Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter In chaotic news footage reminiscent of the (to say the least) undignified and disorganized American exit from Saigon in 1975, the U.S. military, diplomatic corps, and translators have been attempting to flee Afghanistan after the seemingly unexpected and lightning-fast Taliban military takeover of the Afghan government. Fearful for …
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Kickass Does Van Gogh
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, stayed home as the keeper and Phyllis did the Vincent Van Gogh “immersion” in Milwaukee whereby unique technology and lighting produces the sensation of cavorting across the French countryside with Vincent on starlight nights and sunny flower-strewn days. Photo-artist Phyllis came away duly impressed …
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Kickass and Cowbird Junk Plan
Photo by Andrew Haimerl on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper is adapting the “cow bird” technique for dealing with a lifetime collection of “stuff:” What he—the keeper does, is sneak an item of his saved junk into the living area of one of his kids, not unlike the cowbird laying its …
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The Couch Potato’s Guide to Old Hollywood: The Legacy of Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda in 12 Angry MenUnited Artists, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter Over the course of five decades on the stage and screen, Henry Fonda evolved from playing innocent, usually countrified characters like Tom Joad in The Grapes of Wrath into strong paternal types like the titular role of Mr. Roberts, the unnamed president striving …
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Kickass and Reader Letter About Dog Killing Cats
Javier B, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, notes on the keeper’s behalf that two-way communications is not a recent Facebook thing, but was one of the delights of writing a newspaper column back in the keeper’s day. Letters from readers kept a columnist’s ego somewhat in check, and in …
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Kickass and the Filibuster
Krotz, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, demands the mic from the keeper and says that if all humans had individual filibusters in their physiological life, they would all die of extreme constipation as their essential systems shut down By a dog’s reasoning, the filibuster which can virtually eliminate …
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Kickass Sells “Margaret’s War”
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, identifies the keeper as lazy onto motionless when it comes to promoting his novel “Margaret’s War,” published in 2020. There being no room for modesty in the book business, the keeper announces his availability to talk to groups of three or more on writing about …
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More Than Rain
Kristian Pikner, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter Southeastern Wisconsin had a relatively quiet and dry summer—up until last week. On Saturday, torrential downpours dumped up to four inches of rain in some areas, causing flash floods. Then, on Tuesday evening, a strong line of severe thunderstorms crossed into the area, ushering in …
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Kickass and McCoy Refugees
Jonathunder, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, indulges the keeper as the plans for using Camp McCoy in the Afghanistan refugee program prompts memories of 1980 when some 14,000 Cubans were housed at McCoy after escaping Fidel Castro’s regime. The keeper, a Milwaukee Journal columnist at the time, was also …
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Kickass and Multiple Choice
Photo by Mica Asato from Pexels By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, has been assisting the keeper in accepting the body betrayal that befalls everyone from the moment they emerge from the womb as cute little, standard-sized bundles of joy until they no longer breathe the air. For some, the lifetime of body betrayal goes beyond annoyance to …
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Kickass and the Jerk Dentist
Ka-ho Chu uploaded by R-E-AL (talk | contribs | Gallery) (German Wikipedia) Ka-ho Chu, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, passes on the keeper’s news of the failure of a Wisconsin trade with Minnesota in which Mindless My Pillow Mike would be exchanged for Painful “Jerk-‘em-out” Prehn, the Wausau dentist …
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Kickass and Getting Out of War
Photo by Ian Hutchinson on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, notes that the keeper has some experience in participating in exits from foreign conflicts, having lost friends while helping take the kinks out of Korea’s 38th parallel 70 years ago. That the parallel has stood the test of time as a barrier against the spread of totalitarianism …
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