Author: docphd

Current Affairs, Diary, Doc, Economy, Geek Cred, Of Interest, On Wisconsin, Uncategorized3 Comments

Rummage sales are life. The rest is just details.

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The reason this post is late is because I spent the last hour and a half looking up everything I could find on Carry-Lite Duck Decoys manufactured in Milwaukee. Am I a hunter? No. Do I care about becoming a hunter? No. What the hell is wrong with me? A lot, it turns out. I picked up six of these decoys at a rummage sale today, so duck decoys have become my obsession of the moment. A friend in California is a hunter and mentioned how to locate interesting and valuable decoys at one point. A friend here noted that … Continue reading Rummage sales are life. The rest is just details.

Congress, Current Affairs, Diary, Doc, Economy, Political Crack, Stupid Republican Tricks, Uncategorized2 Comments

I want to meet Mick Mulvaney…

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I want to meet Mick Mulvaney, this man of billions who has the audacity to call people like my mother-in-law thieves. She sat in a hospital recliner this week with a giant blackening scar running down her leg as a stream of people she barely knew entered and exited at a rapid pace, spewing information into her stroke-impaired mind. She looked like a child who had lost her mother at the grocery store as doctors changed orders and nurses took readings, her eyes darting from one to the other as they spoke over her in multi-syllabic jargon. She had put … Continue reading I want to meet Mick Mulvaney…

Bigotry, Current Affairs, Doc, Immoral Values, Of Interest, Political Crack, Uncategorized

If “Blazing Saddles” were a Bizarro-land, post-apocalyptic horror film…

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(IMDB’s description of “Blazing Saddles” begins with “A corrupt politician hires a black sheriff…” which is all that film and this situation have in common.) News broke Wednesday that Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke was taking a position in the Homeland Security Department, leaving me to recall a line George Carlin once uttered about Ross Perot’s challenge for the presidency in 1992: “Just what a nation of idiots needs: A short, loud idiot.” Coming up with a descriptor for Clarke is like trying to catch a fart and paint it green. It’s also as pleasurable. Many news organizations relied … Continue reading If “Blazing Saddles” were a Bizarro-land, post-apocalyptic horror film…

Current Affairs, Diary, Doc, Uncategorized

Time for Mom

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Last week, I wrote about a 10-year-old girl named Grace who overheard her mother discussing the horrific treatment of the student media outlet the mom advised. Grace decided to make T-shirts, blending her love of journalism and her love of “Star Wars” to raise about $150 for the Student Press Law Center, an organization that was helping to defend her mom. To make that amount, Grace needed to sell 10 shirts. In less than a week, the shirt order form was closed and Grace had raised more than $1,200 for SPLC. I have a no idea how many shirts that … Continue reading Time for Mom

Current Affairs, Doc, Economy, Sports, Uncategorized1 Comment

You can’t spell “PENIS” without “E-S-P-N”

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ESPN experienced the journalistic version of a mob hit on Wednesday, when 100 staffers (or about 10 percent of the “front-facing” staff) found out they no longer had jobs. According to published reports, the staffers got called in early in the morning, were placed around speaker phones and had prepared statements read to them to let them know their services would no longer be needed. The firings weren’t culling deadwood analysts or former jocks who couldn’t find a coherent sentence with a searchlight and a posse. The firings included people with nearly 20 years of experience, such as college basketball … Continue reading You can’t spell “PENIS” without “E-S-P-N”

Current Affairs, Diary, Doc, Education, Law/Justice, Of Interest, R.I.P., Uncategorized2 Comments

Remember the 32

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I was working the newsroom this week, when my wife sent me a photo with the caption, “Who are these people?” It turned out to be a “Save the Date” card from two of my former students who found love while finishing off their degrees here. The editor in chief of the paper poked her head over my shoulder and asked what was up. “I just got a Save the Date card from Ashley and Isaac,” I explained. She had a blank stare on her face. “You were here when Isaac was the managing editor, weren’t you?” Again, a total … Continue reading Remember the 32

Current Affairs, Doc, Economy, Education, On Wisconsin, Stupid Republican Tricks, Uncategorized

UW Budget Cuts: There’s always a reason…

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Every two years, Wisconsin Republicans come home and see that the UW burned the roast. Or left a mess in the kitchen… Or didn’t buy more beer… Or forgot to pick up the dry cleaning… There’s always a reason that when the budget comes along, and the UW System leaders ask for money, Republicans decide instead to smack it around and then cut higher ed in the state. Four years ago, it was the allegation that the UW had stockpiled more than $1 billion in its coffers without telling anyone. (Of course, that wasn’t true, but it was more than … Continue reading UW Budget Cuts: There’s always a reason…

Congress, Current Affairs, Doc, Political Crack, Uncategorized

Trump and the unfortunate addiction to spectacle

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If you want to look for a “life imitating art” moment for today’s healthcare vote, it has to be this one from the movie “Black Mass.” James “Whitey” Bulger tells his associate exactly what Trump told Republicans by calling for this vote: “You wanna take your shot? Take your shot. But make it your fuckin’ best because if I get up, I’ll eat you.” This whole thing is horrifying: The potential repeal of the healthcare law, the CBO’s estimate of 24 million people losing coverage, the way in which our government can’t seem to run for three hours without falling … Continue reading Trump and the unfortunate addiction to spectacle

Current Affairs, Doc, Economy, Political Crack, Uncategorized5 Comments

Hierarchy of Needs: Asshole Edition

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Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is something every high school student or college undergrad runs into at some point in a sociology or psychology class. The concept is simple: You have a set of psychological and physiological needs that work in ascending order from most basic to most enlightened. In short, you need to make sure you are fed, rested and healthy first and then you can worry about safety and security. After that, you start getting into things like friendships, family, belonging, self-esteem and reaching your potential as a human. Given both the broad applicability of this theory and the … Continue reading Hierarchy of Needs: Asshole Edition

Current Affairs, Diary, Doc, Uncategorized3 Comments

Uncle Tack

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His given name was Thedrick Emerson Wright, but nobody ever called him that. To anyone who worked with him, played softball for him or just spent time with him, he was just “Tack.” Or if you were a kid like me, he was “Uncle Tack.” It was never clear to me, or my dad who befriended Uncle Tack through his work at Ladish, where that name came from. Ted, Thed, TE or even “Big Man” would have made more sense that “Tack.” What was clear was that he was an integral part of my life growing up and loving man-child … Continue reading Uncle Tack

Current Affairs, Diary, Doc, Education, Kids Today, Of Interest, Uncategorized

Seeds of Hope

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The young woman sitting next to me scrunched up her face as she looked at a resume I would have killed for at her age. She had three internships, including one at a major media outlet and a second at a center for investigative journalism. She was the editor of her paper and had earned honors and awards along the way. Still, she had that look. “I just hope I get a job,” she said. “It’s rough out there…” I half smiled as I shook my head and told her, “You’re going to be fine. You have a ton of … Continue reading Seeds of Hope

Current Affairs, Doc, Education, Elections, Kids Today, Television, The Darnold, Uncategorized

Journalism: A shitty job in a nuclear winter

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One of my former students became a science reporter a few years out of school and once found himself on a trip to Chernobyl. A group of researchers were collecting stool samples from people who lived adjacent to the old Russian nuclear reactor, trying to see if they were suffering from any radioactive poisoning nearly three decades after the meltdown. He sent me a post card from the area with a final line I still love: “Journalism. It’s a shitty job but somebody has to do it.” I thought about him and that trip today when I was trying to … Continue reading Journalism: A shitty job in a nuclear winter

Current Affairs, Diary, Doc, Education, Immoral Values, Uncategorized2 Comments

Dear CMU Republicans, Hitler was never fucking funny.

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Oh for fuck’s sake: A Central Michigan University registered student organization apologized via social media late Wednesday night after an anti-Semitic Valentine’s Day card apparently handed out by a member of the group sparked anger among students and community members. The Valentine features a photo of Adolph Hitler on the front and the words, “My love 4 u burns like 6,000 Jews,” and is signed “XOXO, Courtney.” I’m waiting for Sean Duffy to find the “good things” that came out of this whole Holocaust deal, now that it’s clear we can always find a silver lining in whatever stupid shit … Continue reading Dear CMU Republicans, Hitler was never fucking funny.

Big Damn Heroes, Current Affairs, Diary, Doc, Uncategorized1 Comment

“Keep it”

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I was 12 years old when my great-grandfather died and my experiences with him were limited to Christmas events, birthday parties and the occasional times we watched a parade from his porch. Most of what I know comes from family legends and stories others told. Two things sat at the core of each tale: He worked hard all his life. He was an immigrant. I thought about him this week with the immigrant ban, the Muslim ban or whatever the hell “anti-terrorist” spin the alt-White House is putting on this. His life spanned exactly 100 years and there was a … Continue reading “Keep it”

Current Affairs, Doc, Political Crack, Propaganda, Uncategorized2 Comments

“Fuck You Nation” – National Edition

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A year or two back, I coined the term “Fuck You Nation” to capture the general sense of how people in this country were tending to treat one another. The argument at the time was that when it came to the rise of Donald Trump, the mistrust of the media and the general sense of political discord, people were less “pro” something and more “fuck you” toward people they saw as “the opposition.” At the core of the argument was a general sense of self-righteousness, absolute certainty and an overwhelming sense of anger and bile. If President Trump’s first week … Continue reading “Fuck You Nation” – National Edition

Doc, Political Crack, Uncategorized

A bad week for journalism

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If I were paranoid (which in this environment, I might soon officially become), I’d think that that world is conspiring against every profession in which I have ever worked. The levels of stupid coming out of various parts of our universe make it almost impossible to touch on everything that is killing us at this point, but I’ll spend this post talking about the drive-by shooting against my original profession: Journalism. Speaking of things that happen quickly and painfully… President-elect Donald Trump and his posse spent much of the week in the news, thanks to his quick movement through confirmation … Continue reading A bad week for journalism

Diary, Doc, Education, Race, Uncategorized2 Comments

Career suicide by chicken

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A kid in my writing class today made a running list of all of the random references I made to pop culture, history and other weird shit in an attempt to illustrate my points and for examples. The list was two pages long after a four-hour lecture on interviewing and quotes and included references to “Airport ’77,” Rosa Parks, Roberto Clemente, “The Poseidon Adventure,” Jim Jones (not that one) and John Wayne. Somewhere in the middle of all of that, I was outlining a story about the time I had to interview the mayor about a report regarding his affirmative … Continue reading Career suicide by chicken

Diary, Doc, Of Interest, Uncategorized3 Comments

Sometimes, My Kid Just Wrecks Me

docphd

Of all the gut-wrenching, out-of-the-blue, kick-in-the-balls moments that happened this year (and I admit there have been a lot of them), it took my kid’s school project to break me into a thousand pieces. She came home from school with a piece of cardboard, wrapped in festive Christmas wrap, a gift she had been working on for my mother-in-law. In years past, my wife and I have been the gracious recipients of cellophane ornaments, macaroni artwork and various wads of hardened clay that required long and detailed explanations. In each case, the thought was what counted, and the items went … Continue reading Sometimes, My Kid Just Wrecks Me

Current Affairs, Doc, Education, On Wisconsin, Uncategorized4 Comments

The Problem of Whiteness meets the Problem with the Witless

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It seems that Rep. David Murphy, who chairs the state’s committee on colleges and universities despite never having graduated from one, came out swinging against a course titled “The Problem of Whiteness.” This class is taught at UW-Madison, is an elective and is taught by professor Damon Sajnani, who has a Ph.D. in African-American studies from Northwestern. Murphy found the class – an elective, mind you – to be so disturbing he called for the entire UW System’s funding request to be yanked unless the class was cancelled:  Murphy, who is chairman of the Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities, … Continue reading The Problem of Whiteness meets the Problem with the Witless

Bigotry, Current Affairs, Doc, Education, Uncategorized1 Comment

Doctor makes “monkey face” comment about Michelle Obama. Outraged? Yes. Shocked? Nope.

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In the days after the presidential election, people have tried to parse the reasons for the rise of Trump and how racism will awaken from the dark, like it’s the Force or something. The current narrative has gone in one of two directions, both of which seem to land on the same group: Rural, uneducated white people. In one version of this, it was an economic/culture issue that led rural whites to see Trump as a savior. This is something Trump has been playing up in Indiana this week, where he courageously threw money at Carrier to only lose some … Continue reading Doctor makes “monkey face” comment about Michelle Obama. Outraged? Yes. Shocked? Nope.

Doc, Epic Blogger Win, Ferretblogging, Uncategorized2 Comments

Friday Ferretblogging: This one’s for A

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She always finds a way to turn lemons into a reason to help other people, as witnessed by the food drive. I figured she deserved something for herself, so I headed to the local pet store and shot this. Pay particular attention to the fat one near the end who gets his head stuck in a plastic toy and decides to try to get out of there by beating his head into the floor. Love you, Chief. Continue reading Friday Ferretblogging: This one’s for A

Bigotry, Doc, Education, Elections, Political Crack, Urban Hellhole11 Comments

Where “Goddammit you fuckin’ guys” got us…

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“You’re listening to me but you’re not understanding me.” “No I’m disagreeing with you. That doesn’t mean that I’m listening to you or understanding what you’re saying. I’m doing all three at the same time. – West Wing, In This White House   If we are going to get anywhere in this post, we need to start with a few basic understandings: I do not like Donald Trump as a person, a candidate, a businessman, a leader or a human. I voted for Hillary Clinton and it would be a cold day in Hell before I ever vote for Trump. … Continue reading Where “Goddammit you fuckin’ guys” got us…

Campaign Notes, Current Affairs, Doc, Elections, Uncategorized2 Comments

We’re Not Like You

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I live in what would be considered a rural area, even if you don’t consider the kinds of people who consider everything that’s not in L.A., D.C., New York, Atlanta and Chicago to be rural. We have 3,300 souls in this city and the biggest issue on the ballot here was whether we should be forced to vote in “districts” for city council or if we should be voting as a city. I’m pretty sure my alderperson is my friend’s cousin. And he’s related to half the town, so that’s a pretty safe bet. My state is going the way … Continue reading We’re Not Like You

Current Affairs, Diary, Doc, Sports, Uncategorized7 Comments

An open letter to Cubs fans from an Indians fan

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Dear Chicago Cub Fans, It took all seven games, and extra innings to boot, but you did it. You broke the Curse of the Billy Goat and won your first World Series since the end of Teddy Roosevelt’s administration. The long wait of “next year” is over. It’s done. World Champion Chicago Cubs. I bet it sounds great. As a Cleveland fan, I have to admit it hurts more than I thought it would. In the end, I was just exhausted. Down 1, down 4, comeback, comeback, extra innings, rain delay, down two, rally for a run, lose with an … Continue reading An open letter to Cubs fans from an Indians fan

Doc, Sports, Uncategorized, Urban Hellhole2 Comments

A Morality Play Between the Foul Lines

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When the Cubs punched their first World Series ticket since 1945, I got a text from my wife: “Your cousin is at the game. I saw a picture on Facebook.” My cousin is a familial strain that reached into Illinois somewhere after my grandparents divorced. When her father couldn’t get a job in education in Wisconsin, my grandfather made “a few calls” back in the day when that was a standard practice and helped him land a teaching/coaching gig south of the border. It was my aunt and uncle, three cousins, my grandfather and his wife who all took up … Continue reading A Morality Play Between the Foul Lines

Diary, Doc, Faith, Immoral Values, Religion, Uncategorized9 Comments

A fart in church

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One of the best parts about writing for this blog is the diversity of thought and experience of the readership. That’s not me blowing smoke. It’s true. I have found that I learned a lot about my own position on this big blue rock from hearing of the positions of others here than I learned anywhere else. Agreement, disagreement, whatever. It comes down to people coming at an idea I have from a variety of angles. Never more is this true than in the field of religion, where not only do people come from various faiths, but various positions on … Continue reading A fart in church

Big Damn Heroes, Campaign Notes, Current Affairs, Elections, Law/Justice, Uncategorized5 Comments

A Stronger Letter Will Follow…

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Angelo Drossos, who owned the San Antonio Spurs during their ABA days, was a hard-charging Greek businessman who was known to have an incredibly bluntness about him, especially when he knew he was right. The most famous story about him, retold in his own words in Terry Pluto’s classic book “Loose Balls,” involves his purchase of future-Hall-of-Fame shooter George “Ice” Gervin. Drossos had purchased Gervin from the failing Virginia Squires, only to have the team’s owner (Earl Foreman) come down with a case of seller’s remorse. The league president, Mike Storen, sided with Foreman and demanded Gervin be returned to … Continue reading A Stronger Letter Will Follow…

Doc, Stupid Republican Tricks1 Comment

Uterine Socialism

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Gov. Mike Pence had a moment at the VP debate, where he pretty much seemed to suggest that a woman’s uterus is like those “take a penny, leave a penny” bowls at the gas station:   PENCE: The state of Indiana has also sought to make sure that we expand alternatives in health care counseling for women, non-abortion alternatives. I’m also very pleased at the fact we’re well on our way in Indiana to becoming the most pro-adoption state in America. I think if you’re going to be pro-life, you should — you should be pro- adoption. <SNIP> PENCE: … … Continue reading Uterine Socialism

Current Affairs, Do Something, Doc, Race, Uncategorized

35th and Shitbag

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Milwaukee Bucks President Peter Feigin found himself in hot water this week for telling the truth at a Madison Rotary event about his team’s city as well as his experiences there. Somewhere between trying to jack up excitement for a team that went 33-49 last year and trying to explain how the state’s $250 million investment in an arena that looks like Elvis’ haircut, Feigin made a comment about race and the city: “Very bluntly, Milwaukee is the most segregated, racist place I’ve ever experienced in my life. It just is a place that is antiquated. It is in desperate … Continue reading 35th and Shitbag