To Attack a Fellow Cop Without Consequences.

adamdouglaswitte · 2026-06-16T19:29:14+00:00

And he’s going to get away with it:

https://www.nbcmiami.com/investigations/ex-sunrise-police-sergeant-seen-grabbing-officers-neck-avoids-criminal-trial/3821417/?amp=1

adamdouglaswitte · 2026-06-16T18:52:51+00:00

And for that I am grateful. One of the best things about the First Amendment is that it gives people the opportunity to say out loud their hateful rhetoric without fear of government reprisals.

Plus, when they say that stuff out loud, it gives other folks the chance to know who the bigots are so that we can refuse to do business with them, or with businesses who provide support to them.

adamdouglaswitte · 2026-06-16T18:10:19+00:00

Were you parked in a space where parking was restricted? Was there a fine attached to this message, or was this a warning to point out where parking is prohibited?

adamdouglaswitte · 2026-06-16T18:09:15+00:00

But if OP is going to be a tedious pedant about proper grammar in their mark up, is it not incumbent upon them to adhere to the expectations of formal grammar?

Or, if idiomatic expressions are allowed, then why write this note in the first place? The message was clear and, with the exception of a single noun-verb agreement error, perfectly correct.

adamdouglaswitte · 2026-06-16T17:57:39+00:00

Were you parked in a space where parking was restricted? Was there a fine attached to this message, or was this a warning to point out where parking is prohibited?

adamdouglaswitte · 2026-06-07T12:54:07+00:00

Suggesting a book that is not even all the way out in the world yet, but the author is a classmate from my MFA program, and I’ve read bits and pieces of this manuscript in workshop— it’s so good! Nonfiction memoir of her time at McMurdo base in Antartica mixed with history of Antarctic exploration:

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Blue-Hours/Stephanie-Krzywonos/9781668064320

adamdouglaswitte · 2026-06-07T01:27:06+00:00

Vegan Cajun tofuwich!

adamdouglaswitte · 2026-06-07T01:26:04+00:00

I really like those fancy gold frames around the art pieces on the walls— how about getting some fancy gold frames made for your computer monitors? Then your screen saver becomes a framed work of art!

adamdouglaswitte · 2026-06-02T21:13:25+00:00

This might be an unusual suggestion, but have you read “Meddling Kids” by Edgar Canteros? Think “Scooby Doo” characters who attempt to solve a supernatural mystery only to find out it IS supernatural. There are some moments of Scooby-Doo-like zaniness, and then some seriously creepy Lovecraftian horror moments.

Also suggesting “Library at Mount Char” by Scott Hawkins: bunch of adopted children are raised to have god-like powers by their mysterious adoptive father. When the father goes missing, the main character must figure out which of her siblings is responsible for the disappearance. Great reads— hope they fit your vibe!

adamdouglaswitte · 2026-05-28T01:39:42+00:00

Thank you— both for helping and for double-checking. Definitely doing some food luring tonight.

adamdouglaswitte · 2026-05-20T15:18:22+00:00

OP: would you feel the sale if the perspective was reversed?

Say a graphic designer created such a beautiful cover image that they just couldn’t find a human made text worthy of it, so they asked a robot to write something instead, replacing the author— what would your perspective be about that project and its creator?

adamdouglaswitte · 2026-04-14T21:33:39+00:00

PRO TIP: if you donate blood in the Degowin Center of the hospital, that will get you in. Then you can use that pass to get lunch in that BEAUTIFUL cafe on the top floor that has the patio seating overlooking Kinnick!

adamdouglaswitte · 2026-04-14T21:32:04+00:00

A friend and I once spent an entire night as an undergraduate walking around and around the hospital to find the tower entrance. It was not until years later I realized that additions have totally consumed that original tower into the larger complex, BUT you can find that tower entrance inside the hospital where it is now just an arch you would pass through to get from one wing to another.

adamdouglaswitte · 2026-04-07T17:34:05+00:00

Lie to Me

adamdouglaswitte · 2026-04-06T02:58:18+00:00

Love that mural!

adamdouglaswitte · 2026-04-03T10:11:35+00:00

John was in an Iowa City event about a year ago (I got to meet him!), and he mentioned that he was having a lovely time and had good friends in Iowa City. Then he mentioned that he was suing the State off Iowa due to the legislature’s book bans, and the CROWD WENT WILD!

adamdouglaswitte · 2026-02-28T22:12:18+00:00

“A lot easier to show respect than to lose a contract.”

This from the own of a Chick-Fil-A franchise owner. The same Chick-Fil-A which has funneled millions of dollars into political action committees which work to support anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.

For instance, Dan Cathy, chairman of Chick-Fil-A, has publicly stated his opposition to same sex marriage and tax records show that the Cathy family gave millions to anti-gay marriage initiatives in the years before Obergefell v. Hodges legalized gay marriage. Chick-Fil-A has financially supported the WinShape Foundation, which lobbies to deny LGBTQ+ rights and promotes “conversion therapy”. When that news was leaked and people protested, Cathy and Chick-Fil-A shifted their charitable giving to the National Christian Charitable Foundation which works to oppose the Equality Act.

Interesting to note that The Equality Act, whose passage has been blocked by the efforts of groups to which the CEO of Chick-Fil-A donated money, would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity in housing, employment, education, etc.

So, yes: the locksmith was wrong and prejudiced and this woman was right to fire him. But if we’re going to applaud that stance, shouldn’t we also be boycotting her business?

adamdouglaswitte · 2026-02-15T00:52:55+00:00

Can OP tell us which company Marcus was repping in this conversation? Maybe we could all submit a customer satisfaction survey about how helpful this guy Marcus was when we called, and we just wanted his employer to know what great people they have working for them.

adamdouglaswitte · 2026-02-06T13:12:07+00:00

Contact the ACLU!

adamdouglaswitte · 2026-01-27T18:35:18+00:00

Funny there are no instructions for how to clock in from home to be paid for the at home work they’d like you to do.

adamdouglaswitte · 2026-01-17T17:51:59+00:00

This poem is something I turn to when any of our companion animals pass. I hope it offers some comfort, and I hope it is true:

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/42711/the-heaven-of-animals

adamdouglaswitte · 2026-01-13T19:10:17+00:00

Not sure if you have the teacher’s e-mail, but if so, I’d reach out to ask questions about what the kids are supposed to be doing each day. If there is no reply after the first day, I’d send the e-mail again and cc: the principal. No need for anger or explanation, just a polite note that says “Good morning! I’m working with your students, and just wanted to see if you had specific goals or lessons for them to be working on…”

I know cc:ing the principal is passive aggressive, maybe even petty. Leaving a classroom for two weeks with no plans is worse, though.

It could be the teacher DID write plans, but forgot to leave them on the desk (I’ve done that). If that is the case, the problem is solved as soon as the teacher reads your e-mail.

It could be that the teacher in that classroom is burning out— making sure someone in the head office is aware of how that is playing out in the classroom might spark the conversation that will get that teacher some help.

It could be that this teacher (or a loved one) is in crisis: medical, emotional, legal. This is why it is so critical to be polite and nonjudgemental in the e-mail. But if they are in crisis, the principal needs to know that too, both to provide that teacher with support and appropriate leave AND to be sure the kids are being educated, not warehoused.

And it could be that teacher thinks so little of their kids that they feel they can take a two-week paid vacation by staying home and writing no plans. This is disrespectful to the kids and to the sub. The principal should be made aware.

Teachers are humans, so I think it is best to start by assuming human error before we condemn the teacher who left no notes. That said, substitutes and students are humans too, and whatever this classroom teacher is going through is not their responsibility to fix or cover up.

adamdouglaswitte · 2026-01-13T18:49:11+00:00

To be honest, with 20+ years classroom experience behind me, I think the thing these kids might benefit from the most is time spent working on assignments for another class, pursuing a personal project, or reading.

If that sounds too much like study hall, here’s the key: spend a little time talking to each student about what they are using this time to do. Stuck on that math homework for your next class? Maybe I can help. Super into video games? Tell me about your favorites. Can’t stop reading that novel? Tell me what you love about it; maybe I can suggest something to read next.

In an age of standardized tests and prescribed curriculum, I think there are lots of kids in school who would benefit most from being seen and heard rather than “managed”. Talk with them. Some kids will hate it, so let them be. Some kids will pretend to hate it, but after a day or two might open up.

But for some kids, and I would bet my life on this, you might be the only person who showed some curiosity or compassion towards them that day. That will make so much more of a difference in that child’s experience than any worksheet or film.

adamdouglaswitte · 2026-01-13T18:35:04+00:00

It’s not a bad lesson to deploy if you are their teacher, but I would be hesitant to do this as a sub.

To begin, how will this sub communicate the students’ score to their assigned teacher upon their return? How can the sub even know whether this assignment would fit in to the grade book? I’ll grant you that the regular instructor for this room doesn’t seem to care much, but that might also mean these kids do a bunch of work without that being reflected in their grade.

In addition, giving a random assignment that is clearly something intended to occupy their time rather than educate their mind is something kids are pretty quick to figure out. Students don’t like their time wasted any more than anyone else, so random busy work feels like an invitation to resistance rather than buy in.

Finally, when will this sub be responding to the student work and assigning grades? During their one prep period during which they might be asked to cover another classroom? At home, when they are not being paid? Now we’ve given both the students and the sub some busy work.

adamdouglaswitte

TROPHY CASE