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Update to the Anti-Vaccine Bills in Iowa Legislature
This is just a quick update to the Iowa legislature anti-vaccine bills as far as which ones have passed what is called the first funnel. Here’s a link to the definition of a funnel. Which bills got past the first funnel: SF 2095: This bill is about private colleges or universities that would be punished…
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Iowa Legislature Bills I Could Live Without
I should stop reading the news. I’ve just found a couple of other Iowa Legislature bills that are anti-vaccine. One of them is the HF 2287 I mentioned yesterday that would make vaccine manufacturers steer clear of Iowa altogether. Another two I just discovered today: HF 2171: This one which seeks to make vaccines for…
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Iowa Vaccines and Legislature Proposed Bill Deja Vu
I see we have yet another bill introduced in the Iowa legislature seeking to make vaccine manufacturers liable for “design defects” resulting in injuries related to vaccines. This feels like déjà vu. Last year HF 712 targeted the Covid 19 vaccine. The bill died in the funnel. This year, the same sponsors introduced HF 2287—which…
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Update to the Iowa Legislature Bill to Make Ivermectin Available Over the Counter
Pursuant to my previous post about the debate in the Iowa Legislature over a proposed bill to make Ivermectin available over-the-counter (OTC) in Iowa, it looks as though hydroxychloroquine was recently dropped from the bill. Although few people say it out loud, in my opinion, it’s no secret that the main reason for the bill…
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What Wildlife Does Not Know About Nature Valley Snack Bars
We finally finished up the batch of Nature Valley Chocolate Peppermint Wafer bars. The label says says they are “naturally flavored with other natural flavor.” The comical TV commercials in the last couple of years show cute woodland creatures like squirrels bitterly complaining about the dirty nuts they have to put up with compared to…
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Verdict on Kale Salad
Well, Sena served the cranberry kale salad today, along with a hearty vegetable soup. If I had not known that the kale was in the salad, I would not have noticed anything unusual about it. In fact, the salad was pretty good, although truth be known, the kale was mixed together with so many other…
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Another Silly Bill in the Iowa Legislature
I saw a story in the Iowa Capital Dispatch by Robin Opsahl today that there’s a bill in the Iowa legislature which seeks to make the drugs ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine over-the-counter (OTC) in Iowa. It doesn’t actually specify the reason why but it’s probably because some Iowans want the drugs available to treat Covid-19. I…
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Thoughts on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Today being Martin Luther King Day, I’m reminiscing a little about my short time as a student at Huston-Tillotson College (one of this country’s HBCUs, Huston-Tillotson University since 2005) in Austin, Texas. It’s always a good idea to thank your teachers. I never took a degree there, choosing to transfer credit to Iowa State University…
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What Questions Should We Ask on MLK Day?
I ran across this quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in my notes: “Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable… Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.” ― Martin Luther King Jr. This week we’ll be getting the two biographies of…
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Replace Sycophantic AI with Marvin the Paranoid Android?
I found the perfect JAMA article explaining that sycophancy is programmed into Artificial Intelligence (AI) therapy chatbots. This reminded me of Marvin the paranoid android (“Life! Don’t talk to me about life!”) in the book series “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” by Douglas Adams. Marvin is an incredibly depressed robot who would never make…
Go Retire Psychiatrist 