Advertisement And while the bear was certainly no cub, the composition of the photo gave the animal a gargantuan appearance.
But people commenting on our Web site lost no time in having a little fun with the photo — and arguing about its authenticity:
OnaRes wrote: “That is too cool. I love the fact that bears are becoming more prominent in the southern reaches of our great state. They are a beautiful animal.”
viterbostudent wrote: “They may be beautiful in the wilderness ... not in neighborhoods where they become nuisances and have to be tranquilized or shot.”
moderate republican wrote: “Too bad the bear doesn’t head over to Bliss Road to scare off all the bikers who insist on riding on the road that is CLOSED!”
Nathan wrote: “Maybe he was headed to the food court at the mall.”
Uncle Ted wrote: “He’d make a good rug in my basement.”
Old_Fogey wrote: “That looks like two guys in a rubber bear suit. Like the recent Bigfoot discovery, ya know.”
Mack wrote: “Magnificent animal.”
Convention jeers and cheers
Readers quickly joined the fray when we published an Associated Press story listing 20 things people might or might not know about Barack Obama. They added to the list with abandon:
GOD_HIMSELF wrote: “21) He knows the difference between Sunni and Shiite; 22) he knows Czechoslovakia is no longer a country; 23) he wasn’t involved with the Keating Five; 24) he only owns one house; 25) he has always loved his country [McCain has said he never really loved his country till he was held as a POW]; 26) he never cheated on his wife.”
Big E wrote: “27) He admitted to cocaine use; 28) will raise the capital gains tax; 29) his stepfather was an oil executive and his grandparents were wealthy bankers; 30) In February 2007, he said he would not run for president in 2008 because he would not have enough experience by then.”
When things get out of hand in Sparta ...
A party that ended with arrests and police officers at the hospital also could lead to a complaint against the Sparta police by the mother of the party’s host.
Visitors at www.lacrossetribune.com were generally sympathetic with the cops in our initial reporting on this one:
cataractjack wrote: “My relatives are at it again.”
Jaxx wrote: “I guess that I am just a little surprised that these kids had the audacity to hit a police officer. I bet a lot of people out there remember getting caught by the police for underage drinking (myself included) who took their underage ticket with a good dose of humility because we didn’t want to spend the night out in the woods. Does it really break down to what the cops did to ‘provoke’ the kids? Or does it break down to having some respect for people in authority who may one day be saving your life?”
ryeguy wrote: “Oh, and there is this thing called ‘escalation of force.’ The cops get to win any fight. You punch them, they get to hit you with a stick. You choke them, and they get to shoot you. No kidding. This kid is lucky the police showed restraint.”
Chip wrote: “If it hasn’t been said yet: You’ve got to fight ... for your right ... to par-tay!”
DreDogg wrote: “They should have given the kids spankings right in front of all their friends.”
By the numbers
More than half of the respondents to one of our just-for-fun daily polls at www.lacrossetribune.com think the drinking age should be lowered: 30 percent, or 512 of 1,725, think the legal drinking age should be 19 and 26 percent want 18. Thirty-five percent like the status quo of 21, 6 percent want a return to Prohibition and 3 percent are unsure.
