By popular request, Kitty Po–er, I won’t finish the last two letters in that word.

First, Tig, mostly asleep outside.

Next, Ms. Gracie, who has lately taken to jumping from chair to chair in an effort to get my attention while I’m blogging. It generally works.

So it’s a Tummy Tuesday Twofer!

And oh, yeah—they got flea goop on them today, so I also gave them tunafish. The whole can. It was definitely Tuna and Tummy Tuesday in this household.

The rabbi, in his sermon today, suggested that we spend the day not listening to our iPods and watching TV or working on the computer, but contemplating and thinking about ways to be better people.

Sometime later that afternoon, I took his advice. I was tired, so I contemplated napping in The Chair that Swallows You Whole. Tig saw me contemplating, and contemplated joining me. The way he joins me on the chair is infinitely amusing. He climbs onto the left-hand arm of the chair, meows at me, and starts pawing at me. He paws for long enough to annoy me into saying, “Settle!”, at which point, he either gets huffy and lies down on the arm of the chair, continues to paw, or climbs onto my chest. Then he slowly capsizes until he is upside down, and slides into my lap, still upside down, waiting for me to rub his belly.

So today, I contemplated rubbing his belly, and he contemplated getting his belly rubbed (purring all the while), and we fell asleep contemplating and meditating.

I’m not quite sure that’s what the rabbi had in mind, but Tig and I enjoyed our nap. A purring kitty in your lap, wrapped around your arm, is quite a nice way to think deep thoughts (if you can stay awake).

Sure, you’re reading this post time-stamped tomorrow morning. That’s how I do things these days. New job, new rules, dontchaknow.

So the Hamas/Fatah war continues, and those of us who are pretty much jaded to the idea of an all-out civil war (never gonna happen as long as Israel exists, what with one side or the other always being able to go, “Hey, look—Jews!” and distract the enemy) are simply hoping that the leadership might lose a few terrorists, which is always a plus.

2 Killed, 14 Injured in Gaza Gunbattles
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - Gunbattles erupted Monday night between Fatah gunmen and Hamas militiamen in the southern Gaza town of Rafah, killing two people and wounding 14 a day after a deadly explosion of internal violence paralyzed the Gaza Strip.

Check out the whitewashing of the violence, complete with editorializing in the second paragraph:

The fighting was the latest in a series of sporadic battles over the past two days as tensions remained high between the two groups. Fatah militants enforced a general strike in many West Bank towns in a show of strength against Hamas, while the Hamas-led government ordered all ministries closed to protest Fatah attacks on government buildings.

But there was less violence Monday compared to the chaos and running street battles that killed eight people and wounded 100 others across Gaza a day earlier.

In an effort to reduce friction, Hamas pulled its militiamen out of Gaza’s major streets Monday and sent them back to their posts.

You just have to love the AP’s chutzpah. Because only two people were killed, the third paragraph in the story (which often makes it into the International section of most major newspapers) talks about how much less violence there was compared to the previous day’s death toll of eight.

Now the Jerusalem Post? They know how to work a story:

Fatah’s al-Aksa Martyr’s Brigades threatened Monday night to kill all of Hamas’s leaders, including Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh as well as Hamas Politburo chief Khaled Mashaal.

In a message sent to news agencies, the group said that it considers Mashaal, Interior Minister Sayid Siam and another high-ranking member of the ministry, Yosef al-Zahar, responsible for the deaths of Palestinians killed over the last two days during Hamas-Fatah clashes.

Not that I think it will happen, but oh, the rejoicing there’d be. Tuna for Terrorists—Tig and Gracie would get fatter than ever.

So they had a gunbattle and a bunch of palesitnians are dead. Love the way the AP spins the headline:

Hamas Militia, Abbas Loyalists Clash

Mind you, this is the headline on the story about violence in which seven people were killed. This is how the AP describes the situation in the middle of the article:

The most serious clash between them on Sunday took place near the parliament building in Gaza City. After the crowd of protesters there swelled to include hundreds of police and civilians, Hamas militiamen rushed in, firing guns and anti-tank launchers, and lobbing grenades.

Two people were killed, including a 15-year-old boy, and at least 75 were wounded, hospital officials said.

Militiamen and security personnel - including bodyguards for Abbas - exchanged fire on two of the main streets of Gaza City near parliament, and gunmen from both sides took positions on nearby rooftops.

Protesters scattered, and schoolchildren sought protection by covering their heads with their schoolbags.

Now let’s imagine the headline and story if Israel were doing the killing. Oh, wait. We don’t have to imagine. Because this story came out on the same day:

Palestinians: Israeli airstrike kills 2

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — An Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip killed two Palestinian militants and wounded three people, medical officials said.

The airstrike took place in Rafah, which borders Egypt. Medical officials said two members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades _ a violent group linked to President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah Party _ were killed. Two people were seriously wounded, and a 6-year-old boy was wounded in the legs.

That’s the lead. What’s the lead to the story above?

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - Militiamen from the ruling Hamas opened fire on government workers protesting their unpaid salaries on Sunday, touching off gunbattles with security forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas. Seven people were killed in the violence.

After the deadly protest in Gaza City, dozens of supporters from Abbas’ Fatah Party retaliated by ransacking and torching the empty Cabinet building in the West Bank city of Ramallah. The Fatah supporters had earlier marched through the city, the seat of the Palestinian government, burning tires and shouting, “Hamas, out, out.”

Again, notice how the details were buried midway through the story, the headline does not contain the words “dead” or “killed,” and you don’t discover that 75 people were wounded, or that children and civilians were killed and at risk, until most people have already stopped reading the story.

What media bias? Oh, that media biase.