Attribution: Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that in the tradition of “country copy” reporting whereby visits and personal events are duly noted and commented on, “The keeper and Phyllis were drop-in guests at the magnificent prairie and natural gardens of Jerry and Mary Davis near Barneveld where a …
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Kickass Gets Wrong Day
Attribution: Photo by Waldemar on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper in asking how long does it take for a misidentified day—thinking Saturday is Friday, before there is an appropriate adjustment by the rest of the world and Saturday actually becomes Friday? There is an ongoing experiment in progress, which of course has …
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Kickass and the GOP Convo
Attribution: DonkeyHotey, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that even as old as he is—Phyllis is much younger but still old enough to know better, anyway, the two of them watched the TV end of the Repub circus Thursday night as the head clown droned on with his …
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Kickass and Republican Milwaukee Convo
Attribution: Department of Defense. Department of the Navy. Naval Photographic Center, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper’s fond memories of the decade or so that he spent roaming Wisconsin as a columnist/reporter for the Milwaukee Journal back in the days—1970s– when it was still one helluva …
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Horrible, Wisconsin
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Imagine my surprise when I recently learned that I’ve lived nearly my entire life in a horrible city. I never knew that. I’ve always thought Milwaukee was a pretty decent place to live. I grew up, got married, and raised a daughter here, I worked in Milwaukee Public …
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Kickass and Dog at RNC Convo
Attribution: Governor Jim Justice, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, was excited along with the keeper and Phyllis to see a dog on the stage at the RNC Convo in Milwaukee as the Repubs passed around and praised their leader’s version of America as his kingdom. “Babydog” an English …
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Kickass and Threshing Memories
Attribution: See page for author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, will be napping through the keeper’s obligatory annual threshing time reminiscence. Show the keeper a former farm kid whose memory goes back that far and he will show you someone who romanticizes the time when neighbors assembled around …
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Kickass and Reaction Statement
Attribution: Frederick Burr Opper, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper in acknowledging the widespread use of the following totally meaningless statement in reacting to the Meridian, PA. shooting: “There is no place in our political system for violence.” Every politician says it, and not only is …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Steven Van Zandt: Disciple”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo A Force of Nature: Review of Steven Van Zandt: Disciple By Geoff Carter There are celebrities, there are rock stars, there are music icons, and then there are forces of nature. For one force of nature to exist and work in the shadow of another larger force of nature cannot be …
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Kickass and July 14th Notes
Attribution: Bidgee, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, looks over the keeper’s mish-mash mental notes from June 14, 2024 to see the following: *Sunrise obliterated by rumbling thunderstorm. *Assassination attempt missed by an inch. *400 million guns. *Second graders. *Reagan and JFK and Bobby. *“Just get over it!” *Secret …
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Kickass and Older Drivers
Attribution: Mick Tinbergen tintels, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper and thousands of others in his age group face the Biden like dilemma on a daily basis of whether or not their driving ability has lost enough of its edge that it is in the best …
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Kickass and Dog God
Attribution: Takashi Hososhima from Tokyo, Japan, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, is mulling over the keeper’s most recent theory that the Earth is a dog and humans are on this Earth Dog as fleas where they suck enough blood to reproduce briefly before they are scratched off by …
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