Lyle Muller, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper and Phyllis survived the fierce night winds of Dec. 15, 2021 by hanging onto each other tightly: and by trying to figure out how the once proud state governmental structure of Wisconsin is now being displayed on …
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Month:December 2021
Stupid is as Stupid Does
Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Last week, State Representative Jonathon Carroll introduced a bill in the Illinois State Legislature that would require residents who have refused the Covid-19 vaccination—and who subsequently contract the virus—to cover the expenses of treating the disease on their own, even if they have health insurance. Rep. Carroll has …
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Dialogues on Freedom from Choice: The Sleeping Giant Letters
Becker1999 from Grove City, OH, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Dave S., Mark Mamerow, Mark Orlowski, Dennis Curley, and Geoff Carter Dadbots, After this week’s arguments over abortion in front of the SCOTUS, both the Washington Post and the NY Times ran articles discussing the potential political impacts if the Court decides, as it well …
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Kickass and Santa Christmas Story
Durova, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper in ignoring incredibly serious subject matter, and offering a little Christmas story: On a frosty morning in early December, Santa burst into the reindeer barn and after a hearty “Ho, Ho, Ho,” he announced, “Okay, all you antlered ruminants …
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Kickass and the Slivery Christmas Stage
Kgbo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper’s overwrought reminiscence machinery was fired up by his sister Norma’s recent mention of the “slivery oak planks,” that went to make up the stage for the country school Christmas program of their childhood. Placed across two equally slivery, long …
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Kickass and Leghold Traps
Accipiter (R. Altenkamp, Berlin), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper in approving of the Madison city council’s ban on declawing cats; and also in telling the council that so long as it does not ban the use of leghold traps—as has been done in many parts of the civilized …
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The Couch Potato’s Guide to Old Hollywood: The Legacy of Spencer Tracy
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (work for hire), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter Spencer Tracy was known as an actor’s actor, a man so skilled in the craft that everyone–critics, directors, other thespians, and even producers, stood in awe of him. His singular talent was in the fact that his craft was very nearly transparent; you …
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Highlights from The Pen in Hand Graphics: The Michael DiMilo Gallery
Dick Tater by Michael DiMilo Volume 6 Over the course of the last two and one-half years, The Pen in Hand Blog has been lucky enough to have obtained the services of free-lance artist Michael DiMilo as a contributor. While his unique style has provided a provocative and edgy feel to the blog, DiMilo’s pieces–obviously–stand alone as …
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Kickass and the Trek to School
John Phelan, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper is motivated by his daily view of the flow of students to the high school across the street to, once and for all, clear the record as to his own history of attending the country school up …
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Dialogues on Sleeping In: The Counterpoint Letters
Photo by Russ Ward on Unsplash By Dave S., Mark Mamerow, Dennis Curley, and Geoff Carter (Recent Dialogue) I’ll spare you my take, other than the subject line….as, in counterbalance to our recent, dialogue (as seen above). New York Times: McWhorter –Dave McWhorter pulls a fast one in his column. The thesis is that we are all being forced …
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“Just Like the Ones I Used to Know”: The Couch Potato’s Guide to Vintage Christmas Movies
Photo by Geoffrey Carter By Geoff Carter Well, the Christmas season is upon us in full force. The commercials are everywhere. We’ve seen that ad for the car—or Energizer Bunny, wrapped in a bow and sitting in the driveway on Christmas morning at least one hundred times. Getting ready for this holiday season, however, is going to be …
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Kickass and the VA
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper is very appreciative of the many things the VA has done proactively to keep him in the game, most recently it was applying cream to his sun-abused forehead to neutralize cancer potential, which gave him the temporary appearance of a …
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