Advertisement It was the second time in four months a dog living at the South Side home has attacked someone.
A lot of our site visitors were quick to point out that poodles and terriers are quite capable of biting. Of course, I’d much rather take on a terrier than “Big Boy,” the dog that could face court-ordered euthanasia in this case.
Here’s a sample of the more than 250 comments people attached to our coverage of the attack:
notme wrote: “This entire situation was 100 percent avoidable. CenturyTel should allow their employees to go armed. ... It’s not the breed, it’s not the owner, it’s not the training or even the dog. The issue here, is why were these individuals unable to defend themselves? Why does the public continue to DEMAND citizens be left indefensible? ... Why must we literally be sheep among the wolves?”
IAmRight wrote: “I agree. All CenturyTel field personnel should be issued assault rifles and body armor.”
ryeguy wrote: “I think a roof-mounted M50 machine gun would do the trick. Other advantages: It would make tree trimming more fun, and it might drown out the sound of leaf blowers.”
Responsible_Owner wrote: “The owner(s) of this and other animals in the area need to be responsible for what their pets do. The breed as a whole is a great, loyal breed. I say animals because we have irresponsible cat owners in my neighborhood. Let their cats out to roam then call for them all night long.”
PicklesPlease wrote: “It is the breed — but the bleeding hearts will deny it until one of their own children gets its face eaten. If you don’t believe me, get a pet tiger and raise it with love and affection. Then see how many years it lives be-fore deciding you look like dinner.”
Domino theory of ambulance service
When the city of La Crosse backed off last week from its proposed entry into the ambulance business, readers of our online coverage were relieved — but wary.
A new proposal — for creation of the Joint Emergency Medical Service Commission — is a considerable piece of backpedaling, but our readers weren’t entirely convinced: Here’s a sample of their comments:
fortsa123 wrote: “How can a commission of nonmedical personnel oversee protocols of an ambulance. Doesn’t make much sense to me.”
random annoying bozo wrote: “Mr. Mayor summed up what the plan is with one line: ‘What we’ve learned is we need to take this one step at a time.’ You’re never going to get a clearer answer from a politician than this. The mayor is going to get his way on this — just do it one baby step at a time.”
Myturn wrote: “This about job retention, budget protection and securing a bloc of votes. The status quo is just fine, and it is free. This indeed is a ‘foot-in-the-door’ attempt ...”
turbocharged wrote: “Why would we pay for a ‘commission’ to oversee Tri-State? It’s almost as stupid as having a government committee oversee a car dealership. Tri-State oversees itself, and it is accountable for its actions.”
Site visitors try to shout down protesters
There’s no evidence that protesting war is returning to fashion around here. The demonstrators on a 450-mile protest walk from Chicago to the Twin Cities received plenty of derision — and just a few passionate defenses — at www.lacrossetribune.com.
A large number of the people who commented suggested that freedom of speech ought to be exercised only in the case of ideas they agree with. Here’s a sample:
Just Some Dude wrote: “Yeah, whatever, keep on walking, nothing to see here. If they truly wanted to stop the war, they would be doing this in a war zone — cowards.”
Fishnuts2 wrote: “Where were these ‘patriots’ marching when the U.S. sent troops to Kosovo?”
Double A wrote: “The realities of war are very harsh. Many of us, including myself, cannot fathom those realities. These activists don’t want war to exist. Plain and simple. It would be nice if we all respected them and encouraged them, even if we don’t agree that war is avoidable. Comments like those of ‘Just Some Dude’ belong in a middle school bully’s sent box.”
seekthetruth wrote: “An Air Force officer I served with once told me his job was to protect my right to believe whatever I wanted to. He was a respected leader by all who were under his command. This attack by you clowns on the First Amendment rights shows everyone that the oath you took to protect the Constitution was just a lie. So if you have no problem lying about the oath you took, what other lies are going to come out of your mouths?”
By the numbers
n Coffee was the No. 1 morning beverage mentioned in one of our recent just-for-fun online polls: the favorite of 655 of 1,421 respondents, or 46 percent. Soda was second at 20 percent, juice third at 11 percent, milk fourth at 8 percent, with tea and espresso at 4 percent and 3 percent, respectively.
n Nearly 1 in 5 respondents — 131 of 694, or 19 percent — reported watching every one of Michael Phelps’ races on his way to eight Olympic gold medals. Twenty-nine percent reported watching at least some races and 13 percent saw all of his medal races. Three percent hopped on the bandwagon late and saw his final race or two.
Marc Wehrs can be reached at (608) 791-8218 or mwehrs@lacrossetribune.com.
