trend lately has been to give most recent presidents two terms.  Clinton, Bush Jr., Obama.  This is why at the time I thought the American people would reelect Trump.  This gives the president the opportunity to finish the work he started  and gives his foreign policy a certain stability.  World leaders are used to dealing with him.  Instead we got Sleepy Joe.  IF Trump wins now there's talk of riots.  Why I don't know.  If he had won against Biden we wouldn't be going through this.  I make no case that the election was bad just that the American voters should have reelected him the last time for practical reasons.  Not voting for him this time because his personality has reached a critical mass for me.  Other conservative bloggers have said this is not the way to go but to each his own.

This was a tentative blogpost of mine since if Kamala Harris wins on Nov. 5 this thread will have little to no value.  However if I'm reading the polls right she just might come out on the losing end.  IF Trump wins but the election is close he clearly has no mandate and will govern a divided country.

The feral cat that liked people but hated his own kind

 

Many years back.  Would come around come in the house and sit on my father's lap while they were watching Judge Judy.  Loved people but hated other cats.  I don't recall him meeting another cat and liking him or at least tolerating him.  He felt the whole property belonged to him.  Did he pay the mortgage?  We named him Smokey.  He always had some sort of digestive problem and eventually passed away.  We never took him to the vet because of his anti-social attitude towards the other cats but took care of him as best we could.

A quick tip regarding cat rescues.  Another cat was trapped up a neighbor's tree once for a couple of days.  Maybe chased up there by a stray dog.  Called the Yonkers Fire Department and explained the situation to the lady.  She said just open up a can of cat food and leave it at the bottom of the tree and he'll eventually come down.   Nope.  I guess fire departments don't do cat rescues anymore.  At a loss I said to Dad I have an idea.  I got their big comforter from upstairs and we went next door into our neighbor's yard and we stretched out the blanket good and wide and held it right there underneath where the cat was sitting on a branch and we gradually coaxed him to fall into the blanket like a trampoline.  He was slightly bloodied from being scratched by some twigs on his way down but not the worse for wear.  We never officially adopted him but named him Lucky.  Would've been a nice YouTube video but nobody was around to record it.

From the Cat Diaries.

Hurricane season is upon us but debate season is over

 As we all know during a recent campaign stop in Wisconsin Trump called Kamala Harris mentally disabled from birth while talking about the Biden/Harris approach to dealing with illegal immigration.  He didn't say she lost her critical thinking skills but said what he said and took it to another level.  Conservatives have memory-holed this since they're default voting for Trump anyway.  A debate with a mentally disabled person should be a cakewalk for him.  Why wouldn't he go for it?

Trump may well win.  The polls show a clear horse race but if he loses the political autopsy of MAGA won't be hard to figure.

I got 99 problems but 'gators in the floodwaters ain't one of them

 There's always people worse off than you.  Back to back monsters Helene and Milton.  Hurricane Milton wreaked absolute havoc as it made landfall late Wednesday knocking out power to millions of Floridians as expected and spawned at least 150 twisters!  At least four deaths.  Tampa wasn't hit straight on by the Category 3 system though.  The fabric roof of the stadium used by the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team, Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg was completely ripped off.  Rather than be a Captain Google you can just surf the rest of the details.

I can't wait for the politics of this.  Marjorie Taylor Greene.  Trump.  Gotta put a spin on everything.

Our thoughts, hearts and prayers;)