Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter President Donald J. Trump is a master of diversion, deception, and delusion. Smoke and mirrors, obfuscation, pettifogging, and downright lying are all trademarks of his brand. It may sound like he’s some sort of magician, but he’s anything but that. He’s a huckster, a grifter, a bullshitter, and—at …
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Kickass Goes to War
Attribution: DJ Mapping, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, tries to help the keeper adjust to the POTUS plans to go to war with either Mexico or Canada, both countries obviously being highly questionable neighbors as seen in the incisive analysis of the Commander In THIEF. By way of …
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Can’t Buy Me Love
Attribution: Photo by Laura Ockel on Unsplash Originally published February 11, 2025 By Geoff Carter When I was in elementary school back in the early 1960s, St. Valentine’s Day was the day that brought life and color—and candy—to the gray slushy doldrums of grade-school winter. Everyone would attach manila envelopes with our little names block-printed on the front …
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Kickass and Bridge to Canada
Attribution: Erik Behrens, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper, considering his unique qualifications, feels an obligation to calm the waters under Canada’s Gordie Howe bridge that is about to open in Detroit. With a Canadian born wife Phyllis and memories of a Norwegian mother reading him …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “F1”
Formulaic: Film Review of F1 ★★★1/2 Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Artificial Intelligence is the newest face of runaway technology. Will it corrupt the minds (and academic skills) of our children, destroy human creativity, and—as in the nightmares of dystopian sci-fi fans (see The Terminator or Blade Runner) enable machines to take over civilization? It just …
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Kickass and Killer Whales
Attribution: Callan Carpenter, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper exhausted from the recent sports extravaganzas and seriously thinking of getting up out of his recliner just to see if he can stand up. Between the Olympians and the Super Bowlers, not to mention the half-timers, the …
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Kickass and Super Sports Sunday
Attribution: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-1990-0414-009 / Wolfried Pätzold / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper on this holy day of sportsfandom recalls the autumn he spent looking at Chicago sports fans to try to see what made them tick. The lead for the …
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Kickass and Superbowl Boos
Attribution: VOA News – B Allen, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper and Phyllis finding themselves in the incredibly rare circumstance of agreeing with a POTUS decision to not attend the Superbowl tomorrow in Santa Clara because, as the POTUS says “it is too far away.” …
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Kickass and Ballpoint Pen Robbery
Attribution: Photo by Feodor Chistyakov on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper mourning the shrinking nature of the honest press and telling Phyllis that during his long journalistic tenure he tried his best to stick to the facts which seemed satisfactory to most but not all readers. When the bank in Bancroft—population less …
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Kickass and Sleeping Cop
Attribution: Photo by Jessica Smith on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper having grown up in and around a two-man police force town—Barron, recognizes the personal nature of the relationship between the “law” and the citizens. The records tend to be in the minds of the police and the policed, and the keeper …
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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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Kickass Looks for Hope
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper and Phyllis and the entire US population in struggling to survive the incredibly cruel machinations of dim-witted thugs hired by the narcissistic POTUS to traumatize, manhandle and kill the citizens in their own communities. MONEY in the hands of power-mad phonies …
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