Waaaaaay behind on today’s writing quota, so none of the posts I have queued up in my lizard brain can issue here. But we need some more conversation, so to prod any dulled after-lunch synapses, here’s a little internet goody my musicologist sister sent me:
This was stimulated by Tikka’s just-now, post-midday-kibble behavior: a leap onto my desk and a stroll-to-a-stop directly above my keyboard. I petted him; he purred. As he accounted tribute duly paid, he walked off to his usual spot just northwest of my right-hand screen:
The forte will come in a couple of hours, when he concludes that it’s time for second lunch.
He won’t get it, and we’ll have that conversation until six or so.
;-)
Have at it, everyone.
HinTN
I love tuxedo cats.
Yarrow
LOL @ that last picture. Tikka has decided to allow you to live. For now.
Yutsano
Work is butts today. Physio after work. Then home to a house with no workin A/C where it’s gonna be around 100° today. I really should be in a worse mood than I am.
I am weirdly Zen today however. I think my givadamn done died.
Also: TIKKAKITTEH!!!
LAO
According to twitter, a clown car filled with the usual tea party congressmen are currently defending Trump’s honor on the floor of the House. I’m so sorry, I’m not watching.
Steeplejack
You need to upgrade that cat’s workstation!
The housecat has a microfleece throw wrapped around a heating pad, currently set to 1 (keep warm). She just had her second (or third) micro-lunch and is settling down for her afternoon session. She’s doing the meatloaf meditation pose before going into a deep theta state.
Jeffro
@LAO: Just watch long enough to write down a few names…so that a year from now, you can check back with them and see how they feel about having been “Trumpsubstantiated” by Shit Midas
LAO
Also this made me laugh: (Cat thread needs more dog)
Yarrow
Anyone with Dem Senators needs to be ON THEM about this shit. Why would they even entertain voting for anything or anyone Trump wants. Shut down Congress except for essential activities until this Russian treason stuff is sorted out. They FBI doesn’t need a traitor heading it.
Jeffro
On a non-political note, I’m trying to get some vacations and concerts scheduled for this fall and winter, and I’m waiting on my kids’ blessed fall travel sports schedules to come out. Grrrr…
Betty Cracker
That’s a good-looking cat!
I’ve been in meetings all day, which is wretched. Just popped in to see if there was updated Russiagate news. At this point, I’m expecting to hear the pee hookers showed up to Don Jr.’s meeting with a kilo of blow.
rikyrah
@Yarrow:
AMEN.
TELL THAT TRUTH!!!!!
eclare
@LAO: Foghorn Leghorn voice, scurrilous rumors, scurrilous! Pistols at dawn!
LAO
@eclare: Are you a witch? That was actually playing in head as I wrote the comment. LMAO
Citizen_X
That last picture: “Why yes, this spot is comfortable. Why do you ask?”
Miss Bianca
No second lunch? How about second breakfast? Elevenses? Tea time? Pre-dinner snack? Post-dinner snack? Midnight snack?
(sorry, channeling my inner hobbit here. Sounds like you’re more in the Aragorn mode when it comes to feeding times). ; )
eric
@rikyrah: that is so, so ….. partisan to hold out for an FBI Director without a “Russia problem.” All he had to do was leave it there and people would ask and he would say no issue. Poor judgment if ever there was….
Jeffro
Ok back to politics: Susan Hennessey is having fun on Twitter mocking the “a staffer accidentally hit ‘send’ on Jared’s form” (the one he had to amend and add over 100 meetings with foreign nationals)
SH: “At a minimum, this should read ‘prematurely clicked 26 buttons and entered password twice for the [clearance] form before it was completed’ ” LOL
The best crooks are dumb crooks, at least you get something entertaining out of it.
StringOnAStick
Asking for advice here. We are planning on adding a cat back into our lives after losing the best cat we’d ever had almost 2 years ago. I have been pushing for getting a pair from the same litter since we travel some, and I figure having a cat-buddy will be easier for the kitties than if there is just one cat. Then i have moments where I think one would be better with less to clean up after, more interested in the humans, less likely to be any discord between two even if sisters, and more likely to be playful since it won’t risk triggering an attack from a second cat. Our late kitty was playful until almost the very end of her life of 16 years, and loved to “talk” to us; in other’s experience do you think 1 or 2 is better?
Major Major Major Major
That second Tikka pic is hilarious.
@eclare: always makes me think of the futurama character that’s a combination of Foghorn Leghorn and the “simple country lawyer”.
“Now, I may just be a southern chicken, but I object…”
Ruckus
@Yutsano:
Welcome to the club. Although I do think it’s possible that we are moving through the stages of grief. I think this is what moving past the initial anger stage feels like. Still in the anger stage, just not raging mad.
Yarrow
@Jeffro:
If that’s true (it’s not) it’s yet another example of how they hire the more incompetent people. Even their lies and coverups suck.
A Ghost To Most
@Miss Bianca: I don’t think they know about second breakfast.
different-church-lady
Don’t see much music terminology humor nowadays….
Yarrow
@Ruckus: I go back and forth. I find the anger fuels me for doing tasks I don’t like, like calling asshole Republican Senators.
TenguPhule
@Miss Bianca:
And then the damn cats give away your position to the Nazgul by operating an electric can-opener at midnight with the lights on.
A Ghost To Most
@StringOnAStick: We like two cats – main cat, and emergency backup cat.
Foothills Animal Shelter is waiting for you. Why yes, we do support them.
Walker
This being a cat blog, I need some advice.
I left the screen door partially open last night to air out a small cooking fire. I forgot about it and overnight one of my cats escaped. This is a 10 year old cat that has lived his entire life indoors. He completely freaks out around anyone who is not me or my wife.
I have looked around as much of the property as I can, but my house is in 8 acres of woods. Across the street is a large horse farm. Not a lot of neighbors. I have looked under all of my crawl spaces under the house. I have put out wet food and a litter box to try to draw him with smells.
Is there anything else that I can do that anyone knows about?
MomSense
@Yarrow:
I posted that cnn piece yesterday on the Wray thread. Just unbelievable that they aren’t even trying to hide the Russia connections. I’m trying not to let it spook me.
Miss Bianca
@StringOnAStick: 2 = twice the fun, half the hassle, in my experience. In that, they keep each other entertained, and in the process, keep YOU entertained. I didn’t think the increase in mess, etc. was that significant compared to the increase in fun factor. As always, however, YMMV.
Ruckus
@Yarrow:
That’s why I say we are still in the anger stage. Just not in the initial burn down the house stage. If we had moved on we’d shrug our shoulders and say “It’ll be OK.” Haven’t heard anyone say or even sound like they are thinking that yet.
Miss Bianca
@A Ghost To Most: : )
@TenguPhule: OK, that totally merited a snortle.
zhena gogolia
@StringOnAStick:
Two is better.
Gin & Tonic
@StringOnAStick: Our last acquisition was two sisters, whom we got at a fairly young age. They were different in terms of temperament, but always got on well, both with each other and with the dog. They grew apart a little bit as they aged, but never any issues. One of them had thyroid problems and died about a year and a half ago, so it’s just the one now, but it was the pair for over 12 years. Earlier we were one-cat-at-a-time folks.
TenguPhule
@Miss Bianca:
One tries. : -}
WaterGirl
@Yutsano:
Nope, probably just napping.
edit: should have mentioned a cat nap since this is a kitty thread!
Morzer
Well, everything that I’ve seen over the last week makes me think that we are looking at a remarkably stupid, greedy group of people in the Trump Crime Family, who got hopelessly out of their depth when dealing with the Russians and can now do nothing but cling to the fact of hyper-partisanship to stay out of prison. It looks as if the GOP has no sort of credible, practicable legislative agenda and no idea how to come up with one. What happens next? Heaven only knows, but I am sure it’s going to get uglier, nastier and more repellent to the rest of the world.
WaterGirl
@Steeplejack: I always liked the idea of the Hobbit’s second breakfast.
amygdala
That last pic is too funny. “Afternoon kibble or this cord to your modem is history, hooman.”
Major Major Major Major
@different-church-lady: you’re just looking in the wrong places!
eclare
@Walker: I don’t have any advice, sounds like you’re doing the right things. Maybe put some food in different locations, if you haven’t already. But mainly, hope kitty comes home soon.
rikyrah
That last picture is telling.
and, is that minion mask in the left corner?
TenguPhule
@Morzer:
What do you mean if?
Miss Bianca
@TenguPhule: No LOLs at work, you understand, or I’ll have to answer questions regarding the relationship between cats and Nazgul, and how this pertains to Amazon orders.
rikyrah
The White House’s spin on the Russia scandal goes off the rails
07/14/17 12:46 PM—UPDATED 07/14/17 02:01 PM
By Steve Benen
You’ve got to be kidding me.
Let’s take a breath and think about how we reached this point. When reports first surfaced of Russian intervention in the American elections, Donald Trump and his team said there was no Russian meddling. Then Team Trump said there was meddling, but Russia wasn’t trying to help put Trump in power. Then Trump World said Russia may have been trying to help Trump, but the Republican campaign wasn’t in communications with Russian nationals during the attack. Then Team Trump said there were communications, but there was no cooperation between Russia and the campaign.
This week, all of that changed, thanks to documented proof that Russia not only offered to help put Trump in the White House, but also that top members of Trump’s inner circle welcomed Moscow’s intervention.
It’s against this backdrop that Kellyanne Conway, who’s practically hired a team of movers to help relocate the goal posts on multiple occasions, told a national television audience, “The goalposts have been moved.” As she sees it, proving cooperation between Trump World and Vladimir Putin’s government isn’t enough – because she expects evidence of “sustained” collusion.
In other words, some cooperation with a Russian espionage operation, as part of the most serious attack on the United States since 9/11, is underwhelming. Conway wants evidence of a lot of cooperation.
WaterGirl
@Yarrow: I can swear with the best of them, no stranger to ‘shit’ and all conjugations of the word fuck, but I was raised Catholic and even though I am a fallen-away Catholic – “thou shalt not take the name of the lord in vain” has always stuck with me, but I read that and said “Jesus Fucking Christ’ out loud.
Somebody somewhere is having a good yuck about getting a Russian compromised FBI director put in place after they ousted the legitimate one who was investigating the Russian matter. Un-fucking-believable.
TenguPhule
@Miss Bianca:
Where do you think the cats got their damn noisy electric can-opener from?
rikyrah
Collins points to an underappreciated flaw in the GOP health plan
07/14/17 11:21 AM
By Steve Benen
……………
The basic idea behind Cruz’s proposal is to empower insurers to sell plans that ignore the ACA’s insurance safeguards alongside plans that include those safeguards. So, consumers could purchase a good plan, with protections for pre-existing conditions and essential health benefits, or a bare-bones plan, that wouldn’t meet any of the existing standards under the Affordable Care Act.
As health care experts have repeatedly explained, this would create an unsustainable two-tiered system, with older and sicker patients buying real coverage, and younger and healthier consumers buying cheaper insurance. This, naturally, would lead to vastly higher premiums for people who need coverage the most.
The GOP approach would try to ease the burden by creating a fund to help offset those costs, creating what would, in practice, become high-risk pools. And while that’s inherently problematic for all kinds of reasons, as TPM noted, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) raised a separate concern: the money her party’s plan sets aside is being used more than once.
Another Scott
In more “happy” news… Reuters – DPRK may have more nuclear weapons fuel than earlier thought.
(sigh)
Cheers,
Scott.
Ruckus
@Morzer:
I know you didn’t mean it this way but that is probably the most tongue in cheek comment I think you’ve ever written. You aren’t convinced by now?
TenguPhule
@rikyrah:
Well at least now they’re admitting it……………….oh.
Maybe its not too late to invest in tumbrel futures.
rikyrah
Don’t count on John McCain to follow through on his posturing
07/14/17 09:20 AM
By Steve Benen
Now that the latest iteration of the Senate Republicans’ health care plan is available, health care advocates are keeping a close eye on the head-count. Two GOP senators have announced their opposition, but to kill the bill, critics of the far-right bill will need a third.
According to the Washington Post, however, there’s already a third. In addition to Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.), whose opposition is unambiguous, the Post’s head-count, as of this morning, showed Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) as another “no” vote.
And while I think that’s a mistake, I can understand why the newspaper reached such a conclusion. McCain issued a written statement yesterday that sounded a very critical note about his party’s bill and the process that created it.
Elizabelle
@Walker: I heard that putting kitteh’s litter box outside would help guide him home.
Could be a cruel feline legend, but why not? Keep us posted. I bet kitty comes back.
germy
Beto O’Rourke wants to run against Ted Cruz. He’s raised more money from small donors than Ted has gotten from PACs.
Should be interesting.
rikyrah
The Republican health care gambit reaches a crossroads
07/14/17 08:00 AM—UPDATED 07/14/17 08:51 AM
By Steve Benen
…………………..
This left health care advocates with a sense of uncertainty. On the one hand, opponents of the far-right approach were encouraged by the fact that the Republican plan was already struggling, just hours after its unveiling. On the other hand, two “no” votes won’t be enough to stop the bill. One more is needed.
What’s unclear is whether some GOP senators who balked at the plan in June will find a way out of the box they’ve put themselves in.
There are plenty of head-counts available, showing where the various members stand – the New York Times’ version looks the most accurate to me – but I’m especially interest in Nevada’s Dean Heller and Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski, two Republicans who opposed their party’s plan last month.
Heller, in particular, said he simply couldn’t go along with legislation that made such brutal cuts to Medicaid and undermined those with pre-existing conditions, and when he announced his opposition, the Nevada Republican left himself no wiggle room. And therein lies the rub: the newest version of the GOP plan leaves those same Medicaid cuts intact and is arguably even worse for Americans with pre-existing conditions.
Heller, in other words, has backed himself into a corner. Either he honors the concerns he raised just a few weeks ago, or reverses course and completes a very public betrayal – the year before his re-election campaign.
TenguPhule
@rikyrah:
Shorter McCain: “Where’s my fat bribe, you fucking turtle!”
Gelfling 545
A little something in honor pf the day.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HM-E2H1ChJM
Major Major Major Major
@TenguPhule: why would the cats turn the lights on?
rikyrah
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 7/13/17
Trump lawyer e-mail meltdown raises questions of competence
Rachel Maddow looks at the oddly aggressive streak in Donald Trump’s legal team and reports on an angry meltdown by the head of Trump’s legal team, Marc Kasowitz, in which Kasowitz replied to a stranger’s e-mailed criticism with curses and threats.
germy
We used corn-based cat litter, but a neighbor told me harmful bacteria can form on the corn-based stuff. They recommended litter from recycled newspaper. My local grocer sells it.
Anyone have any experience with corn vs. paper litter?
TenguPhule
@rikyrah:
So public betrayal it is. And vote rigging to keep the proles from revolting.
Ruckus
@rikyrah:
That seems to be coming down the road. Of course then it will depend on the definition of a lot. Sort of like the definition of sex. But with actual legal issues attached.
Ladyraxterinok
A great memory today–In the summer of 1989 I was in Germany, and in July I visited relatives who lived in Germany near Basel.
On July 14 we went to dinner, which as always in Germany lasted a long time. We then returned to their home, first stopping on a nearby hill.
From the hill we could see Germany, Switzerland, and France. They all come together at Basel, with France across the Rhine from Germany.
And then it got dark and it started — all along the Rhine as far as we could see there was a massive fireworks display. Bastille Day, the 200th annversary of the French Revolution!!
That was an experience I will never forget. I had not realized the significance of the date, so the spectacular fireworks display came as a complete surprise.
WaterGirl
@StringOnAStick: Bear with me while I try to figure out how to say this emphatically enough.
2. two. Two. TWO. TWO. TWO!
When I went to get a kitty after my beloved kitty soulmate died, I asked to see a beautiful striped kitty and they said “would you be willing to consider two? she was left here with her brother and two other siblings, and the other two have already been adopted out.”
Me: Well, I won’t not consider it.
Best kitty decision ever. Someone else at the same crazy stage to play with, someone to hang out with. I will never not get two littermates again.
Edit: If you’re scooping for one, you may as well scoop for two.
Miss Bianca
@rikyrah: Oh, you mean Collins has cottoned on to that troublesome fact?
rikyrah
THIS, IMO,
Leads to Kushner and the Mercers.
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 7/13/17
Russian 2016 online propaganda likely needed American guidance
Michael Carpenter, former deputy assistant secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia, talks with Rachel Maddow about why Russia would have needed American help in implementing tailored online propaganda to interfere in the 2016 U.S. election.
rikyrah
In Moderation, please help.
TenguPhule
@Major Major Major Major:
Because they can’t enjoy the color of the accompanying wine in the dark.
rikyrah
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 7/13/17
Trump role in publishing hacked material draws lawsuit
Walter Dellinger, former U.S. solicitor general, talks with Rachel Maddow about a lawsuit filed against Donald Trump for his role in the public sharing of materials hacked by Russians during the 2016 election.
Here is the link to the lawsuit. Interesting reading:
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3893506-Invasion-of-Privacy-lawsuit-complaint-Trump.html
germy
@rikyrah:
Tell her to be patient. Mueller’s working on finding it.
rikyrah
PHUCK OUTTA HERE!!!
Trump Lawyers Claim Don Jr. Was Set Up By Democrats
by Nancy LeTourneau July 14, 2017 8:00 AM
…………………
Anyone think that sounds plausible? Apparently Trump’s lawyers do.
I first heard about this on Facebook two nights ago from one of the people I follow specifically to hear what kind of fake news is being spread by Trump supporters. This story in even crazier form was traveling around those sites that anyone with half a brain would avoid. So I didn’t pay much attention to it. Then I noticed that Erick Ericksson had bought into it. I know he’s a right wing extremist, but he’s been no fan of Donald Trump. The title of his piece is, “Were Democrats Working With Russia Against Trump? That Russian Lawyer Has Ties to Democrat Oppo Researchers.” Here’s his introduction:
Major Major Major Major
@TenguPhule: I don’t think cats have very good color vision in the light or in the dark.
WaterGirl
@MomSense: It should spook us. It should spook everyone.
TenguPhule
@Major Major Major Major:
Well I certainly am not going to risk telling them that.
Gelfling 545
@Yarrow: Well, if you’re Trump and insist on bring the smartest person in the room there are forms of pond life that would be too intelligent to be hired.
Brachiator
@rikyrah:
Cruz tries to ride to the rescue and ends up falling over the cliff.
What a dope!
Tom Levenson
@rikyrah: Nah. A 1930s era Japanese Army gas mask — acquired as a film prop for a documentary on the history of gas weaponry my wife helped on some time back.
Spanky
@StringOnAStick:
Two is better than one, but four is better than 2. However, space the pairs out, otherwise the heartache i X number of years will be hard to bear.
I think we’re going to find that out too soon, and our sets are 5 years apart.
Ruckus
@rikyrah:
That money was never really real. They can plan to use it as many times as they want, for they intend to never actually spend it on anything in this bill. They plan to spend it on tax cuts. They will give it to their friends/benefactors, then complain about how we can’t afford to spend it on health care and wipe out the program, all in the name of tax cuts. Then complain how we can’t have nice things.
different-church-lady
@rikyrah: There are no goalposts anymore. There’s just a bunch of idiots running around hitting things at random. Sometimes each other. Sometimes themselves.
Redshift
@rikyrah: Yeah, BS queen Kellyanne insists they were promised proof the Russians dictated the outcome of the election, and anything less is “moving the goalposts.”
I’m trying to come up with a pithy phrase that would mean “relocating the entire stadium and then claiming the goalposts were moved,” but I’m coming up empty.
GregB
I just saw in the Twitters that CNN is reporting that 8 people were in the meeting with 3 still unidentified particpants.
Yarrow
@WaterGirl: I know, right? I called my Dem Rep and, after thanking the nice woman answered the phone for all my Rep’s efforts to push back against Trump, I said not enough noise was being made in standing up against everything Trump wants or anyone he wants appointed and who needs Congressional approval. I said EVERYTHING in Congress should be shut down outside of essential tasks (debt ceiling, etc.)
Asked her what she thought Republicans would be doing if it were Democrats who were accused of treason with Russia. Told her I thought Republicans would be standing arm in arm to block anyone entering the building to “demand answers” and would shut down all activity in Congress. Said Dems should do something similar. It ALL needs to stop because we have traitors running the government.
The intern said she agreed with me and was appreciative of my call. Maybe we need more calls like that to our Representatives since they’re not working on health care at the moment.
NR
@different-church-lady:
That’s the best description of the Trump “administration” I’ve heard thus far.
bystander
@Ladyraxterinok: Obligatory salute to the Place Broglie in Strasbourg, where the Marseillaise is said to have first been sung.
Gelfling 545
@Walker: cats are remarkably good at finding their way home. Some people swear by putting their litter pan outside but every cat I have ever known has gone walkies at one time or other and eventually found their way back though one of mine did decide to relocate to a neighbor’s house which I found insulting
Quinerly
@rikyrah:
Hannity was one of the first ones floating this. Monday? I have lost track of days in this crazy week.
Major Major Major Major
@Redshift: yeah, I saw her quote this morning and almost couldn’t believe it, it was that crazy.
Miss Bianca
@TenguPhule: Ah, THERE’S the missing link. Tracking.
different-church-lady
@rikyrah: It’s almost as if half the country said, “Hey, don’t bother building the Ministry of Truth, we got this ourselves.”
Ruckus
@different-church-lady:
It’s a Monty Python sketch, “The GOP Twits”
Morzer
@GregB:
I am starting to think it might be quicker to list the members of the Trump crime ring who did not attend the meeting.
different-church-lady
@Another Scott: Ah, I had just been thinking they’d been AWOL all week.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@Ladyraxterinok:
Hey, I’ve been there!
Not on your precise hill, but in that 3-country corner. We were on our way from Nice to Leipzig on the far side of Germany, and geographically that seemed like an interesting intermediate point to stop for a few days, just about halfway between.
I was surprised to see that hotels in Basel were $400 and up, even months in advance (explanation in a second), so we stayed in the France part of that region, in a little town called Mulhouse. On a day trip to Basel, we saw lots of folks gathered around TV sets in the restaurants. While I was trying to peer through the crowd to figure out what was so interesting, somebody asked me who was playing. When I professed ignorance, there ensued a brief incredulous conversation, the gist of which was “what the hell are you doing in Basel in the middle of the World Cup if you aren’t here for the football!?!” Hence the reason Basel hotels were so expensive and so full.
This was in 2008, and Germany did very well that year, winning several games while we were staying in Leipzig. So we were treated to near-nightly celebrations. Incidentally, the reason we were passing that way was to attend the J.S. Bach Festival.
We also visited Strasbourg, France while in the Basel-Mulhouse-Frieburg area. That was a pretty cool town as well.
Miss Bianca
@bystander: That seems a bit odd, considering that the Marseillaise was the marching song for the volunteers from Marseilles marching on Paris. But I see that the composer was a Strasbourg native, so I daresay that accounts for it.
bystander
@Gelfling 545: Here’s a little something to dishonor the day. Pronunciation exceeded in terribleness only by the acting.
WaterGirl
@Ruckus: Where I come from, “it looks as if” = “it looks as though”.
Steeplejack
@StringOnAStick:
I had two cats for a long time (over 15 years). Currently have just one. I would go with two. You’re giving another cat a good home, and in my experience housemates usually get along or at worst just ignore each other. (The two I had were not related and were acquired at different times, both as kittens. They were within a year or two of the same age.) I have heard of situations where one cat bullies the other, but that seems to happen when one cat is added after the other is already in place.
And I don’t think it’s any more trouble to take care of two cats than one. Food and vet bills are a bit higher, but that’s far outweighed by the positives.
I have only one cat now because my apartment is small. And the housecat is a little old lady of 17 who doesn’t seem to miss the company.
rikyrah
Why I Think McConnell’s Bill Is Doomed
by Martin Longman
July 13, 2017 11:15 PM
In order for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to pass his health care bill, he must first clear a procedural hurdle on a motion to proceed to consideration of the bill. To accomplish this, he’ll only need fifty votes rather than the typical sixty because this is a budget reconciliation bill that can bypass all filibusters. Yet, according to the Washington Post’s whip count there are already three Republicans (Susan Collins of Maine, Rand Paul of Kentucky, and John McCain of Arizona) who are hard “nays” on affirming the motion to proceed. If this doesn’t change, the bill is dead because the GOP caucus only has 52 members and so can only afford to lose two votes.
I think we all know better than to rely on John McCain to back up his words with action, but the list of potential ‘no’ votes is quite a bit longer. There are twenty Republican senators from states that expanded Medicaid, and only a handful of them are truly indifferent to the devastation the McConnell bill would do their states. Not only would millions upon millions lose their access to health care but rural hospitals would go out of business and state budgets would be gutted.
……………………………………….
McConnell can certainly tinker around the margins, but the Medicaid issue is the one that he can’t seem to solve. Sens. Collins and Murkowski explicitly want the cuts taken off the table, but they’re currently in the bill because they need to be in the bill.
There’s another incentive for Republican senators to oppose a motion to proceed, and that is that if the bill is taken up on the Senate floor there will be a vote-a-rama on dozens of proposed amendments. And the Democrats are prepared to drive wedge after wedge into the divisions that already exist within the Republican caucus. The whole thing will fall apart if the Senate starts passing Democratic amendments so the GOP members will be whipped relentlessly to say no to virtually all of them. This they will not want to do, especially because some of them actually will agree with those amendments. They won’t want to vote against things they support, particularly if they don’t think the bill will ever became a law. The best way to avoid that nightmare is to kill the bill in its crib.
If the bill is going to fail, the next step is shift around the blame. Most Republicans can hide behind the few courageous ones and say that they voted to take up the bill. This is why many senators won’t say they support the bill but also won’t say that they’ll oppose it. They’ll try to blame the Democrats for refusing to cooperate, but the Democrats are actually powerless to stop this bill. They haven’t even been asked to support it and none of their ideas have been solicited or incorporated. The whole idea was the pass a bill with no compromises.
catclub
@rikyrah:
I know that this case is different, but the law sure seems to be ignored in other cases:
Nigel Farage helped the Trump campaign.
Netanyahu helped the Trump and Romney campaigns.
The law could easily apply to those cases, but doesn’t.
WaterGirl
@germy: Huh. I am currently using corn litter and had not heard that. What kind of bacteria, I wonder, and why is it so bad?
Asking because I am having unexplained issues with my kitty not thriving like she has previously.
edit: how do you like the newspaper one? how do the kitties like it?
rikyrah
Crib Notes on the Latest in the Russian Lawyer Story
by Martin Longman July 14, 2017 1:47 PM
……………………….
What I’ll do here is just give you a brief outline.
1. Hermitage Capital Management’s Russian offices were raided by Russian law enforcement and their official seals and incorporating documents were stolen.
2. These seals and documents were subsequently used by mobsters in collusion with tax and interior ministry officials to take control of subsidiary corporations in Russian courts.
3. These subsidiaries were then sued for breaches of contract and found guilty, with Russian mobsters and government officials serving as both plaintiffs and defendants.
4. The resulting penalties were used to create a gigantic $230 million tax rebate.
5. The $230 million was then laundered through an astonishing number of transactions and shell companies.
6. A lawyer and auditor for Hermitage Capital Management named Sergei Magnitsky discovered this and took it to the Russian authorities who responded by accusing him of tax fraud, arresting him, denying him medical treatment, and ultimately bludgeoning him to death.
7. Congress responded by passing the Magnitsky Act which placed sanctions on 44 Russians deemed to have some responsibility for either the tax fraud or Magnitsky’s death.
8. Putin responded by placing sanctions on some Americans and by suspending adoptions of Russian orphans by American citizens.
9. Putin then set up an American lobbying effort, ostensibly on behalf of Americans who wanted to adopt Russian children, to repeal the Magnitsky Act.
10. The folks put in charge of this effort failed to register as lobbyists of a foreign power and several of them were the ones who ultimately met with Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort under the pretext that they would provide dirt on Hillary Clinton.
It’s important to know that part of this case involved the purchase of New York real estate with some of the stolen Russian tax money. This put Preet Bharara, then the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York on the case. He brought a civil case against the company that made those real estate purchases.
Preet Bharara was fired by Donald Trump while the case was in court and it was ultimately settled for a measly $6 million and no formal acknowledgment of guilt.
It would seem that the president followed through on his end of the deal here. The question is what he received in return. Was it assistance with his campaign or just an agreement not to disclose that his staff had met with Russian intelligence officers offering dirt on his opponent?
The Moar You Know
My dog and I:
Dog: Feed me.
Me: WTF? I JUST FED YOU TWO MINUTES AGO.
Dog: No you didn’t.
Me: Yes I did.
Dog: No you didn’t. I am standing by my dish. If you had fed me, I would be somewhere else.
Me: Jesus Christ, dog. I JUST FED YOU. The scoop is still in my hand.
Dog: Nope. See? STANDING BY MY DISH. Absolute proof. Case closed.
Me: WTF do you mean “case closed”? I’m not feeding you twice. You’ll probably die.
Dog: Well, yeah, I will, because you haven’t fed me.
bystander
@Miss Bianca: Yes, Rouget de l’Isle lived on what is now Place Broglie. The place is also the original site of the annual Christmas market. It has become so lucrative they now have markets all over the inner city at Christmastime.
If you want to talk about streetfood at an Alsatian festival…you can just work the periphery and not dive into the crowd madness and end up very well fed.
Jay C
@GregB:
Srsly: the initial accounts of the DTJr/Veselnitskaya meeting made it appear like an intimate get-together in a back booth: now the expanding “guest list” makes it sound like they had to book one of the Trump Tower ballrooms to accommodate all the participants…. with a side room for the spies and hackers.
rikyrah
I think LarryO pointed out that he thinks ALL the U.S. Attorneys were fired because of Preet, who was the actual target.
Yarrow
@Brachiator: I asked last night in the health care thread if this could be some set up by McConnell. Everyone hates Cruz and McConnell probably would enjoy taking him down a peg. Put this amendment out, let it fail and Cruz gets the blame. Then come up with something more “moderate” (ha ha, as if, but slightly less draconian) call it a win.
JCJ
My daughter and I had a recent kitty adventure. She has been feeling poorly (lupus sucks) but Tuesday night she felt better and wanted to do a Pokémon gym battle. I took her out and on our quest we saw a small kitten run across the highway. It was after 10 pm in Pewaukee, Wisconsin so there were not many other cars. We stopped and looked for it but could not find the little kitty. We checked the parking lots on the other side of the road in case the cat had made it over with no luck. She really wanted to find it to take to the local shelter as there were big storms due in a couple of hours. I was walking along the median and saw it hunkered down in the weeds. It ran away towards some pine trees at an Applebee’s parking lot. Perhaps it wanted to visit the salad bar. Anyway, my daughter went to the trees while I went to get the car. I drove to the parking lot and had my headlights on the area where I had seen the kitten last. My daughter made little “mew” sounds which elicited a reply from our quarry. We found him about five feet up in one of the pine trees. She grabbed him/her and the poor kitty was hissing up a storm. The kitten smelled terrible and was covered in pine sap. We were able to find someone at the shelter (one of the volunteers was feeding kittens) and drop the poor thing off. We finally got home a little before midnight.
raven
@The Moar You Know: The Bohdi does that all the time!
JPL
@Morzer: I tend to agree with you. Jared will have to amend his filings again, poor kid. He is a nice kid but was easily duped by the dems. How long before the Fox identifies Don Jr. and Jared as democrats.
smintheus
Tale of two childrens’ confessions:
Donald Trump on the Central Park Five teenagers, exonerated of rape allegations.
By contrast Donald Trump on Donald Trump Jr., aged 39, who admits to conspiring against the United States with Russia.
scav
@Redshift: Pretty soon the stadium will have teleported to needing video proof of pre-teen Russian hookers wearing active Russian spy badges peeing into Trump’s mouth as he personally alters more votes on machines than those everybody does it demoncrats have done since the dawn of time. To expect or get upset at anything less is a fake news witchy hysteria nothingburger with unamerican Dijon mustard.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@bystander: Oh well if you want bad French pronunciation and movies (and, very apropos to this thread, cats) it’s hard to beat the amazing cinematic oeuvre of Henri, le Chat Noir
WaterGirl
@The Moar You Know: Well done! The worst is when they get you to start wondering whether you actually fed them or got up to feed them and got distracted.
Miss Bianca
@bystander: The one time I was in Strasbourg was around Christmas time, 1988…I do remember a Christmas market, too, so it must have been there! Mostly I remember the incredible amount of schnapps I drank with the family I was staying with, the amazing cathedral with its astronomical clock, and excursions into the countryside and trying to decipher the Alsatian dialect, with the totally unlikely-sounding mashup of German and French. Loved that area, would love to get back someday.
Kay
@GregB:
Hah! This investigation is going to take 20 years. I imagine them adding names every four hours or so.
germy
@WaterGirl: I have not used the newspaper litter. Still using the corn litter. Cat has no problem with it.
My neighbors comments made me a bit nervous, though. I haven’t researched it (so grain of salt, I suppose).
Major Major Major Major
@The Moar You Know: your dog sounds like they would be a good Trump spokesman.
germy
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: I worry about his cat housemate, the white one. Seems to have a serious catnip addiction.
piratedan
while a bullet in the back of the skull might be quicker, I can think of one sure fire way to fix things down the road….
a GOP tax. Namely a tax on anyone registered to the GOP Party. They broke every fucking thing, well then, they can pay to fix it and make it right. If we’re going to be the red dog commie bastards of their fevered imaginations, well, then give it to them. Tax the ever loving fuck out of them. Let them own it, wear it as a badge of honor. Stand up and say, yes, we’re better than you, financially, morally and as such, we’ll proudly pay this badge of honor to support the rest of you moochers. They can enjoy their pedestal, potless, full of piss.
Kay
Peale
@Yarrow: I am beginning to feel like there is this vast network of people who have these russian business and mob ties that I’m not a part of. It seems to include everyone except me. There is simply no one in finance, law, or professional services who hasn’t taken Roseneft and Gazprom money. I feel left out. If everyone is making this money, where’s my cut?
JPL
@Kay: Some are already calling it a conference. Only the top families were invited, though.
Just One More Canuck
@Walker: I used to walk around jingling my keys for our previous cat, the late, lamented Scully, and she would eventually come around when she damn well felt like it. We don’t let our current cat, Elsa the wonder nut outside without keeping a close eye on her
Yarrow
@Peale: If you’re not included it’s a sure sign you’re just a peon. Prepare to be screwed by them even harder.
satby
@JCJ: you probably saved it’s little life! Thank you!
Morzer
@JPL:
Fox News, in the globulous form of Lou Dobbs, is suggesting that the Democrats are staging a coup d’etat against First Patriot Trump.
Another Scott
@smintheus: Yup. A 39 year old with 5 children of his own is not a “young man”.
Only in Donnie’s broken brain.
(sigh)
Cheers,
Scott.
TenguPhule
@piratedan:
I prefer them in indentured servitude.
Money simply isn’t enough.
bystander
@Miss Bianca: Me too. I’ve been back periodically but long overdue trip.
Aleta
@Walker: I’ve read that often they just “go to ground” — hole up somewhere, maybe quite close by. But their internal clock shifts when outdoors, or else they’re afraid, so they may be sleeping or keeping still at the time you call.
Example: Their past (indoor) feeding/wake schedule had adjusted to my schedule, and at first I kept calling them on my schedule. What worked for me was to include calling at odd times, especially dusk, maybe every 2-3 hours after dark as possible, and dawn if possible.
Another thing that worked was when I changed to calling at shorter intervals. Instead of going all around to a lot of places twice a day, I’d call for only a few minutes, one or two spots, then repeat same in an hour or so. (The shorter time was easier for me too, and emotionally too.) As though they needed a few wake-up calls, or repeated encouragement to get moving.
Sound of a can opening (incl. right outside crawl spaces or sheds), carries well and gets their attention. Or shaking the cat food bag. If they’re afraid, activating their saliva or their sense of smell can overcome the fear hormones that are telling them to stay still. Especially if you go call again there soon after. (Tuna can has smell that carries and makes sandwiches after …) Once I threw catnip around spots near the house when I called.
daize
@Walker: We had a kitty sneak out once like that. We spent hours calling and calling to no avail. She came out of her hiding place after dark, when she heard our normal speaking voices through an open window. She chirped at us and we responded, and she ran to the open door. I hope your kitty returns soon. Please keep us updated if you can.
Morzer
@Another Scott:
To be fair, we all know that Donnie Jr. was born into a life of poverty, struggle and perpetual adolescence.
The Moar You Know
@Major Major Major Major: My wife and I often joke that if he could vote, he absolutely would have voted for Trump. Love the little fucker, though.
rikyrah
@Walker:
Sending you and the kitty positive thoughts.
catclub
@Another Scott: Henry Hyde called his affair at some age between 38-45 a ‘youthful indiscretion’.
And naturally got away with it.
different-church-lady
@Kay: 2018? More likely by this coming Tuesday.
WaterGirl
@germy: Hi germy, your comment sent me off to the google. Looks like corn litter issue is aflatoxin, which is very bad. Looks like the paper litter is bad for odor control. I just ordered the wheat litter from amazon, if you’re interested I can let you know how it goes.
Mike in DC
@Kay:
Lol. We may be in the awkward position of everyone basically knowing a whole bunch of crimes were committed, including those the lay public would consider treasonous, but waiting around (possibly for months)for indictments because the GOP refuses to act against “their” president.
catclub
@rikyrah:
This is where you start asking Jeff Sessions serious questions.
Also, have they even gotten a new US Attorney to replace Bharara?
bystander
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: I wish I could unhear that.
OTOH, that guy could be on commercials for Rosetta Stone compared to the guy they do have.
catclub
@WaterGirl:
Ergot!?
catclub
@Aleta:
Our cat loved the ladder to the attic. She disappeared once and we heard her in the attic next door – they had left their attic ladder down in their garage.
Luckily they were home next door.
bystander
@catclub: While his pal Hastert was hiding his statutory rape of young men…and getting away with it.
Quinerly
Very interesting……http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/can-anyone-find-a-pattern
rikyrah
@GregB:
STOP!!!!
Brachiator
@Yarrow:
But with the “double-dipping” problem, the Cruz plan is not an ideological alternative, it is just a fuck-up. This also suggests that the GOP is so sloppy in putting this “alternative” together that they will probably make more mistakes.
McConnell may get a cheap thrill taking Cruz down a peg, but I don’t know, this seems like cold comfort.
Quinerly
@WaterGirl:
I just started using http://www.chewy.com for prescription food for kitty Ivan and Poco’s Wellness brand lamb & barley. Substantially cheaper, free delivery, discount for auto ship. Just ordered kitty litter. 42 lbs for $16. Wellness big bags $12 cheaper than PETsMART.
Aleta
Had a cat that played the piano at night. He was good too, “the pacing of his walk had a meditative quality, building to a carefree crescendo” (NYT reviewer) if we tried to sleep. Sometimes he worked the answering machine buttons when we were out, sometimes playing messages we didn’t know were there, a few times recording meows for us to find later.
Doug R
@Walker: Don’t know how much this will help, but my daughter let one of our cats out on the balcony a few years back and forgot to let her back in. The cat must have jumped off (1st floor, about 8 feet). We printed up flyers and circled the block a few times. We left a trail of catnip from the edge of the treed boundary to our balcony and left her favorite cat tree under the balcony smeared with food and catnip.
The cat tree ended up covered with ants and a local raccoon thought we were his bestest friends ever (they love cat food, btw) but 3 days later I saw our cat step a few feet out of the woods. 3 more days later, my wife finally got her to come close enough to bring her in.
Yarrow
@Brachiator: Blame Cruz for the bad amendment. Take it out and put in some “moderate” amendment from someone like Collins or Heller. Cruz gets blamed by tea partiers for not having enough pull to pass his amendment. Republicans get praised for “moving to the center.”
Miss Bianca
@catclub: Ergot would be rye, wouldn’t it? The worst thing about wheat-based littler would be if you’re trying to keep kitty gluten-free. //
Mike in NC
@StringOnAStick: One cat is good, two is better, three is best.
rikyrah
KAY…
OH KAY….
Kobach Says People Who Are Canceling Voter Registration Might Not Be Citizens
By NICOLE LAFOND
Published JULY 14, 2017 10:46 AM
After the state of Colorado announced it would comply with the White House’s bogus “election integrity” panel’s request to share voter data, hundreds of Denver-area residents cancelled their voter registration to keep their private information safe, according to a report from local KDVR News.
But the man leading the panel, Kansas Secretary of StateKris Kobach thinks it’s just a “political stunt.”
In an interview with Breitbart News Thursday, Kobach said he heard about the wave of residents unregistering, and called the move “interesting” and likened it to a “political stunt.”
“It could be a number of things. It could be, actually, people who are not qualified to vote, perhaps someone who is a felon and is disqualified that way or someone who is not a U.S. citizen saying, ‘I’m withdrawing my voter registration because I am not able to vote,’” he said. “It could be a political stunt – people who are trying to discredit the commission and withdrawing temporarily because they are politically active but planning to get back on the voter rolls before the election next November.”
Jeffro
Rubin just posted the ULTIMATE takedown of the GOP
rikyrah
YEAH
BREAKING: judge tosses jury’s conviction of woman arrested after laughing at Jeff Sessions hearing https://t.co/bP8ySzkdfx
— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) July 14, 2017
rikyrah
NEW: How pre-existing condition protections have been eliminated in GOP proposals. https://t.co/B3ovJaCYPr pic.twitter.com/5VdLOFU9rv
— Andy Slavitt (@ASlavitt) July 14, 2017
Reply
Quinerly
@rikyrah:
Great news!
different-church-lady
@GregB:
Could they be… SATAN?!?
rikyrah
The Senate health bill cuts coverage for 4 million children: https://t.co/bi94eyPChM
— Annie Lowrey (@AnnieLowrey) July 14, 2017
The Senate health bill continues end the ACA’s expansion of #Medicaid to low-income people: https://t.co/zbaueEfV0F pic.twitter.com/lr0y4u7MVd
— Center on Budget (@CenterOnBudget) July 14, 2017
rikyrah
UH HUH
UH HUH
Once can be an accident & twice a mistake, but not reporting 100+ meetings, including with Russian agents, demands answers #revokekushner
— Raja Krishnamoorthi (@CongressmanRaja) July 14, 2017
Under normal circumstances it would demand revoked clearance and a pair of handcuffs. Strange how that doesn’t apply to Mr. Kushner.
— Dudette (@Dudette9t9) July 14, 2017
rikyrah
White House released 112 pages of voter comments to Kobach & Trump’s Election Integrity Commission—they’re amazing. https://t.co/UUmO8GFmkU pic.twitter.com/ARwFABnMmj
— Anna Massoglia (@annalecta) July 14, 2017
rikyrah
NO!!!!
Jared Kushner’s lawyer, Jamie Gorelick, is “dropping out” of representing him in the Russia probe, per @Isikoff https://t.co/6tUZdCccKr
— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) July 14, 2017
WaterGirl
@catclub: Not understanding your reply…
WaterGirl
@Quinerly: I am not seeing what brand of kitty litter you ordered. ?
TenguPhule
@different-church-lady:
Satan was pushed.
The old man in the sky was and still is the real bastard of the story.
rikyrah
‘There is no plan B’ – this woman is battling stage 4 cancer and Trumpcare at the same time pic.twitter.com/KKMKdIfuCV
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) July 14, 2017
rikyrah
GOP Health bill / #BCRA penalizes Medicaid users as “’takers’ who are effectively stealing from the deserving rich.” https://t.co/1do26UzWGT
— ThinkingAutismGuide (@thinkingautism) July 14, 2017
Immanentize
@catclub: No State has a US Attorney yet. Only Actings….
Barbara
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: World cup was in 2006 and 2010. Maybe some other tournament?
Quinerly
@WaterGirl:
Just plain old Scoop Away. On sale: https://www.chewy.com/dp/103439?utm_medium=email&utm_source=transactional&utm_campaign=OrderConfirmation
HILFY
A second lunch? Is Tikka a hobbit or a cat?
Quinerly
MSNBC reporting that the translator in the Trump Jr meeting had done some work for the State Department. WTF?
Gravenstone
@Jay C: As Adam so helpfully pointed out, Reince Priebus was reported to be at Trump Tower the same day as the meeting. What are the odds that he also found himself present, or met with Madame V. under separate cover within the Tower?
WaterGirl
@rikyrah: The link says this was Kushner’s decision.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@Barbara: Euro Cup then.
Wikipedia confirms other aspects of my memory: Euro Cup 2008 was played in Vienna and Basel, and Germany progressed to the finals that year, losing to Spain 0-1.
WaterGirl
@Quinerly: I hate the clay based litters. ugh.
edit: I didn’t intend that to be negative toward you at all, just to clay litter.
WaterGirl
@Gravenstone: I read that Trump was in Trump Tower that day, also.
edit: don’t know if he attended, but he surely bugged the conference room, right?
Quinerly
@WaterGirl:
I have come to loathe dragging from the car big bags of dog food and kitty litter. City dweller with no garage and sometimes not so great street parking. The to the door free delivery is very appealing. Friend said Chewy has been bought by PETsMART, so don’t know how long the below PETsMART prices will last.
catclub
@Miss Bianca:
Oh, you’re no fun. I was that close.
Quinerly
@WaterGirl:
All I have ever used. No offense taken. Do they have good prices on what you use?
WaterGirl
Booman’s latest is really interesting.
WaterGirl
@Quinerly: This is the like 5th time i have seen chewy.com this week, so I figured I would check it out. Bummer that they were bought by PetSmart!
Brachiator
@Yarrow:
I see where people are trying to go with this, but I’m not seeing any competent political tactic in comparing a stupid time waster to a “moderate” amendment. The conservative hard liners will be steamed at Cruz for fucking up and still want their own measures inserted in the bill.
gvg
@Walker: Can you go out and sit for several hours at night?
Many years ago, my cat got out the front door of my college apartment. I put up posters and looked all week with no luck. Then a foreign student who didn’t speak english very well told me he had seen her near the Apt laundry room late at night or early morning when he was doing laundry while no one was awake. he said she was sneaking out or into the laundry room. that laundry was on the other side of the big building I lived in and near my back door. I parked the car where i could see the door of the laundry and stayed up most of the night. about 2 or 3 I saw her (white cat) and called her and got her. Poor baby was I think scared of all the strangeness and hiding in the day coming out only at night. Her paws were blistered apparently by spilled laundry detergent so we think she was hiding behind the machines which seems scary to me.
A childhood cat ran away twice and turned out to have gotten locked in neighbors attics (2 different attics) we think seeking mice and going up garage ladders. In both cases we found her in very very early morning which was the only time things were quite enough to hear the meows from another house. My moms hearing actually.
You might even consider camping out in the back yard where she could smell you.
Quinerly
@WaterGirl:
Friend does kitty rescue. Buys in bulk from chewy. She said prices will go up. I stocked up on Ivan’s kidney prescription food and Poco’s big bags. Over the weekend they were running 20% off for new buyers setting up auto ship.
Jeffro
@Jeffro: Here we go: The GOP’s Moral Rot Is the Problem
She’s…she’s MAINLINING BALLOON JUICE RIGHT THERE!!! (well, except for citing Brooks in a positive way, lol)
thalarctosMaritimus
@JCJ: Thank you, and I thank your daughter, too, for your kindness.
Quinerly
Pope Frankie, the hippie pontiff, watching: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-pope-sign-idUSKBN19Z0XW. I sure do dig this pope!?
Aleta
@WaterGirl: That’s disappointing … Chewy’s been such a good company. I had to return something once and they agreed to let me donate it to a local shelter instead of mailing back.
Quinerly
@Aleta: @WaterGirl:
Interesting: https://www.inc.com/emily-canal/petsmart-acquires-chewy.html
smintheus
@WaterGirl: Was Ivanka there the day of the meeting?
Matt McIrvin
@StringOnAStick: It depends on the cat, but in general, I think 2 is best. Especially if they are already buddies.
WaterGirl
@smintheus: I have not seen anything either way about Ivanka’s location on that day.
WaterGirl
@Quinerly: It was interesting until the autoplay ad started, at which point I always close the page that wants to hold me hostage.
WaterGirl
@rikyrah: Those letters were great. I loved this one so much that I actually took the time to type it out since it was an image that couldn’t be cut & pasted:
WaterGirl
@rikyrah: I just saw this on Steve Benen’s site:
Jim Parish
@The Moar You Know: You might enjoy I Has a Sweet Potato.
rikyrah
@WaterGirl:
And folks are supposed to trust this group with their private information.??
WaterGirl
@rikyrah: I love some of these letters so much. I loved the ones that called out the staffers who would be reading their letters. I loved this one, too:
I love everyone who wrote, and I’m pissed that their private info is now released and they will surely be harassed by hateful republicans.
WaterGirl
@rikyrah: And this one:
Sally
@StringOnAStick: I think two is better. Like you said, they can keep each other company. My cat is sixteen too and her health is failing. I am dreading the inevitable.
J R in WV
@WaterGirl:
WE use Feline Pine which hold up well, smells clean, and in my mind won’t support bacteria.
WaterGirl
@J R in WV: Thanks for the recommendation. Two questions: does it smell really pine-y? Is it a fake pine scent – I am allergic to a lot of scents and I cannot be around the fake pine stuff. But if it’s just a bit pine-y because it’s pine shavings, I could maybe do it. Not totally sold on the wheat stuff I just ordered, but I am thinking I should switch to something and see if the corn stuff could be the cause of my little girl kitty’s problems.
mskitty
@ StringOnAStick – Definitely. TWO kittens. It’s CatTV – purest entertainment watching two fuzzballs play together, and then later they are company for each other when you’re gone, to work or on a trip. Especially – if you don’t have two, then YOU get to train them out of rough play, excess claws, and was that reason to bite me?