“Boris Johnson 2016” Foreign and Commonwealth Office, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, is trying to assist the keeper in dealing with his—the keeper’s Chaetophobia, which, everyone knows, is the extreme fear of hair. After undergoing four years of shock treatment during the Trump hair carnival, the keeper was approaching some …
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Swamp Things
Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Politically, the past five years have been—to say the least—turbulent. An ruthless grifter was somehow elected to the highest office in the land; he brazenly tried to steal us blind (and was more than a little successful). He was also sublimely incompetent. His administration either badly bungled and/or …
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Kickass and Raw Talent
“Bill on a Log” by Phyllis Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper may come out of retirement as a Packer fan in view of a recent sports headline that read: “Stokes learning to control raw talent.” The accompanying article referred to the blazing speed of Packer pass defender Eric …
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Kickass and Republican History
Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, notes with the keeper that the gerrymandered chokehold the narcissistic Republicans have on the democratic political system will be its downfall: a kennel operating for the benefit of only a few tall dogs with no meaningful sustenance for the hordes of mutts cannot endure. …
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Qualified Immunity: There’s a Catch
Photo by Sora Shimazaki from Pexels By Mark Mamerow “That’s some catch, that Catch-22,’ Yossarian observed. “It’s the best there is,” Doc Daneeka agreed. —Catch-22, by Joseph Heller Readers of Joseph Heller’s brilliant World War II black comedy Catch-22 see the war from the bemused and frustrated perspective of Captain Yossarian, a bombardier. Throughout the novel, Yossarian’s desire …
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The Couch Potato’s Guide to the Best of the Best
Nicolas Genin, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons George Clooney’s Top Ten Films By Geoff Carter He epitomizes cool. George Clooney exudes an aura of ease, intelligence, and confidence reminiscent of old school stars like Clark Gable, Humphrey Bogart, or Cary Grant. He can be complicated, too, embodying the angst and disappointments of a typical middle-aged …
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Kickass and Unmasking
By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, is assisting the keeper in moderating some of the chaos resulting from the great unmasking now occurring across the country, specifically just how to treat the Lone Ranger and Tonto who apparently spent the entire Covid mask-up period as residents of Coventry Village on Madison’s west side where …
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Kickass and Backwards Underwear
“Outhouse” Suisant7, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper long ago stopped being concerned with the random—some might say “garbage-can” nature of his thought process. Were it not for this, he might fret over the fact that for 60-70 years there has been stored in his memory …
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Kickass and Pond Life
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Region, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper and Phyllis in the proximity of pond eco systems where hidden predators—huge snapping turtles, dominate to the threat and detriment of all other life forms; and, of course, the keeper and Phyllis find …
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Living in the Past
Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. –Thomas Jefferson We’ve been taught to respect and believe these hallowed words since we were children. Of course, after a close examination of U.S. history, no one—except perhaps a child—is naïve enough to believe them. Shortly …
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Kickass and River Calamity
Holyoke Water Power Company, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that there are those among the keeper’s followers who may recall the ill-fated expedition when the keeper and his son Mike rigged a pontoon boat for a trip down the Wisconsin/Mississippi rivers to New Orleans, and only got …
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Kickass 6/2/21 Bear at Bird Feeder
Photo by Bill Pennell on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, tries to help the keeper stay calm over bird feeder issues, particularly after hearing from the keeper’s brother Orville up in Barron County where a black bear has smashed the bird feeder and taken up a lounging presence in the feeder’s proximity. Dedicated animal/bird people, …
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