Attribution: Mostafameraji, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, having adjusted long ago to his hairless condition, notes that both the keeper and Phyllis lucked out in the hair department, the keeper having dodged genes from his bald father that brother Orv picked up. Phyllis is equally fortunate with her lush …
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Category:Social Commentary
Kickass and Helping the Old
Attribution: Photo by Jem Sahagun on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, agrees with the keeper’s assessment that you are never too old to learn how to graciously handle the challenges that come your way. Most recently, and with seeming increased frequency, there is the challenge of accepting the kindly proffered assistance of young people when …
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Pants on Fire
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Last week’s Pen in Hand Blog column dealt with President Trump’s use—and abuse—of the English language, how he has dumbed down presidential rhetoric to a fourth-grade level, weaponized our political discourse, and created the most divisive atmosphere since the Civil War. We have fallen incredibly far incredibly quickly. …
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Like Nobody’s Ever Seen Before
Attribution: DonkeyHotey, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter Linguists and educational theorists have argued for centuries over the question of whether thought gives rise to language or whether the reverse, that language affects and determines thought, is true. The once widely-accepted Sapir-Whorf hypothesis postulates that language determines thought, while Fodor’s theory maintains the …
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Kickass and Natural Dinner
Attribution: Photo by James Wainscoat on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that as the keeper promotes the verity that humans are as much a part of the natural world as the birds and the bees, he points to the many natural parallels to the interrupted community feeding at the Correspondents dinner last night. When …
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Kickass Remembers Earth Days
Attribution: U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Gabrielle Spalding, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper and Phyllis and the multitudes on this Earth Day to salute its originator—Gaylord Nelson, and in the keeper’s case, to remember a few personal contacts with the classiest senator Wisconsin …
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Kickass and the Morning Maze
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper starts every morning looking out across the parking lot at the schools and the streets and the many distant buildings, and then marveling at how everybody gets where they need to be in such a fast-paced routine of sharing intersections and …
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Dialogues on Confusions of Grandeur: What Would Jesus Do?
Attribution: Artificial intelligence, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Featuring the Fabulous Dadbots: Mark M., Dave S., Mark O., Dennis C., John K., Michael D., and Geoff Carter Have you guys seen this? According to multiple news sources, including “The New York Times”, Trump posted this grandiose AI generated image of his Christ-like self on “Truth …
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Kickass and the Hereafter
Attribution: Internet Archive Book Images, No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, noting that dogs have delegated their hereafter administering to humans and they are therefore all going to heaven—the dogs not the humans, the keeper, as he gets ever closer to the head of the big line, notes some …
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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 Old Drivers
Attribution: Photo by Neda Vidakovic on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper and Phyllis winding up their long relationships with vehicles with a faithful Subaru that rests docilely in basement parking until there is a medical or supply need and the keeper assumes the driver’s seat with Phyllis occupying the “participating passenger position.” …
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Kickass and the Lumber Camps
Attribution: Photo by Phyllis Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper and Phyllis with their lumber camp experiences and remnant exposure, are often awed in contemplating that dramatic brief time in history when brave—foolhardy, men—and a few women took to the big woods with hand tools to bring down the …
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