A sign at a demonstration: “First they came for the journalists. We don’t know what happened after that.”

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Comments by Popular Demand

The posts in this new version of the blog seem to call for comments, so I have turned that feature on, in case you didn’t already notice.

New Reviews

Check out the section in the right hand column for several books I’ve read in the last year that meant a lot to me.

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Fopish Frivolity

I had a catch phrase in high school and college.: “Stop all this Fopish Frivolity.” It was similar to Monty Python’s use of Graham Chapman, dressed as an authority figure, who would walk in and say “This sketch is getting is silly.” I hope my recollection brings a smile to the lips of my high school and college friends, and a look of confusion to the rest of you.

I said it for years before I saw Python for the first time, which was years before you saw them. I took the train to New York to review And Now For Something Completely Different, which was “too niche” for Boston and played only New York and LA. Having no film notes from the movie company, I assumed John Cleese was Monty. You can find the review of the Internet; I have no intention of helping you.

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West Wing

Thank you Daniel P. Dern for bringing this to my attention:

35 People You Might Not Realize Appeared on The West Wing"

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Adolescents: Human and Animal

A good friend just recommended a book. I haven’t read it yet, but since I have long wondered why any human male lives to be 18, I am fascinated by the topic: Wildhood: The Astounding Connections between Human and Animal Adolescents by Dr. Barbara Natterson-Horowitz and Kathryn Bowers. If this question has also puzzled you, find out, again, that Cole Porter was right, “We’re merely mammals, let’s misbehave.”

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Keisha Lance Bottoms

Several people whose opinion I respect have been telling me the black female major of Atlanta would make a better VP for Joe Biden than Elizabeth Warren or Kamala Harris. Google her. Listen to her speeches. She is a woman of substance, and would make a worthy and helpful addition to the ticket.

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Books in the Background

Marjorie Gottlieb Wolfe of Syosset, New York  has been a veteran contributor to this column has is a freelance writer. She sent me a lovely essay, Home Libraries or Staged Exhibits about the bookcases in the background of broadcasting-from-home celebrities. Give it a look!