Kickass and New Holiday

Attribution: Illustration of Humpty Dumpty from Through the Looking Glass, by John Tenniel, 1871., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports to the keeper with inside information that billionaire POTUS sycophants have purchased Ground Hog’s Day, Easter, Valentines Day, and April Fools Day to fabricated a combined holiday gift …
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Kickass and Silver Badgers

Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper in noting that for the past six afternoons Phyllis has joined fellow Silver Badgers at the intersection of Gammon Rd and Tree Lane in a sign-carrying protest against the cruel stupidity and murdering being foisted on the world by the narcissistic …
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Kickass and the Haymow

Attribution: Dorothea Lange, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, gives the floor to the keeper for yet another tidbit of rural info for his city friends: the reason the old barns were so big is that they were built back before hay balers and choppers when big haymows were …
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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 Volunteers

Attribution: Photo by Austin Kehmeier on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper and Phyllis in saluting the countless people out there everywhere who really define what it means to be a human being, and specifically an American human–a decent, thoughtful, generous, multiethnic American who wears the “VOLUNTEER” label. The VOLUNTEERS are everywhere, quietly …
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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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Kickass and Burning Theater

Attribution: Courtesy of Orange County Archives, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, shares a quandary with the keeper and Phyllis and everyone else–trapped in a burning theatre of the absurd with only doubtful response to their shouts of “FIRE!” As flames eat through the roof and a madman stars …
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Kickass and Help for the Elderly

Attribution: Photo by Mobio Marketing on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, notes the keeper and Phyllis’s adjustment to accepting age-related considerations with grace and appreciation. Those appropriate response do not arrive without some early resistance, like when the first overt offers of assistance come as implied insults that you are too old to do it …
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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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Dialogues on the Religious Write: Ground Zero-Gate

Attribution: Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash Featuring the Fabulous Dadbots: Mark M., Dave S., Mark O., Dennis C., John K., Michael M., and Geoff Carter Bots, I’m going to revisit the transgender culture war. I don’t really have anything new to say, but I’d like to draw your attention to a recent eruption in said war. Bots …
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