Peeling the Orange

Attribution: DonkeyHotey, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter Set aside his greed and his corruption.  Set aside his complete contempt for the law and the Constitution.  Set aside his callous disregard for human life and the suffering of millions—many of them children.  Set aside his lust for power.  Set aside his incompetence. Set …
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Kickass and White House Dogs

Attribution: Maarten Honnebier, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper in possession of a secret White House memo that seeks the services of guard dogs to accompany ICE agents on their visits to schools and parking lots where very dangerous little foreign felons lurk. The secret document …
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Tightening the Screws

Attribution: Chad Davis, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter I like to think of myself (perhaps generously) as something of a handyman. I’ve made a few repairs around the house. I’ve fixed leaky faucets, running toilets, and squeaky doors I’ve changed storm windows, tuned up our lawnmower, and preformed other sundry houselhold tasks.  …
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Cracked Ice

Attribution: Paul Goyette from Chicago, USA, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter There is a crime wave, an epidemic of violence that has erupted in the streets of our cities. Armed gangs are randomly accosting and brutalizing innocent citizens in Chicago, Minneapolis, Portland, and other cities. These masked thugs are ramming their victims’ …
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Kickass and Killing

Attribution: Chad Davis, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, pauses with the keeper and Phyllis to review some obvious verities and obfuscation concerning the killing of fellow human beings. Since being in over his head has never been a hindrance, the keeper plows ahead with the obvious: To needlessly …
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The Problem

Attribution: Photo by Andriy Miyusov on Unsplash By Geoff Carter Ronald Reagan once said, “Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem,” rearticulating the Republican dogma that governmental regulation inhibited American independence and freedom. He also stated, in his 1981 Inaugural Address, “It is no coincidence that our present troubles parallel and are proportionate to …
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Kickass Sues Himself

Attribution: Alchemist-hp (talk) (www.pse-mendelejew.de), FAL, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper following Phyllis’s lead in doing some ancestry work and finding that he may be eligible for a “return-to-sender” trip to Norway. It seems that when Great-grandpa Helgeland stepped off the boat from Norway he signed an agreement …
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Kickass and Minnesota National Guard

Attribution: Photo courtesy of Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper went through Army basic training under a newly activated New Ulm, Minnesota National Guard unit in 1950 at Camp Rucker, Alabama. Close-order drill on the hot Alabama sand was shouted out by Corporal Dormier, and as the keeper …
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States of the Union

Attribution: Paul Goyette from Chicago, USA, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter During the constitutional conventions that created the foundation of our democracy, the founders sought to balance the powers of a strong central government (like the one they had just gained independence from) and the rights and powers of regional, or state, …
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Kickass and WORRY Suggestions

Attribution: Photo by Niklas Hamann on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper and Phyllis searching for things to divert thinking away from the cruel absurdity of the government killing off the citizenry. It was after electric starters had replaced hand cranks in the automobile world and engine design was either V-8 or in-line, …
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Kickass and “Put Down” Decision

Attribution: Nhandler, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reminds the keeper and Phyllis of that time at the shelter when the “put down” decision is made for whatever reason—injury, old age, homelessness, friendlessness, contrary attitude, or etc. Such decision making came to mind Sunday as millions of people came …
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