Attribution: Photo by Junior REIS on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper ready with an explanation as to why such an enlightened city as Madison has yet to provide its police force with body cameras. The keeper has learned that it is all due to an early misunderstanding regarding the true function of …
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Category:Social Commentary
Kickass and Awareness of Trouble
Attribution: Walter Crane, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, notes that Phyllis boiled a dozen eggs in preparation of making potato salad, one of the keeper’s favorite dishes. Kickass warns the keeper and Phyllis about going on about their business as if they were not living like incarcerated strays …
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Kickass and Other Species
Photo by Phyllis Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper and Phyllis still immersed in yesterday’s post about the cougar cut in half on the railroad tracks in Adams County. Kickass responders speculated that the reason the heart and lungs had been removed was to prevent the identification of bullet fragments, …
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Kickass and the Railroad Cougar
Attribution: Photo by Michael Jerrard on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, with a special feeling for cats, passes along to the keeper and Phyllis the news of a cougar found cut in half on the railroad tracks near Friendship in Adams County. The big cat was an adult male wearing a Michigan tracking collar from …
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A Sinking Ship
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter A Sinking Ship Late last week, David Hearn, the former Olympic canoeist who was accused of vandalizing the newly painted deck of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, was exonerated. United States Attorney and Trump lackey Jeanine Pirro dropped all charges against him—because there was no case, no evidence, …
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Kickass and Dementia Talk
Attribution: Andreas Bohnenstengel, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, listened as the keeper and Phyllis hosted Phyllis’s granddaughter Taylor and friends Ann and Jason in an afternoon of conversation that covered the typical medical/insurance/response issues and then lingered over the mixed-age group on the obligatory subject of dementia. …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Best 21st Century Drive-In Double Features
Attribution: RoyBuchanan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter A former cultural mainstay of my youth, the drive-in movie theater, is dying a slow death. Once one of the most ubiquitous entertainment institutions in the country—and what could possibly be more American? A venue that combines cars, movies, and parties. Of course. I, and millions …
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Dialogues on Primary Schooling: Anatomy of an Upset
Attribution: WisPolitics.com, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Featuring the Fabulous Dadbots: Dave S., Mark M., Mark O., Dennis C., John K., Michael D., and Geoff Carter Plugged-in bots may have noticed that there’s been something of a seismic event in the Democratic primary race for Wisconsin Governor. Yeah, David Crowley and Missy Hughes withdrew. Yawn. …
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Downriver
Attribution: Photo by Jonas Jaeken on Unsplash By Geoff Carter When I was about twelve years old, I used to walk home from school past a savings and loan that had a deposit envelope dispensary mounted outside its front door. It was supposed to be used for after-hours deposits. All you had to do was pull out the …
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Kickass and Elective Office
Attribution: Photo by Dmytro Koplyk on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, woke from his nap late Tuesday to hear the keeper comment to Phyllis that the primary election results again showed no votes for dog catcher. History shows that this was not always the case: from settlement days, a “dog catcher” was a common elective …
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Life Cycles
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter “Dedicated to the memory of Alex Pretti” Every year during the last week of July, the Milwaukee Riverwest neighborhood, an eclectic enclave of artists, musicians, families, and working folks, hosts the Riverwest 24, a twenty-four-hour bicycle race that runs along the neighborhood streets. According to the Riverwest 24 website, the …
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Dialogues on Our National Embarrassment: The Presidential Brain Drain
Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash Featuring the Fabulous Dadbots: Dave S., Mark M., Mark O., Dennis C., John K., Michael D., and Geoff Carter Hey bots, I’m thinking we all must be kicking back in a major way this summer. Between the weather, the Brewers, and retirement, things seem good—if we ignore the news …
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