Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper and Phyllis being warned to stay away from most natural bodies of water as they are polluted with human and animal waste and will make you sicker than a duck in the DC reflecting swamp. In responding to the urge to return …
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Category:Wisconsin
Kickass and the Like-Me Element
Attribution: Wikideas1, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, confident in the knowledge that he is “liked” to the extent that the keeper and Phyllis tolerate his presence and would probably feed him if he had a stomach. All of which goes to make the point that all people and dogs …
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Kickass Gets Storm Ready
Attribution: Mathias Krumbholz, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, gets in extra napping this morning of June 10, 2026 as the keeper and Phyllis batten down the hatches in preparation for the violent weather predicted over the next two days. “Preparation” for them has limited application in their multi-storied …
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Kickass and Grandpa’s Long Underwear
Attribution: Photo by Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper making the switch from winter to summer shirts, which means short sleeves and bare arms for the next four months or so. The move equates to the critters shedding their winter coats and the birds showing …
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Kickass and Old Friend Roger
Photo courtesy of Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper received a 95th birthday notice from OLD friend Roger Locke, a fellow member of the Barron WI. High School class of 1949. The class was close to 100 in 1949 and may now be represented only by Roger and the …
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Dialogues on Wisconsin Surplus: Let My Money Go!!
Illustration by Michael DiMilo Featuring the Fabulous Dadbots: Mark M., Dave S., Mark O., Dennis C., John K., Michael D., and Geoff Carter Bots, In his final big act as governor, Tony Evers has struck a deal with Republicans to spend down Wisconsin’s $2.5B surplus. These appear to the main elements: * $300 refund to …
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Kickass and Part of Nature
Attribution: Photo by Skyler Smith on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, napped at home as the keeper and Phyllis joined the multitudes in paying allegiance to the remnant genes that define humans as creatures of the land as much as any other living thing. This genetic signal of acknowledging nature has become convoluted to emerge …
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Kickass and Ed Gein
Photo courtesy of Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, celebrates with the keeper as he adds another photo to the collection from his newspaper days thanks to granddaughter Jessy, who was poking around on the net, and stumbled onto a courtroom scene of a1974 Ed Gein sanity hearing in Wautoma which the …
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Kickass and the Brewery
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, shares the news with the keeper that the Schlitz Brewery is all done after 150 years of helping “Make Milwaukee famous.” The keeper joined the Milwaukee Journal staff way back when payola favors to reporters was in vogue and on the first Milwaukee Journal Christmas Eve the keeper …
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Kickass and Carl’s Hawk
Attribution: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, naps as the keeper remembers the occasion of his Chinese friend Carl Lee and the red-tailed hawk with the broken wing. The keeper happened upon the injured hawk on a morning pheasant hunt and wrapped it in his jacket for transportation …
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Kickass and Home on the Range
Attribution: Frederic Remington, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, has occasionally been moved to howling in accompaniment to the keeper’s singing, and recently they have collaborated on “Home, Home on the Range,” with Phyllis joining in with aggressive harmony. The lyrics-“Oh give me a home where the buffalo roam …
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Kickass and Two-Toed Sloth
Attribution: Photo by Bennet Robin Fabian on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper and Phyllis in their efforts at including all species in the daily commentary by noting that a 20-year-old two-toed sloth has transferred from the Milwaukee zoo to the Vilas Park Zoo in Madison. Incredibly, even as close as it is …
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