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Oppose Iowa Legislature Bill HF 2171 That Seeks to Eliminate Vaccine Requirements in Public Schools
I have been reading the public comments on the Iowa Legislature bill HF 2171 that, if passed, would eliminate the requirement for vaccines in public schools against many diseases such as poliomyelitis, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, rubeola, rubella, and varicella. People are overwhelmingly opposed to it and it’s beyond me how it got past the first…
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Finally Saw the Movie “The Day The Earth Stood Still”
We watched the movie “The Day the Earth Stood Still” today. It was made in 1951 and I’d never seen it. Sena thinks she did a long time ago. You can watch it on the Internet Archive. Similar movies didn’t make much of a splash, some of which you might remember: “The Sacking of Punxsutawney…
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A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Pentagon
So, just for laughs I sometimes watch Ancient Aliens (you know, the UFO show with the hair dude). Last night, they were talking about some guy named Valiant Thor as if he were a real person. Maybe some of you know about the book, “Stranger at the Pentagon,” which you can read for free on…
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One Anecdote from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr is Nothing to Sneeze At
I’ve finished reading both biographies of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (the one by Jonathan Eig and the autobiography edited by Clayborne Carson). Both books were fascinating. Many of the accounts of King’s life were familiar to me mainly because I had seen them written about in other books and articles. Some of them are…
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Upcoming Svengoolie Movie: “Dracula” (1931)
So, the upcoming Svengoolie movie is “Dracula” released in 1931 starring Bela Lugosi. They tried to get George Burns to star in it, but he refused to take the cigar out of his mouth long enough to put the fangs in. I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen this classic vampire flick in which the story…
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Super Bowl LX 2026 Super Commercials
I watched the Super Bowl last night and I saw a couple of commercials (there’s always a lot of special commercials, only a few of which send healthy messages). I thought they were very positive and affirmed the importance of acceptance of others who are different from you. I’m reading The Autobiography of Martin Luther…
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Thoughts on the Book: “King: A Life” by Jonathan Eig
I just finished Jonathan Eig’s biography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr and I have just a few thoughts to share on my immediate impression of the book. Before I read the book, I got the impression that there might be a detailed description of Dr. King’s mental health. Although I didn’t see any specific…
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Still Reading Dr. MLK Jr Biographies
I’m just checking in to let you know I’m still reading Jonathan Eig’s biography of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I’m in the last section. I plan to read The Autobiography of MLK Jr., edited by Clayborne Carson next. I’m not ready to share much right now in the way of my impressions other than…
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Observations on Jonathan Eig’s Martin Luther King Distinguished Lecture
I discovered that the University of Iowa made a video presentation of Jonathan Eig’s speech for the Martin Luther King Distinguished Lecture on January 21, 2026. Mr. Eig wrote the MLK biography, “King: A Life” which was published in 2023. We just got a copy of it along with “The Autobiography Of MLK. We’re reading…

