Cricket

Let’s be honest. Since Donald Trump came on the political scene in 2015, there has been a severe decay in the moral values of way too many in the GOP.  Here in Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott’s weapon of choice is razor wire against families seeking asylum. He also is viciously attacking the trans and LGBTQ+ communities. Abbott’s chief campaign consultant has admitted to fabricating lies to go after GOP legislators who were anti-vouchers.  Abbott, who is apparently okay with the cowardly behavior of DPS troopers in Uvalde a couple of years ago, sends the same troopers to arrest peaceful pro-Palestine protesters on the UT-Austin campus recently.

GOP U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s wife was insulted with racial barbs by Donald Trump and McConnell just announced that he is voting for Trump in November.

A sizable number of GOP members of Congress are pro-Putin and anti-Ukraine.

We all know about the weasel U.S. Sen. Cancun Cruz. Trump insinuates that Cancun’s father was part of the plot to assassinate President John F. Kennedy in 1963 and disparages Cancun’s wife Heidi, and guess what, Cancun is wholeheartedly endorsing Trump.

The latest is faux tough guy Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis who ran an unsuccessful campaign for president criticizing Trump. This past weekend faux tough guy DeSantis went to visit Trump to kiss his arse.

Which brings me to South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem who admitted in her new book a few days ago that she shot and killed her 14-month-old puppy Cricket, because Cricket was “untrainable” and “personally aggressive.” The puppy had a name. They don’t have shelters in South Dakota where she could have handed Cricket off to?

If Trump doesn’t exist or if Trump doesn’t hijack the GOP, Gov. Noem never makes this horrible part of her life public. This is the immoral culture that Trump has created in the GOP. Noem thinks this behavior is okay. Being a scumbag is acceptable in today’s GOP, thanks to Donald Trump. This is symbolic of the GOP in 2024.

Commentary has a couple of cats. See the featured photo. I have had them for over 15 years now. They have names. Diamond and Dinger. Baseball themed names in part because the person that gave them to me had a baseball background. Diamond and Dinger are from the same litter and their mom was a feral cat.

I haven’t written about them until now. There really isn’t anything to write about. After hearing about Gov. Noem’s evil act with her Cricket, I thought I would let folks know I am a pet owner.

Diamond and Dinger are indoor cats. I don’t let them go outside. I don’t want them to go after birds or squirrels or encounter stray dogs. They do damage to the big roaches or lizards that somehow find their way inside.

They just hang here. They eat, sleep a lot, and do their business.  I stopped buying them toys because they don’t play with them, or if they do, not for long.

They have shredded a piece of furniture with their paw scratching, they shed on chairs, and drop hairballs indiscriminately. On occasion, I catch one of them sleeping on my desk. I will tell him to get off and if he is slow to respond, I will pick him up and set him on the floor.

When I go through the checkout at PetSmart, I pass on the donating gizmo to the pet charity because I am already doing my part. I have spent a lot of dough taking care of my cats.

They eat well, get occasional treats, and have a drinking water fountain. They are healthy and I think they live a good life.

They are obviously a responsibility.  When I have to clean up the occasional mess, I don’t get angry at them because they are not doing it on purpose.

This isn’t my first pet experience. We had a couple of dogs and a cat when I was a kid.  In the 1980s and 90s I had a couple of dogs. They both died of natural causes. 

Owning and taking care of an animal or pet is a responsibility. You do it and do it right. You make sure they are fed and have a clean and comfortable place to live.  They are counting on us.

One must be on the evil side to shoot your pet.  Evil.

Donald Trump is facing like 88 criminal charges. He is on trial for some of these charges at this very moment. The ones dealing with the affairs with Stormy Daniels and the Playboy model. He has also been charged with trying to overturn an election and mishandling classified documents.  A woman he sexually assaulted has also been awarded millions and he has been fined close to a half billion dollars for illegal business dealings.

Gov. Noem putting a round into her Cricket is playing to Trump. She sincerely believes that her evil act is somehow acceptable. Maybe in MAGA world.

It is sad.

Gov. Abbott has dogs. Pancake, Peaches, and Bisquit. Maybe he will be asked about Gov. Noem. I am betting if Abbott does get asked, he will avoid answering, because that is how the MAGA world culture works.

Oh yeah, Dollar Dog Night is the evening at The Yard, and I will be going with my best friend.