Attribution: Photo by Uta Scholl on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, notes, along with the keeper and Phyllis, a most unusual circumstance across Wisconsin this morning: thousands of people—mostly men, sit in remote wooded locations alone with their thoughts while holding a gun capable of killing a large animal at great distances. If this morning’s …
Read
Month:November 2025
Kickass and Day Before Hunt
Attribution: Marc St. Gil, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that in the keeper’s long life of excesses, nothing looms any more excessive than his involvement with Wisconsin’s traditional nine-day deer hunt which this year begins tomorrow morning at ——-a.m. As a complete record would show—and the keeper …
Read
Kickass and Quiet Piggy
Attribution: Leonard Leslie Brooke (1862-1940), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper and Phyllis have learned that under a “Quiet, Piggy!” executive order administered by Pete Hegseth and Pam Bondi, “The Three Little Pigs” fairy tale has been scrubbed of the original account of the wolf’s …
Read
Light in the Sky
By Geoff Carter Photos by Geoff Carter My wife and I went up to our cabin in the Wisconsin Northwoods about a week ago to enjoy the fall colors and to relax a little bit. The leaves were a little past their peak, but it was still beautiful. Golden ash, scarlet maple, and yellow birch …
Read
Kickass and UW Reporting
Attribution: Steev Selby from Wollongong, Australia, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper aware of the news item that UW researchers are growing hemp as part of a very serious plant-disease study, which reminds him of his days of reporting on UW activities back in the early days …
Read
Kickass and Eating Epstein Files
Attribuion: Photo by Ayla Verschueren on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, is sharing with the keeper and Phyllis the top-secret dog intelligence that a desperate attempt was made by the White House staff to put in place a “First Dog” so the POTUS could claim that his dog ate all existing copies of the Epstein …
Read
Time of the Season
The Pen in Hand Blog
Illustration by Michael DiMilo
Kickass and the Credit World
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper and Phyllis in observing the slave-like hold the money lenders have on the populace as it is now routine for the “slaves” to borrow money to do everything from attend college, use the remodeled bathroom or go visit grandma. There are …
Read
The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere”
Hungry Heart: Review of Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere ★★★☆ Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter I’ve been a Bruce Springsteen fan my entire adult life. Going back to my college days listening to Greetings from Asbury Park and The Wild, The Innocent, and The E Street Shuffle, I—like millions of other fans—have been enthralled and excited …
Read
Kickass and Demonstration for Hope
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper and Phyllis in wondering if there are parallels in NATURE to the current trend of humans gathering to hold signs along the streets in an expression of opposition to a vicious predator perched on the mountain top while devouring beloved Alpha …
Read
Kickass and Leghold Traps
Attribution: Accipiter (R. Altenkamp, Berlin), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, gives the podium to the keeper this morning to confess yet once again his unconscionable use of leghold traps during his predator youth of catch, kill, consume or market all lesser creatures. It is painful for him to …
Read
Kickass and Underdog Book
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper and Phyllis listening to Tom Jacobson’s book program in which he told a crowd of seniors at Quarry Ridge Retirement about his long illustrious Madison lawyer life of resisting on behalf of minorities and disadvantaged people of all kinds including Jeffery …
Read