Recent posts have, I’ll admit, been somewhat on the negative–if not outright depressing–side.

I mean, really. We’ve had posts about an entirely inadequate substitute for fireworks, persistent non-vaccination, software incomprehensible to a significant portion of its users, and the ongoing Hall of Fame controversies. And that’s just this year!

So I’ll cop to negativity. But I’ll deny any suggestion that I like the blog that way. I’m just editorializing on the news, after all, and there’s only so much one can do with the state of the world right now.

So, with the start of a new month, I’m delighted to have a story to talk about that’s nothing but good news, even if it is old news for many of you.

For the first time in over a decade, America has a First Cat. No, not a King of the Cats. This is still–barely–a democracy. Sorry, trying to stay positive.

Yes, the Bidens have brought a cat into the White House. Willow, by name.

Better news: she’s not some pampered show cat from a high-end breeder; instead, she’s a now-former working class cat–a farm cat, to be precise–from Pennsylvania. One hopes that her mousing skills will be unnecessary in her new home, but it’s good to know that, should the President be faced with an invasion of rodents*, he’s got a defense in depth.

* Am I the only one who thinks Mitch McConnell looks distinctly rodential? Wouldn’t you like to be the proverbial fly on the wall the first time he meets Willow?

But the best news of all?

Our new #COTUS is named for Willow Grove, Pennsylvania–Jill Biden’s home town. Thank all that’s holy for that. Imagine the horror if “Willow” had been short for “Pussy Willow”. The sugar overdose would have rotted teeth across the entire breadth of the country!